#no comics to add at present luv because i'm not actively following any

[imaginethebeautifulworld]

Hi! I was wondering what your current reading list is like? Like books, fanfics, comics? Sorry if this a weird ask, but I'm just really curious (and kind of bored lol). You don't have to answer, but I just thought it might be cool. Hope you and your family are well!

Oh goodness, Lovely; that's a tall order~ ^_^;

Not a weird question at all, though, but it may take a bit for me to sort through all my current literary pursuits.

Books:

I'm currently working on six different books, all of them at greatly different speeds.

The first, and most pressing to finish, is Iron Kingdom: The Rise and Downfall of Prussia, 1600-1947 by Christopher Clark. The only reason for my rush in reading this 776 page monster is because I'm currently borrowing it on an inter-library loan through a university, and it needs to be returned before their classes resume in the fall semester. I'm currently on page 285, so I think the odds of me breezing through the remainder of her in the next three weeks are highly in my favor. I actually tried to read this one back when I was still enrolled at Susquehanna, but was soon too swamped between assignments and extracurriculars that I just lacked the time to actually finish it. I do recommend it as good reference material, with pages upon pages of the sources used by the author, in addition to Clark's straightforward and well-organized presentation of the hundreds of years of history he's providing.

Recently, my local library held a book sale, and I managed to obtain a hardcover edition of Great German Short Novels And Stories, edited by Victor Lange, for only 75¢. There are some really great tales in there, including von Goethe's "The Sorrows of Young Werther" and Bretana's "The Story of the Just Casper and Fair Annie." Granted, those two love stories are essentially tragedies, but... ^_^; Reading this concurrently to Iron Kingdom has helped a lot of the information regarding the ever-changing social structures of the time kind of settle more firmly in my memory, and may have perhaps sparked a few potential fics that I'm kind of eager to explore in the coming months.

The other books I'm currently working on, but not as devoutly, include The Sea Beast Takes a Lover by Michael Andreason, a short story compilation falling somewhere between the supernatural and science fiction. This one I obtained at Dollar Tree, as well as a copy of Tyler Knott Gregson's Miracle in the Mundane, a collection of poems and prompts to help spark creativity, encourage mindfulness, and possibly instill a sense of joy. I've been keeping a journal to address each prompt, so it is a bit of a slow read.

I have also been tackling The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins, though I've stepped away from this Victorian mystery due to my irritations with one particularly religious, socially inept narrator. While I know she won't remain the narrator for much longer (the tale is presented from different POVs, intentionally meant to seem as if you are reading witness testimonies), it doesn't limit my annoyance with her.

Finally, I am also reading Van Gogh: A Self-Portrait, which is a collection of letters written by Vincent primarily to his brother Theo throughout the later years of his life, edited by W.H. Auden. The book focuses on Vincent's journey into art, revealing so, so much about his passions, his dislikes, his love of the world, and has shown me just how badly I would love to sit with him in a cafe sometime, discussing our different approaches to our art forms. He was an avid reader and spends quite a bit of time highly praising writers for also being artists, and is constantly recommending books in his letters which I hope to one day read for myself. I am sadly getting quite near the end of this one, and I know I will miss him when I do.

Fanfics:

I'm currently only following three fanfics, one of which I need to catch up on in the next day or so.

Said story would be by @rosewrites Stephen Stranger Reader Insert series: Cardiac Arrest. Set before The Avengers, Stephen is still a practicing neurosurgeon and Reader is a pediatric surgeon. So far, she has 52 chapters, and in addition to the slow, slow burn, the snark, and some perfectly mature shenanigans, there is also a healthy dose of one Anthony Edward Stark to keep my broken post-Endgame heart happy. I truly recommend her stuff; she's amazing!

Another Marvel series I'm following is featured on AO3 entitled From The Void, With Love, a Loki readerfic by pilotisms that more or less follows the timeline of the

Disney+ series. Alas, it has been a while since there has been an update to this one, but with 24 chapters already post, there is still plenty of content to enjoy.

Finally, and most enthusiastically, I'd like to talk about @the-scribe-and-her-scribbles series it will come back, featuring fae!prussia. I- I truthfully lack the words to describe just how deeply I've fallen for this series. From the settings to the characterizations and concept, not to mention scribe's clear passion for the story itself- It all flows together into such a gripping story that I am desperate to read more of it. There's a delightful, overarching touch of darkness, magic, and of course our favourite disaster man. While she's only posted six chapters thus far (next update scheduled for August!), there is already quite the adventure in motion, and I am absolutely enraptured.

This ended up being far longer than expected, but hopefully I answered your question?

I honestly had forgotten up until recently just how much I love reading, and now that I am free to fall back into it- It has been quite the interesting journey.

If you're at all curious about more of my literary ventures, you could always check out my bookshelves on Goodreads. I haven't added every book I've met just yet, but I do try to update it with each one I can remember.

Thank you so very much for the ask, Lovely! Hope some of these help alleviate your boredom~