#a j hackwith

[everlovingdeer]

A lie. A dream. Good stories are both.

The Library of the Unwritten, A. J. Hackwith

[annafromuni]

A Comfy Demonic Autumn Read

I went into Library of the Unwritten purely guided by the premise of a library within Hell for books left undeveloped and a librarian tasked with keeping them together. I stayed because A.J. Hackwith is an incredible author with an uncanny ability to create something so cosy and sweet based in the depths of Hell. Those who are fans of the found-family trope will love this one. Similarly, if…

[inlovewithquotes]

How much easier it would be if everyone knew their role? The hero, the sidekick, the villain: our books would be neater and our souls less frayed. But whether you have blood or ink, no one's story is that simply.

- The Library Of The Unwritten

[littleblackraincloudofcourse]

Librarian Gregor Henry, 1899 CE

[darkmatterzine]

The Library of the Unwritten by A J Hackwith

The Library of the Unwritten by A J Hackwith: a #review of a #fantasy novel

A review by Nalini Haynes Claire is a librarian but it’s a library with a difference. It’s a library of the unwritten books, and it’s located in Hell. Occasionally a book comes to life in the form of one of its characters. Often it’s a hero, seeking out its author in an attempt to inspire the book to actually be written, so it can graduate to a different library in a different otherworldly…

[bi4bihankking]

Giovanni's Room Summary:

David, a young American in 1950s Paris, is waiting for his fiancée to return from vacation in Spain. But when he meets Giovanni, a handsome Italian barman, the two men are drawn into an intense affair. After three months David's fiancée returns and, denying his true nature, he rejects Giovanni for a 'safe' future as a married man. His decision eventually brings tragedy.

Hell's Library Trilogy Summary:

After someone dies their soul sorts themselves into the afterlife they think they deserve, and each afterlife has a library that needs looking after. That includes Hell, where the books that never got finished are forced to reside. And sometimes the characters in those books don’t like to stay there. After all who wants to die before they’ve had the chance to live?

[coffeeandstrawberries]

[sapphicreadsdb]

Hi do you by chance have any sapphic fantasy recs? preferably adult fantasy but YA is fine too

sure! tho this could will get quite long... no links, sorry!, bc it was kicking up a fuss with those for some reason

+ = ya

pennyblade by j.l. worrad

lady hotspur by tessa gratton

sofi and the bone song by adrienne tooley (+)

she who became the sun by shelley parker chan

the scapegracers by h.a. clarke (+)

the third daughter by adrienne tooley (+)

the daughters of izdihar by hadeer elsbai

the malevolent seven by sebastien de castell

blackheart knights by laure eve

the warden by daniel m. ford

the unbroken by c.l. clark

dark earth by rebecca stott

witch king by martha wells

scorpica by g.r. macallister

the mirror empire by kameron hurley

now she is witch by kirsty logan

silverglass by j.f. rivkin

the woman who loved the moon and other stories by elizabeth a. lynn

...(this answer is how i discover there's a character limit per block so. doing this in chunks.)

fire logic by laurie j. marks

a restless truth by freya marske

when angels left the old country by sacha lamb (+)

the traitor baru cormorant by seth dickinson

an archive of brightness by kelsey socha

the bladed faith by david dalglish

the winged histories by sofia samatar

dragonoak by sam farren

the forever sea by joshua phillip johnson

into the broken lands by tanya huff

the jasmine throne by tasha suri

daughter of redwinter by ed mcdonald

the last magician by lisa maxwell (+)

the fire opal mechanism by fran wilde

...

the black coast by mike brooks

high times in the low parliament by kelly robson

foundryside by robert jackson bennett

the enterprise of death by jesse bullington

mamo by sas milledge (+)

from dust, a flame by rebecca podos (+)

uncommon charm by emily bergslien & kat weaver

wild and wicked things by francesca may

the unspoken name by a.k. larkwood

brother red by adrian selby

the final strife by saara el-arifi

way of the argosi by sebastien de castell (+)

the bone shard daughter by andrea stewart

ghost wood song by erica waters (+)

into the crooked place by alexandra christo (+)

ashes of the sun by django wexler

the midnight girls by alicia jasinska (+)

the midnight lie by marie rutkoski (+)

the never tilting world by rin chupeco (+)

water horse by melissa scott

...

a master of djinn by p. djeli clark

the good luck girls by charlotte nicole davis (+)

among thieves by m.j. kuhn

black water sister by zen cho

the velocity of revolution by marshall ryan maresca

sweet & bitter magic by adrienne tooley (+)

the dark tide by alicia jasinska (+)

the library of the unwritten by a.j. hackwith

a dark and hollow star by ashley shuttleworth (+)

the chosen and the beautiful by nghi vo

the councillor by e.j. beaton

these feathered flames by alexandra overy (+)

the factory witches of lowell by c.s. malerich

fireheart tiger by aliette de bodard

...

city of lies by sam hawke

bestiary by k-ming chang

the raven and the reindeer by t. kingfisher

the winter duke by claire eliza bartlett (+)

master of poisons by andrea hairston

the empress of salt and fortune by nghi vo

night flowers shirking from the light of the sun by li xing

down comes the night by allison saft (+)

wench by maxine kaplan (+)

girls made of snow and glass by melissa bashardoust (+)

girls of paper and fire by natasha ngan (+)

the impossible contract by k.a. doore

burning roses by s.l. huang

the house of shattered wings by aliette de bodard

not for use in navigation by iona datt sharma

weak heart by ban gilmartin

girl, serpent, thorn by melissa bashardoust (+)

the devil's blade by mark alder

...

we set the dark on fire by tehlor kay mejia (+)

the true queen by zen cho

moontangled by stephanie burgis

a portable shelter by kirsty logan

sing the four quarters by tanya huff

all the bad apples by moira fowley doyle (+)

the drowning eyes by emily foster

the priory of the orange tree by samantha shannon

miranda in milan by katharine duckett

the afterward by e.k. johnston (+)

thorn by anna burke

penhallow amid passing things by iona datt sharma

in the vanishers' palace by aliette de bodard

summer of salt by katrina leno (+)

the gracekeepers by kirsty logan

out of the blue by sophie cameron (+)

black wolves by kate elliott

the circle by sara b. elfgren & mats strandberg (+)

unspoken by sarah rees brennan (+)

thistlefoot by gennarose nethercott

passing strange by ellen klages

(and breathe)

[andordean]

13 books

(Thank GODS I'm reading again as those asks were really embarrassing for a few years)

What’s up readers?! How about a little show and tell? Answer these 13 questions, tag 13 lucky readers and if you’re feeling extra bookish add a shelfie! Let’s Go!

(I was tagged by @jikanet-tanaka - thanks so much!)

1) The Last book I read:

Babel by R. F. Kuang (Go read it people, it's So Good. <3)

2) A book I recommend:

Babel as above, hah. Also, Murderbot.

3) A book that I couldn’t put down:

(Hard same:) Gideon the Ninth and Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir. I was listening to them as audibooks at night until some stupid AM. Couldn't stop, wouldn't stop.

4) A book I’ve read twice (or more):

"Eureka Street" by Robert McLiam Wilson. I love this book so much.

5) A book on my TBR:

Oh dear. What isn't on my TBR list.

The Poppy War, R. F. Kuang. Dune, finally. Olga Tokarczuk books I bought errr a year ago. Etc etc etc

6) A book I’ve put down:

I haven't yet, but I think I'll give up on the Archive of the Forgotten I'm currently listening to. I finished the first audiobook (Library of the Unwritten), but for the second one the narrator changed, and with it, the voice of the character I'm most curious about and ARGH. I may try and get the physical book, but audiobooks are a godsend if I want to do some crafts and read at the same time.

7) A book on my wish list:

Everything else by Martha Wells that's not Murderbot

8) A favorite book from childhood:

The Children of Bullerbyn Village by Astrid Lindgren (among many many many others. I lived in books as a kid.)

9) A book you would give to a friend:

Murderbot my beloved! I've convinced a few people to read it and I couldn't be happier. Those books deserve all the love.

10) A book of poetry or lyrics that you own

Nic Dwa Razy / Nothing Twice by Wislawa Szymborska, translations by Clare Cavanagh and Stanislaw Baranczak

11) A nonfiction book you own:

Factfulness by Hans Rosling

12) What are you currently reading:

Archive of the Forgotten by A. J. Hackwith, with disclaimer above.

13) What are you planning on reading next?

The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu, to find out where Netflix did it dirrrty. (I enjoyed the show a lot.)

Tagging @cahirdyffryns @softest-punk @powerofadyingsun @itsnotzka @nikita-not-nikola and anyone else who wants to talk about their books. <3

[goblinchivalry]

with The Lines Between in the newest episode of Neverafter it reminded me of a favourite book series of mine!

If you are craving more stories about the power of storytelling, perhaps even one set in an extraplanar library, or a setting where characters in stories live and can even escape their pages... then you should absolutely read THE LIBRARY OF THE UNWRITTEN by A. J. Hackwith (and the rest of the Hell's Library series!)

I can't speak its praises enough! Look at a review, read the blurb, find a copy!

In short: the worldbuilding is incredible; the writing is glorious, heartwrenching and funny; the characters are sensationally nuanced: the vibes are imacculate! The main lead is a badass WOC librarian!

If you're loving Neverafter (or other d20 seasons) you'll love it. It's a trilogy, so start with Library of the Unwritten!

[qbdatabase]

Welcome, readers and writers! The theme this month is Lawless Librarians–or any other historian, archivist, book binder, or secret romance novel enthusiast 🤠 📚 👀

Full list of titles, authors, and blurbs below the cut!

The Sound of Stars by Alechia Dow

YA Sci-Fi Dystopia; fat black demisexual female MC with anxiety goes on a road trip with an alien to save her illegal books

*The Perks of Loving a Wallflower by Erica Ridley

Adult Historical Romance; nonbinary grifter teams up with a demisexual High Society lady to rescue a priceless manuscript and decode a military cipher

The Binding by Bridget Collins

Adult Fantasy / Historical; a gay book binder who seals painful memories in the pages of his books falls in love with a Lord seeking his services

Meet Cute Club by Jack Harbon

Adult Romance; a black man with anxiety running a romance book club can’t afford to turn down new members–even his obnoxious bookstore rival

*Dead Collections by Isaac Fellman

Adult Paranormal; a Jewish vampire archivist falls in love with the genderfluid widow donating new papers, but strange things start happening within the collection …

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Robinson

YA Fantasy; a library warden guarding against magical grimoire-beasts must team up with a hated bisexual sorcerer when a monstrous book is accidentally set free

The Deep by Rivers Solomon

Adult Fantasy; an autistic mermaid must serve as the Historian for her people, the descendents of slaves tossed from ships–but instead she flees to the surface, forming a bond with a human woman

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

Adult Fantasy; a gay man discovers an ancient library hidden beneath the surface of the earth …

The Library of the Unwritten by A. J. Hackwith

Adult Fantasy; a pansexual woman serving as the Head Librarian in Hell must track down a Hero who has escaped from his book in search of his Author

*Archivist Wasp by Nicole Kornher-Stace

Adult Fantasy / Sci-Fi; an aro-ace woman fights to remain the Archivist of ghosts in post-apocalyptic world, until she discovers one that can talk …

Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey

Adult Western; a pansexual woman stows away in the Librarian’s book wagon to escape marriage

*titles with an asterisk have been featured as a Daily Book on my wordpress blog, and the link leads to that post

[everlovingdeer]

Nothing folded like a hero without a story.

The Library of the Unwritten, A. J. Hackwith

[annafromuni]

The Archive of the Forgotten - Dive Deeper Into Hell's Library

I fell in love with A.J. Hackwith’s writing style upon reading The Library of the Unwritten and The Archive of the Forgotten did not disappoint. There’s something so precious about this world, about the characters and setting and conflicts, that makes this feel like a comfort read on so many levels. Who doesn’t like a story set in a library? It automatically makes us feel some way, right? Now…

[inlovewithquotes]

The pain in death isn't the dying. It's the wounds we leave in our wake.

- The Library Of The Unwritten

[the--starless--sea]

There were two parts to any unwritten book. Its words- the twisting, changing text on the page- and its story. Most of the time, the two parts were united in the books filling the Unwritten Wing's stacks, but now and then a book woke up. Felt it had a purpose beyond words on a page. Then the story made itself into one of its characters and went walking.

A. J. Hackwith || The Library of the Unwritten

[karatam]

Read recently (October 2022)

Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Hard sci-fi, set in a far far future when the human race is nearly extinct. Follows 2 plotlines, one of the last generational ship trying to find somewhere to survive, the other following the evolution of a planet terraformed by the old earth empire. Very plot-heavy, this novel takes place over thousands of years. Super interesting and I'm going to try to find the sequel. Be aware that there are lots of spiders in this book (like, they're half the main characters), so if you have a severe hatred of spiders, then this book is not for you.

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo. Set in San Francisco in 1954, a girl from Chinatown falls in love with her classmate and realizes that her whole life is going to change. Tender and yearning, full of both the hope of change but the frustrations of societal expectations and prejudice. A lovely queer love story.

Malice by Heather Walter. A queer retelling of Sleeping Beauty. Alice has magic, a valuable commodity in the queendom of Briar, but she's also very obviously part Vila, the ancient enemy of Briar's patrons, the Fae. The crown princess, Aurora, is the last heir to Briar, inflicted with her family's curse to die at 21 unless she receives True Love's Kiss. How many times can you tell someone they're a monster before they start to believe it? I quite liked this and it took a turn that I didn't think it would, one that makes me very eager to read the sequel.

The Last Watch by J. S. Dewes. A true hard sci-fi space opera. The Divide is the weird empty space at the edge of the universe, where human ships patrol, watching for the return of the alien race that nearly wiped out humanity. Follows two main characters: a disgraced grandson of the most powerful person alive who is sent to the Divide in exile, and the captain of the ship that he was sent to who has secrets of her own. This was a lot of fun and managed to make actually like the 'wise-cracking, shit-talking, rich guy' character which is rare tbh. I'm going to read the sequel right away.

The Exiled Fleet by J. S. Dewes. A fantastic sequel to The Last Ship. Picks up 6 months after the previous book ended and throws you right back into the thick of things. We get to know our characters (both main and secondary) better, get more fun sci-fi elements, and even more political intrigue. Lots of twists and turns and I can't wait to see where this series goes.

Unconquerable Sun by Kate Elliot. Very much hard sci-fi, so much so that the sheer amount of in-world jargon and world building made the first third of the book overly confusing. I don't usually need glossaries, but man I wished I had one. Follows mainly Sun, the heir to a space queendom, and Persephone, her rival turned maybe ally, while flipping between quite a few other povs as well. Sun is fighting for her mother's respect and against the political intrigue of the other Houses, all while an enemy empire bears down on the queendom. Billed as "gender-swapped Alexander the Great in space", I can see how it'll get there later in the series. Definitely picked up in the final third and I'll probably read the sequel.

The Library of the Unwritten by A. J. Hackwith. An interesting take on what happens to all those stories that we never quite finish writing. Claire is the librarian of the unwritten, a resident of Hell, who must hunt down and retrieve a powerful artifact to save her library. It will involve traversing multiple realms of legend and crossing paths with vengeful angels. I lost a bit of steam by the end, but it was an enjoyable read. 

In A Garden Burning Gold by Rory Power. Greece-inspired fantasy, about a near-immortal royal family, with magic that helps run the natural world. I didn't like it. It's a duology that I truly think would have been much better as a single book. The pacing was very weird, where it felt like nothing happened for the first 90%, then suddenly way too much plot all happened at once right at the very end and so none of it felt earned or like pay-off. Also, even though the main characters are all meant to be like over 100 years old, they act like idiotic 23 year olds and it irritated me. Also, I've seen it be given an LGBT tag sometimes and that feels a bit misleading, as there is literally like 1, maybe 2, sentences right at the start implying that one of the MCs had married and sacrificed women in the past, and then it's never mentioned or brought up again. Felt like a let down.

Crownchasers by Rebecca Coffindaffer. This was a hell of a lot of fun! When the emperor of the galaxy dies without an official heir, it kicks off a crownchase, where the heirs of the major families race to find the imperial seal and claim the throne. The old emperor's niece has mostly abandoned her imperial upbringing when she's thrown into the race with her fellow heirs, all of whom she grew up with and some of whom are willing to kill to get the throne. Main character has an ex-girlfriend and current male possible love interest. Snappy and funny and tense, I'm really looking forward to the sequel!

Bloody Rose by Nicholas Eames. A swashbuckling, fast-paced, rollicking time! Second in the series but technically a stand-alone, it follows a young bard, Tam, as she joins the most famous mercenary band in the land. Arena fights, an impending war, giant monsters, and more. Sometimes went a bit too hard on world building (there are SO MANY characters, many of whom are mentioned once or twice but still given a whole backstory) and the ending was abrupt (never a huge fan of going straight from the climax of the whole book to an epilogue), but it was a fun read with interesting plotlines. Also a nice little smattering of gayness, which is nice.