The Bird is a Metaphor

Book meme! Borrowed (and slightly shortened, because I don't keep track of some of the original questions) from a post I saw on DW.

1. How many books did you read this year? Any trends in genre/length/themes/etc?
48! More than I was expecting, but padded length-wise with graphic novels and poetry collections. Genre trends lean toward poetry and sci-fi, as well as books written by women.

2. What are your Top 3 books that you read this year for the first time?
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard
Loved it?? Weird and existential and meta.

Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
Fantastic world-building, loved the gender. I devoured this book at speed.

Nervous System by Rosalie Moffett
A book-length poem, beautiful weaving.

3. What's a book you enjoyed more than you expected?
The Half Life of Valery K by Natasha Pulley. I usually give historical fiction a miss, because I generally find the setting/time period of historical fiction dreadfully boring. (Oh look, Victorian London! Again!) But I really enjoyed the danger and intrigue of Soviet science.

4. Which books most disappointed you this year?
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik. I loved Uprooted, but A Deadly Education was a miss for me. I didn't care for the protagonist, and though the world-building was interesting, it didn't feel balanced against the plot.

5. Did you reread any books? If so, which one was your favorite?
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman is my favorite, read in anticipation of Good Omens season 2 coming out.

6. Did you DNF (= did not finish) any books?
None that I got heavily into. If I don't enjoy the beginning of a book, I'll generally put it down and won't remember it.

7. Did you start any books that you’d like to finish in the new year?
I have a bunch of nonfiction books I'm still in the process of reading (very slowly) that I'd like to finish!

8. Did you read any books outside of your usual preferred genre(s)?
I usually read a lot of nonfiction, so breaking back into fiction (especially sci-fi/fantasy) was a change. I'd forgotten how much I love genre fiction.

9. Did you reach your reading goal for this year (if you had one)?
I have no reading goals! For next year, I think I'd like to read more books in translation / global literature. I might see if there are any book bingos that look interesting.

10. What books from your TBR did you not get to this year, but are excited to read in 2024?
I think I want to dive back into series—maybe revisit Discworld or Robin Hobb—and check out more of the Hugo and Nebula winners I missed out on.

If anybody is wildly enthused about a book they read this year, feel free to hit me up! My to-read list is in a constant state of expansion.

Listening to The Magnus Archives again and deeply enjoying it! I'd started before season 5 came out and then didn't manage to keep up with the new episodes (no spoilers, please!) so I had to restart at the beginning.

(Could I have restarted where I left off? Yes. Would I have remembered anything that happened? Signs point to no.)

I originally started listening because I heard there was a canon ace character who ALSO happens to be the main character, and I immediately said Yes Please, Sign Me The Fuck Up despite sometimes getting The Paranoia when engaging with scary media. I regret nothing.

( Some highlights from my re-listen (featuring spoilers): )

I'm basically caught up to where past!me left off, and I'm deeply excited to dive into the fic after this, a la a small child at a watermelon eating contest. If you have recs, let me know!

Hello, friends! Long time no see write. I've wanted to get back into journaling recently, but I felt kind of awkward about it because I'm not as active in fandom anymore. Then I decided I'm going to do it anyway! *shrug emoji*

Things I'll probably be posting about:
* Music thoughts (by which I mean, songs that give me specific character or fic vibes, or which I myself am vibing about)
* Media I'm enjoying
* Possibly fic recs, though don't quote me on that
* ??? (Leave a comment if you have an idea for how I can fill this journal!)

*slaps post* And that's the game plan! As always, feel free to follow/unfollow at will. \0/

Oh boy, let's see if my memory is good enough for this! This should be in vaguely chronological order (? possibly ?).

Unless otherwise stated, I enjoyed all of these shows. Stars are awarded on the basis of how much I liked each show + how well I remember it + if I would watch it again + general Vibes at the time of posting. The language is in parenthesis (K=Korean, E=English, C=Chinese).

( Read more... )

If you have any recs / want to share a show you loved this year, drop me a comment! \0/

The Year at a Glance:

Total number of completed stories: Eight, including one DVD commentary!

Total word count: 74,494

( More under cut )

Ke nānā nei au i ka polokalamu kīwī ʻo Word of Honor, a puni au? Laha nā mahele hou i ka hola ʻehiku o ke kakahiaka, ka Pōʻakahi i ka Pōʻakolu. Puni au ʻo Ye Baiyi. /o\ Makemake au kona kūʻēʻē me Wen Kexing. :D


In case it's not clear, I'm learning Hawaiian. \0/ I've heard that keeping a journal is one of the best ways to learn a language, hence me writing in Hawaiian. If anyone is interested in learning Hawaiian as well, Duolingo has a course that can get you started (helped along by the fact that Hawaiian isn't complicated when it comes to grammar or having to conjugate verbs) and Ulukau has dictionaries, books in Hawaiian and English at different reading levels, recordings of interviews with native speakers (started by Larry Kimura, if anyone listened to that recent Code Switch episode), and more. All of these resources are free!

Because Hawaiian is an endangered language, dictionaries can be lacking in places due to age so I'm not sure I used the correct terms for episode / airs? I took a stab! I'm glad I at least have "tv show" from Duolingo. I'm still figuring out compound sentences, so I'm not sure I joined that first sentence right. More reading is required!

( Vocab )

Okay, I haven't actually finished any of these books yet because I'm currently gnawing my way through two economics tomes, but I felt like making a post anyway. \0/

* Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster by Adam Higginbotham

I'm two chapters away from finishing this, and every part of this book is Terrifying. Like, from all standpoints: nuclear accident / human impact / Russian bureaucracy / mitigation decisions. Bad! Very bad. Like, I know that the worst case scenario didn't happen because Europe is still inhabitable, but that's not exactly comforting tbh.

- Springboard: The Radium Girls / The Gulag Archipelago (my copy) / Before the Fallout (my copy) / Voices from Chernobyl / the HBO Chernobyl series if my library has a copy

* Basic Economics: A Common Sense Guide to the Economy (Fourth Edition) by Thomas Sowell

I LOVE arguing with this book! Thomas Sowell doesn't know it, but he's my NEMESIS. I always thought I didn't care about economics until I started listening to Planet Money years ago, but it turns out I very much do. I really like this book from the standpoint that it covers a lot of material and (I'm assuming) argues the same points as your basic textbook. Also, I get to whip out my critical thinking skills and destroy various arguments and statistics at high volume to anyone who doesn't run away from me fast enough. :D I think Sowell is just about to try and convince me that unions are bad and I'm going to go Apeshit, it's going to be great.

- Springboard: uhhhh the entire econ section at the library / I really want to read some academic econ papers, but I haven't looked into where to find them or what's good / anything on rent control (because I feel like Sowell is wrong, but I don't actually know enough about rent control to fight with him) (don't even get me started on his latest book on charter schools, just thinking about it makes my blood boil)

* The Rise and Fall of American Growth: The U.S. Standard of Living Since the Civil War by Robert J. Gordon

YES, I'm a huge nerd and I love this book! \0/ It's SO INTERESTING, both from an econ standpoint and a history one. Gordon argues that revolutionary advances in technology during the 'golden century' from 1870 to 1970 made rapid economic growth and increases in standard of living possible, and these advances (combustion engines, electricity, telephones, networked houses) can't be replicated, only minimally advanced upon, leading to stagnating growth. I really enjoyed the chapter where he talks about standard of living that GDP can't capture, especially in relationship to housework. The text is tiny (and a truly mind-boggling amount of research must have gone into this book, it's 700 pages long), so I'm not very far in, but I adore it. Also, unlike Sowell, Gordon actually cites his sources. :angel emoji:

- Springboard: The Poison Squad / anything on housework over the years / Empire Express (my copy)

If anyone would like to add a book suggestion to my ever-growing pile, feel free to leave a comment! \0/

Hello friend! You’re writing me a story, which automatically means I love you.

( Rest of letter under cut )

* The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl by Timothy Egan

EXCELLENT, highly recommend. Well-written, well-researched, and captivating. I watched Ken Burns' documentary on the Dust Bowl after this and really enjoyed the additional images / footage.

* I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara

One downside to listening to the audiobook version was the lack of maps / timelines to refer back to, but it didn't hinder me too much. I listened to this while putting together a puzzle so I wasn't giving it my full attention, but that also kept me from getting Too Paranoid, which is always a possibility when I read stuff on serial killers.

* The Writing Life by Annie Dillard

I read this more for the writing than for the content, because it's very lyrical. I read the first page at work and was like GOTTA BORROW THIS BABY FROM SOMEWHERE. It's kind of a combination of the process of writing + writing advice + stories about Annie Dillard. Some of it I was like, "Yes, this is what writing is like!" and some of it I was like *doubtful squinting*, but the writing was really good. It's also a pretty short book (about 100 pages as a trade paperback), so it's a quick read.

* Showa 1926-1939: A History of Japan by Shigeru Mizuki

Manga! This is the first of four books that span the Showa era, and is part history, part autobiography. I don't know a lot about Japan, but I liked the scope of this + reading about Japan from a Japanese author.

* The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy

This felt like the kind of book your aunt gives you when you graduate. I liked the art style, but the philosophy / advice sounded kind of like something you'd find on a decorative canvas at Hobby Lobby. It's... also possible I'm just a cynic.

Almost forgot to crosspost this baby! I wrote it in two months while also working a string of 50- and 60-hour weeks, which just goes to show that you CAN warp time if you really set your mind to it. Do you like quests undertaken with ENEMIES? MAGICAL LANDSCAPES? SHIFTING RELATIONSHIPS? Have I got a fic for you! Join our intrepid assholes as they journey across the land in what is not a roadtrip fic, seeing as they have no car and no road, but which does contain danger, festivals, annoying habits, casual sex, dragons, and emotions. Can't forget the emotions.

All New Rules (37556 words) by remiges
Chapters: 4/4
Fandom: Men's Hockey RPF
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Claude Giroux/Kris Letang, Marc-Andre Fleury & Kris Letang
Characters: Kris Letang, Claude Giroux, Marc-Andre Fleury
Additional Tags: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Casual Sex, Rescue Missions, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Open Relationships

"You know it's the season for flux storms, right?" Giroux asks. "Magical discharge? Hard to navigate?" He waves a hand, as if encompassing the impossibility of sending a message through that. "I thought you were a squire or something. Shouldn't you know this already?"

"Could you get me across it?" Kris asks, ignoring the insult.

Giroux shrugs. "Sure, but I'm a little occupied at the moment." He gestures around at the holding cell. "Even if I wasn't, what's in it for me?"