#books i picked up this week

[aroaceleovaldez]

Nico and Percy's dynamic through the series is eternally funny to me, because it's just. like.

Percy's having a constant mental struggle between his fatal flaw of loyalty with a promise he made to Bianca to protect Nico, versus his Big 3 kid desire to maim other Big 3 kids / Poseidon descendant urge to totally maim Nico specifically. He hates Nico so so much. He thinks Nico's annoying and weird at best, and creepy/sketchy when he's older. The only positive thoughts Percy has towards Nico are "He's Bianca's brother and Bianca was my friend and I owe her/He's Hazel's brother and Hazel is my friend and would kill me if I was mean to him," "He's a powerful asset and useful ally (if questionable)," and "He's kinda pathetic and I feel maybe a little bad about it." Percy has multiple occasions throughout the series where he strongly considers - and on one occasionally actually goes through with - throttling Nico.

Meanwhile, Nico is following around Percy like a lost puppy. He explicitly can never bring himself to even dislike anything about Percy no matter how hard he tries. He has a whole bit in BoO where he's mentally going "UGH he's so stupid BUT IT'S ENDEARING HOW DARE HE." He's totally smitten. He's making deals with his dad for Percy. He's making convoluted plans to help Percy stand a chance against Kronos. During the entirety of BoTL it's like he's playing tsundere - "I'm helping NOT PERCY SPECIFICALLY with this quest! Me helping Percy would be SILLY because I DEFINITELY HATE HIM." Then he proceeds to show up to Percy's birthday party to basically ask him on a weird date and spend the entire next book scrambling around trying to help him or protect him or impress him. And Percy could not give less of a shit.

Just. That dynamic is so funny to me. Percy is the founder of the Nico Protection Club in that he's the one they're all protecting Nico from and meanwhile Nico is throwing himself at Percy to the point where the literal god of gay love calls him out on it.

#pjo #percy jackson #nico di angelo #Percy shows up at CJ and squints at Nico like ''hm. why do i feel like i hate you? like i just wanna punch you in the face?'' #and Nico just immediately goes ''huh no idea anyways i have to go-'' and jumps into Tartarus #but not before he gives Hazel essentially a detailed explanation of ''this is Percy i cant say much but please dont let him die <3'' #and Nico's whole Tartarus trip was basically a whole ''im doing this so no one else has to'' #only for Percy and Annabeth to fall in like one book later and Nico proceeds to spend the next book internally screaming about it #and then Cupid calls him out on it and the next book #Nico's just like ''at this point im hoping i keel over within the next week just so i can force this dumb crush to chill the fuck out'' #Nico staring pointedly at Will: ''For my own sake i need to form another crush RIGHT NOW so i can finally get over Percy.'' #''this has been so bad for my health'' #Nico's crush on Percy is just too funny to me. horrible pick my guy. terrible job. love that for you. he could not be less interested. #Percy LITERALLY TRIES TO KILL NICO and ditch him in the underworld and Nico is somehow STILL like ''but i love him'' #Percy basically chokes him. beats up his dad. tells him ''go get smited by your dad for me.'' and ditches him. #and Nico's opinions/crush on him DO NOT CHANGE #though also Nico's reaction to Percy beating up his dad + skeletons is SO funny. his jaw is on the floor. he's flustered about it. #he just witnessed Percy be incredibly hot and proceeded to go ''yea i'll do anything for this man. collect reinforcements of 3 gods? sure'' #nico you absolute DISASTER with HORRIBLE TASTE. you can do better. raise your standards. #which tbh is funnier when you factor in sun and the star. Nico just wont stop crushing on guys who dislike him and everything he stands for

[tbosasgunsandroses]

snowjanus week: ‘literature’

#art by mod coryo #snowjanus week #snowjanusweek2 #coriolanus snow #sejanus plinth #snowjanus #i hope this is close enough to the prompt #admittedly i wanted another excuse to draw wee snowjanus pookies #and yes i know they didn’t know each other at this point in the timeline #but i couldn’t resist #i would also be heartbroken if all of my beloved books went into the fire #poor ickle coryo #if ickle sejamjams was there you know he’d pick up on how sad coryo got whenever the topic of books came up #and he would try to be a good friend #and share his things #like we all learned in kindy #what a good boy ffs

[bigcats-birds-and-books]

Books of 2023: IMPERIAL RADCH by Ann Leckie.

Up next! This came highly recommended by many friends (and also the internet at large when I asked for SFF revenge recs, so thanks!), and I have Tracked Down The Original Covers, so I'm ready to go.

#books #books of 2023 #ann leckie #ancillary justice #ancillary sword #ancillary mercy #book photography #my photography #the first book was used and it has a signed bookplate AND it's a first edition!!! #what a find!!! #thanks HPB lol i appreciate u #....full disclosure this is another series i didn't pick up because i didn't love the covers lol #(but i dislike these covers less than the new covers......) #fortunately: the last thing i had this experience with was Murderbot and we all know how well that turned out XD #i'm also excited for POV fuckery i love fun POVs #imperial radch #did i accidentally add a trilogy and a duology (vicious) to my pre-NaNo TBR though?? yes. yes i did. #it's fine it's not even october lmao #i can read six books + one book in a month and a week right???

[gophergal]

Artyom (you've been telling me your thoughts, but please share with the class)

Artyom Metro, my beloved silly guy

He's just such a fascinating silent protagonist to me. He has so much character. He's also a rare flavor of Blorbo for me

Bonus doodle of his face based entirely on hc

#gopher rambles #ask game #character bingo #metro 2033 #heres a funny story. my dad got me metro exodus three years ago because he knows i love apocalypse fiction and it was on sale for 20$ #i played it for an hour. was deeply confused. and didnt pick it back up #a few weeks ago i saw metro 2033 on sale for 2$ on steam. went “hey ive heard thats a good game” and got it. binged it. #repeat for last light. it fucked severely. im playing exodus again finally and it also is a fantastic experience. #anyway artyom has started rotating in my brain because he has such a... gentle energy? #i wish the fandom were slightly bigger so i felt less like i was intruding on something tho #still need to read the book tho #not sure if ill read past 2033. but i also want to read Roadside Picnic since that has such a formative influence on eastern european #apocalypse fiction it seems (i know it influenced 2033 the book. and the stalker games. which in turn influenced 2033 the game)

[asteralien]

tear the pitch apart

not really please be nice-ish but i'm submitting a pitch to a literary festival pitch war and i need to be the most specialest goodest writer so the pitch war runners will say nice things about me in front of 50 people and maybe decide to agent me. haha what

A farm boy follows a thief on an interplanetary petty crime spree in search of a mythical deep-space monster. The Monster At the Bottom Of the Universe is a sweeping space opera about the myths we tell to keep ourselves alive — and what happens when those myths come true.

it has to be 280 characters or less (i'm presuming including spaces a la twitter) and this feels so shallow and uninteresting to me but i don't have ROOM for more and i'm trying to follow their pitch construction formula. would you read this book, is the second line too cheesy, is it too vague (I CAN'T HELP IT), should i temporarily change the 41-character book name so i have a little bit more room to pitch the damn book rather than its title, do i need to start from scratch

#i was going to just submit this as is because knowing myself #the longer i sit and stare at it the higher my chances of Not Submitting It At All #but like. idk. i'll give it three hours and if nobody has any constructive criticism i'll send it #technically i have a couple weeks but i Will Forget and i really do have to rush myself into doing this #i love this book So Much and it's been my pick for my first publication attempt for years #but also. i could maybe understand if i need to pick a different book #like this doesn't even cover the other POV character much less song's dead best friend #my writing #it's really not like an About Real Things book altho it is but mostly it is about space religion and monsters and depressed trans farm boys #and being afraid of space while driving your space van through space and eating space food and punching space cops #and would it be fucked up to visit a space haunted house and steal a haunted space rock or what

[teacupballerina]

finding a cool book with a really good premise that hits some of my favorite tropes

but it's written in first person

#i cant stand first person in fiction and IT IS EVERYWHERE #i feel like every book i pick up is in first person #i picked up a weird anne rice pseudonym book and it was in damn first person HUH?? get out #the only time first person works for me is if the narrator is genuinely insane or a liar like in lolita or the collector #i have picked up and immediately put down so many books the last few weeks #IM TIRED OF IT WHO READS THESE #please help me how do you not cringe your face off getting through it

[emgoesmed]

10/2/2023

Welcome to October 🥰

#emgoesmed #studyblr #studyspo #med student #med school #med studyblr #ms4 #it feels so good to be done with eras submission #and peds interview invites don’t start for a couple weeks mostly #so right now I am hardcore relaxing #picked up 5 new library books #went shopping #and have been hitting the gym #feeling good #also I love this cat #she deserves all the treats #moon cakes are the perfect accompaniment to a hot cup of tea #I’m very happy it’s october #excited for cooler weather and leaf colors #I’m rambling in the tags rn don’t mind me

[the-mushroom-faerie]

i know that whenever im like "im gonna commit crimes" i add "for legal reasons this is A Joke" but like.... my favourite book that i have is stolen :)

#its an astronomy textbook (surprise surprise) #i wasnt even really supposed to borrow it like one of my homeschool friends parents brought it to my house to like work on??? #and there were several there was a zoology and a biology and i think a geology #but i loved the astronomy one #and it just so happened to not be on the bookshelf when said friends parent picked them up 👀 #and because there were so many they didnt notice #a week later i saw the astronomy book and just.... took it to my room #we dropped contact with that family a few months later and uh yeah i still have the book #i should probably go read it again :) #but not rn bc im cozy in bed

[camelspit]

mm would anyone be interested in like. a book club discord server type thing mostly made up of keeper fans. we mostly seem to have similar book taste so it could be fun.

#elaborating on this a bit. itd probably be a book picked from a poll. and the books in the poll could be submitted by everyone. #and then maybe like. 1 or 2 chapters a week? something like that so its not hard to stay up to date. #and im good at finding pdfs and shit if you cant get a physical copy. #it just seems like it might be interesting since im having a hard time sticking to kotlc rn but i really like some of the people here #seeing everyones ideas and shit applied to other sources of media would be fascinating #this is all hypothetical though! if you guys arent interested thats cool!

[girlscience]

i am so goddamn tired of every single fantasy story being about men. i am so goddamn tired of women being side characters and love interests and set dressing and an afterthought. i am so goddamn tired of women who are powerful but feminine. women who are "dressed to kill" and they are wearing eyeliner and a dress and heels. i am so goddamn tired of women always being healers and having water magic. i am so goddamn tired of men going on adventures and dying nobly. i am so goddamn tired of never being able to find a story about women that i can fall in love with. i am so goddamn tired of all fandom being about men.

#i have spent the past several weeks becoming increasingly upset about this #hannibal? men. lotr/the hobbit? men. stargate atlantis? men. dragon age inquistion? men. one piece? men. #the handful of superhero's i periodically read about? men. transformers? men. every goddamn anime i've ever loved? men. #the witcher? men. fantasy anachronism? men. literally every single fantasy adventurer series? men. #it's men and men and men and men and men and men and men and men #i just want ONE. one single goddamn story about women that is as well written and well made and as deep as everything else #i want ONE story about a women or women who are noble and honorable and fight in the face of impossible odds #and i don't want them to be pretty and small and feminine #make them hairy and fat and muscular and tall and wear steel toed boots and carry swords and fight monsters and sleep in the woods #and eat stew and carry heavy packs for long distances and be intelligent and sneaky and cowardly and fearful and brave #make them laugh and cry and scream and fall in love and write poetry and books and songs #make them wrestle and pick on each other and pull each others hair and sit around campfires #MAKE THEM GODDAMN PEOPLE #there are books out there about women going on adventures. they exist. i've read some #but they are not the majority and they never get big #and so many end up being poorly written or a romance or a combo of the two #i don't WANT to have to read genderbends just to read about women #i don't want to scroll tumblr and just see men on my dash #all i have ever wanted my whole life is to be a fantasy adventurer. and none of them. not ONE of them looks like me #i am tired of watching youtube critiques of fantasy shows/movies/stories and them just shitting on the women characters #i am just so tired of it

[the-unconquered-queen]

Bit of announcement for the blog:

As of tomorrow, March 11, we will officially reach our 100th day of daily polls!!! 🥳🎉

Fun fact: daily polls were originally only gonna be for one week back in early December, but then I kept going "oh, just one more day!!" and then "oh, just one more month!!" and now here we'll be, mid-March and still doing them. So I think this is a really good point to switch from doing daily polls to weekly polls. I haven't decided how exactly I'm gonna do 'em, but I definitely know that I wanna keep doing them because I have a lot of fun with them and seeing people's responses, plus I really like them as a way to keep my blog active when I only play one book a week.

Second fun fact: Including the ones from days where I decided to do extra polls (e.g.: Blades 2 finale day), by tomorrow they should add up to, I believe, 111 polls in total!

So yeah, I haven't fully decided how I'm gonna go about 'em and I've got some ideas in mind, but for starters I'm thinking of a poll concept for which I already have enough ideas to last til June or July, easily. Also this doesn't exclude the possibility of still doing more miscellaneous polls here and there or even poll "events", like the Blades/TE crossover (and I already have some of those in mind, too). I definitely still have a bunch of leftover question ideas in my notes and even in my drafts.

Also, I high-key wanna start a tag for the daily polls (might even undertake the mission to go back and tag each of them retroactively) because I really wanna be able to see old polls easily (just the ones I did over this period + the future ones, def not every Choices poll I've ever made because I wouldn't know how to find all of them) so I think I'll start thinking of a tag to use—can't make it too easy to stumble across or it'll be another containment breach, and you might remember how that went last time lmao

TL;DR: I'm gonna be doing weekly polls from now on, so be on the lookout for those :)

#not 100% sure what the day will be—thinking Saturdays for now #since I'm liveblogging on Wednesdays again now Saturday is sort of the in-between day so #but then if at some point I pick up a Friday book and liveblog it I might change the poll date then #much to ponder #I would´ve finished the week but I think 100 consecutive days is such a good number to leave it at

[pocketclowns]

realized i don’t really ramble to you guys like i used to so quick life update in the tags before i go to bed in the tags bc idk how to cut a post on mobile :)

#i’m actually doing really good lately #like probably the best i’ve been in years tbh #but i’m rly excited about the skincare routine i’ve started #it’s only been a few weeks but so far my skin is already showing a lot of improvement! #i also picked up a couple books the other day!! #i can’t remember the last time i read a book until recently tbh #i’m almost half way through the first one i got so i might go pick out another once i start the next one! #and on monday i’m getting a crown fitted for a tooth that’s been broken for 7 years #let me say that again SEVEN YEARS #like i’m so thankful i found a dentist that actually wants to help me #instead of tell me i’m being dramatic when i say it’s causing me pain :) #i love never being listened to lmao #but yeah i’ve been doing a lot to take care of myself and it’s been rly good!

[opens-up-4-nobody]

...

#hello to anyone who happens to b interested in the saga of my life... also maybe the irl person i gave my url to... hopefully my blog #didnt freak her out too much lol. anyway so its been a busy week? 2 weeks? month? year? life? its been a lot. my parents helped me move #across the country from the desert to somewhere that's beautiful and green. my dad is so jealous of me lol its so so so pretty and theres s #so much to do. will i do any of it? that remains to be seen but im gonna try to be better about that sort of thing. try to get some help #with the thoughts in my head that keep me from doing and enjoying most things. its weird like im decorating my new room which i love. the #location and living situation seem ideal and i really hope i can stay here all 5 years of my program but i was picking a lot of bright #colors and now it feel uncomfortable. like if i wear things that r too bright or my room is too bright without dark contrast it feel weird #like if im wearing it it kinda makes me feel sick. idk what thats abt. anyway. ill try to heal my brain and im just so happy to b out of the #southwest. i was so so so excited when we were leaving thr city and even more so when we left the state. i cant believe im here. in December #it felt like a million years away and i really truely could not fathom how i was gonna survive that long. my thoughts were so distorted. but #i did and here i am. and in like a month i should b starting my phd program and my parents were telling me how excited ppl r for me and #jealous of where im living and im glad. im glad they're excited. i think i am too but its under a layer of: if i get excited it wont happen #im not allowed to b excited or it wont happen. which is irrational but ya kno. anyway so that's yeah. im so happy to have a fresh start and #the town seems super cool. a liberal blip in a sea of... not that so theyre very visibly pride forward haha and i think itll b way easier #for me to get around without driving. and im gonna try to make friends. i need someone to tell me where to get tattoos haha. so yea im happy #but exhausted and i dont wanna go back to work and so so greatful to my parents for being wonderful ppl idk how bc both of them had fucked #up childhoods. like my mum will say the saddest shit and im like bro this is y i don't wanna talk to my grandma fuck her and my dads parents #r so fucked. like my nana is the reason im so fucking control freaked out but i kno i have issues and she has no insight and thinks shes #better than everyone. anyway hopefully i can get back to drawing a posting more now. ive been drawing it its been in a sketch book #like an actual sketch book for sketching big ideas thst r gonna take fucking forever to draw 😭 #so that's all. just uprooted my whole life. thats all. but in a good way :-] #unrelated

[maryoliverdotcom]

PLEASEEE I NEED THE FULL STORY WITH ALL THE JUCIY DETAILS

OK SO FIRSTLY I LOVE YOUR HYPERFIXATIONS LIKE ELVEN BRAIDS WHAAAAT THATS SO COOL MY SHORT HAIR COULD NEVER

now *deep breath*

i was 9 and deprived of attention. idk what came over me but i created an entirely different persona with my parents apparently giving each other "the googly eyes" every other day, me being a wizard etc etc etc

the funniest of the lot was when i pretended that i had swallowed a black seed endowed with the powers of transforming me into a cannibalistic entity. the best part is that I can shriek uncannily like a stereotypical banshee and unironically bite everyone i see, so nobody had any trouble believing my stories. there was this unusually idiotic girl in our carpool and my "cannibalistic fits" usually took over me when we were alone in the car.

the look on her face was that of pure horror and she was so intimidated by me, a tiny little gremlin composed purely of sarcasm and adrenaline, that i eventually got bored of her and after 3 years of incessant roleplaying, "spat out" the black seed. but not before terrifying the life out of her with my last and most destructive cannibalistic seizure which almost destroyed the entire carpool (i think she still has bite marks)

and thus ended my cannibalistic episodes

@chandrayee @chanda-chamke-cham-cham @musaafir-hun-yaaron

#i also had a wizard phase (which also terrified everyone) #as well as a demigod phase (which fascinated everyone) #basically i got bored every week and decided to become a book character for a day #and NONE of the others had ever picked up a book #and they used to bully me badly for reading so this was my nerdy way of getting back at them #like “these are the books you despised me for consuming and now i am become them”

[darehearts]

GOOD MORNING BBS IT'S FRIDAY  !!!!!!!!!!!  🎉

#i know i said this yesterday but ill say it again that im excited for the #weekend!!!! i'm gonna be finishing the book i've been reading this week #and pick up another one tomorrow! i also have this specific creative #gif set idea............... although i am 99% sure i dont have the talent #for it. i think im gonna give it a shot over the weekend?! tomorrow #i'll see if i can share my new pink hair color with you all. take a pic 🤔 #anyway i ramble. i'm busy at work nothing new there. take care <3 #tbd

[catominor]

honestly i have to thank colleen mccullough for making me think about gaius marius instead of this girl i was insane level hung up on (btw i did not even actually date her) last year

#it was like a solid two weeks of sulla and marius BLAST instead og sobbing over this woman #i stopped after fortune's favorites because the caesar stuff was annoying me but i Will pick it back up after i finish a couple other thing #god those books whip severely though theyre so. i love them #i cannot wait to see what she does with cato though i just KNOW its going to be HILARIOUS based on how she set him up as a character