#her body and other parties

[vampiremotif]

harrow the ninth tamsyn muir / her body and other parties carmen maria machado / mabel podcast / tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow gabrielle zevin / harrow the ninth tamsyn muir / much ado about nothing william shakespeare

#shakespeare #the locked tomb #webweaving #webweaving* #harrow the ninth #tamsyn muir #her body and other parties #carmen maria machado #mabel podcast #mabelpod #tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow #gabrielle zevin #much ado about nothing #william shakespeare

[leehallfae]

“my mother & i” - lucy dacus // “eight bites” - carmen maria machado, her body & other parties

#my comps #parallels #lucy dacus #carmen maria machado #her body and other parties #my mother and i #comparatives #mothers #parents #web weaving #to reside in the body #body image #words

[whatsnewalycat]

Forever thinking about the short story “The Husband Stitch” from Carmen Maria Machado’s Her Body and Other Parties.

Thinking about bodily autonomy in romantic and sexual relationships, especially with men. Thinking about the expectation of martyrdom in womanhood. How complete servitude is the status quo. How women give and give until we’re empty and that’s considered a job well done. How much it hurts that women have to fight to keep the scraps of humanity we’re able to acquire.

Thinking about:

“A wife,” he says, “should have no secrets from her husband.”

“I don't have any secrets,” I tell him.

“The ribbon.”

“The ribbon is not a secret; it's just mine.”

Thinking about:

Resolve runs out of me. I touch the ribbon. I look at the face of my husband, the beginning and end of his desires all etched there. He is not a bad man, and that, I realize suddenly, is the root of my hurt. He is not a bad man at all. To describe him as evil or wicked or corrupted would do a deep disservice to him. And yet—

“Do you want to untie the ribbon?” I ask him. “After these many years, is that what you want of me?”

His face flashes gaily, and then greedily, and he runs his hand up my bare breast and to my bow.

“Yes,” he says. “Yes.”

“Then,” I say, “do what you want.”

#carmen maria machado #the husband stitch #her body and other parties #short story rec #feminism #fuck me up #quotes #bodily autonomy

[tendermimi]

“I believe in a world where impossible things happen. Where love can outstrip brutality, can neutralise it, as though it never was, or transform it into something new and more beautiful. Where love can outdo nature.”

— Carmen Maria Machado, Her Body & Other Parties

#without gentleness we are nothing! #carmen maria machado #her body and other parties #writings #excerpts #words #quotes #short stories

[have-you-read-this-short-fiction]

#short story collections #short story collection #her body and other parties #carmen maria machado #english language literature #american literature #cuban american literature #21st century literature #have you read this short fiction? #book polls #completed polls

[excavatinglizard]

Lizard’s Queer Space Opera Collection

What time is it? It’s ✨ lizard talks about queer sci-fi ✨ time

My family don’t understand how much joy I get from queer stories, and none of my close friend really read space operas (at least not with the same voracity that I do), so I’m appearing here to pass my knowledge on to you, the void that is my blog.

I read a lot of space operas, and I’ve had the incredible luck that the last handful I’ve picked up have been joyfully queer (or maybe we’re just seeing a shift in the sci-fi publishing world. I love it.). This isn’t a comprehensive list or anything, and this isn’t limited to pure space operas, but they are some of my favorites. Hope I can convince some of you to read a couple (and if you do or have read any, please come and shout at me! I want to talk about them! Always!)

I originally wrote these out for my Instagram, and I can’t really be bothered to retype it all so below the cut are my quick descriptions/thoughts on each of the books, but I’ll chuck the list here too

The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula Le Guin

Machine, Elizabeth Bear

Ancillary Justice, Ann Leckie

Winter’s Orbit, Everina Maxwell

The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, Becky Chambers

A Matter Of Oaths, Helen S. Wright

A Memory Called Empire, Arkady Martine

The Collapsing Empire, John Scalzi

These are just books that I’ve read in the last year or so, and if you have any more recs please tell me!

A couple additions that didn't make it to Instagram:

If you like graphic novels, please give On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden a shot, it's really lovely and quiet and feels like a big warm space hug.

Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado is a collection of horror short stories, some of which border on scifi, which is why it didn't make it into the main list, but I highly recommend it. My copy was given to me by the lovely @markcampbells

I Sexually Identify as an Attack Helicopter has a bit of a history due to its presentation of gender, and the author actually asked for it to be removed from the Clarkesworld magazine due to the hate comments she was receiving. Still, if you can find it I highly recommend it, as it is genuinely very good.

The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer is. Wow it sure is a book that emotionally damaged me. It's about two boys (men? they're 17 but it doesn't feel like a YA book, except int he good ways) who are on a spaceship heading out to Titan to attempt a rescue mission on Earth's first extraterrestrial colony. There are a lot of feels and ouch.

The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, by Claire North. This book isn't a space opera, but it is somewhat sci-fi? anyway, Harry August is one of my favourite books of all time, and it explores a man trapped in what is almost a timeloop, except that time-loop is his whole life. each time he dies he's reborn right back where he started, and it's only through his and the other people like him's actions that the world is ever changed in each repeat.

The Culture series, Iain M Banks. I put this one on the list with a good bit of trepidation and the warning of: these books were written by a (supposedly) cishet white man, and almost all of his protagonists are…nearly cishet white men (with a couple women thrown in in later books). The same can not be said for literally every other character, who are almost entirely trans and bisexual. These books really gave me my love for space operas and if you're a fan of the genre I recommend. Also, the AIs here are amazing. Let us not forget the Ship "Mistake Not My Current State Of Joshing Gentle Peevishness For The Awesome And Terrible Majesty Of The Towering Seas Of Ire That Are Themselves The Mere Milquetoast Shallows Fringing My Vast Oceans Of Wrath". They're great.

(I’m also going to add, I would not recommend his normal fiction. I’ve read two, The Wasp Factory which kind of scarred and disturbed me, and Transitions which was just plain bad. Maybe I picked a bad selection, but I can only in good conscience recommend his sci-fi.)

And that's it my dudes! go forth! read queer space operas!

#book recommendations #scifi #space opera #queer scifi #queer books #lizard reads a lot #A LOT #(when I have the time) #the left hand of darkness #elizabeth bear #ancillary justice #winter's orbit #a matter of oaths #the long way to a small angry planet #a memory called empire #the collapsing empire #on a sunbeam #her body and other parties #the darkness outside us #the first fifteen lives of harry august #iain m banks

[givemearmstopraywith]

"My theory," she says. "Our theory. Our theory is that there is a god, and he is hungry."

Carmen Maria Machado, "Especially Heinous," in Her Body and Other Parties

#carmen maria machado #her body and other parties #quotes #p

[fagdykefriendship]

hi girls. books

#booklr #is that what it’s called #anyway i put so much effort into this just for funsies #tlt #the burning #the rage of dragons #babel #rebecca #little fires everywhere #all about love #her body and other parties #stormcaster #harrow the ninth

[reneewalkersbiceps]

recent reads and recommendations:

i’ve been trying to read more recently and kind of get back into a reading flow where i always have a book on the go to read when i can. as a result i have a lot of new recommendations for you all and thought i would share 💋

in order of earliest to latest reads:

her body and other parties - carmen maria machado ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5 stars)

themes/genres - unsettling, horror, fantasy, short stories, contemporary, lgbtq+ (wlw, bisexuality), feminism, experimental

we're starting off strong with one of my new favourite authors, carmen maria machado <3 i fell in love with machado through this book. her beautiful, horrible, astonishing writing made this possibly one of my favourite books ever. i can't say i ever expected to be reading (and adoring) a 60 page list of fever-induced law and order synopses but my god it was incredible. a well-deserved five stars to kick off the list.

human acts - han kang ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5 stars)

themes/genres - south korean history, multiple povs, dark and unsettling (tw for graphic violence and body horror), experimental, contemporary.

this book was beautiful. it takes place during and looking back on the gwangju student uprising of 1980 and uses multiple povs to recount the horrors that occurred during the uprising under the newly instated dictator and martial law. i previously read ‘the vegetarian’ by han kang (another novel i highly recommend) and adored it so picked up human acts to follow up and wow i was not disappointed. it is so poetically beautiful and so haunting, the second pov especially has really stuck with me. a hard read (in terms of content) but a great and necessary one.

things we lost in the fire - mariana enriquez ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3.5 stars)

themes/genres - short stories, gothic horror, magical realism, latin american literature

i picked this book up after reading enriquez’ ‘the dangers of smoking in bed’ which i loved. i enjoyed this book but i think, comparatively, i enjoyed tdosib a lot more. the book is structured as multiple short stories (mostly) set in argentina from various povs (the same structure as ‘tdosib’). each story is poetic, disturbing and beautiful and enriquez’ writing really highlights a culture i knew little to nothing about previously in such a rich and stunning way. the reason i rated this one a bit lower is simply that i wasn’t as enraptured with ‘twlitf’ as i was with ‘tdosib’ and i found some of the stories less interesting. still a solid read but i would definitely recommend checking out ‘tdosib’ first.

our wives under the sea - julia armfield ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4 stars)

themes/genres - unsettling/disturbing, lgbtq+ (wlw, bisexuality, lesbian), contemporary, two character pov, gothic, the vast open ocean (tw)

this book is heartbreaking. the sense of tension and dread really creeps up on you in this one as more gets revealed and more past horrors unfold. incredibly poetic and ambiguous, slow to start but the last few parts had me speeding through. watery, foamy, flowing and gorgeous.

milk fed - melissa broder ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5 stars)

themes/genres - mother-daughter relationships, modern judaism, eating disorders (tw), lgbtq+ (wlw) fiction, mental health, identity

i ATE THIS BOOK UP. oh my god. broder so perfectly entangles food, love and sex, obsession and religion and winds metaphors around one another to create a novel that is so weird and yet so normal. it highlights so many societal issues and all the characters are flawed and odd in some way. the main character herself is incredibly problematic at times and somewhat of an unreliable narrator but still very lovable as you can clearly see where her issues stem from and why she is so obsessive. elements of this book really, really spoke to me as a woman who’s had my own issues with food (and mothers and food). a funny, twisted, quite dark and fascinating book that i read in about a day.

in the dream house - carmen maria machado ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5 stars)

themes/genres - memoir, domestic abuse (tw), emotional abuse (tw), lgbtq+ (wlw, bisexuality), feminism, experimental

another cmm beauty. machado really knows how to take an unusual format and make something beautiful out of it. i'd never read a memoir before this and i'm so glad to say this was the first. genuinely like reading a memoir, a poetry anthology, a collection of short stories and a research paper all at once. beautifully done and so heartbreaking.

nightbitch - rachel yoder ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5 stars)

themes/genres - art and the artist, fantasy/magical realism, feminism, motherhood, transformation, freedom, violence (tw for graphic animal killing), multi-level marketing schemes?

this book is mad. it is literally about a woman turning into a dog. it's brilliant. if you have recently watched barbie and want something slightly more unhinged but still on the topic of feminism and motherhood, this may be for you. i LOVE weird books and this fit me like a glove. made me think about motherhood like i never have before and the transformation throughout the book is crafted beautifully.

the priory of the orange tree - samantha shannon (currently reading)

themes/genres - high fantasy, magic, religion, dragons, lgbtq+ (wlw), romance, violence and death (tw)

i'm about 350 pages in so far guys, she's still a beast but she's a beast i love and i'll update this when i finish. as for now, don't be afraid, she may look hefty but she's WORTH IT.

hope you enjoyed this list, please send me some more recommendations, i shall gladly receive!

(p.s. i have included some trigger warnings but not an extensive list for every book, please be aware that there may be other potential triggers. does the dog die lists triggers for movies, books and tv shows and includes at least some of the books on this list. reader discretion advised!)

#not aftg #book recs #book recommendations #recent reads #her body and other parties #human acts #things we lost in the fire #milk fed #in the dream house #our wives under the sea #nightbitch #the priory of the orange tree #carmen maria machado

[vvaerae]

"I once heard a story about a girl who requested something so vile from her paramour that he told her family and they had her hauled her off to a sanitarium. I don’t know what deviant pleasure she asked for, though I desperately wish I did. What magical thing could you want so badly that they take you away from the known world for wanting it?"

The Husband Stitch by Carmen Maria Machado

#her body and other parties #carmen maria machado #quotes #the husband stitch #one of my favorite quotes from this story #lqbtq #textx

[virginiawoolves]

—Carmen Maria Machado, “Mothers,” from Her Body and Other Parties

#quotes #books #reading #literature #literary #carmen maria machado #her body and other parties #web weaving #dark academia #writers #writing #my posts #lit

[vampiremotif]

Her Body and Other Parties, Mothers, Carmen Maria Machado

Mabel, Episode 8: The Freeze. In which all is lost.

Harrow the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir

#mabel podcast #mabel #mabelpod #her body and other parties #harrow the ninth #htn #the locked tomb #tlt #griddlehark #web weaving #webweaving*

[symphonyinc]

Carmen Maria Machado, from Her Body and Other Parties

#her body and other parties #writing #quotes #book #books #book blurb #mine #my posts

[m-aremagnum]

— Carmen Maria Machado, Especially Heinous: 272 Views of Law & Order SVU

#this might not make sense to anybody but it does to me! #carmen maria machado #her body and other parties #stuff: quotes #horror #ana says stuff

[sideshrimp]

“-horror can be a very transgressive space. It reflects so many of our anxieties and fears. When you enter into horror, you’re entering into your own mind, your own anxiety, your own fear, your own darkest spaces. When horror fails, it’s because the writer or director isn’t drawing on those things. They’re just throwing blood wherever and seeing what sticks. But horror is an intimate, eerie, terrifying thing, and when it’s done well it can unmake you, the viewer, the reader. That tells us a lot about who we are, what we are, and what we, individually and culturally, are afraid of. I love the ability of stories to have spaces in them where the reader can rush in. That is the work I am most interested in, and that is the work I am most interested in writing.”

Carmen Maria Machado interview for the Paris Review

#carmen maria machado #horror #literary fiction #novels #essay #author interview #her body and other parties #in the dream house

[thelibraryiscool]

on touching ghosts

          Once I accidentally ran my arm through her body           felt heat on one side of my face.           She wasn’t solid. The shock pushed me against the wall. A torrent of days swept past me           before I tried to “see” her again. She had never wanted to be flesh she told me           until she met me.

-- Gloria Anzaldúa, from Interface (for Frances Doughty)

    When I wake, I am sure Petra has gone for a run, before I realize that my hand has sunk into the luminous cavern of her chest.     I tip into her completely, choke like I'm being waterboarded. She wakes up and screams as I flail around inside her.     After a minute, we calm down. She moves away from me, to the edge of the bed. We wait. Seven minutes go by. Ten. Half an hour.     "Is this it?" I ask her. "Is this it?"

-- Carmen Maria Machado, “Real Women Have Bodies”

What I write is a great marvel. It is said that a certain woman laid hold of a ghost and carried him on her back into a certain house in presence of some men, one of whom reported that he saw the hands of the woman sink deeply into the flesh of the ghost as though the flesh were rotten and not solid but phantom flesh.

-- from “Twelve Medieval Ghost Stories” of Byland Abbey, transcribed by M.R. James and translated by A.J. Grant

#gloria anzaldua #carmen maria machado #borderlands / la frontera #her body and other parties #ghosts #allie reads #books #quote #poetry #medeival #parallels #ofc they're only sort of ghosts but that's the point