#Plain Bad Heroines

[chaoticmiserablelover]

My taste in books: sad queers being unhinged.

[mayasaurusss]

"Most crucially for our purpouse here, you should know that when they're in distress, yellow jackets relase a pheromone to call on potenitially thousands of their angry friends to help them come get you" -"One macabre afternoon to begin" from Plain Bad Heroines.

[positivewlwvibes]

i need more queer horror and less queer coded BEING the horror, y’know what i mean???

[bookishfreedom]

this story out of context: 🐝🍎👭📖🍂🚬🌊🪆🎥

[libinih28]

I just attract books about lonely women and mothers I think. even ones I don't even realize they're about women before I pick them up.

[thedevilundercover]

TFW you read a new book or watch a movie and you fall in love with it but it literally does not exist on the internet

[queer-book-character-tournament]

Characters, book, and author names under the cut

Maurice Hall/Alec Scudder - Maurice by E.M. Forster 

Tatianna/Clarissa - Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

Nick Russo/Andy Fleming - We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian 

Audrey Wells/Harper Harper/Merritt Eamons - Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M Danforth

[rayless-reblogs]

2024 Book Recommendations

I have an embarrassment of riches this year -- I had the chance to read a lot, and I kept finding so many good books. So many that instead of my normal ten recs, you're getting fifteen.

As always, these recommendations are not complete endorsements. Especially with the older books, there are definitely elements present that are questionable and even offensive.

Dragons – Pamela Wharton Blanpied (fantasy written as nonfiction, the first section recounts what happens when dragons invade Earth, the second section is a treatise on the habits and biology of dragons, and the third is a fascinating series of field notes from those who dare to befriend the monsters)

The Chatham School Affair – Thomas H Cook (mystery, a rural school, a beautiful lonely teacher, a lake, luscious language, loaded with atmosphere, you keep making and remaking your theories as you guess what happened)

Plain Bad Heroines – Emily M Danforth (mystery, braided narrative between the early twentieth century and present day, copious narrator commentary, cheeky footnotes, extremely funny but also extremely dark, gothic tropes, mostly female cast)

Cloud Cuckoo Land – Anthony Doerr (sci-fi, braided narrative spanning centuries, the story of one ancient text's journey through history, ancient Greece, medieval Constantinople, the present day in a small-town library, space travel and ai, it all comes together across the endless reach of time and you feel a lot)

Fanny Herself – Edna Ferber (pre-WW1 coming of age women's story, old-fashioned Anne of Green Gables thoughtfulness and sweetness in some places, rousingly modern in other places, strong focus on the heroine's Jewish identity, extremely funny narrative voice, the love of nature versus the industrial verve of Chicago, will our heroine keep her soul?)

The Vows of the Peacock – Alice Walworth Graham (Middle Ages, poetic fantastical language, Isabella the She-Wolf of France, messy politics, a darkly sexy historical villain, a complex but at times quite moving arranged marriage, an absorbing female protagonist)

A Thousand Ships – Natalie Haynes (Homer's women retell Homer's stories, angrily, tragically, bitchily, including many women you might not have thought of [and it isn't just the women Homer mentioned – we get into the weeds], the story is cut into bite-sized pieces that still offer filling food for thought)

The Masqueraders – Georgette Heyer (Georgian-era glitz and witty repartee, the heroine lives as a man, her brother lives as a woman, their father is full of wild schemes that might very well get them all executed for treason, the romance is a slow burn, and we get highwaymen)

Venetia – Georgette Heyer (a Regency-era GH romance, if you know GH then you know she's the author every other Regency romance writer is trying to be, it's funny, it's daring, it's tender, GH's romances are solid, but this one especially stands out for its strong-willed and capable heroine)

The Haunting of Hill House – Shirley Jackson (the house is a character, and not a nice one, psychological instability, unreliable narrator, creeping inchoate horror, whose hand am I holding, let's dwell on the unhappiness of being a smart woman in the 1950s)

Thornhedge – T Kingfisher (Sleeping Beauty but WHAT IF, I love the heroine, her name is Toadling, it's funny, it's romantic, it's thoughtful, it's even folkloric, there's a lot about ugly lady lake trolls, the prose reads beautifully, and it's compact, it doesn't waste your time and is short enough to knock out in a day or two)

The Silver Metal Lover – Tanith Lee (sci-fi, awkward dystopian-glam girl falls in love with a robot, whom she does not own, the sci-fi is as soft as pudding but it's more about the vibes anyway, inimitably stylish Tanith Lee weirdness, the robot is an absolute doll along with being a robot)

Pony Confidential – Christina Lynch (a pony is on a revenge mission against his former Horse Girl, but what if it was both funny and serious, but what if there was also a murder mystery, but what if we dwelt on human-animal negligence a la Black Beauty, but what if we also brought in Homer's Odyssey, it gets emotional)

The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich – Deya Muniz (fantasy, graphic novel, nonbinary protagonist lives as a man and is appalled to suddenly fall in love with the local heroic princess, gorgeous gorgeous shoujo-ish art, also very funny, it will make you crave cheese)

The Alice Network – Kate Quinn (WW1 and WW2, braided narrative, women acting as spies in occupied France, little-known historical events unfold on the page, so much Baudelaire, an old heroine and a young heroine and both are smart and bitter and compelling, but there's still room for some sweet romance and sharp humor)

[haveyoureadthisbook-poll]

[hangsawoman]

i shouldn’t be on instagram i should be completely obsessed with reading mary maclane under angel’s trumpet until my clothes and hair smell of it and my pupils blow up and i’m more carcass than body and i eventually die of poisoning

[thefiresontheheight]

A very minor, minor thing but it’s extremely funny to me in modern lit when we’re supposed to feel sorry for the celebrities/kids of presidents/the kids of the rich/royals/literal emperors because they get bullied for being gay or bi or dykes or whatever. It’s like….you’re literally among the most powerful people on Earth, stop feeing sorry for yourself. Especially when the “people being mean to me” thing is solely online.

[yellow-kudzu]

Someone please tell their favorite books in the tags. I love to discover new books from people and not algorithms.

[thoughtfulfangirling]

She received so much free stuff these days. She felt compromised about it, about how it was totally true that the more you have, the more people want to give you, but when you've got nothing they find ways to make you pay for everything.

—Plain Bad Heroines by Emily Danforth

[esme-elora]

Happy birthday to me! My lovely wife got me a huge book haul for my birthday. I'm already done with one and am onto the second! 🥳

[iknikblackstonevarrick]

Only i can appreciate how good an idea it would be to cast Olivia Rodrigo as Audrey Wells and Chappell Roan as Harper Harper in an adaptation of Plain Bad Heroines

[honey-from-hell]

Books to Read if You want to Look/Feel like a Literary Snob

AKA dark academia and literary novels that’ll make you look smart but are also enjoyable (in my option).

Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu, Edited by Carmen Maria Machado

This is the OG vampire novel and also the OG toxic queer romance novel. Published in 1872, this book predates Bram Stoker’s Dracula by 25 years. The story follows Carmilla and her increasingly possessive relationship with the protanganist, Laura, following a carraige incedent. So, yes, this is a classic, and I know these arn’t always the easiest to read. But is it less than 150 pages, it is queer, and Carmen Maria Machado’s commentary is hilarious and also helps with the reading process.

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

I feel like everyone knows this book, and it is for sure popular—and for that reason alone, I debated not adding it to this list—but I’m not sure if I would consider it overrated. It is one of the prettiest books I have ever read and it is objectivly good. It is a retelling of the Trojan War told from Patroclus’ point-of-veiw and focuses on his relationship with Achilles. And for sure, if you get one of the pretty editions, you will look like a snob. 

The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake

This is the most pretenious novel I have ever read. It has its issues, don’t get me wrong, and its preteniouness is one of them. Regardless, it is quite the compelling novel with an interesting cast of characters and a solid twist at the end. TAS is about a group of six young adults who are in the process of becoming part of a secret society that protects the suposidly burned contents of the library of Alexandria. Their intiation process consists of eleminating one of the chosen six. 

Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth

This 600+ page book is not nearly as prentious as it appears, but I imagine if you’re just wanting to look like you’re into literary horror, this is the book for you. It follows two different timelines and is a bit trippy to think about. It is a book about a book that is in the process of being made into a movie based on real-life events. It is mildly creepy, very well written, and gloriously feminist and queer. 

Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery by Brom

I havn’t read many feminist books written by men, but this one does a solid job, and I’m kind of mad about it. This wonderfully atmostspheric tale takes place in 1666 Conneticuit. It is full of magic, witchcraft, demons, and staight white bible-thumpers getting what they deserve. Also, yes, we are all into the goat man. It’s okay.

These Violent delights by Micah Nemerever

Listen, it's bleak, but in a way that's fascinating and intriguing, and you don't want to put it down. It's about two boys who are the smartest people in the room—one alienated, grieving, and awkward, the other popular, personable, and easy-going. Their friendship turns towards an intense relationship where their toxic sensibilities take a turn for the violent. The question: can they get away with it?

These are not peak snob, but they are the ones I have read/listened to that I would recommend if you're in the mood for something a bit pretentious.