#Reading Recs

[soracities]

where do you find articles or personal essays to read? and also do you have any favorite sources for news? i want to read more but i’m having a difficult time finding sources 🤍

I've answered this just recently but here's a more complete list for essays from places I visit most often (favourites are marked **)

LitHub**

Electric Literature**

Guernica Magazine**

Hazlitt**

Longreads**

Pangyrus

The Dial**

Bloodknife**

Aeon **

The Marginalian**

Asymptote Journal

N+1

Nautilus**

Quanta Magazine**

The Believer

Ordinary Plots**

The Point Magazine

The Baffler

Paris Review (Redux newsletter is good for things usu behind the paywall)

The New Yorker

The Artifice

The Collector

The Rumpus

Catapult

Tin House Archives (the online section is no longer running but past publications are still available)

Additionally, highly recommend switching to Mozilla Firefox and trying the "Pocket" feature on their homepage: it collects links to articles across the web on topics that are either trending or based on the Pocket suggestions you usually click on. I'm on private browser 99% of the time but there's still 2 or 3 articles at least that I'm always interested in and I love it!

Some other places I read things: Poets&Writers, Atlas Obscura, The Guardian, The Independent, New Scientist, Al Jazeera, The Atlantic, BBC, National Geographic, Wired, NY Times, GQ, NPR, The Irish Times / Independent, etc., I don't have favourite news sources as a rule since I usually read 2 or 3 articles on the same topic from different places depending on what it is (I don't like relying on single sources). But on the whole this covers most of what cross my orbit unless I'm looking for something specifically 💗

#ask #anonymous #reading recs

[st-dionysus]

Beating every cisbian over the head with a copy of Stone Butch Blues and Sons of the Movement.

#saint speaks #low key a vent #Read Stone Butch Blues #but also #Read Sons of the Movement: FTMs risking incoherence #reading recs

[fluoresensitive]

here's my favorite reads from this year! i know it's just november, but whatever, now i have an excuse to make another pretty graphic for december! what was your favorite read of 2023?

#🦢 #reading recs #recs by yah yah #bookblr

[tlbodine]

Trans Horror Authors

My January reading challenge is to read a book by a trans author. Luckily, there are many out there to choose from! Here are some who write in the horror genre, because that's my area of expertise. If you know of others, whether in horror or other genres, reply with your recommendations!

In no particular order...

Caitlin R. Kiernan

A genderfluid Irish-American paleontologist who also writes spectacular cosmic horror, what's not to love? They've been repping queerness since the 80s and have a robust library to choose from, so you're bound to find something you'll like!

Poppy Z. Brite

Billy Martin, whose work is published under the name Poppy Z. Brite, was a big name in the Gothic horror scene of the 1990s and continues to be a frequently-recommended author, although he doesn't publish as much horror these days.

Julya Oui

A Malaysian trans woman and prolific short story author. She has several collections out that you can browse, if short stories are your speed! Maybe start with Taiping Tales of Terror, which draws heavily on her native folklore and influences.

Rivers Solomon

A nonbinary, intersex Black author now living in the U.K., Solomon has three books out and they all look spectacular. Their books lean more toward sci-fi/fantasy, but their newest title Sorrowland looks to be pretty solidly Gothic as well.

Gretchen Felker-Martin

Trans woman, film critic, and unapologetically outspoken. Her best-known book is Manhunt, a post-apocalyptic horror tale that doesn't pull any punches. She's got another new release slated for 2024 to keep an eye on.

Hailey Piper

One of the most prolific authors I can name off the top of my head, Hailey also has several novellas out in the world + a few novels. If the intersection of queer fiction, body horror, and cosmic horror sounds like your thing, you can find something in her backlist. Also she's here on tumblr, go learn more at @haileypiperfights

Eve Harms

A bit of a new player on the field, but well worth checking out. Eve is a Jewish trans woman. Her debut novel, Transmuted, is a breathless body horror romp. She also makes a bunch of handmade zines, which I just think are neat :)

Natalie Ironside

One of Tumblr's very own better-known names, Natalie is queer, disabled, trans, hilarious, and author to at least three novels I can think of plus some other stuff too - go scope her out on @natalieironside for the details.

.....I know I'm missing a ton of people but these were the first ones that came to mind. I have to get back to writing, but I hope this inspires y'all to pick up a book you haven't read yet, and to add to my list down in the notes.

Happy reading, y'all :)

#book club #reading recs #bookblr #trans authors #lgbt horror #trans horror #book recommendations #reading #amreading #seriously y'all if you people read non-horror #please leave some trans author recs #there are people in my book club #who need non-horror ideas #for some reason #:P

[phantomkinoc13]

Hello bookblr! I need people to recommend me adult fiction books that aren’t part of a big series, are well written, and have a plot NOT related to interpersonal romantic drama.

I like modern fantasy, some sci-fi, historical fiction, murder mystery, multiple universe/dimension type stuff. I like some thriller/horror.

I’m not really into high fantasy doorstopper novels, i’m not big on really realistic fiction or romance. Not looking for YA.

I really haven’t done much reading in a long time so i’m looking for recs to get me back into reading! Thanks!

#books #reading #bookblr #book recs #reading recs #read

[muffinlance]

I've been arguing with myself for some time whether to ask you this.... This year's (2023) Book Riot Read Harder challenge includes a challenge to "Read one of your favorite author's favorite books." Since you are one of my favorite authors, would you be willing to share with the internet some of your favorite books, please? (I also plan to ask haicrescendo, so don't be alarmed if you see this on their feed, please.)

Have a selection!

Childhood Favorites:

Raptor Red: Utah raptors living their best lives <3

Christopher Pike's The Last Vampire: baby's first introduction to Indian mythology AND baby's first introduction to "how to launch things into orbit, a don't-try-this-at-home primer". Which is a lot for a short YA vampire novel to accomplish, and that's just in the first book. (Remember Me and Witch are my other favs from that author).

The Last Whales: human-made apocalypse from the perspective of whales. You know, some light childhood reading.

Dune: who doesn't like giant sand worms? With bonus Litany Against Fear.

Collegehood:

Watership Down: bunnies and mythology and bunny wars with and without mythology

Sandman: Goth!Death is best Death. The Fiddler's Green's last moments live in my head forever. Boring people with their rich internal lives go brrr. Did they do the Cuckoo storyline in the show? Did they do it good?

The Black Cauldron: classic childhood trauma read

Recenthood:

Middlegame: oh boy oh BOY do I like novel takes on time travel magic via math and wordplay

The Ballad of Black Tom: sure you can summon a world-devouring eldritch horror <3 as a treat <3 (Lone Women by the same author is also deLIGHTful)

A Deadly Education (and its associated trilogy): angry death mage tries angry-hard not to be an angry death mage. Simultaneously succeeds and fails, in equally fantastic ways. (Spinning Silver by the same author is also Very Yes.)

Murderbot: Murderbot Murderbot Murderbot

#this is the off-the-top-of-my-head sampler #go forth and read! #reading recs

[panur]

I... want a fic post mountain where Ciri and Geralt find jask early and they go to Nivellen’s as per the plan

and Jask has to see Geralt call this dude 'friend'

edit: PEOPLE IT HAPPENNED (but fee free to make more!

if somebody loved you, they'd tell you by now - Tallfroggie20 - Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types [Archive of Our Own]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types, The Witcher (TV) Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia & Jaskier | Dandelion, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion, Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon & Jaskier | Dandelion, Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon & Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon & Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia & Jaskier | Dandelion Characters: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Jaskier | Dandelion, Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon, Nivellen (The Witcher), Roach (The Witcher), Vereena (The Witcher) Additional Tags: Episode: s02e01 A Grain of Truth (The Witcher TV), Fix-It, Episode Fix-it, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, mostly hurt ngl, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bruxae (The Witcher), Friendship, Hurt Jaskier | Dandelion, Jaskier | Dandelion Whump, Jaskier | Dandelion Has Feelings, POV Jaskier | Dandelion, Emotionally Constipated Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Examining what it means to call someone a friend, Rated M for violence and swearing but it's not super graphic???, Based on a Tumblr Post, Geralt and Jaskier have Divorced Energy, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, post-mountain, Post-Episode: s01e06 Rare Species (The Witcher TV) Summary:

A muscle twitches in the witcher’s jaw. He clears his throat. “We recently… reunited. He and I used to travel together.”

“And the moment I can get out of this storm, we will cease ‘traveling together’ once more,” Jaskier says bitterly. Traveling together. Ha. Geralt makes it sound like they were nothing more than acquaintances on the road.

To him, Jaskier supposes it was. Unfortunately, Jaskier’s own heart and mind never received the memo.

Nivellen raises his brows, glancing between them. “Ah. I’ve… prodded something, haven’t I?”

“There is nothing between us to prod. There never was,” Jaskier insists. “Continue your game. I rather enjoy watching Geralt lose.”

-----

Or, Geralt had never called Jaskier a friend, not once in their twenty years traveling together. Now he returns to uproot Jaskier's life, Child Surprise in tow and mentions of an 'old friend' on his lips. It makes Jaskier want to scream.

#the witcher #geralt of rivia #jaskier #geraskier #geraltxjaskier #julian alfred pankratz #prancing plotbunnies #it's free real estate prompt just tag me so i can read #answers for me! #Reading Recs #IS THIS THE REAL LIFE OR IS THIS JUST FANTASY

[sporkberries]

Hello! Do you have any recommendations for Roy Harper reading? I'm not bothered about which continuity or where, just if you had a suggestion for where you think he's best 👀

If you wanna go back to some older stuff you can check out the silver age green arrow comics and Teen Titans 1966, I'm not the BIGGEST fan of TT 1966 but it does have some cute and funny moments. I mainly read Bronze Age to Modern age so we'll go with that moving forward. Green Lantern(1960) #85-86 This is Snow Birds don't fly and Roy's most iconic story, It introdcues Roy's struggle with heroin and is pretty sympathetic to addicts which was QUITE the big deal at the time. I also think its important for to me say Ollie is not the best parent in this one, he reacts out of anger and is incredibly upset with both Roy and himself for Roy's addiction. OLLIE DOES LOVE ROY AND IS USUALLY QUITE A GOOD PARENT, THIS IS ONE MOMENT THAT DOES NOT DEFINE HIM OR HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH ROY. MUST READ not just for Roy but for comic book history in general Action Comics(1939) #32 This one is a small one shot thats post snowbirds. Roy is on his own but it shows that he and Ollie still care about eachother and that Ollie really misses Roy. The New Titans(1984) #20-21 THE REVEAL OF LIAN'S EXISTENCE !!!!! ALSO JADEROY!! also itty bitty robin Jason is in this story. ABSOLUTE MUST READ Action Comics(1938) #613-618 I LOVE THIS STORY I LOVE THIS STORY I LOVE THIS STORY. It hurts me but i love it... Jade and Roy and Lian... It also shows how Roy ended up getting Lian. other than that I will say no more... ABSOLUTE MUST READ Titans(1999) #1-2 Lot's of Cute content with Roy and Lian here. I wouldn't consider it an absolute must read but again its fucking adorable so i recommend it. Titans(1999) #6 Donna Kyle and Roy beat up a Nazi with a tragic backstory or whatever, meanwhile Lian is being babysit by someone her mom has personally affected.

Titans(1999) #8-13 JADEROY!!! JADEROY!!!! LIAN!!!! Deals with the aftermath of the previous rec. Also some DonnaRoy which is admittedly cute. This story kinda covers all the moral complications of Roy and Jade and Lian. How Jade's crimes affect them all, as well as how Roy feels about Jade. I would consider this one a must read. Titans(1999) #21-22 Aftermath of previous rec, Chesire is being held to be tried. I realize a lot of these recs are relate to JadeRoy and Lian but they are so important to his character. If you enjoyed the previous story read this one, but i wouldn't recommend it in a vacuum. Titans(1999) #30 More JadeRoy, I am predictable. This is Jade's trial. If you like the previous two storylines read this. It makes me sad it makes me emo I love Jade so much and she went through so much and it doesnt excuse here actions but it still hurts. Roy makes a decision. Roy appears prominently in The Outsiders but i haven't read it all yet so i can't speak on it. Green Arrow(2001) 1-10 This is an ArrowFam MUST READ. Ollie returns from the dead, mia is introduced, Ollie and Connor, and Ollie reuinites with Roy and Dinah. It's very good. Green Arrow(2001) #16-21 General ArrowFam goodness. Ollie and Roy Goodness. Just,,, emotions.... Ollie is Roy''s dad... I weep...

Justice Leauge of America(2006) #1 Roy and his Uncle Hal :). Also Roy joins the JLA

There's more probably but this list is getting pretty full. These are also all in chronological order so :333. as a sort of anti- recommendation if you want to read an absolutely awful roy that is horrible in every way and want to be mad about it read rhato. its awful!

#spork says stuff #reading recs #roy harper #jade nguyen #jaderoy #lian harper #arrowfam

[thequiver]

Who is Connor Hawke? - A Reading Guide

Connor Hawke is the son of Oliver Queen and Sandra "Moonday" Hawke. He is best known for his role as the Green Arrow, taking on the mantle upon his father's death and continuing as the Green Arrow after his resurrection. Connor was raised by his mother, and struggled in school due to being bullied for being mixed race (his mother is Black and Korean and his father is white). At around age thirteen Connor was able to talk his mother into letting him move to a Buddhist Ashram that his father had once stayed at, and there Connor entered the care of Master Jansen, learned martial arts and archery, and became a Buddhist monk. It was at the Ashram that Connor decided to continue the Green Arrow legacy. While serving as the Green Arrow, Connor teamed up with the Green Lantern Kyle Rayner and the Flash Wally West, Robin Tim Drake, Cassandra Cain, and the Justice League.

While Connor is most known for his connection to the Arrow family, as this was what was focused on most heavily in Green Arrow Vol. 3- it is important to remember Connor has strong connections outside of the family as highlighted in Green Arrow Vol. 2! These characters include: Sandra "Moonday" Hawke, Nathan Hawke (Connor's "Gran"), Mastern Jansen, Eddie Fyers, Kyle Rayner, Wally West (and his wife Linda), Tim Drake, and Cassandra Cain!

As of June 2022, Connor has been confirmed as asexual, which solidifies his ace coding from both Green Arrow Vol. 2 and 3!

Reading list with RCO links under the cut!

Only three comics will be listed after the N52 because they are the only three that give us anything resembling an in character Connor Hawke- I will not now nor ever include Robin (2021) on this list.

The following is a chronological list of Connor's appearances:

Green Arrow Vol. 2 #0

Green Arrow Vol. 2 #91-105

Robin Vol. 2 #25

Green Arrow Vol. 2 #106-109

Showcase '96 #5

Green Lantern Vol. 3 #76

Green Arrow Vol. 2 #110

Green Lantern Vol. 3 #77

Green Arrow Vol. 2 #111-124

JLA #5, 8-12

Green Arrow Vol. 2 #125-129

Green Lantern Vol. 3 #96

Green Arrow Vol. 2 #130

Flash Vol. 2 #135

Green Arrow Vol. 2 #131-134

Detective Comics #723

Robin Vol. 2 #55

Nightwing Vol. 2 #23

Green Arrow Vol. 2 #135-136

Green Lantern Vol. 3 #104

Green Arrow Vol. 2 #137

Green Arrow Vol. 2 #1,000,000

Robin Vol. 2 #78-79

Green Arrow Vol. 3 #1, 8-11, 13-15, 21

Green Lantern Vol. 3 #162

Green Arrow Vol. 3 #24-25

Green Lantern Vol. 3 #164

Green Arrow Vol. 3 #27-32, 34-50, 52, 56-59, 66-68

Connor Hawke: Dragon's Blood #1-6

Green Arrow Vol. 3 #73-75

Green Arrow/Black Canary #1-7, 13-15

DC Festival of Heroes: The Asian Superhero Celebration

Green Arrow 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular

DC: Pride (2022)

The following issues have an unclear place in Connor's chronology and are presented here in chronological order by publication date:

JLA: Paradise Lost #2-3

Adventure Comics 80-Page Giant #1/2

JLA/Titans #2-3

Green Lantern Vol. 3 #110, 117

JLA #38, 40

Batgirl #30-32

Birds of Prey #43-46

Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day #3

Identity Crisis #1, 6

Flash Vol. 2 #216

Richard Dragon #8-12

#Connor Hawke #Green Arrow #reading lists #reading guides #reading recs #arrowfam #this is a MUCH more in depth version of my old Connor list #I looked back at it the other day and cried internally so I'm fixing it now #use this one #it's in order and everything #I don't necessarily *like* all these comics but I did include them for completeness sake

[aaknopf]

Under the influence of a charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at a New England college discover a way of thought and life a world away from their banal contemporaries. In the search for the transcendent, Richard, Henry, Camilla, Francis, and Bunny gradually reveal their dark natures and the terrifying secret that binds them together.

An international bestseller from Donna Tartt, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Goldfinch, The Secret History is the must-have winter thriller.

#2023 reading challenge #booklr #reading recs #tbr #reading room #books #books on tumblr

[gay-art-vibes]

Happy Frigay, here’s some of my current WLW fanfic recs (Archive of Our Own)

#wenclair #Avatrice #Shoni #supercorp #WLW fanfic #fanfic recs #warrior nun #pitch perfect #bechloe #the wilds #supergirl #reading recs

[soracities]

i HAVE to ask, as an essay reading enthusiast, WHERE do you find essays to read?

going through the 'essay' tag on your blog was a time well spend

lit magazines babes!!! Lithub, Electric Lit, Guernica, N+1, Devin Kelly's Ordinary Plots, Longreads, Quanta Magazine, Aeon (my beloved!!), The Marginalian (formerly Brain Pickings), Nautilus, Poetry Foundation, Paris Review's redux archives!!! i also tend to look up essays / authors mentioned IN the essays I'm reading which also introduces me to new work! hope this helps and happy essay reading anon 🤍

#ALSO MY MUTUALS AND THEIR EXCELLENT TASTE #ask #anonymous #reading recs

[a-kind-of-merry-war]

GATHERED FOLKS OF TUMBLR

I'm looking for book recs! I am after:

Courtly/chivalrous romance

Romance as in love stories but also Ye Olde romance

Ideally historical but I'll also accept fantasy

Concepts of fealty, loyalty, the whole knight/lord dynamic

I'd like them to be queer but that's a big ask, so het romance is also fine

Something that isn't necessarily Extremely Long (for example, I've started Lady Hotspur and I'm enjoying it, but it's SO LONG)

THANKS 💖

#book recs #books #reading recs

[rockislandadultreads]

Read-Alike Friday: Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann

Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann

In the 1920s, the richest people per capita in the world were members of the Osage Indian Nation in Oklahoma. After oil was discovered beneath their land, the Osage rode in chauffeured automobiles, built mansions, and sent their children to study in Europe.

Then, one by one, they began to be killed off. One Osage woman, Mollie Burkhart, watched as her family was murdered. Her older sister was shot. Her mother was then slowly poisoned. And it was just the beginning, as more Osage began to die under mysterious circumstances.

In this last remnant of the Wild West—where oilmen like J. P. Getty made their fortunes and where desperadoes such as Al Spencer, “the Phantom Terror,” roamed – virtually anyone who dared to investigate the killings were themselves murdered. As the death toll surpassed more than twenty-four Osage, the newly created F.B.I. took up the case, in what became one of the organization’s first major homicide investigations. But the bureau was then notoriously corrupt and initially bungled the case. Eventually the young director, J. Edgar Hoover, turned to a former Texas Ranger named Tom White to try to unravel the mystery. White put together an undercover team, including one of the only Native American agents in the bureau. They infiltrated the region, struggling to adopt the latest modern techniques of detection. Together with the Osage they began to expose one of the most sinister conspiracies in American history.

Covered with Night by Nicole Eustace

The Pulitzer Prize-winning history that transforms a single event in 1722 into an unparalleled portrait of early America.

In the winter of 1722, on the eve of a major conference between the Five Nations of the Haudenosaunee (also known as the Iroquois) and Anglo-American colonists, a pair of colonial fur traders brutally assaulted a Seneca hunter near Conestoga, Pennsylvania. Though virtually forgotten today, the crime ignited a contest between Native American forms of justice―rooted in community, forgiveness, and reparations―and the colonial ideology of harsh reprisal that called for the accused killers to be executed if found guilty.

In Covered with Night, historian Nicole Eustace reconstructs the attack and its aftermath, introducing a group of unforgettable individuals―from the slain man’s resilient widow to an Indigenous diplomat known as “Captain Civility” to the scheming governor of Pennsylvania―as she narrates a remarkable series of criminal investigations and cross-cultural negotiations. Taking its title from a Haudenosaunee metaphor for mourning, Covered with Night ultimately urges us to consider Indigenous approaches to grief and condolence, rupture and repair, as we seek new avenues of justice in our own era.

Return to Uluru by Mark McKenna

A killing. A hidden history. A story that goes to the heart of the nation.

When Mark McKenna set out to write a history of the centre of Australia, he had no idea what he would discover. One event in 1934 – the shooting at Uluru of Aboriginal man Yokununna by white policeman Bill McKinnon, and subsequent Commonwealth inquiry – stood out as a mirror of racial politics in the Northern Territory at the time.

But then, through speaking with the families of both killer and victim, McKenna unearthed new evidence that transformed the historical record and the meaning of the event for today. As he explains, ‘Every thread of the story connected to the present in surprising ways.’ In a sequence of powerful revelations, McKenna explores what truth-telling and reconciliation look like in practice.

Return to Uluru brings a cold case to life. It speaks directly to the Black Lives Matter movement, but is completely Australian. Recalling Chloe Hooper’s The Tall Man, it is superbly written, moving, and full of astonishing, unexpected twists. Ultimately it is a story of recognition and return, which goes to the very heart of the country. At the centre of it all is Uluru, the sacred site where paths fatefully converged.

Yellow Bird by Sierra Crane Murdoch

When Lissa Yellow Bird was released from prison in 2009, she found her home, the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota, transformed by the Bakken oil boom. In her absence, the landscape had been altered beyond recognition, her tribal government swayed by corporate interests, and her community burdened by a surge in violence and addiction. Three years later, when Lissa learned that a young white oil worker, Kristopher "KC" Clarke, had disappeared from his reservation worksite, she became particularly concerned. No one knew where Clarke had gone, and few people were actively looking for him.

Yellow Bird traces Lissa's steps as she obsessively hunts for clues to Clarke's disappearance. She navigates two worlds - that of her own tribe, changed by its newfound wealth, and that of the non-Native oilmen, down on their luck, who have come to find work on the heels of the economic recession. Her pursuit of Clarke is also a pursuit of redemption, as Lissa atones for her own crimes and reckons with generations of trauma.

#true crime #history #nonfiction #killers of the flower moon #reading recommendations #reading recs #book recommendations #book recs #library books #tbr #tbr pile #to read #booklr #book tumblr #book blog #library blog #readers advisory

[liesmyth]

do you have any book recommendations? anything like the locked tomb or just fantasy/science fiction in general? :)

Hi anon I LOVE GIVING BOOK RECS!

Unfortunately I haven’t found anything quite like TLT, but when you break it into main themes some other series come close. So, if you liked The Locked Tomb for…

Morally ambiguous lesbians and oppressive empires? Try The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson. I love Baru as a character and I love and what the book does with themes of cultural assimilation and how the road to a righteous goal is paved with moral compromises until you’re not sure you’re still on the right path. Content warning for institutional homophobia, which affects the plot and the main character. It’s never gratuitous, but it’s pretty much the opposite of TLT under that point of view so heads up.

Unique worldbuilding, queer characters, distinctive sense of place in a land that was once Earth? Try The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin. This isn’t to everybody’s tastes (usually people love it or hate it) but it does some VERY cool things with scifi and deservedly won a Hugo.

Intricate worldbuilding, necromancy, gothic vibes? Try The Bone Orchard by Sara Mueller. This definitely hits the same “confused and confusing female main character who doesn’t know her own mind” vibes as HtN, which can be good or bad depending on your tastes, but the necromancy bits are fantastic.

Oppressive planetary empires and queer characters? Try A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine. This too is about cultural assimilation and has a main murder mystery plot. Space opera about a young diplomat in a precarious position who is sort of sharing her mind space with someone else. Bonus: fun scifi worldbuilding based on some lesser-known historical empires.

Other SFF I read or reread in 2022

City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett for worldbuilding, shady empires, female MC, urban fantasy vibes with a strong sense of place and a murder mystery thrown in for flavour.

Deeplight by Frances Hardinge. YA fantasy with horror vibes that I very much enjoyed as an adult not usually keen on YA. There are scary eldritch gods, toxic relationships with a hopeful ending, excellent fantasy worldbuilding, a really solid sense of civilization (especially the Deaf culture of the divers that is really interwoven in the setting). Sea monsters! Secrets! Street urchins! This is one of my all-time favourites.

The Scholomance series by Naomi Novik, starting with A Deadly Education; the third book came out two weeks after Nona and it gave me emotional whiplash, because (spoiler!) the angry goth girl gets to be happy in this one! YA, very vivid very fun worldbuilding, spunky teenage heroine with a cynical disposition and death powers.

Obligatory rec for Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell just because it’s one of those books that make me feel like I’m a richer person for having read them. It’s an impressive alternate history fantasy, the writing is masterful, the fae villain is unsettling and inhumanly evil, the mundane villains (pettiness, spite, centuries-old institutions) provide excellent dramatic irony. Everyone is insufferable in a petty way that’s also endlessly entertaining, and the two titular characters are absolutely obsessed with each other. The prose is a pastiche and tremendously well written. My only nitpick is that there are way too many men. I get why, given the setting the premise and the characters, and I loved the book, but since this rec originated with an ask about TLT I feel like I have to clarify that the gender ratio is pretty much the polar opposite.

My Heart Is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones if you like spunky teenage girl protagonists, poetically described gore, critique of colonialism and indigenous displacement. This is a horror thriller not a sff, sent in the contemporary US, and it’s basically a love letter to the horror movie genre + Native American folk legends. Reccing it anyway because YMMV but to to me it really hit some of the spots that HtN does. (Content warning for off-screen CSA)

The Gone World by Tom Sweterlitsch. Speculative fiction thriller, lots of jumping between alternate timelines and wondering what exactly is going on. It’s not flawless but it’s unabashedly weird in a very fun, very unique way that I really appreciated.

Under the Pendulum Sun by Jeannette Ng. Unique worldbuilding, distinct narrative voices, gothic vibes, weird religious imagery. Fantasy historical fiction about cruel inhuman fae, the worldbuilding is brilliant and very vivid (and what an aesthetic it is!), the story is fucked up in a delicious way, and the prose is a delightful Brontë pastiche. Content warnings for consensual sibling incest and Christian missionaries on a mission of “civilization” through faith (it’s not portrayed in a positive way but the colonialism is definitely there).

[I only flagged content warnings that aren't canon-typical for TLT, but definitely more apply. If you need clarification on a specific book HMU]

#reading recs #reading list #the traitor baru cormorant #teixcalaan #the broken earth #the scholomance #ask #anonymous #@anon if you've read any of these and have Opinions whether good or bad lmk #so i can narrow it down to tailor made recs AND have an excuse to do more BookTalk #baru cormorant

[homeandash]

Rec list: short books / novellas read in 2023

Autobiography of Red - Anne Carson (160 pages): a coming of age novel about a young man who is secretly a winged red monster. A wonderful, strange book that's also an ancient Greek myth retelling/translation.

She of The Mountains - Vivek Shraya (128 pages): this book feels so much like Autobiography of Red I wondered if it was an inspiration. A lovely, tender, lyrical story of a bisexual boy's first love woven with a retelling of a Hindu myth.

Loaded - Christos Tsiolkas (151 pages): another coming of age story - a young Greek-Australian man's 48-ish hours of nihilistic hedonism. Unrelentingly brutal prose style & a complicated, unlikeable protagonist. A little fucked up, very compelling.

The Yellow Wallpaper - Charlotte Perkins-Gilman (63 page short story): for the women trapped in rooms and/or the women slowly going crazy enjoyers. Iconic piece of early feminist horror and a 5 star read.

The Vegetarian - Han Kang (208 pages): A woman having strange dreams about meat decides to become vegetarian. That's all I can tell you, this book is best read blind. Very fucked up (complimentary).

Giovanni's Room - James Baldwin (159 pages): A claustrophobic story about love, shame, codependency, and the monster self-hatred can make of us.

The Husband Stitch + Especially Heinous - Carmen Maria Machado (short stories): cheating bc I read her entire collection 'Her Body and Other Parties', but these were standouts and they're both available online. The first - feminist horror retelling of the Girl with the Green Ribbon folk tale, the second - weird fiction take on Law and Order SVU, problematizing the use of sexual assault victims' suffering as entertainment.

We Had To Remove This Post - Hannah Bervoets (86 page short story): A social media moderator reflects on the effect constant exposure to violent/depraved/conspiratorial content had on her mental health and relationship with her girlfriend. I wasn't all the way sold until about 2/3rds in, but since it's only 80 pages that hardly matters. Cool use of an unreliable narrator.

Lie With Me - Phillipe Besson (148 pages). A secret first love between two boys in the French countryside of the 80s, and the long years after they part. Sentimental and cinematic. If you love melodrama and tragedy you'll enjoy this.

** check content warnings for. well basically all of these tbh.

Please add to this list with your own recommended short reads 💖

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