green | Network

Posted by Rachel

https://www.rachelneumeier.com/2026/06/09/omniscient-vs-head-hopping/

https://www.rachelneumeier.com/?p=22334

A post at Anne R Allen’s blog: Writers, Does your WIP have a Genuinely Omniscient Point of View, or are you Head-Hopping?

Given this recent post about omniscient, this new post by Anne R Allen also caught my eye.

I was talking with a group of book-loving friends recently, several of whom work in bookstores, and they all lamented the “head-hopping” that has become common in adult bestsellers in the last few years. I agree that head-hopping seems to be everywhere these days. The last several novels I’ve read have all attempted a more or less “omniscient” point of view. Some had a POV that was genuinely omniscient, but others simply hopped into the POV of every character in the story with wild abandon. …

And so on. I, of course, am oblivious to recent trends in adult bestsellers because I’m not reading many books at all, but when I DO read a book, it’s probably not whatever is included in the category of “adult bestsellers.”

Anne adds:

But one of the most popular books of the year has been The Correspondent, a debut novel by Virginia Evans that has sold over two million copies and is still going strong. It not only presents a single character’s point of view, but that POV is expressed entirely in snail-mail letters. It’s an old-fashioned “epistolary” novel. Not a hint of head-hopping. I wonder if its fans found it refreshing, as I did, to be immersed in one point of view for a whole novel, so we could really get to know — and care about — the protagonist.

Although I don’t care about Literary, I do like almost anything epistolary. However, I’m reading an epistolary novel right now, so I don’t need another one. That’s off topic anyway; what I should have said was:

YES, please give me TIME to sink into the pov of a character. I may or may not be okay with shifting to a different character, but if the story is shifting every five pages, I probably won’t be engaged. Every character reader probably says the same thing, whether the narrative is head-hopping or omniscient or multiple pov or something else. This could be the central point, regardless of pov techniques: how much time does the reader have to settle into one pov before moving to a different character? Possibly head-hopping is fundamentally a problem for Allen (and others) because the hops are too frequent. That would be completely separate from issues of confusion. (Confusion, I think we probably all agree, is almost never good.)

In the previous post, I thought the best brief description of omniscient was provided by Ann Leckie: [T]he story is always being told from the POV of that narrator, who just happens to know a whole lot about the circumstances of the story, for whatever reason. They’re telling you the story, commenting on it, judging it, maybe even making snarky remarks about it. But the story is being filtered through the perceptions of that narrator. … Once you know that, omni becomes more or less a snap.

Is that what Anne R Allen is saying? Let’s take a look …

Almost every new writer wants to describe the thoughts of every character in the story — “hopping” from one head to another. In true omniscient point of view, the narrator of the tale is a god-like entity with a voice and attitude different from the protagonist or any other character.

Similar, though not the same. Leckie makes the point (correctly) that the narrator in omniscient need not be godlike because they are omniscient with regard to the story being told, not flatly or literally omniscient. I’m really very surprised at this “almost every new writer” thing, because I have seen that now and then in workshop entries, but BY NO MEANS would I think of that as typical, far less as “almost every new writer.” I wonder if there has been a major shift toward head-hopping recently? Alternatively, I wonder if this perception is straight-up confirmation bias; this topic is floating at the top of Allen’s mind right now and therefore she sees head-hopping everywhere.

The rest of the post is a recommendation of third person limited, and frankly I do find recommendations somewhat tiresome. How about “Write it as seems most natural to you?” rather than “Third person limited is easiest.” Third person limited comes with intrinsic limitations, particularly limitations in what the author can show the reader, and this is a genuine challenge. It’s not easier. It’s a different challenge. However, I do agree with Allen’s prescription to try switching five pages of the story to first person and then back again. I think that can be genuinely helpful, not just in learning who’s seeing what and who’s thinking what, but just in trying out first if you’ve never tried it.

You know what else would be interesting? To try writing the same scene with deliberate head-hopping, not accidental; and then with real omniscient — put a ghost in the room if you’re not sure who should carry the narration; and then maybe in first person and then close third. And then a different character’s pov, both first and third. I never actually did writing exercises as such. I totally have switched pov as I just changed my mind about how to handle a story, and this is a significant pain in the neck. It might be quite a bit more entertaining to try something like this deliberately, as a writing exercise, than to painstakingly change pov for the first fifty pages of a novel because you’ve changed your mind.

Please Feel Free to Share:

The post Omniscient vs Head-Hopping appeared first on Rachel Neumeier.

https://www.rachelneumeier.com/2026/06/09/omniscient-vs-head-hopping/

https://www.rachelneumeier.com/?p=22334

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( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

apod_feed

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260608.html

What happens to a comet as it leaves our inner Solar System?

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260608.html

firebatvillain posting in

bitesizedfandomsex

The 2026 Bite-Sized Fandoms Exchange collection is now open! We hope you enjoy your gift.

Leaving a comment for your creator is highly encouraged. Creator reveals will occur one week from today, on June 15 at 11:59 pm US Eastern Time

james_davis_nicoll

After a long career of publishing gorgeous limited editions, collections, art books, and novellas, publisher Bill Schafer has shared the news that Subterranean Press will be permanently closing in the coming years.

fanweeklymod posting in

fandomweekly

Here are the entries for this challenge:

( List of entries )

Please Note: Because we only have 3 entries this week, there is only a First Place and Runner Up to vote for!

In order to vote, please reply to this post using the form provided. All comments are screened, and entries are listed in the order they were submitted. For your vote to qualify, you must fill out your entire voting card (both spots) in order to be counted. Winner votes are worth 2 points, Runner Up votes are worth 1 point. Meeting the bonus goal on an entry gets an extra point for that submission.

When voting, please copy/paste the ENTRY NUMBER and the FIC TITLE from the list above into the spot you're voting for (this prevents accidentally mis-numbering a vote and casting it for the wrong entry). It should look like this:

First Place: 61. Fic Title Here
Runner Up: 88. Another Fic Title

Please note that you cannot vote for your own entry, and that votes cannot be made anonymously. You do not have to be a member of the community in order to vote, nor have submitted an entry for this week; everyone is welcome to participate in the voting. IP addresses are logged to prevent duplicate voting.

Voting closes Wednesday, June 10 at 9:00PM EST.

flowing_river posting in

whumpex

We have 4 unclaimed pinch hits! To claim, please reply to this post or email us at whumpexmod@gmail.com with your Ao3 username and the number of the Pinch Hit you would like to claim. Comments will be screened on this post. Keep in mind that if you reply to this post anonymously (i.e. not logged in), you will not be able to see any replies to your comment.

These Pinch Hits are due on June 14th at 8PM PST.

All pinch hit fills must meet assignment requirements. The collection will not reveal until everyone who requested 3 unique fandoms and turned in a complete assignment has received a gift that meets the minimum assignment requirements.

PH 8 - One Piece (Anime & Manga)

PH 8 - One Piece (Anime & Manga)

Request 1 by goldandelions
One Piece (Anime & Manga)
Opt-in: Art

Characters and Relationships:

Solo: Hurt Roronoa Zoro (OP A&M)

Whump Categories:

Abuse
Angst
Hurt/Comfort
Whump

Optional Details:

Stoic and Self-Sacrificing!

Zero is a classic ISTP whump macho man, isn’t he? In canon, there are many times he quietly puts himself at risk for his captain, team, friends, or other higher cause, suffering so much without wanting to confess what he has gone through to anyone. I feel that Zoro really lends himself to:
1. Trading in his life for his captain’s without letting Luffy know (but some Nakama rescues him mid-torture, mid-whipping, or mid-fight), especially to the Navy (do Tashigi and/or Coby mutiny to rescue Zoro?)
2. Being defeated by a Big Bad Antagonist Pirate Boss (who Luffy will later take down) and then held captive, tortured, and gaslighted by these enemy pirates in order to discover some useful knowledge, like Luffy’s weaknesses or the Nakama Crew's hidden treasure

Of course, I would love for poor Zoro to be rescued, but it doesn’t have to be the focus, given the theme of this exchange. A hint or two is fine. Chopper treating his wounds is welcome! Sanji and Zoro’s friendly rivalry is one of my favorite canon relationships. If you’ve got to ship Zoro with anyone, please let it be Tashigi. No romance is fine, too.

I’m not caught up with canon beyond Whole Cake Island Arc, but if you feel compelled to write about newer characters, that’s alright. Don’t worry about spoilers, I am an impatient reader/watcher, and almost always spoil it for myself anyway.

My only major DNW is non-canonical headcanons (please no trans, autism spectrum, or LGBTQ+ headcanons, genderswap, AU verses (such as Cakeverse, Omegaverse, etc) for this exchange, thanks!)

PH 9 - Emily Wilde - Heather Fawcett

PH 9 - Emily Wilde - Heather Fawcett, Emily Wilde - Heather Fawcett

Request 1 by LavenderStarDrop (EmilyWilde)
Emily Wilde - Heather Fawcett

Characters and Relationships:

Wendell Bambleby/Emily Wilde (Emily Wilde) (Hurt Emily)

Whump Categories:

Abuse
Angst
Character Death
Emotional Hurt/Comfort
Emotional Whump
Graphic Injury
Hurt/Comfort
Illness
Whump

Optional Details:

prompts:
-Emily in the other-lands kinda losing her mind over the horror of everything
-any AU or canon adventure where one of them is badly injured, cursed, tortured
-Emily hurt physically idk give my best girl some angst
-Emily stuck in King of the Hidden Ones castle, she is not having a fun time
-Wendell’s rescue of Emily book 1 from the King of the Hidden Ones fails
-Wendell becomes an evil king and Emily's response to that (does she try to help him? does she try to kill him?)

likes:
-the inane horror of beings having such different morality systems from ours,
-usually stoic characters struggling to keep it together
-hurt comfort
-hurt no comfort

DNW: minors in whump situations, vomit, character bashing, internal organs outside the body, broken bones, dislocated limbs, detailed bodily functions, bugs

Request 2 by LavenderStarDrop (EmilyWilde)
Emily Wilde - Heather Fawcett

Characters and Relationships:

Wendell Bambleby/Emily Wilde (Emily Wilde) (Hurt Wendell)

Whump Categories:

Angst
Character Death
Emotional Whump

Optional Details:

likes:
-the inane horror of beings having such different morality systems from ours,
-usually stoic characters struggling to keep it together
-hurt comfort
-hurt no comfort

DNW: minors in whump situations, vomit, character bashing, internal organs outside the body, broken bones, dislocated limbs, detailed bodily functions, bugs

PH 13 - Slow Horses (TV)

PH 13 - Slow Horses (TV)

Request 1 by scioscribe
Slow Horses (TV)

Characters and Relationships:

River Cartwright/Jackson Lamb (Slow Horses TV) (Hurt River)
River Cartwright/Jackson Lamb (Slow Horses TV) (All Hurt)
River Cartwright & Jackson Lamb (Slow Horses TV) (Hurt River)
River Cartwright & Jackson Lamb (Slow Horses TV) (All Hurt)

Whump Categories:

Emotional Hurt/Comfort
Graphic Injury
Graphic Torture
Hurt/Comfort
Rape
Whump

Optional Details:

I love them and their weird, often pissy relationship that could easily go in more intimate and/or grudgingly warmer directions, especially with some whump as a catalyst.

Potential prompts, if you want them:

* Any emotional h/c related to David Cartwright, with a special sting involved since Lamb's feelings about David are very different from River's. Eventual funeral? Bad day where David's deteriorated a lot, where he either doesn't know River at all or is especially furious with him for putting him in Sunny Times Home? David gets River confused with his mother?

* Captured and tortured together, maybe with their kidnappers trying to use them against each other? (Lamb could put up a more convincing front about how this wouldn't work.) Or Lamb's attachment to his joes is legendary enough that the kidnappers assume that working River over in front of him could get them what they want? I'd also love to see them trying to take care of each other in moments of downtime in between torture sessions--offering some care and snarky comfort in the middle of all the horror.

* Bad Guys Made Them Do It mutual noncon? Maybe the circumstances are such that they can try to make it good for each other, or maybe they just have to settle for making it as painless as they can. Awkward aftermath also welcome. Does this stir up feelings, or are feelings already there and there's the added worry that this could ruin them?

* River noncon--by a kidnapper? By the Dogs during the S3 Park break-in? By Frank Harkness, for maximum awfulness? I'm fully down for this happening in front of Lamb (or where he can somehow witness it, like if it gets recorded) or with him only finding out after the fact, whether it's obvious or he has to put the pieces together.

* Whump possibilities: concussion, near drowning, beatings, dislocated shoulder, flogging (I know this is sometimes hard to justify on a plot level, but I love it), whumped in the process of protecting/rescuing someone else, crawling through broken glass, held for a long time in (solitary?) confinement, emotional trauma of having to relive a traumatic experience through a necessary debrief (River with Lamb? Both of them with Taverner, Tearney, or Whelan?), ignoring an injury because there's not enough time to treat it, hypothermia.

* Other bonus things: loyalty kink (on both side), protectiveness, humor, casual D/s with subby River, appearances from anyone else in the cast (I love everyone), Lamb's spycraft skills, feelings that don't quite get admitted to, insults in the middle of something tender, power dynamics, UST, first time, established relationship, huddling/cuddling for warmth.

DNW: ageplay, bestiality, explicit sex for character under sixteen, necrophilia, requested relationship being worse/more distant at the end of the story than it was at the start (it being basically the same is fine)

PH 19 - 爆上戦隊ブンブンジャー | Bakuage Sentai Boonboomger (TV), Miraculous Ladybug, 버려진 나의 최애를 위하여 - 김선유 | For My Derelict Favorite - Kim seon-yu (Webnovel), Crossover Fandom

PH 19 - 爆上戦隊ブンブンジャー | Bakuage Sentai Boonboomger (TV), Miraculous Ladybug, 버려진 나의 최애를 위하여 - 김선유 | For My Derelict Favorite - Kim seon-yu (Webnovel), Crossover Fandom

Request 1 by Jen425
爆上戦隊ブンブンジャー | Bakuage Sentai Boonboomger (TV)

Characters and Relationships:

Akuse Jyo/Bureki Genba | Genbard De Livery II/Hando Taiya/Homura Sakito/Meita Ishiro/Shifuto Mira (Boonboom) (Hurt Mira)
Akuse Jyo/Bureki Genba | Genbard De Livery II/Hando Taiya/Homura Sakito/Meita Ishiro/Shifuto Mira (Boonboom) (All Hurt)
Akuse Jyo/Bureki Genba | Genbard De Livery II/Hando Taiya/Homura Sakito/Meita Ishiro/Shifuto Mira (Boonboom) (Any Hurt)
Shifuto Mira/Waruido Spindou (Boonboom) (Hurt Mira)
Hando Taiya/Naitou Raita (Boonboom) (Hurt Taiya)

Whump Categories:

Abuse
Angst
Emotional Hurt/Comfort
Emotional Whump
Graphic Torture
Graphic Violence
Hurt/Comfort
Rape
Whump

Optional Details:

Noncon ships I’m okay with: Spinder on anyone, Tokoyari on Chasshiro, Naito on Taiya, f!OC on Mira
If filling a Boonboom ot6 prompt for noncon I’m looking for aftermath, forced to watch, mutual noncon (maybe someone is under mind control?). In general I like mind control. That mind control ring was wildly underutilized

For all prompts: anything inspired by my AU “Second Lap”, which is to say bad end AU into time travel fix-it, is extremely beloved to me.
I’m not requesting character death bc I’m a baby who loves a happy ending but there is one exception in the prompts below.

Spinder/Mira: I’m looking for AU where he couldn’t wait for the wedding, or AU where he got the ring on her and turned her into a weapon and toy. AU where he kills the team and keeps her is also fun.

Naito/Taiya: a look at their relationship over time and how they feel for each other and the grooming and the way Naito excellently triggers Taiya to avoid conversations. Taiya wanting to grow up fast. The fact Naito has a twisted sense of love and ownership over Taiya - father figure and abuser all at once.

Boonboom ot6: someone gets hurt. Episode aftermath. Genba alien things. I just love them.

Likes: hurt/comfort, crack treated seriously, developing relationships, fix-its, time travel, character studies, wingfic, soulmate AUs, f!character Rule 63s, role reversals, magical girl AUs
DNWs: bodily waste described with any detail, hopeless endings (angst fine), unhealthy relationships between requested pairings (unless specified), pure fluff, non-pwp sex, unrequested explicit sex, modern/no powers AUs, unrequested AUs other than Canon Divergence, unrequested pairings, unrequested incest, graphic eye gore

Requests for rape/non-con exempt from sex related dnws go as explicit or plot relevant as you like
If my requests seem to directly conflict with my DNWs (ie request fandom with a lot of what I DNW or prompt/have in likes something on my DNW list) assume references to source material is always okay unless specifically stated otherwise (ie if the source material is a tragedy and I ask for a fix-it, every step can be done so long as the ending is different), and the like/prompt is an exemption from the DNW. I have a pretty strong stomach for everything except bodily waste and graphic eye gore, and I will like anything so long as it’s neither mundane in setting nor hopeless.

Request 2 by Jen425
Miraculous Ladybug

Characters and Relationships:

Alya Césaire/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug (MLB) (All Hurt)
Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Alya Césaire/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Nino Lahiffe (MLB) (Any Hurt)
Alya Césaire/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug (MLB) (Hurt Alya)
Alya Césaire/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug (MLB) (Hurt Marinette)
Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Alya Césaire/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Nino Lahiffe (MLB) (All Hurt)

Whump Categories:

Angst
Emotional Hurt/Comfort
Emotional Whump
Hurt/Comfort
Whump

Optional Details:

I love my girls I love the core 4 I just wanna see them go through it.

Traumatic identity reveals are fun, and I love speculationfic for currently airing series so like anything to do with s6 is fun. Sentilore things. Marinette actually renouncing guardianship and the aftermath. Any kind of role reversal from full AU to “Kwami swap for a day” gone wrong.

Fandom specific dnws: Chloe redemption, anyone bashing, ignoring later events of canon (ie serious villain Lila, sentilore, Zoe, etc)

Request 3 by Jen425
버려진 나의 최애를 위하여 - 김선유 | For My Derelict Favorite - Kim seon-yu (Webnovel)

Characters and Relationships:

Caelus/Diana/Helios/Hestia (For My Derelict Favorite) (Hurt Diana)

Whump Categories:

Angst
Emotional Hurt/Comfort
Emotional Whump
Graphic Injury
Graphic Torture
Hurt/Comfort
Whump

Optional Details:

AU where Hes did her job and got involved in the story earlier. Diana literally did nothing wrong like omggggg.

Request 4 by Jen425
Crossover Fandom

Characters and Relationships:

Rashta (Remarried Empress)/Diana (For my Derelict Fav) (All Hurt)
Rashta (Remarried Empress)/Diana (For my Derelict Fav) (Hurt Rashta)
Rashta (Remarried Empress)/Diana (For my Derelict Fav) (Hurt Diana)

Whump Categories:

Abuse
Angst
Emotional Hurt/Comfort
Graphic Violence
Hurt/Comfort

Optional Details:

Fandom specific dnw: anything past s2 of Remairried Empress I’m not caught up and didn’t like what I saw.

My girlies who deserved better and comfort. Anything with them ever, don’t ask how the world connect. For this one fandom model AU is allowed if they both reincarnated from their “canons”

Noncon allowed for references to past canon Rashta horrors

flamingsword

• research Crone crowning ceremonies for Ruby’s next birthyday
• study how to have more joy
• do a Shadow work post
• text friends G, J,

numb3r_5ev3n, and

nyyki about updated schedule
• look at Someday House board on Pinterest.

conuly

Morning, the glistening
grass draws me into the day,
as if new meant separate
from the day before—

and I, having that human part
that can be transfixed by bauble or blade,
limp out again, a believer,
into memory’s emerald glint.

***************

Link

conuly

is that it was too big for the planter, and now it's broken the pot and we may not be able to save the plant :(

******************

( Read more... )

conuly

So excited!

*********************

( Read more... )

petra

For the duration of the episode, I was no longer aware that I had stood up for an eleven-hour workday.

The actors had so much fun, especially Reid. But all of them.

The writers had so much fun with Lestat's voice c. 2025. He's perfectly too much.

The set dressers had so much fun. ( Setting spoilers )

I look forward to ( Character appearance spoilers )

Current Mood: whee
Current Music: You're allegro, I'm andante

luminious posting in

100words

Prompt: #497: Unruly
Title: What a Waste of Army Dreamers
Fandom: SIGNALIS
Characters: Elster & Ariane Yeung
Pairings: Elster/Ariane Yeung.
Rating: T
Notes: Still remembering this beautiful game...
Disclaimer: I do not own SIGNALIS, nor am I or will I ever profit from this work.

( AMONGST FIVE PILLARS SPLASHED WITH SCARLET AND THE TWILIGHT SURROUNDING WITH MERLOT MIST, THE BRIGHT, FRESH LILIES TRULY DO MAKE A BEAUTIFUL SIGHT.... )

Current Mood: hot

aurumcalendula

Archery went pretty well despite having to end early because of potential thunderstorms.

I had fun virtually attending VidUKon, despite my internet connection being a bit uncooperative (I'm planning to catch up on some of the vidshows I missed because of timezone stuff later this week). I particularly enjoyed the What Hands Were Made For femslash vidshow (also, I was delighted to be described as 'like the patron saint of the vidshow' since I tend to make a bunch of femslash fanvids with a focus on hands).

Now that Cage of Shadows has finished airing for subscribers, I'm in the early stages of brainstorming vidsongs for it.

I'm now caught up on making subtitles for the vids I've finished this year so far! (I'm planning to eventually make more for my pre-2021 fanvids)

I haven't managed to get a photo of either, but I saw hummingbirds this weekend and a fawn this afternoon.

pauraque

kitarella_imagines asked: ( What were the: Happiest/Saddest/Funniest/Scariest times of your life? )

maidenjedi asked (and

arcanetrivia seconded): ( What got you into birdwatching? And where would you most like to go to do more of this, specifically which birds you haven't seen in person would be most interesting to see? )

ambyr asked: ( What's one place you miss from the Bay Area? )

mrissa asked: ( What are you looking forward to? )

de_eekhoorn asked: ( What is your favorite anecdote? )

lilacsigil asked: ( What bird that you have seen do you think should be more widely known and/or valued? )

swan_tower

Much less reading in May than in April. Partly that was because I was less in a mood for reading; partly it was because I started in on some longer, denser books that I didn't get through before the end of the month. The latter in particular is why this post skews toward shorter, lighter reading . . .

The Antiquarian’s Object of Desire, India Holton. Third of the "Love's Academic" series, and I'm glad to say this one felt stronger than its predecessor. It looks like I never posted about that one, so in brief: The Geographer's Map to Romance suffered from a collision between its core trope (the romantic pair are in a marriage of convenience but estranged) and the series pattern of "the characters will spar a lot while secretly being into each other and also sure the other person doesn't reciprocate their feelings." In the first book that worked fine, because the leads were rivals in a contest and started out by thoroughly deceiving one another in pursuit of their goals; it therefore made sense that any signs of romance would fall under suspicion of being just another gambit. But in the second book, it required a degree of emotional stupidity on the part of the characters that I found more grating than charming.

In this third book, the trope is friends-to-lovers, which means the growing warmth between them can be interpreted in that light/suppressed because they don't want to ruin the friendship. Meanwhile, the sparring is because the heroine's job security will be threatened if she's suspected of canoodling with a colleague, so they've agreed to fake-hate. This combination works much better than it did in the previous book. Meanwhile, though I found the magical plot to be slightly muddy in its execution, the ending was entertaining.

I think the series is complete here. Each book stands on its own, though (it's a series in the romance model, where the volumes follow different characters), so you can skip the second one if you want. Me, I think I've had enough of this particular madcap flavor for a while; I overdose on it very easily.

Star*Line 49.2. I've gone ahead and joined the Science Fiction Poetry Association, which means I now have a subscription to their quarterly poetry journal. I don't know that I have a ton to say about it, but poetry was a good match for my short attention span in May!

A Counterfeit Suitor, Darcie Wilde. Another of the Rosalind Thorne Regency mysteries. The mystery in this one did not pull together terribly well for me; there was never a point at which I felt the satisfying "click" of the pieces slotting into place, just "oh, okay, I guess that's what's going on." The personal side was much better, with the heroine's sordid family history rearing its head as a real threat to the life she's built for herself.

At this point I am done with the official Rosalind Thorne series, but I've been told the Useful Woman series is a direct continuation under a different name. So if I want more of these, they're available!

The Bishop’s Tale, Margaret Frazer. As mentioned before, I'm slightly sad that the last couple of books in this series have taken Frevisse out of her nunnery, because one of the things I enjoy here is the view into medieval religious life. However, the usual mystery series consideration applies: you can only have so many murders in one place! Especially when that place is supposed to be cloistered away from the world!

In this case the reason for the departure is very moving, though, and I liked the mystery. It was very obvious to me (as it probably is to many readers) just how the victim actually died -- as opposed to what the characters initially think happened -- but the "who" was less immediately obvious. It also built up to a moment of very effectively understated drama at the end.

The Fallow Year, Margaret Owen. Not actually a novel in the conventional sense, but at over 60K words I'm treating it like one. These are ten connected short stories Owen wrote (and posted to AO3) to cover the year that passes between the second and third books of the Little Thieves trilogy, and what goes on with Vanja and Emeric in that time. I sort of wish I'd known about these stories before I read Holy Terrors, because of course the key events here get described there. If you're invested in the characters, though, it's absolutely worth reading the mini-novel that explores those events in greater detail.

Platform Decay, Martha Wells. New Murderbot! Not my favorite Murderbot, though, I have to admit. It's a perfectly fine extraction mission with good character moments, but at this point I find myself wanting a stronger feeling that some kind of metaplot is approaching culmination, and that's just not what the series is here to do. Murderbot's emotional growth continues, but the external events are much more self-contained, rather than building much on previous installments (though there is a little bit of the latter).

The Water Kingdom: A Secret History of China, Philip Ball, narr. Derek Perkins. This was one of the longer, denser things I started, and the only one I finished this month. I'm not sure audiobook was the best choice: though my familiarity with Chinese names is better than Malagasy ones (cf. last month's post), it's not so excellent that I didn't occasionally lose track of details. Also, while I'm not qualified to judge Perkins' pronunciation, I was irritated by the frequency with which his intonation and pacing announced THIS IS A CHINESE NAME -- he has a tendency to put micro-pauses around them, in a way he doesn't for European names. Possibly that's meant to be an aid for listeners like me, but I found it grating.

The book itself, however, is great! Enough so that I bought a paper copy afterward so I can re-read the sections I'm the most interested in. Ball is comprehensive in his approach to the topic of "water in China": it starts off with information about the hydrology of the region and what its rivers are like, then wanders through the role of water in Chinese philosophy, why it plays such an important practical and symbolic role in politics, historical and modern efforts to control it, how it factors into poetry and art -- you name the angle, there's probably a chapter for it. The result is very interesting both from a "learn more about China" perspective and a "learn more about rivers" perspective.

The Boy’s Tale, Margaret Frazer. Because these are such comfort reads, I ended up reading a second one this month. Yay, we're back at the convent! I had a theory for who the killer was that I quite liked until circumstances pretty obviously spiked that theory, but it would have been in keeping with a pattern I've noticed with Frazer: the killer is rarely A Bad Person Who Deserves Their Punishment. Quite frequently it's someone for whom you're invited to have sympathy -- which does mean that, despite these being comfort reads, I shouldn't pack them too close together. The discovery of the culprit often comes with a side order of feeling bad for how everything fell out, even when I'm enjoying the story.

(originally posted at Swan Tower: https://www.swantower.com/2026/06/08/books-read-may-2026/)

scrubjayspeaks

For those who have embarked on the path of changing their bodies, whether for reasons of gender, species, or ancestral curse, the changes are often incremental, invisible from within their own daily perspective, and may feel frustrating as often as joyous. The Perennials Club is a support group for those who are slowly growing, more mighty trees than seasonal flowers, to find community and understanding from their peers while looking to nature for inspiration and encouragement. Meetings are held Thursdays at the Lakeside visitor center and are open to all, from those taking their first dose of HRT to those who have been shedding the scales of their cursed serpent form for centuries.

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LL#1406

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fandom_checkin

This is your check-in post for today. The poll will be open from midnight Universal or Zulu Time (8pm Eastern Time) on Monday, June 08, to midnight on Tuesday, June 09. (8pm Eastern Time).

Poll #34703 Daily Check-in

Open to: Access List, detailed results viewable to: Access List, participants: 16

How are you doing?

I am OK.
11 (68.8%)

I am not OK, but don't need help right now.
5 (31.2%)

I could use some help.
0 (0.0%)

How many other humans live with you?

I am living single.
5 (31.2%)

One other person.
6 (37.5%)

More than one other person.
5 (31.2%)

Please, talk about how things are going for you in the comments, ask for advice or help if you need it, or just discuss whatever you feel like.

senmut

What's the first movie you actually know you saw in theater?

As possibly a warning to all parents out there, unexpected runaway hit sci-fi movies can imprint themselves on toddlers brains.

Star Wars, retroactively Star Wars: A New Hope, was the first movie that I formed conscious memories around. This was tested at a re-release, when I began telling my dad what was going to happen next. Granted, I was also 'helpfully' translating for Artoo, as I imprinted strongest on him.

I was not quite 2. I know it was not the first I saw in theater; my mother bemoaned the fact that I slept through a re-release of Sleeping Beauty EXCEPT for the dragon.

I do not have the memory of seeing SW in theater myself NOW. But it was family lore that I did know the full plot and character names at that re-release, so I accept it as the first I formed memories of.

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Firmament of Glass by Vievee Francis

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[Prompt #497: Unruly.] SIGNALIS. "What a Waste of Army Dreamers."

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