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thatwritererinoriordan · 1 year

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American, we should make every copy of the Kindred graphic novel sell out like we did for Maus. Make the history-deniers confront the fact that slavery was an involuntary people-breeding operation, one of the scummiest human behaviors that humans are capable of.

#kindred graphic novel #octavia butler #art spiegelman #slavery tw #u.s. history

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lakecountylibrary · 2 months

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Read -> Reading -> To-Read: Black History Month Graphic Novel Round Up

Check out these awesome graphic novels reader's advisor Ashley has been picking up for Black History Month!

Read: Kindred by Octavia Butler, adapted by Damian Duffy

This graphic novel was adapted from the book Kindred by Octavia Butler. This story more recently has also been made into a TV series for Hulu. In this twisted tale, Dana is living in the 1970s when she begins having dizzy spells shake her to the core. These dizzy spells lead to her waking up in the 1800s helping a boy who she refers to as “Rufe.” While Dana is not sure what brings these spells on at first, she has an even harder time time trying to figure out how to make it stop.

Ms. Davis: A Graphic Biography by Sybille Titeux de la Croix, art by Amazing Ameziane

The story of Angela Davis is filled with resistance and unwillingness to accept unfair treatment and judgment. She is infamous for being a part of the FBI's Most Wanted List in 1971 due to an incident that occurred where she was accused as the main conspirator.

Reading her story as a graphic novel does not take away the seriousness of her story. I appreciate that the book provides explanations of key events; that is helpful if you are only hearing about some of the events for the first time, as I was. This book was a random find but it sent me down a research hole that made me want to learn more, and that is what any good book does.

Reading: Miles Davis and the Search for the Sound by Dave Chisholm

Miles Davis was an extremely talented musician. He thought outside of the box when it came to his music, so it is fitting that this graphic novel tells his story in an eclectic way.

The story begins as Miles has just gotten a piece of life-altering news in 1982. From there, he reminisces and begins telling his origin story. The artwork and illustrations of this graphic novel are beautiful. The colors truly jump off the page and speak to you, as clear as the words do. The funky art and the insight of Miles' fascinating yet tumultuous life make this book a true learning experience that explores the cool world of jazz and many of its legends.

To-Read: Toussaint Louverture: The Story of the Only Successful Slave Revolt in History by C.L.R. James, adapted by Nic Watts and Sakina Karimjee

This graphic novel details the Haitian Revolution led by Toussaint Louverture. This graphic novel is based on the play by C.L.R. James, produced in 1936. If you love history, and revolutions, this graphic novel my pique your interest.

See more of Ashley's recs

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thatsgoodweather · 4 months

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What should I read next?

#graphics made with canva <3 #huge shoutout to the star wars book club for encouraging me to keep reading btw <3 i love you guys <3 #it didn't make my top 5 but i read the graphic novel adaptation of anne frank's diary and just...wow <3 i feel she is such a kindred spirit

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el-im · 7 months

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#nau #hello they are making me read a graphic novel for class #here is the thing about graphic novels.#there is one.#and it is. the bone book series.#library #kindred

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luminouscrow · 10 months

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[ 18 • 06 • 2023 ]

i went to a local library today for some quality reading time and also to take home some new books!

i am so so close to finishing “a day of fallen night” 🥳 just under 100 pages to go!! thanks to my hour and a half at the library, i should definitely finish it tonight, and then i’ll continue on with “daisy jones & the six” and these newbies from today 😊

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jovenshires · 5 months

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17, 18 and 21 for the adorable ask game! <3

17. Favorite game as a child?

oh... i was big on life. like the board game. good times! otherwise my friends and i did a lot of like home-made movies (i was a theater kid)

18. Comfort book?

theres a few answers to this one!!

Basic Answer: the perks of being a wallflower by stephen chbosky. i... was a depressed teenager KLNDNLKFD so not only is this one of my comfort books, this is also one of my comfort Movies. i still struggle with my depression/mental health, but man oh man there's nothing like when i was reading this. i had just had a major friend breakup, i didn't want to go to school anymore, and man. charlie was just like me fr. take this as you will.

Cool Answer: aristotle and dante vs the secrets of the universe by benjamin alire sáenz. are you gay? are you cool? then THIS is the answer i will tell you. changed my life. friends to lovers, unreliable narrator, BISEXUALITY. angst with a happy ending. Nothing does it like them!!!!

Niche/Pretentious Answer: kindred by octavia e. butler, adapted by damian duffy, and illustrated by john jennings. LOVE her. i read this in college (assigned by my favorite teacher of all time thanks dad xx) and it like. changed me fundamentally. this started my dissent into books with darker and more thought-provoking themes. when i tell you i was strictly ya novel before and now i've opened my frontal lobe. anyway tw that this book deals in-depth with slavery and sexual assault before you look into it but it's truly one of my favorite things ive ever read and im itching to read her again

Actual Answer: tangled by carolyn mackler. is it good? no. it's actually pretty garbage ngl. was it my first introduction to mental health advocacy and a plus-size heroine? yes. she's my everything but secretly <3333

21. Favorite word?

i got so excited about the books i forgot to answer this LKNSNDLKND sorry. hm... i wanna say something like 'serendipity' but my favorite word is honestly probably 'slay'

send me adorable asks!

#long post #ask #asks #anon #anonymous #sorry this took so long i take books Very seriously DLKNKLDLNKD #anyway if you go read tangled: it was a different time #if you go read any of the other books: go bestie go bestie go!!!#i must insist upon kindred as a graphic novel btw its life changing

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xinesegalas · 1 year

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February Reads & Listens

February Reads & Listens A thread ⬇️

It’s been a rough month – it only being the second month since my father’s death; he was our sole surviving parent. My mother passed away less than two years ago. Everything is still hard to give my complete focus and attention. Grief smacked me upside the head as I stared down at a knife the other day while unloading the dishwasher. Tears sprung from my eyes as my mind taking me to my parent’s…

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myhistoryofbooks · 1 year

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Just finished the Kindred Graphic Novel, and it was ok, but it really doesn't grasp the complexities of the original novel. And it did it's best. It was crammed, and I mean CRAMMED, with dialogue bubbles to the point where I couldn't always figure out what order to read them in. But it still felt like so much was missing. And I wonder for people who never read the original if it evens makes sense. Anyway, worth checking out if you have read Kindred before, but I would call the graphic supplemental not replacement.

#kindred #octavia butler #books #sci fi #time travel #reading #booklr #book review #kindred the graphic novel

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rbtbc · 1 year

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QOTD: How would you survive if you were transported through time, to pre-Civil War South in the United States of America? Your ability to time travel is uncontrollable and it’s occurrence is unpredictable, how would you prepare for it if you knew that your stay becomes longer with each time you travel?

Check out today's The Jot Down.

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reimenaashelyee · 7 months

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Growing up is terrible.

No one has time to do anything fun, or play outside, or use their imagination. Everything is suddenly so serious. People are more interested in their looks and what others think about them than having fun adventures. Who wants that? Not Lora. After watching her circle of friends seemingly fade away, Lora is determined to still have fun on her own.

A tea party with a twist leaves Lora to re-discovering Alexa, the ghost that haunts her house — and Lora’s old imaginary friend! Lora and Alexa are thrilled to meet kindred spirits and they become best friends . . . but unfortunately, not everything can last forever.

The first chapter/teaser of my graphic novel published 3 years ago!! It's a Halloween/autumn tale about the fear of growing up and getting old, and what a blessing it is to age.

You can read the full story in libraries and bookstores anywhere.

#seance tea party #comic #comics #art #halloween #seance is my most personal book so far #cos it's basically all the things I love and still love distilled into it #and I had that fear as a kid lol but being an adult is pretty good

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onekindredspirit · 11 months

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The Dickensian Bookshop

Each time I pass through this small town I try to spend some time at the Dickensian Bookshop, one of my favourite second hand booksellers.

As I approached the store I saw an old man (not the guy in my photo) clinging to a Give Way sign across the street.

I browsed the shop window display and didn’t need to look to know that he would be closing in on me. I’m a magnet for the unusual.

When I did look up he was a metre away and intense with energy. I looked into him but I didn’t sense any malice, at least not for me.

“I’m looking for HOODS!” he said. He pronounced the word hoods with considerably more emphasis than the rest of the sentence, and that was interesting.

In this once English colony, the word hood is easily recognised as a variant of hoodlum. It’s just that we stopped using the words hood and hoodlum a long time ago.

Anyway, I’ve found from my experience with interesting people that mirroring is comforting for them.

“HOODS?” I yelled back at him.

“Yes, HOODS! I’m looking to rough me up some HOODS!”

“Rough me up” of course means to hit and otherwise treat roughly, people in need of ill treatment. In this context, HOODS.

“Well I’m sure you’ll find plenty of HOODS in this town.” I said.

I could see that this was new information for him and also, that I was probably the most agreeable person he’d met recently.

He considered things for a moment, his clenched fists churning in a low ready position, as if remembering what it was like to be a boxer from a long time ago, and then suddenly, he went blank.

With the right equipment I could probably have shown you the exact place in his brain where a tangle of malignant protein was blocking the vital connection to the spot where he had saved those memories of his youth as a boxing man.

Instead, I took his cerebral misfire as an opportunity to gracefully slip into the bookstore and I closed the door deliberately behind me. I didn’t want to discover, upon his reanimation, that I now looked like a hoodlum to him.

“He’s looking for hoods.” I said to the lovely person behind the little desk by the door.

“Oh dear. I saw him hanging onto a sign over there.” and they motioned vaguely with their head. “I hope he’s okay.”

“Yes, I think he has dementia. He’s quite hunched and kind of shuffles when he walks but it doesn’t feel too bad yet. I mean, I don’t think he’s lost or anything and ... I didn’t sense any fear in him.”

I spent 20 minutes in this wonderful bookstore, in the midst of this wonderful life and grateful that it was not yet my turn to cling to signs.

I bought a biography of Patrick Leigh Fermor, a book of photographs by the painter Alphonse Mucha and the graphic novel/anthology American Splendor - The Life and Times of Harvey Pekar.

Of course, none of this ends well for us. I watched one of my best friends die in mortal fear. My father suffered panic attacks as his end drew near. I hope to be brave, I hope to laugh in the face of death and, if given the opportunity, I hope also to cling to many signs, in particular, those that instruct me to Give Way and to Yield.

- One Kindred Spirit

Silver Print

#silver gelatin #original photography #original words #film photography #secondhand bookshops #darkroom #photographers on tumblr #original writing #monochrome #black and white

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filmnoirsbian · 1 year

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Hi !! I was wondering if you had any book recs/favorite books? Things that you think of as inspiration or just plain like? Genuinely curious. <3 im in love with your work btw i spent the other day binging your patreon

Some favorites that deeply impacted me from a young age up into teenagedom: the Animorphs series by K. A. Applegate, Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein, Oddly Enough by Bruce Coville, The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Little Sister by Kara Dalkey, The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede, The Tale of Desperaux by Kate DiCamillo, A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket, The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander, Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury, the Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage, Piratica by Tanith Lee, the Inkheart series by Cornelia Funke, His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman, Holes by Louis Sachar, The View from Saturday by E. L. Konigsburg, Shizuko's Daughter by Kyoko Mori, The Sea-Wolf by Jack London, Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech, Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins, Everything on a Waffle by Polly Horvath, Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie S. Tolan, The Last Book in the Universe by Rodman Philbrick, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg, The Iliad and Odyssey (allegedly) by Homer, The Táin by many people, Harlem by Walter Dean Myers, Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan, The Wall and the Wing by Laura Ruby, The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkein, The Hainish Cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin, Till We Have Faces by C. S. Lewis, The Ethical Vampire series by Susan Hubbard, The Howl Series by Diana Wynne Jones, the Curseworkers series by Holly Black, The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick, Android Karenina by Ben H. Winters, An Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson, Beloved by Toni Morrison, A Stir of Bones by Nina Kiriki Hoffman, the Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson, Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente, World War Z by Max Brooks, This is Not A Drill by K. A. Holt, Fade to Blue by Sean Beaudoin, Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu, The Moth Diaries by Rachel Klein, Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman, Crush by Richard Siken, Hopscotch by Julio Cortázar, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame by Victor Hugo, Devotions by Mary Oliver, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Some favorites read more recently: The Expanse series by James S. A. Corey, Engine Summer by John Crowley, Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff, The Princess Bride by William Goldman, Heart Berries by Terese Marie Mailhot, My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix, Reprieve by James Han Mattson, House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski, Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn, Kindred by Octavia Butler, Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi, Station Eleven by Emily St. John-Mandel, The Crown Ain't Worth Much by Hanif Abdurraqib, The Refrigerator Monologues by Catherynne M. Valente, Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata, Tender is the Flesh by Augustina Bazterrica, The Girl with All the Gifts by Mike Carey, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson, The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, She had some horses by Joy Harjo, Bright Dead Things by Ada Limón, The King Must Die by Mary Renault, Books of Blood by Clive Barker, Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin, Cassandra by Christa Wolfe

Plays: The Oresteia by Aeschylus, Electra by Sophocles, Los Reyes by Julio Cortázar, Angels in America by Tony Kushner, August: Osage County by Tracy Letts, The Bald Soprano by Eugène Ionesco, The Trojan Women by Euripides, Salome by Oscar Wilde, Girl on an Altar by Marina Carr, Fences by August Wilson, The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, M. Butterfly by David Henry Hwang, Our Town by Thornton Wilder, Sweeney Todd by Christopher Bond

Graphic novels: The Crow by James O'Barr, DMZ by Brian Wood and Riccardo Burchielli, Eternals (2021) by Kieron Gillen and Esad Ribić, Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons and John Higgins, My Favorite Thing is Monsters by Emil Ferris, Maus by Art Spiegelman, Tank Girl by Alan Martin and Jamie Hewlett, Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, Through the Woods by Emily Carroll, Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol

#watchmen is difficult to recommend on account of the misogyny but beyond that it really did change my life lol #asks #an open window #book recs #also i know technically eternals isn't a graphic novel it's a comic run directly related to the avengers and such at large BUT #it is sooo so good and u don't really have to know much abt what the avengers losers are up to in order to understand it #i didn't include any other favorite comic runs bc they require other things to be read for context. ur welcome.

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jewishcissiekj · 3 months

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Ok so these aren't recommendations or proper reading orders but just for anyone looking to read/watch/listen to everything Asajj, I wanted to post my checklist for both Legends and Canon Asajj and tag them properly for convenience

Canon Asajj checklist -Dooku: Jedi Lost (Audio Drama) -Jedi of the Republic – Mace Windu #5 (Comic) -Brotherhood (Novel) -Hyperspace Stories #5 -Star Wars Adventures: The Clone Wars – Battle Tales #2 (Comic) -The Clone Wars S1 E16 (TV) -The Clone Wars (Movie, Novel) -The Clone Wars S1 E1 (TV) -Sharing the Same Face (short story, The Clone Wars: Stories of Light and Dark) -The Clone Wars S1 E5 (TV) -The Clone Wars S1 E9 (TV) -Worthless (short story, Stories of Jedi and Sith) -The Clone Wars S3 E2 (TV) -Tales of Villainy: Give & Take (short comic story, Star Wars Adventures (2020) #12) -The Clone Wars S3 E12-14 (TV) -The Clone Wars S4 E19-20 (TV) -The Lost Nightsister (short story, The Clone Wars: Stories of Light and Dark) -The Clone Wars S4 E21-22 (TV) -Dark Vengeance: The True Story of Darth Maul and His Revenge Against the Jedi Known as Obi-Wan Kenobi (short story, The Clone Wars: Stories of Light and Dark) -Sisters (short comic story, Age of Republic Special #1) -The Clone Wars S5 E19-20 (TV) -Kindred Spirits (short story, Star Wars Insider #159) -Dark Disciple (Novel) -The Bad Batch S3 E 9 -Star Wars Adventures: Return to Vader's Castle #1 (Comic) -Star Wars Adventures: Return to Vader's Castle #3 (Comic) -Star Wars Adventures: Return to Vader's Castle #5 (Comic) -Obi-Wan #4 (Comic) -Star Wars (2015) #47 (Comic, only depicted on playing card) -Star Wars Adventures Ashcan (Comic) -Halcyon Legacy #1 (Comic) -Halcyon Legacy #3 (Comic)

Legends Asajj Checklist -Restraint (short story) -Star Wars: Clone Wars chapters 6-7 (TV) -Star Wars: Republic #51-52 (Comic) -Jedi: Mace Windu #1 (Comic) -Star Wars: Republic #53 (Comic) -Rogue's Gallery (short comic story, Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures Volume 3) -Dark Heart (short story) -Star Wars: Clone Wars chapters 11-19 (TV) -The Cestus Deception (Novel) -Star Wars: Republic #58-60 (Comic) -Star Wars: Republic #64 (Comic) -Jedi Trial (Novel) -Yoda: Dark Rendezvous (Novel) -Star Wars: Republic #69-71 (Comic) -The Clone Wars: Shadowed (Webcomic) -The Clone Wars S1 E16 (TV) -The Clone Wars (Movie, Novel) -The Clone Wars: Prelude (Webcomic) -The Clone Wars S1 E1 (TV) -The Clone Wars: Shipyards of Doom (Graphic Novel) -The Clone Wars: Secret Missions 2: Curse of the Black Hole Pirates (Junior Novel) -The Clone Wars: The Fall of Falleen (Webcomic) -The Clone Wars S1 E5 (TV) -The Clone Wars: Crash Course (Graphic Novel) -The Clone Wars #7-9 (Comic) -The Clone Wars S1 E9 (TV) -The Clone Wars: The Valsedian Operation (Webcomic) -The Clone Wars #11-12 (Comic) -Keep the Faith (short comic story) -In the Air (short comic story) -The Clone Wars S3 E2 (TV) -Hunted (short comic story) -Fashion (short comic story) -The Only Good Clanker (short comic story) -Under The Hammer (short comic story) -The Clone Wars S3 E12-14 (TV) -The Clone Wars #5-6 (Comic, retconned) -The Clone Wars S4 E19-22 (TV) -The Clone Wars: The Sith Hunters (Graphic Novel) -The Clone Wars S5 E19-20 (TV) -Star Wars: Obsession #1-5 (Comic)

And a guide: -In no way these are my recommendations, I actually unrecommend a certain book here, I'm still working on my recommendations post but this is just the Wookiepedia list just less confusing (I hope) -She isn't a main character in all of these. At all. And some are just cameos, I didn't get into specifics about that. -Most of the canon books & short stories can be found in e-book/digital form, or in physical copies pretty easily, just look them up. -The same thing that goes for the canon books goes for the canon comics, although most of the issues listed are a part of a series (as might be evident by their numbers). That doesn't mean you need to read the rest, because they're pretty stand-alone and usually just reference the other issues of the series/have a framing story related to that. -I'm not sure where you can find the Star Wars Insider issue or the Adventures Ashcan, sorry about that. -The Bad Batch Season 3 did not come out yet so it gets a question mark. Might try and update this after it does. -The Legends list is much more complicated than canon, since anything related to The Clone Wars series may contradict the prior Legends media. That's why I marked those in bold, as they are only officially part of that timeline, and don't make much sense with the rest of it (most of it, other than the actual episodes, were mostly de-canonized when Disney bought Star Wars with the rest of Legends). -There are ofc the original printings of those, but I also I believe most of the Legends books listed were reprinted as a part of the Legends brand, but if they weren't then idk what to tell you. -The Legends comics were also reprinted, mostly in big, pretty expensive collections. So it might be harder to buy those. I think there are digital copies of those collections, though, so you can buy them for cheaper that way. -The Clone Wars webcomics can be found here , through @clonewarsarchives (a great resource overall) -The short TCW stories (in bold under short comic story) can all be found here (once again through clone wars archives) -The Restraint short story can't be found anywhere I looked, only in the 2nd printing of Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter. One of 2 things on the Legends list I've yet to read. -The Dark Heart short story was originally published online, so it's here legally (link straight from Wookiepedia I sure hope it's legal). -I have no idea how to get to the Graphic Novels normally but I trust they're on eBay and co. -I've only talked about legal options but obviously, there's more. Act with discretion and I'm not posting links like that here. I might be able to help more through DMs but you know.

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dg-outlaw · 3 months

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Hello, fellow Jaysteph fan! It's nice to meet more people who ship this pairing. What are your favorite things about this ship that drew you to it? For me, it was a combination of their canon interactions and just how much they have in common as people. This pairing has a lot of potential and I wish that the canon would explore their relationship more.

To be honest, I sort of stumbled into the JaySteph ship/fandom, but I'm thoroughly enjoying it and the interactions with other fans and creators in the ship.

My journey initially started when I went looking for some Red Hood fanfics, wanting something a bit meatier than just a comic or graphic novel. I enjoy comics, but also wish there were more novelizations of superhero stories. I think this is where fanfic comes in as that's what people tend to do in their stories--dig deeper and spend more time with characters outside of a few internal thought bubbles. While most fanfics I see are romance-centric, slice-of-life, or NSFW (which I don't mind), I also wanted content that felt more like a comic in long-form. I was also in a writing mood, having just finished a re-write project for someone else which had really helped boost my confidence in writing. The story was something I'd never write myself, but it was consistent and I proved to myself I could do it. (I also suffer from a need for external pressure/motivation to get things done). Naturally, writing fanfic seemed like a fun way to keep that momentum and play in a fun sandbox without a bunch of character and worldbuilding.

(^ Me, needing external motivation to get things done. Also, Bruce to Jason. "But your honor, I love my son.")

Then I found the @jaystephevents page and saw there was an upcoming writing event JaySteph Weekend 2023. From there I fell down the rabbit hole of learning about and reading JaySteph stories. The last ship I saw with Jason was him and Artemis from the Outlaws, and while I enjoyed that ship, it ended in canon so I was open to a new ship for Jason.

As far as Jason and Steph go, as probably obvious from the above (and my tumblr), I've been a Jason/Red Hood fan for a long time, but didn't have a lot of knowledge about Steph. I knew she was Spoiler had been Batgirl and then Spoiler and then Batgirl again (thanks to reboots and such), but my canon knowledge was limited--including learning about her "death" and stint as Robin. Despite wanting to jump in and start writing I instead went back and read some stories with Steph and the few that had Jason and Steph in the same story as I wanted to get to know them better, and understand what their dynamic could be.

I then read a lot of JaySteph fanfics as I wanted to see what others saw in their potential relationship as well--not so much to influence my stories, but to inspire. But yes, their similar upbringings, histories, personalities, and tendency of getting pushed aside or undermined as worthy of being a part of the group did inspire me to embrace the ship. I see them as kindred spirits who could either be great together or a hot mess... or both.

I will also note that one of the first JaySteph fics that really wowed me and inspired me to explore all the different emotions and mixing in of canon in my stories was @pioneertothefalls' series True Love Waits. I was still plotting, researching, and writing my first JaySteph story while reading other shorter stories in the ship, but that series was my go-to read starting out last year. There are so many great authors and stories in the ship (so I won't name them for fear of leaving someone out), but that one really resonated with me and had me sold on JaySteph. It's got action, romance, humor, drama, slice of life, canon tie-ins, spicy stuff, and everything in-between. IMO, it set the bar for me and I was like, "okay, don't write crap." Not that I would try to write crap (and hopefully I haven't), but it did help motivate me to really invest in what I was writing.

Also, Jason and Steph are confident badasses who tend to jump head first into things, but they also secretly hide away their insecurities or sometimes hesitate. And their insecurities are ones that only those closest to them are allowed to see, and even then just a bit. They've been hurt in so many ways and all they want to do is be loved and love others like crazy. They have hope and perseverance despite the odds and naysayers. They don't always believe that they deserve to be heroes, but they still do it nonetheless despite their past mistakes and crimes. I'd say Steph is more emotionally mature in these areas because she's had more people around her to support her, but there's fear in both of them. In this, there's lots of things I can relate to personally from my own childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood, apart from not being an adopted orphan, vigilante, or having a criminal or billionaire father, but... Potato-Tomato. :P

I also have thoughts on all the BS complaints I see from some people (mostly on Reddit) about "ince$t" and Steph being "passed around the Batboys" when it comes to the JaySteph ship, but this is already a long post so I'll save that rant for now.

All in all, this is a really fun ship and I enjoy the community and people around it. There's also a JaySteph Discord (18+) for anyone interested. More info @jaysteph-server.

Thanks for the Ask @imaginationcenter! :)

#dc comics #jason todd #red hood #stephanie brown #stephanie brown spoiler #batgirl stephanie brown #jaysteph #my first question and answer!#long post

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just-1other-nerd · 10 months

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I wanted to spread a bit of positivity around here in these dark days so I'll tell you of a great experience I had today. Last week I started my apprenticeship at a book store (in Germany it's kinda normal that people don't go to university/college after school and directly persue an apprenticeship) and I like it so far but today I had a ✨️moment✨️.

This girl came to pick up the first Sandman graphic novel by Neil Gaiman and while scanning it I said: "I loved the show, I definitely want to read it one day." And she looked at me with an excited smile and both of us immediately went into fangirl mode and since there was nobody waiting we just had a 5 minute long conversation about the show and its themes and our favourite episodes and I recommend her Good Omens and it was just so great, 10/10.

It doesn't happen that often that I meet someone who I immediately vibe with and it's even more rare that someone is just as excited about a piece of media as I am. As soon as I saw the book, I knew, and as soon as I said that sentence she knew: we are kindred spirits.

Tbh that connection was the highlight of my day.

#the sandman #neil gaiman #good omens #kindred spirits #tales from the bookshop

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wutheringmights · 6 months

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So I finally finished rereading "The Fifth Season" by N.K. Jemisin, and-- actually, hold on. I need to start from the beginning.

The first time I read "The Fifth Season" by N.K. Jemisin, it was early COVID. Quarantine was in full swing, and my university had gone fully remote. I was taking a seminar class entitled "Ethno-Futurism," which focused on analyzing the ways in which sci-fi novels and short stories have discussed and commented on contemporaneous racial issues through the lens of sci-fi. Alongside other works like Octavia Butler's "Kindred," we were assigned "The Fifth Season."

I was actually pretty good about getting my readings done. But by the time Jemisin rolled around, it was the end of the quarter, and I was exhausted. I decided to strategically skip reading the book to focus on other end of the quarter projects.

Except, one of those projects was for an informational sciences class I was taking for my degree specialization. I had spent the entire quarter creating an info graphic about the diversity of Hugo Award Winners for best novel and short story. Jemisin is not only the first Black American to win the Best Novel award, but she went on to win it three times in a row for the Broken Earth Trilogy. You know, the trilogy that begins with "The Fifth Season."

Day before the reading is due, the sheer stupidity of what I was doing hit me. Why the fuck was I going to skip out on reading the book I had been researching the controversy behind for the past how many weeks? Am I that stupid?

So, yeah. I buckled down and read all 400+ pages in 24 hours.

Reading for academics is different from reading for pleasure. While I understood the plot and the characters, I was focusing more on stuff that was related to the seminar (primarily, racial castes). Which isn't to say that I didn't derive any pleasure from the book. On the contrary, I was blow away by the way Jemisin not only built this rich, complex world, but how she also deftly handled unique play at shifting narrative perspectives.

I knew at the time that if I was going to finish reading the series, I would have to start over and reread "The Fifth Season," just so that I could pay more attention to the characters and world building.

Cut to now. I had bought the last two books at a bookstore a few months ago. Now felt like the time to finally go back to the first book and actually read it for pleasure.

So... what did I think about it?

I like this book. I like it a lot. But it might not be made for me.

I'm not big into complex world building. Surprise, surprise: I prefer character drama. That's not to say that the book doesn't have fantastic characters (it has incredible characters, each one more fascinating from the last). But the world building is so intricate, there is always exposition that has to be given, to the point where I felt like I didn't get to see as much of the characters as I wanted.

To me, Essun and Damaya had the most interesting story lines. Essun's story moved really slowly, so much so that I felt like nothing much happened. In fact, nothing really happens with her by the end of it. We also see very little of Damaya. I think she has four chapters to her name. Maybe five?

Syenite has the most to do, and it feels like we linger on her the most. But as much as I like her and Alabaster, I never really got into her story line. Again, I felt like there was so many character moments I wanted them to have that kept being set aside in favor of the world building.

The story all together moves really slowly. In the end, not much as really happened. But at the same time, Jemisin is really obviously running a marathon. I have to give it time, even if it takes all three books.

For me, the most interesting part of the book is the way the prose plays with narrative perspectives. It's great. But I wonder how effective it is when the story feels so out of balance. Does the structure make sense when the novel reveals it's proverbial hand? Sure. I feel like I understand [redacted character name] really well, and they're definitely going to go on to be an icon character in the sci-fi /fantasy canon.

But... I don't know. Something feels missing. Maybe it's just lost some of its shine, now that I know the twist?

Part of the reason why I wanted to reread "The Fifth Season" now was that I wanted to study how to world build from nothing. That's an area I've always struggled in. I was hoping for some kind of epiphany moment where I would learn the secret to great fantasy/sci-fi. But I don't think I learned anything new. It's the same lesson about pacing out exposition and lore to not overwhelm the reader. I think I'm a bit bitter about that.

All that being said, I respect the hell out of this book. I don't even think that this is a book that needs people to like it. It's so confidently itself that I can feel it telling me that is I'm not the ideal reader why should it try to impress me?

And it's right. I can't be too hard on a book when it's made for people who like the extensive world building stuff. My opinion is pretty worthless here.

Overall, this is a 4.5/5. Almost perfect. Now let's see if I can finally get to those other two books.

#this good really gets the gears moving #is this my personal favorite? no. but fuck is it objectively high quality #again i just don't think this is the book for me #i think a lot of people mistakenly think i am really into world building but jokes on you it's my least favorite thing ever #Do Not Give Me More Lore Than I Need. I Want the Bare Minimum To Understand The Story And That's It. Do Not Explain the French Sewer System #To Me.#me rambling #me reading #the fifth season #the broken earth trilogy #broken earth #fifth season by NK Jemisin #NK Jemisin

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