rsadelle, posts by tag: recs - LiveJournal

Last week I listened to this episode of Insights at the Edge (transcript also available at the link) where the guest was Rabbi Rami Shapiro. Rabbi Rami was a congregational rabbi for twenty years, and now teaches on being a holy rascal and what he calls "perennial wisdom." Tami, the host, asked him about moving away from Judaism. He describes Judaism as, "It's all about God as a male superpower somewhere," talks about issues with the idea of Jews as the "chosen people," and says that many organized religions treat a service as something to just get through. The whole time I was listening to that, I kept thinking, "That's a really narrow view of Judaism." Then I went to a Saturday morning torah service, and thought, "Oh, now I see what you mean." It felt like we were just doing things to get through them without any time to think about what they meant. Also, I discovered that where I know the Friday night service very well, I knew almost none of the Saturday torah service.

There's another part in the podcast where Rabbi Rami talks about the "house-church movement where people who don't feel comfortable at church are just getting together. They pray something, they read something, and then they just have conversations. ... I think what people were hungry for was conversation," which made me laugh because conversation is the last thing I want out of a religious service. I'm not even all that interested in the teaching part - I have a lot of other avenues in my life for that. The other thing that made me laugh is when he says, "we didn't have a cantor so we had whale song instead—recorded whale songs," because I thought, "You don't need a cantor; just sing!"

The combination of listening to Rabbi Rami's thoughts on Judaism and going to a Saturday morning torah service (with a cantor) really helped me define what I want out of a religious service. First, I want a slow, gentle approach to prayer where you get to really think about and feel what you're praying. This is particularly true for me in a Jewish service because I don't read Hebrew, so I'm always trying to follow along with the transliteration while skimming the English translation to see if there are things I don't want to say. Secondly, I want to sing or chant with other people. We chant in my yoga class, and my yoga teacher has various things she says to get people to not feel embarrassed or weird about it and just chant. I find chanting easy because I grew up Jewish without speaking Hebrew, so for me, singing with other people in a language I don't speak is my idea of collective spiritual practice. Part of what I like about Friday night services versus the Saturday torah service is that we sing a lot of songs I know, and when I started going to services on occasion again, what I wanted was to sing with other Jews. Lucky for me, our current rabbi does a contemplative service one Saturday morning a month that's an hour of chanting and guided meditation. It's really lovely, and I do really feel a connection with the divine during that experience. (I feel a little bit guilty sneaking out after the contemplative service instead of staying for the torah study afterwards, but, again, the conversation/learning part is not the valuable piece to me.)

In February, the rabbi's adult education class was "An Intro to Jewish Angels," so at the February contemplative service, she did a guided meditation with angels that I found really moving. (Also interesting: I had a very clear image of the personification of three of the four of them.) It probably helps if you've already done some chanting and breathing first and pause to breathe into each of these, but here it is as best I can remember it: Close your eyes. Take a few breaths. Now imagine to your right the angel Michael, the one who is like God. You may feel some warmth or see a light. Now imagine to your left the angel Gabriel, the power of God. In front of you, imagine Uriel, the light of God. At your back, imagine Raphael, the healer. Now feel the angels surrounding you in their warmth or in their light. Rest in their light. Now from above, feel the light of God pouring over you like honey.

I really love the divine light guided meditations the rabbi's done at both of the contemplative services I've been to so far. For a secular version of a filling yourself with light meditation, I also recommend Danielle LaPorte's Light Scanning Contemplation (at her site, registration-free Soundcloud version).

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I read either 40 or 44 books in 2016, depending on whether you count unique books read or instances of reading a book. Of those, a little more than half (23) are things I read for the first time. (Methodology note: this only considers books finished; I left out the one I gave up on halfway through.)

Top 5 books/series I read for the first time in 2016
Conjured by Sarah Beth Durst - YA mystery/thriller with magic that does some amazing things with point of view and verb tense.

The Graces by Laure Eve - YA, witchcraft, mysterious/charismatic family, new girl in town, somewhat reminiscent of The Craft.

Shadows Cast by Stars by Catherine Knutsson - YA dystopia with magic that I both enjoyed and kept thinking about for days afterwards.

His Fair Assassins trilogy (Grave Mercy, Dark Triumph, Mortal Heart) by Robin LaFevers - This is the medieval assassin nuns of the god of death YA trilogy I never knew my life needed.

The Fire Starter Sessions by Danielle LaPorte - I found this very inspiring, even taking into account that parts of it are more directed at entrepreneurs.

Top 5 books/series I re-read in 2016
The Glass Lake by Maeve Binchy - By far my favorite Maeve Binchy novel.

Chalion series (The Curse of Chalion, Paladin of Souls, The Hallowed Hunt) by Lois McMaster Bujold - Good fantasy novels with a fascinating theology and people with intense feelings.

Cordelia's Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold - Sci fi, interesting politics, including the gender politics. The only scene I vividly remembered is on page 563. The book is 590 pages long.

The Labyrinth Gate by Alys Rasmussen - This is my second favorite fantasy novel built around a Tarot-style card deck, and I enjoyed rereading it.

Attolia series (The Thief, The Queen of Attolia, The King of Attolia, A Conspiracy of Kings) by Megan Whalen Turner - This is another excellent fantasy series with an interesting fictional religion.

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Stories For Me

I got three stories for Yuletide! They are all on the theme of women after they give up on their mother's dreams for them, which is not surprising based on my requests, but still interesting. Also, when it became reveal time, I recognized two of these authors from other fandoms. I recommend them if you're familiar with the fandoms.

So Is It Wrong To Dance This Line (1135 words) by gaialux
Fandom: Dance Academy
Rating: Teen and Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Kat Karamakov/Ethan Karamakov
Characters: Kat Karamakov, Ethan Karamakov, Natasha Willis
Additional Tags: Slice of Life, Implied/Referenced Incest
Summary: Often enough, all they had was each other and dancing.

In the Shadows, In the Light (1682 words) by escritoireazul
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Ice Princess (2005)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Ann (Ice Princess)/Gen Harwood
Characters: Gen Harwood, Ann (Ice Princess), Casey Carlyle
Additional Tags: First Kiss, Female Friendship, Yuletide Treat, Awkward Flirting
Summary:

Gen Harwood gave up figure skating to have a regular life. Now she just has to figure out what that means.

Plan B (2634 words) by carolinecrane
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Ice Princess (2005)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Gen/Ann
Characters: Gen Harwood, Ann (Ice Princess)
Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Yuletide Treat, Accidental Dating
Summary:

Gen walked away from her Plan A. Ann's Plan A just didn't work out, but Plan B's not always such a bad thing.

Story By Me

I was about 90% sure I wouldn't get matched on The Fast and the Furious because I only offered Mia and Letty and I figured anyone requesting it would request Dom and/or Brian. I got matched with someone who requested any characters and specifically mentioned being interested in Mia in the request, and I really enjoyed writing this alternate path for Mia after the first movie.

And You Welcomed Me (10724 words) by rsadelle
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Fast and the Furious (2001), Fast and the Furious Series
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Mia Toretto, Original Female Character(s), Original Male Character(s)
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Post-Movie, Families of Choice, Roman Catholicism
Summary:

Mia makes herself a new family.

Best of the Year

Here are the five best books I read last year, alphabetical by author's last name, with first lines. I'm cheating again by including two separate series as one book each, and by including a series whose first book made this list last year. (And which will probably make the 2013 list again if the third book is as good as the first two.)

• The Magicians and Mrs. Quent, The House on Durrow Street, and The Master of Heathcrest Hall by Galen Beckett.

  It was generally held knowledge among the people who lived on Whitward Street that the eldest of the three Miss Lockwells had a peculiar habit of reading while walking.

• A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce.

  When my father died, I thought the world would come to an end.

• Finnikin of the Rock and Froi of the Exiles by Melina Marchetta.

  A long time ago, in the spring before the five days of the unspeakable, Finnikin of the Rock dreamed that he was to sacrifice a pound of flesh to save the royal house of Lumatere.

• Happier at Home by Gretchen Rubin.

  A "happiness project" is an approach to the practice of everyday life.

• Cast in Ruin by Michelle Sagara.

  The worst thing about near-world-ending disasters according to Sergeant Marcus Kassan - at least the ones that had miraculously done very little damage - was the paperwork they generated.

All of the Year

A decade ago, I decided that I would keep a list of all the books I read. It would be, I thought, interesting to see how much, and what, I actually read. So when I read a book, I wrote it down in my notebook. I liked the whole project so much that I've been doing it again each year.

What's here:

• Books I read in 2012.


• Authors of the books.


• Dates I read the books.


• Short notes about each book or links to my reviews if I did one. Note: reviews all contain spoilers.


• Approximately how many times I've read the book.

What's not here:

• Magazine and newspaper articles.


• Fan fiction.


• Short stories and individual chapters I read to remind myself of what the book was about.

This year, I read 43 books. For those of you playing along at home, that's 3 fewer than last year. 36 of those, or 84%, are books I read for the first time. 21, or 49%, were Young Adult novels. 9, or 21%, were nonfiction. 4 were written by a PoC author; 38 were written by a female author. Of the 34 books for which I counted protagonists, 3 had a PoC protagonist; 29 had a female protagonist.

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I've never watched Generation Kill, but I have read a lot of GK fic, largely because lakeeffectgirl started writing it. (This sometimes causes confusion when I run into GK gifsets on Tumblr; none of them look the way I imagine them in my head.) This is a four-story rec set because I couldn't find the fifth story I was going to rec.


we should do it again (Brad/Nate, 6378 words) by Lake
Summary: In which Nate has issues, and occasionally sleeping with Brad is the least of them.

You should really go read all of lakeeffectgirl's GK fic, but I'm choosing just one for this rec set, and I'm choosing this one because of the three I love best (the other two are Après moi le deluge and and my glory shall be love), this is the one I didn't beta read, which means I never commented on it as it went along, and I also meant to leave a comment on the finished story and never did. If I'd left one, it would have been something like, "Wow. This packs a lot of intensity into a fairly short story."


for my move, well I'm making it (Brad/Ray, 3226 words) by stolemyslumber
Summary:Ray has been a chick for three days when he sits down next to Brad on the couch, puts a hand on his knee, and says, “Brad. I think you should fuck me.”

Of course this rec set needs a hot suddenly a girl story. (stolemyslumber has also written a bunch of other GK fic. If you're going to read more, I highly recommend both we can take it easy if you want me to and then I pick up the pieces and run.)


For What It's Worth (Brad/Ray, 10876 words) by SarahJeanne
Summary: Neither of them really notice it's happening, until it has.

Very good accidental d/s relationship fic.


Bright College Years (Brad/Nate, 7780 words) by fourfreedoms
Summary: Bravo platoon as a fraternity.

This is possibly my most favorite frat AU ever. The throughline of the story is the Brad/Nate relationship, but it's also, in many ways, an ensemble story, and I love the other povs.


The lost story: the fifth story I was going to rec is the Brad/Nate one where Nate is sometimes female and sometimes male. I'm pretty sure I didn't hallucinate it, so if anyone knows what it is, leave a note in the comments!

Jerry/Kramer is my Seinfeld OTP. It's possible that's entirely because of the episode where Kramer gets a job. Some kind YouTube user has excerpted only the Kramer's job bits from the episode, and I'm inclined to think Jerry/Kramer was also the writers' OTP for this episode. The video is not embeddable, but you can watch it here.

I loved Justina Chen Headley's Girl Overboard, so I put Nothing but the Truth (and a few white lies) on my PaperBackSwap wishlist, and sat down and read it in one sitting last week.

Patty Ho's mother is Taiwanese; her absent father was white. Her older brother Abe is their mother's smart and athletic darling; Patty bears the brunt of her mother's strict parenting. A fortune teller reads Patty's belly button and predicts she'll end up dating a white guy, which prompts her mother to ship her off to math camp at Stanford for a month.

From there, the book is, in a lot of ways, your basic summer at camp changes a teenager's perspective on her life story, although the perspective she's changing is largely about coming to terms with her mixed race identity. It's also very good. One of the things I liked about it is the way that, while there are men in her story who make a difference, a lot of what gives Patty strength are her relationships with other women: Jasmine and Anne, who Patty calls Kung Fu Queens and whose friendship and example help her see herself as a Kung Fu Queen and part of their trio that she calls "Asian Mafia Girls"; Auntie Lu, who helps illuminate the past that explains just how strict Patty's mother is; and, of course, her mother, who Patty ultimately comes to understand better.

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If you like YA lit, I highly recommend the book.

Uh, yeah. I don't really know how I stumbled upon these, but I like them. Like the last set of kink recs, these are long on porn and short on plot.

Strive to Overwhelm (2523 words) by locketofyourhair, girl!Steve/girl!Tony, "Steph Rogers has a very fast refractory period, and Tony loves that, she does, but sometimes even she needs to sleep."

This is no different. Tony sets up the machine in her bedroom, throwing a sheet over it so the dildo isn’t as obvious. Steph shows up after a run with Clint, and she’s sweating and hums into Tony’s kiss. “I can take a shower,” she says, even though she knows what the sight of her sweating, in jogging shorts and a tank top, does to Tony.

“Oh, no,” Tony says, and she slides her hands over Steph’s hips to hold her close. “I have an experiment.”

Steph’s face falls a little. “Oh,” she says. “In the lab?”

Tony laughs and kisses Steph, biting at her lips. “Sexy experiment. I want to see how you like something.”

Adjustments (2004 words) by somehowunbroken, Steve/Tony, Tony/tentacles, "It's three hours before JARVIS tells Steve that Tony is ready."

Steve laughs softly as Tony stands back up and walks back towards the tentacle machine. He drops his pants as soon as he’s out of Steve’s reach, tossing a smirk over his shoulder as he runs a hand up the length of the nearest tentacle.

“Any requests?” Tony asks, flicking the end of the tentacle with his fingertip. It ripples and moves, curling around Tony’s hand and tugging. He laughs as he stumbles toward it.

“Oh,” Steve says, almost involuntarily. Tony glances over and grins.

“I think we’ll just see where it takes us this time,” he suggests, and all Steve can do is nod.

As Passionate Machines (2155 words) by sinuous_curve, girl!Steve/girl!Tony, "Steph makes the mistake of asking, “What do you do for fun?” one afternoon when she and Tony are alone in the mansion, when they’re both sweaty and pleasantly sore from a couple hours spent sparring."

Tony grins. “I think you want to try it.”

“Okay, then,” Steph says, hiding her tangle of fear and desire behind defiance. “Okay, I want to try it. What do I do?”

“Get naked,” Tony says promptly.

Steph never changed out of her thin tank and shorts after Tony finally collapsed and declared she would die if they went another round sparring. She strips off her clothes, panties, and sports bra, setting them in a pile on the nearest table. Her nipples go hard in the cool basement air and she crosses her arms over her chest, even though Tony has seen her naked hundreds of times at this point. It’s different.

If you don't know what knotting is, fanlore has a good overview. I'm sure there are a lot of interesting stories to tell about alpha/beta/omega worlds, but I'm not in it for those stories. I'm totally in it for the porn. Overstimulation/people taking it beyond what they think they can is one of my top five kinks to read, and knotting totally plays in to that. These recs tend toward the shorter and plotless side.

SPN RPF

Working Hard/Hardly Working by poor_choices. Chash has done a fair number of knotting stories around the question of "What about the girls?" and this is my favorite of them all: Jared Padalecki/Danneel Harris/Genevieve Cortese, "Jared has the best job ever, in that he gets to fuck hot omegas and make out with a hot beta during his downtime." Bisexual threesome; what more do you want?

There's a jangle of bells, and Danneel sighs. "Customer," she says, slumping back against him. "What do you think, yours or mine?"

"I hope mine," he says. "I've got a raging hard-on and you're not available until eleven."

"Longer, if this girl wants a proper knotting," Danneel says, smugly. Jared isn't allowed to get off with Danneel during work hours, because he needs to be ready to take care of the omegas if they stop by. Which works for him--he just follows Danneel home and fucks her on her own bed.

Sure to Lure Someone Bad and its sequel, You Are A Fever by Obstinatrix, mistyzeo Jensen Ackles/Jared Padalecki, "Jensen plans to take care of his heat the way he normally does: alone. But there’s a stranger on the subway that has a better idea."

“I’m Jared,” the guys says, very quietly. “And I’m gonna fuck you.”

It should be insulting. It should be ridiculous, and outrageous, and the exact opposite of really goddamn hot, but it isn’t. Jensen sucks in a sharp breath, a pulse of want and need rocketing though him. His cock is fully hard now, throbbing in his jeans, and he has his briefcase positioned just right to not scandalize the whole train. Jared takes another step into his space, gets a foot between Jensen’s boots where he’s bracing against the subway’s movement, and his hard thigh between Jensen’s spread legs. His crotch is against Jensen’s ass, and Jensen can feel the solid line of his dick.

“Jensen,” Jensen says, choking on a moan as the guy, Jared, ducks his head to the curve of his neck and inhales. He’s obviously got his animal instinct in check, just enough that he can keep up the charade of normality in public, but Jensen’s got a feeling this guy will take him apart.

X-Men: First Class

Reading XMFC fic usually just makes me irritated with the movie all over again, but we're just in it for the porn here, so the plot doesn't really matter. (This is also why the not quite 60s elements of the porn don't bother me much.)

Fighting Acceptance by heeroluva Hank/Alex, "Not all of Hank's changes are so obvious, and he has problems adjusting. Alex finally gets through to him."

Alex’s mind abruptly supplied him with a vivid image of what it would look and feel like fully erect, but Alex pushed it aside. Mouth suddenly parched, Alex swallowed thickly, his tongue darting out in a failed attempt to wet his dry lips. Forcing his gaze upward, Alex met Hank’s terrified, wide-eyed gaze. He was obliviously prepared for rejection, for disgust or fear.

Those were the things farthest from his mind at that moment, and probably one of the hottest things he’d ever seen. Alex said as much. “You’re hot.”

much in common by 1001cranes Hank/Alex, "Kink meme fill. Knotting, and neither Alex nor Hank know what's coming."

Hank catches him staring, and that's it, the awkward-face is back.

"Don't even," Alex says, and he launches himself at Hank for good measure. Literally launches, and he knocks Hank onto the bed more by surprise than force. "I can't wait," he slurs, because sex does this to him, it knocks him out, it makes him languid, it makes him want. He gets pushy and malleable all at once. "I want to suck your cock so bad," he croons, shoving one hand between Hank's legs, fingers sliding just over the head, and Hank makes a noise like he's been shot.

When I returned Happier at Home to the library, I skimmed the shelf for its call number and picked up The Wishing Year: A House, A Man, My Soul - A Memoir of Fulfilled Desire by Noelle Oxenhandler. I love these kinds of one-year books, and the author bio on the back flap let me know she's a practicing Buddhist, which also appealed to me.

I sat down to read The Wishing Year and couldn't put it down. Oxenhandler starts with two wishes - for a house and for spiritual healing - and adds a third - a man - after a month. Oxenhandler talks throughout the book about her skepticism about wishing, both in that she doesn't know if it will work and in that she is a "wish snob" and has reservations about wishing for material things. Over the course of the year, she learns to wish more readily, which is one of the things that makes it so engrossing. I think the weakest of her wishes is for a man. I'd be interested in knowing if the relationship lasted; she spends a lot of time talking about ways in which he isn't such a great fit for her, particularly with his relationship to money.

If you like year-long memoirs or find wishing interesting, I highly recommend The Wishing Year.