Enchiridion

Books and Literature, On Reading

High Volume Reading as a Moral Imperative

Thereโ€™s this extraordinarily silly thing that happens on TikTok every year like clockwork. One batch of users talks about the one- tw0- three- hundred books they read that year. Another batch is utterly baffled at these numbers to the point of conniption. โ€œHow is it possible?โ€ is the cry they lift to the heavens. โ€œDonโ€™t… Continue reading High Volume Reading as a Moral Imperative

Books and Literature, Reviews, Wrapups and Reviews

December 2024 Reads and Reviews

Check the end for promos, free books, and special sales. Landscape with Invisible HandM. T. AndersonScience Fiction2017 From Storygraph: When the vuvv first landed, it came as a surprise to aspiring artist Adam and the rest of planet Earth -- but not necessarily an unwelcome one. Can it really be called an invasion when the… Continue reading December 2024 Reads and Reviews

fandom, Media Literacy and Analysis

A Year in Forums: Fake Fans and the Proliferation of Non-Analysis

I spent some time in a lot of new pop media forums this year. This is what I observed. In comic book circles, it's a very difficult time to be someone who actually liked the movie Madame Web. Who didn't think Morbius was "that bad, damn, y'all need to calm down." Some of the Spider-Man… Continue reading A Year in Forums: Fake Fans and the Proliferation of Non-Analysis

Fan Theory and Transformative Works, fandom, Personal

A Year in Forums: I Don’t Know How Collecting Works Now

I spent some time in a lot of new pop media forums this year. This is what I observed. So Iโ€™ve always been the collectory sort. Snow globes and statuettes from around the country. Weโ€™ve got magnets from each installation of our favorite art exhibit. I like picking up cool, pulp covers of my favorite… Continue reading A Year in Forums: I Don’t Know How Collecting Works Now

Books and Literature, Reviews, Wrapups and Reviews

November Reads and Reviews

The Mimicking of Known SuccessesMalka OlderCozy Science Fiction-2023 From Storygraph: "On a remote, gas-wreathed outpost of a human colony on Jupiter, a man goes missing. The enigmatic Investigator Mossa follows his trail to Valdegeld, home to the colonyโ€™s erudite universityโ€”and Mossaโ€™s former girlfriend, a scholar of Earthโ€™s pre-collapse ecosystems.  Pleiti has dedicated her research and… Continue reading November Reads and Reviews

Books and Literature, Education and Literacy, fandom

A Year in Forums: People Don’t Know Anything About Stuff They Like

I spent some time in a lot of new pop media forums this year. This is what I observed I have this pet peeve that shows up the most in my more text-based book forums, and science fiction book readers are the worst offenders. Someone will come into a science fiction reading forum and make… Continue reading A Year in Forums: People Don’t Know Anything About Stuff They Like

Reviews

A Review and Light Analysis of Venom:’21 Ewing and Venom War

It's been a long time since I've gotten to be part of a comic run from the start then all the way through the ending. I have to note, from the start, that I read large chunks of this run as it was coming out. So not every single issue comes back to me with… Continue reading A Review and Light Analysis of Venom:’21 Ewing and Venom War

Personal

External Challenge at the Holiday Table

Thanksgiving is coming up next week. Weโ€™re going to be stuck with a lot of family members having weird conversations that none of us want to have. So Iโ€™m going to tell you a story about my mom.My mom is smart, college-educated, and generally a good person. We have had our issues, not gonna lie,… Continue reading External Challenge at the Holiday Table

Uncategorized

How Comics Expose Our Expectations Around Critical Analysis

Recently Iโ€™ve been spending a lot more time in comic book and super hero spaces. Despite being a low-key (and occasionally high-key) fan of a few different franchises for years, those kinds of spaces were not great to navigate as a kid or teen femme-presenting person. As an adult, I donโ€™t give as many shits,… Continue reading How Comics Expose Our Expectations Around Critical Analysis

Education and Literacy, Media Literacy and Analysis, Queerness

Cultural Conservatism and the Collapse of Media Critique

Last week, the next installment in the Dragon Age franchise released, Dragon Age: The Veilguard. I'm a huge fan of the series and the studio that makes the franchise. Now the video game community, as a whole, has a really high capacity for what really comes down to justโ€ฆidiocy, honestly. It's been a problem pretty… Continue reading Cultural Conservatism and the Collapse of Media Critique