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compacflt · 2 months

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question: how do you find your research/sources? yours and dancing disasters' icemav fics are so inside baseball i love it, but how do you go about doing research?

I just read a lot & google stuff I don't know & am curious about. not that hard to start learning. and in terms of reading I've been interested in military history & milfiction my whole life. mostly related to the US army, actually--im extremely new to naval history and naval literature; all of that interest was driven by top gun. I've also been fortunate enough to visit a lot of the places I write about--ive been to Pearl Harbor a couple times & San Diego MANY times, for instance, and I've toured a few aircraft carriers and military bases. I've also finally bitten the bullet and kinda shifted my career path towards aerospace, so I've been learning a lot just by working in the aerospace & defense sector/spending a lot of time with people who do.

that's obviously not to say that I am somehow Educated in all this stuff. im pretty open on this blog about me being young & naive & wrong much of the time about how the real world works. so, you know, a lot of shit I just Make Up according to my preconceived notions of the military & the world.

here is my recommended military/navy reading list, some fiction and some nonfiction.

someone also asked recently if I had read anything good in the last 6 months--yes!! three new additions to my reading list: a) Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain. So goddamn good. If you have to read only one novel about the Iraq War, make it this one. It's more about America than it is about Iraq. b) Redeployment by Phil Klay. This one is a collection of short stories about Marines in Iraq, written by a USMC vet, talk about inside baseball. Crazy amounts of jargon in here, basically a "to-google" list. won the national book award which idk if it deserved, but it's good. c) No true glory: A Frontline Account of the Battle of Fallujah by Bing West. currently reading this one, really well done so far, talks a lot about how fucked the US strategy was in Iraq with Fallujah serving as a metonymy/case study for the war itself.

again... this is all mostly close-quarters-combat (infantry) literature, I really am not that interested in the navy/Air Force that much outside of top gun lol

though I did recently remember that in early 2022, before I was into top gun, I read "Wingmen" by Ensan Case, which is actually a gay US naval aviator romance set in WWII published in 1979! it's really authentic and kind of sad, obviously, since it was a 1940s navy gay love story published in 1979. I don't actually think Wingmen influenced how I wrote wwgattai or how I think of TG/TGM but I just remembered that I read that book in February 2022 and going "oh my god they were wingmen" so maybe you might find that book interesting.

#dancingdisaster's 'men like us' Directly inspired wwgattai and is the only other icemav/TG fic Ive ever read so I owe them a lottt #that fic opened my third eye as to 'omg what if ice lived' & then 'omg what if maverick died & ice never told him he loved him'#leading to my fics #thanks for the ask! PLEASE read billy Lynns long halftime walk #if for no other reason than its the best book I've read in 2024 and im already 12 books deep into 2024 #its so well written...... should be on the shortlist for the best great American novel......#a scathing indictment of the American christian conservative.... mmm I eat it up good soup #top gun #military history #guys I just found out yesterday that my ex whom I haven't talked to in 2 years has been stalking my twitter &#has seen me gushing about my gay top gun fanfiction #well he shouldn't have stalked my twitter ... genuinely insane behavior this is why I ended things #love men

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classicbooks101 · 2 months

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They carried all they could bear, and then some, including a silent awe for the terrible power of the things they carried.

The Things They Carried, Tim O'Brien

#the things they carried #tim obrien #books #quotes #book quotes #lit #american literature #read this #vietnam #war #war novels #life #life quotes #classic books #great american novels #best writers #writers #classic

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citypop-core · 30 days

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Even as someone who absolutely hates how the current hip-hop scene in our country works I must say I find it quite alluring

#so you just aint gotta be good at the singing part only you have to put on a show #become appealing to what the people find suitable to their aesthetic #i planned to dive into it by January but apparently ive only been dipping my toes sitting on the shore #cause im too much of a wimp and a huge procrastinator to do it #the wimp part because i cant sing for shit and even if i have 1% of the singing capabilites i *might* have inhereted from my mother #i still wont try to explore it cause “what if someone hears it and laughs?”#plus i absolutely hate how the voice in my head changes whenever i think about hip-hop it become african american bitch im indian stay desi #the indian rap scene is definitely different from the one in the us or other countries #and i should try to maybe sink my knees into it just because it actually provides a better outlet for rhymes than poetry i currently do #aint no one buying a fucking poem collection anymore #and im definitely not writing a novel with this amount of laziness that i have #i cant even fix my sleep schedule for shit #so yea #i cant sing i cant write i cant study #and i want to do all three #not just do i want to be the best #interesting how my dumbfuck brain works sometimes if i had only put so much thought into better things when it was needed #okay not diving into that train of thoughts its 4 am i have to sleep #goodbye shubhratri i hope you didnt read all of it its embarrassing #bye fr

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courseyoulovemeyoudontknowme · 30 days

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The Fabelmans (2022, Steven Spielberg)

17/03/2024

The Fabelmans is a 2022 American film directed by Steven Spielberg.

The film is a semi-autobiographical story loosely based on Spielberg's adolescence and early years as a director. The plot is told through the original story of the fictional Sammy Fabelman, a young aspiring filmmaker who explores how the power of film can help him see the truth about his dysfunctional family and those around him. It stars Gabriel LaBelle in the role of Sammy, alongside Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Seth Rogen and Judd Hirsch in supporting roles. The film is dedicated to the memories of Spielberg's real-life parents, Leah Adler and Arnold Spielberg, who died in 2017 and 2020, respectively.

Spielberg had conceived the project as early as 1999, with his sister Anne writing a screenplay titled I'll Be Home. Spielberg revisited the project in 2019 with screenwriter and frequent collaborator Kushner while they were making West Side Story, and the script was completed in late 2020.

It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2022, where it won the People's Choice Award. Distributed by Universal Pictures, the film opened theatrically in the United States on November 11, 2022, and then expanded to wide release on November 23, grossing $45.6 million against a $40 million budget, a disappointing result for a film directed and produced by Spielberg. It received largely positive reviews from critics and was named one of the ten best films of 2022 by the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute. The Fabelmans earned numerous awards and nominations, including seven nominations at the 95th Academy Awards, including seven nominations at the 95th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress (Williams) and Best Supporting Actor (Hirsch). It also earned 11 nominations at the 28th Critics' Choice Awards, winning Best Young Performer (LaBelle), and five nominations at the 80th Golden Globe Awards, winning Best Motion Picture - Drama and Best Director.

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maddie-grove · 5 months

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My Top Twenty Books I Read in 2022

I haven't had a ton of time or concentration available to write book reviews this past year, or even to read nearly as much as I usually do, but I thought I would post my top 20 from last year.

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (2020)

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood (2019)

Unmask Alice by Rick Emerson (2022)

Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss (2018)

Wahala by Nikki May (2022)

Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson (2014)

Secrets of a Summer Night by Lisa Kleypas (2004)

Dune by Frank Herbert (1965)

Isabel: Jewel of Castilla by Carolyn Meyer (2001)

Maddaddam by Margaret Atwood (2013)

We Sold Our Souls by Grady Hendrix (2018)

Summerwater by Sarah Moss (2020)

Through the Woods by Emily Carroll (2014)

The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel (2020)

Scandal in Spring by Lisa Kleypas (2006)

Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas (2006)

Devil House by John Darnielle (2022)

The Nineties by Chuck Klosterman (2022)

Normal People by Sally Rooney (2018)

Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix (2014)

#no annotation this time #i will say i think my ranking of the wallflower romance novels is controversial #it happened one autumn is fine!#the premise just doesn't do that much for me tbh #oh the american heiress thinks the british aristocrat is too stuck-up and he thinks she's too forthright and rambunctious #maybe if they both had basic manners about people from other cultures this could be avoided #(this isn't a moral judgment)#(i just find it annoying)#i get why people love the devil in winter and obviously i did too #but i preferred the much less popular scandal in spring #idk it felt a little fresher #secrets of a summer night is the best though #because it is about economics #books #reading

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transgaysex · 3 months

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god remember jake marshall. from rfta

#wind howls #in the ace attorney playthru my friends and i are doing we are now onto rise from the ashes #i think we stopped still on the first day of the trial. the worst is yet to come and im very excited about it.#genuinely one of the few cases in ace attorney that actually made me feel some sort of dread and fear by the end of it when i played it #im voicing jake and also angel starr bc its funny. im trying to make jake sound american to the best of my non american abilities #and angel starr i gave her an uninterested cafeteria lady voice. maybe not original but im having fun #that on top of already voicing thr judge i love voicing the judge so much. i gave him my best goofy impression hes a blast to voice #who else did i voice. i voiced yani yogi. gave him a throaty voice. occasionally i do larry when nobody else wants him (i dont either)#who else is there in the game. OH OH will powers i voiced him. also wendy oldbag her voice fucked me up BAD #before my friend darin joined us i also voiced gumshoe but since then darin took the role and his impression is a lot more fun hehe #voicing characters in a visual novel is so much fun you guys. if you can gather up pals and have someone play the game for the first time-#definitely recommend giving out silly voices. especially if they have rare voiced lines in the game #you cannot imagine the absolute glee i felt when darin gave manfred von karma his youtuber Fred impression. only to hear is objection later #and realizing his voice is actually the deepest in the fucking game. it was so fucking funny i lost my whole mind it was awesome #anyway. game is fun #ghost trick is also a fun game ive seen get voiced by groups of friends. definitely recommend playing that one in a group as well

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bilarper · 2 years

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Forces someone who only reads ya to read stoner by john William

#it’s not about weed I promise but it is boring and you will like it #stoner by John William is the most unknown under appreciated great American novels #yes it’s a book about an English teacher who has an affair but it’s also one of the best novels ever written

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san--jose--sharpedos · 1 year

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Explaining that I love Americana in an I love folk way and not a weirdo post-9/11 country racist way

#the best song about America is The Great American Novel by Beans on Toast LMAO

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wellesleybooks · 1 month

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#the atlantic #great american novels #best of list #american novels

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melodyvega1967 · 2 months

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I've finished American Born Indian.

A few more details about when I finished:

date & time: 2nd February 2024, 9:41 pm.

the song playing:

chapters: 47 in total

I'll probably upload the last few chapters sometime next week.

thank you all so much for your support and for enjoying this novel to the fullest.

~ mel

#melodyvega1967 #writing #american born indian #abi #novel #finished #finished a novel #writeblr #literature #aspiring writer #creative writing #writers on tumblr #writers life #thank you #yes new milestone reached #now it's editing editing editing and I may enjoy this part of the process the best #yes #Spotify

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authorjacobfloyd · 3 months

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AMERICAN GODS by Neil Gaiman

It seems all I’ve ever heard about for years in the writing world is Neil Gaiman this and Neil Gaiman that. I read NEVERWHERE and was really underwhelmed. Everyone told me I should read AMERICAN GODS. I read the description and thought it sounded an awful lot like Clive Barker’s THE DAMNATION GAME at heart. While the premise seems to have been taken from there, and the stories are a bit similar,…

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mortola · 4 months

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much love rf kuang i love ur work i enjoyed babel a lot. ur selections for best american sci fi this year are bad!

#i love isabel cañas’s novels! this short story is not her nest work!!#samatar’s is way way dense which would be fine if that wasnt the case for every other story u picked #ten’s is fun i enjoyed the gimmick and simple short sweet without being reductive #air to shape lungs is way esoteric #havent read the alix e harrow one but so far i have not been the biggest fan of that author so idk how it will go #and catherynn valente!! theres always a freakin catherynn valente story in these!!! is she really that good? that brilliant?????#or does she just full send her bit in the way only a YA author can #ms kuang ur biases (being a YA writer) are really showing thank god i didnt buy this book and just got it off libby #holding out hope for the other stories i havent gotten to yet tho #and like none of them are Bad per se like theyre good stories #but are they the Best American Sci Fi and Fantasy stories of 2023????#mio.txt

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joncronshawauthor · 6 months

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The Five Best Fantasy Books to Win the Hugo Award: A Triumph Over Sci-Fi

Today, we delve into the fantastical world of the Hugo Awards. Though primarily a sci-fi playground, over the years we’ve seen a few notable gems from the fantasy genre that have managed to claim the best novel prize. What are the Hugo Awards, and why do they matter? Established in 1953, the Hugo Awards recognise the best works in science fiction and fantasy literature. Named in honour of…

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#A Game of Thrones #alternate history #American Gods #best fantasy books #fantasy literature #Fantasy Novels #gods #Hugo Award winners #Hugo Awards #Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell #magic #science fiction #speculative fiction #The City & The City #The Stone Sky

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novellabookclub · 1 year

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Who wants this in their dream house

#bookreaders #best books #bookdonation #library #novels #love #lifelessons #education #indian #american #russia #fiction #reading #beauttiful girls

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danielleurbansblog · 1 year

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Meet This Author: J. Shanay

ULM: Can you briefly tell us, readers, what your novel, Charmed by the Best, is about? JS: The Charmed by the Best series is a contemporary African American romance series. The series is filled with its share of drama and passion, however, the core of the story revolves around the concepts that true love and romance, are still the desires and focus of many women and men in the Black…

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tstresors · 1 year

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I’ve been an Allegra Goodman fan for years, but Sam is hands down my new favorite. I loved this powerful and endearing portrait of a girl who must summon deep within herself the grit and wisdom to grow up.”— Lily King, New York Times bestselling author of Writers & Lovers

What happens to a girl’s sense of joy and belonging—to her belief in herself—as she becomes a woman? This unforgettable portrait of coming-of-age offers subtle yet powerful reflections on class, parenthood, addiction, lust, and the irrepressible power of dreams.

“There is a girl, and her name is Sam.” So begins Allegra Goodman’s moving and wise new novel.

Sam is seven years old and lives in Beverley, Massachusetts. She adores her father, though he isn’t around much. Her mother struggles to make ends meet, and never fails to remind Sam that if she studies hard and acts responsibly, adulthood will be easier—more secure and comfortable. But comfort and security are of little interest to Sam. She doesn’t fit in at school, where the other girls have the right shade of blue jeans and don’t question the rules. She doesn’t care about jeans or rules. All she wants is to climb. Hanging from the highest limbs of the tallest trees, scaling the side of a building, Sam feels free.

As a teenager, Sam begins to doubt herself. She yearns to be noticed, even as she wants to disappear. When her climbing coach takes an interest in her, his attention is more complicated than she anticipated. She resents her father’s erratic behavior, but she grieves after he’s gone. And she resists her mother’s attempts to plan for her future, even as that future draws closer.

The simplicity of this tender, emotionally honest novel is what makes it so powerful. Sam by Allegra Goodman will break your heart, but will also leave you full of hope.

In Sam, Allegra Goodman presents a poignant coming-of-age story that explores themes of class, parenthood, addiction, lust, and the search for joy and belonging. Through the eyes of protagonist Sam, we witness the struggles and triumphs of growing up and finding one's place in the world. This beautifully written novel is a must-read for fans of coming-of-age stories and will leave you feeling moved and full of hope.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Allegra Goodman knows. She knows families, their griefs and rages, their love and loss: complicated parents and complicated children. In Sam, she goes deep into the heart and soul, and voice of one girl. Sam is a deeply wise and empathetic portrait of this unforgettable girl, making her way into this tricky world and into the reader’s life.”—Amy Bloom, New York Times bestselling author of In Love

“Sam is one of the most evocative and tender examinations of youth that I’ve ever read, and Allegra Goodman fully understands the strange and dreamlike qualities of Sam’s world as she tries to navigate it, populated by adults who mean well but complicate every single moment. One of the best writers around, Goodman has made something truly beautiful, evoking a feeling that is hard to name but stirs inside us with every line.”—Kevin Wilson, New York Times bestselling author of Nothing to See Here

“What seems at first to be a simple coming-of-age story deepens under its own weight and shows itself to be a beautiful meditation on all the ways we love and fail each other. I was moved by the cumulative power of Sam, and I’m still rooting for the characters.”—Ann Napolitano, New York Times bestselling author of Dear Edward

“Bracing . . . Sam’s . . . travails gain heft through [Allegra] Goodman’s perceptiveness, specificity regarding Sam’s emotions, and arresting turns of phrase. It’s impressive how much emotional power is packed into this . . . contained story.”—Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Allegra Goodman is the author of five novels, two short story collections, and a novel for young readers. Her fiction has appeared in The New Yorker and elsewhere, and has been anthologized in The O. Henry Awards and Best American Short Stories. She lives with her family in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ The Dial Press (January 3, 2023)

Language ‏ : ‎ English 336 pages

#Allegra Goodman is the author of five novels #two short story collections #and a novel for young readers. Her fiction has appeared in The New Yorker and elsewhere #and has been anthologized in The O. Henry Awards and Best American Short Stories. She lives with her family in Cambridge #Massachusetts.#art #design #beautiful #quotes #love #painter

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