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mykneeshurt · 1 year

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Haunted chapter fifteen

I STRUGGLED with this chapter omfg. Work has been manic and has sapped my energy. Also Neil Ellice liked my comment on his insta I’m fucking dying 🫧❤️🧼

Warnings - smut baby

Part 16

Slowly opening your eyes you felt a warm touch behind you, stretching you let out a whispered moan. You repositioned yourself in the cramped single bed, facing Ghost you let your eyes flit over his features. He actually looked peaceful, at rest from the torment his mind put him through daily. The lines by his eyes looked smoother, his cheeks looked relaxed, his chest moved up and down in an almost hypnotising way.

You propped your head up on your hand, smiling to yourself. ‘It’s rude to stare’ his raspy voice penetrated the silence, eyes still closed. ‘Sorry’ you giggled ‘you just look so peaceful, did you sleep?’ He let out a content sigh, peeking through eye at you. ‘Got a couple hours. The usual.’ You scowled at him ‘why don’t you sleep Simon?’

‘Because I don’t.’

Rolling your eyes you playfully slapped his chest ‘I don’t accept that answer Simon. You can trust me, I’m a Doctor.’ He chuckled ‘yeah look where that’s got me. You’re abusing your power here doc.’ You trailed a finger down his chest ‘poor helpless Simon, trapped in the medics bed against his will.’ You grazed your finger tantalisingly close to his protruding V muscles. ‘Careful love, some might consider this as you taking advantage of me.’

‘You’re such a shit head Simon’ you laughed, ‘you didn’t answer my question. Why don’t you sleep?’ He rolled over to face you sliding his arm under your torso, ‘that’s a conversation for another time.’ He placed his hand on your hip and smoothed his palm over the fabric. You offered him a smirk as he tested the waters, he worked his hand over your ass and down to your muscular thighs. ‘And what do you think you’re doing Lieutenant?’

‘Mhmm letting you take advantage.’

You raised an eyebrow at him before shifting your weight on top of him, straddling his hips. He thrust his hips up into you, getting comfortable in the bed. You placed your hands on his muscular chest, he ran his hands up your forearms. A shiver shot down your spine at his gentle touch. He ran his hand up the length of your neck and onto your cheek. Burying your cheek into his palm you let out a sigh of contentment. He traced his thumb to your lower lip tugging on it gently. You nipped at the pad of his thumb as you grasped at his wrist.

Leaning down into his torso you placed your lips on his mask ‘kiss me’ you whispered. Ghost slid off his mask, discarding it on the floor, letting your eyes take in his naked face once again. He moved his hand to the back of your head, cradling it. Pulling you back in for a hungry kiss, you placed your hands either side of his head, arching your back to get closer to him. He snaked his free hand down your spine leaving it rest on the small of your back.

His lips were tender, soft, loving, as he kissed you. Your mouths moulded together in perfect harmony, you slowly sucked his bottom lip into your mouth before caressing it with your teeth. He panted at the unexpected feeling, firmly he pressed your lower back, forcing your hips to meet his abdomen. Deliciously slow you ground your pussy on top of him, whimpering at the contact. ‘Needy this mornin’ ain’t we.’ You bit your lip desperate to feel some contact on your aching clit.

Pulling your top over your head your freed your breasts as they bounced out of the tight fabric. All the while Ghost still holding intense eye contact with you, he licked his bottom lip before biting it. ‘Fuckin gorgeous.’ A blush rose within your cheeks, you broke eye contact momentarily as you looked down at his taught muscular chest. Peering back up at him you snaked a hand into your pants and gathered your juices on your finger. He watched your every move, hypnotised by you. Slowly you pushed your finger inside his mouth, letting him taste you. God how he missed the way you tasted on his tongue.

He sat up and cradled you into him, kissing you once more, his thick muscular arms encased you into him. The kiss was slow, deep. From here he worked his way to your jaw and to your slender neck, a mixture of kisses and praise. Thrusting his hips up he picked you up and led you on your back, so you were now beneath him. Wiggling your hips you worked your trousers off before he dropped them by the side of the bed. Completely naked under him, you felt so small. His hulking figure towered over you, but yet you felt safe.

He pressed firm kisses into your skin as he descended your body. As he reached your thighs he gripped them, nails pinching the surface. Placing your thighs over his shoulders he lazily dragged his tongue up your slit, gathering your juices on his tongue. He groaned into your pussy, savouring every morsel. You raked your nails through his hair, pulling him closer and closer. Rolling your hips you begged for more.

Ghost gripped your thighs and glared up at you, his eyes blown out with lust. He watched as your chest rose and fell, your mouth falling open gasping for breath. He payed close attention to your clit, it felt firm against his tongue. He played around with the firmness he pressed onto the bundle of nerves.

You arched your back, the pressure building in your core. ‘Fuck Simon’ you whined ‘more please.’ With that his rhythm changed, he repeated his tongue strokes in the same pattern. What was that? An …. S? What is he doing? S for … for Simon. Trying something new clearly.

It changed again. O.

Again. A.

Your eyes flew open before he could tongue the last letter against your clit. He noticed the rapid change in your breathing, the sudden realisation fell over your face. Withdrawing his tongue he crawled up your body placing his hand on your throat, a firm grip. With his free hand he used his thumb to pull at your bottom lip before whispering ‘how did he make you cum love? Did Johnny make you cum as good as me?’ You flicked your eyes over to his, petrified. How the fuck did he know? He felt your heart rate increase against his finger tips. ‘Shhh love’ he teased.

He moved to your ear, nipping at it, placing kisses at the base of your skull. Pushing more force onto your throat, he muttered between kisses ‘only I can fuck you, I told you, you’re mine.’ As he kissed your neck he inserted two fingers into your dripping cunt. A strangled cry ripped from you, he pumped his fingers into you. The familiar build teased your core again, he released your throat letting you breathe. You whimpered beneath him, coming undone at his touch. He remained silent, watching you as you panted.

Feeling the coil come to its tremendous crescendo, you clamped your pussy around his fingers. He pulled you into his chest, muffing your moans, ‘just like that’ he murmured. Tears pricked at your eyes, a mixture of pleasure and horror.

As you slowly came down from your high he removed his fingers and pulled you back from his chest. You gazed up at him, unsure of what to say. ‘How, how did you know?’ You whispered meekly. ‘Cause I’m not stupid love. I know how Johnny looks after he’s been laid. You were the only woman around all night.’ You eyes shifted between his, trying to read him. He remained neutral. Calm.

You went to speak but struggled to find what to say. ‘You’re not gonna leave me are you?’ You felt like a child again, watching your mother leave. The fear of abandonment petrified you. You knew you weren’t good enough for him. You knew he deserved better. Panic began to build up, the thought of him leaving you over powered any other emotion that was bubbling under the surface. ‘Please don’t leave me Simon, I … I can explain.’

He gripped your chin, ‘I’m not leaving you. I’m right here.’ Your chest began to tighten, as your thoughts became a blurry mess. ‘I just … I was so hurt. I thought you hated me, I felt so lonely, rejected.’ The words came out so fast you started tripping over them. He cupped your face again, ‘I’m not leaving.’

Ghost could see you overthinking this, he wasn’t thrilled at what you’d done. But he didn’t blame you. He loved you and he wanted this to work, he wanted to show you what he saw when he looked at you. Someone who’s beautiful, intelligent, funny, caring and damn good at their job. You’d always been there for him when he went through shit over the last 2 years. He knew about your past and how it’s affected you, damn he knew it well enough from his own past. He wanted you too bad to lose you.

To prove to you he wasn’t leaving he kissed you again, hard. This took you by surprise as you yelped into his mouth. The sensation of his tongue on yours made your muscles release the tension they were holding. You pulled away, tears still threatening to fall, ‘I love you Simon. So much.’ He caressed your cheek with his thumb ‘promise?’

‘Promise.’

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A/N - I hate this chapter lmao I didn’t want him to be mad at her. That felt predictable. My mind is mush from work. Please forgive me lmao I’ll do better next chapter 😭😭

#simon ghost riley #ghost x you #call of duty #cod mw22 #fan fic smut #ghost x reader #fluff #smut #simon riley #modern warefare 2

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dustedmagazine · 2 years

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Dusted’s Opinionated, Non-Consensus Guide to the 1990s

The Fatima Mansions

The 1990s. Some of us lived through them. A few formed our musical selves during this pivotal decade. We watched hip hop emerge and swell to vast commercial proportions. We wondered what indie meant…and if it meant anything at all. We pondered whether lo-fi was charming, or just made it harder to hear the flaws. And mostly we listened to records that moved us, a few of which turn up on the decade-defining consensus lists, but most of which don’t. Here are a few albums that made us who we are. We chose one each and refused to put them in numerical order (they’re alphabetical by artist). Feel free to add your own in the comments. Everybody’s 1990s were different, after all.

Contributors include Tim Clarke, Jennifer Kelly, Andrew Forell, Bryon Hayes, Christian Carey, Bill Meyer, Jonathan Shaw, Ian Mathers and Justin Cober-Lake.

Bark Psychosis — Hex (Circa/Caroline)

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Perhaps most famous for prompting music writer Simon Reynolds to coin the term “post rock,” Hex by Bark Psychosis still sounds oddly timeless — and certainly unlike many bands who would come to be described by the phrase. While legions of post-rock bands would emerge during the late 1990s and early 2000s with a lamentable dependence on dramatic shifts in dynamics, Bark Psychosis used rock instrumentation in more subtle and unique ways. Hex has more in common with bands such as Talk Talk and The Blue Nile, who prized atmosphere and texture over more direct songcraft. As a result, the album’s seven tracks take a long time to go nowhere, elegantly prowling around in the shadows like a stray cat. While Graham Sutton is far from a conventional singer, his disaffected vocals sound right at home in these ink-black, urban expanses. “Absent Friend” is perhaps the album’s most dub-influenced track, dappled with melodica and pinned to terra firma by a stubbornly simplistic bassline. “Fingerspit” is an eerie jazz nightmare, as if the players in some subterranean club have forgotten to play their instruments, so instead resort to hammering away at a single chord. The band’s commitment to maintaining a desolate tone makes the moments of levity all the more gorgeous, such as the woodwind textures on “A Street Scene” and “Eyes and Smiles.” The magnificent instrumental closer, “Pendulum Man,” eventually delivers some lasting reprieve from the gloom.

Tim Clarke

The Bevis Frond — Son of Walter (Flydaddy/Reissued on Light in the Attic)

Son Of Walter by Bevis Frond

Already a decade into his run as the Bevis Frond, Nick Salomon pulled back from the full-band, studio-produced aesthetic that culminated in New River Head. He recorded Son of Walter by himself, at home, but “bedroom pop” this is not. It sprawls. It rears. It rages. It surges in inexorable waves on the strength of spiralling guitar solos and delicate, folk-derived melodies. From the opening blare of fuzz in “Plastic Elvis,” through the wistful jangle of “Goodnight from the Band,” I love every song on this album. Sure there are highlights, the blistered, caterwauling romance of “Red Hair,” the Neil-Young-into-Jimi fireblast of “Barking or False Point Blues,” the lilting, surprisingly earwormy chorus of “Raining on TV,” but it’s really all good. As a young mom in the late 1990s, I found solace in spidery “Forgiven” about a love sanded down by life (“She’s always…exhausted”). The tune is worn down to a thread but still lovely, and it leads right into the black hole swirl of “All Hope Is Going Without You.” Spare beauty and psychedelic overload, cheek by jowl and wonderful.

Jennifer Kelly

The Fatima Mansions — Valhalla Avenue (Kitchenware)

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On The Fatima Mansions’ 1992 album Valhalla Avenue, songwriter Cathal Coughlan (who passed this last May), sets his sights on corruption, religious extremism and human stupidity like Flann O’Brien’s furious younger brother. Moving between a Scott Walker croon and the coruscating intensity of a barroom preacher with Ministry on the jukebox, Coughlan and his bandmates create moments of poetic beauty (“North Atlantic Wind,” “Purple Window”) and maelstroms of indignant chaos (“1000%,” “Go Home Bible Mike). The fierce irreverence of their musical juxtapositions — lounge, industrial, sampling — and their no-fucks-given attitude remains singular today and Coughlin’s intense romanticism, mordant wit, political satire and apocalyptic imagery marks him as one of great lyricists of his time. Valhalla Avenue spent a week at the low end of British album charts, was not released in America and made nary a dent in Australia. Thanks to an Irish workmate in Germany who ceremoniously presented me a cassette of their early singles “Only Losers Take the Bus” and “Blues for Ceausescu”, Valhalla Avenue is still on regular rotation round here.

Andrew Forell

Flying Saucer Attack — Further (Domino / Drag City)

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Flying Saucer Attack was the flagship band of that other 1990s Bristol scene, the one that didn’t revolve around trip hop. David Pearce and his friends favored a blend of coruscating noise, delicate drones, and airy folk over downtempo hip hop beats. With its DIY aesthetic, FSA championed home recording and a “less is more” attitude to music-making, paralleling that of contemporary acts such as Windy & Carl. Further was the band’s sophomore release and stripped away much of the razor wire-laced bombast of its debut. FSA, which at the time was a loose collective centered around Pearce and then-girlfriend Rachel Brook, began to incorporate more acoustic guitar into their songs, and took a measured approach to noise and feedback. Pearce allowed his deep and resonant voice to drift above the misty haze of the music; Brook uncharacteristically emits rays of vocal sunshine on “Still Point”. The resulting album is one of raw grace, a careful balancing act between tranquility and chaos. Further is as bleary and beautiful as its cover art, and it stood out elegantly amidst the various frayed threads of 1990s underground music.

Bryon Hayes

John Hiatt — Walk On (Capitol)

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John Hiatt’s 1995 recording Walk On is an under sung masterpiece. Two collaborators that he would continue to keep in his band, until they were purloined for more lucrative gigs, multi-instrumentalist David Immerglück and bassist Davey Farragher, join drummer Michael Urbano and several backing vocalists, Bonnie Raitt noteworthy among them, to support Hiatt and supply versatile arrangements. “Cry Love,” “You Must Go,” and the title track provide a kick-off of catchy singles. Deeper in the release, Raitt and Hiatt duet on “I Can’t Wait,” a song that, if there were any justice, would have charted higher. Hiatt is prescient about the endless investigations and rise of militia groups during the second term of the Clinton administration in “Shredding the Document” “Native Son,” and “Wrote it Down and Burned It.” A hidden track hearkens back to the height of CD distribution.

Christian Carey

Peter Jefferies — The Last Great Challenge In A Dull World (Xpressway/Ajax/De Stijl)

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In retrospect, the musicians who joined forces to form the Xpressway collective can be recognized as aesthetic game-changers. Not only did they unleash the forces of sonic resistance in their native New Zealand, raising clouds of gilded splinters as they pushed against the grain; they issued a permission-granting challenge to every subsequent wave of refuseniks determined to freely fuse noise, rock, and anything else at hand. But their success was by no means a given when Peter Jefferies made The Last Great Challenge In A Dull World on borrowed gear in a drafty old house on the edge of a container port at the end of the southern winter of 1989. At the time, the Xpressway crew were just the losers who were left behind when Flying Nun Records chased the brass ring north. Jefferies, like Alastair Galbraith, the Dead C, Peter Gutteridge, David Mitchell and the Terminals, had given Flying Nun some great music, and subsequently found himself ignored. A gifted multi-instrumentalist, singer, and sound recorder, he became the scene’s four-track documentarian, and he called on key associates to help make what he then felt might be his last testament. On Last Great Challenge he synthesized Cale-derived balladry, early Ubu rock, and post-This Heat sound manipulation into a singular statement of intent and reproach so acute that it, and everyone associated with it, could not be ignored. The album, which has been issued by three different labels, is currently out of print, but not that hard to find. It remains a stern condemnation of every lazy record out there that can’t be bothered to reach past the sky.

Bill Meyer

Nausea — Extinction (Profane Existence)

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More and more, metal is moving out of its subgenre-specific silos and beyond its backward-gazing obsessions with hidebound traditions. But from its start, crust was a hybrid form, combining the politically motivated anti-aesthetic of anarcho-punk with metal’s swaggering muscle. It makes some sense, then, that this influential American crust record emerged from the Lower East Side, where hardcore punk was already cross-pollinating with metal; see Cause for Alarm (1986), the second LP by Agnostic Front, a band dominated by Roger Miret, then husband of Nausea’s singer Amy Miret, nee Keim. By the time Nausea made Extinction, its only LP, Al Long had joined the band, filling out the dual-vocal, female-male attack in a nod to Crass. And while “punk” usually follows the word crust in discussions of the style, Extinction is crucially informed by metal: “Butchers” owes much to Motörhead; “Clutches” rumbles like early Saint Vitus; the opening minutes of “Blackened Dove” could be from a Witchfinder General record. For this reviewer, “Inherit the Wasteland” is the key song, full of dystopian dread, replete with an enormous breakdown section and Vic Venom’s enthusiastic shredding. It’s an unhappy, unstoppable blast. Other metal and metal-adjacent sub-sub- and microgenres had formed by 1990: goregrind was already a thing, and the Slap a Ham crew was busily birthing powerviolence. Bandana thrash was just over the horizon. But few of those modish musical notions have had the substance (grimy, grotty and grave as it might be) and staying power of crust. Exhibit A: Extinction. It still stinks up the joint.

Jonathan Shaw

Readymade — The Dramatic Balanced By (No Records)

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By 1997 shoegaze had ebbed back significantly from whatever high tide mark it had attained, and nobody was particularly looking towards Vancouver for it, if they were looking at all. And yet out of what sounds like a combo of ennui, political unrest, movies (particularly, from the cover on down, Mean Streets), “taking speed in Germany,” drum machines, insomnia, rain, power grids, airports, four-track recorders, windows, and urban sprawl, enigmatic trio Readymade created one of the great lost epics of the era and genre. They didn’t stop here, absorbing members of the sadly even more obscure Pipedream and producing two excellent, gleaming and ambiguous records in the next decade, but only on The Dramatic Balanced By was their rougher, fuzzier, more expansive side given free reign. The result, whether the craggier, more anthemic likes of “Bloomsbury Boxcutter” and “Dreamt I Fled,” the crepuscular trudge of “Following a Typewriter to Sleep,” or the mournfully lambent “Hamburg,” holds together as a great example of the kind of record that forms its own world, one you can get lost in. That record climaxes with “Head Falls to Shoulder,” one of the most overwhelming storms of sound and feeling anyone was making in 1997. The band may be long gone in 2022 (although blessedly for anyone wanting to check them out, all three LPs can be streamed), but their expansive opus of city-bound alienation endures.

Ian Mathers

Spaceheads — Spaceheads (Dark Beloved Cloud)

Spaceheads by Spaceheads

On first listen, Spaceheads' self-titled 1995 album can feel like a throwaway. The record contains a fair bit of silliness and didn't come about as a deeply theorized piece of art. Trumpeter Andy Diagram and percussionist Richard Harrison had been playing in various jazz bands together when they started recording some duo improvisations and playing with the tapes. Early release Ho! Fat Wallet sounds as indebted to 1980s hip hop as anything, and its mix of brass and beats would still make for great backing tracks. Spaceheads followed with a weird twist on, well, just about everything. It can sit not uncomfortably on an EDM shelf, but that term doesn't accurately capture what they were doing. Stretches of the album are funky without being funk or industrial without being industrial. Some moments are abstract enough to be almost incoherent while others could play in a Hollywood soundtrack; “Down in Outer Space” sequencing into “Joyriding” provides all of that in a short burst. Spaceheads sound like a group that could have been any number of things or that could have floundered with pointless fiddling and experimentation. Instead, they pursued the only thing they seem to have any interest in being: exactly themselves. In doing so, they created an album with quirks and surprises that continue to provide as much joy and listening pleasure as anything going on around them (whatever that field might be).

Justin Cober-Lake

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frogincowboyboots · 1 year

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INTRO!!!

HI, here's my intro and all the stupid stuff that takes up too much space in my brain :D

i am borderline obsessed with films, books, poetry, art, and ngl at this point am basically epicurean

a guillermo del toro enthusiast and if you tell me you hate his films it will most likely cause me to cry

currently studying classical civilisation, english lit, and film (and have a love hate relationship with them all)

PLEASE give me book and film recs -- I LOVE THEM

FAV BOOKS: on earth we're briefly gorgeous - ocean voung, the bell jar - sylvia plath, stardust - neil gaiman

FAV FILMS: but i'm a cheerleader, pans labyrinth (this film takes up 99% of my brain), boy, us, loving vincent, midnight in paris (fuck woody allen tho), amelie

music wise i LOVE led zeppelin, bowie, fleetwood mac, nina simone, fiona apple, deftones, but also am always desperate for new music recs too

AND THATS IT <3

#books #film #guillermo del toro #literature #mythology #poetry #ocean voung #van gogh #art #idkwhatimdoing #intro post #im bad at this

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johannestevans · 2 years

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Update 05/06/2022

Good evening!

Firstly, some bits of media I've very much enjoyed over the past 2 weeks:

Bloods (2021, cr. Nathan Byron & Samson Kayo) - Bloods is fucking excellent, it's a sitcom about paramedics starring Samson Kayo (Oluwande of OFMD) and Jane Horrocks, and it's so fucking funny. Really, really tightly written with so much good, strong character work, lots of commentary on paramedicine and also on NHS issues whilst being so fast-paced, excellent soundtrack, and just in general a real triumph. Also appearances from Nathan Foad (Lucius in OFMD) being painfully entitled and awkward as Jane Horrocks' son and every time he's on screen I cringe from my soul to my hole, he's horribly effective in it. ALSO SAMSON KAYO SINGS AND IT'S GORGEOUS, and every single person who watches this will undoubtedly fall in love with Daryl and Darrell. Fucking hype for S3 next year.

Truth Seekers (2020, cr. Nick Frost, Simon Pegg, James Serafinowicz & Nat Saunders) - This is also comedy but with horror - it was cancelled after one season, unfortunately, but it's still worth a watch! Also featuring Samson Kayo as a protag. Truth Seekers does some really cool stuff with subverting horror tropes as you'd expect from anything with Pegg & Frost at the forefront, but it's also just genuinely funny and quite heartfelt in places while really doing some layered, subtle work around perceptions of abuse + mental health issues. That latter isn't the core theme of the show but is continuous throughout, and while the show didn't grip me as other stuff has, I've really been enjoying that aspect.

Westworld (1973, dir. Michael Crichton) - I hadn't seen this before and watched this in preparation for starting the TV series, which I'm guessing will be more to my taste, but I thought it held up surprisingly well for being fifty years old at this point. So many 70s movies, especially sci-fi and adventure movies don't really push my buttons, but this one is quite character-centred and has some charming homoeroticism. It lacks a bit of urgency, and if you've seen Jurassic Park, you already know Michael Crichton's anxieties around nature's unpredictability vs tech malfunctions vs amusement parks, and like-- Westworld says nothing that isn't said better or more adeptly in JP, but I still thought it was good!

I've also been playing Rune Factory 5 on my Switch and loving it so far, and I really enjoyed this interview with Con O'Neill. I also watched S4 of Stranger Things this week, and if you made the decision to stop off watching it after they started doing the anti-Russian stuff and are like "hm, maybe it's doing better and I should get back into it", you absolutely should not. The writing is truly very bad in so many places, and while it's adequate as background viewing it's just... Yeesh. A lot of choices are made. Different choices would have been better.

I have few media recs this week so here are just a collection of my favourite SNL sketches:

Barbie Instagram

Meet Your Second Wife

Wells For Boys & My Little Step Children

Spelling Bee

What's That Name

Dylan McDermott or Dermot Mulroney

Coroner

New Works Published

Erotic Short: Little Vows

An exhausted father of two meets an old uni friend for sex.

Rated E, cis M/M, 3k. Neil drops his girls off for their piano lessons and goes across the road for his regular appointment — getting himself fucking railed. Infidelity, anal, dirty talk, DILF4DILF and bear appreciation, doggy, overstim, mentions of barebacking and creampies.

On Medium / / On Patreon

Erotic Short: Stuffed

A man is handfed almost to bursting by his husband.

Cis M/M, 1.1k, rated E. Stuffing, handfeeding, D/s, begging, overstimulation, mild sadomasochism (stomach cramps etc), teasing.

On Medium / / On Patreon

Our Flag Means Death S01 E03: A Gentleman Pirate

Examining OFMD E3: A Gentleman Pirate in close detail and liveblogging/analysing the text.

On Medium / / On Patreon / / On Tumblr / / On Ao3

Fanfic Updates: Repentance & Forgiveness

42k+. Frenchie-centric, Frenchie/Izzy, plot-focused, post-S1.

On the Queen Anne, Frenchie can't sleep.

Desperate to just get whatever he can away from Blackbeard's crew, he knocks on Izzy's door and invites himself in.

On Ao3

Erotic Short: Work Hours

A man enforces the boundaries of his boyfriend’s work-life separation.

M/cis M, rated E, 1.3k. Public blowjobs out of doors, mild D/s, teasing and banter. Light-hearted and breezy.

On Medium / / On Patreon

#weekly summary

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themirthfulroadrunners · 2 years

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On the Road Again … and again … and again

Old Faithful with rainbow.

The impetus for this lonnnnnnnnnnnng road trip was a house sit in upper Idaho. It took 3+ days to arrive there, but we admit to some serious lollygagging, as this was definitely a bucket list trip which would likely not be repeated. It was a seriously restful week in a beautiful mountain house on rural acreage. In Idaho I learned that actual dark night is rather fleeting. Geezer hours had me in bed way before dark only to arise when the sun had already lighted up the scene. Wayne is an even earlier bird and reported that he did see actual stars. Here are a couple of pix of the views from the house.

Deadwood

On our second day we dropped into a very busy Deadwood, SD during some kind of festival. There was a street reenactment of ye olde western days which was played kinda straight, to try to keep the facts in place … not much cutesy, over-the-top humor as is usually added in such performances. The mandatory Deadwood tourist trap ice cream shop offered a unique Licorice flavor and Wayne-the-licorice-lover gave it a shot. I know, sounds yucky, but it was actually quite tasty.

With said lollygagging time built in, we toured George Custer’s last fall (-ing spot).

We stopped at a bunch of ‘Historical Points’. Of course, many were of the Lewis & Clark nature. One, though, was to record a spot where there was nothing to look at, telling us that the ‘golden’ railroad spike (which was a busted event) took place some three miles distant. Whose dumb idea was it to commemorate that spot?

Garnet Ghost Town

Montana’s Best Preserved Ghost Town absolutely lives up to this claim. I don’t know if it’s the 6,000 ft elevation that facilitated many of the original 1895 buildings to remain viable even here in 2022, but the buildings are strong enough for humans to enter, inspect, and photograph, a quality not shared with a lot of other ghost towns. Mining the red-brown garnet stone, this town had the requisite wild features that rowdy miners desired, but was somewhat unique in that many families also lived there. This is a bit of a drive east of Missoula, but go see it if you’re in the area. I’ll let the pictures convince you; I wonder if it isn’t a great resource for filmmakers designing authentic sets for westerns:

Scenic Idaho

We were pleasantly surprised at Idaho’s scenic farm beauty. Ever-present midwestern farmland is relatively flat and static – we’ve driven through a lot of it on frequent trips through Illinois. But the northwest rapeseed (produces canola oil) fields, planted on gently rolling mounds throughout the region pushed Idaho’s picturesque value high up on anyone’s list, and we’re pretty picky. Other grains (wheat) and hay grasses thrive in this region as well. Those fields make great contrast for the sunshine-colored rapeseed, producing giant patchwork quilt scenes.

Water Water Everywhere

Throughout our road trip we were able to see many scenic waterways, the first of which was in the Lolo Forrest which began on Hwy 12 out of Missoula, MT and took us across Idaho, almost to Washington. Gorgeous vistas pulled at us to stop a million times and add to our growing photo collection. The evergreen woods here were very fragrant with a camphor/pine/citrus-y scent. Elk River waterfall trail was a great hike, and yielded 3 waterfalls, zooming it up very high on our “Best of” list. And then the rest of the week we found new opportunities everywhere.

Saturday Treat

Our house-sit hosts recommended the Moscow Farmers Market, Idaho’s largest. It was a fun way to spend a beautiful Saturday morning. There were lots of produce, baked goods, crafts, jewelry, and artwork, but my favorite feature was a band of, ahem, geezers, playing 60/70s music, a virtual magnet for us Baby Boomers. Beatles, Jimmy Buffet, Simon & Garfunkel, Neil Diamond among others, all very well played. We sat and rocked for about an hour, loving the tunes and watching the other Boomers in the crowd, some of whom danced or at least sang along. One could only imagine the distant memories conjured up in each heart and mind.

VRBO and Canada

After our house sit, on to our VRBO-with-a-million $$$-view in Moyie Springs, ID, about an inch from Canada. We made a quick dash through the mountains across the border and then took a scenic route back through western Montana. Our original plan to drive the Going to the Sun Road in Glacier National Park was skunked when we learned - too late - that one must reserve their coveted spot a gazillion days early. So we settled for Highways 93 and 2, lunching in Whitefish, MT.

Yellowstone and Tetons

We sweated gaining entry to the famous park, it being a scant few weeks past a devastating flood in its northern portion and knowing the park’s popularity as a mid-summer destination. But our senior pass sent us sailing through the gate feeling a little like we got away with something. Old Faithful was our destination but we stopped at the geyser fields to gape and marvel. Postcards purchased at the visitors center and we headed south to glimpse the Tetons.

Wyoming

We drove the length of Wyoming toward Nebraska. Ever-changing geology again kept my head swiveling.

Four (!!!!!) days’ travel back to Arkansas were somewhat arduous to travelers of our demographic, but with all these fresh experiences and memories lodged in our still-functioning gray matter, we’re calling it worth every one of the 5,800+ miles, every questionable hotel, every stretch of road-construction, every other inconvenience whether minor (no free breakfast at some hotels) or major (no curb service at a Sonic “Drive-In”) and the mild jet lag from losing 2 hours for over a week. A major blessing was getting home before lunch! (We love our home, even though readers might not get that, considering all our travel!)

We Meepsters are nailed down in Arkansas again ... until the next trip ...

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tomorrowisapromisetono1 · 4 years

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Happy birthday Simon 😍🥰💖

#biffy clyro #sexy simon neil #gorgeous simon neil

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shattteredvisage · 4 years

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John Mulaney

Saturday Night Live Writer from 2008-2013

"Stay one year longer than you think you should."

#im obsessed with these new photos we got today #i love <3 #john mulaney #snl #Saturday night live #bobby moynihan #lorne michaels #steve higgins #seth meyers #bill hader #kristen wiig #andy samberg #simon rich #marika sawyer #the sack lunch bunch #kid gorgeous #oh hello on broadway #neil patrick harris #fred armisen

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glennmillerorchestra · 3 years

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Hi Gia! Very interested in what you consider the ideal divorce canon, if you already have a curated list. The messier and more fractious the better :)

hello!!! i am extremely honored to receive this ask, because it means i've cemented my reputation as the divorce gal on the internet. i am working on a comprehensive list of divorce and divorce-adjacent films/tv episodes, but i'll give you a little taste of some of my personal favorites, in no particular order:

- alan alda and jane fonda's storyline in california suite (1978). my firm stance on neil simon is that he should only be allowed to write biting, nasty divorce banter, and this checks that box perfectly! the aesthetics are gorgeous too, so you get a good heap of divorce with some beautiful cinematography, and the scenes between the two of them are really a bisexual's (my) dream

-pete n' tillie (1972) - while this film is pretty obscure, and doesn't contain outright divorce, i think it contains some really excellent depictions of marital struggles, and the whole idea of 'marrying before you get too old.' there are a couple blow-ups and talk of divorce, but the movie does end happily, so if you're a fan of messy endings, this may not be the one for you. i personally consider this movie one of my all-time faves, for sentimental reasons, but also because i like to see resentful, messy relationships with a sappy ending

-gilda (1946) - alright. so this one contains the exact opposite of divorce, but the reason i include this film is because the marriage in the film is used as a reason to stay separated. without spoiling the plot, i just feel that light switch on in my eyes throughout the movie, with its themes of infidelity, marital struggles, and of course, the reverse marriage and its entrapment. it's really quite brilliant that they use marriage as the source of pain, rather than divorce!

-who's afraid of virginia woolf? (1966) - this is another film that doesn't contain outright divorce, but the marriage in it is so sickening, so messy, and so downright horrible, it deserves to be on this list. this is an intense watch, so be prepared to watch relationships get destroyed. it contains my favorite themes of infidelity and corruption as well, and is an excellent divorce-adjacent watch, as well as a must-watch for any film buff, in my humble opinion

-the four seasons (1981) - this is my current blog header, so it makes sense i'd have to include it. while the movie is not centered around divorce, one of the main characters gets divorced and finds a new girlfriend, which causes tension within the friend group and strains the other couples' relationships. this is a really beautifully executed movie, focusing more on how the relationships between the characters fluctuate, but it's fair to say that divorce is also a large topic in this movie, and i think the way alan alda handled the topic was really absolute bliss (i stole that line from donald sutherland)

as for some other divorce movies i can't add to my personal favorite list, due to the fact that they are really not good™, i would say divorce hers (1973), i will, i will... for now (1976), robert altman's HEALTH (1980) and a wedding (1978), and blume in love (1973) are all movies worth checking out, if only for the star power of the casts (carol burnett, elliott gould, george segal, and elizabeth taylor to name some), and that good, old-fashioned 'new hollywood marital struggle' theme. i will definitely be trying to get my divorce list out as fast as possible, especially because i want to add some tv episodes into this mix, but i would consider this a pretty solid starter pack!

happy viewing to you, and all the other divorce nuts out there! ❤️‍🔥

#this ended up long but i hope that's alright! divorce is one of my true passions in life #ketterle #ask #film

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midnightcowboy1969 · 3 years

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Neil Simon's Chapter Two described 70s James Caan as "not gorgeous, sweet looking with an intelligent face" and I'm sorry but he does not look intelligent - I look at him I see a bimbo (complimenting)

#if copy*ight don't get me too bad I might be able to upload the movie to yout*be

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newmusickarl · 3 years

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youtube

Album & EP Recommendations

Album of the Week: For Those That Wish To Exist by Architects

Although For Those That Wish To Exist is the ninth studio album from metalcore behemoths Architects, this feels less a culmination of their 17 year career to this point, and more an album that has been shaped by events over the last five years.

Following the success of their magnum opus All The Gods Have Abandoned Us, Architects tragically lost their founding guitarist and chief songwriter, Tom Searle, to skin cancer at the age of 28. A truly devastating loss that left the band, their fans and the music world in mourning, it looked like Architects had come to the end of their road at that point, and it would’ve been perfectly understandable.

But that wasn’t to be the end of the story, merely the closing of one chapter and the beginning of another. Dan Searle, Architects drummer and brother to Tom, took over the songwriting duties to continue the band’s legacy. Out of this initial batch of songs came the critically-acclaimed Holy Hell, a defiant, redemptive album that saw the band confront head on the pain and suffering felt by Tom’s passing.

So three years on from that record, we now arrive at what feels like the final part of this mini-trilogy of albums within Architects’ wider discography. If Holy Hell was the sound of the band coming to terms with the heartbreak and just starting to find their voice again, then All These Things That Wish To Exist is the fully-fledged, wing-spreading, triumphant rebirth. The irony is, this resurgence comes from the band finding their muse in the end of all things, with All These Things That Wish To Exist seeing Architects present their own apocalyptic opera, built around seismic metal riffs, string-drenched majesty and Sam Carter’s wide-ranging vocals.

On this new record, Architects move on from their own personal suffering and cast their gaze further outward, pointing their focus towards the threat of planetary destruction and human extinction brought on by the global climate emergency. In hindsight the mammoth first single, Animals, perfectly set the thematic and sonic tone for this record. The brutal, pulsating main guitar riff and air-raid siren synths roaring in the background as frontman Sam Carter daringly asks “Should I just pull the pin?” – it was instantly one of the best Architects’ tracks to date and in the context of the album it hits even harder.

Outside of Animals, there were concerns from some corners of Architects’ fanbase that the band may be softening up on this record, but that is most certainly not the case. Although All These Things That Wish To Exist sees Sam Carter deploy his cleaner vocals more frequently and the band stretch themselves sonically with greater eclecticism, there are plenty of moments here where Architects are as heavy as they ever have been. This is demonstrated best with the thunderous one-two combo of An Ordinary Extinction and Impermanence at the centre of the record, with one of the track’s debuted at their triumphant livestream from Royal Albert Hall, Discourse Is Dead, also providing one the best the heavier cuts.

That said, it is arguably one of the softest songs on the record that strikes the biggest chord for me. Also debuted at their Royal Albert Hall livestreamed show at the back end of last year, Dead Butterflies immediately stood out as Architects’ next big soaring anthem. Now here as the studio cut, the track is even more glorious than I remember, lifted by some stirring strings, jubilant horns and some pitch perfect production. My only qualm is that this song comes quite early in the album sequencing when it feels like it could’ve been the perfect finale. Having said that, the gorgeous, acoustic-driven Dying Is Absolutely Safe does a decent job of bringing the album to a fitting end too.

All in all, it’s safe to say All These Things That Wish To Exist is undoubtedly one of the Architects’ finest albums to date; a concept record littered with career-best moments such as those mentioned above and those I haven’t touched on - singles Black Lungs and Meteor, Libertine, Little Wonder, the Simon Neil of Biffy Clyro featuring Goliath – pretty much everything to be honest!

With this album Architects have successfully evolved, overcoming a turbulent couple of years to now march onwards victoriously towards a bright new dawn. Simply superb from start to finish, All These Things That Wish To Exist is Architects laying the gauntlet down for heavy bands in 2021 – this one really will be tough to top.

Nature Always Wins by Maximo Park

From metal veterans to indie veterans, as Geordie heroes Maximo Park also released their seventh studio album this week, Nature Always Wins. Much like Architects, Maximo have delivered some of the best songs of their career so far on this one, with the infectious chorus, gleeful melody and rocketing little keyboard riff of All of Me, and dreamy, psychedelic number Child of the Flatlands, featuring Paul Smith’s signature observational lyricism, providing just two of the many highlights.

That said, it is the downbeat, melancholy guitar and sweet sentiment of Versions of You that has been on heavy repeat this week, a track right up there with some of the band’s very best. Maximo rarely put a foot wrong and, despite losing their longtime keyboardist Lukas Wooller, Nature Always Wins finds them sounding rejuvenated and at the top of their game.

Push Back by Jetty Bones

And finally on the album recommendations front, the best new artist to emerge this week is singer songwriter Jetty Bones, who released her fantastic debut album, Push Back. Mostly moving on from the more alternative, acoustic vibes of her recent EPs, Push Back is a decidedly poppier effort from Jetty, with the 80s flare of Nothing complete with saxophone solo and the gorgeous, xylophone-tinged Waking Up Exhausted particularly standing out. However, when Jetty gets back to basics like on guitar-driven ballad Bad Trick, where she is also backed up by some stunning orchestration, this album really soars.

Overall, this is a great front-to-back 30-minute listen, with Jetty’s eclectic style delivering an impressive first outing that draws shades of Alanis Morrisette and Avril Lavigne, but with plenty of her own unique touch.

Tracks of the Week

Spinning by No Rome, Charli XCX & The 1975

A dream pop collaboration from three of today’s best, Spinning delivers a playful synth-driven melody that will make you want to get up and dance.

All The Colours of You by James

The title-track from their forthcoming 16th studio album, All The Colours of You sees the Mancunian legends tackle quarantine and US racial divide on this urgent new single.

Far Out by Ben Howard

And finally, Ben Howard dropped two new tracks from his forthcoming album this week with the spacey guitars and vocals of Far Out the pick of the bunch.

#architects #dead butterflies #for those that wish to exist #sam carter #dan searle #maximo park #nature always wins #jetty bones #push back #charli xcx #the 1975 #no rome #spinning #james #ben howard #best new music #album of the week #track of the week #new music

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televinita · 3 years

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Books Read In 2020: The Why

In a tradition I accidentally started for myself in 2016 and now quite enjoy, at the end of the year I look back at my reading list and answer the question, why did you read this particular book?

Below, my 100 reads of 2020 are split into groups by target readership age, plus nonfiction at the end, now with a bonus note about how I heard of it. Which I probably won’t continue to do next year, but it was fun to try.

ADULT FICTION

I read each of these books because...

A Glitter of Gold - Liz Johnson. 2019. It had me at "her pirate tour business," but between the shipwreck & the museum-director love interest it was like BLOOD & TREASURE ROMANCE AU LET'S GOOO.

How I heard of it: a book blog

The Last Woman in the Forest - Diane Les Becquets. 2019. Recommended by a dog lover; I'm down for a thriller about a woman who has a dream dog-inclusive job like this.

How I heard of it: a book blog

Good Omens - Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman. 1990. I really enjoyed the miniseries and wanted to see if the book everyone loved so much was as good (for the record: it was not. at least not if you’ve seen the miniseries first; otherwise they are probably equal).

This Is Home - Lisa Duffy. 2019. Attractive cover + I flipped it open to a random page and just liked the writing style.

How I heard of it: library

Dear Mr. Knightley - Katherine Reay. 2013. I'd had this on the back burner for a while because the MC sounded like me, and one day I got sick of not being able to find any fluffy contemporary romances with beta male heroes and decided Matthew Gray Gubler was gonna star in this one. (spoiler alert: it is a good book but that did not work)

How I heard of it: a book blog

Rubbernecker - Belinda Bauer. 2013. Criminal Minds sent me into a tailspin so I went hunting for books to cast Spencer Reid in again; the Asperger's/case-solving/difficult relationship with mother combo sounded promising. (spoiler alert: the med-student element + his social cluelessness proved too strong and I was only able to picture the kid from The Good Doctor)

How I heard of it: Googling keywords

The Swiss Affair - Emylia Hall. 2013. I got a random hankering for a student/teacher novel, and after scrutinizing the library catalog this was the only one that fit my parameters for gender, lack of adultery, and focus on romance over sex.

How I heard of it: library

Love At First Bark - Debbie Burns. 2019. I was trying to cast Wes/Jules [Dollface] in a romance novel, so I browsed through a Goodreads friend's "dog-romance" shelf and accidentally landed in a Jeid AU [Criminal Minds]. Which may or may not have been a large part of what turned me into a Jeid shipper (outside canon only).

The Mermaids Singing - Val McDermid. 1995. One final attempt to cast Reid in a novel -- a user in a Reddit post asking for this very thing suggested this, and "profiler with idiosyncracies" certainly fit.

The Wire in the Blood [and 9 subsequent novels] - Val McDermid, spanning 1997-2019. Turns out aside from being British, Reid paints onto Tony Hill EXCEPTIONALLY well, and I accidentally found myself with a little Jeid AU in the process, so obviously I read the entire series. Good crime-solving fun and all that.

Horse - Talley English. 2018. Random library pull because I connected with the writing style and it appeared to actually focus on horses.

How I heard of it: library

A Sparkle of Silver - Liz Johnson. 2018. I liked the author's other book and this was pretty much a remix of the same story, but now with a cool mansion/estate setting.

How I heard of it: looking up other books by this author

Everyone Is Beautiful - Katherine Center. 2009. Went looking for stories about strong marriages, found this on a Goodreads list of "second chance marriage" books, tripped into something like a season 9 Jim/Pam scenario. How I heard of it: Googling keywords

The Lost Husband - Katherine Center. 2013. Loved the previous book of hers I read, and the "starting life over on a goat farm" angle sounded like an ideal life to try on.

How I heard of it: looking up more from this author

The Shadow Year - Hannah Richell. 2013. Fixing up an old house?? I am THERE. Doing this in two timelines, one of which involves off-the-grid homesteading, is even better.

How I heard of it: used book sale

Mandrake Root - Janet Diebold. 1946. I needed a non-library book to bring on vacation, and after spinning in circles over what I thought would appeal to my mood in that setting, my brain randomly said "reread this one."

How I heard of it: estate sale

Path of the Jaguar - Vickie Britton & Loretta Jackson. 1989. Bought cheap for cheap thrills: a Yucatan adventure/mystery. Read now so I could get rid of it. How I heard of it: library sale

Burying Water - K.A. Tucker. 2014. The library didn't have The Simple Wild, but they DID have a book w/ an equally pretty cover that talked about a badly beaten young amnesiac (!) recovering on a horse farm (!!). What is: my top romance trope (hurt/comfort, bonus points for animals and rural setting).

How I heard of it: library

Happiness for Beginners - Katherine Center. Established quality author + summertime hiking inspiration.

How I heard of it: looking up more from this author

The Visitors - Simon Sylvester. Cool cover + setting, and a teenage protagonist usually makes adult fiction more accessible. How I heard of it: Goodreads

Becoming Rain - K.A. Tucker. 2014. I was in this companion novel solely for mentions of Alex and any people by the last name of Wells, but figured I might as well read all of it to ensure I didn't miss any. How I heard of it: looking up more from this author

The Guest List - Lucy Foley. 2020. Honestly, it just sounded like a cool thriller (and cool setting). How I heard of it: a book blog

You Deserve Nothing - Alexander Maksik. 2011. Fell down a Will/Rachel [Glee] rabbit hole and ravaged the student/teacher keyword in my library catalog again to scratch the itch.

The Haunting of Hill House - Shirley Jackson. 1959. Mom's been trying to get me to read this for years, and this time when it came up in conversation it was the right time of year, so I randomly decided to give it a shot. How I heard of it: Mom

The Walker in Shadows - Barbara Michaels. 1979. Gothic ghost story + beautiful architectural details in a historic house = yeah!

How I heard of it: Goodwill

YOUNG ADULT

People Like Us - Dane Mele. 2018. Needed an audiobook; a girls' boarding school murder mystery seemed most likely to hold my attention of the limited options. How I heard of it: Library

The Possibility of Now - Kim Culbertson. 2016. I will read anything by this author, and girl having a meltdown over a test = me. How I heard of it: looking up other books by this author

Rob&Sara.com - P.J. Petersen & Ivy Ruckman. 2004. Mostly I wanted to go back to my high school days and enjoy the format of a novel written in emails, but also, I like Ruckman. How I heard of it: used book sale

For Real - Alison Cherry. 2014. Fictional Amazing Race!! + awesome summery cover + sisters How I heard of it: library sale

The Summer After You + Me - Jennifer Salvato Doktorski. 2015. The awesome summery cover, mostly. How I heard of it: a book blog

You'd Be Mine - Erin Hahn. 2019. Gorgeous cover + the chance to vicariously follow a budding young country music star on tour for the summer.

How I heard of it: a book blog

Juniors - Kaui Hart Hemmings. 2015. The neat setting(s): a live-in guest on a wealthy estate in Hawaii. How I heard of it: Dollar store

Lion Boy's White Brother - Alden G. Stevens. 1951. Bought cheap because vintage juvenile book in a unique setting. Read now to see if I could get rid of it (NOPE).

How I heard of it: used bookstore

The O.C.: Spring Break - Aury Wallington. 2005. I keep meaning to finish this short series, and it was an easy title to count for my Mount TBR challenge.

How I heard of it: used book sale

Echo Island - Edward Karlow. 2017. Bought cheap because of the beautiful summery cover; easy read for Mount TBR so I could get rid of it. How I heard of it: library sale

Confessions of a High School Disaster - Emma Chastain. 2017. Read because of THE SUPER CUTE SUMMERY COVER (and diary format).

How I heard of it: Dollar store

Kentucky Daughter - Carol J. Scott. 1985. Working my way down the “Inappropriate Student/Teacher Relationships in YA" list because I'm in that kind of mood this year; chose this because 80s books tend to deliver the subject best*, the character reminded me of the girl in Send No Blessings, and Open Library had it. *this one was just blatant sexual harassment, though, and belonged very literally on that list

How I heard of it: Goodreads

What They Always Tell Us - Martin Wilson. 2008. I sorted the library catalog to see the oldest contemporary YA novels they still have before they get weeded, and "loner being taken under the wing of his older brother's (male) friend and falling in love with him" hit a couple of good tropes. How I heard of it: library

Bobby's Watching - Ted Pickford. 1993. Browsing around on OpenLibrary and saw they FINALLY had a copy of this book that scared me too much to finish as a kid, and which I've wanted to revisit ever since I remembered what it's called (Interlibrary Loan doesn't have it and it's Not Cheap to buy).

How I heard of it: library

Powwow Summer - Nahanni Shingoose. 2019. Always interested in modern-day Indigenous girls connecting w/ their heritage, especially if they're from my home state's tribe.

How I heard of it: a book blog

The Princesses of Iowa - M. Molly Backes. 2012. Appealing cover + heft suggesting a solid Midwestern contemporary, plus I liked the student teacher element (without a slash this time, as in "college student who is almost a teacher")

How I heard of it: library

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants - Ann Brashares. 2001. The Second Summer of the Sisterhood - Ann Brashares. 2003.

Long-intended reread of a college fave because I wanted see Mike Vogel in the movie, and it was summer so the stars aligned. Continued because the first book was as good as I remembered. (I would have kept going but Life distracted me for a bit and by the time I was back on track, it was no longer summer) How I heard of it: I...can't remember. Am the worst!

The Distance From Me To You - Marina Gessner a.k.a. Nina de Gramont. 2015. Hiking inspiration + an appealing-sounding romance. How I heard of it: Goodreads

Where Have All the Tigers Gone? - Lynn Hall. 1989. Will read any of her books, but specifically read this one because it seemed fairly autobiographical, and I read it NOW because it seemed durable enough to take on vacation. How I heard of it: looking up books by this author

And Both Were Young - Madeline L'Engle. 1949 (text of 1983 edition w/ material from original manuscript added back). Something reminded me of its existence and I requested it because it was the only non-animal-focused vintage teen novel I could physically get my hands on before Interlibrary Loan opened back up, and I had a craving for just that.

How I heard of it: library

The Other Side of Lost - Jessi Kirby. 2018. Established quality author + throw me ALL the thru-hike novels!

How I heard of it: Goodreads

The Vow - Jessica Martinez. 2013. Perfect scenario to run an Abed/Annie [Community] AU!

How I heard of it: I want to say...an article on a book website (not personal blog this time) back in 2013.

Moon and Me - Hadley Irwin. 1981. Was just in the mood to read an 80s teen novel and this one helped me knock off a title for the Mount TBR challenge. From an author I like, w/ bonus horse content.

How I heard of it: used book sale.

Suicide Notes From Beautiful Girls - Lynn Weingarten. 2015. I bought a blind bag at the library sale and this was one of the only contemporary YA novels in it; figured I might as well read it since I'd liked a previous book of hers.

How I heard of it: Library

History Is All You Left Me - Adam Silvera. 2016.

With the Glee rabbit hole came a Klaine spiral; this was my season 4 Tragic AU dream for them and I've been saving it for a Klainey day ever since it was published. (No I am not sorry for that horrid pun.)

How I heard of it: googling keywords

The Museum of Heartbreak - Meg Leder. 2016. The cool cover/concept of a "museum" of items reeled me in; I bought a copy a while ago 'cause the library didn't have it. Read now to see if I could get rid of it (NOPE).

How I heard of it: Goodreads

Me & Mr. J - Rachel McIntyre. 2015. Student/teacher novel that looked especially appealingly tame so I'd been saving it, but then Open Library notified me it was now only available in 1-hour increments, and I got paranoid it would disappear altogether (it's not cheap to buy or available via ILL), so I wanted it in my brain.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

Dear Evan Hansen - Val Emmich w/ Steven Levenson, Benj Pasek & Justin Paul. 2018. Fell in love with the DEH soundtrack. Play's summary sounded good -- getting to experience it in YA novel form?? Amazing.

How I heard of it: Wikipedia

Saddle a Thunderbolt - Jo Sykes. 1967

Bought a while ago because vintage horse story. Read now specifically to alleviate my pre-homesickness about moving by imagining living in an even more beautiful place than home.

How I heard of it: either a used book sale or a used bookstore...

Learning to Breathe - Janice Lynn Mather. 2018. This was mentioned on a lost-book forum and "girl with unplanned pregnancy supports herself by getting a job cleaning" piqued my interest; the setting (Bahamas) and cover made it better.

How I heard of it: Reddit

Everglades Adventure - James Ralph Johnson. 1970. Standard vintage boys' adventure-in-nature story; I like those.

How I heard of it: Goodwill

CHILDREN’S/MIDDLE GRADE

Little Women - Louisa May Alcott. 1868. Seeing the new movie and falling head over heels was what it took to FINALLY convince me to reread this childhood fave.

How I heard of it: can't remember; I was a kid

A Little Princess - Frances Hodgson Burnett. 1905. I was perusing a lot of books about classic children's books and it started to bug me that I had skipped this appealing-sounding one as a kid.

How I heard of it: can't remember; I was a kid

Little Men - Louisa May Alcott. 1871. LW sparked a fandom revival and I wanted more detail about the Marches' adult lives (esp. Jo & Bhaer), even on the fringes.

How I heard of it: library

Lady and the Tramp - Ward Greene. I saw a quote from the new movie under a gifset on Tumblr that sounded like it came from a book, and upon Googling out that one existed, I obviously could not allow the book version of a beloved childhood animal-movie fave to go unread. Especially after finding out it was super rare so reading it would be a privilege.

The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett. 1910. Read for the same reason as A Little Princess. Can’t have one without the other, you know.

How I heard of it: was a kid; can't remember

The Mother-Daughter Book Club - Heather Vogel Fredericks. 2007. Much Ado About Anne - Heather Vogel Fredericks. 2008.

Always thought the series looked cute/reminded me of The Teashop Girls, but the fact that the first book they read is Little Women gave me the impetus to finally read this one. First book was darling so I continued to the next (but failed to continue beyond because COVID shut the library down until I was out of the mood).

How I heard of it: library

Nature Girl - Jane Kelley. 2010. I wanted walking inspiration.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

From You to Me - K.A. Holt. 2018. Mistook it for a similar-looking book I'd seen at the same time (See You On A Starry Night), but figured I'd give the 8th grade bucket list idea a shot once I had it. How I heard of it: Goodreads

Semiprecious - D. Anne Love. 2006. Cute cover + I'm starting to be a big fan of what I call "contemporary historical," for stories set mid-20th century.

How I heard of it: library

Dandy's Mountain - Thomas Fall. 1967. Vintage horse-inclusive children's book in a rural setting, I'm sold. Not to mention, love reading a summer setting in summer.

How I heard of it: used book sale

Littler Women: A Modern Retelling - Laura Schaefer. 2017. The only way to make the Little Women MORE magical is to make them younger, modern, and written by a proven quality author.

How I heard of it: a book blog

Behind The Attic Wall - Sylvia Cassedy. 315 pg/1983.

A Goodreads friend strongly recommended it as similar to but better than Mandy, and reading about it in 100 Best Books For Children sealed the deal. Read now for the Mount TBR challenge.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

The Jigsaw Jungle - Kristin Levine. 2018. I am a COMPLETE sucker for books told in non-traditional/scrapbook-esque format.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

Runt - Marion Dane Bauer. 2002. Wolf story by a quality author. Read now after owning it for a decade to see if I could get rid of it.

How I heard of it: used book sale

The King of the Cats - Rene Guillot. 1959. Bought cheap for a quick read because vintage animal story. Read now so I could get rid of it.

How I heard of it: used book sale

Just The Beginning - Betty Miles. 1976. Found cheap; always down to read a vintage book about an average girl (and I wanted to know how she'd cope with her mom being "a cleaning lady in a town full of classmates who HAVE cleaning ladies").

How I heard of it: used book sale

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - J.K. Rowling. 1997. Been meaning to reread the series for a while now; finally got motivation to check out the illustrated edition 'cause Christmastime.

How I heard of it: originally Mom; a book blog for this edition

Echo Mountain - Lauren Wolk. 2020. Almost entirely because of the incredible clipart cover, promising me nature and a dog (and because I could get it as an e-audiobook from the library).

How I heard of it: a book blog

Knock Three Times - Cressida Cowell. 2019. I needed another audiobook for bedtime/walks and I know that David Tennant will provide.

How I heard of it: more by this author (more accurately, narrator)

NONFICTION

The Red Leather Diary: Reclaiming A Life Through The Pages Of A Lost Journal - Lily Koppel. 2008. I'm kind of obsessed with the concept of historical 5-year diaries -- and finding one like this is The Dream.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life - Anne Bogel. 2018. Attractive and compact book about the pleasures of being a reader? A headspace I want to be in.

How I heard of it: library

100 Best Books for Children - Anita Silvey. 2004. I'm big on looking at lists of books for children this year. These are the kind of books I know, love, and want to hear people talk about, now that I know books about these books exist.

How I heard of it: library

The Coming of Saska - Doreen Tovey Originally bought because it was cheap and featured animals, I needed a non-library book to bring on vacation, and this one is a durable ex-library copy in plastic wrap that featured a similar setting to where I was going, so: thematic.

Cats in the Belfry - Doreen Tovey. 1957. Wanted more of her books, and lo and behold the library had the first one.

How I heard of it: more by this author

Sorry Not Sorry - Naya Rivera. 2016. I'll read anything the Glee kids write, and this doubled as an easy number for the Mount TBR challenge.

How I heard of it: entertainment news websites

Living Large in Our Little House - Kerri Fivecoat-Campbell. 2016. I love tiny houses. And this one specifically mentioned living with dogs. And had color photographs.

How I heard of it: used bookstore

I'm Your Biggest Fan: Awkward Encounters and Assorted Misadventures in Celebrity Journalism. - Kate Coyne. 2016. Found cheap at a library sale -- loved the chapter headings and the fact that they were all about celebrities I knew.

Adrift - Tami Oldham Ashcraft w/ Suesea McGearheart. 1998/2018 edition. The movie was so awesome that I couldn't wait for more details about the real story in her own words.

I'll Be Gone In The Dark [NF] - Michelle McNamara. 2018. Been reading a lot of true crime write-ups on Reddit lately; decided it was time to pick up this well-received one.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

Dear Evan Hansen: Waving Through A Window - Steven Levenson. 2017. Much like The Grimmerie for Wicked, once I fell in love with the DEH soundtrack and looked up the plot summary, I wanted to read the musical's detailed background/behind the scenes story + libretto before I watched it.

How I heard of it: Wikipedia

Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune - Bill Dedman & Paul Clark Newell. 2013. Love me a story about a mansion (or three). Or the reclusive and insanely wealth heiress who owns them, that works too.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

JUVENILE NONFICTION Mascots: Military Mascots from Ancient Egypt to Modern Korea - Fairfax Downey. 1954. Animal book from an author I like; read now to see if I could get rid of it (yes).

How I heard of it: secondhand bookstore

Come on, Seabiscuit - Ralph Moody. 1963. Bought because vintage kids' horse book; read now to see if I could get rid of it (and to count it towards my Mount TBR challenge 'cause it was short).

How I heard of it: secondhand bookstore

#why i read

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