Welcome to February, my fellow book fiends! I've been putting off updating my blog because of issues with my husband (who had a hip replacement about 2 weeks ago) and my own health issues (a respiratory infection and degenerative inflammatory arthritis in my neck and shoulder), so I've been exhausted and busy trying to make doctor's appointments and get labs/Xrays done. I've also been reading some ebooks and one physical book that was so awful I wanted to actually burn it in the street, which is rare for me. Even the ever-popular but extremely poorly written Twilight series only made me want to toss it against the wall, not eliminate it from the earth entirely. Still, it's time to get these things in order, and first off, here's the latest tidbits on the evolving NG scandal, which is horrific and makes me seriously angry, that someone would hide being so evil as a pedophile, rapist and plagiarist. It makes me sick that Amanda Palmer, his ex-wife, was also named as a human trafficker. Seriously, Palmer, how would you feel if someone trafficked your young son? Shame on both of them!
Dark
Horse Comics Drops Neil Gaiman
If
you read the excellent and truly disturbing reporting on the sexual
assault allegations against Neil Gaiman,
it might come as no surprise that Dark Horse Comics has announced
they will no longer publish Gaiman’s works. Or maybe it won’t
come as a surprise since the silence
around the allegations from
publishers who work with Gaiman and publishing media was deafening.
Dark Horse made the announcement after the author posted a statement
to his blog denying the allegations. In addition to stating that they
take the allegations seriously, in their post on X Dark Horse
confirmed that they cancelled a planned Anansi Boys comic series and
collected volume. In an era where entities and individuals are
emboldened by a post-MeToo sentiment and a majority of Americans
decided they could stomach a president found
liable of sexual abuse,
I’m sad to say the low bar of standing on principal here is wild
and heartening.
Neil
Gaiman Officially Taken to Court
Scarlett
Pavlovich, who was a central figure in Lila Shapiro’s shattering
story on Neil Gaiman, officially
sued Gaiman in the Western District Court of U.S. ,
claiming rape and human trafficking. Amanda Palmer was also accused
of human trafficking in the filing. This is a civil suit not a
criminal one (individuals of course cannot file ) criminal charges,
and in civil court the standard of guilt is somewhat different. So in
this example, a jury is instructed to convict if they believe “the
preponderance of the evidence” shows that the accused did whatever
it was they are accused of. Often this is described as
a 51% chance that they did it,
which is quite a bit lower than “beyond a reasonable doubt.” I
have now read Shapiro’s
piece,
and I will say that even before people are under oath and discovery
and the whole machinery of the legal process gets underway,
Pavolovich’s chances seem to me quite strong.
I believe this is a great idea, to replicate the space and to remind people of the horrors inflicted on the Jewish people during WWII.
Recreating
Anne Frank’s Secret Annex
In
the Center for Jewish History an 800-square-foot room with scant
furnishings and photos of bygone celebrities offers visitors a
glimpse of the space where Anne Frank and her family hid from the
Nazis. The exhibition, opening today on International Holocaust
Remembrance Day, was created
by the Anne Frank House,
which has a museum in Amsterdam with a starkly different version of
the space–one “pillaged by the Nazis and left bare.” In
addition to the replica, the Manhattan exhibition displays 79
editions of Frank’s The
Diary of a Young Girl
in different languages. As Fast
Company‘s
Elissaveta M. Brandon points out, the show feels all too timely. I
was just reading about how Elon Musk, speaking
on video at a far-right event in
Germany, said, “There is too much focus on past guilt, and we need
to move beyond that.” To that I say, there is no better time than
now to reflect on our ability to be complicit in acts as great and
horrifying as holocaust, genocide, enslavement and all manner of
inhumanities, and to learn from and act against them.
Just another reprehensible thing that our current POTUS and his band of fascists are doing to keep American children ignorant of anything but WASPs and racist oligarchs. I remember reading James Baldwin when I was in high school and feeling as though I'd found a kindred spirit through his words. That won't be possible soon, with these insane book banning people taking books by POC, by those in the LGBTQ community and by those authors highlighting racial/social inequality out of libraries and student's hands. These are dark days for democracy and freedom of the press.
Department
of Education Dismisses “So-Called” Book Bans Under Trump
Administration
The
U.S. Department of Education is rescinding
all guidance against book removals,
has dismissed current and pending book ban complaints, and got rid of
the book ban coordinator position for the investigation of unlawful
book removals. In a statement, the Acting Assistant Secretary for
Civil Rights Craig Trainor said, “The department adheres to the
deeply rooted American principle that local control over public
education best allows parents and teachers alike to assess the
educational needs of their children and communities. Parents and
school boards have broad discretion to fulfill that important
responsibility.”
No
mention of how pressure campaigns to remove books by and about queer,
BIPOC, and other underrepresented people run by private, partisan
groups like Moms for Liberty undermine the ability of local
educators, librarians, and parents to give kids the education and
access to information they need. And let’s not forget about state
legislated censorship.
Publishers Weekly reported
on the swift
condemnation and criticism of the DOE’s decision from
PEN America, Authors Against Book Bans, and other organizations.
Speaking of BIPOC authors and TV series, I really enjoyed the first two seasons of Dark Winds, which is a well written show about Indigenous people/Native Americans.
TV:
Dark Winds Season 3
AMC Networks has released the official
trailer for the third season of
its noir drama series, Dark Winds,
based on the Leaphorn &
Chee book series by Tony Hillerman. The
TV series returns with all-new
episodes exclusively on AMC and AMC+ on
March 9, with new episodes
airing weekly on Sundays.
The cast includes Zahn McClarnon (The
Son, Westworld, Fargo), Kiowa
Gordon (The Red Road, Roswell, New
Mexico), Jessica Matten (Rez Ball,
Tribal, Burden of Truth), and Deanna
Allison (Accused, Edge of America).
Joining them as guest stars this season
are Jenna Elfman, Bruce
Greenwood, Raoul Max Trujillo,
Tonantzin Carmelo, Alex Meraz, Terry
Serpico, Derek Hinkey, Phil Burke, and
Christopher Heyerdahl. Returning
for season 3 are guest stars A Martinez
and Jeri Ryan.
Dark Winds is created by Graham Roland,
with John Wirth serving as
showrunner. The series is executive
produced by Roland, Wirth,
McClarnon, Robert Redford, George R.R.
Martin, Chris Eyre, Tina Elmo,
Jim Chory, Vince Gerardis, and Anne
Hillerman.
I found myself reciting this in my head while watching Dune Prophecy this past weekend. These are dark and frightening times, and Frank Herbert, who was writing the Dune series during a time of great social upheaval in the 60s and 70s, understood that we cannot let our fears overwhelm us. So take a deep breath, and repeat after me:
From
Dune, the Litany Against Fear
I
must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little death that
brings obliteration. I will face my fear.
I
will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And
when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where
the fear has gone there will be nothing.--Frank
Herbert, author of the original Dune series
They didn't need a study for me to understand this in my bones...places that house books, like libraries and bookstores, are sacred spaces to me, and necessary for my continued well being.
Libraries
& Well-Being: A Case Study from The New York Public Library
Canvassing
more than 2,000 participants, The
NYPL did a survey last fall about how people feel about their library
and,
most novel to me at least, how people actually feel after using the
library. There are many interesting findings here, but a couple stand
out. After visiting the library, 70% of respondents report feeling
“on top of everything I do” and 75% report feeling “engaged
and/or stimulated.” I might be projecting here a little, but these
are two feelings I think I many of us could use a little more of.
Feeling stagnant? Harried and somehow also helpless? Maybe a trip to
the library can help.
Movies: Children of
the Jungle
20th Century Studios will develop a
film adaptation of Children of the
Jungle, based on investigative
journalist Mat Youkee's book Forty Days in the Jungle: Behind the
Extraordinary Survival and Rescue of Four Children
Lost in the Amazon. Roberto Bentivegna
will write the script, Deadline
reported, adding that Giannina Scott is
producing through her Cara Films
banner alongside Scott Free's Ridley
Scott and president of film Michael
Pruss.
Giannina Scott "brought the
project to Scott Free and won a competitive
auction for Youkee's book proposal
together with the Scott Free team.
Around that time, in May 2024, the
story became global headline news,"
Deadline noted.
The Baby Dragon Cafe by AT Qureshi is a fun and cozy fantasy that, though it felt like it was written with a younger YA audience in mind (preteens and early teens), was still entertaining for those of us who just enjoy a good lighthearted yarn. Here's the blurb: Though it's easy to see where the plot of this novel is going, it's an enjoyable walk in the sunshine to get there, and I was glad that the author didn't feel the need to add a bunch of sleazy sex scenes or "spice" to make it feel like a real romance. Some good parenting tips are laced throughout, even though they're for dragons and not human children. I'd give this easy, breezy book a B, and recommend it to anyone who likes cute dragon babies and tropey romances.
When Saphira opens
her cafe welcoming pet baby dragons, she isn’t expecting it to be quite
so hard to keep the fires burning. But her young dragon patrons keep
incinerating her furniture, which means selling coffee isn’t covering
all her costs.
Local heart-throb Aiden is
a gardener, though his disobedient baby dragon is a major distraction
from his beloved plants. However, Saphira’s café gives him an idea –
he’ll ask Saphira to train his dragon, and pay her enough to keep the
cafe afloat.
They know they’re the answer to each
other’s problems, but happy-go-lucky Saphira and gorgeous-but-grumpy
Aiden couldn’t be more different. Can they find a way to work together –
and maybe even ignite some fire of their own?
The perfect dual POV, grumpy sunshine cozy fantasy, with HEA guaranteed!
The Stone Witch of Florence by Ana Rasche is a paranormal historical fantasy about folk magic and medicine that wise women wielded, much to their detriment in the 14th century (they were accused of witchcraft and murdered). Though it was a touch too long, I felt the elegant prose and florid plot kept this novel moving at a thumping pace. I liked Ginevra and her ability to use gemstones to heal people, as well as her smarts for finding ways to hide her talents so she could remain alive. Here is the blurb: A woman's secret. A deadly Plague. Unleash the hidden magic…
1348. As the Black Plague ravages Italy, Ginevra di Gasparo is summoned to Florence after nearly a decade of lonely exile. Ginevra has a gift—harnessing the hidden powers of gemstones, she can heal the sick. But when word spread of her unusual abilities, she was condemned as a witch and banished. Now the same men who expelled Ginevra are begging for her return.
Ginevra obliges, assuming the city’s leaders are finally ready to accept her unorthodox cures amid a pandemic. But upon arrival, she is tasked with a much different mission: she must use her collection of jewels to track down a ruthless thief who is ransacking Florence’s churches for priceless relics—the city’s only hope for protection. If she succeeds, she’ll be a recognized physician and never accused of witchcraft again.
But as her investigation progresses, Ginevra discovers she’s merely a pawn in a much larger scheme than the one she’s been hired to solve. And the dangerous men behind this conspiracy won’t think twice about killing a stone witch to get what they want…
1348. As the Black Plague ravages Italy, Ginevra di Gasparo is summoned to Florence after nearly a decade of lonely exile. Ginevra has a gift—harnessing the hidden powers of gemstones, she can heal the sick. But when word spread of her unusual abilities, she was condemned as a witch and banished. Now the same men who expelled Ginevra are begging for her return.
Ginevra obliges, assuming the city’s leaders are finally ready to accept her unorthodox cures amid a pandemic. But upon arrival, she is tasked with a much different mission: she must use her collection of jewels to track down a ruthless thief who is ransacking Florence’s churches for priceless relics—the city’s only hope for protection. If she succeeds, she’ll be a recognized physician and never accused of witchcraft again.
But as her investigation progresses, Ginevra discovers she’s merely a pawn in a much larger scheme than the one she’s been hired to solve. And the dangerous men behind this conspiracy won’t think twice about killing a stone witch to get what they want…
As usual, it's misogyny and men at the bottom of the conspiracy, looking for more ways to gain power at a woman's expense. Once you get into the thick of the book, it's hard to put down. I'd give it a B, and recommend it to anyone interested in the history of witches, medicine and wise women.
Candle And Crow by Kevin Hearne is the third book in the comedic fantasy Ink & Sigil series, and the one that ties all the loose plot points together. Here's the blurb: From the bestselling author of The Iron Druid Chronicles comes the final book in the
Ink & Sigil series, as an ink-slinging wizard pursues the answer to
a very personal mystery: Who cast a pair of curses on his head?
Al MacBharrais has a most unusual job: He’s a practitioner of ink-and-sigil magic, tasked with keeping order among the gods and monsters that dwell hidden in the human world. But there’s one supernatural mystery he’s never been able to solve: Years ago, someone cast twin curses on him that killed off his apprentices and drove away loved ones who heard him speak, leaving him bereft and isolated.
But he’s not quite alone: As Al works to solve this mystery, his friends draw him into their own eccentric dramas. Buck Foi the hobgoblin has been pondering his own legacy—and has a plan for a daring shenanigan that will make him the most celebrated hobgoblin of all. Nadia, goth queen and battle seer, is creating her own cult around a god who loves whisky and cheese.
And the Morrigan, a former Irish death goddess, has decided she wants not only to live as an ordinary woman but also to face the most perilous challenge of the mortal world: online dating.
Meanwhile, Al crosses paths with old friends and new—including some beloved Druids and their very good dogs—in his globe-trotting quest to solve the mystery of his curses. But he’s pulled in so many different directions by his colleagues, a suspicious detective, and the whims of destructive gods that Al begins to wonder: Will he ever find time to write his own happy ending?
Al MacBharrais has a most unusual job: He’s a practitioner of ink-and-sigil magic, tasked with keeping order among the gods and monsters that dwell hidden in the human world. But there’s one supernatural mystery he’s never been able to solve: Years ago, someone cast twin curses on him that killed off his apprentices and drove away loved ones who heard him speak, leaving him bereft and isolated.
But he’s not quite alone: As Al works to solve this mystery, his friends draw him into their own eccentric dramas. Buck Foi the hobgoblin has been pondering his own legacy—and has a plan for a daring shenanigan that will make him the most celebrated hobgoblin of all. Nadia, goth queen and battle seer, is creating her own cult around a god who loves whisky and cheese.
And the Morrigan, a former Irish death goddess, has decided she wants not only to live as an ordinary woman but also to face the most perilous challenge of the mortal world: online dating.
Meanwhile, Al crosses paths with old friends and new—including some beloved Druids and their very good dogs—in his globe-trotting quest to solve the mystery of his curses. But he’s pulled in so many different directions by his colleagues, a suspicious detective, and the whims of destructive gods that Al begins to wonder: Will he ever find time to write his own happy ending?
Hearne's prose is never anything less than golden, and his plots never flag. Here he brings in characters from other series old and new to help solve the case of who put the curses on Al, and how he can get them removed swiftly. There's plenty of laugh out loud moments and some complex paragraphs that will have fans searching their memories for a tidbit about a character or his time period when things get messy. We also finally learn who "Alice who has seen some shite" really is! Delightful! I won't spoil it for you, but suffice it to say that those of you who suspected she was some kind of goddess weren't far wrong. I'd give this final book in the series an A, and recommend it highly to those who have read the rest of the series. I must also mention that, as a pen afficionado, I enjoyed reading about hand made inks and beautiful pens used to make the magic sigils.
Vipers and Virtuosos by Sav R Miller is, though it purports to be otherwise, a horror-porn-"romance" that contains very little about romance, virtuosos and more than enough about people who are evil vipers, from rapists to sexual and physical abuse practitioners to stalkers and pedophiles. There's not one decent human being in the entire novel. It's disgusting, and sickening, and if I weren't afraid of setting the house on fire I would have doused it with gas and burned it to cinders.
Miller seems to be under the wrongful impression that children who have been the victims of physical sexual assault (that literally scars them for life) and abuse somehow hunger for that same treatment of non consensual sex, ie rape, and physical abuse/pain and degradation, when they become adults. THERE IS NOTHING SEXY or desirable about RAPE. Having been a survivor of date rape, and having met and spoken to many other rape/sexual assault/domestic abuse survivors I can honestly say that none of us were at all interested in being treated so violently and painfully again. Most of the mostly (98%) women that I spoke to spent years in therapy just to attempt to lead a "normal" life and try to develop loving, trusting, safe relationships.
Millers female protagonist craves humiliation and rape at the hands of her creepy evil stalker, a former rock star who follows her for 3 years after he doesn't do any sort of sleuthing to find any proof as to whether she let leak a rumor that he committed sexual assault on her, and thereby tanked his career. Even though no charges were ever brought against him and the young woman whom the press is told was the victim disappears, somehow this alone is able to ruin a rock star's career. With no proof or even a victim statement to the police?! Seriously? It seems a thin enough reason for the author to get the failed, bitter and evil rock star together with the mentally ill victim so many gruesome sex scenes that seem to be lifted right out of a porn film (for men) with lots of discussion of the "beauty" and size of the evil rock star's penis and the tremendous fountains of ejaculate that flow out of him onto her (and even into her hand cream bottle, which gives her a rash, EWWWWWW), on repeat throughout the book, as if that is, again, somehow acceptable or sexy or even romantic. Meanwhile, the female protagonist is repeatedly harmed, raped, humiliated and controlled, while also being described as child-like, delicate, angelic and tiny/petite...all code for pedophilia. Disgusting and gross! Miller adds to her list of crimes by putting in ridiculous footnotes on what she was thinking as she wrote various stupid things into her book, as well as trying to rationalize rape as not being rape because "deep down" the female protagonist "wants the handsome rock star whose poster she had on her wall as a child." EWWWWW...seriously? Also, the vanity footnotes were all stupid and embarrassing, and made me want to burn the book before I made it through the first 3 chapters. I kept thinking "SHUT UP ALREADY!" and let me, the reader, enjoy the story without repeated interruptions, like ads only more egotistical. I'd give this book an F. I can't for the life of me imagine why it was even published, and I can't think of anyone but some creepy scumbag who is in prison for raping children who would find it good reading. Please, read something, anything else. This is a book that brings more darkness than light into the world.
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