The Sublimation of the Self (philosophical post title) (short story review)

 

In 2026 so far, I have read an average of 0.75 short stories per month. That number is (hopefully) about to increase a heck ton for reasons I might explain later. 

 

This month's short story was Homecoming is Just Another Word for the Sublimation of the Self by Isabel J. Kim. I like Kim's work; I think she's written some good stuff. The hallmarks of her style (based on the four stories I've read) are wacky world-building, a nostalgic tone, second person perspective, fourth-wall breakage, dry humor, and a lot of asides. I've recommended a few of her stories to friends, but alas nobody ever reads them. This story (which I will call HIJAWFTSOTS, what a mouthful omg) was her debut. 

 

A lot of speculative fiction magazines publish their stories for free online, including this one. HIJAWFTSOTS was published by Clarkesworld Magazine. Clarkesworld also puts out a podcast, if you're not really into using your eyes. 

 

The reason I picked up this random 2021 short story from Kim's backlist: she's turning it into a novel this year called Sublimation. I hope Tor sends her on a book tour; I'll attend. But maybe I should actually stop impulse-purchasing tickets to events, because the May calendar is filling up already (and I'm "moving" 😵‍💫). Sublimation only comes out in June, though. It'll be fine. 

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In my opinion, most stories (but especially short stories) are best read without knowing much at all. But if you must have a basic premise: immigration across borders makes you split into two. One instance moves on and another identical version is left behind. 

 

Okay, that's enough context. Here's the review:

 

Homecoming is Just Another Word for the Sublimation of the Self by Isabel J. Kim

Publisher: Clarkesworld Magazine 

 

This is a very good short story with a neat concept, but I don't feel as attached to it as some of IJK's other work. She does a great job of describing a very true to life immigrant experience, but I feel like she focuses a little too much on the way it echoes our world and not enough on the differences. 

 

This doesn't have the wacky world-building I love in Freediver and Day Ten Thousand. The concept is much more tied to modern-day reality, which makes the ever-present nostalgia in these works hit even harder. Very excited to see what Kim can do in full-length novel format. 

 

Read: April 22, 2026

Rating: ★★★★½ / 5

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My Isabel J. Kim short story ranking (definitive correct opinion):

 

1. Day Ten Thousand (Clarkesworld)
2. Freediver (Reactor)
3. Homecoming is Just Another Word for the Sublimation of the Self 😮‍💨 (Clarkesworld)
4. Why Don't We Just Kill the Kid in the Omelas Hole (Clarkesworld)

 

The first short story of hers that I read was #4 on the above list: Omelas Hole is what I will call it (some of these titles could be Panic at the Disco songs). I read it because it was nominated for a 2025 Hugo Award. The 2026 nominees are out now! More on this in the future. 

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On Monday, I saw Joe Abercrombie and Scott Lynch pretend to be rivals on stage at Coolidge Corner Theater. It was a good event, and I'm glad I got tickets before they sold out. They talked a lot about Lonesome Dove and westerns. I got three books signed by Joe. I asked for a western (movie) recommendation, and he mentioned Unforgiven, which I will plan to watch before reading Red Country (the book is dedicated to Clint Eastwood after all). I regret not purchasing The Lies of Locke Lamora now, because Scott Lynch seems like a cool guy.  

 

Joe Abercrombie described his books as "incompetence porn", and I thought that was good. He's British, and that's good too. If you want some context on who Joe Abercrombie is: he writes really dark fantasy books about bad people that are sometimes trying to do the right thing. Very talented character writer, but not really into world-building. I also wouldn't describe him as much of a plot guy. He writes individual scenes really really well, but the books can be slow and meandering, though the payoff often is decent. There's a lot of good dramatic irony and dry humor. WOULD NOT recommend gifting one of his books to a 15 year old girl unless they've expressed interested in long fantasy books and seem cool with torture? I guess none of us are cool with torture, really. So maybe it's fine. 

I picked up a traffic cone on Monday as well. Made me feel like a BU student. Wish I was brave enough to take it home with me. 10/10 night in Brookline.  

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I mailed a package over the weekend and spent way too much money on shipping. (Maybe obvious) advice from Pratima: stuff whatever you are shipping into the smallest container possible. You're welcome.  

 

I'm in the middle of too many books at the moment. I had started The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook (Dungeon Crawler Carl #3), but then the Hugo list dropped and I made a big pivot. 

 

Skullduggery Pleasant and Tall Girl and ADVICE

 

Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy

 

Skulduggery Pleasant follows a girl named Stephanie who meets a (totally normal) flame-throwing skeleton detective man (Skulduggery Pleasant), accompanies him as they solve the “mystery” of her uncle’s death, and discovers a world of magic along the way. 

I had so much fun with this, and I genuinely wish I had read it as a kid, because it could’ve been a potential favorite. I would 100% recommend Skulduggery to younger readers; it might scratch a similar itch to books like Artemis Fowl. I enjoyed this more than some other middle grade I've read recently (i.e. Inkheart), but writing-quality-wise I don't think Skulduggery is quite on the same level. Of course, it's been a few years since I was in elementary/middle school, so take the rec with a single grain of salt or more if ya want.

 

There’s a lot of telling over showing, and the book is not too descriptive about characters/settings at all, which took me out of it a bit. Skulduggery is the one explaining who the bad guys are, and we just have to take his word for it that they are bad. The plot was fun enough, and the fight scenes were a bit blurry to me, but the banter between characters is where this book shines. Stephanie is so cool, and her dynamic with Skulduggery makes me happy. 

Read: April 17, 2026

Rating:  ★★★½ / 5

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Good relevant-to-me quotes from Skulduggery Pleasant (the book, not the guy):

 

"To be honest with you, it's not even my head... It's not. They ran away with my skull. I won this one in a poker game."

 

"There's a crossword in the paper my dad gets every single day. He starts it, makes up nonsensical words to fill in the blanks of the ones he doesn't know, and abandons the puzzle."

 

"Being a detective isn't all about torture and murder and monsters. Sometimes it gets truly unpleasant... The fate of the world may depend on whether or not you can bring yourself to visit your relatives." 

 

Above clip is proof that audiobook sound effects are not so bad if I don't hate the book. Very skelly, thank you. Also, embedding that was a pain, and I'll probably never do it again. 

 

I read this book because of some Reddit post asking for recommendations for books with main characters that are skellies. I don't think Skulduggery was what they were looking for, but it sure was what I was thinking about. It was first on my radar a long time ago because of Rick's Reading Recommendations (good page for middle grade/YA recommendations, though they're all from like ~15 years ago). Rick Riordan's website was a favorite place on the internet for a few years there. Can you tell I'm a Percy Jackson fan yet?

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Tall Girl (2019) - Nzingha Stewart

 

Griffin Gluck as Dunkers is the best part, though I don’t think I could be friends with him. Give me a million scenes with Dunk in it; it doesn’t even matter what he’s babbling about as long as babble happens. 

 

It’s wild to see Sabrina Carpenter here post-Girl-Meets-World, but pre-big-famous-Sabrina (before Espresso started entering my nightmares).

 

Movie premise is so silly. I hope it makes somebody feel seen, but it’s not good. Tall Guy Stig’s arc felt like it came out of nowhere too. 

 

I want to give this 2 stars so bad, but I must be honest. I think 3/10 is fair, but I have to rethink all my other low ratings. My Oxford Year (1 star) is so criminally bad, and Tall Girl simply does not deserve to be Oxford-Year-adjacent.

 

Rewatched on: April 17, 2026

Rating: ★½ / 5

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There's not much more to say about Tall Girl. I honestly enjoyed it! The movie was mainly a vehicle for having a silly night with some friends, and it served its function perfectly.  

 

No hate to Sabrina Carpenter, but the TikTok sound bites of her songs have been driving me nuts for years, I think. My fault for using social media, I know. 

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So the system data on my iPhone hit 94 GB, and I had to factory reset it. Advice from Pratima: don't wait 'til it gets to 94 GB to do something. The Apple Store guy recommended to not do a full iCloud restore. My photos/messages/contacts were all transferred, but I had to re-download all the apps. I have more advice from Pratima if you are considering doing this:

 

1. If you use WhatApp, make sure the chats are backed up to iCloud. 

 

2. If you're a nerd that uses Signal, set up the 64-character code to recover a backup.

 

3. Libby, specifically if you use tags or have a lot of library cards: back up your data with a recovery passkey. I didn't do this, and it's definitely the most upsetting thing I lost (uhh as far as I know). Not the end of the world, but nothing is the end of the world until the end of the world. 

 

I am not tech person despite my job title, but I'll update this list for my own benefit.  

 

iOS 26 is ugly @Tim Cook.  

 

Birthday

Six posts in and this blog is officially old enough to vote. I missed the actual anniversary (April 18), but happy 18th birthday to the version of Pratima that decided she must publish. 

 

On April 18 (in celebration ofc), I went to a daffodil field in Dartmouth, MA at Parsons Reserve. I went last year around the same time, but this time I brought my mom and sister, and we inaccurately recited some poetry. 

 

I wandered lonely as a Cloud
That floats on high o'er Vales and Hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd
A host of dancing Daffodils;

 

Thank u William Wordsworth for your worthy words.  

 

 

  

Review of The Drama + other thoughts (on The Drama)

 

The Drama (2026) - Kristoffer Borgli

Most unnatural conversation of all time causes problems. I thought this premise could've been more interesting than it was, if this movie was interested in nuance over black comedy, but that wasn't the goal here. I vehemently disagree with basically every decision made by every character, which was generally distracting too. 

 

Ending felt White Lotus-y in a bad way. I believe the best in most people, so sometimes cynical content is tough for me. It is funny, but it doesn't really feel honest. 

 

Zendaya and Pattinson had incredible negative chemistry, which would be a great thing except that they never had positive chemistry either. Two pretty people do not inherently make a good believable couple, sorry. 

 

The Drama is more evidence for my theory that every other British man is named Charlie. 

 

I enjoyed watching it, though. The movie made me chuckle at a few points, and I never had any idea what direction this was going to go, which was pretty fun. The music and cinematography felt seamless to me, if not necessarily my vibe. 

 

I did in fact watch this 98% for Robert Pattinson's face and 2% to know what all the fuss (THE DRAMA) was about. I'll watch The Batman one day too, for research.

 

Watched on: April 14, 2026

Rating: ★★★ / 5 

 

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*trying to be vague about major spoilers below, but I don't think this will be interesting to anybody that has not watched the movie*

 

I have a big soft spot for Robert Pattinson, okay? Sometimes a girl has to admit that. It's honestly not even tied to nostalgia (I was scared of vampires during the peak Twilight era). After confirming with a few sources that this was not a culty cannibalism movie, I decided to go watch. 

 

I think The Drama starts a conversation that's worth having. Yeah, it's funny, and maybe most of us watching see it as something ridiculous that will never happen to us. But it's not out of the realm of possibility, is it? I just think it's an interesting thought to ponder. What would I do in this scenario? Does everybody's reaction feel justified? 

 

In my OPINION, there is a normal person way to approach this problem, which is to figure this shit out and maybe call off the ducking wedding until you figure it out. But then there's Charlie's way of dealing with it, which is to ask a lot of questions and pretend to be fine but actually freak out... which now that I'm thinking about it is also very true to life.  

 

I was so pissed off at Rachel (Alana Haim) for even starting that stupid conversation and having the gall to be angry about the answers. I have never in my life wanted to know the worst things the people in my life have ever done. All four of the people at that table were assholes. I thought this was going to go in a darker (but predictable) direction with Robert Pattinson's character, but the parallels between his cyber-bullying story and Zendaya's history were noted. 

 

The ending felt good while watching, but I'm not really sure in hindsight. I feel like it's trying to tell me that maybe these two ducked up people might actually be okay together (White Lotus-y). Do I actually believe that though? I guess the end is vague enough, so that doesn't have to be the case. 

 

Adding this to the list of movies that make me go: uhhh that sure was something. Like Marty Sperm (not a typo). 

 

I've been saying lately (as a jokeee) that I don't think I've previously ever seen Zendaya act, because I'm a snob that thinks Spider-Man and Disney Channel don't count (haven't seen Dune or Euphoria yet). I don't feel anything notable about her performance here (I'm NOT AN EXPERT DON'T GET MAD AT ME). Shake It Up Zendaya is still my favorite Zendaya. (I'm not saying she can't act. Maybe she's making it all look too easy. I know I haven't seen the most iconic bits of content from her.)

 

Watching the movie made me appreciate this poster more:

 

 

Anddd that's it, I'm done. Was expecting this to be much shorter than it is, whoops. Censoring the f-words for the benefit of my parents  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

 

Review of Anji Kills a King + a book signing story

 

Anji Kills a King by Evan Leikam

Whole plot kicks off because a girl does something impulsive for basically no reason, and the Furious Five from Kung Fu Panda go after her. It’s a little 🤏 bit bloodier than Kung Fu Panda, though.

I guess this book was never actively bad, but I never actively cared either. My copy of the book has my name written and crossed out and rewritten in it, so I couldn't not finish it, but I don’t think I’ve ever cared less about where a story was going to go, actually. Anji is a debut novel, and maybe I'd try other things from Evan in the future but certainly not any sequels to this.

"She kIlLeD fOr A cAuSe. Will she die for it too?" I ducking hate marketing. That girl killed for no cause at all. Sexy ass cover and title, though. Also, "fast-paced" books with minimal substance are bad. Go figure. 

 

Read: April 5, 2026  

Rating: ★★ / 5

 

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So there's a funky Goodreads feature I've never used before that lets you post to a blog. As it turns out, I have this website from 2008 just sitting around. Sometimes content comes around that makes me want to make my opinion known, like S02 E07 of Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the dolphin FETCH! with Ruff Ruffman episode. Maybe also the Project Hail Mary movie, which I obviously have very chill feelings about. 

 

I've been writing reviews on some platform or another about some media or another on and off since maybe 2017. If you look hard enough, you can find book reviews, movie reviews, kdrama reviews, and television reviews somewheree on the internet written by me. Do I have any authority to criticize any of these things? Not a single bit. Maybe I'll even expand into video game reviews and Google restaurant reviews. The world really is my oyster (I don't eat oysters). 

 

The thing about writing reviews is that I don't do it for the benefit of other people (which is good, because not many people are reading anyway). They basically function as a record of my life, and I guess I don't want to keep pretending they are objective. So this page isn't necessarily about literature or media. It's about me. Might as well consolidate everything in one place.

 

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AND if I'm writing about me, I can't not tell you the tale of how I found Evan Leikam a.k.a. Book Reviews Kill on Instagram and was interested in his book because I thought the title was cool. You might think I totally set myself up for disappointment by buying an "influencer book," but I barely even followed Evan when this book was announced, and I was already interested based on the title. The title, the cover, the early reviews... they all got me. It's also not some small-time publisher; it's literally Tor. 

 

I'm not saying that I think the book deal wasn't legit. Anji Kills a King had some polarizing reviews from the beginning, but I can definitely understand the appeal to some extent. It starts with a bang, has a decent structure, and I guess some people might think there is good "banter." Maybe it can fulfill somebody's culty drug addiction story itch. Whoa, I just realized that this book is culty, and I hate cults, and everything makes sense now. I know why I hate it: I have no culty drug addiction story itch (one of the reasons why Severance will never truly be my thing). 

 

I was in a delicate state already when Joe Abercrombie's The Devils book tour skipped Boston. I wanted to go to an event, okay? Leave me alone. The book signing was at Belmont Books (very cool store, very tiny fantasy section) in Belmont, MA (crazy). This all happened in May 2025. Only took me a year to open this book.

 

(Joe Abercrombie is doing a signing in Brookline later this month. Very exciting for me. My first author event ever, for Rick Riordan of course, was also in Brookline.) 

 

I made a friend at Evan's event too. I meet plenty of people in life that like to read, but meeting somebody that's interested in the same genres is quite rare. It was cool. Though making friends at this point in life basically feels like dating, at least if you meet one-on-one. Like our first time hanging out was meeting for coffee and going for a walk through a graveyard while figuring out what things we had in common and avoiding controversial topics. If anybody has better suggestions for me (re: making friends), I'll take them. This new friend told me that Anji was going to be the next book she read, but she was in fact a liar (joke).

 

I'm honestly usually not a hater, but I was thinking recently about books I do dislike. One example: Recursion by Blake Crouch. The books are super different: Recursion is a sci-fi thriller, while Anji Kills a King is a depressing version of a fantasy romp. The one common feature to me is that these are both fast-paced books with not a lot going on underneath. Anji tries harder at having substance, but doesn't really succeed. 

 

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In other news, I bought shoes this weekend, which is something I haven't done since March 2022. Long overdue. I also recently went for a short hike at Mt. Agamenticus with said new shoes (not hiking shoes) and watched The Drama in theaters. Review to come for The Drama. The hike gets a 10/10. 

 

Project Hail Mary (2026 film)

Hi, this is long. Don’t read this if you don’t care. TLDR: Amaze 🤗

These past few days, I have been distracted by projects (you know, posting on Reddit, writing emails to ski resorts, scrambling eggs… those kinds of projects). But rest assured, I have been thinking very deeply about this review. Suffice to say, I am not typically the person to rewatch a movie within two weeks (unless it’s High School Musical, and it’s summer vacation, and I feel like annoying my sister). 

I thought I was going to have plenty of time to make my way to the movie theater to rewatch Project Hail Mary on an IMAX screen. It seemed to be doing well! It’s a big deal movie. Surely, there will continue to be screenings for the next month, right? NO! On the night of March 30th, imagine my shock and confusion to see that there were no more IMAX times listed after April 1. Gotta be some kind of April Fools joke, surely.

It wasn’t a joke, and that’s how I ended up ditching work at 3:30 PM on a random Wednesday (my favorite day in April) to drive THROUGH BOSTON to Somerville to see the last IMAX showing I could find before Mario Galaxy terrorized us all. No regrets. I’d do it again if I had to. I also almost got stuck in an elevator that night. That part, I would not want to do again. 

This is just a diary entry, Pratima. Where’s the review, Pratima? Yes yes, I’m getting to that. 

I think Project Hail Mary (the movie) was made for me. I’m not a movie person, okay? Or at least, I’m not a sad movie person. Give me a happy movie about two people falling in love over Interstellar any day (most days). Yeah, this is a good movie about “people” falling in love. Favorite rom-com of 2026. This is exactly the kind of wholesome shit I’m looking for, and I’m happy they didn’t try to stuff an actual romance in there. I might like rom-coms, but I’m a firm believer in leaving rom out of places it doesn’t need to be. 

This is also a story of me falling in love. Not only did I download Hinge and meet my first sociopath mere days before watching this movie (the first time), I also thought that Sandra Hüller was so cool. Guys, she’s so cool. Post-second watch: I’m in love with Sandra Hüller as Eva Stratt. To a lesser extent, I’m also in love with the pâtissier from The Bear (Carl), that one Goose from La La Land, and the master puppeteer. But MOSTLY STRATT OKAY I LOVE HER. I have recently developed a hatred for karaoke scenes, and I don’t even like this one as much as most people seem to. But it’s okay, because it’s Stratt.

I’m not sure if IMAX did anything extra for me, but I sure did feel many emotions this time around. And I wasn’t with friends, so I could actually CRY. 

It’s good to know I’m capable of feeling something. Or of loving something. I consume most content these days a little bit too analytically, I feel. It gets in the way of me getting emotionally invested. I write too many reviews, and I’m always contemplating a number of stars; it’s not healthy, but I’m not going to stop. Sometimes, though, I watch movies like this that force me to write long reviews like this. Funnily enough, the last book that made me write a long gush review was The Martian. Andy Weir and Andy Weir related media. That guy has mass appeal, and mayybe his magic works on me too. He has a real strength for generally feel-good content with themes of friendship and working together and justtt enough science to make us feel smart.

It’s a bit of a vulnerable thing, to admit that I like something and maybe even love something. I’m always thinking about caveats (yes, I liked this thing, but that doesn’t mean YOU will, and there is also this laundry list of problems that I noticed ofc obviously). I didn’t know the general consensus on this movie before I wrote my first review. I guess I was nervous that I would be here with my ★★★★★ and nobody else would agree. Luckily, this movie hasn’t been very controversial.

I do think the film could’ve gotten into more of the direness of the situation on Earth and what Stratt is sacrificing for this plan too. The stakes felt very far away. The movie chooses to focus on Goose and the friendship, which isn’t wrong, but it is something I noticed. A lot of the science in the book also gets hand-waved away in the movie, but it’s okay, some of the book-science is stupid anyway. Some of it is good science too, but the movie would have gotten really long.

Ryan Gosling makes Ryland Grace (the initials are no coincidence) seem like so much more of a real person than the book (where he’s basically just a blob that tells science jokes). Crazy what having a face can do. The movie also does a much better job at showing his character arc, in my opinion.

I love Project Hail Mary. That’s been my personality for the last few weeks. This is a movie I would be happy to introduce to my proverbial children and to my non-proverbial cousins. It’s the kind of movie that makes me want to watch more movies. Some things just work, and it’s personal and unexplainable. It’s a new “nostalgia checkpoint” for me. I will probably watch it again one day, and you should watch it too. 

 

Rewatched on: April 1, 2026

Rating: ★★★★★ / 5