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The author has often observed that in the genesis of great events, men generally possess no inkling of what their actions portend. This problem is not, as one might suppose, a result of men's blindness to the consequences of their actions. Rather it is a result of the mad way the dreadful turns on the trivial when the ends of one man cross the ends of another.
The Darkness That Comes Before, R. Scott Bakker
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You hoard your pain because the more you suffer, the more the world becomes an outrage. You weep because weeping has become evidence, 'See what you've done to me!' you cry. And you hold court night after night, condemning the circumstances that have condemned you by reliving your anguish. You torment yourself, Leweth, in order to hold the world accountable for your torment.
The Darkness That Comes Before, R. Scott Bakker
A Weekly Reading Journal 6.16.26
Whoops skipped a week. Again. Why am I like this??? Lots of good books to talk about though.
Currently Reading:
Fiction:
The Gate of the Feral Gods by Matt Dinniman [K]
Seven Days In June by Tia Williams
The War of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
Poetry:
Wound from the Mouth of a Wound by torrin a. greathouse
The Penguin Book of Homosexual Verse edited by Stephen Coote
The Collected Poems of J.R.R. Tolkien
Nonfiction:
Servus: How Slavery Made the Roman World by Emma Southon
The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson
Graphic Novels:
The Times I Knew I Was Gay by Eleanor Crewes
Just Finished:
TheΒ Marble Queen by Anna Kopp β β β Β
The Knight and the Butcherbird by Alix E. Harrow β β β β β Β [K]
All My Friends Are Still Dead byΒ Avery Monsen β β
Carlβs Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinniman β β β β [K]
The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 4 by Beth Bower β β β β β
Bloody Summer byΒ Carmen Maria Machado β β β β [K]
Even Though I Knew the End byΒ C.L. Polk β β β β
Daemons of the Shadow Realm Vol. 6 by Hiromu Arakawa β β β β
Daemons of the Shadow Realm Vol. 7 by Hiromu Arakawa β β β β
The Dungeon Anarchistβs Cookbook by Matt Dinniman β β β β [K]
The Treason of Isengard by J.R.R. Tolkien β β β β Β
DNFs:
Lone Women by Victor LaValle (I just did not vibe with it. It's always weird to be reading what you can tell is good writing but just not care about the story. The set up was really cool but it never grabbed me. )
General Reading Thoughts:
Dungeon Crawler Carl has consumed me. All my reading plans for the month are in chaos. Also, I am still buying books. What happened to the book buying ban? I am having a blast though so no regrets! XP
Current Reading Tag || General Original Content || 2026 Reading Page
Many a Ramble Below:
If we're nothing more than our thoughts and passions, and if our thoughts and passions are nothing more than movements of our souls, then we are nothing more than those who move us.
The Darkness That Comes Before, R. Scott Bakker
"No soul moves alone through the world, Leweth. Our every thought stems from the thoughts of others. Our every word is but a repetition of words spoken before. Every time we listen, we allow the movements of another soul to carry our own."
The Darkness That Comes Before, R. Scott Bakker
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
Free to watch β’ No registration required β’ HD streaming
reading The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen. absolutely brilliant.
French chefs [beginning in the 1650s] were the first to reduce radically and often to eliminate the spices from the Orient β nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, and so forth β that were the dominant flavor in medieval cooking all over Europe. In a Eurocentric gesture that parallels Louis XIVβs to begin manufacturing in France exotic luxury goods such as porcelain, they replaced foreign spices with indigenous herbs, in particular parsley β called by one author βour French spiceβ β thyme, chives, and scallions. Among Oriental spices, pepper alone remained in favor: it moved up from a rarely used seasoning to the position it still occupies today, saltβs coequal.
β Joan DeJean, The Essence of Style: How the French Invented High Fashion, Fine Food, Chic CafΓ©s, Style, Sophistication, and Glamour
I like the spices DeJean lists above just fine in the right context, but as someone who detests the taste of capsaicin (the whatsit that gives chili peppers their heat), and is increasingly unable to avoid it because of current tastes in cooking, Iβm with the French.
What she doesnβt mention is that those spices were often used to cover up the taste of putrefaction.
