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 On Christmas Eve, 1930, in America's dust bowl, a young woman delivers her baby alone. Plain, warmhearted Martha Drusso takes the downy-haired infant she names Belle to raise as her own, along with another orphan in her care, a little boy named R.C.
But when Belle is three, her stepbrother mistakenly puts her on a train bound for Los Angeles, then leaves to get her a treat. The train takes off, and Belle is pitched into a child's worst nightmare: a series of orphanages and foster homes. When she is adopted into a loving Japanese-American family, it seems Belle's troubles are over -- until World War II breaks out. Never defeated, Belle is adopted again, and her beautiful singing voice ultimately leads her to Hollywood, and to love and marriage.
All the while, Martha and R.C. steadfastly continue to search for Belle. For thirty years they believe that the persistence of their hearts will bring their little family together again . . . .
"The power and integrity of Harris's prose turn this novel into something valuable." -- Atlanta Journal & ConstitutionThe book has a lot going for it. An intriguing plot, some interesting characters, and the background of a changing America. Martha and R. C. are especially appealing. Their lives are often hard, but they manage to overcome adversity and carry on. They enjoy what they have, yet always in the background is Belle, the lost child. Unfortunately, that’s where things go off the rails. Belle is too perfect. She’s beautiful, and has a voice like an angel. She’s brilliant, but her naivety, which I suppose is supposed to show the pureness of her heart, can be a bit much sometimes. She overlooks, and I guess the reader is supposed to, too, the manipulative and insensitive nature of her boyfriend’s father. What would happen next was pretty obvious. And kind of creepy. I think the book could have done without the last ten years. At that point the story started to get redundant, as they almost find each other, their paths almost crossing. The ending left me wondering if there was going to be more to Belle and R.C.’s relationship. Not sure how I would have felt about that.  ( Mount TBR 2025 Book Links 1-20 )21. We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer22. America First: Roosevelt vs. Lindbergh in the Shadow of War by H.W. Brands23. American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham24. The Seventh Veil of Salome by Silvia Moreno-Garcia25. A Beginning at the End by Mike Chen26. Lost and Found by Marilyn Harris
MAY – Lost, City, Wind, Hide, Lie, Fan, Room, Clear
Lost and Found by Marilyn Harris | | |
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- Improvement from the book: I can tell people apart! Yay!
- Didn't recall that Pin-Lee is the lawyer until I went to go check who played the character. But I can tell them apart!
- Pin-Lee is so fucking hot.
- Gurathin's my fave. IIRC from the first book, he was the only one to distinguish himself as an individual character and I didn't like him. But he's so good here. Definitely favorite character.
- There is something about Skarsgard that is driving me bonkers, and I think it's his voice/accent. Everyone else is so individual and he sounds so... like, it would be one thing if he sounded robotic but he doesn't. It sounds better when it has the helmet-voice-modifier thing going, but in general... IDK still feeling the whole "completely miscast" vibes.
- Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon: every single person involved in this -- from the writers, to the set people, the props people, the hair and makeup people, the special effects people, the actors, the editors, everyone who had anything at all to do with it -- are having the time of their life doing this and it shows.
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I'm defiantly not part of the LGBQTI community but honestly, I identify with the sadness of not knowing what to do if your... not accepted or have a somewhat ordinary pathway through life.
It's hard enough as a teenager in the way the world is currently, then to add on all the other gender/sexual stuff on top.
"Unexplainable"
I can't explain the way I feel
Whatever happens in my mind
I never know if it's real
Can a feeling be a lie?
I rarely understand my thoughts
I write them down before I sleep
But I'm exactly where I was
Every time I take a read
Ooh where do we go
I reckon it all makes sense somewhere somehow
But ooh how will I know
What If I'm unexplainable?
I can't explain the way I feel
The answer's somewhere out of reach
I meet a friend we share a meal
We're saying words but we don't speak
Another day has flown by
I still don't know what it all means
I go to bed I close my eyes
And I'm a woman in my dreams
Ooh where do we go
I reckon it all makes sense somewhere somehow
But ooh how will I know
What If I'm unexplainable?
Ooh where do we go
I reckon it all makes sense somewhere somehow
But ooh how will I know
What If I'm unexplainable?
Ooh where do we go
When we close our eyes
Seems I spend all my days
Waiting for the night
Ooh where do we go
I'll tell you when I'm there
Just let me fall asleep
And turn back into her
Where
Do we go
Do we go
Do we go
Where
Do we go
Do we go
Do we go
Where
Do we go
Do we go
Do we go
Ooh how I would I know
I'm unexplainable
I regret not watching Eurovision 2024 but honestly I think 2024 was mostly a dreamlike state with kid2. I'm a big Eurovision fan so I'm sad I missed it. Maybe I'll spend the next 2 days watching it... for the first time (can't call it a rewatch). 2025 was pretty fun but I was cooking while I watched it. Honestly, its a time drain being such a long contest. So glad 2024 is still available to stream. Thanks SBS, your awesome.
Now to write some posts that I had in my head just, you know. Floating around. I find it easier to demarcate them as separate posts rather than writing one long post. | | |
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 How do you start over after the end of the world?
Six years after a global pandemic wiped out most of the planet’s population, the survivors are rebuilding the country, split between self-governing cities, hippie communes and wasteland gangs.
In post-apocalyptic San Francisco, former pop star Moira has created a new identity to finally escape her past—until her domineering father launches a sweeping public search to track her down. Desperate for a fresh start herself, jaded event planner Krista navigates the world on behalf of those too traumatized to go outside, determined to help everyone move on—even if they don’t want to. Rob survived the catastrophe with his daughter, Sunny, but lost his wife. When strict government rules threaten to separate parent and child, Rob needs to prove himself worthy in the city’s eyes by connecting with people again.
Krista, Moira, Rob and Sunny are brought together by circumstance, and their lives begin to twine together. But when reports of another outbreak throw the fragile society into panic, the friends are forced to finally face everything that came before—and everything they still stand to lose.
Because sometimes having one person is enough to keep the world going.This is a truly different take on what goes on after a global pandemic; probably not since Alas, Babylon, has a book focused so much on, not how people got there, but where do they go from here. Yes, the pandemic is important, since it set the stage for what was to come. But people lives must go on. All four characters are well drawn, though Sunny probably not as much as the grownups, since there is less history to draw from. Yet, at the same time, she is very much in the center of what is going on with the three people within her orbit. So while Sunny’s character changes very little, Krista’s, Moira’s, and Rob’s certainly do. All three must face the mistakes of their pasts, and deal with them within the difficult surroundings of a world vastly changed. How they do so shows their growth as individuals. Even more importantly, it shows that, just maybe, there will still be a future for them. ( Mount TBR 2025 Book Links 1-20 )21. We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer22. America First: Roosevelt vs. Lindbergh in the Shadow of War by H.W. Brands23. American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham24. The Seventh Veil of Salome by Silvia Moreno-Garcia25. A Beginning at the End by Mike Chen | | |
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I have a few more ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png) rainbowfic pieces to catch up with again, so here's a start: Name: Boxed InStory: StarfallColors: Warm Heart #15 (Anger); Azul #18 (Trust your own strength); Beet Red #24 (Try, try, try again) Supplies and Styles: Canvas + Novelty Beads (October 2024 Challenge "hate.") Word Count: 1781 Rating: Teen Warnings: Fighting, swearing. Notes: 1306, Portcallan; Leion Valerno, Tana Veldiner, Atino Barra, Donn Chiulder, Tam Jadinor. Carries on from Whispers in the Mind. Summary: Leion and Tana attempt an escape.
Name: Big CityStory: StarfallColors: Warm Heart #21 (Caution) Supplies and Styles: Pastel (also for no_true_pair's March mini-round prompt "March Thirtieth - Leion & Viyony with the title "Big City".") Word Count: 957 Rating: G Warnings: None Notes: 1313, Portcallan; Viyony Eseray, Leion Valerno, Imai Lullers. Summary: Viyony and Leion cross paths for the first time, unknowing. | | |
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I wrote this on tumblr nearly a year ago in reply to:
byjove:
countries will be like “nooooo our birth rate is falling exponentially and it’s effecting our economy” and immigrants will be like “hey can you let us in so we can boost your economy and fill your empty jobs and raise our children here” and inevitably the country is like “the only thing worse than a large scale collapse of our population is letting foreigners live here”
byjove:
America’s immigration policies are difficult enough but I read the immigration policies for some countries and it is batshit insane. they’re straight up like “we hate disabled people, we hate people who don’t speak our language, if you don’t have a $85k a year salary lined up for you, we don’t want you to move here. if by some miracle you jump through all the hoops and move here, it will take you 20 years to obtain citizenship and during that time we will not rent to you because you’re a foreigner.” damn bitch. fuck you.
lannamichaels:
I read foreign policy stuff and every few months, like clockwork, there’s an article about [insert country here] having demographic problems caused by not enough young people and What That Means.
And every single time, I have only two questions:
1. What is your immigration policy?
2. How much does it cost to have and raise a baby, both direct monetary and intangibles, such as does a woman destroy her entire professional career to do so?
Fixing both of those will fix every single falling population problem I have ever read about in those places. Because the answer is generally “both. both are bad.” And places where the second one is considered to be fine, the first one absolutely isn’t.
(I state these are the constant issues at play in foreign policy writings to contrast that with the stuff I’ve heard about from rural demographic problems where the issue is “we have young people, but they leave because there aren’t any jobs.” That is internal population shifting within a country and comes with other problems, ex: rent.)
I bring this up here now because I'm not going to keep adding on to someone else's post, especially this long after, but we have a new entry in the "every so often Foreign Policy likes to talk about birthrates" trend and it's... It's an entire article about how Israel doesn't have this problem, because Jewish women tend to have lots of kids compared to the rest of the countries considered equivalent economically, and at NO POINT mentions the Holocaust.How oh how do you have an article about how Jewish women have a culture where having a lot of kids is considered necessary and DO NOT MENTION THAT, I do not know. It probably gets included in, oh, it's a religious reason, but except not that much because it points out that secular Israelis also have more kids on average than the comparison population. The author cannot be this clueless. Was it just that he felt it awkward to point out there is the actual need to repopulate????? Even I have heard from women dealing with infertility who feel like complete failures because they can't help poke Hitler in the eye. As a complete aside, though, since I'm on this subject, many things piss me off in Harry Potter and Harry Potter fandom but among the worst is the Weasleys. Molly and Arthur Weasley are the only characters in that entire backstory who understood the assignment. Congratulations, you have just managed to survive a genocide that wiped out an entire generation! What do you do? Every other character: uh, have one or two kids? Arthur and Molly Weasley: hold our birth control. Yes, yes, I'm aware that in context, the Weasleys aka "poor and red haired with more children than they can afford" are anti-Irish bigotry. Also we don't know too much about random other characters and their families, true. But seeing it repeated in fandom? Oh, that's a lot of people who don't know what it's like to be part of a people that survived a genocide five minutes ago. The magical world is in a massive demographic problem* and the Weasleys are the only ones who are taking it seriously. *all this random extra ridiculous pureblood stuff that isn't in the books that has become some kind of calcified fanon also makes no sense, and part of the reason it makes no sense is that your population size is too goddamn small. The magical world in Britain, if we take the numbers seriously, is actively in the process of dying out. | | |
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 A powerful and fierce reimagining of the earliest Roman legend: the twins, Romulus and Remus, mythical founders of history’s greatest empire, and the woman whose sacrifice made it all possible.
The names Romulus and Remus may be immortalized in map and stone and chronicle, but their mother exists only as a preface to her sons’ journey, the princess turned oath-breaking priestess, condemned to death alongside her children.
But she did not die; she survived. And so does her story. Beautiful, royal, rich: Rhea has it all—until her father loses his kingdom in a treacherous coup, and she is sent to the order of the Vestal Virgins to ensure she will never produce an heir.
Except when mortals scheme, gods laugh.
Rhea becomes pregnant, and human society turns against her. Abandoned, ostracized, and facing the gravest punishment, Rhea forges a dangerous deal with the divine, one that will forever change the trajectory of her life…and her beloved land.
To save her sons and reclaim their birthright, Rhea must summon nature’s mightiest force – a mother’s love – and fight. All roads may lead to Rome, but they began with Rhea Silvia.The story aligns quite closely to the mythology, but this is Rhea Silvia’s story and she is very much front and center. Who she was, her life before her father’s kingdom was taken from him. And how she managed to survive afterwards makes for a compelling story. She makes some huge mistakes, but ultimately finds a way forward. Her sons are her world, and she does everything she can to insure their survival. But there were others in her life; her cousin, Antho, is probably the most important. I loved their relationship, more like sisters than cousins. Unlike so many others in Rhea’s life, she manages to survive. There is Rhea’s father, who disappoints her so many times, yet she clings to her memories of their time together when she was a child. And, of course, the gods. I’m so looking forward to reading more by this author.  | | |
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I’m guessing it’s probably not just a me thing, but it somehow continues to surprise me when I’m listening to an album and really connect to a piece to the extent that it makes me feel all metal about it ♡ Today’s was Ride’s Clouds of Saint Marie as reimagined by Pêtr Aleksänder - Spotify / YouTube Music / Apple Music. I gather that Ride is a rock band, but I mostly listen to classical spectrum music at work and this particular album firmly sits within that, and my reaction to this particular piece is in the same vein as pieces that are perhaps more firmly “classical”. | | |
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If you think defending your right to use a common name as a pejorative is more important than listening to everyone with that name saying "please stop, this is causing us actual real harm", then just let me know right now and I can ban you from my blog and you can ban me and then we'll all live happily ever after: you with your moral superiority that you can hurt whoever you want as long as you feel you have a good enough reason, and me without having to endure this right now or ever.
Like, I thought we all got over this in middle school, using someone's name as an insult because, tee hee, teacher, I'm not really calling them a bad word, I'm just turning their name into a bad word, that's totally different!!!!
I am so incredibly serious. I have limited ability to cope and this shit has already ruined two days within the last seven entirely by triggering mental health problems and making me literally actually cry with frustration over why so many people are so keen on hurting people even when they've asked them repeatedly to stop.
This is not a victimless term. You need to fucking stop or get out of my life and I'll get out of yours and we'll both move on.
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I am unfortunately being taken in by the Murderbot TV Show promo campaign and am starting to think this might actually be good and I might enjoy it.
Oh no.
(it seems like it's WELL LIT!!!!!! And has bright colors!!!! And I'll be able to tell characters apart, possibly, which I could not do in the book except for like two of them!!!! So I'll be able to see what's going on, follow the plot, and identify the characters!!!!!) (my standards are low but also frequently unachievable.) (guess it remains to be seen if the camera movement makes me sick.)
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 A young woman wins the role of a lifetime in a film about a legendary heroine — but the real drama is behind the scenes in this sumptuous historical epic from the author of Mexican Gothic.
1950s Hollywood: Every actress wants to play Salome, the star-making role in a big-budget movie about the legendary woman whose story has inspired artists since ancient times.
So when the film’s mercurial director casts Vera Larios, an unknown Mexican ingenue, in the lead role, she quickly becomes the talk of the town. Vera also becomes an object of envy for Nancy Hartley, a bit player whose career has stalled and who will do anything to win the fame she believes she richly deserves.
Two actresses, both determined to make it to the top in Golden Age Hollywood—a city overflowing with gossip, scandal, and intrigue—make for a sizzling combination.
But this is the tale of three women, for it is also the story of the princess Salome herself, consumed with desire for the fiery prophet who foretells the doom of her stepfather, Herod: a woman torn between the decree of duty and the yearning of her heart.
Before the curtain comes down, there will be tears and tragedy aplenty in this sexy Technicolor saga.The book is slow to start, as we’re introduced to the main characters. There’s Vera, who has lucked into a prime role. Nancy, who probably isn’t as talented as she thinks she is. And then there’s Salome, whose story is intertwined with that of the actress who’s portraying her. There’s also the men in their lives, who don’t come across as strongly as the women do. Their roles are very much second string. This is definitely a step away from Moreno-Garcia’s usual work; there’s not a touch of the mystical, and the only horror is the way some of the characters are willing to do anything in order to get ahead. I have to say, I missed the unworldliness that usually permeates her books. It wasn’t until near the end that the pace picks up; enough to make up for the rest of the book. The tragedy of their lives comes full circle with Salome’s. No one walks away unscathed. ( Mount TBR 2025 Book Links 1-20 )21. We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer22. America First: Roosevelt vs. Lindbergh in the Shadow of War by H.W. Brands23. American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham24. The Seventh Veil of Salome by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
MAY: “Virtual Book Club” - Read a book from a celebrity/influencer book club list, an organization’s book club list, your library’s book club lists, or a book club you’re a part of.
Good Morning America Book Club
The Seventh Veil of Salome by Silvia Moreno-Garcia | | |
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ChatGPT sees Bitcoin's "a solution in search of a problem" and raises it to "this isn't even a solution."
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- The Wood at Midwinter by Susanna Clarke, illustrated by Victoria Sawdon (2024): A light, forgettable short story previously, per the afterword, broadcast on the radio for a BBC Christmas thing in 2022. It's very Clarke, for better or for worse. The illustrations are good. IDK, this short story basically encapsulates everything about Clarke's magic systems that I don't like. It's a good short story but I would like it to make sense. Whereas Clarke is like "it doesn't have to make sense, it's magic". This worked much better for me in Piranesi.
- Will the Pigeon Graduate? by Mo Willems (2025): Good book but at the same time, it's very obviously a cynical ploy to hone in on the market that buys Dr. Seuss's Oh The Places You'll Go for new grads.
- Right Back at You by Carolyn Mackler (2025): Midgrade, time traveling letters book. 12 year old Mason lives in New York City in 2023 and is bullied in school. 12 year old Talia lives in an unnamed small town in Western PA in 1987 and is bullied in school. Together, they give each other encouragement and friendship, via letters they leave each other in their closets.
Despite this, neither one of them actually considers in time that the magical time traveling letter wormhole will cease when Mason moves to Atlanta (his dad got a new job on sudden notice and "walked out" (aka did not walk out, but Mason and everyone in school treats it like his dad did, in fact, walk out) and was staying on his brother's couch until he got an apartment and Mason and his mom would move there after school ended in a couple months). This helpfully gives the author a way to wrap up the book at a decent-enough place, while still being within the constraints of a midgrade novel for page count.
Recommended for anyone who thinks that there just aren't enough midgrade books about bullying. I snark, I snark. It's a very quick read, fine and enjoyable, and yes, there are age-appropriate time travel shenangians (Mason tells Talia the baseball game results so she can win bets against her brother; Talia uses Mason mentioning 'google' all the time to buy google stock ASAP for herself and for Mason, and sends him the money.)
Content warning for some really severe antisemitism for a midgrade book that is, to be fair, about bullying. (Talia is Jewish and the only other Jew she knows is her optometrist. Mason isn't Jewish but knows plenty of Jews.)
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 Andrew Jackson, his intimate circle of friends, and his tumultuous times are at the heart of this remarkable book about the man who rose from nothing to create the modern presidency. Beloved and hated, venerated and reviled, Andrew Jackson was an orphan who fought his way to the pinnacle of power, bending the nation to his will in the cause of democracy. Jackson's election in 1828 ushered in a new and lasting era in which the people, not distant elites, were the guiding force in American politics. Democracy made its stand in the Jackson years, and he gave voice to the hopes and the fears of a restless, changing nation facing challenging times at home and threats abroad. To tell the saga of Jackson's presidency, acclaimed author Jon Meacham goes inside the Jackson White House. Drawing on newly discovered family letters and papers, he details the human drama-the family, the women, and the inner circle of advisers- that shaped Jackson's private world through years of storm and victory.
One of our most significant yet dimly recalled presidents, Jackson was a battle-hardened warrior, the founder of the Democratic Party, and the architect of the presidency as we know it. His story is one of violence, sex, courage, and tragedy. With his powerful persona, his evident bravery, and his mystical connection to the people, Jackson moved the White House from the periphery of government to the center of national action, articulating a vision of change that challenged entrenched interests to heed the popular will - or face his formidable wrath. The greatest of the presidents who have followed Jackson in the White House-from Lincoln to Theodore Roosevelt to FDR to Truman-have found inspiration in his example, and virtue in his vision.
Jackson was the most contradictory of men. The architect of the removal of Indians from their native lands, he was warmly sentimental and risked everything to give more power to ordinary citizens. He was, in short, a lot like his country: alternately kind and vicious, brilliant and blind; and a man who fought a lifelong war to keep the republic safe-no matter what it took.I’ve never been a Jackson fan. His policies would bring about the Trail of Tears, and while he is credited for holding back the southern states’ attempt at codifying their right to secede, he agreed with their right to have slaves. So while dealing with the symptom, he was unwilling to confront the “national sin.” I thought to read this book in order to get a better understanding of the man. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the book for that. The book basically covers Jackson’s years as president, so what molded his character is left a mystery. The first sixty years of his life are covered in the first fifty pages of the book; even his service during the war of 1812 is glossed over. I wished I’d noticed the small lettering at the bottom of the cover, Andrew Jackson in the White House before I started it. What I did learn about Jackson didn’t really warm me to him. He comes across as rather selfish, expecting his family (a nephew and the nephew’s wife,) to see to his concerns before their own. For me, his bad qualities far outweighed his good ones. The book itself is well written. While I don’t agree with Meacham’s assessment of Jackson, I do appreciate his writing. ( Mount TBR 2025 Book Links 1-20 )21. We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer22. America First: Roosevelt vs. Lindbergh in the Shadow of War by H.W. Brands23. American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham | | |
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