#the continuum

Past Naive Detective Flint and Present Confident Detective Flint

I’m aiming to have a more intentional reading life this year--picking certain books and finishing them rather than flitting aimlessly between mediocre books that capture my attention for five minutes at a time. To that end, I’m going to try a monthly reading list. I’m not going to hold myself to finishing everything (I definitely won’t), since want to leave some room for flexibility, but I think publicly setting out the list in advance might increase my chances of actually focusing on some of the books on it.

I’m focusing on reading books from my own physical and Kindle shelves this year, so that’s how I’m going to organize the list: my shelf, my Kindle, and library.

From my shelf:

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen: I bought myself a beautiful Barnes and Noble copy of it a couple of years ago, but I’ve never read it. I actually haven’t read Pride and Prejudice in a surprisingly long time. I feel like I’ve read it a million times since the book and its adaptations are constantly discussed online, but that overexposure also keeps me away from actually reading the book itself. I picked it up at the end of December on a whim and I’m a fifth of the way through so far. Even more delightful than I remember--viewing the book through pop literary takes can make it easy to forget just how delightful the details are.

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins: I need to finish my Hunger Games reread! I didn’t think this fit my January mood, but I do want to finish the series as soon as possible. Plus, the cover’s blue, my copy of Pride and Prejudice is blue, it makes aesthetic sense. And maybe the very interior focus of the story will be a good fit for a midwinter read.

From my Kindle:

The Continuum by Wendy Nikel: It’s about a woman from modern times who works for a travel agency that provides time travel vacations. I’ve read the first few chapters, and she’s already gone to the Titanic and made some mistakes that will probably have consequences. It’s the kind of book where “generic government agents in suits” is a totally valid worldbuilding tool. So not great literature, but fun so far and hopefully easy to finish.

From the Shadows by E.L. Bates: January always puts me in the mood for Star-Trek-ish space opera, and judging by the first chapter, this will fit the bill perfectly. Enough world-building to provide interesting exploration, but Star-Trekky enough to feel familiar and friendly, with some characters who promise to be good company.

From my library:

Tolkien and the Great War: The Threshold of Middle Earth by John Garth: A biography about Tolkien’s WWI experiences. It’s due back at the library in a few days and I haven’t started it yet, so I’m waiting to see if they’ll let me renew it before I dive into it. If I can’t read it, I’ll dive into:

This month was a bit of a mixed bag. I really enjoyed the book and gave it five out of five stars because it was just so amazing. Or I gave it three stars and either had several problems with it or was just bored by it. So I wish I had liked more of the books that I had read but I had read some really great books this month.

The first book that I finished was Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor:

I had…problems with this book and the more I thought about it the more annoyed I got. I found that things that bugged me in that final Daughter of Smoke and Bone book were also in this and they just bugged me. Also I felt the advertising that this is a connected universe series really annoying. There were a few things that I liked in the book so I gave it three out of five stars. I just…I don’t know.

Then I read Skyward by Brandon Sanderson:

I really enjoyed this book. It was fun and action pact. Brandon too a lot of cliched YA trope characters and made them interesting. It was a fun spin (haha) on the whole “a boy and his dog” trope with a girl and her spaceship. I loved most of the side characters. I loved the twist and cannot wait for the next one. I gave this five out of five stars.

Next I read your name Vol. 1 by Makoto Shinkai and art by Ranmaru Kotone:

This one was very meh. I thought that Taki was a bit bland because he we didn’t get to spend a lot of time with him. While the premise was interesting I found myself really bored. It I questioned why they characters didn’t like text themselves or actually meet each other to figure out what was going on. I gave it three out of five stars.

Then I picked up The Last Magician by Lisa Maxwell:

It started out pretty cool and very Diviners (which is a series that has a soft spot in my heart). Then as the romance started to set in, I grew more frustrated with the book. Esta became very bitchy to Harte. Which was annoying. Then towards the end there were some cool (yet obvious) twists that I liked. So it was a mixed bag and I gave it three out to five stars. I’m happy that I gave this book a chance but I probably won’t read the next book.

I then randomly picked up An Unkindness of Magicians by Kat Howard:

I enjoyed this book way more than I thought I would. I love myself a good house war and all the political maneuvering. So that aspect was really cool. I liked seeing all the different houses and all the perspective characters. One gripe I did have with it is that Sydney and her friends were the definitive good guys and Miles and Grey turned into generic bad guys. I kind of wished that there was more moral grayness to the characters. Which is weird for me but I felt like it would have worked better with the tone and magic world. Nonetheless I gave this book five out of five stars. It was really great.

Next I picked up The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman for my YA Literature class that I’m taking next semester:

This was an okay book. It felt more like a collection of short stories. We watch as Bod grows up and has little adventures. It just didn’t really hit it for me. I think this is meant for younger audiences so it felt a little out of my age demographic. It reminded me of reading A Series of Unfortunate Events. Both this and that series have good moments but the rest are just a bit dull for me as an adult. There were cute moments and characters but it just didn’t quite land for me. I did really like the ending, though. It was probably my favorite part. I gave this three out of five stars.

Next I picked up the Subtle Knife by Phillip Pullman:

Alright this book was really cool. I really like the new character Will. He grows up with a really rough life but he’s still a decent kid. I also really liked that Will was from our world and that our world exists. It’s so cool and something I’ve always wanted books to do. Lyra kind of took a back seat to Will and she a dumb moment where she went into the car of a stranger. However, she was cool for the most part. There were two really sad deaths in this book. Also Angels are Dust??? I gave this book five out of five stars.

Then my friend let me borrow her copy of Silver Spoon Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 by Hiromu Arakawa:

This was created by the same mangaka who created Fullmetal Alchemist. A manga/anime series that I consider my favorite of all time. This was significantly different but I still found it really enjoyable. While I’m not really into farming I found Hachiken a very relatable character. Seeing him struggle with not knowing what he wants to do and not have a dream is something most of us go through. Hiromu Arakawa is a master when it comes to writing characters and I think this shines through. I can’t wait to continue on with this series. I gave the first volume five out of five stars. This second book was pretty nice. We get to see Hachiken get closer with his schoolmates and he’s starting to become more confident. We also get to see over the break with his Mikage. I’m still curious to see more about his home life and his parents. It was still pretty good. Five out of five stars.

Crime, as a general rule, is unpredictable. Anybody who says otherwise is either a precog, a prophet, or just somehow always finds themselves fighting the Pointlessly Polite Pickpocket, who keeps sending out formal save-the-dates and invitations to all of his crimes. So, because crime is so unpredictable, superheroes need to be ready to throw-down with a two-headed mummy or catch two falling airplanes at a moment’s notice. That means having your costume readily available and accessible at all times.

Throughout the long and storied past of superherodom (as detailed in The Semisecret History of Superheroes which will be published in installments on our Patreon for our $5/month patrons) superheroes have dealt with the need for a quick and inconspicuous wardrobe shift in a number of ways. In the past a lot of those old-timey golden age folks would run into the nearest phone booth in times of crisis. Many superhero historians have claimed and still (foolishly) claim that they were going in there in order to change into their superhero costumes but the crack team of unpaid interns we employ here at Howtohero would like to offer an alternate explanation. You see in times of crisis, let’s say for example a 50-foot mechanical sphinx is attacking the city, people will frequently seek out and cling to their loved ones for comfort and security. However, using the vast archives of primary resources from the golden age of heroes that our team has painstakingly acquired (and/or forged when necessary), such as Flint Fast’s diary or a telegram The Continuum sent to himself, we know that many golden age heroes actually did not have loved ones. This lack of personal connection, stemming from the popular golden age method of maintaining a secret identity by alienating all your loved ones through the use of poorly timed fart jokes, meant that these heroes had no one to cling to when their lives and the lives of everybody around them were at imminent risk. Taking all of this into account we would like to posit that these superheroes were actually rushing into telephone booths just to listen to the operator tell them what time it will be in their time zone at the tone. Our interns theorize that just that tiny bit of human contact was enough to rouse our heroes into action, which they heroically leapt into after changing in the nearest public bathroom.

Many superheroes will wear their costumes under their regular street clothes. Sometimes this works because superheroes tend to be very proud of their toned physiques and therefore wear skintight costumes that are easily concealable under a three-piece suit or scrubs or what have you. For superheroes whose costumes are a little baggier or a little bulkier though this system might not work as well. Other downsides to this system include the possibility of overheating due to wearing too many layers and, of course, the fact that strip poker games are just as unpredictable as supervillain attacks and you need to be equally prepared for both at any given time. 

Superheroes who wear high tech body armor can often convert the armor into something more “business luncheon friendly” such a briefcase or a watch. Technically this method need not only apply to the armored atlases (that’s lowercase non-proper-nouned armored atlases. Just a fun alliterative way to refer to strong people who wear armor) [Suck it Armored Atlas good luck suing us this time!] a skilled origamist could conceivably fold any type of costume into the shape of a briefcase or perhaps a stylish handbag. In all these cases (ha! cases) though this will only work if your costume is relatively smooth and preferably in a uniform color. Probably best to keep your logo off of it too. You can’t have any cool shoulder spikes or anything. I don’t know where those would go on a briefcase. Though that’d be pretty rad. Though that’d be pretty rad. You’d be the punkest paralegal in the office if you had a briefcase that was covered in spikes. (That’s lowercase non-proper-nouned punkest paralegal. Just a fun alliterative way to refer to non-lawyer legal-minded law firm employees who are particularly punk rock.) [Go to hell Punkest Paralegal! Make sure you pay special attention when they talk about frivolous lawsuits if you ever get into law school!]

Other superheroes carry around their costumes in special vacuum sealed containers. Many of these heroes keep their costumes in their rings which is certainly a cool visual and can be very handy (literally). But rings are very easy to lose. They’re the perfect sized to fall down drains and your hands are not the perfect size to be able to easily scoop them out. You also don’t want your costume to be stolen from you by jewel thieves. Oh my gosh can you imagine what a kerfuffle that would be? You need your costume to fight the jewel thieves. What a mess. Also you can’t just wear a ring. People don’t just wear rings. I mean, they do, they’re accessories that can be worn on fingers sure. But rings generally have a story behind them. I don’t know about all of you but anytime I see someone wearing a ring I ask them about it. Is it an engagement ring? A class ring? An alien power ring? Does it just look pretty? So if you’re going to wear a ring with vacuum sealed costume in it you need to make up some sort of story.

Additionally, since you’ll always be forced to change out of your street clothes and into your costumes at relatively high speeds you should always dress in clothes that are easy to take off. Breakaway pants, onesies, clothing made out of cheap, easily tearable, materials. Avoid wearing things with excessive amounts of straps and buttons and layers. Look into acquiring some kind of reversible belt that switches from civilian belt to utility belt to cut down on changing time.