#brightmaiden

There's a great podcast, Hidden Brain, that does an episode on this. One woman they interview has incredible difficulty remembering and recognizing faces...and her husband is what they call a "super recognizer," who never forgets a face and strikes up conversations with people like his waiter from a meal 20 years ago. It's really cool to know there's such a vast difference in experience...and that we almost all overestimate how good we are at recognizing people. :P

A marsh harrier patronus can represent an owner who is extremely smart and witty. Much like Ravenclaw who represent intelligence and wit. As well as that a marsh harrier patronus can represent quick thinkers who often think of new ideas, just like Ravenclaw who are creative and tend to think quickly and logically. Also, a marsh harrier patronus can represent an owner who is extremely caring, and wants everyone to be happy, while still being themselves. Well, I hope this helped you understand your patronus and it’s similarities to your house!

-Abigail 

9. Are you for or against multiple narrators in the same book?

Provided that the author is doing it with intent, it can work really well. I wouldn't want it in say, a mystery story, because having too many detectives risks giving away the game. But for romance novels, it can be really charming to see them fall in love.

I'd say my favorite multi-narrator book I've read recently is Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik. It not only moves the story forward as the characters split up for their subplots, but each character has such a unique voice and you can learn so much about them just by the sentence construction in their chapters.

17. Do you know any poetry by heart?

As a queer girl who grew up in (and still lives in) Massachusetts, so I've been enamored with Emily Dickinson for most of my life, and I can recite a few of her more famous poems from memory: "Nobody", "Hope is the Thing With Feathers", "She Sweeps with Many-Colored Brooms", etc.

25. Do you prefer concepts in books to be concrete or abstract?

Hard to say. It honestly depends on genre and authorial intent, but more importantly, it depends on my mindset. Often, I like dream-logic and books that make me work for the themes, but when I'm tired, I'll take a spell-it-out story. When I had COVID earlier this year, I tried to read Dead Voices by Gerald Vizenor, and I couldn't keep a single plot, character, or theme straight in my mind. But other times, I've been annoyed with the relentless literalism of something like The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid.

29. Have you read a book in another language?

Please forgive my intrusion, but I just wanted to say that this is what I use my wifi network for: I name them with something that feels like a place or has the significance of a place in my mind. My home has an address, but it also has a personality, acknowledged by its nebulous Cloud of Wifi. :D 

4. Libraries, botanical gardens, or art galleries?

Libraries on principle, although I like all three. But if I had to pick one to visit now, I would choose botanical gardens, since I work at a library (with an art gallery in the basement) and see it five days a week but the landscape around here is very brown and dull and it would do some good to drink in a beautiful sight for a while.

5. Do you have a favourite film soundtrack?

I couldn’t choose one! Beauty and the Beast. Little Women (1994). You’ve Got Mail. Gosford Park. The Music Man. Henry V. Howl’s Moving Castle. Sleepless in Seattle. A Little Princess. Master and Commander. My Fair Lady. Etc. etc.

16. How do you organize your music playlists?

I don’t.

I haven’t made a playlist in forever and wouldn’t know where to begin. The Spotify playlist gets things put on it at random. But if I were going to make a playlist, say for a character, I might organize it by progression of their arc. Some method that tells a story and flows well.

20. If you were to cultivate a fruit orchard, what would you grow?

Crow - what's an unpopular opinion you have on autumn?

We never celebrated Halloween when I was a kid, and I just. don’t. care. I don’t know what all the fuss is about. October is for my birthday, and for once I’d like a calendar picture for that month that isn’t hideous.

Hearth - ideal home?

Something Victorian in a distinctive but tasteful color, or red brick. There’s a tower and bay windows and a big porch. Inside there’s intricate woodwork, at least one stained-glass window, and lots of those little details that give a house character. I want secret doors that lead to out-of-the-way little rooms, and a large library, and lots of bedrooms, and an attic, and a spiral staircase. Outdoors, there are lots of trees, one of which has a swing, and a beautiful, well-kept garden (with a walled-in area) with at least one water feature. I want to live in the sort of house that would fascinate the imagination of a child in the backseat of a car driving by. I’ve seen many such houses, and they’ve always made my world more interesting.

Leaves - favorite candle scent?

If there is an apple-scented candle on a display in my vicinity, there is a strong chance my nose will be in it shortly.

Tasty - do you have a comfort food?

I found a recipe recently for the Best grilled cheese sandwich I’ve ever had in a restaurant but can’t get anymore where I live. It involves garlic butter and five kinds of cheese and it is amazing.

Ultimate - describe your best holiday experience.

I don’t know if I can pinpoint any specific one that was the best, but when the six of us are all together and we have our usual holiday foods and our traditional movies and each other’s company and we’re happy--that’s the best holiday experience.

Zeal - what is something you go all out for?

Have you read Connie Willis's Bellwether? It is one of my favorite comfort reads!

I have not, but it’s been on my list for a while and I should get to it!

@valiantarcher replied to your post: Book recommendation time! Tell me about a book...

I can't decide if it's something you might like or not (I'm struggling to nail down what makes it land on this side of "like" for me), so no pressure at all, but have you read "She, the Adventuress" by Dorothy Crayder? It was written in the 70s, I think, and is about young teen girl who is reluctantly traveling from Iowa to Italy by herself (with all sorts of entailing shenanigans and troubles).

I have not read this one, but it’s been added to the list :)

@brightmaiden replied to your post: Book recommendation time! Tell me about a book...

The Hounds of the Morrigan by Pat O'Shea: it reads like one of those classic fantasy adventure books/series that I discovered as a child and have remembered fondly ever after. Also, I think it'd be tremendous fun to read aloud.

An interlibrary loaned copy of this book is in my bag at this very moment and I hope to start it soon!

@sunshineandsuperheroes  replied to your post: Book recommendation time! Tell me about a book...

Once On A Time, by A. A. Milne? Gets outshined by his Winnie-the-Pooh books, obviously, but a very solid and funny grown-up fairy tale in its own right.

It's very hard to say something true or honest on this website without feeling very, very vulnerable. I don't know if it helps in this specific case, but I'm glad you wrote that post. I've always thought about found (and badass) families, but now recovered families spin around in my mind, too, whilst I consider storytelling and real life and the patterns therein. I'm enriched by that post.

Thanks :)