#and i needed to reread Simon before i read Leah

[dragons-and-yellow-roses]

.

[sobriquett]

Dear Trick or Treat Author

Dear Trick or Treat Author,

[WIP: 23:50 BST 19/09/21]

What a wonderful time of year! (Or is that Yuletime? Nearly there too!)

Hello! I am very easily pleased so please take this as a starting point if you need some ideas but otherwise write what makes you happy! I know horror tropes/genre are in my dislikes but if you want to write a scary trick, you do that, yes please! Just play within the canonical world (werewolves in Milton-Northern, vampires at Thornfield, ghosts at the White House) and I'll be a happy reader (but please still stay aware from my gore-related DNWs!).

My normal ramble about what I enjoy in fic isn't really relevant to a 300+ word exchange but you can find it in past letters, click the letter tag.

That said, things missing from my main signup include these:

Loves: exploration of power imbalances Likes: epistolary

My fandoms are in alphabetical order (ish), so here we go!

1.      16th Century CE RPF

Anne Boleyn Anne of Cleves Catherine of Aragon Catherine Parr Elizabeth I of England Henry VIII of England Margaret Pole Countess of Salisbury Robert Dudley 1st Earl of Leicester Thomas Seymour (1508 – 1549)

I've been on a bit of a Philippa Gregory kick this summer reading the Cousins' War series out of order. I'd love more stories about these figures – with some of them (Henry VIII in particular!) it's pretty easy to lean into the trick side of things, but there's treat potential too. Add more characters if you want; I've been reading histories and historical novels on this period for many, many years so if you drop in Maria de Salinas or Stephen Fisher or Kat Ashley or Thomas Cromwell or anyone I'm up for that, but I am also a laidback reader and this is a low-stress exchange, don't tie yourself in knots over accuracy. (Although I would, and I'd definitely recommend Ruth Goodman's How to be a Tudor if you haven't read it, even if you're not normally a non-fiction reader.)

What if [any utterly disastrous thing] didn't happen, or perhaps was somehow worse? Did Elizabeth and Dudley actually have some happiness in a romance, however brief? How did Anne of Cleves feel to retire as the King's beloved sister? What was Margaret Pole thinking on the morning of her execution? Is Henry VIII haunted by the ghosts of some of those he killed: friends and lovers and family? Did anything actually happen between Elizabeth I and Thomas Seymour (There's historical room for a secret pregnancy in the country…)

2.      Downton Abbey

Mary Crawley Edith Crawley Sybil Crawley Matthew Crawley­ Tom Branson Robert Crawley Cora Crawley Violet Crawley Isobel Crawley Lavinia Swire Anna Bates Evelyn Napier Freda Dudley Ward Marigold Crawley George Crawley Ship: Tom Branson/Sybil Crawley

This is like my TV comfort blanket. I rewatched it this year and I am interested in just about every main character except, oddly, Thomas – who is the favourite fic character of most writers! Give me a missing moment, a look at the future, a glance at the past, a look from the outside – whatever. Any point in, before or after canon is cool with me, except I tend to skim a lot of S4 (ugh, that rape storyline, please don’t use that).

Do ghosts walk the halls of Downton Abbey? What is life like in Ireland for Tom and Sybil? Do any of the characters ever feel a moment of true despair? What if Matthew had died in the war? What does the future hold for these characters? How did Robert, Cora and Violet get on in the 1890s? What was Carson like with Mary/Edith/Sybil as children? Does it parallel his relationship with their children?

3.      The Good Place

Eleanor Shellstrop Chidi Anagonye Tahani Al-Jamil Jason Mendoza Michael Janet

This is another show I can watch over and over and over. I think Chidi's my favourite but it's hard to be sure. I can tell you I absolutely sobbed during the S3 finale and I was a wreck for the S4 finale. Tug my heartstrings, make me laugh, make me cry, I don't care! I've studied philosophy and despised it so I'll take or leave what you include on that score, I just love the characters. Please include any or all other characters you'd like, but I definitely ship Eleanor/Chidi over Chidi/Simone! Although I'll take angst in that direction too! I don't know, I feel like a kid in a candy store writing this letter: hyper and having trouble deciding between all the possible wonders!

Existential dread? Moments from their human lives? Moments from the good place? Please tell me more about the time knife. Does Michael return to the good place when he dies? Does he reunite with Janet and/or Tahani?

4.      Jane Eyre

Jane Eyre Edward Rochester Adele Varens Ship: Jane Eyre/Edward Rochester

This is my favourite classic novel, I reread it every couple of years, most recently in 2020 for Yuletide. My reading of it changes each time, and I increasingly believe that Rochester is more bad guy than good guy and that Jane Eyre lies as a narrator and is as prejudiced and superior as those she crititcises for the same qualities. But I still love her, and that she says she got a happy ending.

Is Rochester more of a villain? How? How does Adele find school, either the one Rochester sends her to, or the one Jane moves her to? Post-canon happiness? Post-canon unhappiness? A scene from the engagement? A missing moment between the non-wedding and Jane running away? What if the wedding wasn't interrupted? (Full disclosure: I'm writing this too.) Canon divergence for, well, anything? Is Adele separated from Sophie? How does that go, how does she manage?

5.      Memoirs of a Geisha

Nitta Sayuri Mameha Nobu Toshikazu Ship: Nitta Sayuri/Nobu Toshikazu Ship: Mameha/Matsunaga Tsuneyoshi | The Baron

6.      North and South

Margaret Hale John Thornton Hannah Thornton Bessy Higgins Ship: Margaret Hale/John Thornton

7.      Stardew Valley

Female Player Sebastian Shane Harvey Robin Elliott Leah Marlon Ship: Shane/Female Player Ship: Sebastian/Female Player Ship: Lewis/Marnie

Do Sebastian and the farmer go on any more bike rides? How did Lewis and Marnie’s relationship start? Are they ever found out? Why does Lewis want to keep it secret? Why is he such an arsehole to Marnie? Tales of the purple shorts. Tell me more about Harvey’s nerdy hobbies or fear of heights? What happened with Robin and Sebastian’s dad? The horrors of the mines, or the skull cavern? Is Leah frightened by the things that go bump in the night near her home? Is Elliott? Some angst or h/c around a wounded farmer, being found/nursed? Or how about some angst/horror in which... they’re not? Fics about the war with the Gotoro Empire?

8.      Star Trek: Voyager

Kathryn Janeway Chakotay Tuvok Kes Seven of Nine Naomi Wildman

I’ve been a J/C shipper since before I knew shipping was a thing (as a kid, I had all the two-parters, S5&6, and Resolutions on video. Pre-internet, how did I even know which episode Resolutions one? Shippy magic instinct, I guess?) So apart from that ship, or canonical relationships, I would prefer genfic please. I also don’t mind the other Voyager characters so they’re welcome to make an appearance, but these are the ones that interest me.

9.      The West Wing

CJ Cregg Josh Lyman Sam Seaborn Abbey Bartlet Charlie Young Donna Moss Jed Bartlet Leo McGarry Toby Ziegler Zoey Bartlet

Happy writing!

Sobriquett

[thelivebookproject]

Talking Books With @logarithmicpanda!

[What is this and how can I participate?]

Back to normal!

I hope you all had a very nice Bookoween and a good beginning of the month! Today we discuss definitions of TBRs, choosing books, and bookworm frustrations.

Important note: I haven’t changed or edited any of the answers. I’ve only formatted the book titles so they were clearer, but nothing else. Because I’m incapable of shutting up, my comments are between brackets and in italics, so you can distinguish them clearly.

-----------------------------------------------------------

[Image description: a square titled “Know the blogger”. Name & pronouns: Jo (nicknamed Panda), they/them; country: France (but no longer lives there); three adjectives to describe them: creative, stubborn & sarcastic /end]  

1. What is a TBR for you? A pile of books by your bed? A handwritten list of books you need to get? A folder on your laptop with unread ebooks?

I actually have two definitions for TBR

- the pile of books in my living room that I really need to get to before it gets unmanageable

- the Goodreads list of stuff that caught my interest though sometimes I curate the list and removes everything that doesn't look that worthwhile (generally I'll add titles as people rec them to me but not necessarily check if I really want to read them, it's more a memo than a fixed list of things I'll read).

[Whereas I use Goodreads for what I 100% want to read and Soon for everything else (recs, “oh this looks nice”, books I said I’d read and still haven’t, etc)]

2. Last book you hated?

Love Creekwood! I wanted to go back to Simon and Leah but it was literally just a succession of emails with no meat in between and it was SO BORING

3. Do you prefer fiction or non-fiction?

Definitely fiction! I hardly ever read non fiction, mostly just books about code or writing.

4. How do you choose your next book to read?

A combination of "did one of my library holds came up" and "what am I in the mood for" haha

I always read 2-4 books at a time, so usually it's like, one audiobook, one reread, and two books I've never read before, usually of distinct genres. 

[I can’t do that!!!! I’m always amazed at people who can read more than one book at a time, is my brain too small? I’ll only read two if one of them is super long/slow, but I hate it. I’m a monogamous reader haha]

5. Any bookworm frustrations?

I'm always very frustrated when books from the same series don't match! Last in date was Network Effect (Murderbot 5) which is like, 1cm taller and wider than the first four 😬

Also forever frustrated by the lack of nuance I often see on Tumblr (like if people like a book it's perfect and if they don't like it it's problematic and you're a terrible person if you enjoy it... Yes it's important to acknowledge problematic aspects but I wish people would be more honest and admit you can enjoy problematic stuff or dislike books without demonizing them - all in all, that taste is subjective)

[Exactly. You can be perfectly aware that something in a book you like is problematic but still like that book, and it’s!! not!! the end of the world!! I won’t say it’s only fiction because fiction has never been “only fiction”, but I think it’s important to let people like what they want. You shouting at someone because there’s x thing you don’t like it’s not going to make that someone like the book any less, I think!]

You can follow them at @logarithmicpanda​ and on their Wattpad.

-----------------------------------------------

Thank you, Jo! I loved chatting with you. 

Next interview: Saturday, 7th of November

[totallygayforzendaya]

Same Email, Different Day ~ Soulmate AU! Spierfield

A/n: So starting Fanfiction on tumblr for the first time, hope it goes well!! Wish me luck and I’ll try my best to make it look nice.

FROM: hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com

TO: bluegreen118@gmail.com

DATE: November 12, 10:46 PM

SUBJECT: RE: Hand Pulls

So, I’m sixteen, started feeling a weird tug on my hand, it was..well weird. I had told my mom about it and she told me soulmates were the real deal. She said that her and my dad were soulmates. After that I didn’t talk to her and just searched it up online. Did you know that ‘a tug on your hand’ is a common search result for the internet? Like do you know how much people that would be? Anyways, it said that soulmates can vary from each person. Some have a red string that tugs on their hand (which I think I have), wings, tattoos, a countdown on your wrist, or you have to kiss the person to recieve a mark. How do feel about the word ‘soulmates’ Blue? I’m sorry that if I sound like a hopeless romantic, but I think it’s cute, being destined to be with someone. What do you think?

Love, Jaques

FROM: bluegreen118@gmail.com

TO: hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com

DATE: November 12, 11:00 PM

SUBJECT: RE: Hand Pulls

It’s alright Jaques, it’s totally natural to feel a tug on your hand. I feel it as well, well sometimes. It only happens when I’m at school, which probably means that I’m soulmates with someone at OUR school. Yeah it’s kinda weird, knowing you have someone out there for you but you don’t know who they are. You should really talk to your mom more often, she’s smart. And you searched something up online? Please tell me you didn’t use Wikipedia, those things are untrustworthy. The word soulmates is just a word for me. My parents were never soulmates, they just couldn’t find their significant other at the time. Dad had left because he found his soulmate, but I’m not judging. And you are a total romantic. Talking to me on gmail AND giving me compliments every now and then, a complete romantic.

Love, Blue

Simon rolls his eyes as he reads Blue’s reply. He had no idea who Blue was but still felt a familiar tug on his hand. It happened every time Simon thought of Blue, or as well know, Bram. Yeah, cute soccer boy is the quirky, romantic, poetic Blue, didn’t see that coming huh?

Well he is and Simon had no clue, which made the tugging a little more weirder. Simon types up a reply before going to bed, thinking sleep was what he needed to not think of Blue.

FROM: hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com

TO: bluegreen118@gmail.com

DATE: November 13, 12:21 AM

SUBJECT: RE: Hand Pulls

Don’t worry, I didn’t use wiki. Nevermind, yeah I did. But I asked my mom for confirmation. She was happy to hear that I wouldn’t end up alone. And I guess we’re the same, it mainly happens during school as well. I kinda hate it because it could pull me so hard that I’d almost fall to the ground. I had told everyone around who had seen that I just tripped on air. And I am not a romantic. Don’t you remember my past relationships? Running away from kissing someone isn’t really romantic.

Love, Jaques

The next morning, Simon had gotten ready the best he could. He didn’t check his laptop, or his phone. But Simon looked at the outfit he had choosen, thinking it was fine. Blue jeans, olive hoodie, and his denim jacket, so the usual. He checks the time before running off outside.

I WOKE UP LATE!

He thinks, jumping into his car. He stops by Leah’s house, honking his horn.

“I’m sorry, I missed my alarm” Simon says, looking at Leah through the open window.

“It’s okay, you got here, now let’s go pick up the two love birds” she says, getting in the passenger seat. He drives to Nick’s house, him jumping in, before leaving to Abby’s.

“So Si, hows it going?” Nick says, leaning against the passenger and driver seat. Simon had came out to Nick, Leah, and Abby after the gay club they had went to.

“Pretty good, you-know-who is still talking to me, so I’m just a ray of sunshine” he says, not really wanting to say Blue aloud. It was just so that people around them wouldn’t overhear their conversation. Most specifically Blue.

Simon didn’t want Blue to know that he thought of him as his soulmate. Just think about it, it felt like fate that we met.

“You? A ray of sunshine?” Abby asks, earning a laugh throughout the whole car. Simon parks at school, already feeling a tug on his hand. Nick and Abby were soulmates, that was for sure. They had matching tattoos on their wrists and it flowed the first time they met. Leah hadn’t found her yet, claiming she had about one more week until she’d meet hers, having a clock on her wrist.

“So I have that red string thing, and it’s someone in this school” he confesses, his arm pulling to the passenger seat window.

“Oooh I bet it’s a guy”

“But what guy?” Leah asks Abby, smiling at him.

“Cal Price?” Nick says, tilting his head to the side in thought.

“Garret Laughlin?” Leah says, biting her lip as she thinks of the soccer player.

“Bram Greenfield?” Abby wonders, the name making Simon’s brain work. Green could be something, but wasn’t that part of Blue’s email?

“Earth to Si, we’ve gotta get to class” Nick says, snapping his fingers in front of his face. Simon shakes his head before getting up from the driver seat. Leah and Abby has already left, had been needing to get to their locker. Simon started walking inside the school when he felt a tug on his hand. He falls from the force, shrieking softly.

“Nick! Help!!” Simon pleads as his arm pulls him forward. There was no explanation for it but those who were sixteen knew exactly what was going on. Nick runs after him, grabbing the hand that wasn’t being pulled and pulls him up.

“Fuck that hurt” Simon groans, shaking his hand, wanting to stop the aching coming from it. Nick laughs and shakes his head as Bram and Garret walk over to them.

“That was sick Spier, wonder who your soulmate is” Garret says, taking a quick glance to Bram. He had been tugged as well but held onto his locker so he wouldn’t be dragged.

“Do you think it was you-know-who?” Nick mumbles at Simon but it wasn’t really quiet. Bram gave Nick a confused look before looking at Simon. He looks away as quick as he looked.

“Yeah, I wonder” Simon says before taking out his phone. He hadn’t checked it this whole morning and almost screamed out in joy as he sees a email from Blue, one from this morning.

“Oh shit, Nick, cover for me” he says before running to the bathroom, strangely feeling the tug on my hand.

Simon goes in one of the stalls before reading Blue’s email.

FROM: bluegreen118@gmailcom

TO: hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com

DATE: November 13, 6:57 AM

SUBJECT: RE: Hand Pulls

Yeah, forgot about that...you really need to not run. Hasn’t your parents told you to not run from your problems? Every time I feel the tug on my hand, I’d hold onto whatever was closest. I’m surprised I haven’t grabbed another person before. My dad, when I visited last, told me that his friend used to do that and then next thing you know he grabbed my dad and pulled him all the way to the girl locker room where my dad’s friends soulmate was, it was hilarious when he told me. You know, sometimes, I wish you’d be my soulmate, since you already know more about me than anybody else.

Love, Blue

Simon’s heart beat grew fast as he read the email. Blue had felt the same. His smile grows as he types a reply.

FROM: hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com

TO: bluegreen118@gmail.com

DATE: November 13, 8:34 AM

SUBJECT: RE: Hand Pulls

That is quite the story. My mom and dad met when they saw each other’s wings. So, nothing special. My sister, she met her soulmate in collage with the clock on her wrist. They bumped into each other and spilled coffee on each other. They thought their clocks short circuited but it ended up then being soulmates. I wouldn’t mind if you were my soulmate to be honest. But I was wondering if you’d like to meet up?

Love, Jaques

Simon reread his email over and her again before hitting send. He puts his phone in his pocket before running to his and Nick’s class.

“So how was the words from the principal?” The teacher asked and he nods his head.

“It was good” he says, smiling softly before sitting down on his seat. Simon knew that time would fly so slow as he waits for another email and the day to end.

*time skip*

Bram breathed out as he sat on the lunch table during lunch. He had seen the email that Jaques had sent and was thinking about it the rest of the day. Did he want to meet him? Of course he did! Was Bram ready to meet the anonymous person he’s Ben talking to? Yes, yes he was. And after all of these thoughts, he decided to write a reply.

FROM: bluegreen118@gmail.com

TO: hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com

DATE: November 13, 12:38 PM

SUBJECT: RE: Carnival?

Your sister really is an amazing person. And to be completely serious, I’d love to meet you. There’s a carnival opening tomorrow. Are you able to come? I’d really really like to meet you

Love, Blue

Bram nervously looks at Simon, seeing his face light up when he gets a notification from his phone. Yeah, he knew. Simon talked the way he wrote. Bram thought it was cute, like his hair. Simon’s glasses, his personality, go he was the most cutest boy that Bram knew. He just made him shy and he never talked to him that much.

FROM: hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com

TO: bluegreen118@gmail.com

DATE: November 13, 12:40 PM

SUBJECT: RE: Carnival?

Yeah, it’s a wonder she’s my sister, I’m not like that at all. I’m free tomorrow and think the carnival would be a good idea. How will I know it you?

Love, Jaques

FROM: bluegreen118@gmail.com

TO: hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com

DATE: November 13, 12:43 PM

SUBJECT: RE: Carnival?

I bet you are an amazing person in real life Jaq. You’ll find me with a tug on your wrists. And if not, I’ll mind you.

Love, Blue

Simon’s heart raced fast as he looked at the email. Nick nudges his shoulder, have been reading over his shoulder and scaring Simon.

“Jesus Christ Nick, don’t do that” he says, almost instantly pulling the phone to his chest. He glares at Nick, earning a chuckle for the soccer player.

“I couldn’t help it, I just wanted to see what you and you-know-who were talking about. Oh and me, Abby, and Leah are going” Nick nods, as another (cute) soccer player was watching.

“Alright, I’ll give you guys a ride” Simon says, pocketing his phone. Oh how he wasn’t expecting the next day.

*time skip brought to you by Abby changing from Cleopatra to Wonder Woman*

“You looking for someone Si?” Abby asks, tilting her head to the side to look at Simon, who was sitting on the curb, facing the carnival.

“Yeah, wait how’d you know?” He asks, looking up at her, Nick’s arm wrapped around her shoulders. Leah had walked away with Anna and Morgan, going to the carousel.

“Your eyes are looking around, hope you find them” she says before walking away, leaving Simon to his thoughts. It was already 8:30, since the carnival was to close in a few minutes, he decided to go on the tilt-a-whirl. Using up his last ticket, he gets in a capsule. The tilt-a-whirl were round capsules with a wheel in the middle for you to spin yourself fast.

“Can I sit here?” Simon hears a familiar voice and looks up, seeing cute calf, Bram Greenfield.

“Yeah, go ahead” he says, smiling at him, scooting over so Bram could sit down. They put on their seatbelts before Simon starts to stare at Bram, realizing what was going on.

“Blue?” Bram perks up at Simon’s voice, looking up from his intent stare at the wheel in the middle.

“Hey Jaques, or should I say Simon?”

“You knew?”

“Well of course I did, you talk the way you write” Bram says, shrugging his shoulders.

“Oh” and thats when the ride started. Bram almost instantly grabs onto the bar, his knuckles turning white from how tight he was holding on. Simon, remembering the email of his nauseousness, holds onto the wheel, trying to make the capsule not spin. But it just kept spinning, as if it was programmed to. But little did the two know, the ride wasn’t the only thing spinning.

Simon’s head was spinning, have been thinking about Bram being Blue. Bram’s stomach was doing somersaults as he thinks of Simon knowing he was Blue.

Everything was okay, as it had always been between the two. One soccer player and one Dit.

And after one hand pull, they knew.

They were meant to be together.

[little-bookshelf-dragon]

Mid-Year Book Freakout Tag

1. Best Book of the Year So Far

Okay, I'm probably going to mention both of these again later in this post, but Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston and The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo are my favorite books so far this year.

2. Best Sequel of the Year So Far

...what sequels have I read this year...?

Legendary by Stephanie Garber. I still haven’t read Finale but it’s on my TBR for this season, so. SOON. 

(I also want to say Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor, but I’m not sure if this question only applies to the second book in a series? Technically, it’s still a sequel...)

3. A New Release You Haven’t Read Yet But Want To

Both Finale by Stephanie Garber and Again, But Better by Christine Riccio. Also, I think Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins is recent enough to count. (Is Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee a new release?)

4. Most Anticipated Release for Rest of Year

This one is actually fairly easy. I can't WAIT for Wayward Son to come out in September. Also the second book in the Girls of Paper and Fire series.

5. Biggest Disappointment

Oh boy. I have three (FOUR, I have four) for this one.

I reread one of my favorite childhood books, Bad Moonlight by RL Stine, back in March for the rereadathon I took part in. ...it was so bad... Let's say it's one of the lowest ratings I've given this year.

New reads that I was disappointed in were The Upside of Unrequited and Leah on the Offbeat. I was looking forward to them so much after reading Simon, but ended up feeling pretty meh about both.

I also just remembered I read Echo, which was a sequel to a book I read and really loved, but Echo was just... it was bad...

6. Biggest Surprise

...There’s a story behind this one. I was browsing through Goodreads’ list of books with asexual characters (because I am ace) and came across The Alpha and His Ace by Ana J. Phoenix. Despite the summary and author bio making me...hesitant... I was curious about how the book was going to work out, and since it was either free or pretty cheap on Kindle, I decided to give it a go. And was actually pleasantly surprised. I’ll share my Goodreads review below: 

It's always nice to end up liking a book when you weren't sure you were going to. I ended up loving it. I thought the story was really cute, and as someone who identifies as asexual, I really connected with Aidan. Not to say that there weren't a few problems I had while reading, but none of them were major enough for me to stop reading, and I ended up enjoying it enough to read the sequel as well.

7. New Favorite Author

I finally read some of Taylor Jenkin Reid’s books and I totally get the hype! I loved them! 

8. Your Newest Favorite Character

...This is an unfair question. I’m going to go with the entire crew from Red, White, and Royal Blue. And Kady Grant and Hanna Donelly from the Illuminae Files. (This is probably going to come back to bite me but I really liked AIDAN, too...)

9. Your Newest Fictional Crush

I...don't really get fictional crushes? At least, not anymore. I used to, but not for a while. 

10. Book that Made You Cry

I think I already answered this question on another tag so I want to use a different answer this time...

Oh! The Poet X had me SOBBING by the end because I related so much to Xiomara and what she was going through. I loved that she got an ending where everything worked out for her.

11. Book That Made You Happy

RED, WHITE, AND ROYAL BLUE. I honestly can’t remember the last time a book made me this happy. 

12. Most Beautiful Book of the Year So Far

...Are we talking cover or content here...? 

I usually try to avoid buying physical copies of books in series, but I went out and bought a copy of Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan just because I loved the cover so much.

13. Some Books You Need to Read Before 2019 Ends

See #3 (and #4) for some specific titles. Add in my current library books, Gemina and Obsidio by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff, and Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi. Other than that, my goal is half (about 7) of the unread books on my shelf, and... let's say a quarter (about 20) of the unread books on my Nook (which actually includes 2/3 of the books mentioned in #3).

...might be a little ambitious there, Moony.

14. Favorite Book to Movie Adaptation

Um. Um?

I don't know if I've actually seen any movie adaptions this year. Unless... Comic books? Does it count if I haven't read them?

...I really loved the Captain Marvel movie.

[buildarocketboys]

Books read in 2018

It's been a pretty good year for reading for me, and I actually kept a list of all the books I read, so I thought I'd make a list and write a mini review about each one. I've read 22 (and a half) books this year in full - this doesn't include any that I just started, or have read bits of.

1. When The Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore

Magical realism + gay and trans characters! Pretty great although I wouldn't necessarily read it again. Mostly read in lunchtimes at work.

2-4. LOTR trilogy by J R R Tolkien (started somewhere between 17 and 29 March) (first book finished 4 April) (finished 30 May)

Dates on this one as I spent most of the first half of the year reading the Lord of the Rings. The Fellowship of the Ring was almost certainly my favourite, got a bit bored towards end of Two Towers/start of Return of the King, and the long descriptions and battles (and long descriptions OF battles) are something I generally prefer to do without. But they're really good books with a lot of cool (and gay!) stuff in them, and though the films don't include everything from them, they're pretty damn good adaptations. (I only wish the films had kept Beregond).

5. The Inescapable Logic of My Life by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

By the author of Aristotle and Dante, I actually can't remember much of this book, I remember it being pretty good though. It may have made me cry?

6. Cloudbusting by Malorie Blackman (REREAD)

Easily the shortest book here, this book used to make me cry. It's a simple story told through different types of poetry, but it's so beautifully done. Didn't make me cry this time sadly, but still good. Read it sitting by the river taking a break from working on a job application.

7. Nation by Terry Pratchett (REREAD)

I reread this pretty much every year (I found myself a few weeks back wanting to reread it again) and it's brilliant every time, enough said. Think this is the only Pratchett novel I've read this year, which is a shame. Thoroughly recommend it though, even though it's not part of Discworld.

8. And The Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini

Bought this from a stall in Bristol, at the time it was the only one of his I hadn't read. It was one of those novels I just ploughed through, really quickly. Really good, really sad (and a gay character where you least expected it).

9. Wicked by Gregory Maguire

Borrowed this from my girlfriend after having seen the musical in May. The book is...really weird, but really good. A lot more of an obvious dystopia than the musical is, right from the get go pretty much and Elphaba is an icon - grumpy, traumatised, irritable, angry, hopeful, guilty, revolutionary. I love her. Oh, and her and Glinda are still really gay.

10. Harry and the Wrinklies by Alan Temperley (REREAD)

Now we come to the books I reread in August when I had some time off work. Harry gets orphaned and is sent to live with his elderly relatives and their elderly friends (hence the title). Little does he know, they're all ex-cons and pretty much modern day Robin Hoods. Also, badass. Still a great book, even if it's technically for kids. I need to reread the sequels sometime.

11. Maximum Ride by James Patterson (REREAD)

Edgy as fuck but I still kind of love it. Ngl the younger kids and Iggy are a lot more fun than Max and Fang though.

12. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (REREAD)

This one I reread every couple of years or so. One of my favourites, the way the non-chronological (by design and necessity) plots works so well, in both building and retaining suspense, the prose is beautiful (if a little pretentious at times), the characters are...mostly kind of dicks, but in a real, multifaceted kind of way. I kind of love all the references to various books/authors/bands, even if it is kind of pretentious. I discovered Rilke through this book. Jeder Engel ist schrecklich.

13. Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Read this a little while after seeing the film. Obviously they changed a fair amount, but I love them both. Really easy to read in about a day.

14. Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli

Read this on the same weekend as Simon. Loved it a LOT. I relate to both Leah and Abby a whole lot and it just felt so real to the experience of being a (bi) teenage girl. Wish there'd been a bit more to the ending maybe? But maybe that's just me being greedy. Still trying to persuade @judasisgayriot to read it. This might well be my book of the year.

15. Vox by Christina Dalcher

After I finished Leah on the Offbeat I was looking for something else to read. Picked this up in Waterstones because it sounded like an interesting concept for a dystopia (women are only allowed to say 100 words a day - if they say more, they get electrocuted by a bracelet attached to their wrist). The main character is white, straight and middle class, so that's definitely the majority of the experience we get to see, but there is some examination of being gay and/or a poc in this dystopian culture. Overall an interesting examination on how language can be used as a weapon, and to control people. A Handmaid's Tale with a difference and (spoiler!) a happy ending.

16. The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli

I didn't get/read this one at the same time as Leah and Simon because I was put off by how het it sounded, lol. The main character is straight (afaik) but it's still a pretty great book and she's pretty relatable.

17. My Mum Tracy Beaker by Jacqueline Wilson

Tracy Beaker all grown up! As told through the eyes of her (much quieter and less troublesome) daughter. Pretty great and interesting to see Tracy all grown up but still very much Tracy. Lots of drama and Justine Littlewood ruining everything as usual. Complete with an implausible happy ending (but it's great anyway, and tbh we all need those sometimes). Also, Cam is a #confirmed lesbian.

18. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (REREAD)

I'm not sure how many times I've reread The Book Thief now, but it must have been at least ten. I reread it at least every year but often it's been more than that. Still amazing, obviously, but I dunno, I didn't feel as into it this time? I didn't cry (for the first time ever!) while reading it, although that might have been because I read it at work. Mostly I was reading it to prepare for Zusak's new book, which I got for Christmas.

19. Holes by Louis Sachar (REREAD)

First time I've reread this since high school, and it's still brilliant. 'Nuff said.

20. The Bi-ble: An Anthology of Personal Narratives and Essays about Bisexuality edited by Lauren Nickodemus and Ellen Desmond

Bought this from Gay's The Word when I was in London back in May, only got round to reading it in December. Some really good stuff in here, I related hard to a lot of it (and not so much to other parts). Recommended reading for anyone who's bi or wants to understand more about bisexuality.

21. Call of the Wild by Guy Grieve

I picked this up on a whim from my pile of unread books because I wanted something to read before I got new books for Christmas. (Unfortunately, despite my best efforts, I only finished it on Boxing Day). Really interesting, I'm so fascinated by life in very cold, harsh, unforgiving places (only partly because of the wolves) and this was a really interesting true story of how a guy (called Guy) from Scotland manages to build his own cabin and live out in the wild of the Alaskan Interior through the Winter.

22. Combat Magicks by Steve Cole

A Doctor Who novel (the first of three I got for Christmas!) and the last book I read in its entirety in 2018. At the site of a battle between the Romans and the Huns (which is why I chose it first, sounded really cool), so-called "witches" manipulate everything both sides do. Surprise! They're aliens. The Doctor calls Yaz her bestie a lot and it's adorable. Ryan gets a girlfriend who stans the Doctor (she's basically part of Roman Torchwood and she's awesome). Graham has a bath with a witch (well, nearly).

Currently reading:

Eat Up! by Ruby Tandoh

I'm about half way through this, so it doesn't quite count as a book I read in 2018, but I thought I should include it. Anti-diet culture, embracing food for what it is, everything it is, while examining the different things (gender, race, class) that affect our relationship with food.

[chapterswelove]

Top Ten Tuesdays is a weekly meme created by The Broke and The Bookish and move to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018.

Today’s topic is about your Favorites Couples in Books and I have quite a few so I’ll be showing you the ones that after reading the books I couldn’t think of anything else but them!

The Books

  These are the couples in books that either made smile, cried or pull my hair! They’re all special in their own way and I just can’t get enough of them.  This list is in no particular order, I love all of these couples and I wanted to share with you my top ten, so here they are.

Vampire Academy – Rose Hathaway & Dimitri Belikov, it has been years since I read this series and I really miss these characters I have been thinking about a reread since last year, but let me tell you these two were amazing to read about seriously many years later I’m still in love with them.

Bloodlines – Adrian Ivashkov & Sydney Sage, there is no way I will have a list of favorite couples and not mention these two.  I was so happy for this spin off I LOVED ADRIAN, from the moment I met him in the books, I actually love him more than I love Dimitri (and I love him hard!)  but Adrian is special to me and I was glad he got his own story.

Strange the Dreamer –  Lazo & Sarai, what can I say about these two that hasn’t been said already.  I have to admit I haven’t read Muse of Nightmares yet but I will soon I just need to make some the time where I know I won’t have to put the book down to do other things.

The Song of Achilles – Achilles & Patroclus, this is one of those books that every time you read you pick up on something new.  Madeline Miller did such an amazing job with this story and I loved every page of it.  I read this book every year and I’m my heart breaks every time.  Don’t get me wrong I love the version of Troy with Brad Pitt but this version of the story is my all time favorite.

The Wicked King – Well, I just couldn’t leave these two out! This will they won’t they and hate to love, love to hate type of romances are my favorites and yes, I’m trash for these two I can’t help it and I’m sure you can’t help it either.

The Kiss Quotient – Stella Lane & Michael Phan, guys I don’t know what to say about these two, if you haven’t read this book yet you are seriously missing out.  This is story is perfect and I’ll be rereading this month! so go pick it up and treat your self to one of the best romance books out there.

Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda – Simon Spier & Blue no way on earth was I leaving these two out of the list.  I love this couple so much and I can’t wait to see if we get some type of follow up story and I’m not talking about Leah on the Off Beat, I want Simon and Blue!

Six of Crow – Kaz Brekker & Inej Ghafa – will they, won’t they????!!! Omg! Leigh Bardugo said in the meet out that she will eventually do a story with Kaz and Inej once she finishes her latest projects and we are still interested she will do it I mean come on yes!!!! and I’m soooooo super excited for that.  I love Kaz Brekker he is my book husband everyone that knows me knows that I’ll fight you! He’s mine! but would love to see him and Inej finally get together I mean Epic!

 Black Dagger Brotherhood – Lover Awakened – Zhadist & Bella.  This is hands down my favorite of all the 100 books (more like 17 books I think) on the BDB Zhadist is my favorite brother and his story is the best, I mean don’t get me wrong I love ALL THE BROTHERS BUT Zhadist is my heart.

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before – Lara Jean Song & Peter Kavinsky, this characters were the best, yes there were some parts I hated then some I truly loved.  Go read it!

And I’m giving you a bonus with these last two I just couldn’t not mentioned them since they are the best!

Yes, I’m talking about Magnus Bane & Alec Lightwood, these two have been thru so much but they get each other and they are the perfect mates perfect for each other so they had to make the list.

OK, that is all for now, if you made it this far Thank you!  Let me know which are some of your favorite book couples.

  Favorite Couples in Books | Top Ten Tuesay Top Ten Tuesdays is a weekly meme created by The Broke and The Bookish and move to…

[hongjoongkims]

Mid-year book freak out tag

I was tagged by @matthiashelvar thank you<3

Idk who to tag because it’s waaaay past mid-year but i was just an idiot and procrastinated doing it

1. Best book you’ve read so far this year:

Well, if it counts, I reread An Ember in the Ashes, which is my favorite book ever. If not, its sequel, A Torch Against the Night, or When the Moon Was Ours or The Song of Achilles, And I Darken, the Ruby Red trilogy The Young Elites, Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. I can’t choose, I just read a lot of amazing books this year so far.

2. Best sequel you’ve read so far in 2018:

Again, a lot: A Torch Against the Night, Tower of Dawn, Now I Rise, Windwitch and the sequels of Ruby Red and tatbilb

3. New release you haven’t read yet but want to:

Definitely A Reaper at the Gates, Leah on the Offbeat, Bright We Burn and a lot more I can’t remember right now

4. Most anticipated releases of the second-half of the year:

Kingdom of Ash, Blanca & Roja, A Map of Days

5. Biggest disappointment:

I wasn’t very disappointed by any book I read this year so far, but Ash by Malinda Lo did let me down a bit. I’ve been wanting to read it for some time, and I did enjoy it, but I wish the romance was more developed. Oh and also, Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur and The Witch Doesn’t Burn in This One by Amanda LOvelace, I didn’t like either of those and I had really high expectations for them.

6. Biggest Surprise:

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, definitely. I heard so many good things about this trilogy, but I just didn’t expect it to be that good. It didn’t seem like my cup of tea, but I ended up binge-reading the whole trilogy.

7. Newest Favourite Author:

Anna-Marie McLemore, her writing style and her stories are just so beautiful.

8. Newest Fictional Crush:

Diana from Wonder Woman: Warbringer, John Ambrose McLaren and Peter Kavinsky from tatbilb

9. Newest Favourite Character:

Lada from And I Darken, she’s so vicious and I was shook with the things she does, Raphael Santiago, and Raffaele Laurent Bessette from The Young Elites

10. Book that made you cry:

Oh, so many. Some are: An Ember in the Ashes and its sequel, Simon vs, The Song of Achiles, tatbilb, All the Light We Cannot See, a romanian book I read for school that I absolutely loved, City of Heavenly Fire

11. Book that made you happy:

Simon vs, I related to a lot of stuff in there, and the Ruby Red trilogy, that one was just so fun to read

12. Prettiest book you’ve bought/received this year?

Probably Furthermore? I love its cover so much

13. Books you need to read by the end of the year:

At this point I want and need to read so many books but I don’t know when I’ll do that. But some books I really want to get to soon are: book 2 and 3 of The Kane Chronicles, Tales From the Shadowhunter Academy, The Fates Divide, Dreams of Gods and Monsters.

[anonsally]

Love, Simon

I went to see Love, Simon this afternoon with Wife, who had not read Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda. We both really enjoyed it! ... and then I came home and reread the book.

One of the great things about the movie was the inclusion of various scenes that only happened in Simon’s imagination. I particularly loved the one where he envisioned all of his straight friends coming out to their parents [as straight].

[spoilers below, along with notes about differences between the movie and the book]

One of the adaptation choices they made was a change from the book in a way that was... sort of predictable and irritating. In the book, Simon’s close friend Leah is in love with their other best friend Nick--but in the movie, she was in love with Simon. I mean, I get why they made that choice: it’s a more typical teen movie this way, I guess, and I suppose it also gets rid of the love triangle from the book (in which Leah is jealous and sad when Nick gets together with Abby). But it sort of changes the whole dynamic, because in the book, Leah also feels sad and betrayed and left out--first, Nick and Simon (and Abby) go to Homecoming for the first time when normally the 3 of them (without Abby) go out for waffles instead, and then a couple months later Abby and Nick take Simon out and don’t invite her along [this incident was left out of the movie]. And Simon comes out to Abby before he tells her. So she very understandably feels like Abby (a newcomer) is replacing her in their friend group, and she stops hanging out with them for a while. I felt like this wasn’t as clear in the movie, and changing it to Leah being in love with Simon sort of ... oversimplified things. Furthermore, Simon’s friends were angry at him for much longer in the movie than in the book, but maybe that was just to raise the stakes because a teen movie needs to have a lot of drama.

Another stakes-raising choice was Martin’s “grand gesture” of asking Abby out in an extremely public way, which was definitely a cringey embarrassment squick situation.

I loved the drama teacher, though she did fall into the “sassy black woman” trope. The Vice-Principal was ... also rather cringey... and Simon’s parents and sister were reasonably well fleshed-out and sweet. The little sister was younger than in the book, and there was no older sister. 

MAJOR SPOILER IN THE NEXT PARAGRAPH

The funny thing is, I had read the book, so I knew how it would end. Except they managed to adapt it in a way that made me doubt it, so that I was still somewhat surprised! In the book, Bram never crosses Simon’s mind as a possible identity for Blue. However, in the movie, Simon actually guesses correctly but then sees Bram making out with a girl [the book is pretty clear that this wouldn’t have happened; Bram is gay, not bi, and is confused that Simon had had a few girlfriends even after realising he was gay] and thus assumes he is wrong. I liked that the movie then kept me guessing, along with Simon. I even worried that they would end up whitewashing Blue. When Martin showed up at the ferris wheel, there were some audible “No”s in the audience, one of which was probably me. But in the end it was Bram after all, and I was very happy to hear someone else in the audience gasp at the reveal. 

Wife had actually guessed who Blue was, based on familiarity with the actor. She is now reading the book! 

[ais-n]

Hi ais! I've just finished re-reading icos and I once again feel so sad that it's over again. Do you have any nook recommendations or books that you like?

Aww thank you for reading ICoS the first time, let alone rereading it! That’s sweet of you

I could have sworn at some point I compiled a list (which I was going to link only because I have the worst memory and forget things I love whenever I try to list it all) but I can’t find anything! What the hey.

So, I made a list below the cut :D I broke it up between M/M, nonfiction, fiction, YA, and anime/manga. You should know ahead of time that I tend to read mostly manga or nonfiction, and/or I tend to gravitate toward “darker” stories or stories that deal with a lot of nuance and complexity. I don’t tend to gravitate toward stories that are really black and white (but idk about the ones I mentioned from when I was a preteen/teen because it’s been so long since I read them).

That may tell you if you might like any of these or not :) I wrote a little about the book by most of the names to give you a bit more of an idea.

Hopefully at least one of these looks interesting to you :) Let me know if you need links on something if you can’t find it, or if you want a bit more of an explanation on anything. Some (honestly, most) of these books I haven’t read in forever but others I periodically reread just because I

BOOKS BOOKS AND MORE BOOKS BELOW

**M/M:**

All for the Game series by Nora Sakavic - m/m, super awesomesauce series, it’s my fave in general. First book free, second 2 books 99 cents each. Nora was having some issues with the first book not being on the site with the rest so I put it on my site until she’s got that figured out, so people can still read the series. Get the first book here: http://aisylum.com/tfc/ and then I link the other books on there.

Raised by Wolves series by W.A. Hoffman - m/m, this one is a very different series and style of storytelling. I personally adore this series but it’s also the sort of thing some people may not be into for various reasons. But for me, I read the series all the way through and instantly started over and reread it all again. First book is Brethren.

**NONFICTION:**

anything by Simon Singh but especially The Code Book and Big Bang - these are nonfiction books and if that makes you go “UGH NO WAY” then know that Simon writes nonfiction like fiction so they’re really great and easy reads, plus you get lots of great info. Also, The Code Book is what I used as research for Jeffrey’s knowledge base + the whole thing with the message in Evenfall and the OTP comment. (If you’re like “Hey yeah what WAS all that about?” I answered it here.) (Also also, if you saw Imitation Game, then you should know that the Code Book covers at least part of the same history as that movie)

Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder (follows the story of one of my favorite humans, Paul Farmer who founded/co-founded Partners in Health which is one of my favorite charities) also Tracy writes other books that look intriguing to me but I haven’t read yet.

Erik Larson - Devil in the White City, Thunderstruck, and other books by him – he, like Simon, writes nonfiction in a way that reads very easily like fiction. I like the way he interweaves various stories of various people into one book. Devil in the White City might be my favorite of his that I’ve read? Mostly because it combines architecture + America’s first serial killer + the 1893 Chicago World Fair and all of these things make me go YES PLX

Troublemaker by Leah Remini and Rebecca Paley - this is about scientology; I listened on audiobook–it was interesting and informative

Also, I listened to Dan and Phil’s first book (The Amazing Book is Not on Fire) on audiobook and that was also entertaining–although if you have no idea who tf Dan and Phil are, that may be less entertaining to you lol

Death’s Acre, or Beyond the Body Farm, by William Bass and Jon Jefferson - so, Bill Bass is super interesting, tl;dr is he’s a frontrunner in forensic anthropology, these books are about a farm people donate their bodies to where they decompose in various states to help forensic anthropologists learn more on decomposition which then helps in murder trials and elsewhere. If you’re into forensic anthropology, check out Bill Bass

Dismembered by Susan Mustafa and Sue Israel - this is true crime about a serial killer in Louisiana. It is, therefore, quite graphic and you should heed the title as quite accurate representation of what you will be reading about in the book. But if serial killers or true crime intrigue you, I really liked this book and have been on the lookout by more from these ladies. I thought it was written well and told the story well.

**FICTION:**

books by Jefferson Bass - there’s a whole series called the Body Farm series or something. Jefferson Bass is the combo if the two people for Death’s Acre, except that pseudonym is for their fiction series based on scientific reality/facts. It’s a pretty interesting series from what I recall but I never finished it. But if you like forensic anthropology and want to read a sort of murder mystery/detective type of series written by an actual acclaimed forensic anthropologist with all the science being legit, this is your series

Tony Foster series by Tanya Huff (starts with Smoke and Shadows) - ok so, Tanya Huff was SUPER nice the one time I messaged her. I like her a lot as a person. I will say that this series is not the actual best writing you will ever read–BUT Tony Foster is such a freaking great narrator that I love the series. Also, Tony’s a gay male which is always cool to have as a lead, especially in a sort of fantasy like this :)

Sandman comics by Neil Gaiman – honestly, just about anything you pick up by Neil Gaiman will be good. I’d have to reread all the books to say which is my favorite but I do recall liking Good Omens a lot, which he cowrote with Terry Pratchett. But Sandman is what got me into graphic novels, eventually manga (because I was used to reading GNs by then) and Neil Gaiman as a whole. I fucking love Sandman and will forever recommend it, but it’s a GN so it may not translate well to nook? idk

Speaking of Terry Pratchett, if you like stories that are easy to read and oftentimes have a fair amount of humor infused into them, I recommend him and probably any of his books but my particular recommendation would be Mort as well as the Sam Vines books. I think the first time we see Sam Vines is in the Guards! Guards! book.

Otherland series by Tad Williams - ok in all honesty, I never finished the series (got partially through 3rd of 4 books) and it’s been probably 20 years since I read them, so maybe my opinion would be different now. But Otherland was such an interesting sci-fi ish series which I honestly think is probably going to end up being somewhat realistic to our future. Basically, VR is a thing and people choose to live there instead of in reality sometimes, and now people are dying IRL because their bodies are wasting away and a diverse group of people from around the world get together in the virtual world to try to figure out what’s happening and how to stop it, but they don’t realize the politics and danger involved. Why didn’t I finish reading, you wonder? It’s because I read this series when I was a teenager when it first came out, and I think when I read reading the 3rd book the 4th hadn’t even been written yet. Anyway I was suuuuuper engrossed in the series–so much that when a certain thing happens related to my favorite character in the series, I was too emotionally affected by it I set the book aside to take a moment to reset my emotions before continuing, and then I just…. never continued…. ^^;; I got too distracted by other series but I always plan to finish it. Also side note, Tad Williams is a super nice author who actually wrote back to little teen me(!), taking my email seriously and encouraging me to write. Also side side note, Tad Williams wrote a bunch of books and I recall liking all of his fantasy series I read too but I don’t think I’ve read all his stuff.

Tamir Triad by Lynn Flewelling - first book: Bone Doll’s Twin. It’s been a while since I read this (as is the case for pretty much everything on this whole list) but I remember thinking this was a really interesting trilogy with a rather unique story, especially for the time this was written. If you ever read Lynn’s other book series (Nightrunner, m/m) then know that the Tamir Triad is set in the past of the Nightrunner world, by I don’t remember 500 years or something– also it’s written TOTALLY different than Nightrunner. The two styles are like night and day; if you don’t like the Nightrunner style, totally give Tamir a chance. If you do like Nightrunner, I still think you should read the Tamir books because I think they’re better, even though I did like Nightrunner in the beginning :)

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire. This book is the inspiration for the wildly popular musical Wicked (which I also recommend you see because it’s omggggg

**YA:**

The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer - for the most part, I quite like this series. It’s a very easy to read YA series that re-imagines the Disney Princess/fairy tale female leads into a sort of cyberpunk Earth with space adventure future. Most of the females in this series are pretty strong female characters, leading their own stories, having agency, not being overpowered by the male characters like in their Disney or fairy tale versions. It has kind of a Sailor Moon vibe in some aspects, mostly because Marissa’s a total nerd who loves Sailor Moon lol

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo - this is actually part of a series but tbh I liked Six of Crows more than the other book. Basically this book is a heist novel with young adult MCs. It’s a freaking BEAUTIFUL hardcover btw, like black edged paper and cool illustrations on the chapter pages and omgggggggg so this is one I recommend you buy in print if you like it, rather than just getting the ebook. It has an MC (Kaz Brekker) who I swear to god is like if early Evenfall Boyd and Hsin had a baby lol

Books by Sherryl Jordan - it’s been approximately forever since I read any of these books so maybe my opinion would change if I read them now, but back in the day I loved the fuck out of Sherryl’s books when I found them as a preteen/teen. I remember feeling like a lot of her female characters felt strong or at least I thought they were cool. The main one I remember liking back then is Winter of Fire. Mind you, Sherryl Jordan’s books are now really hard to find–turns out she’s a New Zealand author and a lot of the books went out of print at various times. But if you happen to run across one, you can check her out and see what you think. I mention her because her stories stuck in my head for 20 years.

Mage Heart (and the Chronicles of Dion Trilogy) by Jane Routley. Another one from forever ago–no idea what I would think of this if I read it today but I remember really liking it when I read it as a teenager, and the story has stuck in the back of my head since. I don’t remember a lot about the actual plot, just that I was inspired by the story/world.

Aaaaand that’s probably enough. You’re probably regretting asking XD

There are a couple of other books I remember from when I was really little but you probably don’t care about those lol The only one I’ll mention is Dealing with Dragons by Patricia Wrede - that’s the first book in a YA series. I quite like Dealing with Dragons, but tbh I was really frustrated by the other books. You could read just the first if you wanted to check it out.

Lastly, if you like manga/anime at all, here are some other recs: fave anime/manga recs, plus here’s another good manga

[ladyknight1512]

Mid-year book review

I blatantly stole this book tag from my friend Bec’s blog. It’s supposed to be a mid-year thing, so I’m only going to count books I read before July 1.

I’ve put most of this under a cut because no one wants to scroll through all that.

1. Best book I’ve read so far?

First question and it’s a hard one. It was a toss-up between Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe and Illuminae – in the end I decided on Illuminae because it blew my mind. It’s the most creative book I’ve seen in a long time, and it really made me think about how people absorb information – something doesn’t have to be explicitly spelled out, for people to grasp it. Also, the way negative space and words are used visually? Wow.

2. Best sequel I’ve read so far?

I only read two sequels in the first half of this year (Gemina and The Golden Fool) and of those choices, Gemina was better.

3. New release you haven’t read yet but want to? 

Probably Obsidio – I’m curious to see how the final book lives up to the first two, and to see how everything gets wrapped up. (What is this? I’m only three questions in and this has turned into a Kaufman/Kristoff lovefest.)

4. Most anticipated release for second half of the year? 

Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare.

5. Biggest disappointment.

Release by Patrick Ness. That whole second plot about the ghost girl and the satyr? What even was that?

6. Biggest surprise.

Illuminae (again) – I didn’t even know what it was when I picked it up at the library, just that I’d been seeing and hearing about it literally everywhere. So I read it and then: mind blown.

7. Favourite new (to me) author! 

Becky Albertalli, of Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda (aka Love, Simon) fame – I wasn’t super keen on Leah on the Offbeat (which I finished in July, so I shouldn’t even be mentioning it), but Simon was delightful.

8. Newest fictional crush?

None?

9. Newest favourite character?

The Fool, from Robin Hobb’s ‘Elderlings’ series. I love him to death and I just want to know everything about him – he’s endlessly fascinating.

10. Book that made me cry?

I might have shed a tear during Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, but I read that in January so it’s hard to remember.

11. Book that made me happy!

*ahem* Hey, Let’s Make a Band! by 5 Seconds of Summer. Yeah, the band. I know, ok? Go ahead. Judge me. I don’t mind. But I am new to the 5SOSFam this year and I’ve gone deep so I bought the book. Is it a literary masterpiece? No. But you know what? It was cute and funny, and it sounded exactly like them, and it made me smile. What more does it need to do than that?

12. Most beautiful book I’ve bought this year?

Definitely Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik. The international cover, of course. Have you seen it? It’s gorgeous.

13. What book(s) do I need to read by the end of the year?!

OMG. So many. A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas, Obsidio, Spinning Silver and Cardinal by Racheline Maltese and Erin McRae (out in August, I think?) to start, but I also want to reread the Immortals series by Tamora Pierce, and some of Anne McCaffrey’s books. We’ll see how I go.