Nerdy 30 Activity #5: Emojiathon

I participated in a readathon! I found out about it from BooksandLala and decided to participate. Since I didn’t know about this until February was already underway, I decided to see if I could pull off the challenge. By the skin of my teeth, I did.

The challenges are based on different emojis and you pick 4. There was an official twitter with reading sprints and other interactive fun but I wasn’t sure I’d pull this off so I didn’t participate. I’d hope The Trees would be my 2016/2017 book but it was not meant to be.

Some categories were easy to rule out like romance or cry-worthy. Others I liked the sound of but ran out of month. What did I read, you ask.

A book about a marginalized group – Negroland

Read a book in under 24 hours – Good Riddance*

Freebie! Any book – NPCs

2016/2017 release – Fox Fux

You can find out more about each title in my upcoming wrap-up. I plan on participating in other readathons this year so I’ll keep you posted when the next one rolls around.

* – If you ever need a quick read for a challenge or something similar, graphic novels are usually great for this. Some have fantastic stories (real or fictional) and the visual element makes the story go by quickly.

Sisterhood of the World Booktag 1

Since we’re coming into Women’s History month, now seemed the perfect time for a Tag Tuesday

Version One

What is your favorite fairy tale or legend?
Little Red Riding Hood. I don’t know why but this has always spoken to me.

What is the last book you bought?
Fox Fur and Burn by Sophie Carlon

How do you feel about DNFing books?
Favorably. If you’re not enjoying it, don’t waste your time. If I make it past the 50% mark, I give myself a read credit on GoodReads.

Describe your personality in 3 books

How do you organize your bookshelves?
By genre to determine which shelf they go on, by size to determine how they sit on that shelf, then by color to structure how those books fit together.

What is the most beautiful book you own?
My Jane Austen cloth bound books are gorgeous. In the Dark is a very large full color anthology that just struck me as incredibly pretty and still does. It has a large 1 on it so maybe it will get a friend someday.

If you had a job in the book industry, what would it be and why?
I’ve worked in sales before so definitely not that. I was pretty decent with some of the social media creation we did. Probably either an editor or a writer.

What is one book everyone has to read before they die and why?
1984 and Brave New World. Both show the dangers of being unable to think for yourself. I’d include Fahrenheit 451 but Bradbury sucks at exposition.

If you were to get a bookish tattoo, what would it be?
‘It goes on’ on my left shoulder. It’s part of a Robert Frost quote “I can sum up everything I know about the world in three words: It goes on.”

You can commission Shakespeare to write a play for you about absolutely anything. What would it be about?
Either the dangers of fascism or the pain of mental illness in a world that doesn’t understand. Both would be done with the knowledge we now possess. Shakespeare doing sonnets about the various mental illnesses would be phenomenal.

I tag anyone who is interested in doing this tag

Music Monday: Love Songs I Love

I’m not a big fan of sweet, sappy love songs. Real love is messy and complicated. Besides, most of the stuff you see in movies that supposed to be romantic is creepy at best and illegal at worst.

Truth about Love by Pink
I Will Stay by We Are the Fallen
If I Lose Myself by OneRepublic
Lego House by Ed Sheeran
The Only Exception by Paramore
Safe and Sound by Capital Cities
When She’s On by Chris Young
Break In by Halestorm
Remind Me by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood
Somebody Loves You by Betty Who
Avalance by Walk the Moon
Tricky by Fitz and the Tantrums

Dangling the Carrot

There were full-time positions open at my job and everyone on the team was eligible for them. I applied and didn’t get it. I can think of a few reasons for this but a big one jumps to mind.

The day of my interview she gave me an assignment I had no idea how to do. The former lawyer had to plainly tell me what needed to happen because the particular skill necessary for the task was never taught to me. I had the information but it was a stretch to naturally put those pieces together. Knowing that was held against me definitely hampers my already limit number of fucks available for distribution.

My job is exploitative AF. I’ve been a temp since August 2015. During that time I’ve had no PTO, no raise, and only got sick leave a few months ago because of a county law. My boss gave me grief for not perfectly doing my remote hours when I was working while sick and she was on vacation. She’s been on at least 3 majors trips since she took over (think other continents) and I haven’t been on a plane since 2013.

I know from a friend that she felt exploited when she was passed up for a promotion. That’s hilarious considering her utter lack of consideration for the people underneath her. The person she was passed over for had excellent people skills but left to change careers. Probably a good decision overall. In addition to not liking my personality, my boss’s boss also says we’re “just temps.” In case I doubted how little we are valued, this drives it home.

I’m impressed my boss had the decency to show up in the office (she’s remote) and tell me before the big meeting. I honestly expected her to say who got it in the meeting because her managerial skills are really that bad. I’m content to stay and phone it in for a while because weddings are expensive AF but an end date will be set and I will be changing careers.

I decided if I was offered the FTE positon, I’d take it because money and human treatment but wouldn’t stay there forever. Now that I know that option is off the table, I don’t plan on making my exit easy for them. I’ve spent most of my tenure under this woman paranoid I’d be fired. She called me an asset to the team but won’t treat me like one. Since my employment is completely at will, I’ll set my plan into motion and decide how much notice I feel like giving them. Since I’m not the best the team has to offer, I’m sure they’ll be fine.

February Book Haul/Nerdy 30 New Books #5 & 6

The problem with this haul is that February was supposed to be a book no-buy. I think I hit a point of stress where my self-control snapped. Planning a wedding, work stuff, and a few other things came together and I snatched up

The Twelve Doctors of Christmas cloth bound hardcover and Timelord Fairytales boxset. It has not been easy finding either tome on the interwebs in any form so when I saw it, I pounced. I didn’t even have a coupon.

As for books I didn’t buy, I participated in the reddit books exchange. My last few exchanges were duds. Old VHS tapes I can only store or sell online, scented crap I’m allergic to, and a few other underwhelming things. For books, I gave my Santa a link to my GoodReads profile and s/he asked if I owned any of the books on my TBR. I sent links to my wish list and books I own shelves. My Santa got me two books from my wishlist

I was super pumped for finally have a winner for a gift exchange. Since these are gifts, they don’t count toward my final 30. I’m planning on doing my ‘read from home’ 3 weeks in March so the only new books I will have will be gifts. March might wind up being a better ‘no buy’ than my intended one.

I also had a Kickstarter I backed in 2016 come in which contained:

• Yes Roya by C. Spike Trotman
• My Monster Boyfriend edited by C. Spike Trotman
• The Sleep of Reason edited by C. Spike Trotman
• New World by C. Spike Trotman

That brings the total to two Doctor Who anthology impulse buys, two books from Mothbox, two from a reddit gift, and four from kickstarter for a grand total of 10. Good thing I’m in the midst of a book purge (details to follow, I promise).

Soundbite: War and Adulting

I was discussing something with a friend of mine today. This was part of that exchange.

Me: Part of being an adult is accepting that you have to peacefully coexist with people you don’t like

Pal: Then why do we have war?

Me: Not everyone is good at adulting.

Pal: I don’t see children starting wars

Me: Children don’t have tanks

Since I periodically have moments like this (especially with FHubs), you’ll get the occasional post that’s a soundbite from my life.

Nerdy 30 Activity #4

I planned on trying 2 book subscription boxes this year. The first is by a BookTuber Mercy’s Bookish Musings called Mothbox. She selects two books and sends them out internationally. Her mission behind Mothbox is to keep the focus on books rather than various paraphernalia. Did you know mail from the UK takes ages?

I was bad and was too excited to take pictures but each book was individually wrapped in deep maroon tissue paper, tied with twin and included a bookmark with a quote from the book. Everything was securely packed with a padding I will make sure to inflict on someone else in the near-ish future.

The books are Sufficient Grace by Amy Espeseth and The Handsworth Times by Sharon Duggal. The first is about two girls dealing with a dark secret in a religious community in rural Wisconsin. Based on the description, I suspect there will be a lot of natural imagery. The latter is about a family struck by tragedy and hard times in 1980s Ireland. These books are supposed to be beautiful and tragic. I look forward to reading them.

I loved the care that went into making the package pretty, the thoughtfulness behind the custom bookmarks, and the simplicity of the Mothbox. It will have a more literary bend than many other boxes so it will do well for your friends who prefer that. She’s also deliberately choosing lesser known books so it’s unlikely to overlap with your typical bookclub pick. Despite not having a lot of fanfare, it’s still a well curated box.

Since I included a book subscription box on my to-do list, one Mothbox and one Nocturnal Reader’s box get passes on being in my final 30. After that, everything must be included. I’m waiting for a theme from the Nocturnal Reader’s box that really sparks my interest. I plan on contrast them with Mothbox since NRB’s does include other things with its books.

Music Monday: Uncoupled Couples

Today’s music Monday is brought to you by musical duos who, to the best of my knowledge, have no romantic connection what so ever.

I Love It by Icona Pop
One More Time by Daft Punk
Chop and Change by The Black Keys
Monster by Meg & Dia
The Sound of Silence by Simon & Garfunkel
Unchained Melody by The Righteous Brothers
This Party Took a Turn for the Douche by Garfunkel & Oates
Closer by Tegan & Sara
In My Blood by The Veronicas
Girl in a Country Song by Maddie & Tae

Nerdy 30 Book #6

In the last couple of months, I started playing a D&D campaign with Jack, Sally, Magenta, and Riff. It was supposed to be an out of the box oneshot with most of us playing stock characters. We enjoyed it so much that we just kept playing.

During one of the campaigns, Magenta started talking about a book she was reading called NPCs by Drew Hayes. Magenta thought I would really like it so it was a recommended book I borrowed.

While it starts with a bunch of teenage-ish boys playing D&D, it quickly goes from our world into the world of the game. In the world of the game, the boys go into a tavern, have a drink, and promptly die because of meade + bad mushrooms.

The story truly begins when all of the NPCs see the scroll from the king. The now dead adventurer’s not showing up before the king could lead to death and destruction in their town. These four are about to go from being extras in someone else story to having adventures of their own.

It was independently published but feels like it was handled by a professional editor. It was similar to something you’d see from a small fantasy/sci-fi. In the beginning the four chose the roles for the parts they looked most appropriate for but wound up finding out who they were and what kind of adventurers they should be along the way. It was very entertaining and I loved it.

I will be borrowing the second one from Magenta the next time I see her. I can’t wait to see what happens to the characters next.

Rate My Life

I will never understand people’s reluctance to rate memoirs. I’ve heard this a bunch of times on BookTube and it frustrates me to no end. Memoirs are still stories, even if it was a person’s life. It doesn’t mean they are incapable of telling the story in a way that doesn’t appeal to you.

Was it well written or a bit standard and unremarkable? Where the stories believable or did you suspect some retroactive editing of history? Did you learn something? Did it make you laugh or cry or feel something? Were you captivated or did you just drag through it? Did you gain insight into an experience you’d never know about on your own? Were you not entertained?

I enjoy memoirs because they often contain a narrative element similar to fiction. You can see what life is like at the South Pole or in the Playboy Mansion or as a person of a different color. I was utterly enthralled by Zoo Story, underwhelmed by Stranger Here, and disappointed by Negroland.

The same people who don’t like rating memoirs typically don’t hesitate to rate poetry collections. Why? Poetry is very subjective. Unless you’re emulating a particular kind of form or structure, there isn’t a way to fundamentally do poetry wrong. Badly, yes. Anyone who survived their teenage years can attest to that. Memoirs are the same way.

You can’t tell the story of your life wrong. However, the way it is told won’t appeal to every person. Jefferson’s narrative choices in Negroland were utterly unappealing to me and that is reflected in my review. It doesn’t mean her book is wrong or I have a problem with her life.

Rating a memoir is saying how this work made you feel or think or didn’t. Did the memoir/(auto)biography leave an impression? Cool. Talk about what kind. Don’t remember what it’s about? Than it rates below three stars. If people had a problem with you rating their life, then they shouldn’t have written a memoir in the first place. So either tell me what you think or don’t waste my time.