Scholomance / A Deadly Education

Read The Scholomance Series by Naomi Novik ( )

I don’t need help surviving the Scholomance, even if they do. Forget the hordes of monsters and cursed artifacts, I’m probably the most dangerous thing in the place. Just give me a chance and I’ll level mountains and kill untold millions, make myself the dark queen of the world.

I accidentally binge read the Scholomance trilogy this week, and it was glorious. a heroine whose life curse is that she’s deeply unlikeable, and who stopped even trying. an extraordinarily powerful and socially clueless sidekick. bisexuals! evil plots to take over the world! linguistics!? Voir cette publication sur Instagram Une publication partagée par Jessica Liu…

threads by meta

Liked First thoughts about Threads by Ben WerdmullerBen Werdmuller (werd.io)

Meta’s new social network is interesting: an obvious strategic shot at Twitter just as that network is running into trouble, as well as a way to iterate on its aging Facebook property. To that end, it makes sense that Meta would piggyback on the fediverse of independent social networks that interc…

It doesn’t look like Threads is coming to the EU anytime soon, so I’m getting my first look second-hand. I have personal thoughts & a conflict of interest both as a Meta employee and a Mastodon user, so I won’t write anything myself about the feature in the foreseeable future, but I liked Ben’s post…

food

Liked My current approach to food (IndieWeb Carnival: Cooking) by Tracy DurnellTracy Durnell (tracydurnell.com)

In response to Sara Jakša’s call for blog posts about cooking 😀
ingredients and utensils for making coleslaw and BBQ beans laid out on the counter
I’ve gone through many phases of cooking and food over my adult life, including a number that I’m quite happy to have moved past, ranging from…

a sweet read on different eating regimens and the emotions they create

searching for a recipe

Liked Searching for a recipe by Jeremy CherfasJeremy Cherfas (jeremycherfas.net)

We are looking after a friend’s place in the country and perhaps the hardest work is keeping on top of the vegetable garden. Ignore it for a day, and there are five large cucumbers, mocking you. My cucumber repertoire is somewhat limited; raita, quick pickle, sandwiches and, when I remember, Yan-K…

on the limits of searching for a recipe online, the problem with search engines, the problem with subscriptions, and the futility of trying to clean up this mess.

Holding Still for as Long as Possible

Read Holding Still for as Long as Possible by Zoe Whittall

Holding Still explores an unusual love triangle involving Billy, a former teen idol, now an anxiety-ridden agoraphobic; Josh, a shy transgender paramedic who travels the city patching up damaged bodies; and Amy, a fashionable filmmaker coping with her first broken heart. With this extraordinary novel, Whittall gives us startlingly real portraits of three unforgettable characters, and proves herself to be one of our most talented writers.

I love Zoe Whittall and her messy queers. This goes up in my favourites from this author, alongside The Spectacular, and will definitely be in my June 2023 recap.

Lavender House

The beautiful lavender-colored cover of Lavender House.
Read Lavender House by Lev AC Rosen

When you’re a cop in 1952 and your colleagues bust you in a raid on a gay bar, your career options become extremely limited. Former San Francisco Police Inspector Evander Mills’ retirement plan is to drink until his money is gone, then pitch himself into the bay. Until a widow sits down next to Andy at the bar and offers him a private gig—find out what happened to her wife.

Persuaded to take the case, Andy accompanies the widow to Lavender House, the family seat of recently deceased Irene Lamontaine, head of the Lamontaine Soap empire. At this secluded estate, where none of the residents, or the staff, need to hide their identities, Andy finds a bewitching freedom.

He also immediately finds himself a pawn in a family game of old money, subterfuge, and jealousy—and Irene’s death was only the beginning. The gates of Lavender House can’t lock out the real world, and it turns out that not even a soap empire can keep everyone clean.

A delicious story from an new voice in suspense, Lavender House is Knives Out with a queer historical twist.

A murder mystery set during the Lavender Scare and gay-bashing in 1950s San Francisco. Sometimes you want a neat little mystery that does exactly what the genre says it’s supposed to do. Sometimes you want it to be super gay. If that is the case and if you don’t mind a few graphic police beatings…

audiobook recommendations for Pride

Liked A playlist of audiobook recommendations for Pride (Mastodon)

I made a playlist of audiobook recommendations for Pride on Libro.fm

If you get the audiobooks through the playlist, you support both my reviews and an independent bookstore of your choice.

This is great! Audiobooks are cool and LGBTQ+ books are even cooler, and this playlist, which is also hosted on my lovely Libro.fm, which has an amazing business model. Check out Jude’s list!