filk: Edna St. Vincent Black Lightning Millay
Jan. 2nd, 2026 10:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elisem (Whoever hellseries on AO3 is, this is for them, because it was their comment on https://archiveofourown.org/works/75916086 that made it happen.)
Edna St. Vincent Black Lightning Millay
Says the reader to the poet, “Your verse fine and wild
My attention has caught, and my senses beguiled”
Says the poet to the reader, “Are you going my way?
I am Edna St. Vincent Black Lightning Millay
You’ll not find me in found verse; the sonnet for me
Is the path of a poet determined to be free”
And she’ll pull you on behind
And down among the Muses you will ride
Some say that her love life is skid marks and swerves
But she’ll tell you in earnest it is Beauty she serves
She is changeable weather with a quicksilver soul
Edna St. Vincent’s not the kind you can control
But she writes like an angel with a devil’s sense of style
With heavenly precision and a wicked knowing smile
She says “They all will know some day
The name of Edna St. Vincent Black Lightning… Millay”
“Come down, come down, dear reader,” said the poetry patrol
“For they’ve taken young St. Vincent for the stealing of souls
She was speed racing Sappho, the Brownings, and Poe
Oh, come down, dear reader, to her final folio”
Now her body is broken and her breath is enjambed
She’s off to be the laureate of lays for the damned
But she smiles to hear you say
“I love you, Edna St. Vincent Black Lightning… Millay”
Vincent, by all opinions, could pour power into a poem
And take your breath and your heart before she took you home
Now too many poets — I won’t name names — they just came to play
They didn’t have a soul like St. Vincent Millay
She left us all longing, in spite of our pleas
But she reached out her hand and she left us with these
She gave us her visions, she gave us her poems
And the Muses swooped down to carry her home
And the name we still reverence today
Is Edna St. Vincent Black Lightning… Millay
Poem: "A Different Language, a Different Vision of Life"
Jan. 2nd, 2026 09:15 pmysabetwordsmithThis poem is spillover from the April 1, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from see_also_friend. It also fills the "Lagenlook / Layered Look" square in my 4-1-25 card for the Aesthetics Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with fuzzyred. It belongs to the Rutledge thread of the Polychrome Heroics series.
Warning: This poem contains intense and controversial topics. Highlight to see the warnings, some of which are spoilers. It includes a refugees, crying baby, religious unrest, language acquisition issues, emotional upheaval, crying man, reference to past tragedies, and other challenges. If these are sensitive issues for you, please consider your tastes and headspace before reading onward.
( Read more... )
see_also_friend. It also fills the "Lagenlook / Layered Look" square in my 4-1-25 card for the Aesthetics Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with fuzzyred. It belongs to the Rutledge thread of the Polychrome Heroics series.Warning: This poem contains intense and controversial topics. Highlight to see the warnings, some of which are spoilers. It includes a refugees, crying baby, religious unrest, language acquisition issues, emotional upheaval, crying man, reference to past tragedies, and other challenges. If these are sensitive issues for you, please consider your tastes and headspace before reading onward.
( Read more... )
Daily Happiness
Jan. 2nd, 2026 07:07 pmtorachan1. More rain than expected today, but we still managed to have a nice lunch at Universal Studios. We are definitely still in the exploration phase there, as there are a lot of things we still don't know. For example, today we found out that the fake buildings in Simpsons Land apparently hide a giant indoor dining area (two floors!). We didn't actually go in this time, but I'm curious to see if it's themed as well.
2. The bathroom sink was draining slow, but I got a bottle of Drano at the store this morning on my walk and that seems to have fixed it.
3. Chloe hardly ever lounges on my bed lately (she prefers Carla's bed or her warming bed), but she was hanging out there this afternoon.
2. The bathroom sink was draining slow, but I got a bottle of Drano at the store this morning on my walk and that seems to have fixed it.
3. Chloe hardly ever lounges on my bed lately (she prefers Carla's bed or her warming bed), but she was hanging out there this afternoon.
2025 game roundup
Jan. 2nd, 2026 09:20 pmpauraqueIn 2025 I posted reviews of 44 games, of which 10 were replays, 1 was a revision of an old review, and 33 were games I hadn't played before.
( and here they are )
(I made sure to number them because when I went back to number my book post I realized I had shorted myself four books! It was actually 51!)
My ongoing gaming side-quest is to play games from different countries. This year my new countries were Brazil, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Iran, Peru, the Philippines, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, and Taiwan, bringing my total to 28. (At least the way I'm counting. I realize that "what is a country?" is a fraught question, but it's also a question that's way above my pay grade so I'm trying not to sweat it for such a low-stakes project.) My list of potential games to play includes 31 more countries. There are still lots and lots that I haven't yet identified a game for, including some seemingly low-hanging fruit, but since I'm keeping it to titles that would be of interest to me outside this project, the search for options can take longer.
My game list is a bit silly right now because I decided to add every game I could remember playing... ever. I love revisiting childhood games, and I enjoy searching for obscure titles and figuring out how to get them to run, so I'm okay with the list just being long. I actually do think it is possible, in principle, for me to review every game I played as a child, while attempting to do the same for books would be totally absurd. I've read a lot more books than I've played games, I started reading at a younger age, and I think I'm much less likely to forget a game than a book simply because I have a strong visual memory. Anyway, for future reference (I know I'll want to know next year) I currently have 280 games on my list.
Of the games I played for the first time in 2025, my favorites include: Until Then, Disco Elysium, Engare, I Did Not Buy This Ticket, The Last Door, and The Drifter.
( and here they are )
(I made sure to number them because when I went back to number my book post I realized I had shorted myself four books! It was actually 51!)
My ongoing gaming side-quest is to play games from different countries. This year my new countries were Brazil, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Iran, Peru, the Philippines, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, and Taiwan, bringing my total to 28. (At least the way I'm counting. I realize that "what is a country?" is a fraught question, but it's also a question that's way above my pay grade so I'm trying not to sweat it for such a low-stakes project.) My list of potential games to play includes 31 more countries. There are still lots and lots that I haven't yet identified a game for, including some seemingly low-hanging fruit, but since I'm keeping it to titles that would be of interest to me outside this project, the search for options can take longer.
My game list is a bit silly right now because I decided to add every game I could remember playing... ever. I love revisiting childhood games, and I enjoy searching for obscure titles and figuring out how to get them to run, so I'm okay with the list just being long. I actually do think it is possible, in principle, for me to review every game I played as a child, while attempting to do the same for books would be totally absurd. I've read a lot more books than I've played games, I started reading at a younger age, and I think I'm much less likely to forget a game than a book simply because I have a strong visual memory. Anyway, for future reference (I know I'll want to know next year) I currently have 280 games on my list.
Of the games I played for the first time in 2025, my favorites include: Until Then, Disco Elysium, Engare, I Did Not Buy This Ticket, The Last Door, and The Drifter.
1996 Star Trek Merch
Jan. 2nd, 2026 07:41 pmlennymacb posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
little_detailsHowdy! My screenplay takes place in rural North Dakota in November 1996, and two teenage characters are fans of Star Trek: The Next Generation. I know the bat'leth as a weapon was introduced in the show long ago, but when did replicas and toys become widely sold? Would it be realistic for a working-class young woman to have a mini bat'leth she could use as a knife in that year? I also read that the mek'leth (smaller Klingon scimitar) was introduced in DS9 and also appeared in First Contact. How early were replicas of those available to fans?
Thanks a million to you all! Would also love to hear any other miscellaneous stories or details of the TNG+DS9 fandom of the 90s, to give some extra oomph and care to an underrepresented community :)
Thanks a million to you all! Would also love to hear any other miscellaneous stories or details of the TNG+DS9 fandom of the 90s, to give some extra oomph and care to an underrepresented community :)
Snowflake Challenge: day 1
Jan. 3rd, 2026 01:28 amdancesontrains
Challenge #1
The Icebreaker Challenge: Introduce yourself. Tell us why you're doing the challenge, and what you hope to gain from it.
I've been wanting to use this space more, and it's been a long time since I posted regularly so this challenge looked like a fun way to ease back into it -
Hi, I'm Dances (not my wallet name, that's on a need-to-know basis.) I'm a queer trans Desi guy in his late thirties living in a suburb of one of the larger Northern cities in England, Manchester. I moved here about seven years ago as I wanted to be nearer some family who were more accepting of my transition than my parents were and are.
I recently finished studying for an undergraduate degree in Sociology, and am now doing a CILIP certified part-time postgrad course focusing on being a librarian. (I know the public field in the UK is dying after years of austerity - as much as I love public libraries, I'm more interested in something like academic or health librarianship or related fields, I don't have the temperament for public facing work.)
I'm also long-term disabled due to a small pile of mental health issues - so far I've been diagnosed with depression, anxiety and ADHD, and spent years trying to be seen for a autism diagnosis but the paperwork was lost somewhere and I gave up. The diagnosis wouldn't mean any extra support, as far as I know; it also further limits my future emigration options as many countries refuse to grant residency to folk with that diagnosis.
Talking of, I have a fiance (he/him, sey/sem pronouns.) Sey live in (Deep South state) in the US. Neither of us are blessed with extra cash so IRL visits have been extremely limited over the past seven and a half years of online dating; sey're hopefully coming to visit me this year and I am bouncing out of my skin with excitement :D We plan to marry once I've finished my current postgrad, though immigration stuff is hellish even with our US and UK passports and borders shouldn't exist.
![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
3256. Snowflake Challenge time!
Jan. 2nd, 2026 09:12 pmhitokageChallenge #1: The Icebreaker Challenge: Introduce yourself. Tell us why you're doing the challenge, and what you hope to gain from it.
For those who may be new, hi! I'm Lise, also known as Selah, Yuuana, Jagu, and/or The Kpop Abuela, grandmother of six but also a genuine Fandom Old. Queer (NB she/her) Latine/Chicana professional Tarot reader, semi-pro writer of queer fiction, amateur music journalist, and hobbiest in an array of other arts and crafts. I'm also a moderator for the writing challengegetyourwordsout (pledging is still open, come join us!), wildly pagan, and a semi-retired feral cat rescue/foster mom (we're not taking in anyone new if we can help it, but we still have the local colony we keep eyes on).
As for why I'm doing Snowflake ... it's one part tradition, one part journal refresh, and one part interest in making new connections. My journal is mostly locked these days for various privacy reasons, but we can still chat and maybe even make friends out of this crazy time.
For those who may be new, hi! I'm Lise, also known as Selah, Yuuana, Jagu, and/or The Kpop Abuela, grandmother of six but also a genuine Fandom Old. Queer (NB she/her) Latine/Chicana professional Tarot reader, semi-pro writer of queer fiction, amateur music journalist, and hobbiest in an array of other arts and crafts. I'm also a moderator for the writing challenge
getyourwordsout (pledging is still open, come join us!), wildly pagan, and a semi-retired feral cat rescue/foster mom (we're not taking in anyone new if we can help it, but we still have the local colony we keep eyes on).As for why I'm doing Snowflake ... it's one part tradition, one part journal refresh, and one part interest in making new connections. My journal is mostly locked these days for various privacy reasons, but we can still chat and maybe even make friends out of this crazy time.
2025
Jan. 3rd, 2026 10:43 ammatsushima posting in threeforthememoriesThere's a superstition in Japan that certain ages are unlucky. The year you turn 36 is unlucky for women. (There are only two options.) I turned 36 in 2025 and it was a bad year for me!
… which is why I'm starting with this selfie:
I participated in this community in 2023 and 2024, too.
… which is why I'm starting with this selfie:
I participated in this community in 2023 and 2024, too.
2026 Universal Studios Trip #1 (1/2/26)
Jan. 2nd, 2026 05:12 pmtorachanSince I have another four day weekend, I asked Carla if she wanted to do something else one of the days, and she said she wanted to go to Universal again. The forecast has more rain for Saturday and Sunday, so we decided to go today since it was supposed to be clear all day (as of yesterday) and then no rain until around 3pm (as of this morning).
( Read more... )
( Read more... )
Daily Check In.
Jan. 2nd, 2026 07:09 pmadafrog posting in fandom_checkinThis is your check-in post for today. The poll will be open from midnight Universal or Zulu Time (8pm Eastern Time) on Friday to midnight on Saturday (8pm Eastern Time).
Please, talk about how things are going for you in the comments, ask for advice or help if you need it, or just discuss whatever you feel like.
Poll #34039 Daily poll
Open to: Access List, detailed results viewable to: Access List, participants: 21
How are you doing?
I am okay
14 (70.0%)
I am not okay, but don't need help right now
6 (30.0%)
I could use some help.
0 (0.0%)
How many other humans are you living with?
I am living single
7 (33.3%)
One other person
9 (42.9%)
More than one other person
5 (23.8%)
Please, talk about how things are going for you in the comments, ask for advice or help if you need it, or just discuss whatever you feel like.
We've found where the divide is thin and chosen the other side
Jan. 2nd, 2026 07:20 pmsovayThe afternoon's mail brought my contributor's copy of Not One of Us #85, containing my poem "The Avalon Procedure." It is the Arthurian one, in debt to and argument with Bryher. It belongs to the outsider issue which kicks off the 'zine's fortieth year of alienation, characteristically incarnated by the short fiction and poetry of Steve Toase, Devan Barlow, Lauren Hruska, and Gwynne Garfinkle among others. The threshold shadow of the cover art by John and Flo Stanton is an excellent advertisement, or harbinger. Pick up a copy or contribute to the strangeness yourself. I remain so glad it sneaked into our reality.
"These clocks are like Time herself. Magnificent edifices, but secretly fragile. In need of constant attention . . . Forgive me. My pet subject, Time." I didn't realize until I opened the jewel case that Sigil (2023) was dedicated to the memory of Murray Melvin: it was his last recording for Big Finish, released posthumously. It starts like a classic M. R. James with a series of weird and hauntological misfortunes attending a three-thousand-year-old bronze bird ever since its ill-omened excavation in the Victorian era and then it twists much more cosmic, with a pure sting of Sapphire & Steel. I can't tell if it was designed as a farewell, but it makes a tantalizing final communiqué from Bilis Manger, a gorgeous, wickedly silken and knowing performance from Melvin whose voice caresses a stone circle because it's "an ancient timepiece" and can put a harvest-withering contempt into a statement like "I've never owned a scatter cushion in my life." There's a sort of promotional interview at the end of the CD, but it poignantly does not include Melvin. The last we hear of him is in definitive character, so much time echoing backward and forward in his voice that was then eighty-nine human years old and still made you think there could be younger barrows, meadows, stars. "What could murder a murder of crows?"
I had no idea about this historical reenactment at Prospect Hill, but I am happy to read of its turnout in the new snow. I have not gotten the sestercentennial onto my mental calendar. I am still not convinced of this decade at all.
"These clocks are like Time herself. Magnificent edifices, but secretly fragile. In need of constant attention . . . Forgive me. My pet subject, Time." I didn't realize until I opened the jewel case that Sigil (2023) was dedicated to the memory of Murray Melvin: it was his last recording for Big Finish, released posthumously. It starts like a classic M. R. James with a series of weird and hauntological misfortunes attending a three-thousand-year-old bronze bird ever since its ill-omened excavation in the Victorian era and then it twists much more cosmic, with a pure sting of Sapphire & Steel. I can't tell if it was designed as a farewell, but it makes a tantalizing final communiqué from Bilis Manger, a gorgeous, wickedly silken and knowing performance from Melvin whose voice caresses a stone circle because it's "an ancient timepiece" and can put a harvest-withering contempt into a statement like "I've never owned a scatter cushion in my life." There's a sort of promotional interview at the end of the CD, but it poignantly does not include Melvin. The last we hear of him is in definitive character, so much time echoing backward and forward in his voice that was then eighty-nine human years old and still made you think there could be younger barrows, meadows, stars. "What could murder a murder of crows?"
I had no idea about this historical reenactment at Prospect Hill, but I am happy to read of its turnout in the new snow. I have not gotten the sestercentennial onto my mental calendar. I am still not convinced of this decade at all.
Three for the Memories Now Open!
Jan. 2nd, 2026 03:29 pmyourlibrarian posting in threeforthememoriesthreeforthememories is now open! You can join and share your photos at any time between now and January 24th. Please refer to the 3 rules in the profile page, and feel free to ask anything here.Let's all share 2025 memories!
Happy New Year! Some (not all happy) nonfiction
Jan. 2nd, 2026 06:58 pmrivkatAnnalee Newitz, Stories Are Weapons: Psychological Warfare and the American Mind: ( history and present )
Luke Kemp, Goliath’s Curse: The History and Future of Societal Collapse: ( not what I hoped )
Justin F. Jackson, The Work of Empire: War, Occupation, and the Making of American Colonialism in Cuba and the Philippines: ( so shockingly, racist! )
Elliott West, Continental Reckoning: The American West in the Age of Expansion: ( this too )
Nicole Eustace, Covered with Night: A Story of Murder and Indigenous Justice in Early America: ( um ... )
Charles S. Maier, The Project-State and Its Rivals: A New History of the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries: ( history as forces )
Mary Louise Roberts, What Soldiers Do: Sex and the American GI in World War II France:( it's complicated? but also racist; rape and rape myths )
Caroline Fraser, Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers: ( Helter Smelter (her joke, not mine) )
Ada Palmer, Inventing the Renaissance: The Myth of a Golden Age: ( lots'o'quotes )
Elliott Kalan, Joke Farming: How to Write Comedy and Other Nonsense: ( good instructions )
Luke Kemp, Goliath’s Curse: The History and Future of Societal Collapse: ( not what I hoped )
Justin F. Jackson, The Work of Empire: War, Occupation, and the Making of American Colonialism in Cuba and the Philippines: ( so shockingly, racist! )
Elliott West, Continental Reckoning: The American West in the Age of Expansion: ( this too )
Nicole Eustace, Covered with Night: A Story of Murder and Indigenous Justice in Early America: ( um ... )
Charles S. Maier, The Project-State and Its Rivals: A New History of the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries: ( history as forces )
Mary Louise Roberts, What Soldiers Do: Sex and the American GI in World War II France:( it's complicated? but also racist; rape and rape myths )
Caroline Fraser, Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers: ( Helter Smelter (her joke, not mine) )
Ada Palmer, Inventing the Renaissance: The Myth of a Golden Age: ( lots'o'quotes )
Elliott Kalan, Joke Farming: How to Write Comedy and Other Nonsense: ( good instructions )
Yuletide reveals!
Jan. 2nd, 2026 11:42 pmsoupytwistYuletide reveals have happened!
My gift was What Comes After Tea by Dira, a delightful Gabriel Ward story. I love those books and this fully had the vibe.
I, however, did this:
The Table Is Eternal (1030 words) by soupytwist
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Dimension 20: On A Bus
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Aabria Iyengar, Brennan Lee Mulligan, Matthew Mercer, Katie Marovitch, Jasmine Bhullar
Additional Tags: not exactly rpf but, rpg madness
Summary:
Yep, I inflicted Dimension 20: On a Bus fic on the world, which was both very easy and very difficult. Easy, because I love these people and I enjoy ridiculousness. Difficult, because I was sort of hoping to do an actual RPG plot but then when I reviewed the canon for like the 57th time and still didn't find any sort of hook to hang plot on, I had to admit it might be Too Crack For That. But I had a great time and it is nice to be back into Yuletiding again!
... maybe I will get back into Dreamwidth this year? Stranger things have happened.
My gift was What Comes After Tea by Dira, a delightful Gabriel Ward story. I love those books and this fully had the vibe.
I, however, did this:
The Table Is Eternal (1030 words) by soupytwist
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Dimension 20: On A Bus
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Aabria Iyengar, Brennan Lee Mulligan, Matthew Mercer, Katie Marovitch, Jasmine Bhullar
Additional Tags: not exactly rpf but, rpg madness
Summary:
"Hello everyone and welcome back to Dimenson 20: On a Bus. I am your humble Dragon Master, Katie Marovitch, and with me as always are – hey, stop poking me!"
Yep, I inflicted Dimension 20: On a Bus fic on the world, which was both very easy and very difficult. Easy, because I love these people and I enjoy ridiculousness. Difficult, because I was sort of hoping to do an actual RPG plot but then when I reviewed the canon for like the 57th time and still didn't find any sort of hook to hang plot on, I had to admit it might be Too Crack For That. But I had a great time and it is nice to be back into Yuletiding again!
... maybe I will get back into Dreamwidth this year? Stranger things have happened.
Snow! (Just about)
Jan. 2nd, 2026 11:38 pmloganberrybunnyPublic
336/365: Bark Avenue window, Bewdley
Click for a larger, sharper image
A very tiny bit of snow today. Just a few flakes on the wind, really, but the first snow we've had this winter nevertheless. Otherwise it was a reasonable, if chilly, day with a decent amount of sunshine on and off. This is the frontage of the Bark Avenue shop in Bewdley. As its name suggests, it's one of those "gift shop for dogs" places, so not somewhere I ever go into. I do like the window display, though!
336/365: Bark Avenue window, Bewdley
Click for a larger, sharper image
A very tiny bit of snow today. Just a few flakes on the wind, really, but the first snow we've had this winter nevertheless. Otherwise it was a reasonable, if chilly, day with a decent amount of sunshine on and off. This is the frontage of the Bark Avenue shop in Bewdley. As its name suggests, it's one of those "gift shop for dogs" places, so not somewhere I ever go into. I do like the window display, though!
Disco Elysium; Death Note: THE HIT AND RUN by brawltogethernow
Jan. 3rd, 2026 12:27 amsasheneskywalker posting in fancakeFandom: Disco Elysium, Death Note
Pairings/Characters: L/Yagami Light, Harry Du Bois & Kim Kitsuragi
Rating: Mature
Length: 36,039 words
Creator Links:![[archiveofourown.org profile]](https://p2.dreamwidth.org/b164c54b26e4/-/archiveofourown.org/favicon.ico)
brawltogethernow
Theme: crack treated seriously, crossover, casefic, unconventional format
Summary: Harry hits Light Yagami with his car. (Based on a joke post, taken extremely seriously.)
Reccer's Notes: Murder mystery where Harry Du Bois investigates a murder he himself committed, putting him right in the middle of the Kira case. Very funny! The dialogue is perfectly in character, the art is fantastic, and I love how the entire fic is told in the style of the game.
Content Notes: major character death (Light Yagami is dead), graphic description of corpses similar to that of Disco Elysium canon
Fanwork Links: THE HIT AND RUN
Pairings/Characters: L/Yagami Light, Harry Du Bois & Kim Kitsuragi
Rating: Mature
Length: 36,039 words
Creator Links:
Theme: crack treated seriously, crossover, casefic, unconventional format
Summary: Harry hits Light Yagami with his car. (Based on a joke post, taken extremely seriously.)
Reccer's Notes: Murder mystery where Harry Du Bois investigates a murder he himself committed, putting him right in the middle of the Kira case. Very funny! The dialogue is perfectly in character, the art is fantastic, and I love how the entire fic is told in the style of the game.
Content Notes: major character death (Light Yagami is dead), graphic description of corpses similar to that of Disco Elysium canon
Fanwork Links: THE HIT AND RUN
mmmm
Jan. 2nd, 2026 06:11 pmaethel1. Two days into 2026, and I've already finished a novel, if rereading KJ Charles romances counts.
2. Reflecting on my 2025 reads:
-I found another dreamwidth user's review of The Ministry of Time. I read it last January, marked it as 5 stars, and then forgot all about it. It felt like at least three different novels shoehorned into one--interesting stuff happened, but it didn't necessarily add up to a good novel. It also reminded me of Never Let Me Go in that it didn't read like science fiction despite being unquestionably science fiction. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing.
-Andy Serkis's narration of The Lord of the Rings audiobook was so good I'm going to give it a relisten in 2026. Every time I reread The Lord of the Rings I'm reminded that the movie is actually quite different from the book, and then my memory of the book immediately gets overwritten by the movie again. Guess I'll just have to keep rereading the book.
-I started binge-reading M/M historical romances in the fall of 2024, and by late winter I was afraid I'd already run out of the good ones, but then I read the Enlightenment series by Joanna Chambers, and hope was restored. Hope withered again when I looked at her other books. I combed through ffa recs threads and goodreads lists and found some more authors to try, but it looks like these are less likely to be available for library checkouts. I'm also highly skeptical of the many M/M book covers with naked torsos on them; I'm looking for romance, not erotica! But I still have a few more to read before the well runs dry.
3. Among other Fanlore edits, I started a page for Barack Obama.
2. Reflecting on my 2025 reads:
-I found another dreamwidth user's review of The Ministry of Time. I read it last January, marked it as 5 stars, and then forgot all about it. It felt like at least three different novels shoehorned into one--interesting stuff happened, but it didn't necessarily add up to a good novel. It also reminded me of Never Let Me Go in that it didn't read like science fiction despite being unquestionably science fiction. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing.
-Andy Serkis's narration of The Lord of the Rings audiobook was so good I'm going to give it a relisten in 2026. Every time I reread The Lord of the Rings I'm reminded that the movie is actually quite different from the book, and then my memory of the book immediately gets overwritten by the movie again. Guess I'll just have to keep rereading the book.
-I started binge-reading M/M historical romances in the fall of 2024, and by late winter I was afraid I'd already run out of the good ones, but then I read the Enlightenment series by Joanna Chambers, and hope was restored. Hope withered again when I looked at her other books. I combed through ffa recs threads and goodreads lists and found some more authors to try, but it looks like these are less likely to be available for library checkouts. I'm also highly skeptical of the many M/M book covers with naked torsos on them; I'm looking for romance, not erotica! But I still have a few more to read before the well runs dry.
3. Among other Fanlore edits, I started a page for Barack Obama.