#books i recommend

[endlessly-ranting-antheia]

I felt personally targeted by this book the entire time I read it. The best way to describe it is like an enjoyable peaceful melancholy. Reading it feels the same way that the cover does. The characters all have a relatable but unique sense of being lost and unhappy with various factors of their lives and society. It’s really nice to go on this found family progression with them as they work through their individual problems and build the community of the bookshop. If you do check it out it may or may not be your thing but it definitely was mine

[mumblingsage]

I'm wondering if, as a society who cares about vulnerable people, we could stop saying "traumatize" when we truly mean "upset"?

I am sick of hearing sad books or movies "traumatize" their readers. I simply do not believe that happens. A traumatic experience might be adjacent to books (I have vivid memories of books I was reading around certain experiences and even how the contents of those books affected my processing of the experiences). But it's not caused by the book. And, y'know. The weather is Christofascist Censorship Attempts outside.

Meanwhile from the other side I continue to be surprised at just how badly people fail to understand trauma and traumatic experiences in general. Watering down the term isn't helping. Find other hyperbole to express that The Bridge to Terebithia gutted you, chewed on your heartstrings, and made you cry your first pair of contact lenses right out of your preteen eyes.

(ETA here although it's impossible to edit reblogs: over the months since this post really took off, there has been valuable discussion in the comments. I stand by the passion with which I wrote this post and with the general message, but not all the exact wording. I talk more about the way I'd re-write this post in a response here, replying to an addition that added a ton of useful context [other additions touched on similar themes, but that person had it all together in one reblog]. With that said, I am muting this post.)

[doctormori]

I love this book to death, so here's some things I noticed <3

[lazylittledragon]

i read legends and lattes recently and now i just think karlach should have a coffee shop

[galedekarios]

karlach & gale + 📚

[egophiliac]

quick little stress-relief doodle

[starlingfawn]

through starless sky to blackest ground

[smpearceauthor]

Aromantic Fantasy Book Recs!

It's Aro Week, so here are a few of my favourites!

List:

The Bruising of Qilwa by Jamnia

Fire Becomes Her by Thor

Elatsoe by Little Badger

Kaikeyi by Patel

Tarnished are the Stars by Thor

The Once and Future Witches by Harrow

A Crown of Hopes and Sorrows by Bailey

Natural Outlaws and Fractured Sovereignty by Pearce (hiya, yours truly)

Also a couple more recent reads (I made the graphics a while ago):

City of Strife by Arseneault : a super epic fantasy series with great political drama & intricate worldbuilding

The Last Girls on Earth by Anderton : YA dystopian books that, although super short and exciting, have amazing character development

Pillow Forts and Hurricanes by Scialla : a short, fluffy NA book with a QPR

[ale-arro]

been going a little bit insane about this sentence from Ace by Angela Chen for the past week

[ministarfruit]

day 3: your life is mine ♡

(femslashfeb prompt list)

[endlessly-ranting-antheia]

I don’t usually recommend books on here (because I haven’t really been reading for fun since I started college) but if you like the Percy Jackson series then you should check out A Thousand Beginnings and Endings.

It is a retelling of Asian myths and legends and it is exactly what I’ve been looking for since I plowed through the Percy Jackson series and it’s various sequels in middle school and high school. It is basically a bunch of short stories each followed by an explanation of the myth that they are based on.

I have tried plenty of books based on Greek myths that people have recommended saying that if I liked the Percy Jackson series I would like those books, but so far they have mostly been disappointing for me largely due to the authors writing voice or weak character work. I am loving a thousand beginnings and endings because the authors of that book do not have that problem. The characters are well written and the myths are incorporated naturally into the stories. Each story is only a few pages long but they draw you in and make you want to see what myth they adapt next. The main things that remind me of the Percy Jackson series in a thousand beginnings and endings are the authors’ writing voices and the respect that they have for the myths and cultures they are writing about. It is truly a fun read and you all should definitely check it out if you haven’t already

[im-da-bronx]

Yes!!

Start off with bigger needles, and chunkier yarn.

Use a lighter colored yarn so you can easily see the stitches (DONT USE BLACK for your first project)

Don’t use an overly fuzzy yarn, that will make it harder to see your stitches, and make sure it has a consistent thickness.

If you can, I ABSOLUTELY recommend checking out this book:

Kids Knitting: Projects for Kids of all Ages https://a.co/d/chKaP7t

This is how I learned to knit.

It’s got a ton of cute projects, a BUNCH of illustrated instructions that are SUPER clear to understand, it covers ALL the basics.

It includes:

what animals most fiber comes from,

how yarn is made,

different cultural knitting styles,

different knitting stitch patterns,

flat knitting,

circular needle knitting,

double pointed needle knitting,

increases,

decreases,

cast-on and bind-off,

weaving in ends,

sewing knit pieces together,

using a knitting gauge,

and how to make your own knitting needles!

Have fun on your knitting journey! May your projects be fun, your patience be plentiful, and your yarn never be tangled!

Alright yall I’m going to start learning how to knit properly!

Anyone have tips or suggestions for beginners?

[handweavers]

i always recommend 'how to hide an empire' by daniel immerwahr to usamericans as an intro to imperialism because of how it looks at the history of the us empire and its peripheries in a way that is pretty accessible to newcomers of the subject. if i recall correctly it touches on the history of us involvement in puerto rico, mexico, the philippines, the pacific islands incl hawaii, alaska, and chattel slavery as the construction of an internal colony, as well as on manifest destiny and indigenous genocide on the mainland. it provides a solid overview and you can choose to delve into further research from there

[carrotanikerok]

so Bill had read Statement Abnegation if you had't read it then GO AND DO IT RIGHT NOW. RIGHT NOW I'M SAYING- also ford had read it too.

[nerds-in-wonderland]

💻🖊🖼Drawfee Fun🖼🖊💻

[whitneydaniell]

by: L.S. Stratton Published: Mar 28, 2023 Genre: Thriller, Murder Mystery, Fiction 320 Pages, Paperback

★★★

GoodReads Synopsis:

Tasha Jenkins has finally found the courage to leave her abusive husband. Taking her teenage son with her, Tasha checks into a hotel the night before their flight out of D.C. and out of Kordell Jenkins’s life forever. But escaping isn’t so easy, and Tasha soon finds herself driving back to her own personal hell. As she is leaving, a white woman pounds on her car window, begging to be let in. Behind the woman, an angry man is in pursuit. Tasha makes a split-second decision that will alter the course of her she lets her in and takes off.    Tasha and Madison Gingell may have very different everyday realities, but what they have in common is marriages they need out of. The two women want to help each other, but they have very different ideas of what that means . . .   They are on a collision course that will end in the case files of the D.C. MPD homicide unit. Unraveling the truth of what really happened may be impossible‒and futile. Because what has the truth ever done for women like Tasha and Madison?

My Review:

Uhhhhhhh, where to begin?

I love a good murder mystery but I hate terrible, unlikable characters. Tasha and her son, Ghalen are both.

An unsuspecting Tasha invites a stranger, Madison, into her car to save her from her abusive husband - or so she thinks. Madison then reaches out to thank Tasha, invites her to lunch, then drops a bomb on Tasha as she is heading to the METRO to get home. Tasha is a victim of domestic abuse and ultimately, she is returning home from this lunch right back to the man who has been holding her captive!

Here are some areas where things fall off the tracks for me:

Tasha leaves the hotel to return to Kordell because her 17-year-old son wants to stay. He is 17. He can make that decision for himself. If he is unwilling to see his father for who he really is and has your best interest at heart, LEAVE HIM THERE WITH THAT MAN AND GO ON ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS.

Madison's proposition to Tasha. Madison is not an intelligent criminal if this was her plan all along because now, you've been seen in public with this woman. You've messaged her on IG - which could be used as evidence. Not only with Tasha but, you're talking on the phone with Summer about committing a crime. That's like, the number 1 rule when doing dumb sh*t; don't leave a paper trail or have conversations on the phone. Word to American Gangster!

Morris was way too nice and way too willing to go along with Tasha's dumb sh*t. As a man, how could you walk around with this woman knowing what her husband is doing to her? Why not go to the police to try to save her?

Ghalen! I saw his abusive tendencies coming a mile away. Sadly, Tasha is a mother that we all know; a mother who loves her son instead of raising him. That boy is immature and emotionally stunted and from the moment he was able to discern what was going on around him, he should have been in therapy. For seventeen years he witnessed his father abuse his mother. Not only that but, his mother has only babied and pacified him, his actions, and his behaviors. He was insufferable.

For a murder mystery, it had a great twist. But for me, when there are no redeemable characters, and no one to root for, it makes it hard for me to "like" the book as a whole. Detective Simmons was the only character who had some sense and even he got on my nerves. You cannot function off of lack of sleep and 12 cups of coffee.

I've said it before about murder mysteries: usually, the cops are useless and dumb but, Simmons sniffed out the right clues immediately.

Final Thoughts: The story was cool, I'd give it a 4/5. The characters killed it for me tho, they're a 1/5.

One-Word Summary: 818 Wicker Street