Emma Ann

Aequore quot conchae tot sunt in amore dolores. "There are as many pains in love as there are shells in the sea." A little medieval guy: a cat in a spiral seashell with um antennae?

This one doesn't need too much interpretation imo. This in an anonymous medieval proverb from a collection gathered from various manuscripts and published in, "Lateinische Sprichworter und Sinnspruche des Mittelalters," Jakob Werner, 1912.

I cannot think of a more bizarre group to go after than asexuals. All they want is for people to be nice to them and Joanne is like, 'hmm, no thanks'

here’s my protest take: stop being snarky about people doing literally anything we need all of it even if it’s not your thing

Cory Booker just gave the longest speech in the history of Congress and concluded by apologizing to everyone who had to stay up all night keeping the chamber open and operating.

Audiobook cover of HEARTBURN by Nora Ephron, showing a simple illustration of a bent fork and a wedding ring

3. HEARTBURN by Nora Ephron, narrated by Meryl Streep. The narrator is Meryl Streep. Need I say more. (But seriously, Streep brings so much warmth and wit and snark.)

Audiobook cover of HARROW THE NINTH by Tamsyn Muir, showing a necromancer with a skull-painted face controlling skeletons

2. HARROW THE NINTH by Tamsyn Muir, narrated by Moira Quirk. Quirk is ridiculously talented. She pulls out all the stops for HARROW, foreshadowing the complicated plot using just the tone of her voice.

Cover of SATURATION POINT by Adrian Tchaikovsky, showing silhouettes of a military fighter and an archer against a jungle.

1. SATURATION POINT by Adrian Tchaikovsky, narrated by Emma Newman. At first I wasn’t sold on Newman’s narration (her American accent isn’t great), but voices play a big role in the story—and listening on audio gave me chills that print probably wouldn’t.

A few books that I think work BETTER on audiobook than in print, if you’re looking for something new to listen to: 🧵

Recently Le Guin's biographer noted that in notes for the story Le Guin contemplated having people try to rescue the Omelas child, but then she realized that would be dumb.

Then a generation of writers rolled up their sleeves, went to to their keyboards and started typing up a GREAT IDEA they had

φάινεταί μοι κῆνος ἴσος θέοισιν ἔμμεν ὤνερ, ὄττις ἐναντίος τοι ἰσδάνει καὶ πλάσιον ἆδυ φωνεί- σας ὐπακούει καὶ γελαίσας ἰμερόεν τό μ᾽ ἦ μάν καρδίαν ἐν στήθεσιν ἐπτόησεν· ὠς γὰρ εἰσίδω βροχέως σε, φώνας οὐδὲν ἔτ᾽ ἴκει· ἀλλὰ κάμ μὲν γλῶσσα ἔαγε, λέπτον δ᾽ αὔτικα χρῷ πῦρ ὐπαδεδρόμηκεν, ὀππάτεσσι δ᾽ οὐδὲν ὄρημ᾽,ἐπιρρόμ- βεισι δ᾽ ἄκουαι. καδ δέ μ᾽ ἴδρως κακχέεται, τρόμος δὲ παῖσαν ἄγρει, χλωροτέρα δὲ ποίας ἔμμι, τεθνάκην δ᾽ ὀλίγω ᾽πιδεύης φαίνομαι […]. ἀλλὰ πᾶν τόλματον …

Ille mi par esse deo videtur, ille, si fas est, superare divos, qui sedens adversus identidem te spectat et audit dulce ridentem, misero quod omnes eripit sensus mihi: nam simul te, Lesbia, aspexi, nihil est super mi <vocis in ore;> lingua sed torpet, tenuis sub artus flamma demanat, sonitu suopte tintinant aures, gemina teguntur lumina nocte. otium, Catulle, tibi molestum est: otio exsultas nimiumque gestis: otium et reges prius et beatas perdidit urbes.

Uniquely wild to me that Catullus' translation-plus of Sappho's poem is a *half a millennium* younger.

To our eyes, both are ancient, but each stands hundreds of years apart!

#AncientBluesky

I like that interpretation. Before the costume party, he’s Severian the Torturer. After the party—and after he refuses to execute the woman there (whose name I don’t remember 😭)—he’s Severian, a torturer

What does this mean for the book as a whole, thematically? I think some of it is meant to be a reflection of the time travel that becomes more important in the later books. When time isn’t linear, neither is cause & effect, sign & signifier. But beyond that? No idea

Oh, and this, from page 12 of book 1 (one of the first things we read!): “We believe that we invent symbols. The truth is that they invent us; we are their creatures, shaped by their hard, defining edges.”

“The great question, then, … is that of determining what these symbols mean in and of themselves. We are like children who look at print and see a serpent in the last letter but one, and a sword in the last.”

Objects reflected in mirrors come into existence BECAUSE of the reflection. And then there’s this quote from book 3:

Over and over Severian emphasizes confusion of sign & signifier & signified—like reverse cause and effect? He acts in a play & the play comes true. He dresses up as himself for a costume party.

So I finally finished The Book of the New Sun, and I’m fascinated by whatever it is Wolfe is saying about semiotics and signs and symbols. Unfortunately I don’t know enough about semiotics to have any idea what he means

Oo I never tried the vanicream moisturizer but it looks awesome! I wish I had lip advice but tbh I just went through a billion burt’s bees because for some reason they worked better than anything fancy

Accutane is rouggghhh. Highly recommend heavy duty Eucerin cream (also lmk if you ever wanna commiserate with somebody!! It was tough for me but absolutely worth it)

Regular reminder to go get a public library card. As book bans become more and more common, supporting libraries is going to be essential.

For most places I've lived, all you need to get a library card is a photo ID and a piece of mail that shows you live in the city. It's free!

Reader question received today via my website: "What is your stance on reality and truth in relation to annihilation?" Answer: Fuck if I know at this point.

She-Hulk is underrated and I will die on this hill. The law bits might not be super accurate, but it’s funny and heartfelt and earnest, and I would watch a billion episodes

This is what the government did with 120K+ Japanese Americans in 1942.

I know. I was there in those camps.

SPEAKING OF GARDENS

yall better have library cards. Some (most!!) public library systems have seed libraries and libraries of things where you can borrow things you may not need to own.

Also libraries are revolutionary and librarians have always been on the front lines

That’s an excellent one! I appreciate the historical accuracy too

Without downloading any new pics, where are you mentally?

In honor of Booktok, what is a book you found because of Booktok that ended up being a 5⭐️ read?

Mine is Klara & the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

#booksky 🪐📚💙

Weird that we have to say this, but the government doesn’t get to decide what gender a person is.

It's fun to be living in a moment when it seems like we are about to enter an era of terrifying authoritarianism OR an era of authoritarian overreach that immediately crumbles and gives way to something better, and these two things might happen simultaneously, and we won't know for sure for A BIT.

seasons greasons everyone