Welcome back to guest essayist, Valek Akechi! in this essay, Valek discusses Frances Burney's eighteenth-century work, The Witlings, which satirizes people who feign intellectual and literary knowledge for the sake of social standing. This essay was originally published on Scorpio Assassin Studios.

The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey is a science fiction exploration of self-determination, free will, and fate through gene expression. It's a fun psychological thriller with interesting women characters and plot twists going in every direction.

The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud was banned in Lackawanna County, New York over concerns that it could attract children to the occult. The decision was later reversed when parents and teachers complained of censorship. I've read this book for myself and use this video to explain some of the issues I have with the book as well as things that I think this book does well.

Have you ever thought about the kind of representation we get from Marvel Comics, TV shows, and movies? I think about this multiple times a day. I'm turning these thoughts into a series in which I deep dive into different characters and the pros and cons of the representation they offer. I'm starting with representation as it relates to disability. In this first episode, I discuss Charles Xavier, leader of the X-Men, and the tropes his character falls into as well as some of the ways he subverts common disability tropes. If you happen to be a fan of comics and related content like me and would like more like this, let me know in the comments, on social media, or by email which characters you would like me to cover in the future.

A Time to Dance offers South Asian, Hindu, and disability representation. Let's talk about why you should read this book during Disability Pride Month! Please note: this book discusses a traumatic amputation.

I'm thrilled to introduce guest essayist, Bryce Raffle, and his discussion on Dreadpunk which he defines as "gothing horror with an edge." Raffle marks the history of punk fiction as a genre and the development of its subgenres: cyberpunk, steampunk, dieselpunk, and dreadpunk. This essay was originally published on Threads That Bind. You can find more of Raffle's work at Deadsteam.

I'm so excited to introduce this essay by Valek Akechi which discusses religious readings of Dracula and their interpretations of characters who represent the conflict between Christianity and the religion of "the other." In particular, this essay studies the suppression of folk religion, magic, and superstition as Christianity spreads outward in the context of the nineteenth century. It also details the role that Gothic literature plays in critiquing the faults of religious while embracing the asthetic and the folk superstitions underlying varoius Christian traditions. This essay was originally published on Scorpio Assassin Studios. It can also be found on Neobook. I hope you enjoy!

Written by Raymond A. Villareal, A People's History of the Vampire Uprising is a work of socio-political satire and mystery-laced fantasy. This book tells the story of a CDC investigation into a new virus through documentary accounts such as news articles, research papers and diaries, legal and government documents, interview transcripts and the like.

Spider-man has long been a fan favorite. Fans of the superhero genre love debating which actor has best portrayed the character, and Spider-man memes run rampant on the internet. It makes sense that Spider-man would be so popular. He's relatable, personable, and funny. Despite having a second life as a masked crime-fighter, he deals with issues that are typical for a young adult like dating, chores, and navigating relationships with family. Due to his popularity, there is an abundance of Spider-man content out there, so today, I'm going to focus on The Amazing Spider-Man movies based on the comic book series of the same name.

I'm sure you'll notice that I'm reviewing a lot of children's books these days. Honestly, it's because I'm excited for all the stories I now get to read to my new Little One. It's taken time and effort to curate a small collection of books that I think he will not only enjoy, but also find uplifting and powerful forms of representation. I'm certain there will be times that being born to interracial, interabled, Queer parents isn't easy, and I want him to have aspects of himself and his family represented in the books he reads -- especially because he is unlikely to find many people in his circles who share his experiences at home.                   

If you've been following me, you may already know that I have a history of chronic illness. COVID wasn't kind to me, and it left me with functional neurological disorder, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, and small fiber neuropathy. These are all conditions that will probably never go away, but I'm working toward improved symptom management.

I've been spending some time putting together a small collection of children's books for our son. He's only four weeks old, but our household likes to read, so we are readying our home for one more reader. On nights when he gets a little fussy, I pull one of the books off the shelf to read to him. The most recent one I read was Black Boy Magic by Tex Stanly.