thesexyvlogger

[emeryleewho]

People on here are always like "fuck capitalism, why can't things be weird anymore" and then write up a whole dissertation about how the biggest IPs need to change to be weirder.

Like, you are so close. You are so close to getting the point. "Big" IPs *can only exist because they are normal*. They will *never* be weird. They will *never* do what you want. Go find some smaller IPs. Bring back discovery. Bring back never having heard of a book before you buy it. Bring back watching obscure anime online that none of your friends know about. Bring back trying new things, even if they're bad or cheaply made. That is how you get *weird*.

[le-trash-prince]

I feel like I’ve been able to read so many speculative fiction wlw books in the past few years that I get a little frustrated when ppl complain that wlw relationships are always sidelined in stories. So I’m just gonna make a list of the ones I’ve completed, for posterity. There are so many interesting books out there and all of these deserve more attention.

To reiterate, this is speculative fiction (sci-if/fantasy) where the primary relationship is wlw.

Ash: Chinese and fae influenced retelling of Cinderella (+Huntress, a prequel)

A Restless Truth: historical magical murder mystery set on a Titanic sister-ship. This is the second book in a series but my favorite so far

Burning Roses: European fairy-tale/Chinese legend mashup featuring older ladies

Cinderella is Dead: YA fairy tale dystopia

Crier’s War: human x android enemies to lovers political intrigue

Even Though I Knew the End: supernatural detective noir, super quick and super fun

Gearbreakers: enemies-to-lovers with mecha

In the Vanisher’s Palace: Viet influenced Beauty and the Beast where the Beast is a dragon lady

Juniper Harvey and the Vanishing Kingdom: middle school age mythological fantasy adventure, I wish I had this growing up

Labyrinth Lost: bruja fantasy underworld adventure

Last to Leave the Room: WFH doppleganger horror + toxic coworkers who hate each other (they really don’t)

Legends and Lattes: Simple and sweet DND inspired cafe AU

Once and Future: King Arthur but in space with ladies. Wish this one had been poly

Roots of Chaos series: high fantasy with dragons and so many queers.

Strictly No Heroics: the struggles of villain henchmen

The Abyss Surrounds us/The Edge of the Abyss: kaiju pirates, enemies to lovers

The Burning Kingdoms Trilogy: desi epic fantasy, enemies to lovers

Spear: Arthurian sapphics

Someone You Can Build a Nest In: shapeshifting monster falls for a monster hunter

The Locked Tomb: wlw necromancers in space. Enemies to ???

The Luminous Dead: spelunking thriller set on another planet—this one is fucky everyone should read it

The Memory Librarian: short stories set in Janelle Monae’s android world

The Mimicking of Known Successes: detective noir set on Jupiter—ex-lovers reunited by circumstance

The Red Scholar’s Wake: space pirates, enemies to lovers, human x spaceship

The Salvation Gambit: con-artists breaking out of a sentient prison-world ship

The Space Between Worlds: inter dimensional corporate exploitation, handler x agent mutual pining, this one is so underappreciated

The Witch and the Vampire: YA vampire x vampire hunter

This is How You Lose the Time War: everyone knows this one

We Set the Dark on Fire: YA Latine political intrigue, school rivals to lovers

If you have any others please add, I’m always looking to grow my reading list

[azure-clockwork]

How Does it Feel to Read Classic Sci-Fi?

Orson Scott Card: Two of the most interesting books you’ll ever read if you’re willing to look past a handful of things. And then you find the planet of Chinese people who worship having debilitating OCD. And the Mormonism. And the fact that the author is wildly homophobic and ought to read his own books.

Robert Heinlein (or at least the Wikipedia Summaries): I guess that’s a neat concept—oh, it’s a sex thing. Um. Gotcha.

Ray Bradbury: Man, I gotta read this thing for class huh. Well here’s hoping it’s good! *three hours later* oh. that’s why he’s famous. this will stick with me forever and I will never look at the phrase ‘soft rain’ the same again. christ. And then repeat 3x.

Isaac Asimov: Wow, this is such an interesting concept! I wonder how the exploration of it will influence the plot! Wait, hey, are you going to add any characters? Any of em? No like, with character traits other than ‘robot psychologist’ and ‘autistic’ and ‘woman’? None of em? No, ‘detective’ isn’t a character trait. Those are all just facts. Aaaand now I’m bored.

Ursula K. Le Guin: Hah, get a load of this guy! He’s never heard of nonbinary people before. Lol, what a riot; how dumb do you have to be to comprehend that these people aren’t men *or* women actually? Oh, wait, what’s happening. Oh shit, it was about society and love and learning to understand each other? And now I’m crying? And perhaps a better human being for it??

Andy Weir: Alright, this guy’s a really good writer. Funny, creative, knows so much engineering stuff…ooh, a new book! …I guess he can’t write women. Well, he wouldn’t be the first sci-fi writer…ooh another new book! And it’s more engineering problem solving and—wow. It’s not just women he can’t write. Please stop letting your characters talk to each other.

Lois Lowry: Oh, I remember this being fun when I was a kid! Wouldn’t it be fucked up to not see color? …upon reread, it would be fucked up to have your humanity stripped away, replaced with a tepid, beige ‘happiness’ for all time. Yeah.

Tamsyn Muir (let me have this ok): Haha, “lesbian necromancers in space” sounds fun. Lemme read this. Oh wow, yeah, this is right up my alley. OH GOD WHAT. NO. FUCK. OH SHIT WHAT IS EVEN HAPPENING AND WHY IS IT REFERENCING THE BOOK OF RUTH AND HOMESTUCK BACK TO BACK!!! AHHHHHHHHH!! Now give me more please.

[dickpuncher420]

finally Finally got around to finishing female masculinity by jack halberstam. super interesting read, really loved it. the fact that it was published in the 90s is pretty cool also cause u get to see how butchness was perceived and conceptualized 20+ years ago, and then examine what’s changed since then and what’s stayed the same. was surprised by how many issues that plague current discussions around lesbianism/butchness were actually around back then too! the more things change the more they stay the same lol

[forasecondtherewedwon]

Novels for Black History Month (Refreshed)

Titles, authors, and genres below the cut! Favourites are starred!

YA:

Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas*

You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

Pride by Ibi Zoboi

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas*

Happily Ever Afters by Elise Bryant*

Your Corner Dark by Desmond Hall

Yesterday is History by Kosoko Jackson

Mystery/Thriller:

My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley

Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby*

Lightseekers by Femi Kayode

Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby

Sci-fi/Fantasy/Magic Realism:

Rosewater by Tade Thompson

Fifteen Dogs by André Alexis

The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin*

Beloved by Toni Morrison

Historical:

Deacon King Kong by James McBride*

The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill*

Washington Black by Esi Edugyan*

Half-Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan*

If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson*

The Rib King by Ladee Hubbard

The Love Songs of W.E.B. DuBois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers (May 2021)

Black Cloud Rising by David Wright Faladé*

Last Summer on State Street by Toya Wolfe*

Contemporary:

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo

New People by Danzy Senna

Swing Time by Zadie Smith*

Loving Day by Mat Johnson

Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams

Real Life by Brandon Taylor

The Turner House by Angela Flournoy

Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson*

The Late Americans by Brandon Taylor

Seven Days in June by Tia Williams*

Small Worlds by Caleb Azumah Nelson*

[pagesinmylife]

I love when a story has queer characters that deal with queer shit but it’s such a minor aspect of the rest story. Like yes, this character has a coming out moment, but the priority is overthrowing the authoritarian government.

[flowers-for-em]

YOU DO BOOK RECS????

well whenever ur free, can u give some romantasy of sorts? or dark academia is alright

all ages is alright, ya aswell-

Romantasy and dark academia ooh okayyy.

Divine Rivals - Rebecca Ross Prison Healer - Lynette Noni Acotar - Sarah J. Mass The Shadows Between Us - Tricia Levenseller The Kinder Posion - Natalie Mae The Queen's Rising - Rebecca Ross The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern Edgewood - Kristen Ciccarelli Powerless - Lauren Roberts

let me know if these are any good!! <3

[mermaidsirennikita]

spicy book recs?

alright let's see

Sierra Simone writes theee best erotic romance, some of my faves include:

The New Camelot trilogy. Kinky King Arthur--very literally a modern King Arthur retelling in which King Arthur is [drumroll] Maxen Ashley "Ash" Colchester, president, erstwhile war hero, and absolute panty dropper, Lancelot his VP Embry Lance (never forget his middle name is Lance) Moore, my favorite romance character ever, and his first lady is Greer Galloway, the girl who heard a prophecy that was like "please don't kiss anyone" and went "okay I'll kiss everyone". MMF, kinky, angsty, dramatic.

Thornchapel. Quartet about six friends who accidentally awoke a gothic looming horror thing as kids and then continue to awake it as adults with kinky sex rituals. Kinda like The Secret History x Picnic at Hanging Rock x Brideshead Revisited with a dash of occult. Two core romances, one is MMF (childhood friends to enemies to lovers and the girl they both love) and one is FF. TW for incest(?). Very kinky, much group sex and sharing occurs.

Priest. One of her more.... approachable books, about a Catholic priest who falls for a woman who tells him all the shit she's done in confession. Also kinky.

Salt Kiss. Just out, a spinoff from New Camelot that retells Tristan and Isolde but with Tristan as a bodyguard and Mark as his boss who he falls in love with before he meets Isolde, who he promptly also falls in love with. Salt in the Wound is a novella that should be read first, ab out Mark and Isolde. Kinky, queer, intense.

Grace Callaway writes really fun historical romances that lean towards the more erotic. Usually, there's a girl who boldly ventures into danger, and a hero who's like "my god I find her brash impulsiveness compelling, I must eat her out and tell her she's bad".

I really love her Lady Charlotte's Society of Sirens series, which is like, Charlie's Angels but Victorian.

Olivia and the Masked Duke. Age gap D/s romance, bratty heroine paired with a hero who's like "I'm your dad's friend, I can't do this"... but she's obsessed after seeing him spank another woman, so she's pretty determined to make it happen.

Pippa and the Prince of Secrets. Childhood sweethearts reunite after her shitty husband dies. Hero is scarred and runs a band of child spies (I died). They're both really into exhibition and ye olde sex swing.

Fiona and the Enigmatic Earl. Feisty diamond of the season girl ends up in a marriage of convenience with a stern earl. Both of them are basically spies undercover, but neither of them knows lol. She's very bratty with him.

Glory and the Master of Shadows. Heroine gets mentored in badassery by the hero, who's desperately trying to resist her because he's Tainted and she's Fresh and Innocent. At one point he eats her out against the wall while her parents are sleeping with the door open down the hall.

You want a mafia romance? Try Mila Finelli. Her Kings of Italy series kicks off with Mafia Mistress & Mafia Darling, a duet about a girl who is kidnapped to marry this mafioso's son, but the dad like "nah, I want you, be my mistress". My favorite in the series is Mafia Madman, which is about a fucking lunatic blowing up a bar to kidnap the heroine for Revenge. He chains her to his bed and they have an enemies to lovers situation because she keeps telling him he ain't shit and he's like "sadly I am entranced by her". Mafia Target is an M/M assassin/target book, most excellent.

In terms of "contemporary sex club" books, I'd recommend The Salacious Players Club, which is about a group of friends who start a sex club (with two additional installments about the most noteworthy patrons of the club). Each book deals with a different kink--praise kink with an age gap, femdom, voyeurism, "we think I'm a cuck but actually me and my wife and my best friend are just mutually in love with each other", daddy kink, etc.

Joanna Shupe (who is also Mila Finelli) writes pretty hot historicals. I would recommend especially

My Dirty Duke. Victorian novella, age gap, heroine falls for her dad's best friend and he takes sexy old timey pics of her.

Sold to the Duke. Heroine enters an auction for her virginity to save her sister from destitution, gets bought by her dead brother's best friend who's like "I'm not going to take what I bought" and she's like "oh yes you are dude.

Her Uptown Girls trilogy is about three sisters who bop around Gilded Age NYC, getting into trouble with 1) dad's lawyer 2) casino owner attempting to ruin dad because revenge 3) powerful gangster. Very hot and very fun.

Fifth Avenue Rebels is my favorite series by her. It starts off with a house party in Newport and then continues into all the drama after. Recommending reading in order, they're all good, and they lead up to one of my favorites, The Duke Gets Even, about the uptight duke and wild child heiress who've been circling each other for the previous books. Very hot, and they both enjoy rough sex.

S.M. LaViolette (who is Minerva Spencer) writes hot historicals. I just finished her Seducers trilogy, which follows three sex workers/former sex workers from the same brothel as they meet people and fall in love with much drama and high stakes. Hot and romantic as fuck. TW: all of the books feature trauma in the past, but little to none is on the page

Paranormals? Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark, which is full of vampires, werewolves, witches, and everything else falling in love and having lots of sex across the world. Long running and pretty violent, so check your TWs, especially for the older ones.

Passion by Lisa Valdez is a really wild erotic historical romance with a hero and heroine who start fucking as soon as they meet in the first chapter. Behind a screen the first go. She has a magic vagina that his massive cock can fit into as a miracle basically.

I mean... if you're willing to go, uh, bold as fuck, Tiffany Reisz's Original Sinners is very erotic. Everyone is polyamorous, everyone is bi, it kicks off with a British editor visiting a novelist to work with her, and oops, she's a dominatrix. The central three characters are that dominatrix, Nora, her long time on again/off again lover/dom Soren, who is...a Catholic priest with a sadism fetish... and Kingsley, who owns this kink club Soren and Nora are respectively the #1 and #2 top dogs at. There is a LOT of sadomasochism in this series, a lot of kinky shit, a lot of angst, dubcon and noncon. There's also... some shit I don't think would be written today, like a good amount of underage sex, severely morally questionable relationships, and I don't loooove some of the dynamics written (Kingsley and his long-term partner Juliette make me question much). The writing is beautiful, the characters and dynamics are fascinating, but it's definitely something you should dig into before reading.

But I can't lie, Nora, Soren, and Kingsley have a spellbinding dynamic. It's fucked, but it compels me so. I will add, there were 8 original books (not standalones) and then she revived the series years later. Stop at the first 8 (and their assorted companion novellas and short stories).

[twinkubus]

got tagged by @librarycards for a book rec list. ærs covered Q2'23; i'm just gonna do my faves from the first half of the year!

i've been reading a different crop of books since i made last year's list--i've taken a big dive back into sf, especially books by cj cherryh, as well as indie horror (that's... well, you'll find out when you look at the list).

again, they're ordered by when i read them. here we go!!!

Shmutz, Felicia Berliner (contemporary fiction, young hasidic woman comes of age, tries to find a husband, and gets obsessed with porn)

Father of Lies, Brian Evenson (psychological horror centering on a mormon religious leader. if you like books that make you feel gross and bad, this one's for you)

Any Other City, Hazel Jane Plante (fictional memoir of a trans musician. the book is split between her life right before she comes out, and then decades later when she's an established musician)

Camp Concentration, Thomas M. Disch (not even sure how to describe this one. fat, lapsed catholic, conscientous objector Louis Sachetti is imprisoned for refusing to become a US soldier and is sent to a prison where the (mostly black) inmates are being injected with experimental drugs. the author is gay and there's a lot of parallels to hiv/aids despite this being written in '68)

The World Cannot Give, Tara Isabella Burton (what if the secret history was catholic lesbians)

Amygdalatropolis, B.R. Yeager (another "if you like gross books" rec. i don't even know if i liked this one, but it was certainly interesting. chronicles the existence of a 4chan NEET)

Jealousy, Alain Robbe-Grillet (1957 french experientalism, i read this bc dennis cooper referenced it in an interview. believing his wife to be cheating on him, the narrator spies on her through a jalousie window, recording everything in his frame of vision that he can see. v interesting stylistically and could also rly benefit from a postcolonial reading)

The Pride of Chanur, CJ Cherryh (i read the entire trilogy pictured above, plus the first two books of her Foreigner series. it's basically a courtly fantasy/first contact mashup in space, really well developed alien cultures with lots of factions among them. tons of fun)

Frisk, Dennis Cooper (third "if you like gross extremist fiction" on here. this is my fave cooper after The Sluts and the most thematically resonant. if you haven't read the sluts i'd rec starting there. if i was a prof i would assign them together or even do this in a short course if there wasn't time for a longer book)

tagging @thebestestbat @tsubakiscarlet @danishprince @dovebeast @stackslip @eraserheadcrybaby @interstellarhitchhiker @kollapstradixionales @papika & would be happy to see book rec lists of anyone else!! fiction or non fiction or anything else idc whatever you're into ^_^

[luwupercal]

also i've been thinking bc i've been struggling to read warhammer books recently but it might just be because i literally only read horus heresy bc i don't have nearly the same problem with necron books so i might just start reading books *actually set in 40k(!!!)* like some kind of warhammer fan... this is partially a recommendations-asking-post and partially me just letting you know not to call the fire brigade if i start posting about ciaphas cain one of these days

[telling-tragedy]

Hello! I’ve been tagged by @citrusgothic to share nine of my favorite books! so, in no particular order:

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Maurice by E.M. Forster

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

I’m no-pressure tagging @blackcapez and @papenathys but if anybody else sees this and wants to do it go ahead!! consider urself tagged :)

[le-trash-prince]

Okay here is the final list of all the books I’ve finished this year! (since it doesn’t look like I’m going to get anything finished or even started this week.)

I tend to not finish things if I’m not enjoying them (two exceptions on this list because sometimes I am spiteful), so I liked all of these—but the ones in bold are those I particularly loved (I only bolded one per series or it would just be a wall of The Murderbot Diaries lol).

LGBT+ books read: 48

wlw books read: 22

trans/nb books: 17

I’m very happy with my year in reading. I hit my new year’s goal of 52 books finished. And I read a lot of things that I really fucking loved. Lots of robots. LOTS of scifi/fantasy sapphics which I am SO happy about. Some good horror, some good fucky “romances”. A lot of things written in response to the Trump era or written during 2020 lockdown.

I also enjoyed partaking in online book fandom for the first time in possibly ever! Especially Murderbot fandom, which is very active and creative and lovely.

(If you followed me for my bookblogging, thank you for enduring my Thai BL vroom vroom omegaverse brainrot. It will not be stopping anytime soon.)

For 2024, I am going to keep my goal at 52 books and save any extra time I have for rereading old things.

Anyways the list, for posterity:

After Midnight: A History of Independent India by Meghaa Gupta

The Old Place by Bobby Finger

Ocean’s Echo by Everina Maxwell

The Memory Librarian by Janelle Monae

Women and Girls With Autism Spectrum Disorder by Sarah Hendrickx

A Restless Truth by Freya Marske

Unmasking Autism by Devon Price

Divergent Mind by Jenara Nerenberg

Even Though I Knew the End by C.L. Polk

Strictly No Heroics by B. L. Radley

Love after the End edited by Joshua Whitehead

Juniper Harvey and the Vanishing Kingdom by Nina Varela

All Systems Red by Martha Wells

The Witch and the Vampire by Francesca Flores

Artificial Condition by Martha Wells

Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells

Exit Strategy by Martha Wells

Network Effect by Martha Wells

The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water by Zen Cho

The Lies of the Ajungo by Moses Ose Utomi

Flux by Jinwoo Chong

Burning Roses by S. L. Huang

In the Lives of Puppets by T. J. Klune

Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells

No One Will Come Back For Us by Premee Mohamed

The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi

What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher

The Black Tides of Heaven by Neon Yang

The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling

The Witch King by Martha Wells

A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon

We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian

Last Dance on the Starlight Pier by Sarah Bird

Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree

Galveston’s Maceo Family Empire by T. Nicole Boatman et al

Blood Sweat & Chrome: The Wild and True Story of Mad Max Fury Road by Kyle Buchanan

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Galveston’s Red Light District: A History of the Line by Kimber Fountain

Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail by Ashley Herring Blake

In the Vanisher’s Palace by Aliette de Bodard

The Red Scholar’s Wake by Aliette de Bodard

Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Linghun by Ai Jiang

Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger

The Salvation Gambit by Emily Skrutskie

Spear by Nicola Griffith

The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older

Last to Leave the Room by Caitlin Starking

Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri

The Oleander Sword by Tasha Suri

The Jinn-Bot of Shantiport by Samit Basu

Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders

A Power Unbound by Freya Marske

The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw

Sing for the Coming of the Longest Night by Iona Datt Sharma & Katherine Fabian

System Collapse by Martha Wells

Silver Nitrate Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Whalefall by Daniel Kraus

We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia

Out There Screaming edited by Jordan Peele

[pitske]

long fucking rant about the joy of reading a good book. (not at all accurate title)

I just finished reading Felidae! incredible book I really love the story and- okay bear with me. I got the book a few years back because my mom mentioned reading it when she was younger. I told her I'd want to read it as well and she went through the painstaking process of finding it (which was not easy because the Author is a right fucking prick so his books aren't really sold anymore.)

so we found it on ebay eventually.( god knows I am not givin that author my money) I left it alone for a few years, had other shit to read and actually did not read much at all during that time...

right fast forward I decide I should read it because one of my terrible habits is starting thousands of things at once and never really finishing any of em. SO AND THIS IS WHERE IT GETS INTERESTING! I read the first 3 pages or so n talked to my mom and brother about it shortly, saying I liked the way it was written, the characters, the exposition, etc etc- AND at the mention of the plot my brother goes "oh! I've heard of that! it's the book that some german studio made into that horrifying animated movie adaptation!" AND IT ALL CAME CRASHING DOWN

because I remember what he meant because you KNOW tiny me with unrestricted internet access had seen some clips of the gory , disturbing cat-movie before! and you know what? I was unfortunate (or maybe fortunate , seeing how I'm a massive horror fan now) enough to watch "Watership down" as a kid so when I saw Felidae being ranked even HIGHER than that movie in those "ooh horrofying disturbing kids movieees ooh" lists, I swore I'd never watch it..

and here we are, I read that boook so fast and it is actually incredibly entertaining (i also just have never read a "krimi" before so I definitely have a high appreciation for the genre now)

I am incredibly excited to watch the movie. JUST AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH a 2D animated thriller-detective cat movie with horrorfying scenes and absurd amounts of gore??? COUNT ME IN TL:DR : I realize that reading is fun if you actually have a good book to read and obsess over the story of a cat solving a series of cat murders

[good-oldfashioned-lover]

Ok but serious question tho. Why aren't book girlfriends a thing? You have those book boyfriends right like Carden and Aaron and etc etc. I need me books with Book. Women.

[jiishwa]

does anyone have any really good book recommendations? preferably books where romance is not at the center of the plot?

[cs-cabin-and-crew]

Usual dystopian teen MC right when they’re about to save the world but one friend is captured: we need to save them! How can I live with myself if my best friend is imprisoned?

Me and literally every normal person as a dystopian MC: oh no, so sad. Bye bye Rocko.