#the centre

[oddishfeeling]

do you have any book recommendations? pls i need lots 💙💙

this is such a loaded question friend. but lucky for u, i am procrastinating assignments, my take out has yet to arrive, and i just finished another book!

horror fic has been my choice for the last several books

the centre by ayesha manazir siddiqi is about a young Pakistani woman living in the UK. she's a translator for Urduru films. language and translation are central to this book. people are becoming fluent in a matter of weeks in complex languages.... the centre is gorgeous if not entirely mysterious, magical even. but whats the catch?? beautifully written. vivid details. anisa is a flawed, honest, and genuine feeling mc, as are the people in her life. i just finished it a couple hours ago n i miss my girls.

slewfoot by brom is set in 17th century Connecticut. our protag, Abitha, is not from this town but she does he best to adhere to the Puritan standards, if not for her well being, than that of her husband's. something stirs in the outskirts of the village, in the forest and beyond. she finds help from an unlikely source while also fostering a deep inner power of her own. these characters felt so well thought out, the writing is magnetic and the action is well paced. it puts so many preconceived notions right on their head. i loved this book and can't wait to read brom's other novel, the child thief, a retelling of peter pan and the lost boys!

sister, maiden, monster by lucy a. synder was oh so gay and oh so cosmically horrendous. this is like h.p. lovecraft wasn't a weird racist. this is like if biblically accurate angels were once just women in love. this is horrifying, visceral, and relevant to our COVID world. i was gawking at so many of the details. there are so many monster themes actually, it's perfect. the story is told through 3 povs of 3 different women. and we love women! and horror! i didn't expect to pick this one up but I'm so glad i did.

mary: an awakening of terror by nat cassidy do u know what it's like to be virtually invisible? forgotten? disaffected? do u know the pure joy of having a precious collection, adding to it over time, and it being almost ur only reason for living anymore?? then you're a lot like mary. and mary is a lot like plenty of women who get the chance to live beyond adolescence, who are cast out by society-- deemed invaluable. mary is utterly lost at a time in her life she feels she should have it all figured out. she goes back to her hometown, an ambiguous small town in the middle of the desert, and some unlikely characters help her piece things back together. i finished this book feeling so close to mary. we are friends now. there is mystique, horror, fables, myths, bad guys, mysterious architecture, and well mary is not the most reliable narrator. loved this one too.

the last house on needless street by catriona ward i had no idea where this book was going and i loved piecing the narrative together through several characters and their povs. it forces u to confront ur own biases regarding mental health. u are sympathetic to the characters in the most painful, heart wrenching ways. there is murder. there is mystery. there is missing children. there are cats. this book surprised me and it was fun to have to find a couple reddit threads to be sure i was understanding the story correctly. i felt like i read this kind of fast! which is always fun too.

brother by ania ahlborn this one pissed me off a bit. but in a good way because i was so deeply invested. this one is set in Appalachia. i'm not one for stereotypes, especially bc i think Appalachians have a bad rep and it's of no fault of their own. that being said, the insular feel of the book and the absolute claustrophobia those mountains create in this story were like a character in it of itself. our protag, michael, knows there's something beyond. he's seen them on colorful postcards. but his own mind and his own heart seem utterly trapped here. this one is heartbreaking. it's horrifying. and it'll make u dizzy from the amount of times u change ur mind. excited to read her other novel, Seed, because this one stuck with me so much!

a couple honorable mentions that fit the theme:

the vegetarian by han kang korean food. infidelity. art. nightmares. inexplicable mindfucks! this story was scary because it felt very.. possible? no monsters this time. no spells. just... the mind deteriorating. could happen to any of us.

a certain hunger by chelsea g. summers what if girlbossing is just a quick pivot from sociopathy?? what if the crimes are so much more gratifying than say, fame or fortune or even love?? women can be sociopaths too, you know!! this one is fun bc the protag is crazy and it's fun to slip into these characters. cathartic even. omg did i mention, she's a foodie too! just like me :-)

#book recs #horror lit #halloween reading list #the centre #ayesha manazir siddiqi #slewfoot #brom #sister maiden monster #lucy a. snyder #mary: an awakending #nat cassidy #the last house on needless street #catriona ward #brother #ania ahlborn #the vegetarian #han kang #a certain hunger #chelsea g. summers

[oh-shit-i-spilled-my-genderfluid]

Did some digital art! It’s been a long time since I last did it

#the magnus archives #tma #art #fanart #the magnus archive fanart #the buried #tma buried #digital art #the centre #forever deep below creation #too close i cannot breathe #choke #claustrophobia #jack has defeated art block

[firstdoctorcompanion]

damn ian ok work it

#LSKFMDSFLJKGJ SORRY #ian chesterton #ian #classic who #the web planet #the centre #meme #doctor who #dw #my post

[chanelslibrary]

🌙𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰🌙

The Centre by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Anisa Ellahi’s day job is translating subtitles for Bollywood movies, but her dream job is translating great literary works! When her mediocre, British boyfriend Adam shows off his extensive knowledge of multiple languages, Anisa’s self worth hits an all time low. The final straw is when Adam learns to speak her native tongue, Urdu, fluently overnight, and she forces him to tell his secret. There is an elite, invite-only language program that guarantees fluency almost instantly. Anisa practically jumps at the offer to enroll. As she learns more about this mysterious but efficient program, Anisa discovers the cost might be too gruesome to stomach…

Wow this book! It has a great plot, and I loved that it had subtle gothic thriller vibes throughout. It was also nice to learn through Anisa about Pakistani culture, the dynamic of India and Pakistan and the history of the two countries (since I know very little I am ashamed to admit!), as well as life as a British Pakistani woman in England. The reason for my 3 star rating is although Anisa isn’t a very likeable character, she was relatable (everyone makes mistakes in friendships, relationships, their careers, etc.). But most of the other characters weren’t likeable either…and I feel like we need SOMEONE to root for lol. Also, at the end of a book I need some kind of conclusion. It was a very ambiguous ending which I wasn’t a fan of.

It’s a good book, and fans of Babel will like it. There is more of a focus on relationships/friendships v. translations/literary work than Babel.

#book blog #book aesthetic #bookworm #bookstagram #books #bookblr #book #book academia #book review #book reviewer #the centre #Ayesha manazir siddiqi #book edit #gothic thriller #thriller books #dark academia books #book recs #book rec #book recommendations

[josiepugblog]

My extremely objectively correct media favorites for 2023:

Books

Fantasy

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

The Centre by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi

Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Torsz

The Oleander Sword by Tasha Suri

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Other Fiction

The September House by Carissa Orlando (horror, arguably fantasy)

The Winter Guest by W.C. Ryan (mystery/historical drama)

Kala by Colin Walsh (mystery)

The Wild Hunt by Emma Seckel (historical drama, arguably fantasy as well lolll)

August Blue by Deborah Levy (contemporary fiction (for once!))

Nonfiction

No Ordinary Assignment by Jane Ferguson

A Village in the Third Reich by Julia Boyd

The Nineties: A Book by Chuck Klosterman

The Russo-Ukrainian War by Serhii Plokhy

Nazi Culture by George L Mosse

Movies

Polite Society (action/comedy, dir. Nida Manzoor)

Rustin (historical drama, dir. Colman Domingo)

Saltburn (dark comedy, dir. Emerald Fennell)

Flora and Son (comedy/drama, dir. John Carney)

Past Lives (drama, dir. Celine Song)

TV

The Bear

Slow Horses

Succession

Doctor Who (RTDv2)

Beef

#black sun #the centre #ink blood sister scribe #the oleander sword #piranesi #the september house #the winter guest #kala #the wild hunt #August blue #no ordinary war #the Russo-Ukrainian war #the nineties #a village in the third reich #polite society #saltburn #Rustin #flora and son #past lives #the bear #beef #doctor who #slow horses #succession

[neonsbian]

WAIT i think this book might actually be gay

#there was scene where they were having a picnic (already gay) #and the mc was like shes the kinda beauty that made me understand why men brought pics of their sweetheart to war (LIKE GIRL???) #and then shiba tucked mcs hair behind her ear the mc compared her feelings to victorian romance novel ladies swooning #and shiba actually blushed #and the last line of the chapter was 'the last thing id wanna do was devour her' #god this is such a win i didnt even pick this book for gay reasons!!! #the centre #vinnie talks

[yoongivenn]

The Centre - Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi

The Centre was a book that had everything to be a perfect book for me, it’s about a Pakistani translator who is introduced to a language school that boasts fluency in just 10 days, but with a dark, sinister cost to pay. I do need to point out that the two different covers could not have been more different, and one of them (the mouth one) is completely horrendous, however, once you finish the…

View On WordPress

#2 estrelas #2 stars #ayesha manazir siddiqi #livros #resenha #resenhas #review #reviews #the centre

[glitterdisposition]

using AI to illustrate the fears (part four)

plus a bonus extinction under the cut

#tma #the magnus archives #the vast #the buried #the extinction #mag #smirkes 14 #the falling titan #the centre #choke #too close i cannot breathe #forever deep below creation #the terrible change #the future without us #the world is always ending #i keep forgetting to post this bc i can’t ad a cut on mobile so im just gunna do it

[j-august]

To try to discover the exact nature of the British deception, the Centre sent an eight-man surveillance team to London to trail the Five and other supposedly bogus Soviet agents in a vain attempt to discover their contacts with their non-existent British controllers. The team, all conspicuously dressed in Russian clothes and unable to speak English, were inevitably and hilariously unsuccessful.

Christopher Andrew, The Defence of the Realm

#quote #quotation #Christopher Andrew #The Defence of the Realm #MI5 #USSR #the Centre #the Five #espionage #counter-espionage #counter-counter-espionage #the paranoid tendency #slapstick

[countesspetofi]

OMG I DID NOT REMEMBER THEM KILLING MISS PARKER’S BOYFRIEND

#the pretender #the centre #miss parker #andrea parker

[aakiwa]

Hello Zukki Nation, please let me in

#these three deserve nothing but love #please please please #fanart #art #atla #zukka #zukki #sukka #zuki #sokka #suki #zuko #forgive me #love zuko’s face between suki’s hands #drew something spicy in the centre and I’m trying to awkwardly crop around that

[a-dollshouse-of-dark-thoughts]

The Trans Pride Centre – the UK’s only trans-focused center run by trans people – will have to close its doors for good unless it raises £27,500 to keep it open to provide vital support services for the trans and non-binary community.

Donate! Share!

Please, spread the word in any way you can!

#trans pride #trans pride brighton #transgender #trans pride centre #transgender pride

[chloesimaginationthings]

The secret good ending for FNAF ruin,,

#myart #chloesimagination #comic #fnaf vanessa #fnaf vanny #fnaf cassie #mask bot #fnaf #security breach #fnaf ruin #fnaf fanart #five nights at freddy's #guys I promise this is a canon ending #yall just missed it 🩵 #Vanny adopting all them kids she’s all their big sister now #Also for the 5 fans of mask bot THIS IS FOR YOU 🩵🩵 #mask bot mentioned 🔥 #I want to do mor game centred comics #tbh I’ll give anything for Cassie and Vanny to talk #they’d have sm to speak about from the mask to Gregory to even Cassie’s dad/Vanny’s co worker #maybe in a future game we’ll get something #for now I’ll draw about it myself 😤

[artschoolglasses]

Americans not giving a shit about the wildfires burning down forests and homes in Canada until smoke starts spreading across the border. Meanwhile Indigenous communities across the country are far more likely to be impacted by the fires and I’ve seen all of one link to a charity and about nine million memes. 🙃

#yeah yeah hashtag notallamericans or whatever the fuck #I’m just irritated watching people whine or centre themselves #like sorry your clothes smell like smoke gladys but people have lost their fucking homes #and the government does fuck all for indigenous communities #so you know who’s gonna end up getting more aid #but sure brad can’t go out for his usual morning jog because of the canadians #also all these fucking news articles making ir about america as if canada has somehow done this on purpose out of spite #someone buy me a punching bag for my birthday thanks #artschoolrambles

[mareinaplaylist]

Andrew Bird - July 26 2023

Vancouver, BC

Make a Picture

Lone Didion

Atomized

Bloodless

Inside Problems

Eight

Underlands

The Night Before Your Birthday

Orpheo

Harvest

I Didn't Know What Time It Was

Lusitania

Oh No

Sisyphus

Manifest

Three White Horses

Pulaski at Night

Never Fall Apart

Capsized

#andrew bird #the centre #vancouver #concerts #live music #set list #mareina shows #pulaski at night #loan didion

[araneapeixes]

idk how long it will take me to color this and i really like the lines so enjoy<33

#shadowheart #bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #lae'zel #shadowzel #laeheart #bg3 tav #ren #karlach #karlach cliffgate #i rly enjoyed drawing my tav and karlach as well #shadowtav is canon in my game but the thing is that SH is also at the centre of a polycule so jot that down