In today's review, I holiday beyond the looking glass. As I attempt a #positive review of the 2013 Guerrilla film Escape from Tomorrow.
#RoyAbramsohn
#ElenaSchuber
#KatelynnRodriguez
#JackDalton
#DanielleSafady
#AnnetMahendru
#AlisonLeesTaylor
Family holidays can be an interesting time, for both the parents and the children, luckily there are some corporations for a somewhat hefty fee, will try to take the burden off of you. These corporations can be protective of their identity, which makes satire and criticism of their practices a challenging proposition. In 2013, a film went to great lengths to take on a great economic empire to…
Everything about this is (mostly) great except for the acting: it's conceptually brilliant, excellently edited (at first), has a nice score and generally looks pretty good given the (guerilla) circumstances, except when the ambitiousness of shooting inside Disney World without a permit or any permission catches up with them and we enter Green Screen Hell (see above). The performances might have been forgiven because of all the, frankly, amazing coverage they got for these on-set shots. But there's no place to hide in front of the screen and the true vacuous nature of the plot is on full display. So perhaps not a shock at all that this is Randy Moore's only credit of note on IMDB.
While the notion to make a movie like this is genuinely refreshing and good, it seems like they had maybe 50% (at best) for what they wanted the story to be. So it ends up being much more frustrating than entertaining. I'm glad I finally saw what it was all about because I remember all the hoopla when it came out, but I don't really recommend it unless you're super curious.
(Alison Elizabeth Taylor, “Anthony Cuts under the Williamsburg Bridge, Morning”, 2020 Marquetry hybrid (wood veneers, oil paint, acrylic paint, inkjet prints, shellac, and sawdust on wood)
Currently at Orlando Museum of Art is The Outwin: American Portraiture Today, an impressive collection of work in a variety of mediums.
From the museum’s website-
Launched in 2006 to support the next wave of contemporary portraiture in the United States, the National Portrait Gallery’s celebrated triennial Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition is a major survey of the best American portraiture selected by internationally prominent jurors and curators. Now in its sixth edition, The Outwin: American Portraiture Today presents 42 works selected from over 2,700 entries, that foreground the vibrancy and relevance of portraiture today. In addition to paintings, photographs, drawings, and sculptures, The Outwin includes video, performance art, and textiles, highlighting the limitless possibilities of contemporary portraiture.
Open to both emerging and established artists, this year’s entrants were encouraged to submit work that moves beyond traditional definitions of portraiture, and to explore a portrait’s ability to engage with the social and political landscape of our time. The variety of media and subjects featured in the exhibition invite audiences of all backgrounds to find relation in the human experience.
Since its inception, finalists for the exhibition have been determined by a panel of jurors including three Portrait Gallery staff members and four external professionals (critics, art historians, artists). The competition is endowed by and named for Virginia Outwin Boochever (1920 – 2005) who, for 19 years, volunteered as a docent at the Portrait Gallery. Her commitment to advancing the art of portraiture is continued through the support of her children.
Below are a selection of works from the show and information about them from the museum.
Alison Elizabeth Taylor– Anthony Cuts under the Williamsburg Bridge, Morning, 2020 (pictured above)
On walks around her Brooklyn neighborhood during the COVID-19 lockdowns, Alison Elizabeth Taylor encountered the hair groomer Anthony Payne, who,with his workplace shuttered, had taken his scissors, mirror, and chair to the streets. Payne sought to financially support the Black Lives Matter movement, especially in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder, and turned over proceeds from his donation-based haircuts to organizations advocating for social justice.
Taylor’s process, one she developed and named “marquetry hybrid,” incorporates vivid paints, inkjet prints, and the natural grains of over one hundred veneers. Marquetry, with its inlaid combination of woods, can “memorialize,” Taylor notes. She acknowledges the history of the craft, which was favored by Louis XIV (1654-1715) when he was acquiring furniture for Versailles. By giving Payne this “royal treatment,” Taylor aims to pay tribute to him. ”I want him to see how much his example meant to me,” she explained.
Kira Nam Greene– Kyung’s Gift in Pojagi (From the series “Women in Possession of Good Fortune”), 2019, Oil, gouache, colored pencil, and acrylic ink on canvas
In this mixed-media work, by Kira Nam Greene, the artist Kyung Jeon faces us with relaxed self-assurance. She is carefully positioned on her couch as her long black hair falls over her orange and turquoise tunic. In the foreground, a wooden cylinder containing paint brushes reveals her medium of choice. A plate with persimmons, consumed during the harvest festival Chuseok to celebrate good fortune, brims with potential while the rest of the painting pulsates with action.
Greene situates her friend in a fantasy world that echoes Jeon’s artwork and their mutual interest in the traditional Korean fabric quilting technique of pojagi. Two rabbits, representing Jeon’s Chinese zodiac, appear to be concocting a potion. Flowers sprout as kaleidoscopic patterns envelop her. The reference to pojagi, the visible paint drips in the background painting, and the hands of the sitter- left unfinished- invoke the role of tradition, process, and exploration in artmaking.
Stuart Robertson– Self Portrait of the Artist from the Out and Bad series, 2020, Aluminum, earth, acrylic paint, enamel, paper,metallic bubble wrap, sequins, and gold foil on wood
“In my world, skin is high-tech, amorphous, and armored,” the artist Stuart Robertson observes. “Blackness is percussive, lustrous, flexible, and indestructible.” Self-Portrait of the Artist depicts a fragment of a man- half of his face and his upper torso-shiny and monumental. A black beard delineates his jaw, and a small gold hoop adorns his ear. Although the figure is cropped beyond recognition, the work’s title provides a clue.
Through the alternation of flat and repoussé aluminum sheets, Robertson achieves a hypnotic effect, a poignant tension playing on what he reveals or hides from us viewers. His refusal to depict his entire face or figure challenges the notion of what a portrait should be and blocks the objectification of the Black male body, so often sexualized in visual culture. Simultaneously, Robertson delivers an irrepressible, resplendent image of that body, one inspired by the aesthetics of Jamaica’s dancehall culture.
Vincent Valdez– People of the Sun (Grandma and Grandpa Santana), 2019, Oil on canvas
An elderly couple faces us with the gentle authority that old age provides. People of the Sun (Grandma and Grandpa Santana) is a portrait of Vincent Valdez’s maternal grandparents. “My grandparents spent most of their time outside,” the artist recalled. “Grandpa spent his entire life working under the blazing Texas sun as a carpenter and yard worker, cutting lawns in the wealthy communities of San Antonio right up until he passed away. Grandma was constantly working with her hands–raising kids, washing, sewing clothes, and tending the plants in her yard.”
The Santanas are depicted in a space defined by details the artist remembers: their vintage AM radio, their plants, their homemade clothes. The bedsheet, like the Virgen de Guadalupe’s aura, signals their spiritual role in the family. This portrait connects the pair to the Indigenous and mestizo cultures of the American Southwest, including the Aztec and Maya, who honored the sun.
Elsa María Meléndez– Milk, 2020, Canvas with silkscreen, embroidery, ink, and other textiles
Elsa María Meléndez routinely crosses the boundaries between artistic mediums in large-scale artworks that command space and attention. Combining silkscreen, drawing, and various needlework techniques, Milk portrays the artist charging forward, determined. She carries a limp bull and advances while her breasts drip glistening drops of milk.
Created six months into the COVID-19 lockdown, this artwork encapsulates Meléndez’s reflection on the fight for gender equality in Puerto Rico. As people went into quarantine, gender violence escalated around the world. In Puerto Rico, where femicides increased substantially, feminist organizations took to the streets, demanding that the government declare a state of emergency. They received the scorn of substantial sectors of society, across gender lines. In response, Meléndez created Milk, an icon of indomitability that recognizes the strength of women and their life-sustaining force while acknowledging their willingness to nurse the beast that sustains patriarchy.
Timothy Lee– A portrait of the comet boy as a bearer of memories, 2019, Silk, heat-transfer ink, gold leaf, and oil on canvas
In his practice, Timothy Lee investigates his struggles with anxiety, which he feels stem from his Asian American, queer, immigrant, and diasporic identities. Yet, while drawing from his personal narratives more broadly, Lee also attends to the disquieting complexities that are intrinsic to growing up as part of two cultures.
The ironic figure of the “comet boy,” visualized here as if emerging from a halo, is both an embrace of and a departure from the artist’s past. The dynamic interplay of light, shadow, and texture evince the layered nature of Lee’s inquiry. A keen attention to materials and precision, as evidenced by the incised cuts throughout much of the work’s surface, allude to the artist’s earlier scientific training. Snapshots of the artist’s childhood in South Korea emblazon the comet boy’s body. Memories, and with them the past, become part of the flesh, like tattoos.
Clarissa Bonet– Glimpse, 2019 from the City Space series, Inkjet print
The discovery of a figure amongst a grid of windows and vertical blinds conjures the disorienting situation of coming upon an unknown face peeking through a window. With that chance encounter comes the recognition that one is being watched, possibly even surveilled. Glimpse is part of a series that explores urban life, specifically the relationship between private and public spaces and the daily experiences of those traversing these areas, including those of the artist.
Though made before the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, for Clarissa Bonet, this photograph brings to mind the recent state of being “isolated from the public spaces we all used to enjoy freely.” The unidentified woman may be looking onto an unknown subject left out of the composition, or onto nothing at all.
Ilene Spiewak– Deeper into the Isolation of Self Information and Gender, 2020, Acrylic paint and charcoal on canvas
For over fifty years, Ilene Spiewak has focused on the relations between color and visual space, painting at the edge of representation and abstraction. The introspection and solitude brought by the pandemic made her compositions more sparse and her palette more restrained. “I realized what I had in my studio was myself always. . .. I began to insert myself in my paintings more than I was conscious of in the past.”
In this self-portrait, Spiewak outlines her silhouette in charcoal. Her face and nude torso are rendered in soft shades of white, pink, and gray that push against the yellow background. With frankness, she paints her aging body, countering centuries of idealized, youthful, slender female nudes in art. By placing her figure off-center on the picture plane, with her right arm extended but truncated, Spiewak subtly allows us into the intimate act of observing and painting herself.
Inga Guzyte– Cutting Edge, 2020, from the Kindred Spirits series, wood and used skateboards
Inga Guzyte recycles old skateboards, sawing and reassembling them into new sculptural configurations. Cutting Edge, a portrait of Alison Saar, is from Guzyte’s series “Kindred Spirits.” which honors women who have made their mark in the art world. The ethos of bravery and independence that is part of skateboard culture conveys the tenacity and perseverance of Guzyte’s role models.
Aptly made from reclaimed wood, a recurrent material in Saar’s sculptures and installations, this portrait stands between painting and sculpture. Saar’s expression evokes her fierceness and commitment to her practice. Her headdress points to her Afro-diasporic background, while its dynamic red and orange twists suggest her fiery creative energy. Like a flame, the headwrap attracts a multitude of moths, which recur in Saar’s work to signify a go- between for the real world and the spiritual world.
- In this edition: String Cheese Incident; Dawes; Nitty Gritty Dirt Band; and Crash Test Dummies
KEITH MOSELEY TO MISS SCI CONCERTS: String Cheese Incident bassist Keith Moseley will miss the band’s Feb. 28 - March 2 shows in Colorado after having emergency surgery to repair a damaged retina.
Greensky Bluegrass’ Mike Devol, Paul McDaniel of the Kyle Hollingsworth Band and the Cream Cheese Accident’s Miles Altgelt will fill in.
“Join us in sending healthy vibes out to Moose as he recovers,” the band said in a statement
DAWES BASSIST WYLIE GELBER IS LEAVING THE BAND: Bassist Wylie Gerber will leave Dawes in April, the band said in a statement.
“I don’t know what being a musician is without him,” Taylor Goldsmith said of Gerber.
“He has set the bar for what great bass playing sounds like to me. It’s gonna be hard and tears have been shed, but change always leads to some kind of newfound strength and Dawes isn’t going anywhere, I promise.”
NGDB PLAYS FOR PBS: Some PBS stations will air the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s “The Hits, The History & Dirt Does Dylan,” featuring guest appearances from Alison Brown and Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams, in March as part of its annual fund drive.
Check local listings.
CTD LP HITS STREAMIMG: Crash Test Dummies’ 2003 album Puss ‘N’ Boots is streaming for the first time.
part 3 of the 2023 version of this post: adult books!
part 1: middle grade books | part 2: young adult books
this is a very incomplete list, as these are only books I've read and enjoyed. not all books are going to be for all readers, so I'd recommend looking up synopses and content warnings. feel free to message me with any questions about specific representation!
list of books under the cut ⬇️
yerba buena by nina lacour
if we were villains by m.l. rio
everyone in this room will someday be dead by emily r. austin
i want to be a wall by honami shirono
portrait of a thief by grace d. li
the thirty names of night by zeyn joukhadar
on earth we're briefly gorgeous by ocean vuong
love & other disasters by anita kelly
take a hint, dani brown by talia hibbert
boyfriend material by alexis hall
almost like being in love by steve kluger
the charm offensive by alison cochrun
something wild & wonderful by anita kelly
red, white & royal blue by casey mcquiston
something to talk about by meryl wilsner
honey girl by morgan rogers
one last stop by casey mcquiston
once ghosted, twice shy by alyssa cole
kiss her once for me by alison cochrun
a spindle splintered by alix e. harrow
finna by nino cipri
every heart a dooryway by seanan mcguire
the starless sea by erin morgenstern
under the whispering door by tj klune
space opera by catherynne m. valente
light from uncommon stars by ryka aoki
dead collections by isaac fellman
the city we became by n.k. jemisin
light carries on by ray nadine
an absolutely remarkable thing by hank green
feed them silence by lee mandelo
summer sons by lee mandelo
upright women wanted by sarah gailey
lavender house by lev a.c. rosen
fried green tomatoes at the whistle stop cafe by fannie flagg
the seven husbands of evelyn hugo by taylor jenkins reid
a master of djinn by p. djeli clark
witchmark by c.l. polk
a marvellous light by freya marske
a restless truth by freya marske
when women were dragons by kelly barnhill
plain bad heroines by emily m. danforth
a lady for a duke by alexis hall
infamous by lex croucher
passing strange by ellen klages
even though i knew the end by c.l. polk
the chosen and the beautiful by nghi vo
whiskey when we're dry by john larison
wake of vultures by lila bowen
silver in the wood by emily tesh
the once and future witches by alix e. harrow
the kingdoms by natasha pulley
a tip for the hangman by allison epstein
she who became the sun by shelley parker-chan
the song of achilles by madeline miller
spear by nicola griffith
this is how you lose the time war by amal el-mohtar and max gladstone
I am. SO excited for a movie written and directed by blondie. but I don’t want a lin manuel miranda situation where she stars in it, I want a stan lee has a cameo in the background taylor movie
Team Thom Browne Class Photo: Ben Simmons, Gigi Hadid, Jaden Smith, Rebecca Ferguson, Alton Mason, Eboni Nichols, Queen Latifah, Steven Yeun and Cynthia Erivo.
Team Loewe: Taylor Russell, Greta Lee, Jamie Dornan, Josh O'Connor, Dan Levy, Ambika Mod, Ayo Edebiri, Alison Oliver, Omar Apollo
TEAM PRADA :Sarah Paulson, Harris Dickinson, Amanda Seyfried and Damson Idris
(except I got so many nominations, I'd be shocked if an actual companion won)
Welcome to the biggest tournament so far, sitting at 160 competitors, all to decide who is the hottest.
Now there are two ways you could judge this, either as who you personally find hot, or who is the hottest in-universe based on how other characters react to them
so without further ado
GRAND FINAL:
Bill Potts vs Martha Jones
SEMIFINALS:
Bill Potts vs Bernice Summerfield WINNER: Bill Potts
Martha Jones vs Missy WINNER: Martha Jones
previous rounds under the cut
QUARTERFINALS:
[ID: visualisation of the matches listed below \end ID]
Bill Potts vs Ace McShane WINNER: Bill Potts
Delgado!Master vs Bernice Summerfield WINNER: Bernice Summerfield
Martha Jones vs Madame Vastra WINNER: Martha Jones
Vinder vs Missy WINNER: Missy
ROUND 5 TIE BREAK: WINNER: Delgado!Master
Delgado!Master
The Rani
K9
Jack Harkness
Sarah-Jane Smith (2000s)
River Song
Jenny Flint
Yasmin Khan
Dhawan!Master
ROUND 5:
[ID: visualisation of the matches listed below \end ID]
Bill Potts vs Jack Harkness WINNER: Bill Potts
Ace McShane vs Sarah-Jane Smith (2000s) WINNER: Ace McShane
Delgado!Master vs Yasmin Khan TIE (or close enough)
River Song vs Bernice Summerfield WINNER: Bernice Summerfield
Martha Jones vs Dhawan!Master WINNER: Martha Jones
K9 vs Madame Vastra WINNER: Madame Vastra
The Rani vs Inston Vee-Vinder WINNER: Inston Vee-Vinder
Jenny Flint vs Missy WINNER: Missy
ROUND 4:
[ID: visualisation of the matches listed below \end ID]
Bill Potts vs Barbara Wright WINNER: Bill Potts
Heather vs Jack Harkness WINNER: Jack Harkness
Ace McShane vs War Queen!Romana WINNER: Ace McShane
Toshiko Sato vs Sarah-Jane Smith (2000s) WINNER: Sarah-Jane Smith (2000s)
Delgado!Master vs Jenny WINNER: Delgado!Master
Yasmin Khan vs Liz 10 WINNER: Yasmin Khan
River Song vs Clara Oswald WINNER: River Song
Sarah-Jane Smith (1970s) vs Bernice Summerfield WINNER: Bernice Summerfield
Martha Jones vs Jabe WINNER: Martha Jones
Dhawan!Master vs Claudia Marwood WINNER: Dhawan!Master
K9 vs William Shakespeare WINNER: K9
Bel vs Madam Vastra WINNER: Madam Vastra
The Rani vs Leela WINNER: The Rani
Ruth!Doctor vs Vinder WINNER: Vinder
Romana II vs Jenny Flint WINNER: Jenny Flint
Gwen Cooper vs Missy WINNER: Missy
ROUND 3:
[ID: visualisation of the matches listed below \end ID]
Day 1:
Bill Potts vs Peri Brown WINNER: Bill Potts
Barbara Wright vs Chantho WINNER: Barbara Wright
Liz Shaw vs Heather WINNER: Heather
Jack Harkness vs Romana I WINNER: Jack Harkness
Ace McShane vs Charley Pollard WINNER: Ace McShane
War Queen!Romana vs Sally Armstrong WINNER: War Queen!Romana
Toshiko Sato vs Steven Taylor WINNER: Toshiko Sato
Compassion vs Sarah-Jane Smith (2000s) WINNER: Sarah-Jane Smith (2000s)
Delgado!Master vs Chang Lee WINNER: Delgado!Master
Jenny (The Doctor's Daughter) vs Roberts!Master (Master!Audio) WINNER: Jenny
Ryan Sinclair vs Yasmin Khan WINNER: Yasmin Khan
Valarie Lockwood vs Liz 10 WINNER: Liz 10
River Song vs Sara Kingdom WINNER: River Song
Susan Foreman vs Clara Oswald WINNER: Clara Oswald
Anita vs Sarah-Jane Smith (1970s) WINNER: Sarah-Jane Smith (1970s)
Jane Fonda!Iris Wildthyme vs Bernice Summerfield WINNER: Bernice Summerfield
Day 2:
Martha Jones vs Rose Tyler WINNER: Martha Jones
Jabe vs Jo Grant WINNER: Jabe
Dhawan!Master vs Dalek Prime Strategist WINNER: Dhawan!Master
Lucie Miller vs Claudia Marwood WINNER: Claudia Marwood
K9 vs The City of the Saved WINNER: K9
Alison Cheney vs William Shakespeare WINNER: William Shakespeare
Queen Thalira vs Bel WINNER: Bel
Polly Wright vs Madam Vastra WINNER: Madam Vastra
The Rani vs Amy Pond WINNER: The Rani
Donna Noble vs Leela WINNER: Leela
Jamie McCrimmon vs Ruth!Doctor WINNER: Ruth!Doctor
Kate Stewart vs Vinder WINNER: Vinder
Trey!Romana vs Romana II WINNER: Romana II
Sally Sparrow vs Jenny Flint WINNER: Jenny Flint
Gwen Cooper vs Ada Lovelace WINNER: Gwen Cooper
Idris!TARDIS vs Missy WINNER: Missy
ROUND 2:
(I had to get rid of the information about this round to get the post to work, you can see all the matches under the tag #hottest companion: round 2)
ROUND 1 TIE BREAK WINNER: Rory Williams
ROUND 1: Group Stage
32 Characters will be eliminated as there are 32 groups, that means the loser of each group will be eliminated (I had to get rid of the information about this round to get the post to work, you can see all the matches under the tag #hottest companion: round 1)
🌈 Good morning, my bookish bats! Struggling to keep up with all the amazing queer books coming out this month? Here are a FEW of the stunning, diverse queer books you can add to your TBR before the year is over. Remember to #readqueerallyear! Happy reading!
[ Release dates may have changed. ]
❤️ Farzana's Spite - Felix Graves
🧡 Archangels of Funk - Andrea Hairston
💛 How It Works Out - Myriam Lacroix
💚 Queer History A to Z - Robin Stevenson, Vivian Rosas
💙 Queerceañera - Alex Crespo
💜 Second Night Stand - Karelia Stetz-Waters, Fay Stetz-Waters
❤️ You Can Call Me Cooper - Cali Kitsu
🧡 Gooseberry - Robin Gow
💛 Grand Slam Romance - Ollie Hicks, Emma Oosterhous
💙The Witches of Silverlake - Simon Curtis, Stephanie Son
💜 Drawn to the Enemy - Barbara Winkes
🌈 The Truth of Our Past - Heather Leighson
❤️ Infaust - T.D. Cloud, Ambi Sun
🧡 Garner for Gold - Catherine Labadie
💛 The Z Word - Lindsay King-Miller
💚 Snake Charming - Genevieve McCluer
💙 The 7-10 Split - Karmen Lee
💜 Loving Jemima - Sienna Waters
❤️ The Potion Gardener - Arden Powell
🧡 A Swift and Sudden Exit - Nico Vincenty
💛 The Worst Ronin - Maggie Tokuda-Hall, Faith Schaffer
💙 Murray Out of Water -Taylor Tracy
💜 The Guncle Abroad - Steven Rowley
🌈 The Weight of What Was - Pip Landers-Letts
❤️ The Amazing Alpha Tau Pledge Project - Lisa Henry, Sarah Honey
🧡 I Met Death & Sex Through My Friend, Tom Meuley - Thom Vernon
💛 Malicia - Steven dos Santos
💚 The Sins on Their Bones - Laura R. Samotin
💙 SLUTS: Anthology - Michelle Tea
💜 You Should Be So Lucky - Cat Sebastian
❤️ Death's Country - R.M. Romero
🧡 Cinema Love - Jiaming Tang
💛 The Brides of High Hill - Nghi Vo
💙 Emma - Jenna Kent
💜 Wish We Were There - Lionel Hart
🌈 A Troublemaker in Her Eyes - Genta Sebastian
❤️ I Make Envy on Your Disco - Eric Schnall
🧡 Lavash at First Sight - Taleen Voskuni
💛 Queer Power Couples - Hannah Murphy Winter, Billie Winter
💚 In Repair - A.L. Graziadei
💙 A Heart Divided - Angie Williams
💜 Long After We Are Gone - Terah Shelton Harris
❤️ The Queen of Steeplechase Park - David Ciminello
🧡 Lunar Boy - Jes Wibowo, Cin Wibowo
💛 Hot Boy Summer - Joe Jiménez
💙 Sunhead - Alex Assan
💜 The Summer Love Strategy - Ray Stoeve
🌈 Into the Mouth of the Wolf - Erin Gough
❤️ The Girl in Question - Tess Sharpe
🧡 The Lost Erwain - Mariah Stillbrook
💛 Starfire - Naomi Hughes
💚 Adrift - Sam Ledel
💙 Shanghai Murder - Jessie Chandler
💜 April May June July - Alison B. Hart
❤️ A Bone in His Teeth - Kellen Graves
🧡 Cabin Fever - Tagan Shepard
💛 Don't Be a Drag - Skye Quinlan
💙 The Ride of Her Life - Jennifer Dugan
💜 The Redemption of Daya Keane - Gia Gordon
🌈 Nearlywed - Nicolas DiDomizio
❤️ The Sunforge - Sascha Stronach
🧡 The End of Time - Trudie Skies
💛 Silent Ones - Melissa Polk
💚 Prime Time Travelers - Neil Laird
💙 My Darling Dreadful Thing - Johanna van Veen
💜 The Honey Witch - Sydney J. Shields
❤️ Spitting Gold - Carmella Lowkis
🧡 Last Chance - Claire Highton-Stevenson
💛 Road Home - Rex Ogle
💙 Only for Convenience - Shannon O'Connor
💜 Linus and Etta Could Use a Win - Caroline Huntoon
🌈 Finding Molly Parsons - Alyson Root
❤️ Breathe: Journeys to Healthy Binding - Maia Kobabe, Dr. Sarah Peitzmeier
🧡 See You Next Month - Jamey Moody
💛 Until You Say My Name - Tatum Schroeder
💚 Disembark - Jen Currin
💙 True Love and Other Impossible Odds - Christina Li
💜 Flyboy - Kasey LeBlanc
❤️ Thirsty - Jas Hammonds
🧡 Hands Off - N. Slater
💛 Flooded Secrets - Claudie Arseneault
💙 The Deer and the Dragon - Piper C.J.
💜 To Be Loved - Frank G. Anderson
🌈 Snowblooded - Emma Sterner-Radley
❤️ Blood Remains - Cathy Pegau
🧡 Blood on the Tide - Katee Robert
💛 We Were the Universe - Kimberly King Parsons
💚 Loyalty - E.J. Noyes
💙 Spirits and Sirens - Kelly Fireside
💜 Clean Kill - Anne Laughlin
❤️ The Worst Perfect Moment - Shivaun Plozza
🧡 Oye - Melissa Mogollon
💛 Here for the Wrong Reasons - Annabel Paulsen, Lydia Wang
💙 Exhibit - R.O. Kwon
💜 Experienced - Kate Young
🌈 Parenting with Pride - Heather Hester
❤️ Road to Ruin - Hana Lee
🧡 Meet Me in Berlin - Samantha L. Valentine
💛 The Advice Columnist - Cade Haddock Strong
💚 where lost & hopeless things go - Bryony Rosehurst
💙 Pit Stop - Ellis Mae
💜 The Switchboard - Christina K. Glover
❤️ In the Shallows - Tanya Byrne
🧡 Have You Seen This Girl - Nita Tyndall
💛 Another First Chance - Robbie Couch
💙 The Only Light Left Burning - Erik J. Brown
💜 Keepers of the Stones and Stars - Michael Barakiva
🌈 A Little Kissing Between Friends - Chencia C. Higgins
A list of season 2 cast and crew members, confirmed and speculated
I will try and keep this updated
Not counting the obvious ones
Please note that this is a list of both cast and crew members, so PAs and such are also included and not just actors
Also if you're interested: on my bts instagram I only follow people who have worked on season 1, and people I suspect worked on season 2. So feel free to go through the list of people I follow if you're into that
A
Aaron Morton (Camera) - he’s listed on the very last picture as the camera-man
Adam Stein(Writer)
Alan F. (English solider)
Alexandria S.
Alison Telford (Casting)
Alistair Gregory - from this tweet so uncertain, but followed me back on my bts instagram account so seems to have some interest in ofmd
Amy Barber (Sound department)
Amy Tunnicliffe
Amanda Grace Leo
Amanda M. (Wedding guest)
Andrea Basile (Costume)
Andres Gomez Zamora (Visual effects)
Andrew DeYoung (Director) - I don’t remember if there was any other reason than the fact that he was in Aotearoa during filming
Andy McLaren (senior art director)
Andy Rydzewksi (Cinematographer)
Angelina Faulkner (Sound department)
B
Blair Nicholson (Camera)
Blair Teesdale (Camera)
Brad Coleman (Visual effects)
Brad McLeod (Special effects)
Brian Badie (Hairstylist)
Bronson Pinchot (“Torturer”)
Bryn Seager - I don’t remember why but I follow him
Bryony Matthew (Food stylist)
C
Caleb Staines (Camera)
Chantel Partamian (Visual effects)
Colin Elms (Art department)
Colin Rogers (Sound department)
Cora Montalban (Makeup and/or hairstylist) - I believe she was tagged in an instagram story once, and she’s followed by a ton of cast and crew members
Corrin Ellingford (Sound department)
Corey Moana (Camera)
Corry Greig (Art department)
Coti Herrera (Prosthetics/Makeup)
D
Damian Del Borrello (Sound department)
Daniel Fernandez (Spanish priest)
Danica Duan (Assistan accountant)
David Boden (production manager)
David G. (Stand in)
David Rowell (Financial controller)
David Van Dyke (Visual effects)
Dennis Bailey (Hairstylist)- Leslie revealed that he’s there.
Dion Anderson (Rescue diver)
Don A. (Swampy Town folk)
Donna Pearman (Assistant accountant)
Donna Marinkovich (set decorator)
Doug McFarlene (Pirate)
Duncan Nairn (Visual effects)
E
Eliza Cossio (Writer)
Erroll Shand (Prince Ricky)
Esther Mitchell (Camera)
F
Fernando Frias (Director)
G
Gareth Van Niekerk (Sound department)
Gary Archer (dental prosthetics)
Gemma Campbell (Visual effects)
Grant Lobban
Greg Sager (Safety manager)
Gregor Harris (Camera)
Gregory J. Pawlik Jr. (AD)
Gypsy Taylor (Costume designer)
H
Haroun Barazanchi (Set designer)
Harry Ashby (AD)
Helene Wong (Voice work)
I-J
Jacob Tomuri (Stunts)
Jaden McLeod
James Crosthwaite (Set decorator)
Jamie Couper (Camera)
Jason Samoa, possibly spotted on location
Jemaine Clement, pretty sure this is only based on his friendship with Rhys and Taika tbh
Jes Tom (Writer)
Jessica Lee Hunt (Makeup artist) - followed by a ton of crew and cast members and I believe she’s been tagged in instagram stories and such
John Mahone (Writer)
Jonathan Bruce (Sound department)
Jono Capel-Baker (Groom)
Jonno Roberts didn’t get the role from his audition, but could still have gotten a different role - hung out with Ruibo
Judah Getz (Sound department)
Julia Huberman (Sound department)
Julia Thompson (Costume)
Justin Benn (Republic of Pirates Town)
K
Karl L. (Action extra)
Kate Fu
Kate Leonard (Casting)
Kathleen Zyka Smith (“Red Flag”)
Kosuke Iijima (Fabricator/Sculptor?) - due to interaction on this post
Kris Gillan (Fabricator/Sculptor)
Kura Forrester - followed by quite a few cast and crew members, but I don’t remember if there was anything else to it
L
Laura Stables (SFX makeup artist)
Leanne Evans (Art department)
Lee Tuson
Leslie Jones (Spanish Jackie) - she’s spoiled this so many times, but gjfhdks
Leyla - followed by a lot of cast and crew members, don’t remember if there was more to it than that
Aaron Bay-Schuck
Aaron Sorkin
Adam & Jackie Sandler
Adam Goodman
Adam Levine
Alan Grubman
Alex Aja
Alex Edelman
Alexandra Shiva
Ali Wentworth
Alison Statter
Allan Loeb
Alona Tal
Amy Chozick
Amy Pascal
Amy Schumer
Amy Sherman Palladino
Andrew Singer
Andy Cohen
Angela Robinson
Anthony Russo
Antonio Campos
Ari Dayan
Ari Greenburg
Arik Kneller
Aron Coleite
Ashley Levinson
Asif Satchu
Aubrey Plaza
Barbara Hershey
Barry Diller
Barry Levinson
Barry Rosenstein
Beau Flynn
Behati Prinsloo
Bella Thorne
Ben Stiller
Ben Turner
Ben Winston
Ben Younger
Billy Crystal
Blair Kohan
Bob Odenkirk
Bobbi Brown
Bobby Kotick
Brad Falchuk
Brad Slater
Bradley Cooper
Bradley Fischer
Brett Gelman
Brian Grazer
Bridget Everett
Brooke Shields
Bruna Papandrea
Cameron Curtis
Casey Neistat
Cazzie David
Charles Roven
Chelsea Handler
Chloe Fineman
Chris Fischer
Chris Jericho
Chris Rock
Christian Carino
Cindi Berger
Claire Coffee
Colleen Camp
Constance Wu
Courteney Cox
Craig Silverstein
Dame Maureen Lipman
Dan Aloni
Dan Rosenweig
Dana Goldberg
Dana Klein
Daniel Palladino
Danielle Bernstein
Danny Cohen
Danny Strong
Daphne Kastner
David Alan Grier
David Baddiel
David Bernad
David Chang
David Ellison
David Geffen
David Gilmour &
David Goodman
David Joseph
David Kohan
David Lowery
David Oyelowo
David Schwimmer
Dawn Porter
Dean Cain
Deborah Lee Furness
Deborah Snyder
Debra Messing
Diane Von Furstenberg
Donny Deutsch
Doug Liman
Douglas Chabbott
Eddy Kitsis
Edgar Ramirez
Eli Roth
Elisabeth Shue
Elizabeth Himelstein
Embeth Davidtz
Emma Seligman
Emmanuelle Chriqui
Eric Andre
Erik Feig
Erin Foster
Eugene Levy
Evan Jonigkeit
Evan Winiker
Ewan McGregor
Francis Benhamou
Francis Lawrence
Fred Raskin
Gabe Turner
Gail Berman
Gal Gadot
Gary Barber
Gene Stupinski
Genevieve Angelson
Gideon Raff
Gina Gershon
Grant Singer
Greg Berlanti
Guy Nattiv
Guy Oseary
Gwyneth Paltrow
Hannah Fidell
Hannah Graf
Harlan Coben
Harold Brown
Harvey Keitel
Henrietta Conrad
Henry Winkler
Holland Taylor
Howard Gordon
Iain Morris
Imran Ahmed
Inbar Lavi
Isla Fisher
Jack Black
Jackie Sandler
Jake Graf
Jake Kasdan
James Brolin
James Corden
Jamie Ray Newman
Jaron Varsano
Jason Biggs & Jenny Mollen Biggs
Jason Blum
Jason Fuchs
Jason Reitman
Jason Segel
Jason Sudeikis
JD Lifshitz
Jeff Goldblum
Jeff Rake
Jen Joel
Jeremy Piven
Jerry Seinfeld
Jesse Itzler
Jesse Plemons
Jesse Sisgold
Jessica Biel
Jessica Elbaum
Jessica Seinfeld
Jill Littman
Jimmy Carr
Jody Gerson
Joe Hipps
Joe Quinn
Joe Russo
Joe Tippett
Joel Fields
Joey King
John Landgraf
John Slattery
Jon Bernthal
Jon Glickman
Jon Hamm
Jon Liebman
Jonathan Baruch
Jonathan Groff
Jonathan Marc Sherman
Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Steinberg
Jonathan Tisch
Jonathan Tropper
Jordan Peele
Josh Brolin
Josh Charles
Josh Goldstine
Josh Greenstein
Josh Grode
Judd Apatow
Judge Judy Sheindlin
Julia Garner
Julia Lester
Julianna Margulies
Julie Greenwald
Julie Rudd
Juliette Lewis
Justin Theroux
Justin Timberlake
Karen Pollock
Karlie Kloss
Katy Perry
Kelley Lynch
Kevin Kane
Kevin Zegers
Kirsten Dunst
Kitao Sakurai
KJ Steinberg
Kristen Schaal
Kristin Chenoweth
Lana Del Rey
Laura Dern
Laura Pradelska
Lauren Schuker Blum
Laurence Mark
Laurie David
Lea Michele
Lee Eisenberg
Leo Pearlman
Leslie Siebert
Liev Schreiber
Limor Gott
Lina Esco
Liz Garbus
Lizanne Rosenstein
Lizzie Tisch
Lorraine Schwartz
Lynn Harris
Lyor Cohen
Madonna
Mandana Dayani
Mara Buxbaum
Marc Webb
Marco Perego
Maria Dizzia
Mark Feuerstein
Mark Foster
Mark Scheinberg
Mark Shedletsky
Martin Short
Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Mathew Rosengart
Matt Lucas
Matt Miller
Matthew Bronfman
Matthew Hiltzik
Matthew Weiner
Matti Leshem
Max Mutchnik
Maya Lasry
Meaghan Oppenheimer
Melissa Zukerman
Michael Aloni
Michael Ellenberg
Michael Green
Michael Rapino
Michael Rappaport
Michael Weber
Michelle Williams
Mike Medavoy
Mila Kunis
Mimi Leder
Modi Wiczyk
Molly Shannon
Nancy Josephson
Natasha Leggero
Neil Blair
Neil Druckmann
Nicola Peltz
Nicole Avant
Nina Jacobson
Noa Kirel
Noa Tishby
Noah Oppenheim
Noah Schnapp
Noreena Hertz
Odeya Rush
Olivia Wilde
Oran Zegman
Orlando Bloom
Pasha Kovalev
Pattie LuPone
Paul & Julie Rudd
Paul Haas
Paul Pflug
Peter Traugott
Polly Sampson
Rachel Riley
Rafi Marmor
Ram Bergman
Raphael Margulies
Rebecca Angelo
Rebecca Mall
Regina Spektor
Reinaldo Marcus Green
Rich Statter
Richard Jenkins
Richard Kind
Rick Hoffman
Rick Rosen
Rita Ora
Rob Rinder
Robert Newman
Roger Birnbaum
Roger Green
Rosie O’Donnell
Ross Duffer
Ryan Feldman
Sacha Baron Cohen
Sam Levinson
Sam Trammell
Sara Foster
Sarah Baker
Sarah Bremner
Sarah Cooper
Sarah Paulson
Sarah Treem
Scott Braun
Scott Braun
Scott Neustadter
Scott Tenley
Sean Combs
Seth Meyers
Seth Oster
Shannon Watts
Shari Redstone
Sharon Jackson
Sharon Stone
Shauna Perlman
Shawn Levy
Sheila Nevins
Shira Haas
Simon Sebag Montefiore
Simon Tikhman
Skylar Astin
Stacey Snider
Stephen Fry
Steve Agee
Steve Rifkind
Sting & Trudie Styler
Susanna Felleman
Susie Arons
Taika Waititi
Thomas Kail
Tiffany Haddish
Todd Lieberman
Todd Moscowitz
Todd Waldman
Tom Freston
Tom Werner
Tomer Capone
Tracy Ann Oberman
Trudie Styler
Tyler James Williams
Tyler Perry
Vanessa Bayer
Veronica Grazer
Veronica Smiley
Whitney Wolfe Herd
Will Ferrell
Will Graham
Yamanieka Saunders
Yariv Milchan
Ynon Kreiz
Zack Snyder
Zoe Saldana
Zoey Deutch
Zosia Mamet
Sorry if I’m yapping I’m just obsessed - sorry what ok continuing
Idk if you’re waiting reveal it or something but can you please say you’re fancasts (is it considered a fancast if you’re literally the creator? Or the half creator since it’s a reboot?) for your reboot?
I love eah fancasts / just fancasts in general and the way you’ve mentioned some of them in other posts makes me so curious
!!!!!
i never talk about my cast but here’s the list!!(i probably fucked up names on this, i have like five times)
these aren’t set in stone obv, and one of them is a joke bc i thought it would be funny if a certain someone played Rumplestiltskin-
Raven Queen played by Callie Haverda
Apple White played by Mckenna Grace
Madeline Hatter played by Momona Tamada
Briar Beauty played by Kyleigh Curran
Cedar Wood played by Maliah Baker
Ashlynn Ella played by Trinity Likins
C. A. Cupid played by Sarah Dorothy Little
Blondie Lockes played by Ava Kolker
Ginger Breadhouse played by Iman Vellani
Duchess Swan played by Rina Johnson
Darling Charming played by Clementine Lea Spieser
Farah Goodfairy played by Cheyenne Hinojosa
Cerise Hood played by Ashley Sarmentio
Daring Charming played by Tait Blum
Dexter Charming played by Jacob Tremblay
Sparrow Hood played by Dallas Young
Hunter Huntsman played by Mateo Gallegos
Humphrey Dumpty played by Issiah Russel-Bailey
Kitty Cheshire played by Miya Cech
Lizzie Hearts played by Sofia Chicorelli Serna
Alastair Wonderland played by Walker Bryant
Bunny Blanc played by Xochtil Gomez
Chase Redford played by Parker Bates
Courtly Jester played by Trixie Hyde
Meeshell Mermaid played by Sophie Grace
Jillian Beanstalk played by Brianni Walker
Hopper Croakington II played by Jentzen Ramirez
Melody Piper played by Oona O’Brian
Ramona Badwolf played by Symonne Harrison
She played by Izabella Rose
Poppy O’Hair played by Anais Lee
Holly O’Hair played by Mirabelle Lee
Brooke Page played by Pixie Davies
Gus Crumb played by Jace Chapman
Helga Crumb played by Camron Seely
Travis Thumb played by Amari O’Neil
Prudence Step played by Lilo Baier
Charlotte Step played by Ava Ro
Lily Bo-Peep played by Lotus Blossom
Zypherus Wynd played by Camren Conerly
Aquilona Wynd played by Trinitee Stokes
Charity Charming played by Kaylin Hayman
Clara Lear played by Scarlet Spencer
Mahlee Black played by Daria Johns
Coral Witch played by Michela Luci
Nathan Nutcracker played by Finn Little
Justine Dancer played by Priah Ferguson
Witchy Brew played by Pilot Saraceno
Nina Thumbell played by Ella Noel
Felix Princely played by Jackson Dollinger
Tucker Merry played by Miguel Cazarez Mora
Marsha King played by Alexa Nisenson
Jackie Frost played by Anya Taylor-Joy
Northwind Frost played by Logan Lerman
Milton Grimm played by Frank Whaley
Giles Grimm played by Kieran Mulroney
Baba Yaga played by Olga Kurylenko
Rumplestiltskin played by Danny DeVito
Pied Piper played by Collin Donell
Mad Hatter played by Paul Wesley or Alex Hefner
The White Queen played by Kate Winslet
Mr. Badwolf played by Con O’Neil
Momma Bear played by Nathalie Boltt
Papa Bear played by William Baldwin
Coach Gingerbread played by Hill Harper
Snowelle White played by Alison Brie
Elvira Queen played by Clemence Poesy
Good King played by Matt Lanter
Snow Queen played by Lisa Kudro
Snow King played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan
Lance Charming played by Dan Stevens
Bryce Frost played by Shailene Woodley
Pie played by ?
Butternut played by ?
Cheshire Cat played by Stephanie Hsu
Queen of Hearts played by Meghan Ory
White Rabbit played by Joe Arquette
Cook played by Olivia Hack
i have spent… so long thinking about my cast for this i would DIE if i got even half of these actors to play the characters in the reboot!!
i've edited my muse page and i've started drafting and replying to threads. what i'd love to do is test out my test muses, to see which ones might stick around. like this for a starter from one (or two) of my test muses. all displayed under the cut.
chanel alistair (ryan destiny).
percy anderson - werewolf (andrew garfield).
october baxter - witch (mike faist and scott speedman).
forest bexley (felix mallard).
franz dietrich (jannik schumann).
mimi flores (giovana cordeiro).
marnie gallagher (niamh mccormack).
malachi gallagher (callum turner.)
oakley granger (milo manheim and lee pace).
elton hazelton (josh macqueen).
shema kabera (ncuti gatwa).
mabel lane - witch (lily james).
briar munoz (ruby cruz).
victoria newton (ella purnell and phoebe tonkin).
comet palmer (rohan campbell).
cherry phillips (annasophia robb and reese witherspoon).
reuben phillips (asa germann and tom hiddleston).
roxanne phillips (alison oliver and kate hudson).
scout phillips (renee rapp and emily blunt).
buster phillipson (john krasinski).
dove sawyer - werewolf (emma mackey).
fox sawyer - werewolf (robert sheehan)
jasper sawyer - werewolf (aaroun taylor johnson and colin firth).
cassius scott - (roman) vampire (kedar williams-stirling).
atticus scott - (roman) vampire (jonathan daviss).
trizie souza - witch (camila mendes).
dexter teagan (archie madekwe).
xavier teagan (alfred enoch).
clifford vasilis - time traveller (nicholas galitzine and andrew scott).
a tiered ranking of all the books i read in 2023! originally i was going to write up my commentary on each one but then i was like hahaha.....no, so below the cut is just a list of the titles/authors in each tier instead.
changed my brain chemistry
The Idiot, Elif Batuman
Land of Milk and Honey, C Pam Zhang
The Borrowed, Chan Ho-kei (trans. Jeremy Tiang)
My Cousin Rachel, Daphne du Maurier
Vagabonds, Hao Jingfang (trans. Ken Liu)
The Membranes, Chi Ta-wei (trans. Ari Larissa Heinrich)
Under the Pendulum Sun, Jeannette Ng
Severance, Ling Ma
He Who Drowned the World, Shelley Parker-Chan
Vita Nostra, Marina & Sergey Dyachenko (trans. Julia Meitov Hersey)
Network Effect, Martha Wells
top-tier stuff
Our Share of Night, Mariana Enriquez (trans. Megan McDowell)
Brainwyrms, Alison Rumfitt
The Door, Magda Szabo (trans. Len Rix)
The Lover, Marguerite Duras (trans. Barbara Bray)
Fun Home, Alison Bechdel
Strange Beasts of China, Yan Ge (trans. Jeremy Tiang)
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, Becky Chambers
Pachinko, Min Jin Lee
Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century, Kim Fu
Tell Me I’m Worthless, Alison Rumfitt
Bliss Montage, Ling Ma
How to Read Now, Elaine Castillo
Annihilation, Jeff VanderMeer
The Fifth Season, N. K. Jemisin
If Beale Street Could Talk, James Baldwin
My Brilliant Friend and The Story of a New Name, Elena Ferrante
The Jasmine Throne, Tasha Suri
good, well-written
Carmilla, Sheridan Le Fanu
Life Ceremony, Sayaka Murata (trans. Ginny Tapley Takemori)
Yellowface, R. F. Kuang
A Memory Called Empire, Arkady Martine
Assassin of Reality, Marina & Sergey Dyachenko (trans. Julia Meitov Hersey)
Witch King, Martha Wells
Tokyo Ueno Station, Miri Yu (trans. Morgan Giles)
Parable of the Sower, Octavia Butler
Peaces, Helen Oyeyemi
Gingerbread, Helen Oyeyemi
Project Hail Mary, Andy Weir
The Pachinko Parlor, Elisa Shua Dusapin (trans. Aneesa Abbas Higgins)
All Systems Red, Artificial Condition, Rogue Protocol, Exit Strategy, Fugitive Telemetry, and System Collapse (Murderbot #1-4, #6-7), Martha Wells
Revenant Gun, Yoon Ha Lee
The Dry Heart, Natalia Ginzburg (trans. Frances Frenaye)
Gods of Want, K-Ming Chang
Paradais, Fernanda Melchor (trans. Sophie Hughes)
The Mushroom at the End of the World, Anna Tsing
Your Emergency Contact Has Experienced An Emergency, Chen Chen
The Hurting Kind, Ada Limon
Murder on the Orient Express, Agatha Christie
An Unauthorised Fan Treatise, Lauren James
Upstream, Mary Oliver
The Art of Death, Edwidge Danticat
Meander, Spiral, Explode, Jane Alison
alphabet, Inger Christensen (trans. Susanna Nied)
Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates
flawed, but enjoyable
The Wicker King, K. Ancrum
Exit West, Mohsin Hamid
Detransition, Baby, Torrey Peters
Flux, Jinwoo Chong
Bang Bang Bodhisattva, Aubrey Wood
The Murder of Mr. Wickham, Claudia Gray
Natural Beauty, Ling Ling Huang
The Monster Baru Cormorant, Seth Dickinson
Certain Dark Things, Silvia Moreno-Garcia
The Likeness, Tana French
The Cabinet, Un-su Kim (trans. Sean Lin Halbert)
The Kingdom of Surfaces, Sally Wen Mao
The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On, Franny Choi
good, well-written, but not my cup of tea
The Good House, Tananarive Due
The Transmigration of Bodies, Yuri Herrera (trans. Lisa Dillman)
Roadside Picnic, Arkady & Boris Strugatsky (trans. Olena Bormashenko)
The School for Good Mothers, Jessamine Chan
At Night All Blood Is Black, David Diop (trans. Anna Moschovakis)
Family Lexicon, Natalia Ginzburg (trans. Jenny McPhee)
The Empress of Salt and Fortune, Nghi Vo
The Kingdom of This World, Alejo Carpentier (trans. Harriet de Onís)
Against Silence, Frank Bidart
flawed, less enjoyable
Tenth of December, George Saunders
Counterweight, Djuna (trans. Anton Hur)
Authority, Jeff VanderMeer
Comfort Me with Apples, Catherynne M. Valente
Babel, R. F. Kuang
The Genesis of Misery, Neon Yang
Carrie Soto Is Back, Taylor Jenkins Reid
not ranking
These are nonfiction and they aren’t literature-related, so it just felt weird trying to rank them.
Visual Thinking, Temple Grandin
On Web Typography, Jason Santa Maria
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, Marie Kondo (trans. Cathy Hirano)
I was pleased to read lots of books this year! I greatly enjoyed the majority of these - the only one I wouldn't really recommend was Rated M for Mature - and the favourites are bolded. There were quite a lot of others that I didn't end up finishing, which were mostly memoirs of people who I felt interested in but didn't find their writing very compelling, and some second-world fantasy novels that didn't grab me. Most of this year's reading was historical, contemporary, memoirs, or horror: it was only towards the end of the year that I got some fantasy in there, which is funny as I've always thought of myself as a big fantasy fan - if anyone has any queer non-YA fantasy recommendations, I'd love to have them. The most recent new-to-me fantasy I loved was The Sacred Dark series by May Peterson, if that helps!
I was really happy to read Alison Rumfitt, Torrey Peters, Maya Deane, Lee Mandelo, EE Ottoman, and Brandon Taylor for the first time in particular, and look forward to reading more of them in the future; Ducks by Kate Beaton hit hard and stuck with me; Passion and Play is a massively illuminating read for anyone interested in writing intimate scenes in games and made me feel a ton more confident and intentional in doing so; I loved returning to and crying over old favourites Elizabeth Wein and Terry Pratchett after a very long time.
Detransition, Baby - Torrey Peters
A Perfect Spy - John le Carre
Felix Ever After - Kacen Callender
Lark and Kasim Start a Revolution - Kacen Callender
Youngman - Lou Sullivan
The Ministry of Unladylike Activity - Robin Stevens
Winterkeep - Kristin Cashore
Rated M for Mature: Sex and Sexuality in Video Games - Matthew Wysocki (ed.), Evan W. Lauteria (ed.)
Passion and Play: A Guide to Designing Sexual Content in Games - Michelle Clough
How Games Move Us: Emotions by Design - Katherine Isbister
Tell Me I'm Worthless - Alison Rumfitt
The Companion - EE Ottoman
The Pearl Thief - Elizabeth Wein
Real Life - Brandon Taylor
The Autistic Trans Guide to Life - Yenn Purkis, Wenn Lawson
The Enigma Game - Elizabeth Wein
Filthy Animals - Brandon Taylor
Gender Queer - Maia Kobabe
Ten Steps to Nanette - Hannah Gadsby
Terry Pratchett: A Life With Footnotes - Rob Wilkins
Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands - Kate Beaton
The Late Americans - Brandon Taylor
Wrath Goddess Sing - Maya Deane
Vivi Conway and the Sword of Legend - Lizzie Huxley-Jones