#Top 10 Best Selling Books

[outskirtspress]

Top 10 Bestsellers for November 2024 from Outskirts Press

This is the bestselling book in November 2024. Congratulations! Every month, Outskirts Press reviews book sales to identify our bestselling authors! This impressive list showcases the wide range of genres and readership that our authors reach. Above is November’s bestselling book from Outskirts Press and below are the rest of the Top 10 Bestsellers for the month. Click on the book covers for…

[myrefersofficial]

Top 10 Books We Can't Wait to Read in 2023

"Books are the mirrors that reflect the beauty and complexity of our world."

The new year is always exciting for book lovers, as it promises new stories, fresh perspectives, and unexplored worlds. As we enter 2023, we can't help but feel thrilled about the books that are set to be released in the upcoming months. 

From highly anticipated sequels to exciting debut novels, there is something for everyone on the horizon. This blog has compiled a list of the top 10 books we can't wait to read in 2023. So, grab a coffee, cozy up, and get ready to add these books to your TBR pile.

List Of Top 10 Books In 2023

#1 Spare

Author - Prince Harry

Release - January

The world has seen Prince Harry grow up, but they have only gotten to know him personally. His biography is an "honest and fascinating personal portrayal." The memoir is expected to explore his mother, Diana's death and why he and his wife, Meghan Markle, left the royal life behind.

#2 Sam

Author - Allegra Goodman

Release - January

"Sam," pick of the year, is a coming-of-age narrative with language that mirrors its protagonists' growth and evolution as Sam does. The story is about a girl who has lost her childhood's magic and purity to regain her strength and hope.

#3 The Shards 

Author - Brett Easton Ellis

Release - January

Less Than Zero, Bret Easton Ellis' first book, was published in 1985. The Shards is Ellis' first novel in 13 years. It is fascinating, brilliant, and disturbing, transporting readers to the early 1980s. It's about Ellis, a high school senior who writes a book called "Less Than Zero." 

He has a gang of wealthy, attractive friends who are being pursued by a serial killer known as "the Trawler." There is extravagant violence, shocking eroticism, and a never-ending list of song and movie titles that fit a certain mood. 

#4 The Guest 

Author - Emma Cline

Release - May

It is a captivating literary account written from the perspective of the deceiver herself. Exiled from her ex-Hampton boyfriend's house, she convinces herself she can hang out for a week and make an uninvited appearance at his weekend party.

#5 Age of Vice

Author - Deepti Kapoor

Release - January

Age of Vice has been compared to a modern-day Godfather, but it is much more. Kapoor's huge but propulsive blockbuster novel is an addictive and socially conscious thriller that depicts contemporary India in all its enthralling complexity. 

At the heart of the conflict are three dissimilar souls: a playboy with ambition beyond his corrupt background, a servant, and a journalist. The most captivating of these characters is also the most vulnerable—a young guy whose criminal life begins with a minor disagreement.

#6 The Survivalists

Author - Kashana Cauley

Release - January

Aretha is an ambitious, focused, and logical lawyer until she meets another orphan. Aaron, who escaped Hurricane Sandy by perching on a refrigerator in a Greenwich Village apartment as the waves rose, is now a co-owner of a coffee shop.

His business partner and roommate are survivalists with a bunker in their backyard. A reluctant Aretha is dragged into Aaron's world of Brooklyn survivalists preparing for a possible apocalypse. The book will create a sensation in your mind. 

#7 The Racism of People Who Love You

Author -  Samira K. Mehta

Release - January

This one-of-a-kind art addresses an issue many struggle with in our increasingly diverse yet chronically divided society—the pain and pressure points regarding race that remain in the most intimate areas.

#8 The Skin and Its Girl

Author - Sarah Cypher

Release - April

Betty, a lesbian Palestinian American woman, uncovers a series of notes from her late aunt that assist her in navigating a difficult decision in this family drama about exile and immigration. Her aunt's writings show a complex existence full of secrets beyond Betty's imagination and the answer to whether she should leave her native country to pursue the love of her life.

#9 The Last Tale of the Flower Bride

Author - Roshani Chokshi

Release - February

Roshani Chokshi's enthralling first adult novel is a fairytale-infused drama about marriage and the secrets couples hold from each other. That, plus an enchanting mansion off the coast of Washington and a fortune in hotels.

#10 Hang the Moon

Author - Jeannette Walls

Release - March

In this brilliant narrative of Prohibition-era Virginia, the author of the renowned book 'The Glass Castle' depicts the Tudor dynasty's power grabs and double-crosses. Sallie Kincaid is expelled from her house after her younger half-brother is killed in an accident.

She leaves her flamboyant father, Duke, and the little village where she grew up. Sallie forges her path nine years later, overseeing the family business while managing feuds and uncovering family secrets.

Conclusion

Books are not just collections of paper and ink; they are collections of ideas and dreams!

Reading books of different genres is important as it provides a wide range of perspectives and ideas that can broaden an individual's knowledge and understanding of the world. Reading fiction can develop empathy and learn about human behavior and cultural practices. 

Non-fiction books, however, provide an opportunity to learn about the world's history, scientific advancements, and different fields of study. Reading books of different genres can also expand an individual's vocabulary and language skills.

It can be useful in their personal and professional lives. Exposure to various genres can improve critical thinking skills and analytical abilities as different genres may require different cognitive processes and analysis methods.

Furthermore, reading books of different genres can also be an excellent form of entertainment and relaxation, providing an escape from reality and allowing individuals to experience different worlds, cultures, and perspectives. 

Reading books of different genres is essential for personal growth, intellectual development, and a more profound understanding of the world. Hope you will like our suggestions. So, start reading right away!!

Books are the silent mentors that shape our lives and inspire us to become the best version of ourselves.

Visit Us, https://myrefers.com Original source, https://bit.ly/3KRvZPz

[sundaymania]

Top 10 Best-Selling Self-Help Books of 2024 for Real Life Transformation

Top 10 Best-Selling Self-Help Books. Image Freepik Self-help books have been inspiring people worldwide, especially in recent years, with new releases that guide readers through a journey of self-discovery, productivity, and emotional wellness. In 2024, many books have gained popularity for offering practical advice that resonates with readers on a deeply personal level. Here’s a guide to the…

[psychicbby]

so fucking emotional at dan howell being named a top 10 influential lgbt+ figure. i can’t stop thinking about how much he went through with the bullying and the self hatred and the years where hoards of people felt entitled to his sexuality and harassed him over it before he could properly put a name to it.

thinking about how dan said when he finally realised and accepted that he’s gay, he spent 2 hours sobbing on a balcony and drinking an entire bottle of rosé. thinking about how dan said he wanted to cancel interactive introverts because he knew he’s gay and felt like he needed time away from everything to process. thinking about the dan howell who went on tour anyway despite this gnawing at him. thinking about how dan took a year off to collect himself and then posted a 45 minute video detailing his journey and struggles with sexuality, self acceptance, outside pressures, and invasive strangers in detail because he owed that to his past self and present self. thinking about 2019 dan saying he wasn’t confident in his sexuality and couldn’t say he was proudly gay. thinking about dan going to london pride that year anyway and walking around with the gay flag and his silly shirt, beaming and radiant like we’ve never seen before.

thinking about the dan howell who wrote a best selling book all about his relationship with mental illness and how his queerness deeply impacted that because he thought that people could use it if needed. thinking about the dan howell who decided to perform a two hour stage show where he made loads of dirty jokes about his gayness to thousands. thinking about the dan howell who wears whatever he wants and posts whatever he wants without having to worry that the internet is going to pick apart every bit of him to see if he’s queer.

thinking about the dan howell now who came back to the gaming channel and now mentions his sexuality in almost every video posted. thinking about the dan howell now who is going on tour where the point is he and phil are gay as fuck and they don’t care anymore and honestly just wanna let their hair down and have fun with their dedicated audience. thinking about the dan howell now who poses with pride flags at m&g as a member of the community, not just an ally. the dan howell who is selling merch stating “dan and phil made me gay” because it’s really funny and he recognises that his audience is mostly queer and feels a sense of community with them. the dan howell who no longer shies away from the existence of phan bc it’s lowkey funny to him. the dan howell of 2024 who was voted in the top 10 influential lgbt+ figures. the dan howell now who is proud of that as a gay person who went through so much shit and came out the other side. no matter how bad it got, it still got better. it took time, but he got there (,:

[beamorgan]

Favourite Reads of the Year

I will not be ranking these, because that would hurt my heart. Buckle up folks, there are a lot of amazing books out there

The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells

I know, I KNOW, I'm late to the party but omg this whole series is just as good as people say!!! I know I said I wouldn't be ranking, but if I was these would be fighting for the top spot. I have already relistened to all the audiobooks. I anticipate rereading them literally every year from now on. I would die for Murderbot, which it would think is a stupid thing for a human to do when there is a SecUnit right there. [adult, scifi]

Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett

Sequel to last year's fav Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries, this follows a bullheaded academic trying find the magical door that will let her faerie boyfriend back into his faerie kingdom. Chaos ensues in the Alps. It's fabulous, and the author's approach to using folklore is very similar to my own writing, which I love and also get imposter syndrome about. 10/10 recommend [adult, historical fantasy]

Model Home by Solomon Rivers

Would you like to be repeatedly punched in the gut? Look no further than this story of racism and child abuse in a Texas McMansion, with gorgeous prose and a genderqueer protagonist and the laundry list of content warnings you can expect with the genre. It hurt so good. [adult, contemporary gothic horror]

You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian

This love affair between a baseball play and a sports reporter was recced to me by the lovely @colubrina and boy was it worth the two-day binge it inspired! Romance can be very hit-or-miss for me, but this knocked it out of the park (please enjoy my pun). I didn't even have to know anything about baseball to love it! [adult, historical (1960s) romance]

The Locked Tomb Series by Tamsyn Muir

Another tumblr fav, FOR A REASON. Gideon is hilarious. Harrow is an absolute mess. Nona is BABY, my beloved. (Camilla and Palamedes have my whole entire heart). Also, the audiobook narrator is fantastic. In the words of the author, the buns are also fried chicken. [adult, sci fantasy]

Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian

This one is @elodieunderglass's fault. Historical buffoonery on boats. The main characters are ridiculous. The sailing jargon is incomprehensible. It's great. [adult, historical fiction]

All You Can Ever Know by Nicole Chung

This is a gorgeous memoir of an interracial adoptee trying to make contact with her birth family while pregnant with her own child. It grapples thoughtfully with reconnecting to a lost culture, the complexities of family history, and the social and legal barriers adoptees face to learning about themselves. [adult, memoir]

Death in the Spires by KJ Charles

I devour everything Charles writes, so I was EXCITED for this mystery. She made it very clear on social media "It's not a kissing book!!" (it's kinda still a kissing book). She wrote a stonking book, as usual, with an underdog protagonist revisiting the murder that happened during his toxic time at Oxford university. [adult, historical mystery]

Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar

My favourite literary fiction read of the year, this meditation on Iranian diaspora identity is written by a poet and you can tell. I would suck the prose up through a straw if I could. The protagonist is an addict and also quite suicidal. It was fun :) [adult, literary fiction]

She Who Became the Sun by Shelly Parker-Chan

and the sequel, He Who Drowned the World. I don't even know how to sell this, all I want to do is flail incoherently about how amazing it is. IT'S AMAZING. JUST READ IT. (wait I know: this satisfied the part of me that was obsessed with Mulan as a kid) [adult, historical fantasy]

A Little Trickery by Roseanna Pike

The voicey-est book I've ever read. I screenshot like every other page. It follows an orphaned girl trying to survive in Tudor England through various means, such as faking a miracle in the church where her gay best friend is priest. [adult, historical fiction]

At the End of the River Styx by Michelle Kulwiki

My friend wrote a book! It made me cry!!! They were delighted with this!!! Please give this to any teenager in your life who needs to see thoughtful representation of grief and depression and boys in love. [YA, contemporary fantasy]

[doyoulikethissong-poll]

Snow - Informer 1992

"Informer" is a song by Canadian reggae musician Snow, released in December 1992 as the first single from his debut album, 12 Inches of Snow (1993). "Informer" was a chart-topping hit, spending seven consecutive weeks at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100. It peaked at number one on the singles chart in Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland, as well as on the Eurochart Hot 100. It entered the top 10 in Austria, France, Greece, Iceland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and the UK, where the single peaked at number two during its third week at the UK Singles Chart. Outside Europe, it reached number one in Australia, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, and on the US Billboard Hot 100. In Snow's native Canada, "Informer" topped The Record's singles chart and was a top-10 radio hit, peaking at number nine on the RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart. "Informer" was awarded with a gold record in Austria and the Netherlands, a silver record in the UK, and a platinum record in Germany, New Zealand and the US. In Australia, it received a double-platinum record.

As he was growing up in Toronto, Canada, Snow had a strong interest in rock music, but in 1983 there was an influx of Jamaican immigrants to the neighbourhood and his interest turned to reggae music and he became adept at the use of the Jamaican dialect, or Jamaican Patois. He developed his own style of music, by blending dancehall and reggae with rock and pop music.

Snow served an eight-month sentence in Toronto for assault when "Informer" began getting radio and MuchMusic airplay. The song is based on a separate 1989 incident when Snow was charged with two counts of attempted murder. At the time, he was detained for a year in Toronto before the charges were reduced to aggravated assault, and he was eventually acquitted and freed.

"Informer" won a Juno Award for Best Reggae Recording in 1994. It has been recorded twice in the Guinness Book of World Records as the best-selling reggae single in US history, as well as the highest charting reggae single in history. In Japan, Snow received the Recording Industry Association of Japan's 1994 Japan Gold Disc Award for New Artist of the Year.

In 2019, Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, and rapper Daddy Yankee released a new version of "Informer" as "Con Calma" together with Snow, who recorded new parts. The Spanish-language remake topped the charts of 20 countries and reached the top 10 of 10 others. In 2020, Snow won four awards Song of the Year with Daddy Yankee for "Con Calma" at Premio Lo Nuestro Awards, the Pop Music Award from SOCAN, and they won the Top Latin Song of the Year at the 2020 Billboard Music Awards. "Con Calma" won big at the Latin Billboard Music Awards 2020, taking home six awards.

"Informer" received a total of 68,5% yes votes!

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - Screw everything else inject On1y into my damn veins

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

Aug 2024 Week 4

Ongoing Series - Thai

Monster Next Door (Thai Thurs Gaga ) eps 5-6 of 12 - Extreme introvert dealing with a very hot, very drunk, very affectionate extrovert was an excellent experience all around. “I was drunk and talking out of my ass, but I wasn’t lying” maybe one of the world’s greatest confessions. How meta that he’s checking out the book of the story that he’s in. Carry on boys, very enjoyable, very Thai BL.

My Love Mix-Up Th (Fri YT) ep 12 fin - It’s cute. They are all very cute. I do like it when high school BL gives us a coming out sequence. I know it’s old-fashioned, but it’s a trope that goes with this particular setting really well, and I just like it when it’s done nicely. I’m not sure I needed it to totally dominate the final episode of the series. But it was fine.

I gotta say, Fourth is an absolutely outstanding actor. He really did knocked it out of the park in this last episode especially. 

In conclusion:

It was fine and it was charming, but it was also a little lackluster. Thailand managed to take one of Japan's softest cutest most bonkers BLs in recent memory and make it softer and cuter and... dull. They did this by watering it down. JBLs almost always have an edge to them, even the rom-coms, by dulling the edge, MLMU lost a great deal of the sparkle and tension as well. What an office setting managed to mostly maintain in the consummate hands of TayNew felt somewhat lackluster when handed off to the next generation and a high school setting. Cherry Magic was a lovely reinterpretation, Mix Up was an amateur's watercolor rendition of a colorful oil painting. Am I being harsh? G4 tried their best, and Fourth turned in some outrageously good acting in the latter half. But the show? It was fine. If you like water colors and you haven't seen (and loved) Kieta Hatsukoi. 8/10

This Love Doesn't Have Long Beans (Fri iQIYI) ep 8 fin - This was the first hint we got that the lead's relationship was anything more than sexual. And it was utilized for a breakup?! JJ and Wan's friendship is the best thing about this show. PWan selling JJ out to Methas was great. I was modestly delighted by the big fuck off ownership engagement ring. I admire a boy who likes to mark his territory with bling. I actually thought this was a decent final episode. If very rushed. I know, in general this ending was objectively weak, but I grinned the entire time, so I can’t really complain that much.

Final thoughts?

A story about a kid who infiltrates a cooking competition under false pretenses and then has to deal with the consequences when he falls in love with the head chef. The side couple is a poor little rich boy meets physical therapist (morality chain). The core friendships are excellent and the chemistry cannot be faulted across the (charcuterie) board. What this show lacks in substance it makes up for in health code violations. It was all chili all the time. Considering that the plot centered on betrayal but the romantic relationship never sweetened enough to balance that bitterness; one could be forgiven for throwing this one in the compost. But I got over all its weaknesses in flavor balancing for an ultimately satisfying meal, with a great dessert course. I've always loved spicy food. Plus the blooper reels were fantastic. 8/10

Addicted Heroin (Thai Tues WeTV) ep 2 of 10 - I like the side couple a lot. It’s nice to see that dynamic developed (as it wasn't in the CBL version). Of course, Thailand leans into a secondary couple, but I also like the super popular jock + geeky boy who couldn’t care less. You know what? I’m actually really enjoying this. And yes, I AM biased because it's August. (Wait, that could be taken several different ways this month. But you know what I mean.) Anygay, this is a lot softer than the original, and so Hero is much more of a pining character and less harsh. But I'm still enjoying it. I like the stepbrothers trope (we don’t get it very much from Thailand), and I enjoy the beats and pulses of this particular story. We will see if it derails into inconsequence and lack of conflict the way My Love Mixup did.  

Sunset X Vibes (Sat iQIYI) ep 11 of 12 - I’m enjoying this show but it should’ve been just 10 eps. It’s feeling bloated at this juncture. That said, I loved our little GL kiss. Very pretty. I also really like the bit with Sam and Yo flirting with each other. Sam trying to get Yo to call him P'Sam was fucking brilliant. And then slipping in all of those nongs. Delightful. Linguistic negotiation, it's what's for dinner... along with Sam's d**k apparently. I frankly did not think they would take this couple that far. So, thank you very much everybody involved.

Battle of the Writers (Sun YT) ep 4 of 12 - I do enjoy watching Yim freak out and fall in love all over again. The reality is still better for me than the fantasy parts, but it’s all fun enough. The magic mushrooms bit was odd. In fact, there is definitely a core tenor of ODD going on with the show. Which I’m accustomed to from Japan but I’m not really sure about from Thailand. Thus I remain engaged but suspicious of this BL. 

I Saw You in My Dream (Weds Gaga) ep 6 of 12 - Yu wants to take his baby on a trip, gets thwarted by his younger brother. Ouch. I really do think it’s time for Ai to tell Yu what’s going on with his dreams! Drunken boyfriend bolster pillow is a fav trope of mine. As usual, I’m catching second lead syndrome. What? I liked the rich boy badminton player. And then he picked up a guitar. Oh well.

The Trainee (Sun YouTube) ep 8 of 12 - No one cares about the hets. He was jelly? Cute. Also kinda an arse, by hey this is BL. 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

The On1y One (Taiwan Thurs Gaga) eps 1-2 of 12 - announced in 2023, high school, stepbrothers, and is reputed to be high heat. Based on a novel Mou Mou + the Your Name Engraved Herein team.

ARE YOU READY? I'M GOING TO NOT SO QUIETLY LOSE MY DAMN MIND

This is old-school BL and it’s bloody fantastic. Tsundere seme to beat all tsundere (smartest + tallest + bestest at everything but people) meets socially-ept cutie smart-ass protag.

They living together by end of ep 1 and start kissing by end of ep 2.

There is an Unknown quality to this, and that I love. Also, and ironic to say this while Addicted Heroin Th is airing, but this REALLY reminds me of Addicted. It’s so fucking good. I am all in on this show. Shut up while this eats my life.

Cosmetic Playlover (Japan Tues Gaga) eps 5-6 of 8 - Of course! The POV shift to the seme character at ep 5! How could I forget? Japan loves this beat! AND.... The running of the gays. And a use of a first name! So darling. Also some crazy great communication and conversation that is NOT a hallmark of Japan. Sahashi is so very possessive. I loved the switch that went on in his brain and the mania in his eyes when he thought someone else was interested in Natsume. I continue to love this.

I Hear the Sunspot AKA Hidamari ga Kikoeru (Japan Weds Gaga) ep 10 of 12 - I’m never going to like Maya. Sorry. And the leads were separated for most of this episodes so it was largely disappointing. I did like the insight into the way T sees the world, and sees the alienation of a disability and what it's dong to his friend. It’s very empathic. He’s such an appealing character in his obtuse bull-headed way.

Seoul Blues (Korea Fri? YouTube) ep 2 of 8 - It’s intriguing, and I'm happy to have anything from Korea on my dash. But, like Blue Boys, I’m not entirely sure if I like it or not.

First Note Of Love (Taiwan Mon Gaga) eps 3-4 of 12 - This may be Taiwan but I’m still in the "no singing" camp. I’m getting a slightly better chemistry feel off the leads in this episode. I’m not sure if they’re keeping it stiff because the younger character is under age or if it’s just that the actors aren’t there yet? (In other words is this a directing choice or a performance issue?)

Takara's Treasure AKA Takara No Vidro (Japan Mon Gaga) ep 8 of 10 - I've finally come down firmly on the fact that it’s the uneven power distribution (in terms of interest and enthusiasm for the relationship) that I dislike about this show. Generally, I like a power dynamic differential, kinky and all that. But this particular dynamic, when it’s the weaker personality that’s so much more into the stronger one? I never like it, unless it engages a serious pivot at some point. (See My Personal Weatherman or Takara & Amagi.)

It's airing but...

Sugar Dog Life (Japan Sun grey) ep 3 of 10 - I was really loving this one but I can't find ep 3 anywhere so I guess I gotta wait it out. I hope I get to see it eventually.

4 Minutes (Sat Gaga) eps 1-6 of 8 - Gaga picked this one up so we can watch it there. If I have time, I'll get caught up and put it into rotation.

In case you missed it

Meet You at the Blossom (China) - I'm eating crow, binging the fucker, and live blogging.

The Time of Fever AKA Unintentional Love Story 2 (Korea movie) trailer IS COMING IN SEPTEMBER!!!! (Yeah this is gonna sit here until then).

Next Week Looks Like This:

Upcoming BLs for 2024 are listed here. This list is not kept updated, so please leave a comment if you know something new or RP with additions.

Coming Next Month:

The Time of Fever (Korea)

9/1 Live in Love (Thai)

9/3 Happy of the End (Japan)

9/6 Kidnap (Thai)

9/7 The Hidden Moon (Thai)

9/9 Jack & Joker (Thai)

9/14 Love Sick 2024 (Thai)

9/17 Love is Like a Poison AKA Doku Koi: Doku mo Sugireba Koi to Naru (Japan)

More deets next week. It's late and I'm tired.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

It was pretty. I am very shallow.

Even more pretty. Petition to have Tenon with his shirt off and hair back in every subsequent Thai BL? Just because.

(SunsetXVibes)

(Last week)

Streaming services are listed by how I (usually) watch, which is with a USA based IP, and often offset by a day because time zones are a pain.

The tag BLigade: @doorajar @solitaryandwandering @my-rose-tinted-glasses @babymbbatinygirl @babymbbatinygirl @isisanna-blog @mmastertheone @pickletrip @aliceisathome @urikawa-miyuki @tokillamonger @sunflower-positiiivity @rocketturtle4 @blglplus @anythinggoesintheshire @everlightly @renafire @mestizashinrin @bl-bam-beyond @small-dark-and-delicious @saezurumurmurs

Sigh, Tumblr in its infinite wisdom doesn't like too many tags.

[warping-realities]

Hey, everyone! I finally wrapped up my exams, and they totally wore me out. I’m beat, but I’m still writing. I wanna drop the last two parts of 'All For The Family' and a collab with a great author sometime this month. Not sure if I can pull it off to soon, though, 'cause I’m getting my copy of 'Wind and Truth' in a few days, and Brandon Sanderson kinda runs my life when a new book drops. But still, I promise I’ll carve out some time to write. I’ve got a few requests I already promised, and they’re on my to-do list. In the meantime, since it’s the end of the year and all, I’m gonna post my TOP reads for 2024. For a lot of folks who follow me, it might be a bit redundant since the community’s pretty small and everyone knows each other. Still, I think it’s super important to give a shoutout to the talented work of our peers.

There are plenty of other authors who could be on this list, but the reason I picked these isn’t really about technical quality (even though all the stories here have that) or character development or anything like that. I chose the ones I kept coming back to for a good jerk off time, and I think that’s the best compliment I could’ve made.

https://www.tumblr.com/misctf/761180964545282048/welcome-to-the-crew

2. https://www.tumblr.com/johnbrand/759696210870321152/on-my-level?source=share

3. https://www.tumblr.com/occamstfs/753779017476374528/no-such-thing-as-a-free-ride

4. https://www.tumblr.com/artificial-transmutations/755889125138333696/give-in-to-the-midnight-grind?source=share

5. https://www.tumblr.com/octuscle/762410259709100032/gringo-life?source=share

6. https://www.tumblr.com/misctf/762360921396035584/make-it-make-sense

7. https://www.tumblr.com/persuasivetfs/761223291721678848/our-lady-of-sacred-contentment?source=share

8. https://www.tumblr.com/mrrharper/760719766371581952/neighborhood-association?source=share

9. https://misctf.tumblr.com/post/764947252712292352/the-haunted-house-ii

10. https://occamstfs.tumblr.com/post/742797879298654208/wouldnt-it-be-funny

11. https://coyotes-rules-of-change.tumblr.com/post/754435332243668992/mirror-mirror-on-the-wall-whos-the-hungest-one

12. https://www.tumblr.com/johnbrand/753917203927236608/kickin-it-straight?source=share

13. https://www.tumblr.com/occamstfs/752238892162465792/shaka-screen

14. https://www.tumblr.com/mrrharper/752571069276258304/cocky-and-proud-by-accident?source=share

15. https://www.tumblr.com/persuasivetfs/763085618193547264/our-lady-of-blessed-contentment-part-3?source=share

16. https://www.tumblr.com/johnbrand/763806000845324288/onlyfags?source=share

17. https://www.tumblr.com/misctf/763153913556975616/already-in-costume?source=share

18. https://www.tumblr.com/occamstfs/751876469060501504/influencing-goes-both-ways

19. https://www.tumblr.com/occamstfs/762023318718169088/man-of-your-dreams?source=share

20. https://www.tumblr.com/mrrharper/746864955063762944/this-is-how-you-sell-gym-memberships?source=share

21. https://occamstfs.tumblr.com/post/746439247184166912/road-raging

22. https://misctf.tumblr.com/post/768507472040394752/welcome-to-the-crew-home-for-the-holidays

23. https://www.tumblr.com/johnbrand/762340550721634304?source=share

24. https://www.tumblr.com/captainmalewriter/764646484419493888/unconscious-desires?source=share

25. https://www.tumblr.com/joshslater/743264131379068928/stained?source=share

[shuaboo]

imagine being at home with gyub and he’s looking SO FINE even though he’s just wearing a tank top, some random unzipped jacket, and sweatpants. his height and his huge ass hands contributes to the look btw🤭. it would take 10 muscle bound men to stop me from pouncing on that man and giving him the best head of his life right then and THERE….

SPEAKING OF HEAD… i imagine gyuvin as the type to put his hand on top of your head with enough force to push it down if he wants to while you give him head. does that make sense? cuz i’m not big in the gyuvin hair pulling agenda. don’t get me wrong— i like it, but i think he just pushes your head down when he needs to feel more of your mouth on his cock.. he’s letting out soft breaths and whimpering a bit when you hollow your cheeks out as you suck him off. he has one hand on his mouth trying to suppress his moans, (doesn’t work. poor baby js can’t get enough of your warm mouth around his cock.) and one hand atop your head, pushing it down a bit so you take more of his length. your hands use his thighs as support, and occasionally you rub his thighs with your hand and he gets SO MUCH MORE TURNED ON BY IT😭. baby calm down. his hips buck up when he’s getting close to cumming, which signals you to suck harder and take him deeper. when he cums, he’s taking a second to breathe before looking down at you. make sure he watches you swallow his cum… that shit will turn him on even more. after you do that, he’s groaning and swiftly pulling you to sit on his lap. the rest is up to your imagination~

i don’t think he’d really fuck your mouth unless you’re having like make up sex or something… basically when he’s not feeling nice, but that’s a story for another day.

i need my mom to sell me to kim gyuvin the way she sold me to one direction in a 2013 wattpad book. 😮‍💨

[vallettamango]

Camp Half-Blood Headcanons

Things that probably would happen at camp. (Also ik that its set in the 2000s but just ignore I wanted to include some newer pop culture)

They have a annual memory/yearbook for the summer 

Chiron will pick a few kids from different cabins and give them old film cameras to capture moments from camp

Chiron takes the “yearbook” committee  group into nyc for a weekend they develop the pictures and make a single yearbook which Chiron keeps a stack of in the big hall where any campers can look back at past ones in their free time

A few years back at the request of some summer only campers he has started scanning the books digitally and emailing it to campers/parents so everyone can have a copy

They take one big camp group photo on the last day of summer

 There’s a section at the end called “camps most likely to” and/or voted most ____

Here’s a few of them: 

Connor Stoll is most likely to win a pie eating contest

Will Solace was voted most helpful camper

Austin Lake was voted to have the best smile 

Cecil Markowitz was voted to have the best laugh

Alice Miyazawa was voted most likely to stay calm in a stressful situation

Drew Tanaka was voted best dressed (Piper and Leo still think that’s not true camp opinion and that the voting was tampered with)

Nyssa Barrera is most likely to shave her head

the stolls obviously sell contraband to other campers (snacks, weed, makeup etc) 

Apollo cabin has 1 of 2 CD players in camp. When their older siblings would go home for the summer they would burn CDs with requests from everyone in the cabin and bring them back the next summer 

The other one used to be in the big hall and used communally 

It got broken during an intense food fight, everyone blames Ares cabin because their the ones that flipped their table over 

The secluded area at the top of the strawberry field is known as the date spot for older campers 

Aphrodite cabin made an initiative to have the camp supply campers with sex Ed and started a bowl of condoms in the infirm for anyone to take 

Will Solace (and the other counsellors before him) will have dance partys to cheer up their younger siblings. like they'll just turn on music and jam n dance, they even have a specific CD for it. (Lee Fletcher started tradition)

Katie Gardner from demeter and Rachel Dare started baking as a new camp activity during free periods. They also teach about growing your own ingredients and nutritional value 

Hermes cabin (Travis probably) once tried to make slap ass Friday a thing, it didn’t end well.

Definitely at some point some older campers in Demeter were growing weed in the greenhouse and selling it to other campers (in partnership w the stolls who distributed it)

they were stopped after about a month or two by Chiron who was not happy at all 

Once Sherman yang became head counselor of Ares they all got matching pjs (I’m sorry I just love that idea)

Valentina and Mitchell’s from Aphrodite like to braid the mains of the Pegasus 

Athena cabin loves to compete amongst each other of who can do sudoku the fastest, do a crossword first or win scrabble

Clarisse used to take ares cabin on morning jogs everyday 

Once Hephaestus cabin built a giant nerf gun that shot meatballs 

Aphrodite cabin covers their walls in posters of fashion and pop culture icons like: vivienne Westwood, the devil wears prada, Marilyn Monroe, 10 things I hate about you, destiny child etc 

they’re currently obsessed with Sabrina carpenter. Lacy brought the CD of short n sweet and they’ve been listening to it non stop (Apollo cabin has been nice enough to lend them the CD player when their not using it)

A bunch of the younger ish campers were obsessed with the magic tree house book series (iykyk) because the camp had a box set in Ancient Greek (somehow?)

They thought it was cool how the magic treehouse was kind of like the human vs demigod world so relatable in a way

Kids from all the cabins would share them so they got pretty beat up but they were very well loved until the day the binding literally fell apart

For year round campers their end of school year Summative for social sciences (geography, history, Ancient Greek/english) they each research an event in American history then explain how it’s related to a specific god and the impact they had on the event 

They all present them and they can present the project in any form they want (an art piece, a speech,  a retelling of the event etc)

When campers go for their last summer they sign their bunks

After the battle of manhattan or a demigod dies before they get to turn 18 their sibling will sometimes write their names on the bunks for them

Once Aphrodite cabin snuck into other cabins during the day and hid a photo of Channing tatum's abs under the bed slats of all the head counselors

Everyone was just confused when they found this random photo months later  

 If you walk by the communal showers on Apollo cabins shower day and you’ll definitely hear all them harmonizing to baby by Justin beiber

[physalian]

First Time Author Mistakes You Don’t Have To Make

This is for self-published authors, somewhat, I didn’t go through the agent/publishing house process, but I did give it a try.

1. Thinking everyone you work with will like your book

I wasn’t under this illusion, but I did assume that every beta I worked with would be able to stay objective, i.e. saying while they don’t like an element they think it still works instead of “I don’t like this” with no explanation. Which was not the case. If this happens, best thing to do is to cut your losses. They’re not your target audience.

2. Underestimating how long it takes

Your book baby is your top priority and yours alone. Everyone else that you could work with does so at their pace on their schedules. I wrote ENNS in one month. It took almost six months of beta readers and a professional edit for a lot of reasons, but largely in part due to betas just not being very speedy. In other areas, too. I didn’t query ENNS because my first experience trying to work with publishing houses was a lot of “hurry up and wait” and I did not have time to wait 6+ months, with exclusive submissions, just to be told no.

3. Underestimating how much it costs

I had funds prepared and set aside in a savings account to pay the editor that I knew would be the steepest cost of the whole writing process. I’d saved up over a couple months and was virtually unaffected by the exorbitant fee when the bill came due because I had prepared. Betas and editors cost money, and you can’t skimp on those otherwise you’re just burning money. If you hire illustrators or promoters, they eat up cash. Formatting, too, costs money. If I wanted to break even with ENNS, I would have to sell over a thousand copies. Just to break even. Even if you do it all yourself, of which I did my own illustrations and formatting, the programs I used cost money, and time.

4. Vetting book promoters

Anyone following this blog might know of my recent escapades in dealing with scammers. It’s my personal opinion that anyone who will promote any book for money does not have an opinion worth trusting. Do I think my book is good? Absolutely. Do I think every book they promote is good? No. Nor do these people seem to care about anything more than profit. I wouldn’t buy a product based on a review without integrity, and have learned a hard lesson in trying to undo that mistake. If you just want word out, then you can act without discretion and just pick the cheapest influencers. But their word means nothing if they’ll sell it to the lowest bidder.

—

These are just four things I didn’t quite think about going in. I’ve been a writer for almost 10 years now but this is my first time all the way through the publication process and it was a wake up call in many areas, especially with the bad actors on social media.

But the bottom line is this: Don’t underestimate the cost of the process, whether that cost be money or time or simply stress. Writing is easy. Publishing is work.

—

My LGBTQ+ vampire fantasy novel Eternal Night of the Northern Sky is out for preorder now! Paperback debut on 8/25/24.

[outskirtspress]

Top 10 Bestsellers for October 2024 from Outskirts Press

This is the bestselling book in October 2024. Congratulations! Every month, Outskirts Press reviews book sales to identify our bestselling authors! This impressive list showcases the wide range of genres and readership that our authors reach. Above is October’s bestselling book from Outskirts Press and below are the rest of the Top 10 Bestsellers for the month. Click on the book covers for more…

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Sponsored listings are a ripoff…for sellers

Tonight (November 29), I'm at NYC's Strand Books with my novel The Lost Cause, a solarpunk tale of hope and danger that Rebecca Solnit called "completely delightful."

Not all ads are created equally sleazy. The privacy harms from surveillance ads, though real, are often hard to pin down. But there's another kind of ad - or "ad" that picks your pocket every time you use an ecommerce site.

This is the "sponsored listing" ad, which allows merchants to bid to be among the top-ranked items in response to your searches - whether or not their products are a good match for your query. These aren't "ads" in the way that, say, a Facebook ad is an ad. These are more #payola, a form of bribery that's actually a crime (but not when Amazon does it):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Payola#U.S._investigations_and_aftermath

Amazon is the global champion of payola. It boasts of $31 billion in annual "ad" revenue. That's $31 billion that Amazon sellers have to recoup from you. But Amazon's use of "most favored nation" deals (which requires sellers to offer their lowest prices on Amazon) mean that you don't see those price-hikes because sellers raise their prices everywhere:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/25/greedflation/#commissar-bezos

Forget Twitter: Amazon search is the poster-child for enshittification, in which Amazon locks you in (for example, with a year's shipping prepaid through Prime) and then you get recommended worse products while sellers make less money and Amazon pockets the difference.

Sellers who don't sell on Amazon are dead in the water, because most US households have Amazon Prime and overwhelmingly, Prime users start their search on Amazon, and, if they find the goods they're seeking. After all, they've prepaid for shipping.

So sellers suck it up and pay a 45-51% Amazon tax and pass it on to us - no matter where we shop. A lot of the junk fees sellers pay are related to Prime and other fulfillment services, but an increasing share of the Amazon tax comes from the need to pay to "advertise," because if they don't buy the top result for searches for their own products, their competitors' ads will push them right off the first page (those competitors spend money on advertising, rather than manufacturing quality).

There's a lot of YOLO/ROFLMAO in those ads: search for "cat beds" and 50% of the first five screens are ads - including ads for dog products, apparently bought by companies adopting a spray-and-pray approach to advertising. Someone selling a quality product still has to outbid all of those garbage sellers:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/28/enshittification/#relentless-payola

This is at the root of Amazon's Pricing Paradox: while Amazon can defend itself against regulators by citing sellers whose prices are lower and/or whose quality is higher, it's nearly impossible for shoppers to get those deals. If you click the top result for your search, you will, on average, pay 29% more than you would if you found the best bargain on the site:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/06/attention-rents/#consumer-welfare-queens

What's more, you can't fix this by simply sorting by price, or by reviews, or some mix of the two. The sleaziest sellers have mastered tricks like changing the number of units they sell so the total price is lower. For example, if batteries are normally sold $10 for a four-pack, a sleazy seller can offer batteries at $9 for three units. A lowest-to-highest price-sort will put this item ahead of a cheaper rival.

Researchers found that getting a good deal at Amazon requires that you make a multifactorial spreadsheet by laboriously copy/pasting multiple details from individual listing pages and then doing sorts that Amazon itself doesn't permit:

https://scholarship.law.bu.edu/faculty_scholarship/3645/

There's an exception to this: Amazon and Apple have a cozy, secret arrangement to exclude these "ads" from searches for Apple products. But if you're shopping for anything else, you're SOL:

https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-gives-apple-special-treatment-while-others-suffer-junk-ads-2023-11

These payola markets are bad for buyers, and they cost sellers a lot of money, but are they at least good for sellers? A new study from three business-school researchers - Vibhanshu Abhishek, Jiaqi Shi and Mingyu Joo - shows that payola is a very bad deal for good sellers, too:

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3896716

After doing a lot of impressive quantitative work, the authors conclude that for good sellers, showing up as a sponsored listing makes buyers trust their products less than if they floated to the top of the results "organically." This means that buying an ad makes your product less attractive than not buying an ad.

The exception is sellers who have bad products - products that wouldn't rise to the top of the results on their own merits. The study finds that if you buy your mediocre product's way to the top of the results, buyers trust it more than they would if they found it buried deep on page eleventy-million, to which its poor reviews, quality or price would normally banish it.

But of course, if you're one of those good sellers, you can't simply opt not to buy an ad, even though seeing it with the little "AD" marker in the thumbnail makes your product less attractive to shoppers. If you don't pay the danegeld, your product will be pushed down by the inferior products whose sellers are only too happy to pay ransom.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/29/aethelred-the-unready/#not-one-penny-for-tribute

[centrally-unplanned]

I blogged before about this company, Orange, that is an AI-powered manga translation company. Essentially, their pitch is that most manga is still (officially) untranslated, a ton of manga gets made after all but few become mainstream enough to get ported overseas. They posit the barrier to that is the cost of translation; if they could automate that process, then they can make viable for release what previously was not. That concept rests on two questions - does the tech pan out, and does the economics add up?

Recently they went live, under the name Emaqi, so we can better explore those questions. What I notice on first glance is the pitch seems to have shifted a little bit in post:

You are not the translators of Vinland Saga, Witch Hat Atelier, or Magic Knight Rayearth, very obviously so. They have Sailor Moon in here lol. These are just the official translations being cross-listed into their "manga platform", where you buy it there and it lives, DRM-locked, in their app. Which is fair enough as a model, that is just Kindle, it works. Though Kindle and a dozen others already exist, so their value-add has to be the AI translation stuff right? That is why I would choose this over another app.

Which they do have, though it is kind of buried:

"Only on emaqi" - there is no mention of the translation approach, poor guys! Can't fault the branding decision I guess given the state of the discourse. When it comes to the products themselves, I went through ~6 or so of the sample chapters of different manga, did a few spot checks with the original Japanese, and read the reviews of some others who looked into it. They seem fine! I am cautiously impressed, I think there proofers did a good job smoothing out some edges, it has a "manga tone", and while small issues like the hyphenation the reviewer above mentioned do exist and are legit noticeable, they aren't common and not a huge deal. It has flow issues? Some dialogue should link together in how it is written, but doesn't. But it isn't crazy off or anything. You will not be wowed by these, but certainly if you are someone who reads bootleg scanlations you are gonna have no problems. A lot of manga uses pretty simple vocab and isn't breaking new ground on plot, I can see how a purpose-built tool could handle it well enough.

The economics though...here is where I don't think this case was ever going to pencil out and isn't now. Because I am pretty sure no one here has heard of any of the manga listed above as exclusives. (I saw 90's manga Geobreeders in there, but that was already partially translated in the 2000's, not sure if they did a new one? Setting it aside) Which, of course you haven't, if you had it probably would have been translated! Books are a 90:10 market, most books never get read and some books get read a ton. Anything big enough can justify a professional translation, and the other can't really sell to begin with.

On top of that, their model is mass translation; which means these obscure manga are presented to you with no context, no hype, no build-up. Wtf is The Blood Blooms In the Barrens?? See, if you were like a boutique publisher, selecting "the best of the best" in untranslated manga, you would promote your specific product. Interviews, social media, the value of the brand-itself as a quality seal. Publishing less is more, actually, your value as a publisher is as a quality selector. Or you could be say the porn market, where you max quantity so people can search "foot fetish breeding kink oshi no ko" and get results; they know what they want. But they aren't doing either! And to be blunt a lot of these are not gonna sell on their art alone:

I'm not mocking The Delayed Highschool Life of a Laborer here, that is better than I could do; but if you want to me spend money on a whim the bar is high and these don't reach it. Which of course they don't, they would be professionally translated if they did.

And finally, the price - $5 dollars, for volume 1's, like a 100-200 pages. The cross-listed manga typically sells for ~$10? That isn't much cheaper! If "translation" was this big cost barrier, and all you got is cutting the price of ebooks in half, I don't know if the analysis was so solid. This is a new product, I doubt they are overcharging to make a quick buck right now - this is the "sell at cost to scale" era.

In all of their lead up press they would say things like this:

Orange's process uses AI to read the manga through image analysis and character recognition, then to translate the words into English, Chinese and other languages. The technology is specialized for manga, meaning it is able to handle wordplay and other difficult-to-translate phrases. A human translator then makes corrections and adjustments. The process can deliver a manga translation in as little as two days. Orange will work with multiple Japanese publishers. The company looks initially to complete 500 translations monthly.

But this is missing a lot of context. For one, these manga are simple high school or battle manga that are ~200 pages long, many of those pages have only a few lines of dialogue, etc. Imagine you are a professional translator, and you are given that manga to translate, all the set-up done for you, all you gotta do is write. How long do you think that would take? Not that long! It could probably take like a week if it's actually all you did (calc'd from a 10k word count manga volume, 2k is a typical "good translator" per day count - many manga are shorter than that). And note how they said "as little as two days" - not median two days! Just, you know, aspirationally.

Translation is just not a big bottleneck. You gotta do layouts, lettering, proofs, etc, these can all take just as much time - and are being done by people, they still need wage workers doing all this. But that is small fry in comparison to publishing contracts, author approvals, distribution, all of that. And most importantly, product acquisition - you have to get authors to sign with you! That can be months of work. I am sure they are trying to get bulk agreements with publishers and such, but authors will push back on that, this is not an easy endeavor.

Which is why, in above, they say they hope to have "500 translations monthly". And after a year+ of work, on launch, they have...

...18. As best I can tell at least, their site deliberately obfuscates what they actually translated versus are just hosting for resale after all.

So yeah, as mentioned I don't think the economics pencil out. These aren't worth $5 dollars, they can't actually generate volume that makes "massive economies of scale" actually valuable, and their approach is currently antithetical to the idea of generating traction for any of their individual works. Niche publishing just doesn't work this way.

But it is early days, and hey I respect the experiment! I do think the tech is pretty good, and it is nice to see a company showcase it. It isn't quite good enough yet for prime time, but it could get there. I do want more manga to get exposure and audience; I will give a fair shake to any who try.

[bakersimmer]

Sims 4 Flower Garden Legacy

This legacy is inspired by flowers and the meanings attributed to them. I used the interpretations from two books I found on my mother's bookshelf.

These are more like guidelines and thoughts on how to make your different generations more interesting, especially if you are like me, and you need goals and challenges to stay engaged.  I didn't have time to playtest all the generations, but I know it's possible to push your sims to the limit without cheating. 

First things first

TS4 is easy enough to play without cheating

Different generations are linked to different expansions

Objectives are not in chronological order

To add more excitement, try out different mods

There are no assigned traits, but some traits would make your sims life easier. Follow your gut on this

There are no assigned colors. Again, follow your gut

English is not my first language, so please ignore any grammar mistakes 🙃 unless I wrote complete gibberish and you don't understand a single word in a sentence, then let me know

G1 Azalea

Azalea symbolizes friendship, family, joy, and tradition. With the right amount of sunlight and water, this low-maintenance plant will bring an abundance of color and beauty to your life. 

You have a gentle and nurturing personality, with a talent for caring for others and creating a warm, welcoming environment. You prioritize spending time with loved ones and creating meaningful connections with others in your community. You find joy in the beauty of nature and have a passion for gardening and spending time in the kitchen. 

Aspiration: Big Happy Family

Have at least three kids

Develop the highest possible skill level in cooking, baking, gardening, flower arranging, and parenting

Have some kind of social event with family and friends every Saturday (dinner, bbq, etc.)

Grow at least 10 different types of flowers in your garden (As of May 2023, there are 24 flowers in the game) 

Use only low to mid-range furniture and appliances. Never replace anything, fix it yourself

To make money, you can only sell what you have grown or made yourself (vegetables, flower arrangements, preserves, cakes)

G2 Hollyhock

Hollyhock symbolizes ambition, abundance, resilience, and determination. With little care, this tall and sturdy flower will bring vibrance to your garden. 

You always felt like you had to compete for the attention. You are highly ambitious, striving to achieve your goals and exceed expectations. While putting a lot of emphasis on your education and career, you neglect your close relationships. You struggle to express your feelings and connect with others on an emotional level. Despite all this, you are a loyal and supportive partner who does everything to show your feelings in a more practical way. 

Aspiration: Academic -> Fabulously Wealthy

Complete the first aspiration and move to the next one

Get the best possible grades in elementary school, high school, and university

Have a career in business. You aim for the top

Marry the first sim you have a romantic relationship with

You are the breadwinner. The spouse quits their job after marriage and never works again

Don't spend much time with your child/children

Your home has medium and high price items. When something breaks, you always replace it with a new one

Pass the family money to the next heir

G3 Hydrangea

Hydrangea symbolizes vanity, arrogance, and desire. With little care, hydrangea brings elegance to your garden with its large and showy blooms. 

You are highly creative and have a refined sense of style. Being in front of the cameras feels natural to you. You are self-centred and tend to prioritize your needs and desires above those of others. Thanks to your skills and fame, you accumulate a large amount of wealth.

Aspiration: World-Famous Celebrity

Develop the highest possible skill level in charisma, comedy, and acting

Go to a club/restaurant at least twice a week

Have one Meet and Greet in every season

Use mean interactions often

Change your hair color at least 3 times in your life

Hire a butler

In old age, an unexpected wave of generosity hits you, and you donate all your wealth

G4 Yarrow

Yarrow symbolizes strength, courage, overcoming and recovery. This flower will grow even on the poorest soil and doesn't require any care to thrive. 

You grew up in luxury and wealth, but now you have nothing. Despite the obstacles, you are determined to provide for yourself because you want a stable and secure life. It is very important for you that your children are equipped with the necessary skills to be independent and successful by the time they move out.

Aspiration: Renaissance Sim -> Super Parent

Complete the first aspiration and move to the next one

Start with 0 money and a tent

In addition to work, dumpster dive to find valuables that you can sell (Don't sell collectibles or paintings/music/books for extra cash)

Attend different skill classes

Choose medicine as the last career and work in that field until retirement

Fall in love with a patient and end up marrying them

All your kids must gain a Top-Notch-Toddler trait

Always help your children with homework/school projects

All your kids must gain at least one positive character value trait

G5 Gardenia

Gardenia symbolizes sensuality, passion, and secret love. This sweet and intoxicating flower requires a little bit more attention from its grower. 

You have a magnetic personality and natural charm. You are a hopeless romantic who tends to get caught in the passion and excitement of new relationships. You avoid long-term commitment because you fear that the daily routine will kill the excitement and passion. For that one special person, you are willing to take a chance on love despite your fears. 

Aspiration: Serial Romantic -> Soulmate

Complete the first aspiration and move to the next one

Have a childhood friend who later becomes your soulmate

Work in Public Relations (Social Media career)

Get married at least 3 times

Woohoo in 10 different locations (As of May 2023, there are 23 locations/ways on the list)

No kids until adulthood

Reconnect with your childhood friend and settle down with them

G6 Protea

Protea symbolizes dreams, exploration, courage, and resilience. This plant needs a lot of space and sun to grow. It should not be planted deeper than the surface level of the soil. 

You have a strong sense of wanderlust and a need for adventures. You love new experiences and cherish old memories. For you, a job is just a means to an end. 

Complete two adventure/location-based aspirations

Develop the highest possible skill level in fitness, photography, programming, and logic

Work as a freelance programmer

Complete the postcard collection

Move repeatedly and live in at least 3 different worlds

Settle down in one of the desert/warm climate worlds (Oasis Springs, StrangerVille, Sulani, Del Sol Valley, or Tartosa)

Go on a family vacation in every season

G7 Snapdragon

Snapdragons symbolize passion, deception, denial, duality, and strength. This eye-catching, mostly warm-colored flower spices up your garden. 

You are a master of deception, leading a double life. At first glance, you appear ordinary or even mundane, but looks are deceiving. Beneath your boring surface lurks something more sinister. Your purpose in life is to make others' lives a living hell because seeing them suffer is your favorite pastime. You are very passionate about your hobbies...maybe even a little fanatical.

Aspiration: Chief of Mischief

Develop the highest possible skill level in mischief, singing, piano

Fight with 5 different Sims

Become a Triple Agent (Secret Agent Career)

All your kids have to play one musical instrument at the highest possible skill level before they become young adults

All your kids have to have one negative character value trait

G8 Daffodil

Daffodil symbolizes new beginnings, rebirth, truth, and creativity. Daffodils love sunlight and well-drained soil. Therefore, the best growing place for this flower is an open and raised flowerbed.

You are a detail-oriented individual driven by a deep desire to uncover the truth. While searching for the truth, you stumble on a secret that will profoundly challenge your worldviews. You are loved and supported by your community, who admires your dedication. 

Aspiration: StrangerVille Mystery & Friend of the World

Work as a journalist

Be a member of at least two clubs and host club meetings every week

Solve StrangerVille Mystery

Get married to a sim who helped you defeat the Mother Plant

Host at least 8 different types of social events in your lifetime (As of May 2023, game has 25 different social events)

All your kids have to complete the Social Butterfly aspiration

G9 Rudbeckia

Rudbeckia symbolizes justice, fairness, motivation, and optimism. Rudbeckia is a hardy flower that loves evenly moist soil but can also survive drought and scorching sun. 

You are a highly principled individual deeply committed to upholding justice and protecting others. You are willing to make great sacrifices to ensure that justice is served. After work, you enjoy creative pursuits which allow you to unwind from the stresses of your work. You desire balance and harmony in your home life. 

Aspiration: Painter Extraordinaire

Develop the highest possible skill level in wellness, painting, knitting, and cross-stitching

Work as a detective

Have a romantic relationship with one of the suspects but break it off eventually

Own a house with a large and luscious backyard where you spend most of your free time

Be strict with your kids, and never miss an opportunity to discipline them

All your kids have to earn the Emotional Control trait

G10 Lavender

Lavender symbolizes spirituality, intuition, devotion, and growth. Lavender needs a lot of light and warmth. Although this flower looks hardy, it's highly receptive to changes in the soil. 

You are fascinated by the concept of magical and mystical, so you spend a lot of your time exploring spiritual practices and rituals to connect with this hidden world. You are determined to connect with and become part of the supernatural world. You have a soothing energy that puts others at ease.

Aspiration: Choose a vampire, spellcaster, or a werewolf aspiration

Develop the highest level of Medium skill

Work as a paranormal investigator

Become a friend with a vampire, spellcaster, or a werewolf

Become a vampire, spellcaster, or a werewolf

[mangatxt]

top 10 manga i read in 2024:

(please note these are not necessarily published in 2024. just things i read or picked up this year)

the fable / ザ・ファブル by minami katsuhisa (seinen / hitman, yakuza, action, comedy / complete) a famed hitman must lay low under the care of a local yakuza group in osaka for a year, blending into a society he is deeply unfamiliar with. some of the most thoughtful and funniest character writing i've ever read.

adults' picture book / otona no zukan kaiteiban / おとなのずかん改訂版 by itoi kei (seinen / childcare, drama / complete) when his late best friend (and maybe more) passes away, an adult comics mangaka must get his act together to take care of his orphaned daughter, even enlisting the help of a local tax accountant to his new odd family. i think this is one of those series that caught me at the exact right moment. you too can read vol 1 as a creative in your late 20s to max out emotional damage.

sketchy / スケッチー by maki hirochi (seinen / sports, slice of life / complete) burnt out and feeling lost, ako stumbles into a group of female skateboarders one night on the way home — invigorated with hope and excitement, she, along with a great cast of women, take up the sport too. absolutely delightful and inspiring, through and through.

colette decides to die / colette wa shinu koto ni shita / コレットは死ぬことにした by yukimura alto (shoujo / fantasy, mythology, romance / complete) (tw: suicide) a village doctor, desperate for a break from overwork, jumps into a well. when she arrives in the land of the dead, she meets its king -- hades -- who is sick and needs her care. a very unique take on greek myth with wonderful slowburn romance between the leads.

do not call it mystery / mystery to iu nakare / ミステリと言う勿れ by tamura yumi (josei / detective, mystery, drama / ongoing) totonou kunou is arrested for the murder of a classmate he doesn't know. after he successfully deduces each cop's backstory while in custody, the police consult his detective skills for other cases, including his own. if you liked basara or seven seeds, i probably don't need to sell this to you.

smoking behind the supermarket with you / super no ura de yani suu futaru / スーパーの裏でヤニ吸うふたり by jinushi (web comic / slice of life, romance / ongoing) overworked and stressed out, sasaki regularly visits his local supermarket for one reason only: the cute cashier yamada. on one visit, he doesn't see her. disappointed, he takes a smoke break behind the store and encounters tayama, a mischievous coworker who seems oddly familiar. a friendship between the two grows with every shared cigarette. if you liked wotakoi but want something more down to earth, this is for you.

gazing at the star next door / tonari no stella / 隣のステラ by ammitsu (shoujo / romance / ongoing) chiaki reckons with her feelings for her next door neighbor and best friend subaru, who's quickly rising through the ranks to become the most popular actor in japan. read this for a classic, butterflies-in-your-stomach shoujo romance feeling.

orb: on the movements of the earth / chi. chikyuu no undou ni tsuite / チ。―地球の運動について― by uoto (seinen / historical, drama / complete) this manga follows several generations in a fictional retelling of the discovery of heliocentrism in the solar system. when claiming that the earth revolves around the sun will get you killed for heresy, these figures must work together in secret, so that church's terrifying inquisitors cannot find them. this fucks, and the anime fucks even harder.

a condition called love / hananoi-kun to koi no yomai / 花野井くんと恋の病 by morino megumi (shoujo / romance, drama / ongoing) a girl who struggles to understand romance and a boy with debilitating abandonment issues enter a trial relationship after a kind act makes him fall in "love." a tough read at times, but to me, this is a welcome commentary on the "obsessive male lead" trope in romance manga.

lost lad london / ロスト・ラッド・ロンドン by shinya shima (seinen / mystery, drama / complete) a young part-time worker, al adley, is framed in the fatal stabbing of london's mayor. when by-the-book detective ellis gives him the benefit of the doubt, the two work together evade arrest to unravel the murder -- and the reason al has been targeted. short (3 vols) and underrated with a unique and delightful art style and some keen social commentary.