#what I'm reading

[iirulancorrino]

One of the inventors of the sewing machine didn’t patent it because of the way it would restructure labor. Another was almost killed by a mob.

Always when I sew I think of Emma Goldman with her sewing machine, or Emma Goldman during her first night in jail “at least bring me some sewing.” Wikipedia says the sewing machine reduced average garment construction time from 14 hours to 2 hours. Somewhere on a sewing blog someone wrote of making new garments from existing ones: “use every part of the garment” and “each garment holds in it hours of a garment worker’s life.” I sew and the historical of sewing becomes a feeling just as when I used to be a poet, when I used to write poetry, used to write poetry and that thing culture began tendriling out in me, but it is probably more meaningful to sew a dress than to write a poem. I make anywhere from 10 to 15 dollars an hour at any of my three jobs. A garment from Target or Forever 21 costs 10 to 30 dollars. A garment from a thrift store costs somewhere between 4 and 10 dollars. A garment from a garage sale costs 1 to 5 dollars. A garment from a department store costs 30 to 500 dollars. All of these have been made, for the most part, from hours of women and children’s lives. Now I give the hours of my life I don’t sell to my employers to the garments. My costs are low: 2-dollar fabric from Goodwill, patterns bought for 99 cents or less, notions found at estate sales for 1 or 3 dollars. I almost save money like this. The fabric still contains the hours of the lives, those of the farmers and shepherds and chemists and factory workers and truckers and salespeople and the first purchasers, the givers-away, who were probably women who sewed. Sewing is difficult. There is a reason girls were trained in it before they were trained in anything else, years and years spent at practice, and even then they might not have been any good.

Anne Boyer, Garments Against Women

#anne boyer #garments against women #what I'm reading

[belovedapollo]

ever since I moved into my apartment last month, I feel so much more at ease - and don’t get me wrong, some things are still so much troubling but we all know that years of abuse and tears will not heal within a month of pure sanity. I know that this healing process takes time 🪐 reblog is ok, don’t repost

#my photos #daily diary #slowlife #slowliving #happy moments #bookblr #bookblog #booklife #booklover #bookworm #books and reading #reading challenge #what i'm reading #reading community #plants #plant lover #beige academia #beige aesthetic #light academia #light academia aesthetic #studyblr #studyblog

[bluebellebarrett]

I just finished Harrow the Ninth and I just have to say, you guys: What the fuck.

Like, seriously. What the fuck.

#the locked tomb #harrow the ninth #harrowhark nonagesimus #gideon the ninth #gideon nav #john gaius #ianthe tridentarius #gideon the first #what the fuck #what i'm reading

[susansontag]

you’d have to be so silly to think dumas wasn’t trying to imply eugenie is a lesbian in the count of monte cristo lol. she’s only just properly been introduced where I’m at and she’s basically described in accordance with invert theory. this is how people understood these ‘tendencies’ I’m p sure his audience would have known exactly what he was implying

#'her upbringing [...] like some traits of her physiognomy seemed more appropriate to the other sex' #'with something even firmer and more muscular in her beauty' #'you are the only woman I know who is so generous in speaking about others of your own sex' #like sorry but this was obvious code (and no doubt it'll get more unflattering in its depiction this is actually quite nice for now) #that would be understood by dumas's audience #like sorry I don't think they were coming away thinking she was just v pro-women lmao #moth.txt #what I'm reading

[thomdoesthings]

Just finished The Silmarillion, by J.R.R. Tolkien

In some ways, this is one of the weirdest books I've ever read. My manager from work, who knows nothing about fantasy, asked me what it's about and I bluescreened for a little while because... What is it about? It's the Bible for a world that doesn't exist, full of detail and clunky writing and I adore it. It's a glimpse into one of the most stellar imaginations to have ever existed, and it was somehow an utter slog and impossible to put down at the same time.

#what i'm reading #the silmarillion #jrr tolkien #in hindsight i feel like this is a really good book to read in sections #like not read it all the way through #just a little bit now and then

[wakingupnexttoyou]

I gotta live read this one... Because I'm 5% in and this shit is WILD already. Soooooo. Spoiler warning obviously.

This girl's parents died. She goes home to deal with their house..... It's FULL OF DOLLS.... And the attic hatch is boarded shut..... I would have walked right back out of that house you guys 😂😂😂😂😩😭

#today's read #what i'm reading #how to sell a haunted house #grady hendrix #horror #booktok #popular books #bookstagram #canada #canadian

[jessilynallendilla]

So I just read Danny Phantom: A Glitch in Time and...it was ok

Had this come out when I was a kid and just watched Ultimate Enemy I would have gone absolutely feral over it

this show came out in 2004 so not quite sure how to feel about the updated technology IMO it would have been cool to have a time capsule of the show than the common floating timeline you see in comics

unlike with DC graphic novels you can tell the person that wrote this is actually a fan of the show and not a rando corporate pick the plot is plausible and the characters stay in character

A loyal tribute that brings in new lore and character growth

it also retcons the hated movie Phantom Planet

And it leaves enough to be curious for the sequel

People either seem to love it saying it's a good continuation the more serious take they wanted or hate it saying they're tired of villains being complex and redeemable and not pure evil anymore and the plot seems too much like tumblr fanfiction

I made notes as a read it so spoilers under the cut

Dash Kwan Paulina and Star are ghost hunters 

Tucker has instagram/twitter “Spectregram” fans 

The Fentons supply the town’s ghost hunting tech unasked 

Tucker’s wiki “click-a-pedia" has him listed as married to Ember 

Danny and Jazz just accept their father is such a bungler he can’t even kill a guy by abandoning him in space 

Dan was strong enough to dent the only thing that can contain him and just it being knocked off a shelf was enough for him to break out (why Clockwork the Master of Time never foresaw this happening moved it from a table to a more secure location ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  ) 

So uh... Dan just absorbed “ate” Clockwork  

Ecto energy can reach atomic bomb levels so dimension ending threat there 

Since the Disasteroid his powers have been fading their theories match their personalities Tucker-science Sam-government Jazz-trauma  

“Do you have any childhood trauma you wanna talk about?” (like Jazz as if you weren’t there) 

Vlad found a primordial source of ecto energy and just kept that information to himself for a rainy day 

Jazz has a magical girl transformation for her ghost fighting suit 

Vlad is just “ignore those clones” (there in clothes so did Vlad just buy multiple copies of Danny’s favorite outfit how did he know his size) 

Vlad is such an old man who doesn’t know how to use modern computers 

“not a place of honor” ah the nuclear waste warning (we don’t really get much more exploration of this or the seven ancients) 

Sam is a horse girl 

Valerie still holding that grudge huh 

In Pariah’s Keep Danny is suffers from bad memories and holds Sam’s hand to comfort himself 

The Keep is Fright Knight’s domain  

Danny just forgets humans are the ghosts in the Ghost Zone (in line with how often he forgets what powers he has) 

Fright Knight calls Pariah his master 

Vlad is such a loser he keeps getting his shit kicked 

Maddie “That’s not my Danny.” 

The Ghost Zone and human world were split in half an unnatural divide 

Danny is still a C student (io don't think he's going to be an astronaut)

Ghosts are manifestations of human emotions not separate entities (take that Fartman) 

Eventually they start to lose their human identity it’s why some are less human 

Vlad has his own “Where’s the rest of it?” meme 

They figured out all ghosts run on some emotional drive or purpose  

Danny realizes his purpose is protection but now there’s no longer the monster of the week threat or his parents he never asked himself what he wanted 

Now instead of constant fighting he’ll help the ghost achieve their desires they just want to keep doing in death what they did in life and heal the rift 

Fight for control Clockwork 

Vlad finally grew as a person realizing it was his action and drive for power that drew everyone away and has making amends as his new purpose 

Dan just doesn’t want to be alone (makes sense the “no more painful human emotions” +Vlad’s anger and abandonment issues so he’s all the emotions and pain) 

Dan is destabilizing flashing back to his pre Dark child form because he’s a being outside his destroyed timeline  

Danny is the GOAT 

Clockwork needs to fix what he can of the time streams and Danny has two choices Post Disasteroid+no powers or Pre Disasteroid+powers  

Danny gives up being accepted so he can fix the realms “I’m Danny Phantom, proctor of humans and ghosts!” 

They are back to being invisible losers and Sam is just happy goths aren’t popular anymore 

The city doesn’t know how they avoided the Disasteroid but the Mayor declares ghosts are responsible for everything the city will now have a branch of ghost hunters and Danny Phantom is again public enemy #1 

Clockwork transfers Dan from Vlad into one of the empty clones he’s Vlad’s responsibility now he’ll be too busy to help again 

Clockwork’s powers are finite (so he isn’t omnipotent and all powerful) but he still feels something wrong in the stitches he feels weaker now 

And Valerie has a Time Medallion and is pissed (but there was a Valerie in the crowd at the Mayor’s speech so the two Valeries might meet up in the sequel)  

Jazz is ecstatic she was right about ghosts being emotions based  

#danny phantom #a glitch in time #agit #what I'm reading

[howlingguardian]

Reading the Mark of Athena after a 14 year gap in the series, and I realise it's the first time I've seen the word eidolon used outside of Worm.

Neat.

#my stuff #parahumans #worm #pjo #mark of athena #what i'm reading #I'm not sure what made me stop reading the Percy Jackson books but I hate whatever made me stop reading the Percy Jackson books

[theworldoffostering]

He was diagnosed with dyslexia in his 30s (basically because one of his kids was diagnosed). His entire childhood his parents called him stupid. It was interesting to read his perspective, and I had no idea he wrote a series of books for kids so I’m going to check that out.

#what i'm reading #winter break #books #books and reading

[jennamacaroni]

There are so many ways the dead show us they are with us. Sometimes they stay deliberately absent, in order to prove themselves by returning. Sometimes they stay close and then leave in order to prove they were with us. Sometimes they bring a stag to a graveyard, a cardinal to a fence, a song on the wireless as soon as you turn it on. Sometimes they bring a snowfall.

Anne Michaels, "Held"

#anne michaels #quotes #what i'm reading #held

[capricorn-0mnikorn]

. . . a tall, thin, rather ugly book agent told me that I could sell many books if I'd forget about writing retellings of Euripides and parodies of French poststructuralists and settle down to write the true, gritty real stories of black life. I told him that I was living a black life, far blacker than he could ever know, that I had lived one, that I would be living one.

Erasure, by Percival Everett (2001). Copy-Pasted from here, on eNotes.com, because I can't hold open a fresh paperback and type out the words at the same time (though the sentence right after this one amused me with its irony a bit more)

#what i'm reading #literary fiction #meta (fiction about fiction) #satire #Erasure (novel)

[iirulancorrino]

Katha Pollitt, Pro: Reclaiming Abortion Rights

#what I'm reading #katha pollitt #abortion #reproductive justice

[lloke]

From the 70s SF novel I'm reading (The Jupiter Theft by Donald Moffitt):

More than a hundred of them were milling noisily in the narrow aisles: tourists returning from Mare Imbrium and Eurostation’s vacation inn, lunies, scientific and support personnel. They clutched their little souvenir packs with the ounce of Moon rock and the bottle of vacuum, and called back and forth to one another.

The idea of bringing back a bottle of vacuum as a souvenir from space is deeply appealing to me somehow (it would be a nice addition to my collection lol). I googled around to see if anything like that had actually been done, and it turns out it has!

#what i'm reading

[rize-said-so]

In the Clear Moonlit Dusk / Uruwashi no Yoi no Tsuki (SOME Spoiler Warning) Part 2

Part 1

Love the new gen era of shoujo MLs that care for their partner's opinions and ask for what they'd like and want to do. They show their vulnerability and don't treat it as a weakness.

I forgot but I think they had a misnderstanding here.

But they got over it

Just a thing about forgiveness. If you want it, bring pastries. I may or may not forgive you but at least I'm fed.

I like them. They fight, talk it out, be cute, then tsundere, then plainly are the hottest couple. He takes control and so does she.

I'm looking forward to this one.

BONUS

This manga just has the best side characters.

Her dad:

His and her friends

Second couple?

#manga #anime and manga #manga recommendation #manga review #manga reaction #shoujo #what I'm reading #Witch Hat Atelier #Tongari Boushi no Atelier #Legend of Basara #Basara #The Rain of Teardrops and Serenade #Namida Ame to Serenade #Firefly Marriage #Hotaru No Yomeiri #MadamPetit #A Sign of Affection #Yubisaki to Renren #Short Cake Cake #Heroine's Diary #Shujinkou Nikki #You are the One I Am Destined to Fall In Love #Unmei no Hito ni Deau Hanashi #A Condition Called Love #Hananoi-kun to Koi no Yamai #In the Clear Moonlit Dusk #Uruwashi no Yoi no Tsuki #Abe-kun's Got Me Now #Abe-kun ni Nerawaretemasu #Pink and Habanero

[susansontag]

for people who have read the neapolitan/my brilliant friend quartet, I have a question: how do you interpret the moment in book 3 where professor galiani humiliates elena in favour of lila?

I was reading about people interpreting this moment in the show on reddit, and was struck by all the differing viewpoints. the two most prominent ones focus on lila and her two opposing reactions to elena's dismissal by the professor, publicly trying to make it seem like elena looks down on her by saying to galiani that she didn't invite her to her wedding, whereas outside afterwards badmouthing the galiani family and telling elena she noticed how awfully they treated her. iirc, lila also uses this moment where she seems to be on elena's side to chastise her for placing so much merit on what the educated galianis think and do, further complicating the issue of exactly what lila is thinking at this moment and whether she's trying to play both sides.

one viewpoint is that lila isn't fooled by the professor and thinks she's merely complimenting her as a means of humiliating lenù, and is sincerely on elena's side. the other viewpoint is that she sincerely liked being complimented and focused on, and even partly enjoyed her more educated friend being put down and dismissed by someone she cared about, whilst also simultaneously realising she should feel bad about this, hence the cold comfort she gives lenù afterwards. I think there's merit to both of these viewpoints and will say that, whatever is correct, I do think lila sincerely dislikes professor galiani but also, like most people, loves being complimented.

but what really gets me is: for what purpose does professor galiani treat elena this way? so much focus on lila, the enigma, but not enough people asking why galiani is being such a dick lmao.

I myself wonder if we're supposed to view this moment where elena's mentor (professor galiani) puts her down as parallel to the one in their teenage years where lila's mentor (maestra oliviero), puts lila down. in both cases, we have an educated mentor showing disapproval towards one of them for various reasons. with oliviero it's obvious as she clarifies to elena later—she thinks lila's intellectual talents have been wasted and is disgusted/disappointed at her having become a housewife with, in her opinion, nothing going on in her head. with galiani it's much less clear, but I wonder if we're supposed to use the earlier instance to help us interpret it—when galiani snidely remarks about how elena has 'married well', are we supposed to interpret this as judgement of her, who held promise, effectively resigning herself to the role of a wife and mother (ironically, exactly the same judgement that lila received)? are we supposed to interpret her favouritism towards lila sincerely, so perhaps we could say she views lila as dynamic, involved in the class struggle, whereas elena has chosen the stasis that comes with the role of being a housewife? (interestingly, later on mariarosa similarly says she can't believe elena stayed with her brother and had children with him, a fairly similar view of elena's choices). this once again opposes oliviero's earlier assessment that lila 'chose' stasis and to remain inside the world of the neighbourhood, whereas elena was able to escape it through education and thus was in motion. so they change places, mirror each other, etc, during various moments in the story.

someone else on this reddit thread said that, to them, galiani's comment about marrying well was actually her being jealous her own daughter (nadia) had not done so, but tbh I think that's a misinterpretation of galiani's cutting intent with that remark. I think she's genuinely expressing disappointment and dissatisfaction with elena in some way.

we obviously can't take lenù's assessment of lila's intentions too seriously without understanding that she is prone to reading competition and jealousy into their relationship due to her longstanding feelings of inferiority in that dynamic. but how do you guys interpret both lila's and galiani's viewpoints and intentions during these moments? was lila sincere? was galiani sincere in her praise of lila or did she only want to hurt elena? really curious to know what people thought of this. also note I haven't finished book 3 but I'm close to doing so.

#my brilliant friend #elena ferrante #what I'm reading #moth.txt

[theresawritesstuff]

From The Dressmaking Book by Adele P Margolis, 1967

#Thrifted treasures #What I'm reading