Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

LightNews

Lin Darrow

@lindarrow.bsky.social

75 followers 41 following 87 posts

PhD. She/Her. Writer of Shaderunners, a comic about stealing colours. Chaotic movie posts and general Victorianist geekery. Repped by Lucienne Diver (@luciennediver.bsky.social‬). Art by Alex Assan (@alexassan.com‬).

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Lin Darrow @lindarrow.bsky.social · Aug 11

COMIC: Shaderunners.com 🍸💚 Queer Prohibition heist fantasy comic about bootlegging bottled colour, nearing the end of its decade-long run!

Lin Darrow @lindarrow.bsky.social · 3d

personally i love him

Yesterday’s Print @yesterdaysprint.bsky.social · Mar 18

The Winnipeg Tribune, Manitoba, March 18, 1904

Lin Darrow @lindarrow.bsky.social · 11d

Third film for #CIFF: Hedda, a Sapphic adaptation of Ibsen's Hedda Gabbler that updates the play from the 19th Century to the 1950s. I felt it was a bit psychologically restrained, but the recasting of Lovborg as a woman is genius; genuinely elevating to already great material.

Lin Darrow @lindarrow.bsky.social · 11d

2. The scene where Lorenz tells an endless anecdote about a little mouse to EB White, who then nods sagely, flips open his little three ring notebook, and presumably writes down the words, “Stuart, little mouse.”

Lin Darrow @lindarrow.bsky.social · 11d

1. The appearance of literal Baby Stephen Sondheim in a little bitchy suit roasting Lorenz Hart’s sloppy lyrics.

Lin Darrow @lindarrow.bsky.social · 11d

Second film at #CIFF: Blue Moon, about Lorenz Hart trying to keep it together on the opening night of Oklahoma! Marathon Ethan Hawke performance. A movie about the pains of collaboration & the agony of popular inoffensive art. 2 scenes made me absolutely lose it--spoilers in 🧵

Lin Darrow @lindarrow.bsky.social · 11d

She's one of those 'constantly making you hold multiple complex ideas in your head at the same time' writers, which I love.

Vita "Empancipated Blacula" Ayala @definitelyvita.bsky.social · 11d

One of the many things that I believe puts Butler's Parable books above more popular apocalyptic/post-poc fiction is that they offer the seeds of solutions/paths forward for humanity.

Lin Darrow @lindarrow.bsky.social · 12d

Seeing some films at #CIFF! First up: Kiss of the Spider-Woman. I liked the central paradox, that we can't live without fantasy but, conversely, cannot /live/ in fantasies. But I thought the in-world film they're recreating together could have better evoked the style and look of old Hollywood.

Lin Darrow @lindarrow.bsky.social · 12d

2. The scene where Lorenz tells an endless anecdote about a little mouse to EB White, who then nods sagely, flips open his little three ring notebook, and presumably writes down the words, “Stuart, little mouse.”

Lin Darrow @lindarrow.bsky.social · 12d

1. The appearance of literal Baby Stephen Sondheim in a little bitchy suit roasting Lorenz Hart’s sloppy lyrics.

Lin Darrow @lindarrow.bsky.social · 12d

Second film at #CIFF: Blue Moon, about Lorenz Hart trying to keep it together on the opening night of Oklahoma! Marathon performance from Ethan Hawke in a movie about the pains of collaboration and the agony of popular inoffensive art. Two scenes made me absolutely lose it, though--spoilers in 🧵

Lin Darrow @lindarrow.bsky.social · 18d

7. Final recs for newbies: Octavia Butler (scifi), Shirley Jackson (horror), Terry Pratchett (fantasy), the Sherlock Holmes shorts (detective), Butcher's Dresden Files (paranormal mystery), Kate Beaton & EM Carroll (comics, history/realism and horror respectively), and Fonda Lee (fantasy/noir)!

Lin Darrow @lindarrow.bsky.social · 18d

6. Finally, if you’re not liking something, don’t feel pressure to finish it. It may be that you don't hate reading, you're just not finding books that align with your tastes and interests. Explore genres and find what you like and don't like!

Lin Darrow @lindarrow.bsky.social · 18d

5.5. Other non-fiction recs that I think would snag new readers: Sherri L Smith's American Wings (about WW1 & WW2-era Black aviators), Weir's books on the Six Wives of Henry VIII, Finkel's The Art Thief, Lansing's Endurance (explorers trapped in the Arctic), & Mineko Iwasaki's Geisha: A Life.

Lin Darrow @lindarrow.bsky.social · 18d

5.5. Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster by John Krakauer is another one I see people list as their reading breakthrough. Non-fiction audiobooks are my go-to when I want to vary things up, partially because they share a lot in common with podcasts.

Lin Darrow @lindarrow.bsky.social · 18d

5. Audiobooks are an artform all their own. They're great for commutes, chore time, and when you're doing things you don't need full concentration for. If you don't have time to sit down and read traditionally, audiobooks have the convenience factor.

Lin Darrow @lindarrow.bsky.social · 18d

4.5. Books that are more episodic in structure can be good for new readers, too. Stephen Graham Jones' Mongrels, a coming-of-age story about a working class werewolf family, is funny and warm and you can graduate to his more structurally ambitious horror books after if you dig his style!

Lin Darrow @lindarrow.bsky.social · 18d

4. Tackling longer books, remember there's no timeline. Read a chapter a day or a chapter a week if you want. Tracking your progress on Goodreads is one way to make this fun. You get both the accomplishment of adding a book to your shelf when you're done and the pleasure of community.

Lin Darrow @lindarrow.bsky.social · 18d

3.5. William Goldman's Princess Bride is so funny and reads like someone telling you a story, it's a great pick for non-readers. It's got plenty of surprises even if you have seen the movie.

Lin Darrow @lindarrow.bsky.social · 18d

3. Find your genre! You might enjoy the lightness and character-focus of romance, for example, or the faster pace of thrillers, but you have to try them out to see. Consider what you like in other media and start there.

Lin Darrow @lindarrow.bsky.social · 18d

2.5. I sometimes throw on a fantasy music playlist when I'm reading fantasy, for example. Sometimes this is about finding a spot or time to read. I used to read a lot on the bus, for example, because the rumble of the bus and the quiet of my evening commute were really lovely.

Lin Darrow @lindarrow.bsky.social · 18d

2. Instead of thinking of reading as a task, find some way to make it a pleasurable experience. Reading in bed or the bath, or making a hot drink, or listening to appropriate ambiance or instrumental music can make it feel more immersive/relaxing.

Lin Darrow @lindarrow.bsky.social · 18d

1.5. My favourite novellas are Wells' Murderbot (funny scifi) and Larsen's Passing (psychologically fascinating 1920s drama about two Black women who pass for white). For short stories, I often start my students off with David Sedaris, esp. Santaland Diaries (about being an Xmas mall elf).

Lin Darrow @lindarrow.bsky.social · 18d

1. Reading is a muscle and you get better the more you do it. Your brain will start expanding imaginatively and creatively, even if you're struggling to get into it. Give it time and try to start small--novellas, short stories, comics and YA take less time to read.

Lin Darrow @lindarrow.bsky.social · 18d

Do you hate reading but kind of wish you didn't? Here are some tips for getting into it from a lit professor. 🧵 With good book recs for reluctant readers!

Lin Darrow @lindarrow.bsky.social · 19d

Kpop Demon Hunters is really about the undeniable power of three girls walking together in a line.