#i'm currently reading: gideon the ninth by tamsyn muir;

[priintaniere]

I've been tagged by @miyakuli to list 9 books I plan to read this year. Thank you for the tag! c:

Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid Le Dragon des glaces / Fool's Fate vol.1 by Robin Hobb How do you live? by Genzaburo Yoshino Paladin's Grace by T. Kingfisher Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir Less by Andrew Sean Greer Purge by Sofi Oksanen Slaughterhouse Five or the Children's Crusade by Kurt Vonnegut The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden

tagging: @muozu, @rinpanna, @zoenold & @sisas1sa (if you want!)

[annecoulmanross]

@handfuloftime tagged me to list nine books I intend to read this year—going to cheat a little and include a few I'm already reading, but thank you and I AM going to try to finish this list for real this year! I managed to finish Conclave by Robert Harris real efficiently just a short time ago, so, reading vibes are fairly strong.

If you follow me, feel free to consider yourself tagged and tag me back in your own list!

Moby-Dick (1851) by Herman Melville — I'm following along with the current Whale Weekly, but likely to skip ahead once I catch up.

The Custom of the Sea (1999) by Neil Hanson — First of three on my recommendation list from actor Stark Sands, and the main source material for Swept Away: A New Musical Tale.

The Wager (2023) by David Grann — Second of three on the Stark Sands reading list.

Endurance (1959) by Alfred Lansing — Third of three on the Stark Sands reading list. Time to become a Shackleton girlie at last.

The Mercies (2020) by Kiran Millwood Hargrave — Picked up a copy at a queer bookstore in Brooklyn and VERY excited for lesbian Arctic horror.

Doppelgänger (2023) by Naomi Klein — Christmas gift from my uncle and already obsessed with it one chapter in.

Salvage: (2024) by Dionne Brand — Keeping the massive shipwreck theme, adding in some postcolonial theory.

Harrow the Ninth (2020) by Tamsyn Muir — Finished Gideon last year, picking up Harrow is long overdue.

Carmilla (1872) by Sheridan Le Fanu — It's vampire year babes.

[sunmerry-writes]

WRITEBLR INTRO

Hello hello! my name is sunny: 20 yr. he/him; this is my third attempt at a writeblr after tumblr nuked my last one. all my mutuals... lost...

I'm looking for active writers to be mutuals and interact with (bonus if ur open to beta reading! or want a beta reader!) I'm open to ask about ocs and tags for writing games! Don't be afraid to say hi :)

I currently have a ton of wips (over twenty), with most in planning stages, some in drafting.

My current focus, 'WANDERLUST' is a middle-grade coming-of-age fantasy with some religious trauma and existential dread.

I'll be posting info and snippets of my wips, while following/liking/commenting on my main account: @sunmerry-strawb as this is my side-blog

About me:

I'm an aspiring baker

I own a menace (cat) named pebbles

I write in a variety of genres; but my favourite are fantasy, supernatural and horror mainly centred around late teenage casts. I always end up accidentally sprinkling horror of some kind into all of my wips

My favourite book is currently "Gideon the Ninth", I adore Tamsyn muir's writing. I'm also a huge fan of Dungeon meshi and Witch Hat Atelier among other things! (as you can see above, Digimon)

My wips are under the cut! I have many more; these are the ones I'm currently focused on. I'm more than happy to share more spoiler-y details and brainstorm in DMs!! Especially in exchange for info on your wips ;)

Click the titles to be transported to the wip's intro post!

WANDERLUST

A pair of young twins find themselves trapped in a fantasy realm, and with the aid of local kids embark on a treasure hunt for five magical rings contrived from an old legend in order to return home.

Shadow Knights

A story set in a near futuristic city grappling with rapidly developing technology, centered around a young woman who accidentally discovers a science experiment that went wrong, leading to artificially created monsters stalking the city streets and killing residents. She joins a team to hunt them down. (aka the wip with the most body horror and psychological horror BY FAR.)

STRAY

A post-nuclear apocalypse story about a band of teenagers and their journey across the rotting world in search of a safe-haven called "Paradise".

Dragonborn

A story about three kids on the Australian coast who fall through a sinkhole and accidentally uncover the secret population of dragons living in their underground cave systems.

By the seashore

A story about a young boy named Louis who decides to stay with his father at a small coastal town for the summer after the death of his mother, and finds an amnesiac, mute boy washed ashore the beach after a thunderstorm.

(divider by @\cafekitsune!)

[altraviolet]

Hi violet!

I was just wondering if you have any book recs? I just ask because I work at a bookstore and I have a 40% discount off of everything so I have bought a ton of books that my coworkers recommended that I have yet to read but I’d really like some more recs 🫶🏾

hey anon!

oooohhhHHHH you have an important but hard job (working with the public/customer service is ahhhhHH I sympathize!!). I'm flattered you're asking for recs! yeah I can share some ^u^

cut for length :)

The Locked Tomb trilogy (aka "TLT" aka Gideon the Ninth, Harrow the Ninth, Nona the Ninth) by Tamsyn Muir. the "lesbian necromancers in space" books. these are very difficult reads but very rewarding. if you've seen fanart around of women with swords and skull make up, it's probably for this series. current #1 fav of anything. extremely waiting for the last book, Alecto the Ninth

Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson, cyberpunky sci fi. my favorite book until I read TLT trilogy. the more time passes since the publishing of this book, the more Aged and Out of Date it reads, but I absolutely love the abstract language and the use of present tense.

Emily Wilde series by Heather Fawcett. fantasy with romance (I wouldn't call it romantasy). extremely relatable main character for me, lol, a woman in science who just wants to do her work, is very smart, and very not good at Social Things. (she has way more luck in the love dpt than me, tho!) very nicely written and will make you feel good and happy when you finish the books

Hyperion by Dan Simmons, sci fi. definitely written by a man, but imho worth reading. I've heard it characterized as "Canterbury Tales in Space." you follow a group of characters and their interwoven stories as they journey to a hostile planet. some very cool ideas and very visceral and/or stunning visuals

Discworld series by Terry Pratchett. this is an extremely well known and well loved - and very long! - set of books that all take place on the same planet. the books can be read out of order and enjoyed, but there is something of an order to them. because it's a planet, there are several major locations where the same characters do stuff over a few books. my favorite in the series are the books about the main city, Ankh-Morpork. here's the wiki article, I def recommend reading them in the order you see listed there. other Discworld books I like include: Carpe Jugulum, Going Postal, Making Money

Earthseed by Octavia E Butler. it's been a long time since I've read it, I really need to reread it! the main character has hyperempathy and lives in a dystopian/falling-apart US. she journeys to make/found a better home, and starts her own religion on the way. I remember the tone being very desperate but very hopeful, and a lyrical quality to the writing

Vita Nostra by Marina and Sergey Dyachenko. very very weird and mindfucky, not for everyone. a reader left a comment on TEG saying that the "meaning of Soundwave" thing reminded them of their favorite book, Vita Nostra. having read it, I'm very flattered! I left it with mixed feelings, but I do think it's worth reading

for a couple of old sci fi books about disease/bio terrorism/research, check out The Hot Zone by Richard Preston and The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton. it's been a long time since I read either of those (and I suspect Andromeda Strain, in particular, may not have aged well), but they are interesting. I brought The Hot Zone to school to read at lunch when I was 13 and it made me feel so ill I had to go to the nurse, haha

for some favorite YA or even a bit younger books:

Bartimaeus trilogy by Jonathan Stroud. magical alternate England with demons and magic. the titular demon is HILARIOUS. there are footnotes. I recall the first one being amazing, the second one being kinda boring, and the third one not being memorable until the very end, when it WENT SO HARD. STROUD WAS NOT AFRAID. def check it out :D

Lockwood & Co, also by Jonathan Stroud. I listened to these on audio at work. really cool ghost/horror stories, surrounding 3 kids in particular who hunt ghosts (not the best way to describe it, but the least spoilery way)

Alien Secrets by Annette Curtis Klause. one of my VERY FAVORITEST books when I was young. girl gets kicked out of school and hitches a ride on a space ship to go to the planet where her parents are. she befriends an alien who loses something very important to him. definitely for like... idk, 11 year olds? but I loved it so much

a lot of these books are on the older side, but hey, if you have them at work and the back of the book appeals, give it a try. I can always rec more in the future if you like =)

thanks for the ask and good luck on your shifts at the book store! 📚❤️

[jackalopetrope]

I'm experiencing The Locked Tomb again, and the Second Reading (or listening in my case, I'm doing audio books this time), is absolutely DELICIOUS. It's like, a whole different book. Littered with details that couldn't possibly be enjoyed without having read the subsequent story beforehand!!

I've had to pause and jot some things down just because they make me feel ways (this is obviously full of spoilers):

In Chapter 6:

1) Aiglamene is teaching Gideon how to wield a rapier and tells her, her hands "Shouldn't be twins, but sisters", that they have different roles, but should be aware and support each other or something. And I was, Tamsyn are you sending me secret messages about the Third?

2) Harrow is speaking to the congregation and Gideon is thinking about how full of shit she is, but then Harrow says something like how no one will ever love the Ninth like she does, that "her heart is interred here", and Gideon is like well actually that bit sounded sincere. Oh boy. It sure is Harrow. Sounds like Ninth Poetic Gothic Nonsense, but in Hindsight, really quite literal. Well done Muir.

3) This one is a little less direct but when Gideon realizes she may never return to the Ninth and thinking that that somehow makes it seem fragile, that by turning her back on it, not looking at it, it might fall apart. Likes she's destroying it... Omg 😰 Just sort of rang like a precursor to how she felt about Harrow "turning her back on her" with the lobotomy y'know?

4) So Harrow and Gideon are getting on to the shuttle to Canaan and tension is high, they are not happy with each other and Harrow says "I want to watch you die", and Gideon, just super hyped to finally be escaping, smugly saying "Well you won't do it here." (Here being the ninth) 😭 Tamsynnn

Chapter 9:

When Ianthe catches Gideon hiding in dark, listening in on the third, she refers to "the necromancer of the third house", necromancer SINGULAR. Nice little drop there.

Chapter 14:

Harrow says "I'm not equipped to deal with a spirit attached to a live nervous system, you're so noisy!", implying Harrow is equipped to deal with spirits NOT attached to live nervous systems, like say, a bunch of dead kids haunting you???

Chapter 15:

Harrow says "She never liked that cursed thing anyway" in regards to Gideons longsword, said she always felt it was "judging her". Which is a weird thing to say about a sword Harrow

Also my current crazy theories that may debunked during this book or the next two because I don't remember all the lore:

1) Teacher is John? The colorful belts and the bracelets mentioned on Ianthe and Kiriona are like... Control belts or something. John needed a way to "be" on that planet without going to the system. John got hyper paranoid after all his Lyctors betrayed him, and wanted security measures on his Princes?? Like clearly he isn't aware of what they doing all the time, but maybe he can, remote in? Idk. Crazy theory.

2) Cytherea is the only reason Gideon made it through the aversion trial. Or Harrow rather, because I'm not convinced Gideons body didn't die. (Or do her escape death trick). During that sequence Gideon starts throwing up blood and seems like it's going to end very quickly then Dulcinea is like No! And the blood dries up, and the soul sucking pain is described as moving around Gideons body... I don't think Harrow would be experienced enough to adjust her siphoning like that. Also Dulcinea was clearly very intent on that key. At first I thought in half memory of the scene that maybe she was just interested in seeing if Gideon COULD survive the trial. But I don't think she cared who got her that key really.

Idk! I'm only on Chapter 20 of Gideon. I've gone completely nuts about these books.

[jikanet-tanaka]

13 books!

What’s up readers?! How about a little show and tell? Answer these 13 questions, tag 13 lucky readers and if you’re feeling extra bookish add a shelfie! Let’s Go!

(I was tagged by the kind @glueblade, thanks for sending the ask!)

1) The Last book I read:

The Lost Metal, by Brandon Sanderson

2) A book I recommend:

I really enjoyed The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller!

3) A book that I couldn’t put down:

It's a clichéed response, but Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir. Damn but I loved Gideon (the character) from the start and I wanted to know more about her.

Also Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett. My favourite of his so far!

4) A book I’ve read twice (or more):

Do mangas count? Because I've read the Fullmetal Alchemist series by Hiromu Arakawa quite a number of times lol

5) A book on my TBR:

The rest of the Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells. I only read the first novella so far, and I'm hooked!

6) A book I’ve put down:

I tried to read The Well of Time a couple of times, and I've never quite managed. I don't know why it just doesn't click with me.

7) A book on my wish list:

God, so many. I'd be curious to read anything by R. F. Kuang, like the Poppy Wars series and Babel.

8) A favorite book from childhood:

I was a big fan of the Bartimaeus series by Jonathan Shroud. Barty is still one of my favourite narrators ever.

9) A book you would give to a friend:

I have the tendency to lend my books to my friends, does it count? For one, I got two of them hooked on the Stormlight Archive series by Brandon Sanderson that way. I have a friend who would really like Uprooted by Naomi Novik too, but I haven't had the occasion to lend it to her yet!

11) A nonfiction book you own:

I like reading history books these days! So I have a few of Martin Wall's books about Anglo-Saxon history, and couple of books about the Viking age and the Roman era too.

12) What are you currently reading:

Artificial Condition, bu Martha Wells, and Irish History by Neil Hegarty.

13) What are you planning on reading next?

Feet of Clay by Terry Pratchett. And a lot, lot more lol...

I tag... @baepsae-7, @andordean, @mass-convergence, @kelenloth, @ramblesanddragons and anyone who would want to try! But no pressure if you don't have the time!

[benoitblanc]

tagged by @quinnigallagherjones (ily milo!!!)

last song: "will power" from something rotten

fave color: blue

last book: reread of gideon the ninth by tamsyn muir

last movie: persuasion (1995)

last tv show: catching up on my life is murder while i'm still in the family digs

sweet/savory/spicy: depends on the time of day. probably savory

relationship status: listen these days all the cool kids are in weird codependent best friendships bordering qpr territory- except no one has ever really bothered defining wtf is actually going on because both parties have communication issues- with the person they spend 99% of their time with. trust me on this one

last thing i googled: henrietta lacks, because one of my cousins dropped by with a belated xmas present today and it was the immortal life of henrietta lacks, which i've wanted to read for ages. super thoughtful gift. man bioethics sucked in the 50s and still kind of suck now

current obsession: mulder and scully <3

looking forward to: this month is going to be hellishly stressful and busy but i am really looking forward to moving back into the flat on sunday. i miss my people

tagging @eohwyyn @billhaders @aaronstveit @queeenpersephone @achingly-shy and anyone else interested :)

[mx-ryder]

2025 Reading List

I've been meaning to do this for a while. My goal this year is to do more reading. I'd like to read at least 1 book a month, ideally more.

I'm going to count one of the books as this year, even though I technically read it on 12/31/24, because I make the rules, so there lol

Anyway: (more under the cut, for space purposes)

Books read so far: Five-ish

Dead Girls Don't Say Sorry - @aritany A truly devastating little read for me. I don't make a habit out of reading YA so much any more, but I loved this one. Way too relatable, really.

Sunbringer (Fallen Gods, #2) - Hannah Kaner The sequel to a book I read last year, definitely just as enjoyable as the first one. Lovely queer and disability rep, some delicious pay out from the stuff set up in the last one, and some more fun set ups for the third, which I'm eagerly awaiting.

Holly - Stephen King A pretty classic King, featuring one of my favorite of his characters, Holly. Fun little thriller/mystery, told with alternating timelines illustrating the steady decline of the books' villains.

Our Wives Under the Sea - Julia Armfield Fantastic. Wonderful. A delightful, slow descent (pun intended) into dread and despair. Lesbians and tragedy, can't really get any better than that, right? Also felt strangely familiar, if I can find the story it reminds me of, I'll update.

How to Bite Your Neighbor and Win a Wager - D. N. Bryn Bryn remains one of my favorite indie authors. I enjoy their writing no matter what, but this was a fun departure from what I'm used to reading from them! Who doesn't like queer vampires?? (This is the "ish" part of five-ish books I've read this year. I read like, 75% of this last year, and just now finally finished it lol)

Currently Reading: No Gods, No Monsters - Cadwell Turnbull

2025 TBR - (In no particular order)

Guards! Guards! - Terry Pratchett

Gideon the Ninth - Tamsyn Muir

Hunger Pangs - Joy Demorra

Nine Years Yearning - Cameron Sidhe

Notorious Sorcerer - Davinia Evans

How to Sell Your Blood and Fall in Love How to Bare Your Neck and Save a Wreck - D. N. Bryn

Parable of the Talents - Octavia E. Butler

It Lasts Forever and Then It's Over - Anne de Marken

Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents - Lindsay Gibson

The Gift of Fear - Gavin de Becker

Six of Crows - Leigh Bardugo

The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood

The First to Die at the End - Adam Silvera

Camp Damascus - Chuck Tingle

[blakbonnet]

I was tagged by @epersonae and @beautitudes to do this ♥️

Three ships:

Ed and Stede

Bilbo and Thorin

Harrow and Gideon

First Ship:

ACD's Holmes and Watson and the Granada version almost simultaneously

Last Song:

Last Movie:

The Birdcage (I rewatched it with my partner) but depending on when I post this, it could be Con air with Ida absbsndnd (first watch) (I knowww)

Currently Reading:

Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson

The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett

Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (reread)

This Detectorists AU fic by @monksofthescrew

Currently Watching:

Taskmaster (enjoying it so much)

Malevolent Podcast (trust me you'll understand why it's under currently watching when you listen to it)

Currently Eating:

I'm gonna make some ramen for dinner now, but I'm drinking my tea rn

Currently Craving:

a holiday, I'm so so burnt out

going to tag @stedesparasol @teeny-tiny-revenge @as-a-creww and whoever else wants to do this

[iamalasagnagirl]

hey :),

I just read your recommendations for wlw books (thanks so much for those xD), but wanted to asked if you knew any sapphic fantasy books as well (preferably high fantasy/books with great worldbuilding). Sorry if this is too specific and thank you <3

Hei, the only book that comes to my mind is The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon -> The premise of this book is a bit hard to describe because it tracks the perspectives of multiple characters from East and West, but essentially: Ead has been a transplant at a foreign court and is meant to protect Queen Sabran, who is the current ruler of the Virtudom and claims descent from the supposed defeater of the Nameless One (a big scary fire-breathing wyrm). She protects the queen using forbidden magic, which comes from her training as a mage in the Priory of the Orange Tree.

The world building is just intensely lush. It is so richly detailed, and while I spent a lot of time in the beginning having to double check where I was, the chapter headings with "East" and "West" simplified a lot for me.

It has sapphic romance in it, but I have to say that that's not what the main plot is about at all

I have other titles but i don't know if they're what you're looking for..

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir -> The Emperor needs necromancers. The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman. Gideon has a sword and is ready to abandon a life of servitude and an afterlife as a reanimated corpse. She packs up her sword, her shoes, and her dirty magazines, and prepares to launch her daring escape. But her childhood nemesis won't set her free without a service. Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House and bone witch extraordinaire, has been summoned into action. The Emperor has invited the heirs to each of his loyal Houses to a deadly trial of wits and skill. If Harrowhark succeeds she will become an immortal, all-powerful servant of the Resurrection, but no necromancer can ascend without their cavalier. Without Gideon's sword, Harrow will fail, and the Ninth House will die. Of course, some things are better left dead.

Queens And Monsters by Cleo Evans -> Butch Perseus and her femme Medusa. This book has: two women that have been secretly pining for centuries. Demigods, monsters, and gods. SPICE. Sapphic monster romance and SO much more. Not really my thing but maybe you'll do.

A Song of Silver and Gold by Melissa Karibian -> For the past year, Princess Kaelyn of Avalon has disguised herself as a man, Captain Kae, and led her crew into tumultuous waters to eradicate sirens on a journey fueled by revenge. Aqeara is a siren warrior of Meyrial, an underwater kingdom hidden from humans. When her negligence during the Avalon harbor attack causes the death of Meyrial’s princess, she seeks the help of a sea witch to overturn her banishment. Aqeara is given a human body and has until the next full moon to carve out Captain Kae’s heart in exchange for a spell to bring the dead princess back to life.

I'm sorry but i haven't read many fantasy books in my life 🙈

[variantoutcast]

9 books I plan to read in 2025!

I was tagged by @leofrith <3

Omeros by Derek Walcott

I technically started this in the last week of December '24 but I'm putting it here because I'm less than 20% through it =] so far I think I might be too unfamiliar with the Greek tragedies to "get it" but I'm pushing through nonetheless.

A poem in five books, of circular narrative design, titled with the Greek name for Homer, which simultaneously charts two currents of history: the visible history charted in events -- the tribal losses of the American Indian, the tragedy of African enslavement -- and the interior, unwritten epic fashioned from the suffering of the individual in exile

Chernobyl: History of a Tragedy by Serhii Plokhy

In Chernobyl, award-winning historian Serhii Plokhy draws on recently opened archives to recreate these events in all their drama. A moment by moment account of the heroes, perpetrators and victims of a tragedy, Chernobyl is the first full account of a gripping, unforgettable Cold War story. 

Operation Columba: The Secret Pigeon Service by Gordon Corera

The fascinating, untold story of how British intelligence secretly used homing pigeons as part of a clandestine espionage operation to gather information, communicate, and coordinate with members of the Resistance to defeat the Nazis in occupied Europe during World War II.

Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

The explosive, hotly-anticipated debut novel from the New York Times-bestselling author of Friday Black, about two top women gladiators fighting for their freedom within a depraved private prison system not so far-removed from America’s own.

Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delaney

Sabotage threatens to undermine the war effort, and the military calls in Rydra. Random attacks lay waste to warships, weapons factories, and munitions dumps, and all are tied together by strings of sound, broadcast over the radio before and after each accident. In that gibberish Rydra recognizes a coherent message, with all of the beauty, persuasive power, and order that only language possesses. To save humanity, she will master this strange tongue. But the more she learns, the more she is tempted to join the other side . . .

The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd

From the critically acclaimed author of The Book of M, a highly imaginative thriller about a young woman who discovers that a strange map in her deceased father’s belongings holds an incredible, deadly secret—one that will lead her on an extraordinary adventure and to the truth about her family’s dark history. What is the purpose of a map?

The Rover by Mel Odom

Edgewick Lamplighter (Wick to his friends) is a humble librarian in the isolated halls of Greydawn Moors until dreams of wanderlust and a bit of dereliction in his duties result in his being shanghaied to a far-off land.

New and Selected Poems Vol II by Mary Oliver

This graceful volume, designed to be paired with New and Selected Poems, Volume One, includes new poems on birds, toads, flowers, insects, bodies of water, and the extraordinary experience of the everyday in our lives. In the words of Alicia Ostriker, 'Mary Oliver moves by instinct, faith, and determination. She is among our finest poets, and still growing.' In both the older and new poems, Mary Oliver is a poet at the height of her control of image and language.

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Tamsyn Muir's Gideon the Ninth unveils a solar system of swordplay, cut-throat politics, and lesbian necromancers. Her characters leap off the page, as skillfully animated as arcane revenants. The result is a heart-pounding epic science fantasy.

I tag @sh5 @stormikins @aesnawan @woahpip @dykefagz and anybody else who wants to do it! Feel free to tag me!

[dwarvendiaries]

List 5 things that make you happy, then put this in the askbox for the last 10 people who liked or reblogged something from you! Get to know your mutuals and followers.

Thanks PRR! This should be easy enough there's not really a pressure for it to be the most important things. Currently, working through letting myself feel again, which is a bit overwhelming (turns out one of the reasons I was suppressing emotions was because I was feeling distress on a pretty regular basis), so it's good to have an excuse to remind myself of what makes me happy. I'm going to focus on the small things.

Music Honestly sometimes music is more of a distraction for me from what's going on, rather than something that I go to when I'm happy. Here's a random sample of artists I've been listening to: + Jean Sibelius + Rene Aubry + 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee Original Cast + Mitski + The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals Cast + MCR Plus, I like playing music too. Nothing more cathartic than playing some Chopin.

TTRPGs I think you've seen them in my blog at this point. Currently running a Traveller (Mongoose 2e 2022 update). Great way to unwind an pretend to be various characters that I made up on the spot, because I didn't anticipate a particular random encounter coming up ( eg. Teens who are members of a key-based subculture). I also like reading rulebooks. And then not playing those games.

Reading books don't do this nearly enough. But I really do enjoy it. Plus, reading helps me study people without them looking at me weird. Last few books I've been reading: + Gideon the Ninth (Tamsyn Muir) + Bi (Julia Shaw) + Left Hand of Darkness (Ursula K Le Guin)

Friends lovely. fun to be around. great to stare manicly into their eyes. Competitively. For tens of minutes. that's what friend do right?

Tying my hoodie strings into bows It's fun what more can I say? They look cute.

Ok, that's all done. Now, to send off those asks!

[owlbats]

Mirk Reads 2024

Couple of months late, couple of marks (?) short, but here's the books I read in 2024! Very, very brief impressions below the cut. Probably a little spoilery.

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (reread)

Still deeply enjoyed it! This time was for a group read with friends, and it was really fun to see who enjoyed it and who bounced off. Harrow is still my fave of the series but recontextualizing Gideon after the other two (currently-published) books was very interesting.

Hemlock Island by Kelley Armstrong

My notes from this one are, verbatim:

a) I think it’s a little weird to do Spirits Of The Land stuff in America without acknowledging like. Anything about Native Americans? b) She should have kissed the island. Go full Just Like Home with it

It was fun and spooky, but again, both points stand.

Diavola by Jennifer Marie Thorne

I like pursuing The Horrors in February, I guess. This one had a lot of good ideas and needed to pick like one or two to really commit to, but there were a couple of very strong images that stuck with me for months. Benefited, while I was reading it, from my having just started and abandoned an entirely different "Americans go to Italy and get super Haunted" book that was way worse.

Death in the Spires by KJ Charles

At this point I do just read every KJ Charles book that comes out, for a tropey good time. This one was advertised as NOT A ROMANCE, DEFINITELY A MYSTERY, DO NOT LOOK FOR A HAPPY ENDING HERE, which sent me and P on a rabbit hole of realizing that (some?) romance readers are waaaay way stricter about happy endings than we are. I like Charles's mystery plots in her romance novels, but I think I was expecting more emphasis on/complexity to the mystery when that's the focus rather than the romance? Also, as a friend pointed out on bluesky, it's VERY funny for characters to talk about how changed and aged their college buddies are... like ten years later. They are barely 30 in the present day. God bless.

My Darling Dreadful Thing by Johanna Van Veen

Probably my favorite book I read in 2024! Reminded me why I like Gothic fiction. It's set in the Netherlands and centers on bog bodies, and it's a deeply haunting and tragic book in the best way possible. I'm always saying that all the wlw books I read are in no way messy enough, but this was true Gothic obsession and melodrama and mess, and I was miserable after finishing it because I couldn't think of anything that would give me a similar reading experience. A great time. Very fucked up. Maybe I should read Fingersmith.

The Magpie Lord / A Case of Possession by KJ Charles (both rereads)

Moped around for awhile after MDDT and decided to get off my slump by rereading the Charm of Magpies series, since I felt like some of the horror in the first one echoed the MDDT horrors. It did not, in retrospect! But I do still enjoy them! Charles writes a damn good romance with a fantasy subplot. Can't remember why I didn't read the third book this time. Around this time I stopped taking notes when I finished a book, which was FOOLISH. Do not do that, future Mirk!

A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske (reread)

More magical gay historical romance. Still a good time! If you liked The Magpie Lord you will probably like AML. Great side characters, fun romance, blood magic, "houses that love you" as the author puts it. I reread this and the sequel to prepare for the third book, and then did not manage to finish the third book; of the three, I think this is my favorite romantic plot. It's so tender. What the fuck.

Lady Eve's Last Con by Rebecca Fraimlow

Rompy! The setting pitch is Roaring 20s in Space and it did in fact deliver that. I remember enjoying it and having no complaints apart from "they could have pined more," which is ALWAYS my complaint. I do also love a plucky con woman, and lord knows I love a princely woman. Great times were had by all.

There Should Have Been Eight by Nalini Singh

It Was Fine. I wanted to read a thriller instead of a romance, and it sure was a thriller! Normally, I don't mind if I can guess a mystery before it's revealed because that usually means the author did a good job with foreshadowing but this was just... very bland, and the characters were not very well-developed, IMO.

The Deepest Lake by Andromeda Romano-Lax

Another thriller, but one that I feel like did not go hard enough or scathing enough on its critique of a specific kind of person. Get meaner 2k25!

A Reckless Truth by Freya Marske (reread)

I did still like this one, but every time I read it, I'm like... how did the background ship get more tumult and drama and yearning than the main ship? Is it because the background ship is m/m and the main ship is f/f? I feel like that's not not why! Anyway. They're on a boat this time! Got blindsided by the dead old lady lesbians AGAIN, though.

The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley

Stop reading Lucy Foley books, Mirk, you get pissy and irritated every time. WHAT happened in this one.

A Court of Thorns and Roses by S.J. Maas

Technically a reread but I was too busy yelling the first time I read it. A buddy read with P, who had NOT read it. Still not for me! And this time I can confirm it's not because I don't like romance, because [gestures upwards]. It's specifically Maas. We don't have time to get into all of that, but I did get a couple of days of tormenting Oscar out of it.

Swordcrossed by Freya Marske

Not from her previous series, and has a great setting! Disappointingly lower stakes than The Last Binding, though, and I spent the whole time wishing it was about [redacted character for spoilers] instead, especially when said character was revealed to be in the B-couple. They deserved better!

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett

Oh this was a good time! Had a lot of my faves: a crunchy mystery, a lot of horrifying murders, a Wild Old Lady and her Too-Stiff Son Figure. There were some deeply weird authoritarian leanings, though, that I am. Very curious about where we'll go from here.

The Unmothers by Leslie J. Anderson

I like folk horror, and I liked this folk horror, but some of the story leaned too hard on Womanhood™, especially cis womanhood, for my taste.

And that's all! I'm gonna try to read 25 books this year, and I think I'm like... six? Eight? In so far.

[pigeonflavouredcake]

Happy Pride Month

here's a look at my current queer bookshelf🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈

It's super small atm but it's slowly growing, most of them are either transition related or wlw related. Here's a list of all the books and their Goodreads links from top to bottom.

Gideon The Ninth - Tamsyn Muir. Lesbian necromancers explore a haunted gothic palace in space. I am kind of obsessed. I currently only have an e-book version but I liked it so much I'm looking to continue the series as physical books (I'm holding out hope for the books as a birthday present). Also butch rep. I am rabid for butch rep.

One Last Stop - Casey McQuinston. On my TBR pile. A romance that starts on a NYC subway but the love interest is trapped in the past.

The Girls are Never Gone - Sarah Glenn Marsh. On my TBR pile. Girl runs a paranormal investigation podcast and starts investigating a mysterious death from 30 years ago. The most recent book I bought that I'm looking forward to reading when I finish Children of Time.

The Lost Girls - Sonia Hartl. Holly gets revenge on her vampire ex by killing him and stealing his new girlfriend. I read this last year and I don't normally enjoy vampires but this book took me by surprise, lots of funny jokes about immortality and some empathetic discussions about emotional neglect and grooming that did make me cry a little.

Growing Older as a Trans and/or Nonbinary Person - Jennie Kermode. On My TBR pile. Insight and advice on being trans later in life in the UK. Reviewers have mentioned that it's mostly specific to the transfeminine experience but I still thought this book might be nice to look at.

Spectrums - Maxfield Sparrow. A collection of personal anecdotes from autistic trans people. Some bits are poetry some are more essay based, it was very heart-warming and affirming.

It Came From The Closet - Joe Vallese. On my TBR pile. A collection of essays on queer representation in the horror genre.

[benjamindisco]

tagged by @starsnot

last song: Drama by Spencer Sutherland (on repeat. all day.)

favorite color: yellow 💛

last book: Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir... 2.5 years ago........

last movie: Sonic 2

last TV show: The Devil's Plan on Netflix. It's so good. Reality show where they all are competing and solving complex puzzles and there's a secret hidden extra puzzle behind the whole thing. Very exciting. Would recommend.

sweet/savory/spicy: Sweet. I am convinced I have a second stomach just for sweets, because I can be 100% full from dinner and then still want dessert haha

relationship status: Married :)

last thing i searched: [My County] Public Library. I had to look up the last book I read lol

current obsession: Tokidoki Unicornos. I had none in September, and now I have 20 with more on the way.......

looking forward to: More Unicornos?

favorite drink: I just drank a cold refreshing swig of water, so I wanna say water so bad. You ever had water when you're thirsty? It's so good you guys

song playing on a loop in your head 24/7: Oh it is Drama. The last time I listened to this song it was stuck in my head for 3 days straight. I listened to it again yesterday, and now it's definitely going to be stuck in my head a painfully long time again. But it's sooo good

current favorite character: Not really obsessed with any characters right now. All I've been doing is collecting toys lol

fun activity you would like to get into: I have been saying pottery for years. I just started doing a diamond painting for the first time recently and that has been fun :)

last video game: Played Super Mario Party Jamboree with the roomies earlier this week. Pretty fun!

last comic/graphic novel: Brother I read multiple web comics every day. I'm just gonna give a shout out to Tiger, Tiger. You gotta read it.

Not gonna tag anyone, but feel free to tag me if you do this! I love learning things about my friends in my computer :)

[andordean]

13 books

(Thank GODS I'm reading again as those asks were really embarrassing for a few years)

What’s up readers?! How about a little show and tell? Answer these 13 questions, tag 13 lucky readers and if you’re feeling extra bookish add a shelfie! Let’s Go!

(I was tagged by @jikanet-tanaka - thanks so much!)

1) The Last book I read:

Babel by R. F. Kuang (Go read it people, it's So Good. <3)

2) A book I recommend:

Babel as above, hah. Also, Murderbot.

3) A book that I couldn’t put down:

(Hard same:) Gideon the Ninth and Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir. I was listening to them as audibooks at night until some stupid AM. Couldn't stop, wouldn't stop.

4) A book I’ve read twice (or more):

"Eureka Street" by Robert McLiam Wilson. I love this book so much.

5) A book on my TBR:

Oh dear. What isn't on my TBR list.

The Poppy War, R. F. Kuang. Dune, finally. Olga Tokarczuk books I bought errr a year ago. Etc etc etc

6) A book I’ve put down:

I haven't yet, but I think I'll give up on the Archive of the Forgotten I'm currently listening to. I finished the first audiobook (Library of the Unwritten), but for the second one the narrator changed, and with it, the voice of the character I'm most curious about and ARGH. I may try and get the physical book, but audiobooks are a godsend if I want to do some crafts and read at the same time.

7) A book on my wish list:

Everything else by Martha Wells that's not Murderbot

8) A favorite book from childhood:

The Children of Bullerbyn Village by Astrid Lindgren (among many many many others. I lived in books as a kid.)

9) A book you would give to a friend:

Murderbot my beloved! I've convinced a few people to read it and I couldn't be happier. Those books deserve all the love.

10) A book of poetry or lyrics that you own

Nic Dwa Razy / Nothing Twice by Wislawa Szymborska, translations by Clare Cavanagh and Stanislaw Baranczak

11) A nonfiction book you own:

Factfulness by Hans Rosling

12) What are you currently reading:

Archive of the Forgotten by A. J. Hackwith, with disclaimer above.

13) What are you planning on reading next?

The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu, to find out where Netflix did it dirrrty. (I enjoyed the show a lot.)

Tagging @cahirdyffryns @softest-punk @powerofadyingsun @itsnotzka @nikita-not-nikola and anyone else who wants to talk about their books. <3