#2022 reads

[phaedraismyusername]

This year some of my favourite books I read were written by indigenous American authors and I just wanted to shout out a couple that I fell in love with

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

Horror being my second most read genre, I did not think books could still get under my skin the way this one did lol. It follows four Blackfoot men who are seemingly being hunted by a vengeful... something... years after a fateful hunting trip that happened just before they went their separate ways. The horror, the dread, the something... pure nightmare fuel 10/10

Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice

An apocalyptic novel following an isolated Anishinaabe community in the far north who lose contact with the outside world. When two of their young men return from their college with dire news, they set about planning on how to survive the winter, but when outsiders follow, lines are drawn in the community that might doom them all. This book is all dread all the time, the use of dreams and the inevitability of conflict weighs heavy til the very end. An excellent apocalypse story if you're into that kind of thing.

My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones

This book follows Jade, a deeply troubled mixed race teenager with a shitty homelife who's *obsessed* with slasher movies. When she finds evidence that there's a killer running about her soon-to-be gentrified small town, she weaponises that knowledge to predict what's going to happen next. I don't think this book will work for most people, it's a little stream of consciousness, Jade's head is frequently a very difficult place to be in, but by the last page I had so much love for her as a character and the emotional rollercoaster she's on that I had to mention it here.

Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger

Taking a bit of a left turn but this charming YA murder mystery really stuck with me this year. Elatsoe is a teenage girl living in an America where myths, monsters, and magic are all real every day occurrences. When her cousin dies mysteriously with no witnesses, she decides to do whatever she can, including using her ability to raise the spirits of dead animals, to solve the case. The worldbuilding was just really fun in this one, but the Native American myths and influence were the shining star for me, and the asexual rep was refreshing to see in a YA book too tbh

Split Tooth by Tanya Tagaq

The audiobook, the audiobook, the audiobook!!!! Also the physical book because formatting and illustrations, but the audiobook!!! Tanya Tagaq is an Inuit throat singer, and this novel is a genre blending of 20 years worth of the authors journal entries, poetry, and short stories, that culminates in a truly unique story about a young girl surviving her teenage years in a small tundra town in the 70s. It is sad and beautiful and hard but an experience like nothing else I read this year.

#the only good indians #my heart is a chainsaw #stephen graham jones #moon of the crusted snow #waubgeshig rice #elatsoe #darcie little badger #split tooth #tanya tagaq #indigenous authors #2022 reads #book recs #books #booklr

[elektramouthed]

 The professor was talking about the differences between creative and academic writing. I kept nodding. I was thinking about the structural equivalences between a tissue box and a book: both consisted of slips of white paper in a cardboard case; yet—and this was ironic—there was very little functional equivalence, especially if the book wasn’t yours. These were the kinds of things I thought about all the time, even though they were neither pleasant nor useful. I had no idea what you were supposed to be thinking about.

Elif Batuman, from The Idiot

#elif batuman #the idiot #fiction #prose #novels #2022 reads

[smokefalls]

Hold it gently, this hungry beast that is your heart. Feed it well.

Francesca Ekwuyasi, Butter Honey Pig Bread

#Francesca Ekwuyasi #Butter Honey Pig Bread #quote #fiction #queerlit #2022 reads

[fairyinpages]

2022 reads ⋆ the cruel prince by holly black ♡

“most of all, i hate you because i think of you. often. it's disgusting and i can't stop.”

for my honest reaction and rating, check out my goodreads.

#♡ #2022 reads #read in 2022 #read 2022 #the cruel prince #the folk of the air #holly black #jude duarte #cardan greenbriar #jude and cardan #aesthetic #book aesthetic #moodboard #book moodboard #moodboard aesthetic #messy moodboard #pinterest #pinterest moodboard #pinterest aesthetic #books #reading #books and reading #quotes #book quotes #book review #review #bookblr #booklr

[aethon-recs]

24 Tomarrymort Recs for 2022 (One-Shot Edition)

A thank-you to the Tomarrymort community, inspired by @sitp-recs's wonderful rec lists!

Criteria for this list: one-shot, complete, published in 2022. I tried to include a wide array of tropes and themes and ratings, but of course I haven't read everything published on AO3 in the past year, so please always feel free to drop fic suggestions in my Ask box! I aimed for 22 fics (for 2022) but found too many unforgettable fics in my bookmarks, so 24 it is.

(Standard rec list disclaimers apply: please mind the tags; this is not intended as the ultimate reclist, only a reflection of my own tastes + what I had time to read this year; recs are arranged alphabetically by fic title.)

Multi-chaptered fics and WIPs will get their own posts, but for now, please enjoy these wonderful one-shots that were all written in the last year and remind me of how multifaceted and talented our little corner of the fandom is! These amazing authors made me gasp and cry and laugh and heavy breathe (sometimes all within the same fic). *

Tomarrymort Recs (One-Shot Edition)

Alive Really Isn't Your Color by @meles-merrivale (T, 6k)

A beautifully written, bittersweet take on Harry's life after the war and what it means to fall in love with someone you're supposed to hate and who's supposed to be dead. There's so many stunning, evocative lines from this fic that I could quote, but I'll leave you with this one: "How did Harry ever think Voldemort didn’t understand emotion? The man feels everything, feels it with his whole body, twisting his face and coiling his magic and tearing apart the world with the force of it."

contrapasso by hanamichi (E, 13k)

This was GRIPPING from beginning to end. The author does an incredible job with showcasing Harry's struggling emotional state after the war, and his grief is just so palpable. Harry and Voldemort's dynamic is gorgeous here.

From Every Ruin by @officialsporkintheroad (M, 5k)

Time loops beloved! This was such a clever take on the classic graveyard encounter, and there's nothing more that I love seeing than Harry losing it with every successive time loop.

Gaunt by @wixen-writes-tomarry (M, 8k)

A sense of uneasiness pervades this fic — lots of haunting prose and elements of psychological horror — it made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. A must-read if you like alternate takes on Harry encountering another one of Tom's horcruxes (in this case, the ring horcrux).

In Your Image by @perhaps-sunlight (T, 11k)

An AU loosely based on the Portrait of Dorian Gray, with Tom as a painter who's found immortality and eternal youth by stealing his victims' souls away and what happens when he sets his eyes on Harry— very suspenseful and gripping throughout, and I love how it cleverly weaves in elements of canon that were very fun to recognize!

knock it off by TheOnceandFutureQueenofTarts (E, 3k)

Harry having a masochistic streak is a characterization that I adore, and this fic does an amazing job delving into this aspect of his psychosexual development that by the time he meets the locket horcrux, it all goes downhill from there. It's also so funny and written in a snappy way, I laughed out loud at the ending.

Love at First Sight by @dividawrites (E, 5k)

One of the funniest things I've ever read in this ship — every single line of Harry's desperate pleading to Voldemort had me howling. And it wouldn't be a Divida fic without super hot smut at the end (featuring! actual! hemipenes!!) The best take on creature inheritance trope I've read.

My Decorated Horcrux by @youknowmevj (E, 4k)

I love Voldemort wins AUs; it's fascinating to explore the dynamic that he'd have with Harry in his new regime, and oh, does this fic deliver! Voldemort adorning Harry and showing him off is always a treat, plus Harry remaining his defiant self — so many fun elements in this PWP.

on the other side by @philolust (E, 3k)

One of the most haunting things I've read this year. Voldemort's POV is surprisingly heartbreaking; actually, the whole fic is heartbreaking. I don't want to give too much away, but this is an EXCELLENT take on the trapped-in-a-room trope.

On the rejection of love by Baryshnikov (T, 2k)

A really interesting exploration of Tom being aroace and what that means in terms of being in a relationship with Harry. I love this author's series on aroace Tom overall; it was hard to pick a favorite!

paradise / circus by but_seriously (E, 5k)

Snappy banter and really hot smut in this PWP, a perfect generation mashup that showcases a great depiction of how Harry doesn't actually hate Tom as much as he claims 😊

Personal Assistant by @phantomato (E, 10k)

This one is an absolute masterpiece, an incredible study in suspense. It's a really unique take on a universe where Voldemort never comes back after his initial downfall on Oct 31, 1981, and features a very realistic depiction on who Harry grows to be if he didn't have the formative childhood adventures that we saw in the books. There's an incredibly skillfully crafted mystery at the heart of this story, and when it all comes together in the end, I screamed and gasped and immediately reread it looking for clues that Phantomato had layered in all throughout.

saw you in a dream by @duplicitywrites (E, 2k)

Dream sex with Voldemort! The writing is so ethereal and floaty and poetic, packed full of intensely sensual phrases like, "Its shadowy form sinks deeper into Harry's body, soothing him. Harry can feel it everywhere, like ice through his veins, like they’re two halves of the same whole." It's the perfect dream sex sequence fic 💖

Sola Fide by @crowcrowcrowthing (M, 8k)

So very atmospheric and a fascinating depiction of ritual magic and Voldemort as an actual god! AUs are a really great way to explore what makes the core of a character — that even if it's the characters thrust in different circumstances, you can still tell who they are at their core, and this fic does a fantastic job of reimagining Harry and Voldemort meeting under different circumstances.

Something New by @itsevanffs (E, 2k)

A fresh (and super hot!) take on A/B/O dynamics, featuring both Alpha Harry and Alpha Tom, with both of them overriding their natural instincts in different ways in order to be with each other. The control, the restraint, the desperation, the taboo-ness of what they're doing within their society — all amazing elements that have made this into one of my favorite A/B/O dynamics that I've read. Alpha/Alpha is so underrated! (Also, not a tag that can be filtered yet on AO3, for some reason).

such a heavenly way to die by driftingsea (M, 7k)

This was SO clever and funny, and an amazing play on Harry being MoD. I don't want to give too much away, but let's just say this fic perfectly captures how murder is the ultimate Tomarry love language.

take this kiss (upon the brow) by @audair (T, 2k)

Incredibly beautiful and poetic prose. The mysterious backstory behind the Tomarry established relationship had me on the edge of my seat. This is one I'll reread over and over again for the haunting and atmospheric prose.

The gift by @metalomagnetic (E, 1.6k)

The perfect follow-up to 'Either must die' told from Voldemort's POV — surprisingly sweet and, not surprisingly, very sexy. As always, Metalo's fics pack a huge emotional punch; this one accomplishes it in just 1600 words — every single sentence is emotionally significant and not a single word is wasted - a must-read if you've read EMD.

the monster you (don't) see by Lils_White (E, 2k)

Harry pining for Voldemort after the war. A lovely, haunting, perfect depiction of dream sex, where you've left wondering what is a dream and what is real.

The Ties That Bind by @mosiva (E, 8k)

Mosiva writes an amazing Harry and Tom dynamic, as well as consistently delivers on great smut, and Tom here is a gem. This fic showcases Tom at his manipulative (sexiest) best, and the progression of Harry growing more drawn to Tom feels very natural and unrushed. Also, did I mention how hot the smut is? The author has other chaptered works that are worth checking out as well, if you like this dynamic!

The Train Station at Forever by @vdoshu (T, 1k)

This is one of the most deeply emotional takes I've seen on the endless reincarnation cycles theme (usually due to Harry being MoD and Voldemort being tied to Harry's soul). In just 1000 words, Doshu does an amazing job of capturing the angst and torment of Harry and Tom achieving "immortality" in this manner, and left me in shivers.

We Still Have Time by @duplicitywrites (T, 9k)

This was SO BEAUTIFUL and SO SAD, an incredible depiction of holding onto someone you love even after death, and I can't even think about this fic without wanting to weep. One of the most heartwrenching things I've read in all of fanfic, in all of my years reading fanfic. I very rarely cry reading fics, and god, I cry every time I've reread this fic. This is duplicity angst at its finest.

Wrath of the Lamb by @penmanner (M, 6k)

One of the most unique takes I've seen on Harry time-traveling to Tom's time in the 1940s. Something goes wrong, and Harry has amnesia but still a sense of purpose. The author's writing is gorgeous and poetic and does an amazing job of illustrating how disorienting Harry's experience is. I absolutely LOVE the amnesia trope, and this fic does it amazing justice.

you, me, a room we made by @kkeikatt (E, 9k)

This PWP was a delight to read. Voldemort and Harry trapped in a room together and the best option is to fuck each other? YES. Sign me up. The smut is extended and memorable and oh so glorious.

*

#tomarry #harrymort #tomarrymort #tomarry recs #tomarrymort recs #hp fic recs #2022 reads #2022 recs #one-shot recs #ao3 recs #fanfic recs #harrymort recs

[bangbangwhoa]

books I’ve read in 2022 📖 no. 100

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

“What is a game?" Marx said. "It's tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow. It's the possibility of infinite rebirth, infinite redemption. The idea that if you keep playing, you could win. No loss is permanent, because nothing is permanent, ever.”

#books #2022 reads #tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow #gabrielle zevin #booklr #lit edit

[heavenlyyshecomes]

Nell Stevens, Briefly, A Delicious Life

#words #briefly a delicious life #nell stevens #2022 reads #mine

[uglygirlstatus]

this line makes the “lesbian necromancers in space” tagline extra funny

#Gideon the ninth #the locked tomb #yes I started my reread the day before nona is out. whatever. I was busy watching breakingbad #t #2022 reads

[luciehercndale]

2022 books: persuasion by jane austen Alas! with all her reasoning, she found, that to retentive feelings eight years may be little more than nothing.

#persuasion #jane austen #victorian literature #english literature #litedit #book society #book edit #jane austen novels #jane austen books #anne elliot #frederick wentworth #2022 reads #romance novels #romance #my edits 3

[phaedraismyusername]

2022 was a soil, rot, and fungus kind of reading year for me and I regret nothing

The Beauty by Aliya Whiteley

A post-apocalyptic novella following a group of isolated men years after a plague killed off all of the women. Its told from the perspective of a young man who's place in the group is to tell stories of what was, and when they stumble upon a secret in the woods, what could be. Its weird, mildly distressing, kinda gross, but super super interesting. Highly recommend.

Paradise Rot by Jenny Hval

Translated from Norwegian by Marjam Idriss, it follows an international student studying in Australia who finds herself in a bizarre living situation with an older woman in a converted space with no internal walls and no privacy. It focuses on sexuality, exploration, and obsession, with some of the most viscerally tactile descriptions I've ever read. It's uncomfortable and frequently gross in that way only female authors can be, but I don't regret reading it.

Eartheater by Dolores Reyes

Translated from Argentinian by Julia Sanches, this book is about a young girl with a compulsion to eat earth which gives her visions of missing people and victims of violent crimes, and how this ostrasices her from her family as a child, and how she chooses to use this ability to help the community when she's older. I found this one a little harder to connect with, translated novels often feel drier and more distant to me because of what's lost from the native language, but reading the authors note really really helped contextualise it and increased my appreciation for what the author was doing so I recommend reading it too.

Follow Me to Ground by Sue Rainsford

It's short, it's weird, it's a five star read, what else can I say. It follows a young healer, living in a small community with her father, as she learns to exist amongst people who are scared of what she is, but need her skills, and how far she'll go to protect that connection when she thinks she's found it. It's full of the healing power of nature, moral ambiguity, ethical greyness and dark themes. I loved it.

What Moves the Dead by T Kingfisher

Possibly my favourite author of the year, This is a retelling of The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allen Poe (which I have not read) and follows main character Alex as they return to the home of their childhood friends after learning one of them is sick and possibly dying. T Kingfisher is an author who's style either works for you or it doesn't, and for me it really really does. The blend of humour, dread, and body horror was a joy and I read it in one sitting with no effort at all. And it's chock full of fungus, which is apparently my jam now.

#the beauty #aliya whiteley #paradise rot #jenny hval #eartheater #dolores reyes #follow me to ground #sue rainsford #what moves the dead #t kingfisher #book recs #succumbus to my fungus #2022 reads #books #booklr

[elektramouthed]

Much of the talk about “family values” in our society highlights the nuclear family, one that is made up of mother, father, and preferably only one or two children. In the United States this unit is presented as the primary and preferable organization for the parenting of children, one that will ensure everyone’s optimal well-being. Of course, this is a fantasy image of family. Hardly anyone in our society lives in an environment like this. Even individuals who are raised in nuclear families usually experience it as merely a small unit within a larger unit of extended kin. Capitalism and patriarchy together, as structures of domination, have worked overtime to undermine and destroy this larger unit of extended kin. Replacing the family community with a more privatized small autocratic unit helped increase alienation and made abuses of power more possible. It gave absolute rule to the father, and secondary rule over children to the mother. By encouraging the segregation of nuclear families from the extended family, women were forced to become more dependent on an individual man, and children more dependent on an individual woman. It is this dependency that became, and is, the breeding ground for abuses of power. The failure of the patriarchal nuclear family has been utterly documented. Exposed as dysfunctional more often than not, as a place of emotional chaos, neglect, and abuse, only those in denial continue to insist that this is the best environment for raising children.

bell hooks, from All About Love: New Visions

#bell hooks #all about love: new visions #nonfiction #essays #2022 reads #*

[smokefalls]

Most of the time, we think that love means just accepting the other person as they are. Who among us has not learned the hard way that we cannot change someone, mold them and make them into the ideal beloved we might want them to be. Yet when we commit to true love, we are committed to being changed, to being acted upon by the beloved in a way that enables us to be more fully self-actualized. This commitment to change is chosen. It happens by mutual agreement. Again and again in conversations the most common vision of true love I have heard shared was one that declared it to be ‘unconditional.’ True love is unconditional, but to truly flourish it requires an ongoing commitment to constructive struggle and change.

bell hooks, All About Love: New Visions

#bell hooks #All About Love #quote #nonfiction #essays #2022 reads

[the-forest-library]

Best Reads of 2022: Non-Fiction

We’re living in the golden age of chronic illness and trauma memoirs. These books made me feel seen and will stick with me for a long time.

What Doesn’t Kill You - Tessa Miller

What My Bones Know - Stephanie Foo

The Invisible Kingdom - Meghan O’Rourke

Know My Name - Chanel Miller

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone - Lori Gottlieb

Good Morning Monster - Catherine Gildiner

Ten Steps to Nanette - Hannah Gadsby

Dinners with Ruth - Nina Totenberg

Leave Only Footprints - Conor Knighton

The Book of Boundaries - Melissa Urban

I’m Glad My Mom Died - Jennette McCurdy

Dancing at the Pity Party - Tyler Feder

Lafayette in the Somewhat United States - Sarah Vowell

The Body Keeps the Score - Bessel van der Kolk

The Vagina Bible - Jennifer Gunter

Amazing Facts about Baby Animals - Maja Safstrom

The Illustrated Compendium of Amazing Animal Facts - Maja Safstrom

Animals of a Bygone Era - Maja Safstrom

#best of 2022 #2022 reads #book recommendations #books #booklr #bookish #reading #bibliophile

[nakedinashes]

books cristina read in 2022: the ocean at the end of the lane - neil gaiman

“I do not miss childhood, but I miss the way I took pleasure in small things, even as greater things crumbled. I could not control the world I was in, could not walk away from things or people or moments that hurt, but I took joy in the things that made me happy.”

#the ocean at the end of the lane #ocean at the end of the lane #neil gaiman #fairytale #books #fiction #bookblr #2022 reads #books i read

[bangbangwhoa]

books I’ve read in 2022 📖 no. 083

Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield

“The deep sea is a haunted house: a place in which things that ought not to exist move about in the darkness.

#books #2022 reads #our wives under the sea #julia armfield #booklr #lit edit

[heavenlyyshecomes]

—my 2022 reads ! 🌷🌟🎀

#did this 4 my twt but thought i'd share here too #book log #2022 reads #book recs #mine