Welcome to Litsy!

#TopReads2024 continues with my October pick
👹🧌🎥🎬🎞️🐸🦖🐊
“The Lady from the Black Lagoon” by Mallory O‘Meara was so interesting and witty, I just had to keep reading. I personally love O‘Meara‘s voice in her books; you honestly feel like you‘re reading a Podcast transcript, she‘s got jokes, she‘s got facts, and she‘s got observations. She‘s one of my go-to nonfiction writers and I‘m so excited for her new book coming out in January 🙌

I love O‘Meara‘s writing, it‘s like reading a Podcast transcript; facts, commentary, humour, it‘s all here. I have zero interest in horror movies but O‘Meara weaves together Milicent‘s story along with O‘Meara‘s personal story of working in the industry today, AND provides the history and background so even a novice like me knows what she‘s saying. I‘ve already preordered her newest book coming out in February 2025!

#ScarathlonPhotoChallenge Day 1 🖤 Black
Here's a great nonfiction rec that's perfect for spooky season
#Scarathlon #TeamBOOkLovers @Bookwormjillk

One of my favorite nonfiction reads from last year, about the woman who created the #Creature from the Black Lagoon 🧟
#ScarathlonDailyPrompts @StayCurious

#scarathlondailyprompts (Day 2 - Creature)
#scarathlon2022 #TeamSlaughter
(My pj set has creature from the black lagoon drinking drinks out of a tiki, had to wear it for this prompt & instantly thought of this book)

AND checked something off my October Bucket List (✅ Take a Hike) while listening to Paul Holes. 🍂

I can‘t not love this book, it was more than a look at her life but an examination of sexism and jealousy.

Happy International Women's Day 💖

A great day to celebrate books by and about women (and minority genders). This is a fabulous one about the lost history of the woman who created the iconic creature from the black lagoon. Written by the co-host of one of my favourite bookish podcasts #ReadingGlasses #iwd2022

From the moment of picking this up, I couldn't part from it. If anyone is looking into researching or getting into inspirational women this is a must read.
"How marvelous that she refused to try to fit into the boys club that she was unapologetically herself & marched into that male dominated space in her heels. That's some badass shit."

I appreciated the research O'Meara did, her own life experience with sexism, the story about (and credit finally given to) Milicent Patrick, and the overall history of the movie (and other movies and Hearst Castle). It was not a pan because of these things - I enjoyed all of this. It was not a pick because it became repetitive.

#Scarathlon2021 #TeamSlaughter @Clwojick

#haunted 🧟 Monstrous Monday
I recently read the tagged book, all about Milicent Patrick who designed the Creature from the Black Lagoon and many other monsters for Universal Studios.

@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

A wonderful insight into horror filmmaking and Hollywood in general. Milicent Patrick is the woman who designed the Creature from the Creature from the Black Lagoon but was never given credit. Her story is finally told, along with O'Meara's personal experience of sexist behavior in Hollywood showing how things haven't changed that much over the years. This is a compelling, funny, feminist microhistory of the horror genre.

I am living for these footnotes 🤣🤣

Also reading this in Mallory's voice in my head which makes it even more enjoyable

It's a long weekend so I'm not late, right? 😂
#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain

1. Reincarnation Blues, Lore, Amora, My Own Words, No Gentle Giant, HP 7

2. Lady from the Black Lagoon

3. Okay, this is such a hard question! Can I pick two? The House in the Cerulean Sea and The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet were both great in different ways

I‘m glad I finally got to reading this. It‘s a delightful piece of hero worship chronicling the life of Milicent Patrick, the author‘s research methods and the connection between the two as women in horror facing sexism (hasn‘t changed nearly enough in the past 60 years), estrangement, and making life their own.

For fans of: classic horror, old Hollywood, feminist media criticism.

#WondrousWednesday
1. Will and Faith from Karin Slaughter‘s Will Trent series, Tom and Huck, Eric and Pam from Sookie Stackhouse series

2. I usually have 1 book and 1 audiobook, sometimes an extra, but typically just 1 and 1

3. (Tagged book) California mostly

@Eggs

Quote from Mallory O‘Meara #WomenInHorror #Godzilla

#20in4Readathon Reading List
I started Lady From the Black Lagoon yesterday but didn‘t get very far, the writing immediately grabbed me.
Agatha Christie Destination Unknown, I have this little beat up copy from a thrift store in Myrtle Beach. & 2 audiobook picks.
Not sure if finishing in 4 days is realistic for me, but if I finish by Wednesday that will put me at 15 books so far, 1/4 of the way to my goal of 60 in 2021, 1/4 into the year!😲

“We need more women to be allowed to be simply good at what they do... We need them to be themselves, to be human: ordinary and flawed.”

Great biography of Milicent Patrick, the artist who designed the creature from the black lagoon and then was discredited. The book is also about the research process (since much of Milicent's life was almost lost to history) and early Hollywood. The narrator is wonderfully frank, never hiding behind an "objective narrator." Her passion for Milicent's work and horror is clear as is her willingness to call out misogyny in any time or place.

Fantastic dual narrative of little-known artist Milicent Patrick and author Mallory O'Meara's research and discovery of previously unknown details of Patrick's life. O'Meara's writing style is conversational, readable, sarcastic, and funny. And everything about Patrick's story is riveting. Loved it.

In a surprising twist, this is my first read from @monalyisha‘s #NewYearWhoDis list. My hold just came in from the library so I opened it after it downloaded to my Kindle just to make sure it worked fine and ended up reading the first 30 pages without thinking about it! 🤷🏼‍♀️ I have a Paperwhite, so unfortunately the cover on the Kindle is boring in black and white, so it‘s too gorgeous not to post this version. 😍

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the creature from the black lagoon and I‘m all interested in design, so learning more about one of people that helped design the creature was very fun. Millicent Patrick lead a very interesting life and makes a great subject. I also learned a lot about the film industry. The writing is casual and irreverent which I like. I think that some might find it a bit irritating if they prefer more traditional books.

This is a great read but also a big bummer for the obvious reasons. Bud Westmore was head of the make department at Universal when the Creature of the Black Lagoon was filmed. Taking credit for stuff he didn‘t do seemed to be a habit of his.

I really like O‘Meara‘s writing style. It‘s definitely a situation where she writes like she talks which can often be super annoying in other books. In this book, however, it‘s like listening to your charming friend that has a way with words. I love the pie baking Jack Russell comparison. It‘s also such a bummer that even the positive moments of Millicent Patrick‘s career are still rife with sexism.

Really enjoying this book. Just got to the bit that Millicent Is best known for, designing the creature from the black lagoon and then losing credit. Millicent was sent out on a press tour to promote the movie and her boss Bud Westmore was not happy even though she and the team were already downplaying her contributions.

New bio today. I didn‘t do two in a row on purpose but I am enjoying this more than the other one!

Really loved this book and the authors style of telling Milicent‘s amazing life. I enjoyed all the extra movie making knowledge the author is able to add from her own experiences and her research process. I had a real hard time putting the book down. This was part of my Bookclub‘s reading list and I can‘t wait to talk about it with everyone. Now I have to go watch the movie with new appreciation for the Gill-man.

With my library doing curbside pickup I get to actually read my next Bookclub book! And our pug loves reading cuddles.

Quarantine Read #5

Part biography, part memoir, part detective story,-The Lady From the Black Lagoon tells the story of Milicent Patrick, who designed the monster in The Creature From the Lagoon. Problem is, she never got the credit for her landmark contribution. Equal parts delightful & infuriating, the book chronicles the author‘s search for more details on Patrick‘s life & her quest to celebrate one of the first females in horror filmmaking.

4 ⭐
I am so surprised by how much this book pulled me in and kept me entertained. It‘s non-fiction! To me, it was like having a conversation with a friend, and actually made me want to keep going.
All in all this was a lot of fun, and very entertaining. And I would read what the author puts out next. Hopefully still in the horror history genera.

Full Review on LT and GR.

1. Not going to deny it. If it has a crap/cheapy looking cover, I'm going to avoid it. I've found some gems with ick covers, but only by suggestion. 🤷‍♀️
2. ⬆️
3. Various internet sources. Take everything with a grain of salt and varying perspectives.
4. Depends on the day. When I do have to be up, I get up with the alarm or often before.
5. New follows (thx!): @SESchend @canbku @SquidgetsRoom

#friYAYintro @4thhouseontheleft @howjessreads

We have an hour left in this audio book and Demon decided she wanted to get in on it, and now I can‘t keep her off the speaker. 🤪

I got a giftcard from work and for most of it, I bought some things I needed but I got one book as well. Look at this beauty! It was used, but showed up pretty much pristine.

This is going to be my #setinhollywood prompt for #booked2020 .. Pretty sure that'll work? Honestly don't know if it's primarily set on Hollywood. We'll see. If not, I'll find something else.

Also to the right, that's my next up TBR pile!

This isn‘t a perfect book. It‘s a passion project & O‘Meara is a bit clumsy in all of her excitement (she repeats herself, could be more succinct, & sometimes stumbles over her words in the audio performance). But it‘s still fascinating, revelatory, thoughtful, & wonderfully-weird. A deep-dive into Milicent Patrick‘s life, a rallying cry against gender disparities in Hollywood (70 years ago & today), & a celebration of all things Woman & Monster.

“Women don‘t get to be colossal monsters. Women don‘t get to fuck shit up. Women don‘t get to explore their rage on a catastrophic scale on the big screen, at least in a way that passes the Bechdel Test.”

“The horror-comedy formula was a proven hit [for Universal]...It works pretty well. All the emotions and mechanics of scaring someone are very similar to the mechanics of making them laugh: the anticipation, the surprises. It‘s usually just a matter of perspective.”

Re: Disney‘s “Fantasia”/Chernabog:

“It was my first taste of film, & my first taste of fear, & I was hooked. As a very anxious child, being afraid of something that wasn‘t real was actually a pretty nice change of pace.”

Parts of this book made laugh and nearly cry. I wanted to rage and, other times, celebrate. Milicent‘s story—how men tried to erase her from Hollywood history—not only mirrors O‘Meara‘s trials within the entertainment industry today but women everywhere. It‘s a great book, and I can‘t wait to read O‘Meara‘s next book GIRLY DRINKS when it comes out.

Oh, wow! This really speaks to me. As someone whose parents once tried to tell my son behind my back “He‘s wasting his time” writing... Yeah, I get this. I share Mallory‘s anger for Milicent regarding this.

Love this caption Mallory O‘Meara gives this photograph. Throughout this book, she does a great job celebrating Milicent‘s beauty without making it all about her looks or judging her for the importance Milicent placed on this.

I think this paragraph really gets to the heart of what this book is really all about. Reading about Milicent‘s struggle within the film industry mirrors Mallory‘s and the struggle almost every woman encounters when trying to carve out a place where misogyny remains rampant.

I‘m still reading LADY FROM THE BLACK LAGOON, and Mallory O‘Meara does such a great job writing in a conversational voice. When she details the voice acting career of one of Milicent‘s romantic relationships, she made me laugh as she explains he voiced the notorious “wolf whistle” from “Red Hot Riding Hood” that now lives on more as a gif. When I say, O‘Meara is the kind of person I‘d like to hang out in a bar with, it‘s not an exaggeration.

Thank you Kindle Gods 🙏🏼Only yesterday I wrote I was waiting for this book to be a #KindleDailyDeal and Lo & Behold so it shall be 😇

Finally finished my 2019 stats! Featured above are 12 books I considered particular standouts this year.

Total Books: 180
Pages Read: 46,014
Fiction: 166
Nonfiction: 15
Female & Nonbinary Authors: 128
Authors of Color: 58
Queer Authors: 57
Library: 96 (54%)
ARCs: 44 (25%)

PSA: if you use a book tracking spreadsheet (like the one from Book Riot that I use) do not--DO NOT--put off adding the info, or you, like me, will deeply regret it.

I love how Mallory O‘Meara discovers that Milicent worked on the very animated film (the sequence with the Chernabog in “Fantasia”) that inspired much of her own love for horror films. Really enjoying O‘Meara‘s journey in this book.

My favorite books I read this year. The Lady from the Black Lagoon is by far the best! And Faith Erin Hicks made it on twice. I had a good mix of fiction, nonfiction, prose and graphic novel. I don't have any specific goals for next year, just trying to keep diversifying.

Many thanks to @Liberty for putting this book on my radar. I absolutely loved Mallory O'Meara's snarky tone (especially in the footnotes) and I loved learning about Milicent Patrick! And #Loki enjoyed having me sit still.

I love a sassy footnote.

I enjoyed this bio! Milicent Patrick led such an interesting life, & O‘Meara did a great job bringing her accomplishments & career to light. Some criticize the book for going on tangents, & I agree with that. I feel like lot of that info was added as filler because not enough was available about Milicent. I do also feel that O‘Meara made some assumptions about people & their feelings, which I found entertaining but kind of inappropriate for a bio.

Easily one of the best books I've read all year. This is a well researched and well written look into an often overlooked part of Hollywood history. Even if you aren't a fan of horror/monster movies, you'll still learn so much from this book about the treatment of women in the movies. Highly recommend!

#TeamFestivus #TBRReads @wanderinglynn #wintergames @StayCurious @Clwojick (16pts)