#march reading list

[xoxobuckybarnes]

March 2024 Stucky Fics

Completed

Now! That’s What I Call 90’s Slow Jams (Rated: M, Words: 10K) by deadonarrival

Summary: Steve goes home for the wedding of Becca Barnes and while he’s there he runs into his old crush. Her brother. Except now they are both hot as shit. Oh no whatever will happen.

(You Can't Choose) What Stays and What Fades Away (Rated: G, words: 3K) by Taste_is_Sweet

Summary: At some point in everyone's life, the first words their soulmate will ever say to them will appear in deep black writing on their skin. The words fade to light grey when a soulmate dies. Sometimes new words replace them, whether they're wanted or not (These were the words Steve was born with, running in a messy, uneven line across his skinny little chest, beneath both his collarbones: You okay, pal? Those jerks didn't hurt ya too bad, did they? Steve woke up from the ice in 2011 with the words, Who the hell is Bucky? circling his heart, in printing so precise it barely looked human. Steve hated them.)

For Words to Say it Right (Rated: T, Words: 25K) by Squeaky & Taste_is_Sweet

Summary: Turns out when you're missing an arm, everyone asks are you okay? all the damn time. And when your soulmark is one of the most common questions in English, it's even worse. Generic soulmarks are a bitch.

Lost Vocabularies that Might Express (The Memory of These Broken Impressions) (Rated: M, Words: 111K) by dorian_burberrycanary / @burberrycanary

Summary: The worst of times, like the best, are always passing away. How’s that for some consolation on the road? A post-The Falcon and The Winter Soldier Stucky fix-it as part of the all-American road trip, detours included.

The Simple Life (Rated: E, Words: 114K) by howler32557038

Summary: "The simple life." "You'll get there one day." "I don't know. Family, stability...The guy who wanted all that went in the ice seventy-five years ago. I think someone else came out." Bucky wants to be part of Steve's life. He wants to be an Avenger. He wants to be a good partner. Unfortunately, sometimes that means not telling Steve everything.

WIP

a league of our own (Rated: E, Current Words: 40K) by burning_brighter / @burnin-brighter

Summary: Steve's sixteen-year-old son's one and only dream is to play in the Major League. He thinks he has a shot when the team get a new coach, retired MLB legend and Steve's high school crush, Bucky Barnes. Steve hasn't thought of the man in many years, but seeing him brings back many memories that push Steve to reach out to an old friend and maybe make new ones on the way. What happens when Steve gets to know Bucky properly? What happens when they open up about their darkest secrets and deepest fears? There's really only one thing that can happen.

hey now, you're an all star (get your game on, go play) (Rated: E, Current Words: 81K) by buckyismybicycle / @buckyismybicycle

Summary: Boston Bruins trade notorious party animal/human disaster Bucky Barnes to the Dallas Stars, and captain Steve Rogers is not impressed when Fury puts him on babysitting duties. But, as he gets to know Bucky - really gets to know Bucky - he wonders if maybe the media has got it all wrong - very, very wrong. PS - you do not need to know hockey for this, I promise.

Every Me and Every You (Rated: E, Current Words: 60K) by deadto27 / @deadto27

Summary: Bucky Barnes is doing his best. He's getting by after the blip, after Sam became Captain America, after Steve...well, it's best he doesn't think about that. The point is, his life is different now, and he's trying his best. He just wishes the hollow feeling in his chest would go away. ----- Bucky gets blinded by a bright light as the tear seems to implode in on itself and there’s an odd little jolt as the pulling stops, and then Bucky’s blinking, trying to get his vision right again as he loosens his grip on America. “You okay?” he checks, still squinting. He’s probably not blind, he thinks. It just feels like it right now. “I’m okay,” America tells him and he sees her nod shakily as his vision starts to clear, and he carefully lets go of her, seeing that she can support herself, hands pressing onto the floor next to her. “Uh…I don’t think I am,” says another voice, and Bucky turns his head so fast he might give himself whiplash. Because he knows that voice. He knows that voice better than any other voice on the planet and he’s missed that voice

[notmysophie]

Hozier reading list

Literary references in Hozier music

Alighieri, Dante; Inferno

The story of Francesca da Rimini as told in canto V inspired the song Francesca.

The album Unreal Unearth is arranged as a journey through nine circles of hell as they are described in the Inferno part of the Divine Comedy.

The title of the song Through Me (the flood) is a reference to the first lines of canto III.

Hozier read the translation by Robert Pinsky (https://www.rte.ie/radio/radio1/clips/22285692/) 

Beckett, Samuel; Endgame

The song Wasteland, Baby! Takes inspiration from this play. (5 september 2023) (https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/hozier/cover-story-hozier-unreal-unearth) 

O'Brien, Flann; the Third Policeman

The character of de Selby in the Third Policeman inspired the songs de Selby part 1 and 2.

Heaney, Seamus; At the Wellhead

The song To Noise Making (Sing) contains a8n audio fragment of Heaney reading this poem.

Heaney, Seamus; The Cure at Troy

The line "Or honey hope even on this side of the grave again?" In the song "To Noise Making (Sing) " is inspired by the line "History says, Don't hope / On this side of the grave."  in this poem.

Joyce, James; A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

The line "Shaking the wings of their terrible youths" in the song Angel of Small Death & the Codeine Scene is derived from a line in this book. As mentioned in the interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music (august 28, 2023) (https://youtu.be/y5JpgNIkOz4?si=Yg1GVewfZlHkdVm1)  

Also mentioned as general inspiration in an interview with the Daily Meal (october 28, 2014) (https://www.thedailymeal.com/irish-born-musician-hozier-slithered-here-eden-bring-us-his-gospel)

Mack, dr. Katie

Astrophysicist dr. Katie Mack is mentioned by name in the song No Plan. A quote from the song is used in her book The End of Everything (Astrophysically speaking)

Neruda, Pablo, Sonnet XVII

The songs de Selby part 1 and part 2 take some inspiration from this poem. (Mentioned when introducing the song during a concert)

Ovid, Metamorphoses

The story of Icarus is mentioned in the song Sunlight and inspired the song I, Carrion (Icarian).

The story of Orpheus and Eurydice is mentioned in the song Talk.

Plato; The Allegory of the Cave

The phrase "Adding shadows to the walls of the cave" in the song Sedated refers to this story.

Swift, Jonathan; A Modest Proposal

Inspiration for the song Eat Your Young.

Wilde, Oscar; Chanson

The line "a rope in hand for your other man to hang from a tree" in the song From Eden" is inspired by the line "And a hempen rope for your own love / To hang upon a tree." in this poem.

Yeats, W. B.; The Second Coming

The line "To Bethlehem it slouched" in the song NFWMB is almost directly copied from this poem.

Yeats, W. B.; Leda and the Swan

Inspiration for the song Swan Upon Leda

Other books recommended/mentioned by Hozier

Amis, Martin; The Zone of Interest

Recommended by Hozier in an 'Ask Me Anything' before the release of the album Wasteland, baby! on reddit in 2019

Beckett, Samuel; Not I

Hozier joked the album Unreal Unearth would contain four tracks, two of them being recordings of him reading this play with his mouth full of marshmallows.

The cover art of Unreal Unearth is said to reference this play.

Bukowski, Charles

Mentioned as a teenage favorite (https://youtu.be/e5pFwDvcIGA)

Ó Cadhain, Máirtín; Graveyard Clay (Cré Na Cille)

Mentioned as his current read in an instagram Q&A on December 1, 2021

Eliot, T. S.

https://www.thedailymeal.com/irish-born-musician-hozier-slithered-here-eden-bring-us-his-gospel 

Heaney, Marie; Over Nine Waves, a Book of Irish Legends

(Source? Mentioned on social media?)

Heaney, Seamus

https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/hozier-why-seamus-heaney-s-last-words-mean-so-much-to-me-1.3797926

Herbert, Frank; Dune

Mentioned as a current read/audiobook on How Long Gone podcast episode 614. March 6, 2024

Joyce, James; Ulysses

https://youtu.be/s0Ux72N4K10 

Kierkegaard, Søren; The Sickness unto Death

(Source?)

Orwell, George; 1984

https://www.thedailymeal.com/irish-born-musician-hozier-slithered-here-eden-bring-us-his-gospel/

Rubin, Rick; The Creative Act

Mentioned as his current read in an interview for WNYC Radio, 17 March 2023

https://youtu.be/Cd2uxpD9Hc8?si=cJ8bKrfFeXk_WS2F 

Salinger, J. D.; Catcher in the Rye 

https://www.thedailymeal.com/irish-born-musician-hozier-slithered-here-eden-bring-us-his-gospel/

Wilde, Oscar

https://youtu.be/s0Ux72N4K10 

https://www.thedailymeal.com/irish-born-musician-hozier-slithered-here-eden-bring-us-his-gospel/

Williams, Niall; This Is Happiness

Mentioned as his current read at a fan meet & greet (Bristol, 6 August 2023)

Yeats, W. B.

https://www.thedailymeal.com/irish-born-musician-hozier-slithered-here-eden-bring-us-his-gospel/

Poetry/stories read by Hozier in livestreams/videos (and the books he read them from)

3 July 2020 Instagram live

Seamus Heaney; Postscript (the Spirit Level)

Seamus Heaney; A Kite for Michael and Christopher (Station Island)

W. B. Yeats; No Second Troy (W. B. Yeats Poems selected by Seamus Heaney)

W. B. Yeats; To a Friend Whose Work Has Come to Nothing (W. B. Yeats Poems selected by Seamus Heaney)

Ovid, Daedalus and Icarus (Metamorphoses, translated by David Raeburn, penguin classics)

Sinéad Morrissey; & Forgive Us Our Trespasses (Being Human edited by Neil Astley)

Also mentioned; Staying Alive edited by Neil Astley

Seen on the table; Fear Not by Stephen James Smith

10 July 2020 Instagram live

Seamus Heaney; HÖFN (District & Circle)

Seamus Heaney; District & Circle (District & Circle)

Stephen Dunn; Sadness

Stephen Dunn; Sweetness

Ovid; Orpheus and Eurydice (Metamorphoses, translated by David Raeburn, penguin classics)

T. S. Eliot; The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock (Collected Poems 1909-1962)

Brendan Kennelly; Begin 

17 July 2020 Instagram live

Ezra Pound; And the Days Are Not Full Enough

Wilfred Owen; Futility

James Joyce; A Flower Given to My Daughter

Pablo Neruda; Keeping Quiet

Langston Hughes; I, Too

Imtiaz Dharker; They'll Say She Must Be From Another Country

W. B. Yeats; When You Are Old

Stephen James Smith; On the Bus (Fear Not)

Seamus Heaney; Saint Kevin and the Blackbird

Seamus Heaney; Sweeney Praises the Trees (Sweeney Astray)

Maya Angelou; Touched by an Angel

Garrison Keillor; Supper

Pablo Neruda; Sonnet XCIV (If I Die) (100 Love Sonnets, translated by Stephen Tapscott)

T. S. Eliot; Ash Wednesday (Collected Poems 1909-1962)

Ovid, the Four Ages (Metamorphoses, translated by David Raeburn, penguin classics)

Also mentioned; Ireland, My Ireland by Stephen James Smith

25 July 2020 Instagram live

Anne Stevenson; The Spirit is Too Blunt an Instrument

Katie Mack; The Slow Fade to Black (the End of Everything, Astrophysically Speaking)

Pablo Neruda; Sonnet XVII (One Hundred Love Sonnets, translated by Mark Eisner)

Kahlil Gibran; On Love (the Prophet)

Sharon Olds; True Love

Rita Ann Higgins; The Did-You-Come-Yets of the Western World

7 August 2020 Instagram live

James Joyce; Araby (Dubliners)

Also mentioned A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce

17 march 2021 Tiktok live

Brendan Kennelly; Begin

Derek Mahon; Everything is Going to Be Alright

Sinéad Morrissey; & Forgive Us Our Trespasses

Faisal Mohyuddin; Prayer (The Displaced Children of Displaced Children)

Pádraig Ó Tuama; How to Be Alone

Stephen James Smith; Dublin, You Are

Paula Meehan; Seed

Various reads

Seamus Heaney; At the Wellhead

https://youtu.be/uIBpT_rqUfA

Patrick Kavanagh; Peace

https://youtu.be/Iz1OXOFua4w

W. B. Yeats; He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven

https://youtu.be/e5pFwDvcIGA

W. B. Yeats; A Coat

https://youtu.be/e5pFwDvcIGA

Seamus Heaney; Miracle

https://x.com/seamusheaneyest/status/1253626839316279296?s=20 

[evanpeterswhoresblog]

Master List

evan peters + his characters

Tate Langdon:

A Cruel Punishment smut

A Different Kind of High smut

His Obsession angst/ mild smut

Lovefool angst/ smut

Kit Walker:

Love in the Darkness smut also kinda fluff

Hell on Earth angst

Kyle Spencer:

none yet

Jimmy Darling:

none yet

James Patrick March:

none yet

Kai Anderson:

none yet

Luke Cooper:

Office Secrets smut

Max Cooperman:

Old Friends (1) (2) smut

Alex (adult world):

The Late Shift smut

Quicksilver:

none yet

Warren Lipka:

Behind the Crime smut

Evan Peters:

none yet

~~~

marauders

Sirius Black:

Cherry Bomb smut

Linger smut

James Potter:

Cherry Bomb (pt. 2) smut

Guilty as Sin? smut?

Fresh Out The Slammer (part two of Guilty as Sin) smut

Remus Lupin:

Cherry Bomb (pt. 3) smut

Innocence (pt. 1) (pt.2) smut

Guilty as Sin? smut?

Sleepless Nights smut

The Trouble With Fantasies smut

Regulus Black:

High Infidelity smut

~~~

other characters + people

Ethan Landry :

none yet

Coriolanus Snow:

none yet

[fictionadventurer]

Potential March Reading:

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

Celia's House by D.E. Stevenson

Something by C.S. Lewis

Something by G.K. Chesterton

Something by Tolkien and/or Wendell Berry

Something by Rumer Godden and/or Elizabeth Goudge

Jesus of Nazareth by Pope Benedict XVI

Gospels of Mark, Luke and John

[hiveworks]

Cursed Queens, werewolves, vampires, mermaids, old gods, demons, witches, odd marriages & undead of all sorts… Sink your teeth in these comics filled with supernatural enemies... or lovers!

😈MONSTER MARCH😈 is coming to an end. But these creature features will keep you company until next time.

⚔️Harpy Gee by @briannedrouhard 🩸 Lies Within by @byelacey 💜Barbarous by @aidosaur + @ananthhirsh 👿Bybloemen by @bybloemencomic 🐸Hemlock @mildtarantula 🐯tigertigercomic.com @leppu 🐺howtobeawerewolf.com @shawnlenore

For werewolf fans, here is a reminder that How to be a Werewolf Book 1 is available on our store!

The webcomics Alice and the Nightmare and Fantomestein, included in the image above, are also notable for their unique twists on literary villains. Fantomestein mixes Frankenstein’s monster and the Phantom of the Opera into a singular, unnaturally tall, tortured composer, while Alice features a autocratic Red Queen scarred by an ancient curse.

A nod to Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein, is a fitting end to Monster March!

[bookaddict24-7]

NEW YOUNG ADULT RELEASES! (MARCH 19TH, 2024)

___

HAVE I MISSED ANY NEW YOUNG ADULT RELEASES? HAVE YOU ADDED ANY OF THESE BOOKS TO YOUR TBR? LET ME KNOW!

___

NEW STANDALONES/FIRST IN A SERIES:

We Are Mayhem by Beck Rourke-Mooney

Rules for Rule Breaking by Talia Tucker

Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

The Revenant Games by Margie Fuston

Cancelled by Farrah Penn

Under this Red Rock by Mindy McGinnis

In the Orbit of You by Ashley Schumacher

The Last Bloodcarver by Vanessa Le

NEW SEQUELS:

Cursed Cruise (Horror Hotel #2) by Victoria Fulton & Faith McClaren

___

Happy reading!

[runnning-outof-time]

K’s Reading List - MARCH

Hey there! Thanks for stumbling upon this reading list! I figured that as a way to support the lovely writers within this fandom that I’d compile a reading list of all of the stories I read over each month.

March was a wonderful month filled with incredible stories. Below is the list of stories that I read. I hope you will find some that you like as well!

As always, please make sure you heed to the warnings on each fic!!

**some fics may no longer be available for various reasons**

@zablife

Keep Us Safe - Tommy Shelby x Reader (mini series) — contains some 🔞 themes. Please read warnings!

���Protect’ Drabble - Tommy Shelby x Reader

‘Pleasure’ Drabble - Luca Changretta x Reader

Forgiveness - Tommy Shelby, Polly Gray (re-imagining of canon)

Bye Bye Blackbird - Tommy Shelby x Reader

@toms-cherry-trees

Once I Was - Tommy Shelby x Reader

Five Sentence Blurbs - Assorted Peaky Characters

@cillmequick

Sleep Story - Cillian Murphy x Reader — contains 🔞 (NSFW) themes!

Premier - Cillian Murphy x Reader — contains 🔞 (NSFW) themes!

Kiss and Tell - Tommy Shelby x Reader — contains slight 🔞 (NSFW) themes!

Kiss and Tell 2 - Tommy Shelby x Reader — contains slight 🔞 (NSFW) themes!

@teenwolf-theoriginals

Paper Lies - Tommy Shelby x Reader — contains slight 🔞 (NSFW) themes!

Dad!Tommy - Tommy Shelby x Reader

Last of the Whiskey - Tommy Shelby x Reader — contains slight 🔞 (NSFW) themes!

@little-diable

Addicted to You - Tommy Shelby x Reader — contains 🔞 (NSFW) themes!

@notyour-valentine

Life is a Cabaret - Tommy Shelby x Reader

The Head of The Snake - Tommy Shelby x Reader

@amysteryspot

Tommy Shelby Drabble - Tommy Shelby x Reader

@dearshelby

The Road to Peace - Tommy Shelby x Reader (on-going civilian!AU series)

Caressing Their Cheeks Blurb - Tommy Shelby x Reader

The Devil’s Advocate - Tommy Shelby x Reader

@evita-shelby

Relax - Tommy Shelby x Reader

@aliypop

When The Sun Rises - Tommy Shelby x OC

A Little Friendly Advice - Alfie Solomons x OC (platonic)

@peakyscillian

Pizza and Champagne - Modern!Tommy Shelby x Reader

Family Ties - Modern!Tommy Shelby x Reader (series) — contains strong 🔞 (NSFW) themes!

@bi-bard

I Could Never Define All That You Are To Me - Tommy Shelby x Reader

@mgcldydrms

The Only Thing That Matters - Tommy Shelby x Reader

@camilaiswritingstories

The Death of Mine - Tommy Shelby x Reader (series)

@acewritesfics

Fireflies - Tommy Shelby x Reader

You Are My Home - Tommy Shelby x Reader

I Remember None of That - Arthur Shelby x Reader

March Drabble Challenge - Assorted Peaky Characters

@raincoffeeandfandoms

The one I love - Tommy Shelby x Reader

The mysterious blue-eyed man - Tommy Shelby x Reader

@there-goes-thefighter

I’d Kill For You - John Shelby x Reader

If You Leave Me - Tommy Shelby x Reader

The Sound of Silence - Tommy Shelby

@gypsy-girl-08

Office Christmas Party - Modern!Tommy Shelby x Reader (series) — contains 🔞 NSFW themes!

Encounter - Tommy Shelby x Reader — contains 🔞 NSFW themes!

@look-at-the-soul

Matters of the heart - Tommy Shelby x OC

@tommyhardyx

The Spy - Tommy Shelby x Reader

@prettyboyswow

Our Weeping Willow - Tommy Shelby x Reader

@priceofasapphire

Nights Like This - Tommy Shelby x Reader

@mistersshelby

Untitled (set in Season 5) - Tommy Shelby x Reader

@wednesdayismyfunday

Grief - Tommy Shelby x Reader

@fandom-puff

Not A Word - John Shelby x Reader

@noforkingclue

Perfect Moment to Forget - Tommy Shelby x Reader

@shelbydelrey

Unrequited - Tommy Shelby x Alfie Solomons

@sneakyblinders

Seeing Clearly - Tommy Shelby x Reader

@scorpiussage

That’s the Last One - Modern!Tommy Shelby x Reader

@mythos-writes

It’s My Turn - Tommy Shelby x Reader

@for-those-who-once-were

Dismissive, Yet Intriguing - Tommy Shelby x Reader

@areyenotfondofmelobster

Saltwater Tears - Tommy Shelby x Reader

[shamera]

Jan-Feb 2024 Manhwa round-up

it is MARCH so it's two whole months of manhwa that I wanna talk about I'M SO SORRY so here are the top 5 new (to me) manhwa that I read the past two months!

5. Estio

The story of a boy with the ability to communicate with animals, a power that grows and evolves into something fearsome as he grows up. It's the story of Estio's search for a meaning to his life and his powers, and to understand humanity's place in the world. (This series had me crying over a cactus at 1am, so it's earned it's place on top 5!)

4. The Way to Protect the Female Lead's Older Brother

The villainess of all time. Roxanna is the reason for 'she can step on me and I will thank her' phrases. Transmigration story, except this time the lead realises that the only way to prevent the bad end is to be a greater villainess than the original character. With an entire villain family to deal with, Roxanna will manipulate, seduce, and kill her way to take them all down and save the character whose death starts the tragic novel she's now living. (Probably discontinued, but good enough to still recommend with the chapters that are out.)

3. Death is the Only Ending for the Villainess

A 'transmigrated as the villainess' story where the original villainess was merely a victim, and every choice leads to death. Thanks to the system, Penelope knows her only chance of survival is to seduce one of the romance targets before the female lead arrives-- except they're all red flags a hair's breath away from murdering her if she so much as says the wrong thing. Her manipulations and scheming in order to survive, however, is leading her to become a greater villainess than the original ever was, and that might actually be the key to her survival... if she doesn't get murdered by her romance targets first.

2. The Greatest Estate Developer

A transmigration story where... the mc's past life is relevant?? Lloyd Frontera was meant to be a scummy noble who dies at the beginning of the story as a way for the protagonist Javier Asrahan to leave the family he was serving, but when a modern day civil engineer takes over Lloyd's life, the fantasy world he's now living in is about to get an upgrade! (An absolutely hilarious story with what might be my favourite mc and protag relationship. The ridiculous artwork is a bonus and I look forward to how much more deranged Lloyd can look with each chapter!)

The S-Classes That I Raised

I started reading this 10am Jan 1st, and I know this because I have liveblogging receipts. I literally wrote 'this one is going to break my heart' and 'BRING IT ON' and then proceeded with 79 reaction comments the first day. When I finished the manhwa, I went straight to the novels and spent the NEXT MONTH AND A HALF reading all 850+ chapters. This series has catapulted it's way to my #1 manhwa in my heart, and I posted a whole powerpoint on why. It's a story about F-ranked hunter Han Yoojin and his S-ranked little brother, Han Yoohyun. It's a story about brothers absolutely doomed by the narrative and their attempts to save each other, even if they have to save the world in the process. It's about the family you choose, and about love (not even the romantic kind) bringing people together, and how people don't need to be strong to be important. It's a story of Yoojin turning back time to save his brother, and then saving a girl who needed help, and then saving a man who needed a friend... and he continues to reach out to people who didn't even know they needed human connection. It's about a doomed world that fears S-ranks as much as they revere them, because people with that kind of power are nothing short of monsters, but they are the only possible way of saving the world. It's about a boy rejected by the world, and his brother who rejected the world to keep him safe. (And later on, it's about a man who was meant to be a protagonist, but even he can't save the world from what's coming.)

Below is: IT DIDN'T MAKE TOP 5, BUT THEY WERE REALLY GOOD! The honorable mentions~

Honorable Mentions (aka they are really good! I read through all the chapters that are out and I now check for weekly updates!!):

How to Live as the Enemy Prince

MC was the prince of a country that was invaded and conquered for a mysterious time artifact, but after he was killed in battle he finds himself decades in the past as the sickly third prince of the enemy kingdom who was originally murdered before he reached adulthood. His goal was to help his original kingdom by preventing his new brother's ascension to the throne, yet he finds out that in this timeline, the king of his previous kingdom didn't have a younger brother who fought for him, and that the time artifact disappeared when he woke in the new body.

Max-Level Player's 100th Regression

MC is part of a brutal death game that he's consistently died to, only to realise right before his final regression that the last stage of the game required teammates-- and now he's on a journey not only to survive the game, but the level up the people around him so that they can finally defeat the death game. Almost made top 5 because the art is... hnnnng. So good. Also MC has a cute little brother he's very protective of, and I desperately wanted another story like S-Classes.

My In-Laws are Obsessed with Me

Genuine Fruits Basket successor, it feels like! After being murdered by her supposed loving family, MC wakes up weeks before her death and throws herself into an contract marriage with a duke powerful enough her family wouldn't dare go against, only to eventually find out that the duke's family has a mysterious and deadly curse-- one that she's immune to (because she's already died from it before), and her immunity sparks hope that perhaps the family curse can be broken after all. Really intriguing plot as it's soon revealed she's not the only one who died and then woke up several weeks in the past, and that there are outsiders who want to make use of the family's curse for their own gains.

The Crown Prince That Sells Medicine

Set in the same world 300 years after Greatest Estate Developer! A doctor wakes up as a sickly crown prince and the system once again pulls shenanigans where the only way to live is to save lots and lots of people, so he goes to save the novel protagonist who becomes his personal guard! Less than 20 chapters so far, but it's super promising and really funny!

The Newbie is Too Strong!

A great take on the tower ascension trope and streaming sponsorships-- except rather than the gods watching, it's other players who are watching the progress! After finding out the orphanage he grew up in would only have three more years of funding, MC discovers a series of videos sent to his phone that featured himself in the future challenging the tower and decides that would be the perfect way to make enough money to keep the orphanage going. By the time he's drawn into the tower, he's ready for every challenge-- or so he thinks.

Debut or Die

Reincarnation idol series with a system! MC wakes up one day three years in the past in someone else's body, with a system that tells him he has to debut as an idol within a year or die! He ends up on an idol show using unconventional thinking to climb his way to the top. Really funny concept with a lead character who has to be the most blank-faced and deadpan debut idol I've ever seen.

Pick Me Up

What I call 'I got isekai'ed into Raid: Shadow Legends' because that is what it is. MC gets isekai'ed into the mobile gacha game he played where characters stay dead if they die in battle, and now he's a character at the whim of an unseen, unknown 'master' who summons heroes and pushes them to fight-- even killing off characters by 'combining' them with others in order to help one get stronger. He has to survive the game he was playing, and this time without control of anything at all!

I Thought My Time was Up!

Hilarious. Almost made top five this time! MC is told she has three months to live, and so she proceeds to stop worrying about everything and live her life the way she wants-- and her bucket list includes having a hot boyfriend! Thus begins her utterly shameless and relentless pursuit of a fearsome Duke, winning the hearts of everyone around her with her fearless and go-getter demeanour (which is really just a result of not fearing death at this point).

Tyrant of Tower Defense

Another 'main character gets isekai'ed into the game he was playing', except with heavy Fear and Hunger and Bloodborne vibes. In a game where the goal was to defend a city against waves of monsters, each level more impossible than the next, the MC is out to discover the secret of the world he's stuck in-- because in his previous life he barely managed to defeat the game with one surviving character, and this time he wants everyone to live. Now he's out to discover just where the invading monsters come from, and why they're here.

Hunter World's Gardener

In a hunter and dungeons world, the MC is the class 'labourer' which doesn't quite allow him to raid dungeons, and thus he opens up a general store for hunters instead. My slice-of-life pick this month! Finally, a sweet cinnamon roll MC who is 1, not struggling in his life and 2, not being taken advantage of by other people in a way that will later leave them scarred or jaded! Seriously, this series is sweet in every way: a kind MC whose kindness is rewarded in turn, and people around him who genuinely want to help him keep that innocence and ensure no one takes advantage of him! (Another around 20 chapters so far story.)

My Favorite Novel has a Weird Epilogue

MC is an olympic gold medalist fencer who gets transmigrated into her favourite novel-- except 20 years after the horrible ending! All her favourite characters are dead and gone, and now she's determined to protect the son of her OTP, which means she's definitely going to do the same thing as her favourite character (his mom), and pretend to be a boy in order to be his knight. Again, around 20 chapters, but this is shaping up to be really really funny.

Moon-Painting Alchemist

Less than 20 chapters so far, and the first bl to make the list! MC is a genius alchemist tasked with creating a spell that would show people their future spouse, but when he finally thought he had it, the spell showed him-- a man? When he fixed the spell again, it showed him a boy the second time-- a boy that he soon meets, who disappears soon after right before he meets the man he saw in his spell-- who hires him to break a complicated curse. (I'd give this one a mature rating for the Duke's dirty mind, lol, but so far it's played off as humorous intrusive thoughts.)

The Tyrant Wants to be Good

This story led me to tears. About a tyrant queen who woke up at the beginning of her life after she was executed by her country, and rather than revenge and power, she decides that this time she will live her life quietly and learn to be a good person. Starting with her as a young, unloved princess, it really explores how she went down the path she did, and her quiet exhaustion as she examines what originally led her to kill her brother for the throne, and her descent into madness as she took up the crown in the first timeline. This time around, she's resigned to a life without love so long as she doesn't cause the downfall of the people she cares for. (Every scene with her and her brother had me in tears, because he loves her so much but it took her a lifetime and a half to see that.)

The Academy's Undercover Professor

I had to debate between this series and Estio on the top 5 list, because this one is also very, very good but in a different way. Complicated world-building, factions and politics, with events that will keep you on your toes-- this is almost a Sherlock Holmes-esque story where the intrigue keeps you going and you don't know who is actually who. Set in a fantasy version of Victorian England at a magical academy, the MC is accidentally roped into a role he was never meant for while he investigates criminal organizations and searches for relics that contain a hidden power, all the while being hunted by different knight and police groups.

Series I read that didn't quite cater to me but it doesn't mean that it wouldn't be good for other people (mostly because I really couldn't connect to the main character, but it doesn't mean the story is bad)!

I'm the Queen in This Life

Regressor Instructional Manual

Necromancer Survival

Global Examination

Limited Extra Time

The Villain Discovered My Identity

The Remarried Empress

Third Wheel Strikes Back

Weapon Creator

Seoul Station Druid

Revenge of the Iron-Blooded Sword Hound

F-Class Destiny Hunter

66,666 Years: Advent of the Dark Mage

Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman

Reporting for Duty, Duchess!

Doom Breaker

Cleric of Decay

[bridonebrere]

books i read in 2024

paradise lost, john milton

jewish literacy, r. joseph telushkin

book of longing, leonard cohen

the hunger games, suzanne collins (reread)

catching fire, suzanne collins (reread)

mockingjay, suzanne collins (reread)

duino elegies and the sonnets to orpheus, r. m. rilke

notes from a dead house, fyodor dostoevsky

anti-oedipus: capitalism and schizophrenia, deleuze & guattari

the flame, leonard cohen

a history of judaism, martin goodman

a portrait of the artist as a young man, james joyce

kill anything that moves, nick turse

a history of medieval heresy and inquisition, j. k. deane

the witch-hunt in early modern europe, brian levack

witch-craze: terror and fantasy in baroque germany, lyndal roper

practicing piety in medieval ashkenaz, elisheva baumgarten

heresy and authority in medieval europe, edward peters

the formation of a persecuting society, r. i. moore

the lord of the rings, j. r. r. tolkien (reread)

the silmarillion, j. r. r. tolkien (reread)

[daughterofhecata]

READING LIST 2024

Jonathan Kellerman: Bad Love. An Alex Delaware Novel. (reread)

James Oswald: The Hangman’s Song. An Inspector McLean Novel.

Dirk Oschmann: Der Osten: eine westdeutsche Erfindung

Arthur Schnitzler: Traumnovelle

André Minninger: Die Drei ??? Der Ruf der Krähen

André Marx: Die Drei ??? Spur ins Nichts

Franz Kafka: Brief an den Vater

Candas Jane Dorsey: Drag Cop [org. title: The Adventures of Isabel. A Postmodern Mystery, by the Numbers.]

G.H. Stone: Die Drei ??? Angriff der Computerviren [org. title: The Three Investigators – Fatal Error]

Ray Bradbury: Fahrenheit 451

Chuck Palahnuik: Fight Club

Kari Erlhoff: Rocky Beach Crimes #4. Der blutrote Kondor.

Evelyn Boyd: Rocky Beach Crimes #2. Mord unter Palmen. (reread)

Robert Arthur: Die drei ??? und der seltsame Wecker [org. title: Afred Hitchcock and The Three Investigators in The Mystery of the Screaming Clock] (reread)

Jo Nesbø: Macbeth. Blut wird mit Blut bezahlt. [org. title: Macbeth]

William Shakespeare: Macbeth (reread)

Hendrik Buchna: Die Drei ??? und der dreiTag. Der Fluch der Sheldon Street.

Kurt Vonnegut: Slaughterhouse-Five or the Children's Crusade. A Duty Dance with Death.

Maurice Leblanc: Arsène Lupin gegen Herlock Sholmes [org. title: Arsène Lupin contre Herlock Sholmès]

M.V. Carey: Die Drei ??? Savage Statue – Grausame Göttin [org. title: The Case of the Savage Statue]

William McCay: Die Drei ??? Shoot the Works – Im Visier [org. title: Shoot the Works]

Tim Wenderoth: Die Drei ??? und der dreiTag. Im Zeichen der Ritter.

Ivan Leon Menger, John Beckmann: Die Drei ??? und der dreiTag. Fremder Freund.

Ilko-Sascha Kowalczuk: Die Übernahme. Wie Ostdeutschland Teil der Bundesrepublik wurde.

M.V. Carey: Die Drei ??? und die flammende Spur [org. title: Alfred Hitchcock and The Three Investigators in The Mystery of The Flaming Footprints]

Lemony Snicket: A Series of Unfortunate Events #1. The Bad Beginning.

William Arden: Die Drei ??? und der Automarder [org. title: The Three Investigators and the Mystery of the Smashing Glass]

Marco Sonnleitner: Die Drei ??? Schrecken aus der Tiefe

George Orwell: 1984

Guillaume Apollinaire: Liebesgedichte [herausgegeben von Ulla Hahn/Auswahl von Marc Föcking]

Jonathan Kellerman: The Ghost Orchid. An Alex Delaware Novel.

Michael Kühlen: Die Drei ??? Die weiße Anakonda

Christa Wolf: Nachdenken über Christa T.

Steffen Mau: Lütten Klein. Leben in der ostdeutschen Transformationsgesellschaft.

André Minninger: Die Drei ??? Die Spur der Toten

Kōtarō Isaka: Bullet Train [org. title: マリアビートル]

G.H. Stone: Die Drei ??? und die gefährlichen Fässer [org. title: Rough Stuff]

Ernst Jandl: lechts und rinks. gedichte statements peppermints.

Ben Nevis: Die Drei ??? Der dreiäugige Schakal

Kari Erlhoff: Die Drei ??? Im Schatten des Giganten

Bertolt Brecht: „Als ich nachher von dir ging“. Erotische Gedichte. [ausgewählt von Raimund Fellinger und Matthias Reiner]

James Oswald: Dead Men’s Bones. An Inspector McLean Novel.

André Marx: Die Drei ??? Meuterei auf hoher See

Lemony Snicket: A Series of Unfortunate Events #2. The Reptile Room.

G.H. Stone: Die Drei ??? und die Musikpiraten [org title: Reel Trouble]

Karel Čapek: Der Krieg mit den Molchen [org. title: Válka s mloky]

Ingeborg Bachmann: Die gestundete Zeit. Gedichte.

Ellen Kushner: Riverside #1. Swordspoint. (reread)

Countee Cullen: Color

Konstantin Wecker: Sage nein! Politische Lieder 1977-1992.

Philippe Besson: Venice Beach [org. title: Un Homme Accidentel]

Jonathan Kellerman: Obsession. An Alex Delaware Novel. (reread)

Cornelia Funke: Tintenwelt #2. Tintenblut. (reread)

Sara Berger: Experten der Vernichtung. Das T4-Reinhardt-Netzwerk in den Lagern Belzec, Sobibor und Treblinka.

Neil Gaiman: Coraline

Stephen King: Carrie

Astrid Vollenbruch: Die Drei ??? Geisterbucht

Plinio Bachmann, Rita Czapka, Knut Neumayer (Hrsg.): Kakanien. Neue Republik der Dichter.

Erich Fried: und Vietnam und. Einundvierzig Gedichte.

Georg Büchner: Woyzeck

Lemony Snicket: A Series of Unfortunate Events #3. The Wide Window.

Maurice Leblanc: Arsène Lupin. 813. Das Doppelleben des Arsène Lupin. [org. title: 813]

Lemony Snicket: A Series of Unfortunate Events #4. The Miserable Mill.

Georg Büchner: Leonce und Lena

Christoph Dittert, Kari Erlhoff, Hendrik Buchna: Die Drei ??? Schattenwelt

Juli Zeh: Nullzeit

Evelyn Boyd: Rocky Beach Crimes #3. Eiskalter Rausch. (reread)

André Marx: Die Drei ??? Die Spur des Raben

Jostein Gaarder: Sofies Welt [org. title: Sofies verden]

Paul Verlaine: Gedichte [herausgegeben von Stephan Hermlin]

Philippe Besson: Hör auf zu lügen [org. title: Arrête avec tes mensonges]

Cornelia Funke: Tintenwelt #3. Tintentod. (reread)

Wolf Schneider: Deutsch für junge Profis

Klaus Mann: Mephisto. Roman einer Karriere.

Suzanne Collins: The Hunger Games #1. The Hunger Games. (reread)

Lemony Snicket: A Series of Unfortunate Events #5. The Austere Academy.

Jonathan Kellerman: Todesfeuer. Ein Alex-Delaware-Roman. [org. title: Evidence. An Alex Delaware Novel.] (reread)

Peer Meter, Isabel Kreitz: Haarmann

Maurice Leblanc: Arsène Lupin. The Crystal Stopper. [org. title: Le bouchon de cristal]

James Wood: Die Kunst des Erzählens [org. title: How Fiction Works]

Michael Kraske: Der Riss. Wie die Radikalisierung im Osten unser Zusammenleben zerstört.

Kari Erlhoff: Die Drei ??? Tauchgang ins Ungewisse (reread?)

James Ellroy: Blutschatten [org. title: The Big Nowhere]

El Marto, Frederik Richter: Made in Germany: Ein Massaker im Kongo. Eine grafische Reise zwischen Afrika und Europa.

Juli Zeh: Leere Herzen

Maurice Leblanc: Arsène Lupin heiratet oder In Arsène Lupins Geheimnisse eingeweiht. Erzählungen. [org. title: Les Confidences d’Arsène Lupin]

Lemony Snicket: A Series of Unfortunate Events #6. The Ersatz Elevator.

Suzanne Collins: The Hunger Games #2. Catching Fire. (reread)

Ernest William Hornung: The Amateur Cracksman

Heda Margolius Kovály: Eine Jüdin in Prag. Unter dem Schatten von Hitler und Stalin [org. title: Under a Cruel Star: A Life in Prague, 1941-1968]

Louise Glück: Averno

Richard Breitman: The Architect of Genocide. Himmler and the Final Solution.

Marco Sonnleitner: Die Drei ??? Die Nacht der Gewitter

James Oswald: Prayer for the Dead. An Inspector McLean Novel.

George Orwell: Warum ich schreibe. Die großen Essays. [texts taken from “Essays” and “Fascism and Democracy”]

Kari Erlhoff: Die Drei ??? und das Fantasmofon

Louise Glück: The Wild Iris

Hendrik Buchna: Die Drei ??? Im Bann des Barrakudas

Suzanne Collins: The Hunger Games #3. Mockingjay. (reread)

James Ellroy: White Jazz [org. title: White Jazz]

Andreas Ruch: Die Drei ??? und der schwarze Fluch

Akwaeke Emezi: You made a Fool of Death with your Beauty (reread)

Ernst Jandl: Laut und Luise

Ben Aaronovitch: Eine Nachtigall in New York. Eine Thomas-Nightingale-Story [org. title: The Masquerades of Spring]

Audre Lorde: Coal

Suzanne Collins: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. A Hunger Games Novel.

Jan Wagner: Die Eulenhasser in den Hallenhäusern. Drei Verborgene. Gedichte.

John Steinbeck: Of Mice and Men

Christoph Hein: Verwirrnis

Audre Lorde: The Black Unicorn. Poems.

Megan Stine, H. William Stine: Die Drei ??? und der giftige Gockel [org. title: Murder to Go]

Maurice Leblanc: Arsène Lupin. Der Zahn des Tigers. Die drei Verbrechen des Arsène Lupin. [org. title: Les Dents du tigre]

Lemony Snicket: A Series of Unfortunate Events #7. The Vile Village.

Elisabeth Steinkellner: Papierklavier

Jiří Weil: Moskau – Die Grenze [org. title: Moskva – hranice]

Philipp Ruch: Es ist 5 vor 1933. Was die AfD vorhat und wie wir sie stoppen.

Ben Aaronovitch: Die Füchse von Hampstead Heath. Eine Abigail-Kamara-Story. [org. title: What Abigail Did That Summer]

Octavia Butler: Fledgling

Historia von D. Johann Fausten [Verfasser unbekannt]

Ines Geipel: Umkämpfte Zone. Mein Bruder, der Osten und der Hass.

DNF:

Allan Ginsberg: Collected Poems 1947-1980

Eva Völler: Helle Tage, Dunkle Schuld

Natsuo Kirino: Real World [org. title: Riaru Wārudo]

[imthatwannabeauthor]

.

[xoxobuckybarnes]

March 2023 Stucky Fics

Completed

Till It Bleeds Daylight (Rated: E, Words: 44K) by cable-knit-sweater / @cable-knit-sweater 

Summary: Steve has been undercover with Hydra for a couple of months, slowly getting deeper into the organization . As he tries to figure out what they’re plotting and tries to take them down, he struggles with his past, loneliness, and keeping his cover. When he finds out about a mysterious contractor, the Winter Soldier, Steve figures he or she is the key to Hydra’s plans, but getting more information is not without risk. But well, Steve is anything but risk averse - just ask his secretive one-night-stand turned regular hookup turned …something, James “Bucky” Barnes. Or, going undercover with the criminal organization that haunted your neighborhood growing up, a Steve Rogers guide: Step 1 - Don’t make it personal; Step 2 - Don’t take unnecessary risks; Step 3 - Don’t lose your cool; Step 4 - Don’t fall in love with a hitman; Step 5 - Ignore rules 1 to 4, especially 4. Title from the song "Lovers In A Dangerous Time"

From Ice and Ashes (Rated: M, Words: 64K) by phansomedevil / @phansomedevil 

Summary: Steve asks: “How do you move on?” Sam’s eyebrows shoot skyward. He whistles air out from pursed lips. “Do you want the therapist answer or the real one?” “Surprise me.” “The truth is – you don’t get over it,” Sam says, his voice low. “Not when it’s that close to your soul. Not when he’s someone you built yourself up around. Maybe you fall in love again, maybe you don’t. It won’t feel the same. He’ll always be coming up in your peripheral.” As the bus pulls to a stop in front of them, Sam grips his shoulder. “But you still gotta keep living your life. For his memory, yeah. But mostly for yourself.” *** Steve Rogers learns what it means to be a queer hero in a complicated modern age. He tries to move on from the pull of the past, and his lost loves, but fate rarely lets him catch a break.

The Size of Perfection (Rated: E, Words: 31K) by Phoenike 

Summary: The serum enhances Steve’s physical attributes to peak condition. All of them. Unfortunately, ‘enhanced’ doesn’t necessarily mean ‘optimal’ or ‘something that a fella wishes to show the girl of his dreams on their wedding night.’

Introduction to Fake Dating Your Best Friend 101 (Rated: T, Words: 24K) by crinklefries / @spacerenegades  

Summary: Bucky stares at his best friend as though he’s absolutely lost what’s left of his dumbass mind. “Excuse me?” he asks dumbly. Steve sighs and sags back onto the couch, covering his face dramatically with one large, well-manicured hand. “Dean Coulson thinks we’re dating. And gay. But like, for each other. And now I need you to fake date me so I can convince the Chancellor to fund my research.” or; Steve and Bucky are a pair of professors who have to fake date for academic purposes and are real dumb along the way. It's not so much a forest of pine as a whole landscape of it. It turns out fine, probably.

The Best Way to Wake (Rated: E, Words: 42K) by LeeHan / @leehanji

Summary: James Buchanan Barnes lay in a glass pod in the middle of the table, frozen since he fell. Steve’s hands were on the glass before he realized he’d moved. “Wait, Captain!” “Get him out,” Steve whispered, his hands searching for a clasp, a keypad, something. “Captain, we need to keep him in stasis—“ “I said get him out!”In which Bucky Barnes lay frozen in the Alps for seventy years only to be woken up a year after Steve Rogers was uncovered from the Arctic.

Casual Encounters (Rated: E, Words: 66K) by MoreThanSlightly / @morethanslightly 

Summary: “You have never once been careful in your entire life.” Bucky huffs out a laugh. He looks away. “Maybe I’m offended you didn’t think to ask me.” He says it like a joke, but he can’t bring himself to laugh again. “Bucky,” Steve says, scandalized. “You’re my friend. I’m not gonna use you to experiment sexually.”

Pisces Season (Rated: T, Words: 6K) by dreamsinthewitchouse / @dreamsinthewitchouse

Summary: Steve can’t get drunk because of what the serum did to his metabolism, but he still likes beer, and Bucky knows it’s because he likes the simplicity of it; likes remembering how drinking it used to feel, before the war. He watches Steve lift a bottle to his mouth and take a swig, teeth flashing. Steve has let his hair grow out a bit, which is a pretty great look on him, but the truth is that every single version of him, ever, has made something at the bottom of Bucky’s stomach twist into an unsolvable knot. Bucky knows he’s probably got what Natasha calls his smitten kitten look plastered all over his face, but just then he’s way past caring because it's Steve, now looking back at Bucky across the room, his mouth curled in a smile. Or: the one in which Bucky and Steve live happily with their Avengers family and nothing hurts (and Bucky snacks and naps a lot). Also, it’s Bucky’s 101st birthday.

A Certain Slant of Light (Rated: E, Words, 32K) by agetwellcard

Summary: Steve first meets Bucky on a Sunday morning. He's instantly intrigued by the new pastor's son with pale blue eyes and a nervous smile.

a song on a policeman’s radio (series) by rohkeutta / @rohkeutta 

How we rolled up the carpet so we could dance (Rated: E, Words: 7K) art by SulaSafeRoom / @sulasaferoom

Summary: Steve’s already showered and changed into sweats and a tank top, his hair still sticking up in cowlicks. When Bucky drags himself to the couch, still in his uniform with soot on his face, Steve takes one look at him in the soft glow of the living room lamp and opens his arms. Bucky drops the shield on the floor and crawls over Steve’s legs to collapse on top of him, tucks his face under Steve’s chin and exhales. “Jesus fucking Christ.”

our chosen homes (Rated: G, Words: 756)

Summary: “It’s been freezing,” Steve repeats as he drops the wood in front of the fireplace, throws two logs in to make sure that the fire isn’t going out. “Huh,” Bucky murmurs absently from the folds of his blanket, and Steve has to squeeze him a little as he passes, rub his cold nose against the vulnerable patch of skin behind Bucky’s ear. Bucky yelps, a high-pitched sound muffled by the duvet he’s wrapped in, and Steve laughs, kisses his ear on the way to get more water from the well.

The Same River, Twice (The Man Is Still Left with His Hands) (Rated: G, Words: 4K) by dorian_burberrycanary / @burberrycanary & art by amoneth / @amoneth-art​

Summary: Steve had meant to stay forever and didn’t last a year. He meant to return right back to when he left, but that doesn’t work out the way he planned either. Turns out a lot can happen in nine months.—Steve didn’t need his first month back to make him aware of just how many degrees forgiveness comes in, but some lessons feel new each time. Getting a text from Sam asking him to Delacroix for the weekend feels like one tick closer and Steve’ll take it. He’s texting back when Sam adds, Bucky will be there. And Steve? Steve’ll take that, too. A post-The Falcon and The Winter Soldier Stucky Endgame fix-it where a lot needs fixing.

***This fic is complete, but the series (A Man Takes His Sadness Down to the River (The Consolation of Philosophy)) is not.***

Still Left with the River (The Paradox of Motion) (Rated: M, Words: 14K) by dorian_burberrycanary / @burberrycanary​

Summary: Coming back from as good as dead to a changed world is easier the second time around. But then Steve supposes that, like with most things, you get better with practice. A post-The Falcon and The Winter Soldier Stucky Endgame fix-it where even if you can’t go home again, you’ve got to go somewhere.

***This fic is complete, but the series (A Man Takes His Sadness Down to the River (The Consolation of Philosophy)) is not.***

North Fork (Rated: E, Words: 62K) by BeaArthurPendragon / @beaarthurpendragon & art by Stucky1980 / @lisamott9

Summary: Sworn to silence by the Air Force after a friendly fire accident in Afghanistan, former aid workers James and Sam have come home to take over Sam’s family’s vacation rental business to escape the bad memories. Losing an arm and working maintenance wasn’t how James pictured his life turning out, but his life is good: He likes fixing things, he gets to work for his best friend, and he loves surfing every morning. Fresh out of the ice, all Steve wants is for SHIELD to announce his return and let him get back to work so he won't have time to think about all he's lost. But when his psychiatrist refuses to clear him for duty until he's dealt with his trauma, he reluctantly accepts Tony's offer of a beach house for the summer to settle his mind. Armed with a false identity and a stack of sketchbooks, his only goal is to get back into the field. He's got no intention of letting his heart defrost along with the rest of his body. That is, until a handsome maintenance man with a secret of his own shows up with a gallon of ice cream and a smile that could light up half of New York.(Written for the 2021 Shrunkyclunks Big Bang)

with all my skin and bone (Rated: T, Words: 54K) by unicornpoe

Summary: Agents Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes don't get along. With Steve's reckless attitude and Bucky's cautious, no-nonsense way of doing things, they clash from the beginning, and make enemies of each other before they can even think of being friends. But when both men are assigned to a job that will take them to the suburbs in investigation of CEO Alexander Pierce—where they're supposed to live together, to be married to each other, to be in love with each other—old feelings rise up, and new ones emerge. What happens when the person you hate most in the world has to be the person you love? What happens when the line between lies and truth gets blurred? Pining, that's what. And some kissing, too.***Steve and Bucky fall together, and fall in love.

Push It Real Good (Rated: M, Words: 35K) by spoffyumi / @spoffyumi​

Summary: The way Steve had to steel himself to ask the question made Bucky a little wary. "Will you be my partner for a Lamaze class?" For a few long moments, Bucky just blinked at him, not knowing which question to ask first. Finally he went with the biggest question on his mind. "What?"

WIP

Treading Water (Rated: M, Current Words: 96K) by sparkagrace / @sparkagrace & art by Dyslexic_Fetus / @reagy-jay

Summary: Olympic swimmer Bucky Barnes always believed that when the time came to retire, he would walk away with his medals and world records firmly in the history books and never look back. He never thought the water would leave him first.

***Be sure to check out the rest of this amazing series: Lane Lines: Lane Lines (Rated: M, Words: 132K), Lumière (Rated: M, Words: 5K), & New Traditions (Rated: M, Words: 6K)***

a league of their own (Rated: E, Current Words: 8K) by burning_brighter / @burning-brighter

Summary: Steve's sixteen-year-old son's one and only dream is to play in the Major League. He thinks he has a shot when the team get a new coach, retired MLB legend and Steve's high school crush, Bucky Barnes. Steve hasn't thought of the man in many years, but seeing him brings back many memories that push Steve to reach out to an old friend and maybe make new ones on the way. What happens when Steve gets to know Bucky properly? What happens when they open up about their darkest secrets and deepest fears? There's really only one thing that can happen.

An Appropriate Omega (Rated: M, Current Words: 205K) by BeauRadley

Summary: Steven Rogers, the Duke of Brooklyn, is in a bind. The provisions of his father’s will mean he must marry before his thirty-fifth birthday or lose his mother’s inheritance. The catch? He has to marry a suitable omega. James Barnes is the third child of the impoverished Barnes family. If he or his sister don’t marry before the season is out, their family will fall further into poverty. If he doesn’t find someone else soon, he’ll be forced to marry the sinister Lord Pierce. The two men realize they can solve each other’s problems, but will their marriage of convenience turn into something more?

[cultivating-wildflowers]

2024 Reading - February

I set a goal for February's reading: read printed books. Audiobooks are great and I'll never bash them as a whole, but I've found (no surprise) that reading such a high percentage of books via audio has left me with next to no attention span for printed books. They've honestly been a trial to get through, even when the story is engaging.

I didn't expect to read many books this month...so at least I was correct there. We'll blame the head cold, because I know it wasn't down to a lack of access to good books.

Maybe I'll try this again in future. Maybe not.

Total books: 2  |  New reads: 2   |   2024 TBR completed: 1 (1 DNF) / 4/36 total   |   2024 Reading Goal: 7/100

January | March

potential reading list from Feb 1st

#1 - Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett - 4/5 stars

Since the first book in this series absolutely blew me away, giving the second installment a lower rating feels a bit harsh, but I have my reasons! Namely: how Fawcett writes action-heavy scenes kind of confuses me. I get lost very quickly and somehow the tone never matches the event. I know this is meant to be a journal written by a meticulous, somewhat emotionally detached scholar, but even so. It's just odd.

Apart from that, and disregarding how very long it took me to get through this book, I loved it. She might lose me in the action sequences, but Fawcett can write amazing characters. Also the fauns? Heckin' creepy.

Now I have to wait a year for the next part. Whine, whine, whine.

More like this: I maintain that this most reminds me of Howl's Moving Castle but for some reason I was also thinking of Sabriel as I read it? Make of that what you will.

#2 - The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis - 4/5 stars

This wasn't as remarkable to me as most of Lewis's other works that I've read. I do love his conversational format and how open he always is about working these things out himself, but parts of this fell flat to me. On the other hand, I was highlighting a lot of stuff and nodding along thoughtfully. I'll definitely need to revisit this one.

DNF

The Mutual Admiration Society: How Dorothy L. Sayers and Her Oxford Circle Remade the World for Women by Mo Moulton ('24 TBR) - It’s a no from me, kids. I skimmed more than anything but what excerpts I did read felt contrived and were full of bias and digging between the lines for material. I'm not convinced the biographer actually read Mind of the Maker, let alone the rest of Sayers's essays.

Currently Reading:

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik ('24 TBR)

[jenni3penny]

MARCH 2024: READING LIST

Things My Son Needs to Know About the World, Fredrik Backman, 3.75/5.0, Memoir & Humor, 193pgs

Thornhedge, T. Kingfisher, 4.0/5.0, Folk Tale & Fantasy, 114pgs

Can You Ever Forgive Me: Memoirs of a Literary Forger, Lee Israel, 4.25/5.0, Literary & Humor, 129pgs

Taste: My Life Through Food, Stanley Tucci, 4.25/5.0, Biography & Cooking, 302pgs

The Little Book of Bob: Life Lessons from a Streetwise Cat, James Bowen, 3.5/5.0, Memoir & Humor, 176pgs

Arch-Conspirator, Veronica Roth, 4.0/5.0, Mythology & Literary, 112pgs

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MOST ENTERTAINING: Can You Ever Forgive Me: Memoirs of a Literary Forger

LEAST ENTERTAINING: The Little Book of Bob: Life Lessons from a Streetwise Cat

PAGES PER MARCH: 1,026 (-2,959)

PAGES YTD: 8,902

[tolive1000lives]

March 2023 wrap up!

[waugh-bao]

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