#elizabeth's book rec

[bigcats-birds-and-books]

aro tumblr, academics and otherwise, arise!! i need your help with reading recs!

i'm studying up on aromanticism and amatonormativity (yeah for fiction related purposes, per my M.O.), and i'm on the hunt for nonfiction reading materials. essays or articles (academic or pop), or collections, or whole-ass books--literally anything i can read. i am also accepting links to your favorite tumblr posts on the subject!

i myself am also aro, so i've got the 101 stuff down. what i'm looking for is deeper dive material. i am not opposed to dense theory texts, i just don't know where to start lol. also accepting personal essay style reflections, though--literally the whole range of nonfiction would help!

i am looking SPECIFICALLY for aro, not aro and ace conflated (if you have recs that hit both, please do drop them, just specify that it's both!)

my (tiny) list currently consists of:

- Minimizing Marriage by Elizabeth Brake

- Refusing Compulsive Sexuality by Sherronda Brown (which, yeah, i know is ace, but it's on thin ice because she does mention aro in text too)

feel free to boost even if you have no new contributions! thanks for reading!!

[ninawolv3rina]

Some queer horror to make your pride a little bloodier, a little more eldritch, a little more monstrous

Welcome to my dark and twisted pride month

A Grisly Communion

Eyetooth

By Our Bloodied Hands

Pane

Faded Moon

Into the Deep and the Dark

[professorr-lupin]

nah i KNOW the tumblr secret history girlies would absolutely eat up waking the moon by elizabeth hand LIKE it's got cults, hot men of ambiguous sexualties, and women who kill people (men) because they feel like it

like if you loved when richard got high and spouted insane shit this is what you need to read

also generally I hate the "in another lifetime we'll be together" trope BUT THIS ONE DOES IT SO SO WELL OMG

it's so aggressively 90s and I love it (I swear I'm not just saying it because I share a name with one of the main characters)

[phaedraismyusername]

Hi hello I have been knee deep in a genre binge so here are some literary sci-fi books that deal with loneliness as a core theme

I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman

Translated from French this book follows the youngest girl in a group of 40 women who are being kept in a cage underground in an unknown place, for unknown reasons, until one day they get the chance to escape triggering a search for answers and survival on a desolate surface.

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

This is a very subtle dystopian story about a group of people who spend their childhoods at an extremely secretive english boarding school, the course of their relationships, and where they are at the end of their lives. There's a subtle feeling of wrongness from the first chapter and the author spends the rest of the novel very slowly revealing the reasons why.

Everything You Ever Wanted by Luiza Sauma

The super short form pitch for this book is 'Fleabag if there was an option to yeet herself to another planet'. Iris is in a long term relationship with depression, kind of hates her pointless job, sometimes hates her family, and is generally overwhelmed by the weight of existence, when she hears about Nyx - earth's first space colony - and thinks that just maybe it could be the answer to all her problems.

Remnant Population by Elizabeth Moon

When the population of a company sponsored colony finds out they have been designated a failure and the people are to be packed up and shipped off to another planet to try again, one little old lady decides that for the first time in her long life she's going to break the rules - she's going to stay and live her best life alone on the planet, and finally get some peace and quiet. What could go wrong?

Skyward Inn by Aliya Whiteley

Skyward Inn is an odd little book set in a future where Earth has come into contact with an alien world that quickly surrendered to humanity. The story follows a small group of kind of unlikeable people who live behind the walls of the 'western protectorate' - a place in the moors that's decided to isolate itself and live like the old days with rudimentary technology for a simple life. Until strangers appear and things start to get... weird. Slower, stranger and with more body horror than you might expect.

[bookishfreedom]

sapphic greek mythology retelling? I think yes

[bookshelvesandtealeaves]

5 star reads of 2024 ↳ novel problems by elizabeth luly

[witchthewriter]

𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝑹𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏!

If there's anyone trying to find a good adult fantasy book that's a twist on the Beauty & the Beast tale, well, I have found something for YOU. (Or if you're just trying to find a good adult fantasy book period.)

Although I did get this through audible (the voice actors were great btw), I think this series is as just as good as SJM's. Well maybe not Throne of Glass, but you know what I mean. Because I first read the ACOTAR series and that reawakened my love for reading and I've been trying to find the next best book. (I've read/listened to a LOT of crappy ones).

The book is called: Bonded by Thorns. The author is Elizabeth Helen but apparently those are names of two sisters and they write together?

Anyway, no spoilers - but Bonded by Thorns was actually such a smooth read. Everything flowed, there was mystery, intrigue, excitement, oh and GOOD spice, like ... really good.

I give it 4/5 ⭐️'s.

[wordsarelifereviews]

Another gorgeous edition of Pride & Prejudice 😍

(Originally posted on my Instagram)

[triviareads]

Hi, do you happen to have any fave recs for a heroine in disguise trope? It can be e.g. a heroine that wants to seem mousy/inconspicuous at first sight (Cat in Married by Morning) or perhaps a heroine with secret indentity (Chase in Never Judge a Lady By Her Cover)....? I know it's more common in historicals but it can be modern rom com too. Thank you in advance!

Hi! Sorry for the delay. Here are the ones I could think of off the top of my head:

The Wolf and the Wildflower by Stacy Reid: The heroine's been disguised as a man her entire life because her mother didn't want to go through childbirth again so she lied and said she was a boy to her husband. She's now a psychologist and is invited to help this WOLFY DUKE who's been in the wilds of Alaska for years and needs help getting reacclimated to society. I can confirm he susses her out as a woman within moments of meeting her and by susses her out he SNIFFS her out.

The Courtesan Duchess by Joanna Shupe: Exactly what it says on the tin; the hero and heroine are married but have been estranged for years. Her situation is getting pretty desperate so she disguises herself as a courtesan and goes to him in Italy where he's been fucking around for like 8 years and tries to seduce him into getting her pregnant.

The Good Girl's Guide to Rakes by Eva Leigh: The heroine asks the hero to take her to all his demimonde haunts so she disguises herself with a wig and makeup as "Salome".

Her Husband’s Harlot by Grace Callaway: Another heroine who disguises herself as a prostitute to find her husband except he doesn't recognizes her and she ends up getting devirginized in a brothel........ and then goes back for a repeat experience.

Her Wanton Wager by Grace Callaway: This heroine really tries to slap on a mustache to go meet this underworld gambling hell owner so she can persuade him to let go of her brother's debts, except obviously the hero recognizes she's a woman in 10 seconds after ripping her mustache off.

Duke of Pleasure by Elizabeth Hoyt: She's THE GHOST OF ST. GILES, also, she does disguise herself as a boy because it's easier to be a boy on the streets; the hero is soooo confused and sooooo turned on by it.

The Bride Goes Rogue by Joanna Shupe: She attends a costume ball/mildly an orgy as Madame de Pompadour and hooks up with the hero who is conveniently dressed as Louis XV. Neither of them recognize each other as their betrothed until the hero called it off quite recently.

Hyacinth by Minerva Spencer/S.M. LaViolette: Another heroine disguised as a man; in this case, she's quite the card shark and wants to get into the good gambling places so she can earn back her family's fortune. The hero figures out it's a disguise but kind of plays along and teases her, culminating in him asking her to jerk off with him in a voyeur room 💀

His Valet by S.M. LaViolette: So our modern understanding of this MC is that they would be nonbinary but Jo does refer to herself using she/her pronouns. This disguise here is twofold: she dresses in masculine clothing and works as the hero's valet, and because she really wants to be with the hero, she disguises herself as a woman and pretends to be a prostitute so she can sleep with him. It's WILD but LaViolette handles it with a lot of care.

One Kiss to Desire by Grace Callaway: The heroine purposely makes herself look uglier/older so she can get the job as the hero's housekeeper.

Rules of Engagement by Christina Dodd: Another heroine who disguises herself to look uglier/older; the hero actually specifies it as a qualification for the governess he's looking to hire for the child he BOUGHT to make himself look more respectable; apparently the good-looking servants keep throwing themselves at him because he's soooo hot so he needs a complete uggo to serve his purposes.

[classicliteratureprincess]

Recent writers I been introduced to -

Theodore Roethke

Elizabeth Bishop

Robert Hayden

Gwendolyn Brooks

Robert Lowell

W. D. Snodgrass

Eudora Welty

Sylvia Plath

Anne Sexton

James Baldwin

Lorraine Hansberry

Ralph Ellison

Amiri Baraka

[lexxwithbooks]

📖: 𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏, 𝑻𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒔 (𝐶ℎ𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑔𝑜 𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑠 #2) 🏈🤠

✍🏽: 𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐧 𝐄𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐡 𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐬

[chadsuke]

Books Read in 2024:

Little Mushroom: Revelations by Shisi (2022)

The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System Vol. 3 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu (2022)

The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System Vol. 4 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu (2022)

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros (1984)

Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller (1949)

Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World by Naomi Klein (2023)

Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou (2018)

Heaven Official's Blessing Vol. 1 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu (2021)

Heaven Official's Blessing Vol. 2 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu (2022)

[ID: Covers of the aforementioned books. End ID.]

[emachinescat]

A Year in (Book) Review: My 2024 Reading Journey 📚

#35 - When You Wish Upon a Star by Elizabeth Lim

Fantasy / Twisted Tales #14 / 301 pages / published in 2023 / Finished Mar. 29

One Sentence Review: A surprisingly heartfelt tale set in the world of Pinocchio, this Twisted Tale sets its sight on the Blue Fairy and introduces an interesting magical world and magic system, as well as new and old-but-better-developed characters, for a magical journey of love, family, and sisterhood.

Favorite Quotes

"Empathy without a conscience is like living with only half a heart. Your conscience is what motivates you to act. It is our compass, guiding us in the direction of doing what's right."

*

"'Who ... who doesn't love children?' he stammered. 'They are the future. They have their whole world in front of them, and they're free to dream.'"

*

"At least she had cookies."

*

"Because not everyone is all good or all bad, she realized. It might be easy to label them as such, but it simply isn't true."

*

"Experience and age have no correlation to the strength of one's heart."

*

"A lie keeps growing and growing until it's as plain as the nose on your face."

My rating: 4/5

A Few More Thoughts (Spoilers):

I enjoyed this book much more than I expected to considering I don't like Pinocchio. The fact that it focused so heavily on the Blue Fairy - Chia - and her sister's broken relationship got me invested in the story. I also really enjoyed Geppetto's character and his romance with Ilaria.

Along with my really liking the book, I was most surprised by the simple but still somehow in-depth world building. The fairy magic system was intriguing, and I liked the divide between the good and bad fairies and the message that too many rules, or the strictest adherence to tradition, even in pursuit of good, can be bad.

This book teaches that the world is not made up of black and white; it is much more complex than that. Sometimes in our pursuit of and dedication to helping people and doing good, we can become too obsessed with the rules and order and can lose sight of what made us want to help people in the first place.

[mermaidsirennikita]

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Join me in recognizing the superiority of Lorraine Heath’s multi generational “Oliver Twist but it fucks” series

[bookshelvesandtealeaves]

✨ BOOK REVIEW ✨

Novel Problems by Elizabeth Luly

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[instagram]

Thank you so much to the author for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Elizabeth Luly is easily one of my all time favourite authors so it’s no surprise this was another five star read for me.

I adored George in Not Just Gal Pals so getting her story here made me so happy. I loved getting to know her more, learn about her dreams and insecurities, her past and everything that makes her her. She’s such a loveable character, an absolute cinnamon roll as Hannah so aptly described her, and I loved seeing her get her happy ending.

Hannah was instantly loveable. Her aversion to tough conversations, the way she kept putting them off and justifying it to herself, was honestly so relatable. Her anxiety and the situation she let it put her in made ME anxious but it also just made me love her all the more because she felt so real.

Hannah and George were such a perfect match and I just felt absolutely giddy watching them fall in love and work out how that would work between them. Every concern they had was not only realistic, but really well handled on the page. Their open communication, even if it took a bit to work up the courage to get there, was so good to see.

I also just really enjoyed all the author details. I love books about books and books following authors are just so much fun to read about.

If you can’t tell, I absolutely can’t recommend this book enough.

[richmond-rex]

Hi there!

I was wondering if you have any book recommendations about Elizabeth of York? You always cite a lot of different authors/books/articles in your posts, and I was wondering which ones you would recommend, or consider the best.

Hi! I've mentioned a few recs for Elizabeth of York before here and elsewhere but I will put them all together in this ask since there aren't so many of them after all and I will mention a few articles or chapters that are useful too. Obligatory disclaimer that I don't agree 100% with everything that is said in those books/articles/chapters etc but they're all useful sources of information that allow you to draw your own conclusions.

Mandatory biography: Elizabeth of York by Arlene Okerlund (alternatively, Elizabeth of York: The Forgotten Tudor Queen by Amy Licence)

Elizabeth of York and her six-daughters-in-law by Retha Warnicke

The Last Medieval Queens: English Queenship 1445-1503 by Joanna L. Laynesmith

 In Bed With the Tudors: The Sex Lives of a Dynasty from Elizabeth of York to Elizabeth I by Amy Licence

From Birth till Death: Royal Ceremony in the Life of Elizabeth of York, Queen of England (article) by Anna Duch

Margaret Tudor, Countess of Richmond, and Elizabeth of York: Dynastic Competitors or Allies? (chapter) by Retha Warnicke

The Queen’s Grace: English Queenship 1464-1503 (MA thesis) by Derek Neal

Elizabeth of York (chapter) in Queenship at the Renaissance Courts of Britain by Michelle Beer

All the Queen’s Jewels, 1445-1548: Power, Majesty and Display by Nicola Tallis

Happy reading 🤍x