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Reading the End Posts

Bombay fornicators

So I read Christian Kracht’s much-praised satirical novel Imperium, and for once, I enjoyed satirical writing for the length of a full book. Typically after a chapter or two, satirical novels become too arch for me to enjoy, but no, Kracht keeps it up pretty good. Me and this book could have been friends, I think, if it hadn’t kept making me sigh. Have you had books like that? Where they’re not so ideologically maddening that you want to write a post denouncing them and all that they stand for, but there’s just a couple of things about them that…

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The House of Shattered Wings, Aliette de Bodard

For the past few years, I’ve been working on making my reading less white. As Aarti keeps pointing out, this doesn’t require any shift in my book-reading habits, but only my book-finding habits. And one thing I have found is that if you follow more authors of color (on whatever social media platforms you wish), you’ll find more authors of color. I discovered Aliette de Bodard because I followed Zen Cho (author of Sorcerer to the Crown); since following Aliette de Bodard, I’ve added several more specfic books by authors of color to my TBR list. Because of signal-boosting. THAT…

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Why can’t you shut up about Hamilton?: A links round-up

The marvelous Kiese Laymon on Confederate flags and SEC football. On competing for the one single diversity spot in the writers’ room: Aisha Harris writes about the unbearable whiteness of TV writers’ rooms. Nobody could be more excited about the new Star Wars trailer than stars John Boyega and Daisy Ridley. Recovering the history of years in slavery, and the story of a forgotten forced deportation: An article that opens with an oddly upsetting anecdote. New details emerge about that Harry Potter play! (It’s not a prequel, it’s a sequel! Joke’s on you, prequel-wanters! You’ll never ever learn more about…

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MONKALONG! (the end at last)

So it’s the last week of Monkalong, and also the week in which I knew Antonia was going to get raped, because it’s not like we’re getting out of this book without that happening. I admit I dragged my feet on reading this section. I had to really force myself to do it, using the inducement of your wonderful comments and the other marvelous Monkalong posts. (Oh, I forgot to tell you, I’m only using Crimson Peak gifs this week, because it’s the greatest movie of our time, yet could not have existed without this garbage fire of a book.)…

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Carry On, Rainbow Rowell

I have a lot to say about Carry On. WHERE TO BEGIN. Carry On is an extension of the book-within-a-book from Rowell’s last-but-one book, Fangirl, set in the world of Simon Snow where Fangirl‘s Cath chose to spend so much of her time. And yes, when you start out, you’ll think Gosh this is awfully Harry Potterish, but then of course you’ll find that Rainbow Rowell knows this and is playing with it, and you’ll be all right after that. Simon Snow is destined to be the world’s greatest Mage; but as his maybe-a-vampire nemesis roommate Baz is constantly reminding him, he’s…

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MONKALONG!, part 4

This book is so stupid. It’s good we’re reading it in chunks, because I’m pretty sure if you read it all in one go, its overwhelmingly stupidity would cause you to go blind. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve said “Oh fuck off” out loud to this book. But let’s get in on this. So in the first chapter of the third volume, it seems that Agnes is not only merely dead, she’s really most sincerely dead. Alphonso (the world’s most boring storyteller) takes to his bed in his grief, while Lorenzo believes everything a nun tells him,…

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Reading the End Bookcast, Ep.49: Genderswapped Twilight, Fall Book Preview, and Orhan’s Inheritance

The Jennys are here to hash out the new genderswapped Twilight! Then we talk about some fall books we’re excited to read, and we review Aline Ohanesian’s debut novel Orhan’s Inheritance. You can listen to the podcast in the embedded player below or download the file directly to take with you on the go. Episode 49 Here’s the gay Twilight link of which I spoke. Here’s the full, entire live-tweet of genderswapped Twilight. Be warned that after Whiskey Jenny and I recorded this podcast, the live tweet of genderswapped Twilight took a Turn. There was a Great Divergence from original…

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Flood of Fire, Amitav Ghosh

Flood of Fire is the culmination of the least trilogy-like trilogy that ever trilogied, Amitav Ghosh’s The Ibis Trilogy, of which the first two were Sea of Poppies and River of Smoke (both excellent). In  the sense that it got the band back together (sort of) and shifted the reader into the early days of the Opium Wars (about which I really will learn more soon!), it was a superb conclusion to the trilogy. In the sense that it pinged some ick sensors of mine, it was my least favorite of the series. Do you remember that feeling when you…

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The best linguistics link I have ever linked: A links round-up

THIS IS LATE and many of these links are now old, but hopefully you will still love me. You do, right? Just in case, I’ve made my first link super fascinating. And also, let me point out that today is Oscar Wilde’s birthday! Happy birthday, my dearest Oscar Wilde! The rules for inventing a ship name, using linguistics. Romance author KJ Charles on how to take an edit. Tired of making fun of Jonathan Franzen? I’M NOT. Brian Friel, author of Translations and numerous other plays, and virtually the only Irish author I’ve ever loved, has died. Did I mention…

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MONKALONG, part 3

I have never been so excited to get back to a monastery. The next section of the Monkalong (hosted by the fabulous Alice of Reading Rambo!) returns us to the titular character, THE MONK, who experiences brief but intense postcoital regret, which Matilda quickly talks him out of. Using wiles. Quote: “Ambrosio rioted in delights till then unknown to him.” Ahahahahahahahahahaha. I would read three more chapters about Ambrosio discovering sex. Ambrosio discovers hand jobs! Ambrosio discovers oral! Ambrosio buys a butt plug! Okay, but then, because THE MONK is a garbage human being and he always was, he starts…

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