#to read and curate books

[northseas]

books read in 2024

dont know if anyone will find this interesting... but here is a list of the books i read this year, with a short short description, and my final thoughts! a lot of good books this year, let me know if you see any you like/have read yourself, of if any spark an interest!

hamnet, maggie o'farrell (2020)

start/finish 05.01.24 - 05.02.24, 372 pages historical fiction final score: 5/6, highly recommend, a truly beautiful book, a great start to the year, the last line crushed me

the city and the city, china miéville (2009)

start/finish 08.02.24 - 20.02.24, 373 pages crime, urban fantasy, speculative fiction final score: 6/6, i knew from the moment i picked it up that this was a new favorite book, pls read this, i think i'll recommend this book to everyone forever and always from now on

left hand of darkness, urusla k. le guin, (1969)

start/finish 23.03.24 - 13.03.24, 336 pages science fiction, speculative fiction final score: 4/6, very good, glad to have read, i understand why it's a classic! gonna read some more essays of her now:)

the prisoner of heaven, carlos ruiz zafón (2011)

start/finish 26.03.24 - 02.04.24, 336 pages magical realism, books about books, mystery final score: 3/6, 3rd book in a series and this one felt rushed:/ will elaborate further down

the vampire lestat, anne rice (1985)

start/finish 03.04.24 - 04.05.24, 576 pages horror, vampires, fantasy final score: 5/6, turly vampire of all time..

annihilation, jeff vandermeer, (2014)

star/finish 06.05.24 - 12.05.24, 224 pages science fiction, horror, mystery final score: 4/6, i liked it! will continue with the series!

the bullet sallower, elizabeth gonzalez james (2024)

start/finish 14.05.25 - 1306.24, 272 pages historical fiction, magical realism, western final score: 3/6, wanted to like this book so much more than i did...

salughterhouse-five, kurt vonnegut (1969)

start/finish 14.06.24 - 21.06.24, 177 pages science fiction, time travel, war final score: 6/6, second reading, first time 10 years ago, reread to confirm i still liked it, and by golly it truly is still up there as a favorite

sea of tranquility, emiliy st john mandel (2022)

start/finish 27.06.024 - 08.07.24, 259 pages science fiction, time travel final score: 6/6, i love books about time travel... haunting and beautiful, deserves a second read through, highly recommend

babel, r. f. kuang (2022)

start/finish 09.07.24 - 27.07.24, 546 pages fantasy, historical fiction final score: 4/6, i liked it fine, felt a bit predictable at times, made me want to reread jsamr...

apostels of mercy, lindsay ellis (2024)

start/finish 28.07.24 - 06.09.24, 520 pages science fiction, aliens final score: 4/6, book 3 of ? in a series i like, but for whatever reason this book was a struggle to get through. i did enjoy it however

prophet song, paul lynch (2023)

start/finish 06.09.24 -11.09.24, 309 dystopia, literary fiction, irish final score: 5/6, felt very topical and i wanted more. struggled with the formatting style in the start, but once gotten it was a cool choice

the labyrinth of the spirits, carlos ruiz zafon, (2016)

start/finish 17.09.24 - 07.10.24, 805 pages magical realism, books about books, mystery final score: 5/6, the final fourth book in a wonderful series. ended well and i recommend this series, the cemetery of forgotten books, where the first book (shadow of the wind) is by far the strongest

the amber spyglass, philip pullman (2000)

start/finish 09.10.24 - 26.10.24, 548 pages young adult, adventure, fantasy final score: 5/6, literally at a loss of words. read book 1 and 2 as a kid and stopped at the start with this one for some reason. listened through the first 2 audiobooks as i was driving a lot this autumn and decided to read the final book. why 9 year old me stopped is truly a question for the ages. philip pullman im indebted to you

the fisherman, john langang (2016)

start/finish 28.10.24 - 05.11.24, 226 pages horror, lovecraftian, mystery final score: 3/6, didnt really pull through, felt unedited

i who have never known men (1995)

start/finish 06.11.24 - 13.11.24, 188 pages dystopia, feminism, science fiction final score: 5/6, if i was still in academia this is a book id love to read more about, as it's really saying "things" at times. recommend

the other valley, scott alexander howard (2024)

start/finish 13.11.24 - 05.12.24 , 290 pages time travel, science fiction, magical realism final score: 6/6, i was so looking forward to this one, and it did not disappoint. beginning of the second part was a bit slow, but in the end that didnt matter!! highly recommend.

finishing off the year and going into the next is the familiar by leigh barduco. enjoying it so far, but it's a bit more romance than what i normally enjoy/would choose

now, that was long lol. certainly my best reading year so far, after taking a thorough overhaul with my reading process last year. it's been good! one instant favorite, some stellar, many good, and a few duds. if you have any recommendations id love to hear! onto 2025, some books im planning to read are: the marriage portait (maggie o'farrell), queen of the damned (anne rice) the master and mararita (mikahail bulgakov) rest of the southern reach/area x books (jeff vandermeer) and many more!!

xoxo frøy

[maureen2musings]

A cozy night in

abi.toads

[life-spire]

[faggotfungus]

The Drag King Book by Judith "Jack" Halberstam with photography by Del LaGrace Volcano. (1999) [PDF]

[fairytaleprincessart]

[bigcats-birds-and-books]

aro tumblr, academics and otherwise, arise!! i need your help with reading recs!

i'm studying up on aromanticism and amatonormativity (yeah for fiction related purposes, per my M.O.), and i'm on the hunt for nonfiction reading materials. essays or articles (academic or pop), or collections, or whole-ass books--literally anything i can read. i am also accepting links to your favorite tumblr posts on the subject!

i myself am also aro, so i've got the 101 stuff down. what i'm looking for is deeper dive material. i am not opposed to dense theory texts, i just don't know where to start lol. also accepting personal essay style reflections, though--literally the whole range of nonfiction would help!

i am looking SPECIFICALLY for aro, not aro and ace conflated (if you have recs that hit both, please do drop them, just specify that it's both!)

my (tiny) list currently consists of:

- Minimizing Marriage by Elizabeth Brake

- Refusing Compulsive Sexuality by Sherronda Brown (which, yeah, i know is ace, but it's on thin ice because she does mention aro in text too)

feel free to boost even if you have no new contributions! thanks for reading!!

[the---hermit]

04|07|2024

I have been wanting to write a little update for a few days, but I have been simply too tired mentally to do so. I have also been quite busy, taking my last exam, working in my family's store, tending my garden and doing a lot of cooking. As I was mentioning I feel very tired, I think it's a mix of the exam season stress leaving my body, the humid heat that is really making me feel weak, and the fact that having so much to do takes a lot of mental energies. I still have quite a few busy days ahead of me, but hopefully I will start feeling a bit more energized soon. I am really looking forward to properly enter summer break mode. I have also been finally getting out of my reading slump which makes me very happy. I have a few books I am very much looking forward to read. I also have a few book reviews to write and post, but I doubt that will happen soon.

📖: Il Glicine Rampicante e altre storie gotico femministe by Charlotte P. Gillman, Something Is Killing The Children vol.7

[vierdandi]

the phantom of the opera by annie stegg

[solar-halos]

wait i’m sorry i don’t mean for this to come off as capitol but in the anchor cast below ellizablue brings up how the dress annie wore to a funeral was mags’ old Victory Tour dress bc it was a more somber occasion back then and like. man. i lowkey can’t stop thinking about that. like, the evolution of the fashion in early panem. what were tributes wearing in the early days of the Tribute Parades? were they even Tribute Parades at first, or more of a meet and greet sort of vibe? (ok they obviously weren’t meet and greets cos they had the tribute interviews but u get my point). like i know they’d eventually want to shift gears and not make the Tour somber at all and more about honor/sacrifice for the country, but even though they switched gears hella fast in the span of just 75 years i still don’t think this is a change they made overnight, so im just sitting here wondering about how the drip of the victors reflected the times

[alittle-annihilation]

its officially winter break which means i need to fall into a 2 week hole of madly rereading one (1) fandom content and hitting post limit on tumblr about it. it’s been even between the main 3 all year so u choose tumblr -

[gcantread]

sometimes you just gotta read a children's book with beautiful illustrations 🤖 🌸 🐣

[willowstea]

my main issue with my Kindle is that if I read a really good book on there I am now in need of a secondary Kindle so that I can put that book on there and throw it at my friends like I do with physical ones.

[roombagreyjoy]

I have been tagged by @bansheesofinisherin2022 to post 9 books I want to read in 2025 !!

Not gonna post any technical books or books I have/want to reread because that wouldn't be as fun :3 these are the first that came to mind hehe thank u!

I'm not tagging anyone but if someone sees this and wants to then go ahead!!! I'm also always very open to recommendations and book discussions <3

[life-spire]

[caterpillarinacave]

Hot take of the day for my mutuals is if you guys liked The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare you’ll like Breathing Room by Marsha Hayles

[bookcub]

almost caught up on my school fiction reading and now i will be able to choose??? multiple books in a row to read of my own volition??? i am a little overwhelmed tbh