#i wish i could postone

[beelzzzebub]

do i go to sleep bc it's christmas and i know my family will be up in the morning. or do i watch doctor who / read more go fanfiction bc i want to

#boink #asking the real questions #feeling so very alone rn #bleh #i've felt disappointed at my level of excitement for christmas before #because it's such an event in my life #an event where everything is the exact same and i really need that #but this year that's already fucked up #and even the smallest things have changed #big things. massive things. and then even the small things so i can't even focus on those #anyway any time i think that maybe we can just have the day. i remember what's been. idk. going down. #and i just #i'm apathetic #i hate that i am #i want to be as happy as i always am #god i mean i'd rather be desperate for it like i've been the last couple years #but instead i don't want it to happen at all #i wish i could postone #anyway #it is what it is #really not that big of a deal #i'm just a dramatic bitch #i should chill out

[nanowrimo]

10 Tips for Fast-Drafting

Every year, we’re lucky to have great sponsors for our nonprofit events. Freewrite, a 2023 NaNo sponsor, is a dedicated distraction-free drafting device designed just for writers. Today, author Ashley Poston and the Freewrite team share some tips for completing a first draft of your novel quickly:

Hello from the Freewrite team! 👋 Here at Freewrite, we love a NaNoWriMo challenge, because we’re all about getting words on the page. We asked Author & Freewrite Ambassador Ashley Poston to share her best tips for fast-drafting and getting that first draft DONE!

No surprise, one of her secrets is her Freewrite. But what else does Ashley do to get those drafts done fast?

Here’s Ashley:

I have a confession to make: I hate drafting. It’s the bane of my existence. If I could reach into my brain and take out my story, fully-formed, and just work on the editing bit? I’d do it.

But, alas, that’s not how writing works. (Which is a real pity because I really do love editing. The way you go in with a fine-tooth comb and just torch the entire novel, then rewrite it for the third time. It’s truly majestic.)

Though after ten years, I’ve yet to figure out a way to pull a novel, fully-formed, out of my ears. So, instead, I like making the part of drafting as painless as possible… by doing the most painful, maddening, infuriating thing imaginable.

In other words: fast-drafting.

I’ve perfected the art. I can write a book in a week if I have enough caffeine and a death wish, and with these ten tips, so can you.

1. Find your characters.

Truly, the most important part of fast-drafting is knowing your characters from the outset. In a first draft, you usually find your characters in the middle of the second-to-last chapter. (Or is that just me?) So it often helps to know your characters inside and out from the start. Not only that, but know how they’d react in certain situations, know what would be on their Spotify playlist, know whether they’d have a repertoire of Your Mom jokes up their sleeve. How do they take their coffee? If faced with ten seconds to live, who would they call? Most of these questions you’ll never answer in the manuscript itself, but it’s important to know these people in your head on an intimate level.

2. Use your time(r) wisely.

Setting a timer can be a great way to increase your writing speed. Start with a short amount of time—maybe 15 minutes—and write like the wind, Bullseye! Then shake yourself out, set that timer to 15 again, and repeat. (This is SO easy on my Freewrite Traveler, because it has a feature that keeps time for you, making 15-minute sprints easy-peasy.)

3. Outline.

In addition to your characters, you really should get to know your plot, too, and a great way to do that is making an outline! There are a bunch of different tips and tricks to outlining—I personally use Susan Dennard’s 1-page Synopsis whenever I need to hash out a plot, and Rachel Aaron’s 2k to 10k Blogpost from Ye Olde 2011.

4. No distractions!

Writing is already hard enough, but it becomes almost impossible when you have a cat pronking on you every chance they get. Sometimes, life can just be that—distracting—and you can’t do anything about it. But minimize distractions wherever you can, especially if you’re sprinting. Turn off your phone! Disconnect the internet! And here is where I tell you my Freewrite has saved my butt countless times. I’m horrid at the whole “cut distractions!” bit, but with Freewrite, it’s easy as pie. It’s a lot like a typewriter, so internet? Never heard of her. iMessages? iThinkNot. It’s just you, your words, and the mounting existential dread of existence.  

5. Compression gloves. (No, seriously, especially if you write every day.)

This is gonna sound like one of those weird ones—and that’s because it is. But if you’re planning on writing every day for at least an hour, please do yourself (and your budding carpel tunnel) a favor and get some compression gloves. Learn some hand exercises. We don’t call writing fast “sprinting” for nothing.

6. Don’t look back.

It’s so easy to get caught up in trying to perfect the prologue, but this can absolutely hinder you. Take it from someone who loves to make the first chapter perfect—you never will. I promise. Instead, focus on getting your ideas down on paper and worry about editing later. I promise that sentence you didn’t like will be there when you come back to it. It’s not going anywhere. This is another area where my Freewrite helps me focus.

7. Use prompts!

Sometimes, your brain gets stuck. If you feel stuck, or in a corner, use a writing prompt to get the creative juices flowing again! Maybe you’ll never use the scene, but that’s OK. If it means you get going again? That’s what matters. 

8. Stuck? Hit the bricks! Real winners quit. But like… not forever.

Writing can be mentally draining, so it’s important to not push yourself too hard, and to take breaks when you need it. Take a walk, stretch, dance it out to ABBA—whatever helps you recharge. And then when you come back to the scene, you’re refreshed and rearing to go.

9. Chunk it up.

Breaking up your writing into smaller, manageable chunks can make drafting so much less daunting. Instead of making the goal finishing the novel, just finish the chapter. Finish this scene. Sometimes, it helps if people set a goal for a certain amount of words a day, but I find that this often just leads to burnout a lot faster. Instead of a word count, set a goal for a scene instead. Turn off the word counter. A first draft doesn’t have to hit a certain number of words—it’s called a first draft for a reason.

10. Practice makes more practice.

Like anything else you do, writing takes practice. I know I can easily hit 5k a day, but that’s because I’ve been writing professionally for a decade now. If you’re just starting out, don’t compare yourself to anyone else. (In fact, this is a great rule of thumb regardless.) Everyone writes differently, and everyone writes in their own time. No one ever asked Van Gogh how long it took him to paint sunflowers, did they? No one told Monet he was taking too long on his water lilies. Writing is an art, so let yourself enjoy it.

I hope this helps you, at least a little, write your next sexy dragon-shifter book! (Or whatever you’re working on.) Godspeed, and just remember: only you can write the idea in your head. Different writers can be given the same exact prompt, and every single story will turn out differently. Keep your eyes on your own paper, your heart full of joy, and chase that story only you can tell.

It’ll be worth it, I promise.

—Ashley

Reminder: Camp NaNoWriMo 2023 participants are eligible for a special Freewrite offer. Find all the details here. 

Ashley Poston is the New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of The Dead Romantics. After graduating from the University of South Carolina with a bachelor’s in English, she spent the last decade working in the publishing industry before deciding to pursue writing full-time. When not writing, she likes trying various arts and crafts (she’s currently addicted to building miniature rooms) and taking long walks as an excuse to listen to Dungeons & Dragons podcasts. She bides her time between South Carolina and New York, and all the bookstores between.

Top photo by Djim Loic on Unsplash  

#nanowrimo #writing #fast drafting #first draft #ashley poston #by nano sponsor #freewrite

[cosettepontmercys]

hi friends!! i've gotten a few asks / messages about book recommendations for the new septembers readathon so i figured i'd list some here! i tried to do a range of genres & mix up YA/adult + tried to fit the autumny september vibes where i could! if anyone wants more specific recs, feel free to send me a message 🤍

a book about witches: the very secret society of irregular witches by sangu mandanna, the witch haven by sasha peyton smith, the nature of witches by rachel griffin

a murder mystery: tita rosie's kitchen mystery series by mia p. manansala, queen of the tiles by hanna alkaf, miss aldridge regrets by louise hare

a book that takes place at a private school/boarding school: every heart a doorway by seanan mcguire, if you could see the sun by ann liang, a lesson in vengeance by victoria lee

a creepy or horror book: house of hollow by krystal sutherland, the gathering dark: an anthology of folk horror, our wives under the sea by julia armfield

a book that takes place in september: answered here!

a short story collection: eternally yours, toil & trouble: 15 tales of women & witchcraft, in these hallowed halls: a dark academia anthology

a gothic novel (classic or contemporary): a dowry of blood by s.t. gibson, all the dead lie down by kyrie mccauley, wuthering heights by emily brontë

an autumnal romance: the dead romantics by ashley poston, the ex hex by erin sterling, the night circus by erin morgenstern

a book about a haunted house: mexican gothic by silvia moreno-garcia, the haunting of hill house by shirley jackson

a book about vampires: court of the undying seasons by a.m. strickland, house of hunger by alexis henderson

a cozy fantasy: legends and lattes by travis baldree, the undertaking of hart and mercy by megan bannen, half a soul by olivia atwater, emily wilde's encyclopaedia of faeries by heather fawcett

a classic / retelling: little thieves by margaret owen, a wish in the dark by christina soontornvat, enter the body by joy mccullough

a new release (published this september): you again by kate goldbeck, the wake-up call by beth o'leary, cleat cute by meryl wilsner, a study in drowning by ava reid, if i have to be haunted by miranda sun

an autumnal classic: anne of green gables by l.m. montgomery, rebecca by daphne du maurier, northanger abbey by jane austen

a dark academia book: babel by r.f. kuang, these violent delights by micah nemerever, ace of spades by faridah àbíké-íyímídé

a graphic novel: the tea dragon society by kay o'neill, the witch boy by molly ostertag, check please by ngozi ukazu, heavy vinyl by nina vakueva & carly usdin, cheer up: love and pompoms by crystal frasier & val wise, displacement by kiku hughes

#new septembers readathon #i didn't include any classics for classics but if anyone wants my classic recs lmk!

[sinterblackwell]

mid-year book freakout tag

hello!! this tag is mostly prevalent on booktube and not in the deep recesses of the internet that is tumblr, but i feel most comfortable talking about books on this app for some reason, so i just thought that this would be very fun.

let’s begin!!

1. best book you’ve read so far in 2022

- echo by thomas olde heuvelt

2. best sequel you’ve read so far in 2022

i’ve been reading quite a few series this year so it made this question a little hard to answer when i first saw it, so much so that i literally compiled a list of all the sequels i read and tried to rank them in order of best to…least best. (it fell apart very quickly). this one is for sure in the top three!!

- castor (sons of the fallen, #2) by jaclyn osborn

one ☝🏽 word: dragons

3. favorite reread

- when my heart joins the thousand by a.j. steiger

4. genre(s) you’ve been loving/reading the most

- paranormal & fantasy

the thing about it, too, is that since i first read the monstrous series by lily mayne, and then especially after catching up to the sons of the fallen by jaclyn osborn, i’ve just found myself so immersed in worlds of fantasy and mythical creatures alike; it’s been very difficult to take myself out of that headspace and go back to real world settings, and that’s something that riding into 2022, i didn’t expect. i’ve always loved fantasy, and i have considered it like an escape for a long time, but now that wish for escapism has just increased tenfold.

5. new release you haven’t read yet, but want to

- a lady for a duke by alexis hall

this book came out in may but by the gods, it is a 2022 release and i will read it soon.

6. most anticipated release for the second half of the year

- raiden (sons of the fallen, #6) by jaclyn osborn

as i’m writing this, there officially is just three more days until i see the nephilim brothers again, im so hyped.

7. biggest disappointment

if i know a book is not doing it for me, i don’t really have any hard feelings because most of the time, i knew what i was getting into so i wouldn’t be surprised if i wasn’t vibing with the story. however, there’s this recent read i tried to pick up, feeling oddly excited about it just because i was in that kind of mood to take a risk and i….had so much trouble with the writing, it pained me so much.

a: the dead romantics by ashley poston

to this day, i don’t know what i expected from it because on the surface, i already knew i might not love the book and yet i read the first chapter and it was like getting my heart broken. and for what?? i have no idea, but for some reason, there was something about this book that made me want to like it and yet i couldn’t even finish it. it apparently made people cry reading and i’m one of them; but it was all out of bitter disappointment so alas….

8. biggest surprise

- soul eater (monstrous, #1) by lily mayne

i wasn’t in a reading slump, per se, but from february to april, i had been consistently reading up to seven books. not out of choice, but out of pure coincidence as these seemed to be the highest count of books i could read in a single month during this time. i don’t know why that was, but it just is.

this book, though, just as i had already reached the seven book count in may, made me completely grow obsessed with this series. the fact that it had five published books already and was still ongoing completely disrupted what became this expected reading goal and i love that.

also it’s about monster fucking. there’s really good plot and a sweet as hell romance for each book (moth & charlie, my loves) but again….monster fucking. a series where human survivors in a dystopian setting fall in love and have sex with monsters who entered their world through a tear in time & space was what pulled me out of my semi-reading slump….that was not on my bingo card for this year.

9. favorite new author

- lily mayne

i have to give her a lot of kudos for everything she’s done (see: above) plus!! her writing!! it really is pretty brilliant, she deserves the semi-popularity i’ve noticed from her books’ ratings on goodreads.

10. fictional crush

- junichi takayama from the lore & lust series by karla nikole

i am obsessed with him. if there’s one thing to convince you to read his & jae’s book (“the awakening”), it’s him. it’s this dominican-japanese angel who has a killer sense of style and an attitude to match. the fact that his book doesn’t nearly get enough hype….very disappointed.

10. newest favorite character

- mina rahman from a show for two by tashie bhuiyan

at first, i didn’t think i felt much about her character and then i saw her get guilt-tripped over things that weren’t even her fault and i realized at the point that i would destroy the world for her happiness, i mean—

listed: main characters who deserved better (and she does get that but all that conflict….yikes)

11. book that made you cry

- fragile remedy by maria ingrande mora

(see here).

12. book that made you happy

- café con lychee by emery lee

happy tears, y’all. this book literally had me sob in happy tears near the end, what in fresh hell is that about?

13. most beautiful book you’ve bought so far this year

- the midnight girls by alicia jasinska (x)

14. what book do you need to read by the end of the year?

- flip the script by lyla lee

this author’s social media presence is completely out of this world, like she’s engaged as hell when it comes to connecting to her readers and she succeeds at it. her promotion of this book, specifically, made me feel very excited for what this story has in store and then a booktuber’s (@/perpetualpages) review of the book (x) has me even more hyped. i have a copy of my own that i can read at any time so i do hope to pick this up very soon.

15. favorite book community member

- @/ perpetualpages

#❣️ #this took me two whole months? 😭 what is wrong with me?? #why do i put so much effort into things that is likely to only be enjoyed by me?? #have to spread the word about these books and this was still fun to write so maybe yeah it is worth it #also the key here to breaking past my procrastination was just talking about one book for each prompt #rather than trying to list five for each & every one like some disillusioned overachiever #long post #booklr

[lizanneyoung97]

BOOK REVIEW: WITH ANY LUCK BY ASHLEY POSTON

⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is one of the Amazon Original Stories in the Improbable Meet-Cute collection. I haven’t read anything by Ashley Poston, though I have her books on my TBR. I may have to expedite them after reading this one. It follows Audrey as she tries to track down her best friend Rhett after he’s seemingly run away on the day of his wedding.

Audrey is such a fun character. I wish I could see more of her in a full-length book, even if she isn’t the main character. Her family’s superstitions are one I hadn’t heard of before but worked so well for a story in this collection. Though this is a novella, Audrey and Theo have great chemistry, better than most shorter stories I’ve read. From watching them go all over town to finally realizing what’s happening, their banter is awesome and I want to read more of them.

#book review #book reviewer #2024 reviews #contemporary romance #ashley poston #with any luck

[fortunebookie-ph]

Geekerella

synopsis:

part romance, part love letter to nerd culture, and all totally adorbs, geekerella is a fairy tale for anyone who believes in the magic of fandom. geek girl elle wittimer lives and breathes starfield, the classic sci-fi series she grew up watching with her late father. so when she sees a cosplay contest for a new starfield movie, she has to enter. the prize? an invitation to the excelsicon cosplay ball, and a meet-and-greet with the actor slated to play federation prince carmindor in the reboot. with savings from her gig at the magic pumpkin food truck (and her dad's old costume), elle's determined to win... unless her sterpsisters get there first.

teen actor darien freeman used to live for cons - before he was famous. now they're nothing but autographs and awkward meet-and-greets. playing carmindor is all he's ever wanted, but the starfield fandom has written him off as just another dumb heartthrob. as excelsicon, draws near, darien feels more and more like a fake - until he meets a girl who shows him otherwise.

book details:

geekerella II once upon a con II ashley poston II 336 pages II paperback II quirk II romance, young adult, contemporary, retellings, realistic fiction

thoughts:

okay, this story was very cute. i really enjoyed all the references to popular fandoms- most of which i'm shamelessly a part of - and i kind of like how the author shows the toxicity of some of these fandoms as well. there is a lot of gatekeeping that goes on - almost subconsciously - within these groups and it makes it very difficult to draw people into it. then there are times that this book shows why it's sometimes necessary to do so.

the beginning of the book was a little rough, if you ask me though. i feel like the author was trying really hard to show that she knows the references to certain fandoms and so the first few chapters were just full of awkwardly placed jokes and easter eggs. sometimes they just straight-up confused me because they made no sense as someone familiar with the story she was referencing. this also led to the dialogue being a bit stilted overall and a bit unrealistic.

it's hard to make a cinderella story in the modern-day because a lot of the actins within the original story are unrealistic in a contemporary setting. there were a lot of moments where i thought, "there's no way someone would do that!" and then there were moments that i just couldn't relate to some of the characters. elle was kinda frustrating at times and she seemed like she was constantly having a pity party for herself. she was definitely a tomboy at times which i normally don't mind but she was kind of annoying about it. she had the "i'm not like other girls" type of attitude and seemed to judge other women when they liked girly things. i wouldn't have minded it if she grew from that eventually but it was kind of rewarded rather than admonished.

once we got further into the lead characters' lives, it got a bit more interesting and cutesy. i honestly wished something like this could happen in real life but i know i could never trust someone i only knew through texting and not meeting in person. i may have trust issues but that's another problem for another day. by the last part of the book i was excited for them to meet each other and the anticipation was absolutely killing me. that anticipation was probably the biggest redeeming quality of the book.

all in all, this was a fun book to read and i enjoyed it for entertainment purposes but it's not going to be my go-to recommendation. if you're in the mood for a quick and easy read, however, this would be on the list.

Rating:

3.91/5

[worldofbryant]

September 11, 2017

Now, I'm in Glasgow, Ky. I've been here in Kentucky since Saturday and so far, it's been a good trip. I've seen everyone that i came to see except for Jeff Poston( ill get you next time Jeff). I went to Logan County to my dad & grandmother's grave too. When i got into Kentucky, i went to Edmonton and stayed the night with Margaret Sweet( she gave me $80 last week to come here) and I'll admit, we had sex( unprotected), which was dumb on my part. It was alright, the intimacy with Margaret was compared to being with Samantha( not all that good). I went to bowling green and visited Joe( and his daughters) Melvin Joe and granny Joann. I even met up with Cierra and Candice at CiCis. I'm currently at Candice's now resting up before i leave out in the morning to go back to South Bend. In the time that I've been around Candice, she's told me that Lisa Carter's boyfriend wants to meet me. Why, i don't know( i can give it a try in meeting him). Candice says that she thinks that we will get along( we could). I've been told too that this guy is wanting to leave Lisa but, what's holding him from doing so is that he recently got custody of his special needs daughter( i understand but, if you're not happy with someone then leave). Speaking of exes, Mary Woosley wanted me( wished i was able) to attend her grandfather's funeral( i guess for support). To be honest, all I'm able to do in that scenario is give support...i don't need to be there for anything else. This time tomorrow, I'll be going back to work for 8 days straight( tired lil puppy ill be). Goodnight Kentucky!

[jimothystu]

JENN! some questions for the ask game thingy<33

belle: why is your favorite book your favorite?

jasmine: if you could wish for one thing, what would it be?

eilonwy: name an underappreciated film you love.

Thank you Taylor!!

Belle: I don't have just one favourite book. I have a couple favourite series and one stand-alone book: World Walker Trilogy by Josephine Angelini, The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare, and Among the Beasts and Briars by Ashley Poston. I love all of them because of the fantasy elements within them and the underlying romance storylines. And there's suspense and drama and angst. So all of my favourite things lol.

Jasmine: True love tbh. but like, I want it to happen naturally still, I just want to know it's coming, ya know?

Eilonwy: The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones. I know it gets a lot of hate but I actually love it

#asks #jennifer talks about herself

[foreverindreamlandd]

favorites & vernacular<3

Favorites - what’s your favorite show, movie, and book?

Show: That 70s Show is the ultimate comfort watch for me because I watched it nonstop for YEARS

Movie: Elizabethtown and Pride & Prejudice (like a basic BITCH)

Book: This. Is. Hard. You cannot ask a bookseller this!!!!

Okay, I love The Summer Wives by Beatriz Williams (I picture Oscar Isaac for the love interest), and Among the Beasts and Briars by Ashley Poston!

Vernacular - what language do you wish you could speak or want to learn?

Spanish (because I'm an asshole for not knowing it), and Italian :)

Spring Asks!

#inbox #rae #asks

[ladyherenya]

Books read in October

I read a paperback book for the first time in over three months months and was sharply aware that I couldn’t change anything about the way the text was displayed to make it more comfortable to read. I wondered, sadly, if I no longer like reading physical books.

Then I became engrossed in the story, and there were long stretches of time when I didn’t think about how I was reading a brick of printed paper. I turned pages as automatically and effortlessly as breathing. I think I was just out of practice.

This month’s Unintentional Colour Scheme: pink, purple and light blue.

Favourite covers: The Time-Traveling Popcorn Ball and The Other Side of the Sky. 

Also read: “Good Neighbors” by Stephanie Burgis and Tiny House, Big Love by Olivia Dade. (And half a romance novel which I disliked and have no interest in remembering or reviewing.) 

Reread: The last section of The Beckoning Hills by Ruth Elwin Harris. The middle section of Hunting by Andrea K. Höst.

Still reading: Between Silk and Cyanide by Leo Marks, and Angel Mage by Garth Nix.

Next up: The Switch  by Beth O’Leary, and Hamster Princess: Little Red Rodent Hood by Ursula Vernon.

*

The Time-Traveling Popcorn Ball by Aster Glenn Gray: A magical story of time-travel and of friendship between eleven year old Piper, who has just moved into a new house, and Rosie, who lived in the same house fifty years earlier. It’s totally charming, and exactly the sort of story I adored growing up. Sometimes that makes me wish I could send a book back in time to my younger self, but I appreciated this book’s references to things that my younger self didn’t know about. I also appreciated how, even though I’ve read similar stories, I couldn’t predict how this one would end. That was very satisfying.

The Game of Kings by Dorothy Dunnett: In 1547, Francis Crawford, the Master of Lymond, wanted by the Scottish government for treason, is back in Edinburgh. The audiobook was the perfect way to experience this! The voices the narrator uses highlights clues in the text, about who’s speaking or the subtext and emotional tones of a conversation, which helped me to follow the story even when I felt confused about exactly what was going on. I enjoyed the Scottish accents, the clever wit, the ambiguity about Lymond’s plans and motives, and the way many characters are very intelligent, perceptive people. I was interested in the historical political intrigue. I loved the twists and revelations, which are brilliant -- incredibly clever and satisfying.

“Good Neighbors” by Stephanie Burgis:  The first “fantasy rom-com” about a grumpy inventor who, along with her father, moves into a cottage nextdoor to a notorious necromancer in his big black castle. I wasn’t expecting to read about Mia stitching up undead minions, but appreciate that Burgis doesn’t take this opportunity to give glory details. This short story was fun and satisfying, and I am looking forward to when the rest of this series becomes (easily) available.

Lake of Sorrows by Erin Hart: After Haunted Ground, Dr Nora Gavin heads to the midlands west of Dublin to oversee the evacuation of another body discovered in a peat bog. The setting is fascinating and I like the atmosphere -- this has a strong sense of both place and mystery. However the multiple murders meant there’s more unpleasantness than I’d prefer. But it’s probably not enough to deter me from reading the next book.

The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams: Engrossing -- a poignant story of childhood during the late 19th century and womanhood in the early 20th century, and an absolutely fascinating insight into the decades-long process behind the first Oxford English Dictionary. Esme’s father is one of the lexicographers collecting and defining words for the Dictionary. Esme grows up with a fascination for words and begins to collect words that the Dictionary leaves out. I liked that Esme has people in her life who love and support her, but the ending is intensely sad. I’m not sure why that disappointed me. As an ending, it fits this story.

Taking Down Evelyn Tait by Poppy Nwosu: Australian YA. Lottie is furious that no one else seems to realise what Evelyn Tait, her nemesis (and stepsister) is like. Her best friend Grace is in love with Evelyn. Her teachers and her father tell Lottie she should emulate Evelyn. So Lottie decides that she’s going to do just that -- she’s going to be better than Miss Perfect. I thought this was a very realistic portrayal of a teenager’s relationships -- with family, with friends, with school and with herself. It’s amusing and, ultimately, believably positive. It captures Lottie’s perspective and her experiences in-the-moment so effectively and intensely.

Wired Love: a romance of dots and dashes by Ella Cheever Thayer (1888): Nattie, a telegraph operator who chats whenever she can “over the wire” with C., another telegraph operator miles down the line. I love stories where characters fall in love through exchanged messages. And the experiences of telegraph operators is absolutely fascinating -- simultaneously a product of the past and yet incredibly relatable from a contemporary perspective, because the internet and mobile phones mean we communicate so much through text. After Nattie and Clem meet, the focus shifts away from the telegraph office to antics at their boardinghouse, but the story continues to be fun and delightful. 

Once Upon a Con series by Ashley Poston:

Geekerella: When Elle discovers her late parents’ cosplay costumes in a box in the attic, she hatches a plan to enter a cosplay competition and use the prize to escape her step-family. This contemporary Cinderella retelling about two teenage fans of a SF series Starfield is a romance-through-messages story. Elle uses her father’s old phone, so sometimes she gets messages from people about ExcelsiCon, the convention her father founded. One message sparks a conversation -- but neither she nor Darien realise just who they’re texting. As expected, this is fun and fandom-y, and it makes the coincidences and Cinderella moments feel believable.

The Princess and the Fangirl: At ExcelsiCon, Starfield actress Jessica Stone swaps places with a fan, Imogen. Jess needs to find a mislaid script before she’s accused of leaking it, and Imogen hopes for an opportunity to promote the #Save Amara initiative. I enjoyed how they both experience a different side of fandom. Imogen discovers the pressures of being a star, when con appearances are your job, and, away from the spotlight, Jess discovers how cons allow people to come together and celebrate things they love.  My only disappointment was the way they both deceive Imogen’s fandom friend, Harper. I wish that had been handled differently.

The Little Bookshop at Herring Cove by Kellie Hailes: Unlike other books I’ve borrowed because they had “bookshop” in the title, this didn’t focus very much on books, nor did it describe its bookshop vividly. Sophie could have easily owned a different sort of shop without changing the plot, the setting or the atmosphere. This is a light-hearted romance about nice people in a generic seaside town -- not what I was looking for. I wanted more about books and a stronger sense of place.

Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly (narrated by Cassandra Campbell, Kathleen Gati and Kathrin Kana): This begins with three different women at the start of WWII -- a teenager in Poland, a newly-graduated doctor in Germany and a wealthy consulate worker in New York -- and  becomes about the Ravensbruck Rabbits, Polish political prisoners subjected to medical experimentation. Not what I expected or wanted to be reading (which is not its fault. I switched to the ebook, because I'm irrationally squeamish about some medical things and cope better when reading to myself). This story is compelling and does a good job of showing how the pain and trauma didn’t just end with the war. And it’s incredibly important to keep telling stories about distressing parts of history. 

The Other Side of the Sky by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner: More or less the sort of story I expected from these two. Nimh is the Divine One in a world of magic and prophecy. North is a prince in a floating city of science and engineering. Nimh believes the gods fled into the sky thousands of years ago, and North believes no one still lives down on the surface… until he crashes his glider. I enjoyed this but don’t feel any emotional investment -- yet. I will read the sequel.

Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade: April and Marcus keep fandom separate from their professional lives -- April to avoid negative comments, Marcus (an actor) to avoid violating his contract. So when Marcus sees a cosplay photo of April online, he doesn’t recognise his friend, he just sees a gorgeous woman getting nasty comments and invites her to dinner. I was hooked. As a romance, this didn’t always focus on the things I most wanted it to, but I understood why it made those narrative choices and liked how the characters resolved their mistakes. And I really liked it as a story about fanfiction and the way we tell stories in response to other stories.

Big Love, Tiny House by Olivia Dade: Lucy goes on a Tiny House Hunting show and drags along her best friend Sebastian. I’ve watched countless tiny house videos on Youtube, so it was fun to see tiny houses depicted in fiction -- although I was disappointed that all the houses are so disastrously bad. Beyond that, I have no strong feelings one way or another about this romance novella.

Memento: an Illuminae Files novella by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (narrated by a full cast): A bonus prequel, set aboard the Alexander prior to the events of Illuminae. The audiobook is so well done! Even though this is a short story/novella, I cared about the new characters it introduces -- I really like the epistolary format and how it requires the reader to fill in some of the gaps for themselves. (I think that’s part of why I love The Illuminae Files but so far have no strong feelings about Kaufman and Kristoff’s latest series.) And it’s always interesting to see more of AIDAN.

#Herenya reviews books #Aster Glenn Gray #Dorothy Dunnett #Erin Hart #Pip Williams #Poppy Nwosu #Ella Cheever Thayer #Ashley Poston #Martha Hall Kelly #Amie Kaufman #Meagan Spooner #Jay Kristoff #Olivia Dade #Stephanie Burgis

[thenightlymirror]

So many books I want to read and zero attention span. Wish I could just download knowledge, Matrix-style. I was thinking that probably wouldn't work because insight, network connections between thoughts are probably time related. So even if you did download the information of all the books you wanted to read, you'd be like the character of a HP Lovecraft story, slowly correlating the contents of your memory like an amnesiac. Still, that's pretty much like my daily life anyway.

Another note. John Dunne's An Experiment with Time sounds interesting. I guess he describes time like notes on a piano, which is great way of describing something I've have trouble trying to articulate. I sometimes imagine time as a constellation of pin-pricks in a sheet, brought together by a thread. Not just one wrinkle in time, but several, that in a moment are brought into unity by certain affects. But a piano playing a harmonious chord is exactly that same thing.

From what I understand, the hippocampus stores memory spatially. My uneducated assumption being that a long journey by foot could be memorized by affect correlated to features on the way. That's my Song Line theory.

To correlate this with Postone's idea that abstract time is not transhistorical, but a consequence of abstract labor, it would be interesting to look at the consequences of the intense oppression of abstract time not just on the capitalist subject, but on the capitalist subject's brain. (I mean, politically, that's probably stupid. But it's an interesting biological question.) Just because it seems, anecdotally (per me), that suspension of abstract time and the subject-object divide seems to correlate with simple partial seizures in the temporal lobe. Or you could just say that it's very similar to descriptions of Zen states, which are pre-capitalist, (and on-going, for some, at certain durations at least). So, would the communist experience of time be this meditative duration-like time, all of the time? Or more of the time? What happens to the hippocampus under communism, let alone capitalism?

There's really no historical evidence of any change, I'm sure. That's literal skull-caliper level nonsense. Possibly. I was wondering if the so-called civilization disease of depression was maybe related to temporal lobe seizures of some kind, since bipolar disorder is sometimes considered related, and this was maybe the result of the stress of abstract time on the brain. Also, if linear time is historically contingent, what are the other ways that this organ, the hippocampus, can assign memories certain structures for retrieval. I assume it can be configured as many ways as individuals can imagine. But maybe there are some hacks, like the method of loci. How do you build your memory palace? Is it like the Australian Outback? An office building? A suburb? A piano? The streets of Paris?

[fleawithadegree]

Mini Review!!!

I received an ARC from the publishers in exchange for a fair and honest review. Thank you Edelweiss and Balzer + Bray. Among the Beasts and Briars by Ashley Poston follows the story of Cerys, daughter of the royal gardener in Aloriya, and her quest to free her town and family from the clutches of the cursed wood. Having escaped from the wood as a child, Cerys’ enchanted blood causes flowers to grow wherever it drops and she bares the mark of the wood curse on her neck. She sets off through the woods, along with the mysterious and friendly fox always following her around, in search of the mythical city Voryn and the Lady of the Wilds. Fox is not everything he seems, Truly a joy to read! Poston’s enchanting world has the same magic that makes Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli films so wonderful. I loved everything about this book, however I wish it had been a bit longer and that everything was drawn out a bit more. I would have liked to really feel immersed in the world, and felt the romance needed more time to develop or even just a bit more focus. However, it was super immersive and I was immediately pulled in. I finished it in half a day because I could not put it down. There weren’t any surprises, but the story and writing were utterly delightful and unique in their own way!

Out October 20th 2020!!!!

#book review #mini review #fantasy #ya #ya fantasy #bookblr #booklr #book rec #book recommendations #books published in 2020 #2020 reading challenge #netgalley #arc #edelweiss #studio ghibli #fairy tale #book addict #book nerd #book lover #animal transformation #foxes #books #bookish #ashley poston #among the beasts and briars #out october 2020 #autumn 2020 #fall 2020

[quietya]

31 Days of quietYA: F/F YA in the Real World

Continuing yesterday’s post about F/F YA recs, this is for contemporary and historical reads! Again, this is not a comprehensive list, but it’s a good starting point.

Under the Lights by Dahlia Adler Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli How to Make a Wish by Ashley Herring Blake Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit by Jaye Robin Brown The Meaning of Birds by Jaye Robin Brown Style by Chelsea Cameron Echo After Echo by Amy Rose Capetta Starworld by Audrey Coulthurst and Paula Garner The Last True Poets of the Sea by Julia Drake Hot Dog Girl by Jennifer Dugan Wildthorn by Jane Eagland If You Could Be Mine by Sara Farizan Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel by Sara Farizan Love & Other Carnivorous Plants by Florence Gonsalves Amelia Westlake Was Never Here by Erin Gough Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins Ask Me How I Got Here by Christine Heppermann Lizzie by Dawn Ius The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan Everything Leads to You by Nina Lacour 10 Things I Can See From Here by Carrie Mac An Impossible Distance to Fall by Miriam McNamara The Unbinding of Mary Reade by Miriam McNamara People Like Us by Dana Mele The Stars and the Blackness Between Them by Junauda Petrus Like Water by Rebecca Podos The Princess and the Fangirl by Ashley Poston Orpheus Girl by Brynne Rebele-Henry Tell Me How You Really Feel by Aminah Mae Safi Far From You by Tess Sharpe The Summer of Jordi Perez by Amy Spalding It’s Not Like It’s a Secret by Misa Sugiura Our Own Private Universe by Robin Talley Pulp by Robin Talley Going Off Script by Jen Wilde Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde

#31 days of quietya #ya books #quietya #wndb #mogai #book list #this is your mod speaking

[booksoanahasread]

Geekerella by Ashley Poston

My oh my. To be honest, this is such a great novel. It’s catchy, it’s funny, it’s heart-warming. I loved it with all my heart.

I love the whole premise of a girl loving a tv show so much that she has a blog about it and a lot of other stuff. I loved it.

Elle is such a sweet girl who at the beginning never could stand up for herself, but after all the actions that happened after, she did. She stood up to her evil stepmother and stepsister. I loved her quiet soul that rang true and had strong moral values. I found her absolutely inspiring. She represents all that’s good in fan culture, a rational mind, an open heart, and a love of community. 

When she befriends Sage, it was a moment we had all been waiting for. It was organic and easy, the two just seemed to fit. Sage never judged Elle or vice versa. Sage is feisty and strong, she doesn’t care what anyone else thinks, marching to the beat of her own drum. 

Her stepsisters tormented her every step of the way, and somehow Elle still managed to be kind and not bitter. She has such a pure soul and she didn’t deserve anything her family inflicted on her. 

I loved the fact that she found herself in the boxes of her father’s and mother’s stuff. It is much needed and somewhat the perfect way for her to find herself. The cosplay and the dress and the jacket. It was incredible, and adventure that was the best possible thing to have happened to Elle’s life.

On the other hand, Darien is an actor who isn’t sure of himself, who doesn’t know what’s happening around him. He has no control of the situation he’s in. He is fantastic, he cares so deeply for so many people. It is fascinating how thoughtful he is, but also impulsive. 

His acting career in the Starfield movie was fraught with mistakes and hidden obstacles. He hadn’t the slightest clue of what he should actually be doing. He was plagued with self doubt and many other self conscious thoughts. 

To be honest, I wish he had been more aware of what his job entailed. I found it horrendous that his father planted pictures of him and sold them to the paparazzi with one of Darien’s friends. The courage it took Darien to fire his father as his manager was the most incredible thing I’d ever read in the novel. 

I loved how he went searching for Elle after the convention with a glass shoe. It was so cute and truly the plot of Cinderella. Especially when he finally found her, ignored her evil stepsister completely, and ended up kissing Elle. 

To conclude, this was a sweet book that could pick you up and make you feel better than anything else. It’s such a great read and I’m thankful I got around to it. 

#geekerella #ashley poston #young adult #ya #romance #book review

[hetaces]

@whatsnew-lgbtq​‘s 31 days of pride day 9!! i know I haven’t been doing ‘em all but that’s okay.

day 9: books

so books are my area of expertise honestly so I picked a few favorites to talk about a lil bit here (I’ll put it under a cut).

And feel free to ask me about more books because I’m Like That.

These are all ownvoices in at least one way. Ownvoices rep will be italicized in the list.

Highly Illogical Behavior by John Corey Whaley When you hear what this book is about, it sounds really bad. Like “Girl decides to ‘fix’ agoraphobic gay boy and her boyfriend gets ~close~ with him” is essentially what the synopsis says. It sets it up for every bad trope. And then uses none of them. It’s so good, has great portrayal of good accommodations, healthy friendship, and a bunch of Star Trek references. Representation: Sol is gay and agoraphobic

Heart of Iron by Ashley Poston Don’t look up the synopsis yourself, go right to goodreads (i’d link but you know how tumblr is with links), some of the synopses that come up automatically start with a “it’s like [story] in space” and it’s a spoiler. I’ll put the first part of it here bc it’s hard to get the words. Seventeen-year-old Ana is a scoundrel by nurture and an outlaw by nature. Found as a child drifting through space with a sentient android called D09, Ana was saved by a fearsome space captain and the grizzled crew she now calls family. But D09—one of the last remaining illegal Metals—has been glitching, and Ana will stop at nothing to find a way to fix him. Representation: Ana is written as acespec (not Super clear but it was the intent) Captain Siege is a lesbian. Telle is a lesbian. Robb is gay. Jax is gay.

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee So, there’s a lot of hype around Gentleman’s Guide and I was sort of expecting to be let down, but it more than lived up to it. Henry "Monty" Montague is going on his Tour of the continent (travel around Europe and have fun one last time, is the idea). Chaotic disaster bisexual Monty causes trouble, of course. So then on the way to dropping his sister off at finishing school before returning home early, they get attacked. Because Monty is a dumbass (it’s actually his fault). Cue rich kids travelling with no money & trying to avoid a growing number of people. Mackenzi Lee has hit the nail on the head with growth. Not only does she get that sometimes, growth does happen because of one moment of learning, she also writes it well, which is a really difficult thing to write. There’s a lot of heavy stuff in it, but none of it was thrown in for no reason, it’s actually important to the books and to the characters. Representation: Monty is bi, has PTSD, and (at the end of the first book, so spoilers) deaf on one side Percy is mixed, mlm, and (you find out part way through so if you’re picky about it it could be spoilers), epileptic. Felicity is aroace. Many other characters who aren’t white and a wlw character in the second book.

I Wish You All The Best by Mason Deaver After Ben comes out to their parents, things don’t exactly go well. They get kicked out, and have to go live with their sister who they haven’t seen in 10 years. They start over at a new school, only out to their sister, her husband, and their therapist (because hey, look how well coming out went last time). This book is so damn cute. And a book with a nonbinary main character! Representation: Ben is nonbinary Nathan is bisexual and black

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire Think Narnia, but with more worlds and less religion and you've got the concept of the doorways. Children have always been disappearing - going through a door that's appeared to them. But magic worlds rarely have use for used up miracle children. So they're sent back. But they don't come back the same. The children at Elanor West's Home for Wayward Children have all tumbled once. And they all want to get back. But with Nancy's arrival, things start going wrong. Representation: Nancy is asexual Jack is pan and has OCD Kade is a trans guy Sumi is bi (Seanan McGuire is a queer cis woman)

You Asked for Perfect by Laura Silverman Ariel Stone is a perfect student: he’s a community volunteer, first chair violin, and is on track to be valedictorian. And then he fails a calc test. When he finds he can’t fix it himself, he reluctantly gets a tutor. And he may not like calc, but he might like Amir. I started recommending this book to people when I was 5 pages into it. Ariel is so explicitly Jewish that Laura Silverman put her grandmother’s matzo ball soup recipe in the back because it’s not fair to rave about it so much and not provide a recipe. He’s explicitly bisexual by page 8. Amir and Sook’s eyes are both described as “warm” and I honestly think it’s the first time I’ve seen characters of color’s eyes described as anything but “dark”. Representation: Ariel is bisexual and Jewish Amir is a gay Pakistani Muslim Sook is a chubby Korean lesbian

The Past and Other Things That Should Stay Buried by Shaun David Hutchinson Shaun is back with more “so... the world might be ending?” and I absolutely love it. Dino’s ex-best-friend July died suddenly 4 days ago, and his family runs the funeral home. Dino is touching up July’s makeup (he knows how she wore it and everyone was doing it wrong), and she wakes up. But she’s not exactly... alive. She’s just not-dead. And then... other people just stop dying. So they have to figure out what’s happening. How July came back - or at least how to re-kill her when nobody can die. So not only is it a super interesting book, it’s also like... Shaun goes in on topics like “gay people making gay jokes and straight people making gay jokes are different” and “a cis guy might (might) not mind if you call him a girl, but do not call a trans guy a girl” Also I recommend anything by Shaun David Hutchinson. Representation: Dino is gay Rafi is trans, mlm, and mixed (white/Pakistani) Multiple LGBTQ+ minor characters

On The Edge of Gone by Corinne Duyvis It’s an end-of-the-world type book (via comet strike). Due to strange circumstances, Denise and her mother end up not at their government assigned shelter, but on a generation ship. And Denise has just a few days to find her sister and prove that her skills are worth 3 spots on a ship with limited resources. Representation: Denise is mixed (Surinamese/white) and autistic Iris is mixed (Surinamese/white) and a bi trans woman. Els is wlw. Leyla is wlw. Samira and Nordin are Muslim Some minor characters.

Radio Silence by Alice Oseman I’m just gonna give y’all the actual synopsis this time

You probably think that Aled Last and I are going to fall in love or something. Since he is a boy and I am a girl. I just wanted to say—we don’t. Frances Janvier spends most of her time studying. When she’s not studying, she’s up in her room making fan art for her favorite podcast, Universe City. Everyone knows Aled Last as that quiet boy who gets straight As. But no one knows he’s the creator of Universe City, who goes by the name Radio Silence. When Frances gets a message from Radio Silence asking if she’ll collaborate with him, everything changes. Frances and Aled spend an entire summer working together and becoming best friends. They get each other when no one else does. But when Aled’s identity as Radio Silence is revealed, Frances fears that the future of Universe City—and their friendship—is at risk. Aled helped her find her voice. Without him, will she have the courage to show the world who she really is? Or will she be met with radio silence?

This book is so good but fair warning, it gets really heavy. 

Representation: Aled is demisexual (Alice is queer/aroace) Frances is bi and mixed (white/Ethiopian) Daniel is gay and Korean Carys is a lesbian Raine is pan, Indian, and Hindu

Otherbound by Corinne Duyvis Otherbound is set in two worlds - Nolan’s (ours) and Amara’s (the Dunelands, where magic is real). Amara is on the run with the former princess, Cilla, whose family was overthrown by the ministers. Cilla has been cursed and is being hunted, and Amara’s particular type of healing magic is, basically, convenient for redirecting Cilla’s curse. Since they were children, Nolan has been experiencing Amara’s world through her every time he closes his eyes. He sees through her eyes, feels what she feels, smells what she smells. But he’s just a silent observer. She doesn’t even know he’s there. Until now. Representation: Nolan is Mexica and disabled Amara is not white, mute (due to mutilation), and bi Cilla is not white, fat, and a lesbian The majority of other characters are also not white.

#books #whatsnewpride #i am both very sorry for the length of this post #and absolutely not sorry at all

[thekeeperofscrolls]

Title: Geekerella: A Fangirl Fairy Tale 

Author: Ashley Poston

“Holy shit,” she says. “I’m in nerd heaven." “Oh, young Padawan,” I tell her, waving my hand toward the room, “everything the light touches is our kingdom. Let’s go explore it.”

Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Retelling, Contemporary 

Pages: 320

Rating:  ★★★★

Review: 

Once a upon a time Cinderella went to Comic Con, and absolutely rocked the heck out of it. Our Cinderella’s name is Elle Wittimer, and she loves Starfield, a classic sci-fi series. So, it's no surprise that when she finds out about a cosplay contest, for the series, she has to enter. Darien Freeman is the new teen actor playing Starfield’s very own, Carmindor. Since, becoming famous his life as changed a bit, and well he used to love cons, they have become more of a challenging situation for him.

Geekerella is a modern-day retelling of Cinderella. This is a book that I read during 2018 but I needed a fun reread to geek over and what better than a book called Geekerella. This novel is an ode to nerd culture, it the best way possible. Think, Cinderella with a killer Star Wars shirt. We have an evil stepmom and sisters, blogs, a pumpkin...food truck, cute boys, and Comic Cons! My connection runs deep with this book, I too am a fangirl in every sense of the word, which makes it easy to relate Ella.  I think that this book helps us see that things like fandoms, books, TV, movies, and music can mean so much more to people then we know.

This book is an easy read, lighthearted, and fun. We get two different point of views throughout it and I find that so much fun. Often when I’m reading, I think “I wonder what *insert character name* is thinking?” and awesome enough with this formatting we get to know what both main characters are thinking. One thing I wish we could have seen would have to be, Ella standing up for herself a little bit more., However, it could be a nod to the whole helpless princess trope or maybe Ella is just not the type of person to defend herself (which is totally fine).

There can be some moments that seem cliché, but that doesn't really bother me. For me, they didn't draw away from the story at all. In fact, the fandom references, ExcelsiCon, and the romance kept my attention and gave me all the butterflies, I expected it to. I mean who doesn't love a fairy-tale? If you decide to give it a shot, definitely look up Ashley Poston’s Spotify, she has some cool playlist for her books.

#booklr #book review #Book Recommendations #bookworm #booklover #bibliophile #books #geekerella #ashley poston #currently reading #reading #bookish #book blog #ya reads #Mielasreview