#what im reading

[mooberryink]

4.12.24 | Lately, it's been poetry & seaside excursions, indie bookshops on boats, quiet walks in the park & little free libraries. This evening, we ordered takeout from Much Ado About Pizza & got the Henry the 8th with four kinds of meat, which we then had "Marlowed" (i.e., pan pizza).

"I have been waiting so long for this spring song." - Langston Hughes

#bookblr #studyblr #study blog #poetry month #what im reading

[metamatar]

Geography and landscape come into focus in the area of religious belief. Places of pilgrimage – tirthas and ziarats – are scattered all over the subcontinent. Pilgrimage crosses frontiers and carries cultural idioms from one place to another. Some sites are specific to a religion and retain their prominence as long as they can count on the patronage of that religion. But many more places acquire an association with the sacred and this brings about a cluster of religious connections, sometimes in succession and at other times simultaneously. Somanatha and its vicinity in Gujarat were home to places of worship revered by Vaishnavas, Buddhists, Shaivas, Jainas and Muslims. Patterns such as this cannot be explained by simply maintaining that there was religious tolerance, as there were expressions of intolerance at some places. Evidently there were other concerns that made such places attractive. Sacred sites could also be taken over by a winning religion – thus a megalithic site was appropriated for the building of a Buddhist stupa at Amaravati, a Buddhist chaitya was converted into a Hindu temple at Chezarla, a Hindu temple was converted into a Muslim mosque at Ajmer, and there are many more examples. Possibly some sites were thought to be intrinsically sacred and therefore attracted new religions, or perhaps taking over a sacred site was a demonstration of power. Sacred groves and trees, mountains , caves in hillsides, springs and pools are part of popular worship where landscape and belief come together. When they are appropriated by the powerful and the wealthy, then the landscape has to host monuments.

Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300 (2003), by Romila Thapar

#romila thapar #what im reading #religion #another perspective on temple and mosque destruction

[coffeebooksandmore]

Looking for my next read. I just finished “The Water Cure” and good lord still trying to get my head together after that one.

IG: coffeeandbookss

#books #read #reader #bookshelves #bookshelf #love #beautiful #interior #interior design #bookstagram #booksbooksbooks #read read read #what im reading #photography #life #favorite #gallery wall

[augustisintheair]

#wayward children #bookblr #what im reading

[sleep-tight-pupper]

I've been meaning to since last year, but in honour of Dracula Daily starting again I think I'll finally read Carmilla

#dracula daily #carmilla #what im reading

[queerauntie]

"God," she said, "by the time we're old enough to have sex, we're already too ashamed to be touched. Ain't that a crime?" -Angie in "Stone Butch Blues" by Leslie Feinberg

#stone butch blues #leslie feinberg #lgbtq #lesbian #gay #bisexual #trans #queer #queer history #lgbtq history #zee cant read #what im reading #lgbt history

[angelnumber27]

#what im reading #michael crichton

[matchbox-muse]

cozy fantasy books >

my kindle paperwhite review

[ shop the paperwhite ]

#kindle #ereader #cozy #bookblr #books #bookworm #currently reading #bookish #reader #cozycore #5 star books #fantasy books #brandon sanderson #mistborn #the final empire #readers of tumblr #kindle paperwhite #kindle review #reading update #what im reading #cozy reads

[yupthatsoundsright]

Why didn’t anyone tell me the original Frankenstein novel slaps. I’m only at chapter 4 and something about chapter 3 just made me go ok yeah this book is rad. This is the most fun I’ve had with a school assigned book in years. The last time I enjoyed a school assigned book this much was Bridge to Terabithia.

#frankenstein #marry shelley #what im reading #i did not expect this #if my class never ends up finishing it #I will continue to read it on my own time #bridge to terabithia

[sabakos]

The funny thing about the I Ching is that despite being one of the oldest books of any significant length, it's just not really very... polished? Like it's clearly a compilation of separate texts, many of which had nothing to do with divination, that someone weaved together into a format of hexagram texts and line texts. And whoever they were, and whatever king or feudal lord was paying them to do it, they evidently did not feel like they needed to care about making it look like that wasn't what they were doing.

Like there are a lot of interesting chapters full of proverbs and omens and ritual sacrifice instructions, and a few very boring chapters with dry procedural results that were clearly written, possibly later, to keep up the sham that it was a yarrow stick divination manual. Eventually there needed to be 64 chapters, the same way there eventually needed to be 81 in the tao te ching. So it's also an accretion text, and the accretion text authors seem to care a whole lot more about keeping the sham up than the original authors did? But they clearly also had a mystical reverence for the layout of the old chapters, because they didn't go back and *fix* any of them.

#what im reading #yeah i did spend my 30th birthday reading the I ching #no i didnt finish #its a fascinating book!

[salamanderinspace]

"There are few more powerful descriptors than "crazy" or "insane." In another later experiment, two psychologists played a recorded conversation between two men to cli- nicians. Half were told that the interviewee was a job applicant, the other half that he was a psychiatric patient. Those who thought they were listening to a job applicant deemed him fairly well adjusted and used terms like "realistic"; "unassertive"; "fairly sincere, enthusiastic, attractive"; "pleasant, easy manner of speaking"; and "responsible" to describe him. Those who believed he was a psychiatric patient used words like "tight, defensive"; "conflict over homosexuality"; "dependent, passive-aggressive"; "frightened"; "considerable hostility." Once words like mental patient or schizophrenic are affixed to you, there is little you can do or say that can make them disappear, especially when anything that doesn't support the doctor's conclusion is discarded for evidence that does."

-- "The Great Pretender," Cahalan, 92

#anti psychiatry #psychology #science #bias #what im reading

[lostandfem]

“It is a brilliant legal trajectory. Invent the witch who is a threat to your religion and everyone’s souls. Make witchcraft illegal and put men in charge of trying the accused. Make any behaviour that threatens you a sign of witchcraft. This way you can punish her for anything. You can make her humanity monstrous. Now you can do anything you want to her. You are the hammer of sorceresses.”

— Girlhood by Melissa Febos (pg. 74)

#what im reading #girlhood #melissa febos #radblr #radfems please touch

[metamatar]

romila thapar writing a textbook of ancient india one year before godhra – "a fundamental sanity in indian civilization has been due to an absence of satan."

#lol #lmao even #what im reading

[brettesims]

WHAT I’M READING:

The Unbearable Lightness of Being

“We live everything as it comes, without warning, like an actor going cold. And what can life be worth if the first rehearsal for life is life itself? That is why life is always like a sketch.” ☁️

A snippet from The Unbearable Lightness of Being - a book I picked up again after years and I am so happy I did!

I am just hopping on here reminding you beautiful souls how soothing and peaceful reading can make the soul feel!

Keep reading! It creates inspiration within us! It expands us! It calms us! It grounds us! Join my Patreon if you need additional support and…

Tune into my pod for more streams of thought like this! Click here!

Ima read ima read ima read, haha!

Click here to buy the book!

Xoxo

#read #reading #books #book recommendations #book club #what im reading #book blog #good books #ima read #books to read #good reads #know yourself #self love #the unbearable lightness of being #podcast #black women #black woman #black girl aesthetic #beauty

[sleep-tight-pupper]

has anyone written anything about the rise of the "toxic lesbian science fantasy space opera" genre? I'm reading These Burning Stars rn and this is like the eighth series I've read released in the past couple years that fits this bill like there has to be something interesting happening here?

#im not complaining i love tlt and teixcalaan and masquerade etc its just a trend #bookblr #what im reading

[queerauntie]

October Reads

This month was my most packed month! I was working a full-time job with a huge commute and I was popping Alice Oseman like a housewife pops Vicodin- desperately. They held me down like I didn't even realize I needed until looking back. My job was really toxic and pushed me to my emotional limits. Alice created a consistently safe space where I could feel hopeful and romantic. Like no matter how hard shit was going, it was going to get better! I can't recommend this author enough, Alice Oseman is the master of young adult fiction. Each story has its own package of wholesomeness. I can't wait to see what they come out with next (including season 2 of Heartstopper!). I will be making a separate post that you can read here to talk about just how much these books gutted me emotionally, but I wanted to get this out! So here's a brief overview of my thoughts on those books!

Alice Oseman Books I read this month:

Loveless (I think this one was my favorite)

This Winter (had no idea it was so short until it was over!)

Radio Silence (this one holds a special place in my heart, it's the first one I ever read, years ago, and because of ADHD I got to read it again for the first time ever)

Solitaire (this poor precious baby tori needs a hug!)

I Was Born for This (Oh but this one was so good too)

As for the 3 non-Oseman books we have:

What If It's Us by Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera

Black Girls Must Die Exhausted by Jayne Allen

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender

I feel like it's carnal sin to talk poorly about queer art because we get so little of it, we don't want anyone to use it as an excuse not to continue pushing it forward. But after Alice Oseman set the bar, I gotta say I was a little disappointed with What if It's us by Albertalli and Silvera. The characters were sweet but ultimately fell flat. The plot was romantic, but predictable. But I want to give it flowers because it is a story about queer love and you can't help but root for the kids, even if they are a little obsessive.

Black Girls Must Die Exhausted was so so fun! I talked a lot about it in my review here, but to summarize- Tabitha is my girl and I would fight anyone for her!! Including and primarily that fool of a man who keeps playing with her! I was sick of it!!! Ultimately if she is happy I am thrilled, but after falling in love with Tabitha Walker as a character, I just can't accept any less than someone who is as obsessed with her as I am. Is that so much to ask!? With the 3rd book in the series yet to be published, I am eagerly awaiting to hear about how my friend is doing, check in on the beautiful life she's made for herself, and lend an unknowing ear to her stressors and fears. That's my best friend right there! 🥹

Felix Ever After is everything I expected What If It's Us to be. It's still young adult fiction, still frazzled young protagonists, and predictable conflict that seems easily resolved. But what set these two books apart is how well Callender was able to put you in the shoes of their characters and feel the emotions on a real level. It was so sweet and I'll be recommending this book to my trans non-binary sibling because they were very much a Felix when it came to gender exploration! As a millennial queer, it can feel a little intense seeing how much the younger kids grasp onto labels so tightly. Not to say labels are bad, as they can help you learn about yourself, but when it's not the vocab you grew up with, it can seem a little silly. This book helped me understand the journey more personally (and even helped me find a new relationship with my gender!). For that alone, the book gets all the flowers!

Yearly Book Count: 16/??

#what im reading #alice oseman #this winter #loveless #solitaire #radio silence #i was born for this #what if its us #becky albertalli #adam silvera #black girls must die exhausted #jayne allen #felix ever after #kacen callender #young adult #young adult fiction #ya #rom com #ya romance #adult fiction #adult romance #osemanverse