Kim > Recent Status Updates

'But observe how easy a descent it is[...] First viruses that control minds; certainly we don't want those. Then, feelings so intense they might cause damage to the audience. Then, things which simply disturb people. Finally, anything that might be a bad influence[...] And so the sentinel of viruses comes to control the postproduction of the human heart.'

'As Americans, we talk about being American as if we all agree on what that means. But the truth is that some judge truth and justice by how well they support the American way. While others judge the American way by how well it stands up for truth and justice. For some, freedom is simply the name they've given to their way of life. But for others, freedom is what they call their struggle to survive.'

'Bored with how little they actually know, people tend to fill in the blanks with beliefs that make the world a more exciting place for them. What they lack in knowledge, they make up for with conviction. As if the truth was simply a contest to see who could be the loudest.'

Did they know the full story of who they were looking at? Do we ever really know the full story of who we are looking at?

'And remember to choose leaders who love God too!' Moses reminded them. 'Leaders should let their love flow out to the people who need it most. Don't forget about them! Don't forget about the foreigners, the children without parents, and the widows. Nobody should be without belonging. Don't push them to the outside of the group; put them right in the middle, like they're covered in a hug.'

'Hold on to me! I'll squirm; you'll swerve. We will be close and then far away. At times it will be fun, and our joy will spill right over. At times it will hurt, but you'll get stronger and smarter because I won't let you go! I'll always be right here. Get mad, get sad, get tired—I'm not scared of your feelings! I love to wrestle, and I'll keep chasing you.'

Why isn't this woman curious about the children she's supposed to be teaching? I mean, there aren't any children, but she doesn't know that yet.

Interesting how these two people, whose professions require curiosity, rely so heavily on their own heuristic shortcuts that they miss and even discard important information. Interesting but also frustrating: competence porn, this is not!

This book really, really, really wants to be a TV show.

"You see, a hard heart hadn't been made soft but strong, pliable to reason. Love poured into it so love could pour out in turn."

'Evil is having reason, always, many and many[...] No, but evil is still being—is having reason—being reasonable! Mousie understands? Is always being reason. Is punishing world for not being...like in head. Is always reason. World should be different is reason.' Morality lessons from Ed the Hyena that feel particularly pertinent right now.

I do not know how to feel about this heroine. Aspects of her life and personality that made sense in NYC come across as petulant and even pathetic in the context of her hometown and family. I can't tell if the writer has lost the threads of her character or if Florence is actually intended to be an unappealing snarl of ineffectual anxiety and self-obsession.

"And may I be forgiven for passing such judgment upon a fellow mortal." Ah, yes. You should definitely be worried about passing judgment on your bigamous sorta-brother-in-law whilst forcing your your sister to marry because she decided to have a love affair at 42 years of age. The entire Westcott and Kingsley clan are TSTL.

Oh, joy. Yet another book about how passive-aggressive and judgmental all British rural people are. Is this really the only experience of rural life in Britain or just an extremely convenient plot point?

"Anyone who would stand idly by, Caesar, watching as injustice is inflicted on his fellow men, yet demanding that nobody should wrong him, well, he is nothing but a fool and a tyrant."

I get it, lady. Your pain is real. But good God, so is your self-pity. Ugh.

This dude's a pilot, right? So...why not just wait until the helicopter lands and all the soldiers hop out before ambushing them and taking the helicopter?

Wow. I mean, I knew I would, but I absolutely loathe the new book page. All the information I use in my work every day is impossible to find. But GR is so happy to tell me what other books I should buy. Um. Read. Yeah. Read, not buy. This isn't Amazon, after all....

Is anyone else missing status updates? According to my browser, I had 248 last April and now I have 152, despite adding 19 in the meantime. And there are some books with no status updates between 2011 and 2021, so I can't be the only one missing them!

It would be such a nice change of pace to read a Burrowes romance where the hero and heroine fight for each other instead of languish in despair whilst refusing to explain to one another why they can never be together.

Almost to the end of this book and someone is finally telling this dude that he's being creepy. I am unsurprised that the someone in question is his sister instead of his supposed perfect match. Yeesh.

This guy is the WORST. At least Wendy's learning things about herself and attempting to come to terms with them; Noah's just going around telling her she's not allowed to sleep with people and sabotaging her plans.

This guy has some serious issues with respecting other people's agency. I get it, dude: you have a Tragic Backstory. But maybe get some therapy? And try not to be such a dog in the manger? If you're not interested in a relationship with this woman, you have no business trying to keep her from finding someone who does. Why do authors write characters like this? Especially when no one calls them out on it.

Hurrah, Jaime/Brienne fanfic! ...Don't get me wrong, these characters are definitely their own people, with their own backstories and their own personal relationships, but there are too many parallels to Jaime/Brienne, in canon and fanon, to ignore. I'm having tremendous fun finding them all.

So far this book has consisted of 1) chores, 2) our hero being tempted by the evil god...though why he's tempted is still unclear, 3) more chores, 4) florid descriptions that render interesting places uninteresting, 5) vague hints at personality in our hero and heroine, and 6) yet more chores. Why hasn't all this Nothing been cut down to Something? Why are these people so boring? Why aren't there more crows?!?

Just casually dropping Pride & Prejudice references on page 6, like you do....

Well. That's that, then. If the dog is dead, I don't really care to keep slogging through all this post-pandemic deathscape angst. Jasper, you and I can peace on out of this narrative together....

Kit to his friend who wants to get rid of the spider spinning its web on the stairs: "Don't you dare. Just duck your head under it as you go upstairs." And when his friend turns to stare in disbelief: "It's just living its life, all right?" I think this may be my new standard for judging heroes: yes, yes, he's all handsome and smart and considerate...but does he treat spiders with respect?!

These characters are just too ridiculous to make exploring the world worthwhile. Miss I'm-Wearing-PJs-to-Lessons-Because-My-Author-Can't-Be-Bothered-to-Write-Me-Changing-Into-Real-Clothes and Miss I-Have-Every-Reason-to-Divulge-Vital-Personal-Details-to-the-Girl-Masquerading-As-Me-But-My-Author-Thinks-It's-More-Dramatic-to-Keep-Secrets will have to continue their convenient adventures without me. I'm out.

So Rani can kill people with her telepathic snake connection; no one trusts her to control her kills; and yet her first response to being taunted and abused by her future mother-in-law ISN'T to "accidentally" kill her? Why? Why wouldn't that even cross your mind as a political possibility unless you are really, really terrible at politics? This book reads like a first draft.