#in summary im giving it a big thumbs up 👍

[olreid]

WAIT *dominic monaghan voice* are you watching harlots? have you watched harlots? will you watch harlots? when will you watch harlots?

( i always enjoy reading your opinions, would love to know your thoughts about the series! i really enjoyed the first season )

i started watching it while wizard high the other week! ive seen all but one episode of season one i think? and i'm really enjoying it ! i am not a historian of anything so i never know whether period things are like. doing a good job of being accurate or not but to the layman (me) it seemed very well done .

i don't have a lot to say by virtue of being truly blasted while watching but i'm having a good time. which feels weird to say about a show that's so brutal, but it just feels like. ok yes we're finally talking about it (the ubiquity of sexual violence)!!! i think the characters are so well-drawn and the dynamics between miss wells and miss quigley as well as their respective dynamics within their own houses and families are RICH, to say the least.

there's some really interesting stuff being done with the family form as it comes into focus as a point of comparison for different economic relationships and modes of exchange -- i think it's charlotte who has a line to the effect that she sees margaret as her pimp which makes her the opposite of the mother she's supposed to be, but like. if we think in terms of the tradition of exogamous marriage, parents are very much like pimps, at least where their marriageable daughters are concerned! margaret wants to marry her daughters off precisely because she has a parent's investment in their futures and views selling them as the only way for them to have a better life. which does not justify her actions, but provides an interesting framework through which to examine the economics of the family and to consider whether or not it differs meaningfully from from the economics of the brothel.

it's interesting to see how margaret and lydia's children are sheltered from some aspects of the business while doubly obligated to participate in others. harriet's storyline of joining the house in order to buy back her children after she learns that her husband had not freed them as he'd claimed to adds another sense in which the family can be read as compatible with the capitalist property relations to which it purports to provide an antidote. and even for those in the show who do manage to find a measure of relief in relationship, the show makes a point to foreground how each and every bond is strained by the unceasing pressure to always be turning a profit in order to keep from going under .

#in summary im giving it a big thumbs up 👍 #altho ive heard season 3 is maybe not good? #asks #anon #harlots #a long wish to be elsewhere

[skadream]

Rudy's Book Reviews: You Will Get Through This Night by Daniel Howell

yeah thats right im gonna be a phannie on main for a second. this is the start of my book review series which i hope to actually folow through with lol. this one ive been listening to as an audiobook but i do have the physical copy as well cuz im like that! next review will hopefully be gideon the ninth so tune in for that, but for now, read this review under the cut:

this book is a practical mental health guide, honestly a lot of it is stuff that you can learn in therapy so like if you have a therapist that you like then maybe its not worth it BUT theres like slim pickins for mental health books that arent just anecdotal evidence without actually talking about what people did to help them get better, just "yea i was sad but then i got therapy ✌️" or books that are so couched in psychiatric jargon its hard for a layperson to get into OR just vaguely inspiring bullshit.

its all written with the help of an actual licensed psychologist person, so no bullshit, no just do yoga and drink water shit (although obviously exercise and hydration and physical health are talked about) and yes he mentions medication and LICENSED therapy if those end up being necessary steps to take with your mental health!!! which again, in the world of self help type books, tends to be rare advice which is DEPRESSING IN A DIFFERENT WAY LMAO.

ofc it should go without saying that a book can never be a replacement for therapy but Considering How The World Is, this book is good for like maybe stepping into learning some coping skills as well as figuring out a plan before, during, and after crisis mode. i would say the tone is more serious than humorous but dan puts a lot of his own natural snarky sarcasm stink all over this book which obv that can be a taste thing if youre not into brit sarcasm mode but as a One Of Those i like it lol

in terms of Dan And Phil™️-isms, theres a sprinkling of cute winks and nods and inside jokes that people who drew sharpie cat whiskers on their faces as teens would understand but Normies will not find to be out of place or anything, there's also some storytimes of like his previous tours or living as a dropout youtuber being stress-inducing and things like that but not a ton which i kinda prefer cuz it makes it easier for me to recommend this book to people who dont give a shit about Phandom Memes

theres an introduction which is kind of a short summary of who dan is, basically just summarizing his youtube videos talking about depression and when he came out as queer and all that fun stuff, if youre a psycho hardcore fan person like me you might find it to be a long and unnecessary read, but if youre someone who didnt know about this guy and are curious as to why he would even write a book like this its a pretty good synopsis.

the american cover has dan's stupid face on it, and as someone who is a big fan of dan's stupid beautiful face, i wish we had the EU version with like tasteful yellow stripes on it bc it looks so nice, but i mean i just keep it on my bookshelf with the spine showing which is just a nice yellow spine with the title and looks unassuming so its not THAT big a deal lmaoo.

in terms of the audiobook, dan's voice is quite soothing and there's all these like audio cues and fitting music which i really like. the only downside is, for example, he reads out this timed breathing exercise that is meant to be like a five minute exercise, but it's not actually timed? so like i want to do the breathing exercises along with him reading it out but he reads it so fast its kinda like bro slow down you said breathe in for five seconds why you going ahead two seconds later homie. thats my only criticism i think obv if you are reading it and not listening you can just do the exercises by timing yourself lol.

ummmm idk if im gonna give a number at the end of these reviews!!! i give this book a big thumbs up!! 👍 woohoo yeah baby i am very proud of dan's current life journey thing that he's going on and i think this is a great book for people who need help which is everyone alive today right now :)

#rudyreviews