#Louise O'Neill

[candelumessa]

"Come on, little lady, give us a smile

No, I ain't got nothin' to smile about"

[semper-legens]

132. Only Ever Yours, by Louise O’Neill

Owned?: No, library Page count: 390 My summary: freida is sixteen years old, which means it’s her last year before the Ceremony - before she is chosen by a man to be his companion, or cast aside into the life of a concubine. She’s near the top of the rankings, at target weight, careful to keep herself beautiful. But when her best friend isabel starts to self-destruct, freida finds it harder and harder to remain perfect. And the men are coming soon. Can freida gain the future she’s always wanted, even at the cost of her only friend? My rating: 5/5 My commentary:

Dear lord, this book. I read it a few years ago for the first time, and was thoroughly Harrowed by it, to the point where I couldn’t stop thinking about it since. And so, I’ve got it from the library to reread, and it most definitely lived up to my expectations. I think the points it was making are always relevant, and the portrayal of young women twisted by a misogynistic ideal of what women should be is thoroughly upsetting, in the it-gets-its-point-across-well kind of way.

freida is a young eve (the in-universe term for artificially created women) trying to make herself perfect so she is chosen by a boy to be his companion (wife) rather than be sent to the concubines (sex workers). Her entire life revolves around being perfect. eves are given calorie blockers routinely, aren’t taught to read, are encouraged to harshly criticise themselves and each other to achieve perfect beauty, are taught to think that dying at 40 is better than living to be old and ugly, taunted if they eat the wrong foods, forced to exercise in inhumane conditions as a punishment. And freida is a typical eve in this. She’s thoroughly bought into this world’s ideals, never once does she question that her purpose in life is to be beautiful and serve a man. So she compromises herself, again and again - she hangs around with the most popular girl, rejects her friend, tries so hard to be perfect and chosen, and it all blows up in her face. Make no mistake, this book is a tragedy.

The theme of misogyny isn’t subtle in this book, but it is hard-hitting. Unfair beauty standards are satirised. One running idea is that, despite the girls all being genetically modified, they are still seen as more or less beautiful for things they can’t control like hair or skin colour. isabel’s white-blonde hair is seen as perfect, and generally blondes are preferred - which isn’t good for freida, said by the author to be Indian ethnically. It’s an exaggeration of how teenage girls are taught to hate themselves in real life, but it’s entirely true to life. There is no way to win, as a teenage girl. frieda becomes addicted to sleeping pills and loses a lot of weight, and everyone is jealous despite the fact that freida is clearly falling apart. When frieda self-destructs in the last act, the people in charge of the school lock her in a room with tv shows criticising her on repeat, as a form of torture. And that’s seen as fine, because freida has failed at her one job in life.

What I find the most fascinating about this book is how it doesn’t use some of the YA Dystopia Tropes standard at the time. freida isn’t rebelling against her dystopian society, she’s trying so hard to fit in, and becomes a much worse person for it. The only real rebel against this society is isabel, but she’s rebelling through self-destruction more than leading an uprising. Nothing is solved at the end, it’s a real downer ending for everyone - and freida’s even okay with what happens to her. And I like that, it makes the story feel that much more real. It’s a slice of life within this world, and really exposes how misogyny can seep into the pores of this world. It makes the threat seem insurmountable - which, in fairness, it often does in reality too.

Next up, back to the past for an old mansion, and some ghosts and faeries.

[urmomreadsbooks]

1st book of April!!!!!!!!

Only Ever Yours by Louise O'Neill

Wow. This book was so not what I was expecting in all the best ways. A few notes:

This book legitimately scared me a little bit. Like, especially with the current way people worship beauty and things like that, it's genuinely scary to see how we could develop into a world with eves.

Holy mother misogynistic society at its finest

It's also a little scary how much megan resembles some kids at my high school and how I see a little bit of myself in freida

It also discusses lesbians by referring to them as "female aberrants" and talks about the fetishization of gay people literally just existing

If you're looking for a read to kind of open your eyes to more feminist literature, this is a good place to start. While it isn't deliberately feminist, the way this dystopian world is presented reveals more about misogyny and homophobia than other girl-power books I've read (which are still amazing, but this one is darker)

Overall? I give it a 9/10.

(Also, if you're planning on reading this-make sure to check trigger warnings. It has depictions of eating disorders and drug addiction and the like. Stay safe 💖)

[samireads]

Not to toot my own horn, but I have excellent taste. Here are my September reads 😙✌🏻

[desdasiwrites]

– Louise O'Neill, The Surface Breaks

[erstwhile-punk-guerito]

[tokkihammurabbit]

[pitch-and-moan]

Not Really Reds

An AI-penned remake of the 1981 historical drama Reds. Without actors or a script, the film is just still images of transcripts of the Overman Committee meetings, but with fancy wipes to make it look sort of visually appealing. It does not work.

[mostly-mundane-atla]

Inupiaq Books

This post was inspired by learning about and daydreaming about visiting Birchbark Books, a Native-owned bookstore in Minneapolis, so there will be some links to buy the books they have on this list.

Starting Things Off with Two Inupiaq Poets

Joan Naviyuk Kane, whose available collections include:

Hyperboreal

Black Milk Carbon

The Cormorant Hunter's Wife

She also wrote Dark Traffic, but this site doesn't seem to carry any copies

Dg Nanouk Okpik, whose available collections include

Blood Snow

Corpse Whale

Fictionalized Accounts of Historical Events

A Line of Driftwood: the Ada Blackjack Story by Diane Glancy, also available at Birchwood Books, is a fictionalized account of Ada Blackjack's experience surviving the explorers she was working with on Wrangel Island, based on historical records and Blackjack's own diary.

Goodbye, My Island by Rie Muñoz is a historical fiction aimed at younger readers with little knowledge of the Inupiat about a little girl living on King Island. Reads a lot like an American Girl book in case anyone wants to relive that nostalgia

Blessing's Bead by Debby Dahl Edwardson is a Young Adult historical fiction novel about hardships faced by two generations of girls in the same family, 70 years apart. One reviewer pointed out that the second part of the book, set in the 1980s, is written in Village English, so that might be a new experience for some of you

Photography

Menadelook: and Inupiaq Teacher's Photographs of Alaska Village Life, 1907-1932 edited by Eileen Norbert is, exactly as the title suggests, a collection of documentary photographs depicting village life in early 20th century Alaska.

Nuvuk, the Northernmost: Altered Land, Altered Lives in Barrow, Alaska by David James Inulak Lume is another collection of documentary photographs published in 2013, with a focus on the wildlife and negative effects of climate change

Guidebooks (i only found one specifically Inupiaq)

Plants That We Eat/Nauriat Niģiñaqtuat: from the Traditional Wisdom of Iñupiat Elders of Northwest Alaska by Anore Jones is a guide to Alaskan vegetation that in Inupiat have subsisted on for generations upon generations with info on how to identify them and how they were traditionally used.

Anthropology

Kuuvangmiut Subsistence: Traditional Eskimo Life in the Latter Twentieth Century by Douglas B. Anderson et al details traditional lifestyles and subsistance customs of the Kobuk River Inupiat

Life at the Swift Water Place: Northwest Alaska at the Threshold of European Contact by Douglas D. Anderson and Wanni W. Anderson: a multidisciplinary study of a specific Kobuk River group, the Amilgaqtau Yaagmiut, at the very beginning of European and Asian trade.

Upside Down: Seasons Among the Nunamiut by Margaret B. Blackman is a collection of essays reflecting on almost 20 years of anthropological fieldwork focused on the Nunamiut of Anuktuvuk Pass: the traditional culture and the adaption to new technology.

Nonfiction

Firecracker Boys: H-Bombs, Inupiat Eskimos, and the Roots of the Environmental Movement by Dan O'Neill is about Project Chariot. In an attempt to find peaceful uses of wartime technology, Edward Teller planned to drop six nukes on the Inupiaq village of Point Hope, officially to build a harbor but it can't be ignored that the US government wanted to know the effects radiation had on humans and animals. The scope is wider than the Inupiat people involved and their resistance to the project, but as it is no small part of this lesser discussed moment of history, it only feels right to include this

Fifty Miles From Tomorrow: a Memoir of Alaska and the Real People by William L. Iģģiaģruk Hensley is an autobiography following the author's tradition upbringing, pursuit of an education, and his part in the Alaska Native Settlement Claims Act, where he and other Alaska Native activists had to teach themselves United States Law to best lobby the government for land and financial compensation as reparations for colonization.

Sadie Bower Neakok: An Iñupiaq Woman by Margaret B. Blackman is a biography of the titular Sadie Bower Neakok, a beloved public figure of Utqiagvik, former Barrow. Neakok grew up one of ten children of an Inupiaq woman named Asianggataq, and the first white settler to live in Utqiagvik/Barrow, Charles Bower. She used the out-of-state college education she received to aid her community as a teacher, a wellfare worker, and advocate who won the right for Native languages to be used in court when defendants couldn't speak English, and more.

Folktales and Oral Histories

Folktales of the Riverine and Costal Iñupiat/Unipchallu Uqaqtuallu Kuungmiuñļu Taģiuģmiuñļu edited by Wanni W. Anderson and Ruth Tatqaviñ Sampson, transcribed by Angeline Ipiiļik Newlin and translated by Michael Qakiq Atorak is a collection of eleven Inupiaq folktales in English and the original Inupiaq.

The Dall Sheep Dinner Guest: Iñupiaq Narratives of Northwest Alaska by Wanni W. Anderson is a collection of Kobuk River Inupiaq folktales and oral histories collected from Inupiat storytellers and accompanied by Anderson's own essays explaining cultural context. Unlike the other two collections of traditional stories mentioned on this list, this one is only written in English.

Ugiuvangmiut Quliapyuit/King Island Tales: Eskimo Historu and Legends from Bering Strait compiled and edited by Lawrence D. Kaplan, collected by Gertrude Analoak, Margaret Seeganna, and Mary Alexander, and translated and transcribed by Gertrude Analoak and Margaret Seeganna is another collection of folktales and oral history. Focusing on the Ugiuvangmiut, this one also contains introductions to provide cultural context and stories written in both english and the original Inupiaq.

The Winter Walk by Loretta Outwater Cox is an oral history about a pregnant widow journeying home with her two children having to survive the harsh winter the entire way. This is often recommended with a similar book detailing Athabascan survival called Two Old Women.

Dictionaries and Language Books

Iñupiat Eskimo Dictionary by Donald H. Webster and Wilfred Zibell, with illustrations by Thelma A. Webster, is an older Inupiaq to English dictionary. It predates the standardization of Inupiaq spelling, uses some outdated and even offensive language that was considered correct at the time of its publication, and the free pdf provided by UAF seems to be missing some pages. In spite of this it is still a useful resource. The words are organized by subject matter rather than alphabetically, each entry indicating if it's specific to any one dialect, and the illustrations are quite charming.

Let's Learn Eskimo by Donald H. Webster with illustrations by Thelma A. Webster makes a great companion to the Iñupiat Eskimo Dictionary, going over grammar and sentence structure rather than translations. The tables of pronouns are especially helpful in my opinion.

Ilisaqativut.org also has some helpful tools and materials and recommendations for learning the Inupiat language with links to buy physical books, download free pdfs, and look through searchable online versions

[gentlebeardsbarngrill]

03/20/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Rhys; Samba BTS; Con; YouWear50Well; AdoptOurCrew; RhysRadness; FanSpotlights; Articles; LoveNotes; DailyDarby/Tonight's Taika

== Rhys Darby ==

Rhys Darby turns 50 today (the 21st, so technically tomorrow for those of us in the US)!! He graced us with some new Selfie's in Aotearoa!

== Samba Schutte BTS ==

Good Calypso Samba put a lot of videos up today. I made posts for them, so I'll link them here. Literally only 1 picture and 14 videos. The man is a lunatic and I love it.

Video 1: Dream Sequence BTS!

Video 2: "Any other burning questions?"

Video 3: Samba & Madeleine & Vico BTS!

Video 4: Leslie & Nat BTS

Video 5: Zheng Plank Scene Takes

Video 6: Explosion Explanation - Earplugs In!

Video 7: Zheng Planking Stede BTS

Video 8: Samba on the Zipline BTS

Video 9: Revenge Crew Running on the Beach

Video 10: Canons BTS: "Let's try doing away with the pull line, cause I think that's just going to be a fucking disaster"

Video 11: Canon Fire: No sound

Video 12: What Explosions Felt Like

Video 13: "That's How The Pros Do It"

Video 14: More Canon Fire / Plank Walking Stede BTS

= Con O'Neill =

Con's show, Happy Valey haws been nominated for a BAFTA! Bafta TV Awards 2024: The List of Nominations

== You Wear 50 Well ==

Rhys Darby's 50th! There were so many well wishes going around for our lovely captain's birthday! Several crewmates were kind enough to allow me to add their dedications to our captain to the recap tonight! @wanderingnomad @lucybluetiful @PaulineKnip @ourflagmeansfanfiction @eros_the_artist @kaddele

= Tumblr Highlights! =

Our tumblr crewmates had lots of dedications as well!

= @brainfugk =

= @bizarrelittlemew =

= @kiwistede =

= @snejpowa =

= @stjernegaupe =

== Adopt Our Crew ==

The votes are in! Anton vs Louise was darn close! Now it's the final round! Stede Vs Anton! looks like Stede's in the lead!

== Fan Spotlight ==

Our darling crewmate @iamadequate1's #MaxMadness replacement is down to the final round! We're down to Our Flag Means Death vs Coyote Vs Acme!

= Cast Cards =

Thank you our dear @melvisik for tonight's new cast card! Christopher Corbin, while only in the show for a very small amount of time, he made a huge impact! "I'm no prostitute, mate!"

== Articles ==

Coyote vs ACME Interview

= Love Notes =

Hey lovelies! Today's been amazing! Definitely been a lot of engagement and we're getting to celebrate our lovely captain! Soooo many people signed the 50th birthday Kudoboard that ended tonight ( and the Taika Kudoboard that ended yesterday). So many crewmates stepped out of their comfort zone and put themselves out there, and I just want to say how proud of you I am. I know it's hard to put yourself out there in case you can get hurt, but you still did it for the good of something / someone you love, and you should be proud of that! I hope you're getting some joy out of these days. I know it can be a bit of a double edged sword because we miss Stede and Ed and the whole Revenge crew so much. It's reminding a lot of folks of the gravy basket. Just a gentle reminder that things aren't over. Even if we're not fighting full force right now-- it's not over. It'll never be over. So many people are behind us, and so many other shows have gotten renewed later, sometimes years laters. I know you've heard it all before, but this isn't the end. If you feel up for it, take these days that are for celebrating, and even if you do it just with yourself, do something to celebrate the things and people you love. If you're feeling alone and have discord, feel free to join us on the #RhysDarbyFaction server tomorrow. We'll be doing a lot of group stuff to try and keep some of the love going. If you're not-- reach out to any of your crew. We're here, and we care and we want you all to be okay. Remember to lean on each other, you're all such kind, resilient, and wonderful people and kindness is what keeps this world moving in the right direction. Our crewmate @ourflagmeansfanfiction made a lovely picture that felt appropriate for tonight. You are strong, and beautiful, and we're all gonna get through this together. Night crew <3

= Daily Darby / Tonight's Taika =

Tonight's theme is microphones!

Daily Darby Courtesy of @celluloidbroomcloset Tonight's Taika Courtesy of @agaywithcoffee

[albatris]

here are the books I'm getting rid of

please let me know if you'd like any :3 most of them I haven't read but some are double ups or just things I've inherited from others..... they are free to a good home!

I will have to ship them and I don't wanna ship a whole crate though so you can't just say "I'll take all of them"! just take the ones you'd like please

I'm in australia so depending on where you are I might ask you to toss me some dollars for shipping but then again I might not. I'm a mystery wrapped in an enigma

any that no one wants will be donated or going in my little free library, so no loss either way, I just thought some folks might want dibs haha

and yes I'm finally getting rid of Horrorstör my beloathed. you can take it but be warned. it's one of my least favourite books in the world

hey @albatris! you can reblog this post but no one else can

full list under the cut!

• Uprooted by Naomi Novik

• The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker

• All The Rage by Courtney Summerd

• Asking For It by Louise O'Neill

• Bones of Faerie by Janni Lee Simner

• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

• The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

• The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

• Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch

• Something Rotten by Jasper Fforde

• Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde

• The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

• The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

• The Imaginary by A F Harold

• Terrier by Tamora Pierce

• The Magic in the Weaving by Tamora Pierce

• Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix

• Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

• The Giver by Lois Lowry

• Samurai Champloo Vol 1 by Masaru Gotsubo

• Ouran High School Host Club Vol 1 by Bisco Hatori

• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

• Valiant by Holly Black

• Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

• The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

• Wool by Hugh Howey

• Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and his Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami

• 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami

• Next by Michael Crichton

• Wildwood by Colin Meloy

• The Great Zoo of China by Matthew Reilly

• The Three Secret Cities by Matthew Reilly

• The Five Greatest Warriors by Matthew Reilly

• There Will Be Lies by Nick Lake

• A Small Madness by Dianne Touchell

• Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

• The Underdog by Markus Zusak

[alldancersaretalented]

Dancers attending P21 Intensive

??

Olivia Elise Victoria Nikolovva

AM Dance

Aurora Monroe

Ale Mancillas Dance Studio

Balbina Cueva

Allegro Performing Arts Academy

Arina Bryzgunova Bella Verbera-Hernandez

Aspirations Dance Company

Lola Nelms

Avanti Dance Company

Hayden Goren Eva Graziano Mia Menji Kaylee Randeniya Rosie Zahoul Sans Blair Tennant

Capitol Dance Company

Malia ?

Center Stage Performing Arts

Tommie Milazzo

Club Dance Studio

Brooklyn Besch Emma Kleve Claire Pistor

Dance Alliance of Camarillo

Shiloh Lark Farrah ?

Dance Dimensions Performic Arts Center

Victoria Safahi Serena Wilcox

DanceDynamicsLV

Lyla Haider

Dance Collective DC

Janelle Liu

Dance Edge Studios

Antonia Zanin

Dance Magic Performic Company

Savannah Lee

Dance Makers of Atlanta

Nola Paulina

Danceology

Ella Bustillos Hudson Hensley Ella Nani Knight Ella Koehnen Soleil Lynch Aria McCrea Cheyenne Ringerman Sydney Swinehart

Dance Republic

Graisyn Clare

Dansé Escuela de Danza

Alexa Ahumada Marielisa Portillo Isabella Trabucco

DC Dance Factory

Pay Lynch

Dolce Dance Studio

Brixtyn Cappo

École de dance Louise

Léonie Macorig

Edge Studios

Sienna ? Aria Giusti

Encore ELite

Leona Zariel

Epic Motion Dance Studio

Maria Sofia Rodríguez Mia Sofia Covarrubias Tinoco

Essence of Dance

Ava Killam Makena Killam Briar ?

Eternal Dance Company

Maddie Kronenberg

Evoke Dance Movement

Emmy Claire

Evolution Dance

Scarlett O'Neil

Evolve Dance Center

Maria Belen Salido

Evolve Dance Centre

Izabella Modarresi

Excel Performing Arts

Emma Sheff

Fusion Dance Omaha

Gigi Murray

Glass House Dance

Eden Cui

Groove Studios WA

Kaiden Koths Abby Mae

Hart Academy of Dance

Lydon Thach

Havilah Dance Company

Caitlyn Marie Malea Jade Moore

Inferno Dance Co

Maizie Smith

Instyle Dance Company

Jacilynn Mar

Janet Dunstans Dance Academy

Adeline Glenn

K2 Studios

Neriah Karmann Lennon Reign Jessica Sutton

Larkin Dance Studio

Matinly Conrad Palmer Petier

Legacy Dance Productions

Sophie Boonstra Paisley Clarke

Legacy Studio of Performing Arts

Brynne Smith

McKinley School of Dance

Teodora Narancic

Murrieta Dance Project

Khloe Cabrera Gracie Gilroy

N10 Dance Studio

Claire Avonne Kingston Madison Ng

No Limits Dance Academy

Ayanna Voulgaris

Nor Cal Dance Arts

Aria Davi Aubrey Paz Olyvia Reza

North Calgary Dance Centre

Ellie Blakley Georgia Blakley

OCPAA

Libby Haye

Onstage Dance Center - Los Alamitos

Adalyn Nicole

Pave San Diego

Eleanor Bullock Aryanna La Fontaine Cooper

Pave School of the Arts

Sofia Cuevas Stella Fisk Livi Matson

Perception Dance

Mabel James

Project 21

Ellie Anbarden Olivia Armstrong Lilly Barajas Sienna Carlston Kami Couch Katie Couch Kenzie Couch Airi Dela Cruz Stella Eberts Gracyn French Regan Gerena Richie Granese Mady Kim Brooklyn Ladia Leilani Lawlor Chloe Mirabel Savanna Musman Madelyn Nasu Avery Reyes Berkeley Scifres Bristyn Scifres Sara Von Rotz Leighton Werner

Project 520 Dance Studio

Adelynn ? Karli Heim Sasha Muratalieva

Queen City Dance

Annabel Speck

Seattle Storm Dance Troupe

Claire Clark

Shooting Stars Dance Studio

Karsyn Hernandez Malani Maliya

Stars Dance Studio

Hannah Burak Catherine Clayton Fabiana Pierleoni Elie Rabin

Starstruck Performing Arts Center KS

Kinley Winn

Steps Dance Center

Emmie Pitt

Studio Fusion

Harley Gross Juliet Anne Wydo

The Collaborative

Addison Cullather

The Company Space

Piper Perusse Stella Marcordes Vivian Marcordes

TheCREW

Isabella Tamayo

The Dance Collective DC

Eva Rogachevsky Quincy Thomas

The Dance Collective MD

Lyla Urban

The Dance Company of Los Gatos

Scarlett Blu Chloe Rose

The Vision Dance Alliance

Emily Polis

Utah Ballet Festival

Ruby Taylor

West Coast Dance Complex

Mila Barnett

Xtreme Dance Studio

Jocelyn Longroy

YYC Dance Project

Kinsley Oykhman

[chasingfictions]

@marinxttes tagged me for my top 2023 reads <3

[one last stop - casey mcquiston | light from uncommon stars - ryka aoki | when we lost our heads - heather o'neill | dead girls - abigail tarttelin | margaret and the mystery of the missing body - megan milks | bunny - mona awad | the marriage portrait - maggie o'farrell | averno - louise glück | small gods - terry pratchett | the seven husbands of evelyn hugo - taylor jenkins reid | romantic comedy - curtis sittenfeld | slaughterhouse-five - kurt vonnegut | hi honey i'm homo - matt baume | on earth we're briefly gorgeous - ocean vuong | seeing ghosts - kat chow]

it's giving color scheme <33

tagging idk @alittlebitmaybe @twelverriver @deadwivesclub @tvmilfs <3333 do if u want !!!!

[flowerprose]

writeblr intro ♡ flowerprose

hi there! call me krys. i'm a libra sun, in my late 20s, and i love to escape into writing. ultimately, my goal is to finish my novel, namesake, by the end of march, revise it throughout april, and spend the rest of 2023 querying until i land an agent.

please note that this blog is a side-blog. i follow, reply, like, and send asks from @briarroses!

greek mythology, fairy tales, science fiction, and fantasy have always burrowed closely within my heart, and really shaped the sort of writer i am now.

i chose my username because i write in what others have described as a "flowery, lyrical, or poetic” style.

a little about me: i recently started work at a new job that i love. i have two tabby cats who happen to be sisters and gorgeously precious. my fondness for flowers and plants tends to leak into my writing, more obnoxiously in namesake than anywhere else.

for me, writeblr is a sense of community and i love getting to read another person's craft and talk with them about their process. i'm less receptive to asks these days bc of how busy i am, but i do try to send out asks whenever i see games flooding my dash!

i'm also gay and will probably favour your female characters above all else.

you are always welcome to tag me in tag games or add me to a tag list of your wip if we are mutuals. (in fact, tagging me is a lifesaver bc i can't always check the dash anymore and i'm prone to missing things!) i'm not stingy about who i follow, although i personally try not to follow or engage with minors.

favourite books: lullabies for little criminals by heather o'neill, the girls by emma cline, circe and the song of achilles by madeline miller, all the ugly and wonderful things by bryn greenwood, the princess bride by william goldman, deathless by catherynne m. valente, we are okay by nina lacour, fangirl by rainbow rowell, her body and other parties by carmen maria machado, bunny and 13 ways of looking at a fat girl by mona awad, sharp objects by gillian flynn, writers & lovers by lily king, son of a trickster and dogs in winter by eden robinson, poison study trilogy by maria v. snyder, on earth we’re briefly gorgeous and night sky and exit wounds by ocean vuong, and lastly, red hood and damsel by elana k. arnold.

favourite writers: anne carson, madeline miller, heather o'neill, louise gluck, emma cline, gillian flynn, leigh bardugo, elana k. arnold, richard siken, eden robinson, mona awad, ocean vuong, and maria v. snyder.

works in progress

n a m e s a k e ⛓🏛🌷💀🌿🌾

summary: a hades and persephone myth retelling in which kore, newly dead, is taken to the underworld to rot as mortals do. when hades discovers she is the godly offspring of his older siblings, he tricks her into eating pomegranate seeds and siphons her abilities into his own domain, unleashing a curse that ultimately causes him to start to decay.

wip intro | writing | character intros

at home, with graves 🪦💀🥀🐺🌒⚰️

summary: Nearly eight years prior, Lovey and Olly were rescued from a man they called “Bishop”, a serial killer who imprisoned their mother and raised them like his own. In the present day, a documentary about Bishop and his infamous slayings starts filming in their hometown. As the twins near their eighteenth birthday, true crime enthusiasts begin to reach out, requesting intimate insight of what really happened in Bishop’s cabin. While their grandfather, their now sole guardian, slowly loses his battle to grief, Lovey starts to keep track of how much of Bishop was implanted in Olly, and how to avoid the fate of a victim.

wip intro | writing | poetry

[desdasiwrites]

"Why would I be offended? Being called fat is not an insult, little mermaid. It is as meaningless as being called thin. They are just descriptions. It is your father who has deemed it to be a negative word, and a negative state of being.”

– Louise O'Neill, The Surface Breaks

[sitpwgs]

hi friends!! i've gotten a few asks / messages about book recommendations for the new septembers readathon so i figured i'd list some here! i tried to do a range of genres & mix up YA/adult + tried to fit the autumny september vibes where i could! if anyone wants more specific recs, feel free to send me a message 🤍

a book about witches: the very secret society of irregular witches by sangu mandanna, the witch haven by sasha peyton smith, the nature of witches by rachel griffin

a murder mystery: tita rosie's kitchen mystery series by mia p. manansala, queen of the tiles by hanna alkaf, miss aldridge regrets by louise hare

a book that takes place at a private school/boarding school: every heart a doorway by seanan mcguire, if you could see the sun by ann liang, a lesson in vengeance by victoria lee

a creepy or horror book: house of hollow by krystal sutherland, the gathering dark: an anthology of folk horror, our wives under the sea by julia armfield

a book that takes place in september: answered here!

a short story collection: eternally yours, toil & trouble: 15 tales of women & witchcraft, in these hallowed halls: a dark academia anthology

a gothic novel (classic or contemporary): a dowry of blood by s.t. gibson, all the dead lie down by kyrie mccauley, wuthering heights by emily brontë

an autumnal romance: the dead romantics by ashley poston, the ex hex by erin sterling, the night circus by erin morgenstern

a book about a haunted house: mexican gothic by silvia moreno-garcia, the haunting of hill house by shirley jackson

a book about vampires: court of the undying seasons by a.m. strickland, house of hunger by alexis henderson

a cozy fantasy: legends and lattes by travis baldree, the undertaking of hart and mercy by megan bannen, half a soul by olivia atwater, emily wilde's encyclopaedia of faeries by heather fawcett

a classic / retelling: little thieves by margaret owen, a wish in the dark by christina soontornvat, enter the body by joy mccullough

a new release (published this september): you again by kate goldbeck, the wake-up call by beth o'leary, cleat cute by meryl wilsner, a study in drowning by ava reid, if i have to be haunted by miranda sun

an autumnal classic: anne of green gables by l.m. montgomery, rebecca by daphne du maurier, northanger abbey by jane austen

a dark academia book: babel by r.f. kuang, these violent delights by micah nemerever, ace of spades by faridah àbíké-íyímídé

a graphic novel: the tea dragon society by kay o'neill, the witch boy by molly ostertag, check please by ngozi ukazu, heavy vinyl by nina vakueva & carly usdin, cheer up: love and pompoms by crystal frasier & val wise, displacement by kiku hughes