Disqus - Latest Comments for meave

Re: The 2026 Championship — The Tournament of Books

meave — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 18:22:23 -0000

weird! it's not spam now!

Re: The 2026 Championship — The Tournament of Books

meave — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 14:26:12 -0000

done!

Re: The 2026 Championship — The Tournament of Books

meave — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 13:02:38 -0000

apologies; four comments with links or that were really long got stuck in the spam filter. now approved.

Re: The Passenger Seat v. The Burning Heart of the World

meave — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 18:35:48 -0000

SOME OF US WHO ARE ME GET REALLY, REALLY TIRED OF THE ANNUAL "OÙ SONT LES NEIGESDENS D'ANTAN?" DISCOURSE.

because protest as you—general! plural! royal! tim!—will, you—insert previous insert here—do have expectations! and oh! have you—insert previous insert here—aired them this year. and i will grant that i am more sensitive to everything this year, because i'm emotionally exhausted for ~personal reasons~ as well the world being on fire and so much of that fire being the fault of the past, what, 70 years of my government's domestic and international policies. but when it's my literal job to read every comment, the ones bemoaning the lack of X or the preponderance of Y or "how did this avon imprint-ass title make the shortlist [not a direct quote]" stick out and pile up.

so if i can try to do something to give you—insert previous insert here—something new to complain about next year, then i have to try, because i really can't take another year of wondering if people are here out of some sense of, i don't know, duty, or tradition, or if you—insert previous inser here—really are getting more joy out of.

CAVEAT: i am NOT asking for apologies or explanations or whatever! everyone feels how they feel, part of the "fun" of every year is complaining hahahaha, i've been having a real annus horribilus since my jenny died last may, and, again this month has been particularly horrible and i've been taking everything too personally and been rotten about it!

but i'm genuinely trying to see things from your—see previous insert—perspective and try a new tack. is that an unreasonable thing to do when, again, the expectation may be unspoken, but it's there.

ps muppetlove you're the best i hold you in the highest esteem xx

Re: The Passenger Seat v. The Burning Heart of the World

meave — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 15:22:47 -0000

tbh i could vote in them, since they're anonymous, but i never remember when they are lol and it'd feel like putting my thumb on the scale.

Re: The Passenger Seat v. The Burning Heart of the World

meave — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 15:20:05 -0000

i am SO SORRY, phyllis.

Re: The Passenger Seat v. The Burning Heart of the World

meave — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 15:19:50 -0000

i mean, to one or more of the families / projects i sponsor / support myself? or if you're an nyc-area accountant-type person and want to donate your time to helping me open an online store so one of my friends can to sell his photographs? fuck yes.

Re: The Passenger Seat v. The Burning Heart of the World

meave — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 13:57:01 -0000

my poor sweet baby angels
so many beloved books left out of the tournament again
so many mids in their place
every word an insult
allow me to offer a salve to the wounds we've caused you:

this year, after you've read a book you think deserves a spot on the longlist, recommend it to me at tob-suggest at proton dot me. i'm not going to keep up with all the new releases this year; i never do, i cannot, i do my best to read some i think are good, but you all together are a lit-devouring horde. "meave is it not your job to keep up with the new releases for the tob?" literally this an annual part-time job, i'm sincerely trying to be more helpful to you.

guidelines
1. please have read it first. like give me one baby tiny sentence why you liked it. or like, the vibes?
2. i've got to be able to read the book before 1 november 1 2026. sorry that misses out the end-of-year super-duper special releases, but the tob's got deadlines.

here is a photo of our present foster, mamacita, mamita, gan chaille, she's very sweet and loves community participation (read: double snuggles)
https://uploads.disquscdn.c...

Re: The Passenger Seat v. The Burning Heart of the World

meave — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 13:26:09 -0000

okay now, here i must defend my good name.

i didn't say a thing about burning heart during the zombie voting period! in fact i didn't say boo to a goose about burning heart as regards the ToB until the tournament began, which was past the time the voting period had closed. i posted a couple of times on my bsky account when i was reading the book last year, before i'd nominated it for the long list, and i maintain an Always Repost Nancy Kricorian policy, but mainly i post palestinian fundraising campaigns and like, depressing news? i don't even know how many people who follow the ToB pay attention to my uh rather strident social media presence, which is mainly FREE PALESTINE/DONATE TO MY FAMILIES, SAVE THE ArQ, and JUSTICE FOR ARTSAKH.

the most i can say is that i was told the zombie vote counts around the end of january. so i don't see how my being openly in the fucking tank for my beloved burning heart could have swayed the zombie vote. if anyone can show me otherwise, i'll be … flattered?

Re: The Passenger Seat v. The Burning Heart of the World

meave — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 12:52:32 -0000

no no, i've been so out of pocket this month, it's perfectly reasonable to expect that i'm being a dick!

Re: The Passenger Seat v. The Burning Heart of the World

meave — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 12:51:38 -0000

oh, something to the effect of, although i was too young to be Really Into nirvana before his death, my understanding of cobain is that how he was a feminist who hated his misogynist fans, had a publicly difficult marriage, had longtime struggles with addiction, and his only connection to gun violence was his method of death; i don't understand why he's being brought into this at all. do correct me if i'm wrong.

Re: The Passenger Seat v. The Burning Heart of the World

meave — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 12:44:50 -0000

oh god i was teasing you, i'm so sorry

Re: The Passenger Seat v. The Burning Heart of the World

meave — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 12:43:29 -0000

fr fr

Re: The Passenger Seat v. The Burning Heart of the World

meave — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 12:41:08 -0000

can't believe you're admitting in public that your own brain is doing armenian genocide erasure, truly shocking

Re: The Passenger Seat v. The Burning Heart of the World

meave — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 12:39:21 -0000

i worry about my 19-year-old nephew but passenger seat was so fuckin bleak, like young men to middle-aged men just blackpilled to hell. the world is ruled by men who live 2 subjugate already, why do i need the origin story of two more failures who hurt people and are forgotten in the next wave of them?

Re: The Passenger Seat v. The Burning Heart of the World

meave — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 12:27:41 -0000

(my aside defending kurt cobain from contributing to any of this was also cut for space. we had a LOT to say about this judgment that didn't make it, alas)

Re: The Passenger Seat v. The Burning Heart of the World

meave — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 12:22:23 -0000

(we talked more about the perception of vera's and cousin nora's maturity as well, but, length)

Re: The Passenger Seat v. The Burning Heart of the World

meave — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 12:17:51 -0000

(we talked more about this, but there are length limits)

Re: The Passenger Seat v. The Burning Heart of the World

meave — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 12:16:47 -0000

LAUREN GETS ME

Re: The Passenger Seat v. The Burning Heart of the World

meave — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 10:00:48 -0000

if anyone is specifically interested in news about the Armenian community in Lebanon and Syria, one good source of news is the Armenian Orthodox Church , which has a working relationship with many regional religious organizations, and is a signatory to the World Council of Churches' Joint Ecumenical Statement on the Widening Conflict in the Middle East .

i'm not mrs. armenian apostolic catholic church, but the church is one of the best organizations keeping track of the minority armenian populations in the MENA region, which "may be spared" while their muslim friends and neighbors have not been granted any such potential reprieve. (the lines, pls read between them.)

Anyway, just MORE CONTEXT for Burning Heart of the World's story of genocide, resettlement, fleeing a civil war, and retraumatization by 9/11; the residents of Armenian neighborhoods of Bourj Hamoud who did not leave during the Lebanese civil war are in danger again because of external threats and the government's inability (refusal?) to protect its people or territory. the cycle of trauma is real to them again, as descendents of genocide survivors.

xoxo 😹😹😹

Re: The Catch v. Flesh — The Tournament of Books

meave — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 13:44:20 -0000

(we had also wondered that.)

Re: The Catch v. Flesh — The Tournament of Books

meave — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 13:41:18 -0000

i was reallyyyyyyyy skeptical but by the end was convinced they believed they were doing their best, whatever that meant to them.

Re: The Catch v. Flesh — The Tournament of Books

meave — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 13:39:53 -0000

9/11 triggered nora's PTSD from the lebanese civil war! it was the instigating action! and written deliberately so; armenian writers, in the homeland and the diaspora, do not fuck about with trauma, believe you me.

Re: The Catch v. Flesh — The Tournament of Books

meave — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 13:36:44 -0000

bannable offense

Re: The Catch v. Flesh — The Tournament of Books

meave — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 11:12:35 -0000

WAR CRIMES
😹😹😹