Hints on how A.E. Graves spends her imaginary spare time
I know I’m more likely to see them because it is so darned dark when I get out of bed, but… STILL.
THE COLORS ARE AMAZING. I get the warm fuzzies just for being alive and having color vision to see this.
I feel like I’m somehow both succeeding (because I’m really good at multiple choice) and failing (because I am mentally exhausted from work and can’t communicate basic concepts coherently). This isn’t anyone’s fault but my tired brain’s.
I appreciate Duolingo for giving my language anxiety an outlet, and for making me practice my weakest alphabet, Katakana.
One of the doctors I followed on Twitter frequently posted his satisfaction with his Dua Lipa family car sing alongs, and he was fun, so as part of my minimal effort to be aware of US pop culture, I looked her up. And now, this song is in my spinning (exercise bike) mix of the moment.
I’m excited to read that Han Kang has won the Nobel for her writing! I’m so delighted that this talented writer has been recognized.
(The article above is one of the most thoughtful articles to come out about her work, how other writers feel about her books, and more.)
South Korea is very proud of her – she is the first South Korean to win this prize – and it is great that her books are selling out there with this good news (also theguardian.com).
I’ve only read one of her books so far, but enjoyed it – it was disturbing, but also quite beautifully written. My brief description is below.
I have some plans that may keep me from being able to maintain this streak through the end of the year, but in the meantime, here’s to celebrating my language obsession! [clinking of virtual glasses]
Yes, I’m back to Japanese. No, I’m not very good at it.
My writing hand is in a mood to write, so I unpacked my TWSBI Diamond 580AL Fountain Pen in Iceberg Blue to start a new volume of my journals.
It’s lovely! It feels well made, is comfortable to hold, and the angle makes sense. I am switching to another Diamine ink (with fewer sparkles, so it will flow more evenly) for the rest of today’s writing.
Yes, every autumn I do gush about autumn. Yes, there are pages listing all the foods I love to eat. No, I don’t have to hold back – I’m writing for my own satisfaction, and there’s no such thing as too much gushy enthusiasm in a private journal.
I anticipate this pen will go into heavy rotation for letter writing, when I need a large pen I can hold comfortably for long letters.
The Summer Hikaru Died
by Mokumokuren
published by Yen Press (ongoing, this is about Chapters 22-26)
2024 – present
I learned yesterday that the TSHD Volume 5 tankōbon won’t come out until March 2025. But the chapters published in Japan and translated into English already go up to Chapter 30! I am not willing to wait, so I’m buying the available digital chapters individually (from the Apple Books app). I’ll reread the entire series once it is complete.
This horror series is one continuous story (NOT an episodic collection of standalone adventures!). You should start with Chapter 1. I highly recommend this series – it is an impressive, creepy, humid, summer night story of things that go bump in the forest above a cursed village with a debt to repay.
I’m trying not to post spoilers, but rather a map of the series, so I can find parts I want to emphasize to others when I talk them into reading this. :). But you should skip this review if you haven’t started reading.
Chapter 22 begins seconds after Chapter 21’s last slash. Yoshiki tries to save his dearest friend, and then… wakes in the hospital, with his worried mother telling him that the events at the house were all hushed up. Kurebayashi visits and assures Yoshiki of his friend’s… durability. The out of town ‘scholar’ (who resembles Hikaru) reveals to a local that his centuries-old employer has an interest in specific <beings> from the other side of the rift, but won’t disclose his personal agenda.
Chapter 23 continues in the hospital with an astute observation by concerned Kurebayashi. A classmate tells the boys local mines supplied abortifacients to get the village through times of scarcity, which led to the worship of the local mountain god, which also led a decrease in local epidemics?
There is a pencil sketch of Hikaru destabilizing in Chapter 23 that is SUPERB.
Chapter 24 continues that the destabilizing theme, and Yoshiki realizes that he isn’t purely human anymore… A visit to the Indou family shrine reveals what the village’s dire offerings to the mountain god were, and how they have been memorialized by Hikaru’s family. New Hikaru feels pangs of guilt about how original Hikaru’s friends miss him.
Chapter 25 introduces Yoshiki’s father, who was dear friends with Hikaru’s father. He tells Yoshiki exactly how the Indous brought calamity to their village and the curse upon themselves. New Hikaru goes to Kurebayashi while trying to figure out how to save his friend – from himself. And Yoshiki finds a sketch of the thing new Hikaru really is – from Europe in 1519. (Aren’t art books great?!)
Chapter 26 is summer vacation. No, really. The boys get to go to the beach! I love this cover – there is a nice panorama in the issue. It ends with a revelation or trick, it’s too early to say which.
I continue to love love love this series. So creepy. Action-packed, but with steady progress as the boys uncover so much dark local history. Their friendship and love for each other – indifferent to the fact that one of them isn’t human – is deep and sweet. The village landscapes, the details in the houses, the chirping of cicadas – it is all so atmospheric. This is a compelling, well executed story!
Other parts of the country are setting records for high numbers of consecutive days with temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, but here in SF, where people like me were raised under a friendly, fluffy blanket of fog, the health and safety warnings warn us about temperatures over 90.
I stepped out of my house briefly this morning, only to discover that it is at least 8 degrees warmer out there, likely in the high 70s! I’ll be hiding from the sun all day, if I can help it.
This is the rare type of week where people who are allowed to work remotely go into the office – because offices have AIR CONDITIONING. (Finally, a good reason!)
…to you baby
when I’m out of words you haven’t heard
This is (also) from Teddy Swim’s album, “I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy Part 1,” appearing just before The Door. I like the speed/density of some of the lyrics, such as:
please
don’t go
got my heart rate up (real high)
vocabulary (running low)
out of breath I keep (going and going)
oh noSo catchy…
It was 93 degrees Fahrenheit in San Francisco today, our hottest day of 2024 so far. (Any day when I’m in shorts at a bus stop at 6:30 AM is already too hot a day.)
I fear it won’t be our hottest day overall.
As a native San Franciscan, I’m only fully operational up until about 78 degrees, so this was a tough one. Yes, I remember that day when it got up to 106. No, I do not remember that fondly. Yes, the whining here could likely be heard from space.
I’ll be optimistically hoping for fog in the very near future.
