#i truly do love these kinds of books so recs would be phenomenal

[eclipsewxtch]

a trope i absolutely love is a really good “where did they go”/runaway trope. i love that shit. i go FERAL for it. runaway/missing persons/whodunit but the person in question’s body HASNT BEEN FOUND??? i eat it up. allison from pll; sadie from sadie (courtney summers); lucy gray baird (tbosas); the list is ENDLESS!

‘she’s missing?’ someone asks.

‘he’s never been found.” your teacher says solemnly, head bowed.

they left that one sunny afternoon, before the clock struck twelve, and haven’t been home since.

one day, zir was just gone. and zir was here, once. that memory is there—faded like an old photograph, like the indents of your nails in your palm. Zir had been here, it says. but time passes, and those little truths suddenly aren’t truths at all.

i love that shit. i love that opening—it’s a day like any other, or maybe it’s not (maybe the earth swallowed you whole before you even woke up and you know you know before your eyes even open) and this person (they loved you; you knew them; you hated them; you love them; when did you meet?; that face…; did you even know them, who was that?) is gone. it may be a mystery to a small town, or a simple statistic in a big city, or a person you never even met, or someone you tried to, or wish you knew more, or loved like your own family.

they’re gone. but are they dead? you hear whispers wherever you go, like a haunting melody, or a rickety creek of a staircase, or a broken pipe that wind and water can’t help but come through. it’s present; but time moves on; and you listen.

“strange, isn’t it—how someone can leave so suddenly.” was it sudden? was it?

what did you really know about them? is it an open-shut case? is something darker at play?

really, all you want to know is: what the hell happened to—

but you won’t know. it’s not a mystery you’d solve easily, maybe not one you’d solve at all. it is not YOUR story.

…but maybe it could be.

[iambibliophilic]

My all-time favourite books &recs!

1. The murderbot series by Martha Wells. I truly cannot fault these books. Sci-fi with an undercurrent of the ethical ramifications of a society with human/robot constructs. First few are very short, then book 5 is a full novel. Diverse cast of characters, casual non-binary rep (esp later on), polyamory, asexual rep. 10/10 humour. What more could you want?

2. The Hidden Legacy series by Ilona Andrews. Spicy urban fantasy. First trilogy revolves around human lie detector Nevada, second trilogy from the point of view of her sister. My favourite books are 4 and 5 (especially 4!). Such a cosy cast of characters I love them so much. Prepare for some problematic stuff in book one though omg I did not remember that the love interest did THAT how did they recover from that I’ll never know. Also stop whitewashing these characters they’re mixed race and it’s mentions that explicitly (although one criticism I have of Ilona andrews is that even their POC read like white characters. More depth needed)

3. The innkeeper chronicles by Ilona Andrews. I think it’s described as paranormal romance? But I would describe it as urban SCI-FI. I would say consider the first book a prequel of sorts and judge the series more starting from the second book. Again they’re pretty short. Defo get better as the series progresses since the world-building takes a while. Maud’s book was so unexpectedly phenomenal I highly highly recommend. Technically this series is most enjoyable after reading the author’s On The Edge series but I won’t put you through that. (I love those books but objectively only book 4 is perfect so decide for yourself if you want to give that series a go once you’ve seen Ilona Andrews’ other work. It’s their oldest series so the fact that it’s not their best is actually a really good sign - you can really see their growth and how they’ve improved as authors with every publication.) Don’t get excited they’re not non-binary: Ilona Andrews is the name of a husband and wife who write books together. They also happen to be my favourite authors so get ready for me to recommend all of their books to you

4. Red, white and royal blue by Case McQuiston. The perfectest perfect book out there. I’m just putting it on here to show you I have good taste

5. The Second Mango series. I’ve only read the first two but now that I’m getting better (I’ve been sick for the past couple of years) I’m rereading them and looking forward to reading the rest of them. Very short little books only available on Amazon unfortunately and no audiobooks rip. The most heartwarming story ever - lesbians, dragons, Judaism, magic, what more could you want? Fantasy series with quite simple storytelling. Lots of brown people yay. Kind of accidentally forgets trans people exist in the first book

6 There is a light by Ban Gilmartin. Love it. So full of humour it’s impeccable. Brown rep, gay and bisexual rep. Poetry, trans rep. Non binary rep. I’m just listing types of rep but in my head I’m telling you all the ways in which this book rocks. One thing is rep and another is doing it well. This book does it well and then some. Highly recommend. Tw: suicide

7. All for the game series. Do I really need to recommend this to tumblr though this is literally the only place that knows about these books. Gay, crimes, sports but don’t let that dissuade you the sports is actually a highlight of the series. I love my child Neil Josten and I love these books an unholy amount. If you do read them half of the enjoyment is looking through the content on tumblr so definitely do that after. Ooo also check out the art of one ‘polarts_’ on insta

8. The name of the wind books by Patrick rothfuss. The most misogynistic series I know but the world building and storytelling is impeccable. I would say these books are the polar opposite to the second mango: no gays, too many white people and it takes itself so seriously. The writing style is a bit much sometimes but I seriously love the story so, so much. It’s rich and well constructed and funny and yes. Also sad omg you don’t even know

9. The stormlight archives by Brandon Sanderson. Anything by him to be honest and like Ilona Andrews you can really see his growth as an author as time passes - in his case it’s to do with misogyny bc his earlier series (mistborn) reeks of Patrick rothfuss-level sexism but unlike Patrick he does something about it. Stormlight is way less sexist, almost not sexist actually, and his sci-fi series Skyward is even better in terms of that. Stormlight is a CHONK though so buckle in for a good time and a long time. High fantasy, lots of brown people and actually unexpected non binary rep? But don’t get your hopes up cos it’s not a human being. And it’s not till like book 4. Better than nothing though! Not gay enough

10. Kate daniels series by Ilona Andrews. Listen, I love this series wholeheartedly. Favourite author, remember? But the first two books and the first book in particular is not very good. The authors themselves say that. I recommend starting at book two and waiting till book three to decide whether to read the series. It’s urban fantasy with the best chemistry between characters I’ve ever seen. (Can start with book one if you want but be warned there’s gratuitous sexual assault descriptions/ sexual harassment. It was the urban fantasy scene at the time but yeah not the mos pleasant reread. Can be tricky to get your head around the world building but it’s so worth it I promise!) Not enough queer rep but they tried a little. Some brown rep but not really enough. (Again, main character is brown but doesn’t read like it. I understand why given how she’s raised but then there’s a few kinda racist/ fetishising things said about her appearance so -_-). Excellent epic storytelling, excellent humour and phenomenal characters. Can skip book 5.5 if you want but don’t skip Hugh’s book - read it between Kate Daniels books 9 and 10. It’s excellent you won’t regret it. And don’t forget to read Aurelia Ryder when you’re done with Kate Daniels.

11. SAGA graphic novels. Graphic is correct cos there’s explicit everything in these books. Amazing storytelling, diverse set of characters. Sci-fi, feminist. Yes yes very recommend

BONUS: 12. If you’ve already read six of crows and crooked kingdom then king of scars and rule of wolves by Leigh Bardugo. Best enjoyed if you’ve read the grisha trilogy too but once again I won’t put you through that if you haven’t. These books defo smack of YA especially in the plot at certain points but OH MY GOD they are so epic and fast-paced and heists and shenanigans. 10/10 so enjoyed them. Warning I repeat: only read AFTER the six of crows duology, especially Crooked Kingdom for spoiler reasons. Once you have read king of scars and rule of wolves I recommend checking out jaded.draws’s art on instagram and also polarts_ again. Both make such beautiful art but it is slightly spoilerly if you haven’t read all the books. Also can we talk about the Shadow and Bone tv show because they did such a good job with it somehow?? It is it’s own work of art and I highly enjoy it

I recognise that my favourite books are overwhelmingly (exclusively?) written by white people and there’s varying amounts of diversity in them. I’m actively working to remedy that and I plan to post an updated list once I’ve read a little more broadly. These are just the books that are closest to my heart and I’ve wanted to share them on here for a while (read: a decade 💀). I hope you find a new book to love on this list but if not you can make fun of me for the ones I do! Also the format of this post is unforgivable but it’s my first one and I’m chronically ill so I’m not gonna put any more effort in that I already have. Xoxo have a good day!

[goodomensficrecommendations]

What are your all time favorite fics?

I’ve been thinking about this for far too long but I think (for now) I have an answer (maybe).

Which stories do you come back to over and over again? Think of when reading others? Made you immediately look up the author and read all their other work? 

In no particular order, here are mine! Please share yours!

1. A Memory of Eden

by ImprobableDreams900 ( @improbabledreams900 )

(link to cover and my recommendation here)

Rated M (for violence) I sing the praises of this series a lot, I know. It’s one of the first GO fics I read and I’ve been spoiled ever since. Prior to this, I’d really only read one-shots or shorter stories. I didn’t even know that “series” existed on AO3 and was so excited to find there was more when I finished a Memory of Eden! Also, some people use “series” more like chapters or unrelated works - this was truly like picking up an amazing novel in the library and then discovering there are more (!) to read. I joined tumblr because of this series - I was really just following different posts about this series at first. This story is intense! I am not a huge crier, but it had me out and out sobbing BOTH times I’ve read it! It is so so good. This is the only one on my list I’ve only read twice, just because I have to be emotionally prepared for it. ;) But I really love the world building, original characters, and the amazingly real-feeling A and C. There are 3 “main” stories that are each novels in their own right, plus some short accompanying stories. 

The author is a graphic designer/book designer and fully designed and printed them (not for sale) with book covers and everything and I am so jealous (check them out, they’re so pretty!). Partially because I’m in marketing and LOVE print design and would love to design books and partially because I would love to have a copy! ;) 

2. Slow Show

by  mia_ugly ( @mia-ugly )

(link to cover and my recommendation here)

Rated E  This one is on most people’s fic rec lists, but for good reason! This one came out shortly after the show and I hadn’t yet read a lot of Human AUs (ha! that’s almost all I seem to read now lol). I remember thinking the premise wouldn’t be my thing, but I had seen it mentioned a few times and decided to give it a try. I tend not to love the over the top parallels to the book/show, so at the first “you gave it away?” I thought it was going to repeat lines too much and almost stopped reading! Thankfully I kept reading!!! I also didn’t realize it was a WIP when I started, so I followed along with updates as they came out from near the beginning. I prefer to read my stories in one go, but it was really awesome to follow along as this story progressed. I’ve read it all again many times and it’s just written so well! Someone also made a printed version of it, which looks amazing, check it out here! 

3. Good Neighbours, Good Fences (and Other Misunderstandings)

by out_there ( @out-there-tmblr )

(link to cover and my recommendation here)

Rated E Another that I see recommended often, but for good reason! It’s just so lovely. I love the descriptions of both Crowley and Aziraphale (”He's not a twenty-four year old twink anymore; he can't get away with hot pants and a mesh shirt” just is so amazing). Their banter is fantastic and so is the natural way their relationship evolves. This one is fairly short (IMO) and I have no idea how many times I’ve read it, it’s one I saved a long time ago and reread often.

4. Anthophilia

by FortinbrasFTW ( @fortinbrasftw )

(link to cover and my recommendation here)

Rated E More Human AU? Yeah, yeah, I know. This one came out before the show so it’s been around for quite some time. Seems like everyone has read this already, but you definitely should if you haven’t yet. Every now and then I search AO3 fics to look for something new and if I sort by total kudos, bookmarks, or comments this one is always near the top. It is so so good. I have read this at least five or six times so far. Love both A and C in this with an awesome Anathema as well.

5. Shotgun Wedding: sometimes a first date requires paperwork

By charlottemadison ( @charlottemadison42 )

(link to cover and my recommendation here)

Rated E Kind of cheating with this one (but I made the rules! Oh wait, no rules, carry on), but this story has captured me since the beginning! I tried valiantly to wait until it was finished, but I’m really glad I didn’t because I get so excited when it updates and I love charlotte’s posts with fun gifs when there are updates. I held out for awhile, but the post with a snippet of conversation at the bar with Aziraphale, Tracy, Shadwell, and Anathema pulled me in (looks like it’s in chapter 10) and read it before I could stop myself lol. I live in New England and I loved the time put into sounding out their accents. It caught my attention and I’ve been hooked ever since! I’ve reread it from the start so many times already! The insights into relationships (in general and romantic) are so insightful! And the premise is superb. I also love the small easter egg things but that they don’t pull me out of the story but are so amazing when you catch them (I’ll be honest, read chapter 30 too fast and the therapist “Herb” went totally over my head! I love Demonology and I didn’t catch it!). The writing is phenomenal! This one’s an all time favorite, I am both excited and already sad about it finishing up soon. 

So what are your favorites? I’m sure I’ll be posting more at some point! It was really hard to narrow it down to five. Basically if I’ve made a cover out of it, then it’s a favorite of mine. ;) But I'd love to hear yours!

[lupismaris]

Ask game: Books recs pls! :D

Books!!! i admit im only just really starting to read again, mental illness brain rot meant the past few years have been a touch empty in terms of books but!!

Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh - short novella about a very old forest, its caretaker, a young dandy who turns up, and a very old magic looking for some fun. very good, a short read but a new favorite

The Sea and Civilization by Lincoln Paine - a nautical history of human society and one of my newer acquisitions, very thorough while still being super accessible, if you're a nerd about the sea like i am or looking for a fun intro to nautical history, its a great choice.

Folklore and The Sea by Horace Palmer Beck - a collection of nautical and sea related tales and stories from around the world, the kind told by old sailors and merchant men and fishwives. Its bigger than the bible and i hold it close to my heart.

Six Memos for the Next Millenium by Italo Calvino - required reading in highschool and one of the few that stuck with me. a short collection of essays about the world and our place in it as we move forward, from the perspective of a very talented author.

Kitchen Confidential and A Chef's Tour by Anthony Bourdain - we all know how much i love and miss Tony, but his books really are a phenomenal read. Kitchen Confidential is focused on his time in the restaurant business, his various jobs and the people he met, and it is a phenomenal collection of stories and lessons learned. A Chef's Tour is focused on his later experiences as a travel writer and chef, and is one of my favorite "travel" books out there. His ability to connect with people and spark the curiosity and compassion in the reader is next to none.

Writers at Work around the World and Poets at Work, Being Two Collections of Interviews from The Paris Review - i dont care if it comes off as pretentious but i genuinely adore the Paris Review and the poets, authors, playwrites, and artists they showcase. They released two new stand alone volumes which are collections of interviews from the past idk 70 years or so, one volume being focused on poets and the other on writers. getting to hear fellow artists from multiple decades talk about their craft and personal histories is a gift. also in general, if you're looking to diversify your reading but dont know where to start/have a short attention span and are working to improve it, The Paris Review Magazine is actually a great place to do both. They release it four times a year and you can always check the roster for each issue on their website before you buy the hardcopy.

Gay New York by George Chauncey - focused mostly on Manhattan and Brooklyn, Chauncey details the long and incredibly rich history of the gay community in NYC. It centers mostly on gay cis men, though it touches on the trans community and the evolutions of language in terms of various identities quite a lot. Its a longer and sometimes heavy read, as the history of the gay community is not always a happy one, but it is a fantastic window into the lives of those who came before us and how the culture has changed over time (did you know there used to be debutante-esque balls to introduce baby gays to the community at large?? cause i sure didn't!!).

Giovanni's Room and pretty much everything written by James Baldwin- James Baldwin is a masterclass of a person and a master class of a writer. Giovanni's Room was my introduction to his writing but i truly think his work should be something akin to required reading. I would recommend finding a collection of his work and start there.

Homintern by Gregory Woods - I'm still working my way through this one but i do recommend it. In short its a showcase of great queer and gay artists from throughout modern history, Oscar Wilde is the first one discussed for example, and while Woods does make an effort to denounce the conspiracy theory that gays run the art world, he does a wonderful job of showcasing the home our community found in the art, and how their lives shaped various artistic and cultural movements throughout the western world. Its not sugar coated, but written with a lot of love.

The Philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre edited by Robert Denoon Cumming - is Sartre for everyone? no. Do I love his work? yes. This collection is a great place to start if you're curious and want to start reading his work. Its not always an easy read, a lot of philosphy can be hard to work through, but I recommend it. Albert Camus and Kafka are of course also highly recommended. And i do genuinely enjoy Human all to Human and other works by Nietzsche.

i realize a lot of these are nonfiction but ive been on a kick lately, lets call it escapism through other lives lived on this mess of an earth. I'm sorry it took so long to write this up but i needed to mull it over a bit.

I'm always open for new recs as well, my library could always use a few new volumes!

[davidmann95]

Comics this week (11/25/2020)?

Anonymous said: This week's floppies?

Anonymous said: This week’s comics?

Anonymous said: Have you read Red Hood #51 yet? It’s one of the best stories Jason has been in since Under the Red Hood and I don’t think I can go back to his normal stories after this

Anonymous said: God damn the Other History of the DC Universe has a pretty brutal call out of Superman, yet as a Superman fan I wasn’t offended or put off by it at all. Ridley specifically narrowed in on one of the key flaws of Superman, his need for public love and approval. What did you think of the portrayal of Supes?

Anonymous said: Thoughts on "The Other History of the DC Universe" and why it's already one of the greatest comics of all time?

Anonymous said: Thoughts on "Other History"?

X-Men #15: Heck yeah, Quiet Council discussing protocol, this is what I come to Jonathan Hickman’s X-Men for, and Cyclops getting his Captain America in Hickvengers moment.

X of Swords: Destruction: Look this rules and I guess I understood the Arakko story by the end but not the Otherworld/Captain Britain stuff, and it’s the former that’s gonna matter to Hick-Men going forward. But I don’t care if it put a ‘_ of 22′ counter across the top, if a crossover is for real going to demand you buy 22 comics in 3 months for you to see the entire core story you need to be screaming that from the rooftops with every single interview that it’s genuinely the whole thing that’s essential, because editorial claiming that you should totally get everything aside that’s not how crossovers have actually worked since the 90s no matter how many checklists and reading orders may be provided. This whole thing really sorta felt like the Infinity of this run, good stuff but ultimately Hickman serving a master beyond telling his own story - in this case trying to provide a forcible on-ramp from Marvel’s hottest book to all the ancillary related stuff.

Shang-Chi #3: This continues to be a really solid little mini with some poignant bits.

Power Pack #1: Haven’t read much if anything with them in it before, but as good as I could have hoped of Ryan North’s first post-Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Marvel gig.

Fantastic Four: Antithesis #4: Fine, but it would have been so much funnier if Waid’s last Marvel work before finally returning to DC had been that cancelled Squadron Supreme two-shot.

Daredevil #24: God so goooooood. And next issue’s next week?!

The Department of Truth #3: Imagine going literally any duration back in time, handing this to someone who’d read and even enjoyed his work, and explaining “THAT’S the level James Tynion is going to end up operating on”.

BANG!: My shop got the TPB this week of the recent mini by Kindt and Torres, and this is a top-notch reimagining of assorted 80s action/pseudo-pulp archetypes into something modern and strange and delightful, that while technically concluding somewhat tidily if the sales aren’t there is set up to go on for as long as the creative team has ideas for it. It taps into that America’s Best Comics/Planetary/Adventureman energy for a slightly different branch of genre storytelling, and even if like me it’s not an iteration you grew up with it’s definitely worth your money and attention.

Dark Nights: Death Metal: The Multiverse Who Laughs: It’s fine, whatever, just a buncha little Dark Multiverse stories...except for the last story, where the Twilight Zone-esque shocker final twist is that being black in America and thereby constantly experiencing the constant low-grade terror of the background radiation of systemic racism essentially acts as a vaccine against Scarecrow’s fear toxin, which...okay??? It’s written by a black man so it’s not as if I think it’s offensive, but particularly given that given the rules of the Dark Multiverse one of the three characters in there had to have imagined this possibility, and that then The Batman Who Laughs must’ve seen it and gone “Hell yes, all about this, definitely one of the 52 scariest of all possible universe”, it’s a serious candidate for weirdest comic of the year.

Legion of Superheroes #11: This is an excellent kickoff to a 3 or 4-issue arc so I have absolutely no idea how it’s going to reach some kind of season finale next month.

Action Comics #1027: Romita Jr.’s deteriorating by the day but I did like his take on the Phantom Zone, and I feel like this while taking it a bit farther than I’d prefer still convincingly sells the idea of Superman just being absolutely fed up after a truly awful day.

Justice League Dark #28: So is this the end of the run, Future State notwithstanding? Shocking how coherently it held together through the transition in writers, and I really hope it says and so does Ram V to take it in a direction wholly his own.

Wonder Woman #767: Substantially improved now that it’s not working off the completely bizarre and increasingly uncomfortable ‘buddy-cop’ premise.

Red Hood #51: GOOD NOW?! I checked it out because of the rec above and because I was curious how someone would try and salvage the concept post-Lobdell, and while it obviously isn’t literally by him, Shawn Martinbrough and Tony Akins are for all the world doing a Christopher Priest Relaunch with this tonally and aesthetically; I think it’s even a direct sequel to Priest’s Batman: The Hill oneshot from decades ago. I sure hope this isn’t a two-issue filler run with the book either cancelled or reshuffled after Future State, because this has all the makings of an excellent crime comic.

Suicide Squad #11: I’ll probably check out Taylor’s Revolutionaries book once that happens, so I guess mission accomplished. Fine little run.

The Other History of the DC Universe #1: I heard someone on Twitter say this is the best thing that’s come out of superhero comics since HoXPoX, and I don’t know if I’m on that level with it but that is absolutely a fair conclusion. I’ll be honest, I had measured expectations here from having seen some of Ridley’s past comics work - I figured it’d be a perfectly solid book with a few standout moments, but instead it throws out all the haymakers in the world and emerges as one of my favorite comics of 2020, even given we’re only seeing the one issue this year. I can only judge so much because it feels like a lot of what we see in this debut is going to be completely reframed through the perspectives of other characters in subsequent entries, but standalone this is a brutal, intimate, brilliant character study set against the backdrop of a hazy dreamscape vision of the history of DC reformatted as needed to fit the concerns in play here (though the dates presented are so specific I wonder if aspects of this are leftovers of the original version of 5G), and probably as close as we’re going to see to a ‘trilogy capper’ to The Golden Age and New Frontier. That’s why the take on Superman here works, as much a product of the worst of his mass-consciousness image as the Superman of DKR but meshed with a profound understanding of what makes him tick as a character that makes the inherently compromised version on display here palatable, and a believable extrapolation of the Silver/Bronze Age’s version of him when that’s the era this series is thus far working as a contrast to. And god, the art. I always liked him fine enough, but even with finishes by Andrea Cucchi and colors by Jose Villarrubia I never could have imagined Giuseppe Camuncoli putting out the likes of this, and Steve Wands’s lettering is doing at least equal legwork in defining the look of the book. There have been several impressive titles out of Black Label at this point - Last Knight on Earth, Rorschach, Strange Adventures, and especially Harleen - but nothing else has come close to demonstrating the potential power of the imprint as a vehicle for creators taking this iconography and doing something radical and unrestrained and phenomenal with it.

[ais-n]

Hi, Ais! I had read The Foxhole Court trilogy thanks to you and I loved it! (not as much as I loved ICoS hehe). Can you recommend me more books as good as TFC and ICoS? It can be fantasy or fiction, M/M romance would be great too. What are your favorites? Please help me find something good!

Yaaay! I’m so glad! God I love that series T_T Nora write more everything plzzzzzz

It’s like me with One Piece, lol; it’s a life’s goal to keep recommending AFTG/TFC to everyone I meet who may be even a little bit interested XD And like OP, if I ever hear anyone ends up reading/liking it I get so happy lol

[[Oh damn - also I always fail to tell people this and just realized, RIGHT BEFORE POSTING, I should probably go back up and mention - FYI I’m working on an LGBTQIA+ fantasy/sci-fi series called Wildwood Rising, first book is Incarnations. In case you’re curious. I’m editing it super slowly atm, but on my Patreon I give updates here and there on it. Anyway read the glossary + first 4 chapters for free here, although I’ve actually done some editing which will make the chapters change so keep in mind that’s super draft mode. More info at my writing masterlist if you need it.]]

Anyway I have a few thoughts on recs, but FIRST - I have to give a disclaimer. Also even the disclaimer has to be under a cut apparently because RAMBLING

DISCLAIMER - so you know whether or not to listen to any of my opinions:

I am an extremely character-driven reader. I like stories that have plots, absolutely, because I usually can guess the ending of a plot a few steps into a story and that gets boring and old fast. 

Which is probably why to me, characters are the most important part of a story, as is character progression. 

I need to feel like I get that character, whether or not I agree with them every moment of their choices, and if the story is a romance with a couple, I have to truly be sold on the idea that THESE TWO should be together, not just because they happen to fulfill tropes of whatever is currently most popular in whatever genre, but rather because they actually fit as two human beings who I could realistically see falling in love. 

I also really like reading stories of people STAYING in love if it has to be a romance; I get really bored by stories that spend all this time getting someone together, and the whole thing is believable until sex gets involved and suddenly they’re instabanging and then that’s the end of the story. Because sex = healthy relationship?? idk, it’s honestly probably the fact I’m asexual that this is a pet peeve of mine. 

Anyway this is absolutely not shade but so many books which people think of as “m/m” have a totally different vibe than what I tend to want to read. They are often written specifically to be sort of male sexual romance books in which the point of the story is to get two dudes together sexually and then if there’s story beyond that, bonus Jonas, and if not, well, at least they whipped their dicks out on page. 

I’m not at ALL knocking this type of book, or people who like reading those sorts of books. There’s damn good reason to write and read those sorts of books, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with them. I mention this only to say that for me, as a reader, my attention span is soooooo short dude. I have little to no attention for stories that revolve almost completely around sex, especially if the sex isn’t even built into the character progression.

But here’s where there’s a huge difference for me: the characters.

If I connect with the characters, I will read almost anything. I’m a reader who’s phenomenally biased toward reading character progression and preferring a mixture of darkness with lightness in the story - dark themes but also humor, some sort of balance like that. Whether or not characters have sex, whether or not there’s a solid romance at the base of it, whether or not a lot of things I care about less than I care about connecting with the characters.

Ideally for me, a book series or even a singular book has a good plot that’s interesting, great characters, great character progression, and a variance in emotions combined with solid enough worldbuilding that I feel like I’m there. But for me, to read and recommend something, I could give a lot of passes on an underdeveloped plot if the characters and their progression is great enough, but if it’s the best plot in the world and the characters don’t grip me I will never recommend it. 

Also, again, this is no shade to m/m as a genre, and more of an explanation of my phenomenally short attention span and super pickiness as a reader… but I find that a lot of the stories I try reading that are marketed as m/m start out strong for me as a reader, but by the end I’m less enamored. The ending is too abrupt or I don’t like the dynamic of the main couple or the vibe is off or the plot is too easy to predict or etc etc. So I really only have a very small list of m/m I ever recommend tbh - I tend to like stories that aren’t specifically written to have gay/LGBTQ male leads but rather feel like they are a story which happens to feature LGBTQ/gay male leads. That may seem like a minor difference but for me, the vibe between the two is massively different, and can dictate whether I love something all the way through or not. 

I just wanted to mention that because I know not everyone feels the same way, so if you really love plot more than characters, you may want to take some of my recs with a grain of salt because you may find you don’t love them as much as I do, and you love other things more. I feel like honestly I’m way too picky of a reader probably, so other people probably have much better lists.

(Oh yeah btw, all of this is me framing things as a reader. To be clear: I’m not saying AND IN CONCLUSION I AM THUS A BETTER WRITER or anything at all like that lol I’m not a better writer than anyone tbh. I’m just saying as an extremely picky reader, these are stories I like and/or things I think others should give a try if it speaks to them)

M/M:

DEFINITELY RECOMMEND

Raised by Wolves by W.A. Hoffman is my other favorite m/m series along with TFC/AFTG, and I have been recommending the two at the same time for literal years. This post is me waxing poetic about it and why I love it. So is this post. Also here too which tells you the book order etc. I love the hell out of that series, but it’s definitely the sort of series that people may have a strong reaction to for various reasons. Let’s just say if you were to actually do a bunch of trigger warnings for ICoS, the list would be long. RBW would have a similar list that’s similarly long, probably. I need to read the latest story that came out from RBW a year or two ago; only reason I haven’t is I totally want to reread the story from the start but goddamn that’s an undertaking if I do lol I might though, after I finish my current ebook read. This series is finished (well, idk what the newest short story is about but as for the main series, it’s done)

MOSTLY RECOMMEND

Psycop by Jordan Castillo Price - one of my flaws, probably, is that I’m too honest, and I don’t ever mean to be a dick but I also can’t stand the idea of misleading anyone or lying. So in all honesty, the plot on this series can be kind of frustratingly light or predictable at times. HOWEVER, I looooove the characters. I frickin LOVE Victor Bayne, the MC. I’d started this series ages ago, read through like book idk 5? 6? and got kind of frustrated by some plot stuff, never finished reading the series. Recently I randomly remembered it and decided to try it again. I read all the way through all 10 books and then almost immediately started over again because I was curious to reread from the beginning knowing some things now. There are some things this series does super well, IMO, and I could do a whole post on this series if anyone wants. But tl;dr is I really like the worldbuilding of the psychic powers, I LOVE how Victor’s such an unreliable narrator and how the series deals with showing the way anxiety and addiction and etc affects the mind, and I LOVE how the main couple at first seems super like wtf?? in terms of how quickly it comes on (like, literally, first chapter - just read it lol) but the more you read, you see how perfect they actually are for each other. One thing too: I almost didn’t read the 8th book (Skin After Skin) because it’s got a minor character as the main POV and I wasn’t sure I wanted to break my roll going with Victor as MC. But I did read it and I’m very glad I did. If you read this, DEFINITELY read book 8 where it is in series - it gives you a really good, more objective view of the main couple, plus it’s interesting seeing the characters from a totally different viewpoint than Victor. The series is ongoing but I still recommend it. If you want to check it out, JCP has the first half of the first book available for free to read, and you can buy the books on Amazon etc - http://psycop.com/stories/ATLexcerpt.html#buybook

NOT SURE YET IF I RECOMMEND

Widdershins by Jordan L Hawk - This is the first book in a series called Whyborne & Griffin, of which it looks like from the quickest glance at Amazon so far there are 10 books? I’m trying to do next to no research on the series because I want to be surprised. Kobo tells me I’m about 23% through the first book, just about to start chapter 8. I have this listed under “not sure yet if I recommend” because as aforementioned, I have a tendency to have a totally different view of a book or series in m/mdom at the beginning vs end of the first book or the books in the series as a whole. So far I really like it though, and I hope it remains a vibe I can get behind, because right now I’m really enjoying it :) I love nerdy MCs. Languages are my jam, man.

OTHER SERIES I LIKE

I’m mostly just gonna say titles/authors on these with short mentions because this is so long but I can talk more on any if you want:

The Tamir Triad by Lynn Flewelling (sometimes called by its first book: The Bone Doll’s Twin). I don’t want to say too much on this so I don’t spoil you on anything. It’s kind of dark and pretty richly written, though.

Six of Crows + Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo. I talk about the series here, and talk about “if Kaz were in ICoS, he...” here.

Plus a bunch of other mentions of authors or books here

LASTLY - non-book recs aka shows? I totally recommend the tv show Lucifer, just sayin. And Brooklyn 99. And Nate and Jeremiah By Design but that’s getting into the HGTV territory of the world so I should probably stop.... lol

[she-who-fights-and-writes]

She-who-fights-and-writes Top 5 Book Recs 2019!!

Here are my top five books/book series that I think EVERYONE should read or at least try to read in their lifetime!! No matter their standing on this list, I love every single one of these books with my whole heart!!!!!

5. Pet Sematary by Stephen King (Genre: Horror)

Back cover:

When Dr. Louis Creed takes a new job and moves his family to the idyllic rural town of Ludlow, Maine, this new beginning seems too good to be true. Despite Ludlow’s tranquility, an undercurrent of danger exists here. Those trucks on the road outside the Creed’s beautiful old home travel by just a little too quickly, for one thing…as is evidenced by the makeshift graveyard in the nearby woods where generations of children have buried their beloved pets. Then there are the warnings to Louis both real and from the depths of his nightmares that he should not venture beyond the borders of this little graveyard where another burial ground lures with seductive promises and ungodly temptations. A blood-chilling truth is hidden there—one more terrifying than death itself, and hideously more powerful. As Louis is about to discover for himself sometimes, dead is better…

I didn’t sleep for two days after finishing this book. I had to read it in the morning, never at night, and couldn’t put it down whenever I picked it up. However, this book is really a testament to Stephen King’s reputation as the dominator of the horror/suspense genre of fiction.

Beautifully descriptive and creepy, it gives a shocking new perspective of the consequences of playing God. With a very much flawed and very much human main character, along with a gripping story that raises the hairs on the back of your neck, Pet Semetary is the perfect book to read when you’re feeling a flare for the supernatural. 

4. The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer (Genre: Sci-Fi)

Back cover of Cinder:

CINDER, a gifted mechanic in New Beijing, is also a cyborg. She's reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister's sudden illness. But when her life becomes entwined with the handsome Prince Kai's, she finds herself at the centre of a violent struggle between the desires of an evil queen - and a dangerous temptation. Cinder is caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal. Now she must uncover secrets about her mysterious past in order to protect Earth's future. This is not the fairytale you remember. But it's one you won't forget.

These books broke me out of a serious book hangover (caused by the #1 series on this list) and made me realize “Wait, there are other books in this world that can be enjoyed besides this series.”

Funny and captivating, this book puts an interesting twist on classic fairytales. Instead of being the kind of twist where everything is unnecessarily gory and dark, this puts a futuristic spin on the classic stories that we all know and love.

The characters are amazing and very diverse, and although the stories are similar to the Grimm’s fairy tales, they’re a whole new ballpark plot-wise that keeps you on the edge of your seat!

3. In Order to Live by Yeonmi Park (Genre: Memoir)

Back cover:

“I am most grateful for two things: that I was born in North Korea, and that I escaped from North Korea.”

Still in her early twenties, Yeonmi Park has lived through experiences that few people of any age will ever know--and from which most would never recover. At age thirteen, together with her mother, she made a harrowing escape from brutal conditions in North Korea. Two years later, they reached South Korea and freedom. But the devestating journey in between cost Park her childhood and nearly her life. As she writes, “I convinced myself that a lot of what I had experienced never happened. I taught myself to forget the rest.”

In In Order to Live, Park sines light not just into the darkest corners of life in North Korea, describing the deprivation and deception she endured and that millions of North Korean people continue to endure to this day, but also onto her own most painful and difficult memories. She tells with bravery and dignity for the first time the story of how she and her mother were betrayed and sold into sexual slavery in China and forced to suffer terrible psychological and physical hardship.

Park confronts her past with a startling resilience. In spite of everything, she has never stopped being proud of where she is from, and never stopped striving for a better life. Today she is a human rights activist working determinedly to bring attention to the oppression taking place in her home country. Park’s testimony is rare, edifying, and terribly important, and the story she tells in In Order to Live is heartbreaking and unimaginable but never without hope.

This book changed my life. 

Riveting, beautiful, and at heartbreaking, it really made me appreciate what I have in life and made me more aware of things that are currently happening in the world as we speak.

I think that no one should be able to talk about North Korea and about how it’s not a big deal that we help the people there until they read this book.

Truly an amazing and unbelievable story.

2. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (Genre: Fantasy)

Back cover:

Achilles, "the best of all the Greeks," son of the cruel sea goddess Thetis and the legendary king Peleus, is strong, swift, and beautiful— irresistible to all who meet him. Patroclus is an awkward young prince, exiled from his homeland after an act of shocking violence. Brought together by chance, they forge an inseparable bond, despite risking the gods' wrath.

They are trained by the centaur Chiron in the arts of war and medicine, but when word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, all the heroes of Greece are called upon to lay siege to Troy in her name. Seduced by the promise of a glorious destiny, Achilles joins their cause, and torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus follows. Little do they know that the cruel Fates will test them both as never before and demand a terrible sacrifice.

A phenomenally written and emotional re-telling of the classic Greek epic the Iliad that delves into the romantic relationship between Achilles and Patroclus.

Madeline Miller truly has an undeniable god-given talent for writing; her descriptions and storytelling makes for a book that you CANNOT put down once you’ve picked it up.

I read this book in a day and had a serious, serious book hangover afterward; I literally could NOT stop thinking about it for days. It just sticks with you, you know?

Me and my mom both wept over this book; it is truly a triumph and a masterpiece.

1. The Grishaverse by Leigh Bardugo (Genre: Fantasy)

Back cover of Shadow and Bone, first book in The Grisha Trilogy:

Soldier. Summoner. Saint. Orphaned and expendable, Alina Starkov is a soldier who knows she may not survive her first trek across the Shadow Fold―a swath of unnatural darkness crawling with monsters. But when her regiment is attacked, Alina unleashes dormant magic not even she knew she possessed.

Now Alina will enter a lavish world of royalty and intrigue as she trains with the Grisha, her country’s magical military elite―and falls under the spell of their notorious leader, the Darkling. He believes Alina can summon a force capable of destroying the Shadow Fold and reuniting their war-ravaged country, but only if she can master her untamed gift.

As the threat to the kingdom mounts and Alina unlocks the secrets of her past, she will make a dangerous discovery that could threaten all she loves and the very future of a nation.

Welcome to Ravka . . . a world of science and superstition where nothing is what it seems.

Back cover of Six of Crows, first book in the Six of Crows Duology:

Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price―and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can't pull it off alone. . . .

A convict with a thirst for revenge. A sharpshooter who can't walk away from a wager. A runaway with a privileged past. A spy known as the Wraith. A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums. A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.

Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz's crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction―if they don't kill each other first.

The Grishaverse is a group of series that are all set within the same universe where magic runs wild and the world-building-- from the culture of each country to the unique landscapes--is so phenomenal that you almost wish you could jump right into the book like Blue’s Clues and live there forever.

Leigh Bardugo is my favorite author of all time.

Her writing is beyond any other tier that I have every had the pleasure to read, to the point where I couldn’t read any other books for a good year after finishing the Six of Crows Duology because it set my standards so high for YA fantasy.

There are many books within the Grishaverse-- including the Grisha Trilogy, the Six of Crows Duology, the King of Scars series, and the Language of Thorns storybook--but you don’t have to have read one series to understand the other.

Personally, I like the Six of Crows Duology better than the Grisha Trilogy; it was written afterward and the writing and storytelling is far more evolved and sophisticated.

But even so, Leigh Bardugo really is an incredible storyteller, so if you can get your hands on any of these books, please do!

[redscullyrevival]

Kristie’s Kdrama Recs

Big honkin’ list of my favorite Korean Dramas for @teatime-brutality​ (a newbie) and @deadlikedisco​ (a seasoned pro) but all are invited to sneak a peak! Come, peruse my recommendations and judge them against your favorites or perhaps even find a new one!

Before we start please know that Korean TV shows, once translated, tend to have various titles. I’ll do my best to address show’s multiple names but when in doubt google can help sort it out. Also, this is super long lol

Seonam Girls High School Investigators (aka Detectives of Seonam Girls’ High School) (aka Highschool Detectives)

Sure, Seonam Girls has fantastic emotionally real female friendships...

And sure, Seonam Girls is often times surprisingly funny and wacky...

But Seonam Girls don’t play!

With a mini arc format tucked inside a long game mystery this is a series that is never boring. 

This is also a series that attempts to tackle subject matter the overwhelming majority of Korean television is afraid to touch with a 10 foot poll.

These wonderful and delightful girls don’t inhabit a black and white world and the subject matter they’re often faced with divides the group’s opinions and doesn’t give viewers necessarily easy answers or easy understandings on human behavior and relationships. 

There is never really a consensus on how the girls feel about all that they learn, but over time they grow in their respect for one another and come to respect the journey their detective work takes them on, and life.

WHAT A RIDE!

Loves it.

Reply 1997 (aka Answer Me 1997)

Yeah yeah yeah here we go go go

Its 1997 and the height of kpop’s first wave of idol boy bands is at it’s peak!

Intense fan devotion; unrequited love; family drama; friends being there for each other!

The Reply (or Answer Me) series are some of my personal favorite kdrama titles.

What blows me away about this show is the back and forth dynamic of the teenagers understanding what they value about each other and what makes them likeable within their isolated spaces versus the outside/real world values of adulthood - and then figuring out how to bridge who they are and their adolescence into who they want to be within the wider community. 

Like, the main female character Sung Shi-won is regarded for her devotion to boy band H.O.T. by fellow students (including those who support opposing boy bands) but is chided by her teachers and parents for her fanatical choices; within her space she’s passionate, cunning, and resourceful, but when she looks up and around at the larger space she occupies she is unreasonable, goofy, and occasionally creepy. 

This zooming in and out of spaces until a balance distance is found is what makes this series hard hitting (if not a little manipulative lol) drama gold.

TAMAGOTCHI PETS!

MYSTERY HUSBAND!

GOAT BLEATING!  

Age of Youth (aka Hello My Twenties) 

I love this show so muu-uu-uuuuuuch.

The young women of Belle Epoque are some of the most intensely relatable characters I’ve ever witnessed assembled - individually as well as with their group dynamics. 

It’s about five women who share a house and they grow as people. 

Pretty simple.

BUT this show is still outrageous!

High octane unique and personal emotions mixed with universal domestic shenanigans are the building blocks of Age of Youth’s total charm:

Somehow this series fantastically walks the line between being complete melodrama while also being one of the most honest depictions of female friendships I’ve ever seen.

And oh boy, it is downright magic to witness female characters so different from one another co-exist in the same narrative space with each of them being individually flawed yet fighting; scared yet willing; growing yet complete.

The cast’s performances are knock out masterclasses on ensemble work.

The show has it’s storyline pitfalls but what it excels at it does very, very well - especially nuanced character work and visual set ups.

An Example: The landlady of the Belle Epoque building is a mysterious, fascinating, and terrifically simple addition to the series’ overall feel and visual style of story execution. She isn’t a Greek chorus character but rather, I guess you could say, an oppositional force shown to combat life’s tribulations. She’s a constant reminder that independence and the self can and will win out strife and self-hate if we tend to ourselves and others properly. 

lol sorry, got all meta on ya’ll there. I can only be me.

ANYWAYS

This is a addictive, unpredictable, deeply funny and ambitious series.

Oh my god please watch this show. 

Signal

Wibbly wobbly timey wimey walkie-talkies! 

Haha, actually this is a really intense and somber show - magical radio phones aside.

Who would have thought the magical realism I’ve been searching for in TV would come from police trying to solve crimes through time? 

Its a case of simple premise with calculated execution; it’s pretty neat that the only thing that time travels is information and that our cast of characters (and their choices) is what carries the entire series along rather than deep focus on the mystery of how they’re communicating. 

This show is, I dunno, I feel like it is best described as “hypnotic”.

I don’t want to go into the show that much as it’s one of those experience best met with as little expectation as possible.

I will say though that Signal is darker (visually and thematically) than a lot of other kdramas but still manages to broadcast it’s own brand of hopeful optimism.

The acting in this show is phenomenal so that’s a tight bonus as well. 

Boys over Flowers

Mandatory suggestion; I think by law you have to suggest Boys Over Flowers because it’s such a classic.

Geum Jan Di works her butt off to attend a exclusive school that happens to be ran by the notorious F4, a group of over privileged pretty boys. After she lands on their shit list hilarity (and love) starts to bloom... 

This is one of those shows where people either jive with it’s juvenile offerings or are offended by it’s crooked seams. 

I happen to think it is a delightful product of its time; over the top, unbelievable; and completely charming!

Although, to be fair, Boys Over Flowers is considered frustrating among even it’s biggest fans as the teens tend to rapid fire misunderstand each other and are the root of all their own problems. 

Buuuuut that’s kind of shojo manga’s deal and this is an adaptation of a immensely popular shojo title.

Boys Over Flowers is entirely in it’s own goofy style of teenage camp and if you’re not too serious and ready and willing for all the ups and downs (and ups and downs) it can be a really fun ride.

Gaksital (aka Bridal Mask)

Based on the iconic manhwa by Huh Young-man, Gaksital is an amazing amalgamation of popular culture; a big budget kdrama adaptation of a popular comic book seeking to tell a difficult and painful national story through genre convention and subversion.

Lee Kang To is a local cooperator in Japan’s oppressive colonial rule and a proud member of the imperial police, to the horror of his mother. Kang To is vulgar in his desperation to rise in the ranks of Japanese society and abolish his Korean heritage but especially within his obsession for the rebellious figure of Bridal Mask; a masked individual seeking to spark the nation into resisting colonization. 

As Gaksital takes place during the Japanese occupation of Korea this series is far more politically charged and violent than all others on my list.

And as the series is being told from the Korean perspective for a Korean audience be prepared for reflections on national scars and a lot of difficult subject matter the production assumes it’s viewership will have context for. 

Which isn’t to say the production is not comic book-y (it is) or that it is aiming for the highest level of historical accuracy (it isn’t) or a non-Korean audience won’t “get it” (they will).

But, Gaksital does make the effort to be complex with it’s themes of power and choice by deeply embedding them into a historical (and emotional) backdrop and in having the context of the era be the key motivating factor in character’s choices and behavior - all of which relies heavily on the Korean concept of “han”.

Not an easy watch but most certainly an addictive one - as well as the longest clocking in at 28 episodes.  

Reply 1988 (aka Answer Me 1988)

Here it is, the best; the favorite; the Korean broadcast record holder.

This is straight up one of my favorite TV shows of all time.

All the known working parts of the Reply series are here:

Pin point cultural accuracy! 

Heartfelt stories of family and friends! 

Sung Dong-il and Lee Il-hwa as the parents of the main female protagonist! 

Fantastic soundtrack! 

Mystery husband!

GOAT BLEATING! 

You’d think that these shows that have so many common threads would be boring by the third iteration but the exact opposite is true. 

Naturally, you don’t have to watch Reply 1997 or Reply 1994 to enjoy Reply 1988; just pick one and go. They all work amazingly well if you’re just walking into them unbeknownst that they have a shtick and Reply 1988 is the best of the three so by all means go to town, highly encouraged in fact.

But SOMEHOW 1988 is almost enhanced by it’s shtick, by it’s known parts that viewers have come to expect. With the third go the series has really nailed it’s rhythm and writer Lee Woo-jung has really fine tuned what she is doing and has subdued the franchises’ least-working parts.

As always the ensemble acting and storytelling is dead on with the addition of a great balance this time around between the youths, the adults, and their ever evolving lives. Everyone gets their screen time and their stories and you’ll be pressed to find more believable and relatable characters. 

What’s so fascinating about this show (and, again, the Reply series in general) is how it’s both a very culturally specific type of nostalgia as well as a complete acknowledgement on how truly universal so many aspects of the human experience really is.  

Tomorrow’s Cantabile  (aka Naeil's Cantabile)

Almost didn’t list this series because while it’s near and dear to me it has enough eyebrow raising action that I’m not 100% comfortable suggesting it as a “everyone” title.

This is one of those shows that has so many good things about it that the parts that are frustrating are made all the more glaring. 

Overall the series is a wonderful adaptation of Tomoko Ninomiya’s manga about music nerds suffering and growing into their potential. 

There is a lot of soul and a lot of fun in Tomorrow’s Cantabile but out of all the titles I’ve listed this one (and lets be real, Boys Over Flowers) is most like what non-watching folks generically assume when they think of “Korean Drama”.

But, then again, sometimes kdrama is kitschy melodrama and fart jokes with questionable means of displaying romance.

If it’s goofy and occasionally wince worthy ways don’t throw you off course then this show can really wiggle deep under your skin. 

It’s easy to start to care and root for these orchestra nerds and the series will absolutely knock you flat with both it’s humor and drama when the time comes.

Goblin The Lonely and Great God (aka Guardian: The Lonely and Great God) (aka The Shining Lonely Goblin) (aka Goblin)

This show feels like it’s made for me personally: A melancholy gothic-y romance fantasy series about death! Oh boy!

Kim Shin is an immortal goblin who longs to end his life but only when he finds the ‘Goblin’s Bride’ will he be able to end his immortality and return to dust...

Oh, and a grim reaper is his housemate! Talk about awkward.

Goblin is an odd but very welcome diversion from a lot of what kdrama offers year after year.

This series surrounds itself in the creation of it’s own rich mythology for a very intense and interesting narrative drive.

Hilarious and devastating.

Challenging yet comforting. 

Unique but grounded.

OMG I love it so much.

And since you can’t not mention it, Goblin is BEAUTIFUL. The cinematography on this show is bonkers. 

But, I’ll be up front with y’all: 

If you are someone who places a LOT of importance onto the ending of a story then it doesn’t hurt to know that this is a series whose ending seriously divides its viewers.

So, invest with caution I suppose.

Solomon’s Perjury  (aka The Trial of Solomon)

BUCKLE THE FUCK UP!

When a student from an elite high school falls to his death among suspicious circumstances a frustrated student body decide to hold their own mock trial. Each student has their own role to play, from the prosecutor to the defense attorney. 

Facts assembled; secrets exposed; truth discovered; Solomon’s Perjury is an exceptional thriller filled with wonderful characters struggling to be wonderful people from within confusion, pain, and suspense.

Solomon’s Perjury isn’t an easy watch as it doesn’t shy away from difficult subject matter like broken school systems, corruption, abuse, and mental illness stigma. 

The strength and maturity of the teenagers is contrasted against the cowardice and weakness of the adults with both groups opening up to understanding as the show progresses. 

And progresses it does; this series has an exhausting pace that never lets up for long on moving it’s characters (and the audience) towards it’s fulfilling denouement.

With a tight script and a phenomenal young cast Solomon’s Perjury is perfect for binge watching and getting completely emotionally wrecked. 

Which, if you’re like me, makes for a good time! The best time!

Clear your schedule.

Coffee Prince (aka The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince)

Easily the most popular and enduring title on this entire list, Coffee Prince is a forever favorite for a lot of kdrama fans; so popular that it is probably still the #1 hook bringing folks into the kdrama world. 

A handsome and hard working girl in need of a job is mistaken for being a boy, which she capitalizes on to start working at a coffee shop as part of it’s attractive male staff.

As the shop owner starts to fall in love with our androgynous lead he begins to question his sexual orientation within a wave of hilarity, heartbreak, and intensity. 

As time wears on Coffee Prince’s production flaws actually enhance it’s character driven successes.

Sure, we can sometimes hear background street noise and there is bad lighting design and obviously this show didn’t get a budget even close to what dramas do now - but it’s still sooooo gooooood! 

You want to insert yourself into it’s world just so you can sip coffee and observe all that’s around!

The series makes a lot of choices that seek to help push acceptance within Korean society and media but the fact of the matter is that often times LGBTQIA themes and plots in Korean drama seek to be coy and subversive so as to avoid the Korea Communications Commission and as such have more than a few similarities to the kind of innuendo found in pre-Hays Code Hollywood films.

Taking on LGBTQIA themes and plots head on isn’t common by any means, not today in 2017 or in 2007 when this show aired.

And as ambitious as the show tries to be it does, of course, negate away from the “repercussions” of displaying a true gay lead couple on Korean TV.

With a quick and addictive story and characters written as whole people brilliantly performed by a talented cast, Coffee Prince excels at being the definition of enjoyable entertainment and it’s very easy to understand why it has such a lasting legacy.

It is, however, potentially equally frustrating as it is endearing due to the show’s insistence on exploring big themes in completely safe waters - it really just depends on you as a person.

But I personally can’t not suggest this show. 

WAFFLE GUY!

W (aka W Two Worlds)

This friggin’ weird ass show.

A woman goes into her father’s popular comic series “W” and starts messing with his narrative and things get seriously complicated.

There ya go, that’s the show.

W is an odd package that works surprisingly well given how wacky it is.

What helps is the show doesn’t try to over extend; it knows what it is and what it is is a playful series that likes to tease and challenge viewers just as much as it likes to give pay offs. 

What really stands out about W is that it isn’t just about the nature of writing and the idea of narrative responsibility, oh no. 

This series goes hard on themes of what it means to be a recipient of art, of storytelling. Of being an audience. 

Who has more power, the creator or the reader? Who truly defines the characters? Whose in control?

It’s a clever show that plays with meta ideas and isn’t afraid to get big and bold with pointing out common failings and tropes in serialized storytelling (both within comics and Korean dramas themselves). 

One of my favorite things about the series is how the characters explore and take advantage of the ‘rules’ within the crafted narrative space, within the world of “W”, for their own benefit.

A wild and fun ride that goes up and down and all around that certainly works best with viewers who can go with the flow, laugh along with the in-jokes, and don’t mind being messed with.

49 Days

Using this image is kind of sadistic but it’s the best I could do. 

I mean, the cast looks so happy right? What’s this drama about, huh? A family getting by? Maybe a group of friends finding love and happiness? Certainly it’s not about a dead woman inhabiting the body of a depressed woman in an effort to save herself by finding three people outside of her family who will cry sincere tears of grief for her within 49 days, right?!

No one is happy and everything hurts.

This right here is some Grade A melodrama - you know it’s good when you have to make a relationship flow chart with notes.

49 Days takes it’s premise from a Buddhist concept of death: The period between death and rebirth lasts 49 days and involves three bardos, which are the intermediate or transitional states that mark an individual’s life from birth to death and rebirth.

Twists and turns and reveals define this show and yet it doesn’t feel rushed. In fact, one of the bigger complaints I’ve read online is how it’s a little slow and long.

Which is fair criticism! I think 16 episodes would have been the sweet spot instead of the given 20.

But what’s so enjoyable about this series is how it tries to be SHOCK and AWE emotionally just as much as it is story wise, and not only in a sad fashion. 

Because while, yes, you are going to cry, 49 Days is still a uplifting and occasionally very funny title that seeks to express the complexities of human emotions and the choices we make due to those complexities. 

White Christmas

Isolated in the mountains of Gangwando there is a prestigious private school that’s harder to get into than Seoul University, a place where students compete fiercely and endure strictly enforced punishment. The only vacation days are the 8 days from Christmas Eve to the first day of the New Year. Seven students who receive anonymous letters remain at school over the winter break...

White Christmas is a series that approaches the simple query of nature vs. nurture with complex intensity with a green cast of newcomer actors left in the more than capable hands of fan favorite screen writer Park Yeon-Sun and veteran director Kim Yong-soo. 

As paranoia descends we dive deeper into the duality and struggles of each student as they deal with the immensity of their fearful situation on top of their own personal histories and identities.

And as each day wears on the teens strip down closer and closer to the bone.

True empathy and true cruelty; the lies we tell others and the lies we tell ourselves; the savagery that can be inherent in survival and the monsters we can become when others are monstrous to us. 

White Christmas is at all times understandable but imperfect, pretentious but real, clever but unsophisticated - clashes that make the series ripe for a cult following.

My favorite thing about this show is that it’s setting and style is as important as it’s plot and characters which is a common element that threads a lot of my personal favorite psychological thrillers together in the tradition of Shirley Jackson or Suspiria.

The school our fated teens find themselves trapped in is as much as a character as our flesh and blood cast. Architecturally crisp and clean during the day while jagged and sinister at night, there is lot of non verbal story telling and thematic evidence rippling through White Christmas and is also in part what cements it’s cult classic status.

Totally not an “everyone” title but idgaf, I have to let you know it exists!

Hwang Jin Yi (aka Hwang Jini)

I really enjoy sageuk (historical) dramas but a lot of them are too long for me to commit to. 

Thank god this amazing series based on the life of the famous gisaeng (performer/courtesan) Hawng Jini who rose to influence during the Joseon Dynasty is only 24 episodes long!

A historical and cultural icon known for her music, dancing, poetry and tragic love life; Hwang Jin Yi is a series that takes this enigmatic figure and elevates her to legendary status. 

Which of course makes her struggle and pain all the more devastating.

With lush costumes, amazing set designs, beautiful dancing, and brilliant performances this isn’t a series to brush aside just because it’s “old” and historical. 

Hwang Jin Yi is frustratingly relevant on what it has to say about women who dare to create art and how society views and treats them, within their lifetimes and after.

Back in the day there were a lot of great discussions on livejournal about how guarded Jin Yi was becoming as the episodes wore on and how towards the end she became more of an object in the drama instead of it’s subject - which was some of the most interesting fannish discussions I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing.

Because it’s true!

People either seem to really love or really hate this series and that divide usually comes down to how the show presents it’s famous leading lady within the last few episodes. 

Was Ji Yi boxed in by production missteps or is the character shutting herself off? Is her status in history that of a cultural object or lived subject? What about within her own life due to her social class and gender, did she feel in control or like an object? Does her art reflect her true self or only as much as the time period would allow?

Good shit.

Arang and the Magistrate

HAHA YESSSSSSS!

This show is about a ghost who harasses a government official into finding out how she died. 

‘Cause we all know if you want the government to do anything you gotta haunt their ass.

Arang and the Magistrate comes from a famous folk tale called “The Legend of Arang” which this series expands upon exponentially.

I don’t want to get into it too much because I honestly think knowing less is an advantage but one thing I wasn’t expecting going into this show was a fleshed out multilayered high fantasy world.

Honestly I was expecting a ghost here and there peppered throughout a historical drama, so it’s safe to say I was totally blown away. 

Arang and the Magistrate is seriously fun, hilariously dramatic, and action packed with believable emotions wrapped within some truly fantastic world building.

If you’re feeling flirty and adventurous please consider this series. 

DO IT.

DON’T QUESTION IT.

WATCH THE WILD GHOST SHOW.

Misaeng (aka Incomplete Life)

The biggest complaint about Misaeng is that it’s “boring and stressful”.

And, uh, that’s true.

HEAR ME OUT!

Misaeng is measured, deliberate, understated, and painstakingly realistic to the point where, yes, it’s borderline stressful to watch at times. 

Based on the popular web comic by Yoon Tae Ho, the lives of the employees at a fictional trading company isn’t high stakes entertainment. Its completely mundane.

So then why does the heart race so often when watching it?!  

Misaeng is intense to watch because it’s not about overcoming workplace and life unfairness - it’s about enduring it.

And therein lies the intense audience response.

The heart racing intensity of Misaeng seems out of place within it’s methodical pacing and “boring” subject matter but this series taps into one of the most universal of all human experiences: The pounding relatability of feeling like your life is incomplete or inadequate. 

Office politics with all the bullying, favoritism, sexism, and gossip that goes on affects all involved yet no one can really do any one thing about it. They all have company roles to play, social norms to follow, and personal situations to consider. 

As the kids say, “the struggle is real” - and in Misaeng that’s pretty literal. 

What’s optimistic is that we see everyone’s hardships. We get to know and understand all of these characters very, very, well very, very, slowly.

We also get to see them win their small victories and grow together and find a coherent peace even if it isn’t flashy, mighty, and grand. 

Even though it will be difficult on your heart I honestly can’t recommend this show enough.

Chicago Typewriter

Chicago Typewriter is about a trio who lived during the Japanese colonial rule of Korea in the 1930's who are reincarnated and find their lives intertwining yet again in 2017.

Sounds intriguing, right? It is intriguing!

A typerwriter is a character.

Yeah, I don’t even know where to begin.

This series is INTENSE, okay? Very, very INTENSE. 

There is always a lot happening; almost every scene is crammed with literary, art, and cinema references; the editing is nuts; the cinematography is glorious; the characters are over the top; and it’s overall presentation is pretentious to the point of being gut wrenching hysterical - and YET!

Why is this trash fire so goddamn fascinating?

Why do I care so much about EVERYTHING IT EVER DOES?

Even when it hits its more mellow stride???

If I have to try and explain it; Chicago Typewriter is kinda like LOST but with bigger and better ownership over it’s bullshit (which is a compliment, I swear).

This is a show for those of you who want to be run over by spectacle, like chasing the coat tails of plot theories, and thrive on visual thematic pay offs. 

Joseon X-Files (aka Joseon X-Files: Secret Book) (aka Secret Investigation Record)

YEAH BITCH. 

This is EXACTLY what you think it is.

Joseon X-Files is a historical kdrama sci-fi thriller based on the American cult classic, The X-Files.

And, yes, before you even ask - of course there are UFOs, monsters of the week, sexual tension, and a Smoking Man.

I could go into tedious details but I’ll spare you and just get down to it:

Joseon X-Files is similar to the American series but it is mostly different.

You will not spend your entire time comparing and contrasting this show with the original. It will let you know when you should be doing exactly that, but most of the time you’ll be plenty wrapped up in it’s own fantastic brand of paranormal investigation. 

You’ll invest in these new characters and new setting. You will see them as they’re presented and not just through a misty smoke screen of expectation, I promise. 

Joseon X-Files is deeply impressive as it’s own series AND as a homage show and I say that as a hardcore X-Files fan. 

And then if you’ve never really seen the original series, well, you’re in for a gigantic freaky treat!

Because this show doesn’t look or narratively flow like the bulk of kdrama it does take some getting use to. It’s shakey, harsh, plays long games, is visually dark, has long periods of no dialogue, and it isn’t overtly romantic. 

What Joseon X-Files does have in spades is a consistent output and a intrinsic desire to be different. Which in my opinion are two of the hardest things to find in dreamland.

I’m the first to admit that there is a lot for me to personally enjoy about this series, but please give it a shot; it is the most unique title on this long list and yes I understand how funny that sounds since it’s a remake-thingy but you’ll see what I mean. 

ALSO my absolute favorite thing about Joseon X-Files is how much it accomplishes on a budget of, like, five bucks. They had no money. None. But that doesn’t stop this series from being rewarding, fascinating, and creepy.   

[sahibookworm]

HAPPY THANKSGIVING to everyone who are celebrating today … !!!!!! What a perfect day for this post.

When Laura @ Thebookcorps tagged me for this, I thought how wonderful and apt it was towards the end of the year, because so many bloggers like me are a bit reticent about talking about our own posts and promoting them. So, thank you so much Laura for creating this tag so that we all can reflect on our blogging journey this 2019 and look back at some of our favorite posts. Do checkout her blog for more amazing posts.

RULES:

All the answers must be about your blog posts

Please link the original creator of the tag so Laura can see all your posts!

You don’t have to provide just one post for each question, you can provide as many as you want so long as they were written in 2019

If you haven’t written a post that matches one of the questions, choose one that relates to it as close as possible

Tag 5+ bloggers to they can share their accomplishments too! And make sure you read the posts they share!

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE BOOK REVIEW?

This is very hard to answer because I love writing book reviews and love most of what I write (even though they are just okay). So, I’ll just select a few which I love going back to, to motivate myself to write even better.

The review of Red, White and Royal Blue is my highest viewed post of the year, so I would be remiss not to include it here. It’s also my favorite book of the year, and I tried to pour all my feelings into it. I’m not someone who is able to translate my emotions into words, so my reviews read like essays but I still think this was not badly written. I also think this is probably my longest review ever.

Both Good Talk and The (Other) F Word are books that spoke to a part of me – one about being a brown women in the US, and the other about being a fat woman. These books affected me profoundly and that’s why their reviews are where I’ve probably talked the most about myself. So, I don’t know if these are some of the best reviews I’ve written, but they truly reflect my thoughts and experiences.

She Said and Catch and Kill are both phenomenal books about the Harvey Weinstein sexual harassment scandal, the #MeToo movement and an overall look at how power structures work in the world to silence women. I don’t think I can do justice to the work of these brilliant journalists but I think I managed to write my thoughts about them in an articulate manner.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE DISCUSSION POST?

I’m not someone who writes discussion posts at all because I’m pretty scared of voicing my opinion on any hot topics. I feel I am not thoughtful enough to weigh in on important matters, and I’m also scared to be wrong or offend anyone. However, there’s one post I would love to talk more about.

I went to the Baltimore Book Festival a couple of weeks ago, and it was the most amazing experience I had in 2019. I was so happy being among book lovers and authors, listening to them discuss the best things about books and reading. And I couldn’t resist writing about my experience (click here for the very long post). This post is really a labor of love and I think I’m quite proud of it.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE FUN POST?

(By “fun post” I mean a post that doesn’t fall under a particular category like reviews, discussions or tags do.)

As you might have already guessed, I’m not a very fun person by nature and that’s not the vibe you’ll get from my posts (sorry…). But there are a couple posts I managed to write which I thought were quite fun, in the sense that they got a lot of engagement and everyone seemed to enjoy discussing them.

I borrowed the idea of Guess that Book by the Cover from Charvi @ Not Just Fiction because I thought it was amazing and I had so much fun writing it. And if you look at the comments section, I think many of you had fun guessing the books too…!! What more can I want….

Popular Series I Probably Won’t Read is the kind of post that can be a lot of fun to wrote (I did) but also something that can offend readers if they find their favorite books on my list. But all of you are very sweet and supportive and just told me about your love for the books I didn’t wanna read but no one tried to convince me. It was definitely a very fun topic to discuss.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE BOOK RECOMMENDATION POST?

I’ve always been scared to write recommendation posts because I feel why would anyone want to read my recs. But I have finally gotten over myself and scheduled two rec posts, but unfortunately they don’t post until later next month. And that’s why, I have only one similar post I can talk about here.

If you know me at all, you know that I have grown up reading the Mahabharata and various versions of it. So, during our India Lit Readathon in July, I wrote this post about all my favorite Mahabharata novels, retellings and reimaginings – and I can’t tell you how much satisfaction it gave me writing about it.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE BOOK/BOOKISH PHOTO?

These three pictures are from my trip to Boston where I got to visit the absolutely stunning Boston Public Library (with it’s gorgeous reading room) and two Harvard Book stores which were my favorite part of the vacation.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE ORIGINAL IDEA/BLOG POST?

Not many ideas are truly original in our community because we do tend to discuss similar topics all the time, so I won’t presume that these posts are without any inspiration. But I did think of them without really seeing them being done by anyone else, so I guess they qualify.

As someone who is not at all adventurous in my reading choices, I had a lot of fun wondering why some of the books mentioned in this post – Unlikely Books on my TBR – were even on my radar. And true to form, I’ve only managed to read one of them and have no clue if I’ll ever get to the others.

As someone who mostly reads hyped books, I loved writing this post about all the Books I Read due to Hype – and how many of them I actually ended up liking or hating. My initial list was very long but I think I managed to make it small and readable.

WHAT’S YOUR ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE BLOG POST YOU WROTE THIS YEAR?

All the reviews I mentioned above and the Mahabarata post are some of my favorite posts of the year. I have many other review posts which I loved writing but I don’t think I wanna go on and on about them. But there’s one which I think is my absolute favorite because of what it means to me.

In probably my most personal post ever titled Books That Have Defined my Reading Life, I talked about all the books that have affected me and defined me as a person in the three decades of my life and I think if you want to know me better, you should start from this post.

HAVE YOU REACHED ANY BLOGGING ACHIEVEMENTS THIS YEAR?

I finally reached 1000 followers on the blog and as someone who never thought it would happen,  it made me very very ecstatic and I can’t describe in words how I felt when I crossed the milestone.

And while I never had any other major goals as far as blogging is concerned, this current post is my 240th of the year and as I’m very sure that I’ll complete 250 in 2019, I’m very satisfied that I have been able to post so consistently and still enjoying it.

I Tag:

Krisha || Dany || Ahana || Shalini || Sohinee || Meaghan || Jane || All bloggers who would love to look back on their blogging year.

  My Favorite 2019 Blogging Moments Tag HAPPY THANKSGIVING to everyone who are celebrating today ... !!!!!! What a perfect day for this post.