#world changers with a mysterious cloaked figure

[knighted-princess]

Idea

Christian Music, but the art style of the music video has an anime aesthetic!

[cover2covermom]

Today I’m going to be sharing my favorite books that I’ve read in 2020 thus far…

» The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger’s Apprentice #1) by John Flanagan

Genre: YA fantasy

They have always scared him in the past — the Rangers, with their dark cloaks and shadowy ways. The villagers believe the Rangers practice magic that makes them invisible to ordinary people. And now 15-year-old Will, always small for his age, has been chosen as a Ranger’s apprentice. What he doesn’t yet realize is that the Rangers are the protectors of the kingdom. Highly trained in the skills of battle and surveillance, they fight the battles before the battles reach the people. And as Will is about to learn, there is a large battle brewing. The exiled Morgarath, Lord of the Mountains of Rain and Night, is gathering his forces for an attack on the kingdom. This time, he will not be denied….

My mother-in-law actually recommended this book for my son.  After reading it for myself, I agree that this book would definitely appeal to boys.  There are some wonderful themes like hard work, courage, friendship, etc.  I would also consider this a wonderful gateway book into fantasy.

» Black Enough: Stories of Being Young & Black in American by Ibi Zoboi

Genre: YA contemporary ((anthology))

Black Enough is a star-studded anthology edited by National Book Award finalist Ibi Zoboi that will delve into the closeted thoughts, hidden experiences, and daily struggles of black teens across the country. From a spectrum of backgrounds—urban and rural, wealthy and poor, mixed race, immigrants, and more—Black Enough showcases diversity within diversity.

Whether it’s New York Times bestselling author Jason Reynolds writing about #blackboyjoy or Newbery Honor-winning author Renee Watson talking about black girls at camp in Portland, or emerging author Jay Coles’s story about two cowboys kissing in the south—Black Enough is an essential collection full of captivating coming-of-age stories about what it’s like to be young and black in America.

Black Enough was a game changer for me.  I don’t tend to read anthologies because I find that I tend to struggle to connect to short stories, but I loved this collection!  What an excellent book to incorporate during #BlackHistoryMonth in February!

» Girls Like Us by Randi Pink

Genre: YA historical fiction

Set in the summer of 1972, this moving YA historical novel is narrated by teen girls from different backgrounds with one thing in common: Each girl is dealing with pregnancy. Four teenage girls. Four different stories. What they all have in common is that they��re dealing with unplanned pregnancies.

In rural Georgia, Izella is wise beyond her years, but burdened with the responsibility of her older sister, Ola, who has found out she’s pregnant. Their young neighbor, Missippi, is also pregnant, but doesn’t fully understand the extent of her predicament. When her father sends her to Chicago to give birth, she meets the final narrator, Susan, who is white and the daughter of an anti-choice senator.

Randi Pink masterfully weaves four lives into a larger story – as timely as ever – about a woman’s right to choose her future.

Wow!  A book about teen pregnancy set in the 70s?  Yes!  I flew through this book.  I was very invested in this story & the characters.

» Awkward (Berrybrook Middle School #1) & Crush (Berrybrook Middle School #3) by Svetlana Chmakova

Genre: MG contemporary ((graphic novels))

I’ve adored each graphic novel in this series.  Chmakova captures the essence of middle school perfectly.  She also does a wonderful job giving us a diverse cast of characters, and tackling relevant topics.

» On the Come Up by Angie Thomas

Genre: YA contemporary

Sixteen-year-old Bri wants to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. Or at least make it out of her neighborhood one day. As the daughter of an underground rap legend who died before he hit big, Bri’s got big shoes to fill. But now that her mom has unexpectedly lost her job, food banks and shutoff notices are as much a part of Bri’s life as beats and rhymes. With bills piling up and homelessness staring her family down, Bri no longer just wants to make it—she has to make it.

On the Come Up is Angie Thomas’s homage to hip-hop, the art that sparked her passion for storytelling and continues to inspire her to this day. It is the story of fighting for your dreams, even as the odds are stacked against you; of the struggle to become who you are and not who everyone expects you to be; and of the desperate realities of poor and working-class black families.

While this didn’t necessarily have as much as an impact on me as The Hate U Give, this book was amazing in its own right.  I think Angie Thomas has a brilliant way of writing YA contemporary that is not only relevant & important, but also entertaining at the same time.

» The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo

Genre: YA fantasy

Love speaks in flowers. Truth requires thorns.

Travel to a world of dark bargains struck by moonlight, of haunted towns and hungry woods, of talking beasts and gingerbread golems, where a young mermaid’s voice can summon deadly storms and where a river might do a lovestruck boy’s bidding but only for a terrible price.

Inspired by myth, fairy tale, and folklore, #1 New York Times–bestselling author Leigh Bardugo has crafted a deliciously atmospheric collection of short stories filled with betrayals, revenge, sacrifice, and love.

Perfect for new readers and dedicated fans, these tales will transport you to lands both familiar and strange—to a fully realized world of dangerous magic that millions have visited through the novels of the Grishaverse.

This collection of six stories includes three brand-new tales, all of them lavishly illustrated with art that changes with each turn of the page, culminating in six stunning full-spread illustrations as rich in detail as the stories themselves.

  A collection of deliciously dark short stories are inspired by classic fairytales & folklore.  I LOVED these stories!  They gave me Neil Gaiman vibes, so if you are a NG fan, I’d recommend these stories to you.  I also adored the illustrations throughout that really enhanced the story.

» Far From the Tree by Robin Benway

Genre: YA contemporary

Being the middle child has its ups and downs.

But for Grace, an only child who was adopted at birth, discovering that she is a middle child is a different ride altogether. After putting her own baby up for adoption, she goes looking for her biological family, including—

Maya, her loudmouthed younger bio sister, who has a lot to say about their newfound family ties. Having grown up the snarky brunette in a house full of chipper redheads, she’s quick to search for traces of herself among these not-quite-strangers. And when her adopted family’s long-buried problems begin to explode to the surface, Maya can’t help but wonder where exactly it is that she belongs.

And Joaquin, their stoic older bio brother, who has no interest in bonding over their shared biological mother. After seventeen years in the foster care system, he’s learned that there are no heroes, and secrets and fears are best kept close to the vest, where they can’t hurt anyone but him.

Far From the Tree is a beautiful YA contemporary about adoption, family, identity, and love.  Told in 3 different perspectives, I enjoyed the journey & development of each of these characters.

» Keeper of Lost Cities (Keeper of the Lost Cities #1), Exile (Keeper of the Lost Cities #2), & Everblaze (Keeper of the Lost Cities #3) by Shannon Messenger

Genre: MG fantasy

Twelve-year-old Sophie Foster has a secret. She’s a Telepath—someone who hears the thoughts of everyone around her. It’s a talent she’s never known how to explain.

Everything changes the day she meets Fitz, a mysterious boy who appears out of nowhere and also reads minds. She discovers there’s a place she does belong, and that staying with her family will place her in grave danger. In the blink of an eye, Sophie is forced to leave behind everything and start a new life in a place that is vastly different from anything she has ever known.

Sophie has new rules to learn and new skills to master, and not everyone is thrilled that she has come “home.” There are secrets buried deep in Sophie’s memory—secrets about who she really is and why she was hidden among humans—that other people desperately want. Would even kill for.

In this page-turning debut, Shannon Messenger creates a riveting story where one girl must figure out why she is the key to her brand-new world, before the wrong person finds the answer first.

I am LOVING this MG fantasy series.  While these books are a bit chunky, don’t let the page count deter you.  I fly through these books.   I’d recommend this series to fans of Harry Potter.

» SHOUT by Laurie Halse Anderson

Genre: YA memoir ((told in verse))

A searing poetic memoir and call to action from the bestselling and award-winning author of Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson!

Bestselling author Laurie Halse Anderson is known for the unflinching way she writes about, and advocates for, survivors of sexual assault. Now, inspired by her fans and enraged by how little in our culture has changed since her groundbreaking novel Speak was first published twenty years ago, she has written a poetry memoir that is as vulnerable as it is rallying, as timely as it is timeless. In free verse, Anderson shares reflections, rants, and calls to action woven between deeply personal stories from her life that she’s never written about before. Searing and soul-searching, this important memoir is a denouncement of our society’s failures and a love letter to all the people with the courage to say #metoo and #timesup, whether aloud, online, or only in their own hearts. Shout speaks truth to power in a loud, clear voice– and once you hear it, it is impossible to ignore.

This is a must read for fans of Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak.  While you don’t HAVE to read Speak to read SHOUT, I feel like it makes a bigger impact if you read Speak prior to this.  If you didn’t know, SHOUT is Anderson’s memoir told in verse.

» Loveboat, Taipei (Loveboat, Taipei #1) by Abigail Hing Wen

Genre: YA contemporary

When eighteen-year-old Ever Wong’s parents send her from Ohio to Taiwan to study Mandarin for the summer, she finds herself thrust among the very over-achieving kids her parents have always wanted her to be, including Rick Woo, the Yale-bound prodigy profiled in the Chinese newspapers since they were nine—and her parents’ yardstick for her never-measuring-up life.

Unbeknownst to her parents, however, the program is actually an infamous teen meet-market nicknamed Loveboat, where the kids are more into clubbing than calligraphy and drinking snake-blood sake than touring sacred shrines.

Free for the first time, Ever sets out to break all her parents’ uber-strict rules—but how far can she go before she breaks her own heart?

  This is a guilty pleasure type of read.  Actually, it reminded me a bit of Crazy Rich Asians a bit.  It is a tad racy for a YA book… So I’d probably recommend for older YA readers that are 16+

» The Penderwicks (The Penderwicks #1) by Jeanne Birdsall

Genre: MG contemporary

The Penderwick sisters busily discover the summertime magic of Arundel estate’s sprawling gardens, treasure-filled attic, tame rabbits, and the cook who makes the best gingerbread in Massachusetts. Best of all is Jeffrey Tifton, son of Arundel’s owner, the perfect companion for their adventures. Icy-hearted Mrs. Tifton is less pleased with the Penderwicks than Jeffrey, and warns the new friends to stay out of trouble. Is that any fun? For sure the summer will be unforgettable.

This is the perfect book to pick up during the summer months.  It really gave me modern Little Women crossed with The Secret Garden vibes.  The ending was so heartwarming it almost brought me to tears.

» Becoming by Michelle Obama

Genre: Adult memoir

In a life filled with meaning and accomplishment, Michelle Obama has emerged as one of the most iconic and compelling women of our era. As First Lady of the United States of America—the first African American to serve in that role—she helped create the most welcoming and inclusive White House in history, while also establishing herself as a powerful advocate for women and girls in the U.S. and around the world, dramatically changing the ways that families pursue healthier and more active lives, and standing with her husband as he led America through some of its most harrowing moments. Along the way, she showed us a few dance moves, crushed Carpool Karaoke, and raised two down-to-earth daughters under an unforgiving media glare.

In her memoir, a work of deep reflection and mesmerizing storytelling, Michelle Obama invites readers into her world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped her—from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and work, to her time spent at the world’s most famous address. With unerring honesty and lively wit, she describes her triumphs and her disappointments, both public and private, telling her full story as she has lived it—in her own words and on her own terms. Warm, wise, and revelatory, Becoming is the deeply personal reckoning of a woman of soul and substance who has steadily defied expectations—and whose story inspires us to do the same.

  Despite the fact that this memoir is LONG, I was interested from start to finish.  I adore Michelle Obama and find her so inspiring.

» The Stonekeeper’s Curse (Amulet #2) & The Cloud Searchers (Amulet #3) by Kazu Kibuishi

Genre: MG fantasy ((graphic novel))

I enjoyed these subsequent installments even more than the first!  The art style is absolutely stunning and I really enjoyed the story line.  I can really see this as a TV series or movie.

» Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

Genre: YA contemporary

Camino Rios lives for the summers when her father visits her in the Dominican Republic. But this time, on the day when his plane is supposed to land, Camino arrives at the airport to see crowds of crying people…

In New York City, Yahaira Rios is called to the principal’s office, where her mother is waiting to tell her that her father, her hero, has died in a plane crash.

Separated by distance – and Papi’s secrets – the two girls are forced to face a new reality in which their father is dead and their lives are forever altered. And then, when it seems like they’ve lost everything of their father, they learn of each other.

Papi’s death uncovers all the painful truths he kept hidden, and the love he divided across an ocean. And now, Camino and Yahaira are both left to grapple with what this new sister means to them, and what it will now take to keep their dreams alive.

In a dual narrative novel in verse that brims with both grief and love, award-winning and bestselling author Elizabeth Acevedo writes about the devastation of loss, the difficulty of forgiveness, and the bittersweet bonds that shape our lives.

Another 5-star read from Elizabeth Acevedo! Clap When You Land is a heart-wrenching book in verse about loss, betrayal, and forgiveness.

» All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson

Genre: YA memoir

In a series of personal essays, prominent journalist and LGBTQIA+ activist George M. Johnson explores his childhood, adolescence, and college years in New Jersey and Virginia. From the memories of getting his teeth kicked out by bullies at age five, to flea marketing with his loving grandmother, to his first sexual relationships, this young-adult memoir weaves together the trials and triumphs faced by Black queer boys.

Both a primer for teens eager to be allies as well as a reassuring testimony for young queer men of color, All Boys Aren’t Blue covers topics such as gender identity, toxic masculinity, brotherhood, family, structural marginalization, consent, and Black joy. Johnson’s emotionally frank style of writing will appeal directly to young adults.

Johnson shares his experiences growing up as a queer black boy in this powerful memoir.  I love that Johnson wrote his story for the teen audience.  This is a must read!

What are some of your favorite books of 2020 thus far?

Have you read any of my favorites?  If so, what did you think?

Comment below & let me know 🙂

Favorite Books of 2020 (January - June) #BookBlogger #Books #Reading #Bookworm #BookNerd #BookTalk Today I'm going to be sharing my favorite books that I've read in 2020 thus far...

[niqhtlord01]

Destiny: War of the False Speakers (Fanfic of Destiny Lore) The Speaker.  An unknown warlock that has lived since the founding of the last city and has strove to unite the various factions under the shadow of the traveler into the bulwark that would hold back the coming darkness and reclaim the world’s humanity once called theirs.  Ask any citizen of the Last City and they will all tell you as much as many of them know little of the enigmatic figure behind the mask. There are stories and rumors, whispers that surround him; but the majority are all stories that have been passed down from father to son, grandmother to daughter and so on. Only those blessed with the Traveler’s light could claim to know more of the mysterious figure as few of them stood with the Speaker when he helped found the bastion of humanity, and of those few even less know of the time when the Speaker was not alone.  Even during the onset of the Dark Age following the sacrifice of the Traveler, when technology became the stuff of magic and legends, all knew of the Traveler. Though they had lost their understanding of its nature they understood that it held power strong enough to turn deserts into jungles, smash frozen mountains into lush fields, and most powerful of all, bring the dead back to life through the ghosts.  Some strove to use their power to better the lives of those around them, others carved pocket kingdoms offering protection for loyalty and tribute, while a rare few wandered the wastes heeding the call of some unknown summons. Eventually many found their way to the Traveler and settled in the shadow of their god and it was here that the cults of the Traveler were strongest.  Several factions arose in the communities around the Traveler, many of which were centered around a individual or small group of individuals that had been brought back by the grace of the Traveler. The most prominent of these factions were led by those who claimed that they spoke for the mighty Traveler and in some more extreme cases that the Traveler spoke directly to them in their dreams. These claims were never fully proven though to the starved and frightened masses of normal citizens seeking to rebuild their lives it didn’t matter. These powerful individuals were accompanied by the ghosts, descendants of the Traveler, who would argue against them if the great sphere spoke to them as well?  Of the factions there were three that stood above all others, each bearing strong powers of persuasion and charisma, each followed by massed throngs of devout followers, and each claiming to be the true voice of the Traveler.  Astrid Blackmoon, Maiden of the Black Marsh A young woman with hair the color of wheat stalks and eyes as blue as the ocean, she bore the striking resemblance of a Valkyrie of old. Her ghost was of polished gold that shun so brightly it could blind those that stared too long at it. Having made her pilgrimage from what had once been Denmark to the last city, she preached that when the Traveler spoke to her it wished for humanity to repopulate the lush world the Traveler had remade for them and that no other world was needed. Astrid herself was not prone to violence and often portrayed frailty which in turn had the strange effect of making her followers believe that it was their duty to fight for and protect her at all costs. Her followers quickly seized the most fertile lands surrounding the Traveler and became the main supplier of food for the entire region. Hades-969, Butcher of the shifting Sands  Some Exo’s add a number to their name to remind themselves how many times they have had to reset, Hades-969 had his number set to remind him of how many people he’s killed. Cloaked in the skin of a savage beast, Hades-969 emerged from the scorching desert far to the southeast of the Traveler and left a trail of burned villages and broken bodies in his wake. He claimed that the Traveler spoke to him and told him that humanity had grown decadent from the gifts it had bestowed on them and thus had lost its favor, telling him to cull the weak and that only when the strong remain the Traveler would reawaken. Village by village he slaughtered the weak and leading the strong ever closer to the Traveler. His followers organised by a caste system of strength with those that wished to advance higher needing to slay a member from the caste above. This system led all the way to Hades-969 himself and was not surprised to find one of his lieutenants challenging him to a blood duel. His ghost was covered in rusted spikes and would often be thrown by Hades-969 as a projectile and impale his foe with it.    Morgan the one eyed  Not much was known of Morgan other than he had only one eye and could not remember what had happened to his other. He had stumbled into one of the surrounding camps one night and made himself at home. Many didn’t spare a thought for him as they assumed he was just another lost soul in search of the Traveler. After some time he began shouting warnings to any that would hear him about events that seemed impossible to predict, grabbing hold of those involved to try and save their lives only to be cast out and pushed aside as a mad man. This changed when his visions began coming true one by one until he had amassed a considerable group of followers proclaiming that the Traveler had taken his eye in exchange for visions of the future to lead humanity back to the golden age. His ghost was blind and remained firmly perched on Morgan’s shoulder at all times.  These three factions were locked in a seemingly endless struggle for sole control over the Traveler and the honor of being the chosen of the Traveler. Their conflicts grew to such a scale that were it not for the rise of the Iron Lords these Speakers may very well have left the remaining population in tatters.  The Iron Lord’s rise to power was a game changer as never before had such a large concentration of undying been rallied to a single standard. While still vastly outnumbers by the other factions the Iron Lord were mainly undying and could easily fight foes ten times their number and emerge victorious. More and more the Iron Lords began enforcing their will upon those under the Traveler’s shadow which led to tension among the would be Speaker’s.  Hades-969 saw the Iron Lords as a challenge sent by the Traveler to test his strength. He mobilized every warrior under him and declared war against the Iron Lords, personally leading the charge at the head of his ten thousand strong army as they scaled rocky slopes of Felwinter Peak.  The disciplined ranks of Iron Lords stood their ground and repelled wave after wave of fanatical followers as they through themselves at them with sometimes nothing but bones and rusty blades. It wasn’t until Hades-969 finally ascended the mountain fortress and challenged Lord Saladin to a duel to which Saladin agreed. The battle all but ceased as the two leaders drew their weapons and charged each other. Hades-969 unleashed a flurry of blows with his dual axes against Lord Saladin but the Iron Lord have become like the mountain he stood upon and deflected each attack with ease while not moving an inch until finally he raised his Iron Battle Ax and brought it down with a such strength that with a single blow it had shattered Hades-969 axes and cleaved through his ghost. Lord Saladin demanded that Hades-969 surrender but he refused declaring “Only the strong deserve to serve the Traveler.” Realizing that Hades-969 was too dangerous to let live, Lord Saladin struck him down and threw his broken body from the top of Felwinter Peak, scattering the surrounding army with the death of their leader.  With the removal of Hades-969′s faction the Iron Lord’s established a semi present group in the Traveler’s shadow and began construction of the wall around it for greater protection and was the source for the next conflict. Morgan the one eyed had received a vision of the future regarding the Last City. He saw the walls assaulted day and night by hordes of Fallen and swarms of unknown alien vessels, one so large that it wrapped itself around the Traveler itself. Believing this was a sign from the Traveler that a wall would only invite enemies to challenge and eventually lead to disaster Morgan denounced the construction project and actively sought to halt it with his followers quickly supporting him.  It was during a peaceful demonstration against the wall at the site of its construction that things spun out of control. A large crowd had gathered around the base of the main wall section led by Morgan while several members of the Iron Lords were present overseeing construction. While Morgan was at the head of the group a large stone block being placed at the top of the wall broke free and crashed down to earth like a meteor crushing Morgan in an instant before he had time to react. With the sudden loss of their leader as a result of the wall many of Morgan’s supporters took it as a sign that he had been speaking truthfully the entire time and attacked the wall forcing the present Iron Lords to defend themselves. In the end the riot was quelled and order restored, but with the loss of Morgan the faction had lost the source of visions of the future leaving many to find a new purpose. A few however remained fanatical to the belief that seeing into the future was the key to the survival of humanity and would continue in their belief until many centuries later when the Future War Cult was founded.  As the Iron Lord wiped another faction clean off the map, Astrid decided it would be better to work with them instead of against them and happily supported their cause. Ironically it was from supporting the Iron Lord that brought down Astrid as the Iron Lords invested the majority of their resources in searching for the long lost technology know as “SIVA”. This quest left the Iron Lords shattered and Astrid’s faction as well. With such a loss the majority of her followers turned on her and cast her out as a false prophet. She was last seen making her way back to the EDZ.  It was shortly after the fall of the Iron Lords that a new individual came to power, calling themselves only “The Speaker” and uniting the survivors into a new governing body.  Realizing that the previous conflicts involving those who claimed to speak on the Traveler’s behalf would undermine his authority, the Speaker sought to expunge any mentions of the other Speaker’s from records and despite those who had survived the war continuing to tell the events verbally, over the centuries the events faded to all but legend.  

[analogguyinadigitalage]

Meeker’s Tale...by Scott Connors

[Thousands of books and stories have been written about November 22, 1963. This one differs in that it was bequeathed to me by my dying father on his death bed. My father was a pilot, and on November 22, 1963 he was paid five thousand dollars to fly to Dallas, pick up a passenger and fly him to parts unknown. When my father died, he had no worldly possessions, but he had this story, and he left it to me to write so the world might know the truth.]

Meeker downed the last of his coffee, his half eaten eggs lay on the plate congealing. He stubbed out his cigarette in the eggs, put some cash on the table, folded his newspaper and walked out of the diner to destiny. The rain had stopped and the sun had come out. Meeker checked his watch, he had some time to kill before he had to be at the book depository so he strolled around Dealey Plaza. He had been here before and checked every angle and every approach and departure route. He had photographed the entire area, he had been in several of the buildings, on the rooftops, in the basements, in the parking lots, railroad yards, and even in the sewer at one point. Meeker had surveilled it all and he had come up with the perfect sniper’s nest, the ideal location to hit his target. Everything had been set in motion and like a train that had left the station there was no turning back now.

Meeker was a contractor and the best in the game. He had never worked for the FBI, CIA, or any governmental agency in any official capacity. He was not a member of the Mafia. He had no particular political leanings. But being a contractor, he had many contacts in both the government and the underworld. Money was what motivated Meeker. He sold his services to the highest bidder and in doing so, he held a vast network of resources. People in the know knew how to get in touch with Meeker if his services were needed.

Looking over the stockade fence from the rail yard towards Elm St. Meeker watched the traffic flow by. Earlier, this had been his choice from where to fire from, it was secluded and he could be in a car and gone in a matter of seconds. But Meeker was a perfectionist and after looking at this area from every conceivable angle he had changed his mind and his plan. The Texas School Book Depository would suit his needs better. The building itself provided the advantages; it was easily accessible, had several entrances and exits, gave him the height he needed, temporary employees were used so a strange face wouldn’t draw unwanted attention, and the most important advantage, he had a contact who already worked there. Meeker never met the man, but they had a mutual friend. Meeker knew the man only as Lee and their mutual friend had told him that earlier in the year Lee had made an assassination attempt on the life of General Edwin Walker. Meeker contacted their mutual friend and had him make some overtures to Lee. As the old saying goes, money talks and all Lee had to do to earn a quick five thousand dollars was to order a quality rifle through the mail and bring it to the sixth floor on November 22nd. Lee took the bait as Meeker knew he would and their mutual friend had been the go between so Lee would never know who Meeker was and Meeker would never know who Lee was, well until later that is.

Meeker lit a Lucky Strike and walked up Elm towards the book depository. He walked around the back of the depository and looked to make sure the package he had left there a few days ago was still there tucked between the dumpster and the loading dock. He checked the doors and police presence which was non-existent, the heavy police contingent would come later when the President’s motorcade rolled by on the way to the Dallas Trade Mart. He walked down Houston and turned onto Main where the crowds were five deep on each side of the street. The temperature was in the mid-sixties according to Hertz sign atop the Texas School Book Depository. Walking back towards what would become the sniper’s nest of the century he glanced up at the façade of the building, several windows were open while others were closed, perfect cover. Meeker passed a cop who didn’t give him a second glance, just another guy going to work. Meeker learned long ago the key to surviving in this trade is to blend in, act like you belong there. People see what they want to see. Ten people would walk by a homeless person in the street and “not see him” but look right at him, it was imperative to appear to belong to whatever environment you were in and today he was just an average Joe going to work even though the President was coming to town.

He walked around to the back of the depository, pulling his package from its hiding place, he removed the tool belt, strapped it on, stripped off his windbreaker revealing his Bell Telephone shirt, and stuffed the windbreaker back in the bag and proceeded towards the front of the building looking like a telephone repairman. He had used this ruse a dozen times or more and no one ever questioned him. He climbed the front steps of the depository, made his way across the first floor like he owned the place. At the northeast corner of the building he found the stairs and made his climb to the sixth floor. Once there he went to the southwest corner where Lee was supposed to have put the rifle loaded and ready to go. Meeker got to the corner window, the floor was deserted, he put his gloves on and pushed some boxes back, slid in behind them and moved them back into place so he was concealed from anyone’s view who might be approaching him. The rifle was on the floor between two boxes, he picked it up and examined it. “What the fuck?” he muttered to himself. Lee was supposed to order a quality rifle and here he held this piece of shit Italian made Mannlicher-Carcano. He checked to make sure the rifle was loaded, then peered through the scope. He figured he’d had to make at least three shots to get one good one after having to adjust the scope. Fucking dimwit Lee, he should’ve known better than to trust some idiot he had never met, but live and learn.

Checking his surroundings one more time to make sure his position was fully covered and masked by the boxes around him, Meeker settled in and glanced out the window. The motorcade had just turned from Main onto Houston. Meeker readied the rifle. He would take his shot as his target was coming towards him on Houston that would provide the majority of the target’s body. He was hoping for a clean head shot, but a shot through the heart would do the trick and he may have to make a lower shot due the shitty rifle he was using. The big limo had just made the corner onto Houston and his target came into view. He looked through the scope and saw the pink pill box hat, moved the scope a little to the left and saw JFK. His mind slowed and it was as everything had gone into slow motion. Meeker remembered meeting his employer and being hired for this job.

An airline ticket appeared in his mailbox one day with a note attached and instructions to fly to the designated city and go to a designated hotel room at a designated time for a possible job. This was not unusual in Meeker’s line of work. He didn’t necessarily work a 9-5 job and there was a vast underground network of people who knew how to hire guys like him. So when notes or airline or train tickets mysteriously showed up Meeker would go for a meeting and decide if he would take the job after meeting his prospective employer. He remembered that day, the hotel was four star and the room was a suite, the door unlocked. He walked into the semi-dark suite, all the curtains drawn. Meeker looked around and sat in one of the two chairs facing each other next to a small table with a lighted lamp on it. He waited. These things tended to be power plays, the employer wanting to make the prospective employee wait to show who held the power. Meeker had waited in coffee shops, diners, railroad stations, cheap rooming houses and waiting in a four star hotel suite wasn’t so bad. The door to the adjoining room, cracked open and his prospective employer walked in.

Smiling Jack Kennedy was taller than he’d imagined him. Perfect haircut, teeth white, suit perfectly pressed, and that Boston-Irish accent. He reached out and shook Meeker’s hand like he was courting voters. He motioned for Meeker to sit.

“Uh have a uh seat and thank you for coming today, Mr.? I don’t believe I know your name.”

Meeker sat. “Well maybe it’s better that way sir.” Both men laughed, an uneasy tension hanging in the air.

JFK smiled, “Mr. X will have to do. It’s a bit cloak and dagger, but I uh guess uh it’ll serve us for now.”

“Sir I’m not sure if I’m in the right place, you see I’m an –“ Kennedy cut him off with the wave of a hand.

“Mr. X I know exactly what you do. You come highly recommended from an old friend of my father and he assures me you are the best at what you do and that is why you are here.”

Meeker wondered why in the hell the President of the United States was in a room with him because most certainly these matters were taken care of at a much lower level for reasons of plausible deniability. Meeker shifted in his chair, he knew whatever this job was it would be a life changer. Kennedy stood and moved his chair closer to Meeker, his usual loud “Ask not” voice lowered to a whisper.

“Should you decide to accept this assignment, there is a half a million dollars in that case beside the couch. Upon successful completion of the assignment an additional half a million will be deposited into an account of your choosing anywhere in the world. Should you choose not to accept this assignment, well then this will remain our little secret, but then I’ll have to hire someone else and you’ll always be looking over your shoulder. If I’ve learned one thing in politics it is that it’s better to be on the inside looking out rather than be on the outside looking in.” Meeker listened. JFK laid out the “assignment” as he kept referring to it and the further he went, the more Meeker was astounded and astonished. He realized he was in way too deep to back out.

Back in the book depository Meeker sprung back to life like waking from a dream. Fuck! The motorcade was off Houston and onto Elm now heading away from him. He raised the rifle, slipped it through the window and aimed at his target. The limo rolled away from him gently descending down the slope of Elm St towards the underpass. He sighted his scope on the target, the pink pill box hat. His mind raced, but his heart beating normally, just another job. In that split second he thought of smiling Jack and his Boston Brahmin accent, that smug fucker. People thought Joe Kennedy was a ruthless opportunist, but this guy took the cake. This guy who for the past few months realizing the political capital his wife played in his presidency had brought them here. This guy who broke Secret Service and Presidential protocol by allowing and insisting that she exit Air Force One in the proceeding months so the crowds could see her first and so Meeker could get a shot if he decided to exercise his assignment on one of those trips. That was the other thing smiling Jack insisted on when they met that he not know when the shot was coming knowing it would make for better political reaction. This guy was something else but Meeker had to give him some credit. He pictured Kennedy at his wife’s funeral after she had been slain in public by some nut, holding his two young children’s hands consumed in grief. What voter Democrat or Republican wouldn’t vote for that guy? What world leader wouldn’t fear and respect for that guy? What woman wouldn’t want to fuck that guy? With one bullet smiling Jack would raise his political capital, eliminate the need for keeping his affairs a secret and his pussy quotient would go through the ceiling. He would be shoe in for re-election in ’64. And the best part was he had engineered the perfect murder.

Meeker pulled the trigger and the first bullet went astray. He ejected the shell and racked another into the rifle, his scope clear on the center of smiling Jack’s back as he squeezed the trigger and in that instant the world changed. The train left the station. Kennedy’s hand rose to his throat, Meeker ejected the second shell and rammed another one home. He aimed, fired and saw a rose colored red mist rise into the air as JFK’s head exploded. Meeker set the rifle down, made his way to the stairs, walked down assuming his telephone repairman role, exited the building, waked to the rear, retrieved his windbreaker, hopped in a cab and was gone. The cab took him to the airport where he had arranged for a small plane to be waiting, he wasn’t about to trust smiling Jack with his getaway. He boarded the plane and as it rose into the clear blue Dallas sky Meeker ceased to exist. Where he was going they’d know him by a different name and where he was going a half a million dollars was plenty to last a lifetime. He knew Kennedy would have arranged to have another contractor waiting at the bank and when Meeker showed to get the rest of the money he’d be killed. So he said fuck it, he’d screw big Jack and the whole Kennedy machine and forfeit a half a million in the bargain.

Weeks and months later sitting on a beach looking out into the ocean Meeker would smile as he read and re-read the accounts of the assassination and how poor Lee ended up being blamed for the whole thing. He especially smiled when he read Lee used the term patsy, he certainly was and that was Lee’s own doing. But Lee was stupid, all he had to do was sit tight and stay in the building, but he freaked and ran. Lesson one, act like you belong. And Lee belonged there, he worked there for Christ sake all he had to do was get rid of the rifle. Instead he freaked and ran. Once the police took an attendance of the depository employees and he was the only one missing and then they found the rifle well the rest as they say is history. He often wondered as did a lot of people how different the world would be if he had hit the pink pill box hat?

[firstpuffin]

Multiple topics: pronouns and creative techniques

So rather than straining to stretch a single topic over roughly 1000 words, I figured I’d write about a few subjects instead. These will all be on a similar topic, that being writing. I’m going to start simply with why I want an English unisex third-person pronoun and my problem with those that have already been proposed.

  Then I’m going to discuss a few techniques, for a lack of a better word, used in writing and other mediums: pastiche, parody and satire. Now I’m sure most people know what parody and satire are, or at least have an idea about them, but I know that I am not alone in that I only recently learned about pastiche in 2018; it’s not as common as the other two.

 So pronouns, you know what these are and if you don’t (no shame in that, I had to recently learn about them from scratch, just in case I missed something), they are him, her, they, me etc. If it interests you then I will be talking predominantly about third-person singular pronouns but there is no need to actually remember that.

  So I’m sure you get that I am talking about he and she here, and you know that we English speakers can use “they” if we don’t want to specify sex or gender (which is a rabbit-hole I don’t want to go down, but as writing is clearer when speaking of biological sex I’m going to refer to that) but that can be clunky given that they is more commonly used as a plural. If, for example, you are speaking of an individual in a group and don’t want to specify sex for reasons such as retaining a certain amount of mystery, then “they” can be either the individual or the entire group and the sentence may require a certain amount of twists that a contortionist would envy.

  For future reference, double brackets such as -(( and ))- denote an excerpt of my own fiction writing; I use it in personal notes to separate notes from, say, dialogue and I’ll use it here for my examples.

((The secret society held secrecy as their greatest tenet as befitted the term secret society. Accordingly, every meeting was attended solely by people in black, face concealing robes and voice changers that worked to hide both identity and sex. Unfortunately, not every member appreciated this and many took liberties such as adding frills to the hood or others exposing their hairy masculine chests lest, heaven forbid, someone confuse them with a lady.

As the Supreme Leader looked over them, they decided quite firmly that they wouldn’t trust them to zip up their own trousers. In fact, they considered ordering the men to wear button-up trousers, just to lower the chance of unfortunate absences. Finally, they were joined on the stage and they called for silence. They were met by innumerable faceless faces and at least nobody knew who anybody else was. Well, they knew of course.

The Supreme Leader looked at those on the stage with them, nodded imperceptibly and reached inside their robe. They stepped forward. Alone at the front of the stage but still supported by those at their back, they addressed their audience.))

  So that’s nearly 200 words of my own writing that I hope gets across how tough it can be not using he or she. Now normally I would give characters names, or at least identify them using their physical traits such as “Frills” or “Hairy Chest” and that would be their nickname until their actual name was revealed. The above piece was meant to be an extreme example but I have struggled with this in the past. A hooded character who I deliberately want to be a mystery was a recent one but I felt that with characters assuming they are male, referring to them as “them” would be too obvious. In the end I just used the male pronouns and whatever happens, happens.

  Need I even bring up the dehumanising issues of calling someone “it”?

  To bring up previous attempts at inventing an appropriate word, there have been quite a lot thrown out there to address this problem, usually by proponents of transgender or sexless acceptance. I’m gonna skim over this controversial topic for a couple of reasons: 1, I don’t wanna distract from what I am talking about and 2, while I am hardly conservative my opinions on this are worth an entry all by themselves. A third reason is also one of the reasons why I think that there has been limited success in spreading these propositions, that is the controversial nature of there being anything other than two sexes and that sex and gender are the same thing. I don’t want to derail what it is that I am actually talking about with these arguments.

  So, people don’t want to think of there being people who are anything other than male or female and so oppose this reason for a unisex pronoun, but what other reasons are there? Well a number of the suggestions are clunky. Ne, ve, xe… how the hell do you even say these? That is immediately going to put people off, but most of the possible pronunciations are uncomfortable to say. Sure, new words often are, but V and X are not super common in the English language anyway and will intimidate readers. If I say “eir” then I’m gonna feel like I’m putting on heirs. “Per”? Perself? Nope. I just don’t like that one.

  It’s tough creating new pronouns and borrowing them may not be any easier. I had no success looking at Latin and then I turned to Greek (as English has a lot of Greek words) and found what I think was “tous”, which seems to their equivalent of our “they”. I could be wrong. I’ve always found it hard to find Greek language learning or dictionaries that don’t use Greek symbols (which I can’t read) so I think that’s how it’s spelt and I suspect it’s pronounced “two”, but I could be wrong. And it’s not exactly intuitive.

  So next I tried looking at French. We English have a loot~ of French words in our vernacular so what’s one more? But the French use masculine and feminine words so which one do we choose? We could use “tu” or “vous”, both of which seem to mean “you” but I would personally say that sounds too much like “you”.

  To lean into a language that interests me personally, Japanese appears to refer to people using gender specific words but can also use “ano hito” which literally means “that person”. Would this one work? My biggest problem with that is that hito sounds like a name to me and would feel weird.

  Finally I tried looking into history. I knew that “thee” and “thou” died out because they were impolite or informal variants and being English, we stuck to the polite “you”, so I looked into the third-person pronouns. Unfortunately they just developed into what we already use today.

  So what should we do? Keep looking at other languages until we find one we like and steal it? That would be very English. Making one up would be difficult as in this age we are less forgiving than in Shakespeare’s time (apparently he invented 2000 new words and people just went with it) and people these days can’t embrace anything until they know the agenda behind it.

 I’m gonna leave you hanging and move onto my next section of satire, parody and pastiche.

  Parody is pretty straightforward. It pokes fun at something but not necessarily with ill-intent. A parody can be completely absent of malice while pointing out issues with the original, or taking it to a comical extreme. An example of this could be Death from the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett. Pratchett is currently my favourite author and anyone will be hard-pressed to take this position from him. He uses parody and satire in a manner completely unique to him. The Discworld series is so full of examples that it practically bursts at the seams and his take on how humanity anthropomorphises everything is a reoccurring theme.

  He frequently directs this at religions but it is Death who captured my heart. The scythe wielding black cloaked skeleton known the world over as Death is a main supporting character in many of the books, appearing as a lovable goofball. He isn’t there to make jabs at people for giving nature human form, he is a comical representation of the fact that people do so. Death isn’t the only anthropomorphic being in the series, the Hogfather is his play on Father Christmas and the Tooth Fairies have an entire organisation backing them.

  Shakespeare makes a number of “appearances” and his Discworld equivalent (a dwarf of all things) has the “Disc theatre” made in his honour. Many of Pratchett’s books are based around famous stories and the only reason why I hesitate to call “The Masquerade” a pastiche is because all of his books are so absurdly witty. I don’t know if that counts.

  Satire on the other hand is absolutely poking fun at what it imitates, although not always humorously. Often ruthless and containing sarcasm and irony in heavy and sometimes cruel doses, satire intends on changing things by ridiculing its target. I hesitate to use Pratchett as an example again, but he can be ruthless in his criticisms of more-or-less anything. Parody and satire are closely related and sometimes it’s not easy to know what the author intends, but my personal rule-of-thumb is that if it’s just funny then it’s parody, if it is making a statement then it is satire.

  And then there is pastiche. Pastiche is a creative types’ get out of jail free card. Yes it can be abused, but it is incredibly reassuring to know about. See, one thing that motivates me to write is seeing good ideas wasted. The webshow (I think it’s a webshow? Not sure of the definition though) RWBY is a key example: as a young adult story (think teens) that has a lot of potential in that it covers things such as entering a new school, making friends and dealing with all the things that comes with being a teenager, plus the low-fantasy excitement of superpowers and monsters. This sort of content can be invaluable to readers, particularly those entering a new school or such-like. Unfortunately, the show suffers from poor dialogue (clichés abound), poor story structure and- let’s kindly call it “distracting” voice acting. This compelled me to write something along the same lines but with my own original ideas.

  Let’s be clear, pastiche is seriously imitating an existing work, style or period. It’s not meant to ridicule the original and honestly I’m not sure where the boundaries are. I watch RWBY and am like “I wanna do this, but better” and go on to create my own world, unique characters and abilities, creatures etc. I watch The Flash tv show and say “I wanna do this, but better” and start writing rules of time-travel, rules that The Flash dearly requires because it doesn’t have any! Me and a friend are working on a pastiche of the Discworld series with a sci-fi element instead of fantasy.

  Naturally there is a limit: my work is completely different to RWBY but if I were to make the lead a cheerful black haired girl who skips years to join her blonde sister in school and joins a team of four to fight monsters then that is straight up copying. It’s plagiarism which is bad (I’m not making that joke, okay?). There is some overlap, but it also coincidentally overlaps with Harry Potter and Twilight and literally any young adult novel if you nit-pick enough.

  Pastiche is done out of respect or out of a compulsion to do better (I used to think I wasn’t competitive, now I’m not so sure) or any number of things, but the main difference is that it isn’t poking fun at anything.

 So that is a brief and hopefully clear overview of a number of items that I had wanted to talk about. This ended up being longer than expected but honestly, I really enjoyed writing it and I do hope someone learns from this or is encouraged to think deeper about the topics I’ve raised.