#honestly i just want this book off my tbr lol

[sky-kenobye]

13 books

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

Thanks @willameena for the tag! :D

1) The Last book I read:

Idk if it counts since it's a graphic novel but the last thing I read was Bolchoi Arena, by Boulet and Aseyn. It's a sort of Ready Player One universe (less dystopic i think though). I really like it, but I'm waiting for the fourth volume to come out and there isn't a release date yet 😭

(I don't think there's an English translation (yet) so i can only recommend it if you speak french, sorry)

2) A book I recommend:

Iron Widow, by Xiran Jay Zhao. LOVED IT! I'm bad at recommending stuff but: big monsters, pacific rim style machines to fight the monsters, polyamory, ruthless woman, plot twists... So cool!

Also Loveless, by Alice Oseman, because it's about aromanticism and asexuality which is almost non-existent in... any media really, and that book is very dear to me.

3) A book that I couldn’t put down:

All the ones I really like x) I struggle a lot with putting down a book once I'm into it. The first advice to fall asleep easier is always 'don't use your phone before bed, read a book instead!' but if I do that I won't even try to sleep, I'll just keep reading all night...

But I guess the one that I was the most surprised about not being able to put down is The Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follet. I'm not particularly into historical books, and that's a huge book around the building of a cathedral, so I was a bit skeptical, but damn, it was great! It's over 1000 pages and I still managed to read it in less than a week while on a school trip.

4) A book I’ve read twice (or more):

So many of my childhood books. I almost spent more time re-reading my favorite stuff than reading new books lol. I think the ones I've re-read the most are Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, and La Quête d'Ewilan.

5) A book on my TBR:

So many. Soooo many. I keep buying books even though I don't read them, help.

I'll go with the Wayfarers series by Becky Chambers because I really want to read them, people keep recommending them, I have them (in a really cool edition), I can literally see them in my bookshelf right now, and yet I don't read them for some reason 🤷

6) A book I’ve put down:

Also a lot. If I manage to put a book down I can forget it exists in a couple of days, even if i loved it, and weeks later I'm like "oh shit, I never finished that book".

One of the few that I put down more or less on purpose is Silo, by Hugh Howey. I'm pretty sure I would like it if I kept reading but something happens only a few chapters in that put me off and kind of annoyed me so I never read the rest.

7) A book on my wish list:

Revenge of the Sith! And many other star wars books. The reason why I still don't have it is that I want it in english so I have to order it online from the UK probably, and between the shipping and the taxes from being from outside the EU (sometimes there are taxes, sometimes not, i don't understand how it works)(one time I had to pay taxes on my own clothes that I sent myself from the UK to France 😭😭 I'm still mad about it) it'll end up being way more expensive than it should, so I'm putting it off x) I looked for it when I was in scotland but they didn't have it :(

8) A favorite book from childhood:

The ones I mentioned in 4) were my all time fav, I can't think of any other right now even though I used to read a lot more books than i do now 🤔

9) A book you would give to a friend:

Honestly I would be so scared they didn't like it that I probably would never give a book to anyone unless they asked for it 😬 (except my family I guess)

Mayyybe a Dan Brown, like The Da Vinci Code? I feel like that would be a pretty safe bet, unless they hate the genre.

10) A book of poetry or lyrics that you own:

I don't think I have any? I had to read Alcools, by Apollinaire for the baccalauréat (french high school graduation exam) but I think it was my mom's copy and i honestly hated it. According to my teacher it was "cubist poetry" which, what? I was not smart enough to understand any of it, and it wasn't doing it for me.

(Literary analysis is my nemesis, I'm usually pretty smart but when I try to analyse a text it's just *no thoughts, head empty*)

I'm really picky about poetry so I don't really know where to start to read any.

11) A nonfiction book you own:

I don't have many: a few anthologies of queer stories, How to Invent Everything by Ryan North (literally what the title says lmao), Eject! Eject! by John Nichol (about the history of ejection seats, super interesting!), Les Guerres de Lucas by Renaud Roche and Laurent Hopman (a french graphic novel about George Lucas), and Tu mourras moins bête by Marion Montaigne (scientific stuff explained, but make it hilarious, also french comics)

12) What are you currently reading:

Ithaca, by Claire North, but I've barely started.

13) What are you planning on reading next?

No idea! Maybe Iron Flame, maybe The Priory of the Orange Tree, maybe Floating Hotel, maybe finally the Wayfarers series, maybe a random other book, who knows 🤷

If you've read all of that, thank you and congratulations!

Tags: @piecesofeden11 @sendpseuds @kingdomvel @bolshoiromanova @renlyslittlerose @intermundia @desmothene @arobiwan @cottonraincoat @starwalkertales @artbythedarkside @shakeskp @somethingsteff (I tried not to tag people I had seen tagged already)(but no pressure!)

[hotwaterandmilk]

Our household suffered a loss over the Christmas period, so I'm going to post some random comments about stupid shit to help divert my focus away from being depressed.

New BLOOD+ Anthology!

I received my copy of this year's BLOOD+ Petit Event Anthology this week. The title of this year's volume is "Season Calls Me" and like, the previous anthology, it contains a solid mix of short comics and novels by the small band of active Japanese fandom members for the series.

There are a couple of great little comics (that actually feature my faves, surprisingly) plus, like last time, Fujisaku Jun'ichi and Ishii Akiharu participated as well so we got some great additional content that makes it worth the effort of BUYING RIGHT NOW. What do I mean by this? Brand new colour illustrations from Ishii again, baby!

David smiling is so awkward, I love it. Ishii you have truly blessed us.

I won't be scanning in these images because this is a brand new publication. I ask that you please support all the wonderful fans involved in this doujinshi and purchase your own copy before it sells out.

Kotobuki Tsukasa draws ADG art again!

Kotobuki Tsukasa drew a new version of his Aphrodite illustration that was used for the first Akihabara Dennou Gumi ED sequence. The pic will be featured on his Comiket postcard for this year (2023 is the 25th anniversary of ADG) and I reeeeeaaaaaally want it. Edit: He just posted, it's limited to 127 units & has asked people not to resell so there goes my chance lol. :(

Kotobuki doesn't have the original image anymore so he had to use an online pic as reference and honestly, I think it looks pretty great even without the full studio finish (I particularly love that he incorporated Hibari's expression into Aphrodite as this is the fusion version from the movie).

大切なものなんですか... (it's stuck in your head now, watch here)

In a comment to someone mentioning the possibility of an art book he did say he'd discussed it but it hadn't progressed further. Please, for the love of god, I need an art book to happen! I WOULD PREORDER THE SHIT OUT OF THAT! I just love my '90s anime girls with faces like half-sucked mangos that much, ok?!

I Have an Autographed Yamamoto Yohko Novel!

Honestly this isn't a huge deal, back when the novel series received a kanzenban release Shouji Takashi autographed a lot of books for fans and they surface again every so often for sale. I happened to score one and now I have his autograph.

I'm not a big autograph person, but because the series was canned in 2001-ish the 12th kanzenban volume is the only way to get Shouji's conclusion to the story so I figured two birds with one stone and all that (not that I can read anything these days).

Anyway, it's nice to have. Maybe one of these days I'll work on my TBR pile.

I had actually planned to spend my few days off over the New Year catching up on things, then everything kind of just went to shit. So instead of me achieving anything you get this post of random nonsense while I struggle to process my grief, sorry.

[cuephrase]

2, 5, 6, 7, 9, 29, 30 for comics

coming from this ask game

2. The most recent comic you got

The Boy Wonder #4

picked it up this wednesday at my LCS, (along with batman #151 and absolute power #2), i have seriously enjoyed this black label mini sm so far and this issue made me so soft and melty inside fr

5. The oldest comic you have

New Teen Titans Annual #1

this came out august 19, 1982, so it's...like ten days away from being 42 years old? neat!!

6. The comic you were most excited to find

Nightwing (2011) #15

so this a screenshot bc i actually got this as a gift for my brother-in-law!!

mini story time: when i decided i wanted to start reading bat comics, i went to him and asked where to start for nightwing and he loaned me his collection of n52 nightwing with great excitement lmao. (he started reading nightwing midway through this run releasing- it's what got him into nightwing- no judging allowed!!) this was the first series he started collecting/one of the two he kept when he sold most of his collection to pay for his honeymoon.

he didn't have the whole run though, (which omg we talked about pricing and it is wild how much the value of a comic book fluctuates), so i decided to get the handful of issues he was missing for him as a birthday gift. this was really easy except for this issue bc it has two covers. this one, and a joker version. i passionately hate the joker cover but it was the only one i could find- in person or online, so i almost gave up. being patient paid off, though, and i was able to get him the cover i wanted!! very exciting. plus!! he was so stoked when he saw the cover bc, as it turns out, he also hated the joker cover, which is why he didn't own the issue

7. The comic you searched for the longest

Red Robin #25

i started collecting red robin on oct 15, and i got this issue (the last one i needed), on feb 20, so it took a little over four months. i usually have pretty great luck at finding what i'm looking for the day i go looking for it lol, so this was super satisfying to bring home for a variety of reasons

9. The longest comic/collected edition you have

New Teen Titans Omnibus Vol. #1, Robin 80th Anniversary: 100-Page Super Spectacular

i'm pretty sure the ntt omni is bigger than any of the saga omnis i have, but i will confess i did not check page count. fun fact tho, i got this signed by marv wolfman. got to chat with him for a bit about tim, nightwing, and getting into the industry which was super neat.

and then the robin 80th is the longest single i own. i think? again, did not check page count but i can't think of anything longer. i don't think b:ul or wf3 are longer?

29. The comic you're currently reading...

...(or want to re-read soon)

Superboy (1994) #1, Robin (1993) #1, Young Justice (1998) #1

i just started reading superboy today!! i've been looking forward to reading him for awhile and finally made it to him, woo!! enjoying it so far too :)

and then i'm just kinda constantly in a state of wanting to re-read robin and yj98 lmao. idk if it'll happen 'soon', idk why but i get super squirrelly about re-reading when i have other stuff on my tbr 😅. i don't have that many titles left on my tbr so. i'll either finish my tbr or break somewhere and re-read. i honestly don't know lmao

30. Dealer's choice: a random comic!

Nightwing (2016) #87

i got this bad boy for free because i made the vendor laugh 😎 (disclaimer, ship who you want, i'm not judging or looking for a fight, okay? okay cool.)

i was at the Collectibles Warehouse (generic made-up name) with my dad for the first time, super fun, and he was helping me look/asking questions as we went. the vendor saw me looking through his nightwing stuff and started telling me about an issue of batgirl (babs) he had just sold, the first time they kissed i think? first something for dickbabs.

dad: "oh first kiss, that's pretty cool, do you want to see that one?"

me: "no, i'm okay"

dad: "i thought you liked him with the redhead??"

me, laughing: "i do, but the redhead i like is starfire"

dad: "he's been with multiple redheads?!"

me, dying laughing: "yes"

dad (stage whisper): "so you don't ship him with her...are they a bad couple?"

me: "...i just prefer him with starfire"

vendor, apparently eavesdropping, burst out laughing: "i had no idea young people still shipped those two! dc's been pushing dickbabs so hard, i thought all the kids liked them. man i love when he's with starfire. you want that comic?" (i was holding the comic, about to show my dad bc, yk, pretty cover) "for you, that one's free"

me: "are you sure?!" (this was a more expensive one- not like Expensive, just above retail)

vendor: "oh yeah, you just made my whole day"

never think i'll experience that again, very entertaining series of events.

bonus: dad's reaction to the cover

dad: "oh my. his pants are very...shiny. look at his thighs! he has very nice thighs, wow"

me: "dude, ikr!!"

tysm for the ask, anon!! i hope you enjoyed the answers :)

[ruleofexception]

People you'd like to know better!

Tagged by @ccprovolomies

1. Three ships

Obi/Shirayuki (AnS), Hunter/Willow (TOH), Charlie/Nik (Heartstopper). Honourable mention goes out to my OC's that have completely and utterly consumed my life.

2. First ship

Ahhh, honestly, could probably be any of the following: Dimitri/Anastasia (Anastasia), Mrs Brisby/Justin (Secret of NIMH), Usagi/Mamoru (Sailor Moon), or Crysta/Zak (Ferngully).

3. Last song

I've been finding a lot of inspiration lately in rock/metalcore music, so that's pretty much been the only genre I've been listening to lol. So, last song before posting was Don't Say Anything - Sleeping with Sirens.

4. Last movie

Well, after the house got hit by lightning, the TV has decided to give into a slow death (first my HDMI ports died, and then it decided that any and all videos should be played with flickering white lines across the entirety of the screen lol), so I haven't been watching a whole lot (hoping to get a replacement in the next couple of weeks). But I want to say the last one I watched was The Conjuring? Last one I saw in theatres was probably Guardians of the Galaxy 3?

5. Currently reading

Haven't been reading too much lately, so my tbr pile is a tad intimidating. That said, I did just pick up Fractal Noise; and I've been reading some manga series on and off when I feel like I can focus on it.

6. Currently watching

Again, TV being fried has significantly decreased my watching (also, I've just been in one of those moods where I'm happier doing other things), but I've been doing okay at keeping up with JJK and Sacrificial Princess.

7. Last thing I wrote

Last thing I actively sat down to add actual word-count to would probably be the next chapter of A moment apart; however, the past couple of weeks I've been completely absorbed in finally plotting out the original fiction series I've been humming and hawing about for years (and one that many of you have encouraged me to write as an actual series *wink wink*).

As of right now, I've got a handful of my characters written up, locations mapped out, and I've drafted a rough plot-line for books one and two, and am starting on laying out book three. My goal is to use NaNoWriMo to try and get a first draft done for book one which means that from now until Nov 1, I'm doing as much prep and planning as I humanly (lol) can.

Let's see about tagging @meefy, @kpslp, and @jj-carstairs!

[sluttyten]

Hieee, how have you been? How's book reading habit going on? And ur work?? Ik you're kind of off of social media and must be busy but I was just missing unholy with my whole heart and ass lol, maybe you can talk about it a bit (though I think I aksed you last time too😭)

°.°

Hi!! My book reading has been very good lol I’ve already read several this year (like 10 more than I’d read by this point last year), but I’ve barely made a dent in my TBR. Work is fine but more and more lately I’ve been thinking that my time at this job is almost up and I should start looking for a new one because I just don’t necessarily want to do this one anymore.

Honestly I haven’t written much for Unholy over the last month, and I’m just like stuck with it because I have a vague idea of what I want to happen but I just can’t make myself actually sit there and work out the small details of making it actually happen. I’ve already rewritten it a few times, and I keep wishing I’d written the original ending instead of stretching this out tbh. I’ve just been away from it for so long that it’s been hard stepping back into the story. But I do like what I’ve already got written, it’s just the continuing on part that I need to push through. I always hate writing endings and that’s exactly what this is, which is probably why I’m struggling with it so much

Thanks for loving Unholy! I’m going to try to work harder on it this month and hopefully (🙏🏻🙏🏻) finish it up to post either later this month or in March.

[clockwork-reads]

Brief Book Reviews #7

(I thought I posted this months ago wtf)

#1 Rick Riordan, Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian (Book 5)

IT'S QUIET UPTOWNNNN *ugly sobbing*

If you know, you know. Suffer.

So we jump straight into the action with this one. There's not a lot I can talk about without spoiling the whole thing for anyone who hasn't read it, but my heart is in pieces, I love Clarisse, and now Lin being cast as Hermes in the Disney+ series hurts. A lot. Now on to Heroes of Olympus, when I can get my paws on the box set.

...also Hades brainrot doesn't help, because now I'm thinking of Zagreus trying to help Nico, or at least make life suck less while he's in the House of Hades. Time to trawl AO3.

#2 Travis Baldree, Legends & Lattes

Why more fantasy worlds have coffee shops, I will never know. This was a fun, easy read I was able to polish off in a day, very cute, as we follow an Orcish woman, Viv, as she sets up a coffee shop, burying a shiny stone she ripped out of a giant bug under one of the flagstones of the place as some kind of luck magnet. I loved all of the characters and worldbuilding that's gone into this, especially Thimble, the rattkin that Viv and her coworker Tandri hire as a baker (there's even one of his recipes in the back of the book that I need to make sometime), and Hemington, a thaumaturgy student and awkward nerd who sounds like Percy from Vox Machina in my head and loves iced coffee. Would have liked it to be longer with a little more intrigue though, but all in all, a very good read. Now to steal ideas for my own D&D campaign. If I ever get to run it.

#3 Cavan Scott, Warhammer Adventures #6: Tomb of the Necron

I hope audiobooks count lol. Ah well, my blog my rules.

The adventures of Zelia, Mekki, Talen, and Fleagan Palla come to an end with one last stand-off with the Necrons. Honestly, the reason I put off listening to this audiobook so long was because I didn't want the adventure to end, I've grown so attached to these kids.

Well, they found Zelia's mum. And more Necrons. And yeah the hunter from the first book made it back to his mates, so Fleagan's dubstep cannon didn't work. Greeeeeaaaaat. Fuck, Necrons are terrifying (I say with The Infinite and the Divine on my TBR). Talen calls for help, and the Ultramarines show up, and he gets to be badass by using the servo sprites to free a trapped Astartes from the wreck of a Stormtalon gunship. Amity gets to be a badass by rocking some Crypt Lord's shit for touching her kids, and honestly I love that for her. I'm still sad that the kids don't stay together in the end, but god damn Black Library, you didn't have to make a book intended for 8-10 year olds so terrifying. A good ending to the series, and I will personally fight anyone who says that these books were "dumbed down" for younger audiences. These are just as good as any other Black Library book I've read. Seriously, do yourself a favour and listen to the audiobooks, David Tennant was a great choice for this.

[aarcanechaoss]

Books 📚

Books I’ve been reading and my thoughts without spoilers

This is to make up for how busy and sick I’ve been

Sarah J Maas books

Okay that feels like an obvious one to recommend with the Throne of Glass, A Court of Thorns and Roses and Crescent City books, being well know but I am doing my rereads of them in preparation for CC book 3

Honestly I really enjoy the world building, the fantasy of it all and how strong the female characters are. There is pretty much no smut in TOG (until book 5 to 7 where there are maybe 3/4 scenes overall). ACOTAR has more smut but it’s not particularly descriptive until book 5 (ACOSF). CC is mostly heavy world building but there is more “adult” stuff throughout.

Ava Reid books

Fantasy, retellings, folklore/ mythology. I really just love her style of writing (and am impatiently waiting for A Study in Drowning @avasreid )

The Wolf and The Woodsman is currently my favourite, I loved how she incorporated the folklore and the world building made me very happy!

The Juniper Tree was dark and beautiful retelling and made me want to go read the Grimm Brothers tale too. I love Marlinchen and Sevas’ relationship and the twist took me off guard.

Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson

A fun fantasy novel with a sassy Revenant and a strong female lead that I just ADORED like I could not put this book down. Like I have nothing more to say that wouldn’t spoil it I loved it! There is no romance or smut just a really good angsty but feel good book.

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

I fell into the hype when I bought the book but honestly really liked it. Violet was a great character and the EDS rep was amazing (my friend has EDS and she was really happy with how it was written) and while there is smut (chapters 30 & 32) and good smut at that there are DRAGONS. That’s all dragons. We love dragons in this household.

Dreadful Desires by Lucy Lark

This is a smutty why choose reverse harem set in Victorian England where some of your favourite dreadful’s come to life and entice you deeply~ side note I have met the author she’s lovely!

Things in Jars by Jess Kidd

This was an interesting book that I would love to see what other people think of. A female detective in the Victorian era, historical fiction with a supernatural twist. No romance or smut but it does blend some cool folklore stuff!

Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

Now ignoring that OSC isn’t a particularly good person I did enjoy this book and was good bonding for me and my dad because it was a series (I’ve currently only read book 1) of cool Sci-Fy intrigue. Did I see the twist coming? Yeah I did but to be honest I could have just remembered the movie? Which like I barely remember at all LOL. Good book though if you want some space stuff.

Books I plan to read and / or are on my To Be Read

A Veil of Truth and Trickery by Analeigh Ford (reading right now though I’m also audio hooking the TOG series lol)

The Serpent and The Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent

A Forest of Vanity and Valour by A.P Beswick

The Folk of the Air series by Holly Black (I have read The Cruel Prince)

The Isles of the Gods have Amie Kaufman

An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson

Sorcery of Thorns series by Margaret Rogerson

Honestly I think my TBR is too big to remember everything at this point LOL

But someone asked for book recs and here are the ones I’ve read recently that I enjoyed

[lavellenchanted]

3, 13, 16, 20?

3. What were your top five books of the year?

I am absolutely terrible at picking top anything so I would say these are five of my favourite first-time reads from this year in no particular order:

The Witness for the Dead by Katherine Addison

The Galaxy and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers

The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner

13. What were your least favourite books of the year?

I've been a lot pickier about what I read this year so by and large I've enjoyed most of what I picked up. I was really disappointed by The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley, which I tried this year having read a lot of good things about it and feeling like historical fantasy should be right up my street - but I found it a struggle to get through, the plot rather poorly constructed and the climax over convoluted and confusing, and I ended up disliking most of the characters.

Also just comparatively speaking to everything else I read I suppose I'd say Doomsday Book by Connie Willis was one of my least favourites - not in that I thought it was bad or didn't enjoy reading it, but I didn't enjoy it as much as the other books by her that I've read and it was an incredibly depressing read, which I was sort of prepared for going in (it's about the Black Death, so it was never going to be light hearted), but I thought she might give it a bit more of an uplifting ending than she did. So overall I'm glad I read it, but I probably wouldn't read it again.

16. What is the most over-hyped book you read this year?

Honestly, apart from the above, I'd have to say The Hating Game by Sally Thorne. I wanted to read it before I watched the film and I genuinely expected to adore it after everything I heard buuuut . . . it was just okay? I didn't entirely buy the dynamic between the characters, but that may have had something to do with the fact that I kept getting jarred out of the story by lines like, "My short, striped dress flaps with the g-force" and "I press my eyebrow to his".

(Ah yes, the eyebrow, the sexiest of body parts.)

I was texting the friend I borrowed it from every time a line annoyed me and I was texting her a lot, lol.

20. What was your most anticipated release? Did it meet your expectations?

To be truthful by TBR pile is so out of control I almost never read things when they first come out any more but I suppose I was very eager for my copy of The Queen of Attolia to arrive - I read the first in the series, The Thief, a few years ago, but then the series went out of print in the UK before I could get the rest of them. They started re-releasing them this year (with much nicer covers, actually) so I got and re-read The Thief around May time and pre-ordered The Queen of Attolia for October to be sure I actually got them this time around.

I had high expectations from both enjoying The Thief and from hearing so much praise for the rest of the series and I thought I knew roughly what I was in for story-wise, but I absolutely did not. I knew what the central pairing was and about two chapters in I was fuming because there was no way the author was going to make this work and have me like it - no way - but somehow, impossibly, she pulled it off in a way I think very few authors could. I loved it, and am very excited to get the third book next year (which I've already pre-ordered).

[pink-lemonadefairy]

Hi i forgot to put the 🐙 emoji in my last anon LOL but it’s 🐙!!! (Not sure if u do emoji anons on this acct :p) my favourite classics are honestly ANYTHING by kafka. I am a kafka girl. I love kafka. And then jane austen!! Pride and prejudice 💋💋mr. darcy is the only man ever actually i love when they’re QUIET (emphasis)

I’m pretty open to honestly most classic literature, i’ve been wanting to get some recommendations that aren’t the same authors. Sylvia plath unfortunately doesn’t really do it for me because I’m probably not her target audience but some of her poems/proses are good! I’m currently reading dracula/frankenstein (at the same time lol) and have been loving it so far. The only con about frankenstein is that i bought a tinier version so the words are huddled together and although my ass CAN read it i’d rather the words to be spaced out :-( not sure if it’s a me thing… i’ll just finish the book and see if i would get another version of frankenstein hehe

i also have a little life on hand rn, that is the book I’m especially putting on hold because from what i’ve seen people were Not okay when reading it. Idk about me tho personally i’m not an outwardly emotional person but i’m not heartless so i’ll read it when i can…

I have SOOO many books on my TBR list but i’ve been putting them on hold because i still have a number of books at home that i need to finish…! I wish i could show u a photo because it’s on my notes app lol. This might be a very unpopular opinion but i enjoyed reading murakami’s killing commendatore even though his descriptions of women r nasty. I read his books in a more factual (?) way? If that makes sense. If you have any book/author recommendations do tell me!! Especially female authors 🐙🤍

hi my love 💛 i’m so sorry for the late response :(

omg kafka!! 🥺 i haven’t read any of his works in full yet but i’ve read snippets on pinterest and they’re so so beautiful :( i love the way he writes. do you have any favourite works of his? :O oooh yes pride & prejudice!! the most classic of the classics i feel like lol. YES EXACTLY LOL, men when they’re quiet and don’t talk > 😌

i haven’t read any sylvia plath and tbh i’m not sure if i’d ever pick any of her works up because i’ve lots of bad things about them :( i’m glad you’re enjoying those books though!! :D frankenstein is really great!! >< i think they’re making a live action of it (?) which i’m super excited for !! and ik this isn’t dracula lol but i’m soooooo losing my mind over the new nosferatu movie coming out rahhhh!! it looks amazing :P I TOTALLY GET YOU!! the frankenstein i read in hs was similar and it was seriously a pain to get thru 😭 like why are the letters and words so close together 💔

oh god yeah a little life … ive heard it’s so heartbreaking :( i dont think i’ll be reading it anytime soon lol life is sad enough!! 😞 but people say it’s v well written ! good luck if you ever do get around to reading it 😭💗

ME TOO HELP ☹️ i love buying books but then my tbr just grows and grows and then i don’t even wanna read anymore rip. i definitely know what you mean dw! >< i think something a lot of people tend to forget is that we can (and are supposed to) be critical of authors works, esp those from back in the day! i think the problem is when it’s marketed as something it’s not & people say a work is flawless and perfect when it’s like…not, and even hurts groups of people, etc etc. idk if that makes sense lol but yeah! 😭

hmmm off the top of my head, since you like classics i’m thinking of virginia woolf, toni morrison, and maya angelou! for woolf, i read mrs dalloway (which i LOVED) and a room of ones own for a school assignment. i def recommend those! and for morrison, i read song of solomon which i also really, really loved. beloved by her is also on my list! for maya angelou id definitely recommend and still i rise and letter to my daughter <3 her poems are beautiful too!

i mostly read fiction / fantasy at the moment 😭 if you’re interested in those genres i can give you recs as well ><

[uupiic]

13 books meme

Tagged by @gellavonhamster

1) The Last book I read: A Child Called It by Dave Pelzer. It's a harrowing one, regardless of whether or not it's autobiographical, or semi-autobiographical, or entirely fictional.

2) A book I recommend: Darba Cilts by Anna Sakse. For the reasons that you get to see first-hand how the brainwash of the simple masses through books worked in the USSR. It's so raw and unhinged in what it's trying to bring across. And. It's propaganda about how the Poor Unprotected Peasants were so badly off under the Big Bad Masters (the church and the state). Never before or after this book have I ever mouthed ''what in the actual fuck'' as I read any literary work.

3) A book that I couldn’t put down: Darba Cilts by Anna Sakse. Yes. I admit here and now that it got me, even despite how unhinged it was. Or maybe because it was so unhinged, but I could only put it down once I had read it. And then I never picked it up again. I don't remember what I did with it.

4) A book I’ve read twice (or more): I honestly... can't think of anything right now. I used to read and re-read books when I was a kid, but I have absolutely zero strength to do that nowadays.

5) A book on my TBR: Books. The whole of the Wolfhound series by Maria Semyonova. I have them right here, but I need to get in the mood to read them. Which. Is weird, because I like this series a lot :')

6) A book I’ve put down: The second one from the Pilskalns series by Laimonis Purs. Wherever the author was going with that book, that place is not one I'd want to be at. Got violently reminded of why I dislike historical fiction. It starts out promising in the first books, but as it goes on, it just feels like one entire, huge, mess of psychological whump, with the author inventing things he didn't know about. I came across a 10 year old review of it (the books themselves were released in the 60s (or 70s?), mind you), and I don't think I can put it better than the person:

Sometimes, it feels like the (Horse of Fate) has two left legs, because nobody has it good in this book.

(the person liked the book a lot more than I did, tho, but from the commentaries they got, they're probably one of the few lol :')

7) A book on my wish list: What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew. I'm just really into this sort of history that talks about how people had it Back Then. I'll gladly leave the epic battles and historical personalities to other folks while I go trundle through the military camps, assorted homes, and castle kitchens.

8) A favorite book from childhood: Naksitrallīši by Eno Raud :) Other competitors got eliminated violently before the contest even began, sorry. Wikipedia tells me it's ''Three Jolly Fellows'' in English, but that's a rubbish name if you ask me.

9) A book you would give to a friend: I have been sitting on this one for SO long because of this question. Mainly because it's not common to give books as a present in my ''social circles'' and also because I really don't like giving them as present, because how I do know they will like it??? BUT! One thing I think I can never go wrong with! Photo books by B.T. Greive! The Blue Day Book, and the likes!

10) A book of poetry or lyrics that you own: The entire collection of poetry by Aleksandrs Čaks. The little yellow books. I have not counted how many little yellow books there are.

11) A nonfiction book you own: Hercoga Jēkaba Laikmets Kurzemē by Jānis(?) Juškevičs. Wow, it's 7 years shy from being 100.

12) What are you currently reading: All the Young Men by Ruth Coker Burks

13) What are you planning on reading next? I really want to read Aryan's Battle Mage, but I want my books physical if possible, so I still need to buy a physical copy. More likely, the next will be Malleus Maleficarum (yes, that Malleus Maleficarum).

[committingtothetbr]

Review: House of Flame & Shadow by Sarah J. Maas **SLIGHT SPOILER AT END WITH LAST THOUGHTS**

 2024

4 minutes

acotar, azriel, book review, bookish, booklr, books, booktok, bryce quinlan, crescent city, fantasy, hofas, house of flame and shadow, hunt athalar, lidia cervos, maasverse, reviewer, ruhn danaan, sarah j maas, sarah j. maas, TBR, writer

With Sarah J. Maas’s third installment of the Crescent City series, I was sent on a wave of emotions!

To start off, for the first 500 pages of HOFAS, I was struggling. It took me about two months to complete 500 pages. I felt as though Maas’s work for the first half of the book lacked depth and clarity in its story-telling. I was struggling to continue as I read and like it flip-flopped between characters so suddenly. (We’ve watched Maas do this successfully in KOA with pacing so I was unsure of why it felt so long in HOFAS.)

Bryce became an unreliable narrator. I don’t know how to feel about it yet as I’m writing this review because in her first two novels of CC, we saw a little more into the reasons why she did what she did. For this book, we got her thoughts once she did the thing she did and really took home the title of “AWOL” in this book.

However, once I hit halfway, I knew Maas was going to unleash some fire and shadow onto her pages! Truly, she’s one of the only authors I know that is capable of sweeping me off my feet in ten pages and I won’t be able to put it down until it’s finished.

In one breath, Maas had me thinking that everyone was going to die in this book. And in the next, gave me something to want to fight for these characters. The last 400 pages of plot development started to make sense and she got me again.

Lidia and Ruhn’s spice in this book really drove it home for me to fulfill the Maas spice needed for me, whereas in Bryce/Hunt’s spice was a little lackluster. (sorry BrycexHunt stans). I was a little upset because I wanted so much spice. But honestly, can you blame ANY of these characters for not getting it on. I can’t.

I did cry towards the end at this scene*. I don’t know why but it broke me just about as much as The Thirteen in KOA. IYKYK. That’s the last I’ll say on that.

 am so happy that Azriel has finally said more in one book than the entirety of his own universe. It’s hysterical.

Please turn away from spoilers and stop reading now if you want to avoid. Just my final thoughts on where the Maasverse is going to go.

**PERSONAL THEORY**

Bryce does in fact open up a Dusk Court and I do think Elain or Nesta will become the High Lady of this court. What Bryce did absolutely had to have an effect at what I presume (the tunnel system/prison) to be the dusk court summoning, by summoning the Blue Court in Midgard. Maybe a certain type of magic in this world will call to Elain and Nesta and they can go on their own personal journey with the Starsword and Truth-teller. Even though Nesta’s storyline could be done because ACOSF IS KING, we know she’s badass enough for more. And I would LOVE to see it. Feyre and Rhys need their break with Nyx. But, I do think we will see our fall of Cassian (MAYBE). But now we know we can bring the dead back and necromancy is possible in the Maasverse so anything can happen.

I want to see Maas wipe a major and favorite character. Will she ever do it? As much as I don’t want it.. I can see Nesta and Cassian taking a hit somewhere. Their storyline seems to be a little bit more driven in HOFAS due to where one of the final scenes leave us in the ACOTAR world and Bryce’s mother ensuring Nesta that she will find her way.

I love a happy ending, but I also love a true ending. Maas is kick-ass and I would just love to see her do something different in future books so not all endings are predictable. But I know that I am truly in the minority in thinking like that LOL.

* Scene where Bryce and Connor are waving and she hears Light It Up. (I personally love this as a nice little motivator for her! So cute tbh)

⭐⭐⭐⭐Rating: 4 out of 5.

4/5 STARS ! – Committing to the TBR

[guide-to-galaxy]

Randomising my TBR #3 || Let's just start over

I… realised I just completely fell off the bus with actually sticking to what I had planned for this (i.e., reading the books I put on my shelf-of-soon and to-read next shelves). So I redid those shelves and put some of the books on my normal want-to-read shelf. And I’m just back to 10 (I tried 20 last time). Honestly, my goal is to actually do this once a month and put it back up to 20 lol. So,…

[sixofravens-reads]

I have finished Light from Uncommon Stars! What a wonderful book, emotional, great characters, the ending is perfectly bittersweet. I did think the alien technology was a little bit deus ex machina bc we don't go into The Science Of It All, but also this isn't hard scifi so it's not a huge issue.

Going to start Wizard of the Grove by Tanya Huff now. It's potentially the longest book on my TBR (I didn't compare all the books lol), but apparently it's actually two books bound together. It's been on my TBR for ages, and I've been juuust interested enough to not get rid of it yet, so it'll be good to get it off the list, whether that's by DNFing or reading it lol. I am a little worried cause the last Tanya Huff book I read was absolutely chock-full of weird incest, but I've heard that's an outlier and not all her books are so cringe, so let's hope for the best with this one.

[bulletnotestudies]

studyblr w/knives' Summer Reading Challenge: WHAT I'VE BEEN READING

i'll be updating this as i go, including some thoughts and a couple key words about what you can expect from the books, but i'll keep it spoiler-free, so you can read on in peace x (the summaries are under the cut)

historical fiction: The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue (M. Lee)

urban fantasy: The House in the Cerulean Sea (T.J. Klune)

published this year: One Last Stop (C. McQuiston)

friend rec: The Case for Jamie (B. Cavallaro)

on my TBR for forever: A Darker Shade of Magic (V.E. Schwab)

trans main character: Meet Cute Club (E. Lee)

academia setting: Ninth House (L. Bardugo)

by an author of color: Emergency Contact (M.H.K. Choi)

main character of color: Six of Crows (L. Bardugo)

fake dating: Take a Hint, Dani Brown (T. Hibbert)

one word title: Him (E. Kennedy, S. Bowen)

disabled character: Crooked Kingdom (L. Bardugo)

not romance-centered: This Is Going to Hurt (A. Kay)

mystery + secret identity: Ace of Spades (F. Àbíké-Íyímídé)

non fiction: Milk and Vine (E. Beck, A. Gasiewski)

number in the title: The Atlas Six (O. Blake)

1. historical fiction: The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by M. Lee i read this bc my best friend got it, and i enjoyed it a lot more than she did, probably bc i went in with very low expectations; i don't usually like/read historical fiction, but i read this in a couple days and aside from the ending being quite abrupt (imo), it was a good read, especially for the summer! (it has: lgbtq+ characters, good sibling dynamics, adventure, witty banter, slight supernatural elements)

2. urban fantasy: The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune my goodness. where do i even begin? this book felt like a tight hug from someone you love. a warm cup of your fave tea and a soft blanket, rain pitter-pattering on the window. this story made me laugh out loud, the characters are so well-written and so so endearing. honestly, if you're in need of an emotional pick-me-up or just something comforting to treat yourself to, this is it. read it. (it has: found family, comfort, humor, such well-executed world building you're immersed instantly)

3. published this year: One Last Stop by C. McQuiston this story. i didn’t expect this in the slightest, but i can’t say i mind it; of course the romance and storytelling were lovely, it’s a CMQ book - but what really swept me off my feet were the side characters. i don’t think i’ve ever loved side characters as much as i do this bunch. these amazing, diverse, fully fleshed-out humans that really feel like you could bump into them on the Q.  (it has: found family, humor, a cast of side characters like you’ve never seen before, lgbtq+ characters (so many!))

4. recced by a friend: The Case for Jamie by B. Cavallaro this is the 3rd book in the Charlotte Holmes series and i gotta say, there was a plot twist that had me sending my bestie all caps screaming double texts, but like,,,, 7 of them? anyways, a good summer read :) (it has: mystery, unreliable narration, good plot twists, a lovable main character and also a slightly annoying other mc lol)

5. on my tbr for over a year: A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab (reread) wasn’t this just lovely. i enjoyed this so much more than the first time i read it, it’s actually insane. just wow. why should u read this? parallel Londons where magic thrives, starves, or lies forgotten. a piratical antiheroine. a royal diplomat turned smuggler. a high-stakes mission. simply *chef’s kiss* if you’re looking for a brilliant, original fantasy, do yourself a favor and pick this up! (it has: incredible worldbuilding, lovable characters, vivid af storytelling, multiple dimensions and magic!)

6. trans mc: Meet Cute Diary by E. Lee  i really wanted to love this. i really did. and even though this went in a diff direction than i’d expected, it was a pretty straight-forward story, without any shocking plot twists (which i enjoy a lot, so i kinda missed them), and tbh i didn’t get sucked into the story like i would’ve wanted. however. this book has such a diverse cast of characters, and has a non-binary character written by a non-binary author - i think the representation really is the main thing this book has going for it, even if the story itself isn’t the most ground-breaking. (it has: a mixed race trans main character, lgbtq+ rep, a wonderful sibling dynamic (my fave thing abt the book)) * please do check out trigger warnings for the book or dm me about it before reading

7. (dark) academia: Ninth House by L. Bardugo well.... ms bardugo’s done it again. i was a bit wary going in bc i absolutely adore her six of crows duology and this was the point where i’d find out if it was just the crows, or if i actually liked her writing. thankfully it was the latter. i do have a couple... hiccups? - issue is too strong of a word - about it, but overall i enjoyed this a lot. i just love how unique bardugo’s ideas are and how expertly she weaves them into a fully rounded story. now onto the painful wait for the sequel! (it has: mystery, plot twists (multiple, yeehaw!), a dark, grisly atmosphere, a captivating narrative, lots of mythology and academia references) * please do check out trigger warnings for the book or dm me about it before reading

8. author of color: Emergency Contact by M.H.K. Choi wow i did not like this one.. maybe it’s just that i’m so over stories where the mc is violently not like other girls and the whole romance is based on ppl fixing each other… i really don’t enjoy reading abt characters who just hate themselves or about hating on other women for no damn reason and calling out everything ’wrong’ with them.. def wouldn’t want to read this in my impressionable years, thinking these flaws were everything others notice about you.. also, like, zero chemistry between the mc and the love interest

9. main character of color: Six of Crows by L. Bardugo this remains to be one of my absolute faves ever. worldbuilding? amazing. character dynamics? chef’s kiss. the writing? atmosphere? plot twists? oscar. pulitzer. nobel prize. 

10. fake dating: Take a Hint, Dani Brown (T. Hibbert) i think i went into this one with too high expectations... i’d seen ppl rave about this all over various social media and yeah the story was good, but i didn’t find it to be anything groundbreaking? i also gotta say i wasn’t the biggest fan of the main character. your typical romance novel, i’d say (it has: lgbtq+ main character, main characters of color, mental health rep)

11. one word title: Him (E. Kennedy, S. Bowen) okay okay i really just read this to get a bit of a short break from crooked kingdom.. my brain needed sth effortless that required zero cognitive function to read and this was lovely; fair warning tho, this book is about 87% smut, so if it’s not your thing i wouldn’t recommend this - otherwise, i read this in a day and it was a good quick, undemanding read (it has: hockey gays, miscommunication, childhood friends to lovers)

12. disabled character: Crooked Kingdom (L. Bardugo) i mean. you know what’s up already, this remains one of my fave books, cue the incoherent screaming amirite ladies (it has: everything u need in life, including lgbtq+ and disability rep)

13. not romance-centered: This Is Going to Hurt (A. Kay) can u believe i finally finished this? me neither. this one is perfect for fellow commuters, as it’s written in the form of very short diary entries; funny, heart-breaking, real. a wonderful read for anyone interested in medicine, or in the hidden inner mechanics of the nitty gritty of patient care. seriously, read this.

14. mystery + secret identity: Ace of Spades (F. Àbíké-Íyímídé) [review coming soon]

15. not romance-centered: Milk and Vine (E. Beck, A. Gasiewski) [review coming soon]

16. number in the title: The Atlas Six (O. Blake) [review coming soon] [but go read this book rn, it’s insane] [new fave]

[because-imma-lady-assface]

Book Recs

Dear @dolphincliffs and anyone else who would like to see ;)

Here are a few recs for you...ok fine more than a few. These are the ones on my list I saw and was immediately like oh yep mhm THIS one. If one intrigues you and you want more dirt just ask! They all have at least some smut, and you can find trigger warnings on all of them. Also 90% of them are included on KU.

To start with...

Motherfucking Sarah J Maas.

The A Court of Thorns and Roses series and the Crescent City series. I could literally talk about these goddamn books nonstop.

Misc:

Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood - cute romcom, trope filled delight. I believe it's based on Reylo lol

The Twisted Series by Ana Huang - I've read the first 2 in the series (Twisted Love & Twisted Games) enjoyed them a lot. There are 2 more in the series on my TBR

The Miles High Club by TL Swan - 3 books so far (The Stopover, The Takeover, The Casanova) SO GOOD you'll fly through these books.

The Ravenhood Series by Kate Stewart - feel like getting your soul ripped out through your nostrils? Cool cool cool read this. There is a quote in this book that makes me teary every time I see it and I got a sticker off Etsy with it. I didn't love the 3rd book, and in my reread just skipped it but this series is incredible.

More under the cut...

Reverse Harems:

The Madison Kate and Hades series by Tate James - Start with the MK series then go to Hades.

Four Horsemen Series by Sarah Bailey - This one is dark, but HOLY FUCK it is one of the best series I've ever read. The smut is HOT HOT. The kinks are hooooooooooo boy. Like...fucking read these.

Steel Demons MC Series by Crystal Ash - bonus! This one is also a motorcycle club. It's set in the future after the fall of the US (so it might be educational tbh)

Motorcycle Club:

Fallen Men Series by Giana Darling - Kind of up and down for me, but still highly recommend. Mostly just because I didn't love one of the couples, they just annoyed me. Their book is the second in the series, but the rest is so good.

I have a few more MC I like, so if you want more of just those let me know.

Mafia:

Frost Industries Series by Montana Frye - I'M OBSESSED. I just found the first book about a month ago, and I'm honestly a little mad because there's only 2 out so far and I don't want to wait.

Dark Verse Series by RuNyx - This one is good!!!! There are 5 books so far, and I believe the final will be out later this year.

Queens & Monsters and Ruthless Creatures Series by J.T. Geissinger - Both of these series are at the top of my list. If you love banter, you'll love these.

[nfltrd]

03.29.22 - Entry 6

I feel each day getting a little better. I’m trying my best to manifest the things I want. Whether that be through praying, dreaming, talking aloud to myself, or just in quiet, passing thoughts (it all has the same result imo).

I find I’m happiest when I’m creating. I try to do as much of that as I can at my office job since I do run the social media pages. I think Canva might be one of my new favorite hobbies lol. 

I’ve also been wanting to get more serious with my book centered social medias (bookstagram, booktok, etc). I even created a blog site on Square Space for all my book reviews and TBR, etc...not knowing it was $180 a year of course (facepalm). I’m debating on just spending it, honestly. I mean if I can spend that much on clothes in one sitting, why not spend it on an activity I enjoy instead. I’d get more use out of it that way, at least. I would use Tumblr if I liked the format a little more, but Square Space has such amazing templates and I love the one I made and don’t want to give it up. Maybe after my next paycheck comes in...

I’m going look at a couple houses this week. They’re out of my price range, I think, but have some structural damages that may allow me to knock off a good chunk of the price (fingers crossed). I would actually love to buy a house that I could remodel and update and sell for more down the road. Currently there’s a mid-century modern home for $220k that has foundation issues and does need a good updating. I love this style of home and I’m hoping the foundation problem really isn’t so bad to the point of being unfixable. I would love to take the time with repainting and decorating it to my tastes, and I even have a Pinterest board already set up for inspiration. I get so excited when I find homes I actually like because then I don’t really mind going into debt for it (nervous laugh). 

Anyways, I have a busy week ahead, but not much to write about I don't think. I have a casting with a local boutique tomorrow afternoon, and a meeting for a videography job for a big fast food chain on Friday. Wish me luck and prayers! If I am able to get this job it’ll be one of the biggest I’ve done. May God be by my side.

Fingers crossed.