#so it's the 31st in my book

[asexualbookbird]

insert Imagine Dragons Radioactive Gasp Here

Hi. Coming up for air. I'm surrounded by yarn ends and fabric scraps I'm sweaty and covered in paint. I was a tiny bit productive this July! Made lots of progress on the Irish Lullaby Blanket, painted our balcony, started a few projects I really shouldn't have, and oh yeah! READ EIGHT BOOKS?? Who am I. I'm twelve books ahead of schedule according to goodreads, eleven by StoryGraph standards. It's wild. It helps that my library is holding an adult summer reading bingo contest and I fully intend to fill out the entire board.

The City We Became by NK Jemisin ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐- WAOW. I initially rated this four stars, but sitting on it and coming back to it now, it was absolutely a five star read. I would love to reread it, the world was intriguing, and the AUDIO NARRATOR WAS STUNNING! I do try not to judge the contents of a book by it's narrator, but what a performance! When library bingo is over, I'm listening to book two ASAP.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Oh look! A Classic I actually enjoyed! I don't want to judge horror on whether or not I'm scared, because it IS kind of tough to get to me, but this was fun! I could see the spooks! Even if it wasn't spooky For Me, Personally, it was still a fun time!

The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Oh. Ouchie. A shortie, but a goodie, I'm kicking myself for returning the ebook immediately because I would've liked to go back and reread bits of it if not ALL of it. A not exactly new take on fae, but an interesting one that I actually enjoyed.

Starling House by Alix E Harrow ⭐⭐⭐⭐- I did NOT intend to read this directly after Hill House but I am SO glad I did. THE PARALLELS!!!! The circular story!!!! THE STARLINGS!!!! I laughed, I cried, I yelled at Arthur, there were surprises I genuinely didn't expect, but made so much sense in hindsight. I don't exactly buy the romance, but I'll let it slide this one time.

Ghost Station by SA Barnes ⭐⭐- Two stars is Very Generous. And I'm sticking to it because the concept is still intriguing and if you squint there was some Leech stuff going on. Maybe I should just reread Leech. Sigh. Ophelia was hired to do ONE. JOB. To make sure none of the team members have Want To Murder Disease. And then Birch shows signs of Want To Murder Disease and she KEEPS IT QUIET BECAUSE *checks notes* HE KNOWS HER DAD HAD WANTS TO MURDER DISEASE. Everyone is stupid. They're scientists and everyone is fucking stupid. It wasn't scary, because EVERYONE WAS FUCKING STUPID. Biting all of them.

Thornhedge by T Kingfisher ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Oh T Kingfisher, you have never disappointed me, why do I read anything else. Another fun take on the fae! It's so hard to get me to like a fae book, so GOOD JOB KINGFISHER! I liked the new take on Girl Locked In A Tower, I liked that Toadling was surrounded by love and still encouraged to do what makes her happy. Again, I almost reread (listened. Whatever) this immediately just for funsies. Another banger from T Kingfisher.

The Sun and The Star by Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro ⭐⭐⭐ - I've been waffling on this rating a LOT. Disclaimer that I haven't read any of Riordan's stuff since the OG Percy Jackson series, and that was ages ago so I can't compare this to that. This was a fun little book, but it felt a little heavy handed with the themes even for a middle grade. It doesn't make me want to read more, but I'm not mad I read it at all.

The Scapegracers by HA Clarke ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Okay. Listen. Look. Look at me. Was this The Perfect Book? No absolutely not. Was it a banger? Did I have fun? YES ABSOLUTELY YES! It's a book I could've needed in high school, but I wouldn't have been mature enough to appreciate it so I'm glad I have it NOW. Angry Queer Teen Girls will run the world. And I'm here for it. So looking forward to the rest of the series, I need to know what sort of mischief these girls get up to. I hope they curse another fuckboy. They deserve it.

BONUS! I also watched The Haunting of Hill House on netflix! One bingo square said "read a book then what the movie" and I really thought Mike Flanagan's Hill House was a movie but no it was ten (10) hours of spooky fucked up family dynamics. Also Nate Ford was there. Naturally. It was good! It was creepy! I wanna watch it again JUST FOR THE TREE HOUSE. I was skeptical when I first started because who the hell are you people (Steve, Shirley) but no it was fun! But also. Fuck Steven and Shirley. Congrats to Theo and moving in with her girlfriend of one week, peak lesbian stereotypes. Biggest complaint is with Mike Flanagan and his need to not only kill cats, but get close up shots of said dead cats. What's up with that my dude. What did cats ever do to you?

Plans for August (how am I saying that) are The Bone Season side by side comparison with the first edition and the tenth anniversary edition. I'm counting that as two books, I think, because it IS two books, and looking at them next to each other, there's a pretty sizable difference in page count! No clue about word count. This is part of book bingo (reread a book you didn't enjoy the first time), and this has helped me realise that I've been avoiding this for a Reason. I truly and surely did not enjoy The Bone Season and have no desire to experience that again. Don't know what to do with this information. So. I'm rereading it. Yay.

I have a few sewing projects I'm working on, and I am SO CLOSE to finishing the Irish Lullaby Blanket! It's exciting! So lets go!! Bring it on, August!!

[throughpatchesofviolet]

I was talking in my server about changing Sherry's Cinq ID to be assigned to West Section 3 (so she can be Cinq!Meursault's irritable subordinate), and apparently it's her birthday, today. Fascinating.

[rapha-reads]

Am I supposed to take advantage of the night to keep working on my thesis, of which I've barely completed 1/9th (discounting research, abstract, introduction, structure and bibliography)? Yes. Am I instead reading my second novel of the day? Yes. Should I go to bed instead because it's 4am? Yes.

Earlier today I read This is How You Lose the Time War, that I had been meaning to check ever since it was published, and it was gorgeous. Really beautiful, the letters, the descriptions of the multiple universes, times and planets visited, the ways Red and Blue work, the emotions... Pure joy.

Right now I'm reading The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, and it is fascinating. I love a good scifi book, especially a scifi book that really takes into consideration the vastness of space and how varied other species and planets could be. Also punching holes through subspace sounds like a pure adrenaline trip and I'm deeply interested and captivated.

Anyway. Thesis is not progressing, deadline is getting closer. I should stop reading and start writing at some point. Meh. Stress levels are still not optimal. Stars aren't aligned. Need more adrenaline.

[andyridgeley]

✨ my 6 favorite first reads of January 2024 ✨

[waugh-bao]

*

[theghostofashton]

.

[brave-symphonia]

So, I recently finished Act 2 of Gideon the Ninth, and I am wondering if it might just not be for me.

Which does kind of suck if true, because with all that I see of it, I really did want to get into it and love it, but it's possible it just isn't vibing with me.

Like, there are scenes that keep my attention and keep me reading, I like seeing Gideon and Harrow interact, and I was actually really sad when Magnus was found dead at the end of Act 2, but I don't know.

It could be that it really picks up in the second half, or maybe it's just not for me? Although, I have noticed I've been liking it more since Harrow and Gideon started working together, so it could just be that it had a slow start.

At the very least, I'm not dropping it, I'm going to make sure I finish the entire book before making a judgement like that, especially since there are moments I liked throughout the book, it's just that if I still feel this way when I finish the book, I don't know if I'll continue the series.

I do need to return it to the library by the 31st, but I'm going to try and at least get to Act 3 by then, and then I'll just put a hold on a new copy so I can finish it when that goes through.

[drjdorr]

and it is finished. It was hard, but it was worth it. I am quite proud of the work I've done here as well as what I've learned working on it just so proud

also if you are curious the books on the shelves are under the cut

from bottom to top:

Series of Unfortunate Events book one the Bad Beginning

Artemis Fowl

Animorphs book nine The Secret

the Cleric Quintet omnibus

Percy Jackson the Lightning Thief

[trevisos]

wow those dragons sure are aging huh.

[jawsplitter]

my brother is a real one for helping me cook a short story idea

[pixiesnooze]

eating drywall im so angry

[hannieehaee]

OUTTA MY MIND (teaser)

18+ / mdi

summary: getting a brand new job as a senior idol's manager was scary enough on its own, but it became even worse when said idol was jeon jungkook, idol of all idols. what made it even worse? when jungkook began taking a special liking to you, damning any conflict of interest his crush on you may have had.

content: idol!au, staff!reader x idol!jungkook, jungkook is shameless about his crush on reader, but it's fine bc reader likes him back!!, reader acts hard to get bc her job is too important though boo, afab reader, banter, jk is a flirt, reader is a little bit shy, a lot of rlly wrong info about working in the industry, smut, oral (f receiving), penetrative sex, etc.

(^ no actual content warnings in the teaser)

wc: 924 (teaser); 7.7k (full fic)

release date: may 31st

or you can check it out on my ko-fi or patreon today by subscribing to either one!

a/n: ive had this in the drafts for a while but kept forgetting to finish it lol anyways i hope u guys enjoy it once it comes out<3 (also not 100% proofread oops..)

masterlist | kofi/patreon

support me through a one time tip<3

Whenever you'd tell someone you worked within the entertainment industry, – the music industry, to be precise – people always showed a little extra interest in your words, probably assuming you to be involved in the flashier aspects of it. The statement on it's own sounded exciting, enigmatic even. This would only then be followed by disappointed upon finding out your specific profession of choice, deeming it less exciting than most.

You were a manager. No, you were not an active member of the entertainment industry itself, but you were one of the many pillars necessary for the talent to create the entertainment people would always seek.

Being as young as you were, it had been hard to get to where you were so quickly. Networking had been your best friend all throughout your career, eventually landing you in your current role – one that would only open even more doors for you.

It had only been a week since you had received a call from your friend – an old friend from an internship who just so happened to be a former Hybe video producer – letting you know of a recent opening as one of the many managers at the company. Having been between gigs at the time, you jumped at the chance without a second thought. Hybe? The biggest entertainment company in Korea? You didn't need any details before agreeing.

It was a few days later in which you found out the details. The opportunity had been even more life-altering than you'd thought.

Originally, you had believed you'd end up becoming manager to one of the many brand new rookie groups in the growing company. With so many surging youth in the industry, it made sense to you that you'd be assigned such a role, not having had any prior experience within Hybe itself.

Except that wasn't the case. Having previously worked and interned at a few other South Korean entertainment companies through the years, it seemed like Hybe deemed you experienced enough to assign you the role of becoming a senior artist's manager.

Jeon Jungkook.

Senior artist had been an understatement. Those had been the words written in your contract, explaining your role in excruciating detail, yet failing to mention that your client would be Korea's most popular singer.

You couldn't lie, you were insanely intimidated by your new role. Despite being proudly skilled at your job, becoming the manager of an idol who had been in the game for longer than you'd even been out of college was a bit scary. Jungkook had gone from the absolute bottom to the top, he had most likely lived through it all by now – what kind of expertise could you offer someone who had already seen it all?

Being manager of an idol differed slightly from managing any other person. Idol companies usually handled the schedulings, bookings, and the legalities of their artists. As a manager, you somewhat took the role of a bodyguard. You were meant to show up everywhere Jungkook went and become his spokesperson – vying for him as if your life depended on it.

And now it was too late to back out – not that you actually wanted to. All paperwork had been signed, you had your own personal Hybe badge and all the benefits that came along with working at the company. Any feelings of intimidation or fear for the role would have to be put aside as you walked into the Hybe building to meet with your new client; the boy you'd have to stick by 24/7 from now on.

You weren't sure what you were expecting upon meeting him. It wasn't like there would be any special introduction, or even as if you were his sole manager; no, he actually had a few others who would occasionally aid him in the absence of his main manager, which was now you. Today was a workday for him, meaning that he likely already had a few people in supportive roles as he did whatever it was that Jeon Jungkook did while working.

Walking into the huge building, after getting lost a few times, you made your way to the seventh floor, which, as you'd been informed, had various rooms designated for photoshoots. That's where you'd find Jungkook for the first time, presumably having one of the many shoots scheduled for this week.

Having possession of his schedule made you realize how busy idol life was. Despite having no public schedules all this week, he had a packed itinerary, filled with either shoots or signings or producing sessions. You hadn't even met him yet, but you were already assured that he was overly hardworking – and you had maybe also stalked him online this past week.

It was very unlikely you'd even speak to him, seeing how busy he was. Your duty, after all, was just to be one of the many members of his team, taking care of any logistics as you went around with him, but not taking away from his time by socializing with him.

Upon entering the room, he was the first thing you noticed. Ignoring every other person working the room, your eyes focused specifically on him. It was hard not to, since he was quite literally standing under the spotlight, modeling for a camera. But it was more than that. He had an aura that filled up the room. Putting aside every stylist and photographer in the room, every staff member and intern, he was truly the epitome of main character.

Fuck. Was this going to cause trouble?

....

you can check it out today on my ko-fi or patreon by subscribing to either one!

[ariaste]

So excited to announce my next book, YIELD UNDER GREAT PERSUASION, coming out on September 17th! If you've never read any of my books before, no worries--this is a standalone, so you can jump right in without any extra context. (The stunning cover art is by the amazingly talented @holographings -- go check out all his other art!)

"Alongside the sexiness and absurdity (and the sexy absurdity) in Yield Under Great Persuasion is a tender, resonant story of second and third chances and being loved when we need it most and feel we deserve it least. Evocative, emotional, and endlessly entertaining." —Jules Arbeaux, author of Lord of the Empty Isles

SUMMARY:

Tam Becket has hated Lord Lyford since they were boys. The fact that he’s also been sleeping with the man for the last ten years is irrelevant. When they were both nine years old, Lyford smashed Tam’s entry into the village’s vegetable competition. Nearly twenty years later, Tam still hasn’t forgiven the bastard. No one understands how deeply he was hurt that day, how it set a pattern of small disappointments and misfortunes that would run through the rest of his life. Now Tam has reconciled himself to the fact that love and affection are for other people, that the gods don’t care and won’t answer any of his prayers (not even the one about afflicting Lyford with a case of flesh-eating spiders to chew off his privates), and that life is inherently mundane, joyless, and drab. But then, the very last straw: Tam discovers that Lyford (of all people!) bears the divine favor of Angarat, the goddess Tam feels most betrayed and abandoned by. In his hurt and anger, Tam packs up and prepares to leave the village for good. But the journey doesn’t take him far, and Tam soon finds himself set on a quest for the most difficult of all possible prizes: Self care, forgiveness, a second chance... and somehow the unbelievably precious knowledge that there is at least one person who loves Tam for exactly who he is—and always has.

This book might be for you if:

You like enemies-to-lovers but you think it would be improved by being a one-sided situationship, and meanwhile the other person is living through a "hopelessly yearning for childhood crush" trope

you like it when two people are so, so, so stupid that they've been fucking for 10 years and Person A hasn't figured out that Person B is in love with him, and Person B hasn't realized that Person A doesn't even know about his feelings

You know how fucking hard it is to Do The Work In Therapy and you want some catharsis about it

you want to read about an imperfect, truly difficult person who still gets loved, because being perfect is not a requirement to deserve affection and care

you know that merely saying sorry for wronging someone doesn't just magically take away the bad feelings and automatically repair the relationship, and you want to read about someone having to do the extra steps that come after the apology

this one's for the wlw: fat harvest goddess milf. my gift to u

you like gods who don't have anything better to do than stick their noses into human business

when you see a gorgeous man holding an infant, it takes you out at the knees

you like queernorm fantasy AND small-town gossip, and you find the intersection of the two delicious and intriguing

a religion based on pre-Christian Brythonic England. That is, they've got henges and standing stones instead of churches and altars. it's cool

plant magic!!!!!

"god of temptation and evil"? No, actually that's the god of self-indulgence, self-care, personal boundaries, and taking responsibility for the consequences you consented to.

You can preorder it in ebook, hardback, and paperback from most retailers (with more coming soon), but if you'd like to order an autographed copy from me directly, just fill out this form! :) Signups for autographed copies close on August 31st, so hurry hurry hurry if you want to nab yours!

(Signal boosts are very much appreciated! 🙏)

[yurimother]

Independent Yuri Magazine 'Galette' Crowdfunds First English Edition

Galette, the independent creator-owned Yuri manga magazine, has successfully crowdfunded its first English edition on Kickstarter. As of writing, over 300 backers raised 3.7 million Yen (25,000 USD), more than doubling the project's initial goal of 1.8 million Yen (12,000 USD) with 14 days left in the campaign, which launched on August 2.

The project hit three of its four stretch goals, adding a book cover and new color illustrations and pages from the various contributing authors.

The first English edition of Galette includes a translated selection of titles previously published in the Japanese edition. These works are:

Liberty by Izumi Kitta and Moto Momono

The Last Winter Sun Shower (Girl Friends extra edition) by Milk Morinaga - Girl Friends is licensed in English by Seven Seas Entertainment

That Woman in the Infirmary by Miyuki Yorita

Fluffy, Fuzzy, Dreamy. by Mera Hakamada

The Girls' Arcadia by Haru Yatosaki

Sky Blue Melancholic by Ringo Hamano

I Want You to Show it Only to Me by Nekohariko 22

This is the first of seven planned English volumes of Galette. Each volume will be crowdfunded, and after all seven are released, Galette plans to publish Japanese and English editions simultaneously. Future volumes will not be published if any volume fails to meet its required funding goal.

Galette is an independent magazine that began publishing quarterly in 2017. The magazine just celebrated the launch of its 31st issue. It is largely crowdfunded through memberships, along with sales of print and digital editions of the magazine, the spinoff publications Galette Meets and Petit Galette, and publication of collected volumes and works from the magazine, including Moto Momono's The Rain and the Other Side of You (licensed in English by Digital Manga Inc.) and Milk Morinaga's My Cute Little kitten (licensed by Seven Seas Entertainment).

You can check out the Kickstarter for the English Edition of Yuri Manga Magazine Galette and contribute to the project today.

Disclaimer: YuriMother has pledged to the Kickstarter Source: Official Kickstarter Page, Galette X account

[camelidae]

As poor Clementine can tell you, Hero work is tough! People are always complaining, expecting you to solve all their problems, help them out of binds. You’ve got to look your best and put on a brave face, work late nights, and mysterious malevolent beings are always showing up, cloaked in smoke and stormcloud, hellbent on wreaking their wicked havoc on your beloved town…

Worst of all, sometimes you have got to attend Committee Meetings!

If you’d like to read about Clementine and all her many woes (and triumphs!) you can find them in my book, The Grandest Tales of Clementine – Kickstarter ending July 31st! Just 6 more days to go and we are so close to funding!

(there's a link in the pinned post on my profile, for some reason trying to add a link here keeps failing :C)

[papaya-twinks]

red hot chilli 🌶️ - l.n - part 1

Warnings: swearing, badly translated spanish

Pairing: Lando Norris x fem!reader

A/N - I’m actually really excited for this series <33, it was my birthday on the 31st so this is kinda like a present for y’all. I also was way too impatient in waiting to post this.

Flashback

Your brother, Carlos, had joined McLaren in 2019, his teammate being the young rookie, Lando Norris. You weren’t awfully interested in motorsports, though you did pay attention to it, as your family was based around it, but your heart was somewhere else.

Unfortunately for you, Carlos had managed to pull your nose out of a book, dragging you all the way to the MTC to meet some of the important team members of the team, including Zak Brown, Andreas Seidl and of course, his new teammate, Lando.

You were 18, young yet you already had your head down in books half the time, far more focused on your studying than anything else. You’d taken up art history when you were younger, your passion for the subject only growing and growing throughout the years.

“Y/N,” Zak shook your hand as you smiled warmly to him, “a pleasure to meet you,”. Behind Zak was Andreas, who too shook your hand as Carlos stood proudly by your side. “Hermana (sister),” Carlos said, placing a hand on your shoulder and turning your body.

“This is Lando,” he said, your gaze falling onto the boy. He had brunette, somewhat wavy hair, greenish-blue eyes, two perfect beauty marks on his face and looked rather scrawny. Not what you’d imagine an F1 driver to look like.

“Hi,” you said, shaking his hand as well. Well, if the team trusted he’d be good, who were you to judge? “Hi,” he said back to you, his voice a little shy, though you could hear the hint of Belgian mixing fluidly with British.

Five Years Later

Overtime, anyone with eyes could see just how well Lando and Carlos had bonded during their time as teammates. Three whole years, coming up to the end of the 2021 season, til they’d say their goodbyes in Abu Dhabi, and Carlos would move on.

You hadn’t attended all too many races, still being far too caught up in your studies to truly attend, though you did watch the races at home. A Lando was good, as was Carlos. You had spoken to Lando a few times on the rare occasion you did attend races, but never a lot.

He was still the scrawny boy you’d first met back in 2019. And shortly, toward the end of the 2021 season, you stopped attending races. Your studying had taken over basically your entire life, always reading and writing and finishing reports…nothing like what someone would imagine art history to be like.

Yet throughout the years, Lando and Carlos had remained friends, golfing together, eating out together, doing loads together. But no you in sight.

And finally, as the start of the 2024 season made way into your life, you finished your studies. You had a one year break from all the studying, as it was best for both your health and overall, and you gladly took it with both hands.

“Hi,” you said, giving a smile to both Charles and Carlos’ girlfriends as they both gave you quick hugs. “It’s nice to finally meet you,” Rebecca said, as she gave your hand a small squeeze. You nodded to here, letting her admire your gorgeous red minidress and heels.

You had chosen the colour to support your brother at the first face you could attend that season, which was the Australian Grand Prix. And lo and behold, after Carlos had recovered from his spout of appendicitis, he won the race.

“You’re like his lucky charm!” Alex shouted into your ear over the celebrations of the team as they all rushed out to congratulate your brother. You smiled to her, following her to the pen where the cars were parked up. And that was when you locked eyes with him.

For the second time in your life, Lando Norris had walked, or rather stumbled, as he clambered out the car, into your life. You expected him to still be the scrawny little kid you’d met in 2019, with tousled waves, which were more straight than curled, and bright green eyes.

You couldn’t help but watch as he removed his helmet, your jaw a little slack as you tried not to stare. What a change…from his old self, to this? He looked…he looked great. Gone were the brunette waves, and in with the perfect, slightly tousled curls…he looked….older, but in a good way.

“Hi,” he said, his eyebrows creased together as he walked up to you, accepting the hugs from his team. After all, you were conveniently right beside his team. “Hi,” you responded, his eyes scanning your face as he blinked for a second, “sorry, do I know you? It’s just, you look awfully familiar,”.

Oh.

He didn’t remember you? Well, you hardly expected him to. You’d seen him once, spoken rarely, and always had your nose in a book. It wasn’t his fault for forgetting. “No,” you said quickly, probably not what you should’ve said.

“Right,” he said, giving you a confused smile before he walked off to get interviewed. “You good?” Rebecca whispered into your ear after she’d congratulated Carlos. “Yeah, yeah, fine,” you said, waving it off as she hummed but said nothing further.

“Yo, dude,” Lando said, following Carlos off the podium, as he jogged to go catch up with the Spaniard. “What’s up?” Carlos said, raising a brow as he handed one of the team personnel his trophy, Lando doing the same.

“Just wondering,” Lando said, trying his best to act nonchalant thought failing miserable, “how does my hair look?”. Well where was this coming from, then? “Shit,” Carlos responded, as Lando rolled his eyes, turning on his heel and walking off to rush down the paddock.

It was his intention to go and find you as soon as possible, and ask for your damn number. He didn’t have time for all the details like he usually did with his others girls, something about you was, well, different.

And then he saw you - walking down the paddock beside both the Ferrari driver’s girlfriends, Alex and Rebecca, deep in conversation. He couldn’t hear what you were saying and he didn’t want to get too close in fear of getting spotted, as he strained his ears to hear.

“Podium…orange…fast…book,” those were the few words Lando managed to pick up from your gorgeous lips, before suddenly…clang.

You looked up from your conversation with the girls upon hearing the loud bash of something hitting metal, your eyes wide as you spotted Lando on the floor, clutching his forehead. Great. Great impression, Norris, walking straight into a metal beam.

“God, are you okay?” you gasped, kneeling down beside him as he opened his eyes, blinking a few times as the sun cast its rays over your face. “God, yeah,” he said, rubbing his forehead, eyes fixed on yours in ill-concealed awe.

“Perfect now…I mean, uh, I’m good,” he corrected himself as you blinked, holding a hand to help him stand up. “Right…” you said slowly as he stumbled up, adjusting his team polo. His orange team polo. Had you been talking about him? No, surely not.

Well, he wanted your attention, and that was one way to get it.

A/N - likes/comments/reblogs are appreciated xxx