#if I just read the ebook and don’t have a physical | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

givemebishies · 9 months

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Preordered the revised ABM ebook AND the physical copy so I can actually read the ebook and but also display the physical book on my shelf to prove that I read a real book lol

#I love owning physical copies of books I read as ebooks #I know effectively buying a book two different times is kinda wasteful but like #if I just read the ebook and don’t have a physical #I feel like I just read a nonexistent online thing #the physical copies make it feel more real lol AND it’s cool to see how big the physical book is and be like #heck yeah! I read all th at!#oh but while I think it might be a bit financially unwise to buy books twice #if they’re by big popular authors #at least for me personally to do anyone can spend money however u want I am not judging lolol #but I completely justify buying ABM 4 separate times because indie authors need support!!#I adore Rafael’s work so much and I want to support him as much as I can lol #anyhow #chatterbun #abm #angels before man

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crowcryptid · 2 years

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On account of having absolutely nothing to do for 3-6 hours a day at work, I may just do something I’ve been meaning to do for a few years now: re-read almost every halo book in order.

#not starting today as I need to find my ancient kindle from middle school #and then put ebooks on it #cause yeah I have the physical copies but my coworkers are so fuckin nosey I don’t want them to see what I’m doing #even tho they did see me reading the rubicon protocol but #i don’t need them to see any more. they don’t need to know I’m insane #I’ve been filling the time by listening to twitch streams and studying but #i can only study so much #and twitch is sorta boring #i can’t watch shows/movies/streams because I feel like I’m going to explode when people look at my screen #and my coworkers get up just to look at my screen #for the same reason I have given up trying to draw #i cannot stand being stared at #btw when I say almost every I just mean I’d be skipping recent releases

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adanseydivorce · 5 months

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have finished Harrow the Ninth my first read of 2024 is a 5 star read choosing to take this as a good omen!

#s reads tlt #s speaks #I read it all on iBooks btw. Hoping I can get a physical copy of Nona later today or tomorrow but if I go to the store and they don’t have #it I’ll just get it as an ebook too

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phanomeheart · 2 years

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I think I’m realizing that while I’m in the throes of fic reading, as it were, I need to read published books in a physical format if I want to enjoy them. If I read them as ebooks my brain just winds up expecting them to be fic.

#or maybe I just like the sequel better?#possible but the first one in theory should have been slightly more my vibe #I DID really like it there was just something slightly off about the reading experience #I had trouble focusing and am not having the same issue with the second #I mean I still have trouble focusing but not in the same way #I think I did have slightly high expectations and put too much pressure on myself trying to read the first one in one day #but also I do think the physical format is helping with this second one #and I don’t normally mind ebooks #so I think it is fic related #the books are silver in the wood and drowned country #though maybe it is down to expectations #cuz I had very high hopes for no 1 but a YouTube I watched recently disliked the second after loving the first #so I think I did temper my expectations slightly more for it

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cameronspecial · 3 months

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Let Me Tell You Something, Angel

Pairing: Frat!Rafe Cameron x Reader

Warnings: N/A

Pronouns: She/Her

Word Count: 0.7K

Summary: Rafe is a fictional man written by a woman and he never fails to remind Y/N of that.

A/N: This has a slight Twisted series spoilers.

Masterlist

It is no secret that Y/N loves reading, especially romance books. Sometimes she just needs a break from the academic side of life and to dive into another world. People said the books would give her high standards; she argues Rafe is the one who did that. He treats her like a fictional man written by a woman. However, there are times when she needs a reminder that he really is a fantasy come true. She is rereading one of her favourite series and it gets her thinking about her own relationship. She rests the open book on her chest, looking up at Rafe. He is sitting with his back against the couch while she lies down with her legs across his lap. “Rafe, what would you do if we broke up?” she questions. His eyes flick toward the book on her chest and he easily pieces everything together. “I would tell my dad that I won’t take over Cameron Development and move across the world to beg for your forgiveness. I would learn hundreds of ways to kill a man and a hundred more where I can make it look like an accident. I would abandon my dream vacation to keep you company. And finally, I would write you millions of letters begging you to come back home.” He doesn’t even look away from the game on TV throughout the whole declaration, telling her he has this response memorized and ready to go.

Her brow arches, “Did you read the Twisted series, Rafe?” He smirks at her. “Maybe I have, maybe I haven’t,” he teases, running his hand up and down her calf. She sits up to look him dead in the eyes, “Seriously, tell me the truth. When did you read it?” “After you finished reading it and would not stop obsessing over it. I had to know what my angel loved so much and see if I could use it to make her happy in real life,” he apprises. Butterflies fill her stomach, “How come I didn’t notice you were reading my books?” He holds up her phone to her and gives it a little shake. “Because I would read it when you weren’t home. And I didn’t love it 'cause you know I like reading a physical book, but I would read the ebook I downloaded when you were around.” “You sneaky bastard,” she giggles, giving him a little shove. “You read porno magazines because you didn’t like digital stuff and you are telling me that you bought an ebook just for me.”

Rafe turns her so that she is snuggled under her arm. His lips press to her temple, “I used to read porno magazines. Now, the only thing I need is you, Angel. I did do all of that. You mean the world to me and if you like something, I want to know why.”

“You didn’t have to do that just for me.”

“Let me tell you something, Angel. You are my whole world and I will do everything within my power to learn more about you. Even if it’s not related to something I like or my hobbies.”

“That’s really sweet. I feel bad that I don’t do the same thing for you,” she pouts, guilt filling her to the seams. His eyebrows form a wrinkle, “Don’t worry about it, Angel. You do it all the time without realizing it. You come with me to golf even though I know you aren’t at all interested in the game. You know all my favourite things and you come to all my events.” A small smile starts to form on her lips. “It’s not as much as you do though,” she worries. He rests his palm on her cheek, “It only seems that way because you don’t need to put as much effort into doing it. It happens flawlessly.” Y/N doesn’t know how Rafe always has a way of making her feel better, but she is so thankful for it. She nods and sets her book on the side. “Thank you for making me feel better. Can I watch the game with you?” He grins, “Of course, Angel.” There are a lot of things that they love about their relationship, except their effort in reciprocity has to be both of their favourite things.

Taglist: @winterrrnight @loves0phelia @thelomlisrafecameron @wickedlovely121 @thepatriarchykeychain @drewsmusee @starkowswife @maybankslover @forstarkey @loving-and-dreaming

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see-arcane · 3 months

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A message to all the assorted unscrupulous undead: Beware the Ides of March.

To everyone else: Grab your kukri blades, your bowie knives, your stakes, your bone saws, and whatever else you have on hand to appropriately accessorize with your new copy of The Vampyres.

The book is out! Loose! Running rampant and bloodstained through the terrains of eBook and paperback alike!

My beautiful little baby, toddling into the literary world to deliver havoc unto the dastardly bastards of the revenant realm. I’m so proud. (And so happy to feel the stress headache finally start to crack.)

Now that The Vampyres is out in the open, a brief FAQ under the cut:

Where can I get the eBook?

Check out the Universal Book Link (UBL) here:

It’ll show you all the places you can grab a virtual vampyre by the throat.

Where can I get the paperback?

For folks in ‘murrica, I’d say hit up Bookshop.org to go and grab it from your physical store of choice:

You can also just search The Vampyres C.R. Kane and see the waterfall of options. Not sure of the exact timeline, but it should be more widely available in the coming weeks. At least hereabouts:

Pictured: Places to potentially purchase a paperback.

Can I get it at my library?

If you ask for it, yes! You’ll need the ISBNs when filling out your library’s request form, so:

eBook ISBN: 9798218374594

Paperback ISBN: 9798218374587

What’s the status on that paperback cover business?

Current status is still ???

At least in the sense that I’m not sure what version of the book cover you might get at the moment. Original matte? Temporary glossy? Updated matte that’s here to stay? No idea at the moment. My self-publishing page shows the update’s confirmed, but the online stores are still using the first version as the preview image and I’m not sure when that gets swapped out. At least the books are all print-on-demand, so whatever you order, just know it’s not coming from some thrown-away backup heap. It’s fresh from the book oven press.

Anything else I need to know?

First, reviews are extremely welcome! I am running on negative budget when it comes to waving my little flag to announce that I Made a Scary Vampire Book, so I’m really relying on word-of-mouth if I want it to actually get its head above water. Leaving stars and comments wherever you can, be it in the online stores, the Goodreadses or Smashwordses or whatever else, would be a big help.

(Really though, I can and will dissolve into a puddle of relieved ego if I see so much as one (1) Nice Comment on Tumblr, my cesspool of choice.*)

*This is not hyperbole. I can count on one hand how many PROMOTION © ™ posts I’ve made on Twitter and have fingers left over. This novella is tailored to my fellow fiendish bookworms on here.

Second, to those coming by this stuff for the first time and don’t know what all this hoopla is about, a preview of my novella, The Vampyres, is available on my website. Give it a gander if you want to see under-appreciated classic supernatural bogeymen dropped into their own horror story.

Thirdly, lastly, vitally: thank you.

The Vampyres is a beautiful accident that came together out of an itch to rattle something out just for myself; a break from a bloated piece that had turned into a chore which burned me out and threw away the fun of scribbling. A lightweight read that saved me from being crushed by a cinderblock.

By the same token, the people on here have shouldered me up and out of the creative pit of thinking ‘This is all for nothing.’ For all that I talk of how much I’m powered by spite and the desire to Read a Specific Thing only to realize I Have to Write That Thing First, I’d be a liar if I said the kindness and excitement of the folks who’ve been reading my nonsense for (holy hell) TWO YEARS in the wake of the first big Dracula Daily surge didn’t have a major role in getting this thing done.

I did make The Vampyres for me. But it’s for you guys too. For everyone who saw one of my rambles or little fictions and spoke up to say, I love this! I was thinking this! I wanted this! Finally, finally!

When you crack open the cover for the first time, on a screen or in your hands, I want you to know I’m thinking Thank You at you. I hope you enjoy all the horrors inside.

Postscript:

If you want more info on other stuff I'm tinkering with, check out my website here:

#the vampyres #on its way to join the stab-a-thon #my writing #the vampyre #dracula #horror #holy shit here it is you guys

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ilovedthestars · 3 months

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Hello Tumblr friends, apropos of nothing, I have a book recommendation for you.

If You Think You Would Enjoy:

First person narration that Does Something Cool With It

Urban fantasy that really leans into the urban aspect. The mundane beauty of the city made magical

London Man Investigates His Own Murder While Committing Several More Murders, more at 8

A protagonist who is just an absolute wet pathetic paper bag of a man and knows it

A protagonist(s) who are the exuberant and unhinged personification of telecommunications technology with an unparalleled zest for life and also sometimes murder

Both of those characters are technically the same person

The most breathtakingly gorgeous prose that has ever been used to describe a magically animated pile of garbage

A tone that I feel can reasonably be described as “gritty,” with its refusal to shy away from the blood and grime of reality, but that is also suffused with a deep unflinching love for everything that humanity is

A supporting cast that includes many of the world’s weirdest and most badass women

The protagonist getting beat up and/or stabbed and/or shot and almost dying at least twice per book

A reading experience not quite like any you have seen before or since

Then You Should Read:

The Matthew Swift series by Kate Griffin, starting with A Madness of Angels

If you love the city of London, you will love this book. If you have never been to the city of London, this book will show you what it looks like through the eyes of someone who loves it.

(And also what it looks like when embodied as a giant dragon made of street signs.)

I cannot emphasize enough the gorgeousness of this prose, the geniusness of the urban magic system, and the amount of love for London and for humanity that oozes out of this book. I am also fully convinced that Matthew Swift would be a tumblr blorbo if his books were not mostly out of print and very niche.

It can be a bit hard to get your hands on a physical copy—try thriftbooks or another online used bookseller, or call your friendly neighborhood bookstore and see if they can order it for you. Or just go for an ebook (maybe your library has it on Libby). It is absolutely worth the trouble.

Brief content note while I have you here: There is a fair amount of violence and it is sometimes very lovingly described. Also...don’t get too attached to side characters.

Go read it and then join the approximately 3 people on tumblr who know this book exists and are obsessed with it!!

#matthew swift #stars has thoughts #books #book recommendations #urban fantasy #i don't know why i felt compelled to make this #i haven't reread matthew swift in a while #but clearly i need to #please i need more ppl to read this book and do fandom about it #it's so hard to explain what the Incredibly Specific Vibe is but it's so good

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feline17ff · 4 months

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Free Black History, Palestine, Socialism (and other) books on Haymarket

So, HaymarketBooks is a cool online bookstore that, while it does sell physical and digital books, it also offers a lot of free ebooks on subjects it thinks the public should be aware of.

Two categories I know of are Black History, after some racist law in the US that banned Black History resources

And Palestine, what with government media giving a super biased view of unfortunately

It’s in moments like these that we must turn to independent media and resource providers to educate ourselves on topics the government or other people don’t want us to learn about.

Now, here are all of Haymarket’s books they are offering for free, since their website doesn’t have a filter or sort by price option.

Here they are, 17 in total, as per 2nd Feb 2024 :)

Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions by Omar Barghouti, 320 pages

1989, The Number by Kevin Coval and Nate Marshall, 23 pages

Inauguration by Idris Goodwin and Nico Wilkinson, 23 pages

The Anti-Inauguration by Anand Gopal, Owen Jones, et al., 40 pages

Commando by E'mon Lauren,

Human Highlight by Kevin Coval and Idris Goodwin

1919 by Eve L. Ewing

The New Authoritarians by David Renton

Socialist Strategy and Electoral Politics

The Brother You Choose by Susie Day

Can't Pay, Won't Pay by Debt Collective

Black Lives Matter at School by Jesse Hagopian and Denisha Jones

Palestine: A Socialist Introduction Edited by Sumaya Awad and Brian Bean

Light in Gaza Edited by Jehad Abusalim, Jennifer Bing, et al., 280 pages

A Life of Activism by Howard Zinn, 81 pages

Our History Has Always Been Contraband Edited by Colin Kaepernick, Robin D. G. Kelley, et al.

From the River to the Sea Edited by Sai Englert, Michal Schatz, et al.

While their website is limited when it comes to pricing options, it's not limited with free books, so you don't need to enter a single financial detail to download these books :)

Note: I haven't read any of these books yet so the tags are just based on their book descriptions

Other places for more free books:

Liberation Library

On the colonization and ethnic cleansing of Palestine

Sudan guide, not an ebook, but #keep eyes on sudan #free sudan

Happy reading! :)

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akilahia · 6 months

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Just finished reading the 1976 novelization of ‘Black Christmas’. And wow.

It was really, really, good.

https://www.readanybook.com/ebook/black-christmas-604153

Link for anyone interested in reading the book for free. Sadly they do not have any more physical copies available to buy(at least for an affordable price).

Billy is like, I don’t even know how to describe it, his sections are really interesting to read.

Barb :(

I think it’s just, so incredible that this book was made in 1976, the movie in 1974, and it has themes such as this. It’s crazy how much more progressive it was compared to today.

#black christmas #black christmas 1974 #black Christmas novel #black Christmas 1976 #billy lenz #jess bradford #Barbara coard

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highladyluck · 10 months

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so uh Vorkosigan, would you recommend it, and if so where do I start, I hear there are reading order issues?

I’m a big fan and I think it would appeal to people who like ‘doing your absolute best to improve and thrive within the unfair constraints you’re given’ as a theme and political milieu. The internal structural storytelling work is particularly fine & makes them very satisfying; structurally they remind me of Diane Diane’s work and that is high praise, she really knows how to build ‘em.

Beyond the obv comparison of Mat Cauthon in his accidentally recruiting the Band of the Red Hand era, it reminds me of a couple series that you might be familiar with or at least have heard of?

Megan Whalen Turner’s King’s Thief series because Miles is essentially a noble rogue fighter & there’s a big focus on culture and politics including the politics of disability, and also because of the enemies to lovers arc.

Arkady Martinez’s Teixcalaanli series in terms of like… coping with an empire you love that doesn’t love you back, and other issues of identity.

Period romances like Pride and Prejudice, and some Georgette Heyer novels (she’s famous for excellent regency romance).

There are a lot of genres including coming of age, adventure, period piece & romance mixed in with the SF, which means you can kind of jump around to suit your mood. It’s a bit like Discworld in that there are multiple potential starting places, but also clear internal arcs that work best if read in chronological order.

I used this guide: https://bookriot.com/vorkosigan-saga-reading-order/ which is mostly chronological with a few exceptions for maximum emotional impact. The guide also explains the omnibus editions (which is part of why it can be confusing to figure out the reading order). Just don’t read in publication order, it makes no sense that way.

I recommend starting with Shards of Honor and then Barrayar if you want to start at the beginning, you want a female POV character, and you are in the mood for some great enemies to lovers romance. (This is the story of Miles’s parents.)

If you’re more in the mood for ‘coming of age adventure where a young man with many problems accidentally recruits a mercenary army’, you can start with The Warrior’s Apprentice and then The Vor Game. (The series is mostly about Miles so this is the ‘straight to the main character please’ version.)

There are some content warnings for sexual assault in Shards of Honor (I’d put it at around the Robert Jordan balance of explicit description vs implication) and sooooo many content warnings for Mirror Dance (physical and psychological torture including sexual assault & exacerbation of a character’s binging and purging eating disorder- it’s handled well but it is more explicit & goes farther than what happens in Shards of Honor.) Komarr has domestic abuse (emotional). Lots of heavy stuff but it is dealt with in a thoughtful and nuanced way, and characters have chances to heal afterwards.

Your library probably has them in physical and ebook form, and you can also find them for around 6-8 per novel as ebooks (the omnibus editions are a better deal as ebooks). A used bookstore with an SF section probably has one or two as well, they’ve been around for 35 years.

#ask #vorkosigan saga

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geryone · 4 months

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hi hannah! sorry if this is weird or if you get asked this question a lot - but how do you read so much? aside from it being a habit, how do you get free time to pick a book up? and how do you not feel “hungover” from them all? sometimes when i finish a book i have to digest it before starting a new one or else i just won’t be into it, does that kind of thing happen to you to?

have a good day/night x

Hello!! Genuinely my best answer for this is that I don’t watch tv or play video games very often & I’m actively trying to use social media less. I work in a bookstore & have a lot of access to titles that I’m not paying for either as physical review copies or ebooks and because of that I have a lot of books I really want to read. I definitely experience book hangovers but the vast majority of what I read is either romance books or poetry & I switch between them so I don’t burn out on one particular genre. I think the last time I had a book hangover it was after I read Crossing by Pajtim Statovci & I didn’t pick up anything else for a week. Usually my reading is varied enough that I can process & work through my feeling about a novel when I’m also starting a new poetry collection.

#I’ve been thinking about Poor Things since I read it but because it’s nothing like anything else I’m in the process of reading #it doesn’t feel like im pushing myself into something new - I still have time to digest it & process my thoughts about it #does that make sense?

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greekmythcomix · 9 months

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Me vs the bookmark alignment chart:

Lawful Good:

For a start, if books all came with ribbons, we’d be using ribbons. Ribbons create lawful good. They’re a form of free will removal. Thus, I’d argue that ribbons are evil.

If I ever publish a book I am going to lobby for there to be ribbons in the hardback version (because you just can’t get them in paperback). Not because I want everyone to be lawful good, but because ribbons are elegant. And practical. Evil geniuses would have books with ribbons.

But hardbacks themselves are impractical. One day I shall write a treatise about the death of morality being caused by the fall in popularity of the hardback book.

Neutral Good:

I have never met anyone who uses a sentence pointer. I have never even seen a sentence pointer. And I used to be an English teacher. If you seek out one of these I would argue that you are not neutral about it. You are passionately engaged.

Chaotic Good:

This seem accurate. Most people are chaotic these days. Who has time to be so organised you remember to bring your bookmark with you in case you find a book you like? Scraps and ephemera from your life being recycled in this way is certainly good, definitely chaotic. Deeply personal.

I used to be like this but then I stopped going out and started shopping online and now my child steals my receipts, which are always from the library, to draw on. Insert pithy quote about the downfall of society here.

Lawful Neutral:

Having some books as only ebooks is totally fine, though personally it does incur in me a panic that I have not held said book physically in my hands or have it physically manifested on a shelf for me to look at. That said, my E-reader is on a bookshelf, like a proper book.

I’m not neutral about this.

True Neutral:

A proper bookmark. Good grief.

I have tried this. When I was younger, I had a collection of beautiful bookmarks, some practical, some completely impractical, covered in beads and nonsense like they were designed by people who had never seen how a book works.

To own bookmarks is to be a slave to bookmarks.

I occasionally find my old bookmarks when emptying boxes I haven’t opened since a house move, or in a shelved book I can’t remember reading. I would love to be a ‘bookmark person’ but I think you need to actually be a bit of a psychopath to make it work.

Chaotic Neutral:

Listen, this is just the outdoorsy version of Chaotic Good. It’s whatever you have to hand, and if that’s a leaf then I envy you. These people are living the dream.

Lawful Evil:

I’ve started doing this. I can tell you right now that, as a person with Dyscalculia, this is the most actively Chaotic thing I’ve ever chosen to do. If Evil is choosing to do something that hurts another, then I am being evil, to myself.

Neutral Evil:

This is my default. My desk is awash with books open, pages down, spines cracked, piled on top of eachother like they’re trying to keep warm.

Chaotic Evil:

Behold. This is where I occasionally end up, if I don’t have a desk to lay my book face-down on, or the page number is even (because I won’t remember it), or I have to put the book in a bag for some reason (the reason being I always have to put a book in my bag.)

Like writing in a book in pen, I understand that this is only as a last resort. Chaos indeed. But, I’ll always do it lightly and unbend it again later, so it’s as if it never happened. Isn’t that Good?

I’ve gone from True Neutral to Chaotic Good to Chaotic Evil. Or, Bookseller, English Teacher, Classics Teacher. An origin story, in Bookmarks.

Finally, there needs to be a new addition, because I need to know where this one goes:

#bookmark #bookmark alignment #bookworm #bookseller #nonsense #ramblings #chaotic evil #reading #silly #tumblr memes

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xxoolii · 23 days

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I tried to buy TGCF book 2 right after book 8 came out, and when I tell you there was not a single bookstore in my city (with nearly a million people), I mean I checked every single Barnes & Noble, secondhand bookstore, independent bookstore, the fucking grocery stores.

IDK how big your city is or how good Australian libraries are, but mine had 2-7 in either physical or ebook. Might be worth a check.

LMAO, not a single bookshop near me has it, tbf tho my town only has a population of like 2000 and the most built up area is like 50,000 soooo, actually i wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t have them closer to the major cities either, i use amazon, so far from my experience the quality is amazing the shipping is relatively quick and the prices are decent.

australian library’s SUCKKKKK, i don’t think i’ve ever found a book that even half fits my taste in an australian book store, i went around for months asking every single place they sold books if they had it and none did, so i turned to amazon.

i’m glad i did though because i’ve really enjoyed reading the physical books, when i read the ebooks it just wasn’t the same, my focus went out the window.

i like the feeling of flipping the pages, it’s like an accomplishment :D

in short, THANK YOU AMAZON, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU 😭

(this was longer than i intended for it to be, i apologise)

#xxoolii #hualian #tgcf #hua cheng #xie lian

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tryslora · 2 months

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What I'm Reading Wednesday...

On the Duck Prints Press reading server, it’s What I’m Reading Wednesday where we all share what we finished in the last week, what we are currently reading, and what we think of these books.

I figured hey, why not bring that to the rest of the world for myself. Because I love yelling about my current reads. And I’ve always got several things in motion at one time, between physical, audio, and ebooks, plus things I’m reading for specific reasons.

Here’s the summary from the last week in visual format (the actual discussion is behind the read-more):

Fiction

I am currently reading Many Drops Make a Stream by Adrian Harley (from Duck Prints Press). There are so many things to love in this book. The world building packs so much into such a small space. The culture clash between human and shapeshifter is wonderful (and Harley’s shapeshifters truly have a culture all their own). I thought it was going to be a quick read because it’s short, but the language and depth of information have me going slower and savoring every word. That said, I’ve also reached the point where I want to take it in faster, so I find myself spending a little extra time every time I pick it up, just to get a few more pages!

Manga & Graphic Novels

I have one manga and one graphic novel in progress.

I’ve been reading The Complete Elfquest, volume 1 by Wendy & Richard Pini for a little over two weeks now. We have several of these volumes, and my intention is to read one chapter/issue a night, so I am able to savor them slowly, but also get through them. Reading this first volume is like coming home into a fandom from childhood. The first chunk of it was also collected in the original Warp Graphics compilations, and I can’t remember how often I read those back in high school. I’m reaching the parts now where I probably only read the individual issues once or twice, so it’s familiar, but not to the point where I’m like oh yes, I remember gazing at that panel for hours. I still love these elves, and this story, and I cannot wait to get home each day and be allowed to read a chapter. I’m looking forward to when I reach new-to-me material.

I watched the 24 episode anime The Apothecary Diaries and I wasn’t ready to let it go when it was over, so I started reading the manga by Natsu Hyuuga and Nekokurage. I finished volumes 5 & 6 this past week and am currently reading volume 7. I have the remaining already published volumes waiting for when I’m done with this. I adore Maomao and Jinshi, and am incredibly excited to get to the point where canon moves past what is in the anime. That said, getting to revisit events I already watched on TV and linger over what was said and the exact expressions has been soooo good. (And yes, I know the light novels also exist and will be rolling into those in ebook form after the manga; I might be a tad bit obsessed).

Audiobook

A while ago I thought “I should read some TJ Klune” so I checked the library list I had for audiobooks, and the first of his Extraordinaries trilogy was available in audio. I listened to it. I was addicted. I’m now on the third book—Heat Wave—and I find it very very hard to put it down. I can’t listen while working, only while commuting, walking, or doing chores—things that don’t require me to actually think so I can multi-task. But hey, it’s a GREAT way to get me to do my PT since it means fifteen minutes more of audiobook listening! Nick, the POV character, has ADHD and I flail a lot over pretty much everything he thinks and does. I love every character in this series. I love how Klune is using superheroes as an allegory for the queer experience and for racial issues, but at the same time, is actually addressing those issues explicitly. I both want to listen faster to find out what happens, and linger so it doesn’t end.

Ebook

I have been reading Wayfinder by CE Murphy, which is the second in a duology. This is a romance, yes, but it’s another fun culture clash book, this time between humanity and faerie, and I am so here for that. Murphy is an author I used to read a lot from, and I’m trying to work my way through her back catalog slowly because I’ve always enjoyed her style. Accessible and fun. This series is about a woman who has always been able to hear lies (a Truthseeker), and how her talent develops, and how she works with the faerie kingdoms to try to help them (despite some of them not wanting help, and the original situation not being the one she’s actually needed for).

Non-fiction

I have been working my way through three non-fiction books.

One is A Year of Zen by Bonnie Myotai Treace. I had been looking for a journaling prompt book, and decided to give this one a try. I made the difficult decision to write directly in the book itself, then the additional decision to let myself fail if needed. So if I don’t get to answer a prompt on a day, I just answer it the next day. One prompt per day. It’ll take me more than a year to go through it, but that’s okay. The idea is to have me think and write a short paragraph every day, and not feel guilty about messing up. It’s working surprisingly well. Learning to let myself fail has been a big part of my process this year, and hopefully I am learning to let go of some of the anxiety about things needing to be matched and rigid.

The one I am stalled on right now is The Happiness Trap by Russ Harris. It was recommended as a book that therapists like to use for themselves, not merely recommend to their patients, and it reminded me of the radical acceptance I’m supposed to be practicing (and apparently am, despite myself, according to my therapist after she listened to me). The problem is, it has exercises (doesn’t everything?) and I stalled out because I didn’t have time.

Time is a theme, y’know? And that’s what happened with the last non-fiction book. I’ve been working through The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, taking it as a self-guided 12 week course. I’m currently on week 5. However, I did a week of just doing morning notes before I really got started, then I took a week off when everything went haywire in my schedule because of the power outage. So it’s been about seven weeks so far. This week, as I worked on exercises, I found myself really digging in to my emotions about this book. And in the end, I decided that while I can see the value in some things, the book itself is giving me more anxiety about everything to do with my writing, while at the same time making it impossible for me to find time TO write (while following the advice it gives). So. I am no longer doing it as a course, with exercises, but I will finish reading it. And if an exercise appeals, I’ll do it. It’ll still take time, because I’ll probably still read one chapter each weekend, but I am already feeling WAY less stressed and I only made this decision last night.

So…

That’s it for me! What are you reading?

#what i'm reading wednesday #duck prints press #reading #books

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sky-walkerem · 5 months

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something I’m a little bit frustrated rn with is that id really like to read the discworld series, but its not on Libby or hoopla aside from the ebooks. there’s some on libro fm and a lot on audible but given that it’s a long series, that’s a lot of money that I don’t have. The library doesn’t even have CDs of it 😭😭😭

(I really struggle with reading physical books and ebooks due to my vision)

Edit: there are a few audiobooks from the series on Libby, it seems to just be the color of magic that’s missing

#personal #rant #discworld #this really isn’t a HUGE deal #like I guess I can inch my way through them in tiny increments like a chapter at a time #it’s just a huge struggle #there’s much worse things happening in the world rn #I just feel like I’d really enjoy them #damn my vision and tendency to fall asleep

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becomingkatie · 3 months

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I pre-ordered Iron Flame so I’ve had the physical copy since November but I wanted to read it on kindle instead (I’ve become a wimp about holding big heavy hardbacks and I like to read in bed in the dark and my kindle is backlit). Violet annoyed me enough in the first ten pages of the hardback that I put a library hold on it instead of buying the ebook, so I only just now finally read it. And it’s a good thing violet was so annoying because I was sobbing at 1am finishing this book, and I cannot imagine how broken-up I’d be if she hadn’t bothered me the whole book!! I would not be functioning today, I am sure! As it is, I’ve got that deep, deep sadness and ache that always comes over me after finishing a fantasy read where I’m mourning the lives lost in whatever epic battle and mourning that I can’t spend time in that world anymore and mourning that I don’t have a dragon to bond with myself.

#iron flame

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