#don't sent authors reviews of their book let the reviewers do that

[kimyoonmiauthor]

Author pushed against fans, went into a mini rage and missed some good points...

I'm not going to quote what they said word for word to make it harder for you to find it. If you know it, don't make it easier to find it.

The thrust of what they said was that everyone in a particular thread must "hate romance" and that "book twitter " "wasn't real" and then they missed some really good points from the thread.

If you need 3 page critiques in order to understand criticisms from buyers, then you didn't get enough critiquers on your work. You should 100% understand all of the criticisms that are going to come your way.

So the opening tweet said that the book was the worst, but the later tweets went onto explain.

The person specifically doesn't particularly care for white straight cis het romance (as in all of those things combined). But they are a book reviewer, so felt obligated. They mostly read YA, in general. Book reviewers often have to read books they don't like. It's part of the job. Raging at them for reading a book they didn't like isn't going to help.

The author 100% missed that fact by not scrolling down the thread and seeing *gasp* Romance recommendations which were filled to the brim with straight PoC romance. Queer romance, etc. Diverse book choices. Does this mean the author is required to write those things? No. But it's something to note and keep in mind when someone is criticizing you for being the worst.

The reviewer also thought that the enemies to lovers was lukewarm and it was trying to be "trendy" but also pointed out that the cover was a rebranding from an earlier work.

They thought enemies to lovers only works in fantasy and stated as much.

And this seemed to be a criticism the commenters agreed with. It's a valid specific criticism of the premise.

The reviewer did bother to correct some people on misconceptions of the book, so it's clear they read it, despite what the author said.

But the author held that the majority of the criticism was about the cover (see above, not true)

The author didn't bother to read the thread to see *what* was said about the cover.

This divided into two parts.

One was that people didn't like the cursive on the blurb.

And, BTW, this is a valid concern. The reasons for this (dusting off my typography) are:

Cursive is harder to read at smaller type which makes it much less friendly to websites and digital marketing. (yadda yadda about negative space which makes the positive space more readable which I said about typography many times before)

Cursive is not disability accessible. It's particularly bad for dyslexia as the shape of the letters gets often distorted, which makes everything worse. None of the cursive fonts show up on the list of fonts good for people who are dyslexic.

People were CURIOUS about the creepy crawly on the cover

Be sure to sort the emotion behind the thought when regular fan, not your critiquers, are commenting on your work or your partner's work (i.e. the book cover artist).

The cover artist didn't go into a rage like the author did, but the author went into a rage about the fact they commented on the cover. Any work that wasn't yours DON'T comment with all that negativity. Shut up.

Some people didn't like how the blurb was written and thought it gave away too much or didn't draw out the tension enough to argue enemies to lovers.

That is a specific critique, isn't it? Write your blurbs better or ask your publisher to take note of what the public wants.

The author 100% missed the positive reviews in the thread about the book and threw also those people as "negative" because they said the whole of the thread was negative.

There were some genuinely positive reviews. Some mediocre reviews where they said they read the book a "long time ago." With the negative reviews, some people said they were curious to read it (but it was middle of the week.) But the author saw the criticisms, and didn't actually read the thread, or selectively chose the negative reviews and saw all of the likes and failed to see the context, thus threw out all of the positive reviews and commenters. This was prior to the author commenting.

Again, have someone cold sort your reviews and *get better critiquers* By the time of publication, you need to know what the critiques of your book are going to be. If you're up shouting because you haven't heard it before, then you need better critiquers to lay it out for you. Know the downsides of your story in advance so you know your market.

In addition, the author gave them all less than ONE day to translate that into sales before throwing their fit.

When I looked up the "questionable" tweet it had been less than one day and the author had made a comment already.

The comment was made in the middle of the week. Most people don't get paid until Friday. Do the math and hold your tongue. Not everyone is rich, especially if your target demographic is teenagers and college students.

Defense of the author by others

But all reviewers need to be helpful

Everything must be self-contained into one tweet.

But the critique was so mean

they are clearly anti-romance

*blaming the reviewer for the state of what the whole internet does*

After your work is "out there" past the publishing doors, no, reviewers have no obligation to be helpful. They are average readers who don't have a deep understanding of say the story theory you put behind it.

And no, one Twitter, no, you do not have to self-contain reviews. Read the thread. If you're arguing facebook or another platform with longer writing space, yes.

The critique wasn't nice enough? Tough luck.

People didn't read the thread. They were anti a specific type of romance, the mediocre lukewarm enemies to lovers. How does that translate into "all romance is horrible forever and for all time"? The reviewer gave a specific type of romance.

Conclusion

The reason I didn't name the author is because I am not out here trying to hate on a particular author or send people after them. What I'm trying to say is that all writers need to consider various things before they get published:

Reading reviews can make you blind to the positive, especially if you were told it's all negative. You feel under attack and then are likely to exaggerate what was said.

If negative reviews of your works sends you into fight mode, you might want to give the policy: "Please do not ever send me any of my reader's reviews no matter what, that includes all critiquers."

If you can't handle it, ask someone else, like an agent to handle it and have one of their lackeys handle it.

If your critiquers missed a critique, then you need to get better critiquers so you know your audience.

If you *do* decide to handle your own reviews, etc, grow thicker skin, don't read them, or learn how to cold sort like I did above. "Ah, they wanted something queer because of the lack of queer rep in the market. Maybe I can do something with my marketing in my other books to do something like that". "This negative tweet is popular, how do I make myself look better through this." (An example for this specific book would to say "Yup, the creepy crawly might be the worst, but you'll find out why it's on the cover if you read my book!") If you can't twist negative reviews into actual sales, then you can't handle it and give it to someone else who can. Pushing back on people never goes well. 100% I get that one might feel attacked, when they are receiving critiques. But as with above, you might miss the positive with the negative. And if you start attacking "all of Twitter" and all of "tiktok" and start saying everyone in a thread was "negative" then you might want to reconsider your policies as an author or before you are an author. Especially, especially if you are demanding that criticisms translates into sales in the middle of the weekday and you aren't thinking "Huh? Who is my target demographic and when will they likely have money?" on a book that's getting a new cover.

There were people who genuinely were curious and hoping that the creepy crawly on the cover translated to a critical thing in the book, but if you blast them blindly are they going to feel warm and fuzzy about buying your book? Nope. So throwing them out isn't going to help your cause–it alienated potential buyers who wanted to know if the book itself was "that bad". It's better to change your policy and shut up. The author wasn't even on twitter and the reviewer didn't send the critique directly to the author, which means it's in the reader's domain. Saying one has to confine their reviews to only Goodreads is ridiculous. Change your policy so that no reviews are sent to you.

This is a lesson, you are a marketer after your book is published. Put that hat on and think about how best market your book. Sometimes negative reviews do translate to sales. So approach it well.

And for everyone else out there–it's generally bad policy to send reviews to your favorite authors. If they weren't at-ed, or otherwise directly informed, it's a bad idea to do it. They might have a policy like above or they don't have good emotion regulation or whatever. So don't do it. If you feel like the "whole genre is being attacked" and you need to absolutely send it. Don't. Really? In less than 24 hours you're doing it? You didn't sit down and think about it.

[rainybubbles]

How do you meet COD men ?

Price, Soap, Rudy, Ghost, Gaz, Keegan

(Sorry in advance for my mistakes, English is not my mother tongue. So sorry if it's badly written or if they're OOC. )

P R I C E :

-"I'm going to die," you say to your friend.

-"What ? Why would you die ?"

-"I sent a pregnant Shrek cake to a military base."

-"Why would you do that ?!"

-"This guy ordered a cake for his soldier's birthday, but I also had the order for a prank and...

-"You mixed up the two boxes."

-"Yes."

-"So, actually,....a soldier is opening his box and..."

-"And he will see a pregnant Shrek cake."

-"...It was good to know you when you were alive."

-"You're supposed to reassure me !"

-"Oh sorry. You will die fast, don't worry. It's their job"

-"Fuck you."

-"How was the guy who ordered ?"

-"Like he could crash my head between his arms"

-"Shit."

-"But he was handsome, I guess."

-"Guess your last view will be nice, at least."

-"Shit, how do I even excuse myself for that ? I can't go to the base and say "sorry I sent a Shrek cake, but it was a mistake can you let me in ?"

-"I guess you just say it," a man says.

-You gulp when you recognize the Captain who ordered you the cake.

-"Sir, I'm so sorry, I swear it's not on purpose, I just mixed two orders and..."

-"And you made my boys laugh after a rough mission."

-"oh."

-"So thanks. Of course, it was not what I planned for a birthday, but seeing them happy was nice."

-"You're..welcome, I guess ?"

-He smiles.

-"But don't ever do another pregnant Shrek when I order from you, next time, please."

-"Next time ?"you say surprised.

-"It was delicious, I don't plan to change a good baker," he smiles.

And that's how you gain a regular after offering a pregnant Shrek cake. (even though each time he sees green on your hand, he seems scared when he takes the box.)

S O A P :

- He drew you like Gollum.

- I know, it sounds horrible, let me explain.

- You needed money, and you offered your services as a model for art classes.

- Soap was one of the students.

- During his leaves, he often took art classes to relax.

- And usually it goes well.

- But when he saw you....he thought he could never do justice to your face.

- He felt so self-conscious about his skills that he ended up doing a horrible portrait of you.

- And it could have ended up here, but the teacher decided to show everyone's pieces of art to analyze them

- So you saw Soap's piece where you looked like Gollum.

- And you knew it was from him.

- Everyone has a smile, while he was terrified.

- Usually, he's self-confident, but it's on the battlefield, in his life. The art was the only place where he was not sure he belonged too.

- At the end of the classes, he decided to talk to you.

- "I'm sorry for what happened today, I felt anxious and I ended up doing a bad portrait. It doesn't look like you at all."

- You looked up at him and smiled.

- "Why do you apologize? It was fun to see me like this, plus you need to start somewhere, no? You can't be a fucking Leonardo Da Vinci from the first day."

- He was too stunned to speak.

- "John or Johnny," he said.

- You looked at him confused.

- "Name's John, sorry, it seems you really blew my mind."

- You chuckled. "Nice to meet you, John. Hope next time your mind will be more confused for the next class."

- He nodded.

- Wait, did you say the next class? But it was nude models…

- Hope he won't draw a stick figure this time.

R U D Y

- You were an author.

- Well, it was not your main job since you only sold four books this year, but you considered yourself an author.

- And you had a hater. Someone who left a hateful review on each of your books.

- You knew that the next day after publishing your book, he would leave a bad review.

- So when your boss at the library told you that someone was regularly buying your books, you knew it could only be this hater, since the other person who bought your books was your mom.

- And you had had a bad day. So when your boss told you he was there, you were about to confront this hater.

- Maybe to understand what he didn't like or to know if he was just a coward.

- So you strode towards the spot your boss pointed at.

- "Hey, you," you said, not sure what to add after. When the man raised his head, he looked fit, and you knew you couldn't stand a chance in a fight if he decided to fight.

- "Wait, are you the author Y/N?" Rudy asked, with a sparkle in his eyes.

- Wait... A sparkle?

- "Hm, yeah, it's me," you answered, not sure what was happening.

- "I love your work. Your last book was really amazing. I have followed you since your debut."

- Your mouth was open, because :

1. one, your mom had lied to you when she told you she had bought three copies of your book.

2. And second, you had your first fan in front of you.

- "Thanks," you almost said, tears of joy welling up. "Sorry if I sound harsh. I thought you were that hater."

- "Oh yeah, I saw those reviews on your page. He's always there, but don't worry, I'll leave positive reviews to balance it. I'm Rudy, by the way."

- "Nice to meet you, and thanks for loving my work."

- "No need to thank me. I just appreciate good books."

- "What's your favorite, if I may ask?"

- Rudy smiled, and you both started chatting about books that afternoon. Maybe your reviews would improve after this, not just because of your writing, but also because he found you stunning.

G H O S T :

- Ghost scared people on the battlefield.

- However, the people who were most scared of him were the mechanics on the base.

- Ghost was a horrible driver, and everyone knew that.

- So, each time he went to the mechanics, they knew it was because he had done horrible damage to the cars.

- A game was organized whenever Ghost approached – you played rock, paper, scissors, and the loser had to fix his car.

- However, you were new to the base.

- When you saw this guy standing and waiting, you went to him without realizing all this.

- But when you saw his car, you understood why no one else was coming.

- He had a bowling ball in the trunk, the roof was broken, all the windows were shattered, and one tire was burnt.

- "...did you take this on the battlefield?" you asked.

- "No." He said shortly.

- You blinked. "Then why is it in this condition?"

- "There was a grandma on the road."

- "...so, because of a grandma, you have a bowling ball in your trunk?"

- "Because I swerved to avoid her and ended up hitting a bowling alley."

- "How did you even get a driver's license?"

- "The examiner was too sick to see me again for the ninth time, so he just gave it to me."

- "I guess I'll fix your car, but please don't drive if you don't need to, sir."

- "Sure."

- The next day, he was there again with a hole in the car because of a bird. How ? You didn't know.

-But it seemed you had become his official mechanic without even knowing it.

G A Z :

- When he hears your voice in a café, he recognizes you.

- The problem is, he can't come to you.

- Because if he knows your voice, it's because of your streams.

- Your ASMR streams.

- Being a soldier means your sleep schedule isn't really regular, and to help himself sleep, Gaz discovered ASMR.

- He found out about your streams, then your Patreon, and... let's just say your ASMR is spicy.

- So yes, if he says he's a fan of yours, it implies he has to reveal he listens to that in front of his teammates.

- And he's not ashamed of it.

- But he doesn't want Price to know he likes spicy ASMR, just like he wouldn't want to know what Price's fantasies are, or what Ghost likes in bed.

- (He wants to forget Soap's idea about Ghost in pink lingerie and a thong, and the day Price wore latex pants.)

- It's a line he doesn't want to cross.

- But he's also your biggest fan.

- So he tries to walk near you.

- But you're with a friend.

- And he doesn't know if your friend knows about this.

- So he ends up just glancing at you.

- Shit, how does he approach someone who does +18 things, without saying he knows they do this?

- Maybe if he waves... or just says hello? Or maybe if he asks for a selfie or…

- "Are you trying to imitate Ghost?" Soap asks.

- "What? No. Why do you say that?!" Gaz says, looking away.

- "Because you're staring at this person like they killed your dad and ate your mom, then burned your house and kidnapped your dog."

- "...it was really detailed for a scenario," Gaz says, confused.

- "So?"

- "I just know them, but I don't want to disturb them." Gaz says, trying to lie and tell the truth at the same time.

- If Soap finds out the truth, he'll never hear the end of it.

- "Do you want me to call them?"

- "NO. Absolutely not, don't do this, mate."

- "Why not?"

- Because they'll think you listen to their spicy ASMR audios, he wants to say, but he remains quiet.

- God, he feels like a teenager.

- But suddenly, he sees you walking towards them.

- You sit next to them, and... you wink at him, pointing to his key ring on his bag.

- It's your merch.

- Meaning... you know he's a fan.

- "Thanks for supporting me," you whisper before returning to your friend.

- Gaz doesn't speak until he gets back to base, too embarrassed but also too happy.

K E E G A N :

- You were tired.

- The rush had finally ended. It was now 11 PM, and there was this one client who had just ordered 10 Happy Meals.

- You wanted to slap him. He had ordered at 22:57, and the fast food closed at 23:00.

- So you didn't have a choice but to serve him.

- You looked at your colleague, who was sighing, and you nodded.

- You were preparing the trays, ready to see 10 kids running around and getting everything dirty, but…

- It was only one man with a mask.

- When you saw him, you were ready to raise your hands and give him money. Why the heck would a man with a gun and a mask be at a McDonald's at 23:00 buying 10 Happy Meals?

- But he just took them and ate.

- One after another.

- In silence.

- In five minutes.

- And then he left.

- You looked at your colleague.

- "Guess it's as weird as people who order a burger without buns," your colleague said.

- You nodded and thought it was just the one weird client of the day.

- But every Wednesday, he was there, in silence.

- Maybe he hated Ronald McDonald, so he planned to run out of your stock of Happy Meals?

- Or maybe he collected the toys?

- You didn't know, but he was there.

- And you saw him eating those nuggets and fries without sauce.

- He didn't touch his drinks. My, how dry it must be.

- But one Wednesday you took a day off. So when you came back the next day, you joked with your colleague about the Happy Meal guy.

- But they didn't laugh.

- "Who?" they asked.

- And just like that, you realized that when you weren't there, the Happy Meal guy wasn't there either.

- You were scared.

- Maybe he thought buying Happy Meals seduced you, or it was his way of warning you before he would kill you, like a threat, "You'll end up like those nuggets."

- So, when you saw him enter, you sent your colleague.

- However, your manager decided to give you your break at that moment, meaning it would be only you and him in the place.

- You tried to act normally, but you noticed how he seemed not to like his food yet still ate it.

- You sighed and sat next to him, offering him some sauces.

- "It's better with these. You know, you can have them for free in the menu next time."

- He looked at you and nodded.

- He then tried it and smiled.

- That's when you noticed his dog tags.

- "We have a discount for military personnel, so you could take a real meal instead of a Happy Meal if you want to."

- He looked surprised and nodded.

- Next time, he ordered 2 Happy Meals and two regular menus.

- So you smiled.

- Until his other masked colleagues ordered 20 Happy Meals because they liked the skull toys in them.

- Maybe it was just military men who had a problem with Happy Meals.

If you want more : my COD masterlist

And my masterlist

[mystical-blaise]

A theory that makes me go 🤦

To be completely transparent, besides chatting with my besties and posting reviews, I've avoided many fandom socials lately. It's been actually pretty nice to breathe.

But, of course, today, I am introduced to one of the dumbest theories I've ever read, and let me explain why. A disclaimer: I don't mind theories, even if they're throw-spaghetti-at-the-wall levels of nonsense. As long as the author said "a theory?" Go nuts. I don't have to believe it but 10 points for being creative and giving me a chuckle.

What I do mind, though? When the author of said theory presents it to the socials as fact, especially when, in fact, it's already been completely, thoroughly, 100% debunked by the last canon book.

The example and the question posed: "Is Rhys's sister Lorin Tamlin's former lover?" Now, this is a question in a poll based on their personal theory that, in fact, Ruhn's mother Lorin Donnell is Rhysand's *dead* sister and was sent to Midgard because Tamlin glamour shapeshifted some guards to look like Rhys's sister and got her to safety to the other world.

Yeah, I know. 🤦

Here are the cold-hard canon facts:

(1) Rhys, who understands what glamours are, states clearly that he buried his sister and mom in the middle of winter. We get great detail in this. It impacted him a lot.

(2) Rhys's sister after Tam's Fam was done with her:

(3) The gates to Midgard were 100% locked during the time Rhysand's *unnamed* sister died. The Harp was still lost until ACOSF. There was no way to send anyone beyond their world. At all. Aelin fell through as she forged the lock on her side, but had the gates been open from Midgard to Prythian, the Asteri would have already returned. That was the whole point of them wanting Bryce to open the gate, so they could go back.

(4) CC debunked alllll of this. Over and over and over again. Let's do a little family tree, shall we? (Honestly, as a genealogy nerd, I was stoked about this):

Note that the gates were locked. Yes, Aelin fell through when she was forging the locks when Feyre was pregnant with Nyx, but the lock from Midgard to Prythian was closed from Silene until after Nyx was born. Also, Silene had hidden the Harp and it wasn't until Nesta that it was found. Not to mention, Lorin Donnell is the niece of Morven Donnell, whose line is related to Einar Danaan far in the past (thus making Ruhn Cormac's cousin on two sides, and Bryce's distant cousin on one). There is no way in hell this works. Lorin Donnell is a 277+ year-old Avellan fae who was born in Midgard. Rhysand's sister, born in Prythian during the time the gates were sealed, is dead.

Disclaimer: some images in the timeline were created in Canva. Others were pulled from the Wiki Pages.

[olderthannetfic]

https://www.tumblr.com/olderthannetfic/745446792966078464/httpswwwtumblrcomolderthannetfic745318072162

God, now this bs is even spreading here lol

Anyway, tl;dr: Molly X Chang never went after reviewers. That simply didn't happen, and the mere fact that the 'statement' by the reviewers alleges actual crimes and then proceeds to provide zero evidentiary support (the reviewers were never doxxed! the author never sent anyone to harass them! it was a case of third-party gossip that got out of hand but the only reason anyone found out the reviewer's name and the identity of the author sister is because they decided to make private beef into a big public stink) should be enough to discredit them. (I would link to the author's own statements but she was violently harassed and has since made her twitter account private, since her name had been spread to racist extremists from the ethnic majority of her country who proceeded to fill her mentions with hate.)

As far as her story is concerned, one of the reviewers in question has a history of extreme bias against stories by woc authors (they have reviewed The Hurricane Wars and The Jasad Heir and likewise called both of those 'colonizer romances' despite neither coming remotely close; and, sorry, but 'colonizer romance' implies something that simply does not accurately describe the relationship as it is presented and ultimately unravels in Molly's book, especially given the way the review presented it! but that's one thing reviews are good for--letting the reader know how trustworthy, or not, the reviewer is going forward), which called into reasonable question their bias going into reading Molly's book. Furthermore, said reviewer used a sockpuppet account on GoodReads to gas up her sister's story and argue in the comments of other people's negative reviews on that story (though kept denying the sockpuppet account was hers until other people started putting the pieces together; Molly ultimately chose to take her at her word), and this sockpuppet is what she used to review Molly's book and, again, argue in the comments of other reviews. On instagram, this reviewer bragged about getting people to lower their rating on the book. I'm sorry, but any way you slice it, this is scuzzy behavior, and I can understand why someone wanted to warn Molly about this reviewer.

The problem isn't Molly's reaction to people's reviews of her book. The only reason this became a big public stink is because of private conversations that got spread around in gossip chains and got out of hand. The actual problem is that, because of this (and I fully believe this was actually the intent behind making the wank public) thousands of people took the review and believed it, sight unseen, and chose to harass and abuse the author because of the content of her book which most of them had not even read and admitted they had no intention to.

Sorry, but no one's reviews are sacrosanct and deserve to be presented as objective truth. There are a few critical reviews that do approach the book fairly, I just don't think the ones that immediately went viral count among that number, but ultimately, no one is actually going to have an informed opinion until and unless they read the book themselves--which hasn't even been published yet!

And regardless of anything else, the author does not deserve the abuse she has received because of a fucking book. Period.

--

[quaranmine]

Hi, not sure if you remember me, but i sent an ask a while ago saying how i love the Incadescence of a dying light and that i talk about it with my friend and how we both really liked the story and are juts you know discussing it well update to now. we still do that lol. i cant stop thinking about it, i listen to the firewatch OST on the daily, resonating with each track at a time. I love it. I live it. I am enamored. Everytime Im studying Polish (my native language) and revising each epoch for my upcoming finals i cant help but connect themes and motives to that wonderful story of yours. If i land on a fitting topic in my oral final exam (like pop-culture, creativity and arts, certain themes in modern media) you BET Ill be talking about this fic (with all the credit I can give of course!) cause USARWSETDYRVUHUISC I cant get it out of my head. Its such an amazing example of how the media of fanfiction elevates the story to its maximum potential. How knowing the characters makes it so much easier to connect and resonate, even though Mumbo is absent from the majority of the fic, we still feel hurt after finding out whats happened to him. Like, its such an amazing creative medium I love fanfiction and TERSSXEFJNKVCRXSERARXSXERCDJNGIKKDc :thumbsup: oh gosh The Incadescence of a Dying Light. yeah so fun fact i actually had to look up what it means cause i didnt know the word before and oh. oh. oh its so much worse and more painful. really love it, i do, oh i do! I now have acquired (idk how to spell it lul) the never subsiding lust for nature and outdoors and hiking and being a part of it. I love it, you made me regain my love for it. I loved it before, yes, but i was caught up in my own head and had so much stuff i had to do, but now i love to look out my window even more, i love strolling in my garden. i love it. thank you, thank you, thak youuuuu!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :thumbsup: So yeah, this fic is one of my faves of all time, i like it a lot, it has inspired me to live more and be alive basically and also. and for the end a fanart of an alternative ending where Mumbo somehow survives and just lives in the forest like a wild animal, living his best life, eating berries (i decided on drawing him eating berries [peace love and plants] instead of chowing down [is chowing a word??] on some rabbit lol) and then grian finds him and its super awkward

HI! Yes, of course I remember you! First of all, had a really wild day yesterday at work, but I read this at soooome point on my phone during the middle of the day and it made me smile :)

This ask is just so??? AAAAAAA???? I almost don't know how to respond, because it's just SO wonderful to hear this about something I created. Like I did that? I made a thing that is sticking deeply with people? I'm just soooo <333333

I like your point about how fanfiction can maximize story potential! I think it'd make a wonderful essay topic honestly. I have thought about this in connection with fanfic a lot--specifically, the divide between original fiction and fanfiction. In original works, you have to make the audience care. You have to introduce me to a character, setting, and story I will be interested in. I've read a lot of negative book reviews that start off with "the author didn't make me care about the characters" (i have also...said this myself about books I ended up not liking.) With fanfic, you skip that step! It lets you jump right in. I don't have to explain Mumbo and Grian's friendship or demonstrate it to you. You just Know. Someone reading it fandom blind would get the implication about how important they are to each other simply by seing the depth of Grian's grief, but for my intended audience, I can do whatever I want because I trust you to already have the background information you need.

The title is from a line I really like in a song (Post Humorous by Gus Dapperton). It just...painted such a nice word picture. Especially for a story about grief death and fire!

I just. Love that this fic helped you regain a desire for nature? That just makes me feel...warm, I guess, to know that I was able to spark that with something I created. I hope it goes well for you, and you get to take many walks. This spring I've been using the trails near my aunt's house (not.....hiking paths. too urban.) much more. I wanted to walk this week but I was too busy lol. I hope you have many wonderful experiences out in the Great Outdoors <3 one of these days, I swear I'll up and move to a place with "better" nature and "real" trails close by.

Also, SKFJSLFJSKFLSJKF your fanart made me laugh so much. I have like. Entertained this idea. Not as an actual or serious part of the story but I was like man wouldn't it just be off-the-wall if he was just vibing Out There 😭😭😭 You've caught the vibe perfectly LOL

this was all around such a special message to hear, thank you SO much!

[vianwrites]

Okay, so for some weird reason, Tumblr isn't letting my replies stick. So, I'm so sorry to the people who replied to my post about Fanfic commenting. I'm not sure why the replies are not sticking, but I've already sent a support ticket about this issue. Just know that I've read them and I'll just post my replies here for the meantime... @nic-stars It really is heartbreaking. I remember getting replies that even theorizes what would happen next in my stories. Those were really interesting and fun. There were even really great constructive criticism ones that helped me grow as a writer and ones where you can feel connected with the reader and really being part of an incredible fandom. @aconstructofamind I feel fortunate that I haven't gotten a mean comment since returning. I'm all for criticisms as long as they are helpful, constructive, and worded in a way that doesn't demean or belittle anyone. It's really disheartening if meanness is now the norm, even when it comes to comments in fanfiction (or any fanwork). Also, I LOVE your handle. :D @pippinoftheshire Your handle made me smile, haha, thank you for that. Anyways, this should really be something brought back, and not because like we're starved for it (but, yeah, we are. a bit. haha), but also because it's a way for us to connect with our readers, too. Like, tell us how you feel (but in a way that doesn't demean or belittle what we made and poured our hearts out, please); tell us if we wrote something wrong and how can we make it better; tell us why you hated what this character did in the story or why you agree with their actions. Connect with us. We are part of the same community. @typicxlcato Don't be scared to be the first! Comments are always appreciated by authors. Even just a single phrase or just giving a quote that you loved from the story and telling the author you loved that? That can make anyone's day. :) @amliza By all means, haha. I'm currently on a commenting spree as well on all the fanfic's I'm currently reading. :D @she-elf4 The thing about an author/writer answering their own posited question of whether what they/we wrote or not is good is that we (often) are biased about it. That's why we need comments to tell us in what area we needed improving or if we did well. It's the same reason why book reviews exist. It's not just to tell others of why a book is good or bad, but to give an author a sense of what they need to improve on. I've never heard of commenting rules before, so that's a bit shocking for me. The only rule I adhere to when writing comments/reviews it to be kind and if I want to criticize an author for something, to do so in a constructive, respecting manner because I have to remind myself (and know from my own experience) that whoever wrote what I was reading poured enough of their time and talent (and maybe even a bit of their heart and soul) into that work. Honestly, though, I am curious about what these rules you speak of are.

@13flags Who ever said I (or anyone who agreed with this post) am/are only writing for reviews? I don't know where you got that from? Haha. The post I made pointed out that the reason I would love to get a review is for feedback, to grow as an author. If you write with only your own lens to view your own writing with no one to critique or comment on it, how will you know you are doing well? The reviews/comments I had the honor of getting from my own fics were kind enough to provide constructive criticisms, which is always good for an author. Also, it's nice to get validation for your writing, even if your objective is to share your stories to the world. Comments/Reviews are like symbolic to some (maybe most?) writers that they had been heard and can even be bridges for found friendships (as is the case with me. I made good friends from them). So, it's really nice.

[antisociallilbrat]

We Need To Talk About It

Buckle up boys, this isn't one of my fun fandom discussion posts but I want to talk about it.

Before we proceed, Tw: for mentioned racism and csa

So I came across this tiktoker who read It by Stephen King and said verbatim "You should not read it" and then proceed to list reasons why. He has since corrected this but his point of 'it's not crazy to question why this was written' still stood. I want to talk about how this harmful to writers and just the future of fiction in general. Also I'm not giving out the name of this tiktoker because I don't want any hate being sent his way.

Two of his driving points for 'why you shouldn't read It' was the racism throughout the book and the infamous sewer scene concerning the kids. While I have not read all of the book, I am aware and have read parts of what he's talking about. And if you have read all of It and want to contribute to this post, please do, even if you don't agree with me and want to put your own input.

Let's tackle the racism in the book. Mike Hanlon was a black boy (one of the only poc in Derry if I remember correctly) growing up in a small town in the 1950's. This tiktoker's issues stems from him feeling like King 'overused' the n-word. For me personally, writing slurs that are not mine to reclaim, such as the n-word, I usually try to avoid writing in fiction but when an author does it write it in fiction (keyword there) it's much like an actor playing a racist character, at least imo. The actor themselves are not racist but the character they are playing are, just like when writers write fictional racist characters. That is what was happening in the book It. Also it's worth a note that It is intended to be horrifying and King is known for not just using 'monsters' to unsettle the reader but also real everyday horrible things. Hate crimes, violence on minorities, racism, ect, he writes these things to make the reader uncomfortable on purpose. It's a horror novel, that's the point. Other genres this could be called into question when the point of the book isn't to, ya know...scare you.

Now on to the sewer scene. This was probably the biggest point for this tiktoker on not reading It, and I just felt like they kinda just missed the point of this scene. The entire point of that scene was to signify the loss of innocence of the Loser's Club after their first battle with It. It was not written in a 'sexy' manner and it was written again, to make you uncomfortable. This tiktoker's statement that really bothered me was "we should question why this was written" and...you really don't have to. It's a horror novel, you being uncomfortable by that scene was the goal plus the deeper meaning behind it. And the implication of 'questioning why fictional writers write certain things' is so harmful because if this was to be the majority mindset, it wouldn't just stop with scenes like this. There's also the fact it almost sounds prosecutory and literature and books as a whole in the U.S. are already under attack and mindsets like this just fuel that fire.

Moving on, let's talk about Bev real quick. Look I don't like how King writes women for the most part but he's always kinda...written them as 'women written by men' and I just chop that up to bad writing. That's very prevalent with how Bev is written in It- but bad writing is just that, bad writing.

A side note, things like manifestos or harmful agendas should 100% be questioned, I'm only talking fictional works here.

So here's the thing at the end of the day, authors don't owe you trigger warnings (or so they say but that's a deeper topic I don't want to talk about rn) but if you are aware of your triggers there are tools to help you avoid them. Read reviews, ask a friend who's read the book, or google it. Goodreads has helped me avoid a couple of my triggers in books I was interested in. If you don't like or can be triggered by disturbing things King probably isn't the author for you.

This idea of 'questioning writers' or 'holding them accountable' needs to stop in its tracks. I fear the day if this ever becomes the majority mindset. Odds are this would lead to the questioning of 'why do people enjoy reading this, should we judge them?' and the answer is no. Some people enjoy feeling disturbed or scared by a book just like some people enjoy laughing or crying because of the book they're reading. It's honestly not that deep.

Also tiktoker idk if you're active in the It fandom on tumblr (im going to guess not) but again, this is no hate to you, I just deeply disagree with you.

Last statement: King was high off cocaine when he wrote It.

[kenna-is-reading]

Kennaisreading's Fall TBR/Recs

Dear Readers,

Happy Mid-August!

Now typically I steadfastly refuse to begin any sort of autumnal celebration until 12:01am on September 1st, but I am trying to plan ahead for my reading for the remainder of this year. This month has truly been sipped away like a bottle of wine, if you will, and preparing to lock in for fall classes has made me more ready to get into the upcoming season. Therefore, here is my long-awaited, (unsolicited), perfectly realistic (desperately ambitious) TBR for the months of September and October!

Fantasy

The Wren in the Holly Library by K.A. Linde (Find my Pinterest board for this book here).

2. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

Don't kill me! I have never read the Twilight series. You got me. But I did purchase every single book in the series a few months ago, and plan to quickly amend this personal shortcoming by reading as much of the series as I possibly can this fall.

3. Harry Potter

I have only ever read the first 4 books, but I once again recently bought the whole series. (Rest assured that I bought every single book secondhand so as to not give any support to that author.) I read the first four in late middle school/early high school, so I am glad to be getting that same nostalgic feeling that people who read these books in elementary get.

4. Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

I have heard great things, and I am expecting great things.

5. The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake

I was actually like 30% of the way through this book a couple of years ago and was loving everything about it, but simply didn't have time to finish. It seems like the perfect fall read, so I am looking forward to this one a lot, especially as I reenter the university scene.

6. The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi

Another one I have heard wonderful things about. I hear it has a great found family, which we all know is my most favorite trope of all time, so I hope it lives up to the hype!

7. Once Upon A Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber

Excited to be the last person on earth to read this series. Seemed like a cozy fairy-tale-esque fantasy to read for fall.

8. The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston

I read Ashley Poston's Once Upon A Con series in middle school and loved it, and I've heard nothing but rave reviews about her adult releases, so I have high hopes for this. The vibes seem perfect for fall.

9. The Stolen Heir Duology by Holly Black

Binged the original FotA trilogy in November 2020 when I was sick and delusional from Covid, so I am prepared to take on this duology perfectly well and in my right mind.

10. Powerless by Lauren Roberts

PRAYING y'all are telling the truth about how good this is. I need another fantasy series hyperfixation!!!

11. The Kiss of Deception by Margaret E Pearson

So excited to get into this whole universe. I was convinced to read this series by queen Sunny Kim (@ sunnykimreads on YouTube take your butt to her channel and subscribe NEOW!) and I trust her with my life so let's go!

12. Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

One thing about me I am a sucker for a villain and I did not hesitate to buy this without looking up a singular comment or review.

13. Lightlark by Alex Aster

Heard mixed reviews on this one, so I have to see for myself!

14. Stars & Smoke by Marie Lu

Marie Lu raised me, schooled me, packed my lunches, sent me to college, and is one of the reasons I write. I am so late to this release but SO stoked to read it! What do y'all know about the Legend trilogy and also the Young Elites and also Warcross!!! Get into those!

15. Fable by Adrienne Young

Once again, miss Sunny Kim's love for the prequel novel of this series was influential enough to make me want to read the whole thing.

16. A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid

The aesthetic of this book, as well as that cover, made me SO excited to pick this up! Another great fantasy that looks perfect for fall.

17. Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli

Expecting enemies to lovers fantasy greatness from this based on what I've been told!

18. Swordcatcher by Cassandra Clare

So excited to read my first non-Shadowhunter Cassie book! I love her writing and always get so attached to her characters, plus I met her at the event I went to for this book, so I'm biased.

19. Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

DID SOMEBODY SAY LIBRARY??? Sign me up!

20. The Infernal Devices Trilogy by Cassandra Clare

Now you know it is not autumn or winter if I do not reread the best series of all time! If you have not read the Infernal Devices (Clockwork Angel, Clockwork Prince, Clockwork Princess), then GET in the car and GET to your local library. And if you're like me and your brain won't let you read stuff out of order, then get through those first 3 Mortal Instruments books (City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Glass) ASAP! I PROMISE it's worth it! Shadowhunters is such a wonderful universe I could cry. TID contains the best love triangle ever written, and I don't even like love triangles. At all. This series is truly my everything and I think about it every day without fail. There's nothing left to say but Pick This Series Up if you haven't! Perfection for fall reading!

Mystery/Fiction

1 Karen M McManus

I have read One of Us is Lying, The Cousins, and You'll Be the Death of Me and enjoyed all of those, so this fall I am hoping to get through One of Us is Next, Two Can Keep A Secret, Nothing More to Tell, and One of Us is Back.

2. Enola Holmes by Nancy Springer

I love the Enola Holmes movies (putting Henry Cavill and Sam Claflin in the same film right in front of my eyes was crazy work actually), so I read the first book back in winter. I'm looking forward to reading this middle-grade mystery series, because it's something I've lacked since I was much younger!

3. Reign by Katherine McGee

I have procrastinated finishing the American Royals series for such a long time because if it does not end the way I hope it will, I might lose my mind a little. Loved the drama in these books.

4. Games Untold by Her Royal Majesty Jennifer Lynn Barnes

I am reading the Grandest Game right now, and it has only confirmed that the best place to be in life is sitting somewhere binging a JLB book at breakneck speed. This is what life and writing and literature and reading are all about. I was lucky enough to get to meet Jennifer on the book tour for TGG less than 2 weeks ago, and it was such a wonderful time. I cannot wait to read these novellas about my beloved TIG characters even though this book comes out in November and this is technically a Sept/Oct list.

5. We Were Liars by e. lockhart

You know it. You love it. Or you hate it. Either way, I haven't read it yet, and I must decide for myself.

6. The Lovely and the Lost by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Every tongue that rises against JLB shall fall, and this is the last book of hers I have to read.

Romance

Fall is when I'm locking in on SPORTS ROMANCEEEE!!!

Whether you love it or hate it, sports romance is one of the most popular current genres out there, and I love picking up football and hockey romances when football and hockey season returns. I forced myself to leave 2 Elle Kennedy hockey books for myself to read in fall when hockey comes back, and I cannot wait.

The Wall of Winnipeg and Me

I have never read a Mariana Zapata book, so I am excited to see what all the commotion is about.

2. Daydream by Hannah Grace

I <3 Henry and that is all I have to say on the matter.

3. Heartstopper v5

Heartstopper is such a cute and cozy series, so I will be finally picking up the most recent volume this fall.

4. Flawless by Elsie Silver

I am finally diving in to the Elsiverse! I wanna join in on the cowboy summer movement, I just haven't had time! So it is henceforth going to be Yeehaw Fall.

5. Unsteady by Corinne Peyton

Another Sunny Kim rec that I need to get my hands on immediately.

6. The Wingman by Stephanie Archer

Get into the Vancouver Storm series if you haven't!!! The Fake Out was one of the best hockey romances I've ever read in my life. I am SO READY for this book!

7. Offside by Avery Keelan

Has been on my KU TBR forever and a day. Will be devouring as many hockey romances as possible I fear.

Recs!!!

Now that we've covered the books I'm planning to read this fall, most of which I've never read, let's get into what YOU should read this fall!

Fantasy

ACOTAR by Sarah J Maas

I had to get this one out of the way if you somehow have never read ACOTAR. I think it's written somewhere in my nonexistent reader/blogger contract that I must mention this. Fall and winter are a perfect time to dive into this universe and hop on this bandwagon.

2. The Grishaverse by Leigh Bardugo

Shadow and Bone trilogy and the Six of Crows duology, if you somehow have not heard of them, are excellent. Or if you have heard of them and haven't read, take this obscure blog post as your sign to pick them up! This universe is so immersive and amazing when you don't have somebody in your ear whining about ship wars. I had a book hangover for weeks my freshman year after finishing these books, which I hardly ever get, but I still think about them regularly to this day.

3. The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

There is nothing remotely fall-like about these books at all, but if you're looking for a fantasy series with a found family and fairy-tale callbacks, get into Cinder! Truly such a beloved and nostalgic series to me. I am in the process of rereading them, and I absolutely love the characters so much. For being considered a "classic YA throwback series", we really don't talk about it enough.

4. Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

LOOK UP TRIGGER WARNINGS! This is an adult novel that deals with some very dark themes, so be aware of that going in. A lot of dark academia/fantasy/mystery vibes going on here, but definitely read at your discretion.

5. The Cruel Prince Trilogy by Holly Black (Folk of the Air)

Perfect fall fantasy vibes, enemies to lovers, pretty quick reads. There's a lot of politics involved in this series, and a very immersive setting, in my opinion. You kind of have to get past the "hey what is going on btw" and just go with it! Great reads.

6. Sisters of the Salt Duology by Erin A Craig

House of Salt and Sorrows and House of Roots and Ruin are wonderful spooky fantasy books to get you through the fall/winter. A murderous retelling of the 12 Dancing Princesses set in a seaside manor with a horror twist! I loved it simply for how unique and original the plot was (despite it obviously being a retelling, it was just a fresh take okay?).

7. Shadowhunter Chronicles by Cassandra Clare

Just trust me, okay? They really are amazing. I'll give you the reading order; don't be intimidated I know it's a lot of books just walk with me.

8. Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

YA fantasy that I read in a day and really enjoyed. It is a Beauty and the Beast retelling; arranged marriage enemies to lovers vibes.

9. The Beautiful Quartet by Renee Ahdieh

VAMPIRES! In New Orleans! In 1872! That is all I shall say as I have not finished the series yet!

10. Kerri Maniscalco

Her books are perfect for fall, whether you pick up the Kingdom of the Wicked series or, my personal favorite, the Stalking Jack the Ripper series. These have mystery, supernatural elements, fantasy, and romance, so there's something for everyone.

11. A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

This is another Beauty and the Beast retelling, and the perfect fantasy series for fall and winter.

12. Caraval by Stephanie Garber

Excellent fantasy for fall and I know I keep saying that, but this series just screams October to me; idk why.

13. Three Dark Crowns Series by Kendare Blake

SOOOO not talked about enough. I loved this series when I read it. It is spooky and dark, with really interesting female characters set in a very intriguing matriarchal setting.

Classics

Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Greatest love story of all time literally I wish Gilbert Blythe was real! Wholesome, dreamlike, cozy series perfect for fall. I have never loved a classic more. And when you're done reading, you get the pleasure of going to watch the 1985 movies starring Megan Follows and Jonathan Crombie. This book literally gave us the "I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers" quote like come on!

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

I read this book once in middle school and it was the only thing I ever genuinely enjoyed reading for school. This was the original Knives Out/Inheritance Games I fear.

Mysteries

1 Charlotte Holmes Series by Brittany Cavallaro

2. A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

3. The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

4. The Naturals Series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

5. The Debutantes Duology by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

6. The Dead Queen's Club by Hannah Capin

Romances

Off-Campus/Briar U Series by Elle Kennedy

Hockey Romance Essential Viewing

2. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

For nostalgic fall vibes

3. Once Upon A Con Series by Ashley Poston

4. Vancouver Storm Series by Stephanie Archer

Fiction

Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Mother Daughter Book Club Series by Heather Vogel Frederick (Middle grade but please read it anyway)

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

Another middle grade for nostalgic vibes

And that is it! The longest discussion about fall books I've ever done. If you have any other recommendations please feel free to let me know! As you can see my TBR is obviously not at all long enough.....

Anyway! Thank you so much for reading, and definitely let me know what you are reading this fall if you feel like it/if you even care fr omg. I hope y'all have a fantastic end of summer and that you're ready to have an amazing, vibey Gilmore Girls-esque autumn! Queuing up the Norah Jones as we speak, and until the next time I find time to scribble my literary thoughts down!

Xoxo,

Kenna

Pinterest Boards!

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The Lunar Chronicles

Grishaverse

ACOTAR

[grandhotelabyss]

RIP to Helen Vendler, dead at 90, on the day of Shakespeare's birth and death. Any thoughts on her work?

She was undoubtedly brilliant, a critic of tremendous care and patience; I always enjoyed her essays as they appeared in venues like the NYRB and LRB. I never got into her books. This is not a critique of her—it's a critique of me!—but I found poems to dissolve under the scrutiny of her professional-scholarly gaze, as if the readings were somehow too close, like an ant burned to char under a magnifying glass on a hot summer day. (She would dispute my terms and my simile, rightly enough.) I in my novelistic indiscipline, my slovenly preference for the broad and operatic gesture and the vagary or errancy of a certain style of genius, tend to read literature as image and emotional rhythm rather than as the exact use of language, though of course it is that too; it's ideally everything. I appreciated her rare and usually tasteful polemics, as for instance her defense of an "articulated curriculum" or her controversial review of Rita Dove's Penguin Anthology of Twentieth-Century of American Poetry with its more pages devoted to Melvin Tolson's agitpropish "Dark Symphony" than to anything by—well, Vendler said Wallace Stevens, but we could just as well say Robert Hayden or Gwendolyn Brooks. (I used to teach from that anthology, including Tolson's historically sympathetic but artistically dubious poem.) See here for the moving deathbed rapprochement re: this last case, and thanks to the longtime correspondent who sent it to me.

And since the Paris Review has freed up their interview with Vendler, let me quote this fascinating exchange on the difference between poetry and fiction/drama and the divergent types of readers they appeal to, one seeking access to universal experience, the other seeking validation of particular experience. I don't agree with this—I think novels do in their own way offer access to universal experience rather than just confirmations of the reader's identity—but still, she puts it well:

VENDLER

I don’t believe that poems are written to be heard, or as Mill said, to be overheard; nor are poems addressed to their reader. I believe that poems are a score for performance by the reader, and that you become the speaking voice. You don’t read or overhear the voice in the poem, you are the voice in the poem. You stand behind the words and speak them as your own—so that it is a very different form of reading from what you might do in a novel where a character is telling the story, where the speaking voice is usurped by a fictional person to whom you listen as the novel unfolds.

[...]

INTERVIEWER

Do you feel confined as a female critic in any way?

VENDLER

No, I don’t think the mind is gendered. I know that’s not a popular position these days, but I never felt the mind to be gendered and perhaps that may be because I always read poetry. When I was a young girl reading and the page said, “My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains my sense,” or, “So are you to my thoughts as food to life,” it never occurred to me that these thoughts were not available to me because they had been uttered by an author who was male. I didn’t care who had uttered them. They seemed good things to say at a given moment. Now, I know women who’ve had very different experiences when they were young; I’ve heard many people say, I never found myself responding until I came to . . . And it might be Jane Eyre, or it might be Wuthering Heights, or it might be Emma. I finally realized that those women were novel readers, and what they were looking for was a story like their own story, or a story in which they could imagine themselves playing a role. Of course, if you are a girl reading Oedipus Rex, there is no role for you to play as hero. So if you have a naturally fictional imagination, you might say, That’s not a story into which I can walk. But I didn’t have a fictional imagination, so I didn’t run into that particular difficulty.

And, when asked her motto, her citation of Stevens: "God and the imagination are one." So yes, RIP to Helen Vendler—and, while we're at it, to the modernist doyenne Marjorie Perloff, too, whose essay on Yeats I was just rereading for the upcoming Invisible College episode on our Irish bard.

[literaticat]

Hey Jenn. So a few weeks ago I got an offer from a small press. They sent a contract and discussions were going well, but even though I've had some trepidation (they're legit but small/low-ish sales) now THEY seem to be getting cold feet. They seem to find it suspicious I have little to no online presence, no socials. I told them I'm happy to set up social media, etc. But it's gotten to the stage I'm wondering, do I have to show them ID or something? They've also indicated they want to get to know me more before we sign and want to make sure I'm not posting inappropriate (discriminatory stuff) online. They didn't accuse me of the latter, just indicated it as an example of why they want to get to know their authors better first. Which is odd if they already can't find me online! Anyway, the whole thing feels bizarre to me and I feel more of this should have been brought up either at the submission or offer stage (i.e. indicating they want social media links, etc.) but it wasn't. I don't understand why they are worried as I'm the one who could be potentially burned by them, not the other way around? They are not offering an advance and of course I'd use my real name on a contract so I get paid. Plus as I said I'm willing to set up socials. Bottom line is, is any of this a red flag or are they being justifiably cautious? Any insight you could give me on this totally bizarre situation would be great! Thank you.

See previous answer right before this one. I don't think it's a red flag for them to want to get to know you, or want to have a call/zoom, or whatever -- that sounds normal (and like a good thing, actually!). And it's hard for me to tell if they want to get to know you AND they have talked about social media, or they want to get to know you BECAUSE of social media (or lack thereof) -- the former, OK, the latter, maybe kinda weird?

I can't say, out of context, if any of this is actually "totally bizarre" or just sensible -- maybe it's somewhere in between. It WOULD be totally bizarre if you had no social media, and they were like "sorry, we think you might someday create social media and then be a bigot on those accounts!" -- but it doesn't sound like that's what they said? I don't know, in other words.

Let me ask you this: Does this publisher actually put out books that look good? Do they have a robust list of books/authors you have heard of and can find in stores besides Amazon? Do their books get reviewed? Are there any red flags on things like AbsoluteWrite? Do their authors seem happy? If signs are pointing toward them being legit and trustworthy, cool. If, on the other hand, the field is littered with red flags ... maybe this is another one.

[guardian-angle22]

Why did you rate "you exist too much" 1 star , i've been thinking about reading it

[reference to my February reads post here]

Hi! Hello! 👋

I’m gonna preface my answer by saying I would never discourage anyone from reading a book just because I didn’t enjoy it unless I felt there were harmful things in it, because books/art/literature can be so subjective and everyone's taste is different. I don’t think there’s anything outright harmful in this book (although I have seen some reviews say the way it deals with eating disorders is questionable but I’m not sure where I land on that tbh. I guess just be aware of that going in) so if you're really interested don't let my rating dissuade you.

so... warning for vague plot spoilers ahead I guess?

This is a book that suffers from the description not matching up with the contents, for me. I thought based off the summary I had read that it would delve way more into the mother/daughter relationship. I also thought it would deal more with the MC’s identity as a queer Palestinian woman and her confronting all of the above.

Instead it mainly focuses on this character getting in and out of many various relationships and doing questionable things including outright cheating throughout most of them, then spending a long time being sad and self righteous about being cheated on herself. She goes to a treatment facility for being addicted to love, essentially, because she recognizes she develops obsessions with people… but then we follow her leave and go about her life the same way as before as if none of that happened.

Despite the book title being a reference to a conversation between the MC and her mother, we got very little depth, insight, or scenes between the two. The romantic/sexual relationships far eclipsed any other potential plots, but at the same time none of those relationships were compelling or enjoyable to follow.

There’s a line towards the very end in which the author spells out for you exactly what they were trying to portray through the narrative by saying “I sent her another essay… about unattainable love as a quest for the familiar, a quest for home, for a homeland that may not exist. A quest for a mother.”

That is clearly what the story is supposed to represent and I simply did not find it to be successful in that. (I also found myself vaguely insulted as a reader that the author spelled that out on page, but that’s a personal gripe).

There were small slivers of moments in the book that dealt with those themes that originally attracted me to the novel, but they were so few and far between. I probably could’ve bumped it up to a 2 ⭐️ for those small moments, but I rated it pretty soon after finishing it. (Although I didn’t leave a rating at all on goodreads cause it just doesn’t feel good to rate books lowly on there so I’ve been tending to just not rate them entirely instead).

All that negativity aside, I’ve seen a lot of positive reviews and I think if you really enjoy books with insufferable unlikable main characters that span over years and maybe doesn’t have as much plot outside of relationships, you might enjoy this book. It’s also possible that you find its execution of themes more successful than I did.

[darrisgrove]

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess REVIEW

5/5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

You're not supposed to love the characters in this story. Nobody is doing the right thing, even when they believe that they are. One of the obvious examples of this is Alex's character where many times throughout the books he believes he has done no wrong, that he is smarter and better than everyone else and nobody should treat him wrongly. The doctors that give Alex the aversion therapy, the police, even the writer and his friends are all bad characters. What we get from this story is the philosophy of good and bad, the choice of free will and how that makes us human, and a glimpse of the abuse of psychological therapy of that time.

I say this book is good. I rated it 5 stars, after all. However, I found myself thinking about this book after reading for the past few days. Things stuck with me. Alex is not a good character, he's a villain and he always will be in the end after having been "cured" but reverting back to his criminal ideologies. He never learned anything. The language Nadsat would linger in my mind, how the words came almost second nature to me, though of course I do study other languages for fun so maybe the constant usage was why it stuck. And of course thinking back to the history of aversion therapy and conversion therapy and how it was all so similar to what Alex went through.

Here are my notes during reading. WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW

-Already the book starts differently than the movie, don't hate me for watching the movie before reading the book. The boys hassle a smoke shop before the homeless man, which was not included in the movie. They sweeten up some old ladies at a diner (?) as an alibi.

-"It's a stinking world because it lets the young get on to the old like you done, and there's no law nor order no more."

-"--The attempt to impose upon man, a creature of growth and capable of sweetness, to ooze juicily at the last round the bearded lips of God, to attempt to impose, I say, laws and conditions appropriate to a mechanical creation, against this I raise my sword-pen" pg 27. Foreshadowing.

-Alex is the alpha of the pack, just as he was in the movie.

-Alex is a teenager, or college age student.

-Alex's dream of Georgie being a general is also foreshadowing.

-P. R. Deltoid's warning to Alex tells us that Alex has been caught and in trouble before, enough times for him to have a post corrective advisor stop to visit him in his home. Sent there by Alex's mother.

-I think it's important to note that Alex using the same "my friend has fainted" play has it's own glimpse onto Alex's intelligence. While he does make himself appear to be high and mighty, no one is smarter than me, type character, why would he use the same play to lure people into opening their doors for him? If it's worked a few times in the past to get him what he wants, eventually people will catch the repetition and become warned of that phrase. Maybe that is why the cat lady was suspicious of the phrase from the start. She'd been warned and did the right thing but denying him entry and calling the police right away. Our Humble Narrator isn't as smart as he thinks.

-Alex is 15 at the the story takes place.

-Alex's lingo has a chokehold on my every waking moment. It haunts me how fluid it feels when I'm reading it, even though I have no idea what he's saying most of the time. I do find it interesting how the author indicates that the adults in the story speak without Alex's lingo, they speak "proper".

PART TWO

-Alex is now 17.

-It seems like in the film they completely removed the second murder Alex was convicted of, which I feel would have been important towards telling his story. In the film, they show Alex having taken responsibility and showing interested in becoming a better man. In the book, Alex is still manipulative and a bad character. He hasn't learned from his crimes. He's just annoyed that he is forced to be around people he considers to be lesser than him. He's disgusted by them. He's looking in the mirror and refuses to see his own reflection.

-Aversion therapy is what is happening here, where the patient is given an undesirable stimuli while being shown images, or in Alex's case, films, in order to treat the unwanted behavior. This was also administered as treatment for "curing" homosexuality back in the day alongside castration to cure gayness. While the practice has been looked down upon and shamed for the mental harm it causes patients who underwent this treatment, unfortunately conversion therapy and aversion therapy is still practiced today. However, there are proper non-harmful ways to use aversion therapy and is sometimes recommended by therapists. Aversion therapy is a type of behavioral therapy. It is sometimes used to help treat nail biting, alcoholism (some medications used to treat alcohol abuse trigger a sick feeling response when alcohol is consumed), and smoking.

-The "vitamin" injection was the undesirable stimuli, making Alex feel weak and the showing of the criminal activities on film made Alex condition criminal activity with feeling sick. Which is why later on when Alex is kicked around and shown breasts, he becomes sick. This is similar to the alcoholism aversion therapy medication which makes the patient nauseous when they consume alcohol. The author writing about this therapy did a great job at expressing the thoughts and actions and makes me wonder if he did this on purpose or if it was accidental.

-Alex is quickly beginning to realize the horrors he had committed. While it was fun and games for him before, now having the undesirable stimuli to punish his behavior is teaching him that crime is not fun and games.

-I wonder why they didn't show a scene of Alex hitting his head against the wall and showing sickness from it in the film. I feel they grazed over this part of the book, showing Alex and the films, his shouting and anger at the doctors playing his favorite music, but the read pain is in Alex's physical reactions. A duality can be found between pre-cured Alex and the correctional doctors, the violence is different but still violence. Same with the police violence towards the end.

-"Am I just to be like a clockwork orange?" page 129.

PART THREE

-Alex still feels higher than everyone else, that he's more important than everyone else.

-In the end, Alex didn't learn anything. He went right back to worshipping violence.

[artisticdemon]

Book Review because I'm Bored (1)

~Heartless by Marissa Meyer 💔

Leave if you don't want any spoilers because I AIN'T holding back.

Ok, you're still here, let's gooooo!

I was drawn in by the cover, the queen's face with the thorns around it, and bought it immediately. An origin story for the Queen of Hearts? Sold! Also, I do that quite a lot, I read the last paragraph and that made me wanna buy it right on the spot.

The story grabbed me and never let me go till the end, the scenes that were introducing the characters were top-notch. I didn't expect the action to be this good, to be honest. When I read that it includes a love story I kinda rolled my eyes a bit because love stories in many books are meh but if they are written properly then yes hit me up. And this one was good.

I was rooting for Catherine and Jest to escape and live their life and I can't count the times that I screamed at Catherine's cowardness and not taking her life into her hands despite her place in society. Someone will say that it wouldn't be easy but she needed to try and fight more! I hate it when people in books and in real life go down like that! Also, her mother can shut the Hell up. QUIET YOU OLD HAG! She was the typical oppressive mother that you want to scream at till your vocal cords bleed and put her in her place and show her that you are not a kid anymore but a person with feelings, needs and dreams.

I could talk about her mother for hours but I need to continue!

The Mad Hatter stole the show for me, his scenes were wild and entertaining and I actually used the scene where Kath asks him to become her business partner for a university project. That's how much I liked it. He was an antihero a bit in my eyes but still meant well and he did nothing wrong! NOTHING! Those pumpkin seeds were planted there by accident! He did nothing wrong! Also as I was reading his parts I could only see him as Undertaker from Black Butler XD I don't know why but it fit somehow XD

ANYWAY!

The secondary characters were fun and interesting too, especially Cheshire but he gets a pass because he is my favourite in general. Cheshire is there for the gossip and helps only when it suits him and this is very clear in the final act of the book.

The Kingdom of Hearts was full of people that wanted to have fun and not take themselves seriously and the King is a prime example of that. He wasn't bad or evil but really out of place. And when you have to deal with a threat, you need to be serious. And so needed the people of the kingdom.

Sir Peter was a scary enemy, the scenes with him and his wife sent chills down my spine because I could feel that these two were up to no good. And I knew his wife was the Jabberwock. I just knew it and it was confirmed when he built a giant pumpkin cage. Like, who are you putting in there Peter? //__-

Also, I didn't really understand how time works in Chess and in the Kingdom of Hearts so I need to read these parts again. But it had a nice touch, I was very anxious at some parts that time would run out. I don't know XD

At some point, Jest suggested a solution to their problem, telling Cath if they do a chess move the war will stop and they could live together in Chess. Yes, they were supposed to do a chess move and that part fried my brain because I don't know chess. I only know the pawns' names. And that's enough.

Now let's talk about the Sisters!

First of all, I loved how the author used the concept of the number 3, Fate and Fates from Greek mythology and the concept we have for Fate and I will share it with you: No matter what you do you will never escape it or change it, you will just stall it for a bit till she finds you again and I loved that! And I'm pretty sure you have heard about the number 3 and its meaning in folklore and myths.

Oh my Ghoul, I couldn't put the book down from chapter 42 till the end. It had gone dark and I loved every second of it, it was a horror movie on its own! When Jest, Catherine and Hatter entered their domain and the Sisters started asking for the heroes to hand them over something till the end in the courthouse I wasn't breathing from the anticipation. I felt trapped in that place too.

The journey and the desperation of Cath to change her fate and her transformation from a girl in love with dreams to a heartless creature was so macabrely beautiful and I didn't expect Jest to die to be honest, I thought he would survive but the pictures the Sisters had drawn were not there just for decoration. But his death should have been more dramatic. Give us the ANGST, HURT/COMFORT Marissa! But I feel like his decapitation was symbolic given the fact that's the Red Queen's choice for the whole series.

The change in Catherine's character it's amazing, she basically says to everyone who was controlling her life that making her the Queen will be the biggest mistake they ever made. And how far she was willing to go to find Peter and bring him to justice. I wanted her to be more cruel and don't hold back the things she wanted to say to everyone after the final battle but she didn't! I was like "Girl! They screwed you over! Scream at them, don't hold back! Make them cry! YOU DON'T HAVE A HEART ANYMORE!". But what ended up happening, in my opinion, was ok.

I visualize everything when I read and this made the experience so much better. I really loved the book and I hope Marissa Meyer writes more fairytale-inspired origin stories because she is so good. And the villain of the story for all of us XD

8 out of 10 black hearts for me 🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

[devitalise]

the end up the month always sneaks up on me, i saw your message and was like "oh she's early I have plentyyy of time!" yet here we are two days into April already AHHHH how were your March reads? & i forget, are you doing a no-buy thing or minimal buying for books? how's that been going 🤨

no literally in my head it's still march the last week has been a complete blur especially with the clocks going forward only just got my bearings. but this is now a nice lil springtime treat so let's get into my

march book wrap up

milk fed by melissa broder

i had a real voraciousness when i read this, i just couldn't get enough. not necessarily the writing, but of rachel. i love her. girls with complicated relationships with their mothers. a very unapologetic read i think, i had to do a bit of googling but i love that Broder didn't shy away from presenting the ideas and themes she set out to do in their fullest forms. kind of let down by the ending at the time of reading, but i can respect what it serves the book on reflection.

music: milk fed playlist review: booksburgersandbackpacks

fight night by miriam toews

kind of laughed as i remembered i read this. went on holiday this month, so picking this as my travelling read felt a bit risky i didn't know if i'd have the time to give this the attention it deserved, or if it'd even grab me. but it did. i loved this book so, so much. crying on a 9pm flight as i'm over the English channel unlocked. shiv i just want to hug you. i'm going to try get the physical version of this, i want the physicality of it so bad. equal parts love letter and biographical in nature, made it onto my top 2023 shelf and idk if i even have the words to do this justice!

music: think this was just my liked songs? podcast: shakespeare & company

things i don't want to know by deborah levy

claxon sounds alarm rings horns blare. i read nonfiction. i've heard real high praise of levy as an author. i don't know if there was any rhyme or reason for picking up part one in her living autobiography series, but i'm realy glad i did. how do you judge a memoir? sorry, your life was boring! in levy's case it wasn't. i appreciate how vulnerable it is to unpick your memories and make sense of them almost 40 years later, to revisit apartheid South Africa and digest what that makes you as a woman now in your 60s. refreshingly candid, some real interesting threads on womanhood, displacement, motherhood and agency in this. will be picking up the next in the series.

music: just some indie pop i think (scared to update spotify i've seen there's no more genre filters in liked songs? what's that about!) no review here did some independent thinking scarily

ok i did finish a book yesterday that i want to count but it hasn't been long enough for my thoughts to settle but i'm going to link everything now before i lose it.

let it come down by paul bowles (technicality)

music: let it come down (not period appropiate but perfect for that kind of restless energy) articles: the international zone: expat writers in tangier, what was the international zone, franco-moroccan war

and that was my march reading! still at a slow and steady pace. i am trying to do a no book buy moment! other than me buying 3 books in march, i've been going pretty strong. might break it though because i've picked out two more books set in tangier also by some of bowle's contemporaries and i really want to explore a setting like that as a wider more Themed block of reading if that makes sense. so i'll be buying naked lunch by william s. burruoughs and in tangier by mohamed chouckri in the next couple of days (in tangier is a memoir)

also amazon sent me a notification like maybe its time for a new kindle! my current one isn't even 2 years old and works perfectly fine i won't be giving in

[falseandrealultravival]

Days of eating soil (book review) ... Tsutomu Mizugami's "food" essay

earthen pizza (just kidding)

Mr. Tsutomu Mizugami(勉　水上) (1919-2004) died recently, but he has an excellent book on "food". That is "every day eating soil, my devotion 12 months". (Although it seems to be read as "Minakami Tsutomu", he called it "Mizugami".)

When I used to read the manga "Oishinbo: a eater delicious foods", the main character, Shiro Yamaoka, when he said, "Among the cooking-related books that are full of street now,  it's only worth reading ..." I had an intuition, and that's right, Shiro mentioned this book. The only such (= worth reading) book is "days of eating soil". I knew this book about 30 years ago.

Days of eating soil-Twelve months of my devotion (Shincho Bunko)

• Author: Tsutomu Minakami

• Publisher / Manufacturer: Shinchosha

• Release Date: 08/27/1982

• Media: Bunko

However, if I get a little mischievous, "If only" the days of eating soil "are worth reading, then" Oishinbo "will also be" a book not worth reading ", and it will be praised for its worthless book. "Days of eating soil" also invites the paradox that "it is not worth reading". Well, it's the rashness of Tetsu Kariya, the author of "Oishinbo". "Oishinbo" should have been excluded.

Coupled with the appearance of this "Oishinbo" and "children who refuse to eat the food in front of them because they are too annoying with the ingredients", it was a work with greater merit and demerit.

By the way, Tsutomu Mizugami was born in a poor lumberjack's house in the Wakasa region of Fukui prefecture. Was sent to a Zen temple). There he learns the basics of Vegetarian food, but at the end he leaves the temple, experiences various jobs, and is recognized as a writer for his work "Frying Pan Song". Then He had became a Naoki Prize writer.

In this book, if you read it in anticipation of a "cooking recipe", you will be wrong. Well, there is a way to pickle Umeboshi in the upper reaches of the water, but this book is a book that describes the "heart of cooking". Of course, Mr. Mizukami's culinary spirit shines when he encounters various ingredients.

At the time of writing this book, Mr. Mizugamiami lived in Karuizawa Town, Nagano Prefecture. Therefore, he develops the topic of vegetables and fruits that he can make, receive, and buy by himself. One of them, the part where Dogen Zenzi's(道元禅師) words were chewed upstream of the water:

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

When cooking and preparing all items, do not look at them with the eyes of ordinary people. Don't think in the mind of a mediocre person. You have to pick up a piece of grass and build a big temple and go into something like a fine dust to do the Buddhist sermon. Even when making poor vegetable cuisine, you shouldn't be disgusted or poor. Even if you're making a good meal with milk, don't be overjoyed. You should hold back your bouncing heart. You must not be obsessed with anything. Why is there a way to dislike poor things? Why don't we try to be good without being lazy even if it is poor? Never let your heart move by being caught up in the goodness of goods. Changing the mind with things and changing the language with people is not something that is bodhicitta.

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33P-34P

This word is the fundamental thesis of "every day eating soil". For example, with regard to radish, while despising an actor who cannot sell as a "radish actor", he says, "There are no ingredients that are as grateful as radish that can be obtained anytime, anywhere." , I think that it is a good radish with enough "spiciness".

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Also, from the description in the chapter in July, myoga (Japanese ginger) is called "stupid" by the greengrocers. Shurihandoku(One of disciples of Buddha )has a weak memory by nature, often forgets his name, walks with his name tag down, and myoga grows from his dead grave. I followed him around. Here is a word from Mr. Mizugami: "For me, myoga is like a summer vegetable that I want to do a medal, but what do readers think? I don't know the vegetables that have the amazing flavor). "

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

122P-126P

A word of the day: Winter, when you eat only dry foods without blue vegetables, spring April and edible wild plants, bamboo shoots in May, plum making in June, Japanese ginger in July, and so on. Seasonal ingredients will appear naturally, and you will be able to see each ingredient and the dishes made with it. Please take a look at this work, which is like a gem that treats those ingredients without distinction.

[ablednt]

Ok so update at about 11 chapters into this 63 something chapter long book (not as long as you think these chapters are pointlessly short but too long for this concept boy can I tell you)

Taking a break to write down some of my thoughts somewhere other than my notes document but to summarize my biggest gripe with this book and also summarize the plot our main character Skylenna (almost every character has some made-up fantasy name and I think Skylenna is more stupid sounding than the time we committed the same crimes as a kid and came up with "Raviella" as a name idea/hj) knowingly gets a job at a graphically violent and abusive psych ward

I thought from reading the synopsis that she was doing this so she could gather evidence of the abuses going on in there, like they were somehow being covered up. Instead, she's started working at this psych ward because her special empath ass is just so kind and smart that she'll reform it from inside despite being in nothing even hinting at a position of power to anyone except the patients.

She's such a good little empath that she gets a nonverbal person to speak to her and she's like yayy now they'll start taking me seriously here and let me make this place better!

And it's just. Yeah ok I hate this I hate everything about this how does this allegedly anti-psych media manage to be the most potent psych ward nurse propaganda I've seen in my goddamn life.

Also if you hate the brand of cis white feminism that thinks corsets are the sign of oppression and were literally killing helpless victorian women rather than just being like. bras. you're going to be even more uncomfortable with this book because it replaces the concept of corsets by having the government make every woman in the country have a mandatory eating disorder like literally anorexia or bulimia they are told to pick one and if they don't do this they're sent to the asylum. This is awkward and unrealistic to how nuanced societies work enough but it's emphasized how Horrible it is to be a woman in this society to a ridiculous amount that is actually so fucking uncomfortable.

The main character taking a fancy bath with oil in it and putting on lotion was described more vividly and as if it was more horrible than someone experience actual water torture and I have no fucking clue why but it is So Fucking Weird and unsettling to read.

I deliberately chose not to look up any of the criticism this book was getting because I want a genuine/unbiased first thoughts review on everything but when I learned about the book from the beginning of a review I didn't watch the youtuber mentioned she was linking to videos of a trans person talking about the transphobia in the book so I am really not going to be surprised if the author is terf adjacent somehow.

Oh and when she's empathing all over the place she describes the mentally ill people she's helping (all of which we've met so far are convicted murderers by the way) to animals and says it makes her feel like she's playing games with children when she communicates with nonverbal people.

The plural character hasn't even been introduced yet because everyone is too afraid to speak his name or go near his door and it's this big mystery on who this terrifying person is. The ableism of that aside it's so funny to me that so much mystery is supposed to surround this character considering the entire synopsis goes into detail about him so we know exactly who he is already.

I have a lot of thoughts on the structure and overall writing of the book (it all really sucks lmao!) but I don't feel like typing those up right now.