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mostlysignssomeportents · 6 months

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The Lost Cause prologue, Part V

I'm coming to Minneapolis! Oct 15: Presenting The Internet Con at Moon Palace Books. Oct 16: Keynoting the 26th ACM Conference On Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing.

In my upcoming solarpunk novel The Lost Cause (Nov 14), we get an epic struggle between the people doing the repair and care work needed to save our planet and species, and the reactionary wreckers who want to kill the Green New Deal and watch the world burn:

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865847/red-team-blues

Amazon refuses to carry my audiobooks, which means that I make my own indie editions and pre-sell them on Kickstarter, along with ebooks and hardcovers. I narrated this one! It came out great! You can back it here:

http://lost-cause.org

This week, I've been serializing the prologue to give you a taste of what you can expect from the book, which Bill McKibben calls "politically perceptive, scientifically sound, and extraordinarily hopeful."

Here's part one:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/06/green-new-deal-fic/#the-first-generation-in-a-century-not-to-fear-the-future

And part two:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/07/met-cute-ugly/#part-ii

And part three:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/09/working-the-refs/#lost-cause-prologue

And part four:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/10/weaponized-interdependence/#super-soaker-full-of-hydrochloric-acid

And now, part five:

Look, I had weeks to go until graduation. I had a life to live. I had stuff to do.

Gramps and his friends would stew and shout. Idiots on the internet would make dank memes out of Mike Kennedy and deepfake him into a million videos, turn him into a main character whose image would be around long after he left the world.

I just had to keep my head down, collect my diploma, and get the hell out of Burbank. I’d already been provisionally accepted for a Blue Helmets AmeriCorps spot down in San Juan Capistrano, helping to rebuild the city’s lower half a mile inland, up in the hills. I was going to do a year of that and then go to college: I had applications in to UCLA, Portland State (they had a really good refugee tech undergrad program), and the University of Waterloo, where my mom did her undergrad in environmental science. They’d let me declare my major in my second year, so I could take a wide variety of courses before settling on something, and if anything, Canada’s free college was even more generous than the UC system or Portland’s, with a subsidy for dorms and meals.

To tell the truth, I’d be glad to go. My senior year hadn’t been anything like I’d anticipated. Gramps’s health had gotten a lot worse the previous summer and his shitty sexist and racist remarks chased away any home help worker Burbank sent over within a week or two, so I’d been trying to keep my grades up while picking up after Gramps, getting him to take his meds, washing his sheets and cleaning his toilet—not to mention making sure he made his doctor’s appointments and even bringing him into the office a couple of times a month for the kind of exams you couldn’t do by telemedicine.

I wasn’t sure what Gramps would do without me to take care of him, but at that point, I was running out of fucks to give. Let his asshole Maga Club buddies look after him, or maybe Gramps could figure out how not to offend everyone that came over to wipe his ass and do his laundry. He was—as he was fond of pointing out to me—a grown-ass adult, and this was his house, and he was in charge. So let him be in charge.

I put myself to bed stewing about all of this, thinking of San Juan Capistrano. Some of my older friends had graduated the previous years and had gone down there and I’d followed their relocation of the old mission on their feeds. It looked like hot, sweaty, rewarding work, the kind of thing where you could really measure your progress.

For the second night in a row, I was woken up at 2 a.m. This time, it wasn’t my screen, it was Gramps, who’d stumped into my room with his cane, flipped my lights to full on, and started shaking me and calling out, “Get up, kid, get up!”

“I’m up,” I said, getting up on my elbows and squinting at him.

He was shaking, and he reeked—of both booze and BO, and I felt a flash of guilt for not getting him in the bath that day.

“God dammit,” he said, and staggered a bit. I leapt out of bed, pulling the sheets off with me, and steadied him at the elbow.

“Calm down, okay? What’s going on? Are you all right?”

“No, I’m not all right. No one is all right. Fuck all right and fuck you.” I’d had Gramps tested for early dementia the previous year, by showing his doctor videos of moments like these. The doc had run a battery of tests before pronouncing, “Your grandfather isn’t senile, he’s just ornery.” Which was undeniable, and also pissed me the hell off. “Ornery” was a polite word for “asshole.” What the doc was telling me was that Gramps didn’t have to be cruel. He was cruel by choice.

I untangled myself from the sheets and piled them on the bed.

“What is it?”

“It’s Mike Kennedy, that asshole. Someone shot him.”

“What?”

He shoved his giant screen into my hands. I tapped the video window. It was from the POV of a car cam, that weird fish-eye view of a self-driving car, split-screen with the passenger in the front seat, and it was Mike Kennedy, looking even worse than Gramps, bloodshot and trembling, with that under-chin camera angle that makes everyone look like they’re half dead.

I tried to watch both halves. There was Kennedy, whispering something to him. There was the cul-de-sac he was parked in, false-lit with IR from the cameras. The timestamp was 1:17. Less than an hour before.

Then the external image flickered for a second and resolved itself into a man, who phased in and out. He was wearing a ghillie suit like the one Kennedy had worn on the roof, covered in telltale CV dazzle stripes, designed to exploit defects in the computer vision system. You had to wear a different specific pattern for every algorithm, but if you got the right matchup, the computer would simply not see you. The man was flickering into existence when his posture crumpled up the ghillie suit and made the pattern stop working, then out again when he straightened up.

He straightened and disappeared and Mike Kennedy’s eyes widened as he noticed the man for the first time—computer dazzle worked on computers, not humans—and he started to say something and then a round hole appeared in his forehead, his head snapping back against the headrest, then careening forward. The flickering phantom appeared again as the man in the ghillie suit turned and disappeared.

I dropped the tablet to my bed.

“Jesus Christ, Gramps, I didn’t need to see that snuff movie—”

He tried to smack me then. I was ready for it. I was faster. I stepped out of his reach. I was shaking too.

“You don’t get to hit me anymore old man. Never again, you hear me?”

He was purpling now, and a decade’s worth of fleeing and defusing his rages rose in me, made me want to apologize. After all, I rationalized, he’d just seen a friend murdered.

But I’d seen that friend murdered too, videobombed with a snuff flick at 2 a.m. without warning or consent. It was a traumatizing, selfish, asshole move. I’d be watching that movie on the backs of my eyelids for years to come. And the friend who’d died? He’d been ready to kill me. Gramps had no right. He was a grown-ass adult. He had no right.

“Listen to me, you little shit, you think you can live under my roof, take my charity, and talk to me like that? Now? With all the shit that I’m going through? No sir. No. Get out, you little bastard, get out now. Get out before I kick your goddamned teeth in.” He was vibrating with rage now, literally, actually shaking so hard his wispy hair swished back and forth across his forehead.

I didn’t say another word. I picked up some jeans and a jacket, put a pair of socks in a jacket pocket, and jammed my feet into a pair of sneakers without bothering to unlace them. I shouldered past him—still vibrating, stinking even worse—and banged out the back door and stomped through the nighttime streets.

My feet automatically took me up to Verdugo, and then across the empty road. I turned toward school—as I did every morning—and autopiloted in that direction. By the time I reached the Verdugo Aquatic Facility I had calmed down enough to realize that there was no reason to go to school at two thirty in the morning, so I stopped and headed for the playground in the park behind the pool. I sat down on a bench and kicked my shoes off and shook out the playground sand, pulled out my socks and put them on, then put my shoes back on properly. I was still furious, but now I could think straight and my hands weren’t shaking. Gramps and I hadn’t had a blowup like that in years, mostly— okay, entirely—because I’d backed down every time we’d been headed in that direction. I wasn’t in any mood to back down. Not ever, to be fully honest.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/11/equal-opportunity-class-war/#part-v

My next novel is The Lost Cause, a hopeful novel of the climate emergency. Amazon won't sell the audiobook, so I made my own and I'm pre-selling it on Kickstarter!

#pluralistic #books #science fiction #clifi #solarpunk #crowdfunding #audiobooks #the lost cause #fiction

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goldkirk · 3 months

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Reading The Incident at Hawk’s Hill really really meant a lot to me as a child, and I’ve spent months trying to dig up an ebook copy but to no avail. I’m going to find a cheap paperback of it so I can reread it whenever I want, because my little grade school brain attached to that book so hard and I understood that kid and that badger and felt like they understood me.

Weird kids who don’t think there’s anything wrong with them but clearly there must be because everyone flags them as different except animals so they grew up expecting a special animal bonding coming of age story a la The Music of Dolphins, Where the Red Fern Grows, and Incident at Hawk’s Hill club

#too niche? maybe too niche #but I devoured the incident at hawks hill over and over for a good while #it was weird but it was weird in a way that made sense to me #bibliophile #I’m reading through a scanned copy on Internet Archive for now

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ofliterarynature · 4 months

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DECEMBER 2023 WRAP UP

[loved liked ok no thanks (reread) book club*]

Mixed Magics • Chalice • To Shape a Dragon's Breath • The Haunting Season • Hither Page • The Henchmen of Zenda • System Collapse • The Phantom of the Opera • An Unexpected Peril • A Minor Chorus* • The September House • (The Dream Thieves) • The Fragile Threads of Power • The Pinhoe Egg • (Network Effect) • Some Desperate Glory

total: 16 (audiobook: 12 / ebook: 4)

Happy New Year booklr! Here's to actually getting my last monthly wrap-up post of 2023 out in decent time for once.

Some Desperate Glory - I'm getting myself off to a bad start here because I don't actually remember much from the book and I didn't write a review at the time. oops. But I do remember that once things got going I was hooked, and I couldn't wait to pick the audiobook back up. Definitely some content warnings to look out for, but an incredible read. I definitely need to go back and check out the author's other work.

Network Effect - the last book of my Murderbot reread, still great, glad to have finally read this in a text format! Also better suited to be read *after* Fugitive Telemetry, I wish I'd known to read them in chronological order the first time.

The Pinhoe Egg - a nice wrap up to the main Chrestomanci series! Though if anyone can tell me why on eARTH the 'recommended' reading order is like *that*, please explain it to me. I'd forgotten so many things by the time we got back to Cat, if I ever reread I'm going chronologically.

The Fragile Threads of Power - lord help me, I could do a whole rant. A quick summary of my relationship to this series: loved Shades of Magic when it first came out, did not love/was very annoyed by most of it when I reread them in 2023. Also have not really liked any of Schwab's other work. BUT. I was under the impression that this spinoff would have new main characters, and the old ones would be present but not in the center. If I didn't just make this up, it was LIES. The original MC's still dominate probably at least 60% of the book, and you'd think 7 years in-book and more experience on behalf of the writer would mature them, but a) no, and b) so many goddamn flashbacks. And Kel's assasin-sona was so cringe I wanted to cry. I did actually like the new main character which really is the biggest shame of all. If you see me contemplating the next book please stop me.

The Dream Thieves - I don't know that I have much to add yet to my thoughts about TRB in my Nov post, but I've been having a very strange experience where when I'm actively reading these, I'm having an incredibly good time; when I'm not I completely forget I was reading it. lol?

The September House - this is possibly the closest to my ideal horror book that I've ever found??!!? I have a weird relationship with horror, wherein I am not uninterested, but I almost never enjoy the ones I read (I think it has to do with my irl anxiety, idk). But THIS one. It's such an INCREDIBLE blend of like, mundane horrors and dark humor? I loved it. The "you can live with the horrors if you just follow the rules" is very much my vibe, and the way the author chose to have it integrate with the main character's experiences of domestic abuse was very smart. Deeply enjoyed, but probably won't be a favorite.

A Minor Chorus - this month's book club pick! I really really wish I'd liked this, and I'm torn between "thank god it was short," and "oh I wish this was longer." It's about a queer Indigenous doctoral student in Canada who's somewhat lost his way on his dissertation and is instead writing a novel (maybe), inspired by the stories of people in his community. On one hand, the writing was sometimes very beautiful and the different stories were interesting! On the other, my academic-speak abilities are limited, and the narrator did not hold back. He even explicitly states at one point, oh I can't describe my book this way to [character] because he won't understand my academic language. And...yeah. My brain got a little overwhelmed and I skimmed a lot of those parts. The hopeful part of me thinks if that if the book had been longer maybe I would have had time to "get it," but idk.

An Unexpected Peril - Veronica Speedwell is as Veronica Speedwell does. Had a good time with this even though it's proving to not be the most memorable. Mostly I remember intensely panicking over whether or not V had practiced forging the princess's signature, lol.

The Phantom of the Opera - this was a last minute sub for my classics challenge; I've never seen any of the adaptations, but I happened to see the book on tumblr when I was scrambling for a replacement and thought it might be fun. And it was! Quite ridiculous and dramatic, and I had a good time reading it. I was surprised by the outsider POV on the story, but it was good, just a shame that it didn't allow Christine to tell her own story. If anyone has a Christine-centered retelling I should read, let me know! And are there any adaptations I should watch?

System Collapse - new Murderbot! I was so excited for this, I'm irritated that my brain and work schedule didn't want to cooperate and let me read my nice pretty hardcover; I ended up getting the audiobook from the library instead. I had an incredible time, because it's Murderbot, how could I not? But it's also interesting, because Network Effect felt quite cohesive and contained on its own, but this feels very much like an in-between story (almost like Fugitive Telemetry), rather than a continuation of the same thread. I'll be interested to see where Martha takes us from here.

The Henchmen of Zenda - my last KJ Charles of the year! I did mean to get through all of her books, but things slipped by me these last few months so I still have a couple, but managed to fit this standalone in! It's not the only time she's pulled characters from works of classic fiction, and I admit, I'm now very curious and kind of want to read the original Prisoner of Zenda? Definitely this version had an exciting plot that was fun to read, though I don't think it'll be my favorite of her works (yay for a non-traditional relationship structure tho :)

Hither, Page - I don't think I've read Cat Sebastian before, but I've had this one recommended and it sounds right up my ally - historical/cozy myster/spy shenanigans/gay romance! And it was an incredibly pleasant read, would recommend, but I do think it could have been better as both a mystery and a romance.

The Haunting Season - I almost picked this up in October for spooky season, but put if off for Dec since it's meant to be wintery ghost stories - and only just remembered it in time! I almost wish I hadn't. The first two stories were so meh for me that I almost DNF'd it, I just didn't want the fuss of having to find a new audiobook for work the last day before Christmas break. Luckily Natasha Pulley showed up next with a good story (I really ought to read her books) and there was a good run of 4 stories with another 2 meh to round things out. It wasn't a total loss, but I wouldn't really recommend.

To Shape a Dragon's Breath - If you've seen people singing the praises of this book, they're not wrong! It's a very good if sometimes heavy read, and this is definitely the closest I've gotten to liking a boarding school story since Protector of the Small (I got burned out on them very quickly, lol). It does sometimes read like the debut it is, it's not perfect (lots of infodump speeches, lord save me from the technicalities of alchemy/chemistry, and I would have liked to see more done in her relationship with her dragon), but it's also doing some incredible and unique things that really make me want to see more books in this series and whatever else the author writes.

Chalice - I've read Robin Mckinley before and I've found her work ok, but this one has been repeatedly recommended in the HOTE discord server - I figured it would be a good one to wrap up the year with! And surprise surprise, the fealty-coded discord loves a book about... fealty XD and good stewardship, and magic bees, etc. It's incredibly on brand, and I had a lovely time with this fairy-tale of a book.

Mixed Magics - a collection of Chrestomanci short stories; I actually read one of the stories a few months ago due to the recommended reading order (bleh), and thought it would be fairly simple to finish it off before the end of the year, now that I'd finished the rest of the series. All fun, if not equally interesting, and a nice end to the year. Now I just need to find a new Diana Wynne Jones series to try (not on audiobook, alas, my library is all out of those).

(I did almost consider then binging the Hither, Page sequel on new year's eve, just so I wouldn't split the series, but decided against it :D)

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unpretty · 1 year

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Do you know if tor.com still does the free ebook of the month? I haven't gotten a notification from them for a while and their website is very hard to navigate

huh, that's a good point, i haven't gotten one in a while either

and looking at the tag on their blog (https://www.tor.com/tag/tor-com-ebook-club/), it hasn't updated with a free book announcement since october 2022

in theory if you go to ebookclub.tor.com while a giveaway is active you'll see a book, but clearly there's nothing there right now

i wonder if they quietly ended it

#original #i mean i would get it #because it was an extremely good deal #but i would be sad nonetheless

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the-joy-of-knowledge · 2 years

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Book club

I love reading but these days I have kept it on the back burner. I know that one of the best ways to keep up with my goals is by creating a community of like-minded people. I am starting a book club on discord, it will be open to:

people who struggle to finish a book,

people who are trying to get into reading, and

people who want accountability partners.

This month we'd be reading Educated by Tara Westover. Yes, just one book this month. The goal is to start small and stay consistent. If you are interested in joining, send me a message and I will share the link with you. We would be using a free library so that we can all have access to the eBook.

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onlycosmere · 2 years

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Free copy of The Bands of Mourning!

#mistborn #cfsbf #cosmere #Brandon Sanderson #root #cosmere merch #kind of

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landograndprix · 2 months

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https://www.tumblr.com/landonfour/742304561930371072/httpswwwtumblrcomlandonfour74203526378045440

different user here, but I finished over 100 books every year for the last 4 years, so I feel confident answering some of the questions you asked about the how. I’m in the US, but hope some of these might help; if not it might help other US readers.

I have a kindle (Ik I hate daddy Bezos too, don’t come for me I bought it second hand) they have an app if you don’t want to buy a kindle. E-readers are a game changer. Batteries last forever, doesn’t cause as much eye strain and I fly through a book, they’re small enough that I will take it with me EVERYWHERE. I have a kindle unlimited subscription, so I can read as many books that in the program that I’d like for 11.99 a month. Most US public libraries also use a program called Libby, again free ebooks that as soon as their available auto download to either your phone or E-reader, for free. THEY ALSO HAVE audiobooks! And audio books 100% count.

I’ve joined both an online and in person book club. I swear know that I’ve got someone to TALK to about a book just makes the experience so much better. Especially because everyone is reading it, you’re not just yapping. You’re able to have a discussion. I think that’s part of the reason Booktok has become so popular.

I track what I’ve read in both GoodReads and StoryGraph. It’s nice to see a visual representation of my progress.

I definitely want an e-reader but I gotta figure out if this is just a one time hyperfixation of mine or if this lasts longer than 6 months before I buy all kind of stuff for it 😂

I definitely don't like audiobooks, I just want to read words, holds something in my hand and I just don't have the patience for it 😭

I do have a silly little app to tracks what I read and how long I read- I told myself to read at least 3 minutes a day but I'm a need to finish a chapter before I close my book again kinda girl so it's usually way longer than 30 minutes.

Honestly don't know where this sudden obsession with reading is coming from 😂

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luninosity · 11 months

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Whilst I actually remember that I exist here, may I quickly catch you up on some News of various types?

1) the RomPod podcast episode that's got an interview with, er, me, and also the lovely romance scholar Maria Ramos-Garcia, is up now, if you want to hear me ramble about things! We're in episode 2, which you can find here.

2) if you're looking for a good cause to support this month, and some great short stories celebrating queer joy in all sorts of flavors, you might like to check out this anthology kickstarter from Amphibian Press - I've got a story in there! Something brand-new and shiny and exclusive to this collection! (I think we're not supposed to announce the full lineup yet, but there are some lovely author-friends in there too!) Proceeds are going to benefit Club Q!

3) this one’s probably the Big Thing - the Character Bleed box set - with the original three novels, plus new author’s note, and updated cover art - is coming June 10 from JMS Books! Ebook first, then paperback probably in about two months - yes, it’ll be massive! I really want to see it. It’s going to be...wait for it...332,890 words. (Good heavens, did I write that many words?!) It’s actually sort of experimental - JMS said they don’t normally do paperbacks for box sets, but this trilogy has been such a consistent good seller, they’d like to try at least a limited number in print. (So maybe please buy one when that happens? If nothing else you can probably use it as a hammer, or a doorstop, or a weapon.)

This is closer to the way I originally wrote it, as one giant novel - I broke it into a trilogy to, y'know, make it publishable! This volume includes the short stories that came with each book - including the ones that were never on AO3, at least one of those per book. The short stories published separately will get collected into a second volume! (I am STILL working on Leo’s book, which might have to be two books, because it is now 116k and NOT DONE *screams quietly into pillows about not being able to write short things*)

I don’t think the Amazon link is live yet but here’s the JMS Books link!

4) with the Academic Hat on, I am your Fantasy & the Fantastic Area Chair for the Pacific Ancient & Modern Language Association Conference! We've got several great proposals but should have room for 1-2 more - if you are working on some fantasy-adjacent research / creative work with meta-cognitive component, and you want to come to Portland in October, send me an abstract over here! Or, if you are in or near Portland, would you like to hang out, meet up, say hi? Or, any recommendations? I’ve been to Portland once before but also for Academic Conference Reasons, so not lots of tourist time. Awesome Husband might come this time because he’s never been to Portland and he’s got some vacation time. We like history, good craft beer, botanic gardens, water, queerness, and libraries. I think the conference hotel is some sort of Hilton in the downtown area?

5) officially got the rights back from Inkshares* for my first** novel, A Prophecy for Two! (Plus they sent me the last paperbacks they had in inventory, so a- those are I guess rare-ish now, since there'll never be another of those editions - want to buy one for cheap? *laughs* I mean I’m semi- serious; they sent me like 13 paperbacks, and I do not need that many! and b- I think that's it as far as that relationship! *dusts off hands*) Now to give the whole thing a polish and republish it with JMS - we've already had conversations about that, so it’ll happen!

*I’ve got complicated feels about Inkshares. That’s a whole other post. In the short form: did I get a book out of it, when I was an unknown author? Yes. Would I advise someone else to work with them? No.

**first in terms of being completed. A Demon for Midwinter ended up being published first, because of publisher schedules and JMS Books sending me a super-quick offer and having great editorial turnaround.

6) okay, I THINK that’s it! Actually, a totally non-publishing related thing: I just had a student submit - for a 12-page paper requirement - a paper that was 21 pages. Yep.

Honestly, it was kind of lovely - he’s a good student, he’s a good writer, and he already submitted a 14-page version that was excellent, but then he asked if he could send me an updated version “to make it as good as I possibly can,” and I said yes, because he *is* a very good writer, and then. A 21 page paper showed up in my email. Not including his Works Cited section, or the lengthy email in which he told me how much fun he had in my class and getting to write about monsters and monstrosity and ethics and agency. My god, student, I am both impressed and vaguely in shock. I mean, that’s why I do this job, that’s why I love this job, but also - he sent the updated version to me the *day* before final grades were due. (He already had an A.)

#life #teaching #romance #lgbtq #pride #academia #cfp #jms books #lgbtq romance

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colorisbyshe · 1 year

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I still think libby/hoopla are great resources, especially for people who cannot leave their homes or just cannot access the library in person for whatever reason.

But after learning about how publishers fuck over libraries when it comes to ebooks and audiobooks (they may cost 3-5 times as much as a physical book, with many costing over $50 for the library, AND these books have limited use due to strict terms of purchase, such as only being licensed out for 24 months and needing to be repurchased, possibly at a higher price, even if no one ever took them out), I think I stand firmly on the side of “If you can go to your library, PLEASE GO TO YOUR LIBRARY.”

You can place holds on books so instead of wandering around the library, you can just pick up your books (or manga! or video games! or magazines! or blu rays!!!) up at the front desk. You can request purchases if your library doesn’t have what you want. Your library might even have audiobooks on cd you can pick up while there, if audiobook is your preferred form of consumption.

If you want to make the most of your library visit, you can look up what sort of events or clubs are being hosted there and choose to pick up your items AND have a social event at the same time.

As libraries are defunded more and more, it is important to show support by making use of them. I’ll state again that hoopla/libby are GREAT ways to make use of them.

But the best way is to just… go in person. Mask up and only pick up things on holds if you wanna be safe with covid, keeping your visit to just going in and going out.

But like!! If you can go in, browse the shelves, learn what secrets your library holds (like I just found out where my library keeps the video games this year, lol), and I promise it’s quite likely that there’s more resources available than you’d ever imagine when you’re just at home downloading books off an app.

Like my library has large text books which is great for my damaged eyes. My librarians make bundle packs of books and dvds with certain themes. My library has movie showings every month of extremely recent films, including some that were just in theaters.

The more you use your library, the more your government can justify spending on it. Show your towns, counties, states that you care about your library by going.

#so much of the internet archive legal battle #has made it clear that publishers are using ebooks as the new frontier #of fucking over authors and libraries alike #i saw this as an ebook lover

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noahhawthorneauthor · 6 months

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The ebook is now free in the Fable club! The readalong will be going on until the end of the month, hop in anytime!

#phantom and rook #queer books #aelina isaacs #indie books #fantasy author #indie author #writing fantasy #cozy fantasy #cozy books #queer romance #gay romance #queer fantasy books #read along #free books #fable book club

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hellsitesonlybookclub · 1 year

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Beginnings!

Because of certain outside factors (tumblr being the only hellsite capable of the kind of discourse that book clubs need) I'm starting a book club!

We will be restricting ourselves to public domain books, with pdf and audiobook options (where available). If I can get some help, we could provide non-english versions as well. Month per book, no rush, no requirements, but the main page will be moving on once the month ends. Our tag will be "hellsitesonlybookclub".

Our first offering will begin March 2023, The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells! The links to the ebook and the audio version will follow!

Everyone is welcome!

#hellsitesonlybookclub

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tsukiyadori · 5 months

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Reading (+Watching) Log 2023.09-11 - September to November

Trying this out, not sure if a continuation is feasible, this took a bit to collect...

Reading languages: German, English, Japanese, not listing which was what

Titles are as I've read them either first or most and thus remember it for that title mostly

Not going to bother putting in the original titles of translated reads

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SEPTEMBER

Tried starting reading some of that little stack of doujins and failed to continue right after the first

Still in the middle of an Anime watching slump, but there's an actual tiny titbit watched. Somehow it was only now that I realized Puella Magi Madoka Magica apparently gets counted as a GL?

Anime:

Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie: Walpurgisnacht Rising Trailer

Doujinshi:

Gusari (Natsuki Kizu) - Kuroko no Basketball Fanbook 2: Ashita no Tenki

Light Novel:

By the Grace of the Gods V2-5

Manga:

Aishiteru Game wo Owarasetai ch38-39 Ane no Shinyuu, Watashi no Koibito ch20-21.1 Boku no Diamond Star ch11-12.2 Buta no Liver wa Kanetsushiro ch29 By the Grace of the Gods Ch35.3-4 Cinderella Closet v6ch24 Deep Scar v2ch14 Die rachsüchtige weiße Katze und der Drachenkönig ch1Leseprobe Eikyuukei ch5 Girl Crush Ch46-52 Hari to Hitsuji no Fune ch7.2-8.1 I'm a Maid, but I've Pulled Out the Holy Sword?! Ch21-24 Juuban-sama no Enmusubi: Kamiari Hanayome Kitan ch2.2-3 Kakegurui Ch103 Kemutai Hanashi ch7-10 Kimi ni wa Todokanai ch40.1 Koisuru (Otome) no Tsukurikata bangai-wink Komorebi Shoutengai no Changing Wonder ch14 Leaving Our Truths to the Shooting Star ch1-4.3 Love is an Illusion - The Queen Intro ch1 Midnight Clubbing Sex V1 Midnight Delivery Sex v1 Miryou no Otome to Katabutsu Hittou Majutsushi no Hatsukoi Kiroku ch13.3-4 Moteki v1-3ch15 Motokare ga Fudanshi ni natte Orimashite v2 Mr. Mallow Blue ch27 My Regret ch9final.2 Noragami ch106.2-107.2 Oshi no Ko interlude 1-4 Oshi no Ko ch126 Phantom Seer v1 Prinz Freya v2-v6ch18 Promise Cinderella Ch119 Re:Zero the Mansion v1ch4 Seraph of the End ch117-129 Shuumatsu Touring ch32 Sonna Kazoku nara Sutechaeba? ch55-56 Taberare Usa ch67-70 Tenmaku Cinema Ch1-21 The Case Files of Jeweler Richard Masago Nasu Part 2-3 The Devil is a Part-Timer! v18ch90-94 The Villainess's Guide to (Not) Falling in Love Ch7-12.1 Unnamed Memory ch30.1-2 Verliebt in die Nacht v5-9 Watashi wo Tabetai, Hitodenashi ch32.1-3 What did you eat yesterday? v20 Yoshios Jugend ch1?

Notes:

Koisuru (Otome) no Tsukurikata - Excellent as usual, but only a special there

What did you eat yesterday? - Excellent as usual, but it was a wee bit weaker than the last one or two volumes

Oshi no Ko - I keep going back every week

Seraph of the End - What are they even doing now. This smelled like something inbetween queerplatonic to the edge of romance (? - albeit a not exactly healthy one) for a helluva long stretch, but then it just has to come around the corner of, hey, look, they weren't even humans. Well, ok, they weren't really all that "human" right of the beginning. But anyway, can we go back to having some more Mahiro? Thanks.

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OCTOBER:

End of the month, at the same 27th October it was supposed to be a Jeweler Richard day as both the new English and Japanese volume were coming out. Things that went wrong: Seven Seas botched up v6's English release by leaving out the second half the Sinhalite extra case and the afterword. I also went out of my way to take a few days off to read the 13th's volume in Japanese in any sense of a safely time planed healthy manner right upon release, but entirely forgot, that ebooks have a delay in release date, so that one came out a week later. I was positively furious about my own stupidity and misplanning.

Light Novel:

Bottom Tier Character Tomozaki-kun v6.5 By the Grace of the Gods LN v6-9 The Case Files of Jeweler Richard Masago Nasu Part 4 The Case Files of Jeweler Richard v2.Garnet Reread The Case Files of Jeweler Richard きらきら星たちのパーティ

Manga:

100-nengo ni Tenseishita Watashi, Zense no Juukishi ni Kyuukonsaremashita: Heika wa Watashi ga Moto Oujo da to Okizukidenai you desu ch12.1-2 Aishiteru Game wo Owarasetai ch40-41 Ane no Shinyuu, Watashi no Koibito ch21.2 Ane no Shinyuu, Watashi no Koibito tokubetsuhen.1-2 Ano Natsu ga Houwa suru. ch11-12.1 Arte v13ch64-v16ch79 BL Game no Shujinkou no Otouto de aru Koto ni Ki ga Tsukimashita ch17 Boruto: Two Blue Vortex ch2-3 Buta no Liver wa Kanetsushiro ch30.1 By the Grace of the Gods c36 Dead Company v1-3 Dekiru Neko wa Kyou mo Yuuutsu ch100 Deliquent Daddy & Tender Teacher v1 Detektiv Conan v101 Flüster mir ein Liebeslied v1 Girl Crush Ch53-55 Harebare Biyori ch20.2 Hatsu * Haru v1ch4, v3-6 I've become an Omega Today v1 Isekai de Ane ni Namae wo Ubawaremashita ch12.2-14.1 Kemutai Hanashi ch11 Kimi ni wa Todokanai ch40.2 Koisuru (Otome) no Tsukurikata Ch71-72 Kuni Watari no Renkinjutsushi: Ouji ni Damasare Oukyuu wo Oidasareta Watashi wa, Aru Tabi no Ichidan to Deaimashita ch6.3-7.2 Loop 7-kaime no Akuyaku Reijou wa, Moto Tekikoku de Jiyuu Kimama na Hanayome Seikatsu wo Mankitsusuru ch26-27 Love is an Illusion - The Queen ch2 Miryou no Otome to Katabutsu Hittou Majutsushi no Hatsukoi Kiroku ch13.5-14.3-4 Motokare ga Fudanshi ni natte Orimashite v2-v3ch18 My Dear Agent v1ch4 My Regret ch9final.3 Noragami ch108 Okazari Ouhi ni Nattanode, Kossori Hataraki ni deru koto ni Shimashita ~Usagi ga Iru node Hitorine mo Sabishiku Arimasen!~ ch20-21.4 Oshi no Ko ch127-130 Rental Girlfriend v17-v18ch157 Seraph of the End ch130 Shinde Miro to Iwareta no de Shinimashita. ch5.1-2 Sonna Kazoku nara Sutechaeba? ch57-58 Taberare Usa Ch74-75 Motokare ga Fudanshi ni natte Orimashite v3ch17 The Lady Likes a Nerd over Princes Ch1-7 The Saint's Magic Power is Omipotent ch36-37.2 The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent: The Other Saint ch1-4.4, ch21.1-4 The Valiant Must Fall v1-v2ch18 Watashi wo Tabetai, Hitodenashi ch33.1 Yomei Ichinen to Senkokusareta Boku ga, Yomei Hantoshi no Kimi to Deatta Hanashi ch6-7.1 Your Tears are Mine Ch1-25 今日からここで暮らシマす!? ch1

Notes:

Arte turned into out to be surprisingly good after all. Both characterization and artstyle (especially on Arte herself) have gone quite a long way compared to the beginning. Irene is posively an awesome character and the covet yet devoted and subtly beautiful one sided GL-side plot was a surprise addition I hadn't expected at all.

Boruto: Two Blue Vortex - Sarada your earrings are actually pretty, but do you know some space time jutsu to freeze your coat in space like that without ever falling off despite all sorts of moves and jumps?

By the Grace of the Gods - The MC is technically this super overpowered character stereotype that is quite prevalent, but there's something about this character just going methodically step by step and just conquering everything that somehow never makes him come off as boringly OP. Also it has quite some iyashikei effect properties to it. It kinda feels... healthy. (Well it is a story about healing.)

Dead Company - This was kinda trash that had me confused if I missed out on some prequel (I didn't, there's only Doubt and Judge otherwise), and while it goes and explains the foundation mechanics of those two, it effectively is just a short version of Btooom.

Deliquent Daddy & Tender Teacher - Soft cheese, it kinda is predictable, but there is nothing offensive about it and propagates a healthy relationship, so worth a mention especially in the BL department. Obligatory spicy extra chapters remain cursed, but this was at least inerweaved with the characters and their relationship progression.

Girl Crush - This series has been excellent before, but with chapter 54 it has become a marvel that positively floored me. The climax of that chapter was nothing short of awesome. It's also such a great culmation of the main character's, Tenka's, character development progression in a nutshell. She was that character, which she is employed to depict in a music video, she met someone, showered her with irritation and jealousy, couldn't stand herself so resolved to leave it all behind and pursue getting that one thing she was so jealous of by going into the same career. But she also can't have in the same way, so grinds to the place in her own meticulous way. Gets this acting job where she's playing a role very like her past self and she pulls it out with this beautiful scene reel while thinking of what she almost became and then throws the papers for the scene but also at her past self. It's such a picturesque showing of how you can still be ashamed of what you were and did in the past, but still look back at it and use the experience to forward yourself instead of just desperately trying to bury it. I'm cursing and crying: Why does this series not have a print version. Neither in English nor Japanese or anywhere. 😭

Hatsu * Haru - I've read some vols of Yuzuki-san Chi no Yon Kyoudai from the author and that one was pretty good, but this this one is a patience wrecking piece of Highschool-Shoujo-Cheese. It does have some fairly interesting paneling here and there. But darn it, it's just exhausting.

I've become an Omega Today - Certainly wins a price in the "if you only talked (but then we'd have no plot)" category. Noteworthy tho for especially being Omegaaverse and not abusive or dubiously coercive. (How sad that this is something noteworthy.) Also interestingly this is the third in the set now that shares the same visual character design and personality template as I Hear the Sunspot and Summer with You.

Isekai de Ane ni Namae wo Ubawaremashita - Cute, nice dresses and just gimme those hairdoes, too.

Koisuru (Otome) no Tsukurikata - Very good as usual, this now has a sort of Aishiteru Game wo Owasetai arc atm, but it's a helluva better one.

Speaking of Aishiteru Game wo Owarasetai, sigh, I'm really not liking how it introduces some kinks, depicts the courage it needs to confess to it to your crush, only for the narrative to keep using it for gags that ultimately imo are based on shaming on it.

Motokare ga Fudanshi ni natte Orimashite - I previously had read the first few free chapters and then the end of the series on pixiv as it ran. I thought they were all just kind dense adorkable adults or a bit of late bloomers, but then it turns out that of the four main characters 3 are looking very demi aro/ace, and furthermore it gets revealed that two of them are about as officially aroace as you can possibly be without using the label.

My Regret - Finished. Excellent series that I had started at around the same time as My Diamond Star which both had me confused if it was supposed to be BL or not. The latter turned out to be one, this one pleasantly did not and was just about two very different people, whose lives get connected though an old man dying and leaving behind a legacy of grief, self reflection and self betterment. The climax would have been a perfect stopping point, but then it throws in the epilogue that comes along with a complete curveball of looking like something that smells queerplatonic and seems even more interesting. Which makes the series now just mean for stopping right there. D:

Taberare Usa - Flashback arc, so there is a break of the buns-as-sweets doom main plot. Instead lots, lots of bun cheese.

The Case Files of Jeweler Richard: Masago Nasu - I wrote about that one a bit before. But Seigi, Seigi, what are you doing with just hanging up on Richard after splurting off something like that?

The Valiant Must Fall: I thought Gunslinger Girl was a pretty good series. But this series from the same author is kinda on the nose about how much it has researched the history of that epoch. Sadly this is also the only thing really interesting about it. There's a few pages of essays by a historian at the end of the volumes and probably I may stick to it simply for those.

Yomei Ichinen to Senkokusareta Boku ga, Yomei Hantoshi no Kimi to Deatta Hanashi - This guy totally is gonna live in the end, while the girl dies, it just screams that trope. And woe and behold: Surprise surprise there is actually a possibility of an operation for this terminal death doomed heart disease teen. (And silly boy refuses to do it as of yet, are you serious?)

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NOVEMBER:

I noticed Comikey's "free" and "free with ads" per day isn't globally counted (like Manga Up! for example), rather than per title.

That caused a reading spree there, which saw the advent of a good bunch of webtoons.

There was a regular classic novel read inbetween (gasp)

Reading actually good series remains a health hazard of reading everything too quick with too little breaks and sleep (Unnamed Memory, Goddess of Healing)

I still have not even started Jeweler Richard v13 and don't dare to for health and stamina safety reasons...

Light Novels:

By the Grace of the Gods V9-V11 Unnamed Memory v3-6

Novels:

The Old Man in the Corner

Manga:

A Side Character's Love Story Ch1-14 After God Ch1-27 Aishiteru Game wo Owarasetai ch40-41 Alabaster Ch1-4 Ano Natsu ga Houwa suru. ch12.2 Arte Ch81-83 Asobi Asobase Ch1-20 Barbara Ch1-14 Beauty as the Beast Ch1-15 Brutal ch1-8.1 Buta no Liver wa Kanetsushiro ch30.1-4 By the Grace of the Gods Ch34-V8Ch40.3-4 Color of Happiness v9-v11 Crime and Punishment ch1-4 Dekiru Neko wa Kyou mo Yuuutsu ch100 Dienerin des verfluchten Kindes v6ch29-ch38 Eikyuukei ch7 Fesseln der Liebe v6 Girl Crush ch56-57 Grimoire Heilkunde magischer Wesen v4-5 Hari to Hitsuji no Fune ch8.2 I'm cute enough to get away with it Ch1-19 Isekai de Ane ni Namae wo Ubawaremashita ch14.2-ch14.4 Kakan no Oukoku no Hanagirai Hime ch7.1-8.2-3 Kemutai Hanashi ch12 Killer in Love Ch1-30 Kimi ni wa Todokanai ch41 Kindergarten Wars ch1-25 Knitter's High ch23-24.3 Koisuru (Otome) no Tsukurikata ch73-74 Komorebi Shoutengai no Changing Wonder ch15 Loop 7-kaime no Akuyaku Reijou wa, Moto Tekikoku de Jiyuu Kimama na Hanayome Seikatsu wo Mankitsusuru ch26-27 Lost Youth Ch1-2.2 Mein geliebter Gaming-Freund ist mein fieser Boss?! v1ch20 Miryou no Otome to Katabutsu Hittou Majutsushi no Hatsukoi Kiroku ch15.1-2 Monster 8 ch70-97 Mr. Mallow Blue ch28 Noragami ch108.2 Okazari Ouhi ni Nattanode, Kossori Hataraki ni deru koto ni Shimashita ~Usagi ga Iru node Hitorine mo Sabishiku Arimasen!~ ch22.1-2 Oshi no Ko ch131-132 Phantom Seer v2-v3ch25 Repeating Your End Together ch1-5.1 Shibatarian Ch2-16 The Ichinose Family's Deadly Sins ch1-48 The Lady Likes a Nerd over Princes Ch8-16 Together Forever Ch1-16 Unnamed Memory ch31.1-32.2 Verliebt in mehr als dein Gesicht v1-4 Watashi wo Tabetai, Hitodenashi ch33.1-3 Witch Enforcer ch1-3 Yomei Ichinen to Senkokusareta Boku ga, Yomei Hantoshi no Kimi to Deatta Hanashi ch7.2-8.1-2 Your Tears are Mine Ch26-31 Zombie 100 v7-9ch34

Webtoons:

A Royal Princess With Black Hair ch1-47 A Spoonful of your Love ch1-20 Blind Passion Ch1-3 Breed my Dear Enemy Ch1-43 Conspiracy of Love Ch1-9 Corridor of Mirs Ch1-19 Dawn the Teen Witch Ch1-65 Fall in the Night with you Ch0-40 Flowers for the Outcast ch1-23 Flowers in the Secret Place Ch0-2 For Stella Ch1-33 If Future Ch1-49 Night Crying Crow v4ch35 Phoenix in the Imperial Palace ch1-7 Sand Castle ch1-35 She Had You at Hello ch1-7 She is also cute today ch0-47 Spirit of Peach Blossom Ch1-27 Taberare Usa ch75-79 The Blue Snake and the Red Moon Ch0-32 The Giantess wants Love Ch0-60.5 The Goddess of Healing Ch0-159 The Mermaid Wears a Dress ch1-25 To be Winner Ch0-49 To be or not to be Ch5-11 Scroll of the White Silk Cloud ch4-31.4

Notes:

By the Grace of the Gods - Things are progressing more actual plot wise and it has had a few twists in there. The healing bit of this tale has even more strongly become a center piece and it just works. Does that count as an iyashikei? I'm inclined to count it. Also gimme some of these slimes. They seem like such a life enrichment.

Unnamed Memory - Positively excellent series, tho the ending had me a bit "somehow this is too easy, why didn't they just do this from the start". Anyway, it's not actually the end there, but Yen Press still has no announcement for the After the End sequel. Booo.

The Old Man in the Corner - read because it was mentioned in The Case Files of Jeweler Richard v5. *cough*. Granted it is very good classic orthodox mystery.

After God - This is weird and trashy, and sometimes just, uuuh, okay.... but also some of these monsters' designs and drawings are quite the eyecatcher.

Barbara - Read because Tezuka and being one of his gekigas. Same boat as MW. It was rather "what the...."

Beauty as the Beast - I've read Arcana from the author before. There is something sad about knowing how the art looked like in classic print b/w-style and then to see how it looks after moving on to webtoon, and this one is one that clearly downgraded, especially on the backgrounds and coloring. The narrative is still starting off straight forward and moving on to become about as convoluted and confusing as Arcana was. Funny also the main character is called Ines yet again.

Color of Happiness - I think I do not like that ending at all. It feels a bit like it took the easiest way to dodge the a cheese-cheese route (which would have come off as questionable given she is so young) and took the only one that was going to be safe from even any implications. And the way it went about it is a bit too deus ex machina convenient, while making hardly any sense. Do think it's kinda too bad, that it also ruins the side plot about the mother and grandmother, that wasn't so uninteresting about how toxicity gets inherited. How to break the chain could have been a nice focal theme and it's also kinda there, but completely drowned by that nonsense pulled, which ultimately renders the mother right with her telling Sachi it wasn't "going to go her way" after all.

Kemutai Hanashi - Chapter 12 is absolutely great, a generally important conversation to be had and breathtakingly beautifully depicted. I exploded in word count and basically translating most of the whole thing over here.

Killer in Love - I'm not sure what this is, it looks very toxic, but also seems to be a bit of.... I don't know why something about these two's relationship reminds me a little bit of Azure & Claude. Maybe it's this flair of this is absolutely going to be doomed, they are definitely doomed bit?

Kimi ni wa Todokanai - After a long detour from going from a shoujo-style that happens to be a BL to feeling very BL-genre BL, I finally got some shoujo feels back from it. Specifically it reminded me of A Condition Called Love, as far as I read that one. As in that talk about a sort of desperate to obsessive desire vs. someone who is on track of developing desires, but not quite so quick vs. boundaries. Considering that the talk about that in v4 was something I thought was great, if it comes back to what happens between v5-7 with all the bad dubCon glory and discussed that, maybe I'll come to like those bits in hindsight or when revisiting, too. (Personally I am inclined to suspect the drama adaption may have had a hand in this detour of tonal style.)

Kindergarten Wars - This was surprisingly way better than expected, too bad, that the art is a little bit unpolished. (Imagine that, but with, like, Spy x Family levels of art? Actually they have kinda similar vibes, just no Anya there.)

Shibatarian - It is creepy, it is horror, it's doing it's job right, but it is also just so creepy. The scenes in the aquarium were definitely quite a beautiful mood. Despite or maybe right because of all the snarling creepiness looming.

The Ichinose Family's Deadly Sins - Does its mystery box mystery very well, especially in the first half, but can't say I really have re-read urges. If there is, it probably would be about the art in the beginning - It is a bit on the cruder side of things, but manages to cement it right as its own signature style (kinda Shin Chan-wise), but then also has these panels and double spreads with an absurd amount of detail levels. Unfortunately all that experimental bit about the art vanishes after a while. (Would not surprise me, if it just was to taxing to draw.)

Together Forever - I think the girl is actually pretty creepy. But this is essentially a female Seme character and the older guy is a sort of uke. Female Semes are ludicrously rare, so I'm somehow still on it...

Witch Enforcer - This has some really good looking art, especially in the color pages.

Your Tears are Mine - Starts decently enough with centering around a little kink of the protagonist girl and goes steady with that and the relationship. Unfortunately just feels axed by the end.

A Royal Princess With Black Hair - The main is a strong female lead and perfectly cool and entertaining to follow. Also consistently solid art despite being a full color webtoon.

Blind Passion - The art is pretty good looking, also historic setting GL, Arte kinda appetized me a bit on that. Will probably take a good while until the free bonus coins on Leizhin will have collected it up.

Breed my Dear Enemy - The title is eyebrow raising as is the premise that has an isekai into a book, where the main doesn't even read the book, but just gets to have it magically downloaded into her brain, while isekai'd. But anyhow, some very digital looking, but still pretty art, especially in terms of the customes of that historic china epoch. And the female lead is a strong and wry one, that's always good.

Dawn the Teen Witch - Cute and good looking art and colors and actually shadings and all, also solid characters and good worldbuilding and weavings of a intruiguing wide spanning mystery plot next to a coming of age + romance plot. And then it just ends. Feels very like an axed series, and while it kinda ends with a finish line, it feels more like just a season end than anything else.

The Goddess of Healing - The complete suprise hit of the month out of blue nowhere. Very pretty dawings. Lots, lots of hairdoes, hair ornaments and jewelery, a huge wide wardrobe of outfits from that ~16h century China epoch. A huge display of varied pouts. The female lead is great. The whole plot is a multi layered mystery/thriller plot. It has a little bit of plot armor, but then it's also a reincarnation story with tinges of fate implied, so kinda excused. The lead is very determined and just so badass, clever, determined, who can stand her own ground, but also knows how to rely to compensate her own weaknesses. Her romance with the male lead is build over mostly intellectual attraction. There's even a little side romance of another pair, adult, mature, cute and chiefly over emotional attraction. Both have integrity at their foundational centerpiece. I quite like all of that.

(3h 50m: 1.5h of which data extraction)

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