18 November 2022

Could You Repeat That? CXCVIII: Favorite Lines of Recent Reads

The Thousand Eyes, AK Larkwood
That made twice in an hour that he'd thought about her. It had been so very, very long. He didn't miss her, except in the way you missed the empty space when you stubbed your toe on something in the middle of the night.

The Last Days of Salton Academy, Jennifer Brozek
The plan worked for the first three yards.

Crusade, Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguie
In her four-inch heels she glided slowly to the window. She had learned centuries before that among those who could move with blinding speed, nothing aroused fear as one who moved slowly.

Star Wars: Dark Apprentice, Kevin J Anderson
"Is that wise, Admiral?" Leia asked.
"No," he said, "it is a trap."

My Two Souths: Blending the Flavors of India into a Southern Kitchen, Asha Gomez
I suspect I may have been a fruit bat in a former life.

Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African American Cooking, Toni Tipton-Martin
Despite all this name-calling, deviled crab is a spectacular first course.

And...


"All I want to know is who is bringing the chocolate cake," Aunt M. quietly demanded in a way that let everyone know she wasn't pleased.



A Prayer for the Crown-Shy, Becky Chambers
"Why did you lie to your father?" it said at last.
Dex shut their eyes and let out every breath they'd taken that day.

The Titan's Curse, Rick Riordan
The creature looked at me sadly. "Moooo!"
But I couldn't understand its thoughts. I only speak horse.

Wicked Hour, Chloe Neill
"Why do you eat the gummi bears' heads first?" I asked as we headed outside again.
"So they go down easier."
Shifter logic.



"The Boys Who Became the Hummingbirds," Moonshot: The Indigenous Comics Collection, Volume 2 (anthology), Daniel Heath Justice and Weshoyot Alvitre, et al
In their new forms, with eyes unveiled by fear or hate, they could see the very hearts of people. And to their amazement, in every direction they saw hummingbirds. The sound that had drawn them was a chorus of captive hearts.

Shadowed Steel, Chloe Neill
"That's why I've never touched another vampire. I've never known one who could compare to the possibility of you."

Being Seen: One Deafblind Woman's Fight to End Ableism, Elsa Sjunneson
And my hearing aids squealed.
Oh, you thought this was going to be hot crip sex? Sorry, I do nothing in this book without critical analysis.

And...


The message, in the vast bulk of science fiction, is that in the future, disability will have a nominal impact on your life because science and technology will have fixed you. This is not the same thing as saying that your disability will have a nominal impact on your life because you live in a world that has adapted to you.

A Mirror Mended, Alix E Harrow
"They didn't fight for you?"
Eva makes a scathing noise that tells me more than I wanted to know about her own parents, but Red answers with a soft and terrible brevity. "They did."

This is Not a Book About Benedict Cumberbatch, Tabitha Carvan
It's not going to be in the DSM, sure, but when a woman feels pleasure and then promptly goes to a psychologist to ask for it to be taken away, that seems like, I don't know, something.

And...


"It is just sheerly for fun," Emma says of fandom. "It is grace freely given. It is joy shared without consideration of compensation or payback."

The Affinities, Robert Charles Wilson
They're just old books, I wanted to say. But that would have been disingenuous. There were some good stories in there. Stories big enough to hide inside. And I imagined Geddy needed all the hiding places he could find.

Crumb, Ruby Tandoh
There is no such thing as a healthy cake and you should be suspicious of anything that claims to be one. If what you're eating really is low in fat, sugar, carbs, and salt, it's probably a vegetable.

Devouring Darkness, Chloe Neill
She changed the image on-screen to a vintage photograph of a teacher in front of an old-fashioned blackboard. On it, in white letters, was "Real Talk About Demons."

Can't Pay, Won't Pay: The Case for Economic Disobedience and Debt Abolition, Debt Collective
Our unpaid work under digital capitalism reminds us of how important unpaid labor has been over the entire history of our messed up economic system, whether it's enslaved labor of Africans and their descendants, the unpaid labor of women in the household to reproduce workers for capitalists--or us, the digital housewives of the internet--unwittingly providing value to the tech patriarchy.

And...


In the United States, the challenge isn't finding the money, it's ensuring that it goes to the things we need. We're in a power struggle over spending, not a struggle to raise funds.

Tomato Love, Joy Howard
But after endless tutorials in her kitchen and hours spent trying to decode measurements like "Until it tastes right," and, "I don't know how much...some," I've decided to make it my own way.

Hexed, Kevin Hearne
"Cool. This is so fucking cool."
"Reverence and awe?" I prodded her gently.
"I meant to say this blessed mystery fills my soul with light."

Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte
Catherine's face was just like the landscape--shadows and sunshine flitting over it in rapid succession; but the shadows rested longer, and the sunshine was more transient; and her poor little heart reproached itself for even that passing forgetfulness of its cares.

The Things They Carried, Tim O'Brien
If at the end of a war story you feel uplifted, or if you feel that some small bit of rectitude has been salvaged from the larger waste, then you have been made the victim of a very old and terrible lie.

Damned, Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguie
"You know this is probably a trap," Holgar called after her.
"Life's a trap," Jenn replied, and put on a burst of speed.
"Well, we're cheerful tonight," he said, smiling wryly.

Snacks for Dinner, Lukas Volger
What's the right size for one bite? If it's a two-bite affair, will it hold together after biting it in half, or threaten to crumble all over my lap? How can it be composed so as to minimize drips, spills, or structural collapse? How can it be presented so that the whole system of eating it--such as pairing it with various other elements of the meal--feels intuitive?

You're Invited, Amanda Jayatissa
No one seems to understand that real loss never eases; we just become more adept at carrying a weight that settles deeper in our chests, smiling through it, pretending like we are totally fine whenever someone mentions them.

Dead in Dallas, Charlaine Harris
"Hit the floor!" I yelled at the top of my lungs.
Every vampire obeyed.
So when the Fellowship opened fire, it was the humans that died.

The Gathering, Kelley Armstrong
"I like Daniel. He takes care of you."
I blinked. "Oh my God. Did you really just say that? He takes care of me?"
Dad flushed. "I didn't mean it like--"
"Takes care of me? Did I go to sleep and wake up in the nineteenth century?" I looked down at my jeans and T-shirt. "Ack! I can't go to school like this. Where's my corset? My bonnet?"

The Calling, Kelley Armstrong
Once we were walking, I started feeling more myself. I seemed to be establishing a pattern here. Muster my strength and charge forward. Collapse in a puddle of grief and guilt. Charge forward. Collapse again.

The Rising, Kelley Armstrong
We escaped the park. If you have enough of these encounters, eventually that's all it comes down to. Was anyone captured? Anyone hurt? No and no. Then it's not worthy of comment.

Sirocco: Fabulous Flavors from the Middle East, Sabrina Ghayour
The contents of your kitchen pantry say a lot about the kind of cook you are. Mine are so messy and crammed full of every little ingredient possible that I shudder to think what they say about me.

Dracula, Bram Stoker
Seeing from his violent demeanour that he was English, they gave him a ticket for the furthest station on the way thither that the train reached.

And...


There will be pain for us all; but it will not be all pain, nor will this pain be the last. We and you too--you most of all, my dear boy--will have to pass through the bitter water before we reach the sweet.

Dead Man's Hand, James J Butcher
"Give me a reason that actually matters."
"Because I didn't do anything wrong."
"You assaulted several Department Auditors."
"With nachos!"

The Moors, Jen Silverman
MASTIFF. The moors swallow all the sound.
We don't even hear our own intentions, after a time.
We're just filled with the sound
of things getting lost.

Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor, Xiran Jay Zhao
"Does China survive?" Qin Shi Huang asked, voice so low it rumbled like distant thunder.
"It does," Zack said between deep, disbelieving breaths. "It will."
Qin Shi Huang's bloody mouth crooked with a smirk. "Then let them say what they want."

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