#then there’s also ‘the child thief’ by brom

[sinterblackwell]

i know for some people, having a story jump from multiple povs, including relatively minor characters, is a bit much and unnecessary to them but i actually revel in it, like it’s one of my most favorite things ever in a book. just depends on the genre, i guess.

[goinggremlin]

Hello :)

1 do u prefer a standalone or a series? 11 do u prefer a standalone or a series? 21 hardcovers or paperbacks?

(ask me questions about books!)

I love all of these, thank you!!

1.Do I prefer a standalone or a series?

Series! While I also love a lot of standalones, they're usually too short for my taste. I read stupid quick when I get into something, so a single book is usually a delicious but fleeting mouthful, while a series is a whole meal.

This definitely has to do with the amount and style of fanfiction I read - it's difficult to get into a 90k standalone when my favorite one-shot, one scene fics are 20k by themselves, you feel me?

11. Best book I've ever read:

Oh this is a difficult question to answer, I've read so many great books over the years.

I mentioned this one in another answer and I'm gonna cheat because I own the omnibus edition so it's technically one book, but The Castings Trilogy by Pamela Freeman is one I reread at least once or twice a year and always recommend to people. The characters and story are like...actually pretty basic, somewhat run-of-the-mill fantasy stuff, but Freeman makes them so compelling. I just love it a lot, to the point I'm gonna need to start taping the cover on sooner rather than later.

21. Hardcovers or paperbacks?

Paperbacks, for sure. I love the way hardbacks look all lined up on a bookshelf, but I tend to be a little hard on my books (gotta ensure they're all well-loved) and I've had much better luck with paperbacks not falling apart over the years. Logistically I also like that they're a little lighter haha

[dextervexter]

btw its nice and chilly and quiet, my chocolate candle is flickering away and im like chest deep in the vibes of a book that turned out to be shockingly good. i hope everyone can find little shreds of peace like this

[oddishfeeling]

do you have any book recommendations? pls i need lots 💙💙

this is such a loaded question friend. but lucky for u, i am procrastinating assignments, my take out has yet to arrive, and i just finished another book!

horror fic has been my choice for the last several books

the centre by ayesha manazir siddiqi is about a young Pakistani woman living in the UK. she's a translator for Urduru films. language and translation are central to this book. people are becoming fluent in a matter of weeks in complex languages.... the centre is gorgeous if not entirely mysterious, magical even. but whats the catch?? beautifully written. vivid details. anisa is a flawed, honest, and genuine feeling mc, as are the people in her life. i just finished it a couple hours ago n i miss my girls.

slewfoot by brom is set in 17th century Connecticut. our protag, Abitha, is not from this town but she does he best to adhere to the Puritan standards, if not for her well being, than that of her husband's. something stirs in the outskirts of the village, in the forest and beyond. she finds help from an unlikely source while also fostering a deep inner power of her own. these characters felt so well thought out, the writing is magnetic and the action is well paced. it puts so many preconceived notions right on their head. i loved this book and can't wait to read brom's other novel, the child thief, a retelling of peter pan and the lost boys!

sister, maiden, monster by lucy a. synder was oh so gay and oh so cosmically horrendous. this is like h.p. lovecraft wasn't a weird racist. this is like if biblically accurate angels were once just women in love. this is horrifying, visceral, and relevant to our COVID world. i was gawking at so many of the details. there are so many monster themes actually, it's perfect. the story is told through 3 povs of 3 different women. and we love women! and horror! i didn't expect to pick this one up but I'm so glad i did.

mary: an awakening of terror by nat cassidy do u know what it's like to be virtually invisible? forgotten? disaffected? do u know the pure joy of having a precious collection, adding to it over time, and it being almost ur only reason for living anymore?? then you're a lot like mary. and mary is a lot like plenty of women who get the chance to live beyond adolescence, who are cast out by society-- deemed invaluable. mary is utterly lost at a time in her life she feels she should have it all figured out. she goes back to her hometown, an ambiguous small town in the middle of the desert, and some unlikely characters help her piece things back together. i finished this book feeling so close to mary. we are friends now. there is mystique, horror, fables, myths, bad guys, mysterious architecture, and well mary is not the most reliable narrator. loved this one too.

the last house on needless street by catriona ward i had no idea where this book was going and i loved piecing the narrative together through several characters and their povs. it forces u to confront ur own biases regarding mental health. u are sympathetic to the characters in the most painful, heart wrenching ways. there is murder. there is mystery. there is missing children. there are cats. this book surprised me and it was fun to have to find a couple reddit threads to be sure i was understanding the story correctly. i felt like i read this kind of fast! which is always fun too.

brother by ania ahlborn this one pissed me off a bit. but in a good way because i was so deeply invested. this one is set in Appalachia. i'm not one for stereotypes, especially bc i think Appalachians have a bad rep and it's of no fault of their own. that being said, the insular feel of the book and the absolute claustrophobia those mountains create in this story were like a character in it of itself. our protag, michael, knows there's something beyond. he's seen them on colorful postcards. but his own mind and his own heart seem utterly trapped here. this one is heartbreaking. it's horrifying. and it'll make u dizzy from the amount of times u change ur mind. excited to read her other novel, Seed, because this one stuck with me so much!

a couple honorable mentions that fit the theme:

the vegetarian by han kang korean food. infidelity. art. nightmares. inexplicable mindfucks! this story was scary because it felt very.. possible? no monsters this time. no spells. just... the mind deteriorating. could happen to any of us.

a certain hunger by chelsea g. summers what if girlbossing is just a quick pivot from sociopathy?? what if the crimes are so much more gratifying than say, fame or fortune or even love?? women can be sociopaths too, you know!! this one is fun bc the protag is crazy and it's fun to slip into these characters. cathartic even. omg did i mention, she's a foodie too! just like me :-)

[emiliosandozsequence]

Do you have any good book recommendations?

i do!! it depends on what you're looking for but!! here's my favorite books 💕

the sparrow series by mary doria russell

phantom by susan kay

back roads by tawni o'dell

brother by ania ahlborn

mistborn trilogy by branden sanderson

the legend trilogy by marie lu

the raven cycle by maggie stiefvater

his dark materials trilogy by philip pullman

daughter of smoke and bone trilogy by laini taylor

lost souls by poppy z brite

drawing blood by poppy z brite

house of leaves by mark z danielewski

marly's ghost by david leviathan

scars by cheryl rainfield

the wayfarers series by becky chambers

the child thief by brom

the sandman by neil gaiman

the southern reach trilogy by jeff vandermeer

the hunger games quartet by suzanne collins

i also have a book blog here where i talk about what i'm currently reading and just book stuff in general!! and a book page here where i also track what i read!!

[faerunsbest]

What are your favourite novels? 😊

I really LOVE the author brom, my favorite thing he's done is the child thief, it's a retelling of peter pan. actually its a toss up because I also love krampus a lot. Like a lot.

I remember reading the first page and having to put the book down to process those feelings.

He also has some really inspiring art books as he is a splendid painter.

I also liked neverwhere a lot, that's by Neil gaiman.

I would continue but my autocorrect is being rude

[faithlesbian]

get to know you game! answer the questions and tag 9 people you want to know better

thanks to @all-seeing-ifer for tagging me!

last song listened to: rid of me by pj harvey i've been coming back to it a LOT lately (very faithcoded...)

currently reading: i just finished the novelisation of pan's labyrinth by cornelia funke, currently reading the child thief by brom, and about to start our wives under the sea by julia armfield

currently watching: farscape and star trek enterprise with my beloved friend @titsgirlbuffy

currently obsessed with: i've been working my way through pj harvey's whole discography so i feel like that's a main obsession rn, also farscape has put worms in my brain

tagging anyone who sees this and wants to try!

[distraxtionss]

I just finished The Child Thief and it was so good yet so tragic and funny and so so extremely chaotic. If you are okay with dark reads it’s worth checking out! Also the illustrations are really cool to look at. I love that Brom both writes and illustrates the book. It’s nice being inside his head and imagine the world and characters as he did.

[poohpoohtud]

What's on your bookshelf, though? Which books are your favorites?

That shelf has a mix of books that are mine, my partners and even some that belonged to my mom.

My favorites on this shelf (this is a tiny fraction of my books) are in no particular order..

"A Trio for Lute" R.A. MacAvoy

"Dust" Joan Frances Turner

"The Child Thief" Brom

I also have a book written by my cousin on this shelf..The Yasmak's Beard

Some of my Graphic novels and anthologies are there too and I love them.

Thanks for asking...have you read any of these?

[iamyourdarksyde]

(Picrew: here) 1. Alias / Name: Numa

2. Birthday: Sometime this month, actually (September)

3. Zodiac Sign: Virgo

4. Height: Around average

5. Hobbies: drawing, reading, video games, alt fashion, accidentally hyperfixating on a show/book/nostalgic thing I like on a whim

6. Favorite Color: I like a lot of colors, but I have a soft spot for purple and turmeric yellow. (I also like black and red together, but shhhh.)

7. Favorite Book: ohh it’s been a while, I like The Child Thief and The Plucker (both books by Brom) and the HP series by She-Who-Will-Not-Be-Named, if I’m being honest

8. Last Song: “The Nowhere King” from the Centaurworld soundtrack. It’s delightfully creepy for such a sweet lullaby.

9. Last Film / Show: Show? … Centaurworld and ReBoot 😅 Film? … … … Shrek 🤣

10. Recent Reads: Clinically Oriented Anatomy… It’s for a class I’m taking right now.

11. Inspiration: Samurai Jack has been a huge inspiration for me in general, ever since I first watched it; of course, seeing the variety of media that inspired Samurai Jack has inspired me to just have fun with this blog - sometimes serious, sometimes fun. Gives me the excuse to do crossover stuff and shenanigans too, which I am ALWAYS down for. I’ve drawn some inspiration from the games in the series too, and have developed my muse quite a bit in the past 10 years or so. There’s a lot that y’all don’t know about him yet - even some things he’s yet to figure out for himself too, so I hope I can build Mack up and let him shine when the time comes.

12. Story Behind URL: Got into SamJack around 2010, roleplayed him on DeviantART for a short while. I originally started this as another blog on Tumblr back in 2011 or so, originally called @ask-thedarksamurai-blog-blog (the -blog’s at the end there were because of tumblr tomfoolery back then when they were freeing up URLs people weren’t active on or were just hoarding in order to make room for active people who wanted those URLs instead. Somehow they accidentally put two of them on there, I don’t know either). I lost the password to the blog and haven’t been able to use it since. Besides that, Mad Jack is Jack’s ‘dark side’, as he states in the episode he first appeared in (season 1, episode 8) - but the title of the new blog reflects Mack’s change from just being Jack’s inner darkness, or just being ‘Mad Jack.’

Also, The Darksyde is my screen name on Twitter, which is a nod to Beast Wars, so I thought that’d be fun to throw in there too.

13. Fun Fact About Me: I’m trying my best :’) Okay, okay, being serious for a moment - I made a picture of Mad Jack around 10 years ago that somehow still goes around uncredited when people use it? It’s one of the first results on Google when you look up Mad Jack. This one:

This is the original posting of this picture on my old dA account - https://www.deviantart.com/numa-numa-shadow/art/Mad-Jack-201752095

If you use it, could you maybe credit me? Please? Thank you.

Tagged by: @dearaliceliddel Tagging: Uhhh no one, if you wanna do this go for it

[haru-desune]

Men who fear demons see demons everywhere. -Brom, The Child Thief

-------

Oh this was a hard one since every culture has its own idea of demons - from the hellfire and brimstone ones in Christianity, to Hindu asuras, to Japanese oni. For the most part demons are evil or mischievous creatures that represent sin or cause trouble for humans (though there is some wiggle room).

They are often depicted with animalistic features. The Christian demon Stolas, a prince of Hell knowledgeable about herbs and plants, takes the form of a crowned raven or owl. The Chinese dog demon Tiangou is often depicted eating the sun. Mesopotamia had a demon goddess named Lamashtu, who supposedly had head of a lion, the teeth of a donkey. Goats, cats, frogs and wolves are also commonly associated with demons.

In the Baháʼí faith demons aren't physical at all. They believe that all evil spirits mentioned in cultures across the world (fallen angels, djinn, etc) are metaphors for the teaits humans develop when they turn away from God.

In many cultures, demons are said to be able to possess humans, turning them cruel. The only way to cure the possessed is through exorcism. However what many believed to be demonic possession could today be taken as evidence of mental illness or even simply independence or behavior against the societal norm.

Today demons still hold their role as terrifying unknowable villains and supernatural beings willing to share their corruptive power for a price. But we also see the more sympathetic demon, Like Good Omens' Crowley, didn't do much fall as saunter vaguely downwards. Or Black Butler's Sebastian Michaelis who's refined butler persona almost lets you ignore the evil. What hasn't changed is the way demons symbolize temptation - the you that doesn't have to be good.

[thotly-thoughts-101]

I'm here to talk about a book

I, like many fanfiction addicted people, often wanted an escape. We all had our comfort cartoons, usually Disney, back before we knew what they did, before we knew about the racism, or the antisemitism, we sat on the floor, a VHS or DVD player playing our favorite Disney movie. (side note, if you are young and watched on a blue-ray, cool, I'm catering to my nostalgia...hell, my mom finally caved and got a blue-ray player this year. So yeah, that's a thing, I'm 18 and finally got a Blue-ray player.) Back to my main target. You're between the ages of five and ten, favorite Disney movie playing while you sit on the floor, holding your blanket close, or eating spaghetti, because hey, I didn't grow up well off, I was a kid in an apartment complex with a tired mom, gore addicted older sister, alcoholic father, and gangs had begun moving into the area.

All that to start the fact that my comfort Disney movie was Peter Pan. My mom hated that movie, gods, she hated it so much. But me? I loved it. A fantastical land of wonder and pirates. What child wouldn't want that. Of course, when I stated that as one of my favorite movies, My mom began to drill the lessons of the Fae into my head by the age of five. Etiquette, manners, the dos and don'ts of the realm of Faerie. Those lessons still stick with me, more than any lessons that the church had been trying to teach me since I was three.

I was about 13 when I was able to recognize the natives of the Peter Pan movie were so extremely racist. It was still my favorite kids movie, but I wasn't going to ignore that the movie had it's flaws.

I was 14 when I read the original book. The book felt more at home in a thriller section than the kids section. I found it baffling that no real answer was given to anything. The novel didn't clarify what Peter was, though deep in my heart, from years of burned in fairy tales, I knew he was in the branch of Changeling. I was now fascinated by this genre of media.

But that's not the book I want to talk about. Imagine if it was? Gosh that would be so dull. No, I want to talk about a reimagining of Peter Pan. It is called "The Child Thief" by Brom.

Some may recognize Brom as an artist for Magic the Gathering. But I am here to talk about his book. Well, one of them. His books are a bit more pricey, so I only have one.

That is "the Child Thief".

The story follows many characters, Peter, who is seen as a changeling, and is confirmed. But more importantly it speaks on how our fairy tales have been choked out by modern society, we replaced magic with science and machines.

(from here on forward, spoilers. you have been warned also lots of potential triggers)

This book opens with a really sensitive subject, rape (I did warn you). There is a lot of murder in the book, it's an adult novel so keep that in mind. We learn about Nick, a boy who is struggling with life, and trust me, life has been shit to Nick.

Peter finds Nick, and whisks him away to an island, Neverland, by technicality. There we learn of the species that is replacing the natives, elves, the children of the gods of the wild. (this is important) The current ruler is the son of the former god of the wild, a goat like man (I am not sure if this is a reference to Cernunnos or Pan, but as the mythology is very heavily tied to Celtic and Gaelic Myths, I'm inclined to vouch Cernunnos) and this Elf, fae, I can't recall, was expected to fill his father's (his father is the goat man) role. There is a lot going on in this story so I'm covering quite a few perspectives, so once I cover who has a perspective, I will break each story into sections. Next we have the Captain. A man who just wanted off of Neverland, as the island had turned him and all the adults around him into decaying monsters, all hellbent on the fact that peter was the anti Christ. We also follow Peter, who want's to rid the island of the rotting colonizers, but the pure Elves and fae hated him, as he was not seen as a pure member of the species. Nick spends his story grappling with the fact that he abandoned his mother to drug dealers, and the rage of her letting drug dealers into their life.

first, the easiest and least heartbreaking perspective, the Captain's.

The Captain's perspective is simple, he was in charge of the ship taking puritans to the new land, instead, the land on the island they would be trapped on when the lady of the lake casted a magical, protective mist around the island, effectively trapping the humans. From there the decay began, skin rotted on the bone, but they could not die. All the Captain wanted was to return home to his son, who by this time, is very much dead.

When the Lady of the Lake died, the mist was lifted, and upon his freedom, he took the nearest ship and left for England. The Captain was one of few who got a happy-ish ending. (below is cannon image of the captain)

Now, we have a more...sad story, the Royal.

The prince went mad while fighting a three front war. He put his father's helm on and lost his mind, drunk on power he wasn't meant to have. He was killed in his madness, never truly meant to survive. It's sad that he lost himself to rage, and jealousy towards Peter, who was a favorite of the Lady. (the prince/king names are hard, but he is below)

Nick, we have hit Nick, I really cried for Nick's story.

Nick went with Peter, battled so many emotions. He decides he wanted to return to his mom. He fought beside Peter, spent all this time with Peter and the Devils (the crew of young teens Peter has collected for his child army). So much happens to Nick, we watch him fight for the freedom of Avalon (the actual name of the island).

When the Lady dies, the battle moves to the New York streets, to the park. Peter promises Nick that when this is done, Nick will see his mom again, Nick will get to go home.

I genuinely cheered for Nick, I wanted him to live. I would be torn to shreds if he were to die...and he does, the battle is won, but Nick dies, drowning in a pond.

Rereading the novel, even though you know Nick won't make it, you still find yourself rooting for him. The knowledge of Nicks mortality will quickly dissipate as Brom drowns you in the story, and the thing is, it's the best kind of drowning, drowning in words, in the story of Nick, Peter, and the Captain. (This is Nick, a colorized image that isn't fanart doesn't exist, but there he is down below, bout to break glass with a bowling ball)

And now, my favorite lad, whom my gay self simps for, Peter.

We start with Peter being a mystery of red hair and golden eyes, freckles and grins. He mesmerizes young children with food, safety, joy, to bring them to Avalon.

Peter was born the bastard son of a goat god, the same as the one mentioned with the royal. He found himself fighting a war, dedicated to the Lady of the Mist (sorry, I never liked her, but I never was supposed to. So I don't remember her name) He served her for so long, eventually she dies, as that is a common factor. He promises Nick that he will get to see his mother again.

Nick dies, as you know by now, and Peter wins the war, but Avalon is lost. Peter, finds that he is the true heir to the role as the god of the wild, and the wild boy goes off into the city, to go visit the drug dealers that ruined Nick's life, after all, a promise is a promise. And in this case Peter had more fatal games to play.

(And now, an image of Peter, for your consideration.)

There is an important character that I didn't speak about, Seku, wonderful Seku. I don't want to ruin her story, but I will provide an image

Remember, all this art is done by Brom, the author.

Now, in after math, I'm not entirely sure why, I, at 15 years old, picked up this book on Christmas break, said "This is the one." I gave it no thought until I was 17, 100% certain I was some flavor of Bi or pansexual. and barely aware that I wasn't cis. I knew by the time I read the book again, even in my fantasy world, I was too old to truly belong there, I qualified as one of the adults now, one of the rotting beings that couldn't survive in that magical world.

Some part of me wishes, wonders, dreams, that I could. That I could be accepted in that world. I know I can't now, at the age of 18. But the book lets me live that dream, through Peter, through Nick, through Seku, and even the Captain and the Royal. In some sense, I needed this book, and it came to me when I needed it too.

-thotly

[thelivebookproject]

Talking Books With @josephconrads!

[What is this and how can I participate?]

Important note: I haven’t changed or edited any of the answers. I’ve only formatted the book titles so they were clearer, but nothing else. Because I’m incapable of shutting up, my comments are between brackets and in italics, so you can distinguish them clearly.

----------------------------------------------

[Image description: a square titled “Know the blogger”. Name & pronouns: Noah, he/they; country: United States; three adjectives to describe them: easygoing, sarcastic & meticulous /end]

1. What are your reading goals for this year (or the next one)?

Answer: I’ll be honest in saying I don’t have any. I rarely if ever set reading goals for myself other than the yearly reading goal on Goodreads. This year that’s 50 books. But yeah, I never set reading goals because I find that when I do and don’t reach them, I become disappointed and critical of myself. 

2. Last time you researched a writer's Wikipedia page to know something specific about them?

To look up something specific about them? Far too long ago to remember as I don’t tend to research authors much if at all. However I did look at Terry Brooks Wikipedia page a few months back in order to see which book was next in a specific series. I’m attempting to work through all of his individual novels and series set in the Shannara world and I’m going about them in publication order which often results in a trip to his Wikipedia for the Bibliography section.

3. Do buy books based on if the title sounds good or is that not important for you?

Not solely based on the title but title does play a factor. I mostly base my purchases off of the summary provided but if the title doesn’t appeal to me then I’m less likely to pick up the book to read the summary in the first place. There have been numerous times that a title has led me to buy a book but never without reading up on it first.

4. First book that comes to your mind when I say "autumn"?

The Child Thief by Brom. His name is Gerald Brom but everything he writes is under his last name. It’s a dark retelling/dark origin story for Peter Pan and a frequent reread for myself. Although I’m not certain why it’s the book that came to mind as, if memory serves me right, autumn isn’t really a mentioned or described season.

5. Have you ever read a writer's complete works?

On a technicality, yes. And by that I mean there have been a few authors who have published only one or two novels which I have read. I don’t technically count these as complete works as there is always time for any of these authors to write and publish more, which means if it interests me then I might read it. There are a few authors whose complete works I am attempting to complete although I’m not quite there just yet. 

Free space!

I’d also like to provide a list of 5 books everyone should read in their lifetime:

A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

The Knife of Never Letting Go - Patrick Ness

Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoevsky

The Razor’s Edge - W Somerset Maugham

Little Bee - Chris Cleave

[I’ve only read Dickens’ off this...]

You can follow him at @josephconrads.

-------------------------------------------------

Thank you, Noah! This was very nice.

Next interview: Wednesday, 10th of March

[locke-writes]

3,8,16,17,21 for the film ask please! Those are great questions.

It's should come as no surprise that I've gone off the rails in responding to these questions which means I've added a read more for this answer.

3. An actor/actress you’ve seen in more than 8 movies? Name the movies.

I have a long list of these but we'll start with the man that started my list of actors I'll watch everything they've ever done and that's Tom Hardy. In terms of what I've seen him in (films only):

- Layer Cake (2004)

- Marie Antoinette (2006)

- Sucker Punch (2008)

- RocknRolla (2008) - this was the film that started it all and I can't recommend it enough

- Inception (2010)

- Warrior (2011)

- This Means War (2012)

- The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

- Locke (2013) - Not what my blog is named after but a fucking incredible film

- Child 44 (2015)

- Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

- Legend (2015)

- The Revenant (2015)

- Dunkirk (2017)

- Venom (2018)

8. Which book would you like to see adapted into a film?

If I thought about this for an hour I could give you such a long list of adaptions I'd like to see but since I'm not about to overload anyone with book recommendations or ideas for cool films I'm going to list 5

- Graceling by Kristin Cashore

- The Child Thief by Brom

- When We Were Animals by Joshua Gaylord

- Gone by Michael Grant

- The Girl In the Arena - Lise Haines

16. A film you love but everyone else hates?

My brain immediately launched me straight into The Master of Disguise with Dana Carvey. It's a terrible movie, I mean it has 1% on Rotten Tomatoes bad. But it's also terrible in such a great way that it's utterly hilarious and it holds some nostalgia with me which I think influences my thoughts on the film. Also there's probably a few classics that I love which people hate but I'm not entirely certain regarding those.

17. Which cinematic universe would you like to live in?

It's funny because I really can't think of many cinematic universes in the sense of a universe being comprised of a setting spanning more than one film. I think that maybe living in the View Askewniverse would be great. It's just the Kevin Smith film universe which means a lot of hanging with my favorite characters from Clerks, Mallrats, and Chasing Amy, not to mention weird shit happening all the time a la Dogma. And who better than to hang with than Jay and Silent Bob

21. A film with an amazing soundtrack?

I'm splitting this into two. Soundtracks and Scores because soundtracks often implies songs containing lyrics although not necessarily musicals:

Soundtracks: A Knight's Tale, Dazed And Confused, Empire Records, The Big Chill, Velvet Goldmine

Scores: Interstellar, The Theory of Everything, Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium, Edward Scissorhands, Dead Ringers

[gasolineghuleh]

Are we talking book recs? Listen,,, despite them being aimed towards a younger audience I adore anything by Rick Riordan; great semi-starter for getting into Norse, Egyptian, Greek, and Roman beliefs/mythology without it being as hardcore as the main stories! Also the Alice In Wonderland series is beautifully written, and the original Peter Pan is interesting, especially with the theories on the piece. Theres also the Witch series by James Pattinson, which is more young adultish. What can I say, I adoy books aimed at younger audiences!

On a more serious note, To Kill A Mockingbird and anything written by Maya Angelou is always a joy. Despite the amount of RAGE Victor gives me throughout the book, I always come back to Frankenstein as well-

If you like mythology, take a look at Song of Achilles. Bring tissue(s). Riordan is alright, but I do love me some brutality sometimes, like Gaimans Norse mythos. Those are always worth a read.

The original Peter Pan is hauntingly beautiful, and so is the spiritual successor by Brom called The Child Thief. Alice in Wonderland has always been one of my favourites as well, especially the original Disney animation. The story is just so beautiful. There's so much there.

[knitting-gay-nerd]

Elizabeth Freeman

"Any time, any time while I was a slave, if one minute's freedom had been offered to me, and I had been told I must die at the end of that minute, I would have taken it- just to stand one minute on God's earth a free woman- I would." - Elizabeth Freeman

Elizabeth Freeman was born an enslaved woman in the mid-1700s, in approximately 1744, on the farm of Pieter Hogeboom in Claverack, New York. She was given the name Bet. Freeman was given to John Ashley, who had married Hogeboom's daughter, at seven years old. While owned by Ashley, she is said to have married, although no marriage records exist. She bore a child, called Little Bet. Her husband is said to have never returned from service in the American Revolution.

Freeman always had a strong, unbending spirit. She hated every moment of being enslaved. This clashed with her mistress, Hannah Ashley's views, as Hannah had been raised in the strict Dutch culture of New York. In 1780, Lizzie, Freeman's sister, took a small amount of dough she was using to make a meal for the family and attempted to make a small wheaten cracker for herself. Hannah called Lizzie a thief and attempted to hit her with a heated shovel. The shovel had been in the fire, and the blade of it was red from the heat. Freeman interceded, taking the blow upon her arm instead.

The blow cut to the bone, and her arm never healed exactly as it was. It was nearly useless for the rest of the winter. She never covered her wound, instead using it to embarrass her mistress. When telling the story later in life, she is quoted saying, "Madam never again laid her hand on Lizzie. I had a bad arm all winter, but Madam had the worst of it. I never covered the wound, and when people said to me, before Madam, 'Why, Betty! what ails your arm?' I only answered - 'ask missis!'"

The Ashley home was the site of many political discussions and the probable site of the singing of the Sheffield Resolves, the document from which many of the ideas used in the Declaration of Independence were drawn. Freeman, serving the men participating in these discussions, overheard much talk of freedom, liberty, and revolution.

In 1780, either at a public reading or at one of these gatherings in her master's house, she heard the newly ratified Massachusetts Constitution. Realizing that the document claimed that all men were born equal and had a right to freedom, she sought the counsel of Theodore Sedgwick, a young, abolitionist lawyer. She reportedly asked him, "I'm not a dumb critter; won't the law give me my freedom?"

Freeman wanted to sue for her freedom. After thought and deliberation, Sedgwick took her case. Brom, another person enslaved by Ashley, also wanted to sue for his freedom. Sedgwick accepted his case as well. He enlisted the aid of Tapping Reeve, who founded Litchfield Law School, one of the first law schools in the United States.

Sedgwick and Reeve were the best lawyers in Massachusetts. In their prosecution, they claimed that the words "all men are born free and equal" effectively abolished slavery within Massachusetts.

Brom and Bett v. Ashley was heard before the County Court of Common Pleas in Great Barrington in August 1781. The jury ruled in the plantiffs' favor. Brom and Freeman were awarded damages of thirty shillings and compensation for their work.

Ashley appealed the decision, but later dropped his appeal, apparently having decided that the ruling was binding.

Following the ruling, Ashley asked Freeman to return to his household, where she would be paid for her work. Freeman refused, opting instead to work for Sedgwick. She was his senior servant and the governess of the Sedgwick children until 1808, at which point she moved into her own house closer to her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. She died on December 28, 1829, assumed to be about 85 years of age.

Elizabeth Freeman was the first enslaved woman to successfully sue for her freedom in Massachusetts. Her case was used as precedent in future cases that upheld the freedom of all previously enslaved people and ended slavery in Massachusetts.