February 2022 archive

Please Miss: A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Penis by Grace E. Lavery

Well, that was certainly… something. In all frankness, it felt very much like reading the screed of a 1980s British academic, who is quite erudite but also monomaniacal about a particular subject, in this case popular culture of primarily English extraction. Whether we’re reinterpreting Dickens through the (honestly valid) lens of pornography or skewering various …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/02/28/please-miss-a-heartbreaking-work-of-staggering-penis-by-grace-e-lavery/

The Triumph of Achilles by Louise Glück

The Triumph of Achilles by Louise Glück

Only having read The Odyssey could be a bit of a hindrance in addressing a collection titled The Triumph of Achilles, especially when my notes show that that the title poem is one that struck me as I was reading through. Even without commanding the details of The Illiad, though, I liked the considerations Glück …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/02/25/the-triumph-of-achilles-by-louise-gluck/

The Casagrandes #2: Anything for Familia by The Loud House Creative Team

As much as I’ve enjoyed the chaotic fun of the Loud House comics, based on the hit show airing on Nickelodeon, I must say that I found this spin-off Casagrande volume much easier to consume, probably because the main cast wasn’t quite as ginormous as in the LH books! Granted, several of these stories have …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/02/24/the-casagrandes-2-anything-for-familia-by-the-loud-house-creative-team/

Selected Poems 1966–1987 by Seamus Heaney

Seamus Heaney Selected Poems

The receipt tucked away in the pages of this collection tells me that I bought it in early 1997, in Washington, DC. At that time, I would only have read Heaney’s Nobel lecture. His Beowulf, the first poetic work of his that I read, was still two years from publication. There’s another receipt in the …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/02/23/selected-poems-1966-1987-by-seamus-heaney/

The Nightmare Brigade #1: The Case Of The Girl From Deja Vu by Frank Thilliez, Yomgui Dumont & Drac

Back when I had far more free time than I do now, I kept a dream diary and tried to practice lucid dreaming, in order to better understand my day-to-day existence and how my subconscious dealt with my issues (and, I’ll admit, to pinpoint when I had those weird prophetic dreams that often come across …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/02/22/the-nightmare-brigade-1-the-case-of-the-girl-from-deja-vu-by-frank-thilliez-yomgui-dumont-drac/

Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch

Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch

Jazzmen dropping dead in circumstances that are unusual even by their standards. Incontrovertible, if circumstantial, evidence of a real-life vagina dentata. These two sets of mysteries set the stage for the events of Moon Over Soho, events that will show readers more about Constable Peter Grant, much more about his mentor in magical policing Detective …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/02/20/moon-over-soho-by-ben-aaronovitch-2/

The Passover Guest by Susan Kusel & Sean Rubin

It’s 1933 and America is in the grip of the fourth year of the Great Depression. Little Muriel is enjoying the springtime cherry blossoms in the Tidal Basin, a free activity that keeps her mind off of how little food her family has even on ordinary days, much less as Passover draws near. Spying an …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/02/11/the-passover-guest-by-susan-kusel-sean-rubin/

Carta SRD; Apex Predator, and Into The Glacier by Peach Garden Games

After reading Cleo Coyle’s absorbing Honey Roasted for work the other day, I was seized with the desire to write a game revolving around different kinds of single flower honey. I knew I wanted it to be connected to my Six Elements Universe, but I very specifically wanted it also to be an exploration game …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/02/10/carta-srd-apex-predator-and-into-the-glacier-by-peach-garden-games/

Watercress by Andrea Wang & Jason Chin

I feel like a bad Asian for not leading with this book for February, so Happy Year Of The Tiger, all! Hope your Lunar New Year celebrations have been aces, marking the start of a prosperous year! Watercress is an autobiographical chapter from author Andrea Wang’s life, detailing the time when her Chinese immigrant parents …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/02/09/watercress-by-andrea-wang-jason-chin/

No Filter And Other Lies by Crystal Maldonado

Happy Book Birthday to a truly thoughtful tale of coming of age in a social-media-obsessed world! Kat Sanchez hates the fact that everyone she knows seems to have more Instagram followers than she does. As a budding photographer, and founder with her three best friends of her high school’s Photography Club, she wants the whole …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/02/08/no-filter-and-other-lies-by-crystal-maldonado/