meet the blogger

Hello, I'm JJ! I'm a twenty-something book and film lover living in Texas. Following through with my lifelong love of sharks, I trained as an oceanographer and currently work in the earth and marine science fields. A large part of my job includes public outreach and education, which means I get to spend my days talking to other people about what I'm passionate about! In my spare time I'm either reading, watching movies, or finding new titles to enjoy. Since I attended LSU for my undergraduate degree, I also spend most of the year rooting for my Bayou Bengals in football and baseball— Geaux Tigers!

My blog's name comes from Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series, which was in turn inspired by a quote from John Milton's epic poem, Paradise Lost:

Into this wild abyss,

The womb of nature and perhaps her grave,

Of neither sea, nor shore, nor air, nor fire,

But in all these in their pregnant causes mixed

Confusedly, and which thus must ever fight,

Unless the almighty maker them ordain

His dark materials to create more worlds,

Into this wild abyss the wary fiend

Stood on the brink of hell and looked a while,

Pondering his voyage...

That imagery of some kind of alchemical material that forms the building blocks of our world also fits in well with how I envision the generation of art, books and films included. Combined with my deep love of Pullman's work, I couldn't think of any better name for where I record my thoughts on the things I enjoy most. The use of a rabbit in my header is my little tribute to Hester, the jackrabbit daemon of Lee Scorseby, and my own long-eared, floofy-tailed fur child.

In general I keep an open mind when it comes to the stories I read and watch. Through branching out beyond my usual tastes I've discovered some of my absolute favorites! That being said, my preferred genres include fantasy, science fiction, dystopian, mystery/thriller, and historical fiction tales in both mediums. I also read (and watch) non-fiction, general fiction, literary fiction, and higher grade YA novels. Although I watch the occasional chick-flick, I do not read romance novels.

I post book and film reviews every week, alongside discussion posts, tagged memes, and other posts whose intention is to inspire discussion and debate! Here you can read more about my film and book review policies, and contact me via this page. Thanks for stopping by ♥

Note: This blog's header and other design elements were created using these resources from Freepik.