#sydney khoo

[bigcats-birds-and-books]

Just finished this! I had a good time!!

I was surprised by how similar it was to Locked Tomb, in terms of character archetypes and dynamics--we've got an orphaned monster girl who doesn't know where she came from or what she is (OR what's going on in the wider world around her, because she's a little oblivious), and a brilliant isolated superpowered teenage witch who talks like a thesaurus and has (almost) no friends, and there's SO much body horror and self-loathing. Make it contemporary and aroace and set it in Australia and bam: SPIDER AND HER DEMONS. What a ride!

Books of 2024: THE SPIDER AND HER DEMONS by sydney khoo

Up next! I haven't been gravitating toward YA much lately (the hazards of being an Adult, I suppose), but this is on my writing project adjacent TBR. I do have a soft spot for teenagers hiding their monstrous tendencies, especially when the jacket copy says "hiding your true self can get you killed." Excited to see how this goes!

[aroaessidhe]

2023 reads

The Spider And Her Demons

YA Australian urban fantasy/horror

about a Malaysian-Chinese girl who’s half spider-demon, just trying to keep her head down and survive high school

when she accidentally kills and eats a man in front of the most popular girl at school, they strike up a strange friendship and she starts to learn more about herself and the supernatural world

aroacespec/sapphic ish

[layaart]

Zhi from The Spider & Her Demons by sydney khoo!

[homerjacksons]

💚🤍 Happy Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week 🩶🖤

[x]

[bookaddict24-7]

New Young Adult Releases! (August 15th, 2023)

___

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:

Tilly in Technicolor by Mazey Eddings

Disappearing Act by Jiordan Castle

The Last Girls Standing by Jennifer Dugan

Forgive Me Not by Jennifer Baker

Holly Horror by Michelle Jabès Corpora

The Spider & Her Demons by Sydney Khoo

New Sequels:

Fracturing Fate (Breaking Time #2) by Sasha Alsberg

___

Happy reading!

[good-books-to-read]

Title & Author: The spider and her demons by Sydney Khoo

Score: 96/100

Comments: I could not put down this book at all it was so good, I love the characters and the story. I really hope there is another book, and if not I hope the authors writes more.

Also that cover is amazing

Link: https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/ce75afc8-33c5-4b06-b29e-25ec1f665941

[good-books-to-read]

I’m just going to throw some of my favourites down

Middle grade:

The spider and her demons by Sydney Khoo

Small spaces by Katherine Arden

Girl (in real life) by Tamsin Winter

Zachary Ying and the dragon emperor by Xiran Jay Zhao

YA:

Akarnae by Lynette Noni

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

Illumnae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Dread nation by Justina Ireland

Adult:

The house in the cerulean sea TJ Klune

The invited by Jennifer McMahon

Does anyone have any book recs? Any genre/format is good, I’m not leaning toward anything in particular I just wanna read something and as we all know asking google is a crapshoot

[fahye]

book recs: aug-sept '23

THE BAYOU by arden powell -- queer horror novella! this is set in 1930s louisiana and like all good horror it's about horrible unburied secrets haunting you. but also gators and summer flooding and guilt and, uh, letting a hot mysterious man/fae/?other? rail you in a church. superb. no notes.

TELL ME I'M WORTHLESS by alison rumfitt -- MORE QUEER HORROR! TRANS HORROR!! this is a haunted house book but the haunting is modern british fascism and the house is made of TERFs. the writing is fantastic. it's like being trapped in a small room with someone who is screaming loudly and endlessly, but like, in a good way.

THE SECRET COUNTRY by pamela dean -- this is an oldschool portal fantasy that somehow manages to combine excellent diana wynne jones vibes with my most common stress nightmare, ie. the one where you're in the Show but you've been so busy choreographing for the Show that you've forgotten to learn your own lines. baffling. very enjoyable.

KNOCKOUT by sarah maclean -- listen. listen. this series is about a historical vigilante girl gang, and this is the romance between a lady explosives expert and the exasperated policeman she wants very much to bang (heheh. bang.) very miss fisher vibes and also, somehow, very Fuck The Police (...heheh.) I adored it.

AN ISLAND PRINCESS STARTS A SCANDAL by adriana herrera -- a very horny and fun f/f histrom about a venezuelan artist in paris and the duchess she is, again, extremely determined to bang. I love this series of adriana's, with all its glorious historical detail about the various latinx delegations to the grand paris exhibition.

THE SPIDER AND HER DEMONS by sydney khoo -- YA fantasy about a chinese-malaysian australian girl who is also, inconveniently, a spider demon. this has an aro-ace heroine and heaps of very cool and creepy body horror and made me desperate to go back to sydney and eat banh mi in cabramatta. a+.

WHITE CAT, BLACK DOG by kelly link -- so you know how kelly link is an absolute genius master of the short story form? you know how the best fairytale retellings are both chattily straightforward and bonkers weird? YEAH. my god this collection is so good.

[bookshelvesandtealeaves]

💕 INTERNATIONAL FRIENDSHIP DAY 💕

Today is International Friendship Day and I just think it’s so sweet this exists tbh. My friends are my rock, they bring me so much joy and love and I wouldn’t be here without them.

I’ve put together a stack of books with some of my fave fictional friendships but I’ve almost definitely missed some great ones so let me know what you’d have included!

[instagram]

Books pictured:

💕Delilah Green Doesn’t Care by Ashley Hereing Blake

💕Loveless by Alice Oseman

💕Radio Silence by Alice Oseman

💕Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

💕To Be Taught, if Fortunate by Becky Chambers

💕Eleanor Jones is Not a Murderer by Amy Doak

💕The Spider and Her Demons by sydney khoo

💕The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

💕Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

💕Something Wild and Wonderful by Anita Kelly

💕The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

💕Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

💕Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur

💕Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall

💕The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun

💕Heartstopper by Alice Oseman

💕The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

💕Her Majesty’s Royal Coven by Juno Dawson

💕The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

💕The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

[aro-who-reads]

Aro book review: The Spider and Her Demons by sydney khoo

(the book from my last post(s) )

I think the MC Zhi is actually aroace-coded! I just didn't find any reviews that mentioned it when I first found it...

I really loved this! It took over my brain for the day or so I was reading it.

The main character Zhi is a Malaysian Chinese girl who is part spider-demon. She accidentally kills and eats a man, and begins to form a friendship with the mysterious and popular girl from school who saw her do it.

It's also very Australian, which I really enjoyed! It's fun when there are scenes in places I've at least visited...

Zhi makes a lot of statements about not wanting/expecting romance and sex, and never seems to think about it if it isn't brought up by someone else. There's also some nice commentary on relationship hierarchies!

In any other book I would have assumed Zhi and her new friend were going to get together (apparently they are meant to be heading towards something (qpr-ish?). Even if they got together romantically I'd still probably see her as somewhere on the aroace spectrum.

Definitely recommend, especially if you like urban fantasy! I bought it on a whim but I definitely don't regret it.

[auslgbtqya]

The Spider and Her Demons by sidney khoo

(2023)

From the Publisher:

Uncover an extraordinary world of demons and witches, where the ones you love can hurt you the most and hiding your true self can get you killed.

Moving and funny by turns, this is a story about what it takes to make peace with your demons – literal or otherwise. An urban fantasy spin on growing up as a second-generation immigrant, struggling under the overwhelming pressure to make others proud, while feeling trapped inside your own body.

Between surviving high school and working at her aunt’s dumpling shop, all Zhi wants is to find time for her friends . . . and make sure no one finds out she’s half spider-demon.

But when she accidentally kills and eats a man in front of the most popular girl in school, she discovers she might not be the scariest thing in the shadows.

sydney khoo is a recipient of Penguin Random House Australia’s Write It fellowship program, which aspires to find, nurture and develop unpublished writers across all genres, with a focus on underrepresented sections of our community.

Goodreads

[bigcats-birds-and-books]

Books I Want to Finish This Year: December 2024 Edition.

Thanks for the tag, @sixofravens-reads!

I'm still clawing my way through typing my NaNo manuscript (trying to finish today!), but!! that means that I haven't been able to do my post-project binge reading, yet, and I love my post-project binge reading--that's how I know I Am Taking A Writing Break.

The three on top are the last three standing from my "24 in 2024" list (Driscoll-related)(Driscoll is my MC in an ongoing revision project), so I'm gonna start with those, and then the two on bottom are bonus reads for If I Get To Them. I've been pining after TIME'S AGENT since the pub deal was announced (and sure we're calling that Driscoll-Adjacent, for interdimensional reasons). I also do really want to read WELCOME TO THE GODDAMN ICE CUBE in winter, and the dead week between Christmas and New Year seems like the perfect time for that.

Tagging @e-b-reads and @asexualbookbird (just so you can see, you don't have to play i guess *sad face*), and anyone else who wants to play! Please tag me back, I wanna see whatever one else is reading!

[aroaessidhe]

Emerging authors person here! I need to pick an emerging author for a class but I don't really pick up brand new books till years after, so I just have no clue. I like fantasy and scifi best and I don't really like romance!

haha okay sure. well off the top of my head here's some recent debut sff books I liked a lot (that have romance generally as a side thing, if any). This is a very random list! but maybe there's something here you'd be interested in

The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei - beautiful sci-fi mystery/thriller about a murder on a deep space mission, not really any romance. she has another book coming out this year too

Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel - historical fantasy retelling, with an aroace MC. and she has another book that just came out, I'm about to read it

The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera - a very weird and surreal Sri Lankan fantasy that is def not for everyone but also I can't stop thinking about it.. (he has a lot of short story publications under his belt but I believe this is his debut novel)

The Butterfly Assassin - YA thriller / dystopian trilogy, just completed (I haven't read book 3 yet!), about a traumatised teen assassin trying to live a normal life. no romance

The Spider and Her Demons by sydney khoo - YA paranormal about a girl who's part spider demon and accidentally eats a man in front of the popular girl. they become friends

idk what your class counts as recent/emerging but The Scapegracers (2020) by H.A. Clarke is a recently completed YA trilogy about feral teen witches that I love SO so much. also and his adult debut Metal From Heaven comes out later this year (I read an arc it's great)

Fallen Thorns by Harvey Oliver Baxter - aroace urban fantasy/academia vibes vampire coming of age

To Shape A Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose - YA* fantasy about an Indigenous girl who finds a dragon and is made to go to the coloniser's dragon school. has the starts of f/f/m polyamory subplot (*is marketed as adult but feels YA to me, maybe it'll age up with the series though)

also if if counts The Vanished Birds (2020) and The Spear Cuts Through Water (2022) by Simon Jimenez - the vanished birds is a great sci-fi and spear is one of the best fantasy books I've read in years (I guess I'd consider it to have a significant romance but also it's not like A Romance where that takes up most of the plot, if that makes sense. it's the kind of subtle romance my aro ass loves anyway.)

[layaart]

a few extra spider & her demons sketches 🕷

[littlereadsandteas]

The Spider and Her Demons by sydney khoo is a captivating read for young adult readers who crave stories about self-discovery, identity, and the power of embracing one's true self, particularly those from diverse backgrounds and the LGBTQIA+ community, who will find solace in Zhi's relatable struggles and triumphant journey.

[thebisexualwreckoning]

Took over 24 hours to decide on every single book I am going to be reading but I have finally come back from a visit to my local indie bookseller and have the final prompt done so without further ado I present my reading list for the 2025 book bingo

First a hard copy of the bingo that I have managed to attach to my bookshelves using leftover stickers

Next, the actual reading list:

1. Literary Fiction: Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata, trans. Ginny Tapley Takemori

I’ve been meaning to read sayaka murata’s books for quite some time now so this was a lovely little excuse to do so and I wanted to read some litfic that wasn’t the usual ‘female rage’ unhinged mid 20s white woman dark academia English major I kill people that has saturated the market recently

2. Short Story Collection: Lesser Known Monsters of the 20th Century by Kim Fu

I’ve been seeing this recced a lot and when mr batman decided to rec it as well for the short story prompt I thought what the hell why not? and decided to read it, no other special reason really

3. Sequel: Heavenly Tyrant by Xiran Jay Zhao

I was planning on reading this either way and when I saw ms batman was also using it to fill the prompt I once again thought why not, there really isn’t much else you have been waiting to read

4. Reread a childhood favourite: Malory Towers by Enid Blyton

I haven’t decided which of the Malory towers books I’m going to be rereading but I loved this as a child and I wanted to see how it stands up now that I’m not 6-8 years old anymore

5. 20th century speculative fiction: The Sundial by Shirley Jackson

I wanted to read a Shirley Jackson book but I thought haunting of hill house was too popular and I already read we have always lived in the castle for a gothic lit Unit I did this year, so the sundial it was

6. Fantasy: Cemetery Boys by Aidan Thomas

Ngl I just happen to prefer ya fantasy over adult fantasy because it just makes me happy and I wanted one with a brown trans boy in it because duh, I’m a brown trans boy (though I’m Indian, not Latine)

7. Published before 1950: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

This is my palate cleanser because I love Louisa may alcott and I love Amy March with all my stunted little Little Sister heart and I need to read about her and Laurie again because they bring me so much joy

8. Independent Publisher: Rifqa by Mohammad El-Kurd

I had to involve a poetry collection and a Palestinian work and well, it’s easier to find poetry in indie pub and also easier to find Palestinian books in indie pub so it really was the obvious choice

9. Graphic Novel: Thirsty Mermaids by Kat Leyh

Once again a recommendation from mx batman and well, I’m trans, I love mermaids, trans allegory of all time

10. Animal on the Cover: The Spider and Her Demons by Sydney Khoo

Another ya fantasy, this time aroace style and it has a spider on the cover. Also I have a copy of the book on my bookshelf and it was one of the few books I had with an animal on the cover. I was going to read the starless sea but that’s usually a fall read for me so I decided on this one

11. Set in a country you have never visited: Ekkatorer Dinguli by Jahanara Imam

So, this is embarrassing for me but despite being Bengali, I have never actually been to Bangladesh, mostly because of complicated family feelings on the matter due to my dad’s side of the family being one of the refugees from Bangladesh who fled to India. However, I wanted to read one Bengali book for the bingo at least so I decided on this memoir on the Bangladeshi liberation war. Also I hate myself right, we all know I hate myself. But this is the crowning feather in my cap of stupidity. Yes, I, person who takes 2 minutes to sound out Bengali words and then understand what the sentence is trying to say using context clues, am going to attempt to read it in the original Bangla instead of the translated version because I am trying to learn how to read and write in Bengali, which I somehow don’t know despite having spoken it my entire life

12. Science Fiction: Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

It’s not yet released so I can’t say whether it’s sci-fi but wiki says it is and also it’s hunger games, obviously it’s sci-fi we know it’s sci-fi haymitch’s games involved technology not yet invented we know this obviously it’s sci-fi

13. 2025 Debut author: Needy Little Things by Channelle Desamours

Found this book on a list of debut authors online and I love supporting debut authors of colour, especially black authors since it’s harder in the industry for them and tragically now that I’m thinking about it I don’t have too many black authors on this list

14. Memoir: Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars: A Dangerous Trans Girl’s Confabulous Memoir by Kai Cheng Thom

Is this cheating? Probably. It’s more of a biomythography à la Audre Lord than a proper memoir but as Thom herself says, I think trans girls deserve a memoir not marketed to cis people to explain trans issues. So, I’m going to make an exception just this once for the trans girls. It’s in the spirit of the prompt at least

15. Read a zine, make a zine: I haven’t yet decided on what zine I’ll read but I’m planning to make one involving 6 entirely new poetry pieces I’ll write for it

16. Essay collection: Disability Visibility by Alice Wong

In this spirit of diverse reading, I’ve decided that I needed at least one book talking about and/or involving disabled characters and I’d already read one of the essays in this book so it only seemed like the logical choice

17. 2024 Award Winner: Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H.

Winner of the 2024 Stonewall awards, hijab butch blues deals with a topic very close to me heart, the reconciling of religion with queerness. I’m Hindu, not Muslim like the author but I too struggle with what god will think of my being queer so I thought why not turn to the community, to other people who struggle with the same problem so here I am now

18. Nonfiction: Learn something New: The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World by Virginia Postrel

I love fashion, but most of my knowledge revolves around the styles and trends and patterns of clothing throughout the centuries, not how the fabric actually got made, so this seemed like a fun way to incorporate a personal hobby into the prompt while also learning about something I’d never before learned about

19. Social Justice: Revolting Prostitutes by Molly Smith

The last recommendation on this list taken from captain batman, I know a bit about social justice, especially involving queerness and indigeneinity and being poc so I wanted to learn social justice from an angle I have never really viewed it from before and that was sex work, so this seemed like a good choice

20. Romance Novel: Outdrawn by Deanna Grey

They’re sapphic, they’re black, they’re competing/rival webtoon artists and the cover’s cute, what more do you need

21. Read and make a recipe: Cinnamon Rolls

I love cinnamon rolls, they bring joy to my life, so I thought I might as well as learn to bake them so I don’t spend a fortune buying them from my local bakery. I don’t have a recipe yet but that is what I’ll be making. I wanted to chocolate lava cake at first but then I remembered I had all the ingredients at home already and that i had to use them before I left for India later this month.

22. Horror: Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

Anybody who knows me knows that a. Gothic horror is my favourite type of horror and b. I hate Jane eyre and love Rebecca. Well, to be fair I hate the parts with Mr Rochester in them and loved the parts without him so highs and lows. But back on track, I love Daphne du maurier, I love Rebecca, I’m reading this book

23. Published in the aughts: Persepolis by Marianne Satrapi

Honestly no other reason than the fact I wanted another graphic novel on the list because I know that my brain will have turned to mush after reading so many words and my eyes will be straining

24. Historical Fiction: Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters

I just wanted historical lesbian butches and also the naked women on the cover convinced me because I’m a freak and a pervert

25. Bookseller or librarian recommendation: The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, trans. Lucia Graves

I asked the bookseller what would she recommend I read, regardless of genre or any other boundaries and she recommend this to me which just so happens to be a translated text which works out great because one of my reading goals for next year has been to read more books written by mainlander poc instead of white or diaspora representation so that worked out pretty well

Anyway, that’s it for me. Barring anything truly egregious about any of the books I’m planning to read which causes a dnf and a replacement, I will be following this list in this order starting the first of jan and will report back periodically.

I also made a little physical checklist so that I can just carry it around and receive the joy of ticking things off

2025 book bingo time 📚

want a completely arbitrary set of reading goals for 2025? want to try something new in your literary diet but don't know where to start? just like a challenge for the sake of a challenge? just love a good game of bingo?

boy do I have something for you!

for anyone planning to participate, please know that I LOVE attention and talking about books, so I would be STOKED to be tagged on any and all updates about what you're reading or planning to read. I'm so, so excited to see all the different ways these prompts get filled, especially if and when they bring people away from the kinds of things they normally read. not to mention snag some new reading recs myself, hopefully!

and of course, I want to know whenever somebody gets a bingo - and ESPECIALLY if somebody fills the whole board! I don't have any prizes for you, but I can offer a sense of accomplishment :)

note that this is designed to be played as 1 book = 1 space, so even if you read, say, a fantasy graphic novel published in 1923 from an indie publisher that has a bat on the cover, you'd only cross off one space. I'm not a cop and I'm not in charge of what you read, so if it sparks more joy to check off multiple spaces per book then go nuts, but I am throwing that disclaimer out there.

EDIT: the 2025 book bingo challenge is now also on storygraph, thanks to @obi-wann-cannoli!

wondering what some of these spaces mean? seeking a couple recommendations to get you started? no idea what a zine even is, let alone how to make one? worry not! I have a guide to all 25 prompts, including recommendations + an example of what I'll be reading throughout the year to fulfill each space. read on beneath the cut!

Literary Fiction: I find that a lot of people are reluctant to check out literary fiction, as it’s often written off as not being about anything but adultery and divorce. If this is you, I implore you to take a chance, acknowledge that adultery and divorce are compelling sometimes, and also remember that lit fic has a lot more to offer than that. At Writer’s Digest, Michael Woodson describes literary fiction as “less of a genre than a category,” which “focuses on style, character, and theme over plot.” My recommendations include Raven Leilani’s Luster, Ocean Vuong’s On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, and Melissa Broder’s Milk Fed. 

I’ll be reading: Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar

2. Short Story Collection: You know, a bunch of short stories together in one book? It doesn’t get much more self-explanatory than that. Could be a collection of stories by a single author or an anthology—it’s up to you! I recommend checking out Mariana Enríquez’s The Dangers of Smoking in Bed (translated by Megan McDowell), Nalo Hopkinson’s Falling in Love With Hominids, and Kim Fu’s Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century. 

I’ll be reading: Your Utopia by Bora Chung and translated by Anton Hur 

3. A Sequel: It could be one that you’ve been meaning to get around to, one that’s not releasing until 2025, or the sequel to something you read to cross off another space on this very bingo sheet!

I’ll be reading: Heavenly Tyrant by Xiran Jay Zhao, sequel to 2021’s Iron Widow 

4. Childhood Favorite: Go back and read a book you loved as a child, tween, or teen! There’s no wrong answer here; anything from a YA novel to a picture book would be just lovely, and I can’t wait to see what people pick for this option! I’m not sure which of my old favorites I’ll be revisiting yet—should I go for the warm and fuzzy Casson Family series, or straight towards the mindfucky sci-fi of Interstellar Piggy? Or maybe I’ll go see how Artemis Fowl holds up...

5. 20th Century Speculative Fiction: For those not familiar with the term, speculative fiction can encapsulate science fiction, fantasy, and anything else that falls into the unreal. You’re spoiled for iconic choices here: the 20th century gave us Le Guin’s Left Hand of Darkness, Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale, Butler’s Parable of the Sower and Kindred, L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time, the beginning of Pratchett’s Discworld series, Diana Wynne Jones’ Howls’ Moving Castle, and countless others.

I’ll be reading: Dawn by Octavia E. Butler, love of my literary life 💜

6. Fantasy: Fantasy comes in a thousand different shades, from contemporary urban wizards with day jobs at the office to high fantasy spellslingers chasing dragons away from castles. Some examples I’ve adored are N.K. Jemisin’s The Killing Moon, C.L. Polk’s Witchmark, Fonda Lee’s Jade City, and Nghi Vo’s Empress of Salt and Fortune.

I’ll be reading: The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty  

7. Published Before 1950: This one could not be more straightforward if I tried. You have all of human history (or at least, all the parts that have surviving literature), just not the last 75 years. Dig deep! 

I’ll be reading: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, published in 1938 

8. Independent Publisher: Did you guys know that just five publishing companies (Penguin Random House, HarperCollins Publishers, Macmillan Publishers, Simon & Schuster, and Hachette Book Group) are responsible for 80% of books published in the US each year, and 25% of books globally? Break away from the big five and see what some small presses are putting out! If you need some ideas about where to start, check out this list of nearly 300 independent publishers with notes on what kind of books they put out!

I’ll be reading: Taiwan Travelogue by Yáng Shuāng-zǐ and translated by Lin King, from Graywolf Press

9. Graphic Novel/Comic Book/Manga: Despite my personal obsession with Batman, the world of comic books is sooo much wider than Gotham City—or anything else that DC and Marvel have to offer. If superheroes aren’t your speed, check out the Southern gothic of Carmen Maria Machado and Dani Strips’ comic The Low, Low Woods, splash around in Kat Leyh’s graphic novel Thirsty Mermaids, or stop waiting for a new season of Dungeon Meshi and go read Ryoko Kui’s manga, translated to English by Taylor Engel. 

I’ll be reading: The Fade, by Aabria Iyengar and Mari Costa

10. Animal on the Cover: Yes, yes, don’t judge a book by its cover—but do go find one with a critter on the cover and give it a read! Absolutely no other requirements here, get silly with it.

I’ll be reading: Shark Heart by Emily Habeck

11. Set in a Country You Have Never Visited: Fiction or nonfiction, doesn’t matter so long as it gives you a little glimpse of a country you’ve never visited in real life. If you’ve somehow visited every country currently recognized in the world, then I guess you get to go read something set in space.

I’ll be reading: A Magical Girl Retires by Park Seolyeon and Kim Sanho, translated by Anton Hur 

12. Science Fiction: A genre just as diverse as fantasy, with a little something for everybody! I recommend Becky Chambers’ Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet for those who want to kiss an alien in the stars and Jessamine Chan’s The School for Good Mothers for those who want a surveillance state dystopia that hits much closer to home.  

I’ll be reading: Womb City by Tlotlo Tsamaase

13. 2025 Debut Author: Read a book by someone who’s releasing their first book in 2025. Fic or nonfic, any genre, no further requirements. Not quite a free space, but pretty close!

I’ll be reading: Liquid: A Love Story by Mariam Rahmani, coming out March 11

14. Memoir: Per Wikipedia, a memoir is “any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author’s personal memories.” Some are funny, some are heartbreaking, some are both! I recommend Carman Maria Machado’s In the Dream House and Roxane Gay’s Hunger, because I tend to lean heartbreaking! 

I’ll be reading: Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner. Again, I like heartbreaking!

15. Read a Zine, Make a Zine: Not familiar with zines? No problem! Check out some of these digital archives for inspiration, and then craft your own zine with this simple guide (or do it your own way, I’m not in charge of you). 

Internet Archives: https://archive.org/details/zines

Gay Zine Archive Project: https://gittings.qzap.org/ 

POC Zine Project: https://poczineproject.tumblr.com/ 

Library of Congress: https://www.loc.gov/collections/zine-web-archive/ 

16. Essay Collection: Like a short story collection, but it’s nonfiction now. Some of my favorites include Samantha Irby’s We Are Never Meeting in Real Life, Elaine Castillo’s How to Read Now, Aimee Nezhukhumatathil’s World of Wonders, and Cathy Park Hong’s Minor Feelings.

I’ll be reading: A Little Devil in America: In Praise of Black Performance by Hanif Abdurraqib 

17. 2024 Award Winner: What award? Any award you like! And boy, there are tons to pick from. Any book that won any award in the year 2024 is free game. If you need some places to start looking, check out some of these:

Lambda Literary Awards, for excellence in LGBT literature: https://lambdaliterary.org/awards__trashed/2024-winners/ 

The Alex Awards, for adult books with crossover appeal for teen readers: https://www.ala.org/yalsa/alex-awards 

Ignyte Awards, celebrating diversity in speculative fiction: https://ignyteawards.fiyahlitmag.com/2024-results/  

Women's Prize for Fiction (self explanatory) https://womensprize.com/prizes/womens-prize-for-fiction/

Others: https://www.bookbrowse.com/awards/ 

I’ll be reading: Biography of X by Catherine Lacey, winner of the 2024 Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction

18. Nonfiction: Learn Something New: I know very little about archaeology, anthropology, or any other fields that involve studying ancient cities, but Annalee Newitz’s Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age was some of the most fun I had with nonfiction in 2024, because every page brought a brand new discovery. For 2025, find a nonfiction book about a topic you don’t know ANYTHING about, and learn something new!

I’ll be reading: Cooling the Tropics: Ice, Indigeneity, and Hawaiian Refreshment by Hi’ilei Julia Kawehipuaakahaopulani Hobart

19. Social Justice & Activism: Read a book about a social issue, the history of an activist movement, or brush up on a guiding philosophy or ideology. Arm yourself with knowledge, besties, because I have a feeling we’re going to need it! if you need a good place to start, why not try Angela Davis' Race, Women & Class, Mariame Kaba's We Do This 'Til We Free Us, or Molly Smith and Juno Mac's Revolting Prostitutes?

I’ll be reading: White Feminism: From Suffragettes to Influencers and Who They Leave Behind by Koa Beck

20. Romance Novel: Listen to me. Fucking listen to me. I mean a ROMANCE. NOVEL. Not a novel that incidentally has a romance in it. Romance novel, motherfucker. Go check out the romance section and have some whimsy as two people fall in love through the most contrived series of events ever conceived. If you really need a romance that makes you feel smart (that’s still sexy and messy as hell), try Akwaeke Emezi’s You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty.

I’ll be reading: Go Luck Yourself by Sara Raasche  

21. Read and Make a Recipe: Could be a cookbook, could be a recipe you yoinked from the New York Times, could be something your grandparents lovingly wrote down by hand. Could be as complex or as simple as you like, just make something tasty! Some cookbooks I’ve enjoyed are Sohla El-Waylly’s Start Here, Dan Pashman’s Mission Impastable, and John Wang and Storm Garner’s The World Eats Here.

22. Horror: Slashers, zombies, haunted houses, creeping paranoia, you name it! It’s time to get spooky and scary with all kinds of things going bump in the night. Maybe this is the year to finally keep up with Dracula Daily? Not for me, I'm not doing that, but you could!

I’ll be reading: I Was A Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones

23. Published in the Aughts: A throwback, but not too far back. Read something published between 2000 and 2009. Maybe it’s time to finally get into Twilight? (For legal reasons, that’s a joke.)

I’ll be reading: The Sluts by Dennis Cooper, published in 2004

24. Historical Fiction: You know, fiction that takes place in a bygone era! Please remember, this isn’t just about reading a book that’s old; we have a separate prompt for that! This is about reading something that takes place in the past relative to the time it was written. Pride and Prejudice is historical to us, but was contemporary when Austen wrote it. Think of Brit Bennett's The Vanishing Half, Markus Zusak's The Book Thief, or history + a bit of fantasy in book's like R.F. Kuang's Babel.

I’ll be reading: The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon

Bookseller or Librarian Recommendation: This one is fun, and something I always like to do when I’m travelling and visiting a new bookstore. Ask a bookseller or librarian to recommend something they’ve liked, and check it out! If going in person isn’t feasible, many bookstores and libraries have staff picks on their websites, and the Indie Next List is a monthly list of independent booksellers’ favorite new releases. 

I’ll be reading: The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse by Louise Erdrich, which I bought at Erdrich’s bookstore, Birchbark Books, this summer :)

lastly: tagging people who asked to be tagged to make sure they didn't miss this! @thebisexualwreckoning @perfunctoryperfusions @reallyinkyhands come get your bingo sheet!