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Torrey Wenger @ecologyordie.bsky.social · 1d

You will not be disappointed in this thread. (Unless you didn't like the movies. These might be better, then.)

RiotGrlErin @riotgrlerin.bsky.social · 1d

the fellowship of the arts: thread

The Eye of Sauron in Still life with Oranges by Paul Gauguin.

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Torrey Wenger @ecologyordie.bsky.social · 1d

Oops, I forgot the narrator! Jonathan Johns was very good. British sounding, so pleasant to my American ears. 😉

Torrey Wenger @ecologyordie.bsky.social · 2d

Also, this book is *not* a surprise romance. (I swear, Swordheart has scarred me for life. 😆) It's straight up comedy/ fantasy/ war story/ horrible mystery/ rehab manual.

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Torrey Wenger @ecologyordie.bsky.social · 2d

If you know anything about wildlife rehab (spoiler: it's messy! & difficult! & sometimes heartbreaking) & you're wondering how an elf could do that & stay immaculate ... You gotta read the book.

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Torrey Wenger @ecologyordie.bsky.social · 2d

If you think war is horrible & stupid, & probably caused by people misunderstanding each other - but you want that in a comedic fantasy (because it's depressing in real life) - this is a great book for you.

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Torrey Wenger @ecologyordie.bsky.social · 2d

I mean, of course, it wouldn't be - Kingfisher is good with diverse types of people still being *people*.

So if you want to find out more about war teddy bears, trolls getting bandaged up, & beleaguered sergeants keeping their troops in line, this is a great book.

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Torrey Wenger @ecologyordie.bsky.social · 2d

The goblins are fighting a war with the humans (with pigs & enthusiasm, but not much skill) because they've been pushed out of their territory & now have nowhere to go.

Our goblins have a bunch of quirks, as does the elven wildlife rehabber, as do wizards - but that's not the source of the humor.

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Torrey Wenger @ecologyordie.bsky.social · 2d

Another long drive, another audiobook done!

Nine Goblins by T Kingfisher was great! Funny, a little tragic, & on-the-nose about the joys of wildlife rehab.

Basically, a ragtag team of goblins ends up *way* behind enemy lines & discover a horrible mystery.

💙📚
📚🪐
@tkingfisher.com

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Torrey Wenger @ecologyordie.bsky.social · 4d

Tusk?

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Torrey Wenger @ecologyordie.bsky.social · 6d

Some of the things I knew, some I didn't.

This book was obviously written after her YouTube videos got popular, because she's doing the same vocal changes for asides, sarcasm, parentheticals, etc.

If you're interested in weird questions about death, this is the book for you!

Torrey Wenger @ecologyordie.bsky.social · 6d

So there's 34 chapters, each one answering a different question. She tackles cannibalism - apparently human flesh just isn't that nutritious - & the smell of dead people (& also mummies) & what to do with an astronaut corpse in space.

(Also Mary Robinette Kowal's Lady Astronaut series...)

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Torrey Wenger @ecologyordie.bsky.social · 6d

Had a long drive today so I listened to a whole book! (It was a short one.) Caitlin Doughty narrated her book Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? Big Questions from Tiny Mortals About Death.

It was lots of fun! As the name implied, it was a Q&A book, with the questions supplied by kids.

💙📚

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Torrey Wenger @ecologyordie.bsky.social · 8d

If you're interested in words, this is a good option. 36 lectures, had an hour each, separated by canned applause. The only problem is that it's 10 years old so it's already out of date. 😆

Ooo, also, the meanings of words also change, like "peruse" is doing.

People make the language.

Torrey Wenger @ecologyordie.bsky.social · 8d

I don't retain info as well just by listening (especially when I'm also driving & obviously can't take notes) ... so her general audience book Says Who? is already in my TBR pile. (I'll probably get her textbook as well.)

My library is great! I'm so glad they had this.

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Torrey Wenger @ecologyordie.bsky.social · 8d

She talked about slang vs jargon, different dialects, & different Englishes in different countries. She talked about the various ways to make new words & how everything follows rules we might only know subconsciously.

& she talked about making dictionaries! She's on the usage committee!

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Torrey Wenger @ecologyordie.bsky.social · 8d

Some things I didn't, like how you can track some words being related despite how consonant sounds have shifted, like foot & podiatry.

I already knew about the great vowel shift, so "good food" no longer rhymes - but I didn't know about the northern cities vowel shift, right here where I live!

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Torrey Wenger @ecologyordie.bsky.social · 8d

If I had discovered linguistics before biology, my life might have taken a different course. 🥰

Some things I already knew, like English is a Germanic language that has borrowed lots of words from other languages. (Particularly during the Norman conquest & the Renaissance.)

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Torrey Wenger @ecologyordie.bsky.social · 8d

Yesterday I finished up my commuting audiobook, The Secret Life of Words: English Words & Their Origins by Anne Curzan. It's actually a series of 36 lectures, put out by The Great Courses (she's a professor at University of Michigan).

It was fantastic! So interesting!

💙📚

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Torrey Wenger @ecologyordie.bsky.social · 9d

I like the one yellow aster with all the purplish ones. 😉

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Torrey Wenger @ecologyordie.bsky.social · 9d

We need more human interaction in our lives, not less.

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Torrey Wenger @ecologyordie.bsky.social · 9d

Was this choice driven by necessity (not enough people applying, too hard to staff) or by choice (kiosks are less expensive than employees)?

Some things were missing off the menu - & you can't ask questions or complain to the kiosk.

Not a fan.

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Torrey Wenger @ecologyordie.bsky.social · 9d

We interviewed a dog last night, then got fast food on the way home. It's been years since I've been in a McDonald's, I guess, because we had to order at a kiosk. We'd have gotten more human interaction going thru the drive-thru.

Not a fan.

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Torrey Wenger @ecologyordie.bsky.social · 9d

(I wish 🤣 or 🙀 was a "like", not just the ♥️. They used gulls in The Birds for a reason!)

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Torrey Wenger @ecologyordie.bsky.social · 10d

Look at that beak - It knows it could take you... 💀

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Torrey Wenger @ecologyordie.bsky.social · 10d

But you have to be smart to be that funny... (& if you don't think Emo is funny, you have to admit he's got good language skills.)