#book rec tag

[fanficmemes]

I’m working my way through this really cool authors books, but I’ve gotta say, I know she advertises it as erotica but god she writes good horror and weird theological shit. Like ma’am I don’t even care about the sex anymore let’s circle back to finding out that your god was made up to control your entire planet to keep you from killing each other

[latinotiktok]

Si se pueden recomendar libros vayan ya mismo a leer 'La Sed' de Marina Yuszczuk. Es sobre una vampira que escapa de Europa después de que la descubren y llega a Buenos Aires durante la epidemia de la fiebre amarilla. Imaginate, se la pasa cogiendo y matando gente. Es la mejor novela de vampiros que leí y no sé cómo resumirla de una manera que le haga justicia. Leanla ya.

OH?

[yekokataa]

if you liked disco elysium, you'll also like...

these books:

the southern reach series by jeff vandermeer (2014 for these three books, with a new book coming this fall)

perdido street station by china miéville, the memoirs of stockholm sven by nathaniel ian miller

these games:

the thaumaturge (2024) (yeah, that's rasputin)

NORCO (2022) (underrated point and click narrative game in a near-future new orleans)

kentucky route zero (2013) (it's so fucking good)

pentiment (2022)

these shows:

true detective season 1 (2014) and also season 4 (2024)

the leftovers (2014-2017)

dark (2017-2020) (german show - netflix will try to default to the dubbed version but don't let it!)

[gatheringbones]

queer romance and sexuality recommendations:

the art of giving and receiving: the wheel of consent by betty martin

leatherfolk: radical sex, people, politics, and practice, edited by mark thompson

gay spirit/gay soul/gay body edited by mark thompson

fierce femmes and notorious liars by kai cheng thom

confessions of the fox by jordy rosenberg

s/he by minnie bruce pratt

the faggots and their friends in between revolutions, by larry mitchell

bushfire/afterglow edited by karen barber

best lesbian erotica volumes 1-13 published by cleis press

the beggar of love by lee lynch

sometimes she lets me: best butch femme erotica edited by tristan taormino

why are faggots so afraid of other faggots?: flaming challenges to masculinity, objectification, and the desire to conform, edited by mattilda bernstein sycamore

queer sex by juno roche

we too: essays on sex work and survival, edited by natalie west

cruising: an intimate history of a radical pastime, by alex espinoza

blood, marriage, wine & glitter, by s. bear bergman

[rhythmelia]

Support a translator of color!

This is an ongoing situation as of 2023.06.24.

My friend Yilin (she/they) does a lot (A LOT) of work translating literature from Chinese to English, among other things. And they allowed me to signal boost this on tumblr since she doesn't have one yet.

The beginning of the thread is here: https://twitter.com/yilinwriter/status/1670305203206385665 and all the tweet images below are not described because they are previews of direct links to the tweets.

Key points: The British Museum stole their translation work and used it, uncredited, in a major exhibit where they "appeared in photos on a giant display, on signage, in a physical guide, in a digital guide, in an audio guide, and in an app that is available for international download. How did NO ONE catch there was no credit?"

The response from the British Museum has been enormously disappointing so far:

"we will not be reinstating the translations in the exhibition that have been removed following your complaint, and therefore you will not be acknowledged in the exhibition as your work will not be featured" - except the uncredited translations are still in the 30,000 copies of the exhibition catalog.

Go check out more updates downthread as the situation develops.

Want to support Yilin?

"If you want to write to them or have written to the BM, you can help convey these demands of mine to them: - credit + public apology everywhere the work appears - proper payment (increased to account for lack of prior permission given & all the time the work was uncredited)"

Boost Yilin's book! "The Lantern & the Night Moths, an anthology of Chinese poetry that I selected & translated, featuring poets incl. Qiu Jin, accompanied by my essays on translation, forthcoming w/ @/invisibooks in Spring 2024"

Yilin's page: https://yilinwang.com/book-announcement-the-lantern-and-the-night-moths/

and the pre-order link: https://invisiblepublishing.com/product/the-lantern-and-the-night-moths/

I'll try to update as more things happen, or you can go camp out on the thread.

Edit: please reblog the most current update here from 2023.07.05:

[hayatheauthor]

How To Accurately Describe Pain In Writing 

Pain can be an interesting emotion to write about. It gives authors the liberty to merge their character’s emotions and surroundings to create beautiful metaphors and graphic descriptions that draw their readers in and convey their character’s struggles. However, if done wrongly reading your descriptions of pain can feel like a chore to your readers. Unsure how to accurately describe pain in your writing? Here are some tips to help you get started. 

Use The Five Senses 

As humans, we possess five senses that dictate our reactions to the world around us. When writing, it is important to use these five senses rather than just relying on what your character can see. Talk about the sound, the smell, the taste, and even the feeling. 

If your character just got burnt, talk about the sound of sizzling flesh and the slight numbness they feel. Mention the terrible smell of burnt flesh, and make your character feel dizzy with fear as their eyes finally land on the horrific wound. 

Internal bleeding makes people spit blood and taste iron and partially healed wounds feel itchy and irritant. 

There is so much more to pain than what you see, and simply talking about your character’s wounds isn’t nearly enough to make your readers wince in second-hand pain. In fact, they are more likely to skim your passages in boredom. 

Show your readers what your character is experiencing, and then go on to describe their reaction to this situation. 

Build It Up, Then Break It Down 

Pain doesn’t just suddenly come from nowhere. It starts with something small, blossoms, and then spreads. Your character won’t just suddenly get a third-degree burn the size of a baseball by leaning against a hot steel wall for the briefest of seconds. It starts with a light reddish-brown mark, then darkens, maybe even blisters. 

You can’t go from 0 to 100 in one sentence. You need to build it up and show your readers how your character’s pain was found. Then, break it down. 

Pain doesn’t come from nowhere, but it doesn’t suddenly disappear either. Show us how your character’s wound heals. Does the wound mark from where they hurt their knee turn into an ugly brown shade for a couple of weeks? Do their burns gradually fade from red to pink, or turn darker? 

It’s important to show your readers the aftermath of your character’s pain. A character who just had a bullet pulled out of their shoulder with a hot knife can’t suddenly just jump up and start firing at the enemy with perfect aim. 

You don’t need to overdo it and constantly mention their wounds during the healing stage, but something as simple as ‘her bandages uncomfortably scratched at her back every time she lifted her hand to eat’ or ‘his fingers subconsciously shifted to run over the remains of his burn mark even as his eyes remained trained on the blackboard’ will suffice. 

How Does This Affect Your Character? 

Physical pain aside, wounds can also have an effect on your character’s dynamics with others as well as your plot. 

It’s important to take into account how they got this wound, how the other characters might react to it, and internalised conflict caused by it. Maybe your character injured their fingers during a game of volleyball and now they’re staring at their final exam paper with tears of frustration brimming their waterline because it hurts too much to write.

Maybe your protagonist suffered a small burn while sneaking out to go to their friend’s house and their parent or mentor saw it. Or maybe your protagonist won against the antagonist but suffered a grave injury to their legs and now cannot fight during the next confrontation, resulting in a chaotic outbreak at their headquarters. 

Think about the internal as well as the external damage your character’s wounds can cause, and then use that as a plot device to further your book. 

Do Your Research 

It’s very important to accurately portray your character’s level of pain and consider whether or not they would realistically incur such injuries from such a wound. When writing about a character’s wound or pain consider doing some research about that type of wound. 

Here are some things you need to check when researching the wound type: 

How much blood would they loose with this type of wound? 

What are the side effects? 

Could this be fatal? 

How long will it take to heal? 

How long does it take for a wound to get to that extent? (for example, if you’re writing about a third-degree burn, research what it takes for a burn to be considered third-degree). 

What are the major veins, arteries, and other important body parts in that part of the character’s body? For example, if your character is supposed to be injured on their arm but it’s not supposed to be serious, you need to consider whether the wound could realistically have ruptured their radial artery, resulting in death. 

Will there be any scarring? What about any long-lasting wound marks? 

You could also take a look at historical events similar to the one you’re writing. For example, if you’re writing about an assassination attempt consider researching the most historically renowned assassination techniques. 

It’s also a good idea to ask your families and friends about their experiences with the type of wound you’re writing about (so long as it’s not a sensitive topic). Maybe you have a cousin who suffered a third-degree burn once or a classmate who has a scar from a graphic wound across their arm. 

I hope this blog on how to accurately describe pain in writing will help you in your writing journey. Be sure to comment any tips of your own to help your fellow authors prosper, and follow my blog for new blog updates every Monday and Thursday.  

Looking For More Writing Tips And Tricks? 

Are you an author looking for writing tips and tricks to better your manuscript? Or do you want to learn about how to get a literary agent, get published and properly market your book? Consider checking out the rest of Haya’s book blog where I post writing and marketing tools for authors every Monday and Thursday. 

Want to learn more about me and my writing journey? Visit my social media pages under the handle @hayatheauthor where I post content about my WIP The Traitor’s Throne and life as a teenage author. 

Copyright © 2022 Haya, you are not allowed to repost, translate, recreate or redistribute my blog posts or content without prior permission

[ventique18]

Malleus book recommendations (⚠️ Warning: Adult novels)

Are you a MalleYuu simp? Are you tired of their endless pining that never goes anywhere? Are you frustrated and just want the Yuu♀️ to bed the Malleus? Well you're in luck because I've sacrificed my sanity to comb through heaps of trash just to feed my brethren's delusions!

If your fave is his temper tantrum: Rurik - The WitchSlayer. This is only one book, but very cute and satisfying. Not very heavy on the plot; more on a fantasy slice of life between a dragon shifter and a sweet part-dragon witch.

If your favorite is the playful in Malleus: Rhysand - A Court of Thorns and Roses Series. Note: Do not stop reading until you get to Book 2, at least. It's the actual start of the series.

If you like both Malleus and Silver and want to merge them into one person: Creon - Fae Isles Series. IMO the best out of all of them.

If you like Evil Malleus: Valroy - Maze of Shadows Series. From the most well-written book out of all of them, but requires the most open mind. This is a dark novel with an evil hero. When I say evil, he is EVIL.

Some rankings below:

Note that all of these are personal preferences.

Ranking the best boys:

1. CREON (Fae Isles). He's THE best hero out of all romance books I've read so far. He's complex. He's devilish. He's thoughtful. He has a unique feature about him that no one else possesses. You'll understand.

2. Rurik (The WitchSlayer). He's annoying, has a bad temper, grumpy most of the time, but he's very cute. He's a literal dragon. He's also smart and actually thinks things through to actively resolve misunderstandings because he understands that feelings can muddle the truth.

3. Rhysand (A Court of Thorns and Roses). He's perfect. That's all. Sometimes a bit too perfect, but he's much better than many fictional male leads.

4. Valroy (Maze of Shadows). This does not mean he stinks. He's literally just extremely evil, which in itself makes him very interesting and better than most cookie cutter heroes.

All of them are great characters. They're the main reasons why you would read these novels.

Ranking the stories:

1. Fae Isles. Its magic system is unique. A lot of it is unique. Just excellent all around and definitely my favorite.

2. Maze of Shadows. DARK romance. Toxic. But very interesting and a refreshing read for those who have the strength to stomach it and remind themselves that this is only fiction.

3. The WitchSlayer. Just a one-shot so you can't expect much, but its pacing is unique in that the conflict resolves fairly early, leaving enough room to tackle what happens after the big bad evil has been defeated. It also has a cute epilogue! Definitely read this if you only have time for one of these. You won't regret the sweet dragon moments, both in his tiny form and his giant form.

4. A Court of Thorns and Roses. I generally just enjoyed it for Rhysand tbh.

Do you know other stories with Malleus clones? Let me know because I need it 👀

[ejunkiet]

quick & dirty werewolf romance rec list

Wolfsong & the rest of the Green Creek Series by TJ Klune. Addictive, heart wrenching, fantastic. MM, adult, coming of age gay romances with high drama and romantic tension. If you want to read about werewolves, this is the gold standard. I'm in love with Klune's writing style. LGBTQA+ rep -- book three features an ace romance!!!

Cold Hearted by Heather Guerre (Tooth and Claw #1). @matsuoclan has the BEST book recommendations, oh my god. Grace moves to a remote town in Alaska to escape her past, and finds a new family, and more besides. Explores the themes of loneliness and depression with a supernatural twist, with a sprinkle of enemies to lovers. Love this book, will devour the series >:3

Ruby and the Wolf by Clover Down. @dominimoonbeam remains one of my favourite PNR writers. After putting her life on the line for a stranger, Ruby finds herself on the run from vampires with the wolf she saved. SO STEAMY. SO GOOD.

Mating the Huntress by Talia Hibbert. A werewolf falls head over heels for a hunter. SO GOOD. SO FUN. READ IT.

The Lone Wolf's Rejected Mate by Cate C Wells. Another book rec from a moot that I devoured. Wells is a guilty pleasure, and this is my favourite of this series. Deals with trauma, mind the content warnings, Darragh has my heart.

Tumblr recs

@monstersandmaw - Gabe and Odessa, complete, full novel. I cannot tell you how many times I've read this story. It's a comfort read okay. Slow burn. Odessa, lawyer, escaping the city, moves into a small cabin in the woods and meets Gabe, a park ranger, with more to him than it seems. Just a beautiful story.

@snowkissedmonsters - Candy and the wolves. Explores poly dynamics between a wolfpack and the human waitress Candy who is their mate. Gorgeous art to accompany it too!

[librarycards]

hello all, and welcome to your favorite book rec series! :) here are my favorites of the first quarter of 2024. it was, as always, a tough choice, and several 5-star books had to be left out. to see all of my book reviews/follow my reading life, add or follow me on goodreads (and check out my forthcoming novel on goodreads and storygraph while you're at it). I also recommend all kinds of media on my newsletter, which a couple hundred people seem to like!)

with that, here are my top 9 books (in no particular order) of jan-march 2024!

Raja Shehadeh, Palestinian Walks

Dorothy Allison, Bastard Out of Carolina

Megan Milks, Margaret and the Mystery of the Missing Body

Hiromi Goto, Chorus of Mushrooms

Carla Sofia Ferreira, A Geography That Does Not Hurt Us

Sam Sax, A Guide to Undressing Your Monsters

C Pam Zhang, Land of Milk and Honey

Mikhail Bulgakov, The Master and Margarita

Ulrich Jesse K Baer, Deer Black Out [I was lucky to get an ARC of this one; it drops in April!]

tagging people who are or might be interested below - but feel free to do this for yourself and tag me, i read every single one i'm tagged in and update my tbr accordingly! thanks for reading & loving this series as much as i do :3

@heavenlyyshecomes @communicationissues @fluoresensitive @gwenderqueer @capricornpropaganda @discworldwitches @stephen-deadalus @materialisnt @boykeats @growtiredofpublicvulnerability @flameswallower @closet-keys @fatehbaz @trans-axolotl @bioethicists @aldieb @petesdragon @passerea @lesbianlizzybennet @slowtides @felgueirosa @sadhoc @sawasawako @candiedsmokedsalmon @tirragen @punkkwix @feypact @abstractlesbian @crippleprophet and anyone who wants to!

[brother-emperors]

for enjoyers of rome and comics:

Les Aigles de Rome (The Eagles of Rome) by Enrico Marini is set in first century CE Rome and it’s a fucking visual and narrative delight. It’s like taking a bite of a delicious meal, the story arc and interpersonal character drama combined with the density of life in the backgrounds makes each page a fantastic time.

Dead Romans by Fred Kennedy & Nick Marinkovich. Also set in the early Roman Empire! My feelings for this one are a little more complicated, but it there’s a sort of Hollywood movie appeal to the plot, and the illustrative work of the comic is stunning, a visual feast for the eyes and worth checking out for that alone.

Cléopâtre, la reine fatale by Thierry Gloris & Joël Mouclier. Dramatic spectacle, drama, delicious visuals, and I'm kind of obsessed with the visual tone of it. The character interactions and snapshot glimpses into the interlocking relationships everyone has are honestly a high point for me with this one.

[eddiebabygirldiaz]

ryan's adventures in bookbinding

i feel confident to share my creations now that i have been bookbinding for several months, so here's one of my recent books that im very proud of

fic: let the world have its way with you by @shitouttabuck

inside artwork: by @bucksketch (and used only with their permission)

cover design: created by me

this fic is most beloved to me. roadtrip fics are a particular weakness of mine and nina wrote a phenomenal, moving, sweet, funny, sexy buddie roadtrip and i can hardly ever stop thinking about it. they write both buck and eddie so spectacularly well and examine their traumas and healing so beautifully and i just love this fic with everything in me

[fanficmemes]

Just finished reading the iron widow by Xiran Jay Zhao, and I have so many thoughts!! I don’t read a whole lot of YA anymore but this one grabbed my attention and would let go. The characters are well written and relatable as hell, our MC is angry and rightfully so, by the time I’d read 50 pages I was ready to throw hands at anyone trying to hurt her. The plot itself moves quickly enough to draw you in, but it takes the time to let you really feel the emotions that the characters are feeling. All in all, 10/10 can’t wait for the second installment!!!

[latinotiktok]

Para anon que quería recs de libros en español: siempre es buen momento para recomendar a Juan Rulfo, en mi opinión el mayor exponente de la literatura mexicana y con un estilo muy muy característico del cuento latino. Tiene muchos cuentos cortos y están muy bien para empezar. También te recomiendo a Ángeles Mastretta que escribe sobre la vida de mujeres latinas.

!!!

[gatheringbones]

best books I read in 2023:

sophie strand, the flowering wand: rewilding the sacred masculine

alex iantaffi, gender trauma: healing cultural, social, and historical gendered trauma

matthew desmond, evicted: poverty and profit in the american city

betty dodson, sex for one: the joy of selfloving

ching-in chen, andrea smith, jai dulani, the revolution starts at home: confronting intimate partner violence within activist communities

robin stern, the gaslight effect: how to spot and survive the hidden manipulation others use to control your life

nick turse, kill anything that moves: the real american war in vietnam

lori fox, this has always been a war: the radicalization of a working class queer

arline t. geronimus, weathering: the extraordinary stress of ordinary life in an unjust society

roxanne dunbar-ortiz, not a nation of immigrants: settler colonialism, white supremacy, and a history of erasure and exclusion

eyal press, dirty work: essential jobs and the hidden toll of inequality in america

rabbi danya ruttenberg, on repentence and repair: making amends in an unapologetic world

michelle dowd, forager: field notes for surviving a family cult

starhawk, the empowerment manual: a guide for collaborative groups

betty dodson, orgasms for two: the joy of partnersex

timothy snyder, black earth: the holocaust as history and warning

kidada e. williams, I saw death coming: a history of terror and survival in the war against reconstruction

judy grahn, another mother tongue: gay words, gay worlds

jennifer m. silva, coming up short: working-class adulthood in an age of uncertainty

susanna clarke, piranesi

megan asaka, seattle from the margins: exclusion, erasure, and the making of a pacific coast city

starhawk, truth or dare: encounters with power, authority, and mystery

laura jane grace, tranny: confessions of punk rock’s most infamous anarchist sellout

molly smith, revolting prostitutes: the fight for sex worker's rights

richard c. schwartz, you are the one you've been waiting for: applying internal family systems to intimate relationships

timothy snyder, our malady: lessons in liberty from a hospital diary

peter levine, trauma and memory: brain and body in search for the living past

kylie cheung, survivor injustice: state-sanctioned abuse, domestic violence, and the fight for bodily autonomy

timothy snyder, bloodlands: europe between hitler and stalin

joan larkin, a woman like that: lesbian and bisexual writers tell their coming out stories

cj cherryh, hammerfall

[percocet]

just finished reading yellowface by rf kuang and ho-ly shit. that's how satire is done. i have so many thoughts. would absolutely recommend a read to anybody, but especially white people. if you're serious about unlearning anti-asian racism, you should read this book. if you're asian, esp east asian, and you want to see a thieving, racist bitch get her comeuppance (while examining the insidiousness of white womanhood, the patriarchal system that allows this brand of whiteness to proliferate unchecked, debating ownership/authorship in storytelling, and more), you should read this book. holy shit.

[starrynightsxo]

jameson hawthorne... my oh my... 🤭🤭🤭