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avidabsurdist · 1 month

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Every time a new Brandon Sanderson book is released everyone updates their suggested reading order but all you need is the patience to be uninformed and enjoy the book!

But depending on your preference the best story to start with will be different.

If you want a crash course on the basics of The Cosmere's magic physics (Aka Investiture) so you can hypothesize on how other magic works I suggest the short story "The Emperor's Soul" as a starting point, it gives a solid overview of Realmic theory and covers Identity (a rather difficult idea to communicate) very effectively. (this is the start of the PhD route)

If you want something that's more like a traditional fairy tale as an intro I suggest Tress Of the Emerald Sea, which doesn't require a PhD in the shattering to understand. (though if you're going the PhD route I suggest reading this one later because if you're questioning the magic it's a far more confusing one)

Warbreaker is a good middle ground, if you're going the PhD route I suggest this second (it covers Intention which "The Emperor's Soul" doesn't), It's not a bad starting place either, it was my first book in The Cosmere and it's up for free on The Sand-Man's website. It's also all-around an excellent book.

I'm going to be (a tad) controversial and say I enjoy Elantris, it's certainly not Brando-Sando's best work but it was his first, and it's not a bad book to start with! just keep in mind that many of the issues in the book are things he improves on in later books.

Mistborn is two (soon to be 3) series, we distinguish them by 'Era' and they should be read in order if you want to make sense of what's going on.

Mistborn Era 1 (3 books) is also an excellent place to start, it's a YA-style series so you follow a teenager in a Post-(more like perpetual)-Apocalypse, but it's also an Epic high fantasy so if you like those and don't mind romance It's a good one.

"Mistborn Secret History": read this after Mistborn Era 1 if you're going the PHD route read anytime before The Lost Metal (Era 2 Book 4) for everyone else. (PhD track: if you want the most out of it I suggest also reading White Sand first)

Mistborn Era 2 (4 books) is a high fantasy Western set in the same world much later in time, 10/10 no notes, it's excellent.

The Stormlight Archive, TheBigOne™ It is planned to be a 10-book series with accompanying Novellas. I suggest reading in chronological order including the short stories, published so far that would be:

The Way of Kings

Words of Radiance

"Edgedancer" (novella)

Oathbringer

"Dawnshard" (novella)

Rhythm of War

Start with this series if you thirst for sprawling high-fantasy novels with page counts that would make grown men weep (the Audiobook for RoW was like 48 hours long)

The entirety of Arcanum Unbounded is not required reading, (unless you're on the PhD track) but it contains both "The Emperor's Soul" and "Edgedancer", you should probably read Elantris, Mistborn Era 1, Alloy Of Law (MB Era 2 Book 1), and Stormlight (up to Words of Radiance). If you enjoy Graphic Novels and dislike spoilers/rereading stuff when you haven't finished it yet I suggest skipping the White Sand excerpt.

White Sand is also not a terrible intro, it covers a theme in B-Sandy's work that isn't directly related to the cosmere but will give you a good insight into whether you'll like his work or not: the idea that skill is developed, not just inherent. if you're like me and dislike graphic novels GraphicAudio™ (actually a company not a joke) Has an Audio rendition that has some narrative differences from the Graphic novels (iirc at least one character is a different gender) But the Graphic novels also have a random boombox on a planet with no electricity so either should be fine.

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter is in a similar situation to Tress of The Emerald Sea except instead of a classic European Folktale Vibe it's got a Western Interpretation of Anime Vibe, ofc it's high fantasy like all Sandon Branderson's work so it's world is inspired by Japanese culture rather than just being Japanese.

The Sunlit Man read Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell (Arcanum Unbounded), and at least Oathbringer (Stormlight Archive 3) before this one, unless you like being thrown into the deep end, Mistborn Era 1 & 2 would also help.

There are other routes than Ph.D., there's also the Galactic Politics route, The Secret Society route, The Worldhopper Watcher route, The Ancient History route (Aka The Shattering route) ect

if you want specific reading route recs just tell me what you're looking for I can help!

#brandon sanderson #cosmere #reading order #cosmere reading order #technically I'd call this spoiler free #unless you consider overarching themes spoilers #which is dumb you shouldn't do that #stormlight #mistborn #sixth of dusk #tress of the emerald sea #yumi and the nightmare painter #elantris #B-sandy

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darcyolsson · 7 months

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In the shadowhunter universe i think the circle has the most amount of fucked up relationships. Like everybodys got complex outside the norm relationships with at least two other members. The circle is so fascinating to me. The most popular and charismatic guy is evil and the few people who figure it out takes forever to do so. People are properly rebelling against their parents. They make themself a big menace as teenagers. And on the other side youve got the downworlders reaction to this. Tessa and Magnus are heartbroken. They give up on Stephen. There is so much going on but we are given so little.

YEAH i think the circle is such an underexplored aspect of the tsc universe!! i highly doubt we'll ever get any sort of series or even a full side book dedicated to them but the tidbits of info we do have from the short stories are so fascinating. it honestly brought some much-needed nuance to the tmi parents, bc even though we do have a few details about what went down (like the circle originally not being anti-downworlders, but sort of gradually moving in that direction after valentine's father died) i did feel like tmi left me wondering a bit how they all ended up as a part of an extremist group.

my favourite thing about the circle is that, at least at the start, they all have very similar views to the tmi gang: that the clave is corrupt in many ways (objectively true), and needs to be reformed. especially in tftsa it's a statement we hear simon say over and over and over again and i just LOVE that juxtaposition, the implication that if a different kind of person had gotten a hold of simon & clary and even the rest of the gang they could've ended up exactly like their parents.

and tbh, i just love reading about the circle and their drama and misery, lol. i love it when characters act really terribly i love it when characters manipulate & get manipulated and are then eaten alive by guilt. the evil we love is a gem, just robert experiencing flop after flop and ruining everyone's lives. and then becoming miserable for the rest of his life because of it. genuinely very fun. i think cc does morally gray characters very well (when she wants to, which is rarely </3) and i just love to watch miserable people be miserable what can i say!!

also, so true what you said about fucked up relationships. the circle didnt fit into the big love web i made for all of tsc because there's nothing linking them to any of the tmi/tid/tda/etc characters (thank god lmfao), but behold, i made them their own tiny love dodecahedron for funsies:

is it more contained than the 74-people big tsc love web*? perhaps. is it any less insane? absolutely not.

*which, by the way, misses many people, as i've found out in my tmi and novella reread. but they dont fit on there so i'll have to recreate it in its entirety if i want everyone to fit, which is not something i want to spend my time doing, because i am insane but not that insane

#looking forward to reading gotsm and wanting to throw up bc of all that happened to céline #literally a grooming victim whose entire life was controlled by valentine including the false story of her death 👍#tsc #the circle #tmi #vic reads tftsa

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felinemotif · 6 months

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also, uno reverse, book rec ask game questions 9, 22, 25, 48, 85, 89, 124, 131! feel free to pick and choose <3

<3333

9. your favorite book of 2020

i can't remember what year i read most of my books, let alone years back, but upon some googling my dark vanessa by kate elizabeth russell was originally published that year and since i love that book, let's just say it was that one.

will say though for anyone considering reading it that as a warning, the ending isn't what most would find satisfying but it did make sense to me.

22. your favorite thriller

i don't read thriller as often as i would like to, to be honest. i usually get distracted by books from different genres (namely historical fiction). always open for recs though!

in the future for this genre i am looking forward to reading the paris apartment by lucy foley. i've been told that it's good.

25. a book by your favorite author

perhaps the easiest question i've ever been asked in my 20+ years of life. without a doubt this would be in the dream house by carmen maria machado. i've recommended this book + author countless times on my blog and irl for good reason; carmen is a master of her craft, and this was such a raw and intensely honest memoir.

there's a long list of content warnings as it dives deep into domestic abuse in a sapphic relationship so for anyone who would like to read it, please take care to check that ahead of time.

i think it's the most important thing i have ever, and will ever, read.

48. your favorite sci-fi novel

without a doubt this would be into the drowning deep by mira grant. this is about terrifying mermaids and sisterhood and is soooo atmospheric. it's a follow-up to the author's novella rolling in the deep, and i do think it needs to be read in order. lots of horror elements too. overall it's just a really enjoyable book.

i think i actually have a pdf of into the drowning deep saved somewhere on my laptop and can send it to anyone who would be interested.

85. your favorite book about magical realism

it's been a while but i want to say that the gilded wolves by roshani chokshi was magical realism??? possibly??? it was found family + heist + paris, 1889 + magic with a beautiful and diverse set of characters and touched on issues like ableism, anti-semitism and racism.

honestly just talking about it makes me want to reread it. i still need to get the sequel dkfj

really upped my standards for ya.

89. a book that disappointed you

...i don't like holly black's the cruel prince at all. i wanted to, but i couldn't get into it. i think she's a talented author though! this one was just a miss for me.

124. the book you're currently reading

house of hunger by alexis henderson.

this is a sapphic retelling of the blood countess; it's been described as kinda vampires, but not really and... yeah that's really what it is. it has the vampire aesthetic; one of the main characters has her teeth fashioned into a vampires' fangs and she drinks blood. but she's not a vampire. you know how in the past some ppl thought drinking or washing yourself with someone's blood was thought to be a cure for ailments or like. a fountain of youth type of situation?? that's what's happening here. very gothic and atmospheric and i am already planning on buying henderson's other book, the year of the witching.

131. tag somebody with whom you would want to buddy read a book

apologies in advance if any of you don't like being tagged! feel free to just lmk and i can remove your @. but oh my so many people on here would be fun to read with! i know @hexgh0ul and i seem to have very similar tastes in media (yellowjackets, interview with the vampire, dracula to name a few) so i feel like we could definitely find smth we'd both enjoy and have a good discussion on.

@waffleinator-inator is another one!!! maya has great taste and i already do really enjoy talking literature with her so buddy reading smth new to both of us would be fun <3

@ladytauria is someone i have exchanged recs with as well and another one with excellent taste in fiction so hmu sometime /hj

and ofc you as well, it turns out, since i'm learning today that we both really enjoy some of the same books, at least for ya which you're never too old for imo

i'd be happy with buddy reading with anyone though tbh i read a pretty wide variety and each mutual could be matched with something different :)

bookish asks

#ask games #this-was-a-terrible-idea #replies

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oysters-aint-for-me · 4 months

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Hello there! thank you for responding to my excited tags. I'm glad to know that you're open to talk about the book. There is a lot of potential for spoilers in the Becky Chambers tag, so be aware of that if you look through it.

my favourite about the series is that rereading the books is very rewarding. I've found more details even on the seventh reread, and enjoy the connections to the other books very much.

What is important to know before starting the next books is that apart from one character each the other characters in the books are all new. Pepper is in books 1 and 2, books 2 and 3 don't have any characters in common. Ashby is mentioned in book 3, while his sister Tessa is a main character in book 3. Pei from book 1 reappears in book 4 and Ashby is mentioned again. so while they share the same galaxy, we get a new set of characters and places each time. Lots of people are sad that we don't get more about the Wayfarer crew, so if you don't know in advance that the further books are about other people, you might be disappointed.

There is a short story about the Sianat woman we meet when Ashby and Kizzy go down to their planet. It is part of a short story collection called "Infinite Stars - Dark frontiers" and I liked the story very much. Should you want to read it but not buy the entire book, I'd be open to scan the pages for you.

Have fun!

SEVEN REREADS?! omg that’s awesome that you can get that many out of it! im on book 2 now and have started rereading the first one by listening on audiotape and i’m already like OOOH that was FORESHADOWING and OOOH i get why that’s called that now! like for a very long time i had no idea why they called it “sib” or “the stasie” but now i get it! i really love how immersive the books are though, that it doesn’t necessarily explain every little thing to the reader, you just are kind of thrown in and you learn what something is if the characters need to learn something but otherwise it’s like you’re just thrown into this world and for some reason that makes it feel more real??

and yeah, i see what you’re saying about missing the wayfarer crew - i also wish i got to spend more time with them (esp. jenks and sissix and kizzy and dr. chef!) but i do think it’s cool to get other perspectives of different characters in this universe. i feel like maybe there might be some fanfic out there that could soothe the ache of missing the wayfarer crew but i haven’t looked into it much for fear of spoilers.

i would love to read that short story! i’ll have to find the book. (thank you for offering to scan but i don’t mind buying it, lol, i collect books and i’m just owning that now)

have you read “to be taught if fortunate”? it’s like a novella that is also sort of part of the wayfarer series - i don’t remember what it is supposed to be about, but i ordered it along with the other three.

(also sorry for not responding to this for a while - i am so bad at noticing when i get messages in my inbox because i have had my asks closed for like the last two years! 💜 i was very excited to see this message when i did check tho so thank you!)

#wayfarer #becky chambers

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skrs-cats · 7 months

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yea!! not to spoil too much but it focuses on her grieving and finding friendship in dove who shes only just really met as it takes place after tigerhearts se and fills the gap before tbc begins, its sweet sometimes the novellas really hit sometimes they dont i have a friend who skips them completely and i dont get it they add so much NIGHTSTAR MY BELOVED </3 i first read about him in yellowfangs se and thought damn i wish i could read more about him and then his manga came out and i was so happy lol, hoping we get cannon merch of him someday i love how hes written, gonna make a note to make fanart of him aha, unfortunate how he was treated but it feels like it shapes who he is i suppose ohh that makes so much more sense now i thought i was just loosing touch with the fandom and not being able to keep up with names, i was never rly good at it. 💀 i was talking about that with a friend recently too tpb used to repeat backstory about characters so much that it became frustrating but the newer books cut back on it and now when they introduce a character you have to really sit and remember it because they arent explaining it EVER again yaaa!!! u get it lol i started reading other YA series i never read as a kid and thought id reread wcs with a friend for the hell of it (and cause i had so many of the books i never got to) and it was great but as soon as i got to new stuff id never read before it kinda lost its charm and i took a break, sometimes you just arent feeling it, tho the longer you wait the more there is to read when you come back to it who knows maybe holly will be back from the dead again or we will get a jay, holly or lion se, were getting an ivy one after all and theres holly and jay content in the bonus scene for tbc 1

that sounds so sweet ToT SOMEDAY ILL FIND THE TIME TO READ AND REREAD THESE NOVELLAS ive forgotten most of them LMFAO. i think the ones i remember most are hollyleaf's, leafpool's, goosefeather's and dovewings which is.. wow. i def dont have a preference

and yes ur def right that the way nightstar was treated added to how he is generally perceived and his character, it kinda reminds me of mudclaw too! (whos manga i have also still Yet to read rip) i feel bad for them both but their unfortunate circumstances are what makes them such interesting characters T-T

i feel like we are old men yelling at the clouds but in a GOOD WAY HAHAHAHA im glad that despite it, we are talking about the series either way so i guess that means we still feel quite passionate about it, whether in positive or negative manner lmaooo

i think whats stopping me from continuing in reading the new books is that i want to reread it from the very start first, so i am very much stuck in my own way khkjahkljf tbh though whenever i see snippets of the new books in socials i actually find them very interesting! but i def also had moments where i just grew tired and felt like getting away from it all. i am praying so fucking hard for more og po3 content i miss them SO damn MUCH WAHHHHHH

speaking of the bonus scenes, a few weeks back i found out i completely forgot they happened! MORE SPECIFICALLY W HOLLYLEAF, WHAT. I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST W JAYFEATHER AND HIM GRIEVING FOR LEAFPOOL. YOURE TELLING ME THERE WAS HOLLY CONTENT TOO??? what the fuck is my brain doing forgetting this information what the hell im such a fake fan TTTTTTOTTTTT

#ask #LITERALLY like i was watching videos about jayfeather and found out there were scenes about him dealing w the grief leftover from leafpools #passing and i was like WHAT. this happened in tbc bonus scenes???? WHAT WHEN.#and then i look through my old posts and there is literally one about me talking about it briefly #i just. completely forgot....#and the funniest thing about it is the fact that my initial reaction to finding out about the bonus chapter (again) was me being sad that #lion doesnt get to even be included in that.. and going back to the old post where i read it.... i have the same exact complaint LOL KILL M #I AM NEVER CHANGING I AM STUCK HERE FOREVER

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btssavedmylifeblr · 2 years

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you mentioned that youre reading some of sarah j maas’ books, what do you think about it so far? i read her stories (the acotar series and the tog series) as a younger teen and reread it again recently now that im older. when i learned that youre allowed to criticise a book (i was a blind follower with weak opinions 😅) i found out that there are some readers who arent too fond of her and her writing, it was quite a shock for me cause she used to be my fav author (i read only her books as a preteen 😂). personally, from her books that i’ve read my favourites are throne of glass and crown of midnight (the novellas were really good too)

So I’ve really only read the acotar series so far, so that’s the only one I can comment on (my favorite book was a court of mist and fury, followed by a court of silver flames). There are a bunch of things that I really enjoyed in that series and a bunch of things that annoyed me about it. There will never be an author that every reader agrees about. My favorite living author is John Green, but there are people who criticise/dont enjoy his books. I hate Catcher in the Rye but it’s considered a classic. Different readers are going to resonate with different books more or less and certain things will bug some people more than others. For every author that is someone’s favorite author, there will be a bunch of people who hate them. I think it’s more interesting to look at what book does well and what it doesn’t.

Things I enjoyed about acotar:

1. The main characters, love interests and ensemble casts are great. I really like Feyre and Nesta. They are both flawed and fierce and show real character growth over the series. I love Rhysand. He is pretty much everything I want in a love interest, wings included, haha. I love Azriel and Cassian too. The whole Inner Circle is well drawn and makes you want to read more to find out what happens to them.

2. The romance is great. The whole misunderstood villain/enemies to lovers aspect of Feyre and Rhys is great and made especially compelling because it plays out over such a long time. It’s also some of the most enjoyable smut I’ve found outside of fanfiction.

3. The action scenes are great. When there is a lot happening and things are changing rapidly, it’s very fun to read. Her scene and action description are very immersive and she does a good job of keeping you surprised and invested in the outcome. The scene with the giant worm, the scene in the weaver’s cottage, the battle of Velaris and Nesta in the Blood Rite are all still things that I can picture very clearly in my head.

4. It’s easy to read. And the combination of compelling romance and good action makes it very hard to put down when you’re in the middle of it. So for someone who wants a fun, quick, romance series, I would highly recommend it.

Things that bugged me about acotar:

1. It really needs more editing. The prose on a line by line level is sometimes infuriatingly bad. She will have paragraphs that are just the same sentence written three different ways. There are weird descriptions of internal reactions that get way overused. Like I think Feyre’s “bowels turned watery” at least three times in the first novel alone, which is three times too many. There are long stretches with no action where characters just wander around big houses doing nothing that I found hard to get through.

2. The world building is shallow. There are all these different courts (spring court, fall court, night court, etc) but other than aesthetic differences it’s really not clear how they are in any way culturally or magically different. There are different classes of Fae, but the potential political or social repercussions of that are rarely examined. Some classes of fae are just ugly and bound to serve the pretty High Fae, which is a fairly problematic trope. The villains are rather generically evil without really examining what their motives are. There are characters of different races, but their race has no impact on their character or story arc. Certain cultures like the Illyrians are written as fairly monolithic except for our few “enlightened” main characters.

3. The stuff around gender is not great. One of my favorite booktokers (pagemelt) explained this better than I can, but the whole series and potentially all of Sarah J Mass’s writing, suffers from what she calls “gender essentialism”. All the women are small and thin and young and beautiful, and they might be warriors, but they never overpower the main male characters. The men are all large and strong with giant *ahem* “wingspans”. The male love interests are all much older than the female love interests (like centuries older) and vastly overpower them in both physical and magical abilities and familiarity with the world around them. SJM frequently uses the terms male and female in descriptions such as “he gave her a male smirk” or “looked at her with a male gaze”. I think because she wants to emphasize that they are Fae and not humans, she always uses the terms male and female instead of man and woman, but it creates an atmosphere where the terms male and man always mean the same thing and there is only one specific way to be male. There’s also a whole bunch of stuff about fated lovers and soulmates and such that seems to only leave room for cishet relationships (though there are hints that this may change in future books).

4. It’s fairly predictable. This may be a pro for younger readers or people just getting into fantasy/romance books but it fairly obvious where things are going in advance. The answer to riddle at the end of the first book is so glaringly obvious that it makes the whole ending of that book and the fallout from it seem kind of stupid.

So for someone looking for a complex fantasy story with elaborate world building that more accurately reflects the complexities of the real world, there are a lot of other books that will provide that better than this one.

#bee’s current reads #acotar

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thenightling · 2 years

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Hello. I have noticed your posts, and figured that it's worth a shot to ask you. I apologize if this has been asked already. I have long planned to get myself the Sandman comics, as I am fond of Neil Gaiman's works. I keep putting them off, though, but it's always been in the *files in the back of my head* priority. But now that the show is here, I am reminded that I need to work on getting meself the Sandman.

I would like to add that I am what the internet calls a weeab, so anything past the original storyline and the Overture extras is a big ??? this is elvish to me. I am baffled with the western market's offerings for the Sandman editions as well. Do you have any tips on what editions to get ie Omnibus or The Expanded editions (trade pb; boxed set). I am something of an hobby artist so extra artworks are SWELL. I assume that extra artworks are often included in the deluxe/absolute/omnibus editions, my basis for this assumption is my lone copy of Alan Moore's Watchmen (what edition? I also have no idea) Would you rather an artist/weeab fan get the trade paperback expanded editions (at the risk of missing the art extras, if there are any at all) and purchase the omnibus editions one at a time? I've read that the omnibus contains the variant illustrations ie James Jean's variant for Overture.

My only gripe with the Omnibus edition is the weight and possible binding issues would make rereading a challenge.

is there any way we can get the novella edition of Dream Hunters? A friend lent me their P. Craig Russell edition back when I was in uni, but I'm a huge fan of Yoshitaka Amano's art.

PPS

I would also like to apologize for my shoddy English and the long ask

The current version of The Sandman box set is fourteen volumes (including the novella version of Dream Hunters and graphic novel version).

The Omnibuses are three volumes now.

The Absolute editions are five volumes then Overture, and if you want the Death books as well.

The Sandman graphic novels individually used to be ten volumes but now there are officially fourteen.

There is a 30th anniversary edition of both versions of Dream Hunters.

The cheapest way to collect all of the Sandman is the new four books that just say "The Sandman Book 1, The Sandman Book 2, The Sandman: Book 3, The Sandman: Book 4" and then buy The Sandman: Dream Hunters (Both versions), The Sandman: Endless Nights, and The Sandman: Overture separately. (Though those will eventually be sold as The Sandman: Book 5.

For price you could get those but for quality I'd get the Absolute editions.

After you read The Sandman there are the Death stories that can be bought as Death Deluxe edition or Death: Absolute edition and can be read at any point after The Sandman: A Game of you. The books of Magic (30th anniversary edition by Neil Gaiman, not the spin-off versions by other authors). And that's pretty much it.

That's all that's officially canon to The Sandman. There are many Sandman Presents and Sandman Universe spin-offs but their status as canon is precarious at best and Neil tends to ignore them whenever he adds on to The Sandman mythos. Just stick with the stuff he wrote.

#The Sandman #Sandman

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ryttu3k · 1 year

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End of the year book asks! Which I'm just... going to fill out. Original post here.

1. How many books did you read this year?

As of posting this on December 15th, it's 36, with a note that I am including zines over 100 pages. Will update at the end of the year! Edit: 38!

2. Did you reread anything? What?

Reread Gideon and Harrow the Ninth in preparation for Nona's release!

3. What were your top five books of the year?

Okay. I am going to categorise.

Favourite novel: Tamsyn Muir - Nona the Ninth

Favourite novella: Becky Chambers - A Prayer for the Crown-Shy

Favourite series: Seanan McGuire - Wayward Children

Favourite anthology: Xenocultivars - Stories of Queer Growth

Favourite zine: Archive of the Odd (available here, only read issue 1 so far but I have issue 2 purchased and ready to go!)

Favourite unexpected addition to my reading list: Bram Stoker - Dracula

Other favourites of note: Travis Baldree - Legends & Lattes, RoAnna Sylver - Stake Sauce 2 and Life Within Parole vol 2, Freydis Moon - Exodus 20:3

4. Did you discover any new authors that you love this year?

Read the Wayward Children series, would be quite happy to look into more of Seanan McGuire's writing!

5. What genre did you read the most of?

I am sitting comfortably in my SFF hole, thank you.

6. Was there anything you meant to read, but never got to?

*laughs in excessively long TBR*

7. What was your average Goodreads Storygraph rating? Does it seem accurate?

4.32, which seems pretty solid!

8. Did you meet any of your reading goals? Which ones?

I did, averaging three new reads a month!

9. Did you get into any new genres?

Is 'gothic horror that is actually all about The Power Of Friendship' a genre?

10. What was your favorite new release of the year?

Nona the Ninth Nona the Ninth I cannot reiterate how much I goddamn adore Nona the Ninth. Sob.

11. What was your favorite book that has been out for a while, but you just now read?

Dracula has been out for. A while lmao

12. Any books that disappointed you? 13. What were your least favorite books of the year?

Mm. I don't like naming names because I can totally see people enjoying it, but there was one novel in particular that I felt didn't quite stick the landing. I gave it a 6/10 rating.

14. What books do you want to finish before the year is over?

I'd like to get in Where The Drowned Girls Go (the last Wayward Children book currently out, the next one is due in January!), which will be easy enough because it's a novella, and probably one other. Edit, 16th December: Done!

15. Did you read any books that were nominated for or won awards this year? What did you think of them?

I got into the Wayward Children series, most of those either won or were nominated for the Best Novella nebulas, and which won this year's Best Series. This Is How You Lose The Time War won that category for the Hugos, Nebulas, and Locus in 2020; Binti: Home and Night Masquerade were also nominated for Hugos.

Also I feel Dracula's probably won a few awards. Probably.

16. What is the most over-hyped book you read this year?

Oh, hm! I don't know, most felt like a suitable level of hype.

17. Did any books surprise you with how good they were?

Dracula. Dracula. I expected to read it as like, a pivotal vampire/horror novel that I felt lowkey obligated to get through but I fucking loved it. At least part of that was the Dracula Daily experience but damn, I really liked that book.

18. How many books did you buy?

.......significantly more than I actually read. Awkward laughter at my Kobo account.

19. Did you use your library?

I did!

20. What was your most anticipated release? Did it meet your expectations?

Nona the Ninth, and it absolutely did. I knew I would be goddamn deceased after it and I very much!! was!!

21. Did you participate in or watch any booklr, booktube, or book twitter drama?

No drama here!

22. What's the longest book you read?

The Harrow reread is the only one that tops 500 pages, although both the Gideon reread and Nona are in the 400s.

23. What's the fastest time it took you to read a book?

I mean I can knock out a novella in an hour?

24. Did you DNF anything? Why?

Nope!

25. What reading goals do you have for next year?

Read more novels. I read a lot of novellas and anthologies this year!

#year in review #books #the locked tomb #dracula

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courtofwingsandruin · 3 years

Text

Does anyone else ever think how we know that originally, Lucien and Nesta were supposed to end up together, not Cassian and Nesta? And how that means that this bond between Lucien and Elain probably was a very sudden idea SJM had when writing ACOMAF out?

She decided to change it because this relationship wouldn’t work. I’m not gonna lie that this is slightly perplexing to me. Lucien, especially ACOTAR-era Lucien, probably could’ve gotten along with Nesta quite well. I know SJM knows her characters better than us, but I just can’t see why they wouldn’t work, y’know?

And now, with the whole 3 brothers/3 sisters thing...I’m wondering if that’s part of the reason why. If SJM realized she wanted Lucien to have some connection to one of the three (a mating bond, rather than a romantic relationship), but doesn’t get with them. Because in the end, she had these two Bat Bois sitting right here who would work with them just as well, if not better, than Lucien could with either of them—and it would give her a future story to tell with the three brothers/three sisters and Koschei storyline.

I feel this can be reinforced by the fact that SJM has been planning Elain’s specifically but also Nesta’s story since ACOMAF. She made a lot of decisions while writing ACOMAF and began preparing things for the future books she wanted to write. Choosing not to have Nesta and Lucien get together, instead the tension between Cassian and Nesta the moment they meet. The way Elain and Azriel seem to click and focus on each other the moment they meet, too (if you reread that first meeting I promise you’ll see it. Elain specifically looks to Azriel, not her newly-fae sister, not the High Lord, not the much louder Illyrian right next to Az—not even Nesta. She looks to Azriel every single time when she was unsure, and he’s constantly reassuring her that she’s good to speak up and try). I don’t think that was a coincidence.

Not to mention that if she was planning for Elain and Lucien to be together, she would’ve most definitely given them at least one romantic coded moment together. The closest thing I’ve seen is when Lucien is leaving once and Elain nearly steps down the stairs to say something to him but he’s already gone. And honestly, I blame that completely on the bond. We know they can feel each other’s emotions, Rhys and Feyre can feel each other’s even with their mental shields up (or are supposed to be able to at least)—and we see that Lucien had “longing and sadness” in his eyes just before he disappeared there, which was when Elain almost stepped down. Then Lucien had winnowed away, and she walked away without any other care (likely because the farther away he was the less strong the pull of the mating bond, so she couldn’t feel him as strongly then). This is chapter 34 of ACOWAR. This is the only scene we see that seems like it has slight potential of Elucien in canon.

However, we have many, many scenes to support Elain and Azriel. Their friendship started in ACOMAF, was seen throughout ACOWAR, throughout ACOFAS, and even though we don’t see them even in the same room together but three or so times in ACOSF, there is some kind of tension between them every time (Azriel’s clear protectiveness of Elain when his shadows gathered in the corners to strike, the clear liking of each other when Elain looked away from Azriel’s smile, Nesta noticing a charged look going between them). As well as the many scenes where Azriel and usually Cassian discuss Elain and Azriel’s protectiveness comes back up. As a disclaimer, I don’t like that Azriel is also supporting not allowing Elain to go on these missions and try to prove herself. But every single other couple in the books is protective of each other. Cassian didn’t want Nesta to even let go of his hand to get the harp. Rhys had multiple occasions where he was angry and protective over Feyre doing something dangerous—when instead of going to the townhouse she fought in the streets of Velaris, when she went to find the Suriel during the war. Saying “oh but they’re mates” ignores the fact that it’s said most all males are possessive and protective like this in their world, regardless if it’s a mating bond or family or love. And it also ignores the very plausible theory of Azriel being Elain’s second and/or true mate. I won’t get into that right now though.

And then, of course, the bonus chapter proved that Elain and Azriel’s feeling definitely are not just platonic, and they both have a lot going on behind the scenes. I won’t get into the chapter much because I have plenty of other posts on my blog where I or someone else dissected and discussed it. But they definitely have both romantic and sexual interest in each other.

I truly, truly don’t see why SJM would set that up over the course of three novels and one novella to suddenly not put them together. Especially knowing that she’s said she doesn’t like couples that were built up over long periods of time (4 books is a very long time) and then don’t end up together. I don’t think she introduced Gwyn to be a romantic interest—I do think she included Gwyn in his extra chapter to confuse us and cause panic and chaos, sure, SJM is like that, remember when we first met Emerie? And then Emerie turned out to have no connection to Cassian other than him being her mentor/trainer and she being Nesta’s friend? I don’t think Gwyn will have any actual potential as a romantic partner. This also parallels Cassian and Nesta’s story—with them both mentioning another girl pre-getting together and (likely) nothing actually comes of it. She does parallel things a lot, and I don’t think she did this on accident.

To round this out, I’d like to bring us back to Lucien and Nesta. If she originally had them together, I think there can definitely be an implication there that she had considered them working some. And Cassian and ACOTAR-era Lucien are similar, as well as...well, Nesta and Vassa. The firebird and the silver flames. A human Queen and the Queen of Queens. Vassa has shown a great backbone, will openly bicker with people (we hear about her and Jurian fighting a lot), she’s just this woman who seems like she could be similar enough to Nesta to warrant the idea that Nesta/Lucien could’ve possibly worked if Nesta was a little more like Vassa or Lucien was a little more like Cassian.

I also want to clarify that I’m not against the Elain and Lucien ship, nor am I against Gwyn and Azriel. I actually ship Elain and Lucien—just not as much as I ship Elain and Azriel, because I’m 99.9% certain that Elriel will be endgame (always leave room for error). And once the next book is out and this whole mess has cleared up, I could definitely get behind Gwyn and Azriel as a non-canon sorta-crack ship. I read about pairings that completely disregard canon all the time (Feycien is hardcore slept on). But I can’t find myself supporting Gwyn and Azriel right now, not while this ship war is happening, because I feel right now is the time to actually look at canon and focus on what’s obviously there—not what, to me, is more of just a fun little ship that could work in theory and fanfics and that’s about it.

And that’s all. End rant. I’m so sorry if you actually read all this. This stuff has been on loop in my head for days and I had to word vomit again.

#acotar #acosf #a court of silver flames #elain archeron #a court of thorns and roses #azriel #elriel #acomaf #acowar #pro elriel #i’m not tagging this as anti anything bc i’m not anti any of the ships #the other ships are cute! i like it theory! not seeing it in canon #vassa x lucien #it’s not really about them but i am supporting it some in this?#and it seems like the only safe ship other than elriel to mention?#i don’t want to make anyone mad by tagging this wrong

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agrippinaes · 2 years

Text

books i read in 2021

i read a total of 290 books in 2021. i wanted to round it up to 300, but other things got in the way, but obviously i can't complain about the final total. one of those was read twice in the same year.

i was unemployed for a big chunk of the year and this is reflected in my reading habits. my most productive months reading-wise were all ones shortly after becoming unemployed in march: i read the most in may and april, with 37 and 32 books read in those months respectively. my least productive month for reading was october, which is the month i started work again. i read 15 books in october, with november having a similar count.

of the books i read, i gave the majority of them a 3 star rating, followed by 4 star. i only read 2 book this year that i rated as 1 star. of the 290 books i read, 259 of them were romance books, which is very similar to the year before. i read 25 mystery/crime novels. the rest were non-fiction or other genres. of the non-romance books, 11 of them had romance as a major subgenre.

in terms of the romance novels, 140 of them were contemporary, followed by 51 historical novels, 34 romantic suspense novels, and 22 paranormal/fantasy romance novels. there were some other subgenres, but not in great number. my most-read trope was enemies-to-lovers, with 53 books containing that trope, followed by forced proximity, friends-to-lovers, boss/employee, and age gap tropes.

i also tracked things outside of genre/tropes. 264 books i read this year were ebooks - only 26 of them were physical books. 279 were first-time reads, 12 were rereads. 287 books were fiction, 3 were non-fiction. 242 were novel-length, 48 were novellas.

i also tracked cover types this year. i was curious because of the current debate in romancelandia about the new wave of cute illustrated covers - i wanted to know how many books i read followed this trend, as there seems to be this general opinion that the illustrated type are "taking over". i was surprised to find that the 'cute' illustrated covers were not in my top 5 cover types by the end of the year. most of the books i read this year - 91 - featured a lone man, followed by the more traditional 'clinch' style covers, of which i read 61. only 23 of the books i read had this new kind of 'cute' illustrated covers.

outside of numbers - generally i feel very satisfied with my reading habits of this year. i read some really good books and i continued to indulge myself in reading things that made me happy. that said, i would like to read a bit wider this year. i'm going to be setting myself a goal to read certain things - i want to read more non-fiction and more physical books, and i want to read more outside of genre romance. but i'm not going to be strict with myself - i got back into reading romance because i was losing enjoyment with reading in general by forcing myself to read in certain genres. i don't want to go back to that, so i'm going to set myself realistic goals, likely based around the numbers for 2021. i'm also going to continue keeping track of all the details above, as i've found it really interesting to see my habits in number-form.

finally, some highlights. books that immediately spring to mind as having been the highlights of my reading year: it happened one summer by tessa bailey, her soul to take by harley laroux, marrying winterborne by lisa kleypas, the amelia peabody series by elizabeth peters, the veronica speedwell series by deanna raybourn, priceless by miranda silver, and you deserve each other by sarah hogle. i also want to mention cate c. wells, who i only read 3 books by but 2 of them were real standout reads if you like darker romance: run posy run and the tyrant alpha's rejected mate.

i've put the full list below. all my 5 star reads are in bold, rereads in italics, non-fiction asterisked.

the bromance book club by lyssa kay adams

love scammed by rilzy adams

natives: race and class in the ruins of empire by akala *

filthy by serena akeroyd

a wolf in duke's clothing by susanna allen

the unwanted wife by natasha anders

a husband's regret by natasha anders

his unlikely lover by natasha anders

a ruthless proposition by natasha anders

playing by her rules by amy andrews

bite me, your grace by brooklyn ann

the spanish love deception by elena armas

still standing by kristen ashley

at peace by kristen ashley

the boss who stole christmas by jana aston

wrong by jana aston

fling by jana aston

trust by jana aston

the next mrs. russo by jana aston

rake by sophie austin

it happened one summer by tessa bailey

follow by tessa bailey

taking liberties by jackie barbosa

the lesson plan by jackie barbosa

king's captive by amber bardan

scandalous by sybil bartel

private practice by samanthe beck

light her fire by samanthe beck

my (mostly) temporary nanny by penelope bloom

shame by ainsley booth

hate f*@k by ainsley booth

booty call by ainsley booth

bittersweet by sarina bowen

wrong bed, right roommate by rebecca brooks

tailspin by sandra brown

smoke screen by sandra brown

maybe later by claudia burgoa

how to catch a duke by grace burrowes

the highwayman by kerrigan byrne

the importance of being wanton by christi caldwell

make it sweet by kristen callihan

exposed by kristen callihan

those people by louise candlish

barista and the bear by rebel carter

honey, honey by rebel carter

ten things i hate about the duke by loretta chase

beginner's luck by kate clayborn

fool me once by harlan coben

don't let go by harlan coben

caught by harlan coben

a substitute bride for the prizefighter by alice coldbreath

her bridegroom, bought and paid for by alice coldbreath

blame it on the champagne by fiona cole

wolf gone wild by juliette cross

the duchess deal by tessa dare

do you want to start a scandal? by tessa dare

the king of bourbon street by thea de salle

dirty like me by jaine diamond

the pretender by helenkay dimon

the protector by helenkay dimon

everything you need to know by helenkay dimon

ice planet barbarians by ruby dixon

barbarian alien by ruby dixon

birthday girl by penelope douglas

radiance by grace draven

press play by ash dylan

everything's better with you by lucy eden

a lady's formula for love by elizabeth everett

driven to distraction by lori foster

slow ride by lori foster

all fired up by lori foster

my true love by melissa foster

this is love by melissa foster

running on diesel by melissa foster

the alpha's mate by piper fox

bitten by her mate by piper fox

refuge by julianna foxe

tall, duke and dangerous by megan frampton

a wicked bargain for the duke by megan frampton

put up your duke by megan frampton

the bride by julie garwood

i hate you more by lucy gilmore

puppy love by lucy gilmore

lady vivian defies a duke by samantha grace

marry in scandal by anne gracie

caging the wolf by sofia grey

the investigator by anna hackett

the troubleshooter by anna hackett

the specialist by anna hackett

mission: her protection by anna hackett

mission: her rescue by anna hackett

mission: her security by anna hackett

mission: her defense by anna hackett

mission: her safety by anna hackett

mission: her freedom by anna hackett

mission: her shield by anna hackett

undiscovered by anna hackett

the royals next door by karina halle

did you see melody? by sophie hannah

if the duke demands by anna harrington

payback by kristin harte

heartbreak for hire by sonia hartl

romancing the beat: story structure for romance novels by gwen hayes *

smuggler's lair by virginia henley

skulls and scares by jo henny wolf

you deserve each other by sarah hogle

twice shy by sarah hogle

saving the CEO by jenny holiday

sleeping with her enemy by jenny holiday

the wisteria society of lady scoundrels by india holton

deep down by mia hopkins

the marker by ann howes

when a rogue meets his match by elizabeth hoyt

sweetest scoundrel by elizabeth hoyt

twisted love by ana huang

love next door by helena hunting

games we play by dana isaly

to wed a rake by eloisa james

the housekeeper of thornhallow hall by lotte r. james

the virgin and the rogue by sophie jordan

tides of time by luna joya

coaxing the roughneck by jessa kane

the devil you know by emma kavanagh

hidden by emma kavanagh

fighting for what's his by laura kaye

daring to resist by laura kaye

dancing in the dark by virginia kelly

the deal by elle kennedy

the mistake by elle kennedy

coldhearted rake by lisa kleypas

marrying winterborne by lisa kleypas

devil in spring by lisa kleypas

hello stranger by lisa kleypas

devil's daughter by lisa kleypas

chasing cassandra by lisa kleypas

devil in winter by lisa kleypas

lady sophia's lover by lisa kleypas

worth any price by lisa kleypas

suddenly you by lisa kleypas

a deal with the elf king by elise kova

brutal prince by sophie lark

her soul to take by harley laroux

her soul for revenge by harley laroux

the dare by harley laroux

sweet filthy boy by christina lauren

dirty rowdy thing by christina lauren

beautiful bastard by christina lauren

good girl by piper lawson

bad girl by piper lawson

wicked girl by piper lawson

forever wicked by piper lawson

beautiful enemy by piper lawson

walk of shame by lauren layne

good girl by lauren layne

that time i got drunk and saved a demon by kimberly lemming

mistlefoe by kimberly lemming

always only you by chloe liese

like lovers do by tracey livesay

kissing lessons by stefanie london

the maddest obsession by danielle lori

the darkest temptation by danielle lori

alliance by natalia lourose

nine rules to break when romancing a rake by sarah maclean

mudlarking by lara maiklem *

marriage for one by ella maise

the billionaire's wake-up-call girl by annika martin

perfection by r. l. mathewson

falling for the groomsman by jen mclaughlin

wrath by gwen mcnamee

a brazen curiosity by lynn messina

a ghastly spectacle by lynn messina

a malevolent connection by lynn messina

miss fellingham's rebellion by lynn messina

the fellingham minx by lynn messina

the scoundrel's lover by jess michaels

knot my type by evie mitchell

big, bossy mistake by lilian monroe

after the billionaire's wedding vows ... by lucy monroe

blackstone ranger chief by alicia montgomery

mexican gothic by silvia moreno-garcia

the viking chief's marriage alliance by lucy morris

knockout by hannah murray

one hit wonderful by hannah murray

not the marrying kind by kathryn nolan

a deadly education by naomi novik

battle royal by lucy parker

crocodile on the sandbank by elizabeth peters

curse of the pharaohs by elizabeth peters

the mummy case by elizabeth peters

lion in the valley by elizabeth peters

the deeds of the disturber by elizabeth peters

the last camel died at noon by elizabeth peters

just one night by carly phillips

wrecked by c. c. piper

love, laugh, lich by kate prior

ten things i love about you by julia quinn

the lost duke of wyndham by julia quinn

mr. cavendish, i presume by julia quinn

fireman daddy by taryn quinn

hot as hades by alisha rai

love bank by marika ray

a curious beginning by deanna raybourn

a perilous undertaking by deanna raybourn

a treacherous curse by deanna raybourn

a dangerous collaboration by deanna raybourn

a murderous relation by deanna raybourn

josh and gemma make a baby by sarah ready

(not) the boss of me by kenzie reed

just like that by nicola rendell

do you feel it too? by nicola rendell

the man in the black suit by sylvain reynard

the amber shadows by lucy ribchester

the fabric of sin by phil rickman

my dad's best friend by katee robert

seducing my guardian by katee robert

seducing mr. right by katee robert

in bed with mr. wrong by katee robert

neon gods by katee robert

the last king by katee robert

the bastard's betrayal by katee robert

forbidden promises by katee robert

the bastard's bargain by katee robert

desperate measures by katee robert

mafia daddy by renee rose

the director by renee rose

alpha's temptation by renee rose and lee savino

alpha's danger by renee rose and lee savino

the predator by runyx

the reaper by runyx

the emperor by runyx

mr. perfect by j. a. russ

the perfect wife by lynsay sands

forever never by lucy score

pretend you're mine by lucy score

finally mine by lucy score

riley thorne and the corpse in the closet by lucy score

fake by kylie scott

repeat by kyle scott (x2)

pause by kyie scott

it seemed like a good idea at the time by kylie scott

the rhythm method by kylie scott

the guernsey literary and potato peel pie society by mary ann shaffer and annie barrows

trapped by vialli's vows by chantelle shaw

mayhem by jamie shaw

the lady gets lucky by joanna shupe

priceless by miranda silver

scoring the player's baby by naima simone

scoring off the field by naima simone

my keeper by stefanie simpson

trouble in a tight dress by lori sjoberg

danger in a dive bar by lori sjoberg

indecent obsession by lori sjoberg

can't hold back by lori sjoberg

rich daddy by amelia smarts

simmer down by sarah smith

matched to the mafia by jenika snow

big bad wolf by suleikha snyder

a touch of darkness by scarlett st. clair

here we go by shannon stacey

a second shot by shannon stacey

anne of manhattan by brina starler

a death, a duke, and miss mifford by claudia stone

the penalty box by odette stone

a rogue to remember by emily sullivan

pestilence by laura thalassa

second first impressions by sally thorne

the simple wild by k. a. tucker

dirty boss games by sedona venez

deal with the demon by chace verity

one by one by ruth ware

charge by cate c. wells

run posy run by cate c. wells

the tyrant alpha's rejected mate by cate c. wells

for the wolf by hannah whitten

going nowhere fast by kati wilde

secret santa by kati wilde

a governess should never ... tempt a prizefighter by emily windsor

claiming her forever by alexis winter

tell me you want me by willow winters

built to fall by julia wolf

unrequited by julia wolf

blossoms and bones by julia wolf

the favor by suzanne wright

reckless at heart by zoe york

a navy seal for christmas by zoe york

white nights by anna zaires and charmaine pauls

midnight days by anna zaires and charmaine pauls

all rhodes lead here by mariana zapata

under locke by mariana zapata

#2021 books #personal

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not-poignant · 2 years

Note

How bout 23 for the fic meme:))

23. fics you wanted to write but didn’t

There's honestly way, way, way too many to list. At least 100? Maybe 120? Maybe even more?

It's hard to kind of explain how my ideas generation process works, but multiple times a year I go through what I just call a 'genesis' phase, where I'm often too burnt out to write, but I excitedly think about stories I can write. For the Hades fandom alone, I thought of about 15 separate oneshots and long-arc stories, for Stardew Valley I thought about 3 fics, all of which would have been 200k longfics, for Fae Tales, I thought of about 40 different stories, including - on their own - about 7 different Dr Gary/Efnisien AUs, all with varying amounts of plausibility. Because I reread The Golden Age that Never Was, I thought of around 3-5 different spinoff fics I wanted to write.

I thought of different iterations of Mallory & Mount, I came up with new novel ideas - at least 15 - and I came up with new series ideas and I thought about writing novellas. I wanted to write stories about gardeners about 10 times.

Do people ever just think of 2-3 stories they wanted to write but didn't?

I have so many I have to actively do mental health support work to not focus on them too much, so I don't feel agonised over it. I don't recommend having an ADHD brain as a writer sometimes, honestly. Like sometimes it's the best thing in the world, and sometimes it's 'oh yeah I casually thought up 15+ new worlds and came up with stories for each of them as well as characters and plots and arcs and that would be another 100 years of writing and that doesn't include the stories I thought about last year, or the year before that, or the year before that, or the stories I'll think about next year, or the year after that, or the year after that.'

Me: Doesn't everyone do this? No, I don't think everyone does this. Some people actually worry about running out of ideas. Sometimes, I want a brain like that.

(Also, I'm not saying any of my ideas are good. I'm still on the fence about whether any of my writing is good. (It's good for me, there's a difference). I'm just saying there were a lot of things I wanted to write - There are some days where I casually come up with 20 different story ideas I want to write, and another 20 I don't much care about, within about two hours - genesis periods are fucking exhausting, because while that is happening, my overactive mind is thinking about all the stories I'm actually writing, and a ton of other things too - like how many art compositions did I want to illustrate this year? *laughs in pain*).

In terms of my professional schedule, there were no stories I wanted to write this year that I didn't write. My writing schedule is planned one year in advance. (ETA: And it's actually tentatively planned for another 5 years after that re: main projects). I will plan next year's schedule this month! I have a word budget. I allocate 80%-ish of the budget to projects, and the other 20% is for play (fanfiction, oneshots etc.) I'm pretty good at sticking to it. In that sense, I manage to stave off the crushing guilt I feel at not starting 100 different stories and worldbuilding 15+ different worlds every year.

From the Fanfic End of Year Asks meme!

#asks and answers #memey goodness #pia on adhd #pia on writing #i have also learned through trial and error #that mentioning specific AUs i want to write #results in people asking me to write them #sometimes years and years later #when i already have a full workload #and am dealing with a fresh new 100 ideas in the next year #and the year after that #so i'm now VERY CAUTIOUS about telling people / sharing my AU ideas #because while i am also very much wanting to read my AUs #i can't tell you how many stories i don't have the time to write #and how much i can actually feel hurt and sad and ashamed over it

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whimlen · 2 years

Text

Books I read it March and April 2022

Normal People, Sally Rooney

I’m going to be honest, I still don’t know how I feel about this book. I did enjoy a good portion of it, and sometimes felt as if I connected with and knew exactly what Rooney was trying to say with this story, and other times it was completely lost on me and I would be irritated with it. A lot of people either love or hate Sally Rooney books and I feel like the perfect in between.

Heir to Edenbrooke, Julianne Donaldson

This is a novella following the love interest Philip from from Donaldson’s novel Edenbrooke which I read in February. It was a welcomed addition to reading the novel and I enjoyed reading things from Philips perspective. It did get a bit repetitive at times since some of the scenes were exactly the same as the novel just from a different characters perspective but I didn’t mind that much!

Celia, A slave, Melton A. McLaurin

This book follows the court case of Celia who was charged for the first degree murder of her enslaver Robert Newsom after she experienced over five years of repeated sexual abuse at his hand and was once again under the threat of sexual abuse the night she killed him (literally self defence - but the law at the time did not see it that way.) I read this for one of my classes and wrote a paper about it that focused on gender. You should know going into this book that it doesn’t follow Celia’s life or Celia’s perspective in her own case; it mostly discusses the white men involved in her case and the politics of white men in her region. She couldn’t testify in court against Robert Newson for her own case because she was an enslaved woman and had no legal rights - and nothing much is known about her life before or during the case. So it’s almost entirely about white men; from her enslaver to the men who interrogated her to the lawyers and the judges involved in her case.

The Final Empire, Brandon Sanderson

This was my first Brandon Sanderson book and boy did I love it more than I thought I would. I absolutely loved his use of tropes, his world building, his hard magic system and his characters and everything really. It all just worked so seamlessly together. Can’t wait to read the next book :] (if it continues on this path it might end up being one of my favourite fantasy series of all time!)

Heartstopper 4, Alice Oseman

This book was simultaneously triggering and healing for me, so it’s kind of hard to talk about without getting too personal. But god did I love it so much despite all the crying over it lmao! Alice Oseman did it again. And I really think this is the most important and well done Heartstopper volume yet. Charlie Spring you deserve the world. (I also reread Heartstopper 1,2&3 just before this but didn’t feel like writing about the ones I had already read - I love all of them! read heartstopper!)

Letters to a Young Poet, Rainer Maria Rilke

I loved this with my entire heart. Rilke’s every word is filled with so much kindness.

Stormy Night, Michele Lemieux

A really sweet children’s story following a young girl with her dog on a stormy night asking herself and the universe all sorts of questions. Questions we ask ourselves as children and questions we continue to ask as we grow up, questions that we’ll never know the answer to and ask anyways. I wish I read this on a stormy night but I guess a sunny morning was just as an appropriate time to read it!

Thanks for reading muah <3 I really did not know what to say for so many of these books so I just kinda threw it together because I really want to continue writing these posts for myself - it will be nice to have them all at the end of the year.

Here’s the post I wrote on January and February if you’re interested

#on a whim #book blogging

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smalltownfae · 2 years

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Postscript Book tag

I wasn't tagged. I just wanted to answer the questions while eating breakfast. Original here.

1. The longest book you read this year and the book that took you the longest to finish.

"Fool's Fate" by Robin Hobb, which was a reread and that is also the one that took me the longest because I stopped close to the end of my reread last year and decided to finish this year. The ending is just very painful to me, ok? Not in the way one might think. It pisses me off quite a bit. It wasn't as bad as I remembered and now I am sort of ok with it, but the skill pillar convenience still makes me mad and so does that thing Fitz does that is a spoiler.

2. A book you read that was outside of your comfort zone.

"Dawn" but since I had already loved the author's works it isn't much a surprise that I loved it so I'm going to say "Convenience Store Woman" by Sayaka Murata because it's a contemporary and now I want to find more books in that genre that I will like.

3. How many books did you re-read?

Five! I reread the first D. Gray-Man ombibus by Katsura Hoshino and unfortunately found out I am not into that manga/anime any more. I also reread "Fool's Fate" and "Fool's Assassin" by Robin Hobb, "The Goblin Emperor" by Katherine Addison and "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins.

4. Favorite re-read?

"Fool's Fate" but since that happened mostly last year I'm going to go with "Fool's Assassin" because even though Fitz infuriates me in it I love some of the other characters, including the one introduced in this trilogy.

5. A book you read for the first time that you look forward to re-reading in the future.

"Dawn" by Octavia E. Butler, "The Forgotten Beasts of Eld" and "The Changeling Sea" by Patricia A. McKillip and "Hogfather" by Terry Pratchett. There is also "Klara and the Sun" by Kazuo Ishiguro and others. I found a bunch of new favourites this year.

6. Favorite single short story or novella that you read.

A novella titled "The Empress of Salt and Fortune" by Nghi Vo. It was wonderful and a big surprise.

7. Mass Appeal: A book you liked and would recommend to a wide variety of readers.

HOGFATHER by Terry Pratchett. The best Christmas book ever and everyone should read it even if they hate the holiday season. I just think that out of all of the books I read that one is more of a crowd pleaser.

8. Specialized Appeal: A book you liked but would be hesitant to recommend to just anyone.

"Dawn" by Octavia E. Butler, my favourite book of the year... The thing is that even though it's set in space and has aliens I still loved it, BUT there are a lot of problematic issues and the book demands people to think about the conflicting situations being presented. I still go back and forth in how I feel about certain things. What is presented would certainly be easier to define if the characters were human with our views and sensibilities, but they're not and that's why things are not as simple. The trilogy forces people to see through the eyes of the aliens without losing the human perspective. It has a lot of non-consensual interactions and the alien relationships are partly incestuous. Plus there is the slowing of the ageing process that also brings questions about age gaps and such. It has a lot of issues addressed in a careful way because they are presented as horrifying (or at least I interpret it as such). I think these books can have many interpretations and I would hesitate calling any of them wrong to be honest. Those are the best books to me. The ones that give me conflicting feelings and thoughts and stay with me for so long because they floored me with all of that content.

9. Reflect on your year as a bookish content creator (goals met, good/bad memories, favorite videos you made, etc).

Ok, this is for youtubers only it seems ahahah I am proud of my book reviews and the few analysis posts I wrote here I guess. I am also slowly adding more scifi and contemporary books to my tbr which I also find great because sometimes I need a break from fantasy and it's good to have many options.

#postscript book tag #book tags

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ladyherenya · 3 years

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This was more-books-than-sometimes month, because rather than take the time to write about the books I'd finished, I just read more books! Also, I read a lot over the Easter break, including some shorter books and a very binge-able series.

Also read: Two-Step and Someone Like Me by Stephanie Fournet, Hooked by Cathy Yardley, “Cloudy with a Chance of Dropbears” and “All the Different Shades of Blue” by W.R. Gingell, and “Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory” by Martha Wells.

Reread: A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer.

Total: nineteen novels (including two audiobooks and one reread), one novella collection, two novellas, two novelettes and one short story.

Cover thoughts: Bellewether’s blue cover is (unsurprisingly) my favourite. I also really like The Ghosts of Sherwood.

Still reading: A Portrait of Loyalty by Roseanna M. White and Playing Hearts by W.R. Gingell.

Next up: Torch by R.J. Anderson.

My full reviews are on Dreamwidth and LibraryThing.

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn (narrated by Saskia Maarleveld): Historical mystery about three young women who worked at Bletchley Park during WWII.

My favourite out of the books I’ve read so far this year. Most of the narrative is set during the war, but interspersed with sections set in 1947 -- when Beth, in a sanitarium after a breakdown, has sent her two estranged friends a coded message begging for help. I loved this, but at times found it stressful and heartbreaking! The writing is so lively and effective and emotional. 4½ ★

Castle Charming by Tansy Raynor Roberts: Fairytale retellings, collection of novellas.

A very entertaining and a somewhat different take on fairytales, focusing on the reporters, Royal Hounds and royalty at Castle Charming. Some of the character dynamics felt similar to those in Roberts’ Unreal Alchemy although I didn’t feel quite as attached to these characters. I’ll read the sequel. 3 ★

Bellewether by Susanna Kearsley: Historical and contemporary fiction, set in Long Island during the so-called Seven Years War in 1759 and the present day.

Alternates between a curator overseeing turning a house in a museum and some of the house’s previous occupants, including a French-Canadian Lieutenant awaiting hostage exchange. Despite the various tensions the characters face, there’s something slow and ultimately gentle about this story. Which is lovely -- I enjoyed the picturesque sense of place and astute observations of people -- but it is less dramatic than I was expecting. 3½ ★

Happy Trail by Daisy Prescott: Contemporary romance, set on the Appalachian Trail.

A park ranger and a hiker shelter together during a storm. I was fascinated by the insight into hiking the Appalachian Trail and enjoyed some of the characters’ interactions, although I thought the way the romance unfolded was somewhat anticlimactic. Not always what I wanted, but I don't regret reading it.

Legacy by Stephanie Fournet: Contemporary enemies-to-roommates-to-lovers.

Wes offers to move in with his late-best friend’s girlfriend to help her out financially. This sort of hurt/comfort appeals to me. I liked how seriously this story takes Corinne’s messy, consuming grief. I don’t really want to spend any more time with the characters, but I was very invested in seeing them reach a better place in their lives.

Two-Step by Stephanie Fournet: Contemporary romance between an actress and a dance instructor. I enjoyed reading this. I particularly enjoyed how Beau helps Iris with her anxiety about dancing and with her controlling mother/manager. He’s very supportive and understanding! But I finished this with a niggling feeling of dissatisfaction -- Iris needed more opportunity to support Beau in turn.

Someone Like Me by Stephanie Fournet: Contemporary romance between a yoga instructor and her new neighbour, who has just got out of prison.

This one didn’t particularly appeal to me. Although interesting to see the experiences of someone recently released from prison, the romance developed too quickly.

(No, I didn’t read all three of these back-to-back!)

Hooked by Cathy Yardley: Contemporary fandom-y romance novella, set near Seattle. Takes place during Level Up and is about two of Tessa’s colleagues.

I enjoyed the characters' interactions and would have liked this more if it hadn't felt rushed.

The Ghosts of Sherwood by Carrie Vaughn: Historical Robin Hood retelling, novella.

Exactly what I wanted! It alternates between Robin and Marian’s eldest daughter, Mary, and Marian herself. I liked seeing Robin and Marian as a long-married couple, who still love each other and still have disagreements. And the dynamic between their children gave me a zing of recognition, reminding me of my siblings. 3½ ★

The City Between by W.R. Gingell: Australian YA urban fantasy (murder) mysteries. Set in Hobart.

I ended up enjoying this series so much more than I’d expected to!

Between Jobs: After a neighbour is murdered, our seventeen-year-old orphaned narrator acquires some unexpected housemates -- two fae, one vampire. Once I got past the opening, with its tales of murder, the worldbuilding intrigued me. I still wasn’t sure what I thought about her housemates or the fact that they call her “Pet”, but was willing to reserve judgement until I’d read more. 3 ★

Between Shifts: About supermarket shifts and shapeshifters. Pet and JinYeong go undercover at the local grocery store. This is a reasonable murder mystery. I was initially disappointed with how something played out (but in retrospect can see how that was actually a positive development for Pet). It ended on a cliffhanger, so I was extra motivated to start the next book. 2½ ★

Between Floors: This is where the series took off, because things suddenly get personal! One of her fae housemates has been captured and the closest any of them get to finding Athelas is Pet contacting him in her dreams.This raises a lot of interesting questions, not just about Pet’s abilities, but about her relationship with her housemates. How much does she trust them and how much do they value Pet’s personhood? 3½ ★

Between Frames: Pet’s housemates are hired to investigate a series of fae deaths around Hobart, which involves scrutinising some baffling security footage. Another solid murder mystery. The final pages felt like one step forward, two steps back, but yet again, in retrospect, this was a positive development. I’m glad I could dive immediately into the next book. 3 ★

Between Homes: Pet has moved in with some friends. Hurray for Pet having friends! I think this was the point where I started to feel comfortable with Pet calling herself Pet -- when it's the name used by people she likes and trusts and who don’t view her as a pet at all. 3½ ★

“Cloudy with a Chance of Dropbears” (novelette): An awesome title and an entertaining opportunity to see Pet from someone else’s perspective -- moreover, someone who doesn’t know her or what she’s capable of. 3 ★

Between Walls: Pet’s friend Morgana is worried about an online friends and asks Pet and co to investigate his disappearance. Along the way, they discover that there are human groups who actually know a lot about Behindkind. I am also becoming increasingly entertained by the Korean vampire. 3 ★

“All the Different Shades of Blue” (novelette): A great cover and it explains who that guy at the cafe is, but otherwise didn’t really do anything Cloudy with a Chance of Dropbears hadn’t already done -- ie., show us Pet from someone else’s perspective. Most of the time, I have enjoyed this series all the more for binging it, but I suspect this particular story would have worked better if I had read it after a period of absence. 2½ ★

Between Cases: My favourite of these have been the ones where things get personal, and this involves a lot of revelations about who Pet is -- from a fae perspective -- and why her parents were murdered. I enjoyed this one a lot. 3½ ★

The Duke of Olympia Meets His Match by Juliana Gray: Historical espionage romance novella, set in 1893 onboard an ocean liner travelling to England. Apparently not the Duke’s first appearance in Gray’s fiction.

I liked the idea here much better than the execution. I liked Penelope, a fifty-year-old widow dependent upon her position as a governess, and I enjoyed her interactions with the older Duke of Olympia. But parts of the spy plot were rushed or confusing, and the resolution was almost-but-not-entirely satisfying. 2½ ★

A Vow So Bold and Deadly by Brigid Kemmerer: Fantasy. Follows on from the fairytale-retelling A Curse So Dark and Lonely and its sequel, A Heart So Fierce and Broken.

If this is meant as a conclusion to a trilogy, then the ending was a bit too anticlimactic, with a few too many loose ends, to be really satisfying. But I reached the end feeling positive about the story, because I really enjoyed the characters’ interactions. All of the protagonists have to deal with conflict in relationships. I loved the times when they each navigate these conflicts by acting fairly and communicating honestly, when doing so is often difficult and complicated. That’s realistic and satisfying. 3½ ★

“Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory” by Martha Wells: Science-fiction short story. Part of The Murderbot Diaries series, set after Exit Strategy.

Very, very short but I really liked seeing things from Dr Ayda Mensah’s (third person) perspective. 3½ ★

Emily of Deep Valley by Maud Hart Lovelace: Historical coming-of-age fiction, set in Minnesota in 1912-3.

I am very glad to finally have read this! It’s delightful, a fascinating insight into community life in a Minnesotan town, and it effectively captures the emotional experience of navigating a period of transition. After high school, Emily’s friends leave for college, but Emily has to find her own path to purposefully fill her time, build connections and further her education. 4 ★

On Wings of Devotion by Roseanna M. White (narrated by Susan Lyons): Romantic historical mystery, set in London during 1918. Christian fiction. Features characters from The Number of Love.

Arabelle Denler is a nurse working in a London hospital; Phillip Camden is an airman now working for British Intelligence. I enjoyed their interactions, especially once they start to get to know each other. I didn’t like the antagonist’s contribution to this narrative -- between the dangers of wartime and the protagonists’ respective issues, there’s enough tension without her. But what I enjoyed about this story outweighed what I didn’t. 3½ ★

Our Darkest Night by Jennifer Robson: Historical fiction set during the Nazi occupation of Italy in WWII.

Nina, a young Jewish woman from Venice, goes into hiding by pretending she’s married to Nico, a Catholic farmer. Robson’s strength lies in pairing details of daily life with likeable characters, realistic dialogue and a sweet romance. I read this quickly and eagerly. But if the characters had been more nuanced, more complex, or if their emotions had been conveyed more vividly, I likely would have found reading this a more emotional experience. 3½ ★

#Herenya reviews books

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