#anyway!!! StoryGraph is very cool!

[fractallogic]

Please join me in admiring the hilarious disparity between the number of books I’ve read so far this year vs. the number of PAGES I’ve read this year, courtesy of the 1000-page tome I finished this morning

And yeah the next three non-work books I have on deck are each about 700 pages (two fantasy and one contemporary hockey romance????? Wtf is she writing about for that long????????) (don’t worry I’m starting it tonight so I’ll be able to report back soon), so… given my reading proclivities I should have set the page goal higher than the estimate given by the app. Lmfao. But still.

Anyway you should use StoryGraph if you want to use goodreads but don’t want to support Amazon and would rather support a black-owned, woman-owned independent app!! And if you want fun graphs about your reading! And thematic reading challenges! And you can import your goodreads data!

[duckprintspress]

My June Reads

Storygraph introduced auto-generated graphics for sharing our reads by the month, which makes it much easier to do a review, and here I am! Sorry it's kinda pixelly, the settings on Storygraph aren't perfect yet but they're planning to add functionality.

I've been posting on the Duck Prints Press Book Lover's Server for a while, so everyone knows there that the answer to "how do you read so much?" is the library, but just to be clear, if it's a graphic novel, I got it from one of three libraries - either my local system, @queerliblib, or the Japan Foundation Library. The last two are both free-throughout-the-US Libby libraries and they've both been awesome.

Prose books, I usually own.

Anyway. Onward! My June reads:

How to Love: A Guide to Feelings and Relationships for Everyone by Alex Norris (graphic novel, short self-help stories about how to be in relationships, how to be alone, etc., all very inclusive.

Blue Flag Vol. 1 - 2 by Kaito (manga series about modern high school and a young man and his best friend - who has a crush on him - and a young woman and her best friend - who has a crush on her. poly vibes.)

The Tea Dragon Festival and The Tea Dragon Tapestry by K. O'Neill (graphic novels, very fluffy fantasy slice-of-life with various queer rep)

Squad by Maggie Toluda-Hall and Lisa Sterle (graphic novel, modern with magic, wlw high school student discovers that fitting in with the cool kids means becoming a murderous werewolf)

Clementine vol. 1 and 2 by Tille Walden (graphic novel, post-apocalyptic set in the same 'verse as The Walking Dead about a wlw amputee surviving against the zombies.

A Thousand Hopes, A Thousand Risks by Kelas Lloyd (short story, fantasy, pre-mlm between a young merchant and a god)

Ride On, Shooting Star by J. D. Harlock (short story, science fiction, a space courier wants to retire)

Deadendia vol. 1 by Hamish Steele (graphic novel, modern with magic/horror elements, about a trans male teenager who runs away from home and moves into a haunted house at an amusement park)

Giant Days vol. 2 by John Allison and Whitney Cogar (graphic novel, modern college setting, about the somewhat silly lives of the main characters)

Yona of the Dawn vol. 1 by Mizuho Kusanagi (manga, fantasy, about a young princess whose kingdom gets taken over by someone she thought a friend)

In the Dark vol. 3 by Jin Shisi Chai (danmei novel, mlm, last of three volumes - I read the other two in May - about an undercover drug cop who returns home after six years undercover)

The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation manhua vol. 6 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu (manhua version of the MDZS novel, mlm, historical cultivation about a fraught political situation)

The Fox Maidens by Robin Ha (graphic novel playing on story of the fox maiden Gumiho in Korean mythology, with a side of wlw)

My Hero Academia vol. 9 - 12 by Kohei Horikoshi (manga series about teenagers at a high school for superheroes)

Frontera by Julio Anta and Jacoby Salcedo (graphic novel about a young man crossing the border between the US and Mexico illegally, and about the mlm ghost who helps him)

My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness by Nagata Kabi (autobiographical manga about a young lesbian in Japan trying to figure out her identity and find companionship)

Solo Leveling vol. 1 - 2 by Chugong (a manwha series set in modern fantasy Korea, about a young man is terrible at "hunting"...until he isn't)

Haikyu!! vol. 5 - 6 by Haruichi Furudate (manga series about young men who play high school volleyball)

Little Birds by Anaïs Nin (a collection of short erotic stories with lots of trigger warnings applicable and a few dashes of wlw, originally written in the 1930s and 1940s)

To Strip the Flesh by Oto Toda (manga collection of short stories, with the longest/most involved being about a young man's journey coming out as a trans man)

Shubeik Lubeik by Deena Mohamed (graphic novel exploring three stories of Egyptians getting first-grade wishes in a modern-with-magic world, includes NB rep)

Limerence by Jiang Zi Bei (danmei novel, mlm, about a young college student who breaks up with his boyfriend and ends up falling for his ex's roommate.)

Our Colors by Gengoroh Tagame (manga about a young Japanese gay man coming our of the closet and making friends/finding a mentor in an older gay man)

Silent Hearts vol. 1 by Jing Shui Bian (danmei novel, mlm, modern high school setting, lots of disability rep though not for either member of the main couple)

Rainbow! vol. 1 by Sunny (modern, maybe with magic, about a young woman with a tough life and the people around her; wlw implied in the future?)

Out of Left Field by Jonah Newman (real-life-inspired graphic novel about a young gay man navigating high school)

Escape From St. Hell: My Trans Life Levels Up by Lewis Hancox (autobiographical graphic novel about a young trans man with severe anxiety)

This was the most pages I've read in a month all year, and the second most individual books. There's actually one more book not pictured, as it wasn't on Storygraph and I opted not to add it.

Happy reading, y'all.

[icantcomeupwithausernametbh]

A lil drawing of how I imagined Wu Zetian, purely by vibes, while reading iron widow. Also based a bit on the book cover, especially the outfit. Anyway I enjoyed the book, it was very intense and fun. ALSO, any cool ppl please add me on StoryGraph!!! Luke114

Not my best work, very messy, but I also haven’t had much time to spend on it and it’s a relatively quick drawing. It was a fun process tho. And I really wanna draw her again but like full body and with her wings.

[probablyasocialecologist]

Congratulations on your reading goal! I just wanted to pop in and recommend switching to an alternative platform to Goodreads for the new year because Bezos sucks obviously. StoryGraph is one that I switched to a year ago and they've got similar features and more detailed reviews and other cool stuff. They are also able to import your entire library from Goodreads so making the switch is very easy. Otherwise you can Google some alternatives too lol. Anyway happy new year!

Thank you for the heads-up, I've made an account on StoryGraph.

[tls123]

never been this embarrassed in my lifeeeee

my parents just came back from a thing and they were able to meet up with my aunts/uncles these past few days and apparently my aunt wanted to get me something for my bday and they somehow went from sending me links for rings and necklaces to buying books. which, great, i love books! i struggle to think of stuff to add to my wishlist that isn't books but i open up this gift and it has a tied up guy???? on the cover????? some half dressed dude on the back cover???

and i'm like, oh, interesting, mh and my mom is on the side like "if you don't like it we can change it the young lady at the store heard of that other manga we got you** and she said you might like this, she said she LOVED it, she said it's a love story" and i'm still just holding this huge ass book in my hands, absolutely baffled but hey, surely this 'young lady at the store' didn't suggest an 18+ book as a gift to my mother and my aunt, surely. and as i start flipping pages casually my mom's still going, "we only noticed it's a little out there when we got back home but the young lady really recommended it and you're 26 so.." and she just keeps going and at this point there's no denying what i am holding but mom clearly needs something from me so i try to give her anything lmao

(**the ONLY manga i have btw, that is about shit like, revenge and samurai and family and shit so i'm baffled)

"oh, this is...." i say, but there's no defining the emotion i'm feeling so i skip it, "of course i'll read it, i'm just a little surprised you think this might be something i'll read. but i will! read it!"

and she keeps reassuring me we can change it it's fine and so i look it up and storygraph doesn't even have it listed so i go back to flipping pages and yeah, yeah that sure is sex. which is fine we're not prudes but again. my mother. and my aunt. but also. ALSO that's not just sex that's obviously something fucked up, and not nice and nasty fucked up this is more, pretty sure that's sexual assault fucked up so i have to bite the bullet. i google the thing and yeah, yeah this is apparently a story full to the brim with rape! mhh and oh, the tied up guy on the cover is 16/17 because of course. and what's that? the other guy is in his mid-twenties? sure. of course!!!!

don't know if i mentioned this but,

my MOTHER and my AUNT.

anyway i put my phone down i say, "i'm sorry i don't think i actually do want to read this" (because i was trying to be nice and i kept saying "i haven't heard of it but i'll read it and see what's up, i was just surprised") and mom is like, that's fine don't worry you don't have to be sorry

but i do feel a little guilty because again this thing is huge and the paper and the art are objectively very nice so it must have cost quite a lot so i keep going "it's just I don't think i want this kind of thing on my bookshelves.... the art looked really pretty! though! and, and of course it's not the sex stuff (i am now reassuring my mother that i am Cool with my relatives buying me 18+ stuff, apparently) it's just the subject matter is putting me off, not the sex! just, the category..... of sex...."

and she's very nice and reassures me that i dont have to apologize and we can go change it and in the meantime there's this huge book on the table between us with a tied up half dressed 16yo on the cover and

that lady got told one (1) manga title and thought i would want my AUNT to get me a manga with explicitly drawn rape scenes as a gift. for my birthday.

on god where is rod sterling......

my AUNT. MY.AUNT.

i

i just

my sister got a lego set. it's nowhere near her birthday.

[solarpowerlesbian]

oh the book ask game is SO cool!! 15, 17, and 20!

(also i know hardly anybody using storygraph! do you want to be friends?)

15. Did you read any books that were nominated for or won awards this year (Booker, Women’s Prize, National Book Award, Pulitzer, Hugo, etc.)? What did you think of them? yes!!! i read last night at the telegraph club by malinda lo which won the national book award, as well as the stonewall book award and a few others, and it was one of my 5 star reads of the year!! that time period of lgbt history is really interesting to me, and this was such a unique perspective into that time. i read the long way to a small angry planet by becky chambers which won the hugo award for best series. that one was a lot of fun, i'm planning on eventually getting the other books in the series! i also read sea of tranquility by emily st. john mandel, which was a very good & quick read and which was nominated for the andrew carnegie medal of excellence. i also read our wives under the sea which was another quick read and which was apparently a finalist for the lambda literary award. kind of surprised how many i read that were nominated or won awards!!

17. Did any books surprise you with how good they were? yes the ballad of songbirds and snakes like obviously i should have known. it's literally suzanne collins. but i was like ohh idk it's about president snow i don't know how i feel about that-- and then i read it. i was so gripped by it and so enthralled by the story that the second i finished i started rereading the hunger games. anyway need to go see the movie asap

20. What was your most anticipated release? Did it meet your expectations? to be honest. it was probably percy jackson and the chalice of the gods like sure i was looking forward to like the new tj klune book and whatnot but. i was counting down the days until the new percy jackson book came out. and it was good enough. some of the cultural references didn't quite work but it was fun and i enjoyed it :)

and YES!!!! my storygraph is here i love adding people on storygraph. need more storygraph friends asap!!!

[thislittlekumquat]

Saw all the cool (?) kids doing this on booktube for their 2023 reading, and while I don't think a tiermaker style chart is quite right for comparing some of these books (like how am I supposed to compare The Haunting of Hill House with like. How to Resist Amazon and Why?)

Anyways, S tier is my personal biases, just my absolute faves of the year, no notes. A tier is very good, would recommend to basically any reader without caveats. B tier is "If you're really into this type of thing or have the necessary historiographical context and use your critical thinking skills (as relevant), solid read, worth your time". C tier is like. I've read much worse, but honestly disappointing, though there were at least a few redeeming qualities. D tier is no, definitely skip.

I'm still figuring out how well storygraph works to non-users, but if you're curious to see any further details on these books: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/ovvlish

Titles and authors in the order they appear, because the images are small. For the manga, some I started this year, others are ongoing reads for me, and I only included one volume of each. All told it was 65 books, so you can see I read a lot of tankubon!

Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries - Heather Fawcett

Kuroshitsuji (Black Butler) - Yana Toboso

Gideon the Ninth | Harrow the Ninth | Nona the Ninth - Tamsyn Muir

The Haunting of Hill House - Shirley Jackson

Witch Hat Atelier - Kamome Shirahama

Death on the Nile | The Murder of Roger Ackroyd - Agatha Christie

My Man Jeeves - P. G. Wodehouse

Arsène Lupin, Gentleman-Thief - Maurice Leblanc

The Ancient Magus' Bride - Kore Yamazaki

Dungeon Meshi (Delicious in Dungeon) - Ryoko Kui

Dracula - Bram Stoker

The Future of the Past - Alexander Stille

How to Resist Amazon and Why - Danny Caine

The Evil Wizard Smallbone - Delia Sherman

The Omnivore's Dilemma - Michael Pollan

Stiff - Mary Roach

A Mighty Fortress - Steven Ozment

Showa - Shigeru Mizuki

The Proud Tower - Barbara W. Tuchman

The Cruel Prince - Holly Black

Other Ever Afters: New Queer Fairy Tales - Mel Gillman

The Stripping of the Altars - Eamon Duffy

Twisted Wonderland - Yana Toboso/Wakana Hazuki/Sumire Kowono

The Relic Master - Christopher Buckley

The German Empire, 1870-1918 - Michael Stürmer

Versions of History from Antiquity to the Enlightenment - Donald R. Kelley

Cast Iron Baking - Dominique De Vito

The Bear and the Nightingale - Katherine Arden

Bea Wolf - Zach Weinersmith/Boulet

Testimony of Light - Helen Greaves

The Priory of the Orange Tree - Samantha Shannon

The Fossil Hunter - Shelley Emling

[ckerouac]

@redheadgleek asked about the graph of genres I’d been reading, so I figured I’d introduce any of y’all who haven’t used it before to StoryGraph!

Basically StoryGraph is a Goodreads alternative (Black woman created and owned, non-Amazon) that for me the big selling point is the sheer amount of graphic information you can get on your reading. Because… god, I love a good graph. Also you can give fractional stars! Cause to me there is a big difference between, say, a three and a four star and sometimes 3.75 is the correct rating.

Also you can upload your Goodreads info to StoryGraph when you sign up so you don’t lose any of that info. The app is free, but there are some extra features if you want to pay a bit. I use the free features and find it very robust.

I’ll put the screenshots under a read more if y’all want to see the cool graphs you can get…

The summary on me, which… accurate.

But let’s see the data for my year!

Look at all those sweet, sweet graphs…

Anyway, I love it, I highly recommend it.

[thewritehag]

I have a new favorite book, The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty.

The main protagonist is a middle-aged woman, retired pirate, and cautious single mother. She's a devout and penitent Muslim, who wants nothing to do with magic and is every bit the unwilling hero (for a while, anyway).

I recommend it. It has beautiful prose, pre-Islamic folklore, queer representation and trans-representation (without the presumption of the author to explain what isn't hers to explain), and more pirates. The side characters are their own people and the story is told extremely well. I listened to the audiobook and the actors did a great job.

Trigger warnings: body horror, graphic depictions of violence and gore, mention of the threat of rape (it's only contemplated for two sentences, but it's striking), blackmail/extortion, discussions of slavery, and monsters (very cool monsters, but still, head's up).

One content warning on Storygraph is "tr@nsphobia" (word censored so as to not incorrectly trigger the tag), except there is none. I wonder if some people think that mentioning the existence of a trans-character is tr@nsphobic. So it goes, I guess.

[saxifactumterritum]

Friday recs!

It's second friday! IDK what you named the days of the week, here we call it second friday. Here we go, hold onto your socks times are wild.

TV show: [i just typed all this out and then tumblr ate it]. The Confessions of Frannie Langton, you can watch it in the UK on ITVX, click here. An adaptation of the book (same title) by Sara Collins (click here to find on The Storygraph), it's a four episode miniseries about Frannie Langton, her trial and as per the title, her confession. People said it's a love story, which I guess it is. The relationships between the characters are compelling, the cruelty is all mixed up with, maybe love isn't correct but something.

Book: Not really a book, but I was down a rabbit hole and came across The Sins of the Cities of the Plains, which is gay erotica from 1881. I haven't actually read it all, it's pretty much lots and lots of sex. It is super interesting to read the later parts about Sodomy and Tribadism, I know a bit about these definitions from other research but I like reading about the definitions in this sort of text, where it's written about sex. Most of my contemporary sources when I was researching this were sensational, medical, tracts against the acts, or court documents. Anyway, you can read it on Wikisource.

Please note, it is explicit, not safe for work, about sex, men have lots and lots (and lots and lots) of sex. Now you know, you can click here.

Radio: I've been listening to Jeeves and Wooster radio plays with Michael Hordern (Jeeves) and Richard Briers (Bertie Wooster). I like Mr Hordern being Jeeves very much, he's very funny, and I really like the interplay between their Jeeves and Wooster.

Fanfic: whose history, waiting by dotsayers, click here. It's, uh, Hot Fuzz, Rivers of London, and The Ritual, I don't know all these, I read a Hot Fuzz fanfic once, I have no idea how I ended up there but it was super cool! It is third in a series, I didn't read the others. It's a great vibe, mundanity and Sublime, a creeping edge of horror. Lovely!

Music: I been listening to Fire in the Wild album by Wild on Bandcamp recurrently (click here), super dreamy and nice.

That's it! Second Friday! have a good weekend!

If anyone has recs, I'd like to hear, tell me about cool things. Especially this week if anyone has recs for queer kids books for gifting. Not like, Tango Makes Three, just take it as read I know the basics and so do the small people in my life.

[girlboss-enthusiast]

4,12,and 41 <3

Fun fact: while filtering by genre, I learned I added the Polish version of Rendezvous with Rama to Storygraph, not the English version. I really have no idea how I made that mistake.

ANYWAY.

4. Favorite science fiction book(s) This is a tie! The first book that came to mind is Spin State by Chris Moriarty, which is hard sci-fi about a woman with a secret trying to solve a mystery on a distant mining planet. The setting is post-humanity, and goes a lot into the psychological/philosophical differences between a human being and a genetic construct of a human, what society with fully-sapient AIs would be like, and ethics in a world where personhood is hard to define. I recall loving the author's take on AIs; she made them very alien, for lack of a better term. Female author, and the main character is a WOC.

The second book I thought of is Far-Seer by Robert J. Sawyer, which answers a question we've all asked ourselves: What if Galileo was a dinosaur? Fantastic worldbuilding, cool aliens, interesting commentary on society, science! What more could you want?

12. Favorite horror book(s). This is also a tie...a three-way tie. Each book is my favorite in a different way! I'm indecisive.

The House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddons is a beautifully-written story about a couple who live next to a newly-built haunted house. It's as much a character exploration as a horror novel. I wouldn't say it was scary, but Siddons is so damn good at subtlely escalating dread. I didn't notice how tense I was until my jaw hurt from clenching my teeth.

Last Days by Adam Nevill is about a broke filmmaker who's hired to make a documentary about an infamous cult from the 1960s. This was so scary I cried.

The Red Tree by Caitlin R. Kiernan is about an emotionally damaged writer who finds a mysterious manuscript in her rural rental house regarding a haunted tree. Things do not go well for her. It's a fantastic epistolary novel with a fucked-up, unsympathetic unreliable narrator. (Note: this author is trans-identified, so those of you who only read female authors should stay away.)

41. When you get ready for a week long trip to somewhere how many books do you download/pack inside the suitcase? I have over 500 books on my e-reader and I've read about a quarter of them, so I'm good to go! If I'm traveling somewhere without electricity, I pack 5-7 books to get me through a week.

Ask me anything (about books)

[ninelivesart]

About Me (Kind of)

Doing this Drawing My Reads challenge this last year, made me realize there's a lot people don't know about me. You don't have to know anything about me, of course. But since I've had an uptick in followers, I thought I'd share a few things anyway. For context.

I'm a librarian! Technically a Library Clerk because I don't have my Master's. But this last year I got promoted to Programming Clerk. And I specifically run my library's Makerspace. Which means I get to play with cool, creative machines all day. This also means that I sometimes get to just vibe to audiobooks and draw stupid stuff (it's ideal). My primary focus at the moment is our laser printer. So I will 1000% be adding those creations into my rotation soon. Expect to see some SVG files and wooden bookmarks and things on my Etsy shop soon.

2. That being said, it's important to note that I hardly ever pay for books. I have access to a full library 40 hours a week. So please don't think I'm out here spending hundreds of dollars on these books. I very rarely pay for them.

3. My education is in books. I have a degree in English and Literature. I minored in Journalism. I didn't get to go to art school because there just weren't a lot of options for me back then. So I am a self-taught artist. And I'm lucky to have found a job that combines both of my passions.

4. I am a fully adult woman. I read a lot of very adult books. I'm closer to 40 than 20 and I have a teenage son. Please keep that in mind when interacting with me.

5. My reading tastes can sometimes seem contradictory. I love romances but I tend to stick to fantasy and scifi. I don't do contemporaries very often. And I don't read classics because chances are, I've already read it, analyzed it, wrote an essay on it, and read it again. I did my time and now I'm in debt for classic literature. I'm just trying to have fun. So sometimes I might diss a popular book and be very critical about it. And then turn around and wax poetic about alien smut. I don't expect much from the alien smut. I do expect more from serious books.

6. I pick my reads with a randomizer! This is why I sometimes take a long time getting to a sequel. I have made exceptions for a series I wanted to continue right away. And sometimes I roll again if I'm not in the mood for the book I got. I'm going to try to be a little stricter on this in 2024 though. With the exception of the audio books I listen to at work. I always search Libby for what's available now so I'm not wasting my work time, searching every book on my TBR to see if it's in.

7. You are more than welcome to send me suggestions! I'll probably just stick them on my TBR so I can't guarantee I'll read it quickly. But if you think I'll like it, feel free to recommend it. I'm also happy to talk books with you if you need someone to vent to about a book you know I've read.

8. You are also welcome to add me on Storygraph (beautawn) or TikTok (NineLivesArt). I'm stepping away from Goodreads, so you probably won't see a lot of updates on there. But I post drawing videos on TikTok and I update my Storygraph pretty regularly.

9. However, I don't do reviews! Why? They make me uncomfy! Sometimes I really need to marinate with a book before I decide if I like it or not. Rating systems make me anxious. And my mood alters my decisions. I also don't like being mean. I'm fine talking about my feelings with other readers, but I don't like leaving reviews. Especially if I plan to make art for it. Don't want to draw a lovely portrait and then bash the book.

10. I do plan to continue this project into the new year. But I am planning on doing it a little different. I have some other (non book related) projects I want to work on, and I want to push myself to focus more on the things I need to improve. I really want to focus on environments this year, so I'll be drawing scenes from the book instead. Which means I may not draw a book even if I loved it.

Thank you for following my reading/art journey! I didn't expect this silly little project to have such a positive response. I love when people talk books with me and I actually made friends with a few authors this year! So overall, it's been a very positive experience and I'm ready to jump into the New Year and see what it brings!

[therefugeofbooks]

July felt like an eternity! I made good use of the time, though, and finished a book with 600 pages! I haven't been reading big books so I'm glad I didn't dfn it. Overall, July was a mix of lightheaded reads and some dark ones.

Talking about all the books I read in July under the cut!

Hide and Seeker by Daka Hermon

Spooky! I liked the concept of the story, and the execution was pretty good. I can't get tired of kids saving the day and fighting the monsters and their fears. I was pleasantly surprised by all the turns the story takes and the end as well.

Read if you want: middle-grade horror, kids saving the day, a harmless play turned dark.

The Misadventures of an Amateur Naturalist by Ceinwen Langley (x)

I didn't like the first part of the book because of the pacing and lack of the magic and romance I was hoping for, but the second part is great! See my complete review of this book here.

Lady Killer Vol. 2 by Joëlle Jones and Laura Allred (x)

It's super fun! I loved the thriller and dangers that came with Josie's new situation and was shocked at the end! I'm even more curious to see where the story will head now.

Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas

I loved the gothic atmosphere of the story, the seclusion, the cult things, the mysterious deaths. The dark academia vibes are on point! Nevertheless, I didn't feel hooked up in the mystery, and I didn't particularly care for the main character.

The Queer Principles of Kit Webb by Cat Sebastian

Oh, this was lovely! I loved the romance, the characters, and their backgrounds, and all the action of it. I liked the plot twists and the ending was really sweet.

Read if you want: adult mlm romance, historical fiction, planned thefts.

The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo

It's been a long time since I read The Great Gatsby, so I vaguely recall what happened to compare with this book. Anyway, I liked that the protagonist is a Vietnamese girl and all her inner conflicts. The magic and its repercussions on the world were interesting, but I was not that interested in the story. Apart from Jordan, I thought the characters were annoying and didn't care for their conflicts. Also, the magic is sl fascinating but in was not a major focus.

Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis by Anne Rice (x) (x)

So, I think I disliked it less than Prince Lestat because many things happen in this book. But I'm baffled by the new additions to the vampire lore. The consequences to the vampire as individuals are interesting, at least. I'm glad Lestat and Louis had a moment, in the beginning, to talk things through and are on good terms again.

Sasaki and Miyano Vol. 2 and Vol. 3 by Shou Harusono

The romance is super fluffy and lighthearted, and I needed something between some heavy reading. Super excited to read the next volume!

Read if you want: fluffy bl manga, school romance.

Crota by Owl Goingback

Scary! I haven't read a lot of horror about monsters but this one was super cool. It deals with indigenous legends and the cave hunting part was suffocating and scary! Just not a big fan of a disabled child getting cured at the end of the book, the kid is not the main character but it kind of put me off in the end.

Read if you want: horror with monsters, police procedure, indigenous legends.

As I Descended by Robin Talley (x)

This was pretty dark! The arc of corruption and madness was pretty well-done, and the characters made me want to read more and more. I read it for Disability Pride Month as the main character is disabled. I was glad that her arc isn't only about her disability while also mentioning her difficulties and people's prejudice.

Read if you want: spooky YA, queer retellings, Shakespeare retellings.

The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino, tr. Alexander O. Smith

I'm not a big fan of police procedure, but this story is full of twists and turns that made me so curious about what would happen next! It's more of a mind game between the police and the killer than a thriller full of action, but it was an enjoyable read.

Read if you want: psychological thriller, police procedure.

Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows By Balli Kaur Jaswal

Super fun and thought-provoking! It deals with stories bringing a community together, women finding a space to share stories, and also a mystery in the middle of everything. One of my favorites of the month!

Read if you want: fun stories, book club books, contemporary fiction.

Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie (x) (x)

I took my time to read this book as it's a literary work, and it's very experimental. I liked the narration and the flow of the story. There're so many fascinating things about the story, the magic, the culture, India's history, and many others things. However, it's a long book. I was a bit tired at the end, but still, a great read.

Read if you want: literary and experimental fiction, magical realism.

The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris

The pacing of this thriller was slow, but I was interested in the diversity drama in Nella's work, so I was not bothered at first. But most of the main events happen right at the end, and the known villain does a "villain explaining their plan" that was a bit cartoonish. Also, the villain was only a part in the big scheme, and we don't get answers about this big thing happening. Still, there're some thought-provoking topics in this book, and the more "fantasy" aspect of it was super spooky.

Read if you want: slow-paced thrillers, psychological thrillers.

Ariel by Sylvia Plath (x)

I want to read more poetry, so I chose this one from the library. I enjoyed some poems and the images the writer created, but most of them fell flat for me.

Rereads:

Reborn! Vol 1 by Akira Amano, Frances E. Wall (translator)

Livros disponíveis em Português:

Links para os meus reviews no skook!

Baú de Sonhos Impossíveis de Filipe Bedendo (x)

De Repente Adolescente de vários autores (x) (x)

A Botija do Fantasma de Pablo Praxedes (x)

And feel free to talk to me about the books of this list :)

Read in: Feb | Mar | Apr | May | June |

☆Book Photography ☆ Storygraph ☆ Scribd ☆

[i-did]

hi hello i couldn't sleep last night so i was scrolling thru all ur asks and stuff and ur opinions and analyses are so interesting!!! and then afterwards i was thinking about what u were saying about mlm smut and i'd also been thinking about such things a little bit recently bc like.....at a certain point it becomes quite clear that the vast majority of smut-writing is just imitation. like there's the sex noise verb list and all and the whole general mechanics of the sex and those things just .... replicate over and over. and the whole thing w people writing mlm vs wlw smut regardless of their own sexual orientation..... like i feel like a big part of that is just a self-perpetuating thing. like if u have not had sex and u r getting all ur (pleasure-related) sex ed from fandom (even if u do watch porn, that doesn't rlly tell u how to describe stuff? idk) regardless of What fandom , the majority is going to be mlm smut. which is itself majority imitation of other mlm smut, imitating and imitating back to whoever knows what the first smut fanfic was etc. there's just way More to mimic than there is on the women side of things. which then becomes a self-perpetuating thing, bc the mimicry continues and generates more and more. and---if there are fundamental misunderstandings of anatomy involved---those self-perpetuate as well. and maybe even exaggerate. and yeah. does this all make sense? idk i was just thinking about it. like all the stereotypes and stuff continue bc writers are getting their inspo from other writers rather than their own brains. or something. idk!!!!! it's just all... divorced from reality? bc words. or something!! i hope u get what i'm trying to say. just thoughts i've been thinking. anyway i think ur thoughts are cool. and ur writing. ok bye have a good day!!

Okay yeah this is kinda messy but hope u see this, uhh yeah I think you're right about the echo chamber effect fr about stuff. I think it's a mix of projecting too sometimes. talk more under the cut and also link to a video essay since I love video essays.

Here’s a video that sort of touches on this topic: 

“Gay fanfiction” by Sarah Z. (has CC)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8E_C00dKwI

This video begins to talk about fetishization at the end, but also… not really. The words “gay fanfiction” is used as a catchall, when really gay fanfiction is largely mlm written by non-mlm.

Fandom is a largely women's space dominated by the female gaze in a media industry world that is dominated by men and the male gaze. I'm really glad women have this space to explore creativity and queerness, and I don't expect the female gaze to go away, but I am still ultimately bummed out I can’t read most fanfic or interact with most fandom spaces without having fetishization in my face. 

So about 80% of fandom is women, and most of those women aren't straight, but 90% of those women prefer mlm ships. Why don’t they prefer wlw ships? Well definitely part of it is the fact that queerbaiting is centered around white straight men, and then there is also the fact that women tend not to be written as well charcter wise. But the fact still remains that you get jerjean getting priority over Layla and Alvarez who are in canon just as much and are a canon wlw couple who actually interact as well as Alvarez could likely be a woc because of her Hispanic last name. Korasami doesn’t get nearly as much hype as zuko and saka, despite the fact that they are 2 fully dimensional characters who canonly kiss and hold hands, something the creators fought for and ended up having to sacrifice another reboot for. 

I do believe the fandom echo-chamber is largely responsible for… a lot of things, like you're saying. But what's interesting is that the complaints I've heard about visual porn from non mlm in the fandom space is that they can’t get off to it because its for the male gaze and misogynistic usually. But they also don't seem to notice how the mlm smut circles has the female gaze and is also… almost always mlm. If it was a pure anatomical not knowing thing, I get that, but I also think that leads to the question of “then why the male body for porn, and not your own? The one you know and are familiar with?” 

I know some people want to get outside of their own body for porn and don’t want to think of their own anatomy at all, but overall I'm still uncomfortable. If an anglo said “well I watch porn of only Mexicans so I don't self insert” I'm gonna be like … hhhh in a similar way. I understand people “like what they like” but I wish they also noticed said patterns in the first place. I understand the t4t tumblr porn circle, and how it's different from cis people who only watch trans porn. 

I actually wished that instead of fandom focusing on mlm ships where some asshole guy hits on bottom troupe charcter for top troupe character to save, was instead… a wlw character experiencing said shitty getting hit on and other wlw swooping in. what's interesting is fandom writes a lot about misogynistic experiences without often realizing it. Ive read fanfic where guys get called sluts for sleeping with people or called bitch for speaking their mind, these arent things men usually experience, but rather women. Fandom has a lot of internalized misogyny and also queerphobia imo. Women characters often get pushed to the sidelines and men become the canvas for female fans to project onto. 

There is this natural inclination to mlm. When people are talking about “gay shipping” or “gay books” or “gay feels” or even just “gay” mlm is what’s largely in mind. I honestly am kinda saddened by this because if gay fanfiction was really solely about writing more to feel represented, then you would see a lot of bi and ace and lesbian rep, but this isn't the case. Queer women are seriously underrepresented, and I want to hear their stories and read them in fanfiction as well as published. 50% of lgbt literature is mlm, and of that its largely written by women. Becky Albertalli, Rainbow Rowell, Maggie Stiefvater, are the YA big names and are all women writing mlm. Red white and royal blue is written by Casey McQuiston and Captive prince (which is not YA) is written by C. S. Pacat, who is non-binary, but is also TME and not mlm. These are all the big names in mlm lit, behind them is some gay men, but honestly their stories aren't preferred, they're not the right “flavor” for the consumers usually, who are largely women. In general YA consumers and authors are women, but I wish that they… just wrote about women too. I think there is a certain… snowball effect to the overrepresentation of mlm representing the whole LGBT community that leads to fetishization, as well as misogyny playing a factor in: less women characters being written well to write fanfic on, when they are written well they're taken less seriously or the audience struggles to relate to them, they're less marketable then men. 

Idk I never feel “seen” or “represented” by any of the books above, which don't address boyhood and manhood and queerness intersecting really, and AFTG doesn’t either. I relate to AFTG as a trauma victim who has experienced a lot of what many of the characters go through and have gone through in the EC as well as them just overall being very well written characters, but I don't relate to it as a mlm really. I've never seen like.. gay voice or being straight passing or femphobia or how boyhood can be affected from a young age by those around you sensing you're ‘other’ or if you didn't experience this you feel outside the mlm community. Let alone sub cultures like bear and leather and pup, at most you see the word “he's such a twink” in fandom which... i fr hate non mlm using that word because it's usually used to replace the f-slur essentially, used derogatorily or to call him “such a bottom” and stuff like that. It’s like a joke or an insult.

Long story short, idk mang this was a ramble and I think I'm coning down with something. I wanna see more queer women rep and women authors writing about being a queer woman too. I think it's a complex web of fetishization and a bit of forbidden love yaoi culture (or it used to be in the BOYXBOY days) as well as misogyny on an industry level, creator level, as well as reader/consumer and fandom level. I don’t think it’s inherently wrong to explore other peoples stories and what we read has to be segregated, “only mlm are allowed to read and write mlm, only wlw are allowed to read and write wlw,” but I also think author’s intent and audience and background is telling, as well as overall statistics. Like about an hour ago I was looking for cookbooks in spanish or in english, and I was looking for some mexican food cook books, but I had to look for them using words in spanish because otherwise what came up was a bunch of “fiesta party, easy as uno dos tres authentic cooking!” and I was like… hm. Since I could tell they were marketing to anglos. (also the author’s last names were like michelle smith, james cooper, and this could be for a variety of reasons, but I trust Hispanic names more tbh and deadass would look at the authors pictures and if they had other books in Spanish or what their specialties were.)

anyways. not sure how to end this. uhm if anyone has any book recs (my to read list is like 500 books tho no joke) preferably not YA white mlm written by a white lady, hopefully queer women written by queer woman, LMK, I need more wlw and queer women stories on my list. I have a decent amount but always looking for more. I kinda wanna link my goodreads or my storygraph but I also don't want to get doxxed and it has my legal name on it so.

Also, I'm dyslexic and using spell check but if there's like some wild typos my b.

[aresacademia]

2021 Reads

hello! it is december 31 and i am here to deliver my reads and a brief review of all of my reads for 2021. look under the keep reading to see the reads. also all of my reviews are also available on storygraph

1. "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

Read: 24 December 2020 - 9 January 2021

Rating: 2.25 / 5

I think (personally) this book was a little overhyped. Yes it is very dark academia culture but like it's not as good as people say... in my opinion at least

2. 'The Starless Sea' by Erin Morgenstern

Read: 30 July 2021 - 1 August 2021

Rating: 3.25 / 5

This was an over all good book. Like I enjoyed it overall. Very weird in it's world but that's part of it's charm I think.

3. "Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter" by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

Read: 30 July 2021 - 5 August 2021

Rating: 2 / 5

I love the series okay? Okay. I listened to the dramatized audiobook and it was a little weird in comparison. But also I have Bad ADHD and so that may have taken me out of it.

4. "The Watchmaker of Filgree Street" by Natasha Pulley

Read: 3 August 2021 - 16 August 2021

Rating: 1.5 / 5

This was... a book. Do I see Japanese immigrant representation a lot? No. Did it mean a lot to see that representation? Yes. But I did not know what was happening half the time.

5. "Fifty Shades of Grey" by E. L. James

Read: 30 July 2021 - 23 August 2021

Rating: 1 / 5

AUDIOBOOK. Fuck this book. I hate it. I read it as a joke. On the way to work. At a children's theatre. It was kind of a nice break from having to dull myself down a little for the actors for my show but god it's a bad book.

6. "That Inevitable Victorian Thing" by Emily Kate Johnson

Read: 16 August - DID NOT FINISH

Rating: 0 / 5

Didn't finish. Barely started it. Did not grab my attention and work had me very busy.

7. "One Last Stop" by Casey McQuiston

Read: 26 October - 4 November 2021

Rating: 3.75 / 5

AUDIOBOOK. I love it. It was so good. I prefer "Red, White, and Royal Blue" over this but also I relate more to that one so. There's that. But time travel that is not done by a person is a very cool concept and I love it. Obsessed with that world. I will say I thought that I thought Wes was trans originally. Umm due to personal reasons, he is now trans thank u <3

8. "Radio Silence" by Alice Oseman

Read: 26 October 2021 - 29 December 2021

Rating: 5 / 5

This was a reread as well as I tried the audiobook but I didn't love it and so it became my work commute book instead. Cause my commute is over an hour and I need some content to perceive haha. I love this book so much and I read it as someone taking a gap year not really sure what he wants to do. It fucking HIT!!!

9. "Cemetery Boys" by Aiden Thomas

Read: 29 December 2021 - 30 December 2021

Rating: 5 / 5

My first and last 5 star of the year. Didn't read a whole lot but this book was so good and I love it. Will probably be a seasonal reread come fall. I love the magic and the trans rep and just the whole thing. So good! I want more of Yadriel and Julian

10. "They Both Die at the End" by Adam Silvera

Read: 30 December 2021 - 31 December 2021

Rating: 3.75 / 5

I finally read They Both Die at the End and I loved it. However, because I waited so long to read it the amount of anxiety I had the whole time was astronomical. It was a lot. Because I knew what was going to happen but not when or how. So yeah. Will I reread it? Probably not but I bought the book so I might out of spite

And those are the books I read this year!!! Probably will start Aristole and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World" tonight but I don't think I will finish it. I am excited for it. I hope it holds up to the first book because it was a 5 / 5 and I don't give a lot of books 5 / 5 stars. Anyways there you go! My 2021 reads... onto 2022!

[playedwright]

hi, i don't know if you've heard of the goodreads alternative storygraph. it's a much more user-friendly, reader-friendly and not-amazon-owned book tracking platform that i recently started using. i wanted to let you know that i just found out that 'tell me about the dream' is on there! very fun for book nerds like me who love statistics about their reading habits. anyways love your fanfics, have a great day :)<3

hi! i hadn't heard of storygraph before but i'm very excited to learn about it (especially as an alternative to goodreads which is not my favorite site lol). i didn't know tmatd was listed there either but i just pulled it up and it's very cool! very wild to me to remember that ppl can talk about my fics in other places but i'm happy to see ppl enjoying it still :') thank you so much for letting me know<3

for anyone curious!