#diana rowland

[books-in-a-storm]

Snowflake Book Review’s

Title: Kara Gillian #4 Sins of the Demon

Author: Diana Rowland

Pages: 311

Snowflake Rating:❄❄❄❄(4/5)

Synopsis:

Louisiana homicide detective Kara Gillian is doing her best to cope with everything that's happened to her over the past year, all while s continuing to hone her skills as a demon summoner. But lately she's beginning to wonder if there's a little too much demon in her world. She has a demon for a roommate, the demonic lord Rhyzkahl is still interested in her for reasons she can't fathom, and now someone in the demon realm is trying to summon her . And there's no way that can end well.

Meanwhile, people who've hurt Kara in the past are dropping dead. Kara is desperate to find the reasons for the deaths to clear her own name, but when she realizes there's an arcane pattern to the deaths, she knows that both the human and the demon worlds may be at risk unless she finds out who's behind it all. She's in a race against the clock and in a battle for her life that just may take her to hell and back. 

First And Last Sentence: Here

[alfvaen]

Novel Chaos

October is a month, all about fall, and Halloween, and (in Canada) Thanksgiving. In some years I've done Janelle Shane's Botober daily AI-generated writing prompts, though the shine is off of AI right now… (This year she recycled some older AI-generated text for the prompts and I don't blame her.) This year I didn't try to do daily writing, though I have been trying to do weekly writing at least, and post some of my writing exercises.

But right now I'm here to talk about the books I read during the month. (I started these monthly posts last November, so now I've been doing them for a full year!) Potential spoilers within for Jessie Mihalik's "Consortium Rebellion" series, Diana Rowland's "White Trash Zombie" series, and Jane Lindskold's "Firekeeper" series.

Jessie Mihalik: Chaos Reigning, completed October 3

I grabbed this one on impulse, and didn't think too much about it. After all, it's SF and not fantasy (even gaslamp fantasy) like the last book, and it would close off another trilogy. I've been kind of linking these books with the Rachel Bach trilogy in my head and trying not to read those too close together. In hindsight, as I was writing up the C.L. Polk book I read before it, one thing that these series do have in common is the romance elements. But thinking of it more, that's not enough to make them overly similar.

I'm not a huge romance reader. I have dutifully tried a few, but I have never felt particularly comfortable with the genre. I'm not saying that it's a bad genre, that romance books are bad and nobody should read them, or any of the wilder anti-romance viewpoints I've heard out there, but nonetheless the inclusion of romance tropes can detract from my enjoyment of a book. And maybe it's just the female-hetero-POV ones, appreciation of the male form and stuff, that gets me, maybe it's a lot of cultural conditioning on me, maybe it's a character flaw in me. But I don't care for it that much. I'm reading this anyway, though, aren't I? (Even if it's "in spite of" rather than "because of".)

Anyway, the series is about three sisters from one of these high-tech corporate Houses. This book focuses on Catalina a.k.a. "Cat", the youngest of the family, prone to being underestimated and acting all superficial, but as a child she was given secret (and illegal) genetic modifications to make her fast and strong. Her house, Van Hasenberg, is at war with a rival house, and Cat ends up going to a high-class multi-day party to try to get some more information. Her sister Bianca (from Book 2) insists she bring along a couple of bodyguards, and that she fake-date one of them so he'll have better access. Cat drags her feet but reluctantly agrees. (So it's not only a fake-dating romance and a bodyguard romance, but both at once!) Said bodyguard, Alex, also appeared in Book Two, though I only vaguely remember him.

During the party, assassins show up and try to kill Cat and several other nobles (including her friend Ying), as part of what turns out to be a coordinated attack on all the noble houses, and Cat is forced to go on the run and try to save the day, with Alex (and Ying's) help. In the process she finds love (though the full physical consummation gets interrupted several times before they finally manage it) and herself.

The romance feels a little…I dunno, smooth? I never get the sense that there's that many obstacles in their path, apart from perhaps Cat's own self-doubts and paranoia about her illegal mods being found out. And getting over her annoyance at Bianca foisting Alex and his partner on her in the first place. They didn't feel like serious problems. But it's okay, because I liked the SF plot well enough, so I enjoyed the book overall, and maybe I'll try the other trilogy we have of hers at some point.

Stephen King: Different Seasons, completed October 9

Now I realize that I have already read a Stephen King book this year, Under The Dome back in April. And it was technically two books, in paperback, at least. But you know, the guy doesn't stick to only publishing one book a year, so I'm not going to feel too bad about this. I wanted a book by a male author, and it's October so it's spooky season, and what with one thing and another, in my current schedule it'd be like seven more books before I could get an untyped male author slot to stick this into, and October will almost certainly be over by then.

It may seem surprising that I haven't read this one already. Well, as I may have mentioned before, I didn't really start reading King seriously until the 90s, by which point he already had a few books out, and I confess that I was mostly concentrating on novels. I did like Four Past Midnight, though, and I have been meaning to get to this one. I think we didn't even have a copy for a while, which may have held me back. And I ended up reading Skeleton Crew and Night Shift first. But now, here it is.

I'd consider this to really be the last book in my Stephen King backfilling. After this, I will have read everything up to, like, well, Lisey's Story. (Assuming you don't count Thinner. Or Black House. Shut up.) I've been trying to alternate backfilling with forward progress, but after this it will be full steam ahead! Ish.

I am already somewhat familiar with most of this book anyway. After all, three of the novellas were made into movies, right? Definitely "Shawshank Redemption", and "The Body" became "Stand By Me", and I think that I remember seeing ads for a movie called "Apt Pupil" which I'm assuming is the same. Only the fourth one, whose name I can't even recall offhand, I know nothing about. I haven't actually seen any of the movies, but quite frankly I'm pretty sure I remember the twist in "Shawshank Redemption", or least the movie, from some Cracked article years ago. I actually knew very little about the plot of "The Body", though, so I was looking forward to that one. The fourth one, I hadn't even heard of before.

What I guess I hadn't realized about this, though, is how mainstream these stories are. "Shawshank Redemption" (after hearing about the movie so much it seems wrong to call it "Rita Hayworth And Shawshank Redemption", too wordy) is a story about some guys in prison; "Apt Pupil" is about the teenager fascinated with Nazis, and "The Body" is just about some kids going on a cross-country adventure. "The Breathing Method" has some vague supernatural implications, in the mysterious nature of the gentleman's club our protagonist joins, so it is at least "uncanny", I suppose, and the story within the story has definite horror overtones.

So to some extent it's a bit of a letdown. "Shawshank Redemption" is mildly clever, I suppose, though once again I knew the twist at the end. "Apt Pupil" was mostly just sordid, with a pair of unsavoury characters who both take to killing off "winos" (revealing picture of how homeless people at the time were perceived--"winos" or "bag ladies", all of them the dregs of society who won't be missed), and while they get their comeuppance at the end, I did not enjoy following them for 180 pages. "The Body" was okay, I guess; I had seen the train bridge excerpt from the movie, and I was vaguely aware of the pie-eating contest scene as well, though I had no idea that was just from a story and not part of the actual events. (Yeah, two of Gordie's stories are included, and I couldn't tell you why he put in the other one because it didn't fit at all.) "The Breathing Method" is a story about an offbeat gentleman's club where they tell stories, which is a reasonably common trope, with an even shorter story about the titular method encapsulated inside it; the inner story is macabre, the other story a little light on conflict if heavy on atmosphere.

So now I guess I'm slightly more interested in the movies "Shawshank Redemption" and "Stand By Me", though probably not "Apt Pupil", and at least I've read it once and maybe that'll be it.

Jack L. Chalker: The River of Dancing Gods, completed October 12

I first encountered Jack L. Chalker through one of my friends reading one of the Well World books, and it looked kind of interesting so I tried it out. I loved it and read the whole series. I read his Four Lords of The Diamond series (though out of order at first because it was based on what the library had), and his Flux & Anchor/Soul Rider series, and basically everything of his I could find. His work was mostly based around transformation--whether it was the Well of Souls transforming you into some alien race, or some wizard from Flux, or whatever, people were constantly getting transformed, sometimes into animals, sometimes into sex slaves, sometimes into the other sex, whatever. I particularly liked the Well World because it was a planet made up of different hex-shaped artificial environments for a sampling of alien races, and I spent many happy hours trying to fill in the complete map and populate them with alien races from other books. I even tried to draw one or two of the aliens, though my artistic ability was never great.

At some point it all began to pall a bit, and I never finished his last series, and then he died shortly after that (I had the opportunity to meet him at the one Worldcon I attended, but I was too late to sign up for his Kaffeeklatsch so it didn't happen). His series did get a little samey, and later ones a little perfunctory. And it's been a while since I reread any of them. In recent years, with pressure to weed my collection a bit, I ended up just getting rid of some of the books and series I hadn't gotten as attached to (like the Changewinds series and Web of The Chozen). But some of them were kind of on the bubble so I wasn't quite sure.

This all heavily mirrors what happened with Piers Anthony, who was also one of my favourite authors around the same time; the big difference is that Piers Anthony didn't die (yet) and instead kept churning out books I was progressively less interested in, not to mention getting a little bit too interested in writing about relationships with young teenage girls. I reread his Incarnations of Immortality series a couple of years ago (and ended up just keeping the first book, I think, at the end). And now it's time for me to re-evaluate an old Chalker series.

The Dancing Gods series was intended as light fantasy, I guess. Most of what I remember about it is that our main characters are a couple of people from our world who cross over (making it a portal fantasy) to a fantasy realm where the rules are written down, literally, in a huge series of tomes that basically encapsulate all the fantasy clichés and tropes Chalker could think of. (Which reminds me a lot of Tom Sawyer's insistence on adhering to all those tropes and clichés in the prison rescue in Huckleberry Finn.) And those rules literally become the way the world works, like laws of nature. So it's intended to be a literal parody or pastiche or something. But I remember one or two elements from the books that have lingered with me over the years, so I decided to reread them and see if they had any overall redeeming value.

It's not particularly madcap or anything, this isn't Craig Shaw Gardner or Robert Asprin here, and it takes a while to get past the part where the fantasy realm wizard (Throckmorton Ruddygore) convinces our protagonists (Joe and Marge) to leave their world behind (where they were about to die in a road accident anyway) and cross over. And then they need to acclimatize to the world and train (Joe as a barbarian, Marge as a sorceress, ho hum--this kind of thing is why I was pleasantly surprised in Barbra Hambly's Darwath series when the woman became the fighter and the man became the wizard). Then we get some transformations--Joe because he runs into a Circean witch and gets turned into a bull, and Marge because she's been infused with faerie blood to speed up her training.

Our actual quest has to do with retrieving a magic lamp that grants wishes (though the twist is that it only grants you one wish for free, and if you make a second wish then you swap places with the genie), and it's also a little slow to get going, with a few random incidents, but the genie section is nicely interesting, and then we get the climactic battle with the dark lord's armies at the end. And the promise of sequels, of course, which is also in The Rules.

It's kind of on the bubble as far as keeping it goes. It's kind of short and isn't particularly funny, but it feels like it has something going for it other than trying to be funny. I guess I'll see how the other books in the series hold up. But I can tell that this likely won't be the only one in the series I keep.

Wesley Chu: The Art of Prophecy, completed October 19

After a reread, according to my cycle, it's time for either trying a book by a new author or reading a diversity book. I knew it was supposed to be a male author, and so I ended up grabbing one of the few male diversity books I have available right now, from the recent Wesley Chu series, The War Arts Saga. And only belatedly did I think to myself, wait, was it supposed to be trying a new author instead? and sure enough, it was. But oh, well, it'll be fine.

I've tried a few other Wesley Chu series, but I don't know if I've finished one yet. I read Time Salvager, but haven't been able to get a copy of the sequel Time Siege yet. I read The Births of Pi and The Deaths of Pi, but I wasn't sure about continuing to The Rebirths of Pi so I don't have that one. But this one looked interesting and I decided to pick it up, even in trade paperback. My wife has already read it and we've bought the sequel (we thought it was just a duology, but apparently there's a third one, which I suppose is not unexpected), so the chance that I will finish it are pretty decent, as long as this one doesn't suck or something.

The basic premise is that there's a teenage boy, Wen Jian, who has been prophesied from birth to be the one who defeats the Great Khan of the Katuia, but when warmaster Ling Taishi checks up on his training, she discovers he's being pampered and pulled different ways by too many competing masters, so she takes over instead. And then…the Great Khan gets killed in a random skirmish while he's drunk out of his mind, and the ruling Dukes decide that the prophesied hero is too much of a liability and they need to dispose of him, and Taishi and Jian go on the lam to try to figure out what went wrong with the prophecy.

The setting seems fairly medieval-Chinese, at least at first. And then we get POV from some of the Katuia refugees, on the "Sea of Grass"…which has grass blades large enough to climb and jump off of. And frequent sinkholes into what seems to be an actual sea underneath the Sea of Grass. And also the nomadic Katuia travel around the Sea of Grass in some kind of mechanized cities, possibly with steam technology? Also there are three moons. So it seems at least secondary-world, and an outside chance that this is one of those supposed secondary-world fantasies which is actually an SF colony world? So the setting is interesting, and by the middle of the book we end up cycling POV between the three main characters (Jian, Taishi, and Salminde of the Katuia), often with good chapter-end cliffhangers, and I didn't end up finding any of the POVs a real slog to get through (always a risk with multiple-POV books).

In the end it's pretty satisfying, with plenty of high-energy martial arts fights with bonus magic powers that work well on the page. My biggest gripe is that while there is a lovely illustrated map at the front, it has some huge omissions. Where's the Sea of Grass, for instance? Any time there's a map, it should have all the places in the story on the map so that you can always look them up.

Diana Rowland: White Trash Zombie Apocalypse, completed October 23

Time for another non-male author, and I felt like in honour of the spooky season it should be something…with zombies, maybe? Which either meant the fourth Mira Grant zombie book, Feedback, or the next Diana Rowland White Trash Zombie book. And I feel like I have kind of been neglecting the Diana Rowland (even if her zombies are less horror-y), so I went with that one.

Diana Rowland is on the (very) short list of authors that I discovered when I went to the World Fantasy Convention when they were in Calgary and ended up at the banquet sharing a table with a number of strangers--and since this was WFC, most of them were authors. I guess I don't remember everyone who was at the table, but Carrie Vaughn was definitely there (I had read her first book already so I didn't technically discover her there), as well as Mary Robinette Kowal (as I believe I mentioned previously) and also Diana Rowland. Her first book hadn't actually come out yet, but I made sure to pick it up as soon as it did. That was the first book of her Kara Gillian urban fantasy series, Mark of The Demon, and I've been following that closely since it came out.

It's reasonably common for an urban fantasy writer to start a side series, either with a different main character in the same world (like Patricia Briggs and Faith Hunter have done), or in a completely different world. (Yes, I suppose in general it's not unknown for a writer to have two series going at the same time, but work with me here.) If the series are in the same world, when I will generally try to keep up with them in chronological order as they relate to each other, like with the Patricia Briggs "Alpha & Omega" series relative to her Mercy Thompson books. (Publication order often works too, of course.) Otherwise I'll tend to stick with the one series as long as I'm enjoying it, and then maybe jump ship for the other one if the first series starts to pall. In this case, it was more that the Kara Gillian books were coming out more slowly, so I had time to go and read the White Trash Zombie ones in between. (I was following Rowland on Facebook back when I was on Facebook, and it sounds like she had a lot of crap going on in her life, so no judgement.)

Anyway, the titular character of the White Trash Zombie series is Angel Crawford, a low-income high school dropout (in Rowland's home state of Louisiana) who one day wakes up and finds out that she's been turned into a zombie. These are not supernatural zombies, as far as I can tell, nor are they mindless zombies--they've been infected with a parasite that requires them to consume brains to stay healthy. If they consume enough, then they can even have some super-strength, -speed, and -healing abilities, and the potential for outright immortality. (And, of course, if they don't, then they are overcome by insatiable cravings until they start attacking people and trying to eat their brains.) It turns out that she actually had gotten in an accident and a good samaritan had given her the zombie parasite to heal her; later she got hooked up with the ideal zombie job, working in a morgue, where there's lots of discarded brains for the consuming. She meets up with her saviour and other powerful zombie figures, and has to deal with those who want to use zombies for their own nefarious ends.

So yes, zombies are being rehabilitated into "they're also people with special nutritional needs". And unfortunate instinctual behaviours if those needs aren't satisfied… Does that make them allegories for drug addicts? So far, at least, it seems that they can't just "kick the habit". And it seems like a harmful stereotype to say that drug addicts turn into ravening monsters when denied their fix. But perhaps it's drawing some parallels here anyway? Angel was a drug user before her zombification, and now if she does drugs or even drinks or smokes, all it does is use up her supply of brain prions faster.

The titles from this series are often references to other titles--My Life As A White Trash Zombie, Even White Trash Zombies Get The Blues, How The White Trash Zombie Got Her Groove Back, even White Trash Zombie Gone Wild… This one is more of a stretch. After all, this is not the last book in the series, and there's no apocalypse. Angel does get caught in a flood at some point after days of torrential rain, which I suppose is mildly catastrophic, at least, but mostly I guess the title is justified by the fact that, in the background of events, there's a movie being filmed at a nearby high school, "High School Zombie Apocalypse!!" (I know titles are hard, especially when you establish a strong theme and then you have to stick with it even when it doesn't apply…)

Overall I liked the book; Angel is starting to feel less like just "white trash" and integrating into a new community (of zombies) that accept her for what she is. She goes through a lot, but comes out stronger. But I still want to finish the Kara Gillian series before I go on to the next one…

Jane Lindskold: Wolf's Head, Wolf's Heart, October 31

Time for another female author, and I felt like maybe it was time for one of those big thick epic fantasies, possibly one that has been sitting on my shelf for a while.

Jane Lindskold has been around for a while, but I haven't actually read much of her. I'd first read Marks of Our Brothers from the library, which I seem to recall was SF, and not much else about it. She did a collaboration with Roger Zelazny called Donnerjack which I think we have but I haven't read. At some point she started coming out with this big thick fantasy series about a girl raised by wolves or something, and eventually I read the first book, Through Wolf's Eyes. It was somewhat on the bubble for me, which is why it's not until nine years later that I'm getting around to reading the next book. (It is also, as I mentioned, big thick fantasy, almost 800 pages, and Goodreads Challenge has been skewing my reading choices towards shorter books, so maybe that hasn't helped.) And this book also came out a while ago--in the acknowledgements section the author talks about how difficult the past year has been, and it turns out that that past year was 2001 (in which, famously, things happened), so it's not a classic fantasy series from the 80s or anything, but it's still less recent than a lot of the books I read these days (2010s vintage, in particular, for the urban fantasy).

There seems to be a trope out there, not all that common but still not unknown, of having a character with an interesting background, perhaps raised in solitude or something, who then ends up getting dropped into what seems like a fairly generic fantasy scenario. C.J. Cherryh's Fortress In The Eye of Time, for instance, or Michelle Sagara's "The Sundered", maybe Gwyneth Jones's Divine Endurance (it's been a while since I read it), Rebecca Bradley's "Lady In Gil" series… Sometimes the fantasy scenario gets a boost from the interesting character, and sometimes it drains away all their interestingness and results in generic plot.

Anyway, it's been a while, obviously, so we'll see how easily I can get reoriented into the actual story. It turns out that our wolf-girl, Firekeeper, showed up in the human kingdoms with her giant wolf friend, she encountered human civilization for the first time, made some friends, and meanwhile in local fantasy politics there was some strife which ended in a regime change, and that's book one. In general we seem to spend as much time with Firekeeper's friends as we do with Firekeeper herself, but the reintroduction here was pretty good. We have Elise, the minor noblewoman who's kind of in love with a lower-class healer guy who everyone calls Doc, and we have Derian, the son of a successful stablekeeper who now has the ear of a king. We also have some bad guys, not least the deposed leader from the first book. There's some weddings, there's assassination attempts. And there is, apparently, a history of colonialism.

See, the kingdoms here are actually more or less colonies from overseas, though I think they've lost contact with the original kingdoms. There was a big plague which happened a century ago and preferentially killed people with magical talent, and as a result magic is generally distrusted and magic-users considered evil. And also, the sentient animals (not just wolves, but all sorts of birds and mammals and maybe even reptiles, idk) were kind of driven out of the coastal realms by the humans, particularly the mages, back in the day. Oh, the animals fought among each other, too, but they're very ashamed of it. (Totally not First Nations-coded here, oh no.) The humans have mostly forgotten about them and while they did want to see Firekeeper back with her people, they're not particularly eager to remind the humans at large about their existence.

Meanwhile, deposed monarch took some magic stuff with them when they fled. The new monarch kind of wants it back, and the animals want Firekeeper to confiscate it from the humans and bring it to them for safekeeping, and there's our plot. They end up having to go to the neighbouring realm of New Kelvin, where sorcery is much more respected, though it turns out they don't have any of it themselves. The primary antagonist, Lady Melina Shield, is seen in the POV of a couple of vaguely villain-coded characters, but we don't get her POV directly, which I think is quite effective, since she is clearly an accomplished (and possibly magically-aided) manipulator.

Firekeeper is a central character, but not necessarly the main one, though she does have a character arc, as does Elise; Derian, not so much, but it's fine. The main climax of the book seems to come about two-thirds of the way through; there's one after it, but it has lower stakes and is more of an anticlimax. Overall I found the book charming and almost cozy in the early parts, with more action and tension coming later. I feel better about the series now and am more inclined to continue on, perhaps in less than nine years.

For nonfiction, I'm about halfway through Ed Yong's An Immense World, but I took a break to read some more Marvel comics (up to May 1994), and cut down on the puzzle games a bit. Hopefully I'll finish An Immense World before the end of the year at least, and I'm also feeling like reading some more from that Love & Rockets bundle sometime soon.

Also, we did watch "Stand By Me" on Halloween, and now I'm beginning to think that right after reading something is not the best time to watch the movie adaptation. I enjoyed River Phoenix and Wil Wheaton's performances, but mostly there was a lot of trying to remember if it was exactly the same as the novella or not. (And similar effects with our watching the "Under The Dome" TV series. That's on the back burner now as we power through Series Seven of Doctor Who from the library, though.)

[abookishidentity]

Books finished in June 2024

-Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway started May 29, 2024 and finished June 3, 2024- 4/5 stars. Kind of a crazy book for just fiction. Could have easily been urban fantasy. Son of a mobster who doesn’t want to carry on his dads legacy and just wants to work on clocks. Funny thing is that trying to fight fate doesn’t usually work out. People go through extreme lengths to get what he knows. It makes sense that after some torture and spending an indeterminate amount of time in a mental hospital he’s like “Fuck it. I’m going to be what people see me as. A gangster like my dad” This book also spends a lot of time going through the background of a certain character which is interesting. She was cool. Annoying how she died though. Good book. 

-The Pale House Devil by Richard Kadrey started and finished on June 4, 2024- 4/5 stars. Quick read as you can see. I love Richard Kadrey’s work. This book was like 112 pages so I’m glad I didn’t buy it. The two main characters work so well together that I saw them as a couple. One man was alive, one was undead or whatever. It was good. I would read more of these guy’s adventures. 

-The London Seance Society by Sarah Penner started June 4, 2024 and finished June 6, 2024- 3.5/5 stars. Good read. Feminist and I love how the main character deals with the men who fucked things up at the end. I’m glad the sister was doing good. 

-Severance by Ling Ma started June 7, 2024 and finished June 8, 2024. - 3/5 stars. What an interesting read. Kind of pretentious though. I think I would be like the main character and keep trying to work at my job even though the world has ended. Book just sort of ends. Wonder how she’s going to give birth in that kind of life. 

-A Pale Light in the Black by K.B Wagers started June 9, 2024 and finished June 12, 2024. 3/5 stars. Should have done more research with this one. I liked that the main character was ace. It had good characters and family drama. I just didn’t care for the games. The majority of the book was that. Also, if a science fiction book has spaceships and takes place in space where are all the aliens? There weren’t any cool aliens. 

-When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill started June 12, 2024 and finished June 14, 2024 - 4/5 stars. Such an insane but great read. Pretending that the dragons don’t exist at all? Don’t look up at the sky? Also the fact that the main character has to practically raise her cousin sister daughter is kind of insane. Mom dies and her dad just kind of shoves them into an apartment without him and tells her to raise her cousin-sister-daughter? Insane. In some places this book felt like a trans allegory which was cool. 

-My Life as a White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland started June 14, 2024 and finished June 17, 2024. 3/5 stars. Decent urban fantasy. Wished she didn’t fall for the cop. She spent like a good amount of the book being like “What the hell? Why do I want brains?” The cop was the one who turned her and he didn’t at all go up to her to be like “I know you are confused. Here is some help” just some cryptic ass notes. Also she should have just cut off her abusive dad at the end. Not going to continue to read the series. 

-Echo Rising by Danie Ware started June 18, 2024 and finished June 22, 2024- 3/5 stars. This book seemed cool. The first part of this book was pretty cool. Reminded me of Blade Runner. Then the main character gets essentially isekai'd into a fantasy/cowboy land. It was pretty entertaining to read his thoughts on it and people’s reactions to him. It wasn’t enough of that though. There was too much going on. There were too many characters I didn’t care for. The evil centaur basically enslaving a woman and raping her to do what he wanted was very unpleasant to read. Not going to continue on with this series. 

-Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Winters started June 23, 2024 and finished June 26, 2024 -3/5 stars. Is it weird that I thought this book was kind of boring? It’s certainly not terminator. I think the problem is how it’s written. Found footage kind of thing. Makes me think how it’s even possible. Too many characters also. 

-And Then? And Then? What else? by Daniel Handler started June 26, 2024 and finished June 27, 2024. 3/5 stars. I didn’t expect to read this book. Daniel Handler is such an interesting dude. There were some interesting parts of the book. He kind of writes in a pretentious way though. Also he had passages from different books in the book. I want to read his words and not other people’s. 

-Broken Souls by Stephen Blackmoore started June 27, 2024 and finished June 30, 2024- 4/5 stars. Eric Carter has a pretty interesting life going on. Married to a goddess of death who is essentially manipulating his life in certain ways. It’s awesome. He also thought he was losing his mind because he kept seeing and interacting with his dead friend. I would continue reading this series. The third book seems impossible to get without spending lots of money though. 

[rrrrrrrrrriot]

THEE LEGENDARY GIRL GROUPS

[iminmypeace]

[qwanderer]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Dead Boy Detectives (TV), The Crown (TV) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Charles Rowland & Diana Princess of Wales, Minor or Background Relationship(s) Characters: Charles Rowland (DCU), Diana Princess of Wales, Edwin Paine | Edwin Payne, Dodi Fayed Additional Tags: Canonical Character Death, everyone is a ghost, I just think they would've made good friends okay? Summary:

One night, at the very end of August, 1997, Charles Rowland popped through the mirror to Paris in search of some hard to find spell ingredients. He'd found some of what he'd come for and was just strolling around, enjoying Paris at night, when he noticed something odd.

There was a crowd outside of the hospital. At half past two in the morning. Something big must be going down.

[niyasruledbyvenus]

Vedic/Sidereal Beauty

Venus and moon denotes beauty in vedic astrology. Rahu can also grant beauty/magnetism since it represents illusion.

Exalted/domicile or aspected by benefics—- Venus/moon/2h/7h= attractive face. Sun/5h Mars/1h= attractive body

Houses can apply for both Whole Signs & Placidus

Pisces, Virgo, Taurus, Libra, Capricorn, Leo, Cancer, Gemini, Sagittarius placements

Rohini, Uttara Ashadha, Chitra, Purva Ashadha, Pushya, Purva Phalguni, Uttara Phalguni, Revati, Ashlesha, Bharani, Purva Bhadrapada, Vishakha, Shravana, Dhanishtha, Mula

Venus in 1h/5h/2h/7h/10h,12h

Examples- Rihanna, Sridevi, Beyoncé/ Venus 1h, Christina Aguilera/ Venus 10th, Kate Moss/venus 7h, Ariana Grande/Venus 5h, Gigi Hadid/venus 12h

Moon in 1h/2h/4h/7h

Examples- Princess Diana/Moon in 7h, Michael Jackson/Moon in 1h, Jessica Alba/Moon in 7h, Emma Watson/Moon in 4h

Mars in 1st

Examples-Erykah Badu, Brooke Sheilds, Aaliyah, Kim Kardashian, Jane Russell

Rahu in 1st/7th

Examples- Doja cat/ Rahu 1h, Halle Berry/Rahu 1h, Lana Del Rey/Rahu 7h, Mila Kunis/Rahu 7h

Ketu in 1st

Examples- Megan thee Stallion, Miley Cyrus, Emma Stone, Lenny Kravitz

Taurus/libra/Cancer/ Leo/Capricorn/Pisces/virgo ascendant

Moon in Venus Nakshatras (Bharani, Purva Phalguni, Purva Ashadha)

Examples- Kelly Rowland, Lindsay Lohan/Bharani moon, Zoe Kravitz, Bella hadid/PP moon, Selena/PA Moon

Moon in Libra/taurus/cancer/pisces

Examples- Alain Delon/pisces Moon, Monica Bellucci/ Cancer moon, James Dean/libra moon, Lisa Bonet/ Taurus Moon

Moon in Vishakha, Chitra, Swati, Rohini, Mrigashira, Krittika, Pushya, Ashlesha, Mula

Examples- Nicholas Chavez/Pushya Moon, Megan fox/Ashlesha moon, Adriana Lima/ chitra moon, Kali Uchis/ Vishakha Moon

Venus in Pisces/Taurus/libra/ Leo/Aries/Scorpio

Arudha lagna

Arudha lagna with Venus/moon or AL lord is Venus/moon

Examples- Marilyn Monroe/Taurus AL Audrey Hepburn/Libra AL

Scorpio AL (femme fatale vibes, know for their sex appeal)

Examples- Angelina Jolie, Sharon Stone, Pamela Anderson

Aspects

*planetary aspects to moon/ascendant can influence appearance*

Venus-Rahu

Venus-Pluto

Venus-Neptune

Venus-Moon

Venus-Mars

Asc-Venus/moon/mars/Neptune/pluto/mercury

Sun-Jupiter (positive aspect)

Sun-Venus

Sun-Mercury (conjunct)

Yogas (planet combinations)

Chandra-Mangal Dhan Yoga: When the Moon and Mars are in conjunction

Shasha Yoga: When Saturn is in a kendra (angular house) from the Moon.

Dhan Yoga: When benefic planets are located in the second house (house of wealth and speech) or the eleventh house (house of gains)

Adhi Yoga: When benefic planets are in the sixth, seventh, or eighth houses from the Moon

Lakshmi Yoga: Venus is well-placed in a person's chart, particularly in a kendra or trine (1st, 4th, 7th, 10th, or 5th, 9th houses)

Bhadra Yoga: When Mercury is in a kendra (1st,4th,7th,10th) from the Moon.

Ruchaka Yoga: Formed when Mars is in its own sign (Aries or Scorpio) or in exaltation (Capricorn)

Hamsa Yoga: When Jupiter is in a kendra (1st,4th,7th,10th) from the Moon

[hotvintagepoll]

THE TOURNAMENT IS OVER! Eartha Kitt lounges in her deck chair in the sun, dipping her toes in the pool with Toshiro Mifune and sipping a brightly colored fruity something with an umbrella in it.

Far below in the shadow realm, however, the fallen hotties dance in the dark—let's take a minute to look back at them under the cut.

PRELIM PRETTIES:

Claude Gensac, Silvia Pinal, Ewa Aulin, Rita Tushingham, Annette Funicello, Norma Bengell, Catherine Spaak, Brigitte Auber, Micheline Presle, Nanette Fabray, Libertad Lamarque, Vera Miles, Martha Raye, Catherine McLeod, Virginia Mayo, Elizabeth Allan, Belle Bennet, Virginia Cherill, Mary Brian, Ruth Chatterton, Agnes Ayres, Merna Kennedy, Marie Prevost, Corinne Griffith, May Allison, Virginia Brown Faire, Alice Brady, and Jetta Goudal

ROUND ONE WONDERS:

Angie Dickinson, Thelma Ritter, Geraldine Chaplin, Evelyn Preer, Vanessa Brown, Betty Blythe, Susan Hayward, Mae Clarke, Sally Ann Howes, Ossi Oswalda, Adrienne La Russa, Hermione Gingold, Barbara Bouchet, Melina Mercouri, Anna Karina, Edwige Fenech, Charmian Carr, Pina Pellicer, Marlène Jobert, Tsuru Aoki, Alice Roberts, Leila Hyams, Lady Tsen Mei, Geneviève Bujold, Dolores Hart, Anita Berber, Bonita Granville, Vonetta McGee, Claire Windsor, Zizi Jeanmaire, Tuesday Weld, Grace Darmond, Carol Channing, Deanna Durbin, Laraine Day, Mariette Hartey, Wendy Hiller, Candy Darling, Hermione Baddely, Valeria Creti, Ella Raines, Ann Miller, Dana Wynter, Dalida, Martine Beswick, Gale Storm, Simone Signoret, Cristina Gaioni, Mabel Normand, Stéphane Audran, Ruth Weyher, Anna Wiazemsky, Ann Sheridan, Sandhya Shantaram, Alice White, Anne Francis, Gena Rowlands, Lyda Borelli, May Whitty, Cathleen Nesbitt, Jessica Walter, Virna Lisi, Barbara Shelley, Iris Hall, Heather Angel, Anne Shirley, Joanna Pettet, Virginia O'Brien, Joan Collins, Greer Garson, Gracie Allen, Peggy Ryan, Frances Dee, Shirley Maclaine, Geraldine Farrar, Kathleen Byron, Margaret Hamilton, Eva Gabor, Francesca Bertini, Julie Adams, Olga Baclanova, Misa Uehara, Yvette Vickers, Milena Dravić, Jenny Jugo, Madeleine Carroll, Benita Hume, Olive Borden, Shirley Jones, Miyoshi Umeki, Dorothy Lamour, Gale Sondergaard, Mary Anderson, Charlotte Greenwood, Sybil Seely, Mona Barrie, Kathryn Grayson, Katharine Ross, Madge Bellamy, Rhonda Fleming, Sally Gray, Jana Brejchová, Debra Paget, Madame Sul-Te-Wan, Evelyn Brent, Zelma O'Neal, Marie Laforêt, Türkan Şoray, Beatriz Costa, Irene Zazians, Eleanor Powell, Susan Luckey, Patsy Kelly, Lil Dagover, Norma Talmadge, Dorothy Mackaill, Madge Evans, Virginia McKenna, Amália Rodrigues, Mamie Van Doren, Valerie Hobson, Isabel Jeans, Beata Tyszkiewicz, Claire Luce, Aleksandra Khokhlova, Nieves Navarro Garcia, Janet Leigh, Carmen Miranda, Jean Harlow, Aud Egedge-Nissen, Nina Foch, Jean Simmons, Piper Laurie, Katy Jurado, Jayne Mansfield, Anita Garvin, Frances Farmer, Lizabeth Scott, Joan Greenwood, Una Merkel, Arlene Francis, Ethel Merman, Doris Day, Suzanne Pleshette, Ruta Lee, Carolyn Jones, June Richmond, Eva Nil, Diana Dors, Anna Chang, Colleen Moore, Alexis Smith, Yvette Mimieux, Ruby Keeler, Viola Dana, Dolores Grey, Marie Windsor, Danielle Darieux, Jean Parker, Julie Christie, Acquanetta, Leatrice Joy, Ghita Nørby, Julie Newmar, Joanne Woodward, Sandra Dee, Eva Marie Saint, Simone Simon, Katherine Dunham, Birgitte Price, Lee Grant, Anita Page, Flora Robson, Martha Sleeper, Elsie Ames, Isabel "Coca" Sarli, Glenda Farrell, Kathleen Burke, Linden Travers, Diane Baker, Joan Davis, Joan Leslie, Sylvia Sidney, Marie Dressler, June Lockhart, Emmanuelle Riva, Libertad Leblanc, Susannah Foster, Susan Fleming, Dolores Costello, Ann Smyrner, Luise Rainer, Anna Massey, Evelyn Ankers, Ruth Gordon, Eva Dahlbeck, Ansa Ikonen, Diana Wynyard, Patricia Neal, Etta Lee, Gloria Stuart, Arletty, Dorothy McGuire, Mitzi Gaynor, Gwen Verdon, Maria Schell, Lili Damita, Ethel Moses, Gloria Holden, Kay Thompson, Jeanne Crain, Edna May Oliver, Lili Liliana, Ruth Chatterton, Giulietta Masina, Claire Bloom, Dinah Sheridan, Carroll Baker, Brenda de Banzie, Milú, Hertha Thiele, Hanka Ordonówna, Lillian Roth, Jane Powell, Carol Ohmart, Betty Garrett, Kalina Jędrusik, Edana Romney, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Kay Kendall, Ruth Hussey, Véra Clouzot, Jadwiga Smosarska, Marge Champion, Mary Astor, Ann Harding, María Casares, Maureen O'Sullivan, Mildred Natwick, Michèle Morgan, Romy Schneider, Elisabeth Bergner, Celeste Holm, Betty Hutton, Susan Peters, Mehtab, Leslie Caron, Anna Sten, Janet Munro, Nataša Gollová, Eve Arden, Ida Lupino, Regina Linnanheimo, Sonja Henie, and Terry (what a good girl)

ROUND TWO BEAUTIES:

Evelyn Nesbit, Thelma Todd, Tura Satana, Helen Gibson, Maureen O'Hara, Rocío Dúrcal, Mary Nolan, Lois Maxwell, Maggie Smith, Zulma Faiad, Ursula Andress, Musidora, Delphine Seyrig, Marian Marsh, Leatrice Joy, Sharon Tate, Pina Menichelli, Teresa Wright, Shelley Winters, Lee Remick, Jane Wyman, Martita Hunt, Barbara Bates, Susan Strasberg, Marie Bryant, Diana Rigg, Jane Birkin, Rosalind Russell, Vanessa Redgrave, Brigitte Helm, Gloria Grahame, Rosemary Clooney, Bebe Daniels, Constance Bennett, Lilian Bond, Ann Dvorak, Jeanette Macdonald, Pouri Banayi, Raquel Welch, Vilma Bánky, Dorothy Malone, Olive Thomas, Celia Johnson, Moira Shearer, Priscilla Lane, Dolores del Río, Ann Sothern, Françoise Rosay, June Allyson, Carole Lombard, Jeni Le Gon, Takako Irie, Barbara Steele, Claudette Colbert, Lalita Pawar, Asta Nielsen, Sandra Milo, Maria Montez, Mae West, Alma Rose Aguirre, Bibi Andersson, Joan Blondell, Anne Bancroft, Elsa Lanchester, Nita Naldi, Suchitra Sen, Dorothy Van Engle, Elisabeth Welch, Esther Williams, Loretta Young, Margueritte De La Motte, Ita Rina, Constance Talmadge, Margaret Lockwood, Barbara Bedford, Josette Day, Stefania Sandrelli, Jane Russell, Doris Dowling, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Donna Reed, Ruby Dee, Diana Sands, Billie Burke, Kyōko Kagawa, Françoise Dorléac, Hend Rostom, Monica Vitti, Lilian Harvey, Marjorie Main, Jeanne Moreau, Lola Flores, Ann Blyth, Janet Gaynor, Jennifer Jones, Margaret Sullavan, Sadhana, Ruby Myers, Lotus Long, Honor Blackman, Marsha Hunt, Debbie Reynolds, Michèle Mercier, Irene Dunne, Jean Arthur, Judy Holliday, Tippi Hedren, Susse Wold, Vera-Ellen, Carmelita González, Nargis Dutt, Purnima, Harriet Andersson, Yvonne De Carlo, Miroslava Stern, Sheila Guyse, Helen, Margaret Dumont, Betty Grable, Joan Bennett, Jane Greer, Judith Anderson, Liv Ullman, Vera Zorina, Joan Fontaine, Silvana Mangano, and Lee Ya-Ching

ROUND THREE ELECTRIFIERS:

Jean Hagen, Sumiko Mizukubo, Mary Philbin, Ann-Margret, Margaret Rutherford, Claudia Cardinale, Eleanor Parker, Jessie Matthews, Theresa Harris, Brigitte Bardot, Alla Nazimova, Faye Dunaway, Marion Davies, Anna Magnani, Theda Bara, Myrna Loy, Kay Francis, Fay Wray, Barbra Streisand, Bette Davis, Hideko Takamine, France Nuyen, Claudine Auger, Miriam Hopkins, Maylia Fong, Samia Gamal, Maude Fealy, Machiko Kyō, Sharmila Tagore, Lucille Ball, Ginger Rogers, Juanita Moore, Anna Fougez, Waheeda Rehman, Ruan Lingyu, Nina Mae McKinney, Ethel Waters, Nadira, Olivia de Havilland, Abbey Lincoln, Louise Beavers, Agnes Moorehead, Lana Turner, Norma Shearer, Maria Falconetti, Reiko Sato, Marie Doro, Clara Bow, Margaret Lindsay, Catherine Denueve, Madhabi Mukherjee, Rosaura Revueltas, Hu Die, Mary Pickford, Fredi Washington, Louise Brooks, Leonor Maia, Merle Oberon, Paulette Goddard, Vivien Leigh, Francine Everett, Savitri, Tita Merello, and Meena Kumari

ROUND FOUR STUNNERS:

Judy Garland, Dorothy Dandridge, Yoshiko Yamaguchi, Marilyn Monroe, Irene Papas, Lupe Vélez, Pola Negri, Gene Tierney, Barbara Stanwyck, Gina Lollobrigida, Lena Horne, Nutan, Jean Seberg, Kim Novak, Gladys Cooper, Tallulah Bankhead, Linda Darnell, Julie Andrews, Carmen Sevilla, Gloria Swanson, Glynis Johns, Anne Baxter, Angela Lansbury, Anita Ekberg, Toshia Mori, Deborah Kerr, Hazel Scott, Chelo Alonso, Cyd Charisse, Nancy Kwan, Devika Rani, Shima Iwashita, and Anouk Aimée

ROUND FIVE SMOKESHOWS:

Setsuko Hara, Pearl Bailey, Joan Crawford, Madhubala, Marpessa Dawn, Keiko Awaji, Rita Hayworth, Veronica Lake, Ava Gardner, Greta Garbo, Grace Kelly, Xia Meng, Suraiya, Natalie Wood, María Félix, and Mbissine Thérèse Diop

ROUND SIX SEXY LADIES:

Marilyn Monroe, Sophia Loren, Vyjyanthimala, Jane Fonda, Katharine Hepburn, Josephine Baker, Elizabeth Taylor, and Ingrid Bergman

QUARTER FINALIST GLAMAZONS:

Audrey Hepburn, Marlene Dietrich, Anna May Wong, and Lauren Bacall

SEMIFINALIST ICONS:

Rita Moreno, Diahann Carroll

FINALIST FABULOSITY:

Hedy Lamarr

ULTIMATE CHAMPION OF THE HOT & VINTAGE MOVIE WOMAN TOURNAMENT:

Eartha Kitt

[books-in-a-storm]

I didn't whimper when the demonic lord placed the collar around my neck and sealed it closed.

"We have work to do."

-Touch Of The Demon, Diana Rowland

[terresdebrume]

AU concept: Dead Queer Boy Eye

The cast:

(All cast ages are how old they are for season 1)

Edwin Payne, 34, design specialist. Grew up in a wealthy family that couldn't make space for his autism, went through a period of acute depression as a young adult as a response to the trauma of constant homophobic & ableist bullying and masking in upper secondary. Occasionally socially awkward but covers it up with faux arrogance. Meets Charles during compatibility tests for Queer Eye and falls in love instantly.

Thomas King, 36, grooming expert. Grew up in Port Townsend in a working class family with four siblings (he's the middle child), also faced some bullying. Got into theatre and make up young, moved to London for a job on the West End and never left. Met Charles in the Tube when Charles helped him shake off a guy who didn't like that he was wearing a skirt.

Charles Rowland, 34, food & wine. Ran away from home at 16 to escape a violent home, met Crystal Palace soon after and ended up having a son with her at 18. Extremely repressed bisexual who only really accepted his sexuality around age 27-28, in great part through his friendship with Thomas. He hasn't had any contact with his parents since he left them.

Niko Sasaki, 33, fashion expert. Japanese young man who studied in America from high school on and made his business first as a personal shopper and then as the founder of a clothing line. Comes out as a trans woman after the second season of the show and stays as part of the cast afterwards. Bonds with Edwin over both being autistic.

Mick O'Leary, 55, culture/life coach. Licensed therapist from a long line of longshoremen and also a leather daddy who was a pillar of his local queer community and believes he can help more people through participating in the show. Also in charge of a 3mn Queer Culture segment at the end of each episode. Adopts the others like the kids he never had.

The plot:

It is the second episode of season 3. The hero of the week is a heroine: Ms. Amarita Sandhu*, 54, nominated by her 18 year old daughter Diana. Amarita moved into the neighborhood two years ago following the death of her husband, who was the love of her life, and immediately became invaluable to the ageing residents of her street. When she isn't working as a secretary in the local doctor's office, she helps her neighbours with their groceries, cleaning, and personal lives. Outside of that, she mostly stays home and cleans or watches TV on the couch, or goes for an early night. Amarita's old hobbies all involved her husband and she stopped practicing them when he died, which makes Diana worry that she will be even more isolated once she leaves for university in the autumn. The Fab Five's mission this week is to help Amarita network outside of her neighbourhood!

The Fab Five meet a new hero, and none of them is as shocked as Charles when it turns out that Ms. Amarita Sandhu was once better known as Mrs. Mary Rowland. It's lucky Charles can rely on his colleagues and friends, especially Edwin, even if he can't help but get a little overwhelmed everytime Edwin hugs him better.

* The maiden name Sandhu is an homage to Halcyon Days by cordelianoir on AO3 which I encourage you to go read.

[abookishidentity]

Books I recently checked out of the library

I am starting to run out of books (that I have researched beforehand) at the library so I grabbed two that seemed interesting. I am planning on buying books soon though.

My Life as a White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland- I think I have looked up this book before. This book grabbed my eye at the library. It seems rather up my alley.

Echo Rising by Dante Ware- This book sounded interesting. I hope its good.

Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson. - This was on my list of books to check out.

A book I wanted and was 600 pages (which would last me a while) was put on hold for someone else so couldn't get that.

[dcsnextgaycharacter]

Not a full list but can people send me panels they would like to see for any ship below, need to outsource help (Hank ships are in here but I don't need help with those, I am using Green Lantern/Sentinel: Heart of Darkness panels for HankTodd):

Hal/Ollie JayRoy HankTodd Match/Inertia Dick/Joey Joe Morgan/Al Pratt Bart Allen/Preston Lindsay Riddler/Scarecrow Jason Blood/Bruce Wayne Dinah/Helena Clark Kent/John Henry Irons Clark/Lex DinahOllieHal Mister Mind/The Joker Tiger/Dick Chastantine Rose/Cassie Edwin Payne/Charles Rowland Diana/Kate Kane Constantine/Lucifer Cassandra Cain/Rose Wilson Helena/Renee Sandman/Corinthian Jay Garrick/Alan Scott/Richard Swift Linda Park/Wally West/Hartley Rathaway The Shade/Jack Knight Richard Swift/Charles McNider BerKon Renee/Scandal Wally/Kyle Riddler/Penguin Hal/Earth Villains Lois Lane/Selina Kyle Ollie Queen/Eddie Fyers Plastic Man/Vic Sage Halowog Cosmic Boy/Lightning Lord Coldflash Maps Mizoguchi/Gold Beetle Nightwing/Catman Black Canary/Lady Shiva Tatsu Yamashiro/Selina Kyle Mr Freeze/Bruce Wayne Vixen/Wonder Woman Superbat Barbara/Kara Wally West/Pied Piper Max Lord/Booster Gold Harper Row/Punchline Brainiac 5/Superman Batjokes Riddlebat Jon Kent/Ash Damian/Jay Cir El/Natasha Irons/Traci 13 HalJohn HalGuy HalKyle HalAlan Beth/Yolanda HankCam Bluepulse

Sandwave Batlantern Brainiac 5/Invisible Kid DickGarth Lightray/Orion Catman/Deadshot Donna/Starfire TimKon MidDickPollo Wonder Woman/Circe Lee Travis/Wesley Dodds/Dian Belmont Boostle Todd/Kaldur Dinahbabs Bruharv Konbart BeaTora Anita Fite/Traci 13 JonDami CissieCassie Ghostbat TimJon StephCass Supercorp Dick/Wally Virgil Hawkins/Richie Foley Courtney/Emiko Talia Kane/Laurel Kent Isamot Kol/Vath Sarn Pied Piper/Trickster Two-face/Riddler Wonder Woman/Cheetah SinHal Tim/Lonnie Birds of Prey Polycule GuyJohn AnitaCissie StephMia TimBerBartKon DinahZatanna CarolDiana JessKori DickRoy BruceOllie GuyDick Bernard Dowd/Jay Nakamura Karen Starr/Helena Wayne Halbarry BruceConstantine Young Justice Polycule Lois/Diana Lex Luthor/Braniac Max Lord/Ted Kord Jessica Cruz/Soranik Natu Lex Luthor/Will Magnus Pre N52 Kara Zor El and Stephanie Brown Steph/Mia Mia/Cissie Alan Scott/Jay Garrick Selina Kyle/Talia Al Ghul Gotham City Sirens Polycule Kyle/Connor

[saintmeghanmarkle]

📋 𝐌𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐌𝐌 𝐯𝐢𝐚 𝐀𝐑𝐎, 𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞𝐬 𝐏𝐨𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝟒𝟎𝐱𝟒𝟎 📋

📌 ARO jam recipients (as of May 27th, 2024)

Tracy Robbins (designer, wife of Paramount Pictures CEO Brian Robbins) *

Delfina Balquier (Argentine socialite, wife of Nacho Figueras) * and Nacho Figueras (professional polo player) *

Kelly Mckee Zajfen (friend, Alliance of Moms founder) *

Mindy Kaling (actress and comedian) *

Tracee Ellis Ross (actress, daughter of Diana Ross)

Abigail Spencer (friend, Suits co-star) *

Chrissy Teigen (television personality, wife of John Legend)

Kris Jenner ('Momager') *

Garcelle Beauvais (actress, Real Housewives of Beverly Hills) *

Heather Dorak (friend, yoga instructor) *

📌 Archetypes podcast guests

Serena Williams 🏆

Mariah Carey 👑

Mindy Kaling (actress and comedian) *

Margaret Cho (comedian and actress)

Lisa Ling (journalist and tv personality)

Deepika Padukone (Indian actress)

Jenny Slate (actress and comedian)

Constance Wu (actress)

Paris Hilton (entrepreneur, socialite, activist)

Iliza Shlesinger (comedian and actress)

Issa Rae (actress and writer)

Ziwe (comedian and writer)

Sophie Grégoire Trudeau (former wife of Canadian PM Trudeau)

Pamela Adlon (actress)

Sam Jay (comedian and writer)

Mellody Hobson (President and co-CEO of $14.9B Ariel Investments, Chairwoman of Starbucks Corporation, wife of George Lucas)

Victoria Jackson (entrepreneur, wife of Bill Guthy: founder of Guthy-Renker, leading direct marketing company)

Jameela Jamil (actress, television host)

Shohreh Aghdashloo (Iranian and American actress)

Michaela Jaé Rodriguez (actress and singer)

Candace Bushnell (Sex and The City writer)

Trevor Noah (South African comedian)

Andy Cohen (talk show host)

Judd Apatow (director, producer, screenwriter)

source

📌 40x40 participants

Adele 🌟

Amanda Gorman (poet and activist)

Amanda Nguyen (activist)

Ayesha Curry (actress, cooking television personality)

Ciara (singer and actress)

Deepak Chopra (author and alternative medicine advocate)

Dr. Nadine Burke Harris (former Surgeon General of California)

Elaine Welteroth (former Editor-in-Chief of Teen Vogue)

Dr. Ibram X Kendi (professor and anti-racism activist)

Fernando Garcia (creative director of Oscar de la Renta)

Gabrielle Union (actress)

Gloria Steinem (feminist journalist and social-political activist)

Hillary Clinton (politician, wife of former US President Bill Clinton)

Katie Couric (journalist) *

Kerry Washington (actress)

Chef José Andrés (founder of World Central Kitchen)

Melissa McCarthy (actress)

Princess Eugenie (member of British Royal Family)

Priyanka Chopra (actress)

Sarah Paulson (actress)

Sofia Carson (actress)

Sophie Grégoire Trudeau (former wife of Canadian PM)

Stella McCartney (fashion designer, daughter of Paul McCartney)

Dr. Theresa "Tessy" Ojo - CBE, FRSA (Diana Award CEO)

Tracee Ellis Ross (actress, daughter of Diana Ross)

Unconfirmed - Edward Enninful (former Editor-in-Chief of British Vogue)

Unconfirmed - Daniel Martin (makeup artist) *

An official list of all "40x40" participants was never disclosed

source 1 // source 2 // source 3

📌 Notes:

Names with an asterisk (*) indicate that they follow ARO on Instagram

Notably missing from these lists: Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos and wife Nicole Avant, Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez, Beyoncé, Tina Knowles, Tyler Perry, Oprah Winfrey, Gayle King, Kevin Costner, Ellen DeGeneres, Portia Rossi *, Brooke Shields, John Travolta, Kelly Rowland, Holly Robinson Peete, Misan Harriman *, Michael Bublé

Wedding guests missing from these lists: Jessica Mulroney, George and Amal Clooney, David and Victoria Beckham, Idris Elba and Sabria Dhowre, James Blunt and Sofia Wellesley, Janina Gavankar, Elton John and David Furnish, James Corden and Julia Carey, Patrick J. Adams and the rest of the cast of Suits, Joss Stone, Tom Hardy and Charlotte Riley, Carey Mulligan and Marcus Mumford [Source]

Sunshine Sachs must've called in a LOT of favors to get so many famous names on board the Archetypes Podcast and the 40x40 project. Vanity projects that went... nowhere.

Without Sunshine Sachs, IMO it's highly unlikely that M will ever be able to reach the same level of celebrity access on her own.

If there are any names missing from these lists, please comment below 👇

Post link

author: SeptièmeSens

submitted: May 27, 2024 at 06:44PM via SaintMeghanMarkle on Reddit

disclaimer: all views + opinions expressed by the author of this post, as well as any comments and reblogs, are solely the author's own; they do not necessarily reflect the views of the administrator of this Tumblr blog. For entertainment only.

[shakeskp]

13 Books

What’s up readers?! How about a little show and tell? Answer these 13 questions, tag 13 lucky readers and if you’re feeling extra bookish add a shelfie! Let’s Go!

Thanks @sky-kenobye for the tag! :D

1) The Last book I read:

The first part of Seizing Dreams by Fei Tian Ye Xiang, a sort of Inception-ish story. I liked it, though the translation is a bit clunky at times, and I'm curious to know where it's going.

2) A book I recommend:

Have I told everyone about The Scum Villain's Self-Serving System by MXTX yet? Yes? Oh. Anyway. You should read it.

And because I've seen it recently on my bookshelf and remembered how much I loved it, The Dark Lord of Derkholm by Diana Wynne-Jones.

3) A book that I couldn’t put down:

A lot of them, but let's go with a classic: His Majesty's Dragon, the first Temeraire series book, by Naomi Novik.

4) A book I’ve read twice (or more):

Tanya Huff's Smoke and Shadows, among many others.

5) A book on my TBR:

Alexandra Rowlands' A Taste of Gold and Iron

6) A book I’ve put down:

Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert, who has the dubious honor of being the first book I allowed myself to put down - I tried several times, I failed every time roughly at the same part, so I stopped.

7) A book on my wish list:

Legend of Exorcism by Fei Tian Ye Xiang! I can't wait for its release.

8) A favorite book from childhood:

La Musicienne de l'Aube by Christian Grenier, the first of the Multimonde series

9) A book you would give to a friend:

Have I told you about The Scum Villain's Self-Serving System by MXTX yet

10) A book of poetry or lyrics that you own:

The last one I got was the French translation of some of Sara Teasdale's poems, La Flamme et l'Ombre.

11) A nonfiction book you own:

Let's go with the weirdest one, Traité de la ponctuation française by Jacques Drillon. It's fun, I swear!

12) What are you currently reading:

Nothing, I've just finished Seizing Dreams and I haven't started another yet.

13) What are you planning on reading next?

Probably the second book of Seizing Dreams!

Tagging @trinitrine, @tissusetbulles, @marika-art, @seanconneraille, @garnetrena, @jainasherself , @chonaku-things , @redfoxline , @quicksilver-ink , @kalincka , @histoire-de , @artemis69 , @msephy

[iminmypeace]

[dannyreviews]

Golden Age of Hollywood Actors Born Before (And Including) 1936 Still Alive

This only includes actors that had at least one credited role in a Hollywood feature film or short up to 1959.

Elisabeth Waldo (b. 1918)

Caren Marsh Doll (b. 1919)

Patricia Wright (b. 1921)

Jacqueline White (b. 1922)

Annette Warren (b. 1922)

Ray Anthony (b. 1922)

Tommy Dix (b. 1923)

Eva Marie Saint (b. 1924)

Anne Vernon (b. 1924)

Maria Riva (b. 1924)

June Lockhart (b. 1925)

Lee Grant (b. 1925)

Peggy Webber (b. 1925)

Lise Bourdin (b. 1925)

Brigitte Auber (b. 1925)

Kerima (b. 1925)

Terry Kilburn (b. 1926) 

Marilyn Erskine (b. 1926)

Bambi Linn (b. 1926)

David Frankham (b. 1926)

Tommy Morton (b. 1926)

Jill Jarmyn (b. 1926)

Marilyn Knowlden (b. 1926)

Genevieve Page (b. 1927)

Donna Martell (b. 1927)

William Smithers (b. 1927)

Peter Walker (b. 1927)

H.M. Wynant (b. 1927)

Betty Harford (b. 1927)

Cora Sue Collins (b. 1927)

Marilyn Granas (b. 1927)

Ann Blyth (b. 1928)

Nancy Olson (b. 1928)

Peggy Dow (b. 1928)

Kathleen Hughes (b. 1928)

Colleen Townsend (b. 1928)

Marion Ross (b. 1928)

Gaby Rodgers (b. 1928)

Jan Shepard (b. 1928)

Walter Maslow (b. 1928)

Tom Troupe (b. 1928)

Sidney Kibrick (b. 1928)

Garry Watson (b. 1928)

Fay Chaldecott (b. 1928)

Mark Rydell (b. 1929)

Terry Moore (b. 1929)

Vera Miles (b. 1929)

Ann Robinson (b. 1929)

Liseotte Pulver (b. 1929)

James Hong (b. 1929)

Rachel Ames (b. 1929)

Olga James (b. 1929)

Michael Forest (b. 1929)

Vikki Dougan (b. 1929)

Steve Terrell (b. 1929)

Margaret Kerry (b. 1929)

James Congdon (b. 1929)

Betsy Gay (b. 1929)

Jack Betts (b. 1929)

Clint Eastwood (b. 1930)

Joanne Woodward (b. 1930)

Mara Corday (b. 1930)

Nita Talbot (b. 1930)

Taina Elg (b. 1930)

Robert Wagner (b. 1930)

John Astin (b. 1930)

Tommy Cook (b. 1930)

Mary Costa (b. 1930)

Lois Smith (b. 1930)

Will Hutchins (b. 1930)

Peggy King (b. 1930)

Lynn Hamilton (b. 1930)

Don Burnett (b. 1930)

Clark Burroughs (b. 1930)

Robert Hinkle (b. 1930)

Sheila Connolly (b. 1930)

Barbara Bestar (b. 1930)

Rita Moreno (b. 1931)

Leslie Caron (b. 1931)

Carroll Baker (b. 1931)

William Shatner (b. 1931)

Mamie Van Doren (b. 1931)

Robert Colbert (b. 1931)

Barbara Eden (b. 1931)

Angie Dickinson (b. 1931)

Claire Bloom (b. 1931)

Marianne Koch (b. 1931)

Sylvia Lewis (b. 1931)

Carmen De Lavallade (b. 1931)

Zohra Lampert (b. 1931)

Michael Dante (b. 1931)

Ann McCrea (b. 1931)

Jack Grinnage (b. 1931)

Maralou Gray (b. 1931)

Billy Mindy (b. 1931)

Sugar Dawn (b. 1931)

Joanne Arnold (b. 1931)

Joel Grey (b. 1932)

George Chakiris (b. 1932)

Felicia Farr (b. 1932)

Abbe Lane (b. 1932)

Steve Rowland (b. 1932)

Jacqueline Beer (b. 1932)

Colleen Miller (b. 1932)

Joanne Gilbert (b. 1932)

Olive Moorefield (b. 1932)

Neile Adams (b. 1932)

Jacqueline Duval (b. 1932)

Edna May Wonnacott (b. 1932)

Richard Tyler (b. 1932)

Mickey Roth (b. 1932)

Leon Tyler (b. 1932)

Peggy McIntyre (b. 1932)

Christiane Martel (b. 1932)

Elsa Cardenas (b. 1932)

Claude Bessy (b. 1932)

Kim Novak (b. 1933)

Julie Newmar (b. 1933)

Debra Paget (b. 1933)

Constance Towers (b. 1933)

Joan Collins (b. 1933)

Kathleen Nolan (b. 1933)

Brett Halsey (b. 1933)

Robert Fuller (b. 1933)

Pat Crowley (b. 1933)

Barrie Chase (b. 1933)

Jackie Joseph (b. 1933)

Geoffrey Horne (b. 1933)

Tsai Chin (b. 1933)

Lita Milan (b. 1933)

Vera Day (b. 1933)

Diana Darrin (b. 1933)

Ziva Rodann (b. 1933)

Jeanette Sterke (b. 1933)

Marti Stevens (b. 1933)

Annette Dionne (b. 1933)

Cecile Dionne (b. 1933)

Johnny Russell (b. 1933)

Patti Hale (b. 1933)

Gary Clarke (b. 1933)

Shirley MacLaine (b. 1934) 

Sophia Loren (b. 1934)

Shirley Jones (b. 1934)

Russ Tamblyn (b. 1934)

Pat Boone (b. 1934)

Audrey Dalton (b. 1934)

Claude Jarman Jr. (b. 1934)

Tina Louise (b. 1934)

Karen Sharpe (b. 1934)

Joyce Van Patten (b. 1934)

May Britt (b. 1934)

Joby Baker (b. 1934)

Jamie Farr (b. 1934)

Myrna Hansen (b. 1934)

Priscilla Morgan (b. 1934)

Aki Aeong (b. 1934)

Robert Fields (b. 1934)

Dani Crayne (b. 1934)

Donnie Dunagan (b. 1934)

Richard Hall (b. 1934)

Charles Bates (b. 1934)

Marilyn Horne (b. 1934)

Marilee Earle (b. 1934)

Rod Dana (b. 1935) 

Pippa Scott (b. 1935)

Ruta Lee (b. 1935)

Barbara Bostock (b. 1935)

Johnny Mathis (b. 1935)

Leslie Parrish (b. 1935)

Salome Jens (b. 1935)

Yvonne Lime (b. 1935)

Jean Moorehead (b. 1935)

Marco Lopez (b. 1935)

Joyce Meadows (b. 1935)

Christopher Severn (b. 1935)

Richard Nichols (b. 1935)

Carol Coombs (b. 1935)

Nino Tempo (b. 1935)

Patricia Prest (b. 1935)

Dawn Bender (b. 1935)

John Considine (b. 1935)

Jerry Farber (b. 1935)

Clyde Willson (b. 1935)

Bob Burns (b. 1935)

Susan Kohner (b. 1936)

Millie Perkins (b. 1936)

Burt Brickenhoff (b. 1936)

Mason Alan Dinehart (b. 1936)

Anna Maria Alberghetti (b. 1936)

Lisa Davis (b. 1936)

Joan O'Brien (b. 1936)

Richard Harrison (b. 1936)

Tommy Ivo (b. 1936)

John Wilder (b. 1936)

Gary Conway (b. 1936)

Michael Chapin (b. 1936)

Carol Morris (b. 1936)

Fernando Alvarado (b. 1936)