hiddleasaurus | Reading

In Iron Stars by VT Hoang was awesome! It's the sequel to On Silver Shores, but it's readable as a standalone. Inquisitor Saoirse must escort two scientists through the blight: her ex, Iza, and her ex's husband, Cas.

The first book remains my favourite, as this one had too much sex for my taste. Apart from that, I loved the characters and all their interactions, especially the maths flirting. ^^

Saoirse is a Black female half-siren with a supernatural genetic defect. Iza is an Asian trans female half-vampire half-demon. Cas is a Latino lycan. There's major f/f/m and minor m/m (the pairing from Book 1).

badfalcon

October slipped past in a blur, but November feels like a month for gentle structure — reading because it’s comforting, writing because it helps me breathe, and trying not to treat either as a chore.

📚 Reading Goals

Finish at least 3 books
Keep reading a little most days, even just a few pages
Maybe (finally!) finish The Ministry of Time
Prioritise fun and curiosity over guilt - reading doesn’t have to be productive to be worthwhile
Share a few more updates, even the messy or half-formed ones. That’s part of the story too.

✍️ Writing & Fandom Goals

Update Surface Tension
Update Wolf-Tethered - and try to figure out what story it’s actually trying to be!
Update You Wouldn’t Take My Word for It If You Knew Who Was Talking
Write some Sincaraz - whatever shape it wants to take
Write more Darren/Jannik kink (because it’s always fun)
Maybe write some more Team Sinner Polycule fic
Keep sharing, even if it’s just a snippet or a ramble - words in the wild count

🌿 Life Goals

Keep doing physio for shoulder, hip, and knee - consistency over perfection
Have at least one proper rest day with no guilt
Cook something comforting, ideally involving butter or cinnamon
Go outside on at least one clear, cold morning - just to breathe
Keep organising clothes storage a little at a time — it doesn’t need to be perfect, just better
Get back to daily gratitudes
Keep using Finch - it’s been helping, and that’s worth keeping up
Try one small thing that makes life feel softer

November doesn’t need to be wildly productive; it just needs to feel a little steadier, a little kinder. Here’s to slow progress, good food, and stories that won’t leave us alone. 💛

profiterole_reads

The QL j-drama Two Husbands One Wife was super cute! An m/f couple ask her ex-boyfriend to join them in a three-way marriage. The latter's rabbit, now in Heaven, watches over them and narrates the story.

This turned out to be a very down-to-earth show, with a vibe similar to Old Fashion Cupcake.

There are 11 episodes of 20 minutes, available on Netflix. Thanks for the rec to

maevedarcy!

glacier_kitty

The Winter Walk: A Century-Old Survival Story from the Arctic by Loretta Outwater Cox (Sept 29-Oct 1)

The Butcher Bird by S.D. Sykes (Oct 2-8). The second in the Somershill Mysteries..I gave the first one to Becky and she bought the rest of the series and gave then them to me when she was done (both of us like historical mysteries). I love when the characters mention their bed curtains haha

City of Masks by S.D. Sykes (Oct 8-14)

The Bone Fire by S.D. Sykes (Oct 15-21). A "locked castle" mystery! Definitely one of my favorites in the series

The Good Death by S.D. Sykes (Oct 22-27). Please write more!! I hate when a good book series ends lol

The White Voyage by John Christopher (Oct 27-30). One of the characters' last name was "Mouritzen," so similar to my last name!

There were lots of trick-or-treaters in my parents' neighborhood last night! A Chinook came and made it pretty warm out, and the kids definitely took advantage of that (I felt bad they were getting soaked in the rain though). One person saw me and was like "you work at Forget-Me-Not [Books]!" Nice :P

Mom told me I'd remember my debit card's old PIN as soon as I went to a credit card reader, and she was right..I like my new PIN better, but I'm glad I'm not losing my mind haha

( nov 1. Three things you're grateful for )

badfalcon

October was… a lot. Between uni starting (!!!), work chaos, and a migraine that just would not quit, reading was more of a background hum than a main feature. But hey - two books finished is progress, and I’ll take that as a win.

📖 What I Read
The Last Olympian – Rick Riordan ⭐️⭐️⭐️
A satisfying end to the Percy Jackson series! I enjoyed the scale of it, even if it didn’t hit quite as hard as some of the earlier books for me.
The Kiss Curse – Erin Sterling ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
Cozy witchy romance with autumnal vibes - perfect for spooky season reading, even if I read most of it under a blanket trying to ignore my migraine.

☕ What I Didn’t Read (But Still Counts)

I made progress on several ongoing reads, even if I didn’t actually finish them. And honestly, that’s kind of the mood for October - slow, steady, distracted by tutorials and caffeine.

I also managed to start three new books this month - because apparently my brain’s motto is “finish? never heard of her.” So despite finishing two, I somehow ended up with more books on my “currently reading” shelf than I started October with. Classic me.

Still, it’s progress. The list may have grown, but so did the stories I’m excited to return to.

🧠 Life Lately

Uni starting has been both exciting and overwhelming - lots of new routines, brain fog, and figuring out where reading fits into my days again. Work’s been full-on too, so I’m trying to be kind to myself about the pace of everything.

Also: I did read a lot of fic (and wrote a fair bit too), so the stories are still happening - just not always in book form!

🌟 November Reading Goals

Let’s try again, but gently.

Finish at least 3 books
Keep reading a little most days
Maybe finally finish The Ministry of Time
Prioritise fun and curiosity over guilt
Share a few more updates - even the messy ones

✨ Because even if it’s slow, it still counts.
And hey - if all else fails, there’s always fanfic and hot chocolate. ☕💛

glacier_kitty

1. When did someone make you an offer you couldn’t refuse? We have an interim Bookstore Manager at work, who has volunteered the past two or three years, and she's very good with processes and organizing, so she'd helped out a LOT this week (someone said she was rude and bossy at another job, but she's been great at the bookstore, thanking us for all our hard work). One thing I was like "YES" to was having my own cart (I shelve the fiction and DVDs/CDs) that no one else shelves from. Couldn't say no to that, I hate when other people shelve and mess the sections up lol
2. How do you feel about Italian food? SO good haha
3. When did you last attend a wedding? 2020, my cousin Jordan's
4. What do you know about organized crime in your city? Nothing, but I see what I assume are gang signs graffitied in various places
5. If you’ve been to Las Vegas, how did you like it? If you haven’t, how do you imagine you’d like it? I feel like it would be loud and flashy and lively lol

Here are Curti's pawprints in the snow!

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He was not a fan :P (he's way too smart, he somehow knew today was the day we go to my parents' house, and stayed under the bed instead of greeting me when I came home. I had to lure him out with a laser pointer, which he LOVES..I can hide it from him and press the button on it, and he'll immediately be like "I know that sound!! Where is it??" haha)

Because I love lists, here are the songs I've picked up on Shazam so far! (I'm loving this app!)
"Immigrant Song"-Led Zeppelin (I was testing out the app and just picked a song that came to mind lol)
"Holiday"-Green Day
"When You Were Young"-The Killers
"Nutshell"-Alice in Chains
"Helena"-My Chemical Romance
"But Not Tonight"-Depeche Mode
"Lovesong"-The Cure
"The Killing Moon"-Echo & the Bunnymen
"Party Train"-The Gap Band
"Only You"-Yaz
"Mountains"-Prince & the Revolution
"It's Goin' Down," from The Descendants 2
"(Don't Fear) the Reaper"-Blue Oyster Cult (I thought the guitar solo in the middle was a different song for some reason lol)
"Zeitgeist"-Black Sabbath
"Caruso"-Josh Groban
"Sway"-Dean Martin
La traviata, Act I: "Libiamo ne' lieti calici"-Verdi (I was at an Italian restaurant for these last three lol)
"California Sun"-The Rivieras
"Get a Job"-The Silhouettes. "Yip yip yip yip yip ma ma ma ma"?! Haha what?? O_o

( oct 25-31 )

profiterole_reads

Arabilious: Anthology of Arab Futurism edited by Francesco Verso was excellent.

This contains 9 sci-fi short stories from Bahrain (2), Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine (2) and Syria. Some of the recurring themes are climate change and technological evolution. One of the stories also includes fantasy elements.

There's a bi male protagonist, with some m/f, m/m/f and m/nb.

mark posting in

dw_maintenance

Good morning, afternoon, and evening!

We're doing some database and other light server maintenance this weekend (upgrading the version of MySQL we use in particular, but also probably doing some CDN work.)

I expect all of this to be pretty invisible except for some small "couple of minute" blips as we switch between machines, but there's a chance you will notice something untoward. I'll keep an eye on comments as per usual.

Ta for now!

glacier_kitty

1. Have you ever stayed in a hostel? If so, where? Did you like it? If you haven't stayed in a hostel, would you? No and probably not, I don't think I'd enjoy it..
2. What is your favorite airport that you've been to? Why? DFW (nostalgic), SeaTac (good stores and restaurants!), etc
3. What is the best museum you have visited on vacation? London's Natural History Museum, the Scott Polar Research Institute, the HMS Victory in England, etc
4. Have you ever made friends while traveling whom you keep in touch with on a regular basis? I've made friends, but we eventually fell out of touch :(
5. Have you ever had a conversation with a seatmate on a plane? Yes..one time I saw the person at work about a week after I got back home! Alaska is a small big state :P

The weirdest thing happened..a couple days ago I tried paying with my debit card, but couldn't remember the PIN, even though I've used it for years! Jo covered for me (thanks!), but I just thought it so weird I suddenly couldn't remember! I thought I'd remember it when I went to bed or something, but no..it was like someone had deleted it from my brain! SO weird! Today I went to the bank to change it to something I definitely would remember. I'm still very weirded out by the whole thing though O_o (maybe I used all my brainpower trying to think of that one song LOL :P)

I'm sooo tired of the gloomy rainy/snowy weather Fairbanks has had for the last few months..very unusual! It's making me grumpy lol..I really want to travel somewhere, but it may not be best right now with the government shutdown stuff. I'd like to go to Powell's in Portland someday, it sounds epic :P

( oct 23-24 )

profiterole_reads

The French graphic novel Eclepsis, written and illustrated by Aloïs, was awesome! Basile lives in Gouès, where only women are allowed to practise witchcraft. After transitioning, he leaves for Eclepsis, where he takes the exams to enter the Academy of Magic.

This will be a trilogy, and I'm very excited to read more. The characters are loveable, the two magic systems are interesting and the art is great.

In addition to the trans male protagonist, there's some f/f. For more HP-like LGBT stories, check out my rec list. For more LGBT Quick Reads, check out my other rec list.

Thanks for the rec to

malurette!

glacier_kitty

Last night I didn't feel super great..super anxious, migrainey, felt like I might be coming down with something, and I just could NOT get to sleep. You'd think I'd know by now to take Excedrin right away instead of laying awake for hours in pain haha. When I finally did take some, the migraine was gone in about 10-15 minutes..that stuff is amazing! I still didn't sleep super great, but at least the migraine was gone. :P This morning, when I went out to wait for the bus, little snowflakes were starting to fall. By the time I got to work, which only takes a couple minutes, the flakes were bigger and starting to stick. Soon the flakes were HUGE, which looked cool! I really don't appreciate being a human barometer LOL, the first big snowstorm is always the worst. At least I felt a lot better, even though I didn't sleep well. Here's a picture I found on Facebook:

Instant winter!! I wish I had taken a picture, but I was busy working lol. The giant flakes were very cool!

Yesterday, out of nowhere, I had part of a song come into my head, something about the moon/moonlight..I knew that would be pretty much impossible to search online, since so many songs have moon/moonlight in the lyrics, and the only other thing I remembered was that it was old..I tried searching, but it was as hard looking as I thought it was going to be. It was driving me crazy haha, and I tried thinking about a tiny bit more of the song, but it kept escaping my grasp! It was only after I went to bed (yeah that didn't help my sleep either lol) that the tiny bit more of the song came into my head, and then I thought "huh..there's stuttering in that song, isn't there?" and that's when I FINALLY remembered what song it was, and jumped out of bed to see if I was correct (I was lol). The song is called "K-K-K-Katy" ("when the m-m-m-moon shines, over the cow shed, I'll be waiting at the k-k-k-kitchen door"), which was first released in 1918! I have no idea why it popped into my head though, I hadn't listened to it since probably last year! (I was probably looking for songs with stuttering in them lol.) I'm glad I was able to think of it though, those kind of things drive me crazy :P

( oct 18-22 )

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In Iron Stars by VT Hoang

🍂 November Goals 🍂

📚 Reading Goals

✍️ Writing & Fandom Goals

🌿 Life Goals

Two Husbands One Wife

Books read in October

📚 October Reading Wrap-Up

Friday five

Arabilious: Anthology of Arab Futurism

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Friday five

Eclepsis by Aloïs

Instant winter

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