#and the books being reread soon

[skijumpingf1]

I am obsessed with maxton hall. Like it was soooo good. My expectations were pretty low (since German book adaptation usually suck) but I am blown away

[nectorbruise]

Since I’m back into kotlc, here’s some updated designs for the main five. I didn’t color it because I am lazy as hell

[knickynoo]

So, one fun thing about me is that I always get great enjoyment out of mysteries, thrillers, etc in the various media I consume. Plot-twists? Literally will never see them coming. That grand reveal? Every single sentence of it will leave my jaw on the floor.

Earlier in the year, I went through a murder mystery series in which every single book left me utterly baffled until the clues were all woven together and explained at the end. Couldn't even venture a guess as to who the killer was or how they did it until the protagonist would give her big speech toward the end.

And I just now finished a book in which there was such a massive plot-twist in the last ten or so pages that I had to stop reading and just stare into space for a while to process it. What was that twist, you ask? One of the two main characters of the story is revealed to have been dead the entire time. She died 60 years prior to the opening of the story, and the main character, now elderly and never having gotten over the loss, has conjured her up as a "hallucination" that she talks to for comfort.

I went onto Goodreads after because I was so slapped in the face by this, and what do I see? Multiple negative reviews from people complaining the plot-twist was so obvious from the first few pages that it made the book unenjoyable to read. Well, sorry, 1-star-reviewers—couldn't be me. I did not pick up on a single clue that this woman was a figment of someone's imagination. Somehow completely missed the fact that no other characters aside from the main one ever spoke to her. I stepped over every last dropped bread crumb the author sprinkled in there to help readers piece things together.

And though I should be used to this happening by now, this particular one got to me so much that I needed to post about it.

[throughpatchesofviolet]

Also, I'm going to change Sherry's weapon ... originally, she just used her fists, but I was double checking some things while typing up my last post, and realized that Sherlock often carries a cane with him, and, after a bit of thinking, I've decided that suits Sherry better than simply using her bare hands (and also this makes her a bit more unique, since Meursault is the Sinner known for punching things).

It works a lot better with my concept for her E.G.O, as well, because the cane itself could be a Blunt weapon, she could have a sword hidden in it for Slash attacks, and then the handle of the cane/sword could detach and be used as a pistol for Pierce damage! I'm thinking it's probably a weapon she commissioned from a Workshop ... and it could have her "keyword" engraved on the shaft.

[reminiscentrainclouds]

I am a guy who can get So emotionally attached to fictional characters.

[devilsskettle]

i think i'm finally gonna read house of leaves wish me luck

[james-spooky]

this is a test

[acaciapines]

i read dog boy by hornung weeks ago and man. im still thinking about this book. as a therian it just REALLY hit home, and. my god. that ending. heartbreaking! but how else could things have ended.

god i adore this book. i'd recommend it to anybody who has read and enjoyed my otherkin works--its about an orphaned russian boy raised by a pack of feral dogs and oh boy!!! does it scratch all the right itches!!! its heavy and it doesnt pull its punches but its just so effective, gah.

please read this book i cannot keep spiraling about it in my own head--

[medicinemane]

I don't know, I still feel like the world is mostly made up of people who don't understand Fight Club, and people who don't understand Fight Club

You have the people who like... think Tyler Durden is someone to emulate, and then you have the people who see the first group and therefore decide that Fight Club must be an immoral book/movie (not unlike American Psycho)

When like... Tyler Durden is a charismatic character, and a lot of the stuff he talks about are real issues. Stuff like isolation and purposelessness... and... can you really say that there's not a part of you that agrees with putting dynamite in golf course holes and his plan to blow up credit card companies to erase everyone's debt?

But the problem is he's an accelerationist and has dumb ass dream about people stalking deer down wall street, and like... as much as he's a charming character, you're not paying attention if you think he's someone to follow

Meanwhile group two just didn't read the book or watch the movie but decided they know best about it, and I don't respect people like that

Basically I like Fight Club and find it compelling and feel like... fuck I wish it didn't hold up as well... fuck I wish God Bless You Mr Rosewater didn't hold up as well as it does, and that's even older... I'd like society to like... progress instead of being just as shitty to the point old media resonates just as well today (God Bless You Mr Rosewater is a good book in my opinion)

Anyway, I lack the analytical chops to really nail down my thoughts on Fight Club and what it does, why it's compelling to me, but it is, and I get tired of both groups not getting it even a little

[bigcats-birds-and-books]

Books of 2024: August Wrap-Up.

Hey, would you look at that, it's suddenly September! Rude and uncalled for. This month, I did a lot of knitting (two sets of gloves and two hats! gearing up for holiday season), and a LOT of writing (finished the first 16k draft of a scene, who???), and read uh. Some. I didn't finish a ton of books, but I did make it through what felt like a ton of pages.

Two-thirds of this month's reading were post-apocalyptic-community-oriented, on purpose, to feed into my current writing project, and that worked really well--either I'm very good at choosing books that match the vibe I need, or my ADHD brain is good at making connections, OR a little bit of column A, a little bit of column B. Photos and/or reviews linked below:

GHOST STATION (pages-out stand-in book pictured above, because I checked it out from the library after canceling my paperback pre-order, which was a good call) - ★★ This was very bad. Bad science, stupid incompetent characters, JUST enough neat worldbuilding to make it FRUSTRATING that this missed so hard. I'm bummed because I wanted to read DEAD SILENCE by this author, too, but I don't trust her now :(

ALWAYS COMING HOME - ★★★★½ Loved this!! Dense and chewy, and it required a lot of patience, but it was very rewarding and I'm really glad I read it. My absolute favorite passage was about scrub oaks, but I posted a few other highlights and tagged them as "le guin posting," if you're interested! If you like Le Guin and/or utopias and better futures and/or huge books that push what it means to Be A Novel, check this out for sure.

ARCHANGELS OF FUNK - ★★★½ So. I didn't realize that this was attached to a few other novels she's already written. And I read it cold (oops). Goodreads informed me that it was Book #2 of Cinnamon Jones, and review-diving indicated that REDWOOD AND WILDFIRE is also implicated in its worldbuilding, but that didn't stop me because I can't read. I would like to revisit this one after I've read those other two, I think, but!: The community and vibes and Making Art At The End Of The World were all immaculate, and the character names made me feel vindicated in some of my own naming conventions (seriously: there's an Indigo in this, and a Game-Boy, and Hawk, I can't make this shit up).

Under the Cut: A Note About ~*★Stars★*~

Historically, I have been Very Bad™ about assigning things Star Ratings, because it's so Vibes Heavy for me and therefore Contingent Upon my Whims. I am refining this as I figure out my wrap up posts (epiphany of this month: I don't like that stars are Odd, because that makes three the midpoint and things are rarely so truly mid for me)(I have hacked my way around this with a ½). Here is, generally, how I conceptualize stars:

★ - This was Bad. I would actively recommend that you do NOT read this one, no redeeming qualities whatsoever, not worth the slog. Save Yourself, It's Too Late For Me. Book goes in the garbage (donate bin).

★★ - This was Not Good. I would not recommend it, but it wasn't a total waste or wash--something in here held my interest/kept my attention/sparked some joy. I will not be rereading this ever. Save Yourself (Or Join Me In Suffering, That Seems Like A Cool Bonding Activity).

★★★ - This was Good/Fine/Okay/Meh. I don't care about this enough to recommend it one way or another. Perfectly serviceable book, held my interest, I probably enjoyed myself (or at least didn't actively loathe the reading). I don't have especially strong feelings. You probably don't need to save yourself from this one--if it sounds like your jam, give it a shot! Just didn't resonate with me particularly powerfully. I probably won't reread this unless I'm after something in particular.

★★★½ - I liked this! I'll probably recommend it if I know it matches someone's vibes or specific requests, but I didn't commit to a star rating on Goodreads. More likely to reread, but not guaranteed.

★★★★ - I really enjoyed this!! I would recommend it (sometimes with caveats about content warnings or such--I tend to like weird fucked up funny shit, and I don't have many hard readerly NO's). Not a perfect book for me by any means, but Very Good. This is something I would reread! Join me!!

★★★★★ - I LOVED THE SHIT OUT OF THIS, IT REWIRED MY BRAIN, WILL RECOMMEND TO ANYONE AND EVERYONE AT THE SLIGHTEST PROVOCATION (content warning caveats still apply--see 4-star disclaimer). Excellent book, I'll reread it regularly, I'll buy copies for all my friends, I'll try to convince all of Booklr to read it, PLEASE join me!!

[timelessbian]

the greatest thing that's come from rereading the riordanverse books is that today a dad saw house of hades on the desk next to me and pointed it out to his kid who just lit up and started asking me if i knew the spinoffs and the short stories and i got to tell him heck yeah i know them!! what's your favorite?? and he was so excited to talk about it, and i just...idk there's something about little kids realizing that an adult genuinely likes something they love that's just so amazing and i love it

[pardonmydelays]

what’s your top 3 of books? 📚

in no particular order:

the seven husbands of evelyn hugo, taylor jenkins reid

the hunger games series, suzanne collins

the cemetery of forgotten books series, carlos ruiz zafon

[punmster]

i've come to accept that i'm bad at writing romance, but at least i'm not as bad as the source material

[cafe-mouse]

my mom brought me my old warriors book collection that's been in her storage for years! 🐈

[sureuncertainty]

hopefully it's just tonight but i haven't written at all in the last couple of days and i tried again tonight and it didn't work AGAIN i just can't get myself to write idk sometimes i really feel like the sequel to silence agenda is literally never ever going to actually get written and there's no point in even trying

[phagodyke]

IN OTHER NEWS I FINISHED TRANSLATION STATE LAST NIGHT the ending had me sobbing not bc it's sad at all but WAAAAA