#Courtney Smyth

[sarahreesbrennan]

whatever comes…

I’m very grateful, this Christmas Eve. If you’re eve-ing, I hope you have a merry one!

[lgbtqreads]

New Releases: September 24, 2024

Middle Grade Alex Wise vs. the Cosmic Shift by Terry J. Benton-Walker This is the sequel to Alex Wise vs. the End of the World Alex Wise is no superhero. Or at least, he doesn���t feel like one. Sure, he vanquished Death and saved his sister Mags—with the help of some new magic powers, his best friend Loren and demi-god Liam. But the apocalypse shows no signs of slowing down. Now, Alex and his…

[cswritesbooks]

GREENLIGHT. GATEKEEP. GHOSTHUNT.

The sequel to fantasy mystery The Undetectables (about three witches and a ghost in a cat costume who start a PI agency to stop a serial killer stalking their small magical town) lands this September and it’s 25% off in the Barnes and Noble preorder sale with code PREORDER25 from today until April 19th!

Here’s the official blurb:

Five months after the events of The Undetectables, business is booming – but finding cases that call for magical forensic investigators is not. So when Diana’s ex, Taylor, asks them to solve a murder – her own – Diana, Mallory and Cornelia can’t say no.

Called to investigate the set of Undead Complex, Diana re-enters the world of TV-show prop making – even in death, the show must go on. Even the appearance of a genuine-article Francine Leon dollhouse can't make up for the fact she's being pulled down a path of crime-solving she maybe doesn't want to walk forever.

Meanwhile, Theodore's coming apart at the seams – literally – in the aftermath of their last case, and Mallory is running out of ways to help him. Especially as he seems to be keeping secrets from her.

As the clues – and the bodies – keep piling up, each one making less and less sense, The Undetectables find themselves in a new race against the clock to find out what, exactly, the killer is up to – before they strike again...

Get your copy HERE

[queermarzipan]

JUST FINISHED READING THE UNDETECTABLES BY COURTNEY SMYTH

[blogmollylane]

Newly acquired: The Undetectables by Courtney Smyth

[netrophensisposts]

Go get em Sixie!

Sixth Doctor: Mr Morgan, haven't you ever heard of the expression: Only the used keys shines." Professor Morgan: What are you talking about? Sixth Doctor: Wherever I go in the universe, I invariably meet people like you; intelligent, knowledgeable people for reasons I can only guess at who reach a point in their lives attributed to decide to close their minds to anything new. You make it a point of personal pride. Scoff, mock, and ridicule anybody who happens to inhabit a larger universe than the one you have chosen to imprison yourself in. Well, that's your business, and you may believe that I'm talking nonsense and I can't help with what you personally chose to believe, but I do know this. The only way to learn is to keep your mind open to the imperative of those who are more knowledgeable than yourself.

[queerliblib]

Hey there! You've probably gotten asks for reccomendations like this before, but I was wondering if you had any queer detective (or detective-like) book recommendations? Preferably with like, PI stuff and not actually police detectives? if thats possible. because acab. like Sherlock Holmes vibes but. gay(er)

you know, we actually haven’t gotten that one before. acab my friend! but shit I’ll be honest, I’m not a mystery or detective reader at all so this is not my strong suit. howmstever I have solicited other folks on the QLL team to weigh in for this one.

we do have a mysteries list in our Genre Fiction Guide! so I’d absolutely recommend checking that out. for specific titles though:

The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older. a "cozy holmsian murder mystery & sapphic romance set on jupiter"

The Undetectables by Courtney Smyth. “be gay, solve crime, take naps”

Scorched Grace by Margot Douaihy. instead of a cop, the investigator is a chain-smoking, heavily tattooed, queer nun

The Adventures of Isabel Candas Jane Dorsey by features a queer, nameless, amateur detective

we also don’t have these two yet, but one member of our team recommends the Dave Brandstetter Series by Joseph Hanson, ���old, cheesy, very fun”, and another the Evander Mills series by Lev A.C. Rosen

[thereadingchallengechallenge]

25 in 2025

@bigcats-birds-and-books had an open tag for this so I'm joining in :3

Smothermoss by Alisa Alering

Leaving the Station by Jake Maia Arlow

Milk Fed by Melissa Broder

There is a Door in This Darkness by Kristin Cashore

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke

any of my Ivan Coyote books

Feast While You Can by Onjulie Datta & Mikaella Clements

Mary, or, The Birth of Frankenstein by Anne Eekhout

A Wilderness of Stars by Shea Ernshaw

Black Flame by Gretchen Felker-Martin

Spread Me by Sarah Gailey

What the Woods Took by Courtney Gould

Fallen Gods series by Hannah Kaner

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer

This Fatal Kiss by Alicia Jasinska

American Rapture by CJ Leede

Handling the Undead by John Ajvide Lindqvist

The Gracekeepers by Kirsty Logan

Ghost Roads trilogy by Seanan McGuire

If We Were Villains by ML Rio

The Undetectables series by Courtney Smyth

A Sweet Sting of Salt by Rose Sutherland

Can't Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne

The Skin I'm In by Steph Tisdell

Heads Will Roll by Josh Winning

and so many more 🙈 something I noticed reorganising my shelves is how excited I am to read pretty much everything on my TBR? there's so much stuff on there that I'd love to read right now but alas, human capability and library holds are keeping me from it 🤭

tagging anyone else who's been anxiously waiting to be tagged - now's your chance!

[identity-library]

Diverse Sexuality (TV Shows)

A:

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013)

José "Joey" Gutierrez (Gay)

Marcus Benson (Gay)

All Saints (1998)

Charlotte Beaumont (Bisexual)

American Dad (2005)

Greg (Gay)

Terry (Gay)

Andor (2022)

Cinta Kaz (Unspecified WLW)

Vel Sartha (Unspecified WLW)

Arthur (1996)

Nigel Ratburn (Gay)

Patrick (Gay)

B:

Battlestar Galactica (2004)

Felix Gaeta (Bisexual)

Big Mouth (2017)

Ali (Pansexual)

Charles Lu (Unspecified MLM)

Connie LaCienega (Pansexual)

Elijah (Asexual)

Jayzarian "Jay" Bilzerian (Bisexual)

Jessica "Jessi" Glaser (Bisexual)

Matthew MacDell (Gay)

Maury Beverly (Pansexual)

Megan (Bisexual)

Mona (Bisexual)

Nadja El-Khoury (Lesbian)

Shannon Glaser (Lesbian)

Simon Sex (Bisexual)

Sonya Poinsettia (Bisexual)

Tyler Pico (Pansexual)

Bob's Burgers (2011)

Natalie "Nat" Kinkle (Unspecified WLW)

Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013)

Jenny Gildenhorn (Bisexual)

Jocelyn Price (Lesbian)

Kevin Cozner (Gay)

Raymond "Ray" Holt (Gay)

Rosalita "Rosa" Diaz (Bisexual)

C:

Chicago Fire (2012)

Clarice Carthage (Bisexual)

Darren Ritter (Gay)

Emily Foster (Bisexual)

Leslie Shay (Lesbian)

Chicago Med (2015)

Lawrence Dayle (Unspecified MLM)

Peter Kalmick (Unspecified MLM)

Terry McNeal (Gay)

Code Black (2015)

Carla Niven (Lesbian)

Malaya Pineda (Lesbian)

Noa Kean (Bisexual)

Community (2009)

Craig Pelton (Unlabeled MLM)

Frankie Dart (Unspecified WLW)

Craig of the Creek (2018)

Alexis (Pansexual)

Courtney (Lesbian)

George (Gay)

Jasmine Williams (Lesbian)

Kelsey Pokoly (Lesbian)

Laura Mercer (Lesbian)

Raj (Gay)

Secret Keeper (Gay)

Shawn (Gay)

Stacks (Lesbian)

Tabitha (Lesbian)

D:

Dead End: Paranormal Park (2022)

Barney Guttman (Gay)

Logan Nguyen (Gay)

Norma Khan (Bisexual)

Zagan (Pansexual)

Doom Patrol (2019)

Kay Challis/Crazy Jane (Lesbian)

Larry Trainor (Gay)

Dr. Who (2005)

Adric (Pansexual)

Bill Potts (Lesbian)

Canton Everett Delaware ||| (Gay)

Chris Cwej (Bisexual)

Clara Oswald (Bisexual)

Elizabeth "Liz" Shaw (Bisexual)

Heather (Lesbian)

Jack Harkness (Omnisexual + Polyamorous)

Jennifer "Jenny Flint" Scarrity (Lesbian)

Madame Vastra (Lesbian)

Melony "River Song" Pond (Bisexual + Polyamorous)

Nyssa of Traken (Bisexual)

Oliver Harper (Gay)

Olivia "Liv" Chenka (Bisexual)

Patricia Haggard (Lesbian)

Rogue (Gay)

Tania Bell (Lesbian)

Tegan Jovanka (Bisexual)

Toshiko Sato (Bisexual)

Yasmin Khan (Queer)

E:

Equestria Girls (2017)

Sunset Shimmer (Bisexual)

ER (1994)

Courtney Brown (Lesbian)

Kerry Weaver (Lesbian)

Kim Legaspi (Lesbian)

Maggie Doyle (Lesbian)

Sandy Lopez (Lesbian)

Euphoria (2019)

Cal Jacobs (Bisexual)

Elliot (Unlabeled MLM)

Jules Vaughn (Unlabeled WLW)

Nate Jacobs (Unspecified MLM)

Rue Bennett (Lesbian)

Ever After High (2013)

Apple White (Unspecified WLW)

Darling Charming (Unspecified WLW)

F:

G:

Glee (2009)

Adam Crawford (Gay)

Alistair (Unspecified MLM)

Blaine Anderson (Gay)

Brittany Pierce (Bisexual)

Dani (Lesbian)

David "Dave" Karofsky (Gay)

Elliott Gilbert (Gay)

Hiram Barry (Gay)

Kurt Hummel (Gay)

Leroy Barry (Gay)

Santana Lopez (Lesbian)

Sebastian Smythe (Bisexual)

Spencer Porter (Gay)

Grey's Anatomy (2005)

Amelia Shepherd (Bisexual)

Arizona Robbins (Lesbian)

Callie Torres (Bisexual)

Carina DeLuca (Bisexual)

Dayna Knox (Lesbian)

Eliza Minnick (Lesbian)

Erica Hahn (Lesbian)

Levi Schmitt (Gay)

Mika Yasuda (Bisexual)

Nico Kim (Gay)

Taryn Helm (Lesbian)

Teddy Altman (Bisexual)

H:

Harley Quinn (2019)

Basil Karlo/Clayface (Gay)

Edward Nygma/The Riddler (Gay)

Frank (Asexual)

Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn (Bisexual)

Leslie Wills/Livewire (Lesbian)

Mari McCabe/Vixen (Bisexual)

Pamela Isley/Poison Ivy (Bisexual)

Selina Kyle/Catwoman (Unspecified WLW)

Sylvester "Sy" Borgman (Bisexual)

Hazbin Hotel (2024)

Alastor (Aromantic, Asexual)

Angel Dust (Gay)

Charlotte "Charlie" Morningstar (Lesbian)

Cherri Bomb (Bisexual)

Husker (Pansexual)

Sir Pentious (Bisexual)

Vaggie (Unspecified WLW)

Valentino (Pansexual)

Vox (Bisexual)

Heartbreak High (2022)

Darren Rivers (Gay, Queer)

Donald "Ca$h" Piggott (Asexual)

Dustin Reid (Unspecified MLM)

Malakai Mitchell (Bisexual)

Missy Beckett (Bisexual)

Quinni Gallagher-Jones (Lesbian)

Rowan Callaghan (Bisexual)

Sasha So (Lesbian)

Heartstopper (2022)

Ben Hope (Unspecified MLM)

Charles "Charlie" Spring (Gay)

Darcy Olsson (Lesbian)

Isaac Henderson (Asexual, Aromantic)

Nick Nelson (Bisexual)

Tara Jones (Lesbian)

How I Met Your Mother (2005)

James Stinson (Gay)

Human Resources (2022)

Claudia (Lesbian)

Danielle (Lesbian)

Flanny O'Lympic (Bisexual)

Van (Lesbian)

I:

J:

K:

L:

M:

Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir (2015)

Alix Kubdel (Aromantic)

Caline Bustier (Unspecified WLW)

Gisèle (Unspecified WLW)

Juleka Couffaine (Unspecified WLW)

Marc Anciel (Unspecified MLM)

Max Kanté (Asexual)

Nathaniel Kurtzberg (Unspecified MLM)

Rose Lavillant (Unspecified WLW)

Zoé Lee (Unspecified WLW)

Modern Family (2009)

Cameron Tucker (Gay)

Gil Thorpe (Gay)

Mitchell Pritchett (Gay)

Pepper Saltzman (Gay)

Ronaldo (Unspecified MLM)

Mom (2013)

Bonnie Plunkett (Bisexual)

Ray Stabler (Gay)

Rudy (Bisexual)

N:

Nanbaka (2016)

Jyugo (Bisexual)

New Amsterdam (2018)

Elizabeth Wilder (Bisexual)

Iggy Frome (Gay)

Lauren Bloom (Bisexual)

Leyla Shinwari (Lesbian)

Martin McIntyre (Gay)

New Girl (2011)

Melissa (Unspecified WLW)

Reagan Lucas (Bisexual)

Sadie (Lesbian)

O:

P:

Peacemaker (2022)

Christopher Smith/Peacemaker (Bisexual)

Leota Adebayo (Lesbian)

Private Practice (2007)

Amelia Shepherd (Bisexual)

Q:

R:

Raising Dion (2019)

Kat Neese (Lesbian)

Roswell, New Mexico (2019)

Alex Manes (Gay)

Allie Meyers (Unspecified WLW)

Anatsa Mufaro (Unspecified WLW)

Blaire (Unspecified WLW)

Forrest (Gay)

Isobel Evans-Bracken (Bisexual)

Michael Guerin (Bisexual)

Shivani Sen (Unspecified WLW)

Runaways (2017)

Karolina Dean (Lesbian)

Nico Minoru (Bisexual)

Xavin (Pansexual)

S:

Safe (2018)

Pete Mayfield (Gay)

Saving Hope (2012)

Bree Hannigan (Lesbian)

Maggie Lin (Bisexual)

Sydney Katz (Lesbian)

Shadowhunters (2016)

Alexander "Alec" Lightwood (Gay)

Aline Penhallow (Unspecified WLW)

Magnus Bane (Bisexual)

Olivia Wilson (Unspecified WLW)

Samantha (Unspecified WLW)

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)

Adora (Lesbian)

Bow (Bisexual)

Catra (Lesbian)

Double Trouble (Gay)

Entrapta (Bisexual)

George (Gay)

Glimmer (Bisexual)

Huntara (Lesbian)

Kyle (Bisexual)

Lance (Gay)

Light Hope (Lesbian)

Lonnie (Bisexual)

Mara (Lesbian)

Mermista (Bisexual)

Netossa (Lesbian)

Perfuma (Unspecified WLW)

Rogelio (Bisexual)

Scorpia (Lesbian)

Sea Hawk (Bisexual)

Spinnerella (Lesbian)

Station 19 (2018)

Amelia Shepherd (Bisexual)

Carina DeLuca (Bisexual)

Dayna Knox (Lesbian)

Eli Stern (Bisexual)

Emmett Dixon (Gay)

Maya Bishop (Bisexual)

Michelle Alvarez (Lesbian)

Nikki (Bisexual)

Pam Williams (Lesbian)

Travis Montgomery (Gay)

Steven Universe (2013)

Bismuth (Lesbian)

Dogcopter (Gay)

Harold Smiley (Gay)

Pearl (Lesbian)

Peridot (Asexual, Aromantic)

Ruby (Lesbian)

Sapphire (Lesbian)

Stumptown (2019)

Dex Parios (Bisexual)

T:

The Babysitter's Club (2020)

Dawn Schafer (Unlabeled WLW)

Janine Kishi (Lesbian)

The Magicians (2015)

Eliot Waugh (Gay)

The Owl House (2020)

Amity Blight (Lesbian)

Darius Deamonne (Gay)

Eda Clawthorne (Bisexual)

Gilbert Park (Unspecified MLM)

Harvey Park (Unspecified MLM)

Hunter (Bisexual)

Lilith Clawthorne (Asexual, Aromantic)

Luz Noceda (Bisexual)

Willow Park (Bisexual)

The Resident (2018)

Jake Wong (Gay)

The Rookie (2018)

Jackson West (Gay)

Gino Brown (Gay)

The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy (2024)

Klak (Unspecified WLW)

Slug Girl (Unspecified WLW)

The 100 (2014)

Bryan (Gay)

Clarke Griffin (Bisexual)

Eric Jackson (Gay)

Lexa (Lesbian)

Nathan Miller (Gay)

Niylah (Lesbian)

Zev (Gay)

Titans (2018)

Tim Drake/Robin (Bisexual)

Total Drama (Franchise)

Bowie (Gay)

Raj (Gay)

U:

V:

W:

X:

Y:

Z:

#:

9-1-1 (2018)

David Hale (Unspecified MLM)

Evan "Buck" Buckley (Bisexual)

Henrietta "Hen" Wilson (Lesbian)

John Russo (Unspecified MLM)

Karen Wilson (Lesbian)

Michael Grant (Gay)

Tommy Kinard (Gay)

9-1-1: Lone Star (2020)

Carlos Reyes (Gay)

Tyler Kennedy "TK" Strand (Gay)

[ruthniss]

My wrist is slowly feeling better, I'm reading a good book with a disabled day main character (The Undectables by Courtney Smyth) and it was nice out so I got to sun myself on my lunch hour.

Life is looking up.

Niw just need this headache to go away.

[raleydrew]

My Reading List (Categorized) [wip]:

Short Hand Memos / Legend Key:

HSY = Haven't Started Yet, GuO = Gave Up On, NtF = Need to Finish, R = Read / Finished It

Light Novels:

Manga:

Wanna Skip School in the Infirmary? - Finished Chapter 6 / ? [ waiting for updates ]

IDOL×IDOL STORY! - Finished Chapter 1 / ?

Killing Me! - HSY

The Anemone Feels The Heat - HSY

How Do We Relationship? - Finished Chapter 126 / ? [ waiting for updates ]

Yuri Is My Job! - Finished Chapter 16 / ?

Liar Satsuki Can See Death - HSY

Howling Song for Husky Girl, - HSY

Apricot Fuzz - HSY

Mieruko-chan - HSY

Mieruko-chan Official Comic Anthology - HSY

Mieruko-chan to Ju-on (Doujin) - R

After Hours - HSY

Phantom Thief Jeanne - HSY

Whisper Me a Love Song - Finished Chapter 16 / ?

The Classroom of a Black Cat and a Witch - Finished Chapter x / ?

Manhua:

Tamen De Gushi - NtF

Manhwa:

Regular Books:

The Undetectables by Courtney Smyth - NtF

The Undead Complex by Courtney Smyth (AKA Undetectables 2) - HSY

Webtoons:

[coldopeninglines]

Theodore Wyatt's greatest regret in life was dying while wearing a cat costume. Though this story is not about him, it is important to know this. -The Undetectables by Courtney Smyth

[queermarzipan]

#ADKHJDHDKSJCJFHBFHDJDJSKXGFLK

I LOVED HOW YOU PROTRAYED DISABILITY AND FATNESS AND THEODORE WAS AMAZING I WAS SOBBINGGG & THE END MMADE ME LIGHT AS A FEATHER I,I'M,,

yOU?? LIKED MY POST??? COURTNEY SMYTH?? YOU'RE HERE?????

#iwasjustreminiscing #lookedatthenote #figurativeheartattack

I’m here. I’m there. In fact, some might say I’m everywhere. (Thank you for reading!!)

[libraryleopard]

May reads

The Moon That Turns You Back by Hala Alyan

We Deserve Monuments by Jas Hammond

The Z Word by Lindsay King-Miller

The Bone Way by Holly J. Underhill

Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons by Kelly Sue DeConnick, Phil Jimenez, Gene Ha, and Nicola Scott

The Undetectables by Courtney Smyth

All These Sunken Souls: A Black Horror Anthology edited by Circe Moskowitz

Widdershins by Jordan L. Hawk

What Feasts at Night by T. Kingfisher

Crema by Johnnie Christmas and Dante Luis

The Library of the Dead by T.L. Huchu 

Sixteen Souls by Rosie Talbot

River Mumma by Zalika Reid-Benta

When We Become Ours: A YA Adoptee Anthology edited by Shannon Gibney and Nicole Chung

A Sweet Sting of Salt by Rose Sutherland

Damned If You Do by Alex Brown

The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017 by Rashid Khalidi

Interesting Facts About Space by Emily Austin

Cosmoknights vol. 1 by Hannah Templer

Experienced by Kate Young

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

kitten by Olive Nutall

Let the Mountains Be My Grave by Francesca Tacchi

[buney-kat]

Songs list! All romantic or similar in nature. Ones that make me daydream, feel, and ache.

Sweet:

Exist for Love- AURORA

Emergency Contact- Pierce the Veil

Too Sweet- Hozier

Saving Flowers- salute, Rina Sawayama

Baby I'm Yours- Arctic Monkeys

Cariño- The Marías

Nonsense- Sabrina Carpenter

Even When I'm Not With You- Pierce the Veil

Meet Me in the Woods- Lord Huron

Fool for Love- Lord Huron

Say It Back- tv room

Love You Like A Love Song- Selena Gomez & The Scene

Mr Valentine- YAZ

Hey Lover!- Wabie

Two of Hearts- Stacey Q

Moonlight- Kali Uches

Light Shower- Melanie Martinez

She's My Collar- Gorillaz, Kali Uches

CYBERKISS 2 U*- BLACKSTARKIDS, beabadoobee

Plug Me In- Lil Soda Boi

Stars- dacelynn

Until I Found You- Stephen Sanchez

Never Ever Getting Ride of Me- Christopher Fitzgerald, Kimiko Glenn

Crush- Tessa Violet

Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)- Edison Lighthouse

✧༺♥༻✧✧༺♥༻✧✧༺♥༻✧✧༺♥༻✧

Spice:

HONEY (ARE U COMING?)- Måneskin

EYES ON ME- asteria

Supernatural- Barns Courtney

Stuck- Thirty Seconds to Mars

AMERICAN HORROR SHOW- SNOW WIFE

Howlin' For You- The Black Keys

La Cama (Tengo Ganas de Ti)- El Secreto de Herbie

READ YOUR DIARY- Måneskin

Girlfriend- Trevor Something

Rush- Troye Sivan

R U Mine?- Arctic Monkeys

NASCAR- Stella Smyth

Tension- Kylie Minogue

Lipstick- Charlie Puth

Love From The Other Side- Fall Out Boy

Tongue and Teeth- Subtlety

I H3ART YOU- Boy Fantasy, g0r3c0r3

Me and Mr Wolf- The Real Tuesday Weld

Eat You- Caravan of Thieves

The Summoning- Sleep Token

Wonderland- Natalia Kills

Tú Con Él- Frankie Ruiz

Me Necesita- PRETTY MUCH, CNCO

Missing Kitty- Kreayshawn

Novia- Jake Daniels

Killer- The Hoosiers

Mx. Sinister- I DON'T KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME

✧༺♥༻✧✧༺♥༻✧✧༺♥༻✧✧༺♥༻✧

Salty:

Creatures in Heaven- Glass Animals

Duele El Amor- Aleks System, Ana Torroja

Bewitched- Laufey

The Night We Met- Lord Huron

The World We Knew (Over And Over)- Frank Sinatra

Capable of love- PinkPantheress

The Devil is Human- AURORA

Billie Bossa Nova- Billie Eilish

Por Tu Maldito Amor- Vicente Fernández

I'm Yours- Isabel LaRosa

Scary Love- The Neighborhood

Test me- Melanie Martinez

Cherry Flavored- The Neighborhood

When the Night Begins to Fall- James the Seventh

Play date- Melanie Martinez

Treehouse- Alex G, Emily Yacina

Washing Machine Heart- Mitski

[black-cat-aoife]

1, 8, 20, 23 for the book ask please!

1. Did you set a goal for yourself this year? How did you do? If not, why not?

Like every year, I did the GR Challenge where you can challenge yourself to read a certain number of books. I went for 60 and managed 70 (minus 5 or so that I dnf'd). I know from experience that any other more concrete challenges just Do Not Work for me. I come to a point where I don't feel like reading any of the books that would fit for the challenge and instead of going "these are arbitrary rules anyway, go and read something else and see how you feel after that" I'm like "Nooooooo" and stop reading altogether.

8. If someone were to ask you what your top ten books for this year were, which would you choose?

Ohhhh, I like that question, but don't take the exact order too serious. I loved all of those books:

Simon Jimenez - The Spear Cuts Through Water

Kim de Horizon - Blutbuch

Taylor Jenkins Reed - Daisy Jones and the Six*

Aliette de Bodard - Of Ghosts Charms and Grievances

Ivan Turgenjew - Fathers and Sons**

Jeanette McCurdy - I'm Glad my Mom Died

Pat Barker - Regeneration

R. F. Huang - Yellowface

KJ Charles - A Nobleman's Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel

David Mitchell - Unruly

* specifically the audiobook version, I genuinely doubt I'd enjoyed it if I'd read it and not listened

** specifically the (fairly modern) German translation I read, which was damn good and which actually made me look up the translator (Ganna-Maria Braungardt) to see what else she translated. (I haven't picked up anything else by her yet, but I really want to)

20. Would you say that you had any kind of growth as a reader?

I have branched out from my usual genres (Fantasy and mystery with some romance thrown in) and read some more *~*literary*~* stuff, more non-fiction and - well - three classics (if you don't count the Jules Verne re-reads), which is more reading out of my "comfort zone" than I've done in previous years I think. And even in "my" genres, I picked up stuff that wouldn't have been on my radar earlier. (The Spear Cuts Through Water is definitely not a fantasy book I thought would have appealed to me, and The Tattoo Murder is also unlike my usually mystery fare)

23. What new releases did you read this year?

Brb checking release dates (I'll just take this as 'books released in 2023' even if I did not read it immediately after publication). So:

Yellowface

Claire North - House of Odysseus

Sarah Underwood - Lies We Sing To The Sea

Unruly

Priest - Guardian*

Martha Wells - Witch King

Josh Lanyon - Lament at Loon Landing

Courtney Smyth - The Undetectables

KJ Charles - A Nobleman's Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel & The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen

* well the translation came out this year

(And I remember less than I'd like about Witch King because I took long breaks inbetween and because I read it when I was...not in a great place)

Thank you for asking <3

Ask me about books