Elfundertheshelf commented on Elfundertheshelf's update
Elfundertheshelf earned a badge

Spring 2026 Readalong
Read at least 1 book in the Spring 2026 Readalong.
Elfundertheshelf commented on Elfundertheshelf's review of When We Lost Our Heads
"Dad! We have new nosy neighbours. I'm going to go be a hateful and insufferable human along with their daughter (squeals of laughter)"
Elfundertheshelf commented on Avalon's update
Avalon started reading...

When We Lost Our Heads
Heather O'Neill
Elfundertheshelf commented on a post
“a brown carp cleared the final gate of the city’s dams and became a calico dragon.”
this is a really interesting story in chinese mythology!! the story goes that when yu the great was regulating the flow of rivers and watercourses, he cleaved apart the mountains with an axe, creating what's known today as the jinshaan gorge between shaanxi and shanxi, which is the narrowest part of the yellow river. but what he didn't know was that the carp in the yellow river were swept downwards with the new currents that were created, and were unable to return to their home upriver.
these carp then went to tushan jiao, the wife of yu the great, and begged her to help them; upon hearing their plea, she pointed out the breach in the gorge to them, and told them that if they could leap across the breach, they would transform into dragons and ascend into the heavens. as promised, those who succeeded turned into dragons, but those who didn't were marked with a black scar on their heads. that's how the story of 鲤跃龙门/鲤鱼跳龙门 / the carp leaping over the dragon gate became an idiom to describe rapid advances in one's career and/or accomplishments.
fun fact: in journey to the west, 龙肝凤胆 / dragon liver and phoenix gall is a popular dish at the jade emperor's many banquets. this is a dish that, in the real world, is usually made with carp 😂
edit: forgot to link the videos i found!! here's one of a swarm of carp trying to swim upriver, and another higher-quality video here of a single carp and the butterfly that pointed the way for it
Elfundertheshelf TBR'd a book

Flyaway
Kathleen Jennings
Elfundertheshelf commented on ruiconteur's update
ruiconteur started reading...

The Empress of Salt and Fortune (The Singing Hills Cycle, #1)
Nghi Vo
Elfundertheshelf made progress on...
Elfundertheshelf started reading...

Orconomics (The Dark Profit Saga, #1)
J. Zachary Pike
Elfundertheshelf finished a book

Lady Susan
Jane Austen
Elfundertheshelf commented on Elfundertheshelf's review of I’m Glad My Mom Died
I am not going to leave a review in the general sense of the term it feels disingenuous and more than slightly pretentious to decide to have a high ground enough to start critiquing someone's deeply vulnerable story. Certain stories, especially memoirs like these are to be read not as entertainment but as a window to certain pockets of thoughts we are careful to tiptoe around. Books like these offer us a controlled space to do so because the main character is not directly ourselves.
Elfundertheshelf wrote a review...
I am not going to leave a review in the general sense of the term it feels disingenuous and more than slightly pretentious to decide to have a high ground enough to start critiquing someone's deeply vulnerable story. Certain stories, especially memoirs like these are to be read not as entertainment but as a window to certain pockets of thoughts we are careful to tiptoe around. Books like these offer us a controlled space to do so because the main character is not directly ourselves.
Elfundertheshelf finished a book

I’m Glad My Mom Died
Jennette McCurdy
Elfundertheshelf started reading...

I’m Glad My Mom Died
Jennette McCurdy
Elfundertheshelf started reading...

Trollheim: Tale of Sýstir
Georgia Summers
Elfundertheshelf commented on Elfundertheshelf's update
Elfundertheshelf earned a badge

Spring 2026 Readalong
Read at least 1 book in the Spring 2026 Readalong.