Venneh

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Posts posted by Venneh

  1. Just gonna make this a general thread, starting over for ‘18.

    1. Her Body and Other Parties, Carmen Maria Machado: This is fucking exquisite. I’ve got a new author to follow. I’d already read the first story in this collection, “The Husband Stitch”, but the rest is all new and absolutely amazing. I even cried after a few of them. There’s only two of eight stories in this that don’t quite hit home for me, but even those are still good. She’s got a memoir coming out next year that I am already here for, and I am currently trying to find more of her writing that I haven’t read. Read this. It’s amazing, and well worth your time.

  2. Hellboy In Hell Library Edition: Fucking hell, as a series that brings Hellboy full circle, as a crowning point of the team’s work, and an example of some of the best work the team’s ever done, you can’t get better than this. I’m kind of sad that Hellboy is coming back, but you can see the seeds for it laid out here.  

    Trades/Tankobon/Graphic Novels/Anthologies: 2

    Omnibuses: 1

  3. First comics of 2018!

    Land of the Lustrous v4: This was probably my favorite comic from 2017, and the way this is swinging, will continue to be so into 2018. I keep wondering how the hell the last volume can be topped, and then the next goes and blows it out of the water. Amazing line work, stunning single page splashes, and unexpected plot twists. Fuck yeah. 

    Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card v1: The translation's finally come Stateside. It's really good to have CLAMP back in form (I really disliked the XXXHolic and Tsubasa eras), and fun to check in with the cast as a new threat comes to town and Sakura's power evolves as she goes into middle school.

    Trades/Tankobon/Graphic Novels/Anthologies: 2

  4. Wrap up for the year. I don't think I missed anything, but if I did I'm pretty sure Jim will nudge me. 

    WicDiv Christmas Special: A bunch of sweet shorts, some romantic, some not, about stuff before and during the comic. The guest artists they got for this were perfect (and man, leading with Anka drawing dicks is a hard act to top, but the other artists do it). Good way to unwind after last month's arc. 

    Batman 36-37: Cute little two issue double date arc, cheesy as shit, but it doesn't need to be anything more than that.

    Bingo Love: A sweet story of how two black girls fall in love in the 50s, are forbidden from seeing each other, and meet again as adults with husbands, and how they refind themselves. The fact that it's a black woman telling the story does make a difference. This got picked up by Image, so I'm interested to see how it goes in the direct market. 

    Zines: 15

    Single Issues: 326

    Trades/Graphic Novels/Anthologies: 105

    Omnibuses: 4

  5. Aeneid Book VI, Virgil (translated by Seamus Heaney): This was apparently the last work that Heaney did before his death, and it shows in his choice of words. The element of crossing over into the land of the dead, and legacy is really strong in this translation. It’s got the original Latin side by side with the translation, so if you know Latin, there’s that bonus. (I don’t. :p) Heaney also apparently did this in honor of his high school Latin teacher. A fun, quick read to wrap up 2017

    Books read: 109

  6. Career of Evil, JKR penname: The cons: you are gonna be real fucking sick of Blue Oÿster Cult lyrics by the end of this book, and some of the developments at the end of the book, while in character, feel like they’re done for the drama’s sake/would be solved with some basic communication, and the attempt at the third POV doesn’t quite stick. The pros: some of the best character work yet for Cormoran and Robin, and a genuinely grisly winding plot that keeps you on the edge of your seat. (If you have history with rape, abuse (emotional, physical, sexual including of children), gore, etc, be aware that there’s lots of this going in.)

    Clockwork Boys, T Kingfisher: So an assassin, a misogynistic sheltered monk, a paladin who’s been cast out and possessed by a demon, and a ninja accountant walk into a suicide mission. This apparently has been gestating for 10 years, and the level of detail and care shows. Someone might dismiss this as “oh, she just wrote a D+D campaign”, but the more accurate description is Kingfisher’s Strong Feelings re: paladin portrayals and these other fuckers what came along for the ride. I’m really interested to see where this goes for the sequel, which comes out in spring.

    Books read: 108

  7. The Silkworm, JKR penname: A well done follow up; we get more character work for our mains, an incredibly interesting and detailed plot that unfolds, and a twist that I can see in retrospect but was not expecting. And you can tell she’s having fun, especially with the publishing angle of this book. The quotes that start the chapters are about as subtle as a hammer, though. Still worth your time.

    Books read: 106

  8. -Jim got me a Becky Cloonan tote bag and a Transistor poster that’s absolutely gorgeous 

    -Jim’s mother got me a black leather tote bag, and in a stocking, some soap from France, chocolates from Amsterdam, and a lace sachet with lavender in it from Venice (she travels a LOT). His brother got me some mint chocolates.

  9. -Her Body and Other Parties, Carmen Maria Machado from Jim

    -$250 from Dennis

    -Thundersnow bath bomb

    -So many Sharpie pens

    -$25 PlayStation Network gift card 

    -$20 Starbucks gift card 

    -$30 Lush gift card

    -$50 from Mom

    -one of those granny type grocery carts for hauling groceries in!

    -umbrella

    -cute large squishable purple owl thing that will be serving as a pillow on the bus ride home

     

  10. Naked Earth, Eileen Chang: A NYRB book that Jim got me for my birthday. He had no way of knowing this, but this is the author behind the novella behind a favorite movie of mine, Lust Caution. And after reading this, I want to find more of her stuff. She’s also the rare writer able to translate her work (like this one) into another language. 

    The novel itself follows two (and a few others briefly later) young people, a man and a woman, under the early years of Mao, and what their day to day life and their falling in love looks like as all the various campaigns and the Korean War consume their lives, and the small compromises and massive despair that can make up a person’s life. It doesn’t flinch at depicting what actually happened under the Mao regime (false accusations and their consequences, brutality, careerism, corruption, etc), and even though it is important to keep in mind that the USIS commissioned it, it doesn’t make it any less affecting. The prose is gorgeous, the plot goes at its own pace but keeps you wanting to read, and is incredibly well done.

    The Cuckoo’s Calling, that one penname JKR used for these crime novels: Jim read this last year and really liked this, and I’ve finally decided to start these. I tore through the first one tonight. Not zomg amazing, but a good read that’s genuinely fun to watch unfold. I called the twist earlier in the book, but good to see that I was in fact right. Interested to read the next one on the bus ride home tomorrow.

    Books read: 105

  11. The Birth of the Pill: How Four Crusaders Reinvented Sex and Launched a Revolution, Jonathan Eig: Well written and thorough history of how the birth control pill came to be. Focuses on the women and men primarily involved equally, as well as the social climate at the time, and doesn’t flinch away from things like Sanger and her association with eugenicists. Definitely worth a read. (Found this remaindered.)

    Books read: 103

  12. Into the Drowning Deep, Mira Grant: Fuck. Yes. Seanan spun her novella into a full length sequel novel that lets you jump in without having read Rolling in the Deep, but rewards you if you do. And it’s a beautiful bloodbath. Only a handful of POV characters survive, and a few nonhuman POVs get thrown in there too. Seanan takes weird ass biology and science and mashes it together with a bloodbath and it fucking works. You want to read this, trust me.

    Books read: 102

  13. Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View: 40 authors did basically unpaid fanfic (their royalties/fees were donated to First Books) from the POV of minor/background characters in Episode IV. Lots of names/people I know, and some really great pieces. Definitely worth your time.

    Books read: 100

  14. The Shape of Water: Best movie of the damn year. Go watch this. 

    Doug Jones is amazing as the fish creature. And they do the sex multiple times! (The water leaking out the bathroom is a metaphor for her cumming, you see.) Also the real villain of the piece is toxic masculinity on so many levels, which I appreciate GDT for. The romance is so tender, and the way they build up the real villain of the piece is just perfect. I needed this film right now.

  15. GOOD FUCKIN' NEWS EVERYONE! 

    After posting a 1 star review on Facebook, a manager got in contact with me today. 

    She: 

    • apologized for Garrett (I made it clear that everyone on the level below that was wonderful to me and that I had no issue with them)
    • said that they're going to be reversing the negative reporting since they A) never sent me the IBR renewal paperwork and B) they never sent me an August bill
    • said they're going to look into the fact that no voice messages were left despite what the logs say

    Now the caveat is we still don't have a date as to when this is reversed, so I do still need the money. (At least it's all going to the loan... >.> )

    And the questionable lesson here is those 1 star Facebook reviews actually work better than dealing with the system. 

  16. Paper Girls v 1-2: Vaughn does what feels like his take on the 80s kids adventure movie but with girls and lots of sci fi. Not sure how I feel about this story wise (two vols in and don't really have a good idea what's going on?). Chiang and Wilson are an amazing combination, though. 

    Zines: 15

    Single Issues: 322

    Trades/Graphic Novels/Anthologies: 104

    Omnibuses: 4

  17. Land of the Lustrous v3: Jfc, this series keeps getting better and better. The artwork continues to be amazing, and the story takes casual dives into PTSD, body horror, and mental illness. Definitely pick this up if you haven't already. 

    Zines: 15

    Single Issues: 322

    Trades/Graphic Novels/Anthologies: 102

    Omnibuses: 4

  18. In a Lonely Place, Dorothy B. Hughes: This is one of the better and more haunting books I've read this year. It's a serial killer story, but not from the perspective you'd expect, and a good part of action central to the story actually happens in the gaps between chapters. The person who would've been framed as the hero with embattered masculinity in any other story turns out to be the villain of the piece, and it's the women he so hates that are the ones to stop him. The novel is an amazing critique of toxic masculinity, and given the time period it was written in, a lot more feminist than I was expecting. You can tell the twist that comes early on, but the road to it is amazingly written. Definitely check out this one, especially the NYRB edition I read.

    Books read: 99

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  19. TLDR: My federal student loan servicer (Cornerstone) failed to notify me that I owed money (despite being at 0/month for a good long while), never left voice messages about the delinquency/need to renew the IBR paperwork (despite claiming otherwise), and now it turns out that I have a delinquent account with them. I'm fighting them about it and have the necessary paperwork in to make sure I'm in good standing, but jesus fucking christ. 

    More details here.  Please feel free to share. 

  20. What bugs me is the more I think about this the more the level of deception/double dipping that had to have been done here, even if only for a year. And he didn't start out using this name just to do Marvel work, he did work elsewhere and then got recruited to Marvel (which is when he should've dropped it). 

    Also the fact that he DID bring Asian talent in (despite Marvel having a real problem with that) and they're now defending him makes it feel like an insurance policy on his part.