Books read, October 2025

Oct. 1st, 2025 09:37 pm
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[personal profile] brithistorian
  • 1 October
    • Flying Witch, vol. 13 (Chihiro Ishizuka)
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[personal profile] kitewithfish
I am v tired so my descriptions are a bit thin tonight.

What I’ve Read

Strong Poison – Dorothy Sayers – Our heroine is finally introduced! It’s so good, but it’s also meaningfully unfinished in terms of their relationship.
The Left Hand of Darkness – Ursula K. Le Guin – This book moved me – I had read it last in high school and what stayed with me was etched deep. But, there was a lot that I honestly forgot and the ending hit me like a truck.

What I’m Reading

The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club – Dorothy Sayers
The Mismeasure of Man – Stephen Jay Gould
Mimesis – Erich Auerbach

What I’ll Read Next

Witness for the Dead Katherine Addison
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[personal profile] dialecticdreamer
Neighborly Interests
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 1 of 2, complete
Word count (story only): 2044
[Wednesday, May 6, 2020, morning]


:: Aidan meets another neighbor, and gets another view of the impending effects of press coverage of the disappearance. Part of the Edison’s Mirror arc. ::

Back to (Un)Employment
To the Edison's Mirror Index
On to Neighborly Interests, part two




Aidan settled himself carefully in the passenger seat of the car, and smiled when Ronna started the engine. “That is very different. Each car seems as unique as a human voice.”

Ronna laughed. “I hadn’t thought of it that way, but yes. So, do you like the island so far?” She eased the car onto the narrow country lane.

He brightened. “I’m looking forward to learning what grows well here, especially as I’ve struggled to amend acidic soil in earlier years, but… other places.” His voice remained smooth, but he swallowed thickly. “The boys are going to need some time to adjust.”
Read more... )

Sunrise, sunset

Oct. 1st, 2025 10:51 pm
[personal profile] cosmolinguist

I enjoyed the sunset function last night -- after some faffing I managed to get the right amount of light to start from (fairly bright?) and a sound I like (crickets! I really miss crickets, they sound like summer to me and remind me of being a kid).

I fell asleep before the thing went totally dark, which to be fair could be because of the melatonin I treated myself to last night...but I haven't had great success with them lately.

Maybe it was just how tired I was, after a busy day at work, straight in to counseling, then eating dinner, then off to the local queer club where I'd agreed to turn up early and help set up, and by the time we left, about half past 9, I was so tired that I was yawning uncontrollably on the short ride home (and very glad that D had driven me, so that I didn't have to walk or try to get the bus home.

Today felt similarly intense: work, then an important and positive but also exhausting and anxiety-inducing conversation about U.S. politics, then I made dinner, and by the time I'd eaten my parents were ready to talk. I've missed them like three Sundays in a row so couldn't dodge it too much longer.

And that was a mental and emotional marathon of a conversation too: my grandma's house will be sold in two weeks, the upshot of which is my mom's horrible sister was saying horrible things about my mom at an extended-family event and when my mom asked if I wanted my share of the money from the house sale I said "Absolutely not," and she said "I knew you'd say that, but you're going to have some anyway, and I want you to use some of it to get yourself something nice..." Well okay then, I'll be a tax haven or whatever for my parents this one time.

And they talked about politics at me a bit (which again we don't disagree on but I'm so spoiled by my little bubble where people seek consent and check in during these heavy conversations that this drives me up a wall now).

And then we got on to their computer needing to be replaced because support for Windows 10 is ending and they thought they could just take their PC to Best Buy and get the Quicken transferred to a new laptop... I was trying to disabuse them of this notion gently when their iPad battery died because they believe you must always let it discharge completely and they never use the iPad while it's plugged in.

I'd wanted to go to the gym this evening, and suddenly it was bedtime. And my head was too full of things.

And actually I had to rearrange my bedroom a little for the alarm clock. I don't have a bedside table next to the bed; my room has a lot of fitted closets and drawers so there's only really one place for the bed to go and it means the door -- which is at a weird angle to the rest of the room because of the way the whole upstairs is, and the fact that almost every door up here opens the opposite way to the way that'd make the best use of space -- leaves no room on this side of the bed.

Mostly I've gotten around this by using a floor lamp as a bedside lamp, and shoving a piece of wood between the mattress and the bed frame which I use for bedside stuff: glasses, water, phone. But the piece-of-wood shelf is too low for the alarm clock: not much of the light would actually end up in my line of sight which would defeat the whole purpose of the thing. Also it wasn't easy to get plugged in.

Last night I balanced the clock on some good thick books, and I don't know if the light would have woken me up so I set it to make a normal sound. Then I woke up 45 minutes before my alarm went off this morning and leaned over to look at the clock to see when it would start lighting up, like a little kid. So I don't know any more yet about how or if that will work.

So tonight I've bodged a slightly better solution for clock placement next to my bed (and just as I'm writing this do I realize there's a better way to rearrange the things that need to be plugged in because the lamp has a long cord...always so much to think about!). And I hope the nice cricket sounds and dimming orange light do their magic!

I do wonder how well this supplementary daylight works on someone whose eyes are as bad as mine.

But I really should put my phone down now.

Reading Wednesday

Oct. 1st, 2025 06:22 pm
troisoiseaux: (reading 3)
[personal profile] troisoiseaux
Kicked off spooky season with Bored Gay Werewolf by Tony Santorella, which is mostly a satire of "alpha bro" influencer mentality with the wolf metaphor made literal: Brian is a gay 20-something college drop-out with a budding drinking problem and, oh yeah, also a werewolf; at loose ends, he falls under the sway of Tyler, a trust fund wanna-be entrepreneur/life coach/cult leader with big ideas for a werewolf lifestyle start-up, The Pack (Tee Em). The parts that weren't satiric were a bit twee (maybe your real pack was the friends you had all along!), and I accidentally didn't pay much attention to the one subplot that turned out to set up the novel's punchline: ... ) But it was a fun read!

Have also just started The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson; two chapters in and I already love Eleanor Vance, and especially her dynamic with Theodora. They'll be fine, right? :) Nothing bad is going to happen to them. :)

(On a very different note, I was sad to hear that Jane Goodall has passed, although she had 91 years of incredibly well-lived life. She was my childhood hero; I read everything about her work studying primates and in conservation that I could get my hands on, and my library's copy of her book My Friends, the Wild Chimpanzees more times than I can count.)

[ SECRET POST #6844 ]

Oct. 1st, 2025 05:46 pm
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[personal profile] case posting in [community profile] fandomsecrets

⌈ Secret Post #6844 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.


01.


More! )


Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 17 secrets from Secret Submission Post #977.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Gatorade for days

Oct. 1st, 2025 10:24 pm
[personal profile] cosmolinguist

I was trying to find out where the Minnesota Vikings are training in England, because my dad wanted to tell me where but forgot the name. I was trying to speed up an excruciatingly low-information conversation with my parents.

I didn't find the name, but I did read this and laugh.

Ranch dressing, barbecue sauce and certain types of cereals were among the pallets of foods shipped early, along with Gatorade for days.

I miss ranch dressing too. Probably some of the cereals. Do they get Peanut Butter Captain Crunch?! Maybe I need to find out where they're training after all... I don't care about football but if they have any leftover ranch...!

oursin: Photograph of small impressionistic metal figurine seated reading a book (Reader)
[personal profile] oursin

What I read

Finished The Literary Life of Rebecca West, felt a bit meh about it.

Also finished The Military Philosophers, which is more of Nick Jenkins being in the backwaters of the War while other people die in theatres of war or he remembers dead people. Isobel (wife) actually got to be on stage and have a few lines.

Then, largely because there had been some discussion on [personal profile] troisoiseaux's DW about his works, picked up Dick Francis, Longshot (1990), as it happened to be in a conveniently accessible spot on my shelves; and then went straight on to Come To Grief (this features Sid Halley, who is I think the nearest Francis came to a series protag) (1995); To the Hilt (1996); and 10lb Penalty (1997), which were adjacent. This kind of back to back read really shows up an author's recurrent tropes (quite apart from the hosses and the hero getting painfully done over), like, the mostly quasi-father-son relationships, the quietly competent women minor characters etc etc. The last of this run was the weakest - it's a bit odd, to say the least, to have a plot which is all about politics and Parliamentary ambitions which is rather, um, coy, about actual political allegiances. Francis is very more-ish, though. Interesting that these do not all of them bring things to a tidy conclusion. (I wonder if this is the sort of thing that disappoints the once-a-year on the beach reader?)

Preordered and turned up yesterday, JA Jance, The Girl from Devil's Lake (Joanna Brady, #21) (2025), which, alas, does one of my least favourite crime novel tropes: serial killer with substantial portions of narrative being in their POV.

On the go

Have just picked up, because I felt like it, okay? Rebecca West, This Real Night (1984)

Up next

No idea.

Ten years (again)

Oct. 1st, 2025 07:17 pm
rmc28: Rachel in hockey gear on the frozen fen at Upware, near Cambridge (fen hockey)
[personal profile] rmc28

I went to see the cinema screening of Hamilton at the weekend: this was a three-day release, presumably international, to mark ten years since the musical opened on Broadway. The main show was the recording of the original Broadway cast made in 2016 and shown on Disney+ since 2020, with a short segment at the beginning made up of ten-years-later interviews with the core cast members interspersed with footage of the development of the musical from a White House performance in 2009 to the opening on Broadway.

While I noticed people mentioning this cool new musical now and then during my cancer treatment in 2015, I didn't listen to it until 24 Jan 2016. The next day I was formally discharged from cancer treatment into follow-up. The musical became the soundtrack of my recovery, and my journal title and a number of tags are taken from it. I no longer listen to it daily, but probably every month or two. I've seen the live production in London four times and watched the Disney+ recording several times (I took a day off work to watch it the day it dropped!). Seeing it in the cinema though was a much richer experience: the screen size, the better sound, the (mostly) quiet company of people who also like me wanted to give up 3+ hours to experience this story, again.

1 October starts the University academic year and is my personal "still alive" anniversary (without treatment I would likely not have made it through September 2015). The Hamilton screening capped a weekend in which I went to see Arsenal Women with a bunch of hockey friends plus bonus Rebecca and my nephew; attended an alumnae event at my old College and re-met an old friend I haven't seen in years; ate a delicious pub lunch with extended family and made it to (some of) [personal profile] jack's birthday gathering.

Also in September I went to the Isle of Wight including swimming in the sea, played my first league ice hockey game, rode steam trains and watched football with [personal profile] tielan, and dipped my toe back into indoor cricket.

I am not throwing away my shot.

[syndicated profile] smartbitches_feed

Posted by Amanda

Workspace with computer, journal, books, coffee, and glasses.Welcome back!

This week has given me the first hint of fall. I love a crispy morning. We’re also in the middle of getting a new porch since the old one had only a couple years left anyway. I can’t wait to enjoy a coffee on the new one, wrapped in a big ol’ blanket.

Aside from that, I’ve been fully on the Hades II train. Anyone else with me?

Libro.fm is hosting a “read-in” with 450 libraries and independent bookstores. It kicks off on Sunday!

Speaking of banned books, Geoffrey posted about this  queer mystery game that deals with book banning. It’s due out next year if you wanted to wishlist now.

This link was sent in by Mimi, in case you wanted a t-shirt that shows off your love of reading smut. Also, the shop has some really cute sock designs.

The trailer for the movie adaptation of Emily Henry’s The People We Meet on Vacation just dropped! Will you be watching?

Don’t forget to share what cool or interesting things you’ve seen, read, or listened to this week! And if you have anything you think we’d like to post on a future Wednesday Links, send it my way!

ldybastet: (SasaMiya)
[personal profile] ldybastet posting in [community profile] anime_manga
Title: Nature's Innuendo
Fandom/Pairing: Sasaki to Miyano - Sasaki/Miyano
Summary: Sasaki has tickets to the aquarium, and he and Miyano find a new exhibition there, an exhibition that proves that sometimes nature is bizarre and obscenity is in the eye of the beholder.
Rating: PG-13
Content: Teen boys romance, dating, naughty thoughts.
Disclaimer: I did not create these characters, they belong to Harusono Shô. I'm just borrowing them to act out my fantasies, while not earning any money whatsoever from it.
Notes: ~1200 words. I am so sorry about this, but I saw a video about these creatures and I just couldn't stop myself. ;) The Choriaster Granulatus, or Granulated Sea Star, is a starfish that grow up to 27 cm in diameter, and all of its five arms look like dicks. They're awesome! LOL Many thanks to my beta [personal profile] zabimitsuki for the beta and also for encouraging my weirdness. :)

Read it here: DW | AO3

Bundle of Holding: The Far Roofs

Oct. 1st, 2025 02:01 pm
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[personal profile] james_davis_nicoll


The complete tabletop RPG about the heroic rats of Fortitude

Bundle of Holding: The Far Roofs

covid and flu tests

Oct. 1st, 2025 01:54 pm
redbird: closeup of me drinking tea, in a friend's kitchen (Default)
[personal profile] redbird
Bona Fide Masks currently has covid tests and combination flu+covid tests on sale at a good price. With a discount code they sent me, BFM15, I just paid $41 for a total of six covid+flu combo tests (three boxes of two), with free shipping. For both kinds of test, they list the expiration dates. The website is https://www.bonafidemasks.com I've bought KN95 masks from them; this is the first time I've ordered tests from them, but the company has been reliable.

This is probably only relevant to people who live in the US.

I still have a few of the free covid tests we got from the city of Boston last fall, but these tests are well past their expiration dates. The city stopped giving them away over the summer, and I don't know if they're going to restart the program.

Mythology, Fantasy Romance, & More

Oct. 1st, 2025 03:30 pm
[syndicated profile] smartbitches_feed

Posted by Amanda

Dream Girl Drama

Dream Girl Drama by Tessa Bailey is $1.99! This is book three in the Big Shots series, which are sports romances. I believe Elyse has enjoyed these!

A steamy chance encounter between a professional hockey player and the manic pixie dream girl he just can’t seem to forget takes a turn when the pair realize that their parents are engaged—in an all-new rom-com by #1 New York Times bestselling author Tessa Bailey.

When professional hockey player Sig Gauthier’s car breaks down and his phone dies, he treks into a posh private country club to call a tow truck, where he encounters the alluring Chloe Clifford, the manic pixie dream girl who captivates him immediately with her sense of adventure and penchant for stealing champagne.

Sparks fly during a moonlight kiss and the enamored pair can’t wait to see each other again, but when Sig finally arrives to meet his dad’s new girlfriend over dinner, Chloe is confusingly also there. Turns out the girlfriend is Chloe’s mother. Oh, and they’re engaged.

Sig’s dream girl is his future stepsister.

Though the pair is now wary of being involved romantically, Chloe, a sheltered harp prodigy, yearns to escape her controlling mother. Sig promises to teach her the ins and outs of independence in Boston—but not inside his bedroom. They both know there can never be more than friendship between a famous hockey player and his high-society, soon-to-be stepsister. But keeping their relationship platonic grows harder amid the developing family drama, especially knowing they were meant for so much more…

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

The Wraith King

The Wraith King by Juliette Cross is 99c at Amazon! I mentioned this on Get Rec’d because I was certainly suckered in by a Goodreads ad. I’ve also had good experiences with Cross’s books in the past.

A brutal, bloody war against the ruthless Wraith King has cost the light fae more than innocent lives. Una Hartstone, Princess of Issos, learns the price the Wraith King demands to end the war once and for all. Her. In exchange for the safety of her people, she agrees to give her life—and her body—to her greatest enemy.

Gollaya Verbane is determined to fulfill his destiny and his god’s prophecy. When his seer points to the Princess of Issos as the key to the rise of the dark fae, he demands her submission. But when she finally yields, he realizes Una is much more to him than a priceless weapon.

A mystery that has haunted Una for years awakens when she is abducted and dragged back to Näkt Mir. The palace hides many dark secrets…and at least one traitor. A traitor determined to take King Goll’s throne—and all he possesses. What he doesn’t know is that Una’s magick is more powerful than he can imagine, and that Goll will burn the whole world to save her.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Sapphire Flames

RECOMMENDED: Sapphire Flames by Ilona Andrews is $1.99! Many of us romance readers can’t recommend this series or this author enough. You can pick this one up without read the story arc of the previous three, but why would you want to deprive yourself of Ilona Andrews goodness.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Ilona Andrew comes an enthralling new trilogy set in the Hidden Legacy world, where magic means power, and family bloodlines are the new currency of society…

In a world where magic is the key to power and wealth, Catalina Baylor is a Prime, the highest rank of magic user, and the Head of her House. Catalina has always been afraid to use her unique powers, but when her friend’s mother and sister are murdered, Catalina risks her reputation and safety to unravel the mystery.

But behind the scenes powerful forces are at work, and one of them is Alessandro Sagredo, the Italian Prime who was once Catalina’s teenage crush. Dangerous and unpredictable, Alessandro’s true motives are unclear, but he’s drawn to Catalina like a moth to a flame.

To help her friend, Catalina must test the limits of her extraordinary powers, but doing so may cost her both her House–and her heart.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Neon Gods

Neon Gods by Katee Robert is $1.99! This is the first book in the Dark Olympus series. Many of the books in this series are on sale right now, so see if you’re missing one in the collection.

He was supposed to be a myth.
But from the moment I crossed the River Styx and fell under his dark spell…
…he was, quite simply, mine.

Society darling Persephone Dimitriou plans to flee the ultra-modern city of Olympus and start over far from the backstabbing politics of the Thirteen Houses. But all that’s ripped away when her mother ambushes her with an engagement to Zeus, the dangerous power behind their glittering city’s dark facade.

With no options left, Persephone flees to the forbidden undercity and makes a devil’s bargain with a man she once believed a myth…a man who awakens her to a world she never knew existed.

Hades has spent his life in the shadows, and he has no intention of stepping into the light. But when he finds that Persephone can offer a little slice of the revenge he’s spent years craving, it’s all the excuse he needs to help her—for a price. Yet every breathless night spent tangled together has given Hades a taste for Persephone, and he’ll go to war with Olympus itself to keep her close…

A modern retelling of Hades and Persephone that’s as sinful as it is sweet.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

October 2025 Patreon Boost

Oct. 1st, 2025 10:59 am
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[personal profile] james_davis_nicoll


You too can support James Nicoll Reviews.

October 2025 Patreon Boost
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[personal profile] james_davis_nicoll


Akiko's plan to become Japan's foremost manga artist is manifestly reasonable, so why will reality not cooperate?

Blank Canvas: My So-Called Artist's Journey„ volume 1 by Akiko Higashimura

government shutdown

Oct. 1st, 2025 08:12 am
gingicat: the hands of Doctor Who #10, Martha Jones, and Jack Harkness clasped together with the caption "All for One" (all for one)
[personal profile] gingicat posting in [community profile] thisfinecrew
Well, the government shutdown happened. What resources are out there for those dependent on the services that just disappeared?

Looking For ... ?

my posts on:


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