Reading Update
Camouflage: The Hidden Lives of Autistic Women by Sarah Bargiela & Sophie Standing. Cute short comic that combines some stats and some personal stories.
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo. This was very good – I liked how she split topics into chapters (for easy reference later), and she covered some things I hadn’t seen covered in my previous reading.
Ballistic Kiss (Sandman Slim #11) by Richard Kadrey. A solid addition to the series. Was Stark more socially awkward in this than usual?!

“Shake my paw?” -Chaos

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

gasp LINKITY

February 8, 2019 Chris 2 Comments

Bookity

New releases: Smart Bitches (romance), Tor.com (genre-benders, young adult SFF, scifi, fantasy )
Linkity from Smart Bitches. Some stock photo adventures from Smart Bitches. Cover snark from Smart Bitches.
Linkity from The Pen Addict.
Some quotes from Michelle Obama’s book.
On librarians.
Some insight into Professor Trelawney’s confusion over Harry’s birth date.
The Buckbeak and Sirius Black conundrum.

Think, Learn, Make, Do

Cookity

Gluten Free

Artsy Crafty

Cool

Wha…?

LOL

Reading Update
Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon. Pretty good (and very short) ebook that’s exactly what the title says.
Lies Sleeping (Peter Grant #7) by Ben Aaronovitch. Good continuation of the series – it’s all hands on deck trying to catch Faceless Man #2 (and Lesley) before they do Something Very Bad.
Water Weed (Rivers of London #6) by Ben Aaronovitch. Very good addition to the series. I hope everyone who read the Rivers of London series knows that the graphic novels aren’t standalone but actually develop the overarching story arc, too.
The Everything Box and The Wrong Dead Guy (Another Coop Heist 1-2) by Richard Kadrey. Ok series about magic-resistant thief Charlie Cooper and the Department of Peculiar Science.
Countdown City and World of Trouble (The Last Policeman, #3) World of Trouble (Last Policeman 2-3) by Ben H Winters. With only a few months to go before a surprise!asteroid takes out Earth, society has completely broken down but a former police detective hasn’t given up looking for answers.
Roses and Rot by Kat Howard. Very good story about two sisters who are accepted for a nine-month artists’ retreat and slowly realize they’re living in a faery tale.
Charming andÂ Daring (Pax Arcana 1-2) by Elliott James. Good series about John Charming, former member of the Knights Templar, not-quite-werewolf, trouble magnet.
The Bullet Journal Method: Track the Past, Order the Present, Design the Future by Ryder Carroll. As you’d expect from the guy who came up with bullet journaling, this book has very clear how-to explanations and examples. The tone reminded me why I don’t read productivity books – they exhaust me.
Dot Journaling: A Practical Guide: How to Start and Keep the Planner, To-Do List, and Diary That’ll Actually Help You Get Your Life Together by Rachel Wilkerson Miller. reread. I reread this since I was reading The Bullet Journal Method – Miller’s book is a nice example of a slightly different way to bullet journal. And her many layout examples are frequently more helpful than those of The Bullet Journal Method.
The Sound of Paper by Julia Cameron. Abandoned because too much of the advice was higher power based.

“…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…” -Mayhem

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

In which there’s no internet to do linkity

February 1, 2019 Chris 3 Comments

Sorry about another week without linkity, but I’ve been without internet since Monday night. Apparently ice burst a fiber conduit and they inexplicably can’t repair it until the weather warms up Friday. Argh. This is what I had done as of Monday… Hope everyone is doing well and staying warm or cool, as appropriate to your location! I feel so out of touch…

Reading Update
The Kill Society and Hollywood Dead (Sandman Slim #10) Hollywood Dead (Sandman Slim 9-10) by Richard Kadrey. And now I’m all caught up on Sandman Slim. Be warned that The Kill Society is another cliffie, while Hollywood Dead feels like it could be the end of the series (although Kadrey says there are still more books).
Butcher Bird by Richard Kadrey. Ok early urban fantasy from Kadrey that contains most of the ideas that would become Sandman Slim.
Dead Set by Richard Kadrey.Â Ok young adult urban fantasy about a girl whose father died recently and who’s having a rough time of it in a new school without any friends.
The Last Policeman, (Last Policeman 1) by Ben H Winters. With only a few months to go before a surprise!asteroid takes out Earth, most people have more or less given up any pretense of normal life. But one recently minted New England police detective doggedly investigates a seeming suicide, convinced that there something not right about the death.

*sigh* -Mayhem

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Not much linkity, but a really cute picture of Mayhem

January 25, 2019 Chris 3 Comments

I ended up working during my linkity time, so here’s what was done before my linkity time. Oh, and send warm thoughts our way, because it is going to be a wee bit chilly ’round these parts…

Reading Update
Kill the Blues, Aloha from Hell, Devil in the Dollhouse, Devil Said Bang, and Kill City Blues (Sandman Slim, #5) Kill City Blues, The Getaway God, Killing Pretty, The Perdition Score (Sandman Slim 2, 3, 3.5, 4, 5, 6, 7) by Richard Kadrey. Good additions to this gritty urban fantasy series whose protagonist is a cross between Harry Dresden (Dresden Files) and John Taylor (Nightside).

“…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…” -Mayhem

(Yes, she is absolutely asleep with her mouth slightly agape!)

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

In which linkity gives up trying to think of a linkity title

January 18, 2019 Chris 1 Comment

Bookity

Do, Make, Think, Learn

Check the state of your passwords…
Best ocean photos from 2018.
When someone says, “But how come there never used to be autistic people before?!”…
“Why everything you think you know about Toxic Shock Syndrome is probably wrong“.
Some interesting OXO products. (I can’t believe the collapsible colander isn’t on here! It’s genius.)
Portable typewriters in 1919.
“How typewriters helped me adjust to adjustment disorder“.
On food sensitivities.
The migrating North Pole.

Cookity

Gluten Free

Artsy Crafty

Cool

Cool or Wha…?

Wha…?

LOL

January gothic.
Every. Damn. Time.
How far down should universal translators go?
Terrible maps.
Mythology for millennials.
The Mars Curiosity Rover is probably not the size you expected.
Does it spark joy?
That darn roaming North Pole. (Hover cursor/long-press for caption.)
Thor tools. (You definitely want to read the caption – hover cursor on long-press to do so.)

Teh Cute

Pudu and baby!

Reading Update
Scarlet, Cress, and Winter (Lunar Chronicles 2-4) by Marissa Meyer. Scarlet: Young adult futuristic retelling of Little Red Riding Hood.Â Cress: Rapunzel!Â Winter: Snow White. Very good series – pretty much stayed up too late reading all week…
Stars Above (Lunar Chronicles 4.5) by Marissa Meyer. Most of the stories predate the series, but one is a bit of an epilogue. If you enjoyed the series, you should definitely read this!
Sandman Slim (Book #1) by Richard Kadrey. Pretty good urban fantasy about a guy whose “friends” sent him to Hell alive. He’s back 11 years later and he’s a little bit pissed…
Heart of Briar and Soul of Fire (The Portals 1-2) by Laura Ann Gilman. Pretty good two-book series about a woman who’s boyfriend is stolen by a fairy and her life unravels as she tries to figure out what’s going on. It more or less felt complete at the end of the second book, but I do wonder if it was originally supposed to be a trilogy.