kennahijja | Reading

On May 8th, I offered to read the first five books people recced - assuming they were available (preferably from the library) - and I'd give a short review [https://bethbethbeth.dreamwidth.org/701769.html].

This is the fifth recced book review.

Calling Bullshit: The Art of Skepticism (2020) by Jevin D. West & Carl T. Bergstrom (recced by Snakeling)

So glad this was recced, especially since the 5 years since publication has seen bullshit grow ever more ubiquitous ("Blah blah this administration blah blah.")

The book touches on so many things: linguistics, whether animals can bullshit, the debunked but not-dead-yet theories of Wakefield about Autism, the way technology (inc. the printing press) has changed how we bullshit, communication theory, etc. And that's just in the first 2 chapters!

It also looks at ways of assessing whether something's bullshit, even when we don't have a background in the field (e.g., if we don't have expertise in vaccine side effects), and when & where - if possible - to refute bullshit when you see it (w/o being that "Well, actually...." person)

Caveat: I had to get the audiobook (regular print & digital books had 2 month waits). This proved to be a problem because some of the scientific examples were relatively technical and required referring to downloadable pdfs of graphs, charts, illustrations etc.

OverDrive used to allow audiobook downloads, even after Libby was introduced, but OverDrive no longer exists and Libby doesn't allow PDF downloading. This made following some of the arguments difficult.

What I'm saying is...if at all possible, read the book instead of getting the audiobook.

trobadora

Second day of not-a-zombie-ness! And I do wonder if it's connected to the fact that I finally managedd to write (and finish!) a fic again ...

For this year's Guardian 520 Day exchange, I wrote for

AVAAntares. Protective and possessive Shen Wei, yes! And not in the way you'd maybe expect. *g* This story owes a lot to my beta

china_shop, who made me make it immeasurably better:

The Consultant (3,830 words)
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Relationship: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan
Characters: Zhao Yunlan, Shen Wei, Gao Jingfeng
Content Tags: Episode Related, Episode 13, Canon Divergence, Protective Shěn Wēi, Possessive Shen Wei, Shen Wei's secrets, Dancing Around an Envoy Reveal, Zhao Yunlan's Self-Worth Issues, Pre-Relationship

Summary:

Never mind the chaos of the ruined wedding all around them: this was a different trainwreck altogether. Shen Wei - Dixingren Shen Wei, Black-Cloaked Envoy Shen Wei who must have used his powers to break Zheng Yi's spell - had drawn Minister Gao's attention.

And I received fantastic artwork for another of my stories, A Thread as Red as Blood, which is a post-YOHE first time at the SID. Just look at what

facethestrange made - it's so good, and captures both the scene in my fic and the canon aesthetic so well!

Attuned by facethestrange
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Relationship/Characters: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan
Content Tags: Implied Sexual Content, Post-Coital Cuddling, Tenderness, Forehead Touching, Inspired by Fanfiction, Fanart, Drawing

Summary:
They leaned against each other, Shen Wei still straddling him, their foreheads touching, both breathing hard. Zhao Yunlan felt sweat cooling on his skin as his heart came down from its race.

"Shen Wei," he murmured, just for the pleasure of saying his name.

"I'm sorry," Shen Wei said, sounding not at all sorry. "I suddenly found I couldn't wait a moment longer."
Illustration for A Thread as Red as Blood by Trobadora.

(This post is part one because once I've made my way through the collection I hope to post recs. Such a bounty in there!)

bethbethbeth

trobadora

It's been almost two months since I've posted here?!

That can't be right. But it is??

I mean, I have been in a complete slump for nearly three months now, and today is the first day in ages that I don't feel like a zombie, but still. How did that happen?!

It didn't and doesn't feel like I was away from here for that long at all!

But I guess that's because I've actually been commenting a lot - I've been on DW! I've been reading my flist, and replying to posts and comments! And I've been part of the 60-billion-comment club over at sid_guardian, aka the excellent Guardian discussions happening in the comments of the novel readalong posts, and china_shop's delightful drama polls, where we can't shut up about our fandom. *g*

What I haven't done in all that time is any real writing, other than the one exchange fic that went live last night. Just a bunch of alibi sentences and false starts. Pretty sure that made the zombie issue worse; I always feel worse when I'm not writing. But in addition to the slump, time and energy have both been at a low ebb.

So, uh, yeah. Two months! For reasons, but I'm glad to finally be breaking that streak.

In conclusion, hi, everyone! I hope to actually post more again now, and not fall into a slump again right away. (Fingers crossed!)

Coming soon (I HOPE): Guardian 520 Day Reverse Exchange reveals (preview: I wrote a fic! I got fantastic artwork for one of my fics! There's a delightful bounty of stuff in the collection that I need to sit down to properly enjoy and comment on!) and also other updates.

lotesse

</3

marinarusalka

So, after an absolute knitting marathon over the past couple of weeks, I managed to finish my blanket just in time to submit it to the county fair a couple of hours ahead of the drop-off deadline. I'm not sure I ever want to put this much effort into a knitting project ever again, at least not on a deadline, but I admit I'm very happy with how it came out.

( pics below the cut )

Seriously, how cute is this pattern?

Current Mood: accomplished

bethbethbeth

On May 8th, I offered to read the first five books people recced - assuming they were available (preferably from the library) - and I'd give a short review [https://bethbethbeth.dreamwidth.org/701769.html].

This is the third recced book review

A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine (recced by coffeejunkii on bluesky)

After a bit of a hiatus, I'm back to the Recced Book Reviews. A Memory Called Empire has actually been on my TBR list for a long time, and I'm glad I had this push to read it.

Martine's SF novel is a very good blend of political intrigue and relationship building, focused on Mahit Dzmare, a "stationer" (someone raised on a space station) who's been sent a bit precipitously to serve as the new ambassador to Teixcalaan, the main city/planet of a huge Empire.

Mahit arrives on Teixcalaan already knowing a great deal about the Empire's literature, history, politics, and language, but as most of us understand, studying a culture and truly knowing a culture are two very different things.

Anyway! Good world building and good character creation, but despite that, it took me a weirdly long time to get properly started considering I ended up liking the book so much.

I look forward to reading the next in the series (A Desolation Called Peace, 2021).

marinarusalka

Short version: I liked it!

( longer version )

So yeah, that was great fun and I can't wait to see more.

Since we got the Apple TV for this, I decided to take advantage and also start watching Severance. Just to demonstrate how out of touch I am with popular culture, up until about three weeks ago I hadn't realized that it was science fiction. I thought it was a mundane workplace drama, which explains why I haven't tried to watch it until now. Oops. Anyway, it's weird and dystopian and extremely well acted, and I've already finished season 1.

Current Mood: amused

dancing_serpent

My step mother shared these images of the church bell tower in her village yesterday evening. The message in the second pic translates to Love. Faith. Diversity. I freely admit, it left me a bit teary eyed.

Church Bell Tower at night, bathed in rainbow coloured light

Church Bell Tower with rainbows and the message: Faith. Love. Diversity.

(Click to enlarge!)

lizbee

You can read my thoughts (along with spoilery stuff for TLoU and Andor) in my newsletter, but to save you scrolling past a lot of spoilers for other things, I'll also pop them here.

( Here's a cut! )

liriaen

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

lotesse

( family member loss )

lotesse

state of the me update; medical details behind the cut

( Read more... )

bethbethbeth

ride4ever on Dreamwidth)

Note 1: I listened to the audiobook for this one because the narrator is Patrick Warburton, and his voice is great.

Note 2: I've never read ANY of the Series of Unfortunate Events books, so this is my first Lemony Snicket book, although this is a stand alone mystery (it's also technically "all-ages," but given the focus on poisoning and the philosophical tangents, maybe not ALL ages?)

The actual review? Very clever. Very meta. Quite funny. Incidentally, the purported "mystery" is very much not the point, which was just fine with me. :D

(quite short, also, if that's something you're looking for at some point)

Note 3: the reviewing plan has gone far beyond 5 books. :)

bethbethbeth

The other day, I offered to read the first five books people recced - assuming they were available (preferably from the library) - and I'd give a short review [https://bethbethbeth.dreamwidth.org/701769.html].

This is the first review - The Years by Annie Ernaux (recced by hopeinthenight on bluesky)

The Years is one of the most interesting & poetic memoirs I've read. Told in references to photos, the march of progress, family gatherings & catch phrases, this isn't just a memoir about one person, but also a memoir of a place (France) and a time (post-1940). The way The Woman sees her changing world resonated with me in a way it might not have done if I hadn't already shared so many of those experiences. I might have loved this book in my 20s, but it would have been a different sort of love

Note 1: Having spent little time in France, much of this book felt slightly alien to me, even some of the most quotidian elements (this was a feature, not a bug)

Note 2: I haven't been as conscious of reading all the words in a book for fear of missing something in a long time.

Note 3: When I finish the first 5 reviews, I'll carry on, but probably not until June.

Profile

kennahijja

Navigation

Masterlist of Fics

May 2012

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
		1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10	11	12
13	14	15	16	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26
27	28	29	30	31

Style Credit

Base style: Tranquility III by branchandroot
Theme: Olive by dancing_serpent

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags

Page generated May. 23rd, 2025 04:17 pm

Juvenile Felines Are Often Endearing!

Reading

The Fifth of the Recced Book Reviews: Calling Bullshit: The Art of Skepticism

520 Day things, part one!

The Fourth of the Recced Book Reviews: Get a Life, Chloe Brown

wait, what?

(no subject)

Knitting update

The Third of the Recced Book Reviews: A Memory Called Empire

Murderbot!

Bell Tower Pride

To the surprise of everyone, especially myself, I really like the Murderbot adaptation so far!

The Age of the Understatement

(no subject)

(no subject)

The Second of the Recced Book Reviews

The first of the Recced Book Reviews

Profile

Navigation

Masterlist of Fics

Links

May 2012

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags