Ellen > Recent Status Updates

just kind of beautiful. a memorial, an art, mostly descriptions of a salt-scoured garden. Derek Jarman is a famous gay artist who died from AIDS complications - this documents this only in passing, with occasional amusing or snarky excerpts from his diary, but by and large it is about the fisherman's cottage he lived in and the garden he put together.

every day i think 'oh boy i can't wait to reread gideon the ninth soon'

of all the books I picked up to read last weekend I was not expecting "Master and Commander," the British naval story, to be the most compulsively readable - but there you go

I am listening to this audiobook because Donna Tartt has narrated 2 books, and it's The Secret History and True Grit.

After like 3 opening sentences I had to pause the journey, because her opening accent for Mattie, the 14 year old girl on a revenge journey, was so close to Bunny that I 'bout died. It settles down shortly after.

Admittedly sort of a jarring gear switch from "Beloved" in many respects

Reading because of the recommendation in this: https://www.shatnerchatner.com/p/wond...

Available on hoopla!

Exceedingly horny

I've hyped Serial Box before, but I'll hype it again: weekly fiction paid by tiny subscription fees that come straight to your inbox, a chapter a week, is such a treat. There are multiple authors attached to each story, but it never feels disjointed. Just a collection of your favorite authors (in this case) writing queer scifi about the dangers of climate change (the sun went out, forever) and immigrant stories.

Feeling a little bit like I can't finish reading any given novel (normally I am fine bouncing between 3/4 books but right now I'm at more like 6, that I Actively Want to Be Reading), feeling a bit like I should start an Ursula K LeGuin Earthsea bookclub & open yet another novel

Look there are a lot of really, REALLY good reasons to read this story, like the really cool dragons, the excellent writing, the excellent worldbuilding, how queer it is, How Good The Emotions and Grieving Are Portrayed, but like 100% you should read it because the main character had a terrible accident and now has a scaly lizard arm that changes colors with her mood. LIVE YOUR BEST LIFE.

I CANNOT WAIT TO TALK ABOUT HOW MUCH I HATE SO MUCH OF THIS

Rereading the Odyssey is weird, because it definitely still feels like homework, even though I am years out of school and just excited about the first lady to translate it into english (sparked by this article: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/02/ma... ).

excellent hook! distracting me from everything else i'm currently reading because i want to know about sailing into maps in search of legends

It's been a bit of a struggle, but I'm told it picks up from here?

Horizon Zero Dawn has flowers that have poetry in them and they're all good and then i hit this excerpt:
"When dawn hennas her hands with the blood of the horizon
Let the new bride of the golden veil uncover her shining face"
and now i'm reading ottoman lyric poetry
and it's so LOVELY

wow so this is a perfect book with a perfect open

IT'S FINALLY HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!

“You need not pity us. We have taken our curse and made a weapon from it. We sow madness wherever we go. We were the last to come from our dying world and we will be the last to walk this world, when all other things have passed away. Even the gods who cursed us will fall at last, and we will grind them beneath our hooves and dance together, and from our dance, who knows what new worlds may be born?"

I'm deeply uncertain if my < spoiler > tags are working, which sucks, because I want to talk about the subtle eroticism in "The Scorpion Rules" without, you know. Spoiling the plot.

The book is leaning hard into animal abuse as we learn abt Monster Dog backstory; makes sense but also, Not Today Thanks

I'm really glad that other ppl coped with being in the closet by making a lot of Really Bad gay puns to themselves. The snark covering the irritation is SO REAL.

"I love you, and I'm sorry you were buried alive. I hope you get over it quickly." I feel Known this is awful

I think I've finally caught up on logging my year's books, which is great because anything I've forgotten, I've already turned back in to the library. ONWARD AND UPWARD and PLEASE GOD ELLEN PICK UP A COMEDY

"I nearly laughed — they were so different, Miss Marcy like a rosy little bird and Topaz tall and pale, like a slightly dead goddess, but just that second they so much resembled each other in their absolute lust to marry Rose off." I forget sometimes how much I really enjoy a good personable first person POV. also, the phrase "slightly dead goddess" it's so perfect

I started this 2 and a half years ago on vacation & I think it is probably time to finish reading it.

I feel like I have been lied to re: the amount of murderous & fantastic ladies in Historic Literature.

I think I skipped adding volumes 2-15 of xxxHolic, but it feels like cheating to add them now. Woosp.

I have for several months this year been haphazardly reading new books whilst also obsessively re-reading the Raven Cycle (in whole or in pieces); finally I am ready and eager and dying to read one million new things & cry about them without feeling like I'm cheating on my corvid children.

"I feel like I could eat the whole world raw"