#me reading

[wutheringmights]

After I finished reading The Epic of Gilgamesh today, I entered a fugue state where I sat down and read the entirety of Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce.

On the record, I have had a lifelong love and adoration for Pierce's Tortall books. I first read the Song of the Lioness quartet when I was 11, and they rewrote my brain. I love them so much. I reread them and the other Tortall books on a semi-frequent schedule.

It's been a while since I reread any of the Alanna books, if only because my sister took our shared copies when she moved out. I've been meaning to buy my own set for a long while now but haven't been able to justify the purchase. The other week, I just so happened to find the first two volumes at my local indie bookstore. I bought them immediately, as well as ordered the third and fourth book. (And discovered that the store owner knows me by name-- when I went to pick up my order, she saw me and said, Hi Frankie! I got your books over here.) (I may be spending too much money there.)

So I have been in a bit of an emotional rut these past few weeks. Work sucks. Life stinks. The temptation to run off to Tortall and curl up in the fantasy story that captivated me as a kid has never been stronger.

Ergo, I ran off to read the first book as soon as I could.

If you're looking for any critique of this book, series, or Tortall in general, I will never give it. Sure, it's problematic and dated, and in many ways imperfect, but someone else can list out all of its issues. They're all perfect to me.

Anyway, the book. I should say something about this book in particular.

One thing I appreciate about Pierce's writing is how she handles school settings in fantasy. Learning and training is so mundane. All of her heroines have to work hard and put in extra hours of study in order to improve, much less keep up with their peers. It's so normal that it circles around to being weirdly refreshing.

Also, there is still no other fantasy author who handles period talk and birth control the way Pierce does. We make fun of the trope of fantasy birth control nowadays, but I rarely see it presented as it is here: as a part of normal puberty lessons and given long before sex is in the girl's radar. And even today with the glut of YA fantasy stories out there, I still have yet to see menstruation be portrayed as frequently or as bluntly as Pierce writes it.

There was a period of time publishers really tried to push the Tortall books as straight YA, which doesn't work for that reason alone. You gotta market them to middle schoolers. They're the ones just starting puberty talks, and getting scenes like this is so good for their brains.

Moving on: I fucking love these characters. Alanna was an icon of brash, temperamental heroines that have shaped my taste to this day. I love how even in the first book, Jon is kinda shitty. I adore George Cooper. Talk about a taste maker the way this man sets a standard.

I just can't be coherent when it comes to any Tortall books. I have no thoughts. Head empty. I am going to binge the rest of this series as quickly as I can before my library book comes in. Then normal book content will resume.

Before I go, I need to talk about the book covers.

Growing up, my sister and I had these covers:

Which, god. I love them. The black is striking. The art is incredible. Alanna looks so good. They were the perfect pocket-size too. I was going to buy the same edition for my copies, but instead I got the 40th anniversary reprints:

Not bad at all! These books have had some seriously bad covers, and these look great! Very anime, which will appeal to the 11 year olds who need to have their socks rocked by this series.

But, man. I really miss those black covers. One day I will splurge and buy a second set of them just so that I can stare at the art.

#having a not normal time on tumblr dot come right now #alanna my beloved #if you were a deity i would worship you #me rambling #me reading #bookish #books and reading #books #bookblr #Alanna: the first adventure #the song of the lioness #tortall #tamora pierce

[musewrangler]

Sigh. Guess who just ordered the first three Queens Thief books. Is this my fault? No. It is entirely the fault of certain relentless tumblr mutuals who shall remain nameless. Coughs in @kanerallels and @accidental-spice

I suspect I have another suffering, angst magnet man to adopt.

#reading #queens thief #tumblr mutuals #I blame them #me reading #like I have time #Gonna do it anyway #books #angst

[silksosoft]

Reading - KinnPorsche

A Deeper Connection by DragonFairy777 (23.2k) https://archiveofourown.org/works/46960273 Porche and Kim meet at street fights several years before the start of the main story and become friends right away. There's some things that I really enjoyed in the story. Kim and Chay develop close relation and that's why Kim's desperation seems much more logical when Chay learns the truth and as well as their make up that follows - as it's much more difficult to turn your back on the person you've been so close and secretly in love for years. And one more thing - I never knew that Kim&Porche friendship was what I needed - their dynamics and the way how perfectly Kim fits into the brothers' life (and the punch Kinn gets from Kim for mistreating Porche was soo deserved!)

Teaching Chay by blackhighheels (95.1k) https://archiveofourown.org/works/46000303 Kim learns that Chay is depressed and nobody cares about it except Big and returns to the compound to get Chay out of the shell and help him finally adjust to the new environment. I think i haven't read any other story with so many details about their real learning&teaching process - not only learning to be a part of the family but learning each other. Loved it! The final part of the plot still leaves some questions unanswered - first being why Korn was the way he was, what was the reasoning behind his actions. That makes the detective, let's call it so, plotline less convincing, however, the relations part here is just on spot.

With Every Guitar String Scar on My Hand I Take This Man to Be My Lover by bInTheMoon (2.3k) https://archiveofourown.org/works/40088208 a cute variation of a 5+1 plot when Kim and Chay are together, but their brothers never notice anything

the instinctual gravitation toward warmth by kimkhimhant (139.6k) https://archiveofourown.org/works/42238578 A quite emotional post-canon story of Kim fighting for his freedom from his father and 'business', for his music, for Wik, and against drug abuse: of slow but imminent fall to the bottom and gradual and painful way back. Kim and Chay make up through music, both aiming at making it a career. Chay is supportive of Kim to the point he just can't stand Korn's mind games any more. Tagged 'Heavy Angst' not without a reason

Our Hearts, Bathed in Lightning by The_Old_Astronomer (27.6k) https://archiveofourown.org/works/43148404 Chay is afraid of storms and Kim comes to the rescue. It seems like another story of them coming together, but the language it's written makes it stand out - it has a certain poetic flair and is full of metaphors and other stylistic devices that I thoroughly enjoyed. Just a quote. "Kim was his prologue, his epilogue and everything in between"

#kinnporsche #kinnporsche the series #me reading #Reading - KinnPorsche #review #kinnporche the series

[imheredisappointingmyparents]

Fuck heroes. Give me a morally questionable character that won't change themself for the world, but will change the world for their child/goal

#me reading #books #i love books #and characters #I usually end up crying #authors are cruel #six of crows #alea aquarius #Literally half of my fandoms

[boxwinebaddie]

hi this message is for the very sweet anon that was suffering from insomnia and anxiety and was comforted by the sound of my voice, and asked me if i would read them a bed time story xx ( i deleted it because i got nervous )

i lost the original sweet message when i deleted the ask but! here is your bedtime story, my friend! i am not the best reader, and my voice sounds mannish and nightmarish, but there you go. i wasn't sure what to read you, so i read the first part of the kindergarten flashback -- if you want me to read the rest ( and you ask nicely ) i will consider it. if you ask nicely i will also consider reading other things for y'all.

listen as may times as you need! all i ask i that you do not save the audio file to any device ( i am trying to be conscious of my digital foot print ), but you can access the link all you want! i hope this thrills you haha, i messed up a lot so i'm sorry.

link: https://voca.ro/1QzuXyHBZ8SS

-uncle nina bedtime story hour <3

#back by unpopular demand #me reading #i hope this soothes u #i am embarrassed by this but i want to help

[selinascatnip]

Awwwn Morpheus is still a prick even in this new pretty boy form

Someone put his sister on the phone so she can scream at him some more

#Me reading #listening and now watching #Sandman #is just like Hermes in Hadestown #starting over and over again #wishing #somehow #this time #it will be different #but Lyta Hall is pregnant #Daniel will be born #and Morpheus will die by his own stupidity and integrity #and I'll be on my bedroom's floor crying #just like when I was 13

[tuttocenere]

So I got about 100 pages / 20% into Wolf Hall and I think I'm giving up, I just honestly don't care about anyone in this book, I have no idea where the plot is going (presumably king Henry will murder a wife at some point but it's not the text that tells me this) and the writing style is really irritating.

Verdict: not for me

#me reading

[sol-em-gemeos]

#me reading romance #me reading #the joys of books #Kimi ni Todoke #anime cap #this is what reading shoujo feels like #shoujo

[wonkanerds]

VISITING OXFORD 🤩📖🫶🏽🎬.

#alwaysbooks #alwaysbooks ig #bookstagram #instagram #book dragon #book in spanish #book lover #bookish pic #libro recomendado #no edit needed #oxford #reading books #reading #reader girl #me reading #beautiful girl #beautiful landscape #oxford university #the divinity school #blackwell bookshop #bookshop #beautiful books #beautiful bookstores #bookstore #blackwell bookstore #blackwell oxford #the lord of the rings the two towers #el señor de los anillos #la comunidad del anillo #jrr tolkien

[icanttakemyeyesoffu]

the way i be reading, making notes and analyzing a book in a summer break but not having energy for that in class

#me reading #me talking

[wutheringmights]

I finished rereading The Song of the Lioness quartet by Tamora Pierce a couple of days back. I already talked about the first book in a post that garnered more attention than it deserved. I guess we were all happily reminiscing about the menstruation scenes together, or Tortall fans are so starved for content they (we) will reblog anything.(Understandable. I too am starved for a thriving Tortall fandom.)

I'm too lazy to make separate posts about each book, so we're just going to do a mega post covering the second, third, and fourth book.

Unlike last time, I will be giving a little criticism to this series. I still love it endlessly, but there were a few things about the prose I thought was interesting that I want to talk about a bit.

So, without further ado~

In the Hand of the Goddess

I think this one is my favorite one, despite how rushed the plot it. It contains all of my favorite plot points, like awkward romances with George and Jon, attending knight lessons, and a little summer war. Fun stuff.

But it definitely feels rushed. I really wish someone told Pierce to make this a 12 book series, expanding on Alanna's years at the castle. It would have gone so far to better develop the romances and the friendships in these books.

I am fascinated by what Pierce chose to skim over. Characters would die or kiss for the first time off screen, with the prose resuming with Alanna reacting to it. It demonstrates an understanding of character work that I personally adore and try to emulate in my own writing-- the real bones of a story being in how characters respond to fantastic events as opposed to the fantastic events themselves.

Also, the whole veil spell Roger cast in objectively stupid, and I mean that in the most affectionate way possible. You're telling me that Roger used magic to make Alanna lose interest in doing anything about the obviously evil things he was doing? That's fucking hilarious. You know an editor came back to Pierce and asked her to come up with a reason why Alanna wasn't just going to spring into action at the first sign of Roger trying to kill her, only for Pierce to come up with this. It's so silly. I love it.

Woman Who Rides Like A Man

Did this book age poorly? Yes, but not as badly as I remembered. That's not a stirring defense, and it's really not meant to be.

The Bahzir are a mess of Orientalism, and Pierce definitely deserves criticism for not only the way she wrote them but for the ways in which she frames their cultural practices as something that needs to be fixed. Having Alanna want to force them to change their culture to suit her beliefs is not a great look for both the character and the writer. And that's not even getting into the whole assimilation plotline.

But I did enjoy Pierce's attempts to expand on the definition of womanhood, especially as a part of Alanna learning to embrace femininity. There is this running thread in these last two books of Alanna learning about all the different ways to be a woman and choosing for herself what her gender means to her. It's not done particularly well, and anyone looking for a revolutionary examination of gender roles and identity is going to be sorely disappointed. But there's an attempt here that I can't help but appreciate.

This book is also where Pierce starts to slow the plot down, which lends it to having the most reasonable pacing out of the bunch. That being said, it's also the book where the lack of development for a bunch of the side characters start to hurt. I really wish Gary or Raoul joined Alanna in the desert. Raoul gets his moment in the sun with the Protector of the Small books, but Gary remains largely forgettable. In fact, I spent this entire read-through convinced this man dies at the end of the last book, if only because I can't remember where he appears in any of the other books.

Lioness Rampant

This book somehow has the improved pacing of the third book while still feeling rushed. The quest for the Dominion Jewel really should have been it's own book, if only to give Thayet and Buri more room for development. Thayet in particular really needs her moment to shine, especially when she continues to be an important character in the other series.

But do you know who did get a lot of screen time? Liam.

Remembered shit about this guy before going into this book. I could only vaguely recalled disliking him as a kid, but not as much as I venomously hated Jon. (Speaking of which-- I love the way this man is realistically shitty. Him getting dumped by Alanna is always my favorite scene.) But Liam? Fuck that guy. Holy shit. I give full applause to Pierce for portraying the important milestones every girl goes through growing up, which includes having a situationship that is so shitty that it becomes essential character development.

Roger's return feels very... cheesy? I think Alex should have stepped up to be the final villain on the story. Unlike Roger, Alex was Alanna's friend. They have history. The betrayal would have imbued that final fight with so many more emotions than it ultimately had. I also would have liked Alanna to have at least meaningfully talked to Alex sometime before the climax.

Honestly, it's impressive how reactive Alanna is as a character in the last half of the book. She doesn't seek out how to stop Roger's plan, or fix Thom, or anything. Other characters make plans and she just... waits for something to go wrong.

That being said, by virtue of Alanna's relationships with George, Liam, and Jon all happening sometime in this plot, this book becomes a good place to look to get the full berth of how Pierce handles romances. Which, I love her approach. The romances are never over the top or, for lack of a better word, too romantic. It's very down to earth, with characters dating, marrying, or breaking up for realistic reasons.

Jon and Alanna were friends who broke up because they had different life plans. Liam and Alanna broke up for having fundamentally different values. As much as I bitch about how shitty Jon and Liam are, they're not cartoonishly evil. They're just a little shitty the way most of your exes will be. Jon and Liam are men could find love with someone else. They just aren't suited for Alanna.

Meanwhile, the most romantic things George does are wait for her and be supportive. He doesn't fight or get territorial. He makes his feelings clear, then waits for Alanna's cues. Alanna definitely loves him, but she ends up with him in the end because their lifestyles and core beliefs meld together. There's no grand romantic gesture or whirlwind affairs. They are just a good pair.

I have read stories with far heavier focuses on romance, and none of those couples feel as perfect as Alanna and George. Those stories prioritize all the gooey moments over showing why the main couple should get together. For how little romantic interactions they have, you believe these two could have a successful marriage. Perfect stuff.

---

Over all, I really enjoyed rereading these books. For all my griping, I still love the story. I love Alanna. She's a character who is fundamental to my soul. No matter where I am in life, I will always want to open these books and find her again, to walk back into Tortall and join her on her quest to be a lady knight.

My copies of the series come with forewards from a previous edition. In one of them, Pierce wrote that this series started off as an adult fantasy story that was much darker and edgier. I need to know what that story looks like, what happened in it. Pierce can claim as she wants that she hardly remembers what it looks like, but I refuse to believe that. Release the unedited first draft, Pierce. I am begging you.

#it probably has on screen gay sex for thom and roger #anyway that's the alanna series. the library book i ordered is still not here yet so now I'm off to find another short-ish book to read #this book better come in before june or else i will lose it. i am putting off reading the illiad for this #me rambling #bookish #books and reading #books #bookblr #tortall #song of the lioness #tamora pierce #me reading

[septemberkisses]

the fact that i'm no longer the same age as the protagonists of novels and films i once connected to is so heartbreaking. there was a time when I looked forward to turning their age. i did. and i also outgrew them. i continue to age, but they don't; never will. the immortality of fiction is beautiful, but cruel.

#was rereading the hunger games series when this thought hit me like a truck #it beautiful #its haunting #its heartbreaking #its melancholic #quotes #dark academia #books and reading #books & libraries #books #young adult #ya books #young adult books #movies #coming of age #the hunger games #the divergent series #the maze runner #the fault in our stars #musings #midnight musings #thoughts #mine

[silksosoft]

Reading - KinnPorsche#4

Family Bonding by satxrlight (1.2k) https://archiveofourown.org/works/39982071 Big brothers are always caring, but sometimes too caring - Kim and Chay are trying to go on a date. Porsche is kind of irritating, Kim's definitely irritated, Kinn's enjoying the show and Chay is well-mannered (at least at the beginning)

drunk in love by Martynax (5.3k) https://archiveofourown.org/works/39550998 Kim and Chay go clubbing "to get super drunk." Kinn and Porsche join the Party, as a result - a lot of booze, some family bonding and terrible hangover later on

push and pull by Martynax (29.3k) https://archiveofourown.org/works/41363754 That's come quite unexpected in the search feed, but yes, it's KinnPorsche, it's threesome and Big is involved. Big recovers from his wounds and believes that he's been abandoned and forgotten, while nobody actually knows that he's survived. When Kinn and Porsche finally learn about him, they take him back to the compound and make sure that he has everything he needs. What starts as a gratitude for saving Porsche's life at the warehouse develops into something they didn't expect.

Posting your dramatic love song for your ex(?) on social media actually works by lalala53 (4.3k) https://archiveofourown.org/works/41294958 a kind of classical development of the final episode - Kim posts the video with the song online, Chay decides to give him one more chance. They talk ( cry) and make up

#kinnporche the series #kinnporsche #me reading #kinnporsche the series #review #Reading - KinnPorsche

[cadaverkeys]

You guys rlly don't realise how much knowledge is still not committed to the internet. I find books all the time with stuff that is impossible to find through a search engine- most people do not put their magnum opus research online for free and the more niche a skill is the less likely you are to have people who will leak those books online. (Nevermind all the books written prior to the internet that have knowledge that is not considered "relevant" enough to digitise).

Whenever people say that we r growing up with all the world's knowledge at our fingertips...it's not necessarily true. Is the amount of knowledge online potentially infinite? Yes. Is it all knowledge? No. You will be surprised at the niche things you can discover at a local archive or library.

#rambles #if you are a person who is into delicate skills #like lacemaking or printing or sewing #you will know fair well just how non expansive the knowledge online is in comparison to written guides from like the 50s #there was a time where at least one person in the household had to know a constructive skill #but in the modern day there is just less ans less demands for comprehensive guides #library propaganda #im stuck doing an essay rn but bc i have covid i cant go to the library and its totally fucked me #i want to source a lot of the stuff i read irl but i just cant go and get it and theres no online ver

[happyheidi]

𝖠𝗋𝗍 𝖻𝗒 𝖠𝗇𝗇𝖺-𝖫𝖺𝗎𝗋𝖺 𝖲𝗎𝗅𝗅𝗂𝗏𝖺𝗇 | 𝖨𝖦: 𝖺𝗇𝗇𝖺𝗅𝖺𝗎𝗋𝖺_𝖺𝗋𝗍

#this has to be one of my favorite little comic ever cus YEEEES #I love me a good rain lighting thunder trio <3 #ESP while laying in bed with a good book #had to share #cottagecore #comics #art #cute #drawing #rain aesthetic #cozycore #cosycore #reading #comfycore #wholesome #we had MASSIVE rain here today and some lovely lightning & thunder . so this was basically my just switch night to say and bed to couch

[dendrochronologies]

maya angelou saying the funniest thing anyone has ever said about editing, which i can never let myself forget EVER AGAIN [x]

#OK. YOU'RE RIGHT. SO WHAT? DON'T EVER MENTION THIS TO ME AGAIN. IF YOU DO I WILL NEVER SPEAK TO YOU AGAIN. #i used to think about this interview all the tiiiiime i can't believe i let myself lose track of it!!!!!!! #maya angelou #FAVE #editing #*r #god i've read this a thousand times and i still laugh every time it's so GOOD #'OK. YOU'RE RIGHT. SO WHAT. DON'T EVER MENTION THIS TO ME AGAIN' #notifications are off for this besties 💗 #i will eventually turn reblogs back on but 20k notes overnight was a little too much pls slow down ✋️ #also pls do not follow me unless you are desperately in love with me. i can't make silly little personal posts with so many of you here!!!!