So I’m re-reading the Vampire Chronicles, and discovering all over again that I love the way Anne Rice depicts sexuality, attraction, and affection in her books, not just among vampires, but among humans as well.
People in platonic relationships never hesitate to say that they love each other, to show affection, to kiss.
Sexual orientation doesn’t seem to exist, really, especially with the undead. It seems that a century or two of immortality has rendered most of them indifferent in regards to gender.
I love the repeated narrative of “I hate you, but I haven’t seen you in a really long time, and I missed hating you in person, so come here and let me hug you and tell you how beautiful you are.” There is something very poignant in the way that they treasure the familiar.
Consent is super important in sexual situations in her books, and in simple social situations, and in regards to the giving and receiving of blood.
It’s recognized that people who have been made vampires without their consent are victims of trauma, even if they are men.
no shade but doesn’t it get exhausting for some of y’all to hate literally everything???? i know you think it’s cool and edgy to dislike popular media but like….. it’s okay to enjoy things…. simmer down perhaps
Never feel guilty for reading fan fic at 3am. Everything is fanfic in the end. From fanfic you were made, to fanfic you shall return.
Read that which has been panned by literary snobs. Read novels churned out by the dozen by authors with a dozen pseudonyms.
Read your US and People. Flip through Popular Science just for the gadgets section. Read articles about the perfect chocolate chip cookie.
Read books outside your comfort zone. Don’t finish them if you don’t want. It’s the book’s fault, not yours.
Read in your comfort zone. Read a YA and romance and science if and fantasy.
Skip over the boring bits. Read it because you heard about it from Oprah or because everyone else is reading it.
Giggle yourself silly at something so poorly written and full of author wish fulfillment that you just can’t stop reading it.
Don’t listen to the keepers of taste and culture. Their reward comes every time they pat themselves on the back for their superior taste.
Don’t listen to the academics that bemoan the downfall of society and learning. They have been doing that since Socrates’ time.
Don’t listen to the tv presenters who insist you are not cultured if you haven’t read from this list of books.
Audio books count as reading. Ebooks count as reading. Fanfic of questionable quality counts as reading. Rereading books for the third time counts as reading. Reading to your child counts as reading. Reading from the back of the cereal box (and doing the puzzle) counts as reading.
TL;DR: read what you want. Don’t be ashamed. Never let someone try to make you feel bad for how or what you read and enjoy. Tell them that I, your Friendly Neighborhood Librarian have absolved you from your guilt and have given you special blessings. Go forth and read, my child.
I think it’s important to note that you’re not going to connect on a super deep level with every friend you have. There are many kinds of friendship and some of them involve just going for coffee, or just talking about a single, certain subject, or just chatting about books, or meeting up when the other is in town and doing the “how have you been?” routine for an hour and then saying goodbye.
Not every friendship is going to be this we-connect-on-every-level-no-one-has-ever-understood-me-this-way sort of soulmate. And that’s ok.
I think it’s important to note that there’s a difference because I never had the latter, what I’ll just call a kindred spirit, until I got to high school. And after that, I wanted all of my friendships to be like that, and when they weren’t I got frustrated, and probably ended up hurting a lot of people in the process when I burnt out or realized that isn’t what I really wanted.
Kindred or casual, neither is better than the other. Both are good. It’s ok to have kindred spirits and it’s ok to have casual friends–human beings need both. You can’t get to know everyone intimately, it’s impossible and exhausting.
And I just feel like there’s this perception that you have to have a best friend, like you have to choose, and you have to hold onto them for years and years and years, and all of your friends have to be kindred spirits or they’re “acquaintances” and I’ve seen so many people categorize their friends as like … if someone doesn’t know you intimately and won’t do certain things for you that are associated with kindred spirits they’re not “real/true friends” and I keep seeing this demarcation between “friends” and “best friends” and I think that’s kind of an unhealthy attitude and I don’t really think that’s true.
Sometimes you need someone you can spill your soul to, who peers into all your dark corners, who youdon’t lie to and who you feel gets you in a way no one else has. And that’s good and that’s healing.
Sometimes you just need someone who will geek out with you about a new rock or a new album or who is down for meeting you at a diner at 3 am or whatever and that’s it and there aren’t any expectations for soul-bearing (which is exhausting let me tell u what) and you’re both fine with that. And that’s good and that’s healing.
Listen, life is full of some really amazing things, and you’re going to meet some really amazing people. Sometimes they’ll hold your hand for the whole journey, or a long portion of it, and sometimes, they’ll just grab you and spin you around before letting go. And both are good.
It doesn’t matter how long they held it, what matters is that they took your hand. What matters is that they left you laughing.
Can I tell you a secret, though? My favorite style of art isn’t mine. It isn’t realism.
I like what I make because it feels the most like me. And I like lots of kinds of art, but my favorite styles that I like looking at the most are probably not what you’d expect from a photorealist. I like things like animated gifs and fan art and street art and vaporwave and amateur comics. I like selfies and cosplay and little kinky cartoons and monsters and cats in space. You know why that stuff is my favorite? Because it’s not about being “good.” Or being realistic or whatever. It’s about being yourself. To me, “good” art is when you can see the artist in the art. My favorite style of art is the artist.
And everyone is already themselves, you know? Everyone has opinions about what is pretty or what inspires them. Everyone has an artist in them. You just gotta figure out how to show it, which you will. All it takes is time and practice.
I-want-my-IWTV 