Things I Love

I had another post all written, a rant about current events; but I realize as I was reading over it that I didn’t want to publish that much vitriol even if it is warranted. I don’t have any ideas or insights to actually help the situation; it was just me working out a fraction of my frustrations in public. I’m not sure that’s a good look for me.

So instead, let’s have something with no real connection to current events at all. I’m trying to read more these days, even though it’s really difficult to fit in given my day job and commute. I’ve amassed a lot of books I want to read. Have you read any of these? Let me know what you thought! I’m normally a nonfiction girlie but I’m trying to branch out to help get my own creative humors humoring me. Time was I avoided reading anything remotely close to my own genre because I have a tendency to be very strongly influenced by whatever I read or watched most recently. (Right now it’s the Shadowhunters TV show, which OMG, I loved.) (Well okay, I was 80% there for Magnus/Alexander, but it was still a cool show even without my precious boys.)

I’m not going to go into much depth with these, just give you an idea what it’s like in my brain these days.

Midnight Rooms by Donyae Coles

A review stated this novel is “An immersive horror fairy tale marrying Crimson Peak to Pan’s Labyrinth upon strange foundations.” (Hailey Piper). That sounds bloody amazing to me!

I’m making an effort to expand my literary horizons by including more POCs, LGBTQIA+, and other minority authors, especially genre novels in fantasy and magical realism. If you have any recommendations of books with great characterization in those categories, let me know in comments down below.

Lucy Undying by Kiersten White

A novel all about Lucy from Dracula ? Hell yes! I’m excited about this one. I read the first page and my brain got a style boner. If the rest of it is as lush and gorgeous as the first page, I’m doomed!

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

From Amazon: Early morning, August 1975: a camp counselor discovers an empty bunk. Its occupant, Barbara Van Laar, has gone missing. Barbara isn’t just any thirteen-year-old: she’s the daughter of the family that owns the summer camp and employs most of the region’s residents. And this isn’t the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared. Barbara’s older brother similarly vanished fourteen years ago, never to be found.

This one is pretty famous – I don’t really follow bestseller lists but apparently it’s won some awards as well.

Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space by Adam Higginbotham

I was a kid at home sick watching the launch the day the Challenger broke apart in the clear blue sky, and ever since it’s been a fascination of mine. You could say it’s my Roman Empire, although there are several other disasters that share that spot. Like a lot of people I love learning about disasters of all sorts; I want to know what led up to the events, how many tiny mistakes and decisions brought it about. I want to know how the people involved either rose to the occasion or didn’t – figuring out how people tick is one of my favorite things. Understanding how something comes about and how it unfolds – what could be more fascinating? It’s why I don’t mind spoilers for shows; just knowing what happens isn’t what I’m there for, I want to see why it happened and how it affected people.

The City in Glass by Nghi Vo

I don’t know a whole lot about this one other than a) a friend recommended it over on Facebook and b) it sounds suspiciously like angel/demon porn. I’m not one of those women into reading about giant monster dicks and the women who love them over and over and over again, but this one sounds like a good story. I believe it’s a trilogy?

How to ADHD: An Insider’s Guide to Working with Your Brain (Not Against It) by Jessica McCabe

I’ve heard great things about this one. Ever since I started realizing this was probably my reality, I’ve had it on my stack. I don’t believe there’s anything wrong with my brain, just that it isn’t wired the same as the majority of people’s, and trying to act like I can just “life hack” my way into normalcy is impossible and unnecessary. I want to learn more about this important part of who I am, and apparently this is the book to do it with!

Ordinary Mysticism: Your Life as Sacred Ground by Mirabai Starr

I didn’t look too hard at the blurb for this one – I’ve read and enjoyed Mirabai Starr’s work in the past and this is definitely right up my alley.

Beyond Anxiety: Curiosity, Creativity, and Finding Your Life’s Purpose by Martha Beck

I’ve been a Martha Beck fan for over a decade but somehow I completely missed she had a new book out!

I can’t really think of a book title that sounds more appropriate for life right now.

What the River Knows: A Novel by Isabel Ibañez

You may not know this about me but I LOVE ancient Egypt and archaeology. (Also paleontology, which was my major for one semester, lol). That’s what this entire novel series is about. From Amazon:

The Mummy meets Death on the Nile in What the River Knows, Isabel Ibañez’s lush, immersive historical fantasy set in Egypt and filled with adventure, a rivals-to-lovers romance, and a dangerous race.

Also, The Mummy is one of my favorite comfort movies of all time. (The one with Rachel Weisz, not the Tom Cruise debacle.)

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

I finally watched the Studio Ghibli movie version a while back and loved it. As I understand it the book is pretty different, but people do tend to love both on their own merits. That’s what I like to hear!

There are a ton more, but I don’t want this post to be completely endless. What’s next up on your TBR?

Forgive me, internet, for I have sinned. It has been two years since my last blog post.

What can I say? We all know what a tire fire the last couple of years have been. There was a point at which I just ran out of things to say, which is kind of the opposite reaction from what many people had during Quarantine. Folks got so creative! New blogs and YouTubers appeared everywhere! My god, the number of lockdown manuscripts that publishers must have had to wade through boggles the mind. Meanwhile I shrank. I stopped writing. I left groups I had belonged to or joined during lockdown. My life became my chair in the living room – which was of course a necessity for a while since nobody could go anywhere.

This was when my depression apparently said to itself, “Now’s my time to SHINE!”

I’m not sure why I decided to come back other than I have again grown weary of living small. I’ve been taking on new activities and projects again, but I’m trying to go slowly. I recently started a Pagan discussion group at my church, which has got me talking shop again, which of course made me think about YouTubing again. I made a few attempts last year and I hated all of them – I’m trying to figure out how to sound coherent and find a camera angle that doesn’t make me want to shriekingly defenestrate.

Thinking about YouTube led to wanting to spiff up the website and update my “About Me” type stuff. I ended up moving some things around, and thought to myself, “…I should blog again.”

Now, the truth is, I have no idea what I’m going to be posting here just yet. I have new topics I could talk about, such as my new miniatures hobby; and I’ve been working on yet another version of my Book of Shadows. I have started two new books, Shadow World VIII and a Pagan spirituality book that is still kind of an idea amoeba and a folder full of notes on my Penzu account.

In the meantime, I thought I’d lead off with one of my perennial favorite post types: 10 Things I Love.

A few images from the Witch Cats oracle.

1. I Love Nicole Piar’s spirit cat artwork.

Nicole has several oracle decks in her Etsy shop, one of which (The Witch Cats deck) I ordered immediately. I then went back and ordered her 2023 calendar as well. The cats are just so sweet and lovely, the style mystical but not silly. Looking at the cards makes me feel good. I’m planning to use them as a guide/altar art, to draw a card for the month or week and let that be something awesome to look at and meditate on when I engage in spiritual shenanigans.

2. I Love The Sandman series (Netflix).

I’ve never been much of a graphic novel reader. But when I heard The Sandman was going to be a Netflix series (involving the author, Neil Gaiman, himself) I got excited. I thought hey, fun cool dark fantasy stuff, lots of neat effects, let’s go!

Little did I know that I would find the series completely addictive, but even more importantly (and strangely), I found it fed something in me that I can’t quite describe. I find watching it deeply soothing (though I do tend to skip most of the diner episode because GOD DAMN), and I’d even call it spiritually fulfilling. Something about the world Gaiman created has grown roots in my head.

I did read the first volume of the graphic novels, and while I will absolutely agree they are a masterpiece, I’d still rather watch the show – not because it’s better per se, but because the comic format just doesn’t suck me in. The show has such a lyrical and lush presence, and I just don’t get that from the comic. I’ve never been much of a purist about anything.

3. I Love Ara Bentley’s YouTube Channel.

Sometime early last year a friend of mine got me interested in watching videos about miniatures. By mid May I was building a dollhouse of my own. Ara’s videos were the first that got me hooked, especially her Cardboard House series, in which she created an entire house, including furnishings, out of things she already had during lockdown. Her creativity, humor, and enthusiasm are infectious to say the least! She also build a truly epic Addams Family dollhouse and is currently working on a model of the Beetlejuice house (including all the character dolls!)

4. I Love Baumgartner Restoration on YouTube as well.

I found Julian quite by accident – art restoration hasn’t really been one of my major interests. But after a couple of videos I was addicted! The techniques and patience that go into restoring fine art, especially pieces that are several hundred years old and need more than a few little dings repaired, are mesmerizing. Julian is amazing at his job, even if his sponsor segues are just the lamest things ever (I think at this point he’s doing it deliberately to make the audience groan), and I’ve learned so much about how art is made (and damaged). The most recent series where he and his apprentice have to repair and restore a split wood panel – which involves making jigs and using power tools – is seriously cool. He also discusses the ethics and professional code of art restoration, which is fascinating.

5. I Love Phyllis Curott.

I was a young Witch back when Phyllis’s first book, Book of Shadows, first hit shelves. I’ve been a fan of hers ever since; her Witch Crafting is probably the most influential book on my own personal Craft. (I need to get a new copy, my old hardback is falling apart and I love the new cover on the trade paperback.) I love that she approaches the Craft as inherently spiritual, as do I, and that we are working as the hands of the Divine, creating reality along with Them. I thought it strange that she disappeared from public Pagan life just like I did; and when I heard she was coming back with a new book, Spells for Living Well, I was so excited! Of course we’ve had, and have, very different lives, but I find a kindred spirit in her struggles and return. (Also the book is great – I’ve already copied a bunch of the spells into my Book of Shadows to act as inspiration for my own workings.)

6. I Love New Year goal-setting and List-making.

Hope springs eternal, am I right? I’ll have more on this in another post.

7. I Love Egyptology.

Little known fact about me: I’m hardcore into both archaeology and paleontology. I feverishly consume documentaries and books on Egyptology, especially regarding the lives of women in pharaonic Egypt and the religious shakeups of the Amarna period. Mummification is another deep fascination. I have not one but two favorite Egyptologists (Salima Ikram is my idol, and I love listening to Chris Naunton’s lectures online). I’m also into Mayan and Incan history and archaeology, but Egypt is my first love. So are dinosaurs, incidentally. I freaking love learning about the latest discoveries in dinos.

8. I Love Lipton’s Instant Chocolate Chai mix.

The problem with most chai latte mixes is the latte part – it’s hard to find a nondairy version. This stuff allows you to use whatever milk you want. It’s like hot cocoa with an attitude. It’s hard to find in single packs right now but I fully intend to grab this five pack when I can.

9. I Love La Perruche Sugar Cubes.

Speaking of tea-related things, I’m a huge fan of brown sugar flavored anything; and I discovered I love it in my hot beverages. I found these pure cane sugar cubes, which have that same flavor but a little more…complex? I guess? This particular brand just has a vanilla-ish, caramelly note to it that I enjoy a great deal. I even use it to make brown sugar vanilla syrup for my iced beverages – combine equal parts sugar cubes and boiling water, mix to dissolve, allow to cool, add some vanilla, then store in the fridge. (You don’t have to be terribly precise with the measurements either.)

10. I Love the Rainbow-Making Prisms hanging in my bedroom windows.

Category: Things I Love

Ten Things I Love: A Look at my To-Be-Read Pile