#thomas and james never had these problems they were the most honest partners in the show

[holychopshopgalaxy]

the speculation about post-savannah reunion "how could a relationship work and how would thomas be ok with everything flint did" is like. i did Not get that interpretation at all based off the london flashback scenes

I think after talking a lot they'd come to a mutual understanding (which they were always very good at doing in their partnership) and it'd be fine imho.

like even as a privileged aristocrat, thomas was a troublemaker. a political radical who's whispered to be mad by half of whitehall as well has his political powerhouse dad ("what a piece of work you are") because he believes in rethinking systemic things and isn't afraid to say it loudly. he considers his wife his intellectual equal and lets her sleep around with as many men as she wants, in general could not give less of a fuck what others think of his marriage or his beliefs. his sexuality warrants death by hanging yet he remains confident in it and entirely unashamed. this guy wasn't exactly a goody two shoes

he was also stubbornly determined to see humanity in the downtrodden and exercising forgiveness for those who are extremely disadvantaged. he gives coins to random lower-class families at criminal executions by the docks even after witnessing the angry mob behavior (makes a friendly comment to the child about it being "lucky"), and is still persistent in seeking the universal pardons after learning how israel hands brutally murdered the governor's family. he was an actual authentic christian when it came to mercy and compassion for the poor and oppressed

then he spends 10 years unjustly incarcerated as a political prisoner ("unjustly" because aside from having a homosexual relationship, he never actually did anything illegal), and spent at least a significant amount of that time in horridly inhumane conditions. going from a wealthy politically-active nobleman to an early 18th century asylum inmate who then supposedly kills himself and is perma-exiled to a penal colony is... quite a harsh downfall to say the least. there's no way it doesn't dawn on someone that intelligent and intellectual that trying to work within the system cost him absolutely everything. flint says that england took everything away from him and miranda, but that's not entirely true - he and miranda still had each other. thomas truly had nothing.

so i don't think it's a stretch to infer 1716 thomas would be way more ideologically aligned with flint than one may initially think. would he agree with everything flint did in his war against england? most likely not. miranda didn't, so highly doubtful that thomas would either. that was always their dynamic though - they saw eye to eye on principles and beliefs (james admits this during his bar convo with hennessey), but argued a lot over methods and practicality. that was always the foundation of their intellectual connection. furthermore, flint didn't even agree with everything he did himself. gates' sacrifice tortured him. he wanted to return flint to the sea for a long time. he kept fighting brutally because he believed he had nothing left to lose. sounds like an incredibly wronged and damaged human being who may qualify for... authentically christian forgiveness perhaps

and besides. james was his truest love and miranda was his dear wife. miranda and james recognized each other despite everything and thomas and james recognized each other despite everything. bottom line they all suffered and they were all committed to each other because it was love. love is synonymous with a commitment to seeing the best in someone despite their flaws and fuckups. that's just what it is and its demonstrated plainly over and over again in the show.

if he could forgive ashe for his cowardly betrayal which cruelly ruined all 3 of their lives, would he really not forgive miranda and james for charlestown? or the maria aleyne. thomas wasn't eleanor. he wasn't thirsting after his father's approval so logically i can't see why he'd react the way she did

i mean yeah they'd have a LOT to talk about but still. all this taken together, you really mean to tell me thomas wouldn't understand flint's war against the empire, and wouldn't forgive his more evil actions (born out of desperation)? ya i doubt it

[booksandwords]

Buzz by E. Davies

Series: The Riley Brothers, #1 Read time: 1 Day Rating: 4/5

The quote: And, for the love of God, we can all get boyfriends or girlfriends or whatever.” Jackson held up his beer in a toast. “And get our shit together.” Cameron laughed and clinked glasses. “I think you two have your shit together. It's just me.” “Doesn't feel like it sometimes,” Thomas laughed. “I always thought you two did.” Jackson shook his head. “I thought you two did.” — Jackson, Cameron and Thomas Riley (aka perfect siblingness)

Buzz is the story of Cam Riley and Noah Clark. 23-year-old Cameron Riley has recently discovered a heart condition that doctors are struggling to formerly diagnose. This heart condition it presents most commonly as him getting heart palpitations, getting dizzy and blacking out. This medical condition has meant losing his potential future as a pro hockey player. Honestly, his and the medical community's reactions to that heart condition are so relatable. I have been through the whole we have no idea what is going on, but here's our best come back for a barrage of tests when we have a space, best of luck to you until then. His reaction is a mood. He tries to prove his not a social liability, tries to keep going as he was and just all-around struggles to adjust to his new reality. There is a brilliant line to summarise this whole experience "What had he done to deserve this shit? Abso-fucking-lutely nothing." (Cameron) Also a total mood. Noah “Gay as the day is bright,” Clark is a 24-year-old art curator and all-around good egg. He is on the feminine side when it comes to presenting himself, likes being hauled around and never saw the inside of the closet. He's basically Cam's total opposite but near-ideal partner. Their chemistry is instant and electric. They feed off each other to a degree. Noah helps Cam find a job with his uncle, Bill at his apiary. Cam helps Noah and Bill when something goes wrong with the bees.

The story is pleasant enough to read. Two different men trying to figure each other out while going through perhaps trying times in their lives. Cameron trying to move on with trying to figure out what next. Noah dealing with work stress, and his work being undermined. Their stories individually such as they are, focus more on Cam than Noah, kinda why I have less comment on him, we spend more time with Cam Along the way we meet many of the characters from the rest of The Riley Brothers series. Most importantly the Riley brothers themselves Jackson and Thomas. Jackson gets chapters of narration, as Noah's older brother we get to see his protective nature and his thoughts on Noah's ex his general concern. Importantly we see them all coming together in their gorgeous housing situation (of which Cam's is my fave). Others include tattooist Chase, P.I. Alex, Hockey players Matty and Kevin and James (I think).

Have some quotes. I quite like the way Davies writes.

this was a relationship he was willing to work hard to start and work harder to never end. — (Noah) This is from the prologue. it is a helluva way to get a reader interested in the story. Especially once the reader learned about the idiot that is Nathan, Cam's ex.

and oh shit, he was very dizzy, and his heart was racing and he couldn't breathe, the pounding in his ears drowning out the screeches of metal on ice, and then-- --the ice rose, jumping up at him, flying into his face. Blackness. — (Cam) I'm going to be honest and say I just like this as imagery. You can see it or feel it.

"You're twenty-three – you're on the cusp of success. You can't fuck it up now. Push too hard, at the wrong time, and you can bench yourself for life. Or, worse, lose your life. Heart problems, if that's what this is, are nothing to screw around with.” — (Coach Walker) I'm here for this line. I just this we need more lines like this in all fiction. It's an important message.

Getting his wisdom teeth out had been enough experience with hospitals for him. They were ugly and white and architecturally displeasing. — (Jackson) This is Jackson on hospitals. It's largely the last bit the last phrase that I found so appealing, architecturally displeasing. Something so amusing while totally accurate about that.

 All day and night to plan to grab Nathan by his greasy hair and chuck him out if he tried strolling back into his little brother's life yet again. — (Jackson) I didn't mention Nathan in my review because I can't even with how to talk about that awful but sadly real thing. But this is brilliant protective older brother.

Cam responded, speaking for the other two. He'd always been the spokesman, for no particular reason. Jackson was talkative enough and Thomas wasn't reticent, but they both yielded to him when he was there. — (Cameron) This is more sibling joy. I honestly think this is normal. I know my brother and I are like this.

“Yep. Good choice. It's not the gay bar. Fuck, the single gay bar here and all the straight students in it...” — (Noah) This just made me laugh.

“You were forced off the ice. I'm glad you didn't kill yourself out of some hyper-macho bullshit weakness complex.” — (Noah) Again with the important and useful messages. But honestly I just really like the last line. It's Noah's whole sticking point when he finds out Cam's secret.

This is another fairly quick read. It has an element of predictability and comfort to it but with the pleasant change of there being less angst than many of the books I've read before. With that blurb, we can safely assume this is heading for a HEA, this is all about what happens to get there and the cuteness of their relationships. Cameron and Noah's relationship may be adorable in its dynamic but it moves fast. Buzz starts with a bang. The prologue comes from a scene about 60% of the way through though from an alternate perspective (Noah's in the prologue rather than Cameron's in Chapter 22). These are the first lines... "A fucking jock strap. Jesus Christ, how much hotter could Cameron get? Noah's jaw dropped. Cameron was kneeling across his stomach, leaning back on his heels. Callused hands slid his jeans down muscled thighs and Cameron's package bulged forward. He was hard inside the stretchy fabric, and Noah needed to find out how hard." (Noah). It just starts fast and then goes back and lets us see how Noah and Cam got here. I really wasn't expecting it to start like that, not sure if that is a signature of E. Davies' writing, I've never read any of it before. Though I have downloaded and have full intention to read Clang, Jackson and Chase's story. Mostly because it is already fairly obvious there is something between them. And while tattooists aren't particularly rare in mm fiction I respect an author who gives me something different, a blacksmith. Though even Chase is a little unusual he's a highly talented artist alongside his tattooing skills "But I have to know art to freehand." (Chase). Quite frankly I'm really looking forward to it.

[bisexualpirateheart]

Written for @buildarocketboys because we both wanted to see more happy poly bi flinthamilton fic. 

                                  Your Laws Do Not Apply To Me

                                                       *  *  *

Saturday, late November, the dark already closing in even though it’s only a little after six.

The shops are busy and James is more than ready to be done and just be home already. He grabs a carton of milk and adds it to the cart. Cereal, bread, cream, eggs, orange juice, bacon. More butter, he thinks and continues strolling down the aisle. At last he finds Thomas in the biscuit aisle, studying a packet of Ginger Cremes with a studious expression.

“Ginger or chocolate?” Thomas inquires.

“Both.” James says.

“Mm, good answer.” Thomas drops a package of each into the cart and they start walking down the aisle together. “Did you get the cream?”

“Yes.”

“Is that all?” Thomas runs his eyes over the rest of the contents of the cart.

James procures the list which he wrote on his phone earlier because he knew it would it be like this if he didn’t. “Wine.” He remembers.

“Why don’t you go get in line and I’ll grab some?” Thomas suggests.

“Would you?” James asks gratefully. The sooner they’re in line, the sooner they can go home.

“Of course.” Thomas squeezes his hip lightly and goes off towards the wine aisle.

James makes his way to the front of the store, already feeling better. It’s not that he dislikes winter, but he’s ready for spring already. He wants it to still be light out when he’s done with work for the day. He wants to have time left in the day, damn it.

He has most of the groceries unloaded by the time Thomas returns with three bottles of wine.

“Here you go, my love.” Thomas says cheerfully. He sets them on the counter.

The cashier smiles at him. “You and your partner are very attractive together.”

James forces a smile while Thomas simply beams at her. “Thank you.”

                                                   “That still bothers you.” Thomas observes as they walk out with their bags.

“What?”

“When people simply assume you’re gay?” Thomas unlocks the car and they start setting the bags in the back.

Something flickers in James’s eyes. “No…” He doesn’t want to get into this again; there’s no solving it.

“Or straight.” Thomas amends because he knows it’s not that simple. “Admit it.”

James sighs. “It’s just…you know.” He never means to make Thomas uncomfortable but it’s true.

Thomas sighs as well. “I know.”

And he does, because while Thomas is also bi (and Miranda as well, for that matter) he does understand that out of the three of them, it frustrates James the most, all the assumptions people make when it’s just the two of them, or when it’s James and Miranda together, or the inevitable confusion and generalizations when it’s the three of them. There is always an assumption and either one has to go along with it, or one has to correct someone and it’s exhausting.

He’s lucky and James knows it. It’s rare to meet one person you fit with in this mess of a world. Two is extravagance, pushing the limits of what the universe will give him. Maybe he shouldn’t ask for more, but he still wants more, damn it.

He wants people to know that he’s with the Hamiltons. That they are his. They’re the married ones, yes, but that’s a simple legality. He’s Miranda’s and Miranda is his and he’s Thomas’s and Thomas is Miranda’s and his and she is Thomas’s and and they all fit.

It’s rare and he’s lucky and James knows he needs to accept this but it doesn’t mean he doesn’t still want more.

                                                 *  *  *

“Do you miss having a girlfriend?” Thomas asks one morning while they’re lingering in bed. James has already left for work, getting dressed in a rush for an early meeting before his first class starts. Thomas can still taste the toothpaste on his lips from the quick kiss James had given him.

“What brought this on?” Miranda murmurs sleepily, her eyes not even open yet.

“Nothing in particular.” Thomas’s fingers stroke her shoulder absently. “I just think at times, it stillwears on James…the assumptions.”

“That’s not your fault.” Miranda says consolingly. “We’re both just more used to the way the world perceives us.”

“I know.” Thomas sighs. “I just wish it were easier, you know.”

“I know.” She slips an arm around him, embracing him. “And to answer your question, yes sometimes I miss having a girlfriend, but I don’t assume I will never have another one, you know.”

“Of course, I never meant,” Thomas starts.

Miranda leans up and presses a soft kiss to his mouth. “I know, darling, I know.” She leans back against the pillow, smiling at him. "It’s just a matter of meeting the right woman.”

“Don’t I know it.” Thomas murmurs, leaning down to kiss her again.

                                                  *  *  *

Miranda had known she was bisexual since she was ten and a girl with glasses and short black hair in her class had asked to borrow a pencil. She smiled at Miranda, and Miranda had thought she had never seen such pretty lips before. She had always liked both girls and boys and it had been a source of consternation and constant problems with her parents so eventually she had stopped bringing people home to meet them. They weren’t appreciated, and they deserved to be appreciated.

She brought Thomas home because it didn’t matter that her parents assumed she was “choosing.” It didn't matter what they thought at that point. She had never thought she would marry a man, but Thomas was different and better and she fell in love.

And then one day she had met an auburn-haired man in the coffeehouse near the university where she taught music classes and her heart stopped again.

Sometimes the universe simply brings people to you and says, ‘here you are, you should be together, but you have to make the effort to keep them, show them they're wanted.'

Miranda likes listening to the universe.

                                                   *  *  *

It’s mid-afternoon, the gray twilight slanting across the windows of James's office. There’s been silence in the room for five minutes now while he waits for the student sitting across his desk from him to speak.

“Eleanor.” James prods. “If you don’t actually talk during your visit to my office, then I need to make my office hours available for other students.” Usually Eleanor has plenty to say during their meetings. She’s one of his best students (His favorite student, if he’s honest.) But something has been going on lately and he’s let it go on long enough.

At last Eleanor sighs. “I don’t know what to do.”

“That’s evident.” James says. “Judging from your work you’ve turned in the last few weeks. Now what’s wrong?”

She sighs again, fingers picking at the corner of her notebook sitting on her lap. “So there’s this girl.”

“Ah.” James says, and waits.

“I really like her.” Eleanor says, glancing up and off to the side, nowhere near meeting his eye.

“All right.” James says and waits.

Eleanor draws a long breath and then finally looks up at him. “So if I tell everyone and by everyone I mean my dad, you know, but yeah, everyone, they’ll be like 'so you’re a lesbian now then?'”

“And?” James asks when again the silence grows and grows.

“And I’m not…comfortable with that label.” Eleanor says finally, chewing on her thumbnail.

“Because…” James prompts when she’s been silent again for a while. He resists looking at the clock. Eleanor deserves all his time and attention and Thomas and Miranda will understand.

“Because I still like dick, okay?” Eleanor shoots back and then blushes furiously.

James snorts. “I see. So what’s the problem then?”

“They always want you to choose?” There’s a note of desperation in Eleanor’s voice and James finds himself flinching in sympathy. “They make you choose and I don’t want to, even though I really really like this girl, Professor, and if I thought for a second it was just girls forever, I’d say it in a heartbeat, but I can’t, cause it’d be a lie, you know?”

“I do.” James says, and whatever tone he has now makes Eleanor look at him a little sideways.

“You don’t have to choose.” James tells her, softening his voice just a little. “Society does tend to be unnecessarily confused by bisexuality, but no one can make you choose, Eleanor.”

“And you know this from personal experience, do you?” Eleanor crosses her arms over her chest and sinks lower in her chair.

“As a matter of fact, yes.” James says.

Eleanor sits up straight in her at that. “But your boyfriend!”

“What about him?”

“I mean, you are with Mr. Hamilton, right? You’ll break all the girls hearts if you say you’re not.”

“Rest assured, Mr. Hamilton and I are still very much together.”

“Oh thank christ.” Eleanor says. “But, what do you mean then?”

“For starters, like you pointed out, even if you’re with one partner, it doesn’t mean you’ve stopped being bisexual. It just means that’s the partner you’re currently with.” He hesitates. It’s always dicey saying things to students. It’s a fine line, being honest with someone who needs personal reassurance and another saying things of a personal nature to a student that could so easily be misconstrued as inappropriate if they were reported. If it was any other student, he might have hesitated further, but Eleanor would never...and sometimes it's worth taking a risk, to encourage a student.

“Are you saying you’re…” Eleanor pauses, and then almost defiantly, “bisexual too?”

“Yes.” James says after a moment. “I am.”

“So…”

“So I am very happily not choosing.” James says and then, what the hell. “Because not only am I that, but I am also polyamorous.” He wonders if there will ever come a time when he could ever just say that without second-guessing everything. Time would tell, he supposes.

“Do you have pictures of your partners?” Eleanor demands next.

James wavers. And then, what the hell, he’s already in this deep. He takes out his phone and tapes it. He holds it out for her inspection.

Eleanor stares at his background with surprise and delight. “So….”

“That’s Thomas and Miranda and me.” James hears the blatant affection in his voice. No wonder no one is surprised by his relationship. It’s openly nauseating, the sort of thing he would loathe in someone else. “We’re all together.”

Eleanor just gazes at the picture and then she hands the phone back. “Thank you.” She says quietly. “For sharing this with me.”

“You’re welcome.” James puts his phone back in his pocket. “I just wanted you to know, Eleanor….you get to decide what happens in your life. It doesn’t mean it will be easy, in any regard. And other people won’t always like it, but that doesn’t necessarily matter. What matters is you are doing the right things for you, making your own choices.”

“Are you happy?” Eleanor asks abruptly.

James pauses again, honestly considering the question. What would be encouraging, but truthful? What could he say?

He worries about the effects of the world, how the future is going to turn out. So much is discouraging from day to day interactions to politicians being less and less truthful every day…the state of the country, the state of the fucking planet for that matter. But at the heart of it all, he has two people he loves very dearly to come home to and they make the hardships of the world a little easier to bear, and more worthwhile to endure and his sheer existence is more real and more joyous and more wonderful because of them.

“Yes.” He says. “I am.”

“Good.” Eleanor says, finally sitting up. “You should be,” She heads for the door. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” James tells her, a little bemused. “Any time.”

                                              *  *  *

On the way home he stops and buys a bottle of wine.

Miranda is ensconced in the studio when he gets home. He can hear the sound of her piano, the delicate dance of her fingers upon the keys making him smile. The first time he had ever spent the night here Miranda had played while James had stood behind her and kissed her throat until she turned around and kissed him back.

The piano bench was wonderfully sturdy, James recalls with a faint smile.

He goes to the studio and pauses in the doorway. Miranda is lovely as always, completely lost in her music, concentration carrying her far away, her hair pulled back with little tendrils escaping to drift past her cheeks. She’s wearing one of his thick sweaters over her pajama bottoms and fuzzy socks and James knows exactly how soft it is against her skin.

“I love you to the ends of the world and back.” James murmurs.

“Then where’s my kiss?” Miranda says without looking up.

James laughs. “Here.” he moves to stand beside her and leans down to kiss her. Her skin smells like violets and he breathes in deep, suddenly overwhelming happy.

“Thomas is running a little late.” Miranda informs him, her fingers still moving gracefully over the keys. “It’s all right as that gave me time to finish up with one of my pupils who needed a little extra time this afternoon.”

“Which?” James’s fingers trails down her hair softly.

“Abigail. She’s really coming along. She plays beautifully, and she has such natural talent, of course, but her relationship with her father causes her such stressful periods it’s appalling.” She sighed. “I wish I could just explain to the damn man that harassing her and causing her stress about her talent doesn’t help.”

“I know the feeling.” James kisses the back of her neck, brushing his fingertips down to the collar of the sweater.

Miranda makes a wry face. “We all know that feeling.” She says quietly. “It’s a hard thing to escape.”

Miranda rarely talked about her own family. James knows that she had been glad to get away from them. His hand closes over hers as it pauses on the piano keys in silence.

“Anyway.” Miranda turns to smile at him. “You seem rather contented tonight.”

“I am.” James tells her. “I had a conversation with one of my students today and it just reminded me of a few things.”

“Such as?” Miranda inquires, loving the way the studio light catches the distinctive lines of his face. She loves those lines so dearly, how often she had kissed each and every one.

“That in the end it doesn’t matter what other people think. Oh, it would be nice if they didn’t assume things.” His fingers played over hers gently. “It would be nice if it didn’t bother me on some level, but I have you and Thomas and that’s what’s truly important in the end.”

“It’s not wrong to want to be visible, James.” Miranda tells him softly. “To be seen for who you truly are.” She cups his face in her hands. “I see you.” She says and kisses him.

“I see you too.” James breathes, kissing her back, his arms going around her. In the end, that was enough. To be recognized by the people you love.

                                                  *  *  *

Outside in the drive, Thomas puts the car in park and sits there for a moment, watching the people he loves embrace there through the studio window.

He smiles at the sight of them. It’s been a long day, but it had ended on a curiously optimistic note. His assistant had been late to her shift and then spent the entirety of it, mooning over her phone instead of helping Thomas with his research as she usually did.

“Max. Max. MAX.”

“Hmmm?”

“What on earth is going on with you?”

Max looks up from the page she had been doodling over, instead of checking for errors. “Oh. It’s a girl.”

“Ah.” Thomas says knowingly. “Say no more.”

Max eyes him. “You know how girls make you feel?”

“Yes.” Thomas says in mock indignation. “I know how girls make you feel.” He starts to open his mouth to explain and Max just nods.

“That’s nice.”

“…What’s nice?” Thomas says completely blindsided.

“That you’re bi, right?” Max blinks up at him with quizzical eyes. “So many people are really hung up on that you know, not knowing how to identify, afraid to figure it all out. It can be difficult sometimes.”

“Yes, I know.” Thomas says slowly. He waits a moment. “So this girl, does she return your affections?”

“She does.” Max says with a broad grin. “I think it’s gonna take a little while for things to get sorted..but I think it will be okay.” Her face holds a quiet glow and Thomas can’t find it in him to remind her again that she’s supposed to be checking the papers rather than drawing hearts on them.

“That’s very nice to hear.” Thomas tells her. “I’m glad.”

                                                       *  *  *

Sitting there now in the car, thinking about what Max had said. ‘It can be difficult’  is an understatement. There are so many confusing things to figure out all on your own, and when you add in other people’s ideas of how you’re supposed to be, what you’re supposed to be, it often simply adds to the confusion. Exploring the possibilities just made the world that much more interesting in Thomas’s opinion. The world is so much bigger and more wonderful than people want to believe and he’s happy to share it with his partners. He opens his car door and gets out, whistling slightly as he walks up the pavement towards their home, to the people he loves.

[casscutting]

Book Haul

I got all these books for a grand total of $6.50 and one book was purchased for me by a very good friend of mine who also happens to be my critique partner.

Book One: House By Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker

Publication Information: Published in March of 2006 by West Bow Press which is an imprint of Thomas Nelson Publishers

Book Summary: Jack and Stephanie Singleton, a married couple on the verge of a divorce, are driving to a counseling session when they find themselves lost on a deserted road in Alabama. Taking the advice of a highway patrolman, they head down a long dirt road, where they run over spikes, flattening all of their tires and stranding them. Fortunately, they are near an old Victorian house in the backwoods of Alabama, occupied by a family of three and being used as an inn. They check-in and have a strangely mysterious dinner with them, as well as another dating couple, Randy and Leslie. Things begin to go bitter, however. One of the family, Pete, begins staring down Leslie, stating that he wants her as his “wife.” Betty, another one of the family members, keeps hounding Stephanie to get her more ice.

Then, to make matters worse, the lights turn off, and a serial killer named White locks them inside of the House. He throws a soup can down through the chimney with a message scrawled on it. The message states that he has killed God and will murder all seven of them unless they kill one of their own by dawn.

All the people frantically move through the house, but just get trapped in each new room while trying to avoid the man in the mask.

Why I Picked It Up: Like most of the books in this haul I didn’t go in knowing anything about this book but the synopsis seemed intriguing and I like horror-ish thrillers and this seemed like a good one. I have never read anything by either author before so I don’t know how well I’m going to like it but for $0.50 I thought what the hell (that’s the case for most of these books to be honest lol)

Book Two: The Host by Stephenie Meyer

Publication Information:  In May of 2008 by Little, Brown, and Company

Book Summary: Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of human hosts while leaving their bodies intact. Wanderer, the invading “soul” who has been given Melanie’s body, didn’t expect to find its former tenant refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.

As Melanie fills Wanderer’s thoughts with visions of Jared, a human who still lives in hiding, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she’s never met. Reluctant allies, Wanderer and Melanie set off to search for the man they both love.

Why I Picked It Up: I know what some of you are thinking “But Cass you hate Twilight, you never miss a chance to remind us about how much you hate sparkly vampires so why would you pick up a Stephenie Meyer book” Well faithful reader of my blog here’s the reason. I saw this movie about a year after it came out and I really enjoyed it. I had no idea that it was based on a book nor that that book was written by Stephenie Meyer. I thought it was a modern take on the wonderfully cult classic movie from 1956 which I love or even another take on the more recent 1998’s The Faculty. So I wanted to read the book on which this movie was based.

Book Three: Hannibal Rising by Thomas Harris

Publication Information:  December 5th 2006 by Delacorte Press

Book Summary: It is the 4th book in a series so I won’t be filling this part out.

Why I Picked It Up: I have a fascination with Hannibal Lecter and I love (MOST) of the movies based on him, not a huge fan of Red Dragon, which happens to be the first book in this series. I want to collect the series and read it but they only had this one book there and it was also a recommendation by the friend I mentioned in the rant above.

Book Four: Misery by Stephen King

Publication Information:  Published in 1987 which is when my copy was printed. By Viking Press which is an imprint of Penguin Random House.

Book Summary: Paul Sheldon. He’s a bestselling novelist who has finally met his biggest fan. Her name is Annie Wilkes and she is more than a rabid reader – she is Paul’s nurse, tending his shattered body after an automobile accident. But she is also his captor, keeping him prisoner in her isolated house.

Why I Picked It Up: Misery was one of my favorite movies growing up, it was the first movie I saw with Kathy Bates and I fell in love with her acting ability. And its Stephen King do I really need to say more?

Book Five: Marley and Me: Life and Love With the World’s Worst Dog by John Grogan

Publication Information: Harper Collins, October 2005

Book Summary: John and Jenny were just beginning their life together. They were young and in love, with a perfect little house and not a care in the world. Then they brought home Marley, a wiggly yellow furball of a puppy. Life would never be the same.

Marley quickly grew into a barreling, ninety-seven-pound steamroller of a Labrador retriever, a dog like no other. He crashed through screen doors, gouged through drywall, flung drool on guests, stole women’s undergarments, and ate nearly everything he could get his mouth around, including couches and fine jewelry. Obedience school did no good—Marley was expelled. Neither did the tranquilizers the veterinarian prescribed for him with the admonishment, “Don’t hesitate to use these.”

And yet Marley’s heart was pure. Just as he joyfully refused any limits on his behavior, his love and loyalty were boundless, too. Marley shared the couple’s joy at their first pregnancy and their heartbreak over the miscarriage. He was there when babies finally arrived and when the screams of a seventeen-year-old stabbing victim pierced the night. Marley shut down a public beach and managed to land a role in a feature-length movie, always winning hearts as he made a mess of things. Through it all, he remained steadfast, a model of devotion, even when his family was at its wit’s end. Unconditional love, they would learn, comes in many forms.

Why I Picked It Up: Because I don’t think I died enough on the inside having seen this movie twice.

Book Six: The Patchwork Girl Of Oz by L. Frank Baum

Publication Information:  The original publication date was in 1913 my copy is from 1989 and was published by Watermill Press

Book Summary: This is the 7th book in the Oz series by L. Frank Baum so again I won’t put a summery hear for that reason

Why I Picked It Up: I LOVE the Wizard of Oz. I have a tattoo of the first 4 bars of Over The Rainbow tattoed around my left wrist. It is a memorial tattoo for my grandmother. She, my mother and I all love the movie and bond over it all the time. When my grandmother passed in 2010 I wanted to have a themed tattoo around the movie. Because I loved the movie so much I’ve always wanted to read the books. Even though I do have a bind up of 1-5 and 6-10 (still need 11-15) I would love to own the individual books as well.

Book Seven: Matilda by Roald Dahl

Publication Information:  Published by Puffin which is an imprint of  Penguin Random House

Book Summary: Matilda is a little girl who is far too good to be true. At age five-and-a-half, she’s knocking off double-digit multiplication problems and blitz-reading Dickens. Even more remarkably, her classmates love her even though she’s a super-nerd and the teacher’s pet. But everything is not perfect in Matilda’s world. For starters, she has two of the most idiotic, self-centered parents who ever lived. Then there’s the large, busty nightmare of a school principal, Mrs. (“The”) Trunchbull, a former hammer-throwing champion who flings children at will and is approximately as sympathetic as a bulldozer. Fortunately for Matilda, she has the inner resources to deal with such annoyances: astonishing intelligence, saintly patience, and an innate predilection for revenge.

She warms up with some practical jokes aimed at her hapless parents, but the true test comes when she rallies in defense of her teacher, the sweet Miss Honey, against the diabolical Trunchbull. There is never any doubt that Matilda will carry the day. Even so, this wonderful story is far from predictable. Roald Dahl, while keeping the plot moving imaginatively, also has an unerring ear for emotional truth. The reader cares about Matilda because, in addition to all her other gifts, she has real feelings.

Why I Picked It Up: I, like most children from the late 80’s onward grew up watching this movie which is where I in love with the story. Like with the host I had no idea this was a book at first and once I found out about it I wanted to read it. When I saw it at the sale I picked it up so I could finally do that.

Book Eight: The Dark Descent

Publication Information:  My copy is from 1987 which is the year it was published by Tor Books which is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers

Book Summary: This highly acclaimed anthology traces the evolution of horror, from Nathaniel Hawthorn and Edgar Allan Poe to Stephen King. Adopted by colleges across the country to be used in literature courses, The Dark Descent showcases some of the finest horror fiction ever written.

Contents:

Pt. 1 – The Color of Evil

The Reach / Stephen King

Evening Primrose / John Collier

The Ash-Tree / M. R. James

The New Mother / Lucy Clifford

There’s a Long, Long Trail A-winding / Russell Kirk

The Call of Cthulhu / H. P. Lovecraft

The Summer People / Shirley Jackson

The Whimper of Whipped Dogs / Harlan Ellison

Young Goodman Brown / Nathaniel Hawthorne

Mr. Justice Harbottle / J. Sheridan Le Fanu

The Crowd / Ray Bradbury

The Autopsy / Michael Shea

John Charrington’s Wedding / E. Nesbit

Sticks / Karl Edward Wagner

Larger Than Oneself / Robert Aickman

Belsen Express / Fritz Leiber

Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper / Robert Bloch

If Damon Comes / Charles L. Grant

Vandy, Vandy / Manly Wade Wellman

Pt. 2 – The Medusa in the Shield

The Swords / Robert Aickman

The Roaches / Thomas M. Disch

Bright Segment / Theodore Sturgeon

Dread / Clive Barker

The Fall of the House of Usher / Edgar Allan Poe

The Monkey / Stephen King

Within the Walls of Tyre / Michael Bishop

The Rats in the Walls / H. P. Lovecraft

Schalken the Painter / J. Sheridan Le Fanu

The Yellow Wallpaper / Charlotte Perkins Gilman

A Rose for Emily / William Faulkner

How Love Came to Professor Guildea / Robert Hichens

Born of Man and Woman / Richard Matheson

My Dear Emily / Joanna Russ

You Can Go Now / Dennis Etchison

The Rocking-Horse Winner / D. H. Lawrence

Three Days / Tanith Lee

Good Country People / Flannery O’Connor

Mackintosh Willy / Ramsey Campbell

The Jolly Corner / Henry James

Pt. 3 – A Fabulous Formless Darkness

Smoke Ghost / Fritz Leiber

Seven American Nights / Gene Wolfe

The Signal-Man / Charles Dickens

Crouch End / Stephen King

Night-Side / Joyce Carol Oates

Seaton’s Aunt / Walter de la Mare

Clara Militch / Ivan Turgenev

The Repairer of Reputations / Robert W. Chambers

The Beckoning Fair One / Oliver Onions

What Was It? / Fitz-James O’Brien

The Beautiful Stranger / Shirley Jackson

The Damned Thing / Ambrose Bierce

Afterward / Edith Wharton

The Willows / Algernon Blackwood

The Asian Shore / Thomas M. Disch

The Hospice / Robert Aickman

A Little Something for Us Tempunauts / Philip K. Dick

Why I Picked It Up: Simple, it looked interesting

Book Fifteen: The Elvenbane. Book one in the Halfblood Chronicles #1 by Andre Norton and Mercedes Lackey

Publication Information: Published in November of 1991 by Tor Books which is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers

Book Summary: The elven lords rule the world with a magical iron hand, secure in their dominion over the animal kingdom—including the original human inhabitants of the planet. If they find cause for worry, and the elven lords are not normally inclined in that manner, it is in respect to the Prophecy. The Prophecy insists that a child born of an elven lord and a human will lead a successful rebellion against their rule. Not surprisingly, the elven lords take extraordinary pains to avoid impregnating their human concubines.

This practice does not arise from any special fear concerning the Prophecy, but rather the memory of a past confrontation between the elven lords and their halfbreed offspring—a battle in which the elven lords found victory, but only by the narrowest of margins. Unknown to the elven lords, however, there is another threat to their tyranny.

Inhabiting the same planet, and possessed of magical skills powerful in their own right, are the race of dragons. It is such a dragon, Alara, who discovers a human woman in labor deep in the desert. Alara assists in the birth of the child and raises it alongside her son Keman. As the year's pass, it becomes clear that the Prophecy of an elvenbane is more fact than fiction as dragons, elven lords, halfbreeds, and talented humans struggle to determine the destiny of the world.

This collaboration between one of the most accomplished authors in the genre and a relative newcomer tot he scene is most successful. Such unions of master and apprentice are a popular trend, but this particular partnership is exceptionally satisfying. Norton is not unfamiliar with dragons, and ELVENBANE demonstrates that she’s not lost her touch.

Why I Picked It Up: I didn’t it was given to me by my friend for which I am very grateful.

So that’s it, those are the books in my haul I hope you enjoyed.

The question of the day: How many of these books have you read before and how did you feel about them?