Books and Things

A collection of book reviews

[okiedokiedrjones]

This year, I am making a blog dedicated specifically to books I am reading (or rereading in some cases). There will be reviews, commentary, memes, and other things relating to each of them.

Some organizational tags include:

making it up as I go {new read}

it's the mileage {rereads}

philosophy class {commentary}

fortune and glory {reblog}

[neuronary]

"the only difference between a cult and a religion is the scale"

NO. NO IT ISN'T. THIS IS WHAT THE CULTS WANT YOU TO THINK IT IS NOT TRUE. THERE ARE RELIGIONS THAT ARE NOT CULTS AND CULTS THAT ARE NOT RELIGIOUS AND YOU MUST LEARN THE DIFFERENCE

[if-i-am-not-for-me]

When people use the word "cult" in casual settings, 99% of the time they are talking about destructive cults.

These are inherently abusive groups, and often parallel the dynamics of abusive romantic relationships.

The B.I.T.E. model is a shorthand method for identifying if a group meets the general sociological criteria for a destructive cult.

Basically, does the organization or group exert Behavioral, Informational, Thought, and Emotional control over members. And this control in enforced through punishment ranging from social consequences to corporal punishment to ostracization from the group.

Does the group dictate what you can eat and when you can eat it? What you can wear? When you are permitted to sleep? How you use language? Where you can go? Who you can communicate with?

That is Behavioral control.

Does the group control what media you can consume? Are you told by the group not to research certain topics? Does the group tell you that only thwir approved information sources are truthful?

That is Informational control.

Does the group tell you that thinking about certain topics will have negative spiritual consequences? Do they tell you how the leader thinks and instructs you to adopt those same thoughts? Does the group use incessant indoctrination, such as hours-long sermons or speeches, to prevent you from forming independent thoughts? Are you punished for expressing any unapproved opinions or ideas?

That is Thought control and Emotional control.

If a group meets all of these criteria, the likelihood is that it is a destructive cult, rather than a legitimate spiritual or personal development organization.

[what-even-is-thiss]

I’m kinda surprised that nalbinding isn’t as popular as crochet and knitting tbh because it has an even lower barrier of entry tools wise and unlike crochet and knitting it makes fabric that you can cut.

I guess it’s because it’s slower or something.

[what-even-is-thiss]

Nalbinding aka needle binding is when you use yarn and a big sewing needle to make fabric btw

It also has a lot of different kinds of stitches you can do that make different densities of fabric.

Some people even make rugs.

[thewolfwaitsbelow]

I feel like part of it might be casual people are generally aware of the existence of crochet and knitting, even if they don’t know very much about either, but have never heard of nalbinding

[what-even-is-thiss]

Yeah I hadn’t heard of it until recently and I ordered a big bone needle for myself to try it out and that should be arriving soon.

I was surprised that I’d never heard of it though. It’s older than knitting and crocheting and even though it’s been done all over the world it’s super relevant to Nordic culture and my grandmother and I are both into keeping in touch with our roots a bit so I’m surprised I’ve never heard of it.

It seems like the sort of thing that would be popular even if not as popular as crocheting and knitting, considering the low barrier of entry.

[what-even-is-thiss]

You also don’t need a bunch of different sized needles for nalbinding or whatever. The size of the stitch is controlled either completely freehand or by pulling it against one of your fingers. Most people who have a lot of nalbinding needles seem to either have tried out wood, bone, and metal ones to see which kind they liked or they enjoy carving wood or bone and like making their own needles as an extra hobby.

It’s also a lot easier to freehand and adjust as you go than crochet or knitting and you mostly go by inches instead of rows and number of stitches so a large number of accessories like stitch markers or whatever isn’t really necessary.

Maybe the lack of accessories also makes it unpopular idk. People do like collecting things in their nests.

[the-color-of-sound-is-space]

I've been wanting to do so, I cannot find anyone who can teach me, and any books I can find on it are Ass in the Visual Learning department. Otherwise I'd be making the hell outta some nalbinded fabric

[what-even-is-thiss]

I found this channel by a nice man who makes up close tutorials

Happy Needlebinding

I create videos on YouTube to learn people how to needlebind using two fingers and your thumb. Needlebinding helps people to relax, relieve

[what-even-is-thiss]

I thought this would be kind of a niche post to make but I was quickly reminded that I’m on tumblr, the website full of gay people with one billion hobbies.

[what-even-is-thiss]

So my bone needle actually came this evening (yay!) and I’ve started trying this for real. It clicks in my brain way easier than crochet does. I’ve gotta work up the muscle memory but I think I can do this.

The downside as a beginner is that undoing mistakes is more time consuming than with knitting or crochet. You’ve gotta like sew your mistakes out backwards. Disadvantages of making a really sturdy fabric I guess.

I like the feel of this bone needle though and don’t think I’ll be trying the wooden or metal ones.

Also I think I’m gonna have to get good at doing Russian joining if I decide to get good at nalbinding because I don’t have wool yarn and the ends won’t felt together if it’s not at least 50% wool. A small price to pay for using big bone needle though.

Anyways curse of new fiber craft be upon ye.

[prismatic-bell]

Russian join tutorial I did, if you need it.

[okiedokiedrjones]

Books of the Year:

Top 5

Delicious Monsters – Liselle Sambury

The Reformatory – Tananarive Due

Forgottenness – Tanja Maljartschuk

Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng – Kylie Lee Baker

Middlegame – Seanan McGuire

Bottom 5

Orbital – Samantha Harvey

Good Girl, Bad Blood – Holly Jackson

Maeve Fly – CJ Leede

All Good People Here – Ashley Flowers

As Good As Dead - Holly Jackson

[okiedokiedrjones]

Books of 2025

Hyperion – Dan Simmons: 9/10

The Only Good Indians – Stephen Graham Jones: 9/10

Fall of Hyperion – Dan Simmons: 9/10

Frankenstein – Mary Shelly: 8/10

A House With Good Bones – T. Kingfisher: 8/10

Camp Damascus – Chuck Tingle: 7/10

White Cat – Holly Black: 7/10

Cemetery Boys – Aiden Thomas: 7/10

Man Made Monsters – Andrea L. Rogers: 9/10

The Last House on Needless Street – Catriona Ward: 7/10

Delicious Monsters – Liselle Sambury, Angel Pean: 10/10

Dark Places – Gillian Flynn: 7/10

Dustborn – Erin Bowman: 8/10

A People’s Future of the United States - Anthology: 8/10

My Sister, the Serial Killer – Oyinkan Braithwaite: 7/10

Bury Your Gays – Chuck Tingle: 6/10

Forgottenness – Tanja Maljartschuk: 10/10

NOS4A2 – Joe Hill: 7/10

Orbital – Samantha Harvey: 2/10

Out There Screaming – Anthology: 9/10

The Luminous Dead – Caitlin Starling: 8/10

Lovecraft Country – Matt Ruff: 7/10

The Forest Demands Its Due – Kosoko Jackson: 6/10

The Kamogawa Food Diaries – Hisashi Kashiwai: 8/10

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder – Holly Jackson: 5/10

Good Girl, Bad Blood – Holly Jackson: 2/10

As Good As Dead – Holly Jackson: 4/10

Buffalo Hunter Hunter - Stephen Graham Jones: 9/10

Slewfoot - Brom: 8/10

Maeve Fly – CJ Leede: 3/10

What Moves the Dead – T. Kingfisher: 8/10

The Strain – Guillermo Del Toro, Chuck Hogan: 9/10

The Blacktongue Thief – Christopher Buehlman: 9/10

The Fall – Guillermo Del Toro, Chuck Hogan: 9/10

Gideon the Ninth – Tamysin Muir: 7/10

A Sorceress Come to Call – T. Kingfisher: 6/10

A Wizard’s Defensive Guide to Baking – T. Kingfisher: 7/10

Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea – Rebecca Thorne: 7/10

The Final Strife – Saara El-Arifi: 9/10

When the Bones Sing – Ginny Myers Sain: 7/10

Mexican Gothic – Silvia Moreno-Garcia: 9/10

Middlegame – Seanan McGuire: 9/10

Not Good for Maidens – Tori Bovalino: 8/10

John Dies at the End – Jason Pargin: 7/10

Harrow the Ninth – Tamsyn Muir: 7/10

Down Among the Sticks and Bones – Seanan McGuire: 8/10

The Eyes are the Best Part – Monika Kim: 8/10

Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng – Kylie Lee Baker: 10/10

Storm Front – Jim Butcher: 8/10

The Cabin at the End of the World – Paul Tremblay: 5/10

Such Sharp Teeth – Rachel Harrison: 7/10

She is a Haunting – Trang Thanh Tran: 9/10

There’s Someone Inside Your House – Stephanie Perkins: 6/10

Illuminations – T. Kingfisher: 7/10

Home is Where the Bodies Are - Jeneva Rose: 8/10

All Good People Here – Ashley Flowers: 4/10

Fool Moon – Jim Butcher: 8/10

Gone Girl – Gillian Flynn: 7/10

The Death of Jane Lawrence – Caitlin Starling: 7/10

The Changeling – Victor LaValle: 8/10

Ink – Jonathan Maberry: 8/10

The Reformatory – Tananarive Due: 10/10

Kill Creatures – Rory Power: 7/10

Tell Me What You Did – Carter Wilson: 5/10

The September House – Carissa Orlando: 8/10

[okiedokiedrjones]

The September House – Carissa Orlando

What fun. I *loved* this. (Go figure, it’s about a haunted house.) I really liked Margaret just rolling with the Tricksters. So funny. This book is incredibly funny. Until it isn’t. (It’s got the Behind the Mask factor going on and that’s one of my favorite movies of all time.) Margaret and Katherine’s relationship is hard because of the trauma of abuse. But, I feel it’s really well handled. The scenes where Katherine is dragging Margaret to all of the bars and motels and getting all of these weird messages is spectacular. Super fun. I recommend it.

[okiedokiedrjones]

Tell Me What You Did – Carter Wilson

Man. I wanted to like this. I really, really did. I have some genuine likes about this, but they don’t outweigh the dislikes. I don’t really like Carter’s pacing. I feel that it’s really wonky in places. Poe’s dad is my favorite character and frankly he reminds me of my dad, good and bad. The ending seems… I don’t know. Meh? I like the fact that you get to see what happens when the Final Girl actually murders the bad guy. That was really refreshing. And, man, I love Alice. Her story is really sad and reminds me of the Slenderman killings (which I think was the inspiration? Maybe?) It isn’t terrible but I wanted so much more than it gave me. I need to stop reading thrillers about podcasters, maybe.

[okiedokiedrjones]

Kill Creatures – Rory Power

I needed something lighter after finishing The Reformatory. This was definitely it. It’s pretty well paced. You get the knowledge that Nan killed the girls like… Chapter two or three? After that? It’s just a paranoid ride into madness. I loved it. I didn’t expect to. Luce is definitely a fun character once you get to the end. What an absolute trip.

[okiedokiedrjones]

The Reformatory – Tananarive Due

Oof. This one. I don’t even know where to start.

I put this audiobook on hold back in September. A few weeks ago, a friend of mine recommended and told me it was right up my alley (I told them “I thought so too.” after I told them how long I had been waiting on it.) Two days later? It was finally mine. Now, I tend to listen to my audiobooks at 2x speed. This audiobook was 21 hours (So, roughly 11 hours at 2x speed.)

I thought I would have to take this in steps because it is very heavy. The trauma of reform schools in the South are a bit of a generational trauma for my family. My great-grandmother’s siblings were sent off to the Boarding Schools in order to “kill the Indian”. It is heartbreaking to think about all of those kids who never made it home. And I have such a hard time reading books where children are fucking tortured. I finished this in a day. I started listening to it while cleaning, then in the car, then at work, then getting coffee in the morning. I need you to understand. I did not stop listening to this book for longer than an hour collectively once I started.

How do I even start on the actual review. The haints aren’t the scary part. The true horror is humans and how they treat others. The fact that we get the two siblings’ stories side by side basically is really nice. The horror of Jim Crow America never ceases to disgust me. I hated Haddock with such visceral fury. And it is terrifyingly accurate to how people acted. This is not one I would recommend lightly. But, I do recommended completely. Due has such a way with words and pacing that blows me away. (The Rider from Out There Screaming was also the same.) It is a book I will think about for years to come.

[okiedokiedrjones]

Ink – Jonathan Maberry

Yoooooooooo. I want more stories about Monk. I *need* more stories of Monk. I really liked all of these characters. The Lord of Flies was fucking creepy as hell. The concept of losing the memories tied to a tattoo really fascinated me. All of my tattoos have meaning and I know I would be heartbroken if I lost all of the things tied to them. But, again, I want just episodic stories of Monk. He was fantastic. He had great depth. The story about the faces (and the magic in them) is awesome. Another really good fantasy I’ve read this year.

[okiedokiedrjones]

The Changeling – Victor LaValle

Oh what fun. This was a delightful read. It’s incredibly sad and I usually don’t like dead kids as plot hooks, but I am familiar enough with the concept of Changelings that I figured it was at least worth a shot. I am really happy with it. It was a great blend of urban fantasy. The characters were also really neat. I liked how it starts with the story of how Apollo’s parents met and follows part of his childhood. The way that the relationship between Emma and Brian is described is definitely a good description of postpartum. Patrice is the best fucking ride or die bestie. I love his and Apollo’s relationship so much. I like North Brother Island and its description. This book is a great modern-fantasy. Highly recommend!

[okiedokiedrjones]

The Death of Jane Lawrence – Caitlin Starling

I am a simple man. I like haunted houses. I don’t know what to tell you. This was really interesting though. I think I like Starling as a writer because while it’s not blown-away amazing, it is compelling and well-written enough that I want to finish it. I had some dislike of Jane in the beginning, but after Augustine disappears, she suddenly becomes *way* more interesting. Very good. Very fun.

[okiedokiedrjones]

Gone Girl – Gillian Flynn

Yeah. Okay. This one is a guilty pleasure. It’s another reread. I wanted something I didn’t have to think too much about. I like Gillian Flynn’s characters. Because I think they are all just scummy, shitty people who deserve all the awful things that happens to them. I always hated how the movie adaptations made it seem like Amy was in the right and she was set free. She’s worse than Nick. She’s a fucking horrible person. And I kind of just like the fact they are bad people who deserve each other.

[okiedokiedrjones]

Fool Moon – Jim Butcher

More Dresden propaganda! James Marsters is such a great choice for these audiobooks. It’s much like my review of the first one. It’s a fun series that’s decently written. It’s definitely worth a read if you want something that’s just fun.

[okiedokiedrjones]

All Good People Here – Ashley Flowers

This one broke my heart. Poor Margot. But, holy fuck. The way this all wraps up. They are all connected and she’s been right the whole time. It wasn’t particularly surprising. It reads like baby’s first thriller. I don’t want to drag it. It wasn’t bad. It was definitely better than some of the others I have read this year. But, still. It felt… I don’t know. I wanted it to be better.

[okiedokiedrjones]

Home is Where the Bodies Are – Jeneva Rose

I was enthralled with this one. I could not put it down. It is what I want out of a Gillian Flynn book, if that makes sense. It’s dark and the characters are so dysfunctional. The relationship between the siblings is realistic, even as toxic as it is. I wasn’t expecting where this one took me. The names on the gravestones were just… Holy fuck. I really, really liked this. It goes on my recommendation list.

[okiedokiedrjones]

Illuminations – T. Kingfisher

Here we go again with cozy Kingfisher stuff. I was excited for this one in audiobook. It follows her pretty standard fantasy formula, so nothing groundbreaking. The magic system as always is fun. I really liked Payne. But, honestly, talking animal companions for young fantasy heroins typically are my favorite part of these books. It was fun. I enjoyed it. Once again, this is why I like Kingfisher.