the woodcutter by kate danley

One of these days, I am going to choose a book for The Casual-Ass Internet Book Club about which I actually have something significant to say. Today’s not that day.

That being said, The Woodcutter was pretty alright. Spoilers herein. » more: the woodcutter by kate danley

the casual-ass internet book club: february 2k13

Okay, so, January wasn’t the most successful foray into book club-dom, what with how my post was the only one and I didn’t even like the book all that much. But that’s okay! Because this is a project! And I’m stickin’ to it!

So, I went through my recent purchases again and then went through a bunch of things on my wishlist then I stared at my bookshelves for a long time and the I thought about doing The Fault in Our Stars since basically everyone on earth has read it and I already have a copy in my hands and then I went back to my recent purchases and then I tore my hair out and got some utterly useless opinions from my girlfriend and then I decided on Kate Danley’s The Woodcutter because it sounds interesting and good and fun to talk about it regardless of ultimate enjoyment. Plus, it’s pretty cheap, particularly for Kindle and you can even borrow it for free if you’ve got an Amazon Prime membership.

From Amazon: Deep within the Wood, a young woman lies dead. Not a mark on her body. No trace of her murderer. Only her chipped glass slippers hint at her identity. The Woodcutter, keeper of the peace between the Twelve Kingdoms of Man and the Realm of the Faerie, must find the maiden’s killer before others share her fate. Guided by the wind and aided by three charmed axes won from the River God, the Woodcutter begins his hunt, searching for clues in the whispering dominions of the enchanted unknown. But quickly he finds that one murdered maiden is not the only nefarious mystery afoot: one of Odin’s hellhounds has escaped, a sinister mansion appears where it shouldn’t, a pixie dust drug trade runs rampant, and more young girls go missing. Looming in the shadows is the malevolent, power-hungry queen, and she will stop at nothing to destroy the Twelve Kingdoms and annihilate the Royal Fae…unless the Woodcutter can outmaneuver her and save the gentle souls of the Wood.

So here’s the plan!

1. Read the book!
2. Post about it on the internet no later than February 28th
3. Link me to your post in the comments here
4. I’ll do a round-up post on March 1st-ish
5. We can have a casual-ass comment party about the book
6. I’ll announce the next book
7. REPEAT

Your site, Blogger, Tumblr, WordPress, even Twitter is fine! (Just Storify and link!) Whatever works for you!

This is a very casual, kick-back, low-expectations, low-effort deal! I just like the idea of reading the same book and then hearing what people think about it. That’s literally it. FUN, YES?! Good.

If you have suggestions for the next book, please please please comment with them and tell me! I’d appreciate if it was available on Kindle, but that’s the only requirement.

Share this with people if you do it! Tell me if you’re going to do it! Tell everyone!

good shit i liked: january 2k13

These doppleganger portraits! Mostly because I, too, have a doppleganger.

Hint: I am not the one in black and white.
Zoe Hyde‘s Miserable Lesbians — I have no interest in watching Les Misérables at all in any form ever. I don’t like musicals — though there are exceptions — and I don’t like period pieces that take place before World War II. There is nothing in this story for me! But I laughed at this post anyway. It was the only post about this movie that I have laughed at. Also, she’s right. We are so lucky. If you think you were born in the wrong era you are probably 1. white and 2. deluded. Reexamine your priorities, child.


NICK MILLER
Shades of Light’s Young House Love Lighting Collection — Okay, look, I’m not going to front. I kind of, sort of, 40% hate-follow Young House Love. It’s not personal — I’m sure they’re very nice people! I’ve only heard kind things about them interacting with their fans and readers! — but, let’s be real, that whole cutesy-ass, DIY, hip and home-y aesthetic is exactly the kind of bullshit that I just loathe. It’s not that their shit isn’t cute — it usually is! — it’s that… I prefer people who live in the real world and don’t have homes that can actually act as backgrounds for photoshoots for retail catalogs. It’s just not my thing. Regardless of that, though, the lights are legit great. I want this one in the hammered gold and this one and this one in eggplant and I really 100% appreciate how much they stressed keeping the prices low. I am never going to be able to buy a $400 light. Ever. But I can probably swing one for just under a hundred. Eventually.


vintage-y arcade pictures
Chris Lindstrom’s Professional Resume — Chris Lindstrom is one of my favorite people on the entire internet and this is perfect.


these dudes
Rae‘s Roadside America in Louisville — I love Rae, I love her photography, and I love kitschy Americana. Perfect.



Robert Ball
Kimmie‘s Candid/Not Candid which made me actually laugh out loud.


NICK MILLER
Kelly‘s frankfurt winter — I have known Kelly for a long time! We used to hang out in real life all the time. Now she’s all smart and cool and lives in Germany, but at least she takes super awesome pictures of her adventures and shares them with us boring people.


BLOG LIFE
This post about why Ben and Kate was/is so unbelievably great and also everything in my Ben and Kate tag on Tumblr.



Lorelay Bove
Kevin Babbles‘s Nuts — I didn’t develop an allergy until I was 20. I sympathize.


this perfect comic
& the artist’s ten year anniversary tweets about it

This Wikipedia list of 1990s one-hit wonders in the US is possibly the best thing I looked at this week. 1995-1997 were some good years.



Gail Albert Halaban

RIP 30 Rock
Every single post at Vintage Las Vegas!


NICK MILLER

If you haven’t eaten one of these, you are legit missing out.

fuckness by andersen prunty

I followed through on my own project! And read my book for The Casual-Ass Internet Book Club! Even if I’m probably the only one!

I’m not super great at writing about things I’ve read. This seems insane to me because I’m a generally competent1 writer and also I read kind of a lot2 and I feel that, by now, I should be able to make those two things work together.

Unfortunately, when I sit down to write or even talk about something I’ve read, I usually just go “THE SENTENCES AND HOW THEY MADE WORDS?! BUT ALSO IT WAS NOT LIKE… EXPECTATIONS?!?!”

With that in mind, Fuckness was okay3. Spoilers herein. » more: fuckness by andersen prunty

this is a post about sex toys

Internet! We need to have a conversation! A conversation about sex toys!

I bought my first sex toy when I was 18. I was in a sex shop on Santa Monica Boulevard with some of my friends. It was March, I think, and everyone was under 18 except me. We spent most of our time in the shop giggling and deciding whether or not we were going to get a psychic reading down the street. I bought one of those boring hard plastic ones — in zebra print — and one for each of my two best friends — in leopard and tiger of course — with the money I earned at my after school tutoring job. It was fun and funny and anti-climactic. That vibrator lasted for a super long time, but it most definitely wasn’t the last sex toy I bought.

I’ve ordered sex toys from all over the internet and bought other ones at The Toy Box on other giggling, joyful trips with friends and roommates.

I have used sex toys! I have bought sex toys as gifts! I have shared sex toys with partners! Sex toys are cool! And they can make your life better! You should buy a sex toy if it interests you! You shouldn’t be ashamed or embarrassed!

Though that part of the conversation is important — we should be no more ashamed of sex toys than we are of sex and we should be way less ashamed of sex than we are — the real crux of this conversation is this:

I’ve been following Epiphora since February of 2011. I’d already moved on from the cheap and/or shitty sex toys of my youth and upgraded to something expensive and rechargeable. But I hadn’t read much — anything at all — about the safety, durability, or care of sex toy materials.

This is a great, comprehensive post about the various materials you’re going to see in sex toys and how you should use and care for them. She covers the porous materials (jelly, TPE/TPR, rubber) because they’re extremely common, but were that post mine, it would just say, “If you have a porous toy, throw it away.”

Porous toys are gross and potentially dangerous. They smell bad, they can leech dye onto anything they touch, they off-gas like crazy. You always need to use a condom with them, they never really come clean, and they might cause an allergic reaction for your genitals.

If you have a porous toy, destroy it. No, really. Take pictures! Add to the Crystal Delights Wall of Shame. And then buy yourself something that’s actually worth your money and time. Your genitals are your friends! Give them what they deserve and stop buying into shitty companies who care so little about your well-being that they label everything “For Novelty Use Only” and don’t warn you about the dangers of their cheap materials.

Buy silicone! Buy wood! Buy aluminum! Buy stainless steel! Buy hard non-porous plastic if you must! Just don’t buy TPR/TPE, jelly, or rubber. Don’t buy porous toys!

I don’t own all of these, but here are some toys you should consider!
Mystic Wand [amazon]
Hitachi Magic Wand [amazon]
Lelo Liv [amazon]
Lelo Mona 2 [amazon]
Njoy Pure Wand [amazon]
Luxotiq Athena [amazon]
Tantus Mikey O2 [amazon]
Tantus Goddess [amazon]
Tantus Cush O2 [amazon]
Je Joue G-Ki [babeland]
Fucking Sculptures Corkscrew
Fucking Sculptures G-Spoon
If all those fail you, go here and start reading. She’ll get you to something you want.

If you’re on the market for a traditional rabbit, you’re kind of out of luck. Most are made with porous materials because they’re cheap and flexible. If you’re looking for a rabbit in silicone there are a couple, but they’re from those “novelty” companies and I don’t want to give them my trust or money. So really, if you’re able, just use two toys. I’m the laziest, more uncoordinated person alive and I can promise it’s not that bad.

If you’re really desperate for a single unit, there are some decent options. There’s the Vitality by Leaf [amazon] and Lelo’s Ina 2 [amazon] and Soraya [amazon] and Jopen’s got several [amazon] but the majority are just dual-stim vibrators and aren’t going to have the rotation that rabbits are known for. [ETA: Hope is not lost! Kira adds, “Jopen actually makes a number of rotating silicone rabbits, but you’ll pay out the ass for them. The Vr7, Vr10, Vr11, Vr12, Vr10.5, Vr15, Vr16, and Vr17 are all rotating. I have the 7 and 15. The 15 is one of my all time favorite toys EVER.”

If money’s a worry, Epiphora‘s got a great list of budget-friendly toys and I can personally recommend the Turbo Glider (ahh, college) and the Tantus Echo which is on closeout right now for $19.99. Twenty bucks for a beautifully designed, cool-as-hell looking, wonderfully textured, all-silicone dildo from an awesome manufacturer that loves their customers. There’s also the Charmer if you’re looking for something smaller.

Basically, what I’m saying is:

Sex is cool. Sex toys are great. Poke around and find something you like. For the love of all things beautiful and pure, don’t buy anything made from a porous material. Stick to the good stuff. Spend a little. You and your genitals are so, so worth it.