Funnily Bookish @funnilybookish - Tumblr Blog

if hank green can, in his debut novel, write a relatable but deeply flawed female protagonist who is not just pretty or only smart or only a manic pixie dream girl or any of the other million one-dimemsional stereotypes and tropes that women in media fall into, what’s the excuse of all the other male writers

iaintnosidekick

I hope you all don’t mind if I take a moment to rant for a bit, but I just finished Hank Green’s book “An Absolutely Remarkable Thing” and I need to talk about it. Because it’s been so long since I’ve been able to read a physical book and I can’t get over how nostalgic it was for me. Because, like many of us long time nerds, I was a major bookworm from ages 8-14ish. But then something happened in high school and suddenly I’m 21 and have maybe read three books for fun since graduating. So the fact that “An Absolutely Remarkable Thing” was able to not only suck me in but then remind me of the joy and excitement that came with reading… well that was truly special. I even got that angry/excited feeling when the book ended but I realized the story hadn’t! I still don’t think I can accurately describe how incredible it was for me to have this piece of joy in the middle of maybe the busiest end of the semester of my life. So I wanted to say thank you to @edwardspoonhands for writing this book and putting it out in the world. It’s a very important story, and I appreciate all the work that was put into it.

Now wish me luck, because I need to find another book so I can work on one of my older, better habits.

funnilybookish

its so crazy bc im going through this literal exact time in my life and i feel all the same things abt this rollercoaster ride of a book. tHis is when tumblr is great; when someone else articulates your feelings almost perfectly

#gah

just getting back into reading, which means ive also come to realize just how much i love and miss booklr. ive just finished An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green and dare I say,,,,it was absolutely remarkable. i feel the need to #discuss, so here i am.

loved what green had to say about the world, loved the mystery of the carls, but i didnt, however, love the main protagonist April. but i did love that this was obviously greens intent in this perfectly poignant thesis about the pitfalls of fame and how it can turn you into a pretty unlikable protagonist. 4.5 stars, cant wait for the sequel!

#an absolutely remarkable thing #hank green #vlogbrothers #booklr #books

unfortunatetv

Here’s what Joe Tracz had to say about Ishmael’s Role In Season 3

rhaenyratheecruel

“You still don’t get it. There IS no right side of the schism.”

funnilybookish

suuuuuuuch a good moment

mybloodysword

A major point of interest to me is actually the way the show feels when taken at the completion of the books, especially if you were reading them as they were coming out and have aged into an actual adult in the interim. As a kid, and especially as an abused kid, there was something very helpful and very arming in having a story say “things might not even get better but you can survive. Over and over and over again, the world will be scary and confusing and you won’t have the answers but you’ll survive and you’ll find the smallest safe moments that make things worth it.” That was very, very useful knowledge to a child. That genuinely helped me survive.

But now, as an adult? There’s something very. I don’t know. When I was a kid, I assumed all those mysteries were beyond comprehension, or more convoluted than could be easily explained. Now that I’m an adult, I watch this and all these mysteries are explained and truths revealed and none of them were as complicated or strange as I might have expected. Things are simpler than me as a child imagined. That just… seems right. You grow up, and things you thought were complicated are actually more simple than they seemed, and somehow, that simplicity can be worse, because that’s how the world works. Sometimes, horrible things happen over squabbles that shouldn’t have blown up the way they did. Esme wanted to keep her sugar bowl because she’s petty and that thing belonged to her. It blew up because people are… people. I’m not sure I would have understood that then.

I think, when you’re a kid, a bleak or ambiguous ending seems sort of powerful, because you’re a kid, and you’re used to reading stories where everything is okay in the end, but kids sometimes need to know that that isn’t how the story goes. As an adult? I need to be reminded, often, that the world isn’t as bleak as I think it is, that sometimes there are happy endings, that sometimes things break down just because people are simple and petty and human. I need to be reminded that people find their way home, that broken pieces and come together to make something new and whole.

I don’t know. I think that the show simplified some of the things the kids faced and decisions and mistakes a bit, and I wish they hadn’t done that. But as a long time viewer, and someone who grew from childhood to adulthood in the interim, there is something about the show that feels like completion. We still don’t have all the answers. Probably won’t ever. I firmly believe that the show and the books are meant to be taken as companion stories where neither has the whole truth and both have some things wrong, but as far as themes go, the show feels to me like an excellent capping to the story, and just another pointer to the cyclical nature of most things. That being said, though, you can always muster a chapter 14 in a story that’s otherwise been unlucky, and that’s part of the cycle, too. Maybe one day we’ll get another telling of this story, made for another time and a different group of people and we’ll glimpse more of the truth in the muddy reality of the story being told. Still not all of it, of course, but some.

I’m just satisfied. This was the story I needed now, at this point in my life. The books were the story I needed then. I’m incredibly thankful for both of them. I’ll always have things to nitpick about both, but that’s just life. It’s all gonna be okay, whatever the case.

Ish was the VFD founder in the books as well, thats why they made him founder in the series.

i do remember this, and i was hoping this would be the thing they left out in the show. although, i do think it can be interpreted from the show as delusions of grandeur or manipulative lies from the way Ish was portrayed, since he didnt even really seem that old. sigh, it just doesn’t make logical sense to me

countolaf

funnilybookish

im almost positive the man with the hat sitting behind Beatrice is Daniel Handler, the author

#a series of unfortunate quotes #asoue season 3 #asoue

funnilybookish

People are complaining about the happy endings, but theyre really not all that happy. Yes, the Quagmires are together but they live in a floating mobile home far away from civilization and probably dont feel safe enough to ever land anytime soon. Fernald and Fiona are together, but presumably in a submarine with a bunch of orphan snow scouts? who are surely also being hunted down by the bearded man and hair woman? And the Baudelaires are all together and made it off the island, but its implied in the Beatrice Letters that Beatrice II is talking to Snicket in order to get his help in finding the other Baudelaires bc she got seperated from them and isnt even sure if they are alive. overall, the series has a lot of themes and messages, but i think the decision to wrap up some of the storylines in the way that they did is justified by the ongoing theme that terrible things do happen, but as long as youre not alone there is always hope. All of the characters find their family, but that doesnt mean that terrible things are done happening to them.

now, all that being said, idk why the fuck they made Ish the head of VFD lol

dwightyoumonkeyslutt

It’s not about the endings being happy. It’s about the endings bringing some sense of closure, finality, a relative sense of safety. If the show wanted to remind us of those moments they would have but instead they focused on every happy moment. Reuniting families and recognition. What made the series so powerful, unusual and important was that it was making a statement that closure, finality and safety do not come to those who deserve it. It was about introducing children to the reality of the world we live in, one with injustice and suffering and incompetency. One where you don’t get justice, one where you have to compromise your morals to protect the ones you love. One where noble people do wicked things and where the father of Kit’s baby is Olaf, where she still loves him despite everything he’s done. It saw the world, and the people in it, complexly. The show still goes miles beyond what anything else in this genre is doing, but doesn’t go far enough. And it’s sad because the show will overshadow the book (i hope it doesn’t) and people will receive a diluted version o the original message. I could write a lot more, and this isn’t as coherent as it could be, but I hope it makes the point I think may people are feeling

funnilybookish

I like your points, but I also always knew that there was no way the show was going to end with as much ambiguity as the books bc tv shows get lambasted when they end that way. They had to give the viewers some kind of finality, especially since they’ve always said that they aren’t making any more episodes. However, other than the sugar bowl secret, I dont think anything was added in the ending that wasnt hinted at or confirmed at some point within the books. I think the ambiguity is still present bc nothing was wrapped completely up. The closure and safety you mention still isnt brought to the characters in my mind because they are all in rather compromising positions when we see them last. If we had cut to a scene with the adult Baudelaires laughing and playing with Beatrice II in their happy home on a hill, that would have been too much. But we didn’t, we got them sailing away on a tiny boat in the ocean, and then Beatrice II years later without them. I think what we got was a nice balance of closure for the fans and ambiguity for the characters.

People are complaining about the happy endings, but theyre really not all that happy. Yes, the Quagmires are together but they live in a floating mobile home far away from civilization and probably dont feel safe enough to ever land anytime soon. Fernald and Fiona are together, but presumably in a submarine with a bunch of orphan snow scouts? who are surely also being hunted down by the bearded man and hair woman? And the Baudelaires are all together and made it off the island, but its implied in the Beatrice Letters that Beatrice II is talking to Snicket in order to get his help in finding the other Baudelaires bc she got seperated from them and isnt even sure if they are alive. overall, the series has a lot of themes and messages, but i think the decision to wrap up some of the storylines in the way that they did is justified by the ongoing theme that terrible things do happen, but as long as youre not alone there is always hope. All of the characters find their family, but that doesnt mean that terrible things are done happening to them.

now, all that being said, idk why the fuck they made Ish the head of VFD lol

#a series of unfortunate events #asoue #spoiler #asoue spoilers #asoue season 3

13chancess

push yourself to get up before the rest of the world - start with 7am, then 6am, then 5:30am. go to the nearest hill with a big coat and a scarf and watch the sun rise.

push yourself to fall asleep earlier - start with 11pm, then 10pm, then 9pm. wake up in the morning feeling re-energized and comfortable.

get into the habit of cooking yourself a beautiful breakfast. fry tomatoes and mushrooms in real butter and garlic, fry an egg, slice up a fresh avocado and squirt way too much lemon on it. sit and eat it and do nothing else.

stretch. start by reaching for the sky as hard as you can, then trying to touch your toes. roll your head. stretch your fingers. stretch everything.

buy a 1L water bottle. start with pushing yourself to drink the whole thing in a day, then try drinking it twice.

buy a beautiful diary and a beautiful black pen. write down everything you do, including dinner dates, appointments, assignments, coffees, what you need to do that day. no detail is too small.

strip your bed of your sheets and empty your underwear draw into the washing machine. put a massive scoop of scented fabric softener in there and wash. make your bed in full.

organise your room. fold all your clothes (and bag what you don’t want), clean your mirror, your laptop, vacuum the floor. light a beautiful candle.

have a luxurious shower with your favourite music playing. wash your hair, scrub your body, brush your teeth. lather your whole body in moisturiser, get familiar with the part between your toes, your inner thighs, the back of your neck.

push yourself to go for a walk. take your headphones, go to the beach and walk. smile at strangers walking the other way and be surprised how many smile back. bring your dog and observe the dog’s behaviour. realise you can learn from your dog.

message old friends with personal jokes. reminisce. suggest a catch up soon, even if you don’t follow through. push yourself to follow through.

think long and hard about what interests you. crime? sex? boarding school? long-forgotten romance etiquette? find a book about it and read it. there is a book about literally everything.

become the person you would ideally fall in love with. let cars merge into your lane when driving. pay double for parking tickets and leave a second one in the machine. stick your tongue out at babies. compliment people on their cute clothes. challenge yourself to not ridicule anyone for a whole day. then two. then a week. walk with a straight posture. look people in the eye. ask people about their story. talk to acquaintances so they become friends.

lie in the sunshine. daydream about the life you would lead if failure wasn’t a thing. open your eyes. take small steps to make it happen for you.