#if I ever made a book or even just an eBook that got translated

[dimiclaudeblaigan]

Wrt localization, I can understand wanting to change let's say a joke if the context of the joke would be lost on people due to play on the language. But when someone changes the content of a story and characterization to the point where it's a completely different experience and then they have the audacity to say "have respect for the localizers. You support gg" or some nonsense in response to criticism, it's really disingenuous.

Not sure if you saw when I mentioned it before, but yeah. There are times when they have to make cultural changes (Pokemon did it with food to make more sense to the western audience!), change jokes that won't land in translation, etc. Those are reasonable changes that have to be made or the audience will just be confused/uninterested/disconnected.

Sometimes there are also jokes that in different cultures would be deemed inappropriate (like the sex joke aimed at Edelgard in the middle of the night - that makes sense that it was removed because western culture would've been largely uncomfortable with it). Age differences also account for this, in that what's seen as appropriate to a teen audience in JP is not necessarily considered appropriate in the west.

My viewpoint toward localization is that it should only be that. Everything else should be a faithful translation as much as is able, i.e. doesn't alter the message given in the original script. It doesn't matter if the content is from Japan, if it's a JRPG or what have you. If it was of French origin, I'd still say the same thing: that the messages and narrative of the French originating story should be handled faithfully and should be telling the same story/characterizations/etc to all audiences in any location.

Obviously in translation you can't make everything one to one or the sentences would sound off and/or broken. That's why you reword things to have the sentences structurally accurate in the translated language. Doing that, however, should not involve changing the meaning behind the sentence or trying to sell a different narrative. Doing that becomes a different story, even if only in bits and pieces. When a story nudges really fuckin' hard trying to tell you something that's wrong is right or that something right is wrong, but that narrative is only added into a loc and didn't already exist, it's a disrespect toward the writers and their original intention.

Even if, yes, the writers were very bias toward Edelgard (which they were as that was, again, confirmed in an interview), it didn't come at the cost of other characters. It didn't come at the cost of Rhea being worse, Dimitri being worse, or Claude being worse. It didn't come at the cost of her allies all being disgusted by their enemies that they were invading. They loved Edelgard when they were writing her, but they didn't make that cloud how they treated other characters (and while yes, the Nabateans get largely ignored in favor of focusing on Edelgard and such, it's not at the cost of their characterization or to make them seem worse).

Even if the loc heaps praise upon praise toward Edelgard and that doesn't harm the original intent, it's what they do to other characters that disrespects the original content. It would be like if they took FE10/RD and had Ike (who was actually just and a good person) spouting nonsense about Micaiah that just wasn't true, hyping up his allies to kill her because she Must Die.

Personally, I'm no Micaiah fan. She was one of my most hated characters in the franchise until Edelgard (and Berandetta) showed up. I still am not fond of Micaiah and she's still pretty low on the rung for me. That said, I would not enjoy a narrative where Ike wrongfully labeled her and her allies and provided his people (and the Laguz Alliance by extension) a false narrative about her. If those things about her were true I wouldn't care, but they wouldn't be. Why does that not work for Ike? Because it's not who he is as a character to say those things, and thus if he did, it means something is off.

The original has some ??? points about Edelgard that favor her/lift her up, but again, it's not doing harm to other characters. Yeah, we get the whole "they are the enemy" stuff from her side, but like... that's the point. If you team up with her, you're on her side and are seeing the story through her perspective, which makes her enemies, well, the enemies. They're viewed in a bad light on that one route.

But when you actually come into contact with the characters in question? It's not as bad as she makes it out to be. She, as the protagonist of her own story, makes other named characters and their ways of living sound very bad because she views them negatively, but we don't actually see what she claims if we personally come into contact with those characters.

What the loc does is have her say those things, understandably from her side, but then trash the characters' very characterization and personality to match her and her/her allies' opinions of them. The characters reflect her views with no pushback whatsoever, when it should be that the pushback is how those characters she talks about behave.

There should be a dissonance between her thoughts about them and who they truly are. It should make you question, "is this really right?". You should feel bad when you kill genuinely good people (like Sylvain. You shouldn't feel like he's some trash scumbag, but feel upset about his death and find yourself questioning why he had to die - not cheering for his death).

Point being, the loc changed that stuff because ??? I guess they wanted Edelgard to shine at her very absolute brightest, and the only way to do that was to harp on all the characters who opposed her. I don't understand why they would do that tbh (like I know the intent, i.e. making her look good, but I don't know why they went to such lengths to vilify her enemies and not just say hey, maybe she's wrong about these people but I'm still going to fight for her, if fighting for her is what you decided to do. The one idea I have is the final paragraphs of this post).

It just makes it feel a lot like purist culture, where if you've sided with her than they can't possibly let her be actually bad and do bad things. You've sided with her, so she simply cannot be a villain! It makes the loc team seem afraid of a concept of siding with the villains, feeling the need to change it because it's BaD to play a game/route where you do that. It feels like it's portraying the idea that if you do bad things in a video game, you condone those bad things irl.

Whether that was their thought process or not, that's exactly what it comes off as, and that since they loved Edelgard they couldn't portray her poorly unless there was no other option. In the times they do finally portray her poorly via other characters, there's always pushback in some form, like someone defending her, giving her the benefit of the doubt after everything she'd already done and still intended to do, or being sad about fighting/killing her. In the original that was still there, but the loc just added to it - just by doing a whole lot of damage to other characters in the process.

Meanwhile with Rhea, there's always negative pushback. If she does something good, there's a negative thought following her good actions. Obviously there isn't space for that to happen literally every single time, but when possible it's there. Again, this is another thing the loc amped up, and I can only guess it's because she's the head of the Church (and churches are viewed as the enemy in most JPRGs) and the main person Edelgard opposes (with no acknowledgement from the loc team, about why that is, being a bad thing).

It's like, the one time there's a game where the Church isn't actually the enemy, they... made it so that the loc reflected that the Church is still actually the enemy. Churches being the enemy are so common that it was intentionally used in the original script as a red herring. You think they're gonna be the big bads because they always are in JRPGs.

The point of that was meant to fulfill itself as a red herring, making you focus on them and scrutinize everything they said and did even heavier than you would anyone else. It makes everything Edelgard does get swept under the rug and causes the player not to notice until it's fastballed at you. That's why you end up fighting her and not the Church except if you're specifically on her route.

That was lost in loc, of course, and it got so overwhelmingly popular in the west (which I do believe is a reason they did it to begin with, i.e. made the Church the baddies by western viewpoint because the west apparently eats that shit right up) that Hopes catered most strongly toward the western audience, making the Church the big bads (who... don't even do anything wrong whatsoever in this game and hardly even exist to do so, but I can only guess they got largely ignored because they were so hated, and less positive interaction with them meant less worry of killing innocent people/more not caring about them as the enemy) of two routes out of three; not because that was the original script's intent, but because they just went with what was popular even if it went against their home game's intention. I was pretty unsurprised to find out this went over very badly with JP players.

In other words the loc was so widely understood as the true canon/intent of the story (despite its vast and drastic changes) that Hopes was crafted around the loc more than it was the original script. The loc of Houses altered so much that it changed the perception of the audience consuming it, so whether the JP writers are aware that that's why the game was consumed the way it was or not, they just knew a chunk of the western audience loved Edelgard and hated Rhea.

When I play a game I want the same story and experience that everyone has playing it. I don't want to understand it differently than it's meant to be understood and was understood in the region it was created in. If it's a dark and mature themed game, it should stay that way. It western audiences can't handle that, then the game shouldn't be played by them whether it comes out in the west or not.

If you can't handle the content of a video game, you shouldn't play it, plain and simple. No amount of "oh but I like this portion of it!" changes the overall narrative that you can't handle and/or don't like (and you wouldn't know you like a part of it if you didn't play it at all, which you did play it despite knowing it's largely not for you. If you didn't know but play it and find out, you put it down and move on). The game's messages should not be altered to fit purists or baby the players. If it needs to be edited that strongly to work in the west, my feeling on it is that it should not be released in the west.

If it is released, the story should not be altered to baby its audience. If people do play it despite that and can't handle it, it's their responsibility to stop playing it and not bitch at the people who released it (in any region) or bitch at the loc team for not changing anything (i.e. bitching that the loc team didn't change creative aspects of the story to fulfill another region's agenda).

Why does that happen though? Capitalism, quite frankly. Companies prefer the money added to their coffers than to keep the originality of a creative piece of art. They'll follow any political agenda that's popular, any social media agenda that's popular, etc, even if it means changing creativity.

They want the most people possible to purchase it, so if more people will buy the product, even if it means sullying the creative work of the original writers, they'll do it. That may not be true worldwide, but it absolutely is with many western companies. If the narrative of a game doesn't fit what western culture agrees with, they'll change it to make it so that western culture agrees with it (re: the Church).

Localization shouldn't exist to change a work of art/to change any media form for the sake of just releasing it in another region for the profit, but it does happen; hence why I prefer translation to loc. Over the years I've grown to hate western localization more and more.

If localizers have to work that badly to change what already exists (including changing the intent of the creator(s)), I have zero respect for their "efforts" for trying to alter a story and possibly even pursue a particular agenda (because we play games to have fun and enjoy something, not to have irl agendas thrown back in our faces).

Translators who go through loops upon loops to make sure the story stays as intact as possible with only changes of necessity are the ones I respect. Translating things to keep the meaning of a story is a lot more difficult and trying than just going "well how about we just completely change this and then we don't even have to think about how to work it out".

Also, there's a difference between pursuing an agenda or writing something to fix a glaring issue like racism. If there are aspects of a media that got changed in the west to eliminate racism (which is often, especially in Japan from my understanding based on other media I consume, done because of ignorance and not genuinely harmful intent), that's understandable.

That alone shouldn't alter a whole story though, and if it has to because the racism or whatever it is is that bad, then the work should simply not be released in the west! Simple as that! If it's that bad, why support those things by changing them to sound nicer/better and let the original product still generate revenue?

Now, is all localization this bad? No. Is Houses' localization bad enough that it changed an entire region's perception on the contents of the game? Yes. That's a no no for me.

I respect localization that does its best to keep the same story and change what won't work in another region (including what may be deemed unacceptable in said region or really toes a line of general regional discomfort).

I do not respect localization that sticks in the team's own biases or tries to push any kind of agenda to appeal to certain people. If a piece of creative media is created without the intention to push any kind of agenda, it should remain that way and not suddenly have things added to it for that purpose.

I respect creative media. I don't respect capitalism and changing content to cater to a specific subset of an audience, including the staff's own.

[three--rings]

You should read Little Mushroom

Hey guys! As followers know, I've just finished reading this cnovel and I'm here to do a formal rec of it.

What is Little Mushroom?

It's a chinese danmei (BL) novel by the author Shisi, originally published online, now available in official English translation from Peach Flower House.

What's it about?

This is a post-apocalyptic dystopian sci-fi novel where the protagonist is a mushroom.

What??

Yeah, he's an actual mushroom. Most of the Earth is a wasteland of radiation and mutated monsters, which means things are WEIRD AS FUCK. He comes from a particularly weird and dangerous place, and somehow he achieves sentience. His spore (child? infant? egg?) is stolen by a human and he finds a dying human called An Ze so he takes this human's form and memories and becomes human-shaped and calls himself An Zhe. Then he goes seeking out more humans to find and save his spore.

Okay, and this is a romance? With a mushroom?

Yes. Though this is honestly one of the danmei I've read that is lightest on the romance. Really the star of the show is the world-building and questions about humanity and ethics.

Characters:

An Zhe: The most adorable mushroom ever. You will love him. Everyone loves him. He's just a little mushroom trying to navigate a weird human world without the humans discovering he's really a "monster."

Lu Feng: The Arbiter, a judge authorized to kill anyone on sight that he suspects of being contaminated with xenogenic (monster) genes. And he does, a lot. Seemingly cold and unfeeling, hated by many if not most of the human population because he, yanno, keeps killing people, even if it's necessary to protect what remains of humanity. He spares An Zhe, though.

Other characters: Well, most of them don't last long. It's a vicious world. There's a lot of death. There are some nice side characters towards the end, though.

Why should I read this?

Look, it's just a really great book, okay? It's a book about a fairly grim future for humanity, and the things humanity is forced to do to survive, and dystopian elements and the struggles that result. It's about big ethical questions and big existential questions about whether humanity deserves to live and what the point of struggling to survive is...whether there is any hope for humanity and whether there's any point to hope at all.

And it's all told through the POV of a mushroom. Come on!

For all that, it's not a dark novel. The first half in particular feels pretty light, mostly because of the POV, granted. It's really funny in a lot of parts, but the undertone, the background is always this fairly grim stuff. Really unique juxtaposition. The second half gets deeper and really digs into the existential questions. And yeah it made me cry towards the end.

Minor spoilers from here on

But it does have a happy ending for the main characters and the romance, and a hopeful if not entirely happy one for humanity as a whole.

The romance is fairly light on the ground in this. An Zhe is a mushroom and he doesn't really understand sex or romance or have much interest in it for most of the book, despite people constantly trying to GET him interested. Lu Feng is clearly in the background developing feelings, but An Zhe is oblivious and just worried about his mushroom concerns, yanno? Eventually there are feelings-realization and they end up together, but it's still doesn't feel like a traditional romance. I'd say it's very ace friendly even if there are hints of sexual off-screen stuff.

Other reasons to read it:

It's short for a cnovel, and it flies by. This was my main vacation reading that I took to the pool and it was perfect. And I FLEW through vol 2 in a couple of sittings.

It's got a very nice translation and you should support this lesser known novel getting an English publication from a publisher that isn't Seven Seas.

Where do I buy it?

Both physical volumes are available from Peach Flower House. Or you can get ebooks from various ebook sellers, including Amazon. (Right now Amazon also has the paperbacks, but when I was buying they didn't.)

More Info.

[holofoiltowercard]

The Journey of The Tarot Haiku

VI: The Lovers - Love of Tarot

When I first jotted down my plan to make one update a day based on the Fool's Journey, I was a little unsure about what to do for The Lovers vis a vis my book project, as shown by my notebook saying "love... of Tarot?" next to it. Even as I am typing up this post, I'm not sure yet how to connect it to the book (what more is there to say beyond the fact that it is a labor of love!), but I am committed to the pattern I have chosen, so today I'll talk about my love for the Tarot, and the Tarot decks I have, since a Tarot reading and their Tarot deck(s) is sort of a love story, isn't it?

So, I really love the Tarot, it is so fascinating. The systems, the stories, the way it really captures the energy, how accurate it is when you focus on it. I said earlier that I have always loved cards and thought there was something magical about a deck of cards, each having its own unique meaning and energy. It really was made for someone like me, who keeps wanting to explore it and apply it in various ways. I have literally just published a book, the hardcover went live exactly a week ago, and already I am thinking about what might be my next Tarot-related project. It is captivating and will probably keep me busy for the years to come.

And now for my Tarot decks, of which I so far have five. For comparison, I chose the same ten cards to show off each - 0: The Fool, Ace of Cups, Four of Wands, Seven of Swords, Ten of Pentacles, XXI: The World, Page of Cups, Knight of Wands, Queen of Swords and King of Pentacles.

My first deck was The Type Tarot, and when I do readings where I have to ask the questions in English, this deck makes me feel the most confident to do so. I really love the word-heavy design and I'm so happy I started with this one.

I do have a Rider Waite deck as well, with the card names translated into Hungarian, and whenever I do quick readings for myself, I like to take it out and speak my questions in my native language.

My next deck was The Crystal Tarot illustrated by Italian artist Elisabetta Trevisan, whose artwork immediately captivated me. To this day I consider it the most beautiful Tarot Deck I have ever seen, and if I could purchase prints of the artwork for my walls, I would.

I also purchased The Sorcerer's Tarot because the fairy tale type illustrations appealed to me, and got a fun surprise when I saw just how adventurous and dare I say, saucy the deck was when I laid out all the cards. It is an absolute treat.

Last but not least, I also have been privileged to receive a Tarot deck as a gift. One of my mom's friends used to read Tarot, and when she heard I was studying it, she brought her decks over to show them to me. I looked through about a dozen decks I have never seen before, and many were beautiful and intricate, but there was only one that immediately grabbed me: Tarot de la nueva visión, which features the original Rider Waite illustrations from behind. It was such a fresh perspective that I could not stop admiring the cards, and my mom's friend kindly gifted it to me.

(One day I would love to also own The Urban Tarot, whenever I have the means.)

Needless to say, these Tarot decks helped me immensely in my studies, and they have been invaluable in my journey to write the poems for my book.

Buy the ebook

Buy the paperback

Buy the hardcover

[ninja-muse]

January took forever and February took days. February also saw robins and single-jacket weather and geese migrations, and now it is also seeing December-grade snowfall? The 21st century is weird.

Anyway, I feel like this was another good reading month, even though I had some decidedly all right books in my list and a few moments of "I have hundreds of unread books, why is there nothing to read?!" I managed to offload five (5!) reading copies and only take two in, though I already know I've got two more coming towards me soon because I just can't say no, apparently.

As for book hauls and the TBR shelf situation: I only bought one book, the latest installment of the Rivers of London comics, which I hadn't realized was out so obviously I had to get it. And then read it a couple days later. Also read off my shelves were Dreadnought by Cherie Priest (which had only been on my shelf for 13 years), The Compleat Discworld Atlas, and Jackalope Wives and Other Stories by T. Kingfisher, which isn't pictured because I have the ebook and I couldn't get a good pic of my phone. (People who do this, please send tips!)

And following on from my Digger update from last month: the books are one step closing to shipping internationally! Hooray!

Oh, and a friend with a book box subscription passed a map from the Daevabad Trilogy on to me, so I have yet another decoration for my shelves. Still finding the optimal place for it, and feeling blessed to have such friends.

No idea what March is going to bring, except I feel like there'll be more dithering about reading material.

And now without further ado, in order of enjoyment…

Perilous Times - Thomas D. Lee

Rising sea levels. Mass extinctions. Racists. In-fighting. Dragons. If ever there was a time for the Knights of the Round Table to save the day, this would be it. But can they? Out in May.

8/10

Black main character, 🏳️‍🌈 main character (gay), British-Indian/Muslim main character; Black, amputee, and 🏳️‍🌈 secondary characters (trans woman, sapphic, gay)

warning: existential despair, violence

The Compleat Discworld Atlas - Terry Pratchett with the Discworld Emporium

A guide to the Disc, with maps in.

8/10

The 2000s Made Me Gay - Grace Perry

Essays on pop culture and queerness.

7.5/10

🏳️‍🌈 author

warning: discussions of homophobia

The Porcelain Moon - Janie Chang

Faced with an arranged marriage, Pauline decides to travel to the Western Front to find her cousin. Meanwhile, Camille is caught between an abusive marriage and her secret love for a Chinese translator.

7/10

Chinese main and secondary characters, secondary character with discalculia, Chinese-Canadian author, 🇨🇦

warning: rape, domestic violence, racism, miscarriage

Jackalope Wives and Other Stories - T. Kingfisher

Short stories and other writings.

7.5/10

Dreadnought - Cherie Priest

Mercy travels from Tennessee to Washington Territory to visit her estranged father, two decades into the American Civil War. It won’t be easy.

7/10

Black and Mexican secondary characters

warning: war, gore, occasional racial slurs, including the N-word

The Fairy Tellers - Nicholas Jubber

Explorations into the history of fairy tales and the people who told them.

7/10

contains discussion of and biographies for Syrian and Indian tale tellers

Rivers of London, Vol. 10 - Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel, Celeste Bronfman with José María Beroy (illustrator)

Chelsea and Olympia Thames accidentally free an angry artist from a tree near their campsite—but don’t worry, they’ve got a plan.

6.5/10

Black-British main and secondary characters, Korean and Indian secondary characters

Happy Place - Emily Henry

Harriet and Wyn are back in Vermont for their annual friend reunion. This could be the last time, so it’s got to count. Which means nobody can know they broke up months ago. Out in May.

6.5/10

protagonist with depression, Black, Indo-American, and 🏳️‍🌈 (sapphic) secondary characters

This Winter - Alice Oseman

The Spring siblings would really like a normal Christmas. Shame about this one.

6/10

🏳️‍🌈 characters (gay, bisexual), 🏳️‍🌈 author

warning: discussion of eating disorders and mental illness, some of which is distinctly negative

Nocturne - Alyssa Wees

A ballerina in 1930s Chicago acquires a mysterious patron and finds herself in a fairy tale. One of the dark ones.

7/10

warning: abuse, grief, coercion

Full of Briars - Seanan McGuire

Quentin’s parents want to take him away from his found family.

6/10

🏳️‍🌈 protagonist (bisexual), 🏳️‍🌈 author

Under Lock & Skeleton Key - Gigi Pandian

Tempest is home after her magic show ended in disaster. Then her former assistant is found dead inside an old wall, and it might have something to do with the family curse.

4.5/10

Indo-American protagonist, Black and Indo-American secondary characters, 🏳️‍🌈 side characters, Indo-American author

Currently reading:

The Magician’s Daughter - H.G. Parry

Biddy’s magical guardian is under attack and she must leave her island home to protect him.

Stats

Monthly total: 13 Yearly total: 25/140 Queer books: 4 Authors of colour: 2 Books by women: 9 Authors outside the binary: 0 Canadian authors: 1 Off the TBR shelves: 4 Books hauled: 1 ARCs acquired: 2 ARCs unhauled: 5 DNFs: 0

January

[ribombeee]

16, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, and 27 for the ask game? i love you!!! ❣️❣️❣️❣️

OK HERE WE GO!!

16. the book that made u fall in love with reading?

oh gosh. um. the first series i was every into as like a young young child was the little house on the prairie series but i think the first book/series i ever really liked for like the Themes and Artistry was the gregor the overlander series hot damn those books made me so upset as like an 8 year old child. if u remember i wanted to have my 9th birthday party be gregor the overlander themed. with like giant rats and cockroaches i guess. it would been fucking awesome

20. do u prefer audio books or e-books?

i read a lot of ebooks bc theyre the easiest format to get ahold of but i dont have fond feelings towards them. whereas i am a certified audiobookhead certified freak for audiobooks. bc i like reading while walking around or drawing and i like voice acting

21. hardcovers or paperbacks?

hardcovers for modern books bc im a book cover HATER if a cover is bad it will distract me and most hardcovers u can take the dust cover off and burn it as a sacrifice to Big Graphic Design. however in an ideal world with no hideously ugly covers i would read exclusively paperbacks small enough to fit in a hoodie pocket <3

22. a book that u hated at first but now love it?

this may be kind of a cop out answer but the translation of the odyssey i read in high school english was extremely boring and cliche and the version i read in college (tr. emily wilson) gave me a bit of a diff perspective… i still wouldnt say i love it but i have a healthy respect for it

23. a book u used to love but now hate?

i really dont know if i can think of an answer for this… i feel like even really stupid books i loved as a kid i can appreciate for what they are even if i wouldnt read them now

24. a book genre u haven't read? why?

idk if i have an answer for this one either?? umm i was gonna say i havent read steampunk but i actually totallly have OH i guess i havent read self help books. bc i think theyre stupid and unhelpful

25. a book that had u bawling ur eyes out?

by god. nona the ninth. literally perhaps the book on this earth that has made me the most upset. all 3 locked tomb books made me cry but for weeks after reading nona i would randomly start crying just thinking about how she never got to have her first birthday party and invite all the dogs. poor poor baby nona…… u also already know that i used to be completely unable to read like more than 3 lines into snow and dirty rain from richard siken’s crush without bursting into tears like a maniac that was very normal of me. average 15 year old experience

26. ur fav quote from a book?

many many many!!!! but the first one that comes to mind and the one i’ll go with is this fucking banger of a classic from tlhod thank u miss le guin thank u miss therem harth rem ir estraven

[kropotkins-revenge]

Just one more note on AI art: it's not going to replace human artists. Not because it never possibly could ever because human art will always be better, but because when has anything ever actually been replaced?

MP3s didn't replace CDs. People still use CDs. CDs didn't replace cassette tapes, tapes didn't replace 8-tracks, 8-tracks didn't replace vinyl. Tons of people still use those things. They're not as popular - except vinyl - but they exist and people use them and love them.

You could say digital video replaced tape video, but especially in artsy circles film still very much has its place. Same for photography. Same for digital effects - Photoshop and AfterEffects and green screens are the standard, but practical effects are still widely appreciated and preferred.

Ebooks and Kindles haven't replaced books, and although it did hella damage to the industry and fucked a lot of good people over, ultimately, Amazon hasn't replaced bookstores.

Home video didn't replace going to the movies. Streaming hasn't replaced going to the movies. Despite all the new options, not only is the theater industry thriving - despite covid, no less - box office sales are still (erroneously) the sole metric by which people gauge the success of a movie.

None of those advances actually replaced anything - except maybe streaming replacing video rental, but I don't see many people complaining about that. What happened was that people have more options now, and established standards got freaked out by that on the assumption that the only reason people liked them was because they had no other options.

But despite having the option (which I prefer) of holding thousands of albums on a tiny chip in your phone to be listened to as needed through internal speakers, external speakers, headphones, earpieces, airpods, and car stereos, millions of people still obsessively prefer vinyl (even though there's actually no difference in quality because it was all recorded digitally in the same way at the same time, but whatever).

Becuse nobody ever loved vinyl because they had no other choice. People loved vinyl for dozens of neat and quirky and immersive and emotional things that they still love them for today. What was exciting, and still is, about new forms of media is the option for convenience.

8-tracks didn't replace vinyl, not because they sucked, but because having a convenient way to listen to music in the car or to store a music collection with less space didn't replace the emotional effect of holding a giant cardboard case with big cool detailed album art on it, pulling out a big solid hunk of music, feeling the grooves of the music on your fingertips, reading the liner notes while you listen to it.

Kindles didn't replace books not because they're inferior, but because there's a benefit and a convenience to carrying a whole library in a thin device and never having to worry about losing a bookmark, and that convenience can never replace the smell of a book, the warm feeling of seeing a typo in a mass-published book reminding you that even the authors we revere *and* a team of proofreaders can still miss things just like we do, the feeling of a thick book in your hands or in your back pocket.

Home video and streaming haven't replaced going to the movies because going to the movies isn't about convenience, it's about the big screen and cool audio system, the snacks and popcorn, the big comfy seats and dark room, the romance of it.

Hell, movies didn't replace live theater, because both have their place and their appeal. You can do things with movies you could never do with live theater, but you can do things on stage that would never translate to film.

It's the same with AI art. It's a convenience and a novelty, but even if (and I think it's likely) it gets to the point that you can really say that AI art can, completely independently, make art that moves people emotionally, human-made art is loved for so much more than just the art itself. It's not the source of the creation we respond to, ultimately, it's the process. It's the years of experiences and self-reflection and humanity that are being translated into fantastical visuals.

No matter how popular AI art gets, it won't replace that. It might get more popular for a minute, but for a hot minute the Beatles were more popular than Jesus, too. Novelty surges and then things level off once it's no longer new and exciting, and that's the point where you find both contenders settling into niche roles.

We'll find a balance where generally AI art is vital and perfect for certain things (like marketing) and human art is perfect for other things (like therapy, expression, and connection), and the new thing will be accepted as Just Another Tool and the old thing will be appreciated even more than before out of recognition of the time and effort that didn't *have* to be put into it, but were.

Like how hand-made furniture is more appreciated than it used to be now that, technically, they could've just 3D printed the damn thing, but they chose to put their heart and soul (and likely blood) into it because it mattered to them.

Seriously, this unbalance is temporary. Artists, don't think so little of yourselves as to actually believe anything could ever replace what you do. Convenience has its place, and it doesn't have to threaten yours. This trend is filling a need that has nothing to do with the need you fill.

[m2kdj-waist-connoisseur]

One thing I love so much about orv is the writing style. SS has such a beautiful writing style that I get absorbed into orv whenever I open my kindle.

Orv doesn't have a single meaning, the scenes we interpret do not have a single interpretation and I love that. Different aspects have different interpretations and I believe that’s really beautiful for a book to have different interpretations and invoke thought.

Sometimes I’ll sit and think about a scene in orv and come up with my own interpretation, how it made me feel then open twitter and see someone with something different and it makes me think more. I read the thread wanting to know why they think like that? What did you see that I didn’t? And seeing different opinions (the good ones, not the hateful ones some assholes drop) make me really happy. Maybe it’s cause my brain can’t rest and refuses to stop at my interpretation but I have to say SS really made a piece of art!

Orv would make literature teachers cry cause it can be interpreted in so many ways (gone with ‘the curtain is blue as a symbol of sadness’).

Another good thing about Orv having such an open to interpretation style is that spoilers don’t pull me off. I haven’t finished it but can talk about it for a more than reasonable length (Apologies to my younger brother as I spent well over an hour explaining why kdj and yjh are life and death companions last week) because I’ve seen so many takes and opinions on twitter.

Hell twitter was the final push that made me pick it up (shoutout toapollo their jd sleeping beauty au led me down the orv rabbit hole). Seeing the ‘spoilers’ on twitter piqued my curiosity and made me search for a way to read orv and here I am on tumblr.

I wanted to know why are jd known as ‘life and death companions’? Why does 49% and 51% trigger people? Why is my tl filled with kdj’s 24 inch waist? (I believe his waist is AT MOST 26 inches) With so many whys, threads explaining shit after I liked ONE AU I picked it up for myself and I can say starting Orv is the best and worst thing I’ve ever done to myself.

I can confidently say orv is indeed the bane of my existence and the object of my desires (head in hands begging for an official English translation so I can buy it ) Orv didn’t pull me out of a reading slump, it put me in multiple but they’re the most pleasant slumps I’ve had cause I don’t want to finish reading it but I also can’t wait to finish it so I’ve decided to stall my suffering and take it at an extremely slow pace.

This feels like a diary rn

I feel like I’ve said a lot without really saying anything but meh so is life ig (damn Shakespeare got nothing on me)

I almost forgot!

The topic of interpretation comes from lsk encouraging kdj’s love for books! Lsk encouraged kdj to reread books when he’s done because there’s always more to it than what you saw in the first read. He could reread a book and focus on someone else’s pov and get an entirely new story from something so simple :) I’m not a fan of rereading books (I’ve tried and just can’t so it’s one of the reasons I stick to ebooks cause I don’t have to worry about getting rid of books I’ll no longer read ( ◠‿◠ ) )

Orv might have been about that one reader’s pov (sobs) but it sure made me think of things from others’ pov! It took being empathetic to another level and made me want to understand these characters and not just understand their love for that rat bastard {affectionate}.

I wanted to understand why these people kept going when it looked like all was lost. They’re living in an apocalypse for goodness sake and they’re still trying to survive??? I’d look for the quickest and least painful way to end it all cause I wouldn’t see a way out and even if I did see one who says I’d struggle to get it?? Do they keep moving just to survive? Why do they struggle when a peaceful death sounds appealing? (if it’s not obvious I’m a weak ass bitch and can’t imagine facing a scenario )

There’s something in them that makes them move even before they met kdj. Maybe it’s the fear of death? Maybe it’s hope? Maybe it’s the desire to live even when it seems impossible? Maybe it’s something I haven’t thought of?? Who knows?? (SS probably but this ain’t about them :) )

JD HAS DIFFERENT INTERPRETATIONS AS WELL

There are people that ship jd and see romantic intentions behind their actions (they’re married your honour) and there are people that have chosen to interpret these actions as outstanding companionship (history will say they were best friends) and that’s fine!

To my knowledge, SS hasn’t confirmed anything but best believe jd is married with biyoo as their daughter and living together with a nice house in the suburbs free from all scenarios and just enjoying domestic married life to me. Jd has caused so much commotion in the fandom that it’s funny. Like damn it’s not my fault I see two married men (life and death companions is a wedding vow???!) and other people see besto friendos ٩( ᐛ )و

*puts rose tinted shades on* all in all I need to hold kdj’s waist and will not know peace until then

Anyway! Let me stop here I need to eat something and if I keep brainstorming I’m gonna cry ϵ( 'Θ' )϶

[applesauce365]

How I study Korean

I don't attend any language school for Korean but I can't take all the credit either because I have resources which help me, a lot.

Learning Spanish for two months helped me understand the key points about learning a foreign language. I started with the basics, 한글.

Reading & Writing: I made sure I knew the correct stroke order and pronunciation of the 한글 characters. I wrote 한글 everyday for about a month while reading aloud the character I was writing. Just like in kindergarten, when I was learning my first language, English.

I used Duolingo to practice the 한글 characters. Repetition is the key.

With Korean, the new part was - syllable blocks.

Even Bengali or Hindi didn't have them. So I dived into the concept of syllable blocks. I wrote words which were one or two syllables long in order to get used to the writing system.

I wasn't happy about my handwriting though. It looked very blocky and un-native-like. So I practiced writing Korean like a native.

My initial handwriting

Practicing how to write like a native

During the transition I might've been trying too hard. (and that's a lot of 박보검 and 오빠)

This is my steady Korean handwriting. It's not pretty but it's legit. (None of my handwritings are pretty)

This is my English handwriting and I've been writing English ever since I was a baby. I just don't have very good penmanship, I guess. (this is actually a random chemistry question. All I write these days are science stuff for NEET, so.)

Pronunciation: Now that I knew how to read and write 한글, I moved on to the phonetics. Here's an order I follow and I think you should too, when learning a language from scratch.

Gotta start from the core

Vowels are cool, but consonants? Man, did I struggle. Voiced, unvoiced, unaspirated, aspirated, tense... WTF? I got through it.

Next in line for Korean pronunciation were 받침 and nasal assimilation/ nasalization.

Speech levels: English doesn't have speech levels but Bengali and Hindi do, so it was comparatively easier for me to understand that. Bengali and Hindi both have 3 speech levels. On the whole, Korean has 2 반말 and 존댓말. But on a more precise level, it has 7. You need to know 4 and you're good to go.

Basic Vocabulary: I have books in Korean for beginners and apps like EPS TOPIK Korean and Eggbun are also a fun way of learning new and useful words. I don't bother getting premium, the free version does a pretty good job.

Conjugation: Korean conjugation is pretty easy. All you have to care about is the tense, as it doesn't depend on number (singular/plural) or person (I/you/it). Also, Korean nouns are gender neutral. I consult Hanji whenever I'm in doubt.

Sentence Construction: Korean sentences have a Subject+Object+Verb order unlike English sentences which have a Subject+Verb+Object order. Bengali, however, has an order similar to that of Korean.

Counters: This is something which is much more common in Bengali than in English. Counters or counting words are classifiers. In English it is "two sheets of paper", not "two papers". Analogously, in Korean 장 is used to count sheets.

Numbers: There are two different number systems in Korean. Native Korean and Sino-Korean.

Resources

Books : There are tons of ebooks for learning Korean in these websites z-library, pdfdrive and epdf.

YouTube : Channels that I use include TTMIK, 한국언니, Minji Teaches Korean, KoreanClass101, BillyGo, The World of Dave, 빅키샘.

Websites : 90DAYKOREAN, How to study Korean, Key to Korean, Koreanly

Translator : I would not recommend Google translator for Korean. It's lousy. I use Naver Papago.

Forums : Trust no translator! Translators can get your message across but there's no guarantee that it sounds natural. Get help from natives, use language forums like Korean Language Stack Exchange and HiNative.

Comprehensive Input

Reading : Read in Korean- literature, articles, essays, magazines, comics, news

Listening : Listen to podcasts, music or audiobooks in Korean

Writing : Write in Korean, if you can't write anything creative, journal in Korean

Watching movies or TV shows in Korean help significantly improve listening skills. Playing word games in Korean will improve your vocabulary. Try to understand jokes and memes in Korean.

I'm an ARMY, Jin's dad jokes immensely help me improve my Korean.

I also have (native) Korean friends who proofread what I write and help me use more natural Korean expressions.

I actually tried to learn Hanja (Chinese characters) because they said it would help. It's frigging difficult! I quit. I'm doing just fine without Hanja.

Here's my Pinterest board for Korean

I think not having a teacher kind of worked in my favour. I've problems with authority, you see. I don't like someone telling me what to do. It's like I have to be in charge at all times.

[flyingcookierambles]

sadness over a3! eng i guess

oof just on my 700th day.....

kinda sad because of the announcement about A3! ENG server shutting down soon due to financial difficulties at LIBER/CYBIRD in the past two years (covid-19 related, etc.). according to a rather in depth reddit comment that had links to LIBER's publicly available financial reports + some financial reports from LIBER's parent company, Aeria, in english, covid-19 really hit LIBER hard since they had to cancel many money making events, from pop-up shops for the typical anime merch trinkets (keychains, plushes, pins, etc.) to the huge in-person events (voice actor meetups, the stage plays of MANKAI LIVE, etc.). due to shrinking player base on the ENG server + major loss of profits on both JPN and ENG servers, LIBER had to choose one or the other and they chose the JPN one, which i totally understand since it's way bigger there and the JPN fanbase will continue to give the franchise money more often. also, another person found a financial report/estimate from the google play store or something, and A3! ENG only made ~$20K to ~$10K in the past few months, which i guess is not enough to keep a server and localization company afloat. 

i got pretty attached to the characters and it was a great game to help get by during college. and honestly, while i am very sad about this, again, i understand why LIBER did this, looking at their financial report from 2020. I would LIBER save the entire franchise rather than shut all the servers down, making us all unable to see our favorite actors ever again, even if it means that we ENG fans will have to go thru the extra steps of finding/reading fan translations, wikis, etc., to read any further stories from where A3! ENG left off. still, A3! ENG's localization was something special. i'm saying this as a TKRB JPN player who read the wiki for all the character voice lines and then had to see the official TKRB ENG localization make Yamabushi Kunihiro a rapper for some reason? lol. it was....weird.... meanwhile, all the memes and slang in A3! ENG didn't seem out of place and all fit their personalities because 3/4 of the troupes were all high school to college age and 3 of them were ~Gamers~. Out of all the gachas i've played, i feel like the only other F2P gacha game that had this incredibly smooth, all cultural jokes/puns translated in a way that still makes sense/fits the character/doesn't require a galaxy brain and some TL note to understand, is probably dragalia lost and that's only because it has frickin Nintendo localizing/publishing it globally for CyGames. Nintendo. i'll eventually read the fan translations of A3!'s Act 3 on the wiki, but it won't be the same without Kazunari's super high-energy influencer slang of "'whoa fam! that's totes 'blammable, gotta take a pic!" or Itaru's gremlin Gamer speak of "lol get rekt noobs" or Tsuzuru's tired dying breath of "that ain't it chief." the appropriate slang and relatable meme speak of the localization really helped humanize these characters as people of their respective ages, rather than just a typical formal speak or some directly translated JPN slang -> ENG that turns out super awkward that can be found in bad localizations.

going back to the reddit comment too, the death of A3! ENG servers could have bad repercussions in the future for other joseimuke games. josei, if you for some reason have been in the anime fandom but still don't know this term, is basically the genre of stories/video games/media/etc aimed at women. it's the mature adult counterpart to seinen, media aimed at adult men. basically shoujo/shonen = elementary/middle school/high school aimed while josei/seinen = high school/college/adult aimed if that helps. Joseimuke is a part of josei that is not specifically romance. while some josei/joseimuke can overlap with otome, aka female aimed dating sims/romance media, they have many things about them that make these all separate genres. one of the official A3! ENG translators and a known fan translator of another joseimuke gacha, Mahou Yaku/Wizard’s Promise, minami, goes more in depth with this in a twitter thread. 

A3! was an actor raising game, and a big part of it was found family and relationships that were platonic. yet it got advertised as an otome, which has more connotations with dating sims and brings to mind other shoujo/otome games and anime where the cast is all high schoolers and the setting is most often in a high school. but, other than some characters making flirty jokes or implied to have crushes on Izumi/player character, many character relationships with Izumi are platonic and not romantic at all. Spring Troupe in the game also jokingly calls themself a family. the entire Mankai Company is basically found family. plus, since the game actually has time passing in story and the characters age with each year, half of the characters aren’t even in high school anymore. a large majority of them are in college or are graduated by now, with only a few still in high school. i’m not surprised if a reason that some people left the game was due to feeling bored with the slice of life/not romantic story, feeling that they were lied to about it being an otome, which was falsely advertised since it is a game meant for the older teens/adults demographic of josei/joseimuke.

i’m worried that other japanese companies will look at this shut down as a “josei/joseimuke doesn’t work well in the west” and never localize other josei/joseimuke gacha games like Mahou Yaku, EnStars, Twisted Wonderland, Helios, etc.

while i like otome and shoujo, i, as a 23/soon to be 24 year old college graduate and now tax paying adult, want more stories that have more mature themes and characters that are more my age so i don’t have to feel awkward when i’m playing some dating sim and i, a literal 23 year old adult, and trying to woo a 16 year old. it’s...a little awkward to say the least. i would gladly welcome more mature media that is categorized as josei/joseimuke.

sorry if this is all over the place, but overall im just sad that A3! ENG is shutting down. i don’t know if i’ll join the JPN server yet. i’m def going to read the Act 3 story via fan translators on the wiki, but A3! gameplay was...boring lmao. as much as i love A3!, im sure that the constant event grind/burnout and boring rng gameplay turned people off too and i dont blame them. i felt the burnout bad since i participated in basically every event since day 1. it. is. rough. i’m not joining the hellish thunderdome that is the JPN server and im not ranking anymore as a F2P player lmao. literally had to play almost every waking free moment to get into the 30%-20% bracket as a F2P person and i never got to top 20%-10%, much less top 1% lmao. i’m don’t whale enough lol. 

i feel like i should probably just. crack open my genki 2 textbook and uhhh totally legal pdf copy of tobira. so i can just. get the JPN version of games in the first place so i don’t have to worry about getting shafted since overseas fans are often considered expendable. 

i wish that, when any games that are online end, gacha or mmo or anything, anything online, companies will let fans archive things. or like. release a book that is just the story text or something. like. CYBIRD is letting us still technically play the game and have the story and all, but what if they eventually later shut everything down? why not just release a pdf/ebook that’s just the text of the eng localization for some money? i’d buy it. for nostalgia and rereads and all and also archiving purposes. i think i’ll try to help with any english localization archive projects if i can so that the hilarious and incredible localization that was a work of love from the translation team doesn’t just disappear forever.

well.

that’s it for now. as i said, guess i’ll head to the app for one of the last times to read the last unread stories and mini stories i have left, then the wiki for Act 3, and then i guess i’ll crack open genki 2 and bunpo.....

some fun random links for you to think about!

random ffxi article that came to mind (if ffxiv ever shuts down in the next 20 years or whatever i’d be cool to get a statue of my character at the end)

and death of a game playlist by NerdSlayer Studios on Youtube that has me thinking a lot about game preservation and losing MMOs and games

the lost media wiki  and blameitonjorge’s lost media iceberg

other gacha games i’ve played that have shut down that i think about sometimes because the loss of A3! ENG isn’t my first rodeo:

terra battle & terra battle 2 (1)

AFTERL!FE

(related kitsu post link for archive reasons)

[razieltwelve]

My Origin Story

I’m often asked about how I got into self-publishing. It’s something I’ve talked about in previous posts, but I want to talk about it again. It’s been years since I started, and I think time has given me something of a different perspective.

I’ve wanted to be a writer for a long time. However, I first began to take my writing more seriously in high school. I started posting my writing on the internet under various pseudonyms, and I gradually honed my skills. I won’t say I was good back then, but I steadily became less horrible. It still wasn’t something I showed to people I knew in my everyday life, not even to my family. My writing was, in my opinion, still too rough and raw to present to others, except via the anonymity of the internet.

Fast forward to university. I continued to improve my writing as best I could. In fact, I devoted most of my spare time to writing. It was at this point that I began to write fan fiction. Now, I can already tell what some of you are thinking, but writing fan fiction was honestly the best decision I could have made at the time. Fan communities are wonderful things. You don’t have to be the best writer to be welcomed, and you can get access to a far larger amount of critique and advice than you would get as some random lone writer on the internet.

My writing improved markedly during this time since I was now getting regular feedback. Now, obviously, it’s true that most fan fiction readers aren’t professional writers or critics. Sometimes, all you get is “I like the bit where people got stabbed”. Yet amongst all of the one word reviews, random hate messages, and simple but welcome words of encouragement, you do meet people who are genuinely interested in helping you improve. I’m talking about detailed reviews that can be pages long, covering everything from sentence construction to overarching plot critiques.

In my Honours year, I finished my first novel. Before you ask, it’s not something that I’ve published although I do intend to go back and fix it up one day. What mattered wasn’t how good it was. No. What mattered was that I actually finished a novel-length story. It was a bit of mess at times, but it was 100,000 words of original fiction. Sure, it wasn’t great, but it was mine. I actually printed it out and had it bound in a manner similar to my Honours thesis.

During my PhD years, I continued to write, and I began to submit my short stories to fiction magazines while sending out inquiry letters to agents and publishers about my longer stories. Over the four years of my PhD I wrote three novels and many short stories.

And this is where my origin story takes a bit of a dark turn.

Do you want to know how many short stories I got published?

Zero.

Do you want to know how much interest I got from publishers and agents about my longer stories?

Zero.

That’s right. I got absolutely zero interest from anyone about my original fiction.

That’s not a good feeling, let me tell you. It can be very disheartening. I might have thrown myself into fan fiction with a bit more enthusiasm then because at least there, in those communities, people liked what I wrote. Despite all the rejections from publishers and agents, I could at least say that in certain communities, my writing was well-loved and respected.

After bashing my head into the proverbial wall for a couple of years, I began to look into self-publishing. If my writing was genuinely good, then surely I’d be able to sell at least a few copies if I self-published. I wasn’t going to get ahead of myself and predict best-seller status or anything, but I had to be able to sell something, right?

I spent the next few months studying the market and learning how to make eBooks and design covers. Finally, I was ready. The very first book I self-published was The Last Huntress. That book was a labour of love. I pored over every sentence. I obsessed about the characters and the setting. I promoted it as best I could via the communities I was a part of, and then I sat back and waited for the magic to happen.

That last part, the bit about the magic? That was sarcasm.

There was no magic.

In that first month, I sold something like 17 copies.

All told, that translated to around $6.50 for me.

Staring at that result was not the happiest moment of my life. I did the mental arithmetic. Even if I increased my sales a hundred fold, it still wouldn’t be enough for me to make a living via writing. Heck, I could increase my sales three hundred fold and it still wouldn’t be enough.

Luckily, my years of unrelenting failure had somewhat numbed me to this latest failure. I decided to try again. The sequel and some other stories actually managed to do a little better, but that was hardly saying anything. It’s kind of like how if your leg has been cut off, you probably won’t feel the pain of a broken finger all that much.

After a full year of massive failure, my knee decided to explode because of course it did.

Cue surgery.

Cue misery.

Cue six weeks with my leg locked straight in a brace.

Sitting on my couch with my leg propped up beside me, I decided that I wanted to write something different. No more serious fantasy. No more high fantasy. My humorous fan fiction was what had first endeared me to readers, so maybe it was time to write something funny. Besides, it might take my mind off the fact that I had weeks of my leg in a brace to look forward to along with months of physiotherapy.

And don’t even me started on how awkward it was to have a bath or use the toilet.

I was throwing around ideas for what kind of story I could write when a scene came to mind: a necromancer being forced to beat his own wayward creation to death. All I really had was that one scene. It sounded pretty funny to me, so I started writing just to see where it would go.

Two Necromancers, a Bureaucrat, and an Elf is what that idea became.

That book sold more copies in a month than all of my previous books combined had managed in a year. In fact, it managed to outdo all of my previous books combined several times over.

I can’t tell you how much it meant to me to see those numbers rolling in. It wasn’t a bestseller by any means, but it was the first time that I began to think that maybe, just maybe, I wasn’t wasting my time, that maybe I could actually do this.

Things have changed a lot since then.

I’ve written more books, and although they’ve had varying degrees of success, they’ve all done so much better than I could ever have imagined during the doldrums of that first year. Humour, it seems, is what I’m best suited to, along with slice of life, and I’m more than happy to embrace that. I’ve even been lucky enough to have some of my books turned into audiobooks.

So there’s my origin story.

It’s easy, I think, to only remember the things that worked, but it’s important to remember the failures too. Writing isn’t an easy thing to do, especially if you’re aiming to make a living out of it. People can be cruel. You’re going to get reviews from people saying that you’re awful, that your story sucks, and that you should quit writing. But you’re also going to get reviews telling you that your story made someone’s day, that you made someone smile, that they can’t wait for the next book.

I wouldn’t be the writer I am today without those years of failure and disappointment. One of the most important qualities to have if you’re going to write humour is the ability to laugh at yourself and to make light of both the very strange and the very mundane. Moreover, a writer should be honest with themselves if they want to improve.

You can argue with reviewers. You can argue with critics. But you can’t argue with $6.50 worth of sales in a month.

I suppose that’s why I tend to be quite sympathetic to the underdog in my writing. I am one. I know what it’s like to put your heart into something and come up empty handed. I had that happen to me for years. I also know how important it is to celebrate the little wins and the small triumphs. Sometimes, they lead to bigger things, and sometimes, they’re all you have.

Well, that’s it. That’s my origin story.

It’s not exactly glorious. It’s filled with more than its fair share of failures. But it is my story. Mine. And that matters. Anyone who tells you that there isn’t some luck involved in the writing business is crazy. Luck is definitely a thing. But just being lucky isn’t enough. It takes years of hard work to become good enough to make the most of that luck, and it takes a certain level of idiocy/stubbornness to keep going despite everyone slamming doors in your face.

It’s a good thing, then, that I’m a lucky, stubborn idiot.

If you’re interested in my thoughts on writing and other topics, you can find those here.

I also write original fiction, which you can find on Amazon here or on Audible here. Also, just in case you missed it… The Sheep Dragon is out on Audible now! Get it here. It’s 26 and a half hours of fun, humour, and adventure!

[dieaprikose]

LESEN AUF DEUTSCH | books to read in German

If you are bored of Duolingo (which I personally dont’t find that useful, but it is just my personal opinion, if you like it, if you gain knowledge by using it, then it is awesome) and other learning apps and if you want to find other ways to encounter your target language, you should READ! It may seem hard at first, it may puzzle you or give you a headache, but I swear it is one the most useful methods when it comes to language learning.

WHY READING IS ESSENTIAL

I know it is because this is how I got my English knowledge on a more advanced level. I actually remember moments when the language have started to make sense in my head, when I started to develop a deeper and wider passive vocabulary. I remember when I was sitting in an English class in school, and I remembered words from my readings. If you read in your target language, you become familiar with phrases, idioms; it will give you an image of the correct usage of language: it is essential when it comes to different registers. Maybe you learn a phrase or a word in a learning app, but reading them in a book makes you understand that in what kind of situations you can use them, to whom you can tell them. In short: read.

(personally, I remember that in 2013, I started to read 5SOS fanfics on wattpad because there were no Hungarian fanfics that time, and it was truly a breaking point in my studies. So even if it is fanfictions, read them. They help).

WHAT TO READ IN GERMAN | BÜCHER AUF DEUTSCH

There are some pretty good possibilities for beginners/lower-intermediate (A2) language learners.  Here are some suggestions:

1. André Klein - Learn German with Stories - Dino lernt Deutsch (A2) The Dino lernt Deutsch  series is a wonderful and extremely useful book series for language learners. It follows the life of a young guy called Dino, who moves to Germany to find a job. The problem is that he has to learn German because he is a beginner-level. So the book basically introduces Germany, the German language and culture from the point of view of an outsider. The series has 8 part, all of them take place in different cities from Berlin to Zürich. I have only read the first two (Café in Berlin and Ferien in Frankfurt) but I can tell you that they are kinda mandatory for your language studies. All the parts have 10 short stories, and at the end of each story, there is a vocabulary with the most important/mostly unknown words and phrases and then a little exercise which tests your understanding of the text. If you have a Kindle or another e-book reader with a built-in dictionary, I advise you to buy an ebook version as you can check other unknown words immediately. WEBSITE

Café in Berlin

Ferien in Frankfurt

Karneval in Köln

Momente in München

Ahoi aus Hamburg

Plötzlich in Palermo

Walzer in Wien

Zurück in Zürich

2. Language Learning University - German Short Stories (9 Simple and Captivating Stories for Effective German Learning for Beginners) (A1-A2) I haven’t read this book yet, however, I plan to do so after finishing the Dino lernt Deutsch series. As the title already suggests, it includes 9 short stories in German. After every chapter, there is a short summary in English and a short, but useful list of unknown words in English; and then there is an exercise just like in the Dino series. 

3. Roald Dahl - Charlie und die Schokoladenfabrik (A2-B1) Everyone knows the story of the little boy who gets a golden ticket to the Chocolate factory. The German translation of the book is surprisingly easy, maybe I wouldn’t recommend it to complete beginners, but if you are around an A2 level, you can try to read this book. I again suggest an ebook version because of the built-in dictionaries. I have started to read this book, however, I couldn’t finish it yet, but I have no problem with understanding. it. A short quote from the book just the examplify how easy it is:

“Das Haus war viel zu klein für so viele Leute, und so war das Leben darin für alle miteinander äußerst unbequem. Es gab nur zwei Zimmer und nur ein einziges Bett. In dem Bett durften die vier alten Großelten schlafen, weil sie so alt und müde waren” (Roald Dahl).

I don’t think I have to go into details, the quoted part is about how small the house Charlie’s family live in. To be honest, there was only one unknown word for me in that section (äußer). 

4. Mark Haddon - Supergute Tage oder Die sonderbare Welt des Christopher Boone (A2-B1) (rather B1) It is again a translated, originally English book, however, not hard to read for German learners. I have found out about it in a youtube video (just like about Charlie und die Schokoladenfabrik), and it is indeed seems to be a good choice. I haven’t started it yet, but it seems not hard to understand. Maybe it is a bit challenging text than the Roald Dahl’s book, but at least you can learn more words.

5. J. K. Rowling - Harry Potter (B1) This list wouldn’t be complete without Harry Potter. Years ago, my sister found the first part (Harry Potter und der Stein der Weisen) in German in a thrift shop,  but I only started to read it this year. Not gonna lie, it is hard, I think, it is the hardest one in the list. I read the first chapter for at least a half an hour, then I got a pretty heavy headache, but I understood (!!!). It was the very first book I have ever read in English, I remember that the first time (summer of 2011 or 2012, not sure), I tried to check every single unknown word for like 100 page. Then I read it again in around 2013, and I loved how easier it became. Now, that I’m reading it in German, what makes it ‘easier”, and why I still recommend it is that all of us know the story. If you read the books a lot, you maybe even know what is coming in the text. I remember scenes, even sentences which makes it easier to comprehend it in German. A pretty lame example is coming:

“Mr und Mrs Dursley im Ligusterweg Nummer 4 waren stolz darauf, ganz und gar normal zu sein, sehr stolz sogar”

I don’t even have to say which sentence it is (the very first, obviously), but yeey, it made me understand phrases and words:  stolz sein auf - to be proud of ganz und gar normal - perfectly normal And I haven’t even had the need to check these words, partly because I already knew the first sentence, and partly because I have a basic knowledge of words and grammar in German. Let’s see another example, just because I love Harry Potter sooo much.

“Fast zehn Jahre waren vergangen, seit die Dursleys eines Morgens die Haustür geöffnet, und auf der Schwelle ihren Neffen gefunden hatten, doch der Ligusterweg hatte sich kaum verändert” (Chapter 2)

That is a bit harder sentence, but if you pay attention, it is not that problematic. I already knew some words from this sentence, but again, there were some which were new or at least I haven’t seen them in these forms yet. waren vergangen - have passed (I only know the word “Vergangenheit (past) from the series Dark).  die Schwelle - doorstep (! in the sentence it is used with der, but it is because of the auf, and the Dativ form of die is der).  sich verändern - to change

Oookay, that last part about Harry Potter was a bit long, but I just wanted to prove you that reading challenging texts can be fun and useful as well. You just pay extra attention if you are not on that level, but you can do that. 

If you have any German book recommendation, feel free to suggest me (and others) some. I love to read and I could only find these so far in German. 

Bis bald,

[readingrobin]

Comfort Zone Bingo Reading Challenge Update #2

Well, capping off the end of the year, I’ve got another reading challenge update, this time with a bingo!

Middle Grade: Girl Giant and the Monkey King by Van Hoang. This is a book I happened to discover at work and the moment I saw Monkey King I was in. I enjoy this character wherever he pops up, as chaotic tricksters are my bread and butter. This was a cute middle grade read, about a super strong girl trying to fit in at a new school while trying to keep her powers a secret and accidentally releases The Monkey King from imprisonment, to which shenanigans ensue. I’d say this would be a great read for those in the Rick Riordan crowd, as it delves into Vietnamese mythology.

Translated from another language: Moominpapa’s Memoirs by Tove Jansson. If you haven’t heard of the Moomin series, do yourself a favor and look it up, whether that means checking out the various TV adaptions it’s had over the years or its book and comic series. It was originally written in Swedish and is generally more popular in Europe but it’s not too hard to find copies of the books in the US. This series just radiates pure, relaxed vibes even when the characters are on the most daring of adventures. There’s nothing really to talk about this installment in particular, as I think they are all the same level of quality and are just peaceful escapism to me.

Written before 400 CE: The Metamorphoses by Ovid. Now this one was a trial. 250 myths spread out across 15 installments and I just had to get through it as fast as I could. I didn’t realize how many of these stories I had already read before, as it’s made up of any myth that includes a transformation of some sort, so yeah you can bet the majority of Zeus’ sexploits are contained within. I dug the first 2/3rds of the collection, but it really lost me once we got to the mythic heroes like Hercules, Achilles, Ulysses, etc. I think I’m more interested in the god aspect of the myths, and man am I tired of hearing about the Trojan war.

Ebook or online fiction: Every Heart A Doorway by Seanan McGuire. I’ve been meaning to get around to this book for forever once I saw that it had ace rep in it, something that desperately needs to be in more books. I wasn’t expecting the fast paced plot so much, which makes sense given it’s a novella, but I really was interested in the world and plot. I love “there-and-back-again” stories, where a character goes on an otherworldly journey, completes a trial or two, and is sent back home all the wiser. But so seldom do stories focus on the “back again” phase of the character’s journey. How do they cope after all they’ve been through? Do they miss the place where they grew into an entirely different person? Do they miss the freedom? Are they glad to be out of constant danger? Do they yearn every moment to go back to a place where they felt more like themself than ever? I was just so intrigued by what the repercussions of this kind of journey are on a character, as well as seeing what  worlds they went to. Will definitely be checking out the rest of the series

Young Adult: My True Love Gave to Me, edited by Stephanie Perkins. Not gonna lie, I just read this one to fill out a requirement for another challenge I was doing and wasn’t really interested at first. A lot of the stories seem to blend together and follow a standard formula of stories that either end too soon without any development or are saccharine sweet to the point of diabetes. Out of the twelve stories there were about three I liked, which isn’t exactly a passing grade. These include “Angels in the Snow,” “Krampuslauf,” and “It’s A Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown.”  If you’re into the more Hallmarky kind of Christmas stories, then this is perfect for you.

[ciestessde]

Prologue

Author's Note

Well, after over a year of “helping” her -- after hiring professional editors and everything… Tess has decided to post our story FOR FREE.

… And I can’t even really blame her. Not with everything going on. She’s always had a soft heart, despite what she may think, and something on this scale… It was only a matter of time before she tried to do something to ease other peoples’ pain.

*sigh* Welp. I should probably introduce myself officially. I’m Noctu, Ciestess’s… “sibling” I guess you could call me. I’m an energy being that shares her physical form and travels with her through dimensions. I’m also one of the narrators of the story posted below.

“Crossroad of Infinity: Origins” is our way of introducing ourselves to you: Ciestess, the owner of this blog; Noctu, me; and Xihrae, a lovably annoying bastard you haven’t had the (dis)pleasure of meeting yet. Part 1, “Alone” focuses mostly on Ciestess herself. Part 2, “Family,” focusing on yours truly, will be the next in the series. Then Part 3, “Friends” will wrap things up with the story of how Xihrae came to join our group.

One chapter of Part 1 will be posted each week, most likely until all 28 chapters are available (unless Ciestess changes her mind, but I doubt I’ll be able to convince her). If you do wish to show your support through money, you can buy the book on Google (or through Amazon, but, for reasons explained in a previous post, Google is preferred). You can also donate directly to us through Tess’s Patreon or Ko-fi.

With all that out of the way, Pleasant Reading

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Prologue

Ok, let me admit something right off the bat: I’ve wondered more than a few times whether I actually remember anything about my early childhood at all.

Yeah, see, I might’ve just made it all up from pieces of different lives I’ve lived in other worlds. And since I can’t go back and check, I’ll probably never have an answer, either.

But the early childhood I’ve “imagined” is real enough to me. And it was pretty good. I think my parents both cared about me, that I never went hungry or was abused, and that I got to do a lot of things I loved. Sure, my parents were a little over-protective, and they didn’t understand me, like… at all.

But it’s not like they could have, anyway.

I dunno. Maybe it’s just the rose-tinted glasses, since I can’t actually remember things like what their jobs were, what their names were, what they looked like… But what’s the point in questioning it?

I just… I can’t see the point in fighting or fearing what I can’t change. I never have.

And if it makes me happy, then I REALLY don’t see the point!

And remembering the good parts of my homeworld? THAT makes me happy! So I’m going to start off this tale by indulging myself.

Now, I only have the memories stored in the First Memory Crystal to go by. Which, yes, is vastly better than my “memories” of my early childhood, but I wasn’t exactly expecting to continue living after dying in my homeworld. So, while admittedly better (and I’ll give a brief “thank you” to Noctu, that loveable pseudo-demon, for showing me I remembered more than I realized), my memories of my homeworld still aren’t all that detailed. Also, my homeworld was ruled by vastly different laws of physics compared to this world, so, while I’m going to do my best to explain and translate, please keep those things in mind, haha!

First off, we didn’t have a name for our world, per-say -- at least, not one I can translate beyond “our world.” So I’ve chosen to call it “Illunira.” After how it glowed.

It was cold. There was no sun to warm it -- in fact, there was no outer space at all! Instead, the heat from the center of the planet spread to the surface through lava, and our sky looked out upon a different dimension. Plants grew in that lava, and our sky- that dimension? … It looked like a prism.

There were no seasons. No day or night. Instead, we told time by the changing of the crops: the Planting, Growing, Harvest, and Rest. We sowed our crops in spots where large amounts of life-sustaining, silver-colored lava came to the surface. I’m going to call these “volcanoes,” but they didn’t erupt like the ones here do. They only spilled out and bubbled with lava. Our cities and towns formed around these volcanoes. However, never too close. Too close and we burned.

Well… some of us.

There were three species of intelligent beings: the Anima, the Florus, and the Symbi; and the Florus were able to live closest to the volcanoes, as they were plant-like beings (though, of course, sentient and mobile).

I say they were “plant-like,” but… Illunira’s “plants” more resembled flexible crystals than any vegetation from this world. But, unlike crystals, they glowed with energy siphoned directly from the lava. They were what transformed that energy into something that could sustain life -- much like how plants here do with sunlight. And this was how the Florus “ate” -- directly from the lava. However, since they lost the energy they siphoned rather quickly, they could never stray far from a source of their “food.” (In this way, perhaps they were more like reptiles that couldn’t let themselves get too “cold”?)

In contrast, the Symbi, clusters of single-celled beings that worked together to form larger “communities,” stayed far away from the blustering warmth of the lava. It would easily kill some of their members. Far from being crystalline, the Symbi were more like living, coordinated plasma; they only had a solid form or shape when they wanted to. And, as I understood it, it took quite a bit of effort to do so. So they rarely did.

The Symbi gained energy from… … Huh. Y’know, I don’t think I ever saw them feed -- but then, how could I? They were far too small. They almost seemed self-sustaining, in that way. Although I know they couldn’t have been.

The Anima, essentially humanoid beings, were something between the two. We were beings that couldn’t feed from the lava, nor get too close to it, like the Symbi. We held a more solid, crystal-like structure like the Florus, yet we also flowed with formless plasma internally, allowing us greater freedom of movement and separation from our energy-sources than them. We seemed able to feed off of almost anything that wasn’t the lava itself: smaller creatures, the “plants,” and even some… I’m honestly not sure what they were, but there were these floating, excess energy… things that we could absorb.

… Perhaps that’s what the Symbi ate…?

Regardless -- All of us glowed. All of us lived together, fed one another. Ruled over and under each other. All of us had souls. And, when our bodies inevitably died, all of us became the Dead Ones.

The Dead Ones... those whose physical bodies had died, lived on as beings of pure energy in the outer atmosphere -- inside the divide between Illunira and the dimension surrounding it. Though, only for a limited time. Only until their energy ran out.

This dimension I call “Prizmal” because it looked -- and still looks -- like a prism from a distance. Some believed Prizmal to be the afterlife, while others insisted it was what fed the planet’s core with energy. Either way, only the Dead Ones -- who had solely prizmal bodies, without any material elements -- were allowed to travel there. Anyone else would die so far from the planet’s heat.

I know because they tried, once. How could they do that, you may wonder?

Because we floated.

We weren’t tied down to the land. All of us: Anima, Symbi, Florus -- anything that wasn’t a plant -- floated and flew.

Because everything that lived there was only ever half-made of matter. And the other half was energy. So we floated.

  I said everything glowed, but it wasn’t a bright place. On the contrary, it was quite dark! But that darkness just made every light seem to shine that much brighter!

Small animals would skitter across pools of silvery lava, sparkling against it and any other reflective surface. Sometimes you’d see a light come up from under the non-glowing, pitch-black ground to reveal a tiny nose. Or you’d see a mass of similar-shaped flames rushing in one direction and, on closer inspection, realize it was a herd or pack of some larger creatures traveling together. Sparks would flicker in the sky, alone or in droves, looking for smaller sparks to swallow.

All of it against the empty darkness of the ground below, or the shattered, diffused light of Prizmal and the Dead Ones above.

Darkness and light extending in every direction, like a sea of living and moving neon signs on a starless night. Everything glowed. All so many different colors.

… I miss how colorful it was there.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

[Cover Page] - [Next Chapter]

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[kattahj]

Thoughts on The Last Wish (the first Witcher book)

Fair warning: this is decidedly mixed and with plenty of show-book comparisons that aren't always in the book's favour (though sometimes they are).

I wasn't at all sure that I wanted to read the Witcher books. I may love the TV show, but the question "Would I like to read a version of this written by a dude in the 80s and 90s, with less focus on the female characters, and the kind of fanboys who throw a hissy fit when black people appear on screen?" was answered with "well, maybe". Especially when I started The Last Wish and got anonymous boobs (in the faaaaace) on page 1.

But I kept reading and I kind of enjoyed myself.

See, I'm a sucker for twisted fairy tales, and a large portion of this book consists of such twisted fairy tales. We get full chapters for Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, and Hans-My-Hedgehog, as well as nods to Cinderella, Rumpelstiltskin, Rapunzel, The Billy Goats Gruff, and probably more stuff that I've forgotten.

And yeah, it's action-heavy to the point of stupidity, and there's a lot of casual misogyny, but it's still fun. Even if it's fun I sometimes hate myself for having.

Take the Beauty and the Beast chapter as an example. On one hand, the Beast is cursed while he rapes a priestess, and his true love is a homicidal vampire who has to die (graphically, with a stake between her breasts) for him to turn back. On the other hand, there's a lot of fun anecdotes about how merchants send their daughters to the Beast's castle as a way for them to earn some money before they marry someone else, and it's also fun to read about what a loser Beast is. But I do think there's a reason this one was the only adventure not to make it into the TV show (yet).

And Renfri may be an uncomfortable mix of murderer, victim, and fuck buddy, but I can't help it, I still enjoy reading about a Snow White who curses every other sentence and shacks upp with robbers. (I'm really sad Marilka isn't in the book, though. I liked that cheerfully psychopathic little girl.)

It's interesting that the circumstances around their battle are different from the show. Stregobor has locked himself away, and through stuff people tell Geralt about Renfri's gang, he realizes that she means to capture people at the market and give Stregobor an ultimatum: come down to be killed, or she'll murder the civilians one by one until he does. So Geralt kills off her entire gang to protect the town, and then Renfri returns, saying that Stregobor just laughed at her and wouldn't come down. The two of them fight, and as she dies she tries to trick him into holding her so she can kill him. So, yeah, book Renfri is a piece of work and Geralt's moral dilemma is a little bit lighter on him.

In general, the tone is a lot more outright humourous than in the TV show. There are still serious moments, but they're fewer and further between. It's also a lot chattier. There is a LOT of dialogue - Geralt is more talkative, and so is everyone else. It works fine for written text, but so much of it is exposition or random jokes that I understand why they'd cut it for the screen.

The stories are more expanded upon than they are on screen, which of course in many cases lead to much needed and appreciated context. In others, I quite like the changes made for TV. The situation with the elves, for instance, originally depend on a rather Deus ex machina type of solution - I prefer the way the TV elves and Geralt talked things out. (Even though I thoroughly enjoyed the way the book has the Sylvan and Jaskier playing music together afterwards. That was cute.) But then, the scene in the show is more hopeful that there can be a way for the elves to survive and both species to coexist. In the book, it's more, "Yup, you're all going to die, and that sucks, but humans are racist fucks and there's nothing to be done about that."

The stories are still told non-chronologically, though the system of doing so is a bit easier than what the show does - there are standalone adventures and then a frame story inbetween of Geralt recuperating at the temple, with each adventure tying into some aspect of his stay there. I quite like these slower parts, they're much needed between all the monster fighting. But as I understand it, the first four adventures were originally published in magazines, and the frame story and final two adventures were added later. I do think it shows, as the mood is different, and the last two adventures also more tied into Geralt's background and relationships than the others.

It does get a bit weird that Geralt's relationship with Yennefer, and her desire to have a child, are detailed at length through dialogue with the priestess Nenneke before we even meet Yennefer in the final chapter, but I guess this is an effect of how the stories were published. This part of the book was published after Sword of Destiny, and I'm assuming we get more of Yennefer there, and that most of the readers would already have encountered her by the time we get this. Nevertheless, when read like this, it's clunky.

OTOH, there actually isn't an orgy going on when Geralt meets Yennefer, so I'm not sure why the show added that. In the book there are only erotic statues, and a very naked, very seductive Yennefer. I still got a bit of a "yikes" vibe from the scene, though, especially since it's the first introduction in person to her (after the exposition), while in the show we've already known her for several episodes at that point. And then we get a bit about how as a sorcerer she can be attractive but never truly beautiful, because sorcerers are ugly women who are made pretty by magic and thus she has "an ugly woman's evil and cold eyes". Double yikes.

Interestingly, where show Yennefer hates that Geralt has tied their destinies together, book Yennefer is totally charmed by it.

Jaskier is even dimmer than he is in the show and not half as endearing. His second wish to the djinn is another "yikes" moment. In the show he wishes for his lover to return to him "with open arms, a cheerful heart, and very little clothing", which is already a bit iffy, but in the book he wishes that a countess who rejects every man will let him fuck her, which is... oy. But that's par for the course for these stories, unfortunately. :-(

I do enjoy the gentle ribbing Jaskier and Geralt have going on. Their relationship feels a lot more mutual. I hope to see more of that in season 2.

I also hope to see Nenneke, who is a matronly priestess from the frame story who treats Geralt with a combination of contempt, tenderness, and medical care. 

I don't know what could be made of Iola, who is, as it later turns out, the owner of the anonymous pair of breasts on page 1. She's a younger priestess who has given a vow of silence, which means she gets to fuck Geralt and listen to his tales without ever interrupting by telling him anything about herself, or indeed having any sort of personality. I honestly don't know if that character could ever be made palatable, but I kind of half want to see them try.

And yeah, it IS pretty noticeable that the three female characters in the book who are most unambiguously good (Iola, Lille, Pavetta) have next to no dialogue.

The Swedish translation mostly works well. Sometimes there's dialect and/or archaic language, usually for humorous effect, not enough of it to be irritating. (And I'm guessing that's in the original as well.) Jaskier is called Riddarsporre (Larkspur) in translation, which I'm sort of fine with. It's certainly better than them ignoring diacriticals and thus calling the horse Plotka, which means rumour - the original name is Płotka, which as we all know means Roach. Different words! (Translated to Swedish, Płotka would be Mört, which isn't a GREAT name, admittedly.)

I can kind of see why these stories, testosterone-laden as they are, would have a bunch of annoying fanboys. At the same time I find their "but people CAN'T be black, it's SLAVIC FOLKLORE!" whining even more annoying now. Grimm Brothers aren't Slavic folklore, and without black people we wouldn't have my favourite Cinderella film (dude, the conniptions they'd have over the genetic mix in THAT royal family). Furthermore, Skellige in this version is ridiculously Irish. Like, so Irish I'm surprised it's not populated by leprechauns. Though they also have bagpipes, so maybe Gaelic is a better term. The Elvish language seems to be a mix of Romanic, Germanic and Gaelic languages. (Their name for themselves, Aen Seidhe, is of course related to the Irish aes sidhe, and the Sylvan is Roman.) And of course djinni and ifriti are Middle Eastern (though Aladdin is set in China in some versions). So it's pretty much "put all myths and fairytales in a pot and stir." And that’s fine, but you don’t get to be all “MINE! NO ONE CAN HAS!” about it.

To be fair, I can also see why people who AREN'T annoying assholes would be fans of these books. Especially if they can compartmentalize the sexism, alternatively lived in the 80s when even children's shows had lots of bikini babe extras. There's a lot of rather rowdy fun to be had, and some tenderness.

And yes, I have ordered the second book from the library. (Ebook sadly only available in Finnish. So if you live in Sweden and speak Finnish, you're in luck!)

[theselfhelphipster]

I still read every night before bed and when I love a story, I burn my way through it in a matter of days. Hours if I really put my mind to it.

It is scientifically proven that reading is one of the most relaxing things you can do (more than other things even) - it slows down your breathing and your heart rate, which is why it's perfect to incorporate in a bedtime ritual.

Here's the list of my favourite books of the past year or so.

*Affiliate links below!

Throne of Glass Series - Sarah J Maas

This series is not as steamy as the Court-series I wrote about in the previous blog post. However, technically speaking this is definitely a better saga, if you will.

Sarah J Maas has created this epic tale around Selena Galynthius in an epic world full of old-time fantasy characters like elves and fae and witches and wyverns. It's very cool.

The series wrapped up with a stunner of a finale last fall and it was some of the best fantasy I've read in a while. Book 1 is kind of weirdly written if you compare it to the rest, but in book two she really gets the show on the road.

If you like epic fantasy? This is IT.

I'm thinking about buying this box myself (I've read them on Kindle but these are so epic I want them on print) but if you want to start, start with Throne of Glass AND Crown of Midnight.

The Meredith Gentry Series - Laurel K Hamilton

I'm including this one more for lolz than for anything else.

I LOVED these when I was a teen, such smutty books in a fantasy world. Turns out it was either hormones kicking in or I just had terrible taste back then. (Probably both.)

These are TERRIBLE!

They make zero sense, the story is incredibly convoluted and I don't even think the sex scenes are that well-written or hot anymore. They're no Court of Mist and Fury, if ya know what I mean.

I reread them for old time sake, and if you're into Harlequin-esque elf books with a lot of descriptives and dialogues, in a story that only BARELY goes somewhere, go off I guess. If not, steer clear.

Bol.com is like 'fuck you we're not selling this drivel' but Amazon Kindle always comes through for us perverts.

Good Omens - Thierry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

When I saw that wickedly cool trailer for Good OmensI immediately started reading Good Omens. I had had it on my Kindle forever, and it really is a classic.

It's fun, funny, great story and great writing. I'm going to do that online storytelling class by Neil Gaiman and read a lot more by them both the upcoming year.

I've read Neil Gaiman's American Gods, The Ocean By The End of the Lake and Graveyard Boy, but nothing by Thierry Pratchett yet.

I'm excited.

Where to buy? A paperback at Bol.com is just 8,99 right now.

(Also, WATCH THE AMAZON PRIME SERIES, it is SO FUN!)

Caraval & Legendary - Stephanie Gaber

A magical story about two sisters (there's quite a few books I read the past year with sisters) get invited to a once-a-year, exclusive magical live performance where the audience participates. The protagonist has been obsessed with this Caraval as long as she lives. To escape a betrothal of her sister, they go and during the Caraval a lot happens that changes everything.

Apparently there is a third book called Finale, which makes me think I maybe haven't finished Legendary and I need to, because I thought there would just be two.

You can buy the paperback here, and if you want to read it in Dutch you can too: My favorite online writer to follow on Instagram, Chinouk Thijssen translated the book!

Circe - Madeline miller

I've read both this one, Song of Achilles and Galatea. The only one I wouldn't really recommend was Galatea, I just didn't really think that one is interesting. The other two are, though.

I love Greek mythology and when people retell a classic in an interesting new way, and Madeline Miller has done so with this book. I really liked Circe.

The paperback is only 9,70!

Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller

One f the most beautiful and tragic lovestories I've ever read. I recommend it to everyone, especially anyone who likes Greek mythology. It's about Patrocles and Achilles, and their lovestory.

I cried like a baby during the last bit.

If you want to purchase this stunning story in paperback, click here.

A Little Life - Hanya Yanagihara

SPEAKING OF CRYING.

If you'd like to be emotionally destroyed and sob incontrollably through the entire last half of this book, go read 'A Little Life'

At first I resisted, and during the first chapters of this book I was mostly confused about who was who, but once you've got it, it is one of those stories that touches you, breaks you and then changes you.

English paperback here, Dutch paperback here.

Fireblood Trilogy - Elly Blake

I read this only a few weeks ago and I burned through these books, if you will. Finished all three in less than a week.

These are SO GOOD. The world is divided into three types of people: Regular, Firebloods and Frostbloods, the last two types having magic abilities that they train and can use, and with the Firebloods and Frostbloods being enemies of sorts.

A Fireblood girl is taken by Frostbloods to help them take down their evil king, but it turns out everything is a lot more complicated than it seems.

Lots of plot twists you can't easily see coming, a lot of friendships, a little romance, and a really good story. It's absolutely lovely.

Paperback here, Amazon Kindle below.

The Bear and the Nightingale Series - Katherine Arden

The prettiest trilogy I've read all year.

Set in Russia, a fairytale of sorts, and the protagonist is a strong girl who believes in freedom, her own decisions and heart, and who falls in love.

Three books to enjoy and swoon over. Try the first one hereor get the ebook below.

Small Spaces - Katherine Arden

By the same author as the previous trilogy, perhaps a children's book, but a good scary story that is easy to read.

A girl who has lost her mom goes on a field trip and turns out, farms and scarecrows are still as scary as they were during Children of the Corn.

I highly recommend; easy and fun scary story, fun to read with a child I think.

You can get it here, or here:

The Mermaid's Sister - Carrie Anne Noble

This is such a beautiful story.

You meet Clara, Maren and O'Neill. Claire was brought to her aunt by a stork, Maren came out of a shell, and O'Neill was found by the woman's husband under an apple tree. As Maren slowly turns into a mermaid, Clara and O'Neill try desperately to save Maren and return her to the ocean.

It's kinda like Frozen with the sisterly love, but has more to it.

Easy to read, with lovely and beautiful sentences, and I cried at the end.

Where to buy? For 12 euros you can buy the paperback here, or the Kindle version for 3.99$ below!

Numina Series - Charlie N Holmberg

This is such a good series, I can't wait for the third book - it's coming out in September.

In this world, magic is a scary underground thing where you need slaves to get possessed by numen, fiery beings from a different plane of existence.

A girl escapes her master who as it turns out, wants to bring the worst numen from that plane to destroy the world. With the help from a charming thief, she tries to save the fellow slaves and prevent world destruction.

Get the first one hereor below:

Magi Bitter, Magic Sweet - Charlie N Holmberg

By the same author, really interesting and pretty fairytale, kind of.

It's about a magical baker, and you should just read it. Buy it here, or below. It's cheaper on Kindle and it's such a breezy book, it's fine as an ebook.

My Absolute Darling - Gabriel Tallent

Horrible but gripping story about a girl called Turtle who grows up with her survivalist nut job of a dad in the woods, and then meets a few boys and a little girl that change the course of her life.

It's hard to read sometimes because the writer has made Turtle into what into my eyes is an eerily accurate portrait of the abused and traumatised. You're rooting for her but you don't always understand her, and you don't always understand her but you're always rooting for her, you know?

You can buy the paperback here for 12 euros or do as I do and buy the Kindle version via the link below!

The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein - Kiersten White

I'm a sucker for reinventions of the classics, especially if suddenly we see everything from a woman's perspective. This story is about Elizabeth Frankenstein, the girl who grew up with the boy who will become Doctor Frankenstein and who loves him, and goes looking for him when he disappears from the place he was studying.

It's a very interesting and scary story, and it shows exactly how sometimes the things we do for love, are the very things that make the person we love into a monster.

I'm going to read a lot more by Kiersten White upcoming year, that's for sure.

You can buy the paperback herefor 12 euros, or click below for the Kindle version, for only 8.32$. Fun fact: The copy of the actual story about Frankenstein's monster by Mary Shelby is the second half of the book!

Strange the Dreamer & Muse of Nightmares - Laini Taylor

By the author of some of my favorite books EVER (Daughter of Smoke and Bone series), such a well-written and ethereal story. Full of legends, poetry and love.

It is well-written, heartbreaking and especially during Muse of Nightmares it is so great to see how everything pans out.

Buy the paperback herefor 12 euros , or below:

Grim Lovelies - Meghan Shepherd

I literally finished these last weekend, and really fun! Good story, set in France, in which 'Beasties' are animals turned people and used to help magical people like witches.

Can't wait for the sequel that is coming out in a couple of days!

Get the paperback here, or below.

A Blade So Black - L. L. Mckinny

This is such an interesting take on Alice in Wonderland, scarier and darker, but also more fun. The series is called the Nightmare Verse, I haven't gotten around to reading the second instalment: A Dream So Dark.

Incredible about this book is that the protagonist is a black girl and the book also touches upon the horrible terror that you can get attacked or killed just because of the color of your skin.

You can buy the paperback for 11,99, or on Kindle below.

The Luminous Dead - Caitlin Starling

This might be one of the most terrifying books I have ever read. It combines a few of my greatest fears (caving, being underground and diving) into a goosebump-filled adventure as you follow Gyre, an inexperienced caver who lied on her resume in order to get this job, go deeper and deeper into the cave -- as well as into the complicated backstory of her handler, Em.

Guys. It is so scary. And so good. Go read it. It's 14 euros here, or available on Amazon.

The Girl From Everwhere - Heidi Heilig

Timetravel always gives me a headache, but this piratey-spin on int is really fun.

You can buy the paperback for 9,99 on Bol.com and I was pleased to find out there is a second book now: The Ship Beyond Time. Definitely reading this as soon as I finish Frost!

Phew, a whale of a post

As always, I'd love it if you reciprocate with your own (non)-fiction recommendations: Let me know in the comments below what books you loved the past year.

Have a lovely Sunday!

[muggle-writes]

do I have that book challenge

tagged by @elizabethsyson and while photos were absolutely helpful (for example, in explaining the first question) I did this mostly from memory in downtime at work so I couldn't exactly take pictures as I went, and tbh I don't trust tumblr not to eat my post if I upload a bunch of pictures at once

Do you have a book with deckled edges?

thank you so much for the picture because if that's the thing with the pages not exactly matching up, (but within a small deviation from perfectly square) yes, my copy of the first three Dragonriders of Pern books in one volume has deckled edges. also probably some other books, but I've been reading that one recently so I'm sure about it

Do you have a book with 3 or more people on the cover?.

yeah: Inverloch (Volume 1)

it's the printed version of (the first portion of) a webcomic, which I didn't know when I picked it up at a garage sale or something. I hadn't even heard of webcomics yet

and. hm. don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed the premise of the story and it was never really bad... I was thrilled when I realized it was a webcomic and still online and i could read the whole thing.

but

the major plot twist, one the author had apparently planned from the very beginning, honestly had some very unfortunate implications that would haunt me if I ever attempted a reread.

Like, it was set up well enough to be a surprise but not a shock. and it enabled the happy ending. but I probably would have preferred almost any other happy or vaguely positive ending, or even a meaningful depressing ending, I was that disappointed

on the other hand the rest of it was written well enough that I cared so.... eh. it is what it is

I'm just not sure I still love it enough to recommend, but I also wouldn't stop someone from picking it up off my shelf to read, you know what I mean? Especially just that first part, which was plenty good.

Do you have a book based on another fictional story?

D&D guidebooks are totally based on Lord of the Rings, right?

lol in reality uh

the copy of Scandinavian folk tales including my favorite fairy tale ever was always my dad's, not mine, no matter how many times I read it before moving out

uh

my wife has several Halo books? like the video game. I'm not actually sure which came first and I haven't read any of those, but they are on "my" (our) shelf

I also have a lot of Harry Potter meta/derivatives, including that themed Haggadah I think I posted a picture of recently. But the phrasing of this question makes me think the intent is "fiction based on other fiction" so none of those quite count.

so yeah, Halo's the closest I've got. also there's a Star Trek book on that shelf that I didn't even know we had until I went looking for clocks on covers

Do you have a book with a title 10 letters long?

Sadly I don't have my own copy of Dragon's Kin, which kicks off an excellent subseries of Pern books, (nor Dragonsong but I didn't expect to have that one) but what I did find was

The Visitor (which is animorphs#2)

Do you have a book with a title that starts and ends with the same letter?

Erec Rex: The Dragon's Eye

Do you have a Mass Market Paperback book?

does my solid half of the animorphs series all on one shelf count or is this looking for specific branding?

Do you have a book written by an author using a pen name?

(immediately thinks of Lewis Carrol) um Edwin Abbot was also a mathematician but sadly not a penname, but I do I have a copy of Flatland

Oh, but I'm pretty sure I have some of the ghostwritten animorphs books, do those count? Specifically someone mentioned recently that animorphs 25 was the first of the ghostwritten books and I definitely have that one

Do you have a book with a character’s name in the title?

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and Ender's Shadow on my shelf, the rest I mostly have as ebooks. also the first Erec Rex book (mentioned above) and the entire Kirsten (American Girl) series plus the first Kit book.

Do you have a book with 2 maps in it?

the first one I found was The Malloreon Volume 1 (also has 3 characters on the cover). it's got a map of the western kingdoms before the first book and a map of Mallorea in the middle of the third book

Do you have a book that was turned into a TV show

Animorphs again

Do you have a book written by someone who is originally famous for something else?(celebrity/athlete/politician/tv personality…)

I definitely had a phase of buying books by famous people, so I have the worst bulkiest copy of Origin of Species which is printed in a terrible font (it also has deckled edges for that matter), and The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins, that I could find at a quick glance. Probably something by Steven Hawking hiding somewhere

my phenomenal copy of The Elements (Euclid) doesn't quite count because he's most famous, now, for writing those so...

(Einstein's Relativity - in translation obviously because I know very little German - is deceptively short but that was my parents' book that I tried and failed to read, not my own)

Do you have a book with a clock on the cover?

Disappointingly, An Uncommon History of Common Things does not. I do have a Doctor Who coloring book with a clocklike gear pattern on the cover which is the closest I'm finding

Do you have a poetry book?

yeah someone once gave me a book of Japanese death poems, translated of course. I've been meaning to read them. for that I have to find it, and I can't right now :/ now that I remember the book I want to go read it

Do you have a book with an award stamp on it?

not that I can find? apparently Dragonflight or Dragonquest won "a Hugo or Nebula award" (bc McCaffrey was the first woman to win one of those) but wikipedia isn't telling me which award or which book, and I don't have the dust jacket for the original-trilogy-in-one-volume copy that I have so there's no telling if it "should" have an award printed on the front

Do you have a book written by an author with the same initials as you?

ooh wouldn't that be fun. I don't seem to :/

what I do have is a book written by an author with what my initials would be if I had taken my wife's last name instead of the other way around which I guess is close enough

Do you have a book of short stories?

yes, surprisingly. The Girl Who Heard Dragons and I haven't read any of them, not even the story I got it for

oh, and First Meetings, which is a bunch of short stories in the Ender universe

Do you have a book that is between 500-510 pages long?

That's... really specific. Closest I could find was 483 pages and 513 pages (Volume 2 of The Belgariad and The Malloreon, respectively) In general I have a lot of books around 300-350 pages and a fair few over 700 pages, but not many close to 500

Do you have a book that was turned into a movie?

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, for sure. I think Flatland was also made into a movie and it was as phenomenally terrible as you would expect of a story about 2d shapes. not even shapes with faces, just shapes, and one sphere.

Do you have a graphic novel?

I was going to make all sorts of qualifications of "well... if something originally published as a webcomic is now in physical book form.... (Inverloch again) but actually I have volumed 1 and 3-7 of Tomo (manga-style "preteen protag moves in with Christian family members and has both fantasy adventures and learns the benefits of being Christian" no-subtlety series that I picked up at Family Christian Stores when they were still everywhere. also I probably still have the first six Serenity "books" but I can't find them (not fantasy: rebellious "sinful" teen moves to new school and hangs out with the Christians because she wants to sleep with one of them, eventually sees the errors of all her ways, un-dyes her hair, and converts. Also no subtlety)

I had a phase when I was "too old" for veggie tales but still thought FCS was the best place ever but if that really was the best of their "teen" content it really wasn't great

Do you have a book written by 2 or more authors?

are we limiting this to novels? I have The Great Snape Debate (meta published before Deathly Hallows, with short chapters by two alternating authors, plus they got Orson Scott Card to write a chapter to draw reader attention with the big name and hey it worked, I bought it, arguing (between all of them) both sides of "will Snape turn out to be on Harry's side after all" and also The Dragonlover's Guide to Pern which as the title implies, is more of a guide than a real story.

Oh, but I do have a copy of Invasive Procedures (Card & Johnson).

Did I miss any questions? tumblr's being particularly weird today.

anyway I suppose I should tag some fellow bookworms. @knightbusofdoom @copperscales and if anyone else wants me to edit to in so you're "really" tagged, just may me know, and if you just want to do it please do and tag me back