#....... anyway yeah if it wasn't clear I finished Book 2 lmAO

[kingdomoftyto]

"Squid-brain"... 😭💘

[ritzcrackee]

september tbr yayyyyy

rereads are marked by a ✩, new reads are marked by a ♡, library reads are italicized and new acquisitions are bolded

physical tbr: 8

dune messiah - frank herbert - ♡

oedipus rex - sophocles - ♡

antigone - sophocles - ♡

medea - euripides - ♡

the way of kings - brandon sanderson - ♡

wuthering heights - emily bronte - ♡

circe - madeline miller - ☆

the immortalists - chloe benjamin - ☆

digital tbr: 2

the hundred years war on palestine - rashid khalidi - ♡

in the shadow of the sun - em castellan - ♡

last months books: 8

a dowry of blood - s. t. gibson - 5/5

this was a rereaddddddd and it held up! i'll always feel mildly conflicted about alexi's age but its not enough of a hang-up for me to lower my rating. i like this book a lottttt yippee

dune - frank herbert - 1.5/5

guys. i fuckinf. ifucghinh. i did it. i rwad dune. slamsmy head againsy the wall.

i haven't talked about this yet (i think), but i kind of read dune twice? i realized very early on that the physical book wasn't the way to go for me. something about trying to absorb complex information when there's pretty lights and sounds and tiny tiny text on a weirdly shaped object was truly? impossible for me. BUT!! my good friend (hiii king) had given me his special annotated copy so i really wanted to read his thoughts on everything?

anyways, the way i solved this problem was to just... read everything twice. once, physically, as more of a vibes catching heavy skim, and then again, digitally, really trying to understand the minutiae of it.

this approach maybe worked? i still couldn't tell you very much of the plot, but knowing what was coming helped me enjoy it more? idfk

my favorite part wasssss the annex at the end and the chapter where the ecologist dies ❤

(franz please don't be offended by my rating and come to my house and kill me IM SORRY IM BAD AT SCI-FI I STILL LIKED IT)

in at the deep end - kate davies - 2.5/5

meh. writing style was fast paced and interesting, but a little too #qUirKy for me. the author said she was a big fan pf pheobe waller-bridge, and like... yeah you did kind of write knock-off lesbian fleabag didn't you? (to be clear i did enjoy this somewhat, just a perfectly average amount lol.

done deal - skrifores on ao3 - 4/5

woo hoo this was a 50k word modern au gentlebeard fic :3 i feel like 50k is enough to count as a novella? i guess we r tracking long fics too now. um yeah this was very sweeeet and very cuteeeeee

turn on the light - smallest church on ao3 - 5/5

THIS MADE ME TEAR UPPPPPP my babies.... (also a gentlebeard modern au fic but THIS one was 55k. so. yay)

divorce towers - ellen meister - 1/5

yeah idk what i expected. i got a free trial of amazon prime and this looked like the most interesting of the free book options? wish i had dnfed it halfway through but yk. i'm sure its for someone out there.

beastars vol 1 - paru itagaki - 5/5

yayyyy beastars ❤ fun fact i absolutely hated the anime on my first watch but like,,, in that obsessed way yk? rewatched it recently and LOVEDDDD it so i'm making my way through the manga :3

beastars vol 2 - paru itagaki - 5/5

i love to love animal cannibals....

last months goal: find a tbr system that fits my current goals better lmao

i just added a library marker lol. i was gifted a couple books, so my physical tbr got a lil longer. alsoo i keep reading novella/novel length fanfics so i'm tracking those as well heart emoji.

this months goal: read some stuff off of my fall tbr

gang i'm tired. the reading slump has been so real and i KNOW the fall weather is gonna kick my ass. i'd also love to finish a hard book this month but realistically i will read six fanfics and a romance. fml.

[tenrose]

I have finished Zig Zag by José Carlos Samoza. and honestly it could have been a five stars if wasn't written by a man... I mean the whole story is great but the female MC is a scientist and a top model and every guys want to fuck her, which considering a part of the plot is kinda fucked up.

It's funny though, when I was younger and reading lot of fantasy written by men I thought it was the norm writing women like that... Some of you may remember that I was a huge a Terry Goodkind fan before 😬😬😬😬 while now if I was re reading the sword of truth I would probably have the urge to strangle him just for his rape kinks (not even counting on the plot bullshit lmao)... I do however still hold very dear to my heart the show legend of the seeker (cheap fantasy TV my beloved)

But as an adult I have dnfed many books because of that. I have dnfed a very famous, apparently best french fantasy book over that (Gagner la guerre) because at some point, the male mc is insufferable and it's the whole point but I 100% wasn't sure it was criticism. It was, the writer said so himself, and even if I had my doubts, it was pretty clear, but the fact that it is somehow always a man who writes these kind of characters and that's why I wasn't 100% sure because it's always the freaking men, the fact that he himself had to say the MC wasn't made to be loved because some men thought he was cool... Yeah. I mean no disrespect for the author I don't him, but he's been clear and I believe him, and honestly even though I didn't finish the book it's pretty clear that the MC is a loser. It's just why somehow you rarely see women write this???

I also have to dnf 1Q84 over this and I'm still really pissed over this one. Because I really wanted to read that one. The thing is, if you haven't read it, there's a mention of woman's breast literally every single page, and I am 'ot exaggerating the slightest. Like it's crazy I've never seen someone obsessing over boobs this much. There female MC has a chunk of her personality revolving around the fact that she thinks her boobs are too small???? Hello???? And the thing is, I really liked the atmosphere it's oneiric, it's different from what I read usually and it's slow passed so it feel cozy and dreamy but this obsession with women's breasts really ruined the whole atmosphere for me and I had to dnf over this, and yes I'm pissed (if you have books recs with that kind of vibes I'm taking it).

Honestly Zig Zag has the luck to have a thriller plot being way too addictive for me to dnf over that and every other aspect of the book was great. Like other than that I genuinely had a good time and I devoured the 1 000 pages in no time, and I wish in 2 years I would rec it because it has a great mixing genres of SF, thriller and horror plot but I will probably remember it as 'this guy was writing his fantasies'

Anyway, it's really great that I've grown up as a reader, I'm more open and I have a better sense of criticism, but I wish I was still able to ignore men writing women like I was 14.

Luckily, I also read way more women writers than before, which is maybe why I notice these things more now.

[castle-dominion]

6x1 valkyrie

It has been a while since I liveblogged. I want to finish watching castle before summer is over.

She got a job ok, they got engaged ok.

Lol love the yes/no/yes/no "most serious thing I've ever done"

RC: You do know how this works, right? his twelve hundred names lol (& yeah that is HUGE gem)

Ah NOW it has been two months no longer sayong "nypd" must have been a change.

I remember when I first saw this I thought "oh it must be this gif with the sexy bra" but it wasn't. & then she got hit so hard she fell back like that?

"or worse: me"

Ew she doesn't have her plans anymore?

I love the music dskljfsdlkfj "he's best with rhetorical questions"

Alexis is pretty. Oh yeah. Pi. I love him so much. Spelling is a construct anyway bro. RC: Uh … make sure you put some blankets out on the couch for Pi if he’s staying? (his meaning is not subtle) Want him to be comfortable. (his phone rings) And visible. I mean like yeah boy sleeps on the couch.

Meh won't clip

Poor them, not seeing each other.

Lol what are you smiling about to the castle cutout.

Is that still her mom's ring? How did Castle get here? You want me to leave? Immediately *starts kissing him*

Castle mr nosey man.

Wow they're good! she looks a lot like castle tbh CASTLE NO SHE'S LITERALLY NOT EVEN IN THE CAR YET YOU CAN CATCH HER

the baby sdkfljslkdjklj (clipping) Halo nights, new trivi fact "well since you offered"

could clip the part where ryan tosses the baby doll on esposito Yay Tory Ellis "isn't that beckett's backyard?" jf ey tunnel shdgy cal.l d*lat.er when i ^bet1er

*castle is already at the golf course*

"it better be on a book jacket" unless he is at home when you drop beckett off bro

"I didn't think I'd get caught"

Yes the old haunt! Mccord is also getting the same info I'm sure.

Oh no phtos of Castle.

Oh no r they tattling on becks?

Picked up a guy, talked in my sleep, let out info about Scoffield. What if you get the license plate when he opened his trunk? Really you have a match off of THAT?

Infiltration? Yeah this fellow def going into a building.

Her voice cracked hella when she said "clear" Also wow these folks are hot in their vests. Her phone is on ring mode? She just went into a building with guns, what if she got in trouble? What if they needed to be quiet?

"the kind that makes me feel all" *ooh*

RC: I have salmon that needs to be refrigerated He's so right RC: that's a read THAT'S A RED!

My man has been shot or smth.. At least castle grabbed the gun. "10 & 2, 10 & 2" XD

Castle getting checked for a concussion lmao *waves at her*

Castle say "I had salmon to refrigerate-- would I have bought that if I was planning on getting abducted?"

"Given your fiance's history.." yk what so valid bestie Her little "I'm sorry" through the screen.

Glad they are doing 70% match not more bc yeah, people can change what they look like.

KB: Maybe it’ll be better. This way when we come home at the end of each day we’ll have something to talk about like normal couples. RC: Only your day will be classified. Like that one physicist who insisted that his wife get classification access so that he could talk to her abou this work day & rubber duck to her. At least castle has the money to fly around visiting his wife all the time.

Pi my beloved. Isn't fruitarian like "I don't eat fruit unless it has fallen from the tree. Those carrots were brutally murdered."

My man lives in amsterdam? Pi has his sixth sense I love pi sm. "you're absolutely right" *walks away*

RmC: You want to talk about it? KB: No RmC: Good

of course she wasn't taking a direct route

Aww castle talking to rysposito about it

KR: You know, I don’t think Jenny and I have been apart for more than two days since we met. It’s gotta be rough. (HOLY CRAP WAIT WHAT?) RC: I just feel like we’re so out of sync I don’t know how to get back. I guess I was just … trying to make it feel like us again. JE: Yeah, by playing me and Ryan for chumps. (KR nods, but it’s not in anger) You should have known that we were going to figure out this case was real. RC: Well, you’ll be happy to know for my sins I was abducted by a maniac at gunpoint and nearly killed. But at least I didn’t get Beckett fired. [They’re both surprised.] JE: Whoa, whoa, abducted? (RC pauses) By who? RC: realizes he might have said too much and tries to evade. RC: Look guys, I really shouldn’t be talking about this. [They don’t let him off so easily.] KR: C’mon, Castle. It’s us. JE: And thanks to you, we’re already involved. KR: nods. RC: Okay, but this goes no further, all right? (at KR’S nod) So I’m walking down the street and this guy that they’re looking for grabs me, shoves me into a car, starts talking crazy, starts asking me all these questions. JE: What kind of questions? RC: Something about Valkyrie, how much the feds knew, and then I thought he was going to pass out, because he was talking about going off to dream world. (JE freezes & looks off with his eyes) But he didn’t pass out. He dropped dead. JE: Uh … this guy? Was he, uh, was he military?

RC: Why? Is Valkyrie a military term? JE: I don’t know about Valkyrie, but Dream World? It’s a highly classified special operations base in the Gulf. It’s a ghost base. The government’s never confirmed its existence, but I – I met a guy who knew a guy who was stationed there. (everyone knows someone who knows someone) RC: (intrigued) Where is it? JE: It’s – it’s a ghost base, Castle. You think it’s going to say where it is? KR and RC share a look, then look to JE. They both shake their head. JE: No. But I will tell you this, if Beckett’s case has anything to do with this base, well, then she’s into something way bigger than she realizes. (won't clip, not even the double shale heads of rystle)

Oh no they lost her, beckett's instincts screwed them up. Or not nvm. If you've never seen it then why were you running away with evasion tactics? Is this the same interrogation room as the precinct & they just dolled it up differently?

GOLF COURSE I expected rachel mccord to slam the table & yell "he's dead" to scare this jeanette girl into talking. KB: Well, people do crazy things when they’re in love. RmC: I've noticed

Well you have the encryption system so you don't need to find the Bad Guy. Stop looking for the thing they REALLY stole. Ah! Genetics lab, classified floor, etc. lmao you would SO get results for dreamworld, even if it is all BS.

Castle chill & cut pi some slack. But also alexis is so pretty really really pretty. RC: how would they know? MR: Richard, these federal agents are here for you...

Ah yes, the military Why would Jack Bronson die if they were trying to set him up? How badly was he exposed? A few days & castle is still mostly fine? ngl I expected it to be more like "a few months before it ruins your systems, but we have a few days to flush it from your system so that you can go back to living your normal life" or smth

Ok I got a few clips, I'm happy.

[eerna]

I just finished reading KoS and is it okay if I rant a little bit to you? I don't have anyone else to talk about books lol (do let me know if you'd rather not talk about it, I won't be offended! :). I just feel a little hollow with that whole book?? Like I enjoyed it, but it felt really disconnected. Nina's parts could be a whole different novella or sth, I found myself wanting to go back to Zoya or Nikolai's parts because I wanted to read about the main plot - like I love my waffle queen but I just couldn't get into two whole different plotlines at once lol. Oh and I'm really unhappy with that ending, I thought we were done with the Darkling why is he back? Is he gonna be a whole plot in the second book??? After reading three whole books about him I don't think I can handle it anymore lmao. Also I think one of the things that made SoC so good was the fact that there wasn't so much inexplicable magic involved, it felt realistic with some magic sprinkled in, so we could relate better to the world. Personally I don't like stories with soft magic too much anyway (its magic that does not have clear rules such as lotr or got, hard magic has strict rules like atla or fma). In soc the magic was more contained and it was limited, so it wasnt hard to relate with the challenges they faced. In the other books, the grisha are so powerful and inexplicably strong that I just can't relate with it at all. Anyway, sorry for the rant, I still love the characters and I'm gonna dive straight into the next book. If you read this far, thank you and I love your blog, it always feels like a safe space <3

Ofc, feel free to~~ I’m glad when ppl pop in with their thoughts! :3

Yeah, you’ve basically summed up my feelings for book 1. I too, for some reason, feel wayyy better when the amount of Grisha is at the minimum lol. And Nina’s plotline was my least fave thing about the series, when it should have been my fave since I love ehr the most. The Darkling was like a slap in the face, but I actually enjoyed him in book 2, so it wasn’t that bad. All in all it felt like a fanfic...

[seungcheolsbodyharness]

Ahw babe don't apologize for giving me such a great answer!! And I'm super glad to hear that you've never stopped writing for yourself, since I've seen a lot of writers on here lose interest bc it started to become a 'job' to finish requests. I just wanted to be sure that wasn't the case for you, but I now see that I worded it a bit weird since you can only put so many words in an ask. (1/2) -🍩

It also makes me super happy that writing is a way for you to deal with emotions in some way and I hope it will stay that way, since y'know, it's never good to keep it all inside! Anyways moral of the story, I love you and I really respect you for making such a well thought out decision, and I want you to know that I'll always support you no matter what! And I'll be there for you if you ever wanna talk! Like, if you wanna talk about Dongho pls do bc I love him a LOT -🍩 (2/2)

yeah, the ouran blog was the first and only time i continuously wrote from requests, and towards the end I just hated it. more power to the people who run blogs fueled solely by requests. also, request blogs tend to horde the worst kind of fic consumers, so. no thanks. 

as far as me using fic to work through emotions - not so much anymore, but it was so important for me as a kid. i won’t go into that bc it’s just. you know. sad lmao, and i’m a lot better off now. if anything i use to to vent my frustrations about my lack of romance. who knows. 

i should probably be clear and say that like. i didn’t actually put a lot of thought into this decision - i just...made it. i have friends who’ve decided not to post on tumblr anymore, as well as some blogs i don’t know but Do respect a lot. maybe i’ll take a leaf from @dark-muse-iris book and post links here to anything I end up posting on ao3. 

i just. i really want to say thank you, donut. you’ve been incredibly sweet and the most reactive to the decision - which really goes to show how few of my followers care about my fics lmfao - and because of that i’ve been able to really lay all my thoughts out. 

(i could talk for days about dongho donut pls don’t tempt me i love him so much????? it’s wild. holy shit.)