#kat reads the vorkosigan saga

[clonerightsagenda]

Some rando from the repressed military planet (trying to ruin Cordelia's marriage): Did you know... your husband is bisexual??

Cordelia (from the planet full of nonbinary socialists): And??? That just means he thinks I'm hotter than everyone else instead of just half of you. Grow up

#kat reads the vorkosigan saga #swing and a miss

[swordofsun]

Wanted to do something for the new year, so I guess I'll do a 2023 book wrap up. In chronological order from the beginning of 2023 to the end.

Putting in a read more because this is 90 books and that's too much to not hide it.

Rereads marked with a *

The Iron Dirge by Sam Sykes - Grave of Empires #2.5

Three Axes to Fall by Sam Sykes - Grave of Empries #3

The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo

Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty

The World We Make by N.K. Jemisin - Great Cities #2

Unbreakable by Mira Grant

Apocalypse Scenario #683: The Box by Mira Grant

Juice Like Wounds by Seanan McGuire - Wayward Children #4.5

Lost in the Moment and Found by Seanan McGuire - Wayward Children #8

The Spirit Thief by Rachel Aaron - The Legend of Eli Monpress #1*

The Spirit Rebellion by Rachel Aaron - The Legend of Eli Monpress #2*

The Spirit Eater by Rachel Aaron - The Legend of Eli Monpress #3*

The Spirit War by Rachel Aaron - The Legend of Eli Monpress #4*

Spirit's End by Rachel Aaron - The Legend of Eli Monpress #5*

Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold - Vorkosigan Saga #1 (Publication Order)

The Coup of Tea by Casey Blair - The Tea Princess Chronicles #1

The Scourge Between Stars by Ness Brown

Lyconthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses by Kristen O'Neal

The Jewel and Her Lapidary by Fran Wilde - Gemworld #1

Sandry's Book by Tamara Pierce - Circle of Magic #1*

Comeuppance Served Cold by Marion Deeds

By A Silver Thread by Rachel Aaron - DFZ Changeling #1

The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Ann Older - Mossa and Pleiti #1

The Twice-Drowned Saint by C.S.E. Cooney

Tris's Book by Tamara Pierce - Circle of Magic #2*

The Bones Swans of Amandale by C.S.E. Cooney (Novella)

Even Though I Knew The End by C.L. Polk

Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M Danforth

An Unkindness of Magicians by Kat Howard - Unseen World #1

Never Ever Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzales

The Ghost Network by Catie Disabato

The Keeper's Six by Kate Elliot

Siren Queen by Nghi Vo

Servant Mage by Kate Elliot

The Warden by Daniel M Ford - The Warden #1

Daja's Book by Tamara Pierce - Circle of Magic #3*

Jackdraw by K.J. Charles - A Charm of Magpies World #1

The Thief Who Pulled On Trouble's Braids by Michael McClung - Amra Thetys #1

Bluebird by Ciel Pierlot

Lexicon by Max Barry

The Splinter in the Sky by Kemi Ashing-Giwa

The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi

The Thief Who Spat in Luck's Good Eye by Michael McClung - Amara Thetys #2

Briar's Book by Tamara Pierce - Circle of Magic #4*

The Thief Who Knocked on Sorrow's Gate by Michael McClung - Amara Thetys #3

Murder at Spindle Manor by Morgan Stang - The Lamplight Murder Mysteries #1

Ebony Gate - by Julie Vee and Ken Bebelle - The Phoenix Hoard #1

Artificial Condition by Martha Wells - The Murderbot Diaries #2*

Rogue Protocols by Martha Wells - The Murderbot Diaries #3*

Exit Strategy by Martha Wells - The Murderbot Diaries #4*

Zen Bow, Zen Arrow: The Life and Teachings of Awa Kenzo, the Archery Master from "Zen in the Art of Archery" by John Stevens

Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher

Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells - The Murderbot Diareis #6*

Apparently I've hit the character limit without a paragraph break. So, we'll be starting over from 1, but it will really be #54.

Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory by Martha Wells - The Murderbot Diaries #4.5

Compulsory: A Murderbot Story by Martha Wells - The Murderbot Diaries #0.5*

Magic Steps by Tamara Pierce - The Circle Opens #1*

Murder on the Lamplight Express by Morgan Stang - The Lamplight Murder Mysteries #2

Bone Swans by C.S.E. Cooney (short story collection)

Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel - Themis Files #1

Mammoth at the Gates by Nghi Vo - The Singing Hills Cycle #4

The Refrigerator Monologues by Catherynne M Valente

Triggernometry by Stark Holborn - Triggernometry #1

Street Magic by Tamara Pierce - The Circle Opens #2*

Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett - The Foundryside Trilogy #1

Advanced Triggernometry by Stark Holborn - Triggernometry #2

Inda by Sherwood Smith - Inda #1

Thief Liar Lady by D.L. Soria

A Haunting on the Hill by Elizabeth Hand

Red Rabbit by Alex Grecian

Can't Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne - Tomes and Tea #1

Red River Seven by A.J. Ryan

Dracula by Bram Stoker - via Re: Dracula

Beholder by Ryan La Sala

A Season of Monstrous Conceptions by Lina Rather

System Collapse by Martha Wells - The Murderbot Diaries #7

Cold Fire by Tamara Piece - The Circle Opens #3*

Dream of the Falling Axe by Sam Sykes - Grave of Empires #3.5

The Woman in Me by Britney Spears

The Salvation Gambit by Emily Skrutskie

I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

Hikaru No Go Vol 1 Decent of the Go Master by Yumi Hotta - Hikaru No Go #1

These Burning Stars by Bethany Jacobs - The Kingdom Trilogy #1

Shatterglass by Tamara Pierce - The Circle Opens #4*

Paladin's Faith by T Kingfisher - The Saint of Steel #4

The Crane Husband by Kelly Barnhill

Forest of Memory by Mary Robinette Kowal

The Archive Undying by Emma Mieko Candon - The Downworld Sequence #1

On The Fox Roads by Nghi Vo

Unlocked: An Oral History of Haden's Syndrom by John Scalzi - Lock In #0.5

Paris: The Memoir by Paris Hilton

Okay, and according to Storygraph:

My longest book was Three Axes to Fall at 806 pages

My most read authors were: Tamara Pierce, Martha Wells, and Rachel Aaron. Which is due to re-reads. I re-read 16 books this year.

My average rating was 4.14 out of 5.

I read the most in June.

I read 41 new-to-me authors.

52 of the books I read were part of series.

So, I guess, feel free to ask me any questions.

Happy New Year!

#books i've read #books i read in 2023 #booklr #year in review

[beckzorz]

💫 2018 YEAR IN REVIEW 💫

Rules: Answer the questions about 2018 and tag some people!

Tagged by @kentuckybarnes​! My rockin’ babe <3

Top 5 films you watched in 2018:

black panther

BBC Television Shakespeare: Much Ado About Nothing (yes, it’s from 1978, and yes, it’s still my favorite MAAN production)

love and friendship

ant-man and the wasp

black mirror: bandersnatch (literally watched this a couple hours ago and phew what an experience)

Top 5 TV shows in 2018:

the good place

steven universe (release schedule & modeling issues aside, i still really love this show)

Wolf Hall (old, but i just found it this year so HELLS TO THE YEAH for excellent acting, costuming, the works)

the marvelous mrs maisel

a:tla (even if i barely watched any, this is on my top list no matter the year XD)

Top 5 songs of 2018:

I don’t actually listen to much new music, so this will have to do :P

"Beekeeping is Easy in Vermont" - Moonlight in Vermont via Google Translate

“Let’s Only Think About Love” from Steven Universe

“Attention” by Pentatonix

“like real people do” by hozier (not new, but i heard it first this year)

“first burn” (hamildrop)

Top 5 books you read in 2018:

i’m rolling up the vorkosigan saga by lois mcmaster bujold into one entry because i reread many of the books all the time but i don’t want to put you out lol

a breach in the heavens by n.s. dolkart

Tropical Cowboys: Westerns, Violence, and Masculinity in Kinshasa by Ch. Didier Gondola

the name of the wind by patrick rothfuss

persuasion by jane austen

Five Good/Positive things that happened to you in 2018:

i went back to school & got straight As for two semesters

i wrote a TON OF STUFF holy shit i have never had such a productive writing year

CLUB Drosselmeyer, the immersive theater show i project manage, sold out FOUR SHOWS this year, holy shit, and was AWESOME!!! seriously proud to be a part of it

reconnected with a distant cousin i hadn’t seen in 7 years over a political debate (which is wild in and of itself haha)

i joined this amazing fandom <3 <3 <3

tagging @noshitstark @itsbuckysworld @kat-lives @wonderlandmind4 @moonbeambucky and anyone else who read this far and wants in :*

#about me

[katineto]

20 questions meme

tagged by @possibleplatypus ;)

Rules: Answer the 20 questions and tag some amazing followers/people you’d like to get know better.

and

Rules: Put your music on shuffle, list the first ten songs.

————-  

Nickname(s): Kate, Kit-kat

zodiac sign: Sagittarius! And dog 

height: five foot nothin’

orientation: great question

nationality: USAmerican

favorite fruit: pomegranate, we make jelly

favorite season: this is cheating but the first month or so of each; just when I get sick of the a) excessive heat, b) excessive rain, c) slush and inability to step outside without my eyelashes freezing, or d) more rain, the seasons go and change! Which is lovely. Except I’m in California right now so I don’t get any of that :(

I guess if I had to pick it would be fall.

favorite book: I don’t have a favorite book I have like twenty; some old standbys, in no particular order:

Watership Down, The Goblin Emperor, Summerland, American Gods, Year of the Griffin, A Wrinkle In Time, Earthsea, a whole bunch of things by Pratchett, Lord of the Rings et al, the Vorkosigan saga…clearly I am into fantasy fiction

favorite flower: by scent, lilac; by appearance, tiger lily

favorite scent: there’s a smell (fertilizer, gasoline, detergent…) that smells exactly like my grandmother’s garage did when I was growing up; it’s not like I’d want to have it around all the time, but it hits my nostalgia buttons

favorite color: dark blue

favorite animal: man all these favorites are hard

I like watching the sea lions hang out by the pier

coffee, tea, or hot cocoa: coffee for mornings, tea for reading, hot cocoa for winter weather

cat or dog person: umm both? But I grew up with dogs (and I’m taking care of one now) so I’m going to have to go with the puppers ;)

favorite fictional character: ummm dunno, but I have a couple of types; a) the heel-face-turner, like Zuko or Reeve Tuesti, and b) the person who desperately tries to be good in a bad situation

# of blankets you sleep with: as many as I can, but most of them end up as pillows

dream trip: I would love to hike the PCT one day :)

blog created: technically years ago (back when everyone started leaving livejournal) but I didn’t start using it until recently

# of followers: well tumblr says 6 but one is blocked so 5

random fact: I can play a lot of instruments really badly

Ten Songs: 1. Rufford Park Poachers [Jim Moray/trad]—So poacher bold, as I unfold, keep up your gallant heart; and think about those poachers bold that night in Rufford Park

2. The River Where She Sleeps [Dave Carter]—She ain’t tryin’ to be no swami, she ain’t mad at dad or mommy, she don’t curse the storm clouds when it rains

3. Galway Girl [Ed Sheeran]—She played the fiddle in an Irish band, but she fell in love with an English man

4. You Stay Here [Richard Shindell]—You stay here, and I’ll go look for bread, and if I can, some sugar for the kids; dry your eyes, I’ll be alright, I know where they’ve laid the mines

5. Sick Old Man [The Imagined Village]—When I was a young man I ground my knives; now I have no friends to call on

6. Look What They’ve Done To My Song [Melanie]—Maybe it’ll all be alright, ma; maybe it’ll all be okay; well if the people are buying tears, then I’ll be rich someday

7. The Shores of Hispaniola [Nancy Kerr]—Now he’s bound for the darkness of England to serve Gloriana, for to spill out his blood on the shores of Hispaniola

8. Half of What We Know [Crooked Still]—Your lonesomeness I feel: I can see it when we kneel, at the altar where the ocean bites your heels

9. Eppie Morrie [Karan Casey/trad]—Four and twenty highland men came from the Carron side, to steal away Eppie Morrie, for she wouldn’t be a bride

10. Hughie Graeme [June Tabor/trad]—Hold your tongue, my father dear, and of your weeping let it be; it sorer, sorer grieves my heart than all that they could do to me

Tagging: anyone who wants to do it, really!

#thanks for the tag #wow I feel like a real tumblr person now #not fandom

[ninja-muse]

Read in 2017 Masterpost

Italics = 7-8 out of 10; Bold = 9-10 out of 10; Struck = unreviewed

Fantasy

Magic for Nothing - Seanan McGuire A Conjuring of Light - V.E. Schwab The Forgotten Tale - J.M. Frey Borderline - Mishell Baker The Immortals - Jordanna Max Brodsky Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day - Seanan McGuire The Oversight - Charlie Fletcher Indexing: Reflections - Seanan McGuire The Hanging Tree - Ben Aaronovitch Last Call at the Nightshade Lounge - Paul Krueger Shadowed Souls - Jim Butcher and Kerrie L. Hughes, ed. Prudence - Gail Carriger Heroine Complex - Sarah Kuhn Winter of the Gods - Jordanna Max Brodsky The Bedlam Stacks - Natasha Pulley Dead Men’s Boots - Mike Carey The Masked City - Genevieve Cogman The Brightest Fell - Seanan McGuire An Unkindness of Magicians - Kat Howard An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors - Curtis Craddock The City of Brass - S.A. Chakraborty Magicians Impossible - Brad Abraham The Last Hero - Terry Pratchett A Green and Ancient Light - Frederic S. Durbin

Reread: Carpe Jugulum, The Fifth Elephant, The Last Continent, The Science of Discworld, The Truth, Thief of Time (all from the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett), Smoke and Mirrors, Smoke and Shadows (from the Smoke trilogy by Tanya Huff) Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire

Finished: a reread of Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire

In progress: Smoke and Ashes by Tanya Huff, An Artificial Night by Seanan McGuire, The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett (all rereads)

DNF Finn Fancy Necromancy - Randy Henderson DNF Witches Be Crazy - Logan J. Hunder

Science Fiction

All Our Wrong Todays - Elan Mastai Take Us To Your Chief and Other Stories - Drew Hayden Taylor Abaddon’s Gate - James S.A. Corey The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. - Neal Stephenson and Nicole Galland The Clockwork Dynasty - Daniel H. Wilson Just One Damned Thing After Another - Jodi Taylor Into the Drowning Deep - Mira Grant A Lot Like Christmas - Connie Willis Pride and Prometheus - John Kessel Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen - Lois McMaster Bujold

Reread: Miles in Love, Diplomatic Immunity, Cryoburn, Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance (all from the Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold)

Finished: a reread of The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis

In progress: Cibola Burn by James S.A. Corey, A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

DNF Off Rock - Kieran Shea DNF Has the World Ended Yet? - Peter Darbyshire

Mystery

Ripped From the Pages - Kate Carlisle Siege Winter - Ariana Franklin Royal Flush - Rhys Bowen Break No Bones - Kathy Reichs Behind Chocolate Bars - Kathy Aarons Teetotalled - Maia Chance

Graphic Novels

The Unwritten, Vol. 6 - Mike Carey Sex Criminals, Vol. 1 - Matt Fraction Rivers of London, Vol. 2 - Ben Aaronovitch Saga, Vol. 7 - Brian K. Vaughan Sandman, Vol. 3 - Neil Gaiman Patsy Walker A.K.A. Hellcat!, Vol. 1 - Kate Leth The Hunt - Colin Lorimer Rivers of London, Vol. 3 - Ben Aaronovitch New Romancer, Vol. 1 - Peter Milligan

Young Adult

Strange the Dreamer - Laini Taylor Of Fire and Stars - Audrey Coulthurst Down Among the Sticks and Bones - Seanan McGuire The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue - Mackenzi Lee Radio Silence - Alice Oseman Not Your Sidekick - C.B. Lee That Inevitable Victorian Thing - E.K. Johnston Unearthed - Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner Noteworthy - Riley Redgate

Other Fiction

Bellweather Rhapsody - Kate Racculia Son of a Trickster - Eden Robinson The Last Neanderthal - Claire Cameron If We Were Villains - M.L. Rio A Hundred Thousand Worlds - Bob Proehl Moonglow - Michael Chabon The Essex Serpent - Sarah Perry Voyager - Diana Gabaldon The Cottingley Secret - Hazel Gaynor Eagle and Empire - Alan Smale

Non-Fiction

Adventures in Unhistory - Avram Davidson Where Am I Now? - Mara Wilson Chronicle of the Narváez Expedition - Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca At Home - Bill Bryson The Silk Roads - Peter Frankopan The 37th Parallel - Ben Mezrich Between the Woods and the Water - Patrick Leigh Fermor A History of Ancient Egypt: Volume 2 - John Romer The Chemical Choir - P.G. Maxwell-Stuart From Here to Eternity - Caitlin Doughty

In progress: Bad Days in History by Michael Farquhar

#read in 2017 #book recommendations #book reviews #adult booklr

[clonerightsagenda]

Lmao Aral is a 4 or 5 on the Kinsey scale but fell for Cordelia because she's the first butch he'd ever seen in his life.

#even if she's only butch by Barrayaran standards #Cordelia very matter of factly: he thinks soldiers are hot and most soldiers are men #then I showed up #kat reads the vorkosigan saga

[clonerightsagenda]

LISTEN I understand that Miles is obsessed with joining the military because he was born into a military caste, he's constantly hearing about his parents' military exploits, and also everyone told him he couldn't, but he's incapable of following orders because as soon as someone tells him to do something he's like "what if I did something better though". He has absolutely no respect for the chain of command and is mostly loyal to the emperor because they're kind of bros. This kid does not belong in the military. Even spec ops is pushing it. Take the L before you get court martialed for real, buddy. Nepotism can only save you so many times.

#kat reads the vorkosigan saga #Miles: I want to be in the military in theory. in practice I want to do whatever I want forever

[clonerightsagenda]

My train of thought last night:

What happens to trans people on Athos

If gender is heavily influenced by society and Athosians have no concept of any gender but 'man' and women are something they've never interacted with or even seen beyond scriptural edicts, would anyone even identify as one?

Gender roles and appearances don't seem to be as rigid on Athos beyond beards signifying you have a kid, maybe people who would identify as nonbinary or transfemme in other times and places are able to present and behave however they want but still refer to themselves as 'men' because that's all they know and it works for them

If women are a poorly understood cultural symbol of sin and fear, maybe presenting as a woman is Athos's version of being goth

Given it's illegal for most people to even see pictures or read writing by women I wonder what this hypothetical deliberately countercultural female presentation would look like

Probably pretty metal

#kat reads the vorkosigan saga

[clonerightsagenda]

Everyone: Miles will be fine as long as we can freeze his corpse real fast for emergency surgery later.

Me, nodding: Just like in Artemis Fowl

#remember when they stuck butler in a fish freezer #kat reads the vorkosigan saga

[clonerightsagenda]

if my blog theme had a cover photo I would make it this

#I NEED to overhaul my blog theme. someday #kat reads the vorkosigan saga

[clonerightsagenda]

Bujold seems very interested in soft power and the way women can wield it, starting with Cordelia pointing out that the Barrayarans have no idea the influence they gave her over Gregor by letting her raise and educate him and then leveling up to the haut-women of Cetaganda casually discussing how they'll update the genetics of the next generation to fix the 'problems' of the last, when outsiders thought they were just pretty accessories. It'll be interesting to see how this theme continues to develop.

#kat reads the vorkosigan saga

[clonerightsagenda]

Cordelia having to flee for her life by going on a life changing camping trip with her father in law immediately after he kicked her and her husband out of his house because they wouldn't let him kill their baby: At least this day couldn't get any worse

Piotr: Wrong! Horses

#I hate horses... #kat reads the vorkosigan saga

[clonerightsagenda]

The fact that Gregor starts The Vor Game trying to kill himself after finding out his father was a murdering sadist and ends it sailing to the rescue on the Prince Serg battleship. Your imperial heritage will protect you but you will be lying every day of your life. Royalty is a pretty fiction skinned over atrocity but the fiction comes with a lot of really big guns.

#kat reads the vorkosigan saga

[clonerightsagenda]

Shocking that Gregor does not take his royal duty more seriously when he was raised by Cordelia "if it sucks, hit the bricks" "why don't you people just write a constitution" Naismith

#kat reads the vorkosigan saga #Miles: you ran away?? #Gregor: your mom said hereditary leadership was dumb anyway #OUR mom

[clonerightsagenda]

Well I guess I have to stop joking that Barrayarans don't know about female sexuality now that that was a plot point

#Ivan panicking after being dosed with an anti-aphrodisiac to embarrass him: #uhhhhhhh actually culturally it's considered rude for us not to get the ladies off a whole bunch before anything else #i mean props frankly I did not think any Barrayaran was capable of that #no wonder he's so popular #kat reads the vorkosigan saga #ivan: my fingers are cramped : ( #me: *unwilling but respectful salute*

[clonerightsagenda]

We are up to TWO rejected marriage proposals, who is (not) doing it like Miles Vorkosigan

#at least he's taking this one slightly better #kat reads the vorkosigan saga #ellie's right on two counts #1) why would a woman CHOOSE to move to barrayar #2) why doesn't Miles just ditch the whole shitty place