Author | Lightnews

Reposted by Torrey Wenger

Caio Almendra @caioalmendra.bsky.social · 21h

This will be a long thread on yesterday police massacre in Rio.

In nothern Rio de Janeiro city, there is a couple of hills called Complexo da Penha. It's Comando Vermelho("Red Command", a drug gang), or CV, territory.

CV is the greatest gang in Rio, second in the whole Brazil.

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yazikus @yazikus.bsky.social · 22h

🧵 Awful awful massacre in Brazil

Caio Almendra @caioalmendra.bsky.social · 1d

Gente, é o maior massacre no Brasil desde o Araguaia. Entendo quem quer puxar pra Canudos ou Contestado ou etc, mas não podemos livrar a ditadura de 64 só porque ela escondia melhor seus corpos.

Morreram 41 guerrilheiros comunistas e mais de 1200 camponeses no Araguaia.

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Torrey Wenger @ecologyordie.bsky.social · 2d

Thank you for finding me someone to block.

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Torrey Wenger @ecologyordie.bsky.social · 3d

No, I didn't. I hate being so tired & making stupid mistakes like that. 😑

So, thanks for finding me someone to block.

Torrey Wenger @ecologyordie.bsky.social · 4d

Huh, I already have him blocked. Go figure. 🙄

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Torrey Wenger @ecologyordie.bsky.social · 4d

But the book isn't on Etsy. That's OK, I can probably search it out here. (This is my coworker's 2nd year teaching chemistry & I figured she might be able to adapt a lab.)

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Torrey Wenger @ecologyordie.bsky.social · 5d

I see you're not shipping to the US right now. 😭 (No, I know why. It's a stupid, slow moving, poorly written political disaster movie.)

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Torrey Wenger @ecologyordie.bsky.social · 5d

I shared that before she was done & only recognized Betty White - but now there's also Dolly Parton.

I've stopped paying attention to visual media? The more adult I get, the more stressed I get, the worse I remember? I'm not good with facial recognition?

(Honestly, it's probably all 3.)

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Torrey Wenger @ecologyordie.bsky.social · 5d

I don't care so much about the celebrities but the crabs are stunning.

RiotGrlErin @riotgrlerin.bsky.social · 5d

idk why i noticed this but these crabs and celebrities look like they share a stylist: thread

Gigi Hadid in a blue, coral and orange yoga wind suit looking set.

A crab that matches the vibe/aesthetic almost exactly.

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Torrey Wenger @ecologyordie.bsky.social · 5d

So, if you love books, especially classical literature, you might like this. If you like slightly surreal adventures, also a good choice. Work in a bookstore? Yep. Like talking philosophy? This might suit you.

Also, Tiger the Tabby (the cat) is actually from a kid's book? Maybe?

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Torrey Wenger @ecologyordie.bsky.social · 5d

There's also personal growth, name-dropping of classical literature, & details of Japanese life. (Like, the school has clubs that meet in the morning, before classes.) Ooo, & maybe first love?

It's an interesting little book. I need to read it, tho, to see the Japanese names & phrases.

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Torrey Wenger @ecologyordie.bsky.social · 6d

Ug, I forgot!
💙📚
📚🪐

Anyways, this talking cat says he needs Rintaro's help in rescuing books. Together they travel to another realm & ... well, try to save books. There's 3 labyrinths, plus a bonus adventure.

There's lots of talk about the importance & power of books.

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Torrey Wenger @ecologyordie.bsky.social · 6d

Our next book group selection is The Cat Who Saved Books, written by Sosuke Natsukawa, translated from Japanese to English by Louise Heal Kawai, & narrated by Kevin Shen.

A reclusive high school kid lives with his bookstore-owning grandfather. Then his grampa dies & a talking cat shows up.

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Torrey Wenger @ecologyordie.bsky.social · 8d

I know it's a small problem, but my key fob is dying. It's not the battery, it's the key fob itself. 😑

Torrey Wenger @ecologyordie.bsky.social · 8d

@jimchines.com When you come for the book party, could you also bring a couple goblin names? I gave Amelia Sands to a couple of girls when they were done with a quiz ... & maybe that was a bad idea. 😆

Torrey Wenger @ecologyordie.bsky.social · 9d

Thank you for finding me someone (used loosely) to block.

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Torrey Wenger @ecologyordie.bsky.social · 11d

But it all connects together! & all those flashbacks (well, reminiscing, since it's a 1st person book) undergird important plot points.

This is a book I'll have to get a physical copy of. (Which doesn't surprise me, I've got all the Radch books.) & I'm definitely gifting it to a couple people.

Torrey Wenger @ecologyordie.bsky.social · 11d

There's 2 different timelines - What's happening right now ("I noticed you as soon as you rode out of the forest with Mawat") & what happened in the past. & the past starts in the time of trilobites (!) & moves forward to the war between the cities (maybe 50 years ago).

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Torrey Wenger @ecologyordie.bsky.social · 11d

I had to look up how to spell the names (Eolo starts with a long a sound, similar to Spanish - I would have mangled that). The Wikipedia summary ignores a lot of characters & doesn't mention how suspenseful or interwoven the book is.

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Torrey Wenger @ecologyordie.bsky.social · 11d

Ooops, my timer ran out!

Adjoa Andoh was an excellent narrator, giving characters different voices & accents. The Raven (a god who inhabits a raven, duh) croaked, the head of the council & his daughter had the same accent but different voices, etc.

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Torrey Wenger @ecologyordie.bsky.social · 11d

Anyways, if you like philosophical discussions about weird ideas, you will like some of the narrator musings & asides. If you like medieval-ish political mysteries, this might fit you. If you like being pulled into a book, definitely.

I highly recommend you try this one, & let me know.

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Torrey Wenger @ecologyordie.bsky.social · 11d

If you liked the Imperial Radch books, this is nothing like that ... except maybe it is? The god telling the story cares for their people, regardless of their lack of standing in society. Eolo is wise & brave, but is an outsider in more ways than one. & good maybe triumphs?

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Torrey Wenger @ecologyordie.bsky.social · 11d

So there's multiple layers of mystery - What happened to Mawat's father? Which god is telling this story? What actually happened in the war with the city-state across the strait?

Honestly, most days I was so caught up, I wanted to keep driving so I could hear more.

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Torrey Wenger @ecologyordie.bsky.social · 11d

Eolo isn't even the major character in this story - That would probably be Mawat, the rightful heir. Eolo is Mawat's aid, adjacent to (human) power but not possessing much of his own.

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Torrey Wenger @ecologyordie.bsky.social · 11d

In this world, the words of gods have power. So, if I say "the moon is made of cheese", either that statement is true or I have to spend power to make it true. & there's big gods with lots of power & little gods with just a little power.

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Torrey Wenger @ecologyordie.bsky.social · 11d

This book is very interestingly written - It's first person, but a lot of time that person is describing the actions of Eolo as if speaking to him. (Hearing the narrator say "you" was very effective.)

But who exactly is the narrator, & can we trust them?

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