I cannot think of a more bizarre group to go after than asexuals. All they want is for people to be nice to them and Joanne is like, 'hmm, no thanks'

3. HEARTBURN by Nora Ephron, narrated by Meryl Streep. The narrator is Meryl Streep. Need I say more. (But seriously, Streep brings so much warmth and wit and snark.)

2. HARROW THE NINTH by Tamsyn Muir, narrated by Moira Quirk. Quirk is ridiculously talented. She pulls out all the stops for HARROW, foreshadowing the complicated plot using just the tone of her voice.

1. SATURATION POINT by Adrian Tchaikovsky, narrated by Emma Newman. At first I wasn’t sold on Newman’s narration (her American accent isn’t great), but voices play a big role in the story—and listening on audio gave me chills that print probably wouldn’t.

I like that interpretation. Before the costume party, he’s Severian the Torturer. After the party—and after he refuses to execute the woman there (whose name I don’t remember 😭)—he’s Severian, a torturer

What does this mean for the book as a whole, thematically? I think some of it is meant to be a reflection of the time travel that becomes more important in the later books. When time isn’t linear, neither is cause & effect, sign & signifier. But beyond that? No idea

Oh, and this, from page 12 of book 1 (one of the first things we read!): “We believe that we invent symbols. The truth is that they invent us; we are their creatures, shaped by their hard, defining edges.”

“The great question, then, … is that of determining what these symbols mean in and of themselves. We are like children who look at print and see a serpent in the last letter but one, and a sword in the last.”

Objects reflected in mirrors come into existence BECAUSE of the reflection. And then there’s this quote from book 3:

Over and over Severian emphasizes confusion of sign & signifier & signified—like reverse cause and effect? He acts in a play & the play comes true. He dresses up as himself for a costume party.

Oo I never tried the vanicream moisturizer but it looks awesome! I wish I had lip advice but tbh I just went through a billion burt’s bees because for some reason they worked better than anything fancy

Accutane is rouggghhh. Highly recommend heavy duty Eucerin cream (also lmk if you ever wanna commiserate with somebody!! It was tough for me but absolutely worth it)

That’s an excellent one! I appreciate the historical accuracy too