#can’t recommend this book enough

[lunaticbookblog]

A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine

This might be my favorite read of 2024. HIGHLY RECOMMEND. A sci-fi mixed with mystery. The space colonizing human empire of Teixcalaan requests a replacement ambassador to the empire from the independent space station colony of Lsel. With no explanation of why a new ambassador is needed, one is sent with only an extremely out of date memory chip of the first ambassador.

The book has everything. Engaging characters, political intrigue, poetry, mystery, budding relationships, and a fascinating look at the nature of individuality and what makes a person. The pacing and prose are both excellent. Honestly a 10/10 book for me. VERY excited to start the sequel.

“There is, Tarats believes, a kind of inevitability to empire unchecked.”

[fetidbog]

I’m new here so apologies if I’m retreading old ground but have we talked about Varys and Thomas Cromwell parallels?

[fluffypotatey]

Going on Vibes alone, am I right in thinking Newt has scary dog privileges with Thomas?

Like Newt be "Don't make me drop this leash, bro" while Thomas is "bite bite rip claw claw tear maim bite"

YEAH YEAH LITERALLY!!!!

Thomas is so high strung and ready to fight and help and fix (amnesia be damned that was his goal before being Swiped like what the fUcK) meanwhile you have Newt who’s spent 3 years in a hopeless situation that he’s seeing Thomas destroy so easily in the span of 5 days

he notices how Thomas is almost harming himself just to save everyone else and does everything in his power to rein the guy in enough to not hurt himself

other people tho? Newt let’s Thomas fuck them up as a treat

also, Newt is a scary dog, but the difference with him is that he doesn’t bite or bark or growl to warn you. silently waits for you to be distracted by Thomas then fucking murks you if you even consider hurting his boy

[sarafangirlart]

This might be a dumb question but which sources (or what you call it like The Bacchae and Theogony) is the story of Perseus in and can you get a physical copy of said source if possible?

Perseus by Daniel Ogden talks about and analyzes nearly every ancient/medieval text that talked about the legend of Perseus, it’s a great starting point for anyone who wants to learn more about him.

[dragons-library]

Damn I just finished re reading iron flame again

Still devastated

Still so fucking glad they are sleeping in bed together that’s the only thing I’m clinging on to right now.

Please recommend some fanfics of violet and Xaden 💜

And any Ridoc or Garrick ones would also be greatly appreciated

[cindereleanor]

The problem with not staying up to watch election results is that sometimes you officially learn you have a new prime minister through a notification from your audiobook app

[doriandrifting]

Mandatory reading for everyone who doesn’t understand the separation between fiction vs reality. This entire book is a collection of essays about the history of queer people gravitating towards the horror genre, especially as it relates to fictional villains. It has a lot more nuanced takes about how rather than completely separating ourselves from villain-hood in media and queer coding in villains, we can look at why so many queer people feel a sense of connection or greater level of compassion for antagonists that have traditionally been viewed as monstrous. Like when we look at how a lot of villains throughout horror media have represented a fear of the largely dominant white, straight, heteronormative society—the same society that ostracizes the villain—we can understand why a queer person might feel a sense of relatability even though they would consciously condemn these behaviors in real life.

[e-adlirez]

Help.

Is there an order you're supposed to read the Geronimo Stilton books in???? If so which one's the first???

Well, yes there is an order to the books, but you can read them in any order you want! If you wanna read them in chronological order tho then uuuuhhhhhhh depends on the language you read them in because publishing orders differ depending on the language.

Since you said you’re gonna read them in Italian, uhhhhhhhhhhh I’m not entirely sure because I don’t read the books in Italian (unfortunately) and the Geronimo Stilton official website doesn’t have their Library of Alexandria of a catalogue of the Italian main books for some reason (if I’m reading stuff correctly) :/

Soooo ye just grab whatever’s at the thrift store and read away HAHAHAHAH the rest of the fandom I believe can give you book recs if they feel so inclined

Welcome to the Stilton fandom, my friend, hope you enjoy the madness brainrot :3

[apothecaryofthedamned]

recently rewatched the haunting of hill house

[scobbe]

Tagged by @strugglingclassicist thank you very much I feel very scholarly.

Last read: O Holy Mountain! Journal of a Retreat on Mount Athos by M. Basil Pennington, O.C.S.O. The personal journal of a Roman Catholic Cistercian monk spending the summer on the Greek peninsula which is an independent republic of Eastern Orthodox monasteries. Beautiful and humble spiritual insights alongside political and ecumenical observations revealed in a way outsiders rarely get to experience, in a place where Christianity has been practiced more or less unchanged for over 1500 years.

Currently reading: Story of a Soul by Saint Therese of Lisieux. The autobiography of the Little Flower, more relatable in its 1880’s/90’s timeframe than many other lives of the saints, and she died at the age of 24 so in many ways she reads like just a normal young woman who happened to really love God. Flowery and sincere and sweet with deeply insightful theology.

Next read: The Supper of the Lamb: A Culinary Reflection by chef and Episcopal priest Robert Farrar Capon, recommended to me by by sister-in-law (and her friends) during a conversation about disordered eating habits. Supposed to be both funny and helpful, touching on intuitive eating alongside observances of feasts and fasts.

I will tag @dappergirlbf @brightquietude and @wholenessblooming if they’d like to share some summer reads.

[skwtches]

ive never seen any winnie the pooh related media but im so in love w the way u draw tigger an that rabbit character that i now wanna see it

AWW THANK YOUU I’m so flattered omg <333

[eggs-love-loki]

My boyfriend and I picked up a book called Threads that Bind (Kika Hatzopoulou) for a mini book club while we were at the beach this week and we didn’t realize it was a first in a series and not a standalone and I finished it and I’m OBSESSED with the world and characters and plot but there’s no sequel yet 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

[priestfrommidnightmass]

these violent delights is actually kind of ruining my life because i’ve never read something that portrays a characters self hatred so thoroughly and unavoidably and entirely Needlessly. it’s tearing me apart if i’m being quite honest

[always-a-slut-4-ghouls]

On the one hand I think it would be really funny if one of my posts blew up, but on the other hand I’d be more self conscious and I am almost certain that people would be annoying with me about veganism. There are literally blogs dedicated to countering dumb arguments and they are so much more eloquent than me. Acti-veg is right there you don’t need to pester me about it, they can word things a million times better than my clumsy ass. I don’t even post about veganism 24/7. It’s in my description because I do post about it, but i reblog memes more than anything else. I do wish I was better at debating for the sake of all the important things I care about. I care about humans as well, and no, those two aren’t mutually exclusive, I say this to people who resist animal rights because they think you can’t do that and care about human rights AND to vegans who, understandably, have become very disillusioned with the current dominant human cultures and outlooks on the treatments of animals. It’s always hard when you see something that is everywhere and is fucked up. It can be hard to not feel only bitterness and despair. For people who aren’t vegan, it could be compared to realizing how fucked up capitalism is and being surrounded by people who defend the system, even people who are hurt by it (so, real life). I can point people in the direction of others who are better at communicating (whenever I have a singular person who comes to mind first, so many things have so many people that I have trouble thinking of just one. Veganism is so weirdly shit upon on this website though that I can think of blogs specifically dedicated to it with far more ease) I didn’t decide to just go vegan on a whim. Going vegetarian was an easy choice to me, but the culture of using animals is so ubiquitous that I myself resisted veganism for quite awhile. This didn’t pop out of nowhere. I gradually noticed things until I went “what I’m doing is actually pretty fucked up and I can stop doing so many of these things” to minimize the amount of harm you do whenever it’s possible and can be done in practice. It’s not some crazy definition, it’s not some unattainable philosophy to do your best to live by, the official definition doesn’t say “stop taking your medication” but you can try to buy things without animal products or testing when I comes to like, shampoo. If you are like “but I don’t have options when it comes to shampoo!” Is there literally anything else you can change? That is what it’s about. The thing is, a lot of people can change more than they expect they can. I can’t show up at your house, look through your budget, check every store you can shop at, but if you can do even a little of that some time, you are at least doing better and are closer to doing everything you can in your own life. If you want to get more defensive and go “what about this person who isn’t me” or “what about this thing I haven’t really thought about for more than a literal minute” whatever it is, it has probably been addressed by someone who actually has a better way with words than me. I won’t just shut up about everything I care about, but I won’t pretend that whatever it is hasn’t already been addressed by a million people who are better than me, and you just don’t care enough to listen to them.

This has turned into me rambling but I am so so tired of encountering the same arguments a million times by people who think that they have some hot new take, and I know I’d have so many people doing that if I got more popular on main. I don’t really mind more people finding me funny or being exposed to a new idea by seeing something I’ve posted or shared, but I am fucking tired of being expected to be some professional or even amateur debater because I care about something and share that person’s post. I know some people are going to dismiss me because of that, but it has already been addressed by a million people better at doing it than me, and whoever is talking to me probably wouldn’t even listen to that anyway. It’s like someone asking you about “why is capitalism bad” and you have seen whatever they throw at you hundreds of times and you know a fuck tonne of people have already explained why capitalism bad. It’s just that whoever it is wants you, just some guy, to explain it and explain it better than you, a random meme guy who cares about things but isn’t practiced in explaining more than the definition of an English word or something.

[sadiecoocoo]

Why does almost every ship get into fit I Love You Like an Alcoholic so well?

[ruesol]

Play fighting with Boxer!Sukuna

Note: Reader is referred to as girlfriend at one point.

Masterlist

“Babe.”

“Not right now.”

“Babe.”

“Sukuna, I promise I’ll be done with this book soon.”

He huffed and fell back onto the couch. He had been trying to get your attention for the past 30 minutes but you were adamant on finishing your book. This is all the fault of that damn community book club your coworker recommended you join. Now whenever, you’re off work and Sukuna doesn’t have to train, you’re reading. Usually the two of you spent almost all your spare time together but now you spent half of it reading your newest book for your weekly discussion. You always did your best to spoil him with kisses and cuddles but it was never enough.

Book club be damned, he needed you to be superglued to his side every single second.

“My girlfriend has a side man and he’s made of paper,” he huffed to himself as he watched you intently read. What was so great about your book anyway? Was it worth ignoring your gorgeous (and shirtless) boyfriend? He even had a tattoo of your name on his left pec and you were still choosing to smother a book with your attention.

Sukuna’s wallowing turned him creative- he stood in front of you, trying to make sure your guard was down. You didn’t look up which meant that you were still engrossed in your book. His hand swooped in and swiftly snatched the book from you. “Sukuna,” you groaned. “Give it back, I was at a good part.” You got up to grab it from him but he raised it above his head. “Kiss me.” You glared at him and gave him a quick peck on his lips. “Done, now give it.”

“No,” he nonchalantly replied. “But I kissed you.” You wondered why he was being particularly irritating today.

“That was me begging for a morsel of your attention. Now cuddle me if you want it,” he said and cheekily smirked.

You ignored him and hopped trying to get your book. Sukuna simply dodged your sad attempts and laughed every time you missed. “I don’t even know why you’re trying.” You gave him a pointed look at his comment.

“Okay, fine, you can have your book if you beat me in a fight.”

“What? That makes no sense.” You couldn’t believe this man. “It seems like a fair challenge to me,” he said as he walked to a particularly high shelf and placed your book on top of it. “You know I can just use my stepping stool for that, right?” you said before scoffing at him.

“Then it’s a good thing I hid it.” His sarcastic smile was now pissing you off. “But you literally fight for a living. You have the upper hand.”

“I’m in love with you. Use that as a distraction. Come on, let’s go to the ring.” You were speechless as he dragged you to the fighting “ring” (also known as your bedroom).

Since you had a smaller frame than him, he agreed to let you have the first hit. You sighed and braced yourself. You didn’t have much of a strategy except for charging at him with such a high speed that he’d fall on the bed and would accept defeat.

But as soon as you were in close distance, he caught both your arms, turned you around and threw you on the bed. He didn’t give you a second to get up before he straddled you. “Haha!” he exclaimed. Seeing you all riled up underneath him was a sight he was used to but it never failed to awe him.

“Feels familiar, doesn’t it?” he asked as he began to lower himself to face you. “This is so unfair! You’re like 200 pounds, I can’t even move you,” you said as you tried to push him off. Sukuna grabbed your hands that were fighting him and he playfully wrestled them. Who knows what would’ve happened if he used his real strength.

Thank goodness for your quick thinking because you remembered that Sukuna was extremely ticklish so you pulled your hand out of his grasp with all the strength you could muster up and started poking his sides. “Babe!” he yelled before toppling over to his side.

It was your turn to straddle him and before you could pin his arms beside his head, he caught yours and pulled you down to him. He wrapped his muscular arms around you and tucked your head under his chin. Your cheeks were mushed against the very tattoo of your name.

You were literally stuck in one position. The more you tried to move the tighter he’d hold you. “Sukuna, you cheater. Why do I always do this to myself?” You sighed, accepting defeat.

Sukuna kissed your forehead and laid you both on your sides, still not letting you go. “Sweet, sweet victory,” he whispered to himself.

-•-

I need to be (lovingly) smothered by a beefy nerd. Someone like Clark Kent.