Latest Posts by he-who-devours-book - Page 5

What to do if you are facing eviction

Eviction protections are expiring across the United States and Canada right now, and millions of people are suddenly finding themselves facing eviction with a pandemic still raging and the start of winter just around the corner. 

Not knowing where you’re going to live next month is an unbelievably scary position to be in, and there are a lot of people out there who are facing this for the first time in their lives. It’s okay to be scared. But it’s also important to start taking steps to deal with this as soon as you realize that might be at risk of eviction. 

As someone who has worked in homelessness and housing advocacy my whole career, here’s what I recommend you do:

Do not leave your home. Many landlords count on their tenants not knowing or understanding their rights, and take advantage of that to try to illegally evict them without following proper procedure. I have seen landlords attempt some flagrantly illegal things during my time working with vulnerable people. Many landlords have been ignoring and violating eviction moratoriums during this pandemic. Don’t fall for it. There is a legal process that has to be followed to evict you, even if your name isn’t on the lease - your landlord cannot simply slip a note under your door ordering you out by the end of the week, no matter what they tell you. Do not leave your home until a judge orders you to do so. You may have a better shot in court than you think you do, and seeing the court process to the very end buys you valuable time to figure out your next move. 

Get a lawyer. Many legal aid societies and law school legal clinics offer free legal assistance for people facing eviction. Having a lawyer can make an enormous difference - one study found that people without lawyers were evicted 65% of the time, compared to just 15% of people who had legal representation. Start calling and contacting legal aid services as soon as your landlord threatens or files eviction - these services often only do intake for new clients on certain days, so it’s a good idea to research these services ahead of time. 

Understand your rights. The protections you have under the law depend on where you live - it’s critical that you take the time to educate yourself about what those protections are. Your area will likely have a Residential Tenancies Act, a Tenant Act, or something along those lines. Look online for information specific to your area. There may also be special protections and procedures in place because of the pandemic. If you live in NYC, for instance, you have a right to free legal counsel if you are facing eviction. Find out what protections you have in your area.

Contact resources in your area. Again, depending on where you live, there are different resources available. There may be a tenant support agency that can connect you to free legal resources directly. You might be eligible for unemployment benefits or emergency income. Your state or city might also have emergency funding or eviction prevention programs in place. NYC, for instance, offers “one shot deal” emergency grants that cover rental arrears for people who are facing eviction due to unexpected crises. You should also look at emergency housing options, community food banks, or other resources that can help you survive this situation. In many cities you can call 211 or 311 to learn more or about resources, or you can go online. 

Attend your eviction hearing. Once you are given a date and time for your eviction hearing, it is critical that you attend. Even if you have not paid rent in several months and you think your case is hopeless, you absolutely must show up for this hearing. If you don’t attend, you will lose by default - if you attend, you may be successful in winning leniency, the opportunity to pay back rent with a payment plan and avoid eviction, or even just a few weeks’ extension on the eviction date so you have more time to come up with a plan. Attend your hearing. 

Have a back-up plan. Even with legal aid resources on your side, you have to prepare for the possibility that you might not be able to fight your eviction. Buy yourself as much time as you can, and use that time to start researching possible options. Is there a cheaper room for rent that you can afford with your unemployment benefits? Do you know anyone you can stay with? Are there any housing non-profits in your area that can help? Do you have any leads on employment in the future? Explore your options, and remember that it’s okay to ask for help right now - people in your life can’t help you unless you tell them that you’re struggling. 

Call your representatives. You are not the only person suffering as a result of expiring COVID protections - your elected officials need to know that letting these programs expire is having serious, dire consequences for real people that they represent. Call everyone. Call the office of your congressman, call your MP, call your state senator, your MLA, your local city counsellors. Tell your story, and make as much noise as you can. It doesn’t guarantee that anything will be done, of course, but it makes the problem harder for your elected officials to ignore.

Important Resources for Americans: LawHelp.org - website for learning more about local laws and finding free legal aid in your area  JustShelter - a database of community resources available to people facing eviction (might not include all emergency pandemic programs) Eviction Moratorium Database - a database showing where evictions have been legally paused or restricted because of the pandemic National Evictions Database - a database where you can look up what the legal eviction process is supposed to look like in your state  Tenant’s Union Resources - a website where you can find information for the tenant’s union or pro-tenant organizations in your area  Legal Services - a federal non-profit that helps connect low-income households to legal resources for fighting eviction 

Fannie Mae Renters Resource Finder - a database that will tell you if your rental unit is federally financed, and show you resources to fight eviction accordingly  Freddie Mac Renters Resource Finder - another website to show you if your rental property is federally backed and connect you to resources

Eviction Lab - a website that outlines information about pandemic eviction moratoriums and restrictions currently in place in your state The National Housing Law Project - a comprehensive database of resources for people facing eviction or foreclosure  Important Resources for Canadians: The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation - up-to-date information about eviction moratoriums in each province and territory  Affordable Housing Programs Across Canada - information on affordable housing programs in each province and territory Western Law Eviction Information - a website outlining the eviction process in Ontario and what you need to do to fight it Community Legal Education Ontario - a website that shows the proper procedure for eviction in detail and outlines steps that can be taken to fight it  Nova Scotia Legal Residential Tenancy Law Resources - detailed information about the eviction process in Nova Scotia and how to fight it Centre for Public Legal Education Alberta - resources and information for renters facing eviction in Alberta  BC Housing - information and resources for tenants facing difficulties in British Columbia  Saskatchewan Office of Residential Tenancies - information for tenants facing difficulties in Saskatchewan  Tribunal Administratif du Logement - resources and information for tenants living in Quebec. Available in both English and French. 

I know the American healthcare system is already a joke but this is to funny

as requested- my zine about fat and plus size body types from instagram!💖 happy drawing everyone!

disclaimer: I am east asian. if anyone who is not white sees anything wrong with my phrasing, inaccuracies, or insensitivity, or something I missed, please feel free to add on. I’m just one person with one perspective; none of what I say should be taken as The Singular way to draw an Asian character. if you havent done so already, please take the effort to expand your view of Asian culture outside this one tutorial.

if a white person reblogs this and adds something stupid I’m going to bite and kick you like a wild animal

Art tutorials by Disney artists Griz and Norm Lemay

Just an FYI for those in the US with insurance issues

ohh capybara its a dog made of coconut

I’ve done some Twitter threads on this topic, so thought it might be nice to do a Tumblr post too. One of my pet peeves is when people act like adult fantasy (or sci-fi for that matter) is just a straight white dude thing and that diversity only exists in young adult fantasy. That’s such a disservice to all the authors of marginalized identities currently writing adult fantasy!

Authors and books below the cut, including links to Goodreads. I’m not providing trigger warnings (if I make the post too long Tumblr starts freaking out about it), but you can use the search function on Goodreads reviews to find more specifics. 

Keep reading

Every time I mention shopping online at whatever website

Some Fool; “Oh but you’ve gotta be really careful with that!”

Me, a 48th level blackbelt of buying things online; “Yes I am aware. I always check the seller rating and history and see how long they’ve been in business. Which is why I have never had a bad experience with them.”

That Same Fool, twelve seconds later; “Oh look at this cute thing I just bought on Wish!”

Me; oh my god

SenshiStock’s gallery consists of millions of pictures that are free to use as reference.

General Drawing Poses Sit and Kneel Dramatic and Reaching Drawing Poses Magic and Hogwarts Drawing Poses Staff Weapon Pose Reference Hammer, Axe and Bat Pose Reference Sword Weapon Drawing Reference Small Bladed Weapon Pose Reference Gun Weapon Pose Reference Bow and Arrow Archery Stock Foreshortening and Perspective Poses Dynamic Flying Falling Action Poses Deafeated or Laying Drawing Poses Magic Crystal Magical Girl Wand Weapon Transformations and Dance Cards Back Pose Reference Pin Up Inspired Poses for Drawing Performances Poses Life in General Poses Fights and Fighting Pose Reference Leaning Poses Classic Sailor Senshi Poses Wings Sailor Moon Villains Pairs Romance or Couples Pose Reference All the Male Stock Hanging Stock Drawing Reference Three or More Groups Instruments Mirrors Whip  Technobabble  

Okay so I followed this video about foreshortening and…

Sycra. I love you so much for making this video.

I love how the search function on this site is absolute garbage. I can look up a post word for word and I will NEVER find it

That one time I practiced drawing goats and sheep!

spooky!

This was drawn very fast and very badly colored in but… I had an idea, so I drew it. 

stinky bug man, that’s why.

The older they are the more eldritch they become

Something different from Beetlejuice? More likely than you think! These are angels!

Some fantasy and science fiction books with bisexual, pansexual, or otherwise multisexual protagonists. 

Similar posts:

Trans SFF

F/F SFF

Also, I swear that every time I make one of these I forget something. This time it was In the Vanishers’ Palace by Aliette de Bodard. It’s awesome, go read it.

If you want more queer science fiction and fantasy, you can visit my queer SFF database.

I’m not transcribing all the text, but you can find the titles, authors, information on TW, etc beneath the cut.

When possible, I’m linking to my database of queer books. The page for each book includes the synopsis, content warnings under spoiler tags, and links to reviews from queer readers. 

Keep reading

And now the bard’s items! Click for better quality, and the other tables are on my blog. More to come!

this is what i do with my free time apparently

I havent seen anyone talk about this yet so im making a post. 

So lets say you’re researching something for a paper (or just for fun) and the research paper you want to read is behind a paywall, or the site makes you create an account first, or makes you pay to download, or limits you to only 5 free articles, or otherwise makes it difficult for you to read what you want.

do not fear! copy the link to the article

go to sci-hub.se         (the url is always changing so its best to check out whereisscihub.now.sh to find what the current url is)

slap the article link in there

bam! free access! 

People who

Drink water voluntarily during meals terrify me. Like other than when you’re at restaurants. Like why the fuck would you want water when you could be having literally any other beverage in the fridge.

how to draw arms ? ? 

After so many years of LGBTQIAP+ lit struggling for recognition, it’s been pretty killer to watch literary news this year, and to watch it get more mainstream multimedia recognition than ever. And since I think at any given time, we could all use some good news about the progress of LGBTQIAP+ books in publishing, here’s to highlighting some (but not even all!) of this year’s biggest successes in mainstream media:

Picture Books

Julián is a Mermaid by Jessica Love was named one of Amazon’s best Children’s Books of the year for ages 3-5 and one of the Best Children’s Books of 2018 by New York Public Library, Time, and School Library Journal, as well as a Notable Children’s Book by The New York Times

Middle Grade

Hurricane Child by Kheryn Callender was named one of Booklist‘s Top 10 First Novels for Youth: 2018, a Malka Penn Award Honor Book,  and a Best Book of the Year by School Library Journal

Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World by Ashley Herring Blake was a recommended title for the 2019 NCTE Charlotte Huck Award for Outstanding Fiction for Children and was named one of the Best Children’s Books of 2018 by New York Public Library and Chicago  Public Library, and a Best Book of the Year by School Library Journal and NPR

Cardboard Kingdom by Chad Sell was named one of the Best Children’s Books of 2018 by New York Public Library and a Best Book of the Year by School Library Journal

Young Adult

*Graphic novels listed separately below

We Are Okay by Nina LaCour was awarded the Printz

The Art of Starving by Sam J. Miller won The Andre Norton Award for Outstanding Young Adult Science Fiction or Fantasy Book

Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert won the Stonewall Award

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee received a Stonewall Honor and made the 2018 Top Ten Best Fiction list by YALSA

The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater was a finalist for the LA Times Book Prize for Young Adult Literature

They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera was a finalist for the Carnegie Medal

The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James was a finalist for the Carnegie Medal

Out of the Blue by Sophie Cameron was a finalist for the Carnegie Medal and was named among the Best YA of 2018 for Feeding Imaginations by Kirkus

Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkamp hit the New York Times bestseller list and was named a Best YA of 2018 by Seventeen

Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli hit the New York Times bestseller list, was named Best Young Adult Fiction by Goodreads voters, and was named among the Best YA Romances of 2018 by Kirkus

The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee hit the New York Times bestseller list and was named among the Best Historical YA of 2018 by Kirkus

What If It’s Us? by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera was optioned for film, hit the New York Times bestseller list, and was named a Best YA of 2018 by Seventeen, Amazon, Bustle, Paste, B&N Teen Blog, and New York Public Library, and a Best Audiobook of 2018 by Audible

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan hit the New York Times bestseller list and was named to the Kids’ Indie Next List Top Ten for Winter 2018-19

Sadie by Courtney Summers hit the New York Times bestseller list and was named a Publishers Weekly Best YA of 2018, one of Booklist’s 10 Best YAs of 2018 for Adults, a Best Book of the Year by School Library Journal and NPR, a Best Teen Fiction of 2018 by Chicago Public Library, a Best YA Mystery and Thriller of 2018 by Kirkus, a Best Audiobook of 2018 by Google Play, and a Best YA of 2018 by B&N Teen Blog,  Paste, Amazon, and The Boston Globe

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland hit the New York Times bestseller list and was named a Best YA of 2018 by Seventeen, Amazon, School Library Journal, New York Public Library, B&N Teen Blog, and one of Booklist‘s 10 Best YAs of 2018 for Adults, as well as the Best YA of the Year by Paste

Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram was a finalist for the Morris Award and named a Publishers Weekly Best YA of 2018, a Best YA of 2018 by The Boston Globe, New York Public Library, Time, Amazon, and B&N Teen Blog, and among the Best YA Books of 2018 that Explore on Family and Self by Kirkus

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli released as a feature film called Love, Simon

The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth released as a feature film

Black Wings Beating by Alex London was named a Best YA of 2018 by Seventeen and Paste and a Best YA Fantasy of 2018 by Kirkus

People Like Us by Dana Mele was named a Best YA of 2018 by Seventeen

The Beauty that Remains by Ashley Woodfolk was named a Best YA of 2018 by Seventeen and Bustle, and the Best YA Debut of 2018 by Paste

Ship It by Britta Lundin was named a Best YA of 2018 by Seventeen

Camryn Garrett, author of 2019’s Full Disclosure, was named one of Teen Vogue‘s 21 Under 21 Class of 2018

Pulp by Robin Talley was named to the Kids’ Indie Next List Top Ten for Winter 2018-19 and included among the Best Teen Fiction of 2018 by Chicago Public Library and the Best YAs of 2018 by Paste

The Disasters by MK England was named to the Kids’ Indie Next List Top Ten for Winter 2018-19

Our Year of Maybe by Rachel Lynn Solomon was named to the Kids’ Indie Next List for Winter 2018-19

The Love & Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan was named to the Kids’ Indie Next List for Winter 2018-19

This is What it Feels Like by Rebecca Barrow was named to the Kids’ Indie Next List for Winter 2018-19

Blanca & Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore was named one of Tor.com Reviewers’ Best Books of 2018, a Best YA Fantasy of 2018 by Kirkus, a Best YA of 2018 by The Boston Globe, and a Best Book of the Year by School Library Journal

Summer Bird Blue by Akemi Dawn Bowman was named one of Booklist’s 10 Best YAs of 2018 for Adults, among the Best YA Books of 2018 About Speaking Your Truth by Kirkus, and a Best YA of 2018 by New York Public Library, B&N Teen Blog, and Paste

Dear Rachel Maddow by Adrienne Kisner was named a Best YA of 2018 by New York Public Library

Picture Us in the Light by Kelly Loy Gilbert was named a Best Book of the Year by School Library Journal and among the Best Teen Fiction of 2018 by Chicago Public Library, Best YA Books of 2018 that Explore Family and Self by Kirkus, and Best YAs of 2018 by B&N Teen Blog

A Room Away From the Wolves by Nova Ren Suma was named a Best Book of the Year by School Library Journal and NPR and a Best YA of 2018 by Bustle and Paste 

Girl Made of Stars by Ashley Herring Blake was named among the Best Teen Fiction of 2018 by Chicago Public Library and Best YAs of 2018 by B&N Teen Blog

The Apocalypse of Elena Mendoza by Shaun David Hutchinson was named among the Best Teen Fiction of 2018 by Chicago Public Library and a Best YA of 2018 by The Boston Globe

Odd One Out by Nic Stone was named a Best Book of 2018 by NPR and among the Best YAs of 2018 by The Boston Globe and Paste

The Summer of Jordi Perez (and the Best Burger in LA) by Amy Spalding was named a Best Book of 2018 by NPR, a Best YA Romance of 2018 by Kirkus, and among the Best YAs of 2018 by The Boston Globe and Paste

The Spy With the Red Balloon by Katherine Locke was named among the Best YAs of 2018 by Paste and B&N Teen Blog and among the Best Jewish Children’s Books of 2018 by Tablet

A Blade so Black by L.L. McKinney was named among the Best YAs of 2018 by Paste

Home and Away by Candice Montgomery was named among the Best YAs of 2018 by B&N Teen Blog and Paste and among the Best YA Mysteries and Thrillers of 2018 by Kirkus

Heart of Iron by Ashley Poston was named among the Best YAs of 2018 by Paste

For a Muse of Fire by Heidi Heilig was named among the Best YAs of 2018 by Paste

Anger is a Gift by Mark Oshiro was named among the Best YAs of 2018 by B&N Teen Blog and Paste and among the Best YA Books of 2018 About Speaking Your Truth by Kirkus

Hullmetal Girls by Emily Skrutskie was named among the Best YAs of 2018 by The Boston Globe and Paste

This is Kind of an Epic Love Story by Kheryn Callender was named among the Best YAs of 2018 by Bustle and B&N Teen Blog and a Best YA Romance of 2018 by Kirkus

Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand was named among the Best YAs of 2018 by Bustle

Summer of Salt by Katrina Leno was named among the Best YAs of 2018 by B&N Teen Blog

Final Draft by Riley Redgate was named among the Best YAs of 2018 by B&N Teen Blog and the Best YA Romances of 2018 by Kirkus

Running With Lions by Julian Winters was named among the Best YAs of 2018 by B&N Teen Blog

The Brilliant Death by Amy Rose Capetta was named among the Best YAs of 2018 by B&N Teen Blog and a Best YA Romance of 2018 by Kirkus

Jack of Hearts (and other parts) was named among the Best YAs of 2018 by B&N Teen Blog

Unbroken ed. by Marieke Nijkamp was named among the Best YAs of 2018 that Feed Imaginations by Kirkus

Fire Song by Adam Garnet Jones was named among the Best YA Books of 2018 that Explore on Family and Self by Kirkus

We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia is a Junior Library Guild selection

Romance

Rend by Roan Parrish was named a Best Romance of the Year by Amazon

Time Was by Ian McDonald was named a Best Book of 2018 by New York Public Library

When Katie Met Cassidy by Camille Perri was named a Best Book of 2018 by NPR

Contemporary and Historical Adult Fiction

Less by Andrew Sean Greer won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction

John Rechy received the 2017 Robert Kirsch Award

White Houses by Amy Bloom was named a Best Book of 2018 by New York Public Library

Who is Vera Kelly? by Rosalie Knecht was named a Best Book of 2018 by NPR

The House of Impossible Beauties by Joseph Cassara was named one of the Best Debuts of 2018 by Entertainment Weekly

Sugar Run by Mesha Maren was named to the January 2019 Indie Next List

SFF

Amberlough by Lara Elena Donnelly was nominated for a Nebula Award for Best Novel

The Black Tides of Heaven by JY Yang was nominated for a Nebula Award for Best Novella

River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey was nominated for a a Nebula Award for Best Novella

Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado was a finalist for the Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction

Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado is being developed into an FX series

The Gilda Stories by Jewelle Gomez is being developed into a TV series

Blackfish City by Sam J. Miller was named a Publishers Weekly Best SF/Fantasy/Horror of 2018 and a Kirkus Best Sci Fi and Fantasy of 2018

Confessions of the Fox by Jordy Rosenberg was named a Best Historical Fiction of 2018 , a Best Debut Fiction of 2018 by Kirkus, and among “10 More Great Debuts” by Entertainment Weekly, a supplement to their list of the 10 Best Debuts of the 2018

The Vanishers’ Palace by Aliette de Bodard was named one of Tor.com Reviewers’ Best Books of 2018

The Monster Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson was named one of Tor.com Reviewers’ Best Books of 2018

Vengeful by V.E. Schwab was named Best Science Fiction by Goodreads voters

Nonfiction

Garrard Conley’s memoir, Boy Erased, was released as a feature film and hit the New York Times bestseller list

I’m Afraid of Men by Vivek Shraya was named among the Best YA Books of 2018 About Speaking Your Truth by Kirkus

How to Write an Autobiographical Novel by Alexander Chee was named a Best Book by TIME, Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly, NPR, Wired, Esquire, Buzzfeed, New York Public Library, The A.V. Club, Book Riot, PopSugar, The Rumpus, My Republica, Paste, Bitch,Library Journal,Bustle, Christian Science Monitor,Shelf Awareness, Tor.com, Chicago Public Library, Entropy Magazine,The Chicago Review of Books, The Coil, iBooks, and Washington Independent Review of Books, and was longlisted for the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay

Poetry

Not Here by Hieu Minh Nguyen was named one of the Best Books of 2018 by New York Public Library

Graphic Novels

Bingo Love by Tee Franklin was named a Best Book of 2018 by NPR

My Brother’s Husband by Gengoroh Tagame, translated by Anne Ishii, was named among the Best YA Books of 2018 that Explore on Family and Self by Kirkus

Check, Please! by Ngozi Ukazu was a finalist for the Morris Award and named one of Booklist’s 10 Best YAs of 2018 for Adults, a Best YA of 2018 by New York Public Library and The Boston Globe, and among the Best YA Books of 2018 that Explore on Family and Self by Kirkus

The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang was named a Best YA of 2018 by Publishers Weekly, Amazon, New York Public Library, School Library Journal, NPR, and The Boston Globe

On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden was named a Publishers Weekly Best YA of 2018 and a Best Book of the Year by School Library Journal

For lists of the best queer books of 2018, check out these on BookRiot and Autostraddle!

Good News Roundup of LGBTQ Reads, 2018 Edition After so many years of LGBTQIAP+ lit struggling for recognition, it’s been pretty killer to watch literary news this year, and to watch it get more mainstream multimedia recognition than ever.

WE HAVE A PHOTO

OF A BLACK. HOLE.

THIS IS SO FANTASTIC!

Scientist: “w….what the fuck is that?”

THEY HAVE A DAMN GOOD POINT GIVES US ATTLEBOROUGH SLÖTH MEMES!

Why don’t we treat the BBC documentaries with the same kind of attention as other tv shows? Why aren’t people laughing together about the choreographed dancing birds, or talking about our teen Philippine Eagle daughter, or the velvet worm’s glue guns? I need my bbc documentary memes, where’s all my people?

The average women’s advice is ignored factoid actualy just statistical error.

average person listens to women’s advice. Oracle Cassandra who lives in Troy and knows exactly what’s up with that giant wooden horse is an outlier adn should not have been counted.

It’s a d20. We got a nat1 on it’s annual roll for the past three years. It’s refused to tell us what it rolled this year.

You travel to space to prove if the Earth is flat or not. You find that it is neither flat or round.

yo, are you the person with accidental math degree, and who gave their sister star money origami and 2000 nickels?? cause like that's the shit i wanna see more

i also accidentally got too many free pizzas from internet strangers, broke my arm trying to impress a crush, had a 3 day hangover in japan, needed stitches in both eyebrows (separate occasions), regularly signed up a  high school classmate to receive free mormon bibles, bought 144 reese peanut butter eggs b/c they were on a great sale, and bought 40 limes for the purpose of getting drunk in a computer science lab

and everything but the pizza was before i had internet followers encouraging me to do dumb crap for attention, so even i have no idea what i’m gonna do next