carica-ficus

[carica-ficus]

Hello, Tumblr:

Just popping in, after a long absence, to tell you about the pre-order campaign for my Author's Preferred Text editions of the Bone Season series.

As you may know if you've followed me for a while, I wrote my debut novel, The Bone Season, when I was nineteen and still at university. For its tenth anniversary last year, I decided to re-approach the book with ten years' more writing experience under my belt, and have since revised the whole series to bring it in line with the first. Bloomsbury has given the revised series a beautiful new look, with jackets illustrated by Ivan Belikov, the artist behind The Priory of the Orange Tree and A Day of Fallen Night.

The first book is available in hardback now, and the other three are coming in May, in either hardback or paperback. The audiobooks will also be revised, with narration by Alana Kerr Collins. You can pre-order them here.

If you're pre-ordering from the US, the UK or Canada, you can claim a beautiful art print of Paige and Warden by artist Erica Chan. Details here.

I hope you enjoy the revisions as much as I've enjoyed working on them.

-

The year is 2059. For two centuries, the Republic of Scion has led an oppressive campaign against unnaturalness in Europe. 

In London, Paige Mahoney holds a high rank in the criminal underworld. The right hand of the ruthless White Binder, Paige is a dreamwalker, a rare and formidable kind of clairvoyant. Under Scion law, she commits treason simply by breathing. 

When Paige is arrested for murder, she meets the mysterious founders of Scion, who have designs on her uncommon abilities. If she is to survive and escape, Paige must use every skill at her disposal – and put her trust in someone who ought to be her enemy.

#tbr #samantha shannon

[carica-ficus]

as far as i'm concerned all gore is necessary

#horror

[carica-ficus]

🔹 Saying that it's okay to write or read about dark and taboo topics but only when they're portrayed in a certain way is still censorship.

🔹 Wanting to ban or forbid media that you believe portrays a negative topic in a positive light, by glorifying, romanticizing, or fetishizing it is still censorship.

🔹 There is no objective metric to decide if a story is portraying a negative topic the 'right' way.

🔹 Just because a piece of fiction doesn't explicitly condemn or portray an evil action in a bad light in the text doesn't mean the author thinks its good or is trying to persuade the audience that it is good.

🔹 Survivors of trauma will not always write fiction about their trauma in a way that seems 'right' or 'normal' to you.

🔹 Banning fiction because it portrays dark, taboo topics in a way you consider gross or disgusting is still censorship.

[carica-ficus]

editing is so fun. I'm learning what the story I wrote is about

[carica-ficus]

every moment of your life, from birth to death, constantly, while you aren't looking, there's some kind of weird shapes just moving around in the ocean. and the shapes are eating eachother sometimes too. and they might even dig holes. and all of this is happening during everything else that's going on. like think about the most important moment in your life. the thing that shaped you as a person. the entire time that was happening, far away, deep in the ocean, where no human has ever seen, there was some kind of wet sack with a weird protrusion flailing about in the water. maybe it even grabbed a fish. who knows. i don't. just think about that for a bit

#inspiration

[carica-ficus]

thinking about the time when movie posters and book covers had detailed original paintings made for them compared to what we have now

[carica-ficus]

anyway the actual point of fandom is to inspire each other. reading each other's fics and admiring each other's art and saying wow i love this and i feel something and i want to invoke this in other people, i want to write a sentence that feels like a meteor shower, i want to paint a kiss with such tenderness it makes you ache, i want to create something that someone else somewhere will see it and think oh, i need to do that too, right now. i am embracing being a corny cunt on main to say inspiring each other is one of the things humanity is best at and one of the things fandom is built for and i think that's beautiful

[carica-ficus]

Donato Giancola, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep: The Lovers (detail), 2009

#do androids dream of electric sheep #art #philip k dick

[carica-ficus]

annual friendly reminder that CAMP DAMASCUS and BURY YOUR GAYS are not my foray into 'real books' or 'serious writing'. SPACE RAPTOR BUTT INVASION and POUNDED IN THE BUTT BY MY OWN BUTT are real books and serious writing. heck yeah. trot on buckaroos lets prove love for all kinds of art

#writing #❤❤

[carica-ficus]

Review: The Ecstasy of Agony

Author: Wrath James White

Date: 23/03/2024

Rating: ⭐

________________________________________________________

After successfully finishing another exam, I found myself in the bookstore with my boyfriend, browsing through books in an attempt to find myself a little treat. I found "The Ecstasy of Agony" nestled between other short story collections, and its cover and title definitely made it stand out from the rest. And the fact that it was labeled as extreme horror. As a person who likes to try out new stuff and is not repulsed by gore or violence, I was really curious what this collection had to offer. Unfortunately, it turned out not that much...

I'm the type of reader that reads the book from start to finish, including the introduction and the author's acknowledgments. Most of the time this provides me with some useful or at least interesting information, but this time it just left me with a sour taste in my mouth. The introduction bashes the work of other horror authors to invoke a feeling of superiority for this book. It promises a lot, too much for any book to fulfill, so the reader is left with expectations which are too high to achieve. Furthermore, the final acknowledgment of the author thanks the women in his life, specifically those he slept with. By itself, this wouldn't be such a problem, but the stories are written very antagonistically towards women, and not with the point to analyze or criticize the violence against them, but to dehumanize them into sex objects and victims of abuse. There's no character to them, except as a token partner to their male counterparts, so this comment in the author's notes feels demeaning instead of eccentric.

The stories are filled to the brim with violence, but rely on shock factor in order to create a reaction from the viewer. It gives of the feel that there's not much thought given into the production of scenes with gore, but that it's just brutal visuals stacked up onto each other to produce something the average reader finds disturbing and disgusting. There's no established sense of horror or fear, just images laid out one after another trying to achieve something that just isn't there.

Moreover, there is a lot of mindless sexual violence that just seemed scant. There's nothing behind it, no profound thought, just rape scenes that create discomfort. While it could be argued that the point of extreme horror is making the reader uneasy without grasping for a higher meaning behind the story, offering nothing other than raw brutality is a cheap way to produce disgust. Many stories read like pornography, which in itself wouldn't be bad (nothing wrong with horror erotica), but nothing insinuates that the anthology falls into that category. If I had known half of the stories would just be violent sexual fantasies that depended on giant appendages, distasteful scenes and lack of any emotions, I wouldn't have picked this book up. It's not something that's of interest to me.

As for the plots of the stories, there's little imagination to them. They're just general tropes with nothing new to them. The author did manage to touch on some interesting ideas in some of the stories, like the animosity between American democrats and republicans or the governments involvement in fueling black neighborhoods with drugs in order to stunt their development, but any true commentary gets buried under pages and pages of hackneyed writing.

The writing style is alright. It's readable, fluid and allows for a quick and easy grasp of what is happening, but there are illustrative descriptions that do it no favors. They turn the style overly simplistic, when the writing would be more than acceptable without them. Moreover, they sound like they have been pulled out of cheap pornography or middle grade horror. Comparing butts to beach balls just sound pitiful, and there's dozens of similarly worded examples.

I was thinking of giving this collection at least two stars, because it was not all bad. There are things I did enjoy, but unfortunately, they fall short for me to actually say I liked this collection. I will give extreme horror another shot and my friend already gave me some good recommendations, but this book just didn't offer me anything of worth and I'm really disappointed by it.

#the ecstasy of agony #wrath james white #extreme horror #horror #short story collection #anthology #short story #reading #book #book review #knjiga #recenzija #moja recenzija #2024 #rc2024

[carica-ficus]

Recenzija: Plavi Dnevnik

Originalni naslov: The Blue Diary

Autor: Alice Hoffman

Datum: 17/03/2024

Ocjena: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

________________________________________________________

Priznajem da sam jedna od onih osoba koja ponekad kupi knjigu pa je zatim pospremi na policu i zaboravi na nju, stoga mi je jedan od važnijih ciljeva ove godine da napokon pročitam sve te knjige koje imam, a koje nisam još dotakla. "Plavi Dnevnik" sam kupila na Interliberu prošle godine, primarno zato što je Hoffman autorica kojoj vjerujem i čiji su me radovi već uspješno osvojili, ali moram priznati da nisam očekivala da će mi se ova knjiga baš toliko svidjeti, a definitivno nisam očekivala da će mi postati njezino najdraže djelo.

Radnja prati brojne likove čiji su životi međusobno isprepleteni u maloj zajednici gradića na zapadnoj obali SAD-a, nakon što Ethana Forda - voljenog sugrađana, marljivog stolara i brižnog oca - uhapse za zločin počinjen prije 13 godina. Dok se mnogi uzdižu na noge i žele ga podržati, njegova žena Jorie odluči saznati pozadinu jezive priče te dosad nepoznatu prožlost svoga muža.

Ako se Hoffman po nečemu ističe, to je njezin jezik i prekrasan način prenošenja radnje. Njezin stil nije kičast, ali je opširno ukrašen toplim, uvjerljivim i snažnim vizualima koji prate radnju i savršeno ilustriraju osjećaje likova i njihove unutrašnje borbe. Jezik cvijeća igra veliku ulogu u ovoj knjizi, kao i brojni ostali elementi prirode, a Hoffman ih iskorištava u svoju korist i pretvara ih au divan spoj prenešenog značenja i doslovnih osjetilnih doživljaja.

Radnja se sporo razvija te je veći naglasak na likovima i njihovom poimanju promjene koja zahvati njihove živote, a ne toliko na samom procesu osude Ethana Forda. Nova stvarnost potiče likove da se napokon okrenu samoreflekciji i shvate kako je sve u životu prolazno pa tako i mir i blagostanje. Ipak, Hoffman niti u jednom trenutku ne dopušta čitatelju da pomisli kako nesreća dovodi do potpunog beznađa. Ljubav, suosjećanje i briga zbližuje stare prijatelje i ljubavnike u nove, čvršće veze kojima je ovaj turbulentan period bio prijeko potreban da napokon shvate tko i što im je u životu najviše bitno.

"Plavi Dnevnik" se također bavi temom veza između žena i njihovom potrebom za međusobnom podrškom. Većina ženskih likova je na jedan ili drugi način pretrpilo sebičnu izdaju od strane svojih partnera, očeva ili drugih muških uloga u njihovom životu, te su primorane žrtvovati vlastitu sreću na račun većeg dobra. Dok muškarci generalno snose samo posljedice vlastitih prijestupa, žene vode brigu o široj slici i pokušaju umanjiti ukupnu štetu. Tako na primjer Ethan vodi računa samo o svojoj vlastitoj sudbini, dok Jorie pokušava pružiti podršku svom mužu, spasiti njihov brak, brinuti se za njegovog sina, te zadržati svoj ugled u zajednici. Jorie razumije da je Ethanov zločin uništio više nego njegovu vlastitu budućnost - on je svojim djelima uništio nju i sve što je imala.

Hoffman genijalno uspjeva čitatelja povesti na put otkrivenja zajedno sa Jorie. U početku prikazuje Ethana kao onakvog kakvog ga svi znaju, no kada on napokon prizna svoj zločin i kada Jorie sazna tko Ethan zapravo jest, tako se njegov lik mijenja iz savršenog u realističnog. Hoffman tako uspjeva dočarati takozvani pogled kroz ružičaste naočale, a "Plavi Dnevnik" oda je bolnom postupku njihova odstranjivanja. Saznanje istine nije lak proces te uvjetuje brojna odricanja, od kojih je najteže upravo suočavanje sa činjenicom da ništa više neće biti kao što je nekoć bilo.

Na kraju se tema ženske borbe te saznanje istine isprepleće u jednu tragičnu priču koja naglašava koliko je važno prepoznati djela iz nečije prošlosti, bez obzira na količinu vremena koje protekne ili na pozitivnu promjenu koju čovjek učini nakon zlodjela, jer zločin je ipak počinjen i potrebno je za njega snositi posljedice. Nadalje, bitan je razlog nečije promjene. U Ethanovom slučaju, Hoffman postupno otkriva kako je njegov savršen život rezultat osjećaja krivnje, no primarno iz sebičnih izvora - Ethan smatra kako će se pomaganjem zajednici i svojim besprijekornim zalaganjem odužiti za period života tijekom kojeg je drugima činio nažao. Upravo zato se Jorie počinje udaljavati od njega i zašto odlučuje saznati pravu istinu.

"Plavi Dnevnik" je prekrasan roman koji se dotiče teških životnih odluka i destruktivne moći istine, a koji je satkan od nježnih, plemenitih i dirljivih trenutaka prepunih nade, ljubavi i brižnosti. Nudi nešto doista jedinstveno te je savršena knjiga ukoliko ste u potrazi za nečim osjećajnim, moćnim i ispunjujućim.

#alice hoffman #plavi dnevnik #the blue diary #literary fiction #contemporary #contemporary fiction #book #reading #rc2024 #2024 #hrvatski #moja recenzija #book review #review

[carica-ficus]

2, 3, 16, 17, 18 💖

2. Show us a picture of your handwriting.

Here's a messy example from my writing notebook featuring a braindump for my last story haha

3. Films you could watch for the rest of your life and not get bored of?

Oof, I don't watch movies very often. But I'd say Emperor's New Groove, Twilight and The Lovely Bones.

16. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I wish I wasn't as anxious as a chihuahua when I'm overwhelmed. And I wish I was an early bird, instead of a night owl. 😅

17. Name 3 things that make you happy.

Being creative, food, and sunny days. ❤

18. Do you believe in ghosts and/or aliens?

Ghosts no. 😅

And not in aliens in the traditional sense (and not in ones that might secretly be contacting us without our knowledge), but I do believe we're not the lone life form in the universe. 😊

#the-purple-dragon #thanks for the ask ❤❤ #odg

[carica-ficus]

questions I think would be fun to be asked

what are 3 things you’d say shaped you into who you are?

show us a picture of your handwriting?

3 films you could watch for the rest of your life and not get bored of?

what’s an inside joke you have with your family or friends?

what made you start your blog?

what’s the best and worst part of being online/a creator?

what scares you the most and why?

any reacquiring dreams?

tell a story about your childhood

would you say you’re an emotional person?

what do you consider to be romance?

what’s some good advice you want to share?

what are you doing right now?

what’s something you’ve always wanted to do but maybe been to scared to do?

what do you think of when you hear the word “home”?

if you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

name 3 things that make you happy

do you believe in ghosts and/or aliens?

favourite thing about the day?

favourite things about the night?

are you a spiritual person?

say 3 things about someone you love

say 3 things about someone you hate

what’s one thing you’re proud of yourself for?

fave season and why?

fave colour and why?

any nicknames?

do you collect anything?

what do you do when you’re sad?

what’s one thing that never fails to make you happy/happier?

are you messy or organised?

how many tabs do you have open right now?

any hobbies?

any pet peeves?

do you trust easily?

are you an open book or do you have walls up?

share a secret

fave song at the moment?

youtuber you’ve been obsessed with and why?

any bad habits?

(this post was stolen from @teenage-mutant-ninja-freak, since it couldn't be reblogged anymore)

#ask game

[carica-ficus]

siphonophores will never not freak me out. stop doing that its SCARY but also please don't ever stop doing that you ethereal marine cryptid

#inspiration

[carica-ficus]

I really like fictional couples that actually enjoy spending time with each other. It seems like such a simple, mundane thing. But, often, I see fictional couples who are completely enamored and dramatic and willing to die for each other, which is fine. But like… do they enjoy hanging out? Do they have private jokes and would they be friends even if they weren’t in love? It feels like such a basic thing, but it’s something that I actually don’t see that often. And it feels so refreshing and honest compared to these over-dramatic romeo and juliet-esque romances. Just two people who become good friends and because they enjoy each other’s presence so much it grows into a strong attraction. It feels more real and tangible than two attractive people meeting and “falling in love at first sight” - like, of course, you fell in love at first sight! You’re both supermodels! Sorry, can’t relate.

#writing

[carica-ficus]

OK! Adding onto this post because I've wanted to go order the book, but! Here's the kicker. :D

So I opened the 7.76€ one on my laptop through Amazon.de (it doesn't matter anyway right? The kindle version should be the same everywhere. It's a digital file. Right? Right??? No!!!!), and turns out I was not logged in.

Fine. No worries. I'll log in and pay. Easy peasy.

Error message.

My delivery address does not comply with the location on my laptop. (Or something like that.) The site suggests to me that I should transfer to Amazon.com and view the kindle version there.

???? Ok??? Sure?

I open it there.

It's 11.45€.

No way I'm paying 4€ more. I'll try to open the Amazon.de site again. It might work now that I'm logged in.

Fellas!!!

The kindle version that's listen while I'm logged off on Amazon.de DOES NOT EXIST when I log on. I'm only offered the softcover, hardcover, and audio book.

I hate Amazon!!!! Hate hate hate hate hate!!! How can something be listed when I'm logged off, but doesn't exist when I log in??? Why does my address matter when buying a digital file???

Since I'm a part of a little "book club", I finally had to start buying e-books (I prefer physical copies, but my local bookstore has a fairly limited selection) which means I had to order them through Amazon.

Can somebody explain why the hell is the pricing so outrageous on it?

I look up the price of the e-book on my Kindle. It's over 10 EUR.

I look up the same book on the Amazon site on my browser, also on my Kindle, and it's a few euros lower, but still around 10.

It's been a week. I sit at my computer. I open up Amazon and look up the book. Suddenly it's 7,70 dollars (which is around 7 euros I presume).

Why the fuck is there such a big difference? It's the same site, just searched through different engines!

#moj post #i can afford those 11.5 but that's not what this is all about!!! #this is about amazon not being consistent through its sites and options #sorry. still on this. i hate that this is a thing. #LET ME BE A CHEAP BITCH

[carica-ficus]

#inspiration