book rec by me
so you want to get back into reading books but have no idea where to start and disdain booktok (if you get me started on this however i will become an unskippable cutscene so that's for another day). understandable. there is so much out there and it is all so overwhelming and you don't even know what you like now that you've been a decade out of the game. again, understandable. it does not have to be scary. i will help you. below i have created some categories that can get you started.
i want to read Literature
literary fiction, with crossover from historical fiction and magical realism
PEACH BLOSSOM SPRING by melissa fu
THE VASTER WILDS by lauren groff
THE FAMILY CHAO by lan samantha chang
OUTER DARK by cormac mccarthy
SEVERANCE by ling ma
LIGHT FROM UNCOMMON STARS by ryka aoki
IDENTITTI by mithu m. sanyal
PIRANESI by susanna clarke
i want to read sci-fi/fantasy that won't break my brain
sci-fi and fantasy that is gentler on the brain cells. easier to grasp magic systems with multiple but not an overwhelming number of overlapping plotlines
EMILY WILDE'S ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF FAERIES by heather fawcett
KINGS OF THE WYLD by nicholas eames
THE JASMINE THRONE by tasha suri
THE CITY OF BRASS by s.a. chakraborty
A RIVER ENCHANTED by rebecca ross
JUNIPER AND THORN by ava reid
BLACK SUN by rebecca roanhorse
THE FINAL STRIFE by saara el-arifi
THE BONE SHARD DAUGHTER by andrea stewart
i want to read sci-fi/fantasy that forces me to lock the fuck in
i would not recommend picking these up as your first foray back into books after many years of not reading recreationally, but i'm not your mom.
THE SPEAR CUTS THROUGH WATER by simon jimenez
JADE CITY by fonda lee
THE FIFTH SEASON by n.k. jemisin
THE RAGE OF DRAGONS by evan winter
A MEMORY CALLED EMPIRE by arkady martine
GIDEON THE NINTH by tamsyn muir
THE ART OF PROPHECY by wesley chu
THE GRACE OF KINGS by ken liu
horrify me!
there is far more to the horror literary canon than stephen king and dean koontz, i promise. consider looking up warnings for these.
TENDER IS THE FLESH by agustina bazterrica
THE RUINS by scott smith
CONFESSIONS by kanae minato
EPISODE THIRTEEN by craig dilouie
REPRIEVE by james han mattson
MARY by nat cassidy
DEAD SILENCE by s.a. barnes
AUDITION by ryu murakami
THE SALT GROWS HEAVY by cassandra khaw
don't care, i want romance
some of these feature crossover genres, like fantasy and horror.
VAMPIRES OF EL NORTE by isabel cañas
DAUGHTER OF THE MOON GODDESS by sue lynn tan
SEVEN DAYS IN JUNE by tia williams
HAPPY PLACE by emily henry
ONE DARK WINDOW by rachel gillig
i want QUEER romance
again, a mix of historical, fantasy, and contemporary crossover genres.
WE COULD BE SO GOOD by cat sebastian
IN MEMORIAM by alice winn
MOST ARDENTLY by gabe cole novoa
A STRANGE AND STUBBORN ENDURANCE by foz meadows
A MARVELLOUS LIGHT by freya marske
THE EMPEROR AND THE ENDLESS PALACE by justinian huang
SPELL BOUND by f.t. lukens
SORRY, BRO by taleen voskuni
ONE LAST STOP by casey mcquiston
DELILAH GREEN DOESN'T CARE by ashley herring blake
i haven't felt anything since i read percy jackson/the hunger games in middle school/high school
adventure is still out there.
SCYTHE by neil shusterman
WE HUNT THE FLAME by hafsah faizal
SIX OF CROWS by leigh bardugo
GEARBREAKERS by zoe hana mikuta
i'll read anything that's not straight or white
many books in the above categories fit this, but here's even more, across a variety of genres.
LAST NIGHT AT THE TELEGRAPH CLUB by malinda lo
BABEL by r.f. kuang
WHEN THE RECKONING COMES by latanya mcqueen
THE UNBROKEN by c.l. clark
IF YOU'LL HAVE ME (graphic novel) by eunnie
LEGEND OF THE WHITE SNAKE by sher lee
THIS IS HOW YOU LOSE THE TIME WAR by amal el-mohtar and max gladstone
SHE WHO BECAME THE SUN by shelley parker-chan
"all ya books suck"
like any other genre or book age group, there are duds and there are standouts. ya is not special in this regard. try some of these!
DIVINE RIVALS by rebecca ross
STRIKE THE ZITHER by joan he
THE RED PALACE by june hur
A STUDY IN DROWNING by ava reid
EMPIRE OF SAND by tasha suri
LEGENDBORN by tracy deonn
i check out and read a lot of these books for free via my local library by using the libby app (you can even add your friends' library cards to gain access to libraries in places you don't live). when i'm feeling like reading via audiobook, i use libro fm!
look, no one HAS TO read diversely. no one is going to be reverse fahrenheit 451'd and locked in a room with no fanfic and only books and not let out until they work their way through the entire literary canon. but reading, and reading widely, and reading diversely, is what teaches people to form their own opinions and question the things they are told. it's why they hang up stuff like "READ READ READ!!" in grade school classrooms.
we live under systems that increasingly benefit from going unquestioned. no, of course reading ASSASSIN'S APPRENTICE by robin hobb is not going to dismantle these systems tomorrow, nor probably even in our lifetimes. but doing it will help set up a world capable of doing it in the future. and until further notice, we are all part of this wretched world. might as well read a good story while we're here.
anyway, i'm reading THE WEST PASSAGE by jared pechaček and the new cmq book this week.
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Sorta a continuation of this post.
I’ve been thinking more about reverse robins AU with Duke as the Dick/Nightwing parallel, and I have some ideas.
So like, Duke came first. He was the light to Batman’s darkness. I don’t know if he would start off with Signal or another mantle and become Signal later on, but he definitely had the bright colors from the start. Batman might be the Dark Knight but Duke was Gotham’s (K)night Light. Batman fought what hid in the shadows but Signal chased the shadows away, provided a guiding light home. He was the Sunshine when the never ending grey clouds got too thick. He was Gothams hope and inspiration for a brighter future.
But don’t forget he was also a menace. I don’t think it would go down exactly like it did in the comics, it was the early years for Batman-and for the villains as well. After Duke’s parents were gone (maybe by Joker still turning them mad with Joker gas in Joker earliest year, maybe year one for him or something else) he started planning. He started working harder in school, focusing on the sciences to one day make a cure but also would go out looking for his parents, like in canon. He would stumble into things way bigger, overhearing plots from villains and mafias and decided to become an inconvenience for them. Letting the airs out of tires when no one was watching, a fire alarm pulled right before an attack, door stoppers on the outside of each door to a warehouse trapping the villains who where planning inside. A sudden strong of bad luck befalling the main terrors of Gotham. It didn’t go unnoticed, especially by Batman. Duke kept his streak of being unseen until one night he crossed paths with the Bat.
Bruce for his part would have know about the little boy who lost his parents in the attack, and it would have also brought up some memories for him as well. He would have kept a small track of him, but noticed he was in foster care so didn’t do much until one day he came across the reason behind all the karma the villain have be having. Looking into the boys eyes and seeing the same fire that he had, blazing more fierce as Duke explains how he will find his parents and save them, and if he could prevent more bad things along the way he will. Something pinging in Bruce’s soul, this kid lost his parents like he did but not fully, and he still had hope among the need for justice, something that had faded so long ago for himself. He took Duke back that day, promising that he will find Duke’s parents, and kept a closer eye on him after the fact.
Duke noticed that after that day it became like clockwork, he would sneak out, search Gotham, cause a little chaos, get caught by the Bat and brought back to his current foster home. Bruce did some digging, looked for Dukes parents but also found out that Leslie Thompkins was the person in charge of Duke’s case. After a few weeks of the new schedule he met up with Dr. Thompkins. They talked about how Duke has been bounced around from home to home and sneaking out to find his parents almost every night. After a long conversation, and not as much convincing as one would expect, Duke found himself being driven to his next foster home, Wayne Manor.
Okay I’m going to leave this here for now. I ended up writing so much more than I though I would lmao. I have more ideas and will probably continue this soon.
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