Nobody who's graduated the Camp Damascus program is ex-gay, they're just even more tormented than before. They've been frightened and threatened into Nobody who's graduated the Camp Damascus program is ex-gay, they're just even more tormented than before. They've been frightened and threatened into submission, a tactic that's been used against queer people for centuries.
The only difference is that now these threats have been outsourced.
I am DESPERATE to know who Chuck Tingle is. I realize half the appeal is the myyyystery surrounding him, but horror authors under pseudonyms, in my experience, have other amazingly written books that I need to get my hands on, and I'm twitching to know who he really is.
That out of the way, holy SHIT, this book.
I tried going in relatively blind, but of course I snuck a peek and found out it featured a conversation camp. Take a real life horror and turn it up to 11? Yes, please.
JFC, this is so much more than what I expected. It's so damn GOOD. These pages may as well have been laced with powdered caffeine from how much anxiety is soaked into even the most innocuous of scenes. You FEEL the uneasiness Rose lives with in even the most "normal" moments, and you're constantly on edge wondering what's around the next corner.
I feel like I can't summarize anything because of how well put together this is, with each horror blooming suddenly and sharply as the chapters pass.
But quite frankly, all you need to know is:
Gay conversion camp Cult Heebie jeebies
4 stars instead of 5 because the writing was a little iffy in some spots and the ending leaves us on a serious cliffhanger regarding some familial moments I REALLY needed closure on.
But seriously. SO GOOD. Thank you, Darla, for this!...more
I think if we hadn't read The Book with No Pictures right before this, this would've been a 100% hit.
As it was, Jeremiah enjoyed this, but was still I think if we hadn't read The Book with No Pictures right before this, this would've been a 100% hit.
As it was, Jeremiah enjoyed this, but was still stuck on the "boo boo butt" thing.
This is absolutely adorable, as are at Elephant and Pig books. And so much fun to read out loud. The hysteria of the book almost ending, the laughing because they made the reader say bananas.
Read for the Believathon, category is Creepy or Atmospheric Book. Gifted to me by the INCREDIBLE Jade, who always gifts me the best books that I neverRead for the Believathon, category is Creepy or Atmospheric Book. Gifted to me by the INCREDIBLE Jade, who always gifts me the best books that I never see coming.
Lil Potkins is a 12-year old wannabe reporter. She's always on the hunt for the next big story, to get her foot in the door with an underground newspaper in her city. The underground paper is the only publication willing to tell the truth about the corruption happening in her town.
Then one day, Lil stumbles across a story she wasn't expecting. She befriends a boy in a bus station, only to find out he's kinda dead. He's a ghost, with no memory of who he was pre mordem. It's up to Lil to find out what happened to Nedly, with the help of a former PI who was investigating his missing person case.
Soooo, when I first heard the plot of this book, I was a tad bit confused about the main character's name. Lil. Sure. Makes sense.
Except when you hear her referred to as Lil Potkin aloud, it sure does sound like L'il Potkin.
I hate my brain.
This book is REALLY cool. It's middle grade, and reads like middle grade, but it has the very real creep factor I would've lived for during my middle grade years. You're rooting for Lil, you want Nedly to find out who he is. You're even rooting for Abe, our detective who needs a good shave and a fresh pair of shoes.
My preferred middle grade seems to be the spooky kind, though I always judge it based on whether I would let my godkids read it. Victoria Schwab's Cassidy Blake series is a bit too much for them. This series is still scary, but it genuinely feels like middle grade scary, as opposed to a teeeeeensy bit older, as Schwab's are.
Whoever wants us dead should just sit back and let us kill ourselves.
I don't actually know how many tabs I put in this book.
As a rule, while reading,Whoever wants us dead should just sit back and let us kill ourselves.
I don't actually know how many tabs I put in this book.
As a rule, while reading, I tab parts I want to talk about later. I've thought about doing a notebook system instead, but considering that I have a tendency to walk around while reading, it's not always the most convenient to stop and write something down. Much easier to use tabs, or stick post-it notes in a library book and rip them apart to notate things quickly.
There are 492 pages in this book, and I am absolutely certain there are minimally 300 tabs in here.
I'd gotten maybe 100 pages in before I realized there was a flaw in my notation system.
This is possibly the best book I've read in 2019. And I've read quite a few REALLY great books this year.
This isn't even my genre. This is adult fantasy, screams D&D so hard that I stopped about 25 pages in to wave this book in my non-reading coworker's face. He's a huge D&D player, to the point where his nickname is literally "D&D Boy". And when he tells me stories, my eyes glaze over and I just start nodding.
This WORLD. This world is deep enough to have a 7 season television series. The story telling is rich, and stunning, not warm but ice cold. Enough battles and scar tissue to stop you from ever getting too complacent about the safety of your characters.
And these characters oh my god, I am half in love with all of our five merry mercenaries. Well, almost all of them. I'm completely head over heels for Clay Cooper, our main narrator.
These men were THE guys. They were Led Zeppelin. And now is the age of Fall Out Boy, where they're still well respected but only from stories still told of their glory. Long separated to different parts, with families and battle scars.
Until one of their own's daughters is in trouble. Golden Gabe, whose daughter formed her own band and is trapped in the middle of the worst monster horde anyone has ever seen. And if they don't do something, there is absolutely no way she will make it out alive.
When Gabe comes to Clay for help, he says no. He has a wife, and a daughter, and a life. He doesn't want to fight anymore. But he does. And slowly but surely, the rest of them fall into place.
And boy, do they get the band back together.
The heart in this book. Nicholas Eames reaches down your throat and pulls the emotion straight out of your spine. Almost no character in here is without their charm. Even the biggest villain got a monologue that had me taking his side.
I mean, it helps that he looked like David Bowie and had bunny rabbit ears, but that is REALLY beside the point.
I am so. fucking. excited. for the next book. Just waiting for that D&D playing coworker to get to the end, scream in my text messages, and then we're on....more
Humanity had chosen the land over the sea millennia ago, and sometimes - when she let her mind wander, when she was romanticizing what she did and howHumanity had chosen the land over the sea millennia ago, and sometimes - when she let her mind wander, when she was romanticizing what she did and how she did it - she thought the sea held a grudge.
In 2015, a ship was sent by a B-movie entertainment company into a relatively unbothered stretch of the Pacific Ocean to film a horror movie about mermaids. The ship was loaded with scientists, actors, camera crews, and they had one mission: find us proof of mermaids.
The ship was found six weeks after their last communication was sent out. None of the crew was ever found. The only evidence of what happened was extraordinarily shaky and patchy video. The video would've been covered up by the entertainment company if not for the Navy sailors who leaked it to the press.
Video showing carnage. Video showing deaths, and screams.
Videos showing mermaids.
Seven years later, in 2022, another boat sets sail. This one is a lot more prepared for what's out there. Everyone involved in this project has a reason to be there. Someone lost. Reputations on the line. Theories to prove. Obsessions to sate.
They are going to prove that mermaids are real. It's going to be a scientific discovery for the ages, and everyone wants a piece.
The problem is, the mermaids want a piece, too.
Y'all, this book will fuck. you. up.
I already didn't want to go on a cruise, but after this? Fuck that noise all over and twice on Sunday, HELL NO.
This book has opened my brain to the realization that while I am a massive fan of horror novels, I'm an even bigger fan of Explaining the Monster horror novels. This book reminded me, genre wise, of I Am Legend. The book, not the movie. Because that book explains vampires while also keeping them scary.
This book is the science behind mermaids, and holy Jesus, PLEASE DO NOT BECOME PART OF MY WORLD.
Stay down where it's wetter, motherfuckers.
This cast of characters is brilliantly well done. From the scientists to the plucky anchorwoman, the big game hunters, crew members and the corporate suit.
I found myself attached most solidly to Dr Toth, the woman who has been lecturing for years about the very real existence of mermaids. She was a joke until the original ship was lost, but after that, she became a side show. She lectured to packed classrooms, streamed online for hungry conspiracy theorists and debunkers. She is here to prove she's right, not because she wants others to believe it, but because she's hard as steel and demands to know the science behind the creatures she's been obsessed with for years.
We also have Victoria, whose sister went missing on the original ship. Tory is obsessed with knowing what happened, proving they exist, bringing closure to this sad family loss.
Olivia is a preternaturally shy introvert who got the job as a host for Imagine Entertainment after they found her at a convention, dressed in a skintight Emma Frost costume. Through her work, she's opened herself up, enabling her to speak to strangers and go out in public without being terrified. She's here for her big break, enabling her to leave Imagine and go out on her own.
The Abneys are married big game hunters. They're the people you see on social media and the news standing next to giant dead elephants, proudly showing the world they're fucking monsters. They are here to be the first to hunt mermaids. Have to admit, they are needed. But JESUS FUCK, you are going to hate them. I know I did.
Even if I did already fancast the woman. Dichen Lachman, casting director, please get on that.
This world of science and fantasy and horrors of the deep is fucking INTENSE. I started reading it in Orlando while on vacation, after it was hand delivered by my wonderful friend Jes, who received it in the mail to be given to my from my amazing friend Bex. Bex is who recommended it to me in the first place. All I needed to hear was "mermaid horror novel" and I was sold.
I was waist deep in vacationing, and this book never left my bag. I would read paragraphs at a time, just in the rare quiet moments where I wasn't doing anything else. This book is filthy, covered in dirt, with a touch of water damage from being read by the pool.
I took tiny, ravenous bites for weeks because this is a book that will absolutely pull you to it and not let go until you get to the last page. You are on the ship, you are in the water. There are mermaids, we are all going to die, and you cannot escape it.
At one point, I binder clipped a chunk of book closed to keep myself from jumping to the end to see who survived.
If you like horror, you need this book. And you have no idea the ride you are truly in for. ...more
When you take a person out of the world, you don't just take them, do you? You take everything they were, too.
Fuck. me.
Fuck me sideways and twice on When you take a person out of the world, you don't just take them, do you? You take everything they were, too.
Fuck. me.
Fuck me sideways and twice on Sunday, JAY KRISTOFF WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME.
There is such a brilliance to the way this man writes, and I honestly don't know whether I will survive having his writing etched in my brain.
If Nevernight was Murdery Hogwarts, Godsgrave is Murdery Gladiator. Yes, Gladiator had deaths, but this book makes Gladiator look like kids playing in a sandbox throwing plastic shovels at each other.
There is...there is so much here. There are so many new characters, so many people to get attached to. And there is so. much. death.
But even more so than the murdery bits (and we all know I love the murdery bits), in this installment, we start getting even more information on who Mia is. Not her heritage, not her familia, but her true dark side. Mia is desperate to know who she is, and while she still doesn't have the answers, she learns more about herself and her powers than she EVER saw coming.
And everything she thought she knew has flown directly out the damn window. I should've seen it coming, and I didn't, and I'm both mad and impressed.
I have been given so much and I am starving for more. How many books are going to be in this series? Can I have them all now, please?
Also, dear Tumblr: I still hate that character y'all loved after this one. Mmm....more
I didn't want to be safe, I suppose. I wanted to be dangerous, to find my own power and write it on the world.
This is, quite frankly, one of the most I didn't want to be safe, I suppose. I wanted to be dangerous, to find my own power and write it on the world.
This is, quite frankly, one of the most beautifully written books I have ever read. Literally ever.
January Scaller was a sassy, wild little girl the first time she found a Door. Her father was off working for months on end, her mother was long gone, and her guardian Mr. Locke dressed her up like a fancy doll and treated her like just another exotic treasure in his collection.
When she found the Door, her entire life changed. Until she forgot about it.
In another lifetime, Adelaide Lee Larson was a sassy, wild girl born into poverty. She lost her father to the memories of the Civil War, and her mother to consumption. Raised by a family of women, "Ade" wanted to explore. She wanted adventure, and excitement. And what she got was a Door.
I have put off writing this review for almost a month now. Every time I sit in front of a keyboard with the window open, and the book beside me, crammed full of tabs and annotations from Jes that mark spots I wanted to triple tab, lines that just punched me in the gut. Dialogue so gorgeous I want to bathe in it, drown in it.
I do not have the accurate vocabulary to explain how absolutely special this book is.
If you loved The Secret Garden as a child. If your favorite character in the movie Fried Green Tomatoes is Idgie Threadgood. If you are a fan of Laini Taylor's rich world building and word weaving.
There is something in this book for everyone, and everyone can find something in this book that will absolutely pin your soul to a board like a dissected frog and point out everything there is to know about you.
This is a story about women finding their strength. It's the story of fathers and daughters, of relationships that span years, span distance. Of loving someone so desperately you are willing to rip universes apart to be with them again.
This story is so much more than can ever be explained in a review or a book blurb. It has to be read. It has to be experienced. It has to be cried over, and talked about over and over until you're blue in the face.
It is, truly, one of the most beautifully written books I have ever read....more
Before I start this review, a shout out to Jes Reads Books, and her review of this incredible book. I heard about it thMy 250th Book Read for the Year
Before I start this review, a shout out to Jes Reads Books, and her review of this incredible book. I heard about it through her, I was excited to read it because of her passion in talking about it. And then she went and sent it to me like the amazing person she is. Watch her review, read my review, then add this to your must read list.
Because this book is truly incredible. And there is so much to love for so many different kinds of people. You don't even know you're going to like it, until you pick it up and start finding all of the gems placed throughout.
It is the most severe understatement of 2018 to say that this book is Magical. Set in a frozen tundra in 1000 AD, this is the story of Omat, an Inuit hunter and seer born with the spirit of her deceased father. In this culture, because her father's spirit is within her, she is raised as a proper boy, allowed to (and expected to) hunt to feed their small tribe. She doesn't even realize she is a girl until another woman in their camp explains (QUITE rudely) that she couldn't marry her.
In this world, there are certain taboos that can never be crossed, for fear of angering the gods and causing them bad weather, bad health, or causing the animals to stay away so they cannot eat. One of these taboos is that women are not allowed to hunt. And as times get harder, her family begins to think she is bad luck. Despite her skill, despite her father's spirit, she is a girl. And she is cursing them.
For the first part of the book, we are focused on this small clan. We become so invested in them, and in learning who Omat is, we fall so hard for her. She is fiercely protective of her family, and of her dog, and she is proud of her abilities. She knows she has a woman's body, but she carries a man's weapon, and she has the favor of the gods. They will survive.
Then another tribe comes. And they rejoice. More hands, more food, potential husbands and wives, furthering of their family.
Needless to say, this is where everything goes to shit.
What happens to Omat is truly painful to read about. Slight trigger warnings, though major kudos to Jordanna Max Brodsky for handling a very triggering scene quickly and with just the right sharp cuts.
From this, Omat's life truly begins. Because guess what else was around in 1000 AD?
Motherfuckin' Vikings.
And they don't play with the Inuits.
And neither do their gods.
I literally cannot tell you more than this. This book is magical in literally every sense of the word. From the angakkuq magic, shaman magic, the ability to commune with the Ice Bear and the Great Wolf. From the descriptions of this world, not a fantasy, this is our world, millenia ago. Huge swaths of ice, where burning trees is not done because they are so rare. Where children learn to build igloos as soon as they can walk.
Brodsky's ability to plant imagery in the brain is the best I've read in quite a long time. I've never lived somewhere that got snow more than once every decade or so, but reading this, I had zero difficulty picturing it, and feeling the cold down to my bones.
There is so much pain, so much joy, so much strength, in these characters. Each betrayal is like an axe to the spine, but it makes the rise afterwards all the more joyous. Omat is a powerful human in her own right, and she will rescue herself and everyone else, while she's at it.
Last thing to talk about is the mythology. Or should I even call it mythology? We have everything here, from Omat's spirits to the Norse gods to Christ himself. They are all featured here, and the knowledge that these people all had to coexist at the same time, well before anyone was shrieking about a war on Christmas, and what they had to go through when they came upon each other.
I wanted to immediately turn around and read this book over again as soon as I finished it. It is so beautiful, so incredibly rich and filling. I honestly canNOT recommend it enough. Even if you don't think this may be your kind of book, it really really is.
Last note: There is a metric fuck ton of animal death in here. I was prepared. Or, I thought I was. This is a scenario where you gotta eat, which means you gotta hunt, which means adorable seals gotta go. But the author conveys the respect for these animals in such a way that all of my "noooooooooooooooooo" was mostly put aside.
Mostly.
Thank you, Jes, for gifting me this incredible experience. And thank you, Jordanna, for gifting all of us with this....more
I know everything about thee, Prosperity. Everything inside thee belongs to me. I am joined to thy shade. I know all of thy fears, thy desires, thy jeI know everything about thee, Prosperity. Everything inside thee belongs to me. I am joined to thy shade. I know all of thy fears, thy desires, thy jealousy - where thou hides thy collection of small porcelain ponies....
Oh my gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahd, I love this ridiculous book so much.
First of all, all love to Jade for a) thinking of me when she read this book, and b) sending it to me as the best Christmas present ever. Book presents are the best, and this one was especially amazing because creepy ponies.
Prosper is the black sheep of the Redding family. He's surrounded by overachieving success stories, and his family is basically the creme de la creme of their small town. Then one day, through a strange and offputting chain of events, he learns that all of the family's luck and fortune comes from a deal they made with an 800-year old demon. A grumpy, snarky, trickster demon.
Really grumpy.
Unfortunately for Prosper, said Grumpy Gills demon now resides inside of him and keeps a running commentary in his head about all the ways he's going to bring their family down.
Prosper has a very short period of time to break the curse and get the demon out, with the help of long lost relatives he barely knew existed. But in the meantime, Alastor is whispering nasty things in his ear to convince him to give in and sell his soul.
Is there a better name for a demon than Alastor? I think not.
The humor of this book is absolutely amazing. Prosper himself is dry and self deprecating, but Alastor thoroughly steals the show. I am so ready to read the sequel, and I can only hope there are more creepy ponies to come....more
You didn't expect these notes to turn into my therapy session, did you?
Every review of this book on GR includes Hamilton song titles or lyrics. And yoYou didn't expect these notes to turn into my therapy session, did you?
Every review of this book on GR includes Hamilton song titles or lyrics. And you know what, I refuse. I'm not doing it. I am NOT using a lyric or song title out of context, you cannot make me.
I didn't intend to read this entire book in one sitting. It's not a long book, 286 pages, a lot of which are more pictures than text. But I figured I'd spread it out, enjoy it.* But I also had the brilliant idea to listen to the soundtrack while reading the annotations and chapters on each, because why wouldn't you?
Yeah. So, I finished this in one day. It is not only extremely interesting and compelling, but I just didn't want to stop listening to the stupid soundtrack and stop reading LMM's stupid awesome annotations. Dammit.
I'm not really a die-hard Hamilton fan. I love the soundtrack, I can listen to it on repeat. But I think the reason is because it's a musical audiobook. Hamilton is unique in that there is very little spoken word, the entire thing is done in song. And it's historical song. I get a full story and great music, and it works out beautifully.
But there are people WAY more hardcore about it than I am, and I neither claim, nor aspire, to be that level of fan. I like my level just fine, thanks. I wanted to read this book because I knew there would be notes about the songs. I wanted LMM annotation, and there just wasn't enough of it. Ugh. I wanted piece by piece annotation.*
I'm pretty okay with singing along to 90% of the lyrics in this play. The other 10%? Is Daveed Diggs's songs. That man's rapping speed should be illegal.
I listened and read along with Guns and Ships, which is my favorite song from the entire show, about four times in a row. And I still can't linguistically keep up, and still miss words because I lose them in his speed. Good god, man.
The lyric I missed ENTIRELY the hundreds of times I've listened to the song, and which I cackled aloud at when I read it:
Get ya right hand man back You know you gotta get ya right hand man back I mean, you gotta put some thought into the letter but the sooner the better To get your right hand man back!
GET HIM BACK NOW. But definitely take your time writing that letter, 'k?
I would've been happy* with just a book of the song lyrics, with the annotation. I really would. By the time I get to see Hamilton live (if I can, it's coming to New Orleans next year), LMM isn't playing the lead anymore, so it's an entirely different experience. And while I know I'm going to love it, I'm missing a lot of what's talked about here. So, that is wonderful to see. He does talk about what singing these songs and living this character, both in the writing process and the acting process, was like.
In addition, I got to 'meet' the actors who play these indelible characters. I know literally nothing about them. Including that King George is the guy who voiced Kristoff in Frozen. I had to do some back-to-back listening for that one. I can almost here it. Almost.
The amount of trivia I picked up was truly delightful. I am, as ever, a sincere sucker for useless trivia. The originator of King George's line, "You'll be back". I had to step back for a second and laugh at that one.
Because I got into Hamilton so late, I missed a lot of the information the hardcore fans already knew, including almost everything LMM said on Twitter during the writing and his run. I wish more of those had been included here, though I was tickled by the ones he included.
I already knew LMM had immaculate taste in pop culture (seriously, I could cry), but there are two Harry Potter references, and a My So-Called Life shout-out in here. Are you kidding? Are you kidding?
I am uber focused on the annotations, because they are my favorite part. But Jeremy McCarter does an equally excellent job of talking about the process of putting together this amazing production. From inception to opening performance and beyond. Not everything interested me, I'm not even slightly a theater buff, so costuming and staging and lighting was kind of meh for me. But I read it anyway, and still got plenty of tidbits.
I don't know that I will be able to get through Rob Chernow's book. I have the audiobook, and will be giving it a chance*, but I worry. Luckily for me, this book (erm, and the play itself) is a cliff's notes version. I learned even more about these people here than I did in the play. John Laurens is WAY cooler than I thought. We also get two letters, written by Hamilton. One to Angelica, the other to his wife. The poem to Eliza was beautiful.
Speaking of Eliza. I don't want to talk about Chernow comparing his wife to Eliza, and the fact that the phrase "Best of wives and best of women" is on her grave stone. I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT.
Seriously, this is such a fun book. And it's beautiful itself. This looks like a regular historical text book, or an encyclopedia. I was pleasantly surprised at how light it is to carry around while reading. Or, I was pleasantly surprised until I dropped the motherfucker on my toe. Not as light as I thought?
Lastly? Chapter 28. Just fuck Chapter 28 all around.
* I AM NOT INSERTING A HAMILTON LYRIC HERE, BRAIN, SHUT UP....more
Considering my favorite booktubers convinced me to add this to my TBR back in 2016, I think it qualifies. The fact that it took me this long to read it is a true sign that I have too many books I want to read.
Because literally EVERYONE has told me to read this. People who don't recommend books to me love this series. I am just a failure.
And never have I felt more of a failure than when I finally, finally, finally, read this first volume.
Most people know the story of Saga by now. A love between two soldiers from two warring worlds. These people hate each other with an intensity. Think Westboro Baptist Church vs .... erm .... literally everyone else?
Marko and Alana are in a dirty mechanic shop when our story opens, just as Alana is giving birth to our narrator. At one day old, Hazel is on the run with her fugitive parents. The orders are to kill her parents, and bring her back alive. Neither Marko nor Alana are willing to let this happen.
We follow these new parents, exhausted but never willing to give up. We follow the freelancers hired to hunt them down, including one giant naked murder spider who I will see in my dreams for a long time. The other freelancer, The Will, is....very interesting. His storyline led me down a path that deeply upset me, and I don't know whether I want him to be able to go back and...fix that. Do I? Probably not.
There's also a royal guy with a TV for a face, not really sure what's up with that.
I am so invested. It is impossible not to be. I'm ready to dive into volume 2.
I cannot even begin to tell you how mother.fucking. hilarious this book is.
Legitimately. I bookmarked and wrote down so many jokes out of this book. II cannot even begin to tell you how mother.fucking. hilarious this book is.
Legitimately. I bookmarked and wrote down so many jokes out of this book. If I'd had the hard cover, rather than the audiobook, this book would be nothing but bright yellow pages of highlighter.
I wrote down so much shit, because I was going to reference all of it in this review. And at this point, it would be wasted because IT IS THE ENTIRE BOOK.
A few tidbits from my handwritten notes, to wet your whistle (whatever that means):
* People who've been inside my vagina don't recognize me. * Raccoons smell like one night stands. * Raccoon carcass on the pillow caressing her father's cheek-HYSTERICALLY LAUGHING (yes, my review notes occasionally say weird shit like 'hysterically laughing') * Jenny doing Acid - "Is this a Thundercat?" * Smurfs are bisexual communists. * Sex concussion - Fucking dying. * Victor and the "dead" 5ft rattle snake. * Helpful post-its to her husband * How is the ex-lax chapter so funny? * Chupacabra! Chalupa! * The exhumation and reburying of Barnaby Jones Pickles * Giant metal chicken * Balls * "Drink everytime she says vagina" VAGIIIIINAA!!! (That is an accurate verbatim of what I wrote in my notes) * DJ Vagina
If reading this list does not make you want to immediately run out and get this book, there is no hope for you, and also you are a robot.
Also, get the audiobook version because Jenny herself reads it and a) she's awesome, b) she's older than me and sounds 20 and I kind of hate her, and c) she's got that amazing subtle southern accent like Reese Witherspoon in any movie where she's not supposed to be southern and I love it. ...more
With 11 minutes to go, this became my 200th book of 2014. I am so proud of myself, I could squeal.
Mind, I read nonstop for five hours to finish it, buWith 11 minutes to go, this became my 200th book of 2014. I am so proud of myself, I could squeal.
Mind, I read nonstop for five hours to finish it, but
A) I've been trying to get to 200 for years now, and
B) This book. kicks. so. much. ass.
The illustrations are mind blowing, the back stories are so much fun. The dedication alone had me cracking up for a good 3 minutes. It took a little while for me to get into it, similar to both the show and the books when I finally picked those up.
I think it says a lot about a person to know what team they root for. I was sorted into Slytherin house, which I found appropriate, and for which I'm rather proud.
Based on what chapters held my interest, and which ones my eyes started glazing over, I would bend the knee for Targaryeons. And possibly Lannisters, which is surprising.
Though I would pledge fealty from my home in Dorne. Or maybe Braavos.
Did I spell any of those correctly? Apparently reading the physical copy not so much more helpful than listening to the audiobooks.
Why is southron spelled that way?! I just thought the narrator was doing a weird British thing. And "wroth". What's wrong with the word wrath, I ask you?
::ahem::
Anyway. Fantastic. My 2015 resolution is to buy a coffee table so I have some place to properly display this gorgeous book. Love it so hard.
----- A gift from my wonderful Darla, who knows that books are the best possible gift to give.
I am so. frigging. excited. to read it.
----
Appears I may do this the same way I did the actual books.
P11: Thank you, book, for acknowledging that Westeros has the weirdest, most fucked up definition of "seasons" ever. Yet still no explanations!
12/28 P43: When the regent of the Vale rushed out to confront her, with a dozen guards at her back, she found Visenya Targaryen with Ronnel Arryn seated on her knee, staring at the dragon, wonder-struck. "Mother, can I go flying with the lady?" the boy king asked. ...... Thus did Visenya Targaryen bring the Vale of Arryn into her brother's realm.
Oh, I liiiiiiiiiike her.
P58: Okay, I'm going to have to rewatch the show now.
And possibly re-read the books, depending on how much of a masochist I am.
P88: ...where his lordship was murdered in a bed of scorpions.
How is it already 9:30? It was just 6:30. What the hell.
12/29
OOOOOOOOOOOH, look, people I actually know! Hi, Maester Aemon! Hi, Tywin Lannister!
[image]
Why, hellloooooo, Mad King. Damn.
P151 - Targaryen: Slytherins. Which explains why, now that we've moved past the Targaryen kings, I'm not nearly as swept up in the history.
I suppose most would say Targaryen: Slytherins :: Starks: Gryffindor, but I'm more inclined to say Targaryen: Slytherins :: Starks: Hufflepuff. Because short of Arya, boring.
Well, no, I suppose Iron Born/Greyjoy: Hufflepuff.
I may be putting too much thought into this.
Oh, and Lannister : Ravenclaw. If only for Tyrion and Tywin. ...more