emily > Recent Status Updates

well the back half of october was a total wash reading-wise, but i'm back, and so pleased to be diving into this, which is already adorable.

this is more scholarly than i was expecting, it's kind of dense. honestly not sure I'll make it through, or if i do, it'll almost certainly be with a healthy amount of skimming.

this is really great, wow. i love this investigative journalism / epistolary format.

ace Nightingale confirmed!

gus getting into drag is giving vita bohème and I've got heart eyes

this is great, but it's also that rare find, where the show improved on the book. there isn't much to improve on, true, but adding more characters and spending more time on everyone was the move.

having watched the show i thought i'd be less affected by the tension and adrenaline of the opening chapters, but nope! lol.

"Job now to get fourteen huge specimens to camp without dogs, which bark furiously and can’t be trusted near them."

genre savvy? don't know her.

old-school expedition stories are so funny to me, the way the characters talk about their expedition mates so dryly without any hint of annoyance or strife, like come on, you're stuck in antarctica with the same 20 people for half a year, surely SOMEONE snores or always takes the last of the tinned sardines or something!

the problem is that this is an AJW book so i know the odds of crane getting to go home at the end of it are fucking minuscule. UGH. i want to hug him.

as an AFAB person who has, since childhood, held a deep revulsion and terror for the idea of being pregnant, this book is everything i've ever wanted.

part 2 "second trimester" starts exactly 32% into the book, which i'm sure wasn't intentional but is one of those neat little things i love to notice.

"The youngest worms are small, maybe as thick as Crane’s thumb and a foot long, and quick as fuck."

ok i knew academically that this was going to contain more bug horror than the attic scene in southern book club's guide to slaying vampires, but YEESH.

Oh child, this world was not made for ones like you. Come with us, come with us, come with us.

love a good beauty and the beast retelling.

GRAVY BOAT???? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

my toxic trait is that anytime someone says mordecai's name i hear bradley whitford in cabin in the woods, "MORDECAI, BABY!"

“Cats don’t drink cocktails,” I said.
“Cats don’t shoot lasers from their eyes, either, but here we are, Carl. Mama needs a night off.”

i think the most fascinating thing about this series so far is how i have absolutely no ability to guess what's coming next.

i LOVE how you can never tell if mordecai calls something out because carl and donut are going to run afoul of it later, or just as fun worldbuilding, or if any of these things are easter eggs from other nerd properties. either way, delightful.

"As Miss Beatrice used to say, ‘Time to pay the Daddy tax.’”
“Wait, what? Under what circumstances would she say that?”

in the animated series of this book, i would dearly love for ashley johnson to voice donut.

you'd think with as many times as i've seen die hard, the "action hero with no shoes" thing would feel played, but it's not, lmao.

"We don’t know what will be useful and when, so if it’s not bolted to the ground, it’s going into the bag.”

i see carl shares my unified theory of thrift shopping

Carl: I know you don’t have to type in all caps. I’ve seen you do it before. It makes you sound like you are yelling.

Donut: I AM YELLING CARL.

i'm having a really stressful day and all i can say is thank god for this book lmao.

Princess Donut has named your party The Royal Court of Princess Donut.
Princess Donut has changed your title to Royal Bodyguard.
Princess Donut has changed her title to Grand Champion Best in Dungeon.

i miss my cat, lmao. this is too perfect.

"Always read the descriptions before you activate or wear something. Always, always. No exceptions."

can't wait to see what cursed pair of shoes or whatever he ends up stuck with, lmao

chuckling at the way carl stands in counterpoint to the cast of "mercy of gods" in terms of how gamely they each react to the hostile alien takeover of their worlds, lmao.

i keep having to remind myself that this isn't a Leigh Bardugo book, it has vibes of six of crows mixed with ninth house.