Parade by Hiromi Kawakami
Mar. 25th, 2026 09:46 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
james_davis_nicoll
Tsukiko entertains her former high school teacher with an extraordinary tale.
Parade by Hiromi Kawakami
james_davis_nicollTsukiko entertains her former high school teacher with an extraordinary tale.
Parade by Hiromi Kawakami
Interesting Links for 25-03-2026
Mar. 25th, 2026 12:00 pmandrewducker- 1. Plug-in solar power could be in UK shops within months
- (tags:solarpower uk GoodNews )
- 2. What is a polite way to say "I have to poop" as a woman? (the responses are hilarious)
- (tags:funny women society poo )
- 3. Even Scotland's richest back higher taxes on the wealthy, poll finds
- (tags:polls tax wealth Scotland )
I'm curious about whether young people have even seen a western
Mar. 25th, 2026 10:37 amandrewduckerI wonder at what birth year over half of people have never seen a western.
Obviously very young people won't - but if we look at people age 25-40, who have had a chance to watch a bunch of movies, I wonder if outside of classic movie afficionados you'll have seen many people see any. The last minor resurgence would have been Tarantino's Hateful Eight and Django Unchained, and I don't think either of those were that massive. Before that you're probably back to Dances with Wolves and Unforgiven, which is now around 35 years ago.
Which would mean that the main cultural touchstone for young people would be Red Dead Redemption 2, released in 2018 and the 4th best-selling game of all time.
(Curiosity triggered because in the most recent University Challenge nobody recognised John Wayne.)
Where Wolves Don't Die, by Anton Treuer
Mar. 24th, 2026 03:01 pmrachelmanija
Ezra, an Ojibwe teenager, has to flee Minneapolis when the home of the racist teenager who bullied him burns down, and he becomes the prime suspect. He goes to Canada to run traplines with his grandfather.
Where Wolves Don't Die is mostly a coming of age story; the thriller/mystery element is present but minor. It was recommended to me "Like an Ojibwe Hatchet," which definitely captures a lot of the vibe though it's about learning in community and family rather than isolation. Ezra goes from boy to man while he learns the old ways with his grandfather, who he loves. It's engrossing and moving. I liked that Ezra actively wants to stay with and learn from his grandfather rather than resisting it and having to come around.
Content notes: Hunting and trapping is central to the story.
Life with two kids: School Days Revisited
Mar. 24th, 2026 08:02 pmandrewduckerThe kids are watching an episode of SpongeBob where he's failing to write an essay. It is, frankly, stressing me the fuck out.
Five Stories About the Dangerous Business of Truth-Telling
Mar. 24th, 2026 11:30 amjames_davis_nicoll
Telling the truth can make you unpopular... or put you into real peril.
Five Stories About the Dangerous Business of Truth-Telling
How to Build a Planet by Poul Anderson & Stephen L. Gillett
Mar. 24th, 2026 08:57 amjames_davis_nicoll
A brief guide to creating plausible planets.
How to Build a Planet by Poul Anderson & Stephen L. Gillett
Short stuff I've liked, first quarter 2026
Mar. 23rd, 2026 04:34 pmmrissaThis is more partial even than usual, because I've had some download problems that I've since fixed. But we can let that filter out to the second quarter; time waits for etc. etc.
This Is Not a Love Poem, Alexandra Dawson (Reckoning)
I Met You On the Train, J. R. Dawson (Uncanny)
The Doorkeepers, A. T. Greenblatt (Uncanny)
Unsettled Nature, Jordan Kurella (Apex)
Straw Gold, Mari Ness (Small Wonders)
No Kings/No Soldiers, A.M. Tuomala (Uncanny)
Blade Through the Heart, Carrie Vaughn (Reactor)
Antediluvian, Rem Wigmore (Reckoning)
Address Unknown, by Kathrine Kressman Taylor
Mar. 23rd, 2026 01:18 pmrachelmanija
An epistolatory novel about the friendship between an American Jew, Max, and a German, Martin. As Hitler rises to power, their relationship sours, in some expected ways and some less expected, as their characters are revealed.
Very short, very powerful, very technically skilled, a quick easy read with an unexpected and unforgettable outcome. Seriously, don't click on spoilers if there's any chance you'll read the book. That being said, I read it because Naomi Kritzer told me the whole story and it was still great. Thanks for the rec!
The book was published in 1939 under a male-sounding pseudonym, but the style feels almost modern and the themes feel incredibly modern. There's an afterword about what inspired the book, which which is worth reading. Taylor had some German friends who seemed like kind, wonderful people, who became fervent Nazis and abandoned their Jewish friends. In a question so many of us are asking now, she wondered, What changed their hearts so? What steps brought them to such cruelty?
( Read more... )
Bundle of Holding: Scion Origin
Mar. 23rd, 2026 03:02 pmjames_davis_nicoll
The 2024 Second Edition of Onyx Path Publishing's Scion, the tabletop roleplaying game about the children of gods discovering their birthright in the modern world.
Bundle of Holding: Scion Origin
Interesting Links for 23-03-2026
Mar. 23rd, 2026 12:00 pmandrewducker- 1. Trump has delighted apocalyptic Christians. They say the End Times are coming
- (tags:apocalypse religion Christianity politics Israel middle_east Palestine )
- 2. VFX artists vs. The Golden Gate Bridge
- (tags:cgi bridge sanfrancisco )
- 3. The seven new towns set to be built across the UK, mapped
- (tags:UK housing )
- 4. Iran says coastal attack will lead to full Gulf closure and mine-laying
- (tags:iran middle_east usa war doom )
Morning medical annoyance
Mar. 23rd, 2026 09:00 amandrewduckerIt always surprises me that Boots isn't open until 9am. You would have thought that there'd be enough people wanting to pick up painkillers or similar on the way in to work.
Ring Around the Sun by Clifford D. Simak
Mar. 22nd, 2026 08:48 amjames_davis_nicoll
One determined man struggles to save humanity from the mutant scheme to avert doomsday.
Ring Around the Sun by Clifford D. Simak
Project Hail Mary movie
Mar. 21st, 2026 10:57 pmsholioWe went and saw Project Hail Mary this afternoon. It was terrific. I loved it.
You can read my (positive and spoilery) reactions to the Project Hail Mary book at this post from 2024.
If spoilers matter to you, I recommend very strongly going in as unspoiled as possible, including not watching the trailer.
( Talking about the movie some more, and movie vs book )
You can read my (positive and spoilery) reactions to the Project Hail Mary book at this post from 2024.
If spoilers matter to you, I recommend very strongly going in as unspoiled as possible, including not watching the trailer.
( Talking about the movie some more, and movie vs book )
A quiet Saturday
Mar. 21st, 2026 11:59 amsholioI posted some more Babylon 5 fic in the last couple of days: a new Londo/G'Kar fake dating fic plus a new chapter of the B5 catacomb WIP.
It's been a year this month since I started watching the show - my first post under the B5 tag was posted March 3, 2025 after watching the first couple of episodes. Still completely gone on it! I regret nothing!
In other news, NYT gift link to an article about Paul Brainerd, creator of Aldus PageMaker and inventor of the term "desktop publishing." This was a fascinating nostalgia read for me because, while I had no idea of the actual history, this guy (and Adobe and Apple) created the professional world of my young adulthood. My first job out of college in (I think) 1998 was working in the layout department of a newspaper that had just recently (last few years) gone from paste-up to an all-Mac layout room using a program similar to PageMaker from a third-party software maker that no longer exists. PageMaker - which I also learned to use in the college computer lab, and later at work - was the direct predecessor of InDesign, widely used even today. It's interesting to think back on those old newspaper days and how thoroughly they shaped me and continue to shape me. The computer/layout/marketing experience I got as a layout artist in the late 90s and 2000s has been immensely useful for my current self-publishing career.
It continues to be horrendously cold. We've been sitting under a high-pressure ridge and have had gorgeous sunny days that are absolutely freezing. It was -20F when I got up this morning and it's 0F out there right now. My husband's (uni-age) students are over here today because they wanted to help him dig out an ancient non-working snowblower that someone gave us ages ago from a snowbank and try to get it working again. (We do actually have TWO other snowblowers. This is just for fun.)
I took this picture on a walk up our driveway to the highway to get the mail a couple of days ago:
At least at this time of year, the sun warms it up SOMEWHAT during the day - in January it can sit at -40 24/7 for weeks; at this time of year we're still experiencing 20-40 degree increases during the day .... which is still barely enough to push us above 0F. The 10-day forecast shows that it will be glacially (haha) warming up, but still may not have crawled into above-freezing temps by the end of the month. UGH, I'M READY FOR SPRING.
It's been a year this month since I started watching the show - my first post under the B5 tag was posted March 3, 2025 after watching the first couple of episodes. Still completely gone on it! I regret nothing!
In other news, NYT gift link to an article about Paul Brainerd, creator of Aldus PageMaker and inventor of the term "desktop publishing." This was a fascinating nostalgia read for me because, while I had no idea of the actual history, this guy (and Adobe and Apple) created the professional world of my young adulthood. My first job out of college in (I think) 1998 was working in the layout department of a newspaper that had just recently (last few years) gone from paste-up to an all-Mac layout room using a program similar to PageMaker from a third-party software maker that no longer exists. PageMaker - which I also learned to use in the college computer lab, and later at work - was the direct predecessor of InDesign, widely used even today. It's interesting to think back on those old newspaper days and how thoroughly they shaped me and continue to shape me. The computer/layout/marketing experience I got as a layout artist in the late 90s and 2000s has been immensely useful for my current self-publishing career.
It continues to be horrendously cold. We've been sitting under a high-pressure ridge and have had gorgeous sunny days that are absolutely freezing. It was -20F when I got up this morning and it's 0F out there right now. My husband's (uni-age) students are over here today because they wanted to help him dig out an ancient non-working snowblower that someone gave us ages ago from a snowbank and try to get it working again. (We do actually have TWO other snowblowers. This is just for fun.)
I took this picture on a walk up our driveway to the highway to get the mail a couple of days ago:
At least at this time of year, the sun warms it up SOMEWHAT during the day - in January it can sit at -40 24/7 for weeks; at this time of year we're still experiencing 20-40 degree increases during the day .... which is still barely enough to push us above 0F. The 10-day forecast shows that it will be glacially (haha) warming up, but still may not have crawled into above-freezing temps by the end of the month. UGH, I'M READY FOR SPRING.
Books Received, March 14 — March 20
Mar. 21st, 2026 08:56 amjames_davis_nicoll
13 books new to me, and save for one mystery, all fantasy. Man, fantasy is just eating SF's lunch. Not that that will be reflected in what I actually review.
Books Received, March 14 — March 20
Poll #34393 Books Received, March 14 — March 20
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 39
Which of these look interesting?
View Answers
The Siren by Tomi Adeyemi (October 2026)
8 (20.5%)
Twined Fates: Tangled Hearts, Book Three by K. Bromberg (October 2026)
0 (0.0%)
Light of the Song by Joyce Ch’Ng (September 2025)
8 (20.5%)
The First Flame by Lily Berlin Dodd (November 2026)
1 (2.6%)
A Destiny So Cruel by Amanda Foody & C. L. Herman (November 2026)
1 (2.6%)
Find Me Where It Ends by Cassandra Khaw (October 2026)
12 (30.8%)
Bad Company by Sara Paretsky (November 2026)
7 (17.9%)
The Kings’ List by Jade Presley (May 2026)
2 (5.1%)
My Unfamiliar by Mara Rutherford (December 2026)
8 (20.5%)
Ghosted by Talia Tucker (November 2026)
3 (7.7%)
The Mystic and the Missing Girl by Vikki Vansickle (September 2026)
6 (15.4%)
The Scarlet Ball by Nghi Vo (October 2026)
12 (30.8%)
Chosen Son by Adrienne Young (November 2026)
2 (5.1%)
Some other option (see comments)
0 (0.0%)
Cats!
31 (79.5%)
My Darling Dreadful Thing, by Johanna van Veen
Mar. 20th, 2026 01:53 pmrachelmanija
This spooky ghost story has a central pairing that I feel like I may have requested as an original work: Widow/Female Fake Psychic/Ghost of a Female Bog Body.
My Darling Dreadful Thing is set in the Netherlands in the 1950s, which is a selling point all by itself as I love unusual settings. Roos is a young woman whose abusive fake psychic mother forces her to participate in her fake seances. But though Roos does not communicate with the spirits sought by the desperate, grieving customers, she actually does have a spirit companion, a bog body whom Roos has bound to her and named Ruth.
Roos is delighted when Agnes, a biracial (Indonesian/Dutch) widow, takes her as a companion and spirits her away to her neglected Gothic mansion in the middle of nowhere. The mansion is otherwise occupied only by Agnes's sister-in-law, Willamine, who is dying of tuberculosis, and has a marvellously bizarre Gothic history. Roos falls hard in love with Agnes, with whom she has a surprising amount in common.
But this whole story is being told in retrospect, as a series of interviews Roos is having with a psychiatrist who is trying to determine whether she's mentally fit to stand trial for murder. Something very bad happened at the mansion...
( Read more... )
Very enjoyable, very gothic, very atmospheric. I'm excited to read van Veen's other two books. I looked her up to see if she's actually from the Netherlands (yes) and learned that she's one of a set of non-identical triplet sisters! I don't think I've ever read a book by a triplet before.