Wow, I read a lot of books in May. However, most of them were short, so it's actually not like I read more than I normally do. It just seems that way.
Mann, Thomas: Death in Venice. Penguin. 1991After
Buddenbrooks, this was my second Mann. It was not as addictive as
Buddenbrooks, but certainly still a very good novella. I feel like Mann is so very good at describing the "summer vibe" - that very distinct feeling when you're on vacation and time seems somehow suspended. He does that both in
Buddenbrooks and in
Death in Venice. I've never seen that particular feeling described anywhere else so poignantly.
Taylor, Peter: A Summons to Memphis. Vintage. 1999.Not a very successful outing as I felt I should have gotten more out of this book than I actually did. There is lot going on under the surface, but somehow I didn't connect with that subtext.
DeLillo, Don: The Silence. Scribner. 2020.Mhm, no. This is only 100 pages long and tries to be philosophical and dystopian, but it never spends enough time with any of the many topics and themes that get mentioned to feel in any way rewarding. And the dialogues were just ... baaaaaad. Oh, my.
Richardson, Kim Michele: The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek. Sourcebook Landmarks. 2019.After Jojo Moyes'
The Bringer of Stars my second novel about the Kentucky Pack Horse Library, which is an absolutely fascinating topic, but apparently no one is able to put that into a good novel. Any Americans here who could recommend something worthwhile on the subject of the Pack Horse Library? Is there a good non-fiction book where I could learn more about it? Novels don't seem to cut it.
Kopetzky, Steffen: Damenopfer. Rowohlt. 2023 (German)Kopetzky writes interesting historical novels that are a little off the beaten path. This one is about an actual historical figure (
Larissa Reissner), but most importantly it's about the cultural and political shift in Europe (Soviet Russia and Germany in particular) that took place in the 1920s. Very interesting if you like a good panorama - lots of name-dropping from Stalin to Nabokov included!
Lewis, Herbert Clyde: Gentleman Overboard. Boiler Press. 2021.This was the highlight of the month, I enjoyed this a lot! It's a short novel about a gentleman (that detail is important) who goes on a sea voyage and falls off the ship. Instead of screaming for help he decides instead to not inconvenience anyone. Things will sort themselves out ... yeah, sure. This was half satire, half psychoanalysis. And the authorial voice was to-die-for.
Forster, E. M.: The Longest Journey. Penguin. 2006.Apperently, this was Forster's favourite amongst his novels. However, it feels a bit disjointed and never turned into a cohesive narrative for me. It had strong moments and scenes, but it smelled a little of Hardy to me in the sense that the plot was so terribly ill-fated. But again: Forster has a knack for really strong endings!
Mina, Denise: Rizzio. Polygon. 2021.Not worth your time if you have even a passing knowledge of the Mary Stuart and Rizzio story. Denise Mina doesn't add anything new (apart from alluding to something going on between Rizzio and Darnley, because apparently we can't do without a queer angle nowadays). This read like barely fictionalised non-fiction. Or it read like gapfiller fanfic from someone just starting out in a fandom and trying something safe. Forgettable.
Brautigan, Richard: The Hawkline Monster. Canongate. 2017.
Absurd and funny. Quite possibly written while the author was either drunk or high or even both. But I was amused and laughed out loud several times, so that was a win. Also, it's short and therefore doesn't overstay its welcome. (Always a problem with humour - oftentimes it simply goes on for too long, which sucks the fun out of it.)
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Thursday ✎ Immortality [DW]
Jun. 4th, 2026 12:22 amToday's theme is immortality (or something like it). No matter the life expectancy of your characters, it's likely that they want to "live on" in some form or fashion. Actually living forever, existing in the memories of those they know, being remembered by history centuries or millennia later... Or, y'know, maybe they can't die and would like to know what they're missing. Let's explore what it means to be immortalized, whether by natural or supernatural means.
Feel free to add specifics to your prompts, like whether you'd prefer a gen fill over something shippy, or if you have a squick or trigger you hope to avoid. Original fiction, fanfiction, and fanfic crossovers are always welcome. ~_^
Just a few rules:
No more than five prompts in a row.
No more than three prompts in the same fandom.
Use the character's full names and the fandom's full name
No spoilers in prompts for a month after airing, or use the spoiler cut option found here. Unfortunately, DW doesn’t have a cut tag, so use your best judgment when it comes to spoilers.
If your fill contains spoilers, warn and leave plenty of space, or use the above-mentioned spoiler cut.
Prompts should be formatted as follows: [Use the character's full names and fandom's full name]
Fandom, Character +/ Character, Prompt
Some examples to get things started...
+ Star Wars, any Force ghost (+/ any), sensing and being sensed by the living
+ Guilty Gear, Axl Low and/or Raven (+/ any), all the time in the world
+ author's choice, any (+/ any), becoming part of a legend in which their real name isn't a known or remembered detail of their story
We are on AO3! If you fill a prompt and post it to AO3, please add it to the Bite Sized Bits of Fic from 2026 collection. See further notes on this option here.
Not feeling any of today’s prompts? You can use LJ’s advanced search options to limit keyword results to only comments in this community. Fret not, DW members; we are working on a way to search through old entries for prompts for you! As of right now, the best way to search for a lonely prompt on DW is to search the community’s archive, which can be found [[HERE]].
While the use of LJ's advanced search and DW’s archive are options, bookmarking the links of prompts you like might work better for searching in the future.
As a friendly reminder about our schedule, Lonely Prompts and sharing completed fills are encouraged on Sundays, while new themes and prompts are posted on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Saturdays are a Free for All day. We'll share our posts on DW and LJ for everyone's convenience. Keep an eye out for notifications!
If you have a Dreamwidth account and would feel more comfortable participating there, please feel free to do so… and spread the word!
tag=Immortality