We Can't Rewind, We've Gone Too Far

I've been having trouble sitting down to actually write this. It's almost as if I'm under a lot of stress right now. I wonder what uncontrollable near-future political event that could be about.

Recent: I reread a horror novel at the start of the month which will become evident after Trick or Treat author reveals.

Finished How To by Randall Munroe and Unmarriages by Ruth Mazo Karras. Also Biggles Buries a Hatchet, all basically good, discussed in last post.

Got a lot of knitting done while reading M. R. James on The Wanderings and Homes of Manuscripts, which was perhaps not the M. R. James I would expect to read in October, but nonfiction is easier right now. It's very affected by being written immediately post-WWI.

On which note, just now finished The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal by K. J. Charles, right under the wire before it has to go back to the library. Enjoyed it and also very much appreciate the list of referenced Victorian ghost stories in the Acknowledgements.

Also lots of Kinktober.

Current: Still skimming through Painting Nature in Watercolour with Cathy Johnson, whose style I like. Writing style, I mean, but also the watercolors.

I read a third of The Silvered by Tanya Huff and liked it enough to put it on hold again even though my ability to focus on new long fiction isn't really there.

Rereading Steadfast by Mercedes Lackey. Mrs. Pollifax is still continuing slowly.

Have I made any progress on the paper books I have out from the library? No.

Oh, I skimmed the beginning of The Blue Castle recently because I had a fic idea, and I will need to read some Victorian medievalism to get a voice for that.

Future: The Halcyon Fairy Book by T. Kingfisher will probably come in soon. I also want to find another nonfiction book to read at North York Central library to distract from jobsearching. I have a giant list of options, which doesn't necessarily help.

Otherwise not sure whether I will be fine reading normally or want lots of comfort reading. I am looking forward to starting a long RWRB historical AU.

Recent: Mostly fanfic, but I did finish Blake's Songs of Innocence and of Experience, and had a bunch of thoughts. I don't think there was much attention paid to the order of the poems when I studied some of them in university, and that felt very relevant when actually reading the whole thing. (Although he did change the order occasionally, so.)

Tried and didn't get anywhere with a bunch of things, which is frustrating but I suppose to be expected right now.

Current: Randall Munroe's How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems, which is sitting in the kitchen and gets picked up whenever I'm waiting for my tea to steep. More comfort rereading.

Started Biggles Buries a Hatchet, but it's set in, or at least near, a gulag so it's not going very fast.

Did a lot of reading in Unmarriages: Women, Men, and Sexual Unions in the Middle Ages at the library, which has been great. Oh, and I read two academic articles, on Rapa Nui history as indicated by genetics and palaeolithic textiles. I miss my pensive citadels.

I'm flipping through a lot of craft books, usually ones I've read before or at least by familiar authors, and those probably won't go in the books file but they're very relaxing.

Also, mom went through the some of the old newspapers in the kitchen, which means I dug out (and then immediately spilled tea on) two magazines I'd been reading and maybe I will get back into those.

Future: I gave My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness back to the library early August when it became clear I wasn't going to finish it then, but I just picked up the hold again today.

I need to reread a certain Victorian horror novella for exchange reasons, so probably Thursday I will sit down and do that and make notes.

And then I've got a fantasy novel with a trope that is Exactly my thing on Libby, but we'll see how that goes. And if it doesn't, I got Swordheart by T. Kingfisher for my birthday yesterday so I can reread that.

So for reasons that may be evident from my last post this summer was not a great time for reading or for anything else. Except crafts. Last week I did so much crochet I bruised my fingertip. (Tumblr quilt posts here and here)

Recent:
A Short History of the World According to Sheep by Sally Coulthard started good but got more irritating over time, and I ended up skimming the last few chapters.

Very much liked Patchwork: A World Tour; I still really want a general history (specifically one starting before 1700), but this was very diverse and very pretty.

I read the first of Jewelle Gomez's Gilda Stories, which was very well done, but the author's note was more evidence that debates over moral storytelling are not limited to modern tumblr.

In August I finished another Biggles book, and now the next time I feel like Boy's Own Adventures I can get on to the resolution of Von Stalhein's arc and widen my fanfiction options.

And then I deliberately picked up Circle of Magic: Sandry's Book for comfort reading, which it provided. Also more craft books and more RWRB fanfic.

Current:
Just finished Agatha Christie's The Moving Finger in audiobook for more comfort reading. I remember liking but also being annoyed by a paranormal romance about how great small towns are, and it probably says something very clear about me that Horrible Things Happening in Nice Small Towns are, conversely, very comfortable.

Terry Pratchett's Interesting Times, because I wanted to reread a Discworld book and I knew I'd only read this one once ... but unfortunately there was a reason for that. Which of course is going to be true of anyone who wrote that many books over that much time.

Sarah Caudwell's The Shortest Way to Hades, which is great. One of the nice things about this series is that I can think things like, "Ah, what an interesting choice to refer to Euripides' Helen in this particular narrative. What might that imply for the main mystery plot?" (I'm less than halfway in and don't know if I'm guessing right yet.)

My current purse book is The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman, which will probably go slowly but which I am enjoying very much when I remember it's there.

And a facsimile copy of William Blake's Songs of Innocence and of Experience.

Future:
The library for some reason hasn't got any of K. J. Charles' recent releases.

I have another Christie audiobook lined up. In print the Caudwell will probably take me a while yet. But it's occurred to me that autumn is coming up, and this year I want to actually read The Haunting of Hill House.

This is what I posted on tumblr on the 2nd:

So I'd just got back into writing after nearly four months and then Family Stuff happened. Which of course hasn't been great for reading either, but it's nice having a habit of doing book posts.

Recent: So I finished most of what was Current on the last post and tried but didn't continue a bunch of others. Apart from that it was mostly a month of skimming through craft books and other things that won't count for my tracking purposes.

I did want to mention that Isabel Cooper's Nightborn gave me a bunch of feelings about vocations.

That said, I went to like five used book sales this month, and am again out of shelf space.

Current: Two rereads: Castle Hangnail by Ursula Vernon, because if there's any time I deserve to reread a cute children's fantasy novel about being a wicked witch it's in the bus on the way to the hospital*, and Spectred Isle by K. J. Charles in audiobook in the evenings.

Also the latest the_comfortable_courtesan tie-in novella, and Patchwork: A World Tour by Catherine LeGrand. And today I read another section of Unmarriages while I was at the library. It's much less crowded there now that exam season's over.

Future: I'd like to pick up One Night in Hartswood again. Oh, and K. J. Charles has a book coming out on the 18th.

*Not the worst possible reason to be spending a lot of time in the hospital, but obviously that leaves a lot of space for things being Not Great.

--

...and then on the 3rd things got worse. Now they're slightly better again, but still:

I never know if or how to talk about personal things online, but I've known many of you guys for about a decade now so I'm not going to not talk about it.

My dad's in the hospital, and he's stable right now but matters are very uncertain. Also whatever happens, he's still 83. So it's difficult.

The Quaker request, rather than sending prayers, is to hold one in the Light. My dad and I are both nontheists, but I appreciate messages of support.

This month I finished a queer historical romance debut novel by an author named Emma and then started a queer historical romance debut novel by an author named Emma.

Recent: Don't Want You Like a Best Friend by Emma R. Alban, very cute, recommended if you want cute Victorian lesbian romance. Also some very nice RWRB fanfic, with ideas I wish we saw more of in fiction/writing in general.

And finished Quiet Pine Trees which was a great time all round.

At work, Biggles Goes to War by W. E. Johns - if you want to read good mid-20thC boy's adventure fiction, pick a Biggles book set somewhere European and enjoy yourself.

Arsène Lupin by Maurice Leblanc, translated and possibly also adapted by Edgar Jepson (sources are unclear). This was fun, and I read a few of the short stories, but I did guess the twist on all of them, and in the novel I guessed it by chapter 5. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, and probably says more about the development of mystery fiction over time than about my abilities, but it loses its charm when you read a bunch in a row. LOVED Sonia, though, I want something with her as the focus. Also, the last scene of this was so slapstick I wonder if it was an inspiration for Bugs Bunny.

Grim Tales by Edith Nesbit - much more romantic than the other ghost stories I've been reading lately, which were mostly by men and frequently by bachelors. Which of course may say more about the markets she was writing for than about her own tastes.

Current: One Night in Hartswood by Emma Denny, enjoying it so far but not very far in yet.

Lapidarium: The Secret Lives of Stones by Hettie Judah, because I have been wondering if my brain would like nonfiction better right now, and this is exactly the kind of nonfiction I wanted.

Closed some AO3 tabs, opened some more AO3 tabs.

At work, Three Men on the Bummel by Jerome K. Jerome, which manages to avoid the frequent difficulties of Victorian Brits writing about Europe by making fun of Britain just as much. Also, I've never been to Germany, but much of his description of it reminds me startlingly of the American Midwest. Yay bicycles.

Future: Either A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court or The Experiences of Loveday Brooke, Lady Detective depending on what I feel like. Also most likely more RWRB fanfic.

And now to go make French toast for dinner.

I liked doing the reading post in January and thinking about books is better than thinking about family things! so here's another one.

Recent: Not all that recent now, but I finished Imre at the beginning of the month and I did actually enjoy it very much. It's very Edwardian, both in style and attitude, but along with the Weird Ideas about ethnicity there's also a sincere attempt to refute misogyny in gay male culture. And idk, the romance is just sweet.

Also read Wired Love by Ella Cheever Thayer and loved that too! And this one actually has surprisingly little in the way of Period Typical Attitudes. People respect each other's boundaries (or, at least, the good ones do) and there's a very nice portrait of life in urban boarding houses in the late 19th century.

Read Paladin's Faith by T. Kingfisher, which I loved all the way through, but I finished it at a point when I had kind of a lot of pain and PMS, which means I have ended up with no ability to comment on it. I liked the ground wights. Oh, also halfway through I decided Wren should ditch her party and marry me. Possibly I have a Type.

Reread an early Cat Sebastian, which, well, it's nice to see how much she's improved.

Still reading and listening to a lot of RWRB fic. I don't think there's anything I want to specifically call out as good, but it's nice and non-demanding. At least as long as I stick to AUs or shove it into the wish-fulfillment area of my brain rather than the class-conscious part. Oh, and I relistened to the first chapter of Life of Crime the other evening, that was great.

Current: In the middle of the climax of Gwen and Art Are Not in Love - thank god for skip-the-line copies, I have been reading this very slowly over the last six weeks. Recommended if it sounds at all like your kind of thing. Hopefully I will finish it on my commute tomorrow.

Have started The AI Who Loved Me by Alyssa Cole, because sometimes reading about living in a dystopia is, what's the word, sympathetic.

Last year I read The Astonishing Adventure of Jane Smith by Patricia Wentworth and wondered why she doesn't have the same reputation as, at least, Ngaio Marsh or Josephine Tey. Now I'm reading The Coldstone and finding it somewhat less impressive. Possibly because of SAD and possibly because it doesn't have any characters I straight up like as much as I liked Jane Smith. But the bit I read today had some very fun sneaking around at night pretending to be a ghost. Also a bicycle. I should read more books with bicycles.

Also I got Poetic Designs by Stephen Adams (one of my university professors) from my brother (we should have two copies between us, but mine has disappeared in a box somewhere) and am rereading that for nice practical unemotional nonfiction and nostalgia.

Future: I am going to pick up a gay sci-fi regency romance that I found in the local library and hope it is as awesome as it could be. And either Sixpenny Octavo by Annick Trent or One Night in Hartswood by Emma Denny, depending on whether I feel more like even more regency or even more medieval by then. And I have If You'll Have Me by eunnieboo on hold at the library.

At some point I'm going to go through my reading file and run the stats to see if I'm actually reading more queer fiction this year than usual. Probably not, honestly.

Here are some recs for the 3 Sentence Ficathon! This is even less comprehensive than my 3SF rec posts generally are, because work. The last post of my own fills is back here.

Random order, not enough of them to bother with cuts or separating by fandom. Format is title [if any], fandom, characters, prompt.

Make your choice, adventurous Stranger, Narnia, any, eventually, life returns to Charn by syrena_of_the_lake

Narnia/This Tumblr Post, Peregrine Falcon, clueless Pigeon, I'm so embarrassed by syrena_of_the_lake

Like a Waking Dream, Greek Mythology, Ariadne/Dionysus, drink with me by vialethe (rated E)

anthropomorphic, Yuletide & 3SF, 3SF is the chaotic crazy drunk relative by vialethe

Charming But Unsettling, 3/5 Stars, Dracula, ensemble, Dracula is convinced to give up his territorial ambitions and converts his ancestral castle into a charming B&B (anonymous)

Neko Atsume, Snowball | Shironeko, 'oh, there's a cat.' (anonymous)

Hamlet, Hamlet, liturgy of the hours by ernest

Eventually you have to acknowledge that you're never going to finish the giant smutty epic you started six years ago, and that you should just post the perfectly good sex scene that's been sitting around mostly finished on your hard drive for most of that time. Because it's perfectly good smut and hopefully it will make other people happy!

(Technically there's another increasingly fragmented 5k or so of this, so further chapters are theoretically possible but unlikely.)

Title: Are You the Answer?
Rating: Explicit
Fandom: Marvel Post-CA:TWS Nostalgia
Characters: Clint Barton, James "Bucky" Barnes, Natasha Romanov
Warnings/Enticements: MCU Post-TWS Nostalgia, Deaf Character, Oral Sex, Anal Sex, Explicit Sexual Content
Summary:
Clint and Bucky hook up.

That’s it, that’s the fic.
Wordcount: 2897 words

On AO3

threesentenceficathon is happening again—or in fact has been happening for most of two weeks now, but I haven’t gotten around to posting about it. Full time work is theft (Proudhon, 1840).

Here’s mine so far, all from the first post although the second post is open for prompts now.

( The Blue Castle (2) )

( Carmilla (2) )

( Band Sinister - K. J. Charles )

( Dimension 20: The Ravening War )

So in multiple Yuletides past I have asked for someone to write me a queer consideration of Mercedes Lackey's Tales of the Five Hundred Kingdoms. I wouldn't recommend that series to anyone (I cannot even tell you how desperately it needs an editor) but it is excellent comfort reading for me ... except for things like One Good Knight, which I read around the same time as a couple other fantasy books that were also OBVIOUSLY setting up a lesbian relationship and then randomly threw in a het ending at the last minute and therefore have a probably disproportionate grudge against. Where was I?

Right. So. This year I requested it again but then also got assigned Tales of the Five Hundred Kingdoms, and there was nothing in my recipient's requests against it, so I decided I'd write it myself, and at least get some enjoyment out of it. ...And then I received exactly the kind of queer reimagining that I wanted! And my recipient liked my fic! So clearly I won Yuletide both ways.

Because they are basically just about queer fairy tales I would not say that you need to know anything about the Tales of the Five Hundred Kingdoms to understand these fics. My gift has more canon characters than my assignment does, but all you really need to know is that The Tradition is a magical force that makes fairy tales and folktales and songs play out in the real world (whether the people involved want to be in a fairy tale or not), and Godmothers are overworked magicians who try and mitigate the damage, usually by creating happy endings.

My gift was Writing Our Own Happily-Ever-Afters by StableState, which has poly and a GREAT take on the woman-disguised-as-a-man story and also an excellent pun.

I wrote

Title: Blossoms in Ashes
Wordcount: 6155 words
Fandom: Cinderella (Perrault), Tales of the Five Hundred Kingdoms (Lackey)
Rating: G
Relationships: Various
Characters: Cinderella, Prince Charming, Fairy Godmother, Stepsisters, Stepmother, Godmother Elena (Five Hundred Kingdoms)
Warnings/Enticements: Abuse, Queer themes, Regendering
Summary: “All over the Five Hundred Kingdoms, down through time, there have been countless girls like you for whom the circumstances were not right. Their destined princes were greybeards, infants, married or terrible rakes, or not even Princes at all, but Princesses! … And there are dozens and dozens of other tales that The Tradition is trying to recreate, all the time, and perhaps one in a hundred actually becomes a tale.”
A variety of events documented in the chronicles of the Godmothers of the Five Hundred Kingdoms.

And I managed to fit in a Madness treat before getting covid right before Christmas (booooo).

Title: Nevertheless
Wordcount: 350 words
Fandom: The Waste Land (T. S. Eliot)
Rating: G
Relationships: None
Characters: Madame Sosostris
Warnings/Enticements: Poetry, Clairvoyance, Telepathy, Common Cold, London, Post-World War I
Summary: She brings the horoscope herself.