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utilitycaster · 3 months

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thanks for the book answer! would you share your fiction favorites in general?

Hi anon,

I'll post a few but I think to clarify - this is also kind of just going to be a list. I meant more like...are you looking for book recs? If so are you looking for specific things (eg: queer characters, fantasy and if so which subtype, sci fi and ditto, literary fiction, etc.) Or do you just like, want a list of books I have liked.

Anyway this is a list of a handful of books/series/authors that I'd count as favorites, loosely grouped, but I didn't go into any details about anything.

Fantasy I read a teen and has permanently shaped how I interact with fantasy fiction; some of this is YA

a large swathe of what Diana Wynne Jones has written

The Belgariad and Mallorean by David Eddings

The Old Kingdom series by Garth Nix

Sorcery and Cecelia by Caroline Stevermer and Patricia Wrede (this came up on the comfort reads panel I watched yesterday and it is indeed a comfort read for me) and Mairelon the Magician by Patricia Wrede (set in the same sort of world)

Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

I read some of the Patternist series by Octavia Butler as a teen but then didn't revisit it until adulthood

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke (Piranesi is very different and also excellent but that came out when I was an adult, but it's still a favorite)

The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley (I also read a bunch of her fairy tale-based books which I don't know if I'd call them favorites still but I do think they're an influence)

Sandman by Neil Gaiman

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Middlegrade/YA fiction I read as a kid that also permanently shaped something

Several Ellen Raskin books but especially The Westing Game

Elizabeth Enright's books but especially the ones about the Melendy family and Gone-Away Lake

Fantasy and SF I read as an adult and would consider exceptional/a favorite

The Broken Earth Trilogy by N. K. Jemisen

The City and the City by China Mievelle

The Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir

Phedre's trilogy of the Kushiel's Legacy series by Jacqueline Carey (have not read the others in the series so this isn't saying they're bad, I just can't speak to them)

The Southern Reach Trilogy by Jeff VanderMeer

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Leguin

Arcadia by Iain Pears

The Terra Ignota series by Ada Palmer

The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie

The Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold

The Night Watch books from Discworld by Terry Pratchett; I have read like, one other Discworld book and it didn't have Sam Vimes in it so I didn't really care

Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand by Samuel R. Delaney

Literary fiction/not sf I read as a teen or adult

(there's notably a lot less of this because I do lean heavily towards fantasy but)

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Drive Your Plow Over The Bones Of The Dead by Olga Tokarczuk

#answered #Anonymous #ngl I used to be a MASSIVE rereader but i do not have the time so this is based on a scan of my bookshelves #and the last 8 years of my goodreads #in addition to what i know i have reread a bunch #m's book recs

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grimdarkfandango · 2 months

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Fandom Peeps to Get to Know Better

got tagged in an ask meme by @saltedpin thank you!!! I love oversharing on the internet!!!

3 Ships you like: god. okay. be cruel then.

Winter/Kitten - yes we're leading with OCs deal with it SOMETIMES you take a beloved archetype pairing, reshape them like silly putty, put them in separate dnd games, and spend four years running continuous RP with a partner in multiple different au variations because they are perfect actually (shout out to @andromeda-reinvented for literally keeping me sane and fed :prayer emoji:)

Kitten is my husband and also my phone lockscreen and has never done anything wrong in his life (the murders are fine)

Songxue - this is the wizard behind the curtain of winter/kitten, but they are different for all that they're the same. otherwise, uh. see above for all other applicable details lmao

Endhawks - the DRAMA the DILFYNESS the LEGEND look all of my pairings need a certain level of unhealthy devotion and self-sacrifice and not to spoil the current manga chapters for anyone but [blood seeps from my mouth as I start screeching incoherently] anyway yeah big man hot little guy feral

Ganlink - hey riley why are you putting an unnecessary fourth pairing, did you think we weren't already very clearly aware of your type here. no. okay. sure. big man hot little guy feral!!!!!

First Ship Ever: oh god bro I don't know if I have the memory details for that. the first ships I remember going and reading fic for were bandom (*nsync, JC/Lance, yes you heard me) or probably good old gundam wing 1x2, despite having seen approximately none of the show lmao

Last song you heard: Nightmares by the sea - jeff buckley when I started / The life I was missing - flannel graph when I finished (all off my Winter playlist. it's 12hrs long)

Favourite childhood book: I was one of those advanced reader kids who turned up my nose at kids books and for many years almost exclusively read sf/f off dad's bookshelf, which is a long way of saying it was the full ten book run of the belgariad and the mallorean, which I would reread twice a year between the ages of 9-16

is it my favourite now? god no. but I cannot deny what shaped me

Currently Reading: I just started the first Dragonlance book so, I guess, some things don't change

Currently Watching: everything currently airing on Dropout, also The Expanse (finally)(slowly)(I like it too much to binge I think)

Currently Craving: D I N N E R

Tagging: HMMMM ok @andromeda-reinvented, @bigneonglitter, @oldcoyote, @prairie-grass, and anyone else who wants to just say I tagged u!!!

#ask meme #I could literally talk about OCs forever I am being restrained but I am full of love

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best-childhood-book · 1 month

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For the fantasy books: The Graceling series by Kristin Cashore, The Belgariad/Mallorean series by David Eddings, The Keys to the Kingdom series by Garth Nix, The Iron Butterfly Series by Chanda Hahn, The Goose Girl series by Shannon Cole, Joust series by Mercedes Lackey, Rangers Apprentice series by John Flanagan, Eragon series by Christopher Paolini, Hexwood by Diana Wynne Jones, Thirteenth Child series by Patricia C Wrede, Uglies series by Scott Westerfield, The Traveller's Gate series by Will Wight

I have a lot haha!

I added what wasn't already there except for Uglies. Uglies is technically a sci-fi, dystopian series, not fantasy, so it's ineligible for this competition. However, if we ever end up expanding into new genres again, hold onto it for that!

#ask #submission #the belgariad #the keys to the kingdom #iron butterfly #joust #hexwood #thirteenth child #traveler's gate

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drunkfightingllamas · 6 months

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Another Musings On The Monkey Nut!

@clockworkalpaca, Monkey Nut, and Hexadecimal Offspring Extraordinaire, has recently 'Done A Tonka' after finishing the 'Dracula Daily' online experience, and was describing how in the 'seven(?) years later' epilogue, it says how Lord Godalming and Doctor Seward were still happily married, making them think they meant to each other.

Except they pronounced Godalming as 'Gold-Damming'. Just like when they read the 'Belgariad' and 'Mallorean' books, they pronounced Mandorallen, as Mandalorian, and Lelldorin, as Lendorolin.

Bless!

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drasnianfrank · 5 days

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Twenty Books Challenge

Hypothetically, you are only able to keep 20 of your books. Only one book per author/series. So what books are you keeping? Credit due to @the-forest-library (I have been thinking about this list for like a week straight)

Guardians of the West by David and Leigh Eddings - any of the Belgariad/Mallorean series frankly. I read these series I don't know how many times as teen. Yes, they are a problematic. Yes they are trope-y as hell but I love them.

Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold - inching just barely above Miles in Love or Mountains of Mourning.

Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison - This is a book that always makes me cry.

Whale Talk by Chris Cutcher - A swim team comprised of various kids with disabilities and are deeply flawed but are also attempting to do good things? I wish this was on every book list for teens.

All Systems Red (Murderbot Diaries) by Martha Wells - I mean all murderbot series is great. Funny story, I told my mom to read this book eons ago and she only read it after a librarian recommended it.

Return of the King by JRR Tolkien - though technically LotR is one book and I don't have single copies of this anymore. But the scouring of the shire just hits me in different places when I read it.

A Child's Anthology of Poetry edited by Elizabeth Hauge Sword and Victoria Flournoy McCarthy - My textbook of poetry when I was young.

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr - Another a book that makes me absolutely sob.

The Realms of the Gods by Tamora Pierce - I love the Wild Magic Series the most of all Pierce's series. And yes, I recognize the problematic relationship. But also, talking badger.

Sabriel by Garth Nix - I'm sorry the far superior goth necromancer with bells.

First Truth by Dawn Cook - If had I pick one of the truth series. I have an unnatural fondness of a book series that combines magic with Punnett Squares.

Macbeth by William Shakespeare. Narrowly above Midsummer Night's Dream. But the tomorrow speech is an absolute banger.

All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot - Any of the Herriot books. I read these almost to pieces.

Double Whammy by Carl Hiassen - It was this or Squeeze Me. But Skink really deserves to saved.

House of Leaves by Mark Z Danielewski - Post Modern Horror.

Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein - More Poetry of my childhood.

Dark Tales by Shirley Jackson - specifically The Possibility of Evil.

Daredevil vol 6 by Mark Waid, Chris Samnee - Graphic Novels count and I will fight you. This has one of the first individual issues I picked up.

Sandman vol. 8: World's End by Neil Gaiman, Micha Allred - Sandman holds a near and dear place in my heart. It was a close call between this and American Gods or Preludes and Nocturnes. But I will have echoes of Crements in my head.

Hawkeye vol. 4: Rio Bravo by Matt Fraction, David Aja - Pizza Dog! Also any of the volumes are fantastic and visually gorgeous.

I did take the prompt literally, but here are five more books I either always buy on kindle/can only get as an ebook. I would pay an extraordinary amount of money for these in print.

Toad Words and other stories by T Kingfisher - I was following her when she was still writing fantasy!

I Reap You Not by Catelyn Winona - Second Person done right.

True Porn Clerk Stories by Ali Davis - This causes me to giggle, rage, and cry.

The Heiress Effect by Courtney Milan - Brothers Sinister series is the standard I compare all Regency Novels to.

Night Shift by Stephen King - Specifically Quitter's Inc. But frankly any collection of Stephen King is gold.

Tagging @thatoldstandby, @msfehrwight, @raventycho, @timemachineyeah, @theneptuneviolin and anyone else. And of course you can include pictures too.

#book list #tagging all the people #this was so hard guys #how could I choose which child is best #and I didn't even include manga #I did cheat a little because some of these books are spread between two buildings #but if they weren't easy access I would still buy them

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mousedetective · 5 months

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ribbon, Santa, Rudolph, candy cane, hot cocoa, Yule Log, snowman

Ribbon: What’s a book that had a strong impact on you? As a writer, definitely David & Leigh Eddings The Elenium/The Tamuli series and The Belgariad/The Mallorean series. Like, I am so invested in those world and those characters as I read them, and I want my writing to pull people in and make them want to stay in the same way. As a reader? The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster and Alice In Wonderland/Alice Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Caroll.

Santa: What’s your favorite month? Ocober! Halloween is my favoritest holiday ever.

Rudolph: What’s a band a family member introduced you to? My sister got me into Switchfoot after she did the lighting rig at one of their concerts. They're playing in San Diego tomorrow night (FOR FREE) in Balboa Park at the Organ pavilion if anyone wants to see them for December Nights.

Candy Cane: Can you make paper snowflakes? I can, but they look funky unless I start with a circular piece of paper that I didn't have to cut out.

Hot Cocoa: What’s your favorite thing about yourself? My creativity, even if it's waned a lot this year thanks to long haul COVID symptoms (brain fog, oh how I hate you).

Yule Log: Least favorite vegetable? Brussels sprouts. I might try them again if they were, like, roasted with garlic and parmesan? But I had a bad experience with steamed ones as a kid so I usually try and avoid them.

Snowman: Do you like accents? I do! And not just the popular or sexy ones, either.

❅ send me a christmas question ❅

#answering asks!#about me

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spockandawe · 1 year

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Okay, you know what, I think I'm going to do an impassioned rant on behalf of romance. This isn't a super fresh idea, I've seen much more knowledgeable people than me advocate hard on romance's behalf for years and years, I know people are still actively fighting to get this megagenre the recognition it deserves instead of being brushed off as Literature Lite. But I do want to come at this from the perspective of someone who just doesn't... super jive with the genre. I respect it a lot, romance writers intimidate the hell out of me, and now I have found some books and subgenres that I do enjoy, but that's only been the last year or so.

(I gravitate to sf/f and like a good romantic element, but I'm most happy when it's in support of a bigger plot. The gay lovecraftian historical has background stakes of horrors beyond mortal comprehension, the a/b/o shifter polycule has stakes of slow species extinction, I have more intriguing books marked to read as well. And of course, there's more monsterfucking than I used to imagine, and I am ALWAYS down for imaginative anatomy in my smut)

With a readmore, in case tumblr doesn't auto-shorten right

And what got me thinking about this was the goodreads awards, and the deeply unsurprising win by SJM. I don't like her writing, just 'females' alone is close to a hard no for me, and while I understand the broad appeal of her books, I'm confused and frustrated by the... intensity of their popularity, and I was talking with someone in my book club about it, who feels similarly. My very, very uncharitable knee-jerk take was that there's a lot of young adults who want to read about sex, and don't realize that the romance and fanfic communities have already done it better.

That's not fair of me, to be clear! I am also a person who chooses sf/f-with-romance-subplot over a sf/f romance book. I might find her worldbuilding choices trite, but I'll still mumble at length over how the belgariad and mallorean are actually a lot of fun if you give them a chance. 'Alphahole' might make me emit pterodactyl shrieks of irritation, but so do most of the names in goblin emperor, and I have lots of friends who very much enjoy that book. I stand by my opinions, but my personal tastes are not an objective measure of quality or enjoyability.

And, because I think it has to be said, I think there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with people wanting to read about sex. Nothing. The growing puritanism of the wider internet is extremely alarming to me, and I have no patience with it. I think my archives make it plenty clear that I'm down with smut, I only started writing period because I wanted more atla:lok kink than I was finding, and my archives used to make it very clear that I was equally down for sexy art. I'm terminally online, immersed in fandom, one of the fics I've worked with most for bookbinding (and have plans for in the future) is a space clown bdsm xeno epic. Plenty of sex to be found on ao3 and I just said I don't read much romance. So what gives?

Smash cut to podcasts. I listen to podcasts. And I've tried many times over to find a fandom podcast I jive with. I haven't yet, and I don't think that's the fault of the podcasters. I've got high hopes for the hs reading podcast, for example. But I also remember the first time I realized transformers podcasts were a thing (circa mtmte 47), and opened up an older episode to find the hosts (circa mtmte 13) having an earnest discussion about how rewind might have been attached to dominus ambus, but it seems like maybe dominus ambus owned him, and rewind cared for him as a good master. When the episode was recorded, the comics weren't overtly gay yet, there was no reason to believe they'd be given the thumbs up to GET gay, but it still made my skin crawl to hear about this couple that I knew were husbands, and the podcasters chatting about how one probably owned the other, and I noped out and never went back.

That was a running theme, to my frustration! When podcasts talk about characterization for stories I know, I've got strong opinions. I either have conversations about those with a carefully curated group of friends, or i place opinions forth into the void on here without expecting or particularly wanting conversation about it. And the written word moves faster than spoken, I can read a 15 hour audiobook in less than a day, the time sink of bad tumblr takes versus bad podcast takes is very different. And. Even worse. Sometimes fandom podcasts wade into DISCOURSE. I don't want this. I have a nicely pruned dash, I scroll quickly, and still I could use less discourse. I still get flashbacks to the transformers barbarian au debacle. I really don't want this.

I did realize, eventually, that fandom podcasts were just not working for me. I was tense waiting for discourse and ready to fight the empty air about bad characterization or analysis. But even worse than that, a lot of the time I was bored, I didn't want to hear a detailed critical breakdown of hp when my ancient interest has faded to dying embers. I've never cared about spn or dr who. I want to get into the podcast about shipping dynamics, but it's hard to get excited when I know that I'm just not INTO a lot of the big megaliths that people will rave about. Or, I'm interested in something and haven't consumed yet (ofmd) and I'm staring down the barrel of spoilers for a story I want to experience. But I want to HEAR people discuss what makes the farmers look at the story fields and say 'yep, should be a good crop of praise kink this year'

Frustrating!!! Anyways, back to romance. Romance podcasts.

Because you know what? I can get a LOT of that same content, about character dynamics and interactions and smoking hot sex scenes, and I can get it all delivered with the same fannish delight and enthusiasm it just comes with slightly different packaging than I experience myself online. I forget what pointed me at fated mates (and many of their trailblazer episodes are eye-opening, especially when they interview some gay and lesbian romance pioneers), which was nice, but I started subscribing to podcasts they recommended, and found a HOME with bonkers romance.

I'd been kind of feeling this in the back of my head, that the way these people scream over stories together was very identifiable, but something didn't quite CLICK until bonkers romance that this is really parallel (or divergent?) evolution. Just on behalf of sexism, I was already outraged over the broad dismissal of romance. But then I hear the hosts losing their minds over an absolute batshit story, like, idk, the spidertaur alien and the human who crash-landed on his planst, and how he's trying take care of her and she's not quite REALIZING that yet-- These are, very much, my people! There's a historical romance where a widow is trying to get Ruined to avoid a new marriage and shyly confesses to her new sex-club-owning beau that she's always wanted to kiss a woman, and he arranges a scene where she does that! The hosts go nuts as much as I do! This novel is a bdsm awakening sans impact play but with HEAVY praise kink tied into low self-worth! This one is about a nice young man and his boyfriend, the terrifying smoke monster!

I did decide to wander over and rant about this at length when they were discussing one of the 365 days movies (glorious? sexy? delightful? yes, apparently. good? ehhhhhh) and had a side tangent about how romance novels were so formative and how Stories With Sex were important to them as they grew up, and trying to GET them in a pre-internet age. They're at least 10ish years older than me, I think, I was split between internet awakening and novels (mccaffrey, auel). And the discussion was so familiar, about how fiction is a space for young folks to be introduced to some of these ideas and work through them on their own terms, I won't rehash it, we've all seen it before. And THEN there was further discussion about how the 365 days story has set things up so that a happy, satisfying ending would have to be a triad, right? They doubt it's going there, m/m/f is a long shot for Manly Mafia Men, but the conversational beats are exactly what I live for.

And, looping back in the fandom podcast thing again, I'm getting all this without character analysis I disagree with, I'm getting it without the fandom disk horse beats that I dread, and I'm getting it without spoilers for stories I want to consume. On the occasions a story intro has intrigued me enough to read ('as if', 'unhallowed', 'manix'), I've jumped to the next episode until I can consume it, and that has gotten me reading romance for the first time ever, and shocker, I enjoyed it! I don't think it'll ever be my primary genre, but my tastes are pretty established, and it hit those notes. I am having a FANTASTIC TIME, and I can relate to these people going nuts over X romance book perhaps better than I can relate to people going nuts over, idk, supernatural

This is too long but I'm too deep to stop now! If anyone reads this far, I'm sure to some of you, I'm preaching to the choir. I know there are fandom people who read romance already. But I want to wave this vaguely at people who are uninterested in romance, or who think there's a hard and fast line between fanfic romance and ofic romance. I've already read queer ofic a/b/o and monsterfucking and polycules, and I've barely scratched the surface. I think it is good for people to read both fanfic and ofic, but it's not my job to be the reading police (my solution: be too distracted to read either one), but even without reading, I think it's a worthwhile community to absorb, and to observe. I'll listen to a youtuber dissect a video game I'll never play for hours, and bask in new knowledge acquired. This is very similar, but even more aligned with my own creative/consumptive preferences, and I think more people should try it. I would come up with a strong concluding sentence but my awareness that this is too long has tripped over into profound self-consciousness so okay we're done, bye now, hahaha

#long post/#romance #?#i guess #not a very taggable post op!

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pherryt · 7 months

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I just did a summer book reading challenge from Weekend Writing Marathon. I was hoping to push myself to read some of the Physical books hanging around my apartment. Instead of Fanfic all the time.

the result was, i still read a lot of fanfic (i wasn't ever gonna stop THAT) but that even with the incentives, I barely read any physical books.

However, Audio Books saved me. Results are - counted by reading/listening hours.

Total hours: 133.26

Physical Books: 18.76 Hours

Slayers Collection Volume 1

Ace's Story

One Piece Volumes 102 & 103

And Chapters 1087-1092

Audio Books: 97.9 Hours Including New Books and Rereads

New:

Starless (Jacqueline Carey - 8 hrs of 21 complete)

Beyond (Mercedes Lackey - Complete)

Among the Rereads:

Belgarath the Sorcerer, the Belgariad and the Mallorean

The Martian for the umpteenth time

Hunted by Kevin Hearne

Winds of Change (this one was for fic research)

Sharing Knife Series (again)

I can get a history of how much I've listened to in a single month, but not what I was listening TO, so the reread list is a best guess. I owned all the books in the Reread section as physical books, that i later got as audio books, and some of them *cough*SharingKnife*Cough* I have listened to multiple times.

#reading #audiobooks #i'm so lucky i work someplace that audio books is a good idea #or i'd never read anything but fanfic anymore lol

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littleragondin · 1 year

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I was tagged by @howdydowdy ages ago (quite literally gosh), thank you a lot! Even if it was incredibly hard to pick up only 8 books oh my god, the show version felt like a walk in the park in comparison lol

8 shows books to get to know me in no specific order

- "Les Fleurs du Mal" by Charles Baudelaire, illustrated by Henri Matisse. I got this book when I was maybe 10? I liked Baudelaire already (I was a very festive child I swear), and I loved drawing and art, so my mother - who loves book as much as I do - got it for me. It cemented my love of poetry, I think. Baudelaire is still a favorite of mine, and Matisse's illustrations just enhanced the experience.

"Alors, ô ma beauté! dites à la vermine Qui vous mangera de baisers, Que j'ai gardé la forme et l'essence divine De mes amours décomposés!" - from "Une Charogne"

- "The Belgariad" (and "The Mallorean" that follows) by David & Leigh Eddings. I have always loved fantasy stories, and this one has been with me for a long time. It's very classic fantasy, Chose One goes on a quest with the help of A Group of Prophecy Designated Companions but it's terribly well done, the characters are lovely, and it's very funny.

Silk: Not to worry, Urgit. Hettar came all the way through the streets of your capital, and he didn't kill even one of your subjects. Urgit: Remarkable. You've changed, Lord Hettar. You're reputed to be a thousand feet tall and to wear a necklace of Murgo skulls. Hettar: I'm on vacation. - from one of The Mallorean books

- "My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness" by Nagata Kabi. There had to be some illustrated work of course. Sometimes you read a story that resonates so much with you it kind of makes your body vibrates - like an echo that keeps responding to itself. This story did that to me, and the art (sketchy, nervous, simple but efficient) truly enhances the feelings.

“Maybe the times I couldn't move were the times I needed to take better care of myself.”

- "Le Petit Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Another one from when I was a child. I had an abridged version read by French actor Gérard Philippe, and I would listen to that CD all the time. Then my mom (her again) got me the book, and I have read and reread it regularly since then. I think I like different things about it now than when I was a child, of course, but the sadness of the Narrator at the end makes my heart aches the same way it did back when I read the book sitting under my desk at 12.

"Et quand tu sera consolé (on se console toujours) tu seras content de m'avoir connu. Tu seras toujours mon ami. Tu auras envie de rire avec moi. [...] Ca sera comme si je t'avavais donné, au lieu d'étoiles, des tas de petits grelots qui savent rire..."

- "Smoke and Mirrors" by Neil Gaiman. Particularly "Chivalry" and "Murder Mysteries", respectively first and last of the collection. I love a great many of Gaiman's works, so he had to go on the list. I picked this one because it sparked my love and appreciation of the short story format. Plus, I love magic hidden in the mundane (like in Chivalry), and I love retelling of religious stories (like in Murder Mysteries), so it's also a good intro to that I think.

"I feel dirty. I feel tarnished. I feel befouled. Perhaps it is true that all that happens is in accordance with Your will, and thus it is good. But sometimes You leave blood on Your instruments." - from "Murder Mysteries"

- "Oh boy!" by Marie-Aude Murail. She was my favorite author when I was a child/teen, I devoured everything she offered (the Nils Hazard series was such a huge part of my childhood). I picked this one because I loved it very, very much - I remember breaking a friendship because I lent it to a girl who never gave it back to me, lying that her mom bought it for her and that it was not mine. It's a story about grief, about siblings love, about facing adversity together and coming out from the other side, maybe a little worse for wear but still here. All things I still cherish very much in stories today that I'm the adults' age and not the teens anymore.

"Chapitre 13 qui n'existe pas pour ne pas porter la poisse aux Morlevent."

- "This is how you lose the time war" by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. Sometimes you start a book the way you absent-mindedly brush your fingers against the surface of water, and sometimes that water swallows you whole but you don't drown, the water just fills you. I closed that book with all its words left in me, I think, and I had to catch my breath again. It's about war, and it's about love, time, and choices and sacrifices. It's a small book, all in all, but it took me some time to come back down from it. I think mostly, it's here because it touched me, and it's a good example of why I like words. Also it's epistolary, a format I deeply, deeply love.

"But when I think of you, I want to be alone together. I want to strive against and for. I want to live in contact. I want to be a context for you, and you for me."

- "The Discworld" by Terry Pratchett. I know this one is, like, the worst cheat because it's more than 40 books and I just went and gave them all to you as one. But I can't have them off the list! Not a year goes by without me re-reading some of them, and while I do have favorites they all hold a big place in my heart. The whole collection (in French and in the Atalante edition which is, like, very pretty) was my mom's gift for obtaining my PhD even if I already owned nearly all of them in either French or English, so I guess that gives you an idea of how much I love them.

"Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving." - from "A hat full of sky"

I won't tag ppl because I tagged a lot for the actual show version, and I don't know how much my mutuals would like to do it, but if you do PLEASE tag me so I can see your lists <3

#... can you guess my mom always encouraged my love of books lol #really picking eight was so SO hard because I read so many books and I love so many of them lol #I guess it makes for a good start as any for what kind of books I enjoy!#I tried to not put too many books in French but also #at least Baudelaire and Le Petit Prince I'm sure can easily be found in English so it's fine ^^ hopefully #books #tag games

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t4tbumbleby · 2 years

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it’s an absolute trash 80s fantasy series but i always recommend the Belgariad + the sequel series the Mallorean by david eddings since those were my hyperfixation for two years straight lol

i will definitely check it out!

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rahleeyah · 2 years

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Process question anon here again! That answer was fantastic!!! Thank you so much for sharing. I'm sure I echo others when I say if you ever feel like sharing your favorite stories, books, posts, or what have you, we'd all be rapid consumers of the content. You really are talented and it's always great to see what talent gravitates towards!

i do not have a collection of favorite posts on writing but i'm wishing now that i did; i should have been tagging things all along that's my bad lmao but as for stories:

providence, natch

berceuse

there's a link in this post to a dropbox that includes ropes which like. yeah obvi

one month in winter (that's a spooks one sorry but i still think about it all the time. that scene where harry and ruth think he's about to die and she's alone in his office and they're on the phone and the whole team can hear them? fucks me up TO THIS DAY)

and like. honestly like a billion more but as i have said, many times, i got the swiss cheese brain. memory is full of holes. i'm not good at recall. ask me my favorite song i will stare at you blankly for five whole minutes bc i forgot every single song i ever heard

but books!

i love stephen king, and of his books 11/22/63 may be my favorite. i love his economy of language, how he can say the most devastating things in the most succinct way

i have mentioned before that my favorite book of all time is not one book but twelve. the five books of the belgariad and the five books of the mallorean and the two companion books by david eddings created my favorite world, and heavily influenced my writing. you want found family? you want intense, beautiful world building? you want philosophical debates about the nature of time and what Choice means? you want multiple female characters who are all different and all layered in their own ways? it's a story about home and change and love and growth, and we're back to economy of language; there is, throughout the books, a repetition of the very simple but very profound phrase "and everything was all right again." when things are dark and grim and terrible, the one thing that has the power to make everything "all right again" is love.

i will also say that "lamb: the gospel according to biff, christ's childhood pal" (that's a mouthful) by christopher moore is always top of my list bc it is hilarious but also it is so deeply profound, it takes a premise that could be mocking and disdainful and instead imbues it with hope and a different kind of faith in a bizarre and reverent way

i love gabriel garcia marquez. i love neil gaiman. the name of the wind is a masterpiece that makes the wise man's fear a bitter pill to swallow. i went through a period of reading all the chuck palahniuk i could get my hands on and though i wouldn't just randomly recommend any of them to you i do recommend reading things that are challenging and weird. the bridges of madison county gets an honorable mention for being simply the prettiest book i have ever read, despite the fact that john munch railed against it in s1.

#anonymous #e.o asks #s.vu

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