The Deep

Jul. 17th, 2025 09:57 pm
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[personal profile] alobear
The Deep by Rivers Solomon is about a society of merfolk living in the deep of the ocean, who choose a historian to hold their ancestral memories for them. Yetu, the current historian, is struggling to maintain her own identity under the weight of the memories, so she gives them all back to the other merfolk and runs away. Her actions have far-reaching consequences that force her to confront her purpose, her place in the world, and prompt her to find a better way for her people to live.
The book has several narrative threads, and my engagement with each of them ebbed and flowed somewhat (see what I did there?) throughout the story. I struggled with the deeper meaning of some aspects of the story, while others felt a bit too bluntly stated. But it went to some interesting places and I liked how Yetu's thread developed in the latter stages. I really wanted to be able to just accept the ultimate conclusion as really heartfelt and beautiful but it didn't quite land for me, which was a shame. But there was a lot of profound beauty in this novella, even though I didn't connect to it as much as I wanted to.
althea_valara: Icon of Althea Valara, my main character from Final Fantasy XIV. (Althea Valara)
[personal profile] althea_valara
Sunshine-Revival-Carnival-2.png

Challenge #5

Journaling prompt: Be a carnival barker for your favorite movie, book, or show! Write a post that showcases the best your chosen title has to offer and entices passersby to check it out.
Creative prompt: Write a fic or original story about a character reluctantly doing something they are hesitant about.
Post your answer to today’s challenge in your own space and leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.


(I am not going to write a fic, but I read the prompt and went OH, IT'S ME!!! I am very hesitant about the things I need to do these days, and pretty reluctant to actually do them. But I'm trying. By gods, I'm trying.)

Re: the journaling prompt: it doesn't include "your favorite game", HOW RUDE. But I am going to natter at you about Final Fantasy XIV anyway, because (a) most of my media consumption is through games these days, (b) I get to meme at you.

*takes a deep breath*

HAVE YOUR HEARD OF THE
CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED MMORPG
FINAL FANTASY XIV
WITH AN EXPANDED FREE TRIAL
WHICH YOU CAN PLAY THROUGH THE ENTIREY OF
A REALM REBORN
AND THE AWARD-WINNING
HEAVENSWARD
EXPANSION
AND ALSO THE AWARD-WINNING
STORMBLOOD
EXPANSION
UP TO LEVEL 70
FOR FREE
WITH NO RESTRICTIONS
ON PLAYTIME?

https://freetrial.finalfantasyxiv.com


a bunch of reasons wny I love Final Fantasy XIV )

Finders Keepers

Jul. 17th, 2025 03:25 pm
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[personal profile] alobear
I enjoyed Mr Mercedes by Stephen King so much, I was really looking forward to continuing with the Bill Hodges trilogy - the second books is Finders Keepers - but it didn't quite live up to my expectations.
The premise being about writers and unpublished writing appealed to me and I liked how the story unexpectedly connected to the case from the first book.
But it felt very dragged out, there were lengthy flashbacks detailing information that had already been revealed, and the characters I had been so looking forward to spending more time with - Hodges, Holly and Jerome - were barely in the first half, and only really got properly involved towards the end.
The bad guy was also rather a repeat of the bad guy from the first book - bad relationship with terrible mother, major superiority complex, wildly offensive attitudes to things - which was a bit tedious.
It did really pick up towards the end, though, with a very tense and exciting climax that had me shouting at my phone - and actually siding with the bad guy at one point!
And I liked how the epilogue mirrored the epilogue from book one.
I'm not sure how I feel about the introduction of hints of the supernatural - but I'm still keen to find out where the story is going overall, and I still think Will Patton is one of the best audiobook narrators around - so I'll definitely complete the trilogy.

The Left Hand of Darkness

Jul. 16th, 2025 07:02 pm
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[personal profile] alobear
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K Le Guin is probably the book that's been on and off my wishlist the most over the years. It kept getting recommended to me in various ways but then I would keep getting put off it for various reasons and never actually reading it.
This month, the time finally came to give it a try - but I only got about 25 pages in before I gave up, so now it's off the wishlist for good, unfortunately.
It may have been the wrong time for me to try and read it - but I found it almost incomprehensible. There was a lot of discussion of various aspects of an alien world and culture in the opening chapter, but with very little context and almost no explanation of anything. And some of the wording was so unfamiliar and dense that I had to read some sections several times and still couldn't quite work them out.
I wasn't engaged by the first-person protagonist, the story didn't seem to be going anywhere, and the whole of the second chapter was a rather dreary and unpleasant folk tale, which isn't my favourite thing at the best of times.
I was also confused by the internal inconsistency. The protagonist stated that the natives of the planet he was visiting shouldn't be gendered but that he automatically did so, because it was what he was used to. But they also called their leader 'the king', which is a gendered title, and referred to that leader as 'he' and 'him' when discussing him in direct dialogue, so the society didn't seem to follow its own rules.
Anyway, I'm sure I'm more at fault than the book here - just not for me.

The Roanoke Girls

Jul. 15th, 2025 04:50 pm
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[personal profile] alobear
The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel is about a young woman named Lane, who is called back to her family's home by her grandparents after her cousin disappears. But that's not what it's really about. Since the main 'secret' of the family is revealed very early on in the story, I don't feel any qualms about stating it here - this book is about incest - on a very grand, very dark, very messed-up scale. You have been warned.
But it's a very well-written tale, which kept me gripped throughout, despite the weirdness of the structure and the vagueness of the flashbacks making it feel as if the author forgot she revealed the secret early. There's a lot more to uncover, though, and none of it is good. I considered DNF-ing at one point, but I'm glad I didn't because it all comes together very successfully and the last few pages, in particular, are really excellent. There are no easy answers or quick fixes here, which is realistic, under the circumstances. But it's a satisfying conclusion and rounds of the story very well.

Tipping the Velvet

Jul. 14th, 2025 08:32 pm
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[personal profile] alobear
I loved the TV show of Tipping the Velvet when I first saw it in the early 2000s, and have watched it several times since, as well as seeing an excellent stage version quite some years ago. So, when I spotted the book in a charity shop recently, I snatched it up eagerly. And it's very well written and engaging. The problem was, the TV show is such a good adaptation, it was almost a bit boring reading the book because I knew almost every detail of what was going to happen. It was all a lot more intense in text - though I liked Nancy less as a protagonist after spending nearly 500 pages in her head. And Kitty was much less of a real character because we only got to see her through Nancy's eyes and unhealthy obsession. And it did all seem a lot more unhealthy than I remember from the TV show somehow - and I wasn't sure until right before the end whether I would feel Nancy had redeemed herself and deserved a good outcome. But it totally got me by the end, and - life-changing TV show aside - it's a very good book.

(no subject)

Jul. 12th, 2025 11:07 pm
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[personal profile] ashkitty
In Dublin for now. There's a summer school thing I'm going to for the next two weeks to learn Old Irish, or at least make the attempt. I left Aber this morning in some confusion about whether there was a train (Nat Rail and TFW apps both showed no train, but it turns out there was, in fact, a train). Changed at Shrewsbury, where the new train was 1) delayed and 2) chockablock - in only two carriages there were two hen dos, a stag party and a large number of people going to Chester for the races. While it cleared out a bit after Chester, there was no AC to be had, so to prevent anyone getting ill, they passed out water (which was nice of them)!

Getting to the ferry itself actually went quite quickly once we got to Holyhead (15 min or so late, but whatever), and after that journey I quite cheerfully paid to upgrade to the 'hygge lounge', which is a quiet lounge with big recliner chairs and a great view. No regrets about that at all.

Arrived at Dublin port, phone decided it wasn't going to work yet, but employees there will book you a taxi. (Would this journey, clocking in at 10.5 hours at that point, be improved by an hour on public transit with luggage? It would not.) Anyway, we got stuck at an intersection when the car in front of us broke down.

But I have arrived! Felt like it was such a pretty night I should go out and explore and walk a bit, but am also very, very tired, and going to Spar for a sandwich to eat in front of the tv in my AIR CONDITIONED hotel room won out, in the end. Anyway, hi Dublin, looking good.

I should post more and maybe talk about stuff, but I'm lazy. Anyway, hi.

An Unkindness of Magicians

Jul. 12th, 2025 03:32 pm
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[personal profile] alobear
This was a reread for the Reviews Revisited series of videos on my YouTube channel.

I enjoyed it overall, though it felt like it took a while to really get going and engage my emotions as well as my interest. It's a cleverly woven tale - while certain aspects of the magical world don't really make sense, if you just go with it, it's complex, layered and impactful.

As with a lot of stories, it's about abuses of power and members of the groups being exploited or marginalised eventually rising up to fight the sytem.

There's a good range of characters, though the number of different factions and agendas makes it a bit confusing at times.

Generally, a good read and I'm looking forward to finally getting round to the sequel, now I've remembered the story of this one.

Trinity

Jul. 9th, 2025 11:31 am
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[personal profile] lathany
We celebrated 30 years of marriage at Trinity.

My meal choices were:
Tuna Ceviche, Charentais Melon, Iberico Ham and Pistachio
Sardine Bolognaise Dumpling, Tomato Butter Sauce and Basil
T-Bone of Cumbrian Lamb, Romesco, Green Olive and Labneh
Salted Caramel Custard Tart

Drinks:
Summer Collins
2023 Iona Pinot Noir, Elgin Highlands
2013 Disznókő Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos, Hungary

On weight loss medication.

Jul. 9th, 2025 08:53 am
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[personal profile] lnr

I wrote this on Bluesky last week, but wanted to save it in slightly longer form

On obesity and weight loss and medication

As a well off, educated, active person, who likes food including healthy things, but still has a lifelong struggle with my weight I do find even the best intentioned discussions around obesity hard. I'm currently heading towards a healthy weight/waist size using Wegovy, but that's a short term aid. What happens when I stop taking it? The advice from my practitioners is that obviously unless I keep up enough healthy changes I will gain weight, and I know that. But I don't know *how*. How to not eat when I'm hungry. How to never want to eat the foods that other normal people eat. I can book in some one-to-one sessions with a dietician and psychologist when I'm closer to trying to maintain my weight, but I honestly don't know how much it will help.

The first time I lost a big chunk of weight I was *sure* I wasn't going to be one of those people who gain it all back again. But I found it so so hard to stay where I wanted to be that eventually I couldn't face trying any more. I do wonder if in future a very low dose of GLP1 agonists or similar will be a long term maintenance option for people like me. Its not an option now. When I hit a BMI of 23.5, or reach 2 years of taking them, I'll be cut off. Then we get to see what realistic help is available at that point. I don't want to have to battle my weight forever, and right now it's not a battle. But how do you even prepare for that?

Dragons and Disappointment

Jul. 8th, 2025 09:06 pm
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[personal profile] alobear
I had high hopes for I Know It's You by Susan Lewis, as I loved the other book of hers I read earlier this year and this one was about writers and publishers which is always a draw for me. And it was certainly compelling for the most part. It follows Marina, a senior editor at a publisher, who starts receiving instalments of a book by an anonymous author, the story of which closely resembles a rather dramatic time in her past that she'd rather not revisit. The main problem was that the 'book within the book' really wasn't very good... And Marina actually points this out multiple times in some blatant lampshading - which I guess is fair enough, but it doesn't explain why the agent who brings it to her didn't just reject it immediately! And it also means we, as the reader, have to wade through an awful lot of not very good prose to find out the most pertinent aspects of the story! I will say the book does a very good job of portraying how Marina gradually spirals into desperation and paranoia, and the way she ends up questioning her own memory of events is very relatable. But the police procedural aspect of the story is absolute nonsense - the case would never have developed in the way it's described... The other Susan Lewis book I read was sharply observed and emotionally impactful, but this one is all melodrama. I was engaged throughout most of it (to the extent of shouting at the book multiple times as I was reading it!) but the ending was very disappointing and rather ruined the overall experience.


Miss Percy's Travel Guide to Welsh Moors and Feral Dragons by Quenby Olsen continues the story almost exactly from where the first book left off, and I was very happy to be back in this world with these characters. The audiobook narrator is very good, so it was a pleasant listening experience overall. But it did feel rather dragged out, with not an awful lot happening for most of the book. I did love the continuation of the commentary on language and the meta aspects of discussing the book itself. But I felt the reintroduction of the 'bad guys' was a bit weak - though the eventual climax was pretty exciting and leads very well into the final instalment of the trilogy. So, I will finish the series before too long, but I didn't enjoy this middle book as much as the first one.

Double Reading Retreat - Part Three

Jul. 7th, 2025 02:12 pm
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[personal profile] alobear
These are the remaining reviews for the books I read while on retreat last week.

The Imaginary Corpse by Tyler Hayes:
This one broke me. Admittedly, it was perfectly designed to hit me with all of the trauma and all of the feels. It's set in a realm called the Stillreal, where abandoned concepts and outgrown imaginary friends end up when their humans suffer some kind of event that changes their worldview and forces them to give up their Ideas. We follow Tippy the triceratops, who is a private detective in this realm - and who is plunged very much into the deep end, when a newly arrived Idea starts killing Friends - permanently... There is so much trauma in this book (on the part of the humans and the Ideas), so much pain and despair - but also so much love and loyalty and beautiful sacrifice and support. It even made me feel sorry for the bad guy! I wasn't wholly sold on the ending when I first finished it (after it made me cry really hard multiple times and want to hug all my teddy bears at once and never let them go) but, having reflected on it since (and I've been thinking about the book nearly every day for a week now) I've come to the conclusion that it was exactly right. A tough read but an awesome one.


The Defiant Spark by Annie Percik:
Yes, I know I probably shouldn't review my own debut novel - but I've never sat down and just read it in paperback form before - and I really enjoyed it! I'm never going to claim it's high literary art, but it's a fun ride, with characters I'm proud of having created, and it largely holds together! I was surprised I didn't find more to criticise - though there was one very annoying typo I spotted...


Chaos Vector by Megan E O'Keefe:
I remember enjoying the first book in this series - but I unfortunately left it too long to get to this next instalment and I just couldn't remember enough of the plot, characters and concepts to be able to make sense of what was going on. Definitely not the book's fault - very much mine.


The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi:
I only got fifty pages into this before I had to put it down.
The world was very well described and interesting - but it was pretty grim from the start. And what happens to the girl of the title in the first of her viewpoint chapters was very graphically unpleasant. I hope, by the end of the story, she finds a better place to be and comes into her power - but I decided I didn't want to go on that journey with her because it was too distressing.


Fray by Rowenna Miller:
This is the second in a series and I remember the first one very well and definitely enjoyed it. I was glad to be back in this world of magical fashion and social upheaval. I like all the characters, the world was expanded in an interesting way, and the different demands on Sophie's time, loyalties, affections and activism were very well portrayed. A very solid middle instalment of this trilogy.

Review stats for first half of 2025

Jul. 6th, 2025 03:11 pm
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[personal profile] alobear
Here are the accumulated stats for all the reviews I've written so far in 2025:

Film & TV:
Positive – 2 (67%)
Negative – 1 (33%)

Books:
Positive – 48 (70%)
Negative – 12 (17%)
DNF - 9 (13%)

Live Entertainment:
Positive – 4 (80%)
Negative – 1 (20%)

Audiobooks:
Positive – 21 (95%)
Negative – 0 (0%)
DNF - 1 (5%)

Games (video and board):
Positive – 14 (88%)
Negative – 2 (12%)

Comics:
Positive - 10 (100%)
Negative - 0 (0%)
DNF - 0 (0%)

Reviews total for first half of 2025:
Positive – 99 (79%)
Negative – 26 (21%)

I'm counting the DNFs as negative for the overall stats.