#and then just idk work my way through some other assorted horror classics i guess

[tyrannuspitch]

(guy who went to the library today and decided to recalibrate his entire identity to a stack of books he hasn't read yet voice) been getting really into horror recently

[bloody-wonder]

PLEASE provide some book recs!! I'll take anything, but if it helps narrow it down, maybe the books you really loved but haven't spoken much about on your tumblr? I've already started reading the lymond chronicles, thanks to you!

Or books with good representation of women? So many booktok books are either: full of classic misogyny or girlboss feminism. I am so tired. Please save me 😅

yaaay i'm so glad you're reading the lymond chronicles! good luck lol

okay two books i wish more people would read are gentlemen and players by joanne harris and confusion by stefan zweig so definitely check them out if you like dark academia. they're low on women tho. underrated women-centric dark academia books on the other hand imo are beasts by joyce carol oates and the lake of dead languages by carol goodman - the whodunnit in the latter is pretty easy to guess but it was a fun and atmospheric read nevertheless

do you like sad girl books? i recently read conversations with friends by sally rooney and was surprised by how much i liked it. if so then maybe you'll be into the books mentioned in this post. myself tho i prefer unhinged girl books like boy parts by eliza clark, the grownup by gillian flynn and big swiss by jen beagin which i recently read and found hilarious.

i'm currently reading my brilliant friend by elena ferrante which is the og codependent female friendship novel. a similar book from ukraine is felix austria by sofia andrukhovych - the english edition just came out but idk how accessible it is or how good the translation is. both are very immersive historical novels. a historical romance i can recommend is a lady for a duke by alexis hall, featuring a trans heroine.

on the horror side of things i'd recommend we have always lived in the castle by shirley jackson and the bloody chamber and other stories by angela carter - both are beautifully written, thought-provoking books that center women, both classics at this point. if you're more into icky freaky body horror try things have gotten worse since we last spoke by eric larocca. but you didn't hear this rec from me lol

in terms of ya fantasy i have to reiterate my appreciation for the aurelian cycle by rosaria munda and its main female character who has her girlboss moments but is much more complex than that. i also love felicity from the montague siblings series by mackenzie lee but her book is the second one and you have to read them in order. if you're in the mood for ya that is Old and Weird check out fire and hemlock by diana wynne jones and the perilous gard by elizabeth marie pope - both are compelling reads which might offend modern sensibilities tho.

my favorite female protags in adult fantasy come from spinning silver by naomi novik and the regency faerie tales by olivia atwater - these are women notable for their resourcefulness and strength of spirit rather than wielding swords but they still find ways to triumph over the patriarchal and classist circumstances they grew up in. the same goes for lady trent, the titular character of the memoirs of lady trent which i'm working my way through this year. this series, too, is rapidly becoming a favorite thanks to the narrative voice of its adventurer/dragon researcher mc, among other things. i'm not big on sci fi but i enjoyed lindsay ellis' axiom's end so that's a rec for if you'd like to read about a sad girl having a romance-adjacent arc with an alien.

some of these books are set in the past or in fantasy worlds imitating it so they feature period typical misogyny but never in a *this was clearly written by a man* way. and i do consider some of these heroines to be girlbosses but not in in a derogatory way. your mileage may vary tho🤷‍♀️

p.s. also check out this post with an assortment of random books i seldom talk about