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Anonymous 03/06/22 (Sun) 07:34:52 AM No. 187328

File: 1646552092885.jpg (34.37 KB, 400x269, 1.jpg)

I read My Dark Vanessa a year ago on my kindle, and I decided to check out the audiobook from my library and listen to it. I remembered it pretty well for the most part, but there were a few things I forgot or missed, like how Henry admitted to reading Vanessa's blog. Not a very important detail, I'm just a bit surprised I didn't remember it.

I always see people saying how they hate Vanessa, and on my first read through I didn't really get it, but I honestly get it now. I didn't hate her as a teenager, just as an adult. Like how she would NOT stop defending Strane, even after she knew he was grooming girls in the same way he had groomed her. She still kept trying to convince herself she was special to him. I think she told herself he was grooming those girls because they reminded him of her or something like that, and romanticizing it because she didn't want to confront what it would mean if she was really abused, but you'd think at 32 she wouldn't be able to keep lying to herself like that, especially given she blatantly resented Strane at many points in the book. At some points I just wanted to shake Vanessa and be like GIRL. In my first read through of it I also didn't realize it was pretty obvious Strane was attracted to Jenny, maybe even preferred her, but chose Vanessa because she was more vulnerable to his manipulation.

I also got mildly confused at the end about Taylor's situation. She accused Strane of groping her, that's what got him in trouble. But she said that she and Strane kind of had a relationship and that he had her read Lolita, and he was telling her about Vanessa and how she was "just a rumor" and that he waited until she was "fully groomed" to tell her the truth (or tell her something else, I can't remember exactly). If she was "fully groomed" why did she get so upset at him touching her leg? It never really went into detail about his relationship with Taylor so I'm not sure if I'm missing something

Anyway, I really liked this book. Vanessa reminded me of my teenage self an awful lot. Feeling isolated and having low self esteem, no friends, I was also obsessed with older men and was almost groomed by one at one point (though it didn't happen thankfully because it was over the internet) but some the things Strane said to Vanessa were almost the exact same things the guy said to me. The giddyness she felt from Strane's attention really brought me back too. Strane pissed me off so much, I don't know if I've ever wanted to a-log a fictional character this bad. I think it was a really good depiction of the grooming process and I liked the honest bleak portrayal of Vanessa as an adult, and that it had an uplifting ending but not a perfect happy one.

Anonymous 03/06/22 (Sun) 11:34:50 AM No. 187346

Is the Marie Kondo book good and informative? I've watched some episodes of the Netflix show and the things explained are the most basic common sense I've ever seen in my life. I've been applying some of her methods when I was a child before even knowing she existed. But her book and the Netflix show seem to have very different purposes to begin with so I'm kind of interested in the book. As for the Netflix show, I'd rather rewatch C'est du propre!, that was way funnier and way more disguting.

Anonymous 03/06/22 (Sun) 11:56:58 AM No. 187352

>>187346
I downloaded the book for free from z-library, you can get it there. Yeah her ideas are common sense, but I had fun reading her book because she talks about the different ideas about cleaning she tried throughout her life and talks about the people who she helped to clean up their homes.
But I learned some things too, for example she talked about how horrified she was when she visited a lady and all her socks were rolled into balls… and I thought… I do that too, that's how my mom taught me. She says it makes no sense because they take up more space that way and the elastic gets stretched out and your socks get ruined over time. And she is totally right, I started just folding my socks instead, I have lots of socks that have become so loose they slip off my feet while I walk.

Anonymous 03/06/22 (Sun) 09:14:01 PM No. 187443

File: 1646601241605.jpg (379.95 KB, 1998x2048, george outhwaite.jpg)

What would you recommend to someone who feels lost and struggles to find meaning in life?

I'm not really looking for self help, I moreso want to read other peoples throughs and experiences who have gone through or are going through something similar. I'd also consider philosophy, but I'm a bit worried that I'll be worse off after I read something like Nietzsche.

Anonymous 03/06/22 (Sun) 09:39:33 PM No. 187447

>>187328
First of all, I'm sorry for your experience and glad that it hasn't gotten worse…
>she would NOT stop defending Strane, even after she knew he was grooming girls in the same way he had groomed her. She still kept trying to convince herself she was special to him
Read Tiger, Tiger if you can stand a real memoir on the topic of the psychology of a grooming's victim. The author of MDV lifted some details from it, if I remember correctly. It's gonna be painful, but enlightening. Also Natascha Kampusch's one.
It's not that they are defending their predators, but have complicated feelings toward them.

Anonymous 03/06/22 (Sun) 10:12:17 PM No. 187462

>>187352
Thanks, I downloaded it earlier today. I just read some parts quickly and it's not as interesting as I hope it would be, so thanks to you I avoided an unnecessary purchase kek

Anonymous 03/06/22 (Sun) 10:28:48 PM No. 187466

File: 1646605727905.png (2.94 MB, 1080x1350, 92A580FD-ABF3-4842-BAE6-5F23A9…)

>>187443
I’m mentally in a near constant state of nihilism, but there have been a few books that alleviated it for a time, if brief. Warning: they may not do the same for you. Siddartha and Damien, both by Hermann Hesse, made me think of life in different ways. I’ve seen a lot of people say they’re boring and that’s valid, but they were good for my mental health. Also, The Stranger by Camus. Not a positive story, but had a positive effect on me. I apologize for my absolute scrote taste in books. If it helps, I always find similarities between myself and main characters which makes it easier to self insert when I read, no matter the gender of character.

Anonymous 03/06/22 (Sun) 11:45:34 PM No. 187482

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>>187443
>>187466
agree with your recommendation of siddartha. it is a bit boring at times, but i think it is one of the few pieces of classic lit that holds up regarding the purpose of life.

would also peter camenzind also by herman hesse. bit of a blogpost, but i read this book in my late teens and along with siddartha it completely changed my outlook on life. peter camenzind is also a bit boring at times, but that's kind of the point imo

Anonymous 03/07/22 (Mon) 12:18:53 AM No. 187485

File: 1646612333524.jpeg (37 KB, 191x280, 4C6E1F71-FCEB-4029-BB31-4A80DC…)

>>187482
I’ll definitely have to read that one. Have you read Beneath the Wheel? Also called The Prodigy. It really devastated me because I was in very much the same place in life as Hans at the time I read it. I love when books catch you at the exact right time. It has a much bigger impact.

Anonymous 03/07/22 (Mon) 02:48:35 AM No. 187505

>>187485
haven't read that one yet! i really like herman hesse so i want to read all of his books, definitely adding this to the top of my reading list

Anonymous 03/07/22 (Mon) 05:20:17 AM No. 187514

>>187466
not op, but lol, I actually really appreciate when anons share their scrotey faves – it helps to know which ones are really worth spending time on.

Anonymous 03/07/22 (Mon) 06:12:54 AM No. 187517

norwegian wood by murakami would have been an okay book if it didn’t have that random lesbian pedophile thing in the middle of it. like what was the point of that

Anonymous 03/07/22 (Mon) 06:23:00 AM No. 187518

>>187517
all of his work has unnecessary sexual shit in it for absolutely no reason other than it’s probably his fetish

Anonymous 03/07/22 (Mon) 07:47:55 AM No. 187527

>>187514
yeah this. i've started to really dislike books written by men.

Anonymous 03/07/22 (Mon) 12:05:02 PM No. 187539

File: 1646654702446.jpg (565.65 KB, 1757x2560, 91uUZhSk30L.jpg)

i just finished picrel and i cried at the end. i'm honestly surprised how well written grady hendrix's female characters are. i read only two so far (horrorstör and my best friend's exorcism) but apparently people also praise southern book club's guide to slaying vampires and the final girl support group. maybe there's hope for scrotes after all?

Anonymous 03/07/22 (Mon) 02:40:15 PM No. 187554

shes come undone was corny, didnt get the whole 'zomg a man wrote a woman' thing either

Anonymous 03/07/22 (Mon) 03:17:30 PM No. 187566

>>187466
>>187482
I actually already read Herman Hesse's Steppenwolf and Siddhartha and got a lot from the experience. I didn't mention it because I didn't want to influence the recommendations too much.
I'll check out your books, thank you so much for your input <3

Anonymous 03/07/22 (Mon) 05:05:16 PM No. 187590

File: 1646672716133.jpg (382.35 KB, 1533x2325, 813tySZYHxL.jpg)

it's fujoshi torture porn in many respects, but her writing and imagery is so impressive i can overlook a lot of stuff wrong with this book

Anonymous 03/07/22 (Mon) 06:35:14 PM No. 187613

File: 1646678114472.png (1.44 MB, 940x691, 657890470324.png)

>>187443
Have you read Man's Search for Meaning? Maybe too obvious of a pick but it's one of those classics that is worth the hype imo. The Book of Joy centered around conversations between the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu was also a great read, I'd be surprised if you weren't able to take at least a few useful perspectives from it.

Anonymous 03/07/22 (Mon) 09:40:12 PM No. 187650

>>187328
I read MDV when it came out and loved it, I'm also planning to reread it this year because I feel like I've forgotten a lot of the details. Anyway, I agree with everything you wrote in your post! It's easy to be frustrated with Vanessa, but as someone who was groomed I also see myself in her in some ways. I don't really have any fondness left over for my abuser, but I really feel that need to be special and different even if you know deep down you were just another girl of many. It's kind of an uncomfortable truth and the book really made me think about how I deal with my past in a new light. I like the book for not having a perfect main character tbh, because perfection doesn't really exist in real people.
I'm sorry to read you had your own brush with grooming nona, I wish you all the best.
>>187539
I fucking love Grady Hendrix! I can see him becoming a sort of Stephen King-like figure if he keeps it up, but thankfully one that can actually write women. Speaking of King, has anyone else read anything by his son, Joe Hill? I enjoyed parts of his books, but I can't get over how he writes like he hates women.

Anonymous 03/08/22 (Tue) 01:26:47 AM No. 187703

>>187590
i hated it.
the prose was bad and sappy, the characters were cardboard cutouts and the way she was trying to tug at the heartstrings was really obvious.
i thought it was a terrible piece of literature overall, content aside the writing's not even good

Anonymous 03/08/22 (Tue) 05:08:36 AM No. 187734

>>187650
>>187539
Thirding Grady Hendrix love! One of the only male writers I trust to write women well. I actually didn't love Final Girl Support Group, but a lot of other people do, so it's worth checking out. But yeah, I love Best Friend's Exorcism, We Sold Our Souls, and Southern Book Club. Post-MBFE he's mostly written about middle-aged women, which really secured my support. I think there was a discussion last thread about this, but in the intro to Southern Book Club, he talks about how he dismissed his mom growing up and then realized how hard-working and amazing she was as an adult, and decided to pay tribute by writing a book about her taking down Dracula. Tbh King could never

Re: MDV – I totally agree w/ all this. I was so struck by how nakedly that book portrays how fucking pathetic a person can end up being when they're that groomed (no judgement at all, I've been there) and desperate to believe they were special. Like, her digging through her Photobucket to send him old pics of her as a teen, and the AIM relationships later on, and the way she defends him with the "actually it's hebephilia" thing…the gut punch of those moments. It's so rare for someone to really, really dig into that shit, but I think it made the eventual peace she finds all the more powerful.

Anonymous 03/08/22 (Tue) 06:26:59 PM No. 187847

>>187734
I could never hate Vanessa because of what she went through.
Need to reread the novel too, as much as I found it underwhelming and generic description of grooming, it was enjoyable

Anonymous 03/08/22 (Tue) 07:07:49 PM No. 187854

File: 1646766469713.jpg (501.36 KB, 1581x2283, 81Q-2M7vWIL.jpg)

i'm reading rest and relaxation for the first time and i can't help but find it annoying how she's constantly talking about how hot she is, that she looks like a model, that she's depressed and doesn't take care of herself but she's still sooo beautiful. it sounds so "hot girls have problems too"-y to me.

i still enjoy it though and the therapist is hilarious.

Anonymous 03/08/22 (Tue) 07:08:24 PM No. 187855

Finally getting around to reading The Color of Law. It’s based af and very interesting.

Anonymous 03/08/22 (Tue) 07:10:43 PM No. 187858

>>187482
What the fuck? Siddhartha is the most retarded book I’ve ever read. There’s no way anyone but an asiaboo scrote could like that trashfire.

Anonymous 03/08/22 (Tue) 07:36:00 PM No. 187862

File: 1646768160854.jpeg (164.88 KB, 640x718, 1F657FF7-2304-4B66-8623-908DBC…)

>>187858
I’m so annoyed to see nonnies unironically recommending this book that I went and found a review that reflects how I feel. Btw the main character condescends to Siddhartha Guatama and decides he is much smarter than him. He shows how much smarter he is by uwu accidentally getting rich (again) and then gambling and drinking. Then he decides that the other people who do that are pathetic and instead getting his dick wet is the real meaning of life. He knocks up a woman and goes “oh haha have fun with that, I am way too smrt to be a dad byeeee” and fucks right off.

Anonymous 03/08/22 (Tue) 07:44:52 PM No. 187866

>>187854
>how she's constantly talking about how hot she is, that she looks like a model, that she's depressed and doesn't take care of herself but she's still sooo beautiful
No wonder coquettes love this book, this is literally how they view themselves

Anonymous 03/08/22 (Tue) 08:07:56 PM No. 187870

>>187866
kek i had to look up coequette, is this like lolita aesthetic but a little more grown up?

i do enjoy the book and how weird the narrator is and maybe it's a tongue in cheek thing (maybe that she's full of herself and actually not that pretty, but she sees herself that way) but whenever it's mentioned it annoys me a little bit.

Anonymous 03/08/22 (Tue) 08:16:14 PM No. 187875

>>187858
>>187862
Just say you didn’t understand the book and leave it at that, anon. No one is judging you.

Anonymous 03/08/22 (Tue) 08:23:56 PM No. 187879

>>187875
Oh wow guess you’re right you have such big brain, my woman brain is too small to grasp the depths of brilliant moid mind

Anonymous 03/08/22 (Tue) 09:11:20 PM No. 187895

So I finished Boy Parts and I was a bit confused at the end (I think that was the point?). I know some things about England and its class system but at some point I just had to guess. Also, it was not nearly as disturbing as they said, hell at the end I just felt sad for the protagonist. But I had fun reading it all, I missed experiencing this kind of excitement while reading.

Anonymous 03/08/22 (Tue) 10:44:20 PM No. 187906

I'm currently reading Iron Widow and I don't understand how the author, who wrote such a ragefilled blackpilled feminist protagonist, is also a they/themlet

Anonymous 03/08/22 (Tue) 10:48:50 PM No. 187909

>>186754
Kelly Link's collection of short stories "Stranger Things Happen" is super good. Seconding that anon who said Clive Barker. Also, some of Shirley Jackson's other short stories can be a bit dry, but they're worth checking out. I love "The Tooth", personally.

Anonymous 03/08/22 (Tue) 11:45:09 PM No. 187925

All this Herman Hesse sperging and nobody has said the true fact that Narcissus & Goldmund and Steppenwolf are his best books

Anonymous 03/09/22 (Wed) 12:02:39 AM No. 187930

>>187925
Based

Anonymous 03/09/22 (Wed) 05:43:10 AM No. 188029

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currently reading this. it’s the second nabokov novel i’ve read, the first being lolita of course. in many ways reading this has put lolita in perspective. nabokov is a very skilled writer and very good at incorporating eroticism into his stories. i know some people like to swear up and down that there’s nothing erotic about lolita and if you read it that way you’re missing the point but having started reading ada i think i disagree.

it’s quite hard to read, much harder than lolita just based off the prose and the writing , though lolita is a much tougher subject matter.

anyway i’m curious if any other anons have read ada or ardor and what they thought about it (no spoilers though)

Anonymous 03/09/22 (Wed) 07:07:22 AM No. 188042

>>188029
Related, but not. My first Nabokov novel was Invitation to a Beheading. I didn’t read anything about it beforehand because I like not knowing what to expect. So, that was fun.

Anonymous 03/09/22 (Wed) 10:25:11 AM No. 188083

File: 1646821511125.jpg (91.01 KB, 750x749, d5e1ada6t9a71.jpg)

>>188029
I am still salty I saw this book for like 2 euros in used bookstore and didn't pick it up.

Anonymous 03/09/22 (Wed) 04:06:58 PM No. 188178

>>187870
it's exactly the same, escape the name was changed so people would not catch on its the pedo aesthetic repackaged

Anonymous 03/09/22 (Wed) 07:51:29 PM No. 188227

>>188029
I read Pale Fire by Nabokov because of Blade Runner 2049, and it's one of the best books I've ever read!
Don't know shit about ada or ardor though lol sorry

Anonymous 03/09/22 (Wed) 10:08:33 PM No. 188267

>>187906
Damn, I avoided Iron Widow b/c I assumed it wouldn't be this real b/c of the author. I can ignore that if the book is good, though – would you recommend it so far?

Anonymous 03/09/22 (Wed) 10:09:20 PM No. 188269

>>187909
Oh, Kelly Link is a really good idea. I'd start with Valley of the Girls, personally – same kind of big ending.

Anonymous 03/09/22 (Wed) 11:14:21 PM No. 188292

>>188267
I'm about 2/3rds through, it's very good. It's not the deepest thing ever, but it's fun, angry and pro-female. The author is especially skilled at writing her characters emotional highs and lows. I'm terrified that on the last page the protag is going to say she identifies as nonbinary or some bullshit and ruin the book

Anonymous 03/09/22 (Wed) 11:24:15 PM No. 188295

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currently reading pic related, liking it a lot so far. it's about two mongolian twins looking for the new dalai lama in the mongolian steppes, it's pretty good so far imo. i've also never really read anything that takes place in mongolia so it's interesting to read about some of the cultural nuances

Anonymous 03/09/22 (Wed) 11:53:36 PM No. 188304

>>188295
I read "We Ride Upon Sticks" by her a while back and it was really great. I'll have to check this one out

Anonymous 03/09/22 (Wed) 11:57:55 PM No. 188305

>>188292
lol, understandable fear. Well, that's exactly the kind of mood I'm looking for rn, so I'm gonna check it out! Thanks, nona

Anonymous 03/10/22 (Thu) 12:48:51 AM No. 188312

hi, i don’t read a lot but there’s three books i’ve read that i really loved: the handmaids tale, american psycho, and lord of the flies. anyone got some recommendations? i almost went to reddit for this, glad i found this thread.

Anonymous 03/10/22 (Thu) 12:57:33 AM No. 188316

>>188312
If you liked American psych: Fight club, Boy Parts, The Stranger (Camus). If you liked lord of the flies maybe try The Troop? or The Wasp Factory.

Anonymous 03/10/22 (Thu) 01:50:08 AM No. 188333

>>188312
The Outsiders probably, Separate Peace by John Knowles, Fight Club maybe

Anonymous 03/10/22 (Thu) 01:56:20 AM No. 188335

>>188312
A Clockwork Orange? I dunno. I'm seconding Fight Club though.

Anonymous 03/10/22 (Thu) 03:28:00 AM No. 188348

>>188312
More Handmaid's Tale-ish books:
>Gather the Daughters: Island where life is still 1800s-ish and women are married off very young. Culty distrust of the "wastelands" beyond. Told from the perspective of some young women of the community who are at or approaching marriageable age. FYI, some very dark incest content.
>Comfort Me With Apples: Magical realist novella about a happy young bride in a perfect community slowly realizing something isn't right.
>Red Clocks: Speculative fiction set in the Pacific Northwest after abortion is banned. Told from four perspectives: the town weirdo healer lady, disgruntled wife, unmarried teacher who desperately wants to become a mom and publish a book about a female polar explorer, and her teen student who gets accidentally pregnant.
>Only Ever Yours: Set in a post-apocalyptic breeding ground/boarding school/general indoctrination center where girls are born and raised to be perfectly sexy/utterly docile bangmaids for powerful men. Something is going wrong with one of the most "successful" girls. Very claustrophobic.
>Just Like Beauty: Ultra-corporatized near-future where girls compete in a massively popular beauty pageant. Main character both hates it and desperately wants to succeed at it, is also realizing she's gay.
>The Robber Bride: Also Atwood, though very different from Handmaid's Tale. Source of a quote that goes around tumblr every so often, google "robber bride male fantasies" to see it. Three middle-aged women brought together by their experiences with Xenia, a vicious woman who attempted to ruin their lives. Is basically every misogynist caricature brought to life.

Anonymous 03/10/22 (Thu) 03:31:15 AM No. 188349

>>188348
Oh, and also, if you haven't heard about it, Atwood came out with a sequel to Handmaid's Tale a couple years ago, called The Testaments. Imo, definitely not equal to THT, but still very interesting and worth a read. Told from the perspective of Aunt Lydia, the daughter Offred lost when Gilead was established, and the Commander's child she becomes pregnant with during THT.

Anonymous 03/10/22 (Thu) 03:41:04 AM No. 188352

File: 1646883664460.jpeg (75.92 KB, 612x612, BBDF4CB6-381D-4CD5-BCDC-45748C…)

Any book recs about drug addiction? Either memoirs or other nonfiction? I just finished picrel and really enjoyed it. As someone who has gone to naranon family groups it made me very emotional at parts.

Anonymous 03/10/22 (Thu) 07:40:25 AM No. 188380

>>188178
you mean my year of rest and relaxation or dark vanessa?

Anonymous 03/10/22 (Thu) 08:25:24 AM No. 188387

>>188380
I meant the coquette aesthetic. Fuck my autocorrect, I need to turn it off since it fucks my posts up more than regular typing

Anonymous 03/10/22 (Thu) 10:54:13 AM No. 188406

File: 1646909653276.jpg (4.11 MB, 1847x2839, 9780241971826.jpg)

Reading One Hundred Years of Solitude and shocked at the amount of rape, incest and pedophilia in just the first thirty pages.

Is the whole book like this? I've seen it recommended many times and I love magical realism, but the amount of degeneracy in it is putting me off and frankly ruining the beautiful ambiance. One of the main charactes rapes a prepubescent girl who is screaming in pain at having to "take it" and I can't go on anymore.

Nonnas who read it, what are your thoughts? Is it worth it in the end?

Anonymous 03/10/22 (Thu) 11:53:34 AM No. 188419

File: 1646913214436.jpg (505.47 KB, 1080x2118, IMG_20220310_125206.jpg)

>>188406
Sorry to say but I think that contrary to Nabokov, Marquez was an actual pedophile

Anonymous 03/10/22 (Thu) 12:17:55 PM No. 188424

>>188406
if this content is already bothering you then i don’t think you will like reading the ending

Anonymous 03/10/22 (Thu) 01:15:16 PM No. 188432

>>188406
never read the book but I remember a LatAM anon stating that so much of her "great" fiction in the past is filled with pedophilia and misogyny, even the one's written by women that she doesn't even bother reading them

Anonymous 03/10/22 (Thu) 01:24:56 PM No. 188435

>>188406
If you don't like it just left it anon. Personally i never mind it, maybe because cultural context or in fiction matters i'm not as based and pinkpilled or whatever. But if youre uncomfortable don't force it.

Anonymous 03/10/22 (Thu) 01:58:05 PM No. 188441

>>188419
Authors can specialize in murder mysteries and not be murderers, but holy shit, Marquez. He was supposed to be the grandfather of Latino magical realism, but there isn't anything magical about this shit. Now I really want to know if he actually was a nonce.

Anonymous 03/10/22 (Thu) 02:03:02 PM No. 188442

>>188419
also in love in the time of cholera the male mc has sex with his 14 year old granddaughter or niece or something. and rapes a housemaid although it’s not described as such

Anonymous 03/10/22 (Thu) 02:14:54 PM No. 188444

File: 1646921693984.jpg (172.31 KB, 1080x550, Screenshot_20220310-150958_Chr…)

>>188419

I can't believe this man doesn't get half the shit that Nabokov does. At least Nabokov made it clear that he never wanted Lolita to have a cover with a little girl on it. Marquez is out here writing about women and children being raped and enjoying it.

Anonymous 03/10/22 (Thu) 02:48:01 PM No. 188445

>>188441
>Authors can specialize in murder mysteries and not be murderers,
I no longer believe that when it comes to scrotes obsessively creating art about abusing women and girls. I 100% believe that he was a pedo, at best he has "coped" with his tendencies by writing fapfiction instead of actually raping someone. But don't quote me on that

Anonymous 03/10/22 (Thu) 03:00:10 PM No. 188447

>>188444
What the fuck? That's disgusting, I'm so glad I never read this scrote's books

Anonymous 03/10/22 (Thu) 03:01:04 PM No. 188448

File: 1646924464727.jpeg (178.84 KB, 1170x393, FE84645F-887A-4167-9921-77C8F6…)

>>188419
Surprise! He’s an average scrote.

Anonymous 03/10/22 (Thu) 03:32:28 PM No. 188452

>>188444
Just passing by and seeing this shit… Who willingly read this garbage?

Anonymous 03/10/22 (Thu) 04:14:21 PM No. 188463

>>188419
>>188444
Nabokov himself was likely sexually abused by his uncle, so I don't understand how anyone could read the book and view it as being pro-pedophilia
its literally from the perspective of a delusional pedophile who is a rude jackass to everyone and creates outlandish scenarios to make himself look like the good guy
Its absurd that the discourse around the novel never mentions it and also he spent decades in interviews talking about what a vile worm HH is.

Anonymous 03/10/22 (Thu) 04:17:30 PM No. 188465

>>188463
they also ignore him saying "NO GIRLS ON THE COVER!!!". Dude deserved better

Anonymous 03/10/22 (Thu) 04:25:52 PM No. 188469

>>188463
Some French guy who was sexually abused as a child by a family member rewrote the story from the girl's POV to show how fucked up it really is just a few years ago apparently. No idea if it's translated in other languages, if it is I could look for the title for you and other anons.

Anonymous 03/10/22 (Thu) 06:04:37 PM No. 188491

>>188448
This is just a joke about him being a cheater, not argument against Marquez being a pedo… right?
>>188469
I would love to read it, please look it up! I would even try to DeepL it

Anonymous 03/10/22 (Thu) 06:12:35 PM No. 188494

File: 1646935955002.jpg (282.73 KB, 1080x1357, IMG_20220310_190741.jpg)

>>188491
samefag, I pray this isn't the only one because it sounds like edgy bullcrap. I know that there was some libfem modern rewriting of Lolita from Dolores' POV, but I never read it

Anonymous 03/10/22 (Thu) 06:32:07 PM No. 188503

>>188494
No, the one I'm thinking about is way more recent.

Anonymous 03/10/22 (Thu) 06:32:23 PM No. 188504

>>188469
that sounds worth a read but I don't even need Dolores POV to know HH was piece of shit, the prologue is literally a police chief talking about Humbert and how much of a psychopathic monster he was

Anonymous 03/10/22 (Thu) 06:53:20 PM No. 188511

>>188504
>>188491
>>188494
I found it, the title is "Le journal de L" by Christophe Tison, I never read it and never read the original either, but I remembered it was advertised as soon as it got released and I think about it everytime Lolita is mentioned here.

Anonymous 03/10/22 (Thu) 06:57:46 PM No. 188516

File: 1646938666102.jpg (23.85 KB, 324x500, 41dKF2mzdeL[1].jpg)

>>188352
Rather detailed (fictional) account of addiction and going to the AA in it, but it's also a berry big book about many other subjects, with 400 footnotes and execrable french translations in it

Anonymous 03/10/22 (Thu) 07:09:21 PM No. 188520

>>187854
I actually liked this book, which might be an unpopular opinion for lolcow. The narrator is definitely awful, but I think it's intentional. It's still hard to get through the cringey parts like her being a pickme for her older coomer boyfriend who won't commit though, that was the worst bit of the story for me. In spite of that I thought it was a page turner and I got immersed in it until I finished, which is how I judge my enjoyment of a novel usually. Reva is my favorite character and you can tell the narrator bashes her so much because Reva is a better person than her in spite of her own flaws.

Anonymous 03/10/22 (Thu) 07:22:11 PM No. 188529

>>188516
nta
i never knew it's about anything at all, so now im curious of it and kinda want to read it

Anonymous 03/10/22 (Thu) 07:49:45 PM No. 188540

>>188529
It's about movies, a satire of the near future of the 2010s (somewhat predicted skype and the need for filters for self-conscious people), competitive tennis schools for child athletes, AA, and a plot involving québécois assassins in wheelchairs as well as various spy operations
If you ever decide to read that massive doorstopper in physical form, it's advised to read it with two bookmarks, as it fully plays into the late 20th century trend of an extensive use of endnotes to flesh out the narration

Anonymous 03/10/22 (Thu) 08:21:59 PM No. 188552

>>188406
Never read this guy. Never gonna read him. From what I have seen I have decided that he is a soft coffee shop instagram author. He even lacks the proper awfulness of being a strong coffee shop instagram author

Anonymous 03/10/22 (Thu) 08:36:58 PM No. 188554

>>188552
he is one of the most celebrated and famous latin american authors and has been dead a while, not an instagram author lol

Anonymous 03/10/22 (Thu) 08:51:31 PM No. 188557

>>188554
I know him. he’s an Instagram author as in girls who love to post movie caps from French films post bits from his book and constantly quote him

Anonymous 03/10/22 (Thu) 09:11:20 PM No. 188562

>>188520
I think there's a bit of clowning on it because it's so ubiquitous, but really, I think a lot of us here do like MYORAR. There's def a recurring refrain of anons looking for bleak, obsessive depressed-woman lit.

I really liked how the book handled Reva too – some of my favorite unreliable narrator use in recent years. She's such a bitch to Reva in such a cutting way that's hard not to respond to, at least a little bit, and then you're left realizing how bullshit that opinion actually is. It's why I actually like the fact that the MC is so hot, though I get why another anon was criticizing it elsewhere – she really is that perfect, sad-in-a-hot-way mess whose emptiness is glamorous because of her judgmental attitude and especially her perfect body, but this book isn't actually interested in just doing that smeared-mascara "oh god i'm sad and have perfect tits" traumafest: you get your nose rubbed in the fact that this is actually still squalid and pathetic and embarrassing.

Anonymous 03/10/22 (Thu) 09:27:37 PM No. 188564

>>188540
is there any lighter read by Foster Wallace I could start with? The horrible man interviews maybe…? I don't have a copy of TIJ, I will look for it. Thank you for warning me!
>>188562
Yeah I was weirded out, I thought that most of us like MYORAR and other books - by Moshfegh and similar. Pretty sure we were into that one before it became a meme. Maybe that's how it got some backlash.

Anonymous 03/10/22 (Thu) 09:48:38 PM No. 188567

>>188564
NTA but i liked his essay “Consider the Lobster”

Anonymous 03/10/22 (Thu) 11:30:22 PM No. 188589

File: 1646955022154.png (457.97 KB, 900x713, tumblr_62ec3886ff9a5b098389bd3…)

I'm currently reading The Winter Prince by Elizabeth Wein, and I'm amazed at how it has everything I want in a story (so far): tragic, broody MC who's obsessed with his too-pretty half-brother and also wishing to kill/betray him to take their father's kingdom for himself. The vibes are immaculate. Chef's kiss, even.

Only a few chapters in, but I'm hoping it keeps being amazing. Also: the art I'm sharing has nothing to do with the novel, except I'm imagining the characters as vaguely resembling the drawings here.

Anonymous 03/10/22 (Thu) 11:34:23 PM No. 188590

>>188029
>i know some people like to swear up and down that there’s nothing erotic about lolita
>and if you read it that way you’re missing the point
Could you explain this, nonny?

Anonymous 03/11/22 (Fri) 12:46:35 AM No. 188598

>>188590
NTA but i’ll do my best to explain for analysis i’ve read and my own experience reading the book. Lolita is essentially supposed to be a horror story, we read it from Humbert’s perspective, and it’s pretty established that he’s an unreliable narrator, that his vision of Dolores is not how she actually is but how a sick pedophile views an innocent little girl, thinking she’s being flirtatious or sensual when she isn’t, twisting he actions to fit this narrative of her trying to seduce him, he reaches and over examines what she does to fulfill his own fantasy, he doesn’t see the real Dolores but this “Lolita” nymphette version he himself has deluded himself into believing. It’s how pedophiles say children are sexual and can consent, not because they are and can, but because they twist kids actions to fit their own sick desires. Ultimately reading Lolita as a love story or a sexual story takes away from the original intent behind it, which is to show us the inner workings of a sick man who ruins a little girls life because he has completely misinterpreted her actions and their relationship. He manipulates Dolores and her mom, he twists everything is revealed to the reader to make him seem like the good guy and a savior who is ultimately good for Dolores. The closest Humbert gets to being self aware is this
>A North American girl-child named Dolores Haze had been deprived of her childhood by a maniac.
The book makes the reader, against their will, see things from Humberts perspective and maybe even sympathize with him at some points, and that’s supposed to scare you, because Humbert is a sick fuck, but being forced to read the book from his perspective he is also manipulating the reader. And this brings me onto my next point, the people who read it as love story, the ones who were successfully tricked by Humberts flowery words and incorrect retelling of events and find their relationship “erotic” and sort of “pure”, those people aren’t able to critically analyze how they have been manipulated along with Dolores.
Now I don’t care for Lolita, I just pulled all of this out my ass to try and rationalize the different ways people see it so yeah take it however you want.

Anonymous 03/11/22 (Fri) 02:28:20 AM No. 188607

>>188590
>>188598
i was the one who made the original post about ada or ardor and i agree with everything you said about lolita however i mainly meant to comment that nabokov has an undeniably erotic tinge to how he writes these things and i would say your job as a reader is to see through it. what makes lolita work as a believable novel is how realistically depicted humberts pedophilia is and nabokov doesn’t shy away from getting right into the mind of humbert and depicting his attraction. it makes it an uncomfortable read but also means some people (mainly men) read it as a love story or sexy thing. ada or ardor is a story about sibling incest between a 12 year old girl and her 14 year old brother and the story is unbelievably erotic and shocking in that regards. lolita is like a walk in the park compared to ada. i haven’t finished the book yet as it’s quite long but i also imagine that it would be a hard story to tell without diving right into the relationship and making the reader believe in it too (i just want to clarify that the characters do not know they are siblings when it begins, the think they are cousins which is still gross but yeah)

ugh i don’t know if i’m explaining this well enough.

Anonymous 03/11/22 (Fri) 02:51:36 AM No. 188611

>>188607
i get what you mean, i think – if you blindly go along with it simply because it's convincing, then you've lost his game. if you can understand that it's still disgusting even if being swayed by the pretty language/set up, then you've won.

is that what you meant? because that's how i interpreted your post.

Anonymous 03/11/22 (Fri) 04:41:47 AM No. 188629

>>188564
I think also, like….anything that enough women like that it can recognized as a trend gets labeled so it can be made fun of, and women learn quickly to distance themselves from it. Like, yeah, there is a noticeable influx of lit about 20-30something women hollowed out by modern culture, that often contrasts filth and beauty, sex and loneliness, desire for self-reinvention with harmful patterns of social impulsivity, etc. MYORAR, The New Me, Social Creature, etc. But like…so what? Not to get too ranty lol, this is just something that really bugs me. Men get to have movements and trends and new ideas approached from lots of angles, but the minute women do something en masse it's cringy, and none of them are ~really~ into it, they're just doing it to seem ~deep~ or w/e. Even if some Insta models are posing with the book without reading it, so what? Men have gotten to write all the books for thousands of years. Let us write whatever the fuck we want for a while.

Anonymous 03/11/22 (Fri) 06:44:19 AM No. 188649

File: 1646981059376.jpg (161.81 KB, 315x475, 25883848._SY475_.jpg)

I'm not a manlet chaser or anything, but Jesus the way the mc constantly goes on and on about how teeny tiny and smol she is and how big and tall the love interest is, I fucking my lose shit
because it happens the entire book, I get it he's tall, no need to make it a fetish

Anonymous 03/11/22 (Fri) 11:24:03 AM No. 188703

>>188557
I'm surprised that you think the issue with a book written by a raging mysoginistic scrote with rape and pedo fantasies is that "dumb bookstagram girls like it". Men really get a pass for everything and women still get blamed for it. With the amount of rape and sexualization of young girls we are exposed to in the media since birth, it's not women's fault if some like the book and make Instagram posts about it. It's Marquez's fault for being a pedo scrote and getting a Nobel prize for it.

Anonymous 03/11/22 (Fri) 03:35:03 PM No. 188735

>>188649
is this a popular book on tiktok? i think i saw it there

Anonymous 03/11/22 (Fri) 03:41:33 PM No. 188739

>>188703
damn nona, this is a really good point

Anonymous 03/11/22 (Fri) 05:47:32 PM No. 188784

>>188564
If you're into Lynch he wrote this piece:
http://www.lynchnet.com/lh/lhpremiere.html
Some of the quirkier elements of his style (such as putting 4-5 conjunctions/adverbs in a row, like "but if when hence anyhow") aren't present in it however

Anonymous 03/11/22 (Fri) 06:18:35 PM No. 188797

File: 1647022715511.jpg (137.21 KB, 725x900, 157565.jpg)

>>188703
You're so right! I'm so sick of media getting written off because "girls like it". (Of course this author should absolutely be written off, but for a whole other reason.)
I mostly read contemporary fiction written by women. I love the current wave of sad girl lit, like MYORAR, and I refuse to apologize for that. No man has ever been made to feel bad for reading 99.9% male authors. >>188629 made some great points in regards to this too. As soon as something starts taking off among girls and women - be it Twilight or One Direction - men and pickmes need to shit on it.

Anonymous 03/12/22 (Sat) 04:18:14 PM No. 188940

File: 1647101894561.jpg (25.21 KB, 318x453, 40716739._SX318_.jpg)

Anyone read Yuzuki Asakos Butter? What are your thoughts on it?

Anonymous 03/12/22 (Sat) 06:00:02 PM No. 188950

File: 1647108002390.jpg (495.7 KB, 1400x2100, 81-nl1E4n-L.jpg)

If you're into animation, Starting Point is a dream. I read it on my commute to work everyday and it was LOVELY,the writing is so expressive and the way Miyazaki's animation is described is perfection. You can see exactly what they're talking about in your head if you've ever watched a ghibli film.

Anonymous 03/12/22 (Sat) 09:05:02 PM No. 188982

>>188940
Whoa, never heard of it but now I'm really excited to check it out. Looks like it's coming out in English 2023, or am I wrong?

Anonymous 03/13/22 (Sun) 05:54:55 PM No. 189086

Nonas, please recommend me books. I just recently after years got back into reading again, so no matter what you'll recommend me, I'll probably not have read it if it came out in the last few years. In the past two weeks I read
>Convenience Store Woman and Earthlings by Sayaka Murata
>Kim Jiyoung, born 1982 by Cho Namjoo
>The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
>Breast and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami
None were worse than ~okay~, and I especially liked The Remains of the Day. I liked the way Kim Jiyoung was structured, as in, following her over the course of her life, so books like that would be great, too. Can't stand murder mysteries and crime stuff. Not keen on fantasy-settings either, but stuff like animal protagonists, vampires and wolves and shit are fine. I think I like magic realism, but I can't stand the majority of Haruki Murakamis novels (not even the realistic ones like the Naoko one or the story about that guy searching for some arcade machine). The only one I liked was the short story about the woman who lost her ability to sleep and read Anna Karenina (a book I liked; Please no Tolstoy or Dostoewskiy recs, pretty sure I've read all of their novels (no short stories yet, am looking into them though) already.) plenty of times. I also had to read Perfume by Patrick Suskind, which wikipedia describes as magic realism, for school and liked it. Horror and thriller are fine as long as it's realistic, so no haunted houses or Stephen King (any stephen king. please god no stephen king) please. I'm not sure I like romance; I like media like k-dramas and the majority of games I own are otome games, but so far I couldn't ever get really into romantic novels (I haven't ever read any of the classics yet though, so maybe that'll change once I read my first Jane Austen?). I don't like space stuff or aliens, is all sci-fi like that? I read The Martian by Andy Weir (I liked The Egg) a few years back, and while it was fine the technical stuff bored me to death. Don't like YA and cyberpunk. Dystopian stuff is fine as long as it isn't "We've got to overthrow the government and free the population of it's dictatorshipish regime" in typical YA fashion. All of this has been fiction, but I'd like to get into non-fiction too, so feel free to recommend anything into that direction too, as long as it's not True Crime or WWI and WWII related. Please no series. I'm planning on reading either Wild Swans by Jung Chang or The Vegeterian by Han Kang after I finish Klara and the Sun.
Is this anything to work with? lol

Anonymous 03/13/22 (Sun) 06:44:23 PM No. 189093

>>189086
Damn you like crazy bitches

Anonymous 03/13/22 (Sun) 07:15:14 PM No. 189096

>>189086
>following her over the course of her life
jane eyre! it's a classic and follows the life if the titular character, it's very atmospheric and also has romance in it, but it isn't cheesy like your average hallmark movie. i dislike cheesy, gooey romance, but jane eyre is amazing. i also recommend wuthering heights, which isn't cheesy, gooey romance either, and more like psychological drama/trauma.

>horror and thriller are fine as long as it's realistic
you might like the woman in the attic, the wife between us or the girl before.

>so maybe that'll change once I read my first Jane Austen?
jane austen actually isn't supposed to be peak romance, it's more about the complications surrounding women's lives and how romance is supposed to be #1 in their lives and how society stifles them. her novels are kind of misunderstood as being extremely cheesy and romantic because of all the movie adaptations. i myself find her writing boring and tedious, because characters always have these long winded conversations about the most boring subjects, but this again is done to poke fun at society of the time. anyways, i have no recommendations for this because i just steer clear of novels that have romance as their main genre, because i don't care about shy, studious ainsleigh refusing to have sex with beefy chadbert from the varsity football team…

>don't like space stuff or aliens, is all sci-fi like that?
the luminous dead is about a woman exploring a cave in exchange for mad cash, also features a very complicated relationship to another woman whom she is dependent on and who guides her through the caves. it also counts as mystery/thriller/horror.

>Dystopian stuff
the handmaid's tale, maybe?

>non-fiction
invisible women!!!!

for general crazy bitch novels: necessary people, the new me, the paper wasp, anything by gillian flynn, my year of rest and relaxation…

Anonymous 03/13/22 (Sun) 07:36:12 PM No. 189100

>>189086
If you do end up liking Jane Austen, which I think you might as it follows women’s lives, you should give Barbara Pym books a chance

Anonymous 03/13/22 (Sun) 08:23:16 PM No. 189104

>>189086
>Dystopian stuff
Checking out older dystopian or even utopian fiction might be fun. We by Zamyatin influenced a lot of books like 1984.

Anonymous 03/13/22 (Sun) 08:54:30 PM No. 189105

File: 1647204870456.png (50.38 KB, 1552x158, twp2.PNG)

okay, so i'm done with "the winter prince". that was a good book even if it was rough in places. anyone else have good gay fantasy books (preferably with some sort of complicated dynamic like incest or hate/love, etc.)

Anonymous 03/13/22 (Sun) 09:09:28 PM No. 189110

Since we've lost past threads… is the anon who recommended a bunch of old and new books with 'unlikable' female protagonists? I hate that this is the only one that I remember, but an anonymous incest diary was one of them

Anonymous 03/13/22 (Sun) 09:17:11 PM No. 189112

>>189105
someone i follow on tumblr was reading this a while ago so it’s on my to read pile. i was a bit turned away because it’s middle grade fiction apparently but maybe i should read it soon

Anonymous 03/13/22 (Sun) 09:37:21 PM No. 189117

>>189112
i don't know what makes something 'midde grade fiction' but the writing doesn't feel childish at all. if you love lush descriptions, this book has them in plenty – some passages feel very poetic.

now the plot itself is ok to decent, in my opinion. i'm not a professional writer myself but it does feel disjointed/rushed sometimes, and that's probably because it's a debut novel.

>>189110
could you be talking about this? https://original.lolcow.farm/m/res/8561.html#q154970 i just went to google and typed "site:lolcow.farm "anonymous incest diary" btw

Anonymous 03/13/22 (Sun) 10:23:50 PM No. 189126

>>189105

Great taste nonna.

I recommend danmei novels by MXTX. All the relationships are complex (the teacher/student being my favorite) and the story, worldbuilding and humour is just great. And of course Captive Prince if you haven't read that.

Most western gay and lesbian fantasy books I've read lately are just so concerned with being as "wholesome and unproblematic uwu" as possible, it's boring as fuck.

Anonymous 03/13/22 (Sun) 11:55:35 PM No. 189144

File: 1647215735298.jpg (39.62 KB, 326x500, 749802375921.jpg)

>>189086
You might like Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. It's a story that follows two family lines over generations that stemmed from women who were kidnapped and sold into the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Since there are basically no artifacts from first generation migrants, I thought it was cool how she gave a voice to women whose stories have been lost to time. Then it gets into eras which we have more knowledge of, such as the Harlem Renaissance and the lives of contemporary Africans, many of whom are dealing with their own pain regarding lost family. It was Gyasi's debut novel and still won a lot of awards. There are some minimal magical aspects, kind of hinting at intergenerational memories and a few cases of happy coincidences, but I didn't find they detracted from the story at all.

Anonymous 03/14/22 (Mon) 12:08:20 AM No. 189146

>>189126
yeah the "uwu good rep!" trend needs to fucking die already; it's utterly boring.

i've still got mxtx on the backburner because i'm too lazy to seek out good translations. do you have any to rec though

Anonymous 03/14/22 (Mon) 02:37:25 AM No. 189161

>>189117
>>189110
lmao, "unlikable female protagonist" op here – oh god, to have The Incest Diary be the only one that someone remembers! But yes, ty nona, that's the post I made! I also wanna second >>189144 – I really liked Homegoing for exactly these reasons.

Anonymous 03/14/22 (Mon) 03:51:03 AM No. 189176

are there any good books about how to become financially independent? maybe books about more ways to make money?

Anonymous 03/14/22 (Mon) 08:09:59 AM No. 189209

>>189161
Sorry I brainfarted there! Glad you are around. Do you remember any other of your recs? I know I wanted to read so many of them and I'm pissed cause I lost a screencap and the thread has disappeared….

Anonymous 03/14/22 (Mon) 08:27:12 AM No. 189210

>>189146

SVSSS and MDZS have the first book out in an official translation, while TGCF already has 2 (totaling about ~900 pages) here: https://sevenseasentertainment.com/series-danmei/ TGCF is like an epic adventure and is really good, I recommend it.

If you wanna continue reading and can handle some janky fan translations (you get used to it fast though), I'm sure the old complete fan translations are still floating around under epub or pdf format on Libgen.

Anonymous 03/14/22 (Mon) 09:52:22 AM No. 189221

>>189209
anon, the threads are linked in the op and still available, you just have to manually replace the numbers in the url and then do some digging of your own.

Anonymous 03/14/22 (Mon) 12:46:49 PM No. 189251

>>189221
Thanks! Just saw the /m/ archive thread. Thought they are gone for real. That's a real relief. Will look for my other favourite threads.
Wonder why admin hasn't restored /m/ if it's not been wiped clean…

Anonymous 03/14/22 (Mon) 04:08:28 PM No. 189266

>>186831
i just read earthlings by sayaka murata, and i enjoyed it more than convenience store woman (which i didn't expect going into it). definitely has a lot of the same themes as convenience store woman

Anonymous 03/14/22 (Mon) 08:01:38 PM No. 189338

File: 1647288098449.jpg (624.76 KB, 1500x2339, 91akSJDFobL[1].jpg)

>>189086
It's from a series, but the order's not that important (it's the 17th book and the one I started with). Got me hooked on the first page, then couldn't stop until I was done with the 40 or so other books. Yes it's fantasy, no it's not like any other fantasy book

Anonymous 03/14/22 (Mon) 09:38:43 PM No. 189370

Has anyone read the Ancillary Justice series by Ann Lecke? I find it kind of stiff and dry, but it has some interesting concepts.

Anonymous 03/14/22 (Mon) 09:56:37 PM No. 189374

>>189338
Nation by Terry Pratchett is an absolutely incredible read, if you prefer YA to Adult

Anonymous 03/14/22 (Mon) 10:16:46 PM No. 189378

I read about 100 pages of the doloriad and had to stop it was really just shock value gore.

Anonymous 03/14/22 (Mon) 10:17:49 PM No. 189379

>>189370
Haven't read it yet, it's on my list.

Anonymous 03/14/22 (Mon) 10:43:14 PM No. 189385

File: 1647297794300.jpg (154.8 KB, 828x821, tumblr_12e1a889931df2934b75636…)

can anyone rec good horror? preferably something written by a woman – and nothing misogynistic, of course.

Anonymous 03/14/22 (Mon) 11:15:13 PM No. 189390

>>189385

NTA but seconding this.
I read The Hunger by Alma Katsu but didn't really like it.
I've been meaning to read Mexican Gothic by Silvia-Moreno Garcia and True Crime by Samantha Kolesnik.

Anonymous 03/15/22 (Tue) 04:28:16 AM No. 189457

>>189385
Not written by a woman, but The Only Good Indians is really good. Took me a little to get into it b/c it seems like a sausagefest at first, but while it does spend a lot of time with male characters, it's ultimately about women in a way that really blew me away.

Anonymous 03/15/22 (Tue) 01:15:27 PM No. 189529

>>188029
well i finished ada or ardor and i can’t say i necessarily recommend it. it was really slow and felt aimless. it kind of got annoying only really hearing from the man, van, about how much he loves his sister and how he’s devoted to her (but also can’t help himself from sleeping with every woman and child prostitute he comes across). it was too long and just too impossible to read but i’m sure nabokov felt very clever writing it. i think the best parts were the first part of the novel when you see how van and ada started their incestuous relationship and the part toward the end where lucette commits suicide but aside from that i probably wouldn’t bother reading this. one of the more disturbing parts of the book, aside from the amount of descriptions of attractive barely-pubescent girls was when van visited a brothel and nearly had sex with a young boy except the boy was suffering from digestive problems which produced unpleasant outcomes for any man wanting to fuck him. just disgusting idk overall it just felt like lolita but more long winded and just plain worse

Anonymous 03/16/22 (Wed) 01:49:54 PM No. 189795

File: 1647438594595.jpg (623.37 KB, 1706x2560, 91ZOrAgmdrL.jpg)

i'm reading her body and other parties right now and i really liked the especially heinous story. i'm surprised that so many people disliked it. i feel like it would make a really good horror podcast, similar to the magnus archives, maybe? i'm glad i gave this book a go because i didn't like in the dream house by the same author.

Anonymous 03/17/22 (Thu) 03:04:41 AM No. 189948

>>189795
Oh man, do people not like Especially Heinous? I love that one – it's maybe a tiny bit too long, but I think the repetition and increasing weirdness of it is such a cool, unique, effective part of it.

Anonymous 03/17/22 (Thu) 12:28:53 PM No. 190010

>>189948
yeah around the season 7 mark i was getting a bit tired, but i kept reading because it was so intriguing. like i said, i think it would make a good podcast that slowly becomes stranger and stranger, just like TMA. most people i saw liked the first story (the husband stitch) because they didn't know the folk tale it's based on so the twist was an absolute shocker to them.

Anonymous 03/17/22 (Thu) 05:13:33 PM No. 190097

Bought two Naomi Wolf books today, Vagina: A New Biography and The Beauty Myth (both of which I was surprised to see at my local book store, and so was a retarded moid who screamed out "BAGINA??" when he saw the cover. More (rad)fem books anons would recommend after reading?

Anonymous 03/17/22 (Thu) 10:51:51 PM No. 190196

>>190097
Are there any radfem topics you're particularly interested in, anon?

Anonymous 03/18/22 (Fri) 08:44:12 PM No. 190421

File: 1647636251949.jpeg (1.07 MB, 2560x2560, 06FAAA12-6672-44D5-A774-0BD5DD…)

I’ve been listening to the audiobook for this and It’s so upsetting (the content). I do highly recommend it to nonnies who enjoy history and women's history though it’s extremely eye opening.

Anonymous 03/19/22 (Sat) 12:30:24 AM No. 190485

>>190097
>Andrea Dworkin's books
>Invisible Women by Caroline Criado-Perez
>Loving to Survive by Dee Graham
>Backlash by Susan Faludi
>Female Erasure by Ruth Barrett
>Spinning and Weaving by Elizabeth Miller

Anonymous 03/19/22 (Sat) 02:12:36 AM No. 190498

File: 1647655956136.jpg (224.2 KB, 564x472, valley-of-the-dolls-back-row.j…)

Does anyone have a good book (or even graphic novel/manga) rec for something like Valley of the Dolls? I own Helter Skelter and just looking for more to read in this genre of women and the dark underbelly of showbiz

Anonymous 03/19/22 (Sat) 05:15:28 AM No. 190514

>>190498
I suspect you've already had this recced (possibly by me on some thread somewhere, lol), but definitely check out Moyocco Anno's work – I'd say Memoirs of Amorous Gentlemen especially, though it's more "dark underbelly of 'glamorous' courtesanry."

Another comic: Snotgirl, which I think is three volumes deep. Very anxious, snarky, cutting look at a mega-famous LA influencer who is privately a whacked-out mess who is also becoming obsessed with a bizarrely perfect girl who's new on the scene.

Blonde by Joyce Carol Oates is a huge undertaking and has also been adapted into an apparently heinous movie starring ana de armas and it gets pretty weird, but I also think it has some genuinely fantastic writing and really captures the glamour/fucked up edge. Fictionalization of Marilyn Monroe's life.

The Final Revival of Opal and Nev is less glamorous, but I really liked it. Don't be fooled by the title – it's definitely Opal's story. Framed as an oral history of a cult-fave art-rock '70s duo made up of Nev, a lovably-dweeby British dude, and Opal, a super avant-garde young black woman from Detroit. Nev went on to become Elton John-ishly famous, Opal didn't hit those heights but has had a solid career. Their time together is intertwined with a violent incident (think Altamont Free Concert) even they don't yet know the whole truth of. It covers a lot of ground, but what I loved the most is how well it captures the way fame is especially fickle for women. If you'd like something that doesn't totally destroy the heroine who looks the abyss of showbiz in the face, this is a good choice.

If you're at all interested in poetry, Amber Tamblyn's Dark Sparkler is a collection about dead actresses. Tamblyn is an actress herself, which makes this especially interesting – and not in a "oh neat" way, she's a genuinely great writer.

This was everywhere a few years ago, but still worth mentioning: Daisy Jones and the Six. Like Opal and Nev, a faux oral history about a '70s band. Looks at the drama and crisis and triumph behind their success, especially their era-defining album. If you're at all into audiobooks, the cast for this one is amazing. Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by the same author might also be worth a look, though tbh I think it's a weaker work.

Don't remember its details super well, I remember liking Ella Berman's The Comeback. Young actress who had a big messy downfall attempts to make, yes, a comeback, while also having to face her Dr. Luke-ish manager.

Dietland is less showbiz exactly, but I think it has that demented/brilliant edge Valley of the Dolls captures. A woman considering lap band surgery ends up entangled in a bonkers plot involving teen magazine advice columns, someone/some people who are possibly a feminist terrorist cell murdering high-profile rapists, and fad diet empire heiresses. Really searing satire of the beauty/diet industry, but also just really pleasantly insane (there's a bit that's like, four straight pages of increasingly absurd lipstick shade names).

Also slightly adjacent to showbiz, but If I Had Your Face. About four women in modern Seoul, very focused on the beauty industry, plastic surgery, hostess bars, etc.

Delayed Rays of A Star – tbh I remember thinking this missed a few marks, but I did still enjoy it, and admired its ambition. Probably the most literary book on this list, in that you might find it a little pretentious, but if it clicks, it clicks. Based on an actual photograph taken of Leni Riefenstahl, Anna Mae Wong, and Marlene Dietrich – charts their lives before, during, and after it was taken. Really interesting contrasts and overlaps.

Anonymous 03/19/22 (Sat) 11:11:09 AM No. 190578

File: 1647688269334.jpeg (494.49 KB, 1680x2560, outlawed.jpeg)

just finished outlawed, really loved it. any other recs for something of a similar vibe? (also any westerns that are different from the normal 'cow wrasslin' folk' story)

Anonymous 03/19/22 (Sat) 05:05:57 PM No. 190641

File: 1647709557842.jpg (67.47 KB, 488x488, GUEST_83a3135b-c661-4bf6-ae3f-…)

>>190578
ooooh i've been eyeing this one for a while but have been turned off but the "western" aspect of it. would you mind giving me a brief synopsis anon?

i just finished reading upstream by mary oliver. i liked it and got what she was going for, but probably would have enjoyed it more if I knew a more about naturalist writings

Anonymous 03/19/22 (Sat) 05:25:15 PM No. 190655

>>190514
Thank you SO much! I'm adding them all to read and yes I love Anno's work! I wish it was easier to find, like even scans are pretty hard but Snotgirl sounds interesting and also love JCO so I'm interested in that and really all your choices, thanks again!!

Anonymous 03/19/22 (Sat) 07:50:57 PM No. 190680

File: 1647719457244.jpg (731.48 KB, 1653x2476, snow crash.jpg)

started reading snow crash yesterday. ngl the writing is kinda 'off' at times. I wouldn't go so far to say that it's corny…but it's kinda corny. I still like it though

Anonymous 03/19/22 (Sat) 08:18:23 PM No. 190688

>>190680
I found it much more enjoyable to read than Neuromancer, with a memorable plot that inspired many other SF writers

Anonymous 03/19/22 (Sat) 08:46:34 PM No. 190694

>>190641
Western where ‘barren’ woman is cast away from her town and joins a gang of cross-dressing women who rob and steal. I honestly loved it.

Anonymous 03/19/22 (Sat) 11:11:47 PM No. 190714

>>190655
np nona! you happened to hit on a subgenre I love, lol. happy reading!

Anonymous 03/21/22 (Mon) 02:22:24 PM No. 191084

i just finished reading educated by tara westover and it made me so angry and sad for her. i know this is probably contrary to her wishes but it just reinforced how much i dislike religion and how it can just feed into mania and mental illness. i’m sorry if i offend any christian anons on here but the belief in the righteousness and goodness of personal suffering is probably one of the most damaging aspects of religion, as well as the general rampant misogyny. nothing will convince me that mormonism isn’t a cult. it was a good memoir though.

Anonymous 03/21/22 (Mon) 02:24:20 PM No. 191085

>>191084
also i forgot to mention that it did amuse and bother me that her mother’s herbal remedies and the resilience of the human body seemed to do the trick and they got on fine without modern medicine. it felt like it would be their just deserts if one of them did end up dying from their horrific injuries

Anonymous 03/21/22 (Mon) 03:26:28 PM No. 191097

>>191084
I can assure you that mormons read that book and gawk at that family too. They were garden variety nutso in the most tragic way.

Anonymous 03/21/22 (Mon) 09:03:21 PM No. 191169

>>191097
oh yeah i don’t mean to say they’re normal by mormon standards but i just feel like they took things that many different sects of christianity preach to the very extreme. my own mother who isn’t mormon but is a seemingly moderate christian is prone to the same type of thinking - that the government is out to get her, that “natural” remedies are better than modern medicine, that the rapture is going to happen and also that personal suffering is a virtue.

Anonymous 03/22/22 (Tue) 01:20:55 AM No. 191230

>>191084
Ugh, Educated made me so mad too (but in a good way, I loved the book). The essential oils stuff especially…I don't come from a Christian family but that sort of "if you need more help than this leaf tincture it's your fault and you need to reframe this as a positive!!!" thing was present for sure. It was such an intense read. I finished it right after it came out and found the mom's business w/o even really trying – given how big the book's become, I wonder if they've encountered any pushback.

Anonymous 03/22/22 (Tue) 12:59:53 PM No. 191312

currently reading a dark academia m/m book by a ftm. the book is right up my alley but i wish i knew nothing about the author because i can’t get it out of my head that it’s written by a woman who seriously thinks she’s a man

Anonymous 03/22/22 (Tue) 01:43:17 PM No. 191315

>>191312
what book and author? I wanna check the author out.

Anonymous 03/22/22 (Tue) 02:16:22 PM No. 191319

>>191312
>>191315
Is it "These Violent Delights" (not the YA one)? I genuinely really liked that book and would encourage you to try not to let that bother you. If it weren't for the current environment, the book would've just been written by a lesbian, after all. At least that's what I told myself kek

Anonymous 03/22/22 (Tue) 07:10:17 PM No. 191396

>>191319
the one by Micah Nemerever? i knew it was an ftm because of the name micah, i just fucking knew it. i still have it downloaded though because it sounds like something i like.

Anonymous 03/22/22 (Tue) 08:49:58 PM No. 191414

>>191312
what's the book name damn

Anonymous 03/22/22 (Tue) 08:54:15 PM No. 191418

>>191319
>>191396
yes it’s this one. it’s so good so far

Anonymous 03/22/22 (Tue) 09:09:11 PM No. 191425

>>191396
You should give it a shot, nonna. There's no gender bullshit in the book at all, so you don't have to worry about that. The romance is good and twisted, and the female side characters are written like actual people, so no ftm internalized misogyny. I really loved it.

>>191418
Glad you're enjoying it so far. Have you ever come across anything else similar to it btw? I can't find anything else like it.

Anonymous 03/22/22 (Tue) 10:25:21 PM No. 191442

>>191425
okay i was afraid of this but i think the book being set in the 70s is the antidote to gender bullshit

Anonymous 03/22/22 (Tue) 10:28:29 PM No. 191443

>>191425
ayrt, i guess i'll give it a read then when i'm in the mood for it!

Anonymous 03/23/22 (Wed) 12:07:11 PM No. 191565

how come i’m quicker at reading on my ereader than with physical books

Anonymous 03/23/22 (Wed) 01:07:35 PM No. 191572

>>191565
it's the same for me. i think it's because flipping pages, readjusting the book, readjusting your body's position, re-focusing on the text actually takes up more time than we think. when i read on my e-reader, i only move my eyes and click a button to flip the pages. when i read a physical book, i constantly have to flip pages, then the book tilts forwards or backwards a little, i have to readjust my position because my arm fell asleep or the book is so chunky to hold that it gets uncomfortable fast, etc.

i like seeing the visible progress through the pages when reading physical books, but ereaders are just way more comfortable when lying down.

Anonymous 03/23/22 (Wed) 02:17:16 PM No. 191584

Anyone have any light-hearted, female-centric book recs that AREN'T romance? I'm not averse to any kind of drama or tension, I've just been reading a lot of bummer nonfiction and horror and could use something else. But most rec lists like this are romance, which I'm just not that into. It's okay if it has romance in it, I just don't want that to be the focus.

Anonymous 03/24/22 (Thu) 07:01:44 AM No. 191776

File: 1648105304035.png (256.03 KB, 286x470, 580948309534.png)

>>191584
YA but imo enjoyable even as an adult - the Old Kingdom/Abhorsen trilogy by Garth Nix. Also The Hearing Trumpet by Leonora Carrington, which is kind of Alice in Wonderland-ish but the protagonist is a 92-year-old woman.

Anonymous 03/24/22 (Thu) 08:21:14 AM No. 191787

File: 1648110074855.jpg (221.34 KB, 1463x2400, 71PEVpZOtDL.jpg)

Talking about unhinged female protagonists, what are your thoughts on Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn?

I watched this first as the HBO series and it's absolutely one of my favorites. Wanted to give the book a try since I love Gillian Flynn, but the tone is a bit different from the series - less serious, reminds me of MYORAR which I read recently.

Anonymous 03/24/22 (Thu) 09:12:01 AM No. 191799

>>191787
It's the first book I have read from her. I wanted to watch the series because of Amy Adams because the plan gets procrastinated constantly.

Anyways, I think the book is great. I don't really have much complaints about it. The decisions the protagonist makes can be understandable with how she is, except the fact she slept with a minor iirc, wtf. Also the ending was weird. Every page has the protag drink and in some way I felt my kidneys begins hurting from reading through it.

I can't review it properly considering it's been years since I read it, sorry.

Anonymous 03/25/22 (Fri) 09:18:51 AM No. 192055

does anyone know any good female philosophers? getting back into reading philosophy, id love to read something Not Male for once.

Anonymous 03/25/22 (Fri) 03:15:51 PM No. 192110

File: 1648221350800.jpg (562.11 KB, 1642x2560, 91Z2xVsAzRL.jpg)

Any recommendations for good social history books by/about women? Just finished picrel which is about the lives of the five canonical victims of Jack the Ripper and liked it a lot for the dignity and insight it gives into women's lives at the time, so I'd love to find other stuff about re-analyzing what I would say is "well-established history" with a more feminist lens, if that makes sense.
It's been described as true crime which I normally don't enjoy either, but if there are any similar books about modern cases where the focus is on the victims rather than the perpetrator, I'd be open to that too.

Anonymous 03/25/22 (Fri) 07:15:08 PM No. 192169

File: 1648235707977.jpg (14.64 KB, 220x289, 7493274032842.jpg)

>>192055
Hypatia is a very famous one. She was a mathematician, teacher, philosopher and the last curator of the Library of Alexandria. Unfortunately it's difficult to piece together facts about her from so long ago. I've heard Flow Down Like Silver is good but not super academic and incorporates some fictional storytelling, where Hypatia: The Life and Legend of an Ancient Philosopher tries to only recount what is actually known.

Anonymous 03/25/22 (Fri) 07:17:58 PM No. 192170

>>192169
I just realized it sounds like you're looking more to read works by female philosophers. Sadly none of Hypatia's survive anymore. Maybe something more contemporary like Women, Race & Class by Angela Davis? Or Down Girl: The Logic of Misogyny by Kate Manne.

Anonymous 03/25/22 (Fri) 09:00:19 PM No. 192191

File: 1648242018910.jpg (779.35 KB, 1600x2436, 91PL GE3ElL.jpg)

this book was really weird

Anonymous 03/25/22 (Fri) 10:28:13 PM No. 192214

File: 1648247293092.jpg (976.85 KB, 1500x2359, 91EWBiFTnGL.jpg)

Has anyone else read The Secret History? I'm about halfway through and enjoy it a lot. I love books that are really atmospheric (describing the scenery, the daily lives of the characters, putting detail into what the characters are eating, etc.) Does anyone have an "atmospheric" book they recommend?

Anonymous 03/25/22 (Fri) 11:21:39 PM No. 192220

>>192214
You might like her other novel, The Goldfinch. Nothing beats The Secret History though.

Anonymous 03/25/22 (Fri) 11:25:41 PM No. 192221

File: 1648250741037.jpg (352.72 KB, 1695x2560, 8632685268.jpg)

Another one for the unhinged women pile. Acts of Desperation by Megan Nolan, about a woman who's unable to find validation outside of a man. It's a little painful to read about her being so obsessed with some idiot guy, but it's told through a lens of self awareness. I thought it had some good things to say about the way men behave and how it can influence how women see themselves. It was very cathartic to see her find some peace away from men at the end.

Anonymous 03/26/22 (Sat) 01:17:02 AM No. 192255

>>192055
Some of my favorites are Hannah Arendt, Bell hooks and (controversial I know) Ayn Rand. Rand and Arendt are both political philosophers that talk a lot about totalitarianism. Rand had some really dumb opinions, but she has a lot of really great anti-religion writing and some things she's written about the value you should place on your own happiness really speak to me as a woman.

Arendt was a holocaust survivor and wrote about a lot of different things, but is most known for her analyses of how people are able to do terrible things when put into certain environments.

Bell hooks is definitely best known for feminism and anti-racism, but she also has written a lot about other philosophical topics. All About Love is really well liked.

Anonymous 03/26/22 (Sat) 03:34:49 AM No. 192266

>>192255
>Rand for her philosophical views
NTA but seriously? I found her fiction and atheism interesting but can't bring myself to read her nonfiction work. Which of her nonfiction writings did you enjoy? Have you read any biographies of her? I started one but put it on the backburner. She is a fun figure to read about.

Anonymous 03/26/22 (Sat) 04:10:59 AM No. 192275

File: 1648267859477.jpg (151.51 KB, 1000x1533, 71IVvncsP7L.jpg)

Here's a rec if you're in the mood for a good ugly cry. I enjoyed it but it is extremely sad. Can anyone recommend me books with similar themes of the relationships between generations of women, but more upbeat? It'd be dope if they're somewhat autobiographical or surrounding actual historical events, but I'm open to pure fiction.

Anonymous 03/26/22 (Sat) 04:22:11 AM No. 192278

>>192214
The way I've heard some people talk about this book was like it was mind blowing and they'd sell their souls to read it for the first time again. I was a little bit underwhelmed but I did like it. It got me into learning about ancient Greece and Rome.

I just read Catherine House and even though I didn't like it that much it was pretty atmospheric. Also gothic novels tend to be pretty atmospheric.

Anonymous 03/26/22 (Sat) 05:16:41 AM No. 192283

>>192278
A Secret History was such a let down, initially I read it because i’m in academia and a similar subject to the characters in the book too and I was so disappointed. It’s boring, the characters are all shit, it’s basically just popular again because people fell down the “dark academia” rabbit hole and not because it’s ground breaking and full of substance.

Anonymous 03/26/22 (Sat) 05:21:58 AM No. 192284

>>192110
Loooved The Five. I'm currently really enjoying Romantic Outlaws, which is a biography of Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley. I took it up on a whim, b/c I sort of know things about the Romantics, but it's really only by reputation and a few books, and I wanted basically what you said – a feminist look at history I thought I knew. Good stuff so far! I also posted in the other thread about Red Comet, which is a bio of Sylvia Plath – picked it up b/c I'd heard the actual woman was really different from the death waif she's been portrayed as, and boy, she was. Huge committment (it's like 1000 words and took me half a year to read) but it's fucking amazing.

Anonymous 03/26/22 (Sat) 05:22:31 AM No. 192285

>>192221
Immediately added to my to-read list.

Anonymous 03/26/22 (Sat) 05:36:39 AM No. 192287

>>192266
Not OP, but I had a big Rand phase and still have….I guess I'd call it a certain fondness for her. I would rather die than talk about her with men though I agree w/ OP in that approaching her work specifically as a woman is rewarding, even when I disagree w/ her. And honestly she'd probably fucking hate that we're discussing reading her "as a woman," but uh, sorry, Ayn, it was always a factor. Selfishness: The Unknown Ideal is the one I'd point to, and the biography Goddess of the Market. Can't speak for OP, but it's like…in some ways, she represents the worst version of myself I could have become if I'd stayed extremely nlog-y. But there is still something arresting about her. There just really isn't any other intellectual female figure quite like her out there – she's not a trad-y conservawife, she's not even all that culturally "American" (though she'd disagree). Her opinions mimic ones we encounter a lot in the mainstream, but came from wildly different life experiences, and she did not feel beholden to fitting them into certain common shapes. Tbh sometimes I'm not sure where my interest in her as a person begins and my interest in her ideas ends, but either way, I think she's worth spending time with – even if you do spend a lot of that time kinda mad at her, lol.

Anonymous 03/26/22 (Sat) 03:38:59 PM No. 192347

>>192287
i think there was something endearing about her. i kind of wish she'd written romance novels and left out all the cringey shit about capitalism. i love that she had autistic fits if anyone ate her fudge. she was a complete hypocrite and a lolcow and she 100% would've trooned out if she was around today. i can see her in her little cape, calling herself ayden

Anonymous 03/26/22 (Sat) 04:48:47 PM No. 192352

>>192347
Oh god, you get it. She was a fucking sperg and I love it. 100% would have become Ayden. I can almost see the insane, unending wars she would have gotten into w/ tumblr radfems.

Anonymous 03/27/22 (Sun) 02:46:50 AM No. 192481

>>192275
Possibly too obvious a rec, but Joy Luck Club and Valley of Amazement by Amy Tan. Both contain sad moments for sure, but ultimately are about women finding peace and happiness in the world. Joy Luck Club is about a group of four Chinese-American mothers and their adult daughters, and completely deserves its modern classic status imho. Valley of Amazement is about a half-Chinese American girl who is stranded in Shanghai around the 1900s and ends up becoming a courtesan. Also very focused on her own mother, the woman who becomes her mother figure, and eventually her daughter.

Anonymous 03/28/22 (Mon) 07:25:11 PM No. 192917

File: 1648495510943.jpg (114.85 KB, 1438x1080, f9405e523f651dd73ed098674ffd66…)

This is oddly specific, but are there any fictional books about hardworking career women? Can be any time period or any kind of career.

Anonymous 03/28/22 (Mon) 07:55:35 PM No. 192922

>>192917
I was gonna say Hatarakiman by Moyoco Anno but it's a manga and it's the general book thread. There's always The devil wears Prada I guess, I liked it but I read it long ago, Miranda is an actual turbo bitch in that one compared to the movie. I don't read that much, sorry.

Anonymous 03/28/22 (Mon) 08:13:27 PM No. 192923

>>192917
Already mentioned in this thread, but If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha. It's set in modern day South Korea, and it's about a bunch of 20 something working women(plus an older married woman) living in the same apartment complex. The main character is a hairdresser and the others are an artist, a hostess (most interesting character imo), and (iirc) an office worker. Some of the themes include South Korean beauty standards, class disparities, idol fan culture, and the shitty work situation for young adults in that country.

Anonymous 03/28/22 (Mon) 08:22:46 PM No. 192924

>>192917
Sourdough by Robin Sloan, it’s a really good book and pretty unique about a computer programmer who gets into making bread

Anonymous 03/28/22 (Mon) 08:28:54 PM No. 192926

>>192923
OP who suggested If I Had Your Face upthread, and yessss hostess is my fave too. I really hope Frances Cha keeps exploring beauty culture/plastic surgery/etc, I love how totally unvarnished her depiction in that storyline was. She writes bitches (honorific) really well.

Anonymous 03/29/22 (Tue) 04:19:42 PM No. 193119

File: 1648570782576.jpg (503.77 KB, 1700x2560, 81HA6TJ5K-L.jpg)

Have any of you read this? If so is it worth reading before the movie comes out?

Anonymous 03/29/22 (Tue) 11:04:17 PM No. 193229

File: 1648595057647.png (520.09 KB, 510x835, STOR_CHART.png)

>>192221
>unhinged women pile
I get a lot of my recommendations for these here and I know other anons ask for similar reads pretty often so I went through the old threads and tried to compile books that were described along these lines in a chart. Hopefully this is a little more convenient to other nonas

Anonymous 03/30/22 (Wed) 12:40:38 AM No. 193239

>>193229
Thank you nonnatella! I rec Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder to the list as well, it's like if Metamorphosis by Kafka but if it was a mom reeling with the misogynic culture around women especially mothers. Speaking of books, does anyone have a rec for a good short novel filled with food mentions, idk I've got health issue that makes me stick to a pretty boring diet so I want nice food descriptions to read I guess to torture myself with

Anonymous 03/30/22 (Wed) 01:38:01 AM No. 193247

>>193229
The sayaka Murata book Earthlings was the most fucked up thing I've ever read. But I still enjoyed Convenience store woman more

Anonymous 03/30/22 (Wed) 03:35:50 AM No. 193277

>>193229
Omg. The nona we need AND the one we deserve right now – this is going to come in so handy. Honored to see some of my picks on here.

>>193239
Ooh, ty for reminding me of Nightbitch–I've been meaning to read it for a while but totally forgot it'd come out. I'm betting this'll be another one to add to our Unhinged Woman Pile.

Food recs….Like Water for Chocolate is a classic. Also, it's a graphic novel, but Lucy Knisley's Relish. If there are any recipes in it you can eat with your diet, def try them out – I think I've cooked everything except the lamb in that book, and it was all good!

Anonymous 03/30/22 (Wed) 03:57:36 AM No. 193282

>>193239
Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto sounds up your alley

Anonymous 03/30/22 (Wed) 10:17:20 AM No. 193327

>>193229
>>193239
supper club by lara williams and sweetbitter by stephanie danler could belong on both the unhinged women pile and the food descriptions recs

>>193229
also sympathy by olivia sudjic, animals by emma jane unsworth and problems by jade sharma have got to be on here

Anonymous 03/30/22 (Wed) 07:12:29 PM No. 193397

>>193327
Problems definitely fits in. I was sad to hear Jade Sharma passed away a few years ago. I think Problems was based heavily on her life. I'll check out your other recommendations!
>>193229
Thanks for making this, nona!

Anonymous 03/31/22 (Thu) 06:37:29 AM No. 193541

>>193239
a certain hunger was ragged on pretty hard last thread but it's basically female Hannibal navelgazing about food a lot, especially gourmet cuisine.

Anonymous 03/31/22 (Thu) 02:50:27 PM No. 193657

Has anyone had luck getting library cards for non-residents of different cities for free? I want to add more cards to my Libby account because my local library options SUCK.

Anonymous 03/31/22 (Thu) 04:13:04 PM No. 193669

>>193657
The Los Angeles county library lets you register for a card online for free, just enter any address and you can access their digital catalog on Libby. Unfortunately idk of any other cities like that. My best luck so far has just been having friends/family who live in other cities who don't really use their library card that often and asking if you can use it, then just adding to your Libby that way.

Anonymous 04/01/22 (Fri) 08:28:13 AM No. 193819

File: 1648801693474.jpg (868.44 KB, 1696x2560, 91cNL0UY8lL.jpg)

I finished this book a few days ago. I don't really know how to feel about it. I read Home Before Dark last year and wasn't very impressed. I think Lock Every Door was better but still kind of just.. eh. Some moments were really suspenseful and creepy, yet when the reveal came I still just felt underwhelmed somehow.

There's something about Riley Sager's writing that I just don't vibe with. It's hard to articulate but it feels kind of like he tries really hard to rationalize everything in the book. Like he's writing the book and sitting there trying to think of every possible hole a reader could poke in the plot and then debunking it and it doesn't feel subtle. But Idk if I'm just imagining it.

I also didn't appreciate how self deprecating the protagonist was in the beginning of the book. She had multiple monologues just about how undesirable and poor she was. At one point a guy flirts with her and she's like "this kind of guy NEVER even looks at me". Not that women don't have thoughts like that but he just went over the top with it. It really felt like man-writing-a-woman-syndrome at those points.

Idk, it feels like I've been let down by pretty much every "thriller" I've ever read. The only one I was ever blown away buy was The Turn Of The Key by Ruth Ware.

Anonymous 04/01/22 (Fri) 02:45:46 PM No. 193870

>>193819
This is why I dropped Final Girls and never bothered with his other books, tbh. Super man-writing-a-woman syndrome, but not in the worst ways – it's not a "breasted boobily down the stairs situation," it's just….really off, and kind of boring. I also really hate the puzzle box writing – it feels like writing for Reddit.

Anonymous 04/01/22 (Fri) 06:17:26 PM No. 193934

Is anyone familiar with russian fantasy? I’d just love to read something with soviet elves if that even exists

Anonymous 04/01/22 (Fri) 07:49:58 PM No. 193993

>>193934
There's a lot of fantasy books based on Slavic folklore. The Witcher, The Bear and the Nightingale and Spinning Silver are a few. I think there's more but I can't think of them.

Anonymous 04/03/22 (Sun) 09:49:43 AM No. 194386

File: 1648979383146.jpg (453.2 KB, 1237x2044, the last wish.jpg)

so I finally finished this. I have been wanting to play the games for years but kept telling myself I'd read the books first. I started reading this book 2 years ago and then forgot about it. I finished it it just a few days ago.

gotta say I really didn't enjoy most of it. I found most of the book to be extremely boring. I only liked the ending parts with yennefer. also, I must be retarded because I was confused about some things about the ending and had to look them up. I'm still a little bit confused about some of the things tbh, but I guess it doesn't really matter if you get the big picture. ngl, the part at the end with geralt and yennefer making love got me horny

Anonymous 04/03/22 (Sun) 10:07:52 AM No. 194389

>>194386
Yennefer is the best part of those books. Adore how Geralt is crazy for her even though she's a stone-cold bitch that doesn't take his shit and fucks around if it suits her purposes (which is what Geralt deserves, for being a manwhore). I love them together and (scrote) Trissfags can KYS. They all want an uncomplicated waifu that has no life beyond being obsessed over them. Pickme literally fucked her best friend's long-time love interest (an on and off one, yes, but still).
There is a lot to criticize or dislike about The Witcher, but it's really nice that the female love interest is a mature and powerful woman who has as many issues as the scrote protagonist, and not some naive ingénue (aka Triss).

Anonymous 04/03/22 (Sun) 04:47:40 PM No. 194435

>>194389
>some naive ingénue
Agree with you in general but this is just the thing, Triss is not even naive but knowingly sloppy and manipulative. Choosing to fuck your supposed friend’s man by ”convincing” him to have sex with you via magic (some people read this as rape which I’m inclined to agree with) is next level evil bpd psycho. All while playing the innocent of course. People can say what they want about the books overall but Yen is one of the most admirable and truly strong women in fantasy fiction. Hate how the show focused so much on a made-up traumaporn backstory that’s literally only mentioned in passing once in the books. She is shown to be vulnerable and fallible but primarily she’s a hypercompetent, intelligent heroine in her own right.

Anonymous 04/04/22 (Mon) 10:25:35 PM No. 194781

don't know if anyone cares but I found a site called ebookscart that has a ton of ebooks for download. I had never heard of it, I'm not entirely sure it's legit but my antivirus doesn't seem to mind it.

Anonymous 04/05/22 (Tue) 09:31:00 AM No. 194884

File: 1649151060328.jpg (783.06 KB, 1347x1987, 91 QoCPevVL.jpg)

This book was more sad than anything

I've read 4 of her books now. This was one of the better ones tbh. But the protagonist was not the brightest and made some dumb as shit decisions near the end of the book. At one point I was actually like "nooo" out loud at something she did.

I don't think I'll be reading any more of her books anytime soon.

Anonymous 04/05/22 (Tue) 09:26:59 PM No. 195035

>>194435
Isnt she only doing rape by magic in the games, or have I forgotten about it? I've read the series over 10 years ago, so I may have forgotten it. Wow, that would make book Triss even worse and make her behaviour in the Witcher 2 game in character (when I found it OOC in the past).
I want to high five you in regards to everything, but especially the shit TV series. Hardly could watch it, the first season was shit and didn't bother with the second. Also Yennefer's actress really didn't fit, she was too young and didn't have the cold femme fatale energy (someone like Eva Green would be what I'm thinking about).
I usually would be irked about a female character's arc partially being about desperately wanting to be a mother, but it has never bothered me with Yennefer. Maybe because it's only a facet od her story and personality. Also she can be cruelly competent about it, like in the Shard of Ice short story. Her relationship with Ciri felt natural and sweet to me too, I loved it.

Anonymous 04/05/22 (Tue) 10:59:47 PM No. 195055

Does anyone know a good book on ancient European religion? They are not in my library sadly, and I don't have money to spend on books that may or may not be good. I've become more interested in ancestor work and what they found important but it's quite hard to find good information online.

Anonymous 04/05/22 (Tue) 11:58:44 PM No. 195076

>>195055
You mean paganism?

Anonymous 04/06/22 (Wed) 01:12:58 AM No. 195089

>>195076
Yes, paganism but more of the history of it. A lot of the books I can find on it are very focused on the modern form and practices whereas I'm more interested in the historical aspect of it since I do a lot of ancestor work. (I only write my own spells and rituals. Any ritual that comes from somewhere online feels so much less personal and I just can't believe hard enough in it if it doesn't come from my own heart. Most books I can find are full of rituals and spells and a tiny bit of history).

Anonymous 04/06/22 (Wed) 10:30:25 AM No. 195165

File: 1649241025682.jpg (81.68 KB, 267x400, D3C53330A6FA60DABFA9645A3FD085…)

>>195055
I can't recommend a good book on historical witchcraft in pre-Christian Europe, but I've found a few that might be of interest from digging around. Myth and Symbols of Pagan Europe by H.R. Ellis Davidson looks genuinely interesting and seems to provide correlations between Celtic/Scandinavian traditions. She's done a number of her books on the beliefs/mythos of the Anglo-Saxon/Norse/Celtic. I'd start with her if you're looking for a general history of the folklore of that time. You can find some of these books on Internet Archive if that helps. Another place I'd look into; http://www.neopagan.net/Witchcraft-Rec-Books.html. They have a lengthy rec page of paleopaganism that can be found on this page.

Anonymous 04/06/22 (Wed) 10:42:00 AM No. 195169

File: 1649241720039.jpg (33.68 KB, 300x450, 9780345497529.jpg)

Just got this in the mail, very excited to start it

Anonymous 04/06/22 (Wed) 05:33:54 PM No. 195253

>>195169
i read this for one of my university courses! i really liked it. it's very dense in that there is a lot of information about the world building everywhere, but the setting is super fascinating.

Anonymous 04/06/22 (Wed) 06:37:04 PM No. 195272

>>195169
I love Miéville, hope you enjoy.

Anonymous 04/07/22 (Thu) 12:00:23 PM No. 195518

anyone else feeling burnt out from reading? i’ve read about thirty books this year and i’m so sick of reading now but my brain feels restless if i don’t do it often. i think i’m going to try and read more nonfiction because i don’t think i have it in me to care about fictional stories

Anonymous 04/07/22 (Thu) 04:41:02 PM No. 195552

File: 1649349662093.jpeg (21.88 KB, 255x391, BE3B8942-C1BC-4766-AD49-69A23A…)

I really liked the HBO adaptation so I picked the book up. So far it’s alright but it’s verging on just being a edgy moid ‘woe is me’ kind of thing. Any other nonnies read this? I do like that it gives way more info on the Drinkwater family than the TV show did.

Anonymous 04/07/22 (Thu) 04:44:05 PM No. 195554

File: 1649349845331.jpg (163.06 KB, 1200x801, isleofdogs.jpg)

>>195518
I feel that nonny, I started reading more novellas and nonfiction and also graphic novels/manga, right now I'm reading the Isle of Dogs book which gives bts look at the making/inspo from the film, it's really nice, and those sort of books that give these kind of tidbits and inspo behind films or anything are what help me when I'm feeling so tired from reading fiction!

Anonymous 04/07/22 (Thu) 08:34:36 PM No. 195610

Has anyone read where the crawdads sing? Do you rec? I was thinking of reading it before seeing the movie. As I want to watch the movie because I love daisy Edgar jones

Anonymous 04/07/22 (Thu) 10:40:10 PM No. 195647

Are there any good therapy/psychology critical books? I read The Body Keeps The Score and thought it was fine but I wish it dug deeper into how useless some forms of therapy and drugs can be for treating PTSD and trauma.

Anonymous 04/08/22 (Fri) 02:09:24 PM No. 195825

>>195647
She's coming at it from a specifically feminist perspective, but if you're down with that, check out Bonnie Burstow's work.

Anonymous 04/08/22 (Fri) 10:53:57 PM No. 195983

>>191084
I just finished this, I really enjoyed it. I went to look at what folks online had to say and a lot of comments were calling BS on her story. One of her brothers (Tyler I think) apparently had a blog and gave a rather different telling of events within the family. I think it’s more than likely that Tyler is the one who has it twisted since he wasn’t a part of the household for a majority of Tara’s life.

Anonymous 04/09/22 (Sat) 06:27:58 AM No. 196063

>>195165
wow I came here to post the exact same book lol

>>195055
if you want to know more about celts specifically peter berresford ellis and b.c. cunliffe have a lot of books on that. I haven't read them but I think they are pretty solid. don't know a lot of books about the other religions though

Anonymous 04/10/22 (Sun) 08:04:33 PM No. 196408

File: 1649621072825.jpeg (339.9 KB, 3000x3000, 38783554-A8AF-479E-B2B7-C7DF59…)

Wings of fire anyone? I just ordered the new book as it apparently similar to warrior cats

Anonymous 04/10/22 (Sun) 09:06:09 PM No. 196414

File: 1649624769924.jpg (92.27 KB, 640x458, 1c4e7897fa0af8ded3d1c3c559f7e4…)

>>196408
What a coincidence, I was just wondering if the warrior books were worth getting into

Anonymous 04/10/22 (Sun) 09:14:50 PM No. 196421

>>196414
Did you know garfield can be an acceptable legit warriors cat name

Anonymous 04/10/22 (Sun) 09:33:56 PM No. 196425

>>196421
Garkit

Anonymous 04/11/22 (Mon) 12:10:40 AM No. 196467

>>196414
I read the first 2 series when I was 12 and loved them then. I wish I kept the books just to see if they hold up.

Anonymous 04/11/22 (Mon) 02:51:42 AM No. 196506

>>196414
I recently read the first series and I thought it was really good! The first book does drag, but I think that's typical of a first book in a children's chapter series. I definitely recommend Warriors

Anonymous 04/11/22 (Mon) 06:04:14 AM No. 196544

>>196414
I highly recommend warriors cats they are so good maybe you find cockweed
For real there so good there is a few mangas & bunch of special books & field guides

Anonymous 04/11/22 (Mon) 08:26:56 AM No. 196556

File: 1649665616441.jpg (17.06 KB, 266x400, 18869970.jpg)

I wish I could say I was more well read when it comes to classics, but the constant misogyny and racism make them really unpleasant to read (yeah, I know I sound like an sjw).

A couple years ago I read Rebecca and absolutely hated it. Probably mostly because it had been extremely hyped up to me and it wasn't what I was expecting at all, but even if it hadn't been I think I still would have hated it (not necessarily because of misogyny, although I feel like you could argue that book had misogynistic tones in it).

Recently I decided to give Du Maurier another chance and read My Cousin Rachel. I only made it like 1/8 through the book but I swear every other character was always going on some rant about women and how terrible they are. At one point Ambrose even describes himself as a "woman hater". I mean I can stomach a certain amount of misogyny but it just gets tiring when it's in book after book after book.

Anonymous 04/11/22 (Mon) 11:14:39 AM No. 196591

>>196556
Have you tried any of du Maurier's short stories? I've always found them way better than her novels. My fave collections of hers are Don't Look Now and The Breaking Point. I can't really remember what they're like for misogyny though (sorry)

But also, don't feel you HAVE to read "classics" if you're not enjoying them. Unless you're studying literature, reading is just a pastime and the "canon" is meaningless, life is short so just read what brings you pleasure

Anonymous 04/11/22 (Mon) 11:16:48 AM No. 196592

>>196556
>the constant misogyny and racism make them really unpleasant to read
You have to read them in the context of the time when that shit was just the norm. If you can’t, don’t force yourself. As someone who fucking loves classic lit, it’s really only for the prose and old school way of writing, not the stories themselves; though, there are some good ones. In terms of writing style, no modern books could ever compare in my opinion.

Anonymous 04/11/22 (Mon) 05:06:03 PM No. 196693

>>196556
I personally file classics under "They simply didn't know any better" according to their year of publication, whenever there's misogyny before women acquire the right to vote, and whenever there's antisemitism before the shoah
>published in 1951
Ouch!

Anonymous 04/12/22 (Tue) 01:27:29 AM No. 196776

File: 1649726849558.jpg (211.5 KB, 1867x1400, Yoshitaka Amano-Illustrations.…)

Sorry wasn't sure where to put this under but does anyone have rec for a good art book I could find on Amazon canada in the vein of the studio Ghibli film art books? Like bts of an animated film/show or even vidya? I have all the ghibli ones available and also a lot of Amano's work (his Illustrations books is so beautiful) but wanted to know if theres a book I have to buy, thanks nonnas!

Anonymous 04/12/22 (Tue) 07:50:09 AM No. 196815

File: 1649749809069.jpg (283.53 KB, 1024x691, dodo by thomas herbert.jpg)

I'm finally done with Thomas Herbert's Travels in Africa, Persia, and Asia the Great, a massive book with a massive amount of footnotes. It's a travelogue from an Englishman who went on an embassy trip to Persia and India, and all the other places they went on the way, in 1630.

To me the most interesting thing is that when it was first published it was a slim book and a straight forward travelogue by a young man. But over the years, the final edition came out forty years later, he continually added to the book from what he read about the places he went to and its history. He didn't travel anymore, but he read extensively all the latest books on the relevant sections and included the material embedded in his own travels. So, the short and matter of fact travelogue grew in great size by his added erudition.

An interesting experiment, but I think it was a failure. His digressions are much too lengthy and don't serve to really teach you much about the history of Persia and India, even when there are literally hundreds of pages of nothing but regurgitated history books. And since he wasn't really a scholar and his sources were limited at that age, a lot of the material is distorted and just plain wrong. It tried to combine a travelogue and a history book and it didn't work out well. It's a shite history book, a tertiary source too. But I do think it was an interesting idea and I'm glad I read an execution of it.

I also want to bitch about how my edition omitted dozens of sketches and engravings he did. This is a super scholarly edition that costs $200 retail and you can't even include all the pictures? AND WHY DID THEY OMIT THE PICTURE OF THE SHAH BUT INCLUDE SOME RANDOM SHITE ABOUT SOME RANDOM ISLANDER'S GARB HE SAW OFF THE SOUTH AFRICAN COAST WE TALKED ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THAT FUCKING SHAH'S DYNASTY FOR LITERALLY HUNDREDS OF PAGES AND YOU OMIT HIS PICTURE???? I think that was a mistake.

Here's his version of a Dodo. I was surprised to hear they didn't taste good. Out of all the places he went to, he probably had the most fun at Mauritius which is kind of funny.

Anonymous 04/14/22 (Thu) 10:50:27 AM No. 197237

Is Brave New World worth reading? Is it as good as 1984?

Anonymous 04/14/22 (Thu) 11:16:21 AM No. 197240

>>197237
I read it when I was 14 so take this with a grain of salt, but I liked it more. In fact it was one of the rare books I read at a decently fast pace as someone that rarely ever read books as a teen.
I know in online places people will tell you it's better in portrayal of a dystopian society than 1984 because it's less outwardly dystopian, which I thought was true when I read it.

Anonymous 04/14/22 (Thu) 12:14:10 PM No. 197248

>>187539
Anon I just want to say thank you. I read MBFE and blew through it, then absolutely adored Southern Book Club. Grady Hendrix has such a way with horror writing that I really adore.

Anonymous 04/14/22 (Thu) 04:39:47 PM No. 197300

>>196815
Oh, this sounds interesting. I love 17th/18th literature and I want to read more travelogues. Do you study history/literature?

Anonymous 04/14/22 (Thu) 04:46:20 PM No. 197303

>>196467
>>196506
>>196544
Well then, I think I'll give it a try

Anonymous 04/14/22 (Thu) 04:48:36 PM No. 197305

>>197237
I think you should read both, Orwell was a student of Huxley and I believe he wrote 1984 as an adjacent piece to Brave New World. Huxley had some words about it, basically saying his version of dystopia was a more accurate rendition of what one would be like, but I believe they're two sides of the same coin. In order to understand the state of totalitarian control, both a love of servitude can only be maintained through force and control. Brave New World reads better, I find Aldous Huxley a better author, but either way, I'd read it just to read it. Or listen to it on audio, it's a good book to kind of just drone out to while doing something else.

Anonymous 04/14/22 (Thu) 04:48:41 PM No. 197306

>>197237
Definitely not as good as 1984, but still worth reading. It's really all about the central concept (society controlled by pleasure and distraction, subordination of the individual to the collective good) and the plot and characters are pretty disposable. It gets to be a slog around the second half, but the discussion about the moral need for such a society near the end of the book is pretty interesting. I read it mostly because it's constantly referenced in other media.

Anonymous 04/14/22 (Thu) 05:03:17 PM No. 197312

>>197237
I think it's more interesting than 1984. 1984 is more about how a surveillance state controls its citizens by brainwashing them and repressing them, Brave New World is about how citizens can be subdued by giving them exactly what they want. I think 1984 really can't be applied to today's society (it's more about nazi germany and stalinian russia than cameras in public parks and NSA), while BNW hits the nail on the head about how easily available mindless entertainment renders a whole society apathetic
Of course 1984 criticizes the state while BNW criticizes citizens, so it's easy to see why 1984 is the more popular one (this and the Apple ad campaign). The often forgotten third major dystopian novel is We by Yevgeny Zamyatin, which some (including Orwell) thought influenced BNW (which Huxley denied)

Anonymous 04/14/22 (Thu) 06:00:23 PM No. 197330

>>195647
look up anti- psychiatry for plenty of booke. dr. jessica taylor recently published sexy but psycho, then i heard crazy like us is a good read too.

Anonymous 04/14/22 (Thu) 06:04:23 PM No. 197331

>>197237
yes helmholtz and bernard are one of my otps

Anonymous 04/14/22 (Thu) 07:10:51 PM No. 197357

>>197331
Never read it genuinely can't tell if you are taking the piss out of insane fujo ships or serious

Anonymous 04/15/22 (Fri) 04:02:18 AM No. 197496

>>197237
Is a better book but lest impactful. I still remember how my heart dropped when i read the last pages of 1984, as much of a meme book that is today. BWN has a better story, is more realistic, the discussions around it are way more fun but if you are seaching for that feeling of shock is not going to work. Maybe as an audiobook as other anons said?

Anonymous 04/15/22 (Fri) 04:08:03 AM No. 197498

>>197496
Brave New World’s ending had my jaw on the floor as a teen, what are you talking about? Though, I guess it would have a different effect on an adult.

Anonymous 04/15/22 (Fri) 05:07:02 AM No. 197513

>>197237
I like Brave New World better as a story. In particular, I like the world building. I think it's one of the most important books to talk about in utopic/dystopic genres since you can't play devil's advocate and talk about it as a utopia as well as a dystopia which you obviously can't with things like 1984 or Player Piano.

Anonymous 04/15/22 (Fri) 05:13:00 AM No. 197515

File: 1649999580762.jpg (59.52 KB, 440x637, spiritual taxonomies.JPG)

Just finished this. I wasn't crazy about it itself, but it made me really want to read Origen, Porphyry, and Iamblichus and it gave me an excuse to re-read two tractates from the Nag Hammadi codices. Earlier this year, I read a book on different perspectives of the Song of Songs which prominently featured Origen, so I was already interested in Origen. I decided to bite the bullet and I ordered a copy of On First Principles. But damn it's going to be pricey to get a library of Origen.

Anonymous 04/15/22 (Fri) 05:43:08 AM No. 197523

>>197515
I feel dumb

Anonymous 04/15/22 (Fri) 06:05:00 AM No. 197524

>>197523
It's okay. I am dumb.

Anonymous 04/15/22 (Fri) 06:09:41 AM No. 197525

Does anyone else set yearly reading goals? I want to read at least 50 books this year, read at least 5 books published in 2022 (since I mainly read backlist titles), and finally read the entire LotR trilogy. I'm in a bit of a reading slump right now so I'm not making much progress on any of these goals, but it's nice to have something to work towards. I feel like otherwise I wouldn't read as much.

>>197515
I didn't understand a word you just said but I'm happy for you nona

Anonymous 04/15/22 (Fri) 06:29:04 AM No. 197532

>>197515
What was the book about Song of Songs? Was it worthwhile?

Anonymous 04/15/22 (Fri) 06:49:13 AM No. 197536

File: 1650005353682.png (1.13 MB, 695x900, 3F4F9CEB-72E3-4427-97A1-7F9A23…)

Read part one of Faust. It was pretty fun, and I managed to catch the references to alchemical and occult concepts. After reading I watched bits of performances online (the Walpurgisnacht scene is my favorite, kek) then found some quirky fanart by Harry Clarke, pic related. Not sure when I will get around to part two since the library doesn't have it. I'd rather read a physical version. I don't mind postponing since I heard the second part is vastly different to the first

Anonymous 04/15/22 (Fri) 09:26:41 AM No. 197547

Has anynon read Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time series? I have been on a classics kick for a year now and Proust's work is always of recommended lists, yet the word count intimidates me. I know that technically no one's holding me at gunpoint to read all 4,000-ish pages of the whole set, but I wanna know if it's actually worth the hype before committing to it. Is it one of those classics that is overhyped by stuffy old professors?

Anonymous 04/15/22 (Fri) 09:34:54 AM No. 197549

>>197547
i’ve been making my way through it for an embarrassing amount of time now, since I was in high school I think and I enjoy it but it’s a very slow story and i’d say it is a bit overhyped because of the length, nothing much really happens in my opinion but I enjoy reading a bit here and there when I want to read a book with that specific mood. Id say read a bit of it and see if you want to stick with it.

Anonymous 04/15/22 (Fri) 09:08:19 PM No. 197664

>>197525
I don't make yearly reading goals because I'm really neurotic and I know I'd put too much pressure on myself and start feeling bad if I didn't accomplish them lol. I'm also a mood reader which means I'm extremely fickle about what I read. I can be all excited for a book and then start reading it and get bored immediately.

I've also been sticking to audiobooks as of late. I live with my family who is loud as shit 24/7 and I need dead silence to read. I can listen to audiobooks at work though so that's how I consume most books. The thing is my library has a rather limited selection of audiobooks so a lot of times what I listen to is based on what's available. I also tend to absorb audiobooks better than reading with my eyes which kind of sucks because I actually prefer reading with my eyeballs but it's whatever.

I'm thinking of maybe making general goals though. Like "read 1 nonfiction a month" because I think I could accomplish that. The problem is I tend to set goals way too high.

Anonymous 04/15/22 (Fri) 09:55:05 PM No. 197677

>>192221
this one is so great! i read it a couple years ago as an arc and couldn't put it down.

Anonymous 04/15/22 (Fri) 09:55:25 PM No. 197678

>>197515
If you can bear digital books most of Origen's writings can be found here
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Author:Origen
>>197523
That's normal, neoplatonists are practically unknown today

Anonymous 04/15/22 (Fri) 10:01:55 PM No. 197680

File: 1650060115564.jpeg (40.84 KB, 333x500, 51sTlqah8dL.jpeg)

My friend recommended I read this book and its sequel, Hunting Adeline, which I'm about 80% of the way through. It's about a 26-year-old writer who falls in love with her stalker, a man who owns a company working to dismantle human trafficking.

It was alright, but you can tell the author used to write fanfiction because she has a crutch adjective ("feral") and refers to eyes as "pools" or "orbs" quite a bit. BookTok is going nuts over it at the moment, which is why I'm posting about it here. I believe it was even free on Kindle for a while there.

Anonymous 04/15/22 (Fri) 10:32:12 PM No. 197684

>>197547
It is largely overhyped. There are several somewhat interesting parts in it but Proust has an absolutely horrid writing style. I'm french so I read the first 2 books in the original french, and I found the english translation actually much more understandable, since a translator's first concern is to make a text readable and Proust is incapable of it. It's still an important series of books, as it spawned numerous authors with similarly unreadable prose (for instance Marguerite Duras, perhaps even helped the creation of structuralism and post structuralism), but reading it is a chore. Proust "enjoyers" usually just read Du côté de chez Swann then drop the rest, and while the first book is a popular read it'd be very hard to find someone who has read all seven books.
However it's possible that something about Proust's style clicks with you, so I recommend to give the first book a try. He may be a pain in the ass to read, but Proust is by no means dull or witless

Anonymous 04/15/22 (Fri) 11:02:27 PM No. 197686

File: 1650063747858.png (65.46 KB, 554x440, 4328409328407553.png)

>>197680
I really stopped being into yanderes and the whole "rape and abuse just means you're irresistible to him" attitude past puberty. Sounds like Twilight and 50 Shades for zoomers but even more violent. I get it most women have their mentally ill fetishes but it's sad a lot of them go on to accept that dynamic in real relationships too

Anonymous 04/16/22 (Sat) 01:52:18 AM No. 197715

File: 1650073938139.jpg (439.05 KB, 800x1065, song of solomon egon tschirch.…)

>>197678
Sadly, I am too autistic for digital. Also, I want my future children to inherit my library.

>>197532
Song of Songs: A Biography. It summarized a lot of different schools of thought on the poem throughout the ages, from religious to secular and ancient to modern. It started with Akiva and then Origen. It compared the differences in allegorical readings and then later literal readings. It was an interesting bibliography, basically. Also talked about its influence on Walt Whitman, Herman Melville, and Toni Morrison.

I got a lot out of it, so I'd say it's worthwhile.

Anonymous 04/16/22 (Sat) 01:15:30 PM No. 197830

File: 1650114930239.jpeg (449.16 KB, 1125x1398, 0B2CBBF9-037F-4168-9D2F-B1BAFF…)

I wish I knew what the exact word for this is besides just being very descriptive but my ESL ass loves books that contain like full on paragraphs describing clothes, foods, etc and wondering if anyone knows a book that has those lush descriptions (better if it’s more realistic and not fantasy) My fav that I just read and looking for similar books basically is Justine by Forsyth Harmon (picrel) - it gave Rivers Edge by Kyoko Okazaki vibes - and was wondering if anyone knew similar books?

Anonymous 04/16/22 (Sat) 02:43:07 PM No. 197841

>>197830
>full on paragraphs describing clothes, foods, etc and wondering if anyone knows a book that has those lush descriptions (better if it’s more realistic and not fantasy)
My Immortal by Tara Gilesbie

Anonymous 04/16/22 (Sat) 04:03:24 PM No. 197855

File: 1650125004102.jpeg (803.04 KB, 1170x2190, 3029DC7B-09CE-4949-B88D-698F76…)

>>197830
The Game of Thrones series has a reputation for being extra descriptive of food, banquets, etc.

Anonymous 04/16/22 (Sat) 04:07:30 PM No. 197859

>>197830
I was reading Fellowship of the Ring (LOTR) and every few pages in the begining of the book they were stopping to describe some big feast or party. It also describes the scenery of the landscape in great detail when they arrive at new locations.

>>197841
Kek

Anonymous 04/16/22 (Sat) 05:23:04 PM No. 197869

>>197855
>>197859
Thanks nonnas but I’ve read them and that’s why I was asking for more realistic not fantasy works!

>>197841
Double kek

Anonymous 04/16/22 (Sat) 06:43:04 PM No. 197890

>>197830
There are enormous amounts of description in most of 19th century french literature, but the english translations are a bit hard to get by…

Anonymous 04/16/22 (Sat) 09:17:39 PM No. 197936

>>197830
older novels from like the 19th century and before that are kind of known for being overly descriptive. I think anne radcliffe's novels were like that.

Anonymous 04/17/22 (Sun) 01:56:56 AM No. 197989

>>197830
White Oleander by Janet Fitch might be up your alley, it’s about the daughter of a poet going through foster care after her mother goes to prison so the imagery is really lush and vivid, though imo the story isn’t as beautiful as the prose. Angela Carter and Toni Morrison also have beautiful writing but might be a little less descriptive than what you’re looking for - not full paragraphs but what descriptions are there are lovely to read. Nabokov’s writing is similar.

Anonymous 04/17/22 (Sun) 02:37:05 AM No. 197995

File: 1650163024789.gif (1.25 MB, 498x498, wuv.gif)

>>197890
>>197936
Ohh I had a friend rec Anne Radcliffe but is there any authors you rec as a good starting point also? kek is this what it takes for me to finally properly learn french?
>>197989
Love Carter (just re-reading the Bloody Chamber actually, Morrison and Nabokov, so I'm totally checking out White Oleander

Thank you to every nonna who responded, this gif is for you all!

Anonymous 04/17/22 (Sun) 04:01:53 AM No. 198003

>>197680
it's weird hearing women talk openly about these kinds of self-hating fantasies on popular platforms like tiktok. sad that romance in general was veering away from rapist love interests because women were having healthier relationship to their sexuality but here we are. i might read this out of curiousity if young women today are enjoying this. i can deal with ravishing forceful sex but not super rape-y.

Anonymous 04/19/22 (Tue) 02:16:06 AM No. 198658

>>197830
This description + you mentioning you love Carter and Morrison makes me think you might like Sandra Cisneros, nona. Actually, a lot of the Latin American magical realists (especially the women imho) are great for this – Isabel Allende and Laura Esquivel come to mind. Also maybe Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway? It's been a while since I read it though, so I might be misremembering exactly how many descriptions of clothes and flowers are in that one, lol.

Anonymous 04/20/22 (Wed) 10:23:47 AM No. 199032

File: 1650450227617.jpg (337.63 KB, 853x1200, la sagrada biblia.jpg)

I got my Spanish Bible in the mail today. I'm going to read 1-3 chapters a day and I should finish it in 2-3 years.

Pic related isn't my copy, but it's the same version.

Anonymous 04/20/22 (Wed) 12:44:43 PM No. 199050

>>199032
No shade, nonnie, but why is this exciting for you? Are you learning Spanish and wanted to read it, or were you feeling religious?

The cover is really pretty.

Anonymous 04/20/22 (Wed) 05:23:06 PM No. 199102

File: 1650475386516.gif (75.88 KB, 250x250, thanks for lifting me up nonny…)

>>198658
I haven't read Mrs. Dalloway in over a decade, but downloading a copy again and thank you nonna! I only only Marquez who horrified me and turned me of the genre but can trust women so I'll check out your recs!

Anonymous 04/20/22 (Wed) 05:57:33 PM No. 199107

File: 1650477453851.jpg (30.41 KB, 312x475, 45363333._SY475_.jpg)

Not sure if there's a better thread for this, I couldn't find an alt right lolcow thread. This book is written by an angry young man who has taken literally every black/red/? pill imaginable and is now lashing out in a suicidal rage. The author used to work for Breitbart and is connected to Milo Yiannopolous and Baked Alaska among other alt right figures. Some highlights:

>Praises domestic and international terrorists like ISIS and Kaczynski for "taking action"
>Explicitly calls for mass murder of anyone who isn't white, male, and fit
>"Ironically" suggests people carry out mass chaos and incite anarchy by destroying cell towers, destroying electronics with homemade EMPs, give machetes to the homeless, give 3rd world slaves weapons and send them into major American metropolitan areas, blow up buildings, to name a few
>Has violent, descriptive fantasies about killing women, gay people, jews, black people, Chinese people, and cops. Examples include shooting up a concert, shooting up a gay nightclub, curbstomping women, stabbing his female hairdresser, crushing a woman with a bookshelf
>Whining about the death of God but proclaiming himself a Christian
>Chapters on women range from him admitting he wants a mommy figure to soothe him to calling for a 'whore holocaust'
>Praises /mu/core artists and says that only straight white men are artists. Included references are John Maus, Ariel Pink, Homeshake, Mac Demarco. The author has made music and has a soundcloud.
>Patrick Bateman-esque, strict adherence to lifestyle - only eats pure unprocessed food (raw dairy/meat/vegetables, no alcohol, no energy drinks), lifting weights and screaming to the point neighbors are concerned/cops are called
>Goes on about what expensive clothes he wears, is revolted by people whose outfits cost less
>Bitching about how New York City smells bad and how disgusting homeless people are

Basically advocating for acceleration, genocide, a "hard reset" and retvrn to the woods. A few parts were funny, but most of it is just schizoid ramblings of a disaffected zoomer. I don't disagree with some of his takes on modernity and the industrial revolution but this is pretty disturbing to read

Anonymous 04/20/22 (Wed) 09:22:24 PM No. 199146

>>199107
I was considering reading this out of curiousity but sounds like a slog.
>stabbing his female hairdresser
classic. man can't cut his own hair and fantasizes about killing the woman who does
>Goes on about what expensive clothes he wears, is revolted by people whose outfits cost less
i wasn't expecting this. fascinating.

Anonymous 04/20/22 (Wed) 09:24:57 PM No. 199147

>>199107
I would not read this. shit like that can plant the first seeds of brainworms without you realizing it. certain ideas are insidious. don't gaze long into the abyss nona.

Anonymous 04/20/22 (Wed) 09:45:13 PM No. 199152

>>199107
>Bitching about how New York City smells bad and how disgusting homeless people are
I mean he sounds insane but this is fair

Anonymous 04/20/22 (Wed) 09:53:16 PM No. 199153

>>199107
fight club was a mistake kek. male retardation really never ceases to amaze. useless, disposable creatures.

still waiting on that sheltered storm update after lanza's youtube account got dug up. it changes a lot. I wonder if it'll ever come.

Anonymous 04/21/22 (Thu) 12:20:59 AM No. 199180

>>199107
I hate tech and want return to monke, but this is so retarded. He thinks if the world was chaotic and laws relaxed he could be on top, not realising they used to be, and it wouldn't just be subjugating based on sex, race, orientation etc., and that men would be subjugated by other men and one man with enough strength and resources gained by using that strength would just hoarde everything and have harems. He's a seething weak man.

>Only men can be artists.
>Writes this.
I think he disproved his own theory.

>Has a sound cloud.
KEK. How embarrassing.

Just another failson reeing that no one recognises how special he is (read; views himself as like a narc).

Anonymous 04/21/22 (Thu) 02:27:19 AM No. 199202

>>199102
lmao yeah, fuck Marquez. I hate that he probably turns a lot of women off of magical realism – women writers are the real masters of the genre.

Anonymous 04/21/22 (Thu) 04:23:42 AM No. 199232

File: 1650515021985.jpeg (1.01 MB, 1638x2442, C8FA5088-9050-4B3D-9A4B-AA7E88…)

I’ve been skipping all of Levin’s parts after the beginning because fuck, he’s so boring and pretentious. He thinks he’s better than everyone else just because he lives in the country? Dude doesn’t even do anything important half the time (I read the chapter summaries.) I won’t rag on the age gaps because we all know how it was 100+ years ago and this was written by a scrote, so.

Anonymous 04/21/22 (Thu) 04:42:08 AM No. 199235

>>199232
Loved Anna Karenina as a study in misogyny, basically. Levin really is insanely boring in comparison to her chapters but more interesting if you've read Sofia Tolstaya's diaries and about their marriage because you can see the parallels which make it even more obvious Levin is Tolstoy's self-insert who does everything with Kitty better than he actually did irl. I think reading Tolstaya's diaries is what really made his work "click" for me, maybe because I could approach it more from that perspective.

Anonymous 04/21/22 (Thu) 06:41:55 AM No. 199243

>>199107
>Goes on about what expensive clothes he wears, is revolted by people whose outfits cost less
That is so hilarious considering everything you wrote about the book above. How are men so dumb kek

Anonymous 04/21/22 (Thu) 10:02:37 AM No. 199255

>>199107
Elliot Rodger vibes

Anonymous 04/21/22 (Thu) 10:56:15 AM No. 199263

>>199050
I am learning Spanish and it's also a nice incentive to keep active with reading the scriptures. Seeing it in a totally different translation from any time I've read it before is very eye-opening. My copy doesn't have her on the cover, but it has a huge amount of color photographs of religious art and architecture, and of course various notes. Over the next few years, I will slowly explore all the extras.

Anonymous 04/21/22 (Thu) 02:40:35 PM No. 199294

>>199107
He has the whole western music canon to pick from but chooses Mac DeMarco to make his point.

Anonymous 04/21/22 (Thu) 03:24:48 PM No. 199301

>>199294
Ariel Rosenberg whose dad got locked up for insurance fraud also struck me as an odd choice for a white supremacist

Anonymous 04/21/22 (Thu) 03:58:42 PM No. 199314

File: 1650556722357.png (101.4 KB, 694x741, eOEugQH[1].png)

>>197995
French novels are reason enough to start learning french, but 19th century novels (whose figureheads are Victor Hugo, Emile Zola, Stendhal, George Sand, Gustave Flaubert and Honoré de Balzac) aren't a very good starting point if you have a beginner level in french, just as 19th century english novels aren't a good starting point for reading english novels.
I'd say you could start with authors Jules Verne (who has trouble writing women who aren't damsels in distress, but has a style simple enough that he's considered children lit), Marcel Aymé (notably Les Contes du Chat Perché), or even Alphonse Daudet and his Lettres de mon moulin, a collection of short stories among which La Chèvre de monsieur Seguin is a grade school classic (pic rel is a lush description of a goat having fun in the mountain)
Except Marcel Aymé all of these authors should be available on wikisource (https://fr.wikisource.org/wiki/Lettres_de_mon_moulin)

Anonymous 04/22/22 (Fri) 09:58:50 PM No. 199612

File: 1650664730023.jpeg (83.21 KB, 735x910, 693D1077-1968-499A-ADF2-D0ADCB…)

Nonies, how do you feel about Stephen King’s books? I used to be a huge fan growing up, but I’ve been rereading It out of nostalgia and I’m a little shocked at how… bloated it feels, and very clumsily written at times.

Anonymous 04/22/22 (Fri) 10:12:52 PM No. 199618

>>199612
I've only ever read salem's lot and I really didn't like it. I felt like it spent way too much time on stupid shit that had nothing to do with the plot, although it did have some genuinely creepy moments. I was dipping my toes into king's work because my sister is a megafan and his stuff has been gaining a lot of popularity, but based on everything I've heard from both people who love his work and people who hate it I know I'd hate it. I also don't like him as a person so there's that.

Anonymous 04/22/22 (Fri) 10:33:28 PM No. 199623

>>199612
His short stories are superior to his novels.

Anonymous 04/22/22 (Fri) 11:23:58 PM No. 199632

>>199612
Stephen King is a hack who largely fails at writing satisfying conclusions. His work is only well known now because of adaptions.

Anonymous 04/22/22 (Fri) 11:45:12 PM No. 199642

>>199612
He's not awful, but severely overrated. I don't understand people who buy every single book he writes and thinks every single one is good. His first book, Carrie, was simply awful imo. Baffling he got paid so much for it. I think some of his work is pretty good, but I do agree that his endings can fall very flat. Anything past the 90s written by him is simply awful from what I've read, like the "sequel" to the Shining was an abomination and made little to no sense. I think Misery was his best work along with the Shining.

Anonymous 04/23/22 (Sat) 06:32:55 AM No. 199695

>>199642
would you mind sharing why carrie is bad? I don't like king and have no interest in reading it but I thought it was supposed to be one of his better books

Anonymous 04/23/22 (Sat) 08:30:47 AM No. 199712

File: 1650702647155.jpg (107.23 KB, 1024x838, EZl0ImXU0AAJsrY.jpg)

>>199612
I tried to get into his stuff and I just couldn't. I read Cell and somewhat enjoyed it but thought surely The Shining is going to be miles better. Started it several times and just couldn't finish it. I feel like his works have a bad case of samevoicedness, the characters all sound the same and don't have a distinctive language of their own. Also the way he writes women is ridiculous (see picrel, not my screenshot). I'm still thinking about picking up Salem's Lot because I like vampire stuff

Anonymous 04/23/22 (Sat) 08:41:50 AM No. 199713

>>199712
Kek you can always tell scrote writers have literally never managed to arouse a woman in their lives by the way they attempt to describe female pleasure

Anonymous 04/23/22 (Sat) 08:42:16 AM No. 199714

>>199612
I was a big Stephen King reader as a teen, read most of his stuff. The first time I've given up was when he released The Dome, it was so awfully slowly moving bloated with nothing, I've just lost interest. I realize most of his longer stories were probably the same. I still get Stephen King books as presents and they keep piling up, I should probably give them a go.

Anonymous 04/23/22 (Sat) 09:12:07 AM No. 199718

File: 1650705127132.png (287.83 KB, 485x812, stephenwritingbreasts.png)

>>199713
Ikr. I feel like he is incapable of writing women without objectifying them. Whenever he writes about a female character, the first thing he writes about is their breasts. Picrel is King's breast-writing compilation, which includes a guy thinking about fondling a dead body to see how hard her breasts are

Anonymous 04/23/22 (Sat) 09:19:30 AM No. 199719

File: 1650705569969.jpg (628.42 KB, 1347x2128, 915sRfi3ZwL.jpg)

I like Stephen King and he's an author I come back to a lot because I know what I'm gonna get from him. He has a few shorter novels that are more tightly written, but in general his novels are full of fluff - personally I don't mind this, but I wouldn't try to get into him if you aren't down for 30 pages of backstory on some old guy down the road that has no relevance to the story. It does annoy me how he can't seem to stop objectifying every female character, especially because King probably sees himself as a feminist. There's also a lot of weird borderline racist stuff in a lot of his books.

Anonymous 04/23/22 (Sat) 09:22:18 AM No. 199720

>>199719
completely unrelated but I love 70s/80s book cover designs so much

Anonymous 04/23/22 (Sat) 10:11:53 AM No. 199729

>>199712
>she had run like an Indian through the corn

Anonymous 04/23/22 (Sat) 11:03:18 AM No. 199734

>>199719
Yes I love King but sometimes he trys to pass off his sexist plot points and dialogue choices as doing it for the horrors sake when it's clearly him choosing to fuck over all female characters.

Anonymous 04/23/22 (Sat) 11:34:07 AM No. 199741

File: 1650713647409.jpg (55.33 KB, 323x500, uweytywt.jpg)

>>199734
Yes, this annoyed me very much in Salem's Lot especially. There's one meaningful female character in the entire book and she's killed off pretty early while all the men get to participate in the final fight. I did think Rose Madder was very good though, and it's a rare female protagonist from him. It's the book that actually made me like him as a writer. It's been a couple years since I read it though and I wasn't as woken up about feminism then, but at least I remember it fondly.
>>199720
Me too! I wish they'd come back in style. Especially for horror.

Anonymous 04/23/22 (Sat) 02:19:20 PM No. 199767

File: 1650723560364.png (1.2 MB, 800x808, eyewear.png)

>>199720

God if there's one thing I hate it's modern book covers, I can't stand the monotonous, bland, washed out pastel covers they keep incessantly pumping out. So lazy and boring. I'd love to see more detailed illustrations come back, not just for horror

Anonymous 04/23/22 (Sat) 02:37:10 PM No. 199771

>>199767
>”slay”

Anonymous 04/23/22 (Sat) 04:16:53 PM No. 199799

File: 1650730613190.jpg (54.07 KB, 1200x1167, Minimalism-2.jpg)

>>199767
I feel like book covers nowadays are either overdesigned (too loud and colorful) or take the minimalist (picrel) route. I hate the too busy covers because…well, since most of book covers nowadays try to catch your attention, none of them will because they just disappear into a uniform, colorful mess. Minimalism I feel ambivalent about because on one hand, it works really well against the overdesigned ones (empty spaces draw attention) and they usually attempt to capture the essence of the book in a visual way, on the other hand lately I have been feeling that I grew tired of seeing them because they are trying to be overly smart with the design and I find this irritating. There was a simplicity to the 70s/80s covers that I really enjoyed because they weren't trying to be smart or attention-catching, they just communicated the mood of the book in a simple way

Anonymous 04/23/22 (Sat) 09:24:04 PM No. 199902

>>199771
looks like a fucking parody at this point

Anonymous 04/23/22 (Sat) 10:27:43 PM No. 199915

File: 1650752863644.gif (115.1 KB, 112x112, 576993364571062278.gif)

am i dummy for enjoying "my year of rest and relaxation"? i wasn't aware it was adopted by the "coquettecore" crowd (which i dislike because it's just lolita shit re-branded).

i get that the protag is a terrible person but i can't help but to understand her/like her as a character because i do see a bit of myself in her. namely abusing anti-psychotics for sleep and thinking i'm so far above my normie friends (i'm trying to break out of these modes of thought, but yeah)

Anonymous 04/23/22 (Sat) 10:34:59 PM No. 199918

>>199915
Don't let dumb people into dumb aesthetics ruin whatever you enjoy. A lot of people outside that community liked the book too.

Anonymous 04/23/22 (Sat) 10:59:13 PM No. 199923

File: 1650754753202.jpeg (75.82 KB, 500x764, 34BA2E6D-2D8A-4572-908F-739CEB…)

>>199799
imo to the worst book covers out there are the ones like your picrel, where they’re trying to be all wink-wink-nudge-nudge clever, and ones like this where it’s barely more than a stock photo and/or is super unmemorable.

Anonymous 04/23/22 (Sat) 11:00:34 PM No. 199924

File: 1650754834756.jpeg (53.02 KB, 626x626, 63C8FCFA-01BA-4FBD-A6DC-A063E7…)

Samefag, here’s a modern book cover I really like that is simple but not snarky, and looks like someone actually put some thought into the art and the book when making it.

Anonymous 04/23/22 (Sat) 11:03:25 PM No. 199925

>>199799
i actually like these

Anonymous 04/23/22 (Sat) 11:05:25 PM No. 199928

File: 1650755125468.jpg (225.74 KB, 1600x900, l-intro-1628872647.jpg)

can someone recommend me homoerotic vampire stories? preferably nothing in first perspective.

Anonymous 04/23/22 (Sat) 11:07:20 PM No. 199929

File: 1650755240437.jpeg (105.81 KB, 463x680, 9FBFDCA3-9061-4E68-9AA2-7E55F4…)

>>199924
Oh also, the Thai Harry Potter covers are super loud with a lot going on but at the same time they’re really well-done and memorable so I like them.

Anonymous 04/23/22 (Sat) 11:31:21 PM No. 199932

>>199923
hate stock covers. the fantasy version of this is so chronic in the industry. Never tells me anything abot what I'm going to read. Always the protagonist facing away looking at a generic foggy fantasy landscape. When they wanna make it spicy the protagonist either A. has a dagger in their hand B. Is looking over their shoulder at the audience C. has a bunch of birds behind them

Anonymous 04/24/22 (Sun) 12:00:19 AM No. 199935

File: 1650758419477.png (588.59 KB, 507x845, covers.png)

>>199923
Hate stock photo covers, but also for no real reason I hate these kinds of illustrated covers, maybe because they remind me of Tumblr-y art in how cluttered and literal they look. I guess it suits the genre since most of them are YA, but I've recently seen classics rebranded with similar cover art, see picrel with Pride and Prejudice.
Probably the worst of both worlds is when it's just a cover based on the movie adaptation though.

Anonymous 04/24/22 (Sun) 12:42:07 AM No. 199943

>>199928
>first perspective
*first person. also nevermind about this restriction, i'm just realizing the book i'm reading now is in first person kek

Anonymous 04/24/22 (Sun) 01:41:07 AM No. 199952

>>199915
No you're not. You're allowed to enjoy whatever you want to begin with, but there's also plenty of anons who've been raving about it for a while, like since the first book thread, and coquettes don't have ownership over that book anyway.

Anonymous 04/24/22 (Sun) 02:29:41 AM No. 199966

>>193239
Just wanted to follow up on this rec and say thank you nona, just finished Nightbitch and loved it!

Anonymous 04/24/22 (Sun) 03:05:02 AM No. 199971

File: 1650769502134.png (132.82 KB, 1674x454, Screenshot.png)

>>199928
>>199943
you've probably read it if you're into homoerotic vampire stories but carmilla

Anonymous 04/24/22 (Sun) 04:11:57 AM No. 199975

>>199966
Welcome, it's so good right?? It gave me some Miriam Towes vibe, I think just from the woman-ness of it and I can't wait to see what Rachel Yoder publishes next! But I have to ask, feeling real romantic right now and does anyone have recs for romance stories (realistic or fantasy) that feature light haired guys/dark haired women?

Anonymous 04/24/22 (Sun) 08:19:39 AM No. 200007

File: 1650788379013.jpg (292.33 KB, 544x800, small-gods-1[1].jpg)

>>199767
My favorite book covers are from the Discworld novels, where they just crammed as much shit as possible

Anonymous 04/24/22 (Sun) 08:26:48 AM No. 200009

>>199915
>am I allowed to like a book about a bad person even though that's the whole point and that farmers loved long before coquettcore was a thing??? Am I???
You sound like a newfag and a twitterfag at that. We adore uNlIkAbLe WoMeN here (it's high time we got stories like that after we've been brainwashed into empathising with awful scrotes for years), coquettes don't own this fucking book or anything and as mentioned, if you browsed previous threads plenty of nonas related to it.
Asking for permission and explaining how you aren't supporting pRoBlEmAtIc protagonist makes you look retarded.

Anonymous 04/24/22 (Sun) 08:44:11 AM No. 200011

>>199975
The Perfectly Imperfect Woman by Milly Johnson was recommended in a previous thread and the main couple is a dark brunette woman/blond guy, thought it was a pretty fun read too!

Anonymous 04/25/22 (Mon) 12:51:08 AM No. 200221

>>200009
Cmon anon, lay off a litle. No one's obligated to read old threads, and we've all been the self-conscious girl bracing for the "NO YOU STUPID BITCH WHO LIKES STUPID THINGS!!!!" hit.

>>199915 As you can probably tell anon, plenty of people like this book here. And lol, other anon IS right, anyone who acts like this book is uniquely awful when we live in a world with 24093059 Patrick Bateman books is ridiculous. I think MYORAR is especially good at skewering the protag's superiority complex – it's not something you see much in books by/about women, but it's real and it manifests in ways that are interestingly different from men's superiority complexes imho.

Anonymous 04/26/22 (Tue) 07:27:28 AM No. 200657

I can never finish books because I start them, read them fast, put them aside to do other stuff like idk, sleeping, eating, going to work, and after that I just procrastinate. I'm considering rebuying the HP books but i English this time (the French translation was good from what I remember but now that my English is more than good enough, why not) and I'm considering continuing the Captive Prince books I started years ago and forgot about. I also want to get back into The 12 Kingdoms because I read the first 3 arcs in French in middle and high school and couldn't afford the rest of the series because I was a poorfag. Aside from that I don't know. I want to go back into reading but I never know where to start because being super busy and tired in high school and uni turned me off reading anything except manga. Maybe I should go back to some French classics I liked like Arsène Lupin, Au bohneur des dames, etc, and I'm interested in le Compte de Monte Cristo, but I feel like I'd dislike most of these authors other books as well. I also want to reread some of Roal Dahl's books for nostalgia's sake, especially Mathilda.

By the way, since finding good josei manga with translations is kind of difficult, what novels would you recommend that are about working women's daily life that aren't pure depression or 100% about romance? I liked the devil wears prada when I read it long ago, so maybe I could look for similar novels. I'm ok with them if they're urban fantasies too btw.

Anonymous 04/26/22 (Tue) 10:16:48 AM No. 200692

File: 1650968208356.jpeg (100.17 KB, 826x1276, 51610F13-11C2-45F8-A0DA-7EC874…)

>>200657
For working women I really liked Nina Stibbes novels, especially her auto bio and Paradise Lodge (which is part of a trilogy tho and does feature romance but in a funny not very centred way,) and also Sourdough by Robin Sloan (programmer/baker daily life in San Francisco) and Blood Sisters by Yideum Kim (quite sad and depressing though but a personal fav of mine.)

Anonymous 04/26/22 (Tue) 10:21:27 AM No. 200694

>>199929
This looks nice, I love the color palette

Anonymous 04/27/22 (Wed) 12:03:31 AM No. 200983

>>200221
thank you nonny

Anonymous 04/27/22 (Wed) 12:24:18 AM No. 201007

>>199741
Rose Madder is really good, as is The Girl who Loved Tom Gordon. (Protag is a young girl)

Anonymous 04/27/22 (Wed) 12:30:23 AM No. 201015

>>195169
I read Un Lun Dun recently, I thought it was a little too long, but it had some really interesting ideas and enjoyable characters. I would have probably liked it better as a teen.

Anonymous 04/28/22 (Thu) 04:26:24 AM No. 201642

File: 1651119984622.jpg (33.04 KB, 277x432, Tell-My-Horse-by-Zora-Neale-Hu…)

Been reading this lately, I'm big into folklore studies and stuff like that and I find it in comparison to other fields, tends to have a decent amount of female authors. I find folklore / mythos authors/scholars in general tend to not to be as drenched in misogyny, which after a long time of reading philosophy, became exhausting to pull myself through.

Anonymous 04/28/22 (Thu) 03:44:03 PM No. 201828

File: 1651160643930.jpg (34.21 KB, 331x499, 51sW4oVzgHL._SX329_BO1,204,203…)

>>201642
I feel the same way, anon. Do you like Tell My Horse so far? I love Their Eyes Were Watching God, so I'm definitely intrigued. I've been reading picrel lately, and it's pretty interesting – definitely mostly rooted in Western fairy tales, as that's the author's specialty, but it's still really expansive. She has some very interesting ideas about what the "shape" of the proposed "heroine's journey" might look like, as opposed to Joseph Campbell's hero's journey.

Anonymous 04/28/22 (Thu) 11:53:57 PM No. 201996

Right now, I'm reading The Wisdom of the Middle Ages, which is just a primer/summary of influential and important writers/works of the Middle Ages. Today's chapter talked about St. Augustine since he was so influential on the Middle Ages. It was mostly about Confessions, with a little bit about City of God. I read Confessions last year and checked my calendar to see when. It was exactly one year ago. At this time last year, I was read Confessions and now here I am reading about Confessions. Neat happening.

Anonymous 04/29/22 (Fri) 12:11:43 AM No. 202001

There’s a book I want to read, but it’s ALWAYS checked out of the library every time I look. Should I just buy it used from a website?

Anonymous 04/29/22 (Fri) 12:16:24 AM No. 202002

>>202001
You can't get put on a waiting list?

Anonymous 04/29/22 (Fri) 12:52:48 AM No. 202034

>>202002
They aren’t doing holds right now for some reason.

Anonymous 04/29/22 (Fri) 02:17:09 AM No. 202049

File: 1651198629308.jpg (197.05 KB, 1024x1024, 20220428_211323-COLLAGE.jpg)

I found this little book hiding behind a bunch of others in the feminist section of my local second hand bookstore last year. It always makes me smile, and I'm very glad I was able to find it (the sticker on it said it'd been at the store since 2007!)

Anonymous 04/30/22 (Sat) 06:32:28 AM No. 202378

>>202049
This is so lovely, I wish content like this was being promoted to girls these days instead of all the trash on social media

Anonymous 05/01/22 (Sun) 09:54:21 AM No. 202652

I just found out the US military has reading lists
https://www.usni.org/press/military-reading-lists
Most of them are what you'd expect (there's even Starship Troopers in one), with a surprising Invisible Women in the air force's list

Anonymous 05/01/22 (Sun) 11:51:31 AM No. 202661

>>202049
I love this!!!

>>202001
Do it, Nonnie

Anonymous 05/01/22 (Sun) 12:06:44 PM No. 202663

>>202049
Thanks for sharing nona, this is like an antidote to trans and sexist bullshit.

Anonymous 05/01/22 (Sun) 02:09:27 PM No. 202672

>>202652
Based airforce.

Anonymous 05/01/22 (Sun) 04:12:32 PM No. 202700

I sold the five first volumes of the 12 Kingdoms last year or two years ago iirc, despite liking them when I was in middle school. I'm considering rereading them as well as volumes 6 and 7. No way I'll be able to find a copy of the next volumes because they cost at least 300€ or something so if I can pirate them I will. No way I'm ordering the books in Japanese either, they have been reprinted not long ago and I studied Japanese in university but it's a fantasy story inspired by Chinese mythology so I'd be completely lost if I tried to read it and I remember reading the books in French way back and already being lost with some of the explanations about kanji and names. Should I buy volumes 1 from volumes 7? They're fairly cheap.

I'm also considering reading Battle Royale since it's such a classic and I remember liking some of the manga volumes I read long ago. Did it age well?

>>200692
Thanks for the reply, I will look into this. What kind of vibe did these books give you? Were they funny, depressing, relatable? I'm honestly ok with romance as long as it's not the focal point of the book. Like in the devil wears Prada, when you see the MC's breaking up with her bf and meeting another guy but it's just a subplot and part of a larger story for example.

Anonymous 05/01/22 (Sun) 05:20:13 PM No. 202734

>>202700
I actually bought them, I found a really good deal on Vinted for the first 4 arcs.

Anonymous 05/01/22 (Sun) 05:48:50 PM No. 202747

>>202700
I've read Battle Royale so many times and I still can't remember how it ends. It's such a weird phenomenon and I don't get amnesia with other books.

Anonymous 05/02/22 (Mon) 06:24:57 PM No. 203079

File: 1651515897463.jpeg (41.06 KB, 255x391, 333E5358-BFC8-49D1-BBFD-DC9B84…)

>>202747
Is The Wheel of Time series worth reading? I started the Amazon series recently and it has its flaws but I thought the premise was interesting and I like the female characters so far.
I’m a little apprehensive because I’ve been looking for a high fantasy series but most of them seem too moidy for my taste and WoT was written by a man so don’t want to be disappointed again… If anyone has any other questions recs along these lines I’d appreciate it too!

Anonymous 05/02/22 (Mon) 06:37:16 PM No. 203085

>>203079
I hated the show but loved the books!

Anonymous 05/02/22 (Mon) 09:13:58 PM No. 203178

>>193229
>>192221
Unhinged women anons, I just finished Acts of Desperation based on these recs, and wow. Loved it. It's such a completely naked look at that state of totally abject, totally pathetic need so many women can end up in over a guy – which I found a really interesting contrast to a lot of the other books in our unhinged women pile, actually. Like, a lot of them deal with this, but in a slightly different way – often imho more openly angry (Animal, Any Man) or more abstracted, like degradation from men is just one part of the puzzle (MYORAR, Social Creature, Earthlings, Gillian Flynn's stuff). But Acts is just IN IT the whole way through, and jesus, it's so raw.

Ciaran was so well observed – I don't think I've seen a better portrayal of guys who hate their gfs for being doormats but also repeatedly seek out doormats because they don't actually want an equal relationship. Also, this goes so against show-don't-tell, but I really loved the parts of this book (and others in the pile) that were just her musing and even straight up ranting about why she does the things she does, and how they're pretty understandable and even rational choices to make in the context of most straight women's lives. Seeing how often this approach pops up in a lot of these books kind of has me circling an idea that like…this is kind of a unique and worthwhile literary device in this little canon. I think a lot of women actually do have these little rants going in their heads, which can honestly be something that keeps you sane in an unfair situation b/c it keeps you tethered to the knowledge that this is bs and you're angry for a good reason, and putting it directly on the page is a really vivid representation of that. Kinda still chewing on this idea, but I think there's something really interesting in the divide this highlights between thought and action, and how lots of women, like our unnamed gal here, do things they don't like and KNOW they don't like but don't really know how NOT to do. That final sex scene with the wheedling dude was such a potent example of this.

So, so glad it ends with her alone. I really love that towards the end, she ends up having good, even idyllic times with a few different men – it made that final scene so strong. And I love too that it even kind of faces the loneliness she's feeling in Athens – like, this is hard, and there were comforting alternatives presented, but she's still fucking off.

Anonymous 05/03/22 (Tue) 01:56:44 AM No. 203250

>>203079
nta I did not watch the show but I read the first three books many years ago. I could not finish the fourth. A lot of people say the fourth is the best but I disagree, it's really boring past the first few chapters. All of the books are needlessly long, and there's a lot to keep track of so if you take any breaks from reading you will forget details that end up being important later. All of the female characters pretty much exist to be girlfriends for the male characters and obviously thats done in a moidy way. Other than that it's a pretty fun series for what it is. The world-building is cool. It's very much stereotypical fantasy.

Anonymous 05/03/22 (Tue) 02:16:53 AM No. 203251

>>202700
For Nina Stibbe, her books her just really funny to me, there's some sad/melancholic moments here and there but overall I like how it's (Paradise Lodge one,) basically the story of a girl growing up and it's nice to see her maturing book by book. Blood Sisters was very raw, like it basically calls out the unfairness and misogyny in Korean society and the ending is just so out of left field and not happy but it's got good female friendship and despite the sadness not trauma porn or anything like that at all! Hope you can find the 12 kingdoms btw nonny, making me want to play Suikoden now

Anonymous 05/03/22 (Tue) 03:00:56 AM No. 203257

>>203079
>>203250
The thing about the female characters only existing to be love interests is not true at all. The books are far from perfect when it comes to female representation but there are some strong female characters that play pretty important roles.

The problem is more the "gender wars" aspect. Some the female characters are insufferable, at least in the earlier books, usually because of how bullheaded they are. And a lot of them will say things like "Men! They can't even tie their shoes without our help!" And then the men will complain about how difficult women are etc. These books have been criticized both for being sexist towards women and men lol.

Other things about this book series is that the plot is slow moving, and there's a bunch of plots and subplots, a million characters, a ton of shit to keep track of and tons of filler in some of the books. Jordan is also overly descriptive with everything, like pages and pages of just fucking describing people's outfits and stuff like that.

>A lot of people say book 4 is the best

Book 4 was my favorite lol. Imo it didn't get good til about halfway through. I just finished book 13 (there are 14 books, not including the prequel). I have a lot to say. I can come back when Im done and write a blog post about it if you guys want lol.

Anonymous 05/03/22 (Tue) 03:52:10 AM No. 203262

>>203085
>>203250
AYRT, thanks for the replies, nonnies. I was mostly concerned with the “gender war” aspect >>203257 mentioned because idk how nuanced a male author could approach it, but might pick them up for the cool world building anyway and see how it goes just as a fun series.
>>203257
Definitely post an update! Appreciate how in depth your thoughts are.
>>203178
I read this one but didn’t like it as much, but you’ve convinced me to give it a reread. I think it was just difficult to read because of how raw it was and how degrading and humiliating her relationship with Ciaran is. With stuff that’s more abstract or angry like you mentioned, it feels more removed and surreal, like parts of Any Man and Earthlings. So in a way I guess Acts is more uncomfortable because it’s more « mundane » in its subject matter and there’s not this explosive cathartic conclusion, but your post made me reconsider the ending more in vein of what kind of story it is.

Anonymous 05/04/22 (Wed) 03:34:39 AM No. 203564

>>203262
Acts anon here. That's a really interesting distinction – I didn't think to think of Any Man/Earthlings/etc as being more cathartic b/c they're more abstracted, but that's totally true. And I love that tbh, and can def see how a lot of people wouldn't love Acts for being comparatively mundane – not saying this is you, but like, I have some friends that just really don't have it in them to get THAT up close and personal with this kind of degradation, and honestly, that's fair.

But yeah, I think there's really something to its ending being a cascade of shit – I think I really like that there's a contrast between Ciaran being his absolute worst and then the wheedling guy being "better" but infuriating her in this totally new way. It's like she's realized this is all on a continuum, which has trapped her in an awful cycle for years, and even the "nice guys" pull shit – but she can just step out of it. And I think it's especially powerful b/c the book is SO open about how degraded and pathetic this process can be for women, how much it makes her into someone we'd honestly maybe post about here….but it still ends on her side, with her enjoying the ocean because it helps her connect with her body in a way that has nothing to do with men. She can still come home to herself, despite everything. Report back later anon, whether or not you agree!

Anonymous 05/04/22 (Wed) 05:54:16 AM No. 203579

Are Susanna Clarke's books good? Which of her books would you rec for someone who's not familiar with her works?

Anonymous 05/04/22 (Wed) 07:02:18 AM No. 203584

There's this book called The Idiot, and it is needless reading it because if you looking at it is exactly like reading it. It's kind of like getting into philosophy. You read a bunch a shit and you don't come out of it any better. Basically, you come out of it the same as someone who's been banned from an imageboard at least three times. Or it's like diarrhea, with these books: the first shit isn't distinct from the others. It's a coming of age zeitgeisty (Sally Rooney, if I find you it's on fucking sight, you better know how to run) book called the Idiot about a Turkish-American girl from New Jersey who goes into Harvard. Now, with one person pointing a gun at you, and the other covering your eyes: can YOU – the nonny reading this – guess the identity of the author? Yes, yes, oui, it's a Turkish-American Harvard graduate….from fucking New Jersey. Just how much this state will continue to launch upon us an assault of complete retards? Just like Sally Rooney was a Trinity college graduate studying literature. And a Marxist, KEK. Fucking self-inserts. These are are being heralded as contemporary greats right now – self-inserts by literary women, obsessed with the liminal space between adolescence and adulthood almost to a point of fetishization, all solipsistic and obnoxious and, most of all, boring. Here's a radical statement for once: your individual experiences don't matter. And if this trend continues I will start kidnapping publishers and I will gouge their eyes out. "I didn’t have any other life I could write about.” Don't fucking write. Put down the pen. You're better than that. Oh, and don't get me fucking started on the pop culture references. Oh, Mrs Self Insert listens to Fiona Apple? Regina Spektor? Of course. "Navigating adulthood", kek – navigate the physics of my fucking baseball bat

Anonymous 05/04/22 (Wed) 07:28:15 AM No. 203589

>>203584
You sound like you're upset, anon. Rooney books are shit imo, but I don't see why writing about a completely made-up character would be inherently better than writing about yourself. Often the made-up ones are self-inserts too in the sense that they mirror the author's personality even if their life story seems different. I don't care if it's autofiction or not as long as it's good.

Anonymous 05/04/22 (Wed) 07:29:49 AM No. 203590

>>203589
test

Anonymous 05/04/22 (Wed) 11:49:16 AM No. 203636

File: 1651664956404.jpg (88.2 KB, 545x840, 545x840.jpg)

I picked up this book and really enjoyed it. What are some books like it? (quick f5 search itt tells me it's a tiktok aesthetic book? fuck me)

Also, I spotted a book in a bookstore earlier this year and forgot to write down the title and now I can't find it anymore. It was something about a woman accusing a charismatic man/professor of something and something to do with greek mythology or greek statues? Vague I know that's all I remember, anyone recognize it and can tell me the name of the book?

Anonymous 05/04/22 (Wed) 12:16:08 PM No. 203642

>>203636
Could it be Le Prix by Cyril Gely? It's a book about a female chemist confronting a male chemist who wins a nobel prize after stealing her work. It's french tho, so it's most likely not the book you were talking about if it was in english.

Anonymous 05/04/22 (Wed) 01:14:06 PM No. 203654

>>203642
Ah no it was not that, I think it must've been a more recent book because it was displayed like that. It wasn't in English but most books here are translated from English or otherwise so I'm fairly sure it wasn't a local writer. Thanks for your input!

Anonymous 05/04/22 (Wed) 02:38:25 PM No. 203675

File: 1651675105198.png (1.17 MB, 1392x928, Screenshot 2022-05-04 163755.p…)

>>203579
Bumpety-bump? Anyone read her stuff?

Anonymous 05/04/22 (Wed) 02:43:38 PM No. 203680

>>203675
I have Piranesi, I read the first few pages and then forgot about it. I want to keep reading it but haven't yet. But from what I read it seemed really bizarre (in a good way). I've heard really good things about Piranesi across the board though. No interest in reading Jonathan Strange lol.

I'd suggest reading Piranesi first. Even if you don't like it it's a short book.

Anonymous 05/04/22 (Wed) 03:14:01 PM No. 203685

>>203680
Thank you, I was leaning towards Piranesi too just because of the cover kek

Anonymous 05/04/22 (Wed) 03:18:17 PM No. 203686

File: 1651677497043.jpg (51.35 KB, 330x500, 51tiM146-1L.jpg)

Has anyone read the book the show Made for Love was based on? Is it any good? I like the show but I was wondering if the book differs largely in tone or plot

Anonymous 05/04/22 (Wed) 03:31:42 PM No. 203691

File: 1651678302860.jpg (76.24 KB, 736x883, 202ad9ba543c2b8db31c3eabc0f8b9…)

Nonas, how do you go about finding new books to read?

Anonymous 05/04/22 (Wed) 03:35:46 PM No. 203693

File: 1651678546660.jpg (88.04 KB, 306x475, jillian.jpg)

I've been in a major reading slump the past few months, but I recently read Jillian by Halle Butler and I liked it a lot. I believe it's been mentioned a few times in this thread in the context of unhinged women books. The protagonist works a job she hates and she has a heavy dislike for her co-worker Jillian. It really spoke to the depressed spiteful part of me that hates everyone and everything.
>>203686
It's a quick read, and it's worth it in my opinion. It's pretty different from the show and a lot weirder, I like both.
>>203178
I'm the anon who originally posted about Acts of Desperation - I'm glad you enjoyed it! You articulated a lot of my thoughts on it a lot better than I could have.

Anonymous 05/04/22 (Wed) 03:50:33 PM No. 203696

>>203584
I don't really like Sally Rooney or a lot of similar books, but you seem desperate to pathologize really normal things as CRaZy SoLiPSiSTiC BitCh ShIt for what are probably pretty predictable reasons.

Anonymous 05/04/22 (Wed) 03:51:58 PM No. 203697

>>203636
F5 search "unhinged women" in this thread anon. Also, I think you're talking about Alex Michaelides' The Maidens? Haven't read it myself, but tbh I've heard it's a bit of a letdown.

Anonymous 05/04/22 (Wed) 03:53:38 PM No. 203698

>>203691
I like looking up books I already like on Goodreads and seeing what kind of lists they're on – the more specific ones (not "literary fiction of 2020" ones) can have a lot of great selections. I also subscribe to my local bookstore's emails and look through the weekly new release list.

Anonymous 05/04/22 (Wed) 04:12:20 PM No. 203705

>>203693
oooh this sounds so good and somewhat relatable KEK, I'm gonna check it out. Also love the book cover

Anonymous 05/04/22 (Wed) 04:32:56 PM No. 203713

>>203691
I use Goodreads so whenever a book sounds interesting I just add it there and then browse later when I need something new. If you can, it's also fun to peruse the used book section of a charity shop or a used book shop and just grab what catches your eye, since it's all donations-based you can find a lot of obscure gems among the typical stuff.

Anonymous 05/04/22 (Wed) 05:20:30 PM No. 203727

I bought some of the books mentioned here with French translations, the translations better be good because I'm not ordering these books from god knows where.

Anonymous 05/04/22 (Wed) 05:23:01 PM No. 203728

>>203727
samefagging but I hate it so much when publishers put these godawful sticker to explain that a book got an award or that it was published 25 years ago or that it got a movie or tv show adaptation, they're almost impossible to remove. Pray for my books.

Anonymous 05/04/22 (Wed) 05:42:39 PM No. 203732

>>203696
>really normal things
Kek, what “things”?

Anonymous 05/04/22 (Wed) 05:52:20 PM No. 203734

>>203636
Maybe The Maidens by Alex Michaelides?

Anonymous 05/04/22 (Wed) 06:00:37 PM No. 203737

>>203693
I liked this one too, I related to the protagonist for the same reasons kek. The parts from Jillian’s perspective were really good. I read The New Me by the same author and I liked it as part of the unlikeable-female-protagonist genre but it felt almost unfinished in comparison and I think having another main character made the narrative a lot more compelling. I feel like I’m digging myself into increasingly specific requests, but I really want to see more books about unlikeable, directionless older women like Jillian more often.

You might also like Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh if you haven’t read it already.

Anonymous 05/04/22 (Wed) 06:10:06 PM No. 203740

>>203584
>can YOU – the nonny reading this – guess the identity of the author?
Easy, Dostoevsky

Anonymous 05/04/22 (Wed) 06:16:37 PM No. 203743

>>203737
Ayrt, I kind of ended up liking Jillian's story the most! I wish I knew what happened to her in the end, she was a very interesting character. At times I felt bad for her, even though the mess of her life was mostly her own doing. I did read The New Me a while ago and found it a little less memorable even though I did enjoy it. I'm really interested in anything else from the author in the future!

Anonymous 05/04/22 (Wed) 07:19:42 PM No. 203752

>>203732
Contemporary novels referencing contemporary culture, writers basing protagonists on themselves, literary fiction being very obviously linked to the academy. All of these are really, really, really normal in literary fiction and have been for decades. There are definitely legitimate ways to criticize these things – I, for example, am very frustrated with how completely married literary fiction has been to the MFA world for decades. But you're not really doing that, you're just pointing out things that aren't at all unique to the Sally Rooneys of the world and acting like their existence is inherently objectionable. Which is usually what people do when they want to pillory women in the arts for being CrInGeY and act like this is a new thing they invented and not something Phillip Roth was doing many years ago.

Anonymous 05/04/22 (Wed) 07:20:36 PM No. 203754

>>203584
I remember reading that and stopped at 100 pages because it was so boring. I thought you were talking about Dostoevsky at first though kek

Anonymous 05/05/22 (Thu) 03:56:57 PM No. 204055

>>203752
>Which is usually what people do when they want to pillory women in the arts for being CrInGeY and act like this is a new thing they invented and not something Phillip Roth was doing many years ago.
I agree, including the 'your experience does not matter!!!' thing. Scrotes have been bashing us in the head with this for centuries while pitching their degenerate thinly veined autobiographies as The Objective Truth About The Human Condition. Enough. I want women to write about their experiences, even if I find some of their books insufferable.

Anonymous 05/05/22 (Thu) 06:00:23 PM No. 204081

>>193229
Thank you for this chart, I just finished Animal by Lisa Taddeo and I feel like I got the wind knocked out of me. At parts it was difficult to read, not necessarily because of the content, but just because of how gratuitous some of the details were. But I'm glad I finished. I'm starting Convencience Store Woman tonight and I have high hopes.

>>203079
I stopped reading on the sixth book but I plan to finish it. There's some sexism, but it's not violent or anything. I often can't read books that I find too misogynistic and I didn't have any problem with WoT. If you like fantasy go for it. The series is long enough that it ends up feeling comforting to return to it, at least for me anyway.

Anonymous 05/05/22 (Thu) 06:41:30 PM No. 204083

>>203675
Just started reading this the other day! I dislike that the protagonist is male but it's a really relaxing, mysterious book so far.

Anonymous 05/05/22 (Thu) 07:09:08 PM No. 204087

File: 1651777748423.jpg (289.47 KB, 776x572, quote.jpg)

>>204055
Couldn't agree more. You've reminded me of this bell hooks quote, which I think about a lot. If the only books published by women for ten years were Sally Rooney books, that would be a grain of sand compared to the ocean of navel-gazing bs men have produced. And I'm so much more concerned about women writers who'll stop themselves from writing b/c it might be omg cringe than I am about, idk, there being a lot of books by women I'm not into? I can read other things. Luckily, we're living in an age of women writers in a wide variety of genres.

Anonymous 05/05/22 (Thu) 07:44:02 PM No. 204092

>>203691
I used to read Molly Young’s Read Like The Wind newsletter but it’s behind a paywall now. The old ones are archived on Vulture and I’ve found tons of books through her. She reads and recommends just as many old books as new ones, which I appreciate. I also use Goodreads but the community is pretty backwards and it’s hard to rely on their recommendations (The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo for example…)

Anonymous 05/06/22 (Fri) 07:57:24 AM No. 204154

File: 1651823844179.jpg (396.85 KB, 1399x2117, 81qnHYaBaOL.jpg)

so I read this book because I just wanted some entertainment/hot trash and it delivered (I mean, it's well written, but the subject matter is hot trash) it's about a sugar baby/sugar daddy relationship gone wrong. I liked the twist at the end too. it kind of took the opposite turn from what I thought.

but one thing that stuck out to me is the main character is a 21 year old NYU art student. the book was written in 2019 and set in modern day. it mentions her art student friends and how liberal and anti gun they are and they all have tattoos and piercings etc. yet when they find out she's a sugar baby they're disgusted, they disown her and call her a whore. but in real life wouldn't they be like "hell yeah, SWIW, get that bag girl!!" or am I wrong? that part just felt kind of unrealistic imo

Anonymous 05/06/22 (Fri) 07:59:19 AM No. 204155

Serious question, don't laugh at me: how similar is Hunger Games to Battle Royale? I never read any of these novels and never watched their movie adaptations but I remember a teacher like 8 years ago teaching Japanese, a perfect mix between blonde, tall stacy and a hardcore weaboo who said Hunger Games wasn't straight up plagiarism but it might as well be and she was only talking about the novels. I'm curious. On top of that, how are the Percy Jackson books? I don't plan on reading them but I was a huge HP fangirl in middle and high school way back and given how people talked about it on tumblr a decade ago Percy Jackson gave me the impression of following HP's lead and nothing else. Not saying HP is the most revolutionary series of novels ever but PJ seemed redundant idk.

What urban fantasy novels that aren't YA would you recommend in general? As long as they're not long series and they have interesting stories that are still relatable despite whatever supernatural and magical stuff going on, I'm willing to try anything. The more time passes, the less I care about high fantasy and medieval Europe like settings

Anonymous 05/06/22 (Fri) 09:07:49 AM No. 204162

>>204155
>How similar is Hunger Games and Battle Royale
Not super similar, not sure what the weeab teacher means. Both only really have the concept of a battle royale between children and government/class commentary in common.
>Aduly Urban Fantasy Reccomendations
I read a lot of Urban Fantasy and have a big back catalogue, though I'm not sure about recommendations. I really just read everything and don't have a super high standard. Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko is good and probably the 'deepest' urban fantasy I've read, though not many so far I've read have been introspective. It is also translated from Russian and a little stilted/different in a way I enjoyed from English novels.

Mark of The Demon by Diana Rowland reminds me of the Shin Megami Tensei series, as well as Archangel Protocol by Lyda Morehouse, and World's End by Mark Chadbourn if you're into video games.

The Restorer by Amanda Stevens and the rest of the series is a decent gothic urban fantasy I enjoy about a woman who works restoring graveyards and often gets involved with the goings on in the places she works.

Anons have recommended Come Closer by Sara Gran for something less pulpy about a woman who gets possessed.

Wither is a good witch novel about a group of women and one girl bonded by a witch who was killed in their down and has become the central selling point of the town.

What kind of Urban Fantasy are you looking for, anon?

Anonymous 05/06/22 (Fri) 09:08:28 AM No. 204163

>>204155
Also, HP and PJ are sort of similar in that they are both UF for kids, but HP is miles better in my opinion.

Anonymous 05/06/22 (Fri) 12:05:28 PM No. 204185

>>204162
I'm open minded, I can read murder mysteries, love stories, characters' daily lives, just anything as long as it's good and fun. I'm not in the mood for things that are too edgy or only about good vs evil conflicts though. btw I love megaten game so I'll look into the book you compared to SMT.

Anonymous 05/06/22 (Fri) 03:17:13 PM No. 204212

>>204155
Imo pj is a lot less readable than hp and did not stand up to the test of time as well. Riordan has this thing where he makes a lot of 'witty' quips and pop culture references in his writing. It gets worse in later series and makes them basically unreadable, but in the og percy jackson books it can still be pretty annoying. I loved them when I was in middle school but they lost their appeal fast and I don't think I'd try to re-read them again. Honestly apart from being childrens/YA and having a setting with magic, they're not similar to HP at all.

Comparing hunger games and BR… They're pretty similar in plot but not so much in execution. I don't think it's plagairism though, and probably not even inspiration. Battle Royale wasn't popular in the west until after the Hunger Games iirc. But definitely read Battle Royale if you get the chance, I read it while on lockdown from a shooter so maybe it seemed worse to me but that book was one of the scariest I've ever read.

Anonymous 05/06/22 (Fri) 03:46:15 PM No. 204214

>>204212
>what the fuck anon, I'm so sorry. Is he rotting in prison or did he off himself?

Anonymous 05/06/22 (Fri) 05:01:25 PM No. 204233

>>204212
>Riordan has this thing where he makes a lot of 'witty' quips and pop culture references in his writing
Sounds like something I'd dislike a lot. It doesn't really bother me in tv shows and movies for some reason because they're visual so you always have an idea of when the story takes place but in books it really depends on the context. And how witty are the characters and narration? Is it MCU tier?

Anonymous 05/06/22 (Fri) 05:09:22 PM No. 204237

File: 1651856962305.jpg (205.57 KB, 1600x2400, 71 qex15G5L.jpg)

just finished this up. i thought it was alright, the ending was totally expected imo. to me it's one of those books that get shilled as deep when it's really nothing new or revolutionary

Anonymous 05/06/22 (Fri) 05:21:39 PM No. 204240

File: 1651857699005.png (980.07 KB, 648x928, Screen Shot 2022-05-06 at 2.11…)

>>204214
Yep he's serving a life sentence! I wasn't in any immediate danger or anything hence why I could read.

>>204233
I haven't read the books in a while but yes, it's pretty bad, especially in the later spinoff series. At one point Apollo got snapchat and that was when I stopped reading. I think the first series is still alright though and you might enjoy them enough to get over the cringe.

On the subject of bad books, has anyone read picrel? I'm tired of writing full sentences so:
>Lesbian mc constantly talks about porn
>Set on a space ship in a different world where necromancy is real
>Still has multiple pop culture references for some reason
>No world building, nothing is ever explained
>15+ characters introduced in the space of a few chapters
>First two thirds of the book involve nothing happening while the mc walks around not knowing what's going on
>Ending consists of multiple twists showing various characters have been dead/reanimated this whole time and then main character dies killing a villain that was literally just introduced

I started reading the next book in the series, Harrow the Ninth, because why not
>One of the main characters literally says "choke me daddy" within the first three chapters
>God is introduced as a character
>God is all powerful but also doesn't know everything but also knows everything and is also a guy
>More random unexplained magic
>Everyone is immortal now yadda yadda yadda
>Every single likeable or funny character from the first book has been killed off

I'm going to finish it out of pure spite. Will probably end up reading the next book in the series too.

Anonymous 05/06/22 (Fri) 05:29:57 PM No. 204242

>>204240
>At one point Apollo got snapchat and that was when I stopped reading
Obviously I have no context for this but this gives me some "how do you do fellow kids" vibes. Isn't the writer also the guy who bragged online at some point because unlike JKR his books are inclusive and have trans characters? Or something like that? I'm morbidly curious now, maybe I'll pirate the movie adaptations because I'm too lazy to hate read anything.

>lesbian necromancers explore a haunted gothic palace in space!
kek that's already too much for me

Anonymous 05/06/22 (Fri) 05:43:02 PM No. 204245

>>204240
I refused to read that purely because the author claims to be a lesbian despite having a whole ass husband she isn't leaving she was also called out for writing child rape fanfiction tho I'm not 100% sure about that no way someone that crazy could write a decent lesbian story. Ty anon I feel vindicated by your post kek

Anonymous 05/06/22 (Fri) 08:54:10 PM No. 204274

File: 1651870450565.jpg (107.38 KB, 313x473, 41104077.jpg)

What non-fiction books have you read recently? Finally read Invisible Women after seeing it recommended so much and I loved it! I went to read reviews on Goodreads which was a mistake. So many people reeing about inclusivity and troons

>>204240
I read Gideon and liked it but it's definitely not for everyone. Shame that the author is Like That

Anonymous 05/06/22 (Fri) 08:55:38 PM No. 204275

>>204240
I bought this book because I heard a lesbian had wrote it and I was really excited to see some rep. Then I discovered that not only was that a lie but the book itself is just mediocre. I agree with your points nona.

I'm about halfway through and I don't know if I can take it anymore kek. I feel like I can get into any genre if I'm told a good story, but this just isn't it. I'm pissed that this was shilled to me.

Anonymous 05/06/22 (Fri) 09:46:48 PM No. 204280

>>204240
Was thinking of picking this up solely because a cute girl I follow on Insta likes it. Glad to have not wasted the time.

Anonymous 05/06/22 (Fri) 09:58:58 PM No. 204281

>>204240
>Harrow the Ninth is a 2020 science fantasy novel […] to be followed by Nona the Ninth (2022)
Yes, you have to read it

Anonymous 05/06/22 (Fri) 10:22:54 PM No. 204286

>>204245
I googled this and damn you're right. I understand thinking you're straght and realizing later in life you're gay, I understand thinking you're gay and then realizing later in life you're bi (did that myself kek), but I don't understand realizing you like women and men and deciding to call yourself a lesbian. Why not just say bisexual? I wouldn't give a shit if a bi in a het relationship wrote some lesbian romance, I wouldn't even give a shit if a straight girl wrote lesbian romance. But there's something so skeevy about her calling herself a lesbian while being in a happy relationship with a man. Like lesbian is just a funky aesthetic for her, not a real sexuality.

Still going to finish hatereading the series though. I started it because a girl I like recommended it to me, so if these books kick off one actual girl/girl relationship I will forgive the author for her homophobia.

Anonymous 05/07/22 (Sat) 01:01:10 AM No. 204311

>>204154
if a woman's friends are shitty rich kids who come from conservative families who never actually examined thoughts could be the case, but otherwise yes these types would probably think it's cool and great nowadays.

Anonymous 05/07/22 (Sat) 02:12:21 AM No. 204321

>>204274
Read "a brief history of the celts" recently, hearing about how egalitarian they were in comparison to other societies was refreshing. Women could join the intellectual caste and had equal education opportunities from childhood.

Anonymous 05/07/22 (Sat) 02:16:01 AM No. 204322

>>204154
>>204311
Yeah honestly, the whole “sex work is work” thing is very trendy in liberal circles right now but it’s a different story when it’s someone they’re actually close to. Plus a lot of left-wing people are just hypocritical in general. I think it’s believable depending on what type of characters and setting the story has.

Anonymous 05/07/22 (Sat) 02:25:55 AM No. 204323

File: 1651890355753.jpg (35.88 KB, 326x500, 51xElprfPAS.jpg)

I get anons' concerns, but I'm gonna stick up for these books. I was pretty sure I wouldn't like them, but tbh the memey jokes only really bugged me a few times – this is a world with comic books, fast food, and electricity, so imho it fit to have modern slang present. I also get people's irritation with her husband and tbh I don't know what's going on there, but I'm also fucking shocked by how really unabashedly female-centric these books are. I keep bracing for gender shit and it never comes – the focus really is on a wide range of female characters, the lesbians really are lesbians, and Gideon really is butch.

Harrow the Ninth is a HUGE departure, so I'd encourage anyone who isn't 100% on board with GtN to at least check it out. But honestly I loved it way more, and I think she's actually doing something really interesting with the God Is A Normal Guy Now thing. This gets a little lost in the marketing imo, but I think the series plays around with religion as worldbuilding in a really unique way. I don't wanna say too much and spoil anyone interested, but there definitely seems to be an endgame in mind with all her weird mixing of pop culture, Catholicism, and classics stuff. We'll have to see where it lands, but for now, it really doesn't feel quite like anything else I've read – and with such a huge focus on women to boot.

Anonymous 05/07/22 (Sat) 04:58:12 AM No. 204335

File: 1651899492768.jpeg (2.23 MB, 1594x2475, 15E0A272-E881-4B18-AD75-03F203…)

This book was fucking terrible.

Anonymous 05/07/22 (Sat) 09:04:35 AM No. 204364

File: 1651914275753.jpg (323.29 KB, 1524x2339, callme.jpg)

Just finished this one, I think the author managed quite well to give the feeling of someone obsessing over a lost love and distant memories. It also describes quite well the overwhelming feelings you get as a teenager when you feel strong sexual desire for someone for the first time. It was better than the movie IMO.

Anonymous 05/07/22 (Sat) 09:49:28 AM No. 204368

>>204364
Now I kind of want to read it, even though I have zero interest in horny gay scrotes… I wish it was about lesbians instead…

Anonymous 05/07/22 (Sat) 11:31:53 AM No. 204383

Finished The Wisdom of the Middle Ages. Mostly not worth it since it's just a general history/summary of key people and works that were influential during the Middle Ages. I had already read most of them and it was pretty surface level, so if you've read the material, you don't get much from it. But for the few that I haven't read, it was an adequate primer. I knew a little bit about Abelard and Heloise, but now I have a greater understanding, for example.

Anonymous 05/07/22 (Sat) 01:09:44 PM No. 204393

>>203693
Is there a PDF of this somewhere? I'm broke and this sounds interesting but I checked a few websites and can't find it

Anonymous 05/07/22 (Sat) 01:49:35 PM No. 204397

>>204393
Can’t find one online, but it’s on Libby

Anonymous 05/07/22 (Sat) 03:38:49 PM No. 204415

>>204393
Nta but here you go nonny. Not a pdf though but it can be converted.
https://b-ok.lat/book/11304167/724251

Anonymous 05/07/22 (Sat) 03:40:28 PM No. 204416

>>204415
THANK YOU SO MUCH! omg

Anonymous 05/07/22 (Sat) 04:41:30 PM No. 204430

>>204415
nta but epubs are argueably better than pdfs since you can format the text to your liking

Anonymous 05/07/22 (Sat) 04:48:07 PM No. 204432

>>204323
I'm currently listening to this as an audiobook while I work. I like it okay but I'm having the same problem with it that I had the first book–it's strangely confusing. I don't think it's a me problem because I've read plenty of objectively harder books with no problem. I feel like the author never explains things enough. On the other hand I'm not used to listening to audiobooks so that might be the problem lol.

>>204335
Why? I love hearing about bad books.

Anonymous 05/07/22 (Sat) 07:02:16 PM No. 204459

File: 1651950136351.jpg (116.88 KB, 419x630, A Fine and Private Place.jpg)

>>204155
A Fine and a Private Place by Peter S Beagle is one of my fav comfy urban fantasies. He's one of the few male authors I genuinely stan for since his novels, like his more famous The Last Unicorn are just good fantasy with intriguing characters. I recommend both. The latter is more high fantasy but it's also one of the few high fantasies I genuinely think everyone should read.

Anonymous 05/07/22 (Sat) 08:07:22 PM No. 204469

>>204459
I second you on both of those books. They are wonderful.
I sadly dropped Innkeeper's Tale – what's your opinion on it?

Anonymous 05/07/22 (Sat) 08:41:10 PM No. 204478

>>204469
I've never read it unfortunately, I can't seem to find any of his books anywhere aside from ordering them online. I've been wanting to read Innkeeper's Tale for awhile but it's not in any of my libraries and the local bookstore never seems to have any of his books. I've read part of Folk in the Air, which I liked, but never finished. I was borrowing a friend's copy and gave it back awhile ago. Really wish I could fine some of his short story collections or even his non-fiction. I've always loved his style of prose and it'd be interesting to see it applied to something other then a fictional setting.

Anonymous 05/07/22 (Sat) 09:42:53 PM No. 204487

>>204432
This book was so boring. There was no point or anything. The main character really annoyed me. I really should have just put the book down but I hate not finishing books. It’s from 2004 so it’s probably a little dated but still, I did not enjoy this book.

Anonymous 05/07/22 (Sat) 09:51:41 PM No. 204489

>>204432
You might have a better time if you read it physically. I had the same issue and found it less confusing once I switched from the audiobook to the physical one. The book is purposefully written in a confusing way though, so that probably doesn't help lol

Anonymous 05/07/22 (Sat) 09:54:23 PM No. 204490

>>204478
There's an epub of Innkeeper's Song on Z Library, if you're into these

Anonymous 05/07/22 (Sat) 10:12:20 PM No. 204491

>>187854
Ok so I started reading this today and I read the first 2 chapters so far. I did not except the protagonist to take a shit in the middle of an art gallery kek. She's annoying as fuck, not in a bad way for a fictional character, but I wouldn't want to have a friend like that. I have two friends who became neets after we graduated because of external circumstances they couldn't have predicted and I can't help but think about them when I read this, not because of their personalities but because of how they spend their free time now.

Anonymous 05/08/22 (Sun) 03:55:42 AM No. 204535

>>204469
NTA, I read the Inkeeper's Song a long time ago. I remember liking it overall, but other than that I hardly remember it.

It does have multiple sex scenes in it though, including one weird orgy scene with like 4(?) people having sex. In my memory the scene seemed kinda random too, like there wasn't a lot of/any build up. Another thing that I've heard people say they don't like about it, well, it's kind of a spoiler, so without mentioning specific names a male character uses magic to appear as female. He has sex with a female character who thinks he's someone else in the orgy scene. Later these two characters have a romance

It didn't really bother me all that much, but it did feel kind of strange and unnecessary.

Anonymous 05/08/22 (Sun) 08:00:38 AM No. 204543

File: 1651996838270.jpg (29.58 KB, 300x424, peter-s-beagle-a-fogados-eneke…)

>>204469
I bought it for the cover back in the day because it was designed by a local illustrator that I liked, but the book itself I didn't have strong feelings about tbh. As this >>204535 anon said, that one orgy scene was so random and uncalled for.
I can't recall specifics about the plot but it had that 'stillwater' feeling that magical realism usually has and I felt like it was as adventurous as I would have liked it to be

Anonymous 05/08/22 (Sun) 03:53:07 PM No. 204626

>>204489
Seconding this, and also made the switch to physical after audio confused me. I was getting really lost with the time transitions and keeping track of characters, but that became a lot easier to handle after I read it conventionally.

Anonymous 05/08/22 (Sun) 09:30:59 PM No. 204682

>>204489
>>204626
Glad to know it's not just me having trouble with it. I think I'm going to stick with the audiobook, though, since I can't get my hands on a physical copy right now. I found a summary of the plot on reddit and read up to where I am now and it helped a lot. I feel kind of stupid but whatever. If I keep having trouble I'll see if I can get it from the library or something.

Anonymous 05/08/22 (Sun) 10:22:41 PM No. 204691

>>204368
nona you might be interested in olivia by dorothy strachey, it's the inspiration for cmbyn and about a lesbian (i haven't read it (yet) though so idk how similar they actually are)

Anonymous 05/09/22 (Mon) 02:45:26 AM No. 204719

File: 1652064326689.jpg (284.13 KB, 2622x2622, 52969580._UY2622_SS2622_.jpg)

Just finished picrel and to be honest, I was a bit disapointed. I like it, but it felt like it never really started. All the elements for it to be a new favourite were there but none of them came together in the right way. The ending where she doubts whether her mother is faking dementia in order to manipulate her was the best part, but then obviously it was over, and nothing could be elaborated on. I feel like literary fiction walks a thin line between being thoughtful and being boring and this book crossed that line.

Anonymous 05/09/22 (Mon) 05:29:51 AM No. 204735

So I think this goes here since I’m interested in the novels of the Twelve Kingdoms and not in the animu thread. I’m dying to know what the hell happened to the black horse since the anime let that completely halfway, I’m trying to find the novels in English but the links are broken, does anyone knows what happens with the black kirin and his king? And what happens with the main character Youko and her rat husbando? Do they end up together or what?

Anonymous 05/09/22 (Mon) 05:55:47 AM No. 204738

>>204735
I saw spoilers online but I haven't read all the novels yet because I can't find them online and physical copies in my first language for the last arcs cost an arm and a leg. The black kirin, Taiki and the king get kidnapped, and at the end, Taiki is saved but Yoko and co. but not the king. The books are from the 90s but a new arc was written and published in like 2018 but is untranslated and it's a direct sequel so maybe we know what happens to the king in that one? That new arc is 4 books long, and all the novels were reprinted in Japanese with new covers. The only reason I didn't buy them is because I doubt my Japanese is good enough for a fantasy novel that mixes Chinese kanji and pronounciations here and there with Japanese narration.

Anonymous 05/09/22 (Mon) 06:06:10 AM No. 204740

File: 1652076370480.jpeg (396.27 KB, 800x593, 76E52FBD-319B-4F08-9D01-86466F…)

>>204738
I don’t even know what does keikaku means, I will never be able to read the novels.

Anonymous 05/09/22 (Mon) 07:25:49 PM No. 204880

>>204740
No idea why my post disappeared but anyway. Unless we get a fan translation we'll never know what happens to Tai's king. Maybe I should look up Japanese summaries.

Anonymous 05/09/22 (Mon) 07:32:37 PM No. 204882

File: 1652124757388.png (364.76 KB, 794x575, plan.png)

>>204740

Anonymous 05/09/22 (Mon) 09:02:34 PM No. 204898

File: 1652130154958.jpeg (40.39 KB, 183x276, 128C9FF8-EC7F-4087-B0A5-165BB3…)

Just finished this and it was boring asf zzzzz I’m surprised I managed to finish it. Watered down Twitter thread type of feminism. Booooooring

Anonymous 05/09/22 (Mon) 09:10:47 PM No. 204902

I'm surprised they even put the word 'female' in the title at all.

Anonymous 05/10/22 (Tue) 06:35:05 AM No. 204995

>>204323
all i know about this author is that she wrote one of my favorite fanfictions ever – the serendipity gospels are so fucking good it's insane.

Anonymous 05/10/22 (Tue) 04:44:45 PM No. 205086

>>204995
No offence to people who enjoy fanfic but I could tell the author wrote it from her style and not in a good way.

Anonymous 05/12/22 (Thu) 05:47:50 PM No. 205556

Now that I'm getting back into the 12 kingdoms I kind of want to buy the 6th arc's book but they're expensive. The cheapest are on Amazon for like 31€ and 47€, and I found them for free on what's the equivalent of craigslist in my country but this is too good to be true. It's suspicious. I do have money to treat myself once in a while though, so what do?

Anonymous 05/12/22 (Thu) 05:52:06 PM No. 205559

>>205556
nvm, the seller is at the other side of the country and he won't send packages, I'll buy the books on Amazon right now, prey for me, they better be in good condition like it's stated.

Anonymous 05/12/22 (Thu) 06:01:20 PM No. 205563

File: 1652378480487.jpg (135.31 KB, 1280x720, maxresdefault.jpg)

I'm almost finished Harrow the Ninth and I just don't like it at all anymore. The first book was better for me since it felt more fun, like I didn't have to worry about taking it seriously so I didn't notice the flaws. But the second book really wants me to take it seriously, and when I do take it seriously I have to confront the fact that it's just not good. I don't like or care about any of the characters. Every single character could die and I would feel exactly the same. Tamsyn really committed to using the second person voice for certain chapters which was an interesting choice. Not good but interesting. I don't like to not finish books so I'll finish it but at this point I'm forcing myself to. Maybe it will get interesting in the last 10 chapters?

I feel like I have a problem of being too critical of books I read. But for me, hating a book is almost as good as liking it, and even books I love I want to criticize. So being boring is worse than being bad.

>>205556
>>205559
I googled those books and they look interesting. I hope they arrive in good condition. Are you reading them in japanese or is it an english translation?

Anonymous 05/12/22 (Thu) 06:06:02 PM No. 205564

>>205563
In French, all the books were translated long ago (except the ones from 2018 obviously) and I couldn't afford all of them back then, I stupidly sold the ones I had and rebought them for very cheap, and now the ones I never had are hard to find and expensive. I'm rebuying the very first volume for the third time for very cheap because the bottom of the book as some kind of brown/reddish stain like looks like cocoa? Not sure what it is and it didn't spill on the pages but it's annoying. If you're curious there's an anime but I never watched it, no idea if it's an accurate adaptation or not.

Anonymous 05/12/22 (Thu) 08:40:11 PM No. 205614

>>205563
>Tamsyn really committed to using the second person voice for certain chapters which was an interesting choice.
Unsurprising if she comes from writing Homestuck fanfiction. I haven't read any of her books, do they have any long sequences where dialogue is written as chatlogs? That's also a Homestuck thing.

Anonymous 05/13/22 (Fri) 06:26:42 PM No. 205830

File: 1652466402223.jpg (38.21 KB, 466x700, dune2_1200x1200.jpg)

I need help from someone who's read Dune

I went to a bookstore and asked for dune, the cashier told me they only have this book which is part one of a spin off series. Apparently original dune has a different cover and they didn't have it. Is it a spin off? Or was the cashier wrong?

Anonymous 05/13/22 (Fri) 08:01:53 PM No. 205852

>>205830
Full disclosure I haven't gotten around to reading it yet, but I have a copy of Dune with that cover and it's just the original Dune, not a spin off. That cashier sounds like a complete retard, older books get modernized covers all the time, not having the original cover from 1965 doesn't mean that it must be a spin off kek.

Anonymous 05/13/22 (Fri) 10:14:13 PM No. 205876

>>205563
i tried reading the first book and got halfway through but was too confused. the biggest turnoff for me was the mashup between science fiction/fantasy. i couldn’t quite picture things in my head. i’m not a big fantasy reader anyway (mainly stick to the classics and literary fiction) so i didn’t expect i would take to this book anyway

Anonymous 05/13/22 (Fri) 10:15:02 PM No. 205877

>>205830
If it says "Dune" by Frank Herbert, it's not a spinoff. I bought my brother that exact copy for his birthday. No idea what the fuck that cashier was talking about. There is a 'spin off' series written by his son but there's not a second, identical book that's a spinoff? That makes no sense. Maybe the cashier didn't want you to buy the last copy because they wanted it, lmao.

Anonymous 05/13/22 (Fri) 10:22:12 PM No. 205878

>>205830
If your ever confused the original publishing date should be in the info in the very first pages

Anonymous 05/13/22 (Fri) 10:28:09 PM No. 205879

File: 1652480889691.jpeg (27.08 KB, 324x499, 69A950B0-E7A1-404D-BB12-AE032D…)

Am like 90% through this one and honestly it’s kind of dragging. I thought the first half was fantastic — and I thought it was going to end up being more of a psychological thriller than a legit horror. It might have even been better that way. After that first half though, it just gets kind of tedious and meandering. Hats off to the legit unhinged autist protagonist though, she is definitely not a stock character kek

Anonymous 05/14/22 (Sat) 03:56:56 PM No. 205985

>>205852
>>205877
>>205878
thank you!

Anonymous 05/15/22 (Sun) 09:36:02 AM No. 206303

Is Goodreads good to keep track of the books you have, the ones you read and the ones you want to read? I'm considering using it if it works kind of like howlongtobeat does for video games.

Anonymous 05/15/22 (Sun) 01:50:15 PM No. 206343

>>204274
Women's lives, men's laws by Catherine A. MacKinnon, decided to read it again after people started talking out of their ass about high profile cases again.

Anonymous 05/15/22 (Sun) 02:57:24 PM No. 206354

File: 1652626644821.jpg (571.18 KB, 1600x2489, 91ASDKVdAEL.jpg)

i've been reading anne frank's diary for the what feels like 100th time since they released a special anniversary edition (picrel) two weeks ago. the cover is supposed to look and feel exactly like the actual diary anne wrote in.

now that i'm older it hits me even more how sad it is… she's so hopeful and optimistic about the future, talking about kids and getting married and life after the war, but you know it's never going to happen. it's so depressing.

it's taking me forever to read it though, since i started a full time job over a month ago and my reading habit has basically vanished. it sucks because i spend two hours commuting every day but i get sick when reading in a moving vehicle, ugh.

Anonymous 05/15/22 (Sun) 06:20:54 PM No. 206384

I just read Convenient Store Woman, it was good. I'm amazed that the literally autistic main character wasn't even the most autistic character in that book kek. I could relate to some of the things she said but not for the same reasons at all, like when she says her coworkers would hang out and drink at bars after work without her and would start asking her about her relationship with the incel loser, I hate having to make small talk with coworkers and telling them anything about my personal life because they always judge or it could get me in trouble and I'd rather go home asap after work and just get some rest, watch TV, hang out with my actual friends or read books at home. I've had coworkers treat me like a weirdo for just working to get money and gtfo of the office or store to live my actual life. I still couldn't relate to the MC at all besides that, especially when she talked about school.

Anonymous 05/15/22 (Sun) 07:34:59 PM No. 206390

>>206384
I absolutely loved that book. It left me with this quiet feeling when I finished it that I couldn't quite place. Like you there were some parts I related to very strongly but not really for the same reasons as the MC, like I kind of love working a menial job and just being robot for a while. But she was such a unique character that I don't know if anyone would relate to her 100%. Still was an excellent book though.

Anonymous 05/15/22 (Sun) 11:00:00 PM No. 206460

>>206303
yes that's what i use it for

Anonymous 05/16/22 (Mon) 03:16:13 AM No. 206494

>>204995
Ugh, I love that fic even though it's het

Anonymous 05/20/22 (Fri) 07:10:53 PM No. 207885

Does anyone have any book suggestions to help process familial guilt due to leaving a religion? Or feeling guilty towards family members in general for things that people cannot control (like being gay). I do not need a book focused on religious trauma, but about how to not put family above my own needs.

Anonymous 05/23/22 (Mon) 10:34:39 AM No. 208562

>>206390
Yeah, reading it was really fun. It was short enough for me tonread it in one go so I'll reread it once I finish reading the 12 kingdoms series. By the way, I checked on goodreads and apparently only half of the novels were released in English and apparently the translation sucks ass. Like I've seen a comment about how the main characters' inner monologues are often removed for no reason whatsoever. I have most of the series in French with physical copies but I don't have the one about the little girl travelling to become queen, the short story compilation, and the one about Taiki/Kaname in Tokyo (which is the one I want the most) because they're crazy expensive now. I pirated these ones though for later, would you be ok with me posting summaries on a blog made just for this purpose? I don't think I should spam in that thread and I know some anons liked the anime (never watched it though) and apparently it's not finished.

Anonymous 05/23/22 (Mon) 05:46:02 PM No. 208612

File: 1653327962789.jpg (19.53 KB, 331x499, deathinherhands.jpg)

I just finished picrel. I don't know how I feel about it but I guess I liked it? For a lot of the book I found it boring and wondered when it would get started. Then the ending felt like everything happened at once. Maybe it's one of those books you have to chew on in your mind for a bit before you can fully appreciate it. I was expecting to like it a lot more because the author keeps getting mentioned in reviews for books that I loved. Slightly related but I get so tired of reading about how evil men are sometimes, like yes it's true but I don't always need to be reminded.

>>206303
This is what I use goodreads for. 99% of the books I read are ebooks and it's nice to be able to see all the covers in one spot, like a virtual bookshelf. The stats are nice too, showing how many pages you've read each month and so on. I also like reading book reviews but only after I've finished the book. Otherwise I find they kind of ruin it for me.

>>207885
I'm not sure if I have any recs for exactly what you're looking for, but there are a lot of memoirs from people who've left cults and religious groups that I enjoy reading, and if you've ever been rejected by family you might relate to them.

Anonymous 05/23/22 (Mon) 05:50:23 PM No. 208613

>>208612
samefag but I forgot to mention–I liked that DiHH had an older female protagonist. It occurred to me after reading how rare those are.

Anonymous 05/23/22 (Mon) 08:40:56 PM No. 208651

>>208612
>>208613
>>208612
>>208613
I liked DIHH, but I get what you mean where the ending pulls it all together and it’s sort of boring until then. I kept starting it and putting it down to finish later because it’s so slow going. I would say DIHH is Moshfegh’s least popular work for that reason, maybe you’d like Homesick for Another World, a collection of her short stories, more.
The older female protagonist living in the woods alone was a pretty cool premise though, wish there were more books about older women that weren’t horribly depressing.

Anonymous 05/24/22 (Tue) 03:48:06 AM No. 208717

>>208651
NTA obviously – I have found this book a giant waste of time. Nothing happens through it and then the ending is a "it was all just a dream" type bullshit which rendered the story even more pointless
I liked the short parts about heroine's fucked up marriage though. I also agree that it's cool to see a book about an old lady.

Anonymous 05/24/22 (Tue) 06:34:55 AM No. 208733

File: 1653374094909.jpg (189.58 KB, 1280x1280, Return from the Stars, by Stan…)

Nonnies, do you have any good recommendations for e-book reader that can easily receive illegally downloaded books ?

Anonymous 05/24/22 (Tue) 07:25:21 AM No. 208743

>>208733
Anything kobo. You can find used Kobo Glo for a cheap price.

Anonymous 05/24/22 (Tue) 07:36:01 AM No. 208744

>>208733
I just use my iphone, store downloaded epubs in a google drive folder, then select the epub in the drive app and select open it in ibooks.

Anonymous 05/24/22 (Tue) 08:20:17 AM No. 208752

>>208744
Seconding this! I had a very affordable secondhand kobo and that worked really well, they’re good and last a long time, but i’ve been reading on my phone with the app Yomu and it’s been really nice too. Plus having books on my phone helps me avoid mindless scrolling.

Anonymous 05/24/22 (Tue) 09:36:53 AM No. 208758

>>208744
On an android I recommend google play books, no ads and very easy to use: it's already in your google account and you can just upload any epub you want there. I think it only supports pdf and epub though

Anonymous 05/24/22 (Tue) 03:27:19 PM No. 208778

>>208744
What's a good place to get epubs? I usually use zlibrary, but a lot of books on there are pdfs, which I find difficult to read.

Anonymous 05/24/22 (Tue) 04:47:16 PM No. 208792

>>208733
I've only ever used my Kindle Paperwhite, but I do like it. I think my only criticism is that it's touchscreen only and I think turning the page with a physical button would feel better. I used to read books on my phone but there's definitely a difference between reading on a phone screen or tablet and reading on an actual e-reader. I illegally download all my books (usually via zlibrary) and upload them to the Kindle using Calibre and it works well for me.

Anonymous 05/24/22 (Tue) 06:10:06 PM No. 208813

>>208778
For public domain books either Project Gutenberg or Wikisource, for other books libgen
If you live in a country that blocks libgen, changing your DNS to Google's DNS should bypass the block

Anonymous 05/24/22 (Tue) 06:16:34 PM No. 208817

>>207885
Educated by Tara Westover? It's an autobiography by an ex mormon woman who grew up isolated in a compound with her zealous family, managed to get into uni and then confronted her family for the physical abuse inflicted to her by her older brother. General point of her story is her being exposed to outside world after growing up very sheltered, but the increasing tension between her and her family (and her struggling with accepting the fact that her family put through a lot of trouble) is also a very important aspect of it. It's really good.

Anonymous 05/24/22 (Tue) 06:34:35 PM No. 208824

>>208817
Priestdaddy, maybe? Havent read it

Anonymous 05/25/22 (Wed) 06:23:31 PM No. 209008

>>208778
>>208813
It's not perfect, but I've used PDF to Ebook converters before. It does the job, but don't do it for books with important formatting, like poetry, and definitely not for foreign language books that have custom roman letters.

Anonymous 05/25/22 (Wed) 06:24:12 PM No. 209009

>>209008
Same anon, sorry, I meant E-pub.

Anonymous 05/31/22 (Tue) 06:02:51 PM No. 210514

File: 1654020171101.png (361.73 KB, 1040x595, 3Z0oVcs[1].png)

Now I'm not saying that Edgar Allan Poe was a bad writer, just that I could have written it better

Anonymous 05/31/22 (Tue) 06:27:22 PM No. 210517

>>210514
this is the funniest shit I've ever seen

Anonymous 05/31/22 (Tue) 07:56:07 PM No. 210562

>>210514
I'll say it for you, he's a bad writer (also a pedophile who was obsessed with a 13 yr old girl)

Anonymous 05/31/22 (Tue) 09:36:33 PM No. 210573

>>210562
At this point I just assume every pre-21st century writer is a racist pedophile who hated jews

Anonymous 05/31/22 (Tue) 10:10:30 PM No. 210577

File: 1654035030326.png (424.75 KB, 940x458, Screen Shot 2022-05-31 at 6.09…)

>>210514
completely unrelated to your post but I remember the summer before sophomore year of highschool the honors english students had to read Fahrenheit 451 before starting the school year and we everyone one of us as students agreed the premise is interesting and fascinating but reading it was a chore because of picrel,i got the book from the teacher on june 4 and Ray Bradbury the author died the very next date

Anonymous 06/01/22 (Wed) 08:46:25 PM No. 210820

File: 1654116385916.jpg (183.33 KB, 750x745, prewciousbb.jpg)

Nonna's what is the most moid hating book that you rec? One that just drips with disdain for the lesser sex?

Anonymous 06/01/22 (Wed) 09:27:23 PM No. 210831

File: 1654118843862.jpg (8.51 KB, 269x369, SCUM_Manifesto_cover[1].jpg)

>>210820
That's an easy one

Anonymous 06/03/22 (Fri) 05:34:59 PM No. 211321

Do anons have any recommendations for non-fiction books that are NOT biographies?

Anonymous 06/03/22 (Fri) 06:53:43 PM No. 211347

>>210820
The cutest cow I've ever seen!!!!!

Anonymous 06/03/22 (Fri) 08:47:26 PM No. 211371

>>211321
The latest two I've enjoyed were Guns Germs and Steel and The Better Angels of Our Nature, the first one is about why some civilizations progressed faster than others and the second is on why the current era is the safest humanity has ever been
Both clearly have their faults (GGaS has been criticized by historians for oversimplifying many events, notably the spanish colonization of the americas; TBAooN introduced some esoteric bullshit as fact at some point) but the gist makes sense and they will change your perspective on humanity
Now that I think of it The Selfish Gene is also perspective changing…

If you're interested in history I recommend the r/AskHistorians reading list, which is exclusively made of serious books written by historians, on nearly all topics and for all reader levels
https://old.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/wiki/books

Anonymous 06/04/22 (Sat) 09:02:41 PM No. 211709

>>211321
You're gonna have to be more specific. Do you want to learn about science? History? Politics? Philosophy? I have a long list of nonfictions I've been meaning to read but haven't. This is just some of them

>The seven daughters of Eve by Brian Sykes
>The selfish gene by Richard Dawkins
>How to lie with statistics by Darrell Huff
>How we think by John Dewey
>Kant and the Platypus by Umberto Eco (and a bunch of other works by him)
>Awakenings by Oliver Sacks (and pretty much any of his other books really)
>The Lucifer principle by Howard Bloom
>10 women who changed science and the world by Catherine Whitlock
>The ancient Celts by Barry Cunliffe
>The lolita effect by Gigi Durham
>The genome by Matt Ridley
>The fabric of the cosmos by Brian Green (as well as his other books)
>Books by Wittgenstein
>101 essays that will change the way you think by Brianna Wiest
>The first Elizabeth by Carolly Erickson
>Persian Fire by Tom Holland
>The divine within and the doors of perception by Aldous Huxley
>Lithium by Walter A Brown
>Zero by Charles Seife
>The problem of knowledge by AJ Ayer

Anonymous 06/04/22 (Sat) 10:40:42 PM No. 211742

File: 1654382442264.jpg (555.71 KB, 1684x2560, 91DUejN hAL.jpg)

is picrel actually good or is it just overhyped reddit moid stuff?

Anonymous 06/04/22 (Sat) 10:45:26 PM No. 211744

>>211742
I loved it, I didn't feel it was reddit moid at all. I want to read the other two books but they're very long and I don't have the time. I really recommend it

Anonymous 06/04/22 (Sat) 11:03:23 PM No. 211754

someone knows anu youtube channels that talks about books? i really like horror and scary books but any other genre is good too

Anonymous 06/04/22 (Sat) 11:58:51 PM No. 211785

File: 1654387130978.png (702.09 KB, 893x420, 054045f48d75d227d92c8dfa6f03ed…)

well nonnies, looks like we got a new title trend coming, even though smeyer did it first with the short second life of bree tanner.

Anonymous 06/05/22 (Sun) 02:32:24 AM No. 211844

>>211321
Midnight in the garden of good and evil! Just a crazy story and so so entertaining.

Anonymous 06/05/22 (Sun) 07:54:24 AM No. 211906

File: 1654415664942.jpg (46.05 KB, 228x347, The_Immortal_Life_Henrietta_La…)

>>211785
I thought the first one was this one (released 4 months before the short second life)

Anonymous 06/05/22 (Sun) 05:37:46 PM No. 211987

>>203693
This book is funny so far!! Thank you for the rec. I love a bizarro dry female narrator.

Anonymous 06/05/22 (Sun) 06:12:37 PM No. 211999

>>208733
you can send files to your kindle through email, but it gotta be a mobi file. it's easy to convert though, and if you download on zlibrary there's usually an option to convert to mobi.

Anonymous 06/06/22 (Mon) 05:54:40 AM No. 212153

File: 1654494880898.jpg (41 KB, 292x450, 9781984825070.jpg)

so this book is about why alcohol is bad, particularly for women. I've seen more than one woman talk about how she quit drinking because of it. it peaked my interest, because even though I don't drink myself (not for moral reasons, I just don't like it) pretty much everyone I know besides immediate family loves drinking and I'm interested in the science of addiction in general.

I checked out the audiobook from my library, and it's narrated by the author who has a really annoying vocal fry voice. also in the prologue, before the first chapter even starts the author refers to herself as a "non man", after that point I couldn't take it seriously so I just quit on it. not to mention she involves a bunch of social justice issues with it too somehow like black lives matter, even though I'm not sure how that's related.

I did find an extremely short summary of it though, and from what I've gathered she criticizes AA and 12 step programs and from the summary it seemed like her criticism was mostly that "AA and 12 step programs are patriarchal and not made for women". that's not a bad criticism I guess (I also don't get how she can say "bad for women" when she calls herself a "non man" but I digress) but I don't think she said anything about the fact that both of those things are rooted in religion and not science which IMO is a more important thing to address. in fact, the guy who founded AA founded it after he had a belladonna hallucination.

I guess she also talks about how alcohol is a neurotoxin and other reasons why it's bad. overall I think it probably had some good bits of information but not worth reading for me.

Anonymous 06/06/22 (Mon) 06:40:16 PM No. 212272

Does anyone have any good recs for books about meditation/mindfulness? Specifically I'm looking for books more on the serious side. I've tried a few books on meditation before but they were all very pop-psych and I couldn't take them seriously because of it. This goes for all self-help books and a lot of modern non-fiction, honestly. The advice will be good and in theory I like the idea of reading books to improve my life somewhat but they all end up being stupid.

Anonymous 06/08/22 (Wed) 02:41:17 PM No. 212675

File: 1654699277252.jpg (47.47 KB, 722x722, shrimp.jpg)

Send Virginia Woolf book recs my way please! I don't know where to start, would like to hear your first entry recommendations with your reason for suggesting them.

Anonymous 06/08/22 (Wed) 06:39:26 PM No. 212779

File: 1654713566341.jpg (50.35 KB, 590x421, 6e708054-9b71-4208-b661-706f32…)

i get that ferrante's neopolitan novel covers are supposed to be "kitsch" to contrast the vulgarity/reality of its content but they're just so goddam ugly. probably puts a lot of people off from reading them

Anonymous 06/08/22 (Wed) 07:27:39 PM No. 212792

File: 1654716459015.jpg (57.26 KB, 360x558, 9788252185904.jpg)

>>212779
The covers of the Norwegian translations are much more tasteful, if a bit boring. I was kinda shocked the first time I saw those. They look like nothing I'd want to read.

Anonymous 06/09/22 (Thu) 07:19:31 AM No. 212911

>>212779
What are these even about? They look like gas station books. Someone chose these book covers intentionally?

Anonymous 06/09/22 (Thu) 07:27:53 AM No. 212912

I was getting back into reading because I barely had enough time to play video games like I usually do, but now I realize I also barely have enough time to read… I finished th first arc of the 12 kingdoms in like a month despite it not being very long, just because I was so tired after work I was spending my time sleeping instead. I'll start the second arc soon, the one with Taiki. I forgot how stressful the first arc is until Yoko leaves the kingdom of Kô. I also forgot how based Rakushun is.

Anonymous 06/09/22 (Thu) 04:01:04 PM No. 213018

File: 1654790464646.jpeg (141.51 KB, 764x1181, 0E22311B-37F6-4A56-B13F-6722DF…)

currently reading this. i’ve also read confessions of a mask. homie had some serious problems i think

Anonymous 06/09/22 (Thu) 04:41:52 PM No. 213040

File: 1654792912366.jpg (59.17 KB, 931x313, tumblr_a8683d02c2197af6b240e91…)

anyone have good books that follow depressed, friendless, etc. protagonists? i want something that doesn't end in a perfectly happy ever after, and explores their feelings and (failed?) attempts at connecting with others.

Anonymous 06/09/22 (Thu) 05:10:56 PM No. 213053

>>213040
The closest thing I know of would be My Dark Vanessa.

Anonymous 06/09/22 (Thu) 05:18:33 PM No. 213058

Slade House by David Mitchel is incredible. First chapter is tricky to get through cause confusing but so worth it. It's smart horror (I read all horror but this is light horror) just so good, will trick you every single chapter.
Also any of Stephen King's newer books (Outsider, Institute, ect) less sexism and just amazing I love him.

Anonymous 06/09/22 (Thu) 05:21:25 PM No. 213061

>>213053
NTA but I started that book last night and immediately quit because of the rape scene at the beginning. If it's an actual good book I'll pick it up again though.

Anonymous 06/09/22 (Thu) 06:14:23 PM No. 213078

>>213061
It is good, but it is incredibly depressing and uncomfortable.

Anonymous 06/09/22 (Thu) 06:28:59 PM No. 213089

>>213061
Child grooming 101, very ehhhhh

Anonymous 06/09/22 (Thu) 06:44:01 PM No. 213097

>>211742
Actually listened the audiobook! It's very good and I love sci fi novels. I was in actual shock when the twist got reveal. I would recommend.

Anonymous 06/09/22 (Thu) 06:47:33 PM No. 213099

File: 1654800453492.jpg (1.02 MB, 3264x2448, dbppr2dy0pp21.jpg)

>>199924
I have the same exact book! But I would love to own the Folio Society cover one day.

Anonymous 06/09/22 (Thu) 08:14:30 PM No. 213119

>>211742
Sorry for necro but I just finished this and I really loved it, so I wanted to recommend it! The sciencey bits can be fun or a little tedious depending on how much you enjoy hard scifi. I found the female main character wonderfully complex and fascinating, and there are a lot of touching and poetic moments in the book. I can't wait to read the other two books.

Anonymous 06/09/22 (Thu) 09:41:37 PM No. 213133

File: 1654810897758.jpeg (8.46 KB, 184x274, download.jpeg)

Night Film is absolutely brilliant. And as a bonus, there is 'transphobia' which it obvs got criticised for but makes me like Pessl more. She also has a short book called Neverworld Wake which is great.

Anonymous 06/09/22 (Thu) 11:38:03 PM No. 213157

>>212911
the series follows the lives of two girls who grow up in post-war naples, from childhood to adulthood to old age–and how their paths diverge out of the violent neighborhood they grew up in, and their bond to each other throughout. it's really good. the covers are so atrocious and do not convey how good they really are.

Anonymous 06/11/22 (Sat) 06:00:41 AM No. 213380

Do you guys have any recs on books about the witch huntings? I haven't read anything at all about it, so even well-known standard recs are fine, too.

Anonymous 06/11/22 (Sat) 06:36:18 AM No. 213385

File: 1654929377002.jpg (611.88 KB, 1710x2560, thepush.jpg)

>>213078
>>213089
I'm getting mixed signals and I think I'll pass lol. I already know about pedophilia, I don't particularly want to subject myself to that for 350 pages.

Unrelated, has anyone read this book? I really enjoyed it. It gave me We Need to Talk About Kevin vibes (another book I loved). At some points it gave me such strong WNTTAK vibes, in fact, that it seemed perhaps… more than coincidental. Not that I have anything to go off of, but these are the similarities:

>Main character is a mother of a violent child
>No one else sees how evil the child is until it's too late
>Evil child is close with oblivious father
>Mother is close with youngest child
>Evil older sibling attacks a classmate in elementary school and gets away with it
>Evil older sibling seriously injures and then kills younger sibling and other people
>Unreliable narrator
>Husband(s) eventually divorce their wives, thinking they're crazy, until the wife is revealed to have been correct this whole time and the child they hated for no reason really is EVIL!

Ok I can't remember if that last one happens in wnttak but I'm pretty sure it does. Anyway I still liked this book, possibly another one for the deranged female main character stack.

Anonymous 06/11/22 (Sat) 07:59:39 AM No. 213391

File: 1654934378869.jpg (948.34 KB, 2816x2111, cat book.jpg)

Anyone know how to get a coupon for Thriftbooks? All the coupon websites lie to me.

Anonymous 06/11/22 (Sat) 08:37:00 AM No. 213394

File: 1654936620254.jpg (33.27 KB, 333x499, 51hUglzanFL._SX331_BO1,204,203…)

>>213380
Haven't read them, but The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe by Brian P. Levack, Religion and the Decline of Magic by Keith Thomas and Thinking with Demons by Stuart Clark are said to cover the subject

Anonymous 06/11/22 (Sat) 11:44:13 AM No. 213425

>>213380
The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft & Demonology by Rossell Hope Robbins is a comprehensive compendium of information on all things relating to the witch-hunts. It's an encyclopedia but I have yet to find something as intriguing as this on the subject in it's entirety. It's not overtly academic and I find it relatively easy to flip through. The book itself is pricey but there is probably an e-version that's cheaper, haven't found a pdf of it yet. I'd recommend it either way.

Anonymous 06/11/22 (Sat) 06:33:57 PM No. 213493

>>213425
The pdf is right here
https://en.fr1lib.org/book/21372717/5a3987
Nona's in luck, it includes a complete bibliography of about a thousand reference books on the subject at the end (all pre-1964 however)

Anonymous 06/11/22 (Sat) 07:16:15 PM No. 213499

>>213089
What. Just because it has a realistic portrayal of child grooming? Weird logic. It does a great job showing the bleak aftermath of being groomed imo. I really liked it, probably because I found it so relatable.

Anonymous 06/12/22 (Sun) 07:47:57 AM No. 213616

>>213499
Our experiences differ - I didn't find it relatable or emotional enough.
IMO it's paint by numbers. You can tell author did her research (hours of it) but didn't actually go through that shit. I remember thinking that some small parts seem inspired by the experiences described in Tiger, Tiger by Margaux Fragoso. MDV didn't feel like it brought anything new or personal to the table, except explaining to the retards why victims act(Ed) "stupid". Basically teaching empathy by example, I guess. Otherwise it feels like an extended Very Special Episode about a Real Issue with generic characters.
Maybe I would judge it less harshly had an anon (IDK if you or someone else) didn't gush about it before the novel was published, heightening my expectations.

Anonymous 06/12/22 (Sun) 09:07:40 AM No. 213631

>>213616
That wasn't me, I didn't read it until a year after it came out. I remember some discussion about it here but it seemed like it was mostly negative.

Anonymous 06/13/22 (Mon) 06:49:53 PM No. 213975

File: 1655146193105.jpg (54.4 KB, 1080x1080, tumblr_oc2j1whdRZ1u3vf9lo1_128…)

I posted at the beginning of the year that I picked up Mishima's Sea of Fertility tetralogy, and I was hoping /m/ would be back by the time I finished reading so I could post my final thoughts (as an anon asked) on the book thread but I guess it's never coming back kek. Anyway, if you're still here nona, here are my thoughts! Also there are unspoilered spoilers below if anyone ever plans on reading.

>Spring Snow
I read the full plot beforehand and kept referring to the Wikipedia plot to make sure I wasn't missing any important events or details, so some things didn't have as big of an impact as when I went in blind.

Didn't really feel a lot of sympathy for Kiyoaki, up until he travels to Nara kek. He's such a little wishy washy bitch baby the whole time and is the root of his own problems starting from when he got mad at her question at the beginning of the book. Looking back on it, I think Mishima perfectly encapsulates that internal push and pull of young, stupid love. Maybe I hated Kiyoaki because I saw my own young bitch baby self in him. If I didn't spoil the book for myself, I think the foreshadowing of reincarnation would've been a really big "holy shit" moment.

The climax of the book felt very abrupt, especially with the little fanfare surrounding Kiyoaki's death, but it was still poignant. As I continued reading on, reading how it affected Kiyoaki's family, Honda, Iinuma, etc, it kept bringing back a sense of melancholy and felt weirdly like I was missing Kiyoaki too.

>Runaway Horses
I forgot most of the plot that I had read in advance, so aside from Isao's inevitable death and knowing his next reincarnation is in Thailand I went in blind.

Isao is really something isn't he kek. It's hard to not separate the ideals Isao held from Mishima himself, so it also makes me think how Mishima uses Honda as a vehicle of valid criticism towards his own ideals yet at the same time ended up dying for his ideals like Isao. Did he just not give a shit?? Who knows.

Isao is just as insufferable as Kiyoaki is, in his own way. Kiyoaki was a little idiot in love who just didn't know how to properly communicate, meanwhile Isao is at that "I'm smarter than all the adults around me" stage of insufferable. His obsession with purity and going so far as to kill himself because he still believed himself to be righteous and pure is peak stupid. I love it in the same way that I love Mishima's unhinged wackiness. It's pure retardation. This and the first book are my favorites.

>The Temple of Dawn
I felt like I was starting to drag my feet. I wanted to continue going in blind but I just got so bored at some point that I read the full plot halfway through so I could convince myself to just finish it up.

Having a female reincarnation was the absolute fucking worst choice. The voyeurism and constant attention on Ying Chan's body is fucking gross. Honda trying to chase after him and his wife's resentment towards him for it is the nail in the coffin for me. Easily the worst fucking book out of the entire series, it's so uncomfortable to read.

>The Decay of the Angel
I felt a little pity for Honda here, but just because I'm a softie and seeing old people get abused makes me sad. The voyeurism scene quickly reminded me that my pity is misplaced though. The book is… fine. I mentally checked out halfway through Temple of Dawn so maybe that's why I don't have much of an opinion for it. Toru is, like Kiyoaki and Isao, insufferable. But I don't enjoy any part of him that makes him so insufferable, but I guess that's the point of his character.

My whole reason for picking up the series was to read the end, because I was reading a review of Evangelion and someone likened the last two episodes to the final scene with Honda and Satoko, but I just didn't enjoy it. Well, I didn't entirely enjoy the last two episodes of Eva either, so I guess it's not too out of place. But, again, my enjoyment of the series was ruined with the last book so. lol.

I'll probably reread it sometime, but I'll probably only reread Spring Snow and Runaway Horses. I get why Ying Chan's story is necessary - for Honda to chase after another reincarnation to set up for the disappointment of a fake in the last book, but god I just fucking loathe the 3rd book so much.

Anonymous 06/13/22 (Mon) 09:14:35 PM No. 214013

>>213040
If you don't mind reading older books then Anita Brookner's novels are perfect for this. Look at Me especially.

Anonymous 06/13/22 (Mon) 09:16:52 PM No. 214016

>>213616
the author of MDV has said that she did go through it though, iirc

>>213133
I loved this but can't remember the transphobia, now I wanna reread it kek

Anonymous 06/13/22 (Mon) 10:21:11 PM No. 214040

File: 1655158871170.png (7.36 KB, 2560x1707, jp.png)

>>213975
It's me, nonny! I'm glad you read them, although surprised you spoiled yourself so much. We all have our own different ways of reading, though, so don't worry about it!

In your review, I see clearly you perceived there's two halves to the series, pre-war and post-war, the first two books and the last two books. The pre-war books are very nostalgic and the post-war books are lurid and seedy. Mishima himself was a student of both pre-war and post-war literature and I remember he said that he felt his poetry was "obsolete" even when he was still very young. Despite this, later in life he became very worldly and aware of contemporary international literature, which as you know during the second half of the 20th century was incredibly lurid. During that time, the works of Marquis de Sade and Bataille among others were championed by the literati of the world and Mishima was amongst those circles. Do you remember in the later books that one dumbass writer that wrote that bizarre incest sci-fi story? That's the type I'm talking about. So given in mind there is a clear division in the Tetrology and within Mishima himself, you can't really separate his life from his final work.

The first book is a nostalgic romance. If it reads autistically that's because that was just the state of Japan at that time. The high social classes were just autistic in everything they did.

Isao from the second book is clearly a bit of wish-fulfillment on Mishima's part. As a kid, he was too sickly and weak to be allowed into battle during WWII and clearly that stuck with him throughout the rest of his life. I was very glad to learn about the state of attempted right-wing uprisings during Imperial Japan. It was very interesting and something I knew almost nothing about. I just blindly assumed Isao was going to become a kamikaze pilot, but his actual trajectory makes more since considering his personality and beliefs.

The treatment of reincarnation really struck me as beautiful. That line about "I'll see you under the falls" and then Honda understanding what Kiyoaki meant really got me. Honda's criticisms are probably Mishima's own criticisms like you say. But elsewhere Mishima wrote about the value of the "irrational" when it comes to national belief and the cult of emperor. Of course his own coup attempt and seppuku were performative.

Like you, I always hated The Temple of Dawn, at least at first. It is just disgusting. The sudden luridness from such an upright character as Honda shocked and repulsed me. I see now the value of the decaying, degenerating second half. I hope you do, too. Honestly, I hate most 20th century literature because of the overwhelming tendency of depravity in the highest echelons of "intelligentsia," so the sudden horrific shift in the series really appealed to me. All the more impressive since Mishima died in 1970, but the writer had really been on the wall since the end of the first World War with all that soulless, annihilating Dada bullshit. I won't sperg about that, though. You're right, very uncomfortable to read.

Toru being the absolute worst and illegitimate to boot I think summarizes well the absolute decay and stagnation that Mishima wanted to cover. Everything in the plot became so seedy and debauched it really culminates with him ending up being a fake reincarnation.

I had been waiting for Satoko to reappear and I was especially anticipating her at the very end. As to what the actual meaning means, who can say? Since he wrote it very shortly before killing himself, it serves as his final word in a way that an extremely formulaic death poem can't. But I honestly can't offer any suggestions.

Of the books, I liked Runaway Horses the best in terms of plot, personally. The story taught me a lot and of all the characters, Isao had the clearest and most defined character. That his character is very different from our Western perception was especially satisfying to me since I like to see strange and different viewpoints. Of all the 4 central characters, Ying Chan is clearly the most enigmatic, which makes sense considering she is both foreign and a woman. And in the latter two books especially Honda serves as the bridge between the past and the present. I think the title "The Decay of the Angel" is the perfect summation of the series.

Anonymous 06/14/22 (Tue) 12:05:15 AM No. 214052

>>214040
ntayrt and it's been years since I read it so I probably forgot some stuff, but I thought TToD served a purpose of setting up Honda as unreliable, in terms of perception. There is absolutely no insight into Ying Chan's character, all we have is Honda's deformed view of her. It's Honda's own decay that is at the front of the last two books imo.

He takes Toru and forces him into the "world of passion", but Toru ends up figuring out, pretty much says fuck this shit and cheats his way out by blinding himself, which frees him from his remaining desire and most importantly his physical aversion towards Kinue's body (which was his only obstacle from truly "rejecting the world"), and allows him to live with her in her delusion, in heaven. And you are left wondering if he is truly that rotten, maybe even this degenerate parody of enlightenment is still better than Honda, whose pretense of reason turns out to be completely pointless.

I also think >>213975 is right when she calls him a vehicle of criticism but, the last two books are the refutation of that criticism via what is essentially an ad hominem attack. One could take this as the final lesson on the "value of the irrational" I guess. Though "pure retardation" as the first nona said might be a better way to put it.

My take might be a shit take though, this is baby's first book interpretation

Anonymous 06/14/22 (Tue) 02:03:36 AM No. 214068

>>210577
Bruh Clarisse gives such manic pixie dream girl vibes. Literally inspires the protagonist to touch grass or whatever and dies. RIP

Anonymous 06/14/22 (Tue) 02:29:13 AM No. 214073

>>214052
I don't think it's a shit take, nonny! Thanks for posting your thoughts! It's also been years since I read them, so I am hazy on some of the details. I remember the parts that really resonated with the sense I got from the books and naturally forgot some of the others. I honestly don't remember the fourth book as well as the others. I agree The Decay of the Angel as a title could be about the individual Honda, I was just universalizing it a little bit since he's our central protagonist throughout the books.

I'd like to hear more about what you mean by
>the last two books are the refutation of that criticism via what is essentially an ad hominem attack.

Anonymous 06/14/22 (Tue) 03:02:19 PM No. 214206

>>214040
Thank you for your replies nonna, very insightful and makes me view the books in a new light. I'm not much for interpreting texts (was not my forte in school, very much a "maybe the author just wanted blue curtains because they wanted blue curtains!" type of girl kek) but now I'm excited to reread the books and (hopefully) will get more out of them outside of my initial knee jerk reaction to characters and events (though I'll probably give it some more time before I pick them up again).

Anonymous 06/14/22 (Tue) 07:41:00 PM No. 214292

File: 1655235660516.png (374.42 KB, 889x830, Capture.PNG)

Sorry that this doesn't completely fit with the thread but god has anyone else seen the complete hatchet job trailer for Persuasion? Can you imagine writing arguably your best novel right before you died to then have it get turned into this two hundred years later

Anonymous 06/14/22 (Tue) 11:58:06 PM No. 214378

File: 1655251086924.jpeg (57.12 KB, 600x600, 57EE848E-9FEA-429B-AC9D-CB4107…)

I picked this up at my local used bookstore for less than a dollar and, after having read 3 chapters, it feels like I wasted my money. This guy is trying way too hard to be poetic. I often wondered if he even had an editor. He’d use the exact same word so repetitively through one paragraph that I’d get sick of seeing it. This is what I get for stepping outside of my usual preferred reading. Although, one positive thing that came out of wasting my time, I’ve gained more confidence in my own writing abilities. If this guy can get praise for such garbage, then I’m sure I can squeeze out at least one best seller.

Anonymous 06/15/22 (Wed) 12:15:53 AM No. 214383

File: 1655252153738.png (616.85 KB, 1170x2532, 5BB9974B-97C1-4AE7-966D-086253…)

>>214378
Samefag, goodreads reviews are not to be trusted.

Anonymous 06/15/22 (Wed) 12:45:01 AM No. 214403

>>214383
For real though. There are popular users on Goodreads who, if I see they gave something a 4 or 5 star rating, I'm less likely to pick it up. It's like an immediate red flag. Are they just shilling shit for cash, or is it genuine bad taste?

Anonymous 06/15/22 (Wed) 04:23:32 AM No. 214441

>>214403
I know what you mean. Inversely if I see a popular username that usually has shit taste rate a book lowly, it either means the book is good or a whole new level of inconceivably terrible.

Anonymous 06/15/22 (Wed) 06:59:30 AM No. 214464

I want to read novels in which the protagonist ormain character is angsty or anxious or generally sad. Classic literature please

Anonymous 06/15/22 (Wed) 08:47:38 AM No. 214486

>>213133
I read her other book Special Topics in Calamity Physics last year and loved it, even though the narrative style choices were kind of strange. I've been meaning to read Nightfilm for literal years but never got around to it. I started listening to the audiobook but decided the book is probably better if you read it with your eyes as it has a more interactive writing style (like fake blogposts, news articles etc). I have no idea about the transphobia though, I've never heard anyone say that about it kek.

>>214464
Oh I'm sure there's tons of those, but I'm not well read in classics at all. Catcher in the Rye maybe?

>>213040
>anyone have good books that follow depressed, friendless, etc. protagonists?

Just look up books in literary fiction, there are tons of books like that in that genre

Anonymous 06/15/22 (Wed) 06:46:56 PM No. 214653

Since I don’t do relationships irl I thought it would be fun to read romance novels…I was so wrong. Literally every adult romance book I picked up was trash. It’s just reads like a terrible, thirsty fanfic and the female author self inserts herself into the protagonist. None of those books have any substance or actual plot and the writing is just atrocious. Not to mention all the toxic, abusive men as love interests. I picked those books up hoping the fictional men written by women would be good and nothing like real scrotes. The worst thing is that young women my age are eating this shit up and recommend them all the time on social media.

With that being said, I’m tired of nice female protagonists. Is there a book with one who ruins men’s lives intentionally? I’d love to read that.

Anonymous 06/15/22 (Wed) 06:56:30 PM No. 214655

>>214464
Obligatory have you read Frankenstein? Victor is pompous broody and self obsessed. Frankenstein monster is hurt, obsessive, and broody with sad growth ending. It’s one of my favorites.
Edgar Allen Poe’s short stories tend to have those vibes or Maupassant. Maupassants voice is soothing when he writes. I like his work a lot.

Anonymous 06/15/22 (Wed) 07:52:24 PM No. 214670

>>214464
The Bell Jar, and I second the other anon's Catcher in the Rye recommendation

Anonymous 06/15/22 (Wed) 08:28:10 PM No. 214689

>>214653
If anyone else has recommendations, I'm all ears. There are a few regency romances with the trope of women anonymously writing gossip columns about the male main character: Romancing Mister Bridgerton, Lord Gray's List, etc. Not so terrible but it's fun! Slightly Scandalous's female mc, Freyja, is a colder woman.

Anonymous 06/16/22 (Thu) 01:59:05 AM No. 214745

>>214653
Sorry, no recommendation anon (unless you want cheesy-cute nice novels), but I feel the same way. Fanfic writers do a much better job of writing interesting, romantic, AND sexy plots than traditional romance lit has (that I've read so far… and the one's I've read have not impressed me all that much). Of course, fanfic authors have a (usually) solid character foundation to work off of, but still. Surprising what gets published.

Anonymous 06/16/22 (Thu) 02:21:36 AM No. 214751

books where the protagonist runs away/fakes their death?

Anonymous 06/16/22 (Thu) 08:21:59 AM No. 214817

File: 1655367719861.jpg (58.32 KB, 691x432, wila, loaves.jpg)

>>214464
Epic of Gilgamesh

>>214751
Huck Finn

Anonymous 06/16/22 (Thu) 08:27:31 AM No. 214818

>>214817
>>214817
>>214817
What is this turd

Anonymous 06/16/22 (Thu) 08:29:27 AM No. 214819

>>214818
Loaves of baked lichen

Anonymous 06/18/22 (Sat) 10:16:50 PM No. 215418

Does anyone have any recs for DBT workbooks? I can't go see my actual therapist because of scheduling issues and I've been recommended DBT multiple times before, I want to give it a shot. But there's so many DBT books I'm not sure where to start. I prefer books that are more serious/less pop psych-y if possible, I'm also looking for a legit workbook with a schedule/homework/etc. vs. just a normal self-help book. If you have any recs (or books to stay far far away from lol) please let me know!

Anonymous 06/18/22 (Sat) 11:15:19 PM No. 215424

>>214819
sounds like morrowind food

Anonymous 06/19/22 (Sun) 06:51:31 AM No. 215475

File: 1655621491388.jpg (63.76 KB, 520x604, fernando-botero-mona-lisa-prin…)

I had been meaning to read the da vinci code series for literal years. I finally broke down and bought the audiobook of it, but the narrator has a hot voice so I can't listen to it without getting horny. ugh

Anonymous 06/19/22 (Sun) 12:05:43 PM No. 215508

File: 1655640343611.jpg (201.45 KB, 1200x1096, 1200px-Laver_and_toast[1].JPG)

>>215424
I'd eat saltrice any day over british food

Anonymous 06/19/22 (Sun) 01:29:38 PM No. 215518

>>215508
stupid moron anglos, you're supposed to bake the lichen not slop it on the plate BLOODY RAW

Anonymous 06/19/22 (Sun) 01:31:13 PM No. 215519

>>215508
What the hell is that? and I am britbong. My nan has those tea plates!

Anonymous 06/19/22 (Sun) 02:33:34 PM No. 215520

File: 1655649214223.jpg (35.78 KB, 274x378, Обложка_Роман-газеты_1928_г.jp…)

I was bored and decided to read a classic (Тихий Дон / And quiet flows the Don by Mikhail Sholokhov). It was okay but I feel like this novel (and many other similar works) could be renamed "Scrotes abuse women, fuck up their life, and then proceed to blame women for their own inadequacy". Like seriously, there's a bit where an old man is too much of a lazy drunkard to stay awake while riding his carriage, and the horse, being old and blind, falls into an ice hole. The guy wakes up just in time to save his ass and of course decides it's the horse's fault, after which he insults her (since she's a mare) by calling her a bitch and a cunt basically. Peak moid moment.

Anonymous 06/19/22 (Sun) 03:03:30 PM No. 215521

>>215508
fuck that looks good

Anonymous 06/19/22 (Sun) 04:28:15 PM No. 215533

File: 1655656095539.jpg (91.24 KB, 644x508, a3de66571041b93ac2e86eece6cd9e…)

>>215519
It is laverbread, usually eaten with cockles in a welsh breakfast

Anonymous 06/20/22 (Mon) 01:10:57 AM No. 215670

>>215533
Ick.

Anonymous 06/20/22 (Mon) 12:57:16 PM No. 215740

File: 1655729836715.jpg (30.72 KB, 298x450, lapvona.jpg)

it's released tomorrow. are you excited?

Anonymous 06/20/22 (Mon) 02:46:22 PM No. 215750

File: 1655736382247.jpg (51.63 KB, 900x900, 1648143203887.jpg)

I want to gift a book to a woman that is obsessed with her looks on an unhealthy level, and I feel bad for her. She is insecure, down to not being able to take out the trash without winged eyeliner and going full makeup. She is also obsessed with her weight and body while doing jackshit about it (she is obese but doesn't work, study, doesn't do anything but sit in moms basement). I wanted to buy her Virginia Wolf's Beauty Myth book but people told me she is anti-vaxx and one or two facts of hers are not true, so I am looking for something else. The only issue that might occur is that she is a NLOG larper (because she is a desperate attention seeker), but I don't care anymore, I will just slap this book at her on Christmas morning and wish her all the best.

Anonymous 06/20/22 (Mon) 03:12:28 PM No. 215756

>>215750
Sounds like Gone Girl would shake her to the core

Anonymous 06/20/22 (Mon) 04:32:03 PM No. 215808

>>215750
The beauty myth is a great book. I don't know about the author being anti vax but that literally never comes up in the actual book so I don't think it matters. It wouldn't surprise me if some of the statistics are wrong/outdated as it was published in the early 90s, but it's still mostly accurate and definitely worth a read.

Anonymous 06/21/22 (Tue) 12:26:42 AM No. 215903

>>215740
Didn't even know she had written something new and now I can barely wait. The medieval setting sounds really interesting and different from what she's written before so I feel like people will love it or hate it. I wonder if she's going to experiment more after this or go back to contemporary stuff

Anonymous 06/21/22 (Tue) 03:03:50 AM No. 215920

File: 1655780630404.jpg (33.01 KB, 564x550, dvosdjv;.jpg)

>>215750
I don't understand why you're trying so hard for a woman obviously content to roll around in her metaphorical filth, nonnie. Put that gumption to good use somewhere else.

Anonymous 06/21/22 (Tue) 03:36:54 AM No. 215923

>>189086
Territory of Light by Tsushima Yuko. Similar to Breasts and Eggs but more sad.

Anonymous 06/21/22 (Tue) 01:12:42 PM No. 215994

File: 1655817162598.png (45.2 KB, 175x266, image_2022-06-21_171210200.png)

>>186682
reading the third book in this megabook its "The Clergyman's Daughter" Orwell is quite the writer…

Anonymous 06/21/22 (Tue) 02:43:44 PM No. 216006

>>215750
don't get her anything so on the nose about beauty, she'll probably take it as an insult and not read. fiction like gone girl might be better choice.

Anonymous 06/23/22 (Thu) 09:52:54 AM No. 216399

File: 1655977974227.jpg (79.47 KB, 1200x800, AnimalLisaTaddeo.jpg)

Finally got around to reading Lisa Taddeo's Animal. It starts off quite slow but I ended up staying up until 2am to finish it.

Reading it feels like a truck hit me because it's so raw and I feel so naked and seen that it's painful.

Has anyone read Taddeo's Ghost Lover yet?

Anonymous 06/23/22 (Thu) 04:28:26 PM No. 216448

I'm not online at all besides here but does anyone know why some tranny I think called Andrea Long Chu is trying to cancel Ottessa Moshfegh? I tried to figure it out by just see people getting mad because they wrote a review on Ottessa for her newest novel? Idk I'm too esl to understand what anyone is saying kek

Anonymous 06/23/22 (Thu) 05:12:30 PM No. 216456

>>216448
Tranny wrote the review on Otessa? Or the other way around? Andrea Long Chu is an infamous troon, he wrote a book about how being female is about having a gaping asshole and no thoughts. No I'm not joking.

Anonymous 06/24/22 (Fri) 05:19:06 PM No. 216638

>>216448
>>216456
Chu reviewed Moshfegh's new novel, it was in Vulture or something I think. VERY long and not articulated very well, mostly negative, complains that Moshfegh isn't political enough or something, tries to make a point about religion (unclear what exactly) and criticizes her for fatphobia. For all that I'm not sure it's really an attempt to "cancel" her, reviews of Lapvona have been mixed, quite a few major outlets panned it

Anonymous 06/26/22 (Sun) 06:24:36 PM No. 217184

Recommend some high fantasy sci fi with interesting themes

Anonymous 06/26/22 (Sun) 10:21:18 PM No. 217243

>>216448
I saw another scrote agreeing with the review on tiktok that’s how I know about this. From the name I assumed the reviewer was a woman and was disappointed but it makes sense now cause of course it had to be a scrote choosing to cancel a female author out of all these actually problematic male authors. I don’t care about this author and I haven’t read her books but it just doesn’t sit right with me whenever there’s an (male instigated)attempt to ruin successful women’s careers.

Anonymous 06/27/22 (Mon) 01:15:53 PM No. 217396

>>216456
>he wrote a book about how being female is about having a gaping asshole and no thoughts.
I'm sorry what?? Moids are so fucking nasty, it really is all about being their own fetishized version of a woman for them to constantly jerk off to, so disgusting
>>216638
Oh thank god, I thought it was just me being esl but I knew it was just the worst pile of shit dumped as a "review" I ever seen in my life
>>217243
Right?? Where's stephen kings cancelation or brandon sanderson? someone moids would start foaming at the mouth if they ever got a whiff of them being canceled? why is it always women? I mean we know why, scrotes will suck each other off always

Back to book, I just read Moshi Moshi by banana and it was nice except for the ending ruined it with the useless hookup, does anyone have a similar book in vibes without a romance or romance that isn't young woman/older man?

Anonymous 06/27/22 (Mon) 01:39:10 PM No. 217400

>>216456
>a gaping asshole and no thoughts
Basically a description of the average scrote.

Anonymous 06/27/22 (Mon) 03:39:22 PM No. 217417

>>217396
>>217400
Yeah he's disturbingly misogynistic, his writing is hard to read because it's such a fucked up mix of absolute hatred for women and total sexual obsession. Very very creepy guy. Anyway I'm not going to read his review but it has inspired me to pick up Moshfegh's latest novel out of spite. I'll let you know how it is.

Anonymous 06/27/22 (Mon) 07:42:15 PM No. 217445

File: 1656358935510.jpg (19.17 KB, 333x500, 41rbBTuLL4L.jpg)

Have anyone read Beauty and Misogyny by Sheila Jeffreys? Would it be a good read for insecure ''normies''?

Anonymous 06/27/22 (Mon) 10:49:35 PM No. 217475

>>217445
I'm curious about this one myself, I've passed by it a few times skimming feminist book titles in general.

I'm looking for books on overcoming sexual trauma. I've read The Body Keeps the Score and other books on trauma in general, but there is not as much on sexual trauma specifically. Anyone have any suggestions?

Anonymous 06/28/22 (Tue) 04:13:02 AM No. 217527

File: 1656389582091.jpeg (456.41 KB, 707x943, 8BAE4C1A-8438-488E-9FD3-B76F7C…)

Read this recently and really found it valuable. I believe it is one of the most incisive pieces of feminist writing of our time, tying together common feminist criticisms of transition with further analysis of our culture and her personal insight. Robinson incorporates references to other feminist writing and nonfiction books in a way I thought worked well.

Anonymous 06/28/22 (Tue) 05:35:28 AM No. 217536

File: 1656394528439.jpg (113.3 KB, 486x750, 50706646.jpg)

Lots of weird Frankenstein shit going on in this book. I liked it though.

Anonymous 06/28/22 (Tue) 09:05:25 AM No. 217555

>>217445
I have. It's probably going to be a good detox if you feel insecure about your looks and like you need a lot of makeup etc.

Anonymous 06/28/22 (Tue) 09:32:48 AM No. 217559

>>217555
I want to advice it to a friend, but my problem she is a reddit-tier normie who goes 'not all men' route, too, while ALL OF HER INSECURIITES are literally caused by a trauma made by MEN. I do not understand. She also only hangs out with men and only me and 2 other girls, but always with men. I really want to try to grind her 'gears' but I feel like she already thinks I am some ''terrible person'' because she randomly accused me of being a FDS user, to which I said I do not know what that is. It's a tough situation.

Anonymous 06/28/22 (Tue) 08:32:28 PM No. 217674

File: 1656448348686.png (852.75 KB, 1200x630, 1652987436-1652987436_goodread…)

Late by a month, but anyone saw the goodreads member top hits of 2022 (so far)? Any recommendations? https://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/2302?ref=srtopbooks22_eb

Anonymous 06/28/22 (Tue) 08:39:44 PM No. 217678

>>213394
>>213425
>>213493
Thank you all

Anonymous 06/28/22 (Tue) 09:04:13 PM No. 217680

>>217674
>goodreads
Yeah, nothing good in that list, I can almost assure you.

Anonymous 06/28/22 (Tue) 09:07:33 PM No. 217681

>>217674
the entire list smells like zoomer on tiktok spirit.

Anonymous 06/28/22 (Tue) 09:44:30 PM No. 217690

>>217674
I haven't read any of those books kek, but I'll admit I'm not the type who follows new book releases very closely. I didn't know Susan Cain released a new book though, have any anons here read it?

Anonymous 06/28/22 (Tue) 09:59:12 PM No. 217695

>>217475
Dr. Jessica Taylor has a course on her site you might find helpful. Wish you the best with healing, anon.
https://www.victimfocus.org.uk/free-caring-for-yourself-after-sexual-violence

Anonymous 06/28/22 (Tue) 10:54:09 PM No. 217703

>>217680
>>217674
Goodreads popular reviewers are the emobdiment of "just because you read doesn't mean you're smart". I've read some of the biggest waste of pixels on my screen about classics that brainrotted reviewers have trashed.

Anonymous 06/29/22 (Wed) 01:07:10 AM No. 217721

Does anyone have any hidden gem reccs for Kindle Unlimited?

Anonymous 06/29/22 (Wed) 03:08:04 AM No. 217734

>>217703
They’re the kids whose teachers told them “it doesn’t matter what you read, the important thing is that you’re reading at all.”

Anonymous 06/29/22 (Wed) 12:27:43 PM No. 217834

>>217674
The Candy House and How High We Go In The Dark are pretty good if you enjoy empathetic speculative fiction. Otherwise the list is pretty much all trash. There are some great reviewers on Goodreads but they are NEVER the popular ones.

Anonymous 06/29/22 (Wed) 12:48:02 PM No. 217845

>>217674
new colleen hoover book interests me, but I like her for her prose. The diamond eye sounds pretty good too.

Anonymous 06/29/22 (Wed) 04:49:24 PM No. 217914

>>217680
Based. Goodreads lists make me wait to throw up then shriek then throw up then shriek then throw up then
>hears Colleen Hoover’s name mentioned
If I can put that woman on public trial for the havoc she has wrecked snd continues to wreck on the adolescent female psyche. If only.

Anonymous 06/29/22 (Wed) 04:59:52 PM No. 217917

File: 1656521992767.jpg (29.45 KB, 333x500, 410tQUSXlpL.jpg)

I was excited to read this because I was expecting some fucked up old man torture but it was a huge buildup to a huge letdown of maybe like 3-4 pages of actual fucked up torture. The ending sucked. I was actually rooting for Asami.

Anonymous 06/29/22 (Wed) 05:59:10 PM No. 217925

>>217914
what's wrong with colleen hoover? i know her name because her books seem insanely popular, but i never read any of them.

Anonymous 06/29/22 (Wed) 06:03:29 PM No. 217926

>>217917
It is worse than the movie

Anonymous 06/29/22 (Wed) 07:45:06 PM No. 217945

File: 1656531906548.jpg (46.04 KB, 475x475, 14009._UY475_SS475_.jpg)

>>217536
oh this is on my to read list, is it worth it overall? i know its pretty long

does anyone read mercedes lackey? i want to read the Darian's Tale trilogy, but when i was looking into it it seems to be apart of a larger series within the same world as a different set of books by mercedes lackey and i dont know if i need to read the other books to understand these. i really want to read some of her stuff, but i have no idea where or how to get started

Anonymous 06/30/22 (Thu) 10:17:19 AM No. 218054

what's a good website or app or whatever to keep track of books read that isn't goodreads? I know I could just jot it down in a notebook or something but I'm 100% gonna lose that.

Anonymous 06/30/22 (Thu) 10:56:09 AM No. 218058

>>218054
you could try storygraph

Anonymous 06/30/22 (Thu) 01:35:38 PM No. 218075

File: 1656596138774.jpg (18.06 KB, 250x400, 56373.jpg)

I'm half-way through this and fucking loving it. Anybody have good recs for more wlw period novels??

Anonymous 06/30/22 (Thu) 01:51:09 PM No. 218077

>>218075
Nonny what's wrong with the word lesbian? Wlw some twitter shit for me

Anonymous 06/30/22 (Thu) 05:37:55 PM No. 218104

File: 1656610675414.png (218.91 KB, 576x397, hippopottoman.png)

Okay the year is half done now. What did you read in the first six months of 2022?

Log your reading here!

Anonymous 06/30/22 (Thu) 06:04:41 PM No. 218115

File: 1656612281839.jpg (9.33 KB, 262x262, 49dfdfda1ab275c93426c24c4771f2…)

>>218104
i started my new job in april and was busy apartment hunting in march, so i almost completely fell out of reading, but here's mine.

* necessary people (1/3)
* such small hands (1/4)
* my cousin rachel (1/8)
* emma (1/14)
* the island of dr moreau (1/15)
* passing (1/16)
* the time machine (1/16)
* the thirty-nine steps (1/17)
* the great gatsby (1/19)
* the invisible man (1/20)
* the great god pan (1/22)
* the war of the worlds (1/23)
* horrorstör (1/24)
* a certain hunger (1/25)
* wuthering heights (1/29)
* the jungle book (1/30)
* harry potter and the order of the phoenix (2/7)
* jane eyre (2/19)
* a handful of dust (2/23)
* the woman in the attic (2/25)
* house of hollow (2/26)
* sisters (2/27)
* 13 ways of looking at a fat girl (3/1)
* the destroyer (3/2)
* my best friend's exorcism (2/7)
* my year of rest and relaxation (2/10)
* her body and other parties (2/20)
* harry potter and the half blood prince (5/??)
* the diary of anne frank (5/??)

Anonymous 06/30/22 (Thu) 06:19:12 PM No. 218119

>>218104
this semester was weird for me so I didn't get nearly as much time as previous years
I recently finished the ACOTR series (5 books, the 2nd the last sucked)
-Uprooted by Naomi Novik
-The Two Towers by J.R.R Tolkien
-Breaking Free by Rachel Jeffs
-Hawksong
-Stolen Innocence by Elissa Wall
-Train to Pakistan
-Honeymoon in Tehran by Azadeh Moaveni
-First they Killed my Father by Loung Ung
and a bunch of Dear America books that I've begun to collect

Any recommendations besides better taste???

Anonymous 06/30/22 (Thu) 07:37:05 PM No. 218136

>>218115
Only 17 romance novels this year so far goddamnit, i've been reading too much nonfiction.

Anonymous 06/30/22 (Thu) 10:25:35 PM No. 218187

File: 1656627935474.png (3.89 MB, 2742x1004, books2022.png)

>>218104

too lazy to type all the titles so have a goodreads screenshot. I'm pretty happy with my reading this year although I could be doing more.

Anonymous 06/30/22 (Thu) 10:28:11 PM No. 218188

File: 1656628091788.jpeg (166.22 KB, 510x835, 2C4F0BF8-3A03-403F-89D7-A16B4B…)

>>218187
samefag but I've been looking for an excuse to post this anyway kek, I've been working my way through the reading list one of the anons here made. I love it so much, if anyone has any similar suggestions we should make a pt. 2.

Anonymous 07/01/22 (Fri) 05:35:57 AM No. 218273

File: 1656653757231.jpeg (62.82 KB, 263x400, Anaïs Nin .jpeg)

>>218075
a bisexual woman who owned a bookstore told me to read that (I did, it was good) & she also told me to read some Anaïs Nin books so I guess I would recommend you look into that but it's not all woman on woman

Anonymous 07/01/22 (Fri) 12:39:38 PM No. 218314

File: 1656679178001.jpg (48.67 KB, 600x400, beefer.jpg)

>>218104
Middle English Romances
El tunel (Spanish)
Ruhnama
Stripped Bare: The Art of Animal Anatomy
Life and Death at the Pestera cu Oase
Found in Translation: 52 Hebrew Words to Enrich your Bible Reading
Akiva: Life, Legend, Legacy
The Song of Songs: A Biography
Maimonides and the Merchants: Jewish Law and Society in the Medieval Islamic World
Poet in Spain (Spanish)
Travels in Africa, Persia, and Asia the Great
Spiritual Taxonomies and Ritual Authority
The Lost Books of the Bible
The Wisdom of the Middle Ages
The Collected Works of Gonzalo de Berceo
De amor y otros demonios (Spanish)
The Quest for the Christ Child in the Latter Middle Ages
Poeta en Nueva York (Spanish)
Junky
Queer

Genesis (Spanish)
Exodus (Spanish)

Anonymous 07/02/22 (Sat) 04:12:03 AM No. 218475

>>216399
"Hit like a truck" is 100% how it felt for me too. There were so many moments that felt like that, but I often find myself remembering the bit where she asserts that her mother knew her father's greatest crime, which is that he didn't love either one of his families more than himself. So simple, but so devastating. I've started Ghost Lover but not finished it yet. It's really, really intense – just hugely raw portrayals of miserable women. I don't think I'm going to like it as much as Animal, but it's still really interesting. Huge focus so far on middle-aged women freaking the hell out about not being fuckable anymore. There isn't the specific rage at men in it that there is in Animal, but I think that's absolutely on purpose – she's capturing the tragedy of the fact that these women haven't reached the place Joan has.

>>217527
I agree, this book blew me away. Insanely good blend of scholarship, analysis, personal reflection, theorizing. Robinson and her gf are really brilliant, you should check out more of their work if you haven't already

Anonymous 07/02/22 (Sat) 04:16:00 AM No. 218477

>>218187
>>218188
I love seeing all of us using these lists and seeking out the books recced on this thread. I think we'll def be ready for a pt 2 soon, though I'm not the nona who made that list

Anonymous 07/03/22 (Sun) 09:25:49 AM No. 218790

File: 1656840349929.jpg (21 KB, 254x391, Cloud_atlas[1].jpg)

Just finished Cloud Atlas, it's about nested stories that all reference in-universe the previous one, and they're all written in a different style with a different protagonist. Rather interesting way to build the novel, it also helps in building a theme between the different stories, as I don't think they could stand on their own if the book was structured as a regular collection of short stories

Anonymous 07/03/22 (Sun) 11:02:54 AM No. 218802

>>218790
I watched the movie adaptation with a bunch of people in college. Once the movie finally ended, a neckbeard said "Ummm I think you need to be really intelligent to get this movie" and I wanted to slap him.

Anonymous 07/03/22 (Sun) 12:24:09 PM No. 218818

File: 1656851049368.jpg (42.81 KB, 620x388, jim_2380718b[1].jpg)

>>218802
I'm watching it right now and I really don't think casting a white actor in an asian role was the best possible choice
>Critics were polarized, causing it to be included on various "Best Film" and "Worst Film" lists.

Anonymous 07/03/22 (Sun) 03:16:34 PM No. 218876

>>218802
I'm done watching it, all the plotlines are spoiled in the first ten minutes, half the plot is gutted and good endings have been tacked on (nearly) everywhere. The only thing the movie has going for it is making famous actors wear prosthetics, absolutely not recommend watching it unless out of morbid curiosity

Anonymous 07/03/22 (Sun) 08:46:32 PM No. 218927

File: 1656881192486.jpg (356.77 KB, 1659x2560, 81hUtjq7adL.jpg)

Anyone else read Matrix? Probably not for everyone, as it's a bit slow, but I just finished it and really liked it. Loosely (REALLY loosely) based on Marie de France, it's about a group of 12th century nuns led by an abbess who makes them into a proto-feminist separatist community. It's really weird and dreamlike, and avoids a lot of dumb modern feminist apologia – Marie is pretty ruthless and even manipulative, but it never feels the need to apologize for this or pretend this makes her just as bad as the men of the church. Just a really interestingly weird meditation on female ability, ambition, and spirituality.

Anonymous 07/05/22 (Tue) 03:38:17 PM No. 219389

File: 1657035497960.jpg (10.31 KB, 225x225, download.jpg)

I just finished moshi moshi by banana yoshimoto. i really enjoyed it up until the main character realized she had feelings for her dad's best friend and slept with him but i did really like the description of food and the shops in her neighborhood. I especially loved how she wrote about the power of a good meal to heal and comfort people.

this is only the second book ive read by banana yoshimoto (first was kitchen) and i'm not sure if i really like her novels? she seems to make her female protagonists rely on men to realize something about themselves/their lives

Anonymous 07/05/22 (Tue) 08:18:43 PM No. 219430

>>219389
I read her book Asleep first and it remains my favourite book of hers. I love short stories with a common theme and I don't think asleep has that problem you mentioned. Kitchen wasn't bad but I see where you're coming from.

Anonymous 07/05/22 (Tue) 10:57:55 PM No. 219465

>>218927
This sounds really interesting, going to try to read it soon.
>>219389
I felt the same about the part where she gets involved with her dad's best friend. It's extra disappointing when a female author writes that kind of thing. Iirc Yoshimoto also talks about an age gap relationship in another book of hers, N.P. and I thought it was more nuanced but I read it a long time ago so maybe I'm just misremembering because the older guy in the relationship dies before the novel begins in N.P. I liked the relationship between the mom and the daughter in Moshi Moshi and it made me want to cook more, but I think that's what most of Banana Yoshimoto's books do for me lol. I second >>219430 about reading Asleep though.

Anonymous 07/06/22 (Wed) 05:42:34 AM No. 219531

File: 1657086154404.jpg (336.48 KB, 828x1792, 292248286_1154090192105115_639…)

lol

Anonymous 07/06/22 (Wed) 05:55:41 AM No. 219533

>>219531
omg KEK

Anonymous 07/06/22 (Wed) 06:25:41 AM No. 219537

>>219531
I don't understand why these are red flags, except maybe American psycho

Anonymous 07/06/22 (Wed) 06:42:47 AM No. 219556

>>219531
>Norwegian Wood
Isn't it good?

Anonymous 07/06/22 (Wed) 07:25:35 AM No. 219590

>>219531
Power is a red flag for sure, tho.

Anonymous 07/06/22 (Wed) 10:38:28 AM No. 219609

>>219531
>catch-22
i don't get it, it isn't a great book but how is it a redflag?

Anonymous 07/06/22 (Wed) 11:06:33 AM No. 219613

>>219531
why no longer human and crime and punishment though ?

Anonymous 07/06/22 (Wed) 11:25:24 AM No. 219615

>>219531
Honestly shocked they didn't include Harry Potter considering the type of people who make problematic/red flag displays.

Anonymous 07/06/22 (Wed) 11:26:20 AM No. 219616

>>219531
Does this not just discourage people from buying the books displayed? Great sales tactic.

Anonymous 07/06/22 (Wed) 12:26:50 PM No. 219627

>>219613
The protagonist of NLH admits that he has watched his wife get raped and DGAF. Plus he's an incel fantasy – all women fall for him while he is too sad to care. He also admitted to not seeing prostitutes that he was fucking as people (arguably you could see it as a positive thing in the context of the story, but i think he's just an usual misogynist).

Anonymous 07/06/22 (Wed) 05:23:10 PM No. 219677

>>219556
no

Anonymous 07/06/22 (Wed) 05:24:50 PM No. 219679

>>219613
c&p is about a tortured lonely young man who decides that he can commit any crime if it's meant for a greater cause, so at a surface level and without going further than the first chapters it's a bit like fight club and american psycho

>>219609
It's about a bunch of men being wise asses

Anonymous 07/06/22 (Wed) 05:32:47 PM No. 219682

>>219627
This is precisely why I hated that book, it's so misogynistic yet no one seems to care. I got the book because it had a lot of hype but I didn't vibe with it at all because I found the protagonist so vile.

Anonymous 07/06/22 (Wed) 07:17:05 PM No. 219718

>>219682
Same. Don't know if it was Dazais intention, but I found it funny how his night with the prostitute where he admits that he doesn't see them as human is followed immediately by the communist meetings lmao.

Anonymous 07/06/22 (Wed) 10:08:42 PM No. 219749

>>219465
>>219430
Oh I'll have to check it out! Like I said, I really love her writing style

Anonymous 07/06/22 (Wed) 10:16:31 PM No. 219751

>>219531
Why is Frankenstein a red flag lmao
>>219682
>Dazai
He made a suicide pact with a woman in real life but somehow only she died, get the hint.

Anonymous 07/07/22 (Thu) 02:02:30 AM No. 219791

I just read Good Omens for the first time and it was just okay I guess? I weirdly felt that some of the characters weren't really all that described, like how they looked like but crowley's looks were described quite a fucking bit. Fun light read for the summer I guess.

Anonymous 07/07/22 (Thu) 02:06:33 AM No. 219793

>>219791
shit I forgot to add that I've never seen the TV show but have seen some fan art that I thought was interesting but I have zero clue on why anyone would ship A and C, from what I had seen online, I thought there would be major flirting and longing but all I saw was banter. Not disappointed, just finding it absolutely amusing.

Anonymous 07/07/22 (Thu) 02:54:10 PM No. 219925

File: 1657205650476.jpg (152.62 KB, 1650x2550, emratabook.jpg)

Has anyone read My Body by Emrata? I'm tempted to pick it up, it should be interesting by I don't want to waste my time reading a libfem manifesto.

Anonymous 07/07/22 (Thu) 03:29:40 PM No. 219931

File: 1657207780445.jpg (50.93 KB, 288x441, NEOBK-355199.jpg)

>>219389
Same nonny! Loved and hated it for those exact reasons, that ending was really so not needed, my personal fav from her is The Lake, it's like the most awkward meet cute story but it's inspired by a real life cult in Japan so it's quite a few things but probably the best I've read from her!
I also a fan of Nara's illustrations for her covers, wish the English versions had them besides Hardboiled Hardluck

Anonymous 07/07/22 (Thu) 03:44:30 PM No. 219932

>>219925
celebrity memoir book club did a review of it if you want to check that out before purchasing. i find the hosts pretty annoying but if you skip the first 10ish minutes theyre bearable

Anonymous 07/07/22 (Thu) 03:52:43 PM No. 219935

>>219932
Thanks Anon I'm gonna check it out right now !

Anonymous 07/07/22 (Thu) 05:52:38 PM No. 219944

File: 1657216358315.jpg (74.63 KB, 640x984, bbx.jpg)

Anyone have recommendations similar to Jennifer Worth's 'Call The Midwife' series? I adore the TV show (it's my mom and I's bonding show), but I wanna read more books set in the past about caring women that make a difference in their community and aren't snotty about it. Reading Worth's trilogy (especially about the workhouse descendants) made me incredibly sad and I want to know more about women in the past that made do with their lot in life in the past. Books about caring nuns or anything to do with supporting fellow women would be wonderful. I've been feeling too down lately to read books on how the world has and continues to suck for women.

Anonymous 07/07/22 (Thu) 06:50:12 PM No. 219955

>>219627
Since it's kind of an autobiography I found nlh really interesting. I always felt like that line about not seeing prostitutes as people was projection because he assumed a very passive/feminine role in life which is shameful for a man, hence himself not feeling human, akin to a woman.
It's interesting that this is known as a book where a lot of readers admit feeling bad for a man who went through life being an object of desire, possibly molested as a child, being seen as weak etc. when this is a common experience for many women and most of us grin and bear it as opposed to becoming miserable addicts.

Anonymous 07/08/22 (Fri) 06:46:17 AM No. 220037

File: 1657262777006.jpg (30.78 KB, 294x450, 9780143128489.jpg)

so I just finished this. the synopsis I heard was something like "a girl who grew up fat finds that the world treats her differently after she becomes thin" or something. Idk what I was expecting, some quirky contemporary I guess. it was kind of like that at the beginning but just got more and more depressing as the book went on, and the synopsis I read was pretty misleading as the book was basically just about the main character's struggle with an ED and how it controlled her life etc. it kept a lighthearted tone and I don't regret reading it but I'm not sure what the point of it was. maybe I would if I had struggled with an ED before and I haven't, but I also think this book might have triggered my ED if I had one.

Anonymous 07/08/22 (Fri) 08:53:27 AM No. 220073

Has anyone read 'Bullshit Jobs'? What was it like?

Anonymous 07/08/22 (Fri) 11:04:29 AM No. 220090

>>220073
It's been a few years since I have, but I remember liking it. You'll probably like it too if you enjoyed Graeber's Utopia of Rules, it has a similar feel. The book was developed from a shorter essay of his on the same subject that you could read to see if you like the premise of his argument first?

Anonymous 07/08/22 (Fri) 11:14:36 AM No. 220093

File: 1657278876865.jpg (26.12 KB, 400x500, convenience.jpg)

I just finished Convenience store woman. I don't think it was the autor's goal but it kinda read as a horror story to me, the dehumanizing way people spoke to and about her, her wanting to fuze with the convenience store, hearing the "song of the convenience store", she seems so nonhuman… It made me feel uneasy.

Anonymous 07/08/22 (Fri) 12:01:19 PM No. 220095

I really want to like Edith Wharton. I get she does society biting novels, but they just are depressing. I guess I prefer a bit of humor or wit with my acceptance that the wealthy are what they are, and there is no real change. She comes across is one of those wealthy leftist prototypes.

I just hate late 1800/early 1900s Americana authors. It's like they were all in some competition of sorrow.

Anonymous 07/08/22 (Fri) 01:45:39 PM No. 220106

Finished The Bell Jar, and I really disliked that I was reading my past present and future. It was disturbing… I did enjoy it though, unhinged woman ftw

Anonymous 07/08/22 (Fri) 04:13:41 PM No. 220183

>>220093
Some specific parts felt very relatable to me, but other parts make her feel inhuman, you're right. Especially the moment when her baby nephew won't stop crying and she can't stop thinking about shutting him up, and thinks about the knife.

Anonymous 07/08/22 (Fri) 06:22:50 PM No. 220211

File: 1657304570665.jpg (243.59 KB, 1400x2159, 58438589.jpg)

I read this expecting a tale of two female best friends navigating a time loop, their dying friendship, and the end of the world. It was not that. The book is mostly about her relationship with this guy who basically stalks her through the entire book and tricks her into being in a relationship with him for most of it. And then at the end she somehow chooses to be with him. I fucking hated it and I don't get it. Just had to come here to rant, not sure if any of you have read it. I do not recommend.

Anonymous 07/08/22 (Fri) 09:28:38 PM No. 220235

File: 1657315718728.jpg (96.13 KB, 828x1398, fc470d0010ebbfeb3da2d89c8cecad…)

Read this recently.
I didin't really like it, it felt too lolsorandumex-dee and having lived through 00s internet I'm kinda over that. There are more books though and I don't know if I should give them a chance.

I was surprised to see how many references I knew from the book before I even read it.

Anonymous 07/08/22 (Fri) 09:49:04 PM No. 220236

>>220235
I heard someone say that the radio show (the original story) is better than the other mediums. Personally I found Discworld was the better 80s british humour book series

Anonymous 07/09/22 (Sat) 01:55:53 AM No. 220266

File: 1657331753426.jpeg (36.78 KB, 452x678, 45E964F9-90D8-47AE-98F8-49BE8A…)

New Sayaka Murata dropped 3 days ago. It’s a collection of short stories. I think my favorite book of hers is Earthlings, because it’s the one that spirals out of control the most. I was so-so on Connivence Store Woman because it seemed reductive in a very reddit-y manner, but I enjoyed the capitalist-modernity-female-fluorescent-horror-this-bitch-needs-to-pop-some-ecstasy-ishness of it. It was clinical in a very dehumanizing why without being “cynical”. I find that when contemporary lit tries to clinical, or portray the clinical nature of certain aspects of modernity, it edges on the try-hard 90s male-coded cynicism, which is just incredibly trite, juvenile, and uninteresting. And even though it tries hard, it doesn’t try hard enough.
Overall I find that Murata is best when she goes maximalist. Like goofy, surreal maximalist, Satoshi Kon-style. My favorite story might be Time of the Big Star—or was it Time of the Small Star?—despite it being very simple and short. However, the most Morata-esque of these stories was Life Ceremony. [spoiler]At times, it came across as reductive. Ultimately, it’s a story about the dissonance between our broadcasted idealized personas, and our inner lives (which, a lot of the time, tend to be empty). The characters muse about how the internet facilitates our narcissistic impulses: “I guess everyone becomes the character they want to be on the internet. If you have some kind of ideal of the person you want to be seen as, I think you can be easily drawn to it—on social media too.” It’s so much easier to signal our carefully curated personas on the internet. This actually presents a problem for the main character: she doesn’t want what character she’d want to signal online. She has five. Does she post pictures of Anna Karina and tweet Francoise Hardy lyrics, a cultured and sensitive Francophone art hoe? Or switch it up for anachan content, romantic poetry, paragraphs of Nabokov (she’s never actually read anything more than some Lolita paragraph screenshots), listen to Lana Del Rey, and talk about how she’s a totally vulnerable skinny cigarette smoking coquette self-infantilizing feminine nymphette it-girl? Our protagnist doesn’t know whether to use a cutesy picture (to signal for her girly airhead persona) or another, more neutral picture (to signal for her mysterious work persona). She opts out of social media. Like a customer at an aisle, she’s bogged down by too many options.
Basically it touches on the same points on Satoshi Kon’s Paprika touches on—the incoherence that arises as a result of the inside noy matching the outside, and the existential confusion and the loss of epistemological certainty that goes along with it especially if you’re not sure there’s an “inside” at all—but I found it a tad bit reductive and juvenile. Sure, women tend to be more agreeable due to socialization/nature/whatever you call it, and it can be an interesting subject to explore, especially with how the protagonist comments about how that being agreeable is the natural thing to do to survive in a community—this was a really good angle. Agreeability in women can function excellently as a protection tactic since it has always protected from the mob and the community and the collective, which has been largely patriarchal. But the story doesn’t focus on this angle too much. Instead it opts for an adolescent understanding of people: they are phonies! No one is authentic. We’re all consoomers signaling and broadcasting our carefully-made up personas. After all, how can the main character’s five personas be so different? Nuance is a thing, but like most of Murata’s characters, she just doesn’t get it. The ending is reminiscent of Ingrid Goes West: she makes up a sixth character, with a neat little backstory to support her. Her fiance quickly accepts the neat explanation, especially with how it’ll let him play the savior. It’s exactly how he wants to be seen, exactly the persona he wants to broadcast and be affirmed. It’s the opposite of what happens in Paprika, where the main character faces the hybrid nature of her identity, and reaches a final synthesis between Paprika and herself. In the end, the outside might not exactly actually match the inside, but she stops caring about the outside at all. The inside remains independent of external feedback that might meaningfully affect her identity. She is, finally, herself, whatever that means.[\spoiler]

Anonymous 07/09/22 (Sat) 01:57:21 AM No. 220267

>>220266
Samefag, but there’s a spoiler warning in there and it won’t let me delete to fix the typo! Be careful.

Anonymous 07/09/22 (Sat) 08:53:07 AM No. 220329

File: 1657356787283.jpg (275 KB, 1669x2560, 81YBZevDsML.jpg)

I really liked this book, it's probably the best thriller I've ever read. I am a little bit tired of the plot twist it used unreliable narrator, basically but this book did it pretty well at least imo. it's better than riley sager bullshit at any rate.

Anonymous 07/09/22 (Sat) 12:56:48 PM No. 220354

>>220266
I was unaware that this was out, thank you! Can't wait to read it. I agree with your sentiments on Convenience Store Woman and Earthlings.

Anonymous 07/10/22 (Sun) 01:33:50 AM No. 220453

File: 1657416830317.jpeg (2.24 MB, 3611x2868, 575CDCBA-F66A-4377-A615-F17219…)

Have we posted our shelves yet?

Anonymous 07/10/22 (Sun) 07:06:32 AM No. 220496

>>220453
Most of my books are in plastic boxes because I live with my parents and can't have shelves, sigh. Also, what edition of Dracula is that?

Anonymous 07/10/22 (Sun) 10:20:01 AM No. 220545

>>220453
>the two Hugo books aren't placed next to each other
Foaming at the mouth rn

Anonymous 07/10/22 (Sun) 03:07:29 PM No. 220566

>>220496
It’s this definitive edition!
https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/dracula-the-definitive-edition-barnes--noble-edition/37137876/all-editions/

>>220545
I know, I’m sorry. Tender is the Night is also not with the other Fitzgerald books. Kek I haven’t organized it in a while and am getting close to being out of space. My local used bookstore and thrift stores have really good selections, so I end up getting four or five books at the very least whenever I go, which is not helping

Anonymous 07/10/22 (Sun) 03:10:34 PM No. 220567

>>220566
Correction: it is the English version of that definitive edition, I didn’t realize the link was a German translation copy.

Anonymous 07/10/22 (Sun) 07:48:13 PM No. 220660

>>220453
I love your wax melt collection in the corner. I also appreciate a nice wax melt. I would post my shelf but I feel like it is strange and not representative of me. plus virtually all of the books I've read this year have been ebooks.

Anonymous 07/10/22 (Sun) 08:45:24 PM No. 220680

File: 1657485924471.webm (5.59 MB, 504x1080, 657485794.webm)

>>219531
reminds me of this tiktok i just saw

Anonymous 07/10/22 (Sun) 10:27:03 PM No. 220689

>>219531
>The Bell Jar
Are we just including any book from the perspective of people who are less than mentally healthy, then? I know this is a dumb meme, but for me the appeal of literature is being able to talk about the ugly sides ourselves and understand other people's ugly sides.

Anonymous 07/11/22 (Mon) 02:36:26 AM No. 220716

>>220689
Probably Bad because Suicidal Women Bad while school shooters just needed access to mental health care uwu

Anonymous 07/11/22 (Mon) 09:03:18 AM No. 220766

>>220680
Can barely even understand her

Anonymous 07/11/22 (Mon) 02:19:38 PM No. 220855

>>220689
The problem lies with the author not the content itself. They consider Sylvia Plath to be problematic.

Anonymous 07/11/22 (Mon) 02:51:25 PM No. 220875

>>220680
>>220766
She says:

>Fahrenheit 451
Yellow flag
>The Great Gatsby
Green flag
>The Firm
Green flag
>1984
Yellow flag
>The Catcher and the Rye
Red Flag
>The Bible
Red flag
>East of Eden
Yellow flag
>The Hobbit
Green flag

Anonymous 07/11/22 (Mon) 03:51:55 PM No. 220899

>>220680
>>220875
She’s too lax, most of these are red flags because they haven’t read a book since it was required in secondary school

Anonymous 07/11/22 (Mon) 06:20:59 PM No. 220942

>>220899
Lol I thought the same thing these are all required reading in highschool

Anonymous 07/11/22 (Mon) 08:45:37 PM No. 220980

>>220680
She's just saying colors randomly right

Anonymous 07/11/22 (Mon) 09:40:15 PM No. 220989

>>220235
The sequels get pretty bad in my opinion. Those no real consistency among them.

Anonymous 07/16/22 (Sat) 02:18:09 PM No. 222350

File: 1657981089858.jpg (58 KB, 360x600, 152687.jpg)

Are Terry Pratchett's books good? Should the Discworld novels be read in order? I'm eyeing picrel because I like vampire stuff

Anonymous 07/16/22 (Sat) 02:41:58 PM No. 222355

File: 1657982518387.jpeg (140.53 KB, 426x650, 76860ACB-5C40-46FE-93D2-CF02EF…)

CP in the anime figure/nendo thread so bumping with my fav author, anyone else a fan of cozy books during the winter?

Anonymous 07/16/22 (Sat) 02:45:00 PM No. 222356

>>222350
yeah, very good books. i didn't read them in order, but i think it's better to read them in that way beacuse of worldbuilding

Anonymous 07/16/22 (Sat) 09:02:42 PM No. 222433

looking for good nonfiction recommendations, specifically anything art history/history or any sort of essays would be nice but i really dont mind any topic if its good. anything is appreciated!

Anonymous 07/19/22 (Tue) 02:35:31 AM No. 223018

>>222433
A few recs that are all pretty different, so hopefully you like them:
>Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses by Robin Wall Klimmerer
Collection of personal essays that link the author's field work with moss with broader reflections about motherhood, the environment, and her indigenous heritage. Really beautiful writing and much better than I can describe.
>The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee
Basically the title, it's been described as a “literary thriller with cancer as the protagonist.” This one is on every nonfiction list but I always recommend it anyway because I couldn't put it down.
>Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Carolina Criado Pérez
Everyone who reads this thread has probably read this already, but illuminating read about how misogyny affects the very structure of society.
>The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold
Historian delves into the societal context and individual lives of the infamous five women killed by Jack the Ripper. Harrowing and tragic, since the end is a foregone conclusion for each section, but great piece of social history.

Anonymous 07/19/22 (Tue) 09:10:01 PM No. 223219

>>222350
The Discworld entry book I've seen the most recommended is Guards! Guards! to get a feel of Pratchett's style, as the very first book (The Colour of Magic) is generally seen as less well written than the others
If you want to start with the witches subseries Equal Rites would be the first book. The shortest path to Carpe Jugulum would then be Equal Rites, Wyrd Sisters, Witches Abroad, Lords and Ladies, Maskerade and then Carpe Jugulum, as there is an actual story and character development across all books of the same subseries

Anonymous 07/24/22 (Sun) 03:27:31 PM No. 224304

File: 1658676451211.png (1.56 MB, 972x1216, heaven2.png)

I think Mieko Kawakami has been mentioned in these threads before but I'm not sure. I finished her novel "breasts and eggs" a while back and liked it a lot. The plot in the second half was quite slow but her voice was enjoyable to me for some reason and I finished it quickly. Now I'm reading her first (?) novel, "heaven." It's moving at a much faster pace and the plot is honestly depressing, just brutal descriptions of bullying that borders on torture. I think her voice as a writer was definitely less developed and improved a lot in the ten years or so between the two novels. Sections of "heaven" feel almost like middle grade fiction. I guess that makes sense when you consider the characters are 14-15 but it's still very much an adult novel. If any nonnies have read either I'd love to hear your opinions.

Anonymous 07/24/22 (Sun) 03:29:33 PM No. 224305

>>224304
Samefag but I just realized that the publishing dates I was looking at were for the translation, not the original, and heaven was actually the second novel! Well now I feel silly.

Anonymous 07/24/22 (Sun) 04:27:48 PM No. 224329

>>223219
>>222350
I'd say you could even probably skip Equal Rites and start at Wyrd Sisters if you want an even shorter path. Imo it's the least interesting witches story and you learn enough about Granny's character in Wyrd Sisters so you wouldn't be missing out too much. I definitely second the Guards! Guards! rec though, the Night Watch stories are the best in the series.

Anonymous 07/26/22 (Tue) 05:00:12 PM No. 224694

Fantasy nonnas, what are your thoughts on Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive series? I'm always wary when a piece of media is hyped up by scrotes and would appreciate hearing your takes on it.

Anonymous 07/26/22 (Tue) 11:54:29 PM No. 224774

>>224694
its all over the place. a mess of worldbuilding with no real focus. I only got like eight chapters into the first book, but I'm done reading sanderson. mistborn already pissed me off too much to grit through his middle school worldbuilding journal. the only benefit that series has over his others is there is apparently less bumbling misogyny. but there is still that tone of an autistic mormon man trying to impose his conservatiod ideas in very unsubtle ways like he did with his other books, ie (women should be modest, sexless marriages, religious characters get plot armor, cringe childish fantasy swears) not to mention he writes at like a fifth grade level with the characters plainly narrating how they feel and why.

Anonymous 07/27/22 (Wed) 12:05:39 AM No. 224778

>>224774
I remember a scrote treating Sanderson like a God and recommending me his writing class. I wasn't into that idea, kek. Glad I have avoided the author altogether, sounds absolutely shitty. NGL I'm not a big fan of generic fantasy books which his stories sound like (fantasy has a lot of potential as a genre, but really hate most of it). I mean, Mistborn? Yeah, that's exactly the type of title that suggest generic fantasy scroteshit.

Anonymous 07/27/22 (Wed) 01:06:30 AM No. 224793

>>224694
I enjoyed the first couple of books, mainly just one protagonist and his storyline because I'm into training arcs and underdogs rising to the top. Also I listened to the audiobooks, it was more of an audio drama with music and sound effects etc so that was fun. But the world building and magic just got too convoluted for me eventually, and it switches perspective a lot but I wasn't equally interested in all the characters.

I don't think it's flaws are particularly scrotish if that's your concern. As anon said, the author is prudish af but I'll take that over hypersexual coomer shit and in terms of gender stuff I wasn't particularly offended at any point. It's more just unsophisticated I guess? If you're after something seriously well written I wouldn't bother, if you're looking for relatively fun fantasy without overt misogyny it's fine.

Anonymous 07/27/22 (Wed) 09:19:00 AM No. 224899

>>224694
I found it enjoyable, but the harder you look the more flaws you'll find and at this point I feel like I could hit the character limit with autistic rambling about the books' flaws. If you just want to have some fun and dive into a new and original world it's for you. If your looking for complex characters and good prose your better off looking somewhere else.

Anonymous 07/27/22 (Wed) 11:33:27 AM No. 224919

>>224774
>>224793
>>224899
AYRT Thank you, nonnies! I read a couple of chapters and don't think I'll continue. The prose feels really juvenile, I'm surprised it isn't listed as YA or even middle grade (although to be fair, some middle grade fantasy is better written than some of the "adult" stuff kek). The linguistic elements are what annoy me the most. I don't think Sanderson is good at naming things or places. Tolkien had such an ear for naming places and people, this just feels so amateurish and phoned in by comparison. Like, Chach? Shash? Paladin with a K? Baby's first D&D campaign type shit. I can only take so many instances of "two regular words smooshed together and capitalized" before I go insane.
Any fantasy recommendations for something better? Would love to know what your favorites are.

Anonymous 07/27/22 (Wed) 04:42:21 PM No. 224964

>>224694
>>224774
Currently reading the first Mistborn book. It has about 550 pages, the word "frown" and variants are used 200 times, the word "smile" and variants are used 252 times, roughly once every two pages. If it wasn't for the heist plot I think I would have dropped it weeks ago

>>224919
Discworld. Right now! I also liked The Black Company when I read it ages ago but I can't remember if it aged well…

Anonymous 07/27/22 (Wed) 08:25:05 PM No. 224991

File: 1658953505271.jpg (3.22 MB, 2090x4926, 1307836551252.jpg)

>>224919
This reminded me that I had that chart lying around with no mention of any Sanderson book on it, how about that?

Anonymous 07/27/22 (Wed) 11:41:12 PM No. 225029

>>224991
still has some scrotey books on there

Anonymous 07/28/22 (Thu) 06:56:48 AM No. 225095

>>224991
>King of Elfland's Daughter
Yes

Anonymous 07/28/22 (Thu) 04:26:50 PM No. 225158

>>225029
Yeah, they're fantasy books. There are like two women with actual roles in the whole of LOTR, the apples weren't going to fall far from the tree

Anonymous 07/30/22 (Sat) 03:33:23 AM No. 225584

Does anyone know a good book similar to Norwegian Wood by Murakami but without the stupid/gross/unnecessary sex scenes. I liked the melancholic/wistfulness of it and also the descriptions and I’ve read all of Banana Yoshimoto works

Anonymous 07/30/22 (Sat) 06:16:20 PM No. 225674

>>225095
Another Dunsany fan! Fantasy was so much better before LotR, imo.

Anonymous 07/30/22 (Sat) 10:02:01 PM No. 225694

>>225674
Was it though. I'm not very well read in classic fantasy but every thing I know of pre-1950s seems incredibly generic. Not that LotR was super original as it was basically a Germanic mythology retelling but the themes he explored about war and stuff is what sets it apart.

Anonymous 07/31/22 (Sun) 12:09:15 AM No. 225711

>>225674
The language is so beautiful and vivid, I love both this and The Last Unicorn (I believe Beagle was a fan of Dunsany)

Anonymous 07/31/22 (Sun) 05:06:32 PM No. 225812

Have any of you nonas read Flowers in The Attic by VC Andrews? I love gothic horror books. I know it is very controversial due to the incest part, I havent read the full book only watched clips of the movie etc, but I had no idea there are actually like 5 books so I am going to read them.

Anonymous 07/31/22 (Sun) 05:13:52 PM No. 225814

>>225811
I read it. I think I would have liked it if I was younger but the writing style was very juvenile and silly despite the dark subject matter. The narrator had this stylized way of thinking where everything was like… a child's idea of what a fancy kid from the 1950s would speak like. It was still fun to read though. I never finished the series but I don't imagine they diverge much in terms of plot/themes.

Anonymous 07/31/22 (Sun) 05:44:36 PM No. 225818

>>225812
I recommend My Sweet Audrina, a one-off novel that is at least as good as FITA.
Also the VC Andrews fandom is a rabbit hole. A biography came out recent-ish and apparently the guy (a VC Andrews ghostwriter) stole the info from dedicated fans who did their own investigation. Andrews was mysterious as hell and for the longest time there was almost zero information about her.

Anonymous 08/02/22 (Tue) 04:30:46 PM No. 226255

i do not trust jack edwards. definitely lies about the number of books he reads

Anonymous 08/02/22 (Tue) 04:42:22 PM No. 226256

Did you guys stop reading for the summer or what

Anonymous 08/02/22 (Tue) 05:02:46 PM No. 226261

>>226256
i guess so. i only read one book in july which was slouching towards bethlehem by joan didion. it was okay. in august so far i’ve read love in the big city by sang young park and i’ve started i want to die but i want to eat tteokbokki by baek se-hee and breasts and eggs by mieko kawakami

Anonymous 08/02/22 (Tue) 05:09:32 PM No. 226262

>>226256
So far I've read Ninety-Three, The unbearable lightness of being and The Scarlet Letter (at long last) for july. So nice to read at the office when the annoying colleagues are gone

Anonymous 08/02/22 (Tue) 05:55:18 PM No. 226271

What book should I start with if I want to get an understanding of radical feminism? I was going to go for something by Dworkin but all the talk recently about her being a polilez means maybe she's not the go-to I thought she was

Anonymous 08/02/22 (Tue) 06:59:00 PM No. 226278

>>226271
right wing women by andrea dworkin is really good. i wouldn’t trust any of her analysis or commentary on anything to do with lesbianism but she is spot on in her analysis of male/female relationships and social dynamics

Anonymous 08/02/22 (Tue) 07:57:13 PM No. 226295

>>226278
Thank you! I'll check it out

Anonymous 08/02/22 (Tue) 09:43:00 PM No. 226309

I am reading the princess bride right now. Are you nonas currently reading anything?

Anonymous 08/02/22 (Tue) 10:00:19 PM No. 226313

>>226271
polilez is detrimental and unscientific but don't let it stop you from engaging with their work and understanding of feminist politics. i'd say jump around to what interests you, there's a lot out there. I suggest the SCUM Manifesto; whether you view it as satire or take it sincerely, gives you a lot to think about.

Anonymous 08/02/22 (Tue) 11:47:18 PM No. 226331

any sci-fi recs with female protagonists preferably ? or at least good female characters

Anonymous 08/02/22 (Tue) 11:49:32 PM No. 226332

>>226256
honestly yes lol i'm in such a reading slump rn. i feel like i always end up in a slump during the summer. i can't seem to finish anything i've started.

Anonymous 08/03/22 (Wed) 04:21:34 PM No. 226514

File: 1659543694004.jpg (181.76 KB, 1160x1200, E35gxjbUYAMH6yv.jpg)

>>226256
i recently got back into reading, after finally settling in at my new job! currently reading picrel, i'm on gothel's book rn. they're fun, easy reads.

Anonymous 08/03/22 (Wed) 05:27:01 PM No. 226531

File: 1659547621101.jpeg (239.51 KB, 700x1053, DD5EB2E1-BCF8-4E53-A9B3-C7BA0E…)

I think I heard that some people read this in high school, but I never did. Recently picked this edition up at the thrift store and holy shit. This woman could write so beautifully. It’s almost a work of poetry. In fact, this might be the most gorgeous prose I’ve ever read put to paper, and I’ve read most of the classics that are considered top tier. I look forward to reading more of her works.

Anonymous 08/03/22 (Wed) 05:43:44 PM No. 226537

>>225812
I read it, but I don't consider it much of a "horror" book. Same with My Sweet Audrina. I spent most of both books waiting for the horror to happen, but it never did. They're almost like gothic dramas or gothic soap operas in my opinion lol. I never read anything past Flowers in The Attic, it wasn't necessarily a bad book and I might finish the series someday but I felt the hype around it made me disappointed with what the book actually was.

Anonymous 08/03/22 (Wed) 06:40:02 PM No. 226553

>>226331
The Fifth Season by N K Jemisin

Anonymous 08/03/22 (Wed) 06:46:41 PM No. 226555

File: 1659552401533.png (434.75 KB, 443x750, 3FC8C325-9A04-4B54-BC40-5E854B…)

>>225812
Have fun nonnie! But honestly I would stop reading after the second one in the series. That being said, Petals on the Wind is my favorite. My Sweet Audrina and Heaven are both just as gothic and pulpy and definitely worth reading too.

Don’t read anything from her ghostwriter. He’s disgusting.

Anonymous 08/03/22 (Wed) 08:06:01 PM No. 226581

>>226309
Right now I'm reading Mémoires d'Hadrien, Gardens of the Moon, Metamorphoses (by Ovid), Anne Frank's diary, A Tale of Two Cities, and Ivanhoe at the same time

Anonymous 08/04/22 (Thu) 01:56:31 AM No. 226713

>>226332
we who are about to by joanna russ.

>>226555
which ones are by her ghostwriter? i've been thinking about picking up the rest of the series, so far i've only read flowers in the attic.

Anonymous 08/04/22 (Thu) 04:39:38 AM No. 226747

>>226309
Currently reading Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb

>>226581
How are you liking Gardens of the Moon? I've been thinking of starting the Malazan books

Anonymous 08/04/22 (Thu) 05:40:10 PM No. 226991

File: 1659634810090.jpg (171.97 KB, 1400x1050, BRIDGERTON_108_Unit_01959R.jpg)

Decided to start reading the Bridgerton series for fun since I liked S1 of the show. I've only read the first two books so far.

I thought I'd like the first book the most and would have a hard time reading the following books, but after finishing the second, it made me realize the first book is so lackluster kek. The whole "love triumphs all" is cheesy and I don't mind it, but it's really… not great in Daphne and Simon's relationship. Simon has held a lifelong grudge against his father, then Daphne appears and they twiddle their thumbs together, then bam! Grudge is gone. I just accepted that that's how these books would go, but seeing the similar "love triumphs all" play out between Anthony and Kate made me realize how awful it is in the first book.

Anthony and Kate was much more fun to read. The back and forth between them was a lot more fun. I loved their internal struggle to come to terms that they were in love with one another.

I'm taking a break to read another book before I start on the 3rd book. Have other nonnies read the books? How do you like them?

I also haven't watched S2 and honestly don't really plan to (but really want to watch them play pall mall). I read the episode summaries and it's just so much more over the top and dramatic for no reason. I looooved reading about Anthony and Kate's relationship post-marriage, and S2 ends right as they get married.

Anonymous 08/04/22 (Thu) 09:12:53 PM No. 227079

>>226747
I'm about 40 pages in and so far it has better writing and better female characters than the first few chapters of the book of Mistborn (I think I won't finish that one…) so yeah I'm enjoying it

Anonymous 08/04/22 (Thu) 11:42:26 PM No. 227139

File: 1659656546091.png (1.02 MB, 1278x350, summer reading 2022.PNG)

My summer vacation has ended, and thus my consumption of romance novels must as well. Convenience store woman was by far my favorite read, thank you guys for the recommendation. Any suggestions on what to start on next?

Anonymous 08/05/22 (Fri) 04:50:15 AM No. 227217

>>226309
I'm reading The Book of Numbers from the Bible, Cien Sonetos de Amor by Pablo Neruda, and I guess I'm still reading The COINTELPRO Papers, although I've put them on hiatus because they are very monotonous. I've been in a kind of slump since I don't really like Neruda, Numbers has been slow and tedious but is about to get interesting, and it's fatiguing to constantly read about how evil the FBI is.

Anonymous 08/06/22 (Sat) 09:27:32 AM No. 227662

File: 1659778052630.jpg (905.32 KB, 1536x2629, dickens.jpg)

I now see where Pratchett found his inspiration

Anonymous 08/08/22 (Mon) 02:22:54 PM No. 228221

File: 1659968574123.jpg (385.98 KB, 1688x2560, 81 DF -yMqL.jpg)

About halfway through this book and I'm really enjoying it! It's pretty funny, but has its moments as well.

Anonymous 08/08/22 (Mon) 04:28:17 PM No. 228248

>>226514
I started reading these too I found one in my attic and I liked it and bought few more have you read the twisted tales yet? There a few of them there like the what if Snow White never woke up ect there pretty good.
Ps congratulations on getting new job nonnie

Anonymous 08/08/22 (Mon) 04:36:29 PM No. 228251

File: 1659976589303.jpeg (71.19 KB, 715x1080, 68D6D3CE-4DE6-4461-AE8D-BF4742…)

Anyone pre ordered Jeannette mccurdy book? I’m pretty hyped for it. It coming out next month. Hopefully it spills more beans on the pedo ring in nickelodeon studios and her mother was gross af

Anonymous 08/08/22 (Mon) 04:40:07 PM No. 228252

>>228251
nonnie it comes out tomorrow, doesn't it? august 9th? i have it preordered on my kindle! i can't wait, she was always one of my favourite actresses when i was a kid, i was so heartbroken to hear what she went through.

Anonymous 08/08/22 (Mon) 06:04:06 PM No. 228273

File: 1659981845925.jpg (1.47 MB, 3000x2250, il_fullxfull.2776856082_n6sa.j…)

Major flash back I found one these at a free book stand I started re reading and collecting them of amazon
Did anyone ever read the mini books of sabrina the teenage witch they were pretty good some them were really random like she ended up being a becoming a pirate to finding a new love interest

I love to know if anyone else read these growing up

Anonymous 08/08/22 (Mon) 07:48:09 PM No. 228296

File: 1659988089447.png (236.7 KB, 796x457, 01.png)

recently rereading Lolita and like I'm impressed by how horrific and pitiful nabokov managed to portray Humbert despite him being the POV character who controls the narrative of the story, like he is absolutely pathetic in every way, as he tries to convince the reader of his harmlessness despite the horrible things he has done. he is at his core an pitiful and abusive man, hateful towards all women, unpleasant and rude, its almost comical in how many way finds excuses to make the women in his life into lessers.

Anonymous 08/08/22 (Mon) 09:18:53 PM No. 228313

>>228251
I was thinking of picking it up! And other nonnie is right, it releases tomorrow. I really hope it exposes some pedo ring stuff too. We need a lolcow book club so we can all read it together

Anonymous 08/08/22 (Mon) 10:00:26 PM No. 228318

>>228251
I’m gonna buy a physical copy once it’s available

Anonymous 08/08/22 (Mon) 10:03:05 PM No. 228320

>>228273
I was so obsessed with these when I was young! I don't think Sabrina the Teenage Witch ever aired in my country so in retrospect I have no idea why so many of the books cropped up in second hand shops, but I'm not complaining. Did they even follow the same plots as the show?

Anonymous 08/09/22 (Tue) 12:39:15 AM No. 228358

>>228296
I remember thinking the same thing about American Psycho. The book really demonstrates how Bateman is so autistic he can't even order a cheeseburger in an unfamiliar situation without spilling his spaghetti. The movie was good, but it didn't show off any of his most pathetic social faux pases that constantly defined the novel.

Anonymous 08/09/22 (Tue) 06:36:56 AM No. 228443

>>228320
They have the most random plots lol the only connection to the shows is few charters names part from that they don’t connect and there is no order to read them in.
Every couple books has a different writer so each book has a different writing style too which is cool. They good quick day read

Anonymous 08/09/22 (Tue) 06:50:03 AM No. 228446

File: 1660027803447.jpeg (247.02 KB, 1381x2054, 7E893679-18C2-469B-8993-9FCC64…)

I read this book and I cried with tears cause I was so glad it was over kek…. Guess I’m not a Stephen king fan
Unpopular opinion - his books are over rated I read a bunch now and I just find them boring and predictable is that just me?

Potential Trigger warning ?!? Maybe

Also yes I had the older copies where there was a gross underage gang bang why the hell would he write and publish that (he has a lot this shit in his books and short story’s no one talks about it very odd)

Anonymous 08/09/22 (Tue) 06:54:59 AM No. 228447

>>228358
should i give the book another go? i remember it being so gory that i had to put it down.

Anonymous 08/10/22 (Wed) 12:46:17 PM No. 228927

File: 1660135577801.jpeg (43.66 KB, 223x344, 1656390406313.jpeg)

>The Men by Sandra Newman
>From the author of The Heavens, a dazzling, mind-bending novel in which all men mysteriously disappear from the face of the earth

I can't even begin to describe that disappointment I felt when I finished this book, the premise seemed so interesting but it literally never went anywhere, despite men disappearing globally it still felt like nothing was happening outside of what protagonist personally see's, we hear about a woman becoming pope and the Korea's reuniting but we aren't told how this happens and what it means for these religions and nations, it just lingers on, the explanation of how men disappear is also really needlessly elaborate, like the book switches back and forth from it being just a framing device and then to almost providing an explanation and then not giving it

And the worst part of the book that can't be ignored. I'm not gonna even spoiler cause I think people should be aware of this, so the main character is a disgraced female dancer who did something awful that ruined her reputation, in about mid-way through the novel its revealed she was groomed by an older voyeuristic man, in too having sex with underage boys while he masturbates to them having sex, after that. I literally could not focus on the story, cause like why would you include that, like I get that it wants to be serious about grooming but its both ridiculous and fucked up and we are supposed to feel bad for the MC but like no, you willingly had sex with a 12 year old boy, you are a bad person

Anonymous 08/10/22 (Wed) 12:50:17 PM No. 228929

>>228446
>why the hell would he write and publish that (he has a lot this shit in his books and short story’s no one talks about it very odd)
because cocaine

Anonymous 08/10/22 (Wed) 03:09:42 PM No. 229014

File: 1660144182601.png (574.9 KB, 820x1867, CAPTURE.png)

>>228927
wow you weren't exaggerating, like Jesus fuck who thought this was a good idea

Anonymous 08/10/22 (Wed) 05:16:50 PM No. 229150

>>228251
I finished this, very cathartic read because my mom is similar to Jennette's (though nowhere near as bad). It is the core of the book and the reason for the book's title is made clear, especially in the last chapter. There's a lot of really great reflections and lines about her experiences as a child actor and eating disorders. I'm glad she's doing better and was confident about not doing the iCarly reboot. Regarding Dan Schneider, there's a few chapters on her experience woth him: she refers to him as "the creator" and says he can go from lovebombing to verbal abuse, tried to pit stars against each other, and was offered (but did not accept) $300,000 as hush money to not speak about his behavior.

Anonymous 08/10/22 (Wed) 06:51:17 PM No. 229172

File: 1660157477801.png (87.66 KB, 919x607, troon tears.png)

>>228927
The butthurt trannies reviewing this book are a goldmine. I'm still ignoring this one because of the reasons you listed. Gross.

Anonymous 08/10/22 (Wed) 08:30:25 PM No. 229201

>>228446
He has a few good ones, but all his work is plagued by being same-voiced. Wow, is the main character a male author who is described to sound exactly like King himself? What a surprise! (and he mentions in his memoir he doesn't base any of his characters off real people, kek). I also think he's a creep for writing Carrie, I didn't think it was very good and I don't see why no one thinks it's WEIRD that a grown man decided to write about a teenage girl's period as his debut novel? Part of me wonders if his wife actually wrote it, since she's the one who saved it from being tossed (should have left it in the bin), but I haven't read any of her work to compare to it. It's also been a very long time since I've read Carrie, but I stand by my opinion he's a creep for writing it either way.

I didn't realize newer copies of IT removed the creepy gang-bang scene though? I have the copy in your pic and it's "newer" and still has the scene in it.

Anonymous 08/11/22 (Thu) 03:18:32 AM No. 229270

File: 1660187911996.jpg (48.54 KB, 400x602, High-Rise.jpg)

Read High-Rise by J.G. Ballard. It's about the inhabitants of a 40-storey high rise basically going crazy and devolving into tribes and Mad Max post-apocalypse squabbles inside the building. Literally nothing is wrong with the outside world, but things gets crazy inside. Pretty neat novel if you like stories set in one place or about societal collapses.

Anonymous 08/11/22 (Thu) 03:18:33 AM No. 229271

File: 1660187913367.png (347.57 KB, 820x945, Screenshot 20.png)

>>229172
I honestly didn't expect, that book is super sympatric towards TIMs(and one mention of TIFs) multiple female characters talk about how they were unfairly taken away with the men

Anonymous 08/11/22 (Thu) 07:29:07 PM No. 229598

File: 1660246147744.jpg (36.99 KB, 750x750, Witch-cover.jpg)

I got this for shits and giggles and I'm a bit unimpressed. More interestingly, the author, Lisa Lister, is borderline cow-levels of unhinged. I signed up for her mailing list out of perverse curiosity and it's just heaps of unfocused ramblings about energetic portals, manifesting, and bumming around France with her overweight, balding moid whom she's dubbed The Viking and who also sells a series of guided prosperity manifestations/meditations for the low, low price of £21. She comes off as grifty at best and self-obsessed at worst. I'm probably going to leave my copy in a local lending library and farm the inevitable TRA/libfem outrage. Also bump for gore, be careful anons.

Anonymous 08/11/22 (Thu) 08:37:38 PM No. 229642

Does anyone have recommendations for books about the history of the feminist movement?

Anonymous 08/11/22 (Thu) 09:40:23 PM No. 229662

File: 1660254022707.jpeg (3.09 MB, 4032x3024, F46A0DDA-EB4E-485F-AC81-CD2C25…)

>>228251
Ignore the photo from my kindle but lord, the things this poor woman went through…it’s no wonder she never wanted to continue on acting after that Sam & Cat shitshow.

Anonymous 08/12/22 (Fri) 03:14:21 PM No. 230026

File: 1660317261487.jpg (116.42 KB, 1022x1521, cKOoINI.jpg)

haven't seen that new movie, but is this book any good?

Anonymous 08/12/22 (Fri) 05:47:50 PM No. 230061

>>228446
it’s supposed to represent them not being children anymore. in order to escape the clown they give up their childhood. it’s still gross though and I think there are probably a 100 ways to do this that would be more interesting.

Anonymous 08/12/22 (Fri) 06:23:25 PM No. 230071

>>230061
They could've filed taxes or sumthin, why does Stephen King think kids exploring each other sexually suddenly not make them children anymore, does he not know about csa? I hate that book

Anonymous 08/12/22 (Fri) 10:46:34 PM No. 230149

>>230026
I just read it recently before the movie came out and enjoyed it. It's very character-driven, which I liked, although there was one character who I spent the entire book hoping would be torn apart by wolves or at least die in a fire.

The ending was just a wee bit too convenient, but I still liked it. Just going by the trailer, it's clear that the movie is only loosely based on the book. I still haven't seen it and now feel no urgency to do so. Books rule.

Anonymous 08/13/22 (Sat) 08:22:29 AM No. 230331

File: 1660378949234.jpg (1.37 MB, 1687x2559, A19thzDvzfL.jpg)

So I am not a huge YA reader but I read this book because I heard it had some pretty creepy moments and it did. It's a retelling of 12 dancing princesses which is a fairy tale I never heard of before this book. I actually did enjoy this book though and it was kind of dark and sad for a YA book. Not gonna lie a got a bit confused by some things near the end though.

Anonymous 08/13/22 (Sat) 09:48:04 AM No. 230359

>>230071

idk nonnie, it's just how i read that bit but i agree with you. it could've been anything

Anonymous 08/13/22 (Sat) 10:08:40 AM No. 230365

>>229642
The Feminist Promise: 1792 to the Present by Christine Stansell (haven't read it yet)

Anonymous 08/14/22 (Sun) 11:16:15 PM No. 230865

>>230331
Read this after your recommendation! The unreliable narration, and trippy imagery was really unsettling. Thanks for the rec!

Anonymous 08/15/22 (Mon) 06:33:42 AM No. 230911

File: 1660545222451.jpg (9.6 KB, 344x344, 9780062373663.jpg)

I finished this book a few weeks ago and I just want to rant. this book was… I don't even know. I read it because I really liked the book special topics in calamity physics and when I looked for similar books this one kept coming up. and let me just say if you liked STICP this is probably not a good book to read lmao. the only similar things about them is that they're about solving a murder at a school. this book also got really dark/depressing/twisted at points, but that's not why I hated it.

the plot is that there are two sisters, a year apart in age, and the younger sister is murdered and somebody is framed. the protagonist realizes the guy who is now dead so he can't defend himself was framed and is trying to solve the murder as the cops are totally incompetent and useless as they always are in books. the reason I hated this book was because of all the weird sexual stuff in it. good lord where do I even begin. well first of all there are many times when the main character (I think her name was grace but I don't even remember) describes her sister nica in a really weird sexual way. there was more than one descriptions like "her bouncing nipples under her black lace bra" or describing her body in a really sexual or her panties etc etc.. the younger sister, nica, was 16 by the way. there was also a description of the mother's bouncing breasts at least once. the mother of the sisters was a photographer and her daughter nica was her only subject. she started taking pictures of her when she was a little kid and kept taking pictures of her up until she died. the mom would literally take nudes of nica and she'd take candids of nica and one of them was of nica naked, masturbating under a dora the explorer blanket and just like… why. none of that even ended up having to do with the plot, at least not directly.

but it doesn't end there. grace goes to a party dressed up as her dead sister and gets really drunk and/or stoned out of her mind as she has a pill problem. she wakes up later and finds out she was raped and has 0 memory of it. then she dates a guy and falls in love and then finds out he was the one who raped her. he confessed and said she was whispering things to him and goes "if I was talking I wasn't unconscious".. then after that she gets mad at him and accuses him of raping her but her internal monologue goes "it was a lie, I knew he didn't rape me"… but like.. he did???? how is that not rape? there was also a borderline sexual assault scene between grace and another girl. I actually started to get scrote vibes from this book but the author is indeed a woman.

all of the characters in this book were awful too. I feel like there was more awful shit in it but I can't be bothered to remember. I'm not even sure why I finished this book lmao.

Anonymous 08/15/22 (Mon) 02:23:06 PM No. 230964

Exquisite Corpse was the most fucked up shit I have ever read

Anonymous 08/15/22 (Mon) 07:35:55 PM No. 231070

>>230865
You're welcome, I'm glad you enjoyed it! I also liked the seaside atmosphere

Anonymous 08/15/22 (Mon) 08:40:08 PM No. 231082

>>230331
i really liked that fairytale as a kid, gonna check this one out now. thanks nona

Anonymous 08/16/22 (Tue) 02:11:59 AM No. 231134

File: 1660615919195.jpeg (77.91 KB, 828x174, 87666F1D-FD31-434A-B541-6B8D5A…)

>>230964
i just looked at the reviews on goodreads and kek. why do they gotta list homosexual sex along with these other warnings

Anonymous 08/16/22 (Tue) 08:08:31 AM No. 231185

Some mid 90s-early 00s graphic design books I've started hoarding, haven't read through them all yet. All available on the Internet Archive/online:
Big Type (2002), Roger Walton https://archive.org/details/bigtype0000unse/mode/2up
Musicdot.com (2001), Roger Walton https://archive.org/details/musicdotcom0000unse/mode/2up
Page Layout: inspiration, innovation, information (2000), Roger Walton https://archive.org/details/pagelayoutinspir0000walt/page/n151/mode/2up
Type: no borders, no boundaries, no limits (2002), Roger Walton https://archive.org/details/typenobordersnob0000unse/mode/2up
The big book of typographics (Typographics 1 & 2 c.1995/96) (2002), Roger Walton https://archive.org/details/bigbookoftypogra0000unse/mode/2up
Typographics 3: Globalvision (2000), Roger Walton https://archive.org/details/typographicsthre0000unse
Typographics 4: analysis+imagination=communication (2000), Roger Walton https://archive.org/details/typographics40000unse/mode/2up
Typographics 5: graphic fusion (2003), Roger Walton https://archive.org/details/typographics5gra0000unse
Graphic Design for the 21st Century (2005), Charlotte and Peter Fiell https://b-ok.global/book/1281481/b4432d
The new graphic design school (1998), Alan Swann https://archive.org/details/newgraphicdesign00swan/mode/2up
The complete guide to digital graphic design (2002), Maggie and Bob Gordon https://archive.org/details/completeguidetod0000unse_n8i3/mode/2up
Fly: the art of the club flyer (1996), Nicola Ackland-Snow https://archive.org/details/flyartofclubflye0000ackl

Not a design book per se but it definitely has some cool illustrations and layouts:
Lovely Sweet Dream (1998), Hiroko Nishikawa https://archive.org/details/lovelysweetdream

Anonymous 08/16/22 (Tue) 08:28:49 AM No. 231193

>>230964
>>231134
I wonder if it's as disturbing as Dead Inside. I got scarred just reading the synopsis of that and I didn't even read the whole synopsis.

Actually no nevermind I don't want to know.

Anonymous 08/16/22 (Tue) 12:46:33 PM No. 231267

>>231185
I love you nonna

Anonymous 08/16/22 (Tue) 01:51:38 PM No. 231276

File: 1660657898404.jpg (14.87 KB, 183x276, lagoon.jpg)

has anyone read lady from the black lagoon? i'm halfway through and i'm not sure if i like it or not, kek

Anonymous 08/16/22 (Tue) 02:06:55 PM No. 231280

Anyone else hate reading anything fictional? What are some books that are interesting but absolutely no story/plot/characters? I want to immerse myself deeply in a specific topic and get lost; I can read for the opium trade in Afghanistan for or puppet making. I don’t care. I just don’t want anything that can be made into a movie.

Anonymous 08/16/22 (Tue) 03:25:55 PM No. 231303

>>231193
Kek I was about to post a spoilered instance from Exuisite Corpse that was particularly disgusting til I saw you say you don't want to know. You really don't. I do not recommend reading it, I was kinda fucked up for a day or two afterwards. Interestingly it was written by a ftm. That really adds a layer of wtf to the whole thing. She also wrote a biography of Courtney Love.

Anonymous 08/16/22 (Tue) 04:08:47 PM No. 231310

>>231280
Maybe I am bitter and want someone else to suffer with me, but you should give: C. Cobb, H. Goldwhite; "Creations of Fire - Chemistry's Lively History from Alchemy to the Atomic Age" a read.

Anonymous 08/17/22 (Wed) 12:12:15 PM No. 231515

>>231280
I picked up a f/f urban fantasy novel but it's garbage and yet I'm still reading it

Anonymous 08/17/22 (Wed) 04:40:38 PM No. 231584

File: 1660754438100.jpg (27.38 KB, 260x400, 22588.jpg)

Just finished Man in the High Castle by Philip K Dick!
I really enjoyed the disjointed writing style, it reminds me of the feeling of racing thoughts during mania (which makes sense considering how Dick was mentally). I'm not sure I fully followed the plot because I read it in very short segments during lunch breaks. I somehow entirely missed that Tagomi had died until I finished the book, wondered where tf he had got to, and then went back to reread the last 3ish chapters. That's probably user error on my end for not being a more attentive reader, though. The concept of the oracle was very interesting too. I definitely want to check out more of PKD's writing, especially stuff where he has more room to worldbuild - once I've finished the 20 books I promised myself I'd read next, kek.

Anonymous 08/17/22 (Wed) 04:46:50 PM No. 231589

>>231303
Is it ‘dirty blonde’? It can’t be that I think, because it’s like a diary-concept.

Anonymous 08/17/22 (Wed) 04:51:44 PM No. 231593

Someone recommend me books where A.I., preferably evil, falls in love with or starts obsessing over a human

Anonymous 08/17/22 (Wed) 04:57:37 PM No. 231594

>>231280
Well Pale Fire will never be made into a movie

Anonymous 08/17/22 (Wed) 05:10:47 PM No. 231596

>>231584
I remember starting to read it thinking it was a regular uchronia and suddenly it turned into a Philip K Dick book, a bit disconcerting but I liked it. I wonder how the series dealt with it…

Anonymous 08/17/22 (Wed) 05:44:45 PM No. 231611

>>231280
Talking to My Daughter About The Economy was a really fascinating history of credit and debt. The only plot is that he's structured it like he's writing it to his teen daughter lol, but that just makes it easier to read.
Behave by Robert Sapolsky is also great if you watch like a 10 minute youtube video on how nerves create signals, to go with his appendix.
Idk it really depends what you're into, go look up some bestseller lists in the genres you want?
Personally I'm annoyed with the trend for nonfiction writers to add in memoirs or nonfiction. I don't trust americwn tv documentaries for the same tendency to overdramatise. Let the facts be facts!

Anonymous 08/17/22 (Wed) 10:33:36 PM No. 231706

>>231611
Thank you for the recommendations, screenshotted for future reference!

Anonymous 08/17/22 (Wed) 11:00:56 PM No. 231709

Any books where a guy is tortured physically/sexually? I want to read something nasty, no romance, no “mlm’s.” Just pure blood and objectification. I’m open to reading 20 pages of the author describing his dick being put in a blender or something. I want him to be put through hell with preferably a ton of anorectal (ew, sorry for using that word) violence. Give me your worst.

Anonymous 08/18/22 (Thu) 02:26:16 AM No. 231758

>>231589
It's Courtney Love The Real Story.
Sad that Poppy trooned out, though it's a typical fujo to Aiden story

Anonymous 08/18/22 (Thu) 07:55:33 AM No. 231816

File: 1660809333509.jpg (33.04 KB, 258x385, Exquisite_Corpse_(novel).jpg)

>>231709
Exquisite Corpse by Poppy Z. Brite kek, unironically. It is beautifully written but oh so degenerate.

Anonymous 08/18/22 (Thu) 08:12:22 AM No. 231823

File: 1660810342483.jpeg (139.75 KB, 2000x1333, Interview-with-the-vampire.jpe…)

Are there any Anne Rice enthusiasts?
I wonder if the new Interview With The Vampire TV show is gonna be any good and canon. They look extremely goofy. Is that how the characters are supposed to look like anyway?

Anonymous 08/18/22 (Thu) 08:29:31 AM No. 231825

>>231823
You know that shits gonna suck

Anonymous 08/18/22 (Thu) 08:34:21 AM No. 231829

>>231825
>suck

lel

there used to be a whole thread for vampire discussion before /m/ got nuked, not sure if it got remade or not

>>231709
are you okay?

Anonymous 08/18/22 (Thu) 08:43:43 AM No. 231833

>>231823
Changes they made to the characters and settings makes absolutely no sense. At some point, why not just make original vampire series. I would love to see/read something original rather than rehashed "but this time we changed the original to the point of no recognition!!! fans gonna love it".
Sage for nonproofread sperg.

Anonymous 08/18/22 (Thu) 10:01:45 AM No. 231844

>>231823
WHY would you try to follow fucking Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise, two of the biggest movie stars of all time, with these basics? Unbelievable. If you can't find beautiful men don't even bother.

Anonymous 08/18/22 (Thu) 10:29:10 AM No. 231849

>>231829
>>231823
The thread is here >>193190 and there was some discussion about Internet with the Vampire. I wouldn't necessarily jump into assuming right off the bat it's going to be a bad adaptation as I don't think minor changes and race swaps are what make bad adaptations; from the trailer it seems main actors have a good chemistry so I'm actually cautiously optimistic. Or at the very least, interested.

Anonymous 08/18/22 (Thu) 11:54:10 AM No. 231859

>>231849
samefag and lmao, of course I've meant Interview but internet with the vampire sounds fun too

Anonymous 08/18/22 (Thu) 03:53:30 PM No. 231898

>>231816
Thank you so much anon, I’m starting it today!!

Anonymous 08/18/22 (Thu) 05:03:09 PM No. 231912

>>231709
boy parts by eliza clark!

>>231280
i recently read "the mind fixers" which was a nonfiction book about the history of psychology. you might enjoy that.

Anonymous 08/18/22 (Thu) 05:36:03 PM No. 231918

>>231898
Np, come back & let us know what you think!

Anonymous 08/19/22 (Fri) 01:31:06 AM No. 232005

Are there any good horror novels with a pastoral setting? There's obviously Children of the Corn, but I really dislike Stephen King.

Anonymous 08/19/22 (Fri) 03:31:03 AM No. 232013

File: 1660879863008.jpg (21.64 KB, 500x500, 414K5fA5npL._SL500_.jpg)

I only read the first chapter of this and it's already intense. I'm so thankful for my freedom

Anonymous 08/19/22 (Fri) 12:38:01 PM No. 232076

File: 1660912681734.jpg (124.23 KB, 534x900, 1646280048811.jpg)

Looking for recs of books about wizards/witches/magic either fantasy or studies of magic and wizardry through cultures. Trying to get back into reading and wizard of earthsea was one of my favourite books growing up. thanks in advance, nonnies.

Anonymous 08/19/22 (Fri) 05:34:56 PM No. 232114

>>232076
I recommend the Pratchett Witches series >>223219
Do read Macbeth if you haven't yet

Anonymous 08/20/22 (Sat) 11:25:21 AM No. 232245

If you read most of your books on a nook like me and you want to import files into it, it reads epub files much better than PDFs. I wish I had known that a long time ago.

Anonymous 08/20/22 (Sat) 01:35:54 PM No. 232261

>>231823
I do not want to fuck these men therefore I will not be watching the show.

Anonymous 08/20/22 (Sat) 09:29:42 PM No. 232351

>>231303
Curious what instance you were almost going to post that you find particularly disgusting, nona. Saying as a nona who has read this book at least a couple times, because I find it entertaining. To me I think the (keeping it vague) bleaching in the bath was pretty stomach-dropping.

Anonymous 08/22/22 (Mon) 06:44:35 PM No. 232772

>>231709
The Sluts by Dennis Cooper

Anonymous 08/24/22 (Wed) 05:11:47 PM No. 233325

File: 1661361107390.jpg (443.52 KB, 1200x1772, a-tale-of-two-cities-431[1].jp…)

What the hell? I just noticed Victor Hugo stole the ending of A Tale of Two Cities when he wrote the ending of Quatrevingt-Treize. The fucker must have gotten away with it because AToTC is basically unknown in France, and so is Quatrevingt-Treize in the english speaking world. I feel like this is pretty big, but I doubt Hugo scholars would be ready to admit that one of France's most beloved writers wasn't above plagiarism…

Anonymous 08/24/22 (Wed) 06:51:58 PM No. 233364

>>232351
Ayrt, when he (do not read this nonnies) fingers the asshole of the man he disembowled and sees his finger come out the other side inside the man's hollowed out abdominal cavity

Anonymous 08/25/22 (Thu) 07:48:46 PM No. 233649

File: 1661456926192.jpg (1002.7 KB, 1491x2308, 91y L9kb6LL.jpg)

Anyone else read this? Picked it up at a charity shop for a few cents, never having read any of Margaret Atwood's works. The plot sounded interesting, dealing with a woman reflecting on her childhood and the complicated sort of friendship she had with her bully. It was well written, but I found the main character be kind of insufferable and incredibly unlikable. She was so passive throughout the entire novel, when it focused on her childhood I thought it was because she was a child. But as it focuses more on her adulthood, she's shown to be this woman who seems to lack much agency or will of her own. Simply falling into her two marriages, and pregnancies. The only choice she seems to actively make is to become an artist. I also found her kind of pathetic with how much simpering she does for men, seeming to hold them up as either amazing mysterious alien beings or else poor easily frightened animals to be coddled and forgiven or somewhere in between. Meanwhile almost every other woman is either an ugly shrill old matron, airheaded floozy or otherwise shallow NPC compared to her. It'd be one thing if she thought like this as a young woman, but when it gets to her in her middle age, she doesn't seemed to have changed much. She seems to have this subconscious desire she never got over of wanting to be the mean girl, stemming from being the bullied kid in childhood. There's also one scene in particular that I thought made her irredeemably awful, even the character herself admits how ghoulishly cruel it was to think that way.

Anonymous 08/25/22 (Thu) 08:06:18 PM No. 233651

>>233649
Hello friend, check discord lmao

Anonymous 08/26/22 (Fri) 01:01:17 AM No. 233708

File: 1661475677763.jpg (484.21 KB, 1318x2000, OVXllKT.jpg)

anyone read this? is it any good?

Anonymous 08/26/22 (Fri) 01:20:52 AM No. 233710

>>233708
It is very good, I recommend it.

Anonymous 08/26/22 (Fri) 10:11:53 PM No. 233923

File: 1661551913028.jpg (74.31 KB, 700x525, 79650845-e2f2-4005-ae74-ec34ce…)

Anyone else really like when books have illustrations inside like picrel?

Anonymous 08/26/22 (Fri) 10:30:43 PM No. 233930

File: 1661553042926.jpg (3.48 MB, 1552x1936, Frère_Jean_défend_le_clos_de_l…)

>>233923
I think nearly all Jules Verne books have illustrated editions, I remember having a big ass edition of 20 000 leagues with gorgeous stuff in it
It's really too bad it only gets done for younger audience books nowadays, if at all. In the 19th century most books had them…

Anonymous 08/27/22 (Sat) 10:31:27 AM No. 234034

File: 1661596286921.jpg (320.3 KB, 1400x2117, the it girl.jpg)

so this is probably the best murder mystery I've ever read.. I enjoyed every minute of this as it was very suspenseful. I've read all of ruth ware's books except two, and all of them were kind of underwhelming except this one and the turn of the key. I really enjoyed the turn of the key which is why I kept reading her books. I almost didn't bother with this one but I'm glad I did. ruth ware is really good at building characters too, in fact sometimes I wish she'd write deeper stories than just murder mysteries/thrillers

Anonymous 08/28/22 (Sun) 03:17:45 AM No. 234253

File: 1661656665475.png (218.31 KB, 885x400, lol.png)

>>233708
kek I went to download it and unsurprisingly it has a 1 star rating on that site

Anonymous 08/28/22 (Sun) 03:20:00 AM No. 234254

File: 1661656800207.png (546.28 KB, 946x5852, lol2.png)

>>234253
Also the comments are hilarious (based radfem at the end)

Anonymous 08/29/22 (Mon) 03:10:36 PM No. 234557

>>234254
This is so tiring. I wonder where the hell these people live where trans people "are lynched and murdered everyday" (probably america, canada or some english speaking european country, the most liberal places for troons).. Where I live women are murdered everyday or every few days and this is not an exageration.
Also kek at that random portuguese comment
Anyway I'll be downloading this book now, thanks troons.

Anonymous 08/29/22 (Mon) 05:02:22 PM No. 234588

>>234253
kek at everyone being all righteous in the comments on the illegal book pirating website

Anonymous 08/29/22 (Mon) 06:11:24 PM No. 234606

anyone else really excited for the new J.K. Rowling Cormoran Strike book tomorrow? I'm going to be at B&N's door when they open

Anonymous 08/29/22 (Mon) 06:23:25 PM No. 234612

>>234606
I am! I ordered it online and hope it arrives quickly!

Anonymous 08/30/22 (Tue) 03:53:52 PM No. 234902

I found a copy of Mary Daly's Gyn/Ecology at goodwill for 99 cents, I audibly gasped at my luck. The previous owner printed out a photo of Mary Daly and her cat and glued it on the front page, I thought it was wholesome kek

Anonymous 08/30/22 (Tue) 04:36:06 PM No. 234922

>>234902
Awesome find, sis!

Anonymous 08/31/22 (Wed) 02:04:08 PM No. 235171

>>234606
Did you get your copy anon? I'm listening to the audio book right now. I never expected JKR to write a book full of chat logs containing words like "foid" and "faggot". Strike is currently learning how to use youtube and twitter. Clear parallels to her own life with far right men targeting leftie women online.

Anonymous 08/31/22 (Wed) 06:58:55 PM No. 235234

>>235171
I did! I got it hardcover and started to read it today but…there's improper quotations? Their normal dialogue is just 'like this' instead of "like this". I noticed it's happening throughout the whole book. I'm really disappointed. I don't know if it's a printing error or what, and I can't find anyone complaining about it online, just that the kindle formatting is fucked.

Anonymous 08/31/22 (Wed) 08:52:12 PM No. 235250

>>235234
NTA but maybe you received a british copy. NA books will use " " but UK editions use single quotation marks. it might seem weird at first but you'll get used to it!

Anonymous 08/31/22 (Wed) 09:15:10 PM No. 235253

>>235250
Yeah I figured out that was the British usage, but there's also a couple other strange errors, like multiple spaces where there shouldn't be (unless that's also normal for Brits lol). It's strange since I've always bought these books on publishing day from Barnes and Noble and never had an issue. I'm not sure if I'll wait and see if they reprint it without the issues/ print an American version or just tough it out. It just sends my autism into a fit seeing it like this haha

Anonymous 09/01/22 (Thu) 11:07:40 AM No. 235404

>>225812
I know this was posted a month ago but yes I've been reading the Flower in the Attic series! I'm on the third book currently (If There Be Thorns). I'm nearly half way through and I'm waiting for some serious dramatics to happen kek. I really liked Petals on the Wind though. It may end up being my favorite of the whole series.

I am planning on reading the prequel Garden of Shadows. I know it's written by a ghost writer but he used Andrews notes for the storyline so I'm willing to give it a shot. But other than My Sweet Audrina I probably won't read anymore V.C. Andrews books.

Anonymous 09/01/22 (Thu) 01:42:13 PM No. 235437

File: 1662039733678.jpg (70.83 KB, 400x480, 1599697766827.jpg)

>>232076
I gotchu covered nonna! (sorry for 13 day late delivery, i had flies to catch lol)
-The structure of magic: a book about language and therapy (book on NLP, very interesting real world applications being studied)
-Holy book (of your choosing, could be any, or just go for Aradia)
-Vurt (trippy dreamscape science fantasy rollercoaster, highly rec'd!)
-mythology book of choice (might I recommend something Egyptian for the good month of September?)
-Vampire's Way to Psychic Self-Defense (good basic rundown on how to get bad shit to go and stay go)
-Llewellyn's Complete Book of Ceremonial Magick (cheeky compilation of fascinating articles, will give you some food for thought if you are interested in pursuing further studies down the line!)
-Chainsawman (unironically good intro to demonology)

I can assemble a rar or something of epubs/pdfs if you'd like btw, no hassle at all.
Take it easy nonnie, stay hydrated.

Anonymous 09/01/22 (Thu) 06:01:37 PM No. 235477

>>235437
>Chainsawman (unironically good intro to demonology)
There isn't a single real-life demonology concept in chainsawman, apart from maybe doing contracts

Anonymous 09/01/22 (Thu) 07:14:49 PM No. 235493

>>235477
The concept of fears being personified/deified etc into egregores which possess real life "powers" in essence, is chaos magick 101 more or less. But on this, I do not mind agreeing to disagree, I apologise for inserting undue levity into my post, I should have really thought this out more.
Part 2 shaping up to be pure suffering, pure suffering, I'm eagerly awaiting new chapters tbh ladies.
How about Hell Girl? That shit rocks.

Anonymous 09/01/22 (Thu) 09:42:01 PM No. 235543

>>235493
I think comics by Alan Moore (Promethea) or Grant Morrison (The Invisibles) would be a more explicit introduction to the arts, Moore quoting concepts directly from hermeticism and the Ars Goetia and Morrison being a bona fide chaos magician
So far it looks like part 2 is going to be a love story, just like part 1 looked like it was going to be a shonen… it's really hell on me when csm skips a week lol

Anonymous 09/02/22 (Fri) 07:56:19 PM No. 235722

Just finished a couple of books that have been talked about a lot in this thread. Earthlings is quite possibly the most fucked up book I've ever read outside of splatter punks or something like Story of the Eye, it kind of reminded me of it as the story progressed. I also read My Year of Rest and Relaxation. I liked it because the protagonist described pretty much what I hate about the art industry, I found her descriptions of all the pretentiousness amusing, despite being pretentious in her own right. Someone recommended me You Too Can Have a Body Like Mine by Alexandra Kleeman, I haven't seen that mentioned yet, but if anyone has read it, I liked to know. Was told it was a better and similar book to MYoRaR.

Anonymous 09/02/22 (Fri) 09:22:21 PM No. 235734

I usually don't read any YA at all but today I found a book called The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan, which is a part of Percy Jackson series or something idk I was a Harry Potter bitch in school.
Anyway, it is a kind of kiddie novel with quirky humour and I kinda like it. It's so inoffensive and light and filled with lolsorandom jokes. I like that I can just read a chapter while I sit on a toilet or ride a bus to work because they are very short, so I get bite-sized chapters of some wacky shit. It's enjoyable like a moeblob slice of life anime, since you can just turn off your head and read something that distracts you from all the bullshit for at least five minutes.
So, when I finish the book, should I read the rest of the series? Is the OG Percy books good?

Anonymous 09/03/22 (Sat) 11:05:25 PM No. 235991

File: 1662246325067.jpg (39.26 KB, 291x475, 11286.jpg)

Currently reading picrel and if he mentions breasts one more fucking time I'm going to lose it. I really loved The Terror by the same author (the show is amazing as well, highly recommend it) but he sexualizes the woman in that story too. Scrotes gonna scrote, I guess

Anonymous 09/04/22 (Sun) 12:10:04 AM No. 236000

>>235991
Moids write a whole book without describing women's breasts/nipples challenge

Anonymous 09/04/22 (Sun) 09:46:13 AM No. 236086

File: 1662284772956.png (105.17 KB, 640x480, 1604039616892.png)

>>235991
Yeah I read this a few years back, waste of time imo but had some interesting concepts I suppose.
I liked Hyperion though! It's inspired by The Canturbury Tales and it was miles miles better than CC. Also reminds me of my favorite Japanese novel series that's now in English, Legend of The Galactic Heroes, it's the name of milord Yang Wenli's flagship.
Oh and when I was a kiddo, I adored Anthony Horowitz' fiction, he did this series of detective parodies for kids and they would have me in stitches, but he has done really chilling horror too. I'm so glad that when I was growing up in the countryside at a small school we had a nice selection of books, it really fed all of our brains, I fondly remember waiting for the next in a series to be returned so I could read it.
Thinking of investing in a new Kobo when Christmas comes around! There's one that you can edit and make notes with so that would be amazing for college (that I have finally returned to after being a hikkineet for approx 10 years, yeah… I am la eremita).

Anonymous 09/04/22 (Sun) 09:53:02 AM No. 236091

>>236086
Speaking of logh, how is the novel? I only watched the original anime and I absolutely loved it.
Good luck in uni nona!

Anonymous 09/04/22 (Sun) 10:13:31 AM No. 236093

>>236086
Lotgh nona is back! Good luck on your military history degree!

Anonymous 09/04/22 (Sun) 12:09:18 PM No. 236098

>>236086
Hyperion is also full of pointless, endless descriptions of breasts. Everytime a woman does anything you get a titty update

Anonymous 09/04/22 (Sun) 01:59:33 PM No. 236112

File: 1662299973712.jpg (13.84 KB, 276x183, Z.jpg)

>>235991
>>236000
Update: He has, indeed, written about breasts again. Fuckin idiot. Picrel is a different author but same concept. In Carrion Comfort he also (light spoiler) writes in rape a few times but I was willing to overlook it because it is contextually relevant.

>>236086
AYRT, thanks for the rec! I'd like to read Summer of Night by Dan Simmons but he legit is a retard for not keeping his stupid shriveled dick away from his storytelling.

>>236098
Sigh

Anonymous 09/04/22 (Sun) 02:12:23 PM No. 236115

>>236112
kek my tits are too saggy to emote this much

Anonymous 09/04/22 (Sun) 02:20:51 PM No. 236120

File: 1662301251649.jpg (215.98 KB, 768x1024, sexy_scene.jpg)

>>236115
Got u covered sister. (Not my pic) Her boobs boobed boobily, as they say.

Anonymous 09/04/22 (Sun) 02:57:13 PM No. 236125

File: 1662303433779.png (Spoiler Image,102.74 KB, 1148x767, pillars-of-earth-follett.png)

I want to rant about The Pillars of the Earth. So this is "one of the best books of all time" I've heard so much about? I understand that William is an irredeemable shitbag and we are meant to hate him, but why was there a need to make this scene so graphic? It continues on for another page and gets more detailed as it goes on, describing vividly how William rapes Aliena until she passes out and it's implied that his friend then rapes her as well while she's unconscious and my question is, why did Mr. Follett decide to put this in his book? The fact that he chose to to depict rape in the same detailed way that he writes sex scenes makes me think that he and other male authors get off to this shit, especially those who write fantasy and historical fiction. I swear they're writing these scenes with one hand. Looking at you, GRRM.

The women in this book are either young and pretty heroines or they are ugly, evil, bitter, scheming crones. Their attractiveness and youth is what determines whether they have the author's "respect" or not. They are not allowed to have flaws and weaknesses like their male counterparts, they must be perfect at what they do and look like supermodels while doing it. The book has an overall inconsistent tone and historical inaccuracies galore but it's his portrayal and treatment of women that angers me the most.

Honestly I don't know why I even continued reading after another character's wife died during childbirth and he groped her breasts and then had sex with another woman, beautiful and half his age of course, hours after his wife's death because I knew at that point that nothing good would come of this book. Not to mention that Follett, like many other male authors, introduces every female character by first describing her breasts. So many unnecessary sex scenes, cringy descriptions of women's bodies, and graphic sexual violence. Historical fiction moids are the worst.

Anonymous 09/04/22 (Sun) 05:03:44 PM No. 236149

File: 1662311024631.jpg (252.21 KB, 1500x2413, 71RUCoZRhbL.jpg)

I'm a big fan of Limmy and Limmy's Show and all that so I thought this would be interesting. It was. It was honestly a bit offputting how relatable a lot of it was. He's very relatable but also incredibly insufferable at some points, but those instances were also relatable in a way. After reading, I was left with the impression that he's a great guy to know if you're just acquaintances but anything deeper than that and he's definitely a fucking nightmare to deal with. I thought the work years and comedy chapters were neat, not all the shit about being a crazy alcoholic during the work years but just how he ended up going into comedy and how he made it and all that. He would say how he never knew what he was doing at any point in time but it was so very interesting how he prepared for everything and what it all resulted in.
In my opinion, I don't think he has adhd or autism. I think he's just anxious as fuck. Maybe that's me projecting because I relate so much to him, but even the worrying about having adhd ot autism just strikes me as a very anxious person looking to excuse his weird behavior. He admits it, too, toward the end of the book. Crazy guy.
There is something I have to ask because it was bugging me while I was reading. Gonna spoil it because there are some spoilers, whatever.

He talks about doing a lot of acid when he was younger. So much acid that he was known for doing acid. What gave me pause are the couple of times where he'd describe hearing an "evil" voice in his head that wasn't his, or he'd get really frightened by some sort of "evil" presence. He said at one point he felt an evil presence right in front of his face. These instances were when he was sober, except I think one instance where he heard voices because of a delayed ecstacy pill. He also talked about how he was suicidal and how the thought of what would happen to his soul after he died (if he'd go to hell and all that) snapped him out of it. He's an atheist. My question is what the fuck went on there? Was that some kind of psychosis or something? Surely it had to have been because of the acid/ecstacy/alcohol right? But seriously what the fuck was all that? What's the simplest explanation? That was weird as fuck kek.
I enjoyed it. He's a weird guy. Some parts were harder to get through than others but it was a very entertaining and enlightening read.

Anonymous 09/04/22 (Sun) 05:32:25 PM No. 236155

>>236149
i'm sorry, this cover would literally make me turn away from this book so quickly. it looks horrible.

Anonymous 09/04/22 (Sun) 05:56:05 PM No. 236161

>>236155
That is the point.

Anonymous 09/04/22 (Sun) 07:26:39 PM No. 236181

>>235722
You Too Can Have A Body Like Mine is an incredible book, as is Kleeman's more recent novel (YTCHABLM is the weirder of the two) but I really struggle to think in what way it is like MYORAR (I have read both)

Anonymous 09/04/22 (Sun) 07:49:43 PM No. 236185

>>236112
>Startled breasts

Didn't know boobs had emotions

Anonymous 09/04/22 (Sun) 08:03:57 PM No. 236188

>>236125
>So this is "one of the best books of all time" I've heard so much about?
Who said that? The blurb? It's a bestseller, which means no critic worth her salt is going to call it one of the best books ever made

Anonymous 09/04/22 (Sun) 08:15:22 PM No. 236195

File: 1662322522818.jpg (71.79 KB, 1200x675, limmy[1].jpg)

>>236155
It's Limmy, that's the way he looks
>>236149
Extended use of MDMA can lead to paranoia yes

Anonymous 09/04/22 (Sun) 09:09:27 PM No. 236208

>>236125
I can’t believe you got that far after MC’s wife dies on like, page 40 solely so he can fuck the sexy, feral outcast woman in the woods like a couple hours after he buried her and left his infant child to die on top of the grave. I DID stop reading at that point because I realized it was just going to be 100% scrote fantasy from then on.

Anonymous 09/05/22 (Mon) 03:44:01 PM No. 236393

File: 1662392640667.jpg (2.51 MB, 4096x3072, sciencestack.jpg)

To keep the thread rolling, let's post our current stacks ladies! Always interested to see how you arrange your books/ereaders/stationary and what not, gives the thread a bit more colour too.
Going back to college from 11 year neet exile in a few days so im revising highschool sciences and reading some comfy science fiction. The Dostoevsky is just because as a depressed slav I can relate to his worldview, it's comforting like some steaming shchi and dumplings served with hot tea.

Anonymous 09/05/22 (Mon) 04:04:29 PM No. 236399

>>236195
ntayrt I always thought this was elon musk

Anonymous 09/05/22 (Mon) 04:20:37 PM No. 236401

File: 1662394837690.jpeg (242.71 KB, 744x1200, A5579E16-EC87-478E-89D8-B55B8D…)

>>236393
I try to keep it to one book at a time. This is the one I’m reading now. It’s quite short, so I’m sure I’ll be posting something else in a day or two.

Anonymous 09/05/22 (Mon) 04:28:27 PM No. 236402

File: 1662395307809.jpg (71.35 KB, 474x719, OIF.jpg)

Anons who got the Ink Black Heart, have you finished it? What did you think?

Anonymous 09/05/22 (Mon) 04:41:16 PM No. 236405

>>236402

I'm trying but the formatting for the chats is so fucked… as is the fact that if the characters read an article, watch a YT video, etc. THE WHOLE THING is transcribed. I'm around 350~400 pages in and it feels like the first 30 pages in terms of characterization and plot. Fucked.

Anonymous 09/05/22 (Mon) 05:06:21 PM No. 236409

File: 1662397581836.png (168.2 KB, 780x319, trip.png)

>>236125
I say watch the show. I liked it, my mother found it melodramatic, lol. I don't have memory of the show having a rape scene, overall it felt "clean" and naive to me. But it has been couple of years since then so please correct me if I am totally wrong Also has Reddie Edmayne in it.

Anonymous 09/05/22 (Mon) 06:20:02 PM No. 236422

>>236409
Reddie is so cute in it

Anonymous 09/05/22 (Mon) 10:37:46 PM No. 236473

File: 1662417466104.jpg (346.88 KB, 1000x746, eqtjf48j7.JPG)

>>236393
Currently reading. I usually have a manga volume going as well but I'm waiting on the next volume I need in a certain series to come in at the local bookstore.

Anonymous 09/06/22 (Tue) 04:19:43 PM No. 236646

File: 1662481182815.jpg (2.83 MB, 4096x3072, 20220906_170457.jpg)

>>236473
Oh, respectable stack nonnie, gonna note down these for later, the Jared Diamond one looks especially interesting given my own interest in, I suppose, using lessons from the past to build a better future for us all.
I went on a nice stroll around all the bookshops and appreciated some colourful street art, as yesterday I got a little overagitated at the kiwifarms drama and sperged out to some poor nonnies on Discord. Ah well, my bad, my bad.
Here's some of the insert photography from "Lady Death: The Memoirs of Stalin's Sniper", proof that you can be a strong independent murderstacy while being wholly relatable to the rest of us ladies. Love women in uniform tbh, military garb is cool as all hell.

Anonymous 09/06/22 (Tue) 05:24:22 PM No. 236661

File: 1662485061996.jpeg (32.55 KB, 333x500, 845D8450-7824-4256-AE00-B4FC06…)

i started this one with low expectations but it’s pretty good, i really needed a book like this right now in my life

Anonymous 09/06/22 (Tue) 07:31:01 PM No. 236684

>>236661
I've been meaning to red this forever ago but I forgot. Thanks!

Anonymous 09/06/22 (Tue) 11:30:41 PM No. 236737

>>236181
I was at a coffeehouse when I was reading it and a girl passed by and said I'd probably like Kleeman's books too, since they're weird and about depressed / insane female protags. Thanks for the rec though, I tend to like them to be weird, my public library is pretty good at stocking up on novels, so hoping they'll have her other book.

Anonymous 09/08/22 (Thu) 09:57:46 AM No. 237262

>>236661
first essays were pretty good but then it got kind of dumb in my opinion

Anonymous 09/08/22 (Thu) 11:53:07 AM No. 237270

File: 1662637987388.jpg (713.71 KB, 1662x2560, verity.jpg)

so I just finished this book and it was not an enjoyable experience in the least, and I would not recommend reading it lmao.

I originally bought this book a couple years back before all of the hype around it (or before I was aware of it, anyway). I bought it because I heard the synopsis and it hooked me (the synopsis is that a famous author can't finish a book series because of her injuries, so the publishing company hires a new author to finish it, and when the new author goes through the famous author's notes she finds some shady shit). I only just now got around to reading it. I absolutely hated this book though, for multiple reasons.

for starters the protagonist was a massive pickme from start to finish, I couldn't stand her as soon as her character was introduced. the love interest has less than 0 personality outside of being a totally handsome perfect chivalrous dream man. when I first bought this book I had never heard of colleen hoover before and didn't know that she was primarily a romance writer (who is heavy on the smut if this book is any indication of that). there were way too many sex scenes, of blowjobs specifically, that I never needed to read. smut scenes in general annoy me because of how they're usually written but blowjobs are another level, I didn't want to have to read about swallowing cum that many times, even if it was relatively vague. at one point a character is talking about trying to swallow during a blowjob but has trouble because there's too much semen.

this book kept feeling like it couldn't decide if it wanted to be a thriller or a smutty romance. at the end of the day it's a thriller I guess because there was no actual reason for the characters to be in love.

the worst part though was the ending. you might have heard people say they're "team manuscript" or "team letter" and that's because (vague-ish spoiler) there's an ambiguous ending, and those are different interpretations of it I'm team letter by the way. there's other reasons to hate the ending but I won't get into it.

I usually don't rate books but overall I'd give this 2/5 stars, maybe I'd give it 3 if it weren't for all the scenes about swallowing cum. it was a pretty short read at least.

Anonymous 09/09/22 (Fri) 02:39:58 AM No. 237428

File: 1662691198791.jpeg (26.21 KB, 331x500, 41IsoKYEgRL.jpeg)

Finished My Dark Vanessa recently and honestly, I'm obsessed with it.

Weirdly Vanessa was super relatable to me even though I am an adult. Also warning this book is about a 15 year old girl being groomed by her English teacher.

Anonymous 09/09/22 (Fri) 05:50:50 AM No. 237487

I actually forgot that book titles are supposed to be underlined. Do schools still teach this?

Anonymous 09/11/22 (Sun) 03:26:40 AM No. 238046

>>237428
Yeehs, rough subject material I had nonce teachers assume I was fresh meat because I possess a very neotenous appearance (big head like an alium desu), it's not a fun time ladies, not a fun time at all.
As for me, I am slowly reading the second Three Body Problem book, The Dark Forest. I love the insect-like aliens with utterly bizarre yet rational culture and philosophy.

Anonymous 09/11/22 (Sun) 10:13:22 AM No. 238088

>>237487
Sounds like it's only relevant if you're writing with pen and paper, as italicizing is harder to see on handwritten text. One more completely useless thing that schools teach…

Anonymous 09/12/22 (Mon) 07:33:15 AM No. 238361

>>237428
this book has been discussed a lot here in the past and nonnies have very conflicting opinions on it. personally I really liked it. I liked that it didn't have a perfect happy ending and I like the bleak picture it painted of vanessa's life as an adult. I related to vanessa too a lot, both adult and teenager. as in, I was like her as a teenager. there are probably better books on this subject that didn't get as much attention but I still don't think this book was bad.

Anonymous 09/12/22 (Mon) 10:06:36 AM No. 238393

File: 1662977196720.jpg (141.26 KB, 660x1057, 71 WFTjvLFL.jpg)

This book gave me heart problems

Anonymous 09/12/22 (Mon) 02:44:26 PM No. 238416

>>237270
This book was what made me realize Goodreads ratings are shit. It was a boring, predictable slog and I can’t believe people were thrilled by anything that happened in it.

Anonymous 09/12/22 (Mon) 03:37:40 PM No. 238424

Is there a good ancient greece book similar to that of SPQR by Mary Beard?

Anonymous 09/12/22 (Mon) 07:17:56 PM No. 238465

>>238424
Either Greek History: the Basics by Robin Osborne or Ancient Greece: A History in Eleven Cities by Paul Cartledge are recommended

Anonymous 09/12/22 (Mon) 07:30:08 PM No. 238470

>>238416

Are there any good book rating sites? I feel like I can never trust the masses.

Anonymous 09/12/22 (Mon) 09:15:37 PM No. 238495

>>238416
*predictable slog with too many blowjob scenes about swallowing cum

and yes, goodreads sucks. a lot of people seem to treat it more like personal blog than a book review site. you know how when you go to look up reviews for a book and they're all really, really long with shitloads of gifs and pictures and quotes and shit and hardly actually says anything about the book? like is this a book review or a fucking tumblr post

Anonymous 09/12/22 (Mon) 09:39:41 PM No. 238499

>>238424
Thanks nonny!

Anonymous 09/12/22 (Mon) 10:32:44 PM No. 238510

Has anyone ever tried the challenge of only or mostly reading women writers for a year? I want to give it a try and I’m in a real pro-woman vibe now. I’d love to do a mix of historical and living women writers. I’m starting with Jane Eyre because I love moody Victorian women so much

Anonymous 09/13/22 (Tue) 07:00:09 AM No. 238591

File: 1663052409555.jpg (9.6 KB, 448x337, 306673305_1246660812750922_156…)

Nonnas, do you guys have any reccomendations for comfy books? I have some free time now and want to read some sweet and comforting books about cooking or maybe slice-of-life themes to take my mind of things.

Anonymous 09/13/22 (Tue) 07:54:21 AM No. 238600

File: 1663055661745.jpg (54.78 KB, 786x1200, 786x1200.jpg)

>>238591
This feels like long nature documentary. I really liked it.

Anonymous 09/13/22 (Tue) 08:57:07 AM No. 238615

>>238591
The Hobbit
The Last Unicorn
The Neverending Story
The Starless Sea (didn't finish it but I feel like it fits this category)
The house on the cerulean sea(never read this but I heard it's cozy)

Sorry I don't have more, I just realized I mostly read anxiety inducing books

Anonymous 09/13/22 (Tue) 09:35:48 AM No. 238619

>>238470
There's no site as big as goodreads, so sadly goodreads is the best book rating site, as other websites are just not going to get as many reviews as goodreads. Now if you want someone to tell you what books are worth reading, you're going to have either to find one actual literary critic (a paid one, but not paid by the book's editor) whose tastes align with yours or trust literary prizes. Sometimes good books just get straight up ignored, but if the most a book can claim is being a NYT bestseller and nothing else it's usually a bad sign, as it means critics must have noticed it but deemed it unworthy of a good review or an award

Anonymous 09/13/22 (Tue) 10:31:51 AM No. 238632

File: 1663065110670.jpg (4.19 MB, 4480x6720, pexels-karolina-grabowska-4197…)

>>238615
>>238600
Thank you kind anons, I'll make sure to check them out!!!

Anonymous 09/13/22 (Tue) 12:22:43 PM No. 238658

File: 1663071763747.jpg (30.95 KB, 306x423, 31a19e46a9cdcc3499df63039df7db…)

Anyone have recommendations for books by mexican american latina stories? About childhood trauma and family? (sorry if my wording is bad haha)

Anonymous 09/13/22 (Tue) 02:52:38 PM No. 238707

>>238591
One that instantly came to mind is "My Family and Other Animals" by Gerald Durrell. I read it really long ago, last time when I was 9. It was sort of favorite book in our family, everyone kept rereading it, and some of his other books too. It's very light-hearted.

Anonymous 09/13/22 (Tue) 05:54:45 PM No. 238746

>>238658
I really enjoyed The Moths and Other Stories by Helena Maria Viramontes. It's just a collection of short stories.

Anonymous 09/13/22 (Tue) 09:28:10 PM No. 238815

>>238424
If you're interested in fiction at all, see if your library has any books by Mary Renault. She wrote meticulously researched historical fiction about ancient Greece. All of her books make you feel like you are right there watching everything happen in real time.

Anonymous 09/13/22 (Tue) 11:00:07 PM No. 238843

File: 1663110007897.jpg (41.57 KB, 400x379, sixtudorqueens.jpg)

>>238510
I've never purposefully done a challenge like this, but I tend to read a lot of works written by women as it is. Jane Eyre is a favourite of mine.
If I can recommend anything, definitely Alison Weir's Six Tudor Queens series. That author has quite a number of non-fiction works on the Tudors, but that series mentioned is historical fiction. Definitely the best of sort out there on the queens.

Anonymous 09/14/22 (Wed) 11:12:12 AM No. 239069

>>238510
seconding >>238843 i also read mostly women writers. i also don't understand this weird notion that EVERYONE only ever reads books by men because i have a lot of bookworm friends and they all read mostly books by women. i think it's mostly men that are obsessed with books by men.

jane eyre is definitely one of my favorite books as well! i also recommend wuthering heights, it's hilarious and frustrating at the same time. definitely not the love story that people assume it is.

Anonymous 09/14/22 (Wed) 03:34:00 PM No. 239154

>>238591
Gormenghast is darkly comfy if you like that. Children of Time is very comfy, it's about spiders becoming sentient and creating their own little (matriarchial) society and the author actually knows his arthropodic shit so it's very plausible! The strongest female human characters are also female too, so it's pretty based for a book by a man.

Anonymous 09/15/22 (Thu) 02:51:09 PM No. 239520

File: 1663253469528.jpeg (669.04 KB, 828x1196, C2F85339-B4FC-4B59-8E6A-F9C220…)

well i started reading american psycho and i’m about halfway through. i haven’t seen the movie so all i know about it i’ve absorbed through osmosis from all the patrick bateman memes. honestly i was kinda shocked that girls on tumblr are obsessing over him. i’m not sure how much of this is adapted into the film because ppl seem to stan him like hannibal lecter but in the book he vehemently despises women, anyone non-white, jewish people, gay men and the homeless. and yeah. this man is crazy.

that being said there’s been some funny/shocking moments that made me laugh at loud in laughter/disgust including
he tries to kill a man who is dating the woman that he’s cheating on his girlfriend with? said guy thinks he’s coming onto him and flirts back. he gets so flustered/disconcerted he doesn’t kill him. he also walks into a jewish restaurant in a daze and tries to order food with dairy which they won’t serve because they’re kosher. gets incredibly angry and can’t understand them and storms out calling the manager of the restaurant a cocksucking k*ke. refers to an asian person as a zipperhead which cemented that as being an actual slur (i know some people were debating this in one of the fakeboi threads). also he’s a loser who jacks off to lesbian porn and pays prostitutes to reenact it. autistically obsessed with what people are wearing and gets anxious when he can’t see people’s shoes. seemingly walks around will blood spatter on him and everyone just accepts that it’s chilli sauce or something

also he literally kills puppies and other small animals and says he finds nazis not entirely unsympathetic. oh and he seems to be a pedophile too. i really don’t get why people find him so iconic

overall just a deranged psycho. i have no idea how this is going to finish but i’m definitely along for the ride. can’t wait to watch the movie afterwards as well.

so far it seems to be a pretty unexpected look at how misogyny is accepted in society and the fact that men are so attracted to sexually dominating the women that they also hate. this was all over the place whoops

Anonymous 09/15/22 (Thu) 02:56:17 PM No. 239522

>>239520
If you weren't aware, the film is very different from the book. The book was written by a misogynistic scrote venting while the movie was directed by a based woman and it shows.

Anonymous 09/15/22 (Thu) 03:02:04 PM No. 239523

>>239522
all i know is the author is a gay man and was friends with donna tartt in university which was why i was curious to read his work.

Anonymous 09/15/22 (Thu) 03:04:19 PM No. 239524

>>239520
I don't know about the book but I watched the movie recently and I treat it as a comedy, it's so over the top it's hilarious.

Anonymous 09/15/22 (Thu) 04:54:47 PM No. 239554

File: 1663260887369.jpg (122.93 KB, 259x400, 61058915.jpg)

>>238591
Cackle by Rachel Harrison! It's a very witchy comfy Halloween read. Spooky vibes, but not actually scary. Perfect for this time of year!
>>239069
When I was young and pretentious going through the phase of mostly reading classics and stuff like Haruki Murakami I indeed did read mostly male authors. For obvious reasons, those are the books that get praised in certain literary circles mostly consisting of men. Anyway, I grew out of that and these days I mostly read women and I tend to enjoy female writers a lot more.

Anonymous 09/16/22 (Fri) 04:16:19 AM No. 239753

File: 1663301779724.jpg (1.28 MB, 1576x2402, A15cUJfTISL.jpg)

I was thinking about reading this but I am probably too much of a wuss

Anonymous 09/16/22 (Fri) 03:29:59 PM No. 239878

Can any nonitas recommend horror fiction that doesn't include graphic rape or women breasting boobily? No troon shit either obviously I visibly gagged when the guy at the bookstore rec'd Manhunt.

Anonymous 09/16/22 (Fri) 04:00:30 PM No. 239891

File: 1663344030619.jpg (292.29 KB, 736x1204, 8378c3a1a6a9897f74a12b35e0a9b2…)

>>239878
Anything by Lovecraft? My favorite is the color out of space.

Anonymous 09/16/22 (Fri) 04:06:28 PM No. 239898

>>239878
>I visibly gagged when the guy at the bookstore rec'd Manhunt.
Wtf? I thought that was some self-published shit only TRAs would buy.
>>239891
This and I recommend Edgar Allan Poe as well.

Anonymous 09/16/22 (Fri) 04:38:17 PM No. 239913

>>239898
NTA, but I also really thought it was the kind of thing you'd only be aware of as a tra or a terf, I only know it exists because someone on lc talked about it, I think normies just wouldn't know about it by the very nature of being a normie, maybe bookstore guy is a troon in the making.

Anonymous 09/16/22 (Fri) 06:20:59 PM No. 239947

>>239878
The Girl From Rawblood and Last House on Needless St by Catriona Ward, Things We Lost In The Fire by Mariana Enriquez, The Three by Sarah Lotz, Experimental Film by Gemma Files, Come Closer by Sara Gran, Wylding Hall by Elizabeth Hand, Dark Matter by Michelle Paver, The Ghost Sequences by AC Wise

Anonymous 09/16/22 (Fri) 06:44:26 PM No. 239953

>>239878
Iirc the Books of Blood by Clive Barker were decent (movie adaptations were shite)

Anonymous 09/16/22 (Fri) 07:16:26 PM No. 239957

>>239898
>>239913
It was one of the books being promoted by the store.

Anonymous 09/16/22 (Fri) 08:07:26 PM No. 239969

>>239878
Try Shirley Jackson, also The Woman in Black by Susan Hill. I really liked Bunny by Mona Awad too but I don't know if that counts as horror

Anonymous 09/16/22 (Fri) 09:36:44 PM No. 239991

>>239878
Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer. House on Haunted Hill by Shirley Jackson.

Anonymous 09/16/22 (Fri) 09:44:23 PM No. 239992

>>238815
NTA but I picked up her first book on Alexander the Great and I love it so far, thanks for the rec

Anonymous 09/19/22 (Mon) 07:26:52 AM No. 240066

>>239991
I think you mean The Haunting of Hill House

Anonymous 09/19/22 (Mon) 06:41:44 PM No. 240333

>>239878
The Girl From the Well, anything by Lois Duncan (they're older YA books but idk I really enjoy them), Bunny by Mona Awad

Anonymous 09/20/22 (Tue) 03:28:53 AM No. 240484

Any good smut recommendations? Nothing weird like a harem of men that turn into wolves or shit like that, just some good erotica where no one is shape shifting.

Anonymous 09/20/22 (Tue) 02:43:44 PM No. 240613

>>239878
I would recommend My Heart is a Chainsaw or The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones. I personally liked the former more than the latter but they were both worth reading. Grady Hendrix always writes great female characters and I love his books but while they’re classified as horror, they’re rarely scary. The Troop by Nick Cutter was horrifying and I had to skip certain paragraphs, but none of it pertained to women since it’s about a group of Boy Scouts on a remote PNW island. The Drowning Kind by Jennifer McMahon was good if you like ghost stories. Also, anything that Shirley Jackson has written.

Anonymous 09/20/22 (Tue) 07:46:04 PM No. 240680

Does anyone have any recommendations for fictional books based on the persecution of women during the witch hunts of the 1600's? I just watched Coven of Sisters (2020) and am looking for something similar. Thanks!!

Anonymous 09/20/22 (Tue) 08:25:22 PM No. 240703

File: 1663705522077.jpg (19.74 KB, 250x384, WitchChildrejacket.jpeg.jpg)

>>240680
If you don't mind YA, I recommend Witch Child by Celia Rees

Anonymous 09/22/22 (Thu) 05:36:40 AM No. 241162

>>239878
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley!

Anonymous 09/27/22 (Tue) 02:23:52 PM No. 242898

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>>239522
>>239523
I went to a reading by Bret Easton Ellis of Lunar Park and during the q&a, a woman asked him to comment on the misogyny present in his books and he literally said he never thought about it and didn't notice it. Idk which is worse- if he was lying or if he was telling the truth. Asshole. I swear he flirted with my bf too. After I got my book signed and stood off to the side to wait for my bf and my friend to get their books signed he looked at me like, why are you still here? Dickhead. Not surprising in the very least, however.

>>238393
>>237270
>>237428
I put these on my kindle at your suggestion, nonnas! Looking forward to reading them!

I have a question- I am reading What Moves the Dead & the protagonist talks about "binding his breast" as a boy. What does this mean? It is definitely not a tranny thing kek. The setting is Europe, if that helps. Pls no spoilers if you've read it, I'm still in the beginning of the story.

Anonymous 09/27/22 (Tue) 02:34:44 PM No. 242904

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>>199612
Old post but you're so right, although I still enjoy reading his books. I heard he mostly (secretly ofc) uses ghostwriters now smh. Anyways, Insomnia was really comfy. I thought I wouldn't like it because it's about old people but it was pretty good. I'm revisiting it via audiobook as I fall asleep lately.

Anonymous 09/27/22 (Tue) 05:23:50 PM No. 242943

>>242898
>It is definitely not a tranny thing kek
Check again

Anonymous 09/27/22 (Tue) 07:52:57 PM No. 243001

>>242898
It definitely is a tranny thing. The protagonist is nonbinary

Anonymous 09/28/22 (Wed) 10:30:31 AM No. 243183

>>243001
>>242943
??? There is absolutely no mention of this. Did I miss something? Or was that the clue? Did you both read this book?
Edit: I googled it welp. I guess it makes sense then why he spoke about women joining the Gallacian military. Omg and all the shit about the weird pronouns in his language. Oye, thanks nonnies.

Anonymous 09/28/22 (Wed) 01:57:44 PM No. 243215

>>243183
Samefagging hours later to say I meant to say she, her in my above post. I feel like a retard kek I thought it was just some antiquated European shit that I didn't understand. Figures, as the female author writes under a male pseudonym. I'm kind of glad I didn't realize the tranny nonsense when I read the book because it was a good book but I would have stopped reading had I realized it was dumbass gender shit.

Anonymous 09/28/22 (Wed) 10:08:03 PM No. 243320

>>243183
>>243215
Kek you're adorable nona. I'm glad you were still able to enjoy it!

Anonymous 09/29/22 (Thu) 10:11:34 PM No. 243566

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please recommend me any creepy, spooky or scary books set in new england. can be modern or historical. pic related is on my list

Anonymous 09/30/22 (Fri) 12:50:56 AM No. 243586

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I got this one from the thrift store a couple days ago and it’s intriguing so far.

Anonymous 09/30/22 (Fri) 06:47:03 AM No. 243634

>>238393
I'm about halfway through this and it's pretty good! Definietly keeps me turning pages and difficult to put down!

Does anyone else sideload books onto their Kindle? I was thinking of getting a Kobo instead because apparently it's easier and more functional than loading pirated books on a Kindle.

Anonymous 09/30/22 (Fri) 10:21:44 AM No. 243661

>>243634
I bought an onyx boox e-reader because of this reason, it's basically an android tablet but e-ink instead of a regular tablet screen. It's also handy since it's google play you can read books from other apps like kindle and Libby on it. The catch is that they are rather expensive depending on what model you get, I got the nova 3 for about $185 used. You can also draw on your PDFs with them with a stylus. But if you want that feature make sure you pick the right model because not all of them have it. And there are a million models which can get confusing. I have heard kobos are a good budget option for reading PDFs though and some of them also have the stylus note taking feature, so you might be better off with one of those.

Before that I used my nook (which I still use moe, tbh) which was horrid for reading PDFs but it reads epubs really well. I've heard that kindles read mobi files better, so you might try converting your PDFs to those if you haven't

Anonymous 09/30/22 (Fri) 12:00:16 PM No. 243667

>>243634
i recently switched my ancient kobo to a kindle and one good feature is you can email documents to the kindle (previously i was syncing them to my kobo via cable using the adobe digital editions program) . it accepts most file formats so i haven’t had many issues illegally downloading books onto it. the main problem is sometimes the files are corrupted i think, so the apostrophe symbol gets replaced by a bunch of random letters and symbols. i usually don’t have any trouble finding alternative files on z library that aren’t corrupted. the bigger issue is trying to import books i bought off the kobo store onto kindle. they usually get corrupted in the process. it’s kind of annoying and i would have rather upgraded my kobo but my kindle was a surprise gift from my partner so i’m not complaining

Anonymous 09/30/22 (Fri) 12:45:56 PM No. 243675

>>243566
The cover of this is gorgeous! Please let me know how you like it nonnie!!

Anonymous 09/30/22 (Fri) 06:00:15 PM No. 243724

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I want to learn more about Jeanne d'Arc, because all I know about her is based on Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne, so please recommend me books about her plus points for female authors

Anonymous 09/30/22 (Fri) 07:44:30 PM No. 243741

>>243724
Joan of Arc by Helen Castor. It's interesting to learn that there were many young women before Joan making similar claims of divine inspiration during the middle ages. It seems that Joan gained notoriety over these other women mostly by chance and by fitting with the political climate of France in those times

Anonymous 10/01/22 (Sat) 11:46:47 AM No. 243948

>>243667
I've had that issue with apostrophes as well and sending the books to Kindle in mobi rather than epub format seems to fix it

Anonymous 10/05/22 (Wed) 06:30:50 AM No. 244940

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I got an infinite jest tattoo, pls bully appropriately

Anonymous 10/05/22 (Wed) 07:39:24 AM No. 244944

So like I'm just getting back into reading and I like drama and romance. What are some suggestions from farmers?

Anonymous 10/05/22 (Wed) 07:42:23 AM No. 244945

Fucking dull self posters should go back to reddit where they can hype their oh so deep favorite scrote author.
Anyways, can anyone recommend me a book that features university career or the academic world as one major theme? Like from a researcher's perspective. I like to read about the drama of academic competition.

Anonymous 10/05/22 (Wed) 07:47:08 AM No. 244946

What do nonas think of Push by Saphhire? Holy fucking shit, it's so bleak and horrifying, yet all the critics call it brave but it's just sorrow after sorrow and in the sequel her kid becomes a rapist after she dies… she goes into graphic detail about him committing these acts.

>"A major focus of my art has been my determination to reconnect to the mainstream of human life a segment of humanity that has been cast off and made invisible. I have brought into the public gaze women who have been marginalized by sexual abuse, poverty, and their blackness. Through art I have sought to center them in the world."

The author seems like a normal lesbian slam poetry black chick but the kid sounds horrifying off of summaries alone.

Anonymous 10/05/22 (Wed) 10:18:33 AM No. 244959

>>244945
'the drama of academic competition' sounds pretty scrotey to me

Anonymous 10/05/22 (Wed) 10:31:03 AM No. 244963

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>>244959
ntayrt but put effort into your bait next time

Anonymous 10/05/22 (Wed) 04:33:58 PM No. 245016

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Anyone read Mieko Kawakamis Heaven? What are your thought on it?

Anonymous 10/05/22 (Wed) 10:47:04 PM No. 245131

>>245016
I just read it and really enjoyed it. I like the explorations of cruelty and suffering, and the character monologues were strong and profound. I like Kojima and Momose as foils, and Kojima as a character was just lovely. I found her so spirited and cute kek, I'd want to be her friend IRL. The protagonist was also surprisingly charming to me, he seemed like he'd be very easy to get along with.
Spoilers for the ending: I usually prefer tragic stories but I'm really glad this one had a happy ending. It feels earned and thematically appropriate. The final scene where the protagonist has had surgery to heal his eye and he finally sees the other side of the road really spoke to me. I think Kawakami was saying that you are never as powerless as you feel, that you can take meaningful steps to thrive and move forward in life. It's a nice marriage between the worldviews of Momose and Kojima. Momose believes people do what they can, nothing more, nothing less— the protagonist can have surgery to fix the problem that causes him endless stress, and he chooses to do so. Meanwhile Kojima believes that one day they'll reach heaven and all the pain will make sense— the protagonist finally sees the other side of the street, and finds it beautiful. I can't help but think it's a metaphor for finally having hope for his own future.
Anyways I really liked it. I'm going to read everything else by this author now. Thank you so much for introducing me to her work!

Anonymous 10/06/22 (Thu) 01:52:42 AM No. 245161

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any raven-cyclers on here prepared for the end of an era? i’m in the middle of a reread of call down the hawk/mister impossible and im burning for answers

Anonymous 10/06/22 (Thu) 04:16:51 PM No. 245274

>>244940
I've read the book and I have no idea what it represents. Great!

Anonymous 10/06/22 (Thu) 04:24:04 PM No. 245275

i saw that annie ernaux won nobel prize in literature, can anyone recommend some books by her? i've not read anything of hers yet

Anonymous 10/06/22 (Thu) 05:48:21 PM No. 245288

>>244940
Cute and I love your earrings nonnie

Anonymous 10/07/22 (Fri) 03:38:43 AM No. 245360

>>244944
My favorite romance book I've ever read is The Simple Wild by K.A. Tucker. I finished it in one night and cried my eyes out - it's really emotional so if you're not ready for a good cry don't do it. I used to read Mary Balogh books, they're historical romances from the regency era, they're pretty good, I recommend the Simply series starting with One Night For Love, the prequel. They were nice for me when I was just beginning to get into adult novels so maybe they'd be a good stepping stone for getting back into reading if you're into historical romance.

Anonymous 10/08/22 (Sat) 12:42:32 PM No. 245686

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randomly happened to see this in some library kek is this supposed to be like 50 shades or after but reylo? the cover sure does look like it LOL

Anonymous 10/08/22 (Sat) 03:44:50 PM No. 245707

Do you guys have any recs for romance novels that aren't YA? I wanna see if I can get into the genre, so please only recommendations that are available on libgen and similar and are finished with that one book.

Anonymous 10/08/22 (Sat) 03:46:43 PM No. 245708

>>245686
I'm not seeing a hint of beating and abuse so probably not like 50 shades.

Anonymous 10/08/22 (Sat) 04:06:34 PM No. 245709

>>245686
Yes, this is a publicized Reylo fanfic. The male protagonist is even called Adam

Anonymous 10/08/22 (Sat) 05:32:54 PM No. 245719

>>245686
I wanted to read a trashy light-hearted romance novel cause it's my guilty pleasure, and so I read this cause I saw it all over tiktok. It's so incredibly bad, even for someone who was intentionally looking for low-tier romance.
The author is constantly trying to create these cheap Wattpad "there's only one bed" type scenarios but they're done so badly it just ends up being cringey and offputting. I'm baffled she managed to write them so badly cause those cliches are like a tried and tested formula, especially when it was exactly what I was seeking to read. But alas I was proven wrong. I'm going back to AO3 to indulge in some good old trashy fanfiction cause this shit was bleak.

Anonymous 10/08/22 (Sat) 07:55:18 PM No. 245749

>>245708
oh no i meant in the "obvious fanfic but with the names changed to avoid copyright strikes" way kek
>>245709
LMAO.

Anonymous 10/09/22 (Sun) 09:49:58 PM No. 245942

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I finished this book and I can't help but feel disappointed. I read it because someone I follow was raving about how brilliant it was… Idk, maybe I'm just stupid, but I didn't feel that way. first of all this book was trying really hard to have some kind of brilliant social commentary. for example it would be like "amanda thought something vaguely racist… but that wasn't racist, right? character tries to justify to herself why it's totally not racist" it did that so many times throughout the book, and at times I couldn't even tell if it was trying to be woke or anti woke. it was definitely woke, though. there was also some weird sexual stuff in here like a scene of a 16 year old boy masturbating and a few other scenes. I also didn't like the way it didn't it jumped from character to character instead of sticking to one character's perspective at a time, I got genuinely confused more than once but that's more of a nitpick on my part.

the plot of this book is that a family - a married couple with 2 kids - rents out an airbnb somewhere in rural new york where there's no reception. the couple who owns the airbnb comes back while the people are staying there saying there was a huge blackout in the city and so they came out here to be safe. no one is really sure what's going on, they can't get on their phones to check. I can't remember if the house had wifi or not, or if it mentioned that. the thing I hated most about this book was that it never explicitly said what was going on. it alludes to the US and other countries trying out new airplanes and other technology. so WW3, I guess? but there was also some characters getting sick and their teeth falling out, and deers and flamingos migrating and it never explained any of that either. it was just such an unsatisfying ending

Anonymous 10/10/22 (Mon) 06:33:14 PM No. 246090

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Any suggestions for novels that are set in a similiar time period and setting (Europe) with a female lead like Pride and Prejudice? Not looking for that kind of storyline necerssarily, just wanna read some fiction about people with grand estates and beautiful dresses and nature and no technology and that's the only book I could think of as a comparison lol.

Anonymous 10/10/22 (Mon) 07:04:41 PM No. 246094

>>246090
Everything Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters wrote

Anonymous 10/10/22 (Mon) 07:13:04 PM No. 246098

>>246090
Jane Eyre is a strong female lead

Anonymous 10/10/22 (Mon) 08:10:24 PM No. 246102

>Call of the Wild

A great book, full of adventure and a thrilling albeit inaccurate look into the Canadian gold trade, and how it involved dogs. You'd think it was a kid's book because the dog is the main character, but it's shocking, terrifying, and will leave you in tears. Still, worth it.
>>245942
Honestly so many books that recently came out that are so ambitious, but jump narratives and introduce new things without explanation, as if that will make the book interesting. How Far We Go in the Dark sounds similar- narrative jumping so quickly you won't properly know the characters, overly ambitious and poorly outlined plot, and constant dismal events. And yeah, I don't like social commentary in my books either, like stfu author i'm trying to relax.
Anyway, you might like The Count of Monte Cristo, it does narrative jumps really well and it so fricking addictive and rich in detail.

Anonymous 10/10/22 (Mon) 08:13:52 PM No. 246103

>>246102
I just finished Call of the Wild a week ago! I loved White Fang too, it's basically the opposite story

Anonymous 10/10/22 (Mon) 09:02:45 PM No. 246113

>>246090
Stuff by George Eliot (also a woman) or Elizabeth Bowen

Anonymous 10/11/22 (Tue) 12:28:12 AM No. 246190

>>246103
Ahh no way ! I will wait to get back to my county to get it from the library. Jack London has a pretty interesting life story. I hope this book is a little happier

Anonymous 10/11/22 (Tue) 11:15:55 AM No. 246318

posted in /ot/ but i’ll post here instead
>Has anyone read Play it as it lays? I liked the book but a lot of it was confusing. Was BZ hitting/slapping Helene sexually or what? It seemed to be implied but I thought he was gay
or has anyone else read this, any thoughts? it wasn’t as depressing as i thought it was going to be based on some good reads reviews, but it’s definitely not an easy read

Anonymous 10/11/22 (Tue) 11:19:15 AM No. 246321

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I'm >>235991 back to say holy shit I am fed the fuck up with men writing about women's bodies and sex allll the fucking time for no reason. I'm reading picrel and every woman in the story is into the main character who is a nobody loser. And the author wrote in a complete pickme woman who constantly talks about her ass and is often naked in front of all the men who live in their apartment building. For no reason. He's always describing all the women's clothes and the thickness of their shirt and other dumb shit. At one point the pickme reaches up to dust off a lightbulb and he described it as, "her tits pushed against her bra" when she reaches. I think it's because these authors are nerds so they live vicariously and gain access to women's bodies through their writings. I'm going to start exclusively reading works written by women from now on, this makes me so mad. Even worse is these scrotes are never criticized for adding this dumb irrelevant shit into their books. It's so retarded and is literally bad storytelling.
It's not just books either, I'm playing The Witcher 3 and it's actually insulting how the angles are always from the ass up for every single woman and they're all wearing literally impossibly tight pants that just look like legs and ass colored in a different color to represent pants. AhhhHHHH. Same thing with House of leaves, although it does somewhat fit into the story, as one of the characters has massive mommy issues.

Anonymous 10/11/22 (Tue) 12:29:47 PM No. 246328

>>246321
>exclusively reading works written by women
Best decision I've ever made for my mental health tbh. And I encourage ditching male made media all together.

Anonymous 10/11/22 (Tue) 02:17:49 PM No. 246344

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>>246328
same thing nonnie. 90% of the books I read now are exclusively women. Honestly think most of the best modern writers are women.

Anonymous 10/11/22 (Tue) 03:22:32 PM No. 246350

>>246328
>>246344
Third. I truly fell in love with reading in a new way once I switched to books written by women. I still read a couple male writers every year, and I admit there are a couple I enjoy and come back to, but I just find a woman's voice so much more interesting. I feel burnt out after reading too many books written by men, they're all so same-y and they all have gross moments surrounding women or children.

Anonymous 10/11/22 (Tue) 03:26:26 PM No. 246352

>>246344
Could you please post some of your favorite writers anon? Always looking for more female authors to read.

Anonymous 10/11/22 (Tue) 03:51:03 PM No. 246358

>>246344
Women are unironically better writers than men + you won't have to sit through uncomfortable coomer crap scenes that are in top of that written like crap. Seriously i swear men don't mentally mature past 15.

Anonymous 10/11/22 (Tue) 04:27:38 PM No. 246363

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>>246344
>Honestly think most of the best modern writers are women.
Could you list some examples? I feel like ever since The Hunger Games got popular, most books being shat out constantly have the same vibe and treats the audience like a bunch of retards. The books that are being recommended generally online or which get popular, is usually based on how diverse the characters are and has no real theme, motif or anything for which you need to use your brain a tiny little bit. It's not even that I have anything against dystopian fiction, I love it actually. It's just like they don't dare to actually write dystopian fiction, because zoomers think that if an author writes about something, it means that they promote it or agree with it. Even though it's literally done by the baddies or as a consequence of the baddies and it should be fucking obvious that the author doesn't think it's great AAAAAAAAAH. Like Atwood would've been cancelled if she had written the Handmaid's Tale now and zoomers do treat her like she's on thin ice.

Anonymous 10/11/22 (Tue) 04:40:44 PM No. 246366

Any book recs about close friends becoming bitter enemies as time goes on–but still hint at caring for each other deep down? I loooove me some good angsty tragedy and would love to see what you guys can rec.

Anonymous 10/11/22 (Tue) 05:54:07 PM No. 246398

>>246363
>I feel like ever since The Hunger Games got popular, most books being shat out constantly have the same vibe and treats the audience like a bunch of retards. The books that are being recommended generally online or which get popular, is usually based on how diverse the characters are and has no real theme, motif or anything for which you need to use your brain a tiny little bit. It's not even that I have anything against dystopian fiction, I love it actually. It's just like they don't dare to actually write dystopian fiction, because zoomers think that if an author writes about something, it means that they promote it or agree with it.
Stop reading YA

Anonymous 10/11/22 (Tue) 06:21:02 PM No. 246416

>>246321
I've also made the switch to reading only female authors and I absolutely recommend it to everyone ITT. So glad to see other anons have already embraced it. It's so nice to be free of scrote shit in my personal time.
That said I read House of Leaves before committing to literary separatism kek and really loved it. IIRC the disgusting scrote shit was confined only to one character's perspective, and I'm pretty sure his promiscuity is meant to be a negative trait. The extremely graphic sex scene actually interrupts an otherwise deep and important part of the narrative. The point is that he's a fucking insensitive loon, right? But of course the author is a moid so who knows what he cares about, and it's been years so I really can't say for sure.
Not my hill to die on. My hill is a gigantic pile of books lovingly penned by women.

Anonymous 10/11/22 (Tue) 09:42:56 PM No. 246476

>>246398
Even the supposed "a" books read like "ya", because that's what's popular and it's a glorified publicized fanfic of a ya novel masquerading as an adult novel.

Anonymous 10/12/22 (Wed) 06:47:45 AM No. 246627

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the plot of this book is that a housewife and mother of a 2 year old boy believes she's transforming into a dog. I really want to finish this book eventually but I was having a hard time getting into it. it's not really the fault of the book though, I'm just a mood reader. also I think I should not have kids because the kid in this book was so fucking annoying I was getting way more irritated at something fictional than I should.

Anonymous 10/12/22 (Wed) 01:06:30 PM No. 246756

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>>246416
Fun fact: Mark Z. Danielewski is the brother of the singer Poe

Anonymous 10/12/22 (Wed) 02:36:12 PM No. 246777

>>246476
Idk as a problematic women connoisseur I don't have that problem

Anonymous 10/12/22 (Wed) 02:52:26 PM No. 246782

>>245707
There's recent stuff like Book Lovers or Bridgerton series, or could check out Georgette Heyer's books for stuff you find fun.
>>245719
If you want fun trashy romance you need to find the stuff with the super girly and cutesy covers, not this trying too hard shit.

Anonymous 10/12/22 (Wed) 02:54:31 PM No. 246784

>>246756
I found Poe through House of Leaves! I don't love HoL nearly as much as I used to, but Haunted has stood the test of time for me. Great album, sad what happened to her career.

Anonymous 10/12/22 (Wed) 03:16:33 PM No. 246790

>>246782
nta, I love Georgette Heyer's books, they are silly fun, but I think she'd be generally disliked on lolcow because most of her couples have big age gaps, I love These Old Shades sorry not sorry, I also love that she describes the clothes so much.

Anonymous 10/12/22 (Wed) 03:23:35 PM No. 246792

>>246790
kek i usually ignore the age gaps in historical romance and pretend it's a more normal gap. some regency romances have spinsters as the main character which makes it smaller. heyer's attention to historical detail and accuracy is great but i also love a trashier historical romance which uses the time period as a set dressing and doesn't care about accuracy so much. there's so much violent and dramatic shit like duels, kidnappings, gossip columns with anonymous writers you can't get in contemporary romance!

Anonymous 10/12/22 (Wed) 04:23:40 PM No. 246825

>>246416
>The point is that he's a fucking insensitive loon, right?
I read these parts as characterizing him as an unreliable narrator, since bragging about how much sex they supposedly have is only something loser scrotes who can't get laid do. To me it was done so that the reader may doubt his version of the facts, but without doubting the veracity of zampano's manuscript and the navidson's record, as both of these are way too high brow to have been written by someone as trashy as Johnny Truant

Anonymous 10/13/22 (Thu) 12:15:46 PM No. 247138

>>246792
Do you have any recommendations for the trashier ones? They sound like so much fun! I've never read romance novels before but I'm looking for light reading like that and I think I'd like to try it.

Anonymous 10/13/22 (Thu) 04:53:20 PM No. 247188

>>246363
Curious what kind of books you are reading to draw this conclusion? Some contemporary women writers I would recommend are Alexandra Kleeman, Rebecca Makkai, Tara Isabella Burton, Katie Kitamura and Delphine de Vigan. Ottessa Moshfegh is probably a bit over hyped at this point but Eileen is worth a read.

Anonymous 10/13/22 (Thu) 10:37:55 PM No. 247244

>>247138
i've read so many i'm a little wary on recommending now since it's been a while but i starred these as favorites. i think everyone will have different tastes so just choose based on what kinds of tropes appeal to you: spies, mystery solving, etc. I don't really care too much about sex scenes and if you want really trashy stuff you might prefer paranormal romance. i'll list some of my favorites. i suggest downloading your library's app if it has one or browsing through goodreads to see what tropes and dynamics appeal to you. i like enemies-to-lovers kind of deal myself.
>Never Deceive a Discount
>Romancing Mister Bridgerton
>The Bride and the Beast
>Heiress in Red Silk

Anonymous 10/14/22 (Fri) 06:51:39 AM No. 247306

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>>246363
>>247188
you could probably add mona awad to that list, I think her books are really interesting. I just read picrel and have no idea what to make of it lol but I still enjoyed the ride and it's definitely not a generic hunger games ripoff. I also think lisa taddeo's books look really interesting but I haven't read them yet

Anonymous 10/14/22 (Fri) 03:38:07 PM No. 247358

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Anonymous 10/18/22 (Tue) 08:25:15 AM No. 248244

File: 1666081515911.jpg (Spoiler Image,41.07 KB, 324x499, BWn3Q1K.jpg)

What I wanted: A shocking horror novel to read for Halloween.
What I got: Shitty rape porn written by a fat chick who spent half of her life on alt.sex.stories.

Anonymous 10/19/22 (Wed) 01:00:59 AM No. 248509

Mystery but also funny please! I don’t mind if it’s a bit cliche, just not too predictable

Anonymous 10/19/22 (Wed) 02:23:18 AM No. 248525

>>240333
>>239969
I’m listening to the Bunny audiobook because of these comments and it’s great. Thanks for the rec

Anonymous 10/19/22 (Wed) 05:07:28 AM No. 248551

>>248525
It's one of my fav books of all time, hope you like it. Sophie Amoss is a great narrator as well

Anonymous 10/19/22 (Wed) 06:46:39 AM No. 248567

>>237270
Samefag, but recently an extra chapter of this book was released. Jeremy is confirmed to be a total psycho by killing another woman on a whim because she might have spread gossip about them. Lowen (the main character) is shown to be mentally unstable and can't stop obsessing over Verity and comparing herself to her even though she died a year ago. After Jeremy killed the woman now she's afraid of him and doesn't know if she should leave him but she still loves him and tries to convince herself he's not a psychopath. I still think it's a shit book for a variety of reasons but I think it redeemed it a little bit instead of trying to pretend like Verity deserved her fate

Anonymous 10/19/22 (Wed) 07:03:48 PM No. 248744

can someone recommend me a good detective book? i dont read much but i wanted to start and i like puzzles so figured a detective story where i can solve the problem myself would be fun. grabbed 2 random books from the library and in both pretty much all the suspects had a reason to kill and no alibi. it's like the authors spinned wheels to choose who will be revealed as the bad guy… i'd like to read something that solves like a math problem - a definitive answer and clear strong reasons for why it's this person not the other. i'd also appreciate something more well-known and at least 1 year old since i'm not from an english speaking country and prefer paper books from the library and so i need a translated version.

Anonymous 10/19/22 (Wed) 08:47:19 PM No. 248772

I went to my university's book fair and got over a dozen secondhand books for $20. I'm really happy, I got a bunch on arctic, ocean and mountain exploration which I love to read about. Wishing all you nonnies a windfall of good books soon!

Anonymous 10/19/22 (Wed) 09:32:13 PM No. 248786

>>248509
The Maggody series by Joan Hess may take some effort to find (try your library) but they are laugh out loud funny, especially if you are familiar with Arkansas/Ozarks/the American south/rednecks in general. I am the polar opposite of the characters in this fictional community but this is still one of my favorite mystery/detective fiction series. I like her Claire Malloy series too.

Anonymous 10/19/22 (Wed) 10:15:14 PM No. 248809

>>248786
Thank you!!! I'll let you know if I can find them. I trust farmers' words more than goodreads.

Anonymous 10/20/22 (Thu) 04:19:35 PM No. 249083

File: 1666282775552.jpeg (72.15 KB, 600x800, D1D6CD40-05F2-4123-B821-3FF85C…)

I beg. Anything you guys liked from the Audible Plus catalog??? All these glowing reviews seem fake af. Fiction/detective/fantasy preferably, female voice highly preferred, but if you like something outside of that I’ll try it.

Anonymous 10/20/22 (Thu) 05:52:41 PM No. 249108

>>248772
My country is having the annual book fair soon I'm so excited kek

Anonymous 10/20/22 (Thu) 06:00:32 PM No. 249113

Any recs for books on women suffering for religious piety? Like fasting, or celibacy, or self-punishment of some kind in the name of pursuing sainthood? Dark I know, but I'm particularly interested in reading female focused narratives (fictional or otherwise) on this kind of devoted mindset, especially in earlier centuries. Bonus if it's fiction with a happy endings, and double bonus if it has no romantic plot to it either.

Anonymous 10/20/22 (Thu) 09:12:42 PM No. 249176

>>249083
Not sure if this is what you're looking for but I listen to a lot of "thriller" novellas on audible plus like the devil of black creek by Victor Methos and one little mistake by Lucinda Berry.

Some other titles that are currently included that I've been meaning to listen to are the lake if dead languages, powers of darkness (this is the original version of dracula), between two fires, the queens gambit and some trashy thrillers. Audible is also really good for classics, I'm listening to Carmilla right now.

Anonymous 10/22/22 (Sat) 11:03:30 AM No. 249570

>>249113
This is really mainstream but The Scarlet Letter

Anonymous 10/23/22 (Sun) 11:02:24 AM No. 249867

File: 1666522944238.png (1.41 MB, 800x800, LOI3bks-3_800x.png)

what are you reading right now, nonnies?

i'm reading the land of ingary trilogy right now. i don't think i ever watched the ghibli films, so i only know stuff from tumblr gifs. i do wanna watch them afterwards though.

Anonymous 10/23/22 (Sun) 02:38:31 PM No. 249917

>>249867
How are you liking it so far? I loved the first book so much. Even though I felt it was slow and dragging in the middle, the climax and ending were so rewarding it made the whole thing worth it. I didn't read the sequels so if you've started them im curious about your opinion.

Anonymous 10/23/22 (Sun) 06:37:24 PM No. 249956

>>249867
Good Morning, Midnight by Jean Rhys. It’s pretty depressing so far but I think a lot of you would like it.

Anonymous 10/23/22 (Sun) 06:47:36 PM No. 249957

I need recommendations for adult fantasy books that
>don't have a male protagonist
>don't have pre-dominantely male characters
>aren't about a ~strong~ female protagonist who meets some sexy man who shows her she has some type of paranormal powers or whatever and with whom she falls in love.

I'm so sick and tired of these cliches and books defaulting to male characters even if the protagonist is female.

Anonymous 10/28/22 (Fri) 12:02:40 AM No. 251032

File: 1666915360221.jpg (218.17 KB, 934x1167, Tumblr_l_36317191692240.jpg)

I fell into an all tomorrows rabbit hole and I can't get out

Anonymous 10/28/22 (Fri) 12:08:18 AM No. 251034

>>251032
are you me i was looking into it for the first time like an hour ago

Anonymous 10/28/22 (Fri) 12:25:01 AM No. 251038

>>249957
Im also looking for more books like this. Fantasy even written by women is so male dominated its frustrating

I started to read the fifth season but it's not grabbing me so far

Anonymous 10/28/22 (Fri) 11:14:44 AM No. 251108

>>251032
I remember watching a video about All Tomorrows and that shit's addicting

Anonymous 10/30/22 (Sun) 05:25:39 PM No. 251624

>>249957
>>251038
I really liked The Bone Shard Daughter. The main complaint is that it reads like YA. I didn't think it did though, and I think the people who say that only read the first chapter and put it down after that. It does have a very straightforward writing style but I found that to be a nice change from most famous fantasy series that go overboard with descriptions and other needless details.

You might also want try try Katharine Kerr (specifically Daggerspell) or Mercedes Lackey. I can't really attest to whether those are good or not cause I haven't read them though.

Anonymous 10/30/22 (Sun) 06:45:41 PM No. 251637

File: 1667155541475.jpg (167.81 KB, 314x475, 30199414._SY475_.jpg)

just finished marlena by julie buntin. these stories about dysfunctional female friendships, usually involving drugs, alcohol and questionable sexual experiences, always make me so sad, yet i can't stop reading them.

Anonymous 10/31/22 (Mon) 06:16:14 AM No. 251721

>>251624
I'll give it a try nona but if it does read like ya I might not be into it. Tried to reading the locked tomb series and similarly couldn't get into it for that reason.

Thanks for the recs

Anonymous 10/31/22 (Mon) 06:49:26 AM No. 251728

>>251721
Imo it didn't read like YA, that's just something I hear people say about it. I think that's mostly people who only read the first chapter or two and don't finish it.

Anonymous 10/31/22 (Mon) 12:53:13 PM No. 251781

Hey nonnas, I'm thinking of getting myself an ereader this Christmas, but first I need to know if there's one where I could transfer my Google books files?

Anonymous 10/31/22 (Mon) 04:28:32 PM No. 251839

>>251637
Do you have any recs for more books like this that you liked? I read Marlena and I really loved it. Bewilderness is another one.

Anonymous 10/31/22 (Mon) 05:12:52 PM No. 251841

>>249867
I love DWJ, but those are some of the least-fitting covers I have ever seen.

Anonymous 10/31/22 (Mon) 07:08:45 PM No. 251862

>>251839
sure!

- necessary people
- my best friend's exorcism
- paper wasp
- the new me
- zoe letting go

i think a lot of "unhinged woman" books might fall into this territory as well, like my year of rest and relaxation.

Anonymous 11/02/22 (Wed) 07:57:16 PM No. 252519

>>246627
i read this book and i hated it. the way the narrator referred to everyone was so annoying, "the father" "the boy" oh my god it gave me an aneurysm. i love books about mothers who hate their role in life and resent their children so i thought i'd like this but it felt… heavy-handed. like ooooohh do you get it she's a dog, she's a bitch which is a WOMAN dog, she's crAaAaAazY because she's a repressed woman! then the ending where she makes an art project of running around like a dog on stage?? was so stupid. but at that point in the book i had stopped caring kek.

Anonymous 11/05/22 (Sat) 11:14:31 PM No. 253488

this is a tall order perhaps but does anyone have good novels about ancient egypt? i'd prefer low fantasy. even better if it's written by a woman, thanks

Anonymous 11/05/22 (Sat) 11:25:05 PM No. 253494

>>253488
if it helps and anyone knows about it: i'm reading ennead (bl webcomic, mind the content warnings), and it's great. i'd love to read something like that

Anonymous 11/06/22 (Sun) 02:58:07 PM No. 253583

>>249867
Clipperton: The History of the Island the World Forgot. It's a history book about a tiny, utterly insignificant island in the Pacific. It has no resources outside of literal birdshit and can barely support human life. Despite this, it has some pretty interesting history throughout the years. I especially like the autism match between France, Britian, Mexico, and the US for ownership when the island is so shitty and worthless.

Anonymous 11/06/22 (Sun) 08:48:41 PM No. 253646

File: 1667767721044.jpg (46.15 KB, 295x475, 1632110.jpg)

>>246627
>woman transforming into a dog
Even though it's probably very different this reminds me of a book I probably shouldn't have read as a preteen called Carmen Dog.
The plot is all women are turning into animals and all female animals are turning into women and the main character is a dog.
Very some kind of feminist and philosophical, but also sort of whimsical.

Anonymous 11/07/22 (Mon) 04:19:25 AM No. 253714

Need some good recs for self help books that will actually help me. I can't really afford therapy rn. Trying to deal with avoidant personality and generalized anxiety and depression

Anonymous 11/07/22 (Mon) 07:01:27 AM No. 253770

File: 1667804487528.jpg (34.73 KB, 333x500, 51BlSmK6pIL._AC_SY780_.jpg)

>>253714
haven't finished this one yet but it seems pretty solid, it was a rec from my therapist. you might also look into robert firestone's books, I haven't read them yet so I can't vouch for them but they seem promising enough.

Anonymous 11/07/22 (Mon) 08:25:07 PM No. 253900

File: 1667852707026.jpg (46.39 KB, 600x747, CBT workbook.jpg)

>>253714
Maybe try a basic Cognitive Behavioral Therapy workbook? I like CBT.
Very popular: http://library.lol/main/4457AE55F48039DFE62FE1419EAF6FDA
More on libgen: https://libgen.rs/search.php?req=Cognitive+Behavioral+Workbook

Didn't find as much on audiobook sites if you like audio format, but this author had good reviews and a few workbooks designed for self-help:
https://xaudiobooks.com/tag/william-j-knaus-edd/

Anonymous 11/07/22 (Mon) 08:52:15 PM No. 253915

File: 1667854335578.jpeg (83.84 KB, 887x1360, 10138E53-977F-42B5-9261-3AA4A0…)

Anonymous 11/07/22 (Mon) 08:53:39 PM No. 253917

>>253915
>>253714
forgot to say this is a response to you anon

Anonymous 11/07/22 (Mon) 09:15:55 PM No. 253926

>>253915
nta but I've been meaning to read this for years, downloading it right now. is it as mind blowing as everyone says?

Anonymous 11/07/22 (Mon) 11:26:37 PM No. 253992

>>253926

Nta but I found it quite boring to be honest, and generally it's more focussed on PTSD that CPTSD.

(If anyone wants a good CPTSD book, Paul Weller's book From Surviving to Thriving is much better in my opinion - it goes into a lot of detail on CPTSD-specific symptoms and how to heal them).

Anonymous 11/08/22 (Tue) 12:41:14 AM No. 254002

>>253926
Yes it really helped explain some things to me/validate the issues I have from an abusive childhood.

Anonymous 11/08/22 (Tue) 01:11:40 AM No. 254006

File: 1667869900594.png (1.41 MB, 836x1268, Pete Walker - Complex PTSD Fro…)

>>253992
>Paul Weller's book From Surviving to Thriving
I couldn't find a book with that title by that author. Is it this one by Pete Walker?

Anonymous 11/08/22 (Tue) 02:20:43 AM No. 254014

>>246627
I watched a movie called Bitch (2017) that has this exact premise and remember liking the movie a lot. I wonder how similar or different it is from this book.

Anonymous 11/08/22 (Tue) 02:21:11 AM No. 254016

File: 1667874071770.jpeg (29.57 KB, 261x381, 8D2718A6-9C27-4100-88CB-6406C2…)

>>254014
Dropped pic

Anonymous 11/11/22 (Fri) 10:39:04 AM No. 254445

>>253992
>>254006
Bump because I would like to know this too

>>253915
Isn't the author of this book controversial?

Anonymous 11/11/22 (Fri) 01:40:40 PM No. 254462

>>246627
hard to usurp the genius of the stepford wives really

Anonymous 11/11/22 (Fri) 03:24:58 PM No. 254470

>>254445
I have to assume that's the book she meant. I read some stuff on his website and it's very good
http://www.pete-walker.com/codependencyFawnResponse.htm
I'm considering actually buying the book instead of stealing it.

>>253915
Started listening to this audiobook and it's validating but I'm in the section where he's talking nonstop about areas of the brain and I don't care at all. It's more just an interesting read, the book is not a self-help tool exactly but I can see how people get something out of it. Author seems like he cares but is also a little full of himself.

Anonymous 11/11/22 (Fri) 06:43:48 PM No. 254493

File: 1668192228596.jpeg (213.45 KB, 1080x1080, 7FFE76E9-1AE8-418B-9BB2-B0C6C0…)

>tfw you read a book recommended by a friend that turns out to be so laughably bad it reads like screenplay first draft for a Netflix mini series
It’s horrible, it’s so horrible I can look past all of the overused tropes of 2012 dystopian YA novels but the lackluster writing really just did it for me.. disappointed in my friend’s taste but I still love her

Anonymous 11/11/22 (Fri) 07:06:30 PM No. 254504

>>254493
What were the cringiest parts? What was so awful about it?

Anonymous 11/11/22 (Fri) 07:13:59 PM No. 254505

>>254504
the main character, Iris, is mainly the worst part. instead of world building and focusing on the mystery of planet nyx, the author just lets Iris goes on and on rambling about her hatred of social media, her job, her sex life, and just modern city life in general. it’s boring and exhausting to read it’s like your drunk coworker ranting to you

Anonymous 11/13/22 (Sun) 10:03:45 AM No. 254777

File: 1668333825956.jpg (25.51 KB, 324x500, 41vUstjJsnL._AC_SY780_.jpg)

Long autistic rant incoming. Strap in cause this is a long one. I don't have goodreads so I had to post this somewhere, apologies in advance.

I have a really bad habit of forcing myself to finish books I'm not enjoying. Idk why I do that, I need to stop. Anyway, this might be the worst book I've ever read, it's right up there with Verity. Idk where to even start.

I'm not a romance reader in general, but I do like to dabble in different genres occasionally. Originally I picked up this book because I heard it was "wild" and has a bunch of wild sex scenes (it only had about 2, iirc- most of the other sex scenes were basically just rape) not even because I thought I would enjoy them but just for shits and giggles, as they say. I read one other book by this author and thought it was generally bad (not horrific like this one, just lazy, bad, predictable writing) but I did kind of like the smutty scenes in that one. I knew this book had quasi-incest in it- the character has a romance with her step cousins who she has never met before the book. What I didn't know was that the protagonist was 17 (later 18) in this book, and that the dad of the two cousins, her "uncle" is also a love interest. Had I known those 2 things before picking it up, I would not have read it. I found this book to be genuinely disturbing and in some ways sad, and what's even more disturbing is how many women/girls like it and just talk about it like it's a normal romance book. on top of that, it's just a badly written book with a lazy predictable plot and boring characters, although that I could have guessed.

>book starts with Tiernan, a 17 year old with A-list celebrity parents who have both committed suicide because the dad has cancer and the mom doesn't want to live without the dad
>it's made clear over and over and over (and over) and over again how Tiernan's parents were super indifferent towards her and basically regretted having her
>the only person who cares about her is an Indian (read: token minority) woman named Mirai, her parents assistant, also the only good character in the entire book. genuinely cares for Tiernan yet Tiernan treats her like shit throughout the entire book
>has a ton of flashback scenes of Tiernan's mom being a horrible narcissistic mom. can't remember a single flashback of her dad, though, at least while the mom wasn't also there being horrible
>Tiernan gets a call from her uncle, Jake, who was her dad's stepbrother who she never even met but knew existed. the parents left Jake her number, he says she can come live with him and his two sons if she wants, but doesn't care if she doesn't want to
>Tiernan has lived in LA all her life, Jake and his two sons live in rural Colorado. for whatever reason, Tiernan decides to go live with Jake and the boys
>Jake picks her up, treats her like a kid (cuz she is), like he takes her to the candy store and makes her fill up a bag of candy. then when she lives with them he bosses her around, and they have several fights that are the kind of fight a dad would have with his teenage daughter, and says things like "you have a lot of growing up to do" and other things a dad would say. it would have actually been heartwarming were it not for what transpired later on
>Tiernan gets a crush on Jake, which imo is normal, as I crushed on many older men at that age. the gross part is that her feelings are returned, and at one point Jake pushes his boner up against her and is like "this is what you're doing to me, Tiernan". says that he can't stop thinking of fucking the "hot piece of teen ass" under his roof (the term "piece of ass/hot piece of ass" was also used a lot in this book). they almost have sex, then Jake stops it. immediately starts talking to her like a kid again, saying fatherly things like "you need guidance" etc etc and sends her to bed
>we get Jake's POV, and he talks about how Tiernan is "the only woman he's connected with in over 20 years"- even though there's no real scenes of them connecting, just him treating her like a kid???
>also when Tiernan first moved in it showed us that Jake had been having sex with a 23 year old from town, but he talks about how he can't stand her for whatever reason, cause she's a vapid bimbo I guess, as if any man has ever found that to be a turnoff
>there's also romantic tension brewing with the older son, Noah
>the first few days of living there, Tiernan hadn't met Kaleb, the other brother. Kaleb is extremely broody and elusive and doesn't talk, like at all. when Tiernan first meets him, she sees him in the middle of the night with a dead deer (he goes for weeks at a time disappearing into the forest and hunting)
>as soon as he sees her he tries to rape her. Tiernan screams for him to stop and he doesn't. he doesn't stop until Noah comes and stops him
>it's revealed at some point in the book that Tiernan's parents helped Jake and Hannes' parents (Hannes is Tiernan's dad) pay off the woman Jake was in love with. they hated her because she was poor, so they gave her a bunch of money and told her to leave. then she killed herself, presumably because she felt bad about leaving Jake I guess but it never really says
>then he went and married the mother of the boys, who is/was an evil abusive slut, of course
>Tiernan turns 18, and Jake starts heading out of town for a few days. Noah, Kaleb and Tiernan are watching TV. then Noah turns the TV to porn, they all start masturbating, when Jake walks back in and screams at them and makes them stop
>then very shortly after that, Tiernan loses her virginity to Jake. she actually calls him "uncle Jake" during sex. He goes on in his head about how this is his "revenge" because he hated Hannes (his step brother, TIernan's dad) I actually felt physically uncomfortable during that scene like I was going to throw up
>the boys find out they fucked. Noah is jealous, his first reaction is "but dad, I wanted her!" and Kaleb writes "slut" on her forehead with a permanent marker
>Jake leaves again, and Noah and Kaleb end up having a threesome where Jake fucks her pussy and Kaleb fucks her ass at the same time
>Noah desperately wants her, but she decides she's in love with Kaleb, despite the book spending way more time showing her and Noah interacting. Noah and Jake decide to lay off because they realize Kaleb is in love with her. she's in love with Kaleb too and this point, and I'm not sure why, as they have barely interacted (he doesnt even talk, for fuck's sake) but they're in love now, so. I guess all her feelings for Jake just evaporated?
>Noah is not great but still leagues better than the other two options. Tiernan even goes "Noah is so easy to love, why can't I love him?" yet chooses the guy who tried to rape her
>at one point Kaleb locks her in her own room. can't even remember why, it just sticks out in my mind
>at another point her and Kaleb starts having sex but he starts fucking her so hard that it hurts and she tells him to stop but he doesn't. she has to get up and run away
>Kaleb is a literal manchild, he acts like an overgrown toddler, it also shows us his diary where he literally writes like a child would write
>it's revealed that the reason Kaleb doesn't talk is because his evil abusive mom left him alone in a car as a little kid for 4 days, he kept screaming but no one came so he stopped ever talking
>so first she falls for the middle aged man, then the literal man child. there's no in between for Tiernan
>she goes back to LA for two months, then the guys come to find her. Kaleb finally talks, and yes they all end up happily ever after and her and Kaleb are married. the fact that she fucked his dad doesn't make it weird I guess

some other things I hate
>Penelope Douglas clearly has mommy issues and/or hates other women in general. in both books I've read, all moms are either dead, or extremely narcissistic/abusive, in this book it was both. other female characters are jealous mean bitches who hate the protagonist and are out to get her, with the exception of usually 1 female character you can tell was deliberately written in for her to be like "see, I totally don't hate other women you guys"
>the smut was just awful. lots of overly detailed descriptions of genitals. she also likes to use the word "cunt" a lot for vagina. personally I find that word to just be kind of gross sounding and not sexy
>her books are basically just pronhub pornos stretched into 300 pages or however long this was. Tiernan was always wearing pigtails and it felt the need to mention every 5 minutes how she had pigtails, especially in the smutty scenes
>I felt like this book couldn't decide whether it wanted to be incest gangbang or wholesome found family. it kept switching back and forth every other page. not really sure what the appeal of those two things mixed together is supposed to be

… and honestly there's even more I could say about this book but I think you get the gist. there was a ton of drama with the people in town too. one of them was a bitchy meangirl who was in love with Kaleb and used to hook up with him, there was also a male bully who was the main villain I guess. it was all very generic 80's movie stuff. oh, did I mention Penelope Douglas is 45? a 45 year old woman wrote this. A 45 year old woman thinks "hot piece of teen ass" is hot.

I actually unsubscribed from the Youtuber Chandler Ainsley because she gave this book 5 stars. This book is literally romanticizing a girl falling in love with a guy who tried to rape her. I mean that's one thing but Chandler also get bent out of shape about The Duke & I (the first Bridgerton book) because it had a "rape" scene in it (the main character gets on top of the duke and makes him ejaculate in her when he doesn't want to). Like she actually got upset at that but gave this book 5 stars. Maybe I'm overreacting but it just really put me off. Also Chandler just has shit taste in general to be honest, I was only watching her for her personality really.

Anonymous 11/13/22 (Sun) 12:17:10 PM No. 254798

>>254777
That book does sound "wild," in the sense that it's unrefined, doesn't know what it's doing, and should probably be put down for everyone's safety. I'm amazed that you made it through the whole thing. It must have been miserable, but I did have a lot of fun reading your rant. If there's more you want to say, go for it! You've got one anon listening.

Anonymous 11/13/22 (Sun) 12:20:42 PM No. 254801

Read Eileen by Otessa Moshfegh and loved it.

Eileen is a disturbed but to me sympathetic, lonely 24 year old working a secretarial type job at a boys' correctional facility. Basically a prison. She lives with her useless alcoholic father who is an ex cop, their house has fallen into disrepair and they're the weirdos of the neighborhood only tolerated because as previously mentioned, her dumbass father was a cop in town. She spends all her time fantasizing about a prison guard working there and stalking out his place on the weekends, she sometimes has passing fantasies about the teen boys in prison(there's NOTHING happening with her and them, don't worry). She's a weirdo with an alcohol issue of her own. It's not plot driven, it's more of a character study of this weirdo and the many stupid people in her life who keep letting her down. She wants change but is seemingly too passive and weak for it so nothing happens until a new counselor arrives at the prison. Eileen becomes enamored with this woman and their brief acquaintanceship leads to something disturbing but life changing for her.

Anonymous 11/13/22 (Sun) 02:35:37 PM No. 254824

File: 1668350137265.jpg (70.89 KB, 440x686, You let me in.jpg)

Recently read You Let Me In by Camilla Bruce and it's the best book I've read in a long time. It's part murder mystery, part dark literal fairy tale. I found it very creepy and interesting, as a reader you kind of have to make up your own mind about what really happened. Personally I think it's a better story if the fairies are real.
>>254777
Holy fuck, that book sounds disgusting. Thanks for your sacrifice, nonita. I really enjoyed reading the summary, what a trainwreck.

Anonymous 11/13/22 (Sun) 02:54:07 PM No. 254831

>>254777
>a 45 year old woman wrote this
Christ nonnie, what the fuck. When I see women write depraved porn-tier shit like this, or create pickme stuff like that retarded cosplay manga I lose so much faith kek

Anonymous 11/13/22 (Sun) 05:46:48 PM No. 254857

File: 1668361608686.jpg (22.51 KB, 266x400, 17225311.jpg)

I really don't know what to say about this book, when I started reading it thoughts were forming in my head however when i got to the end my thoughts dramatically changed, cause it starts off like porn, it is so sexually explicit you'd think it was just kinky erotica and I'm not easily offended but I was genuinely shocked with the way the language and the story was going, so Celeste is a 25-year old high school teacher and the only reason she wants to work in a high school is so that she can find some 14 year old boys to have sex with. she is married and her husband is about 10 years older than her and he's a policeman and she's not satisfied with him and she basically married him a little bit for the money and a little bit for the security but there's no love between them she doesn't like being with him, she just wants 14 year old boys and the first chunk of this book is her explicit sexual fantasies about what she would do to these young boys, so she basically scouts her classroom to what type of boy she's most attracted too, like she doesn't want a boy whose too masculine. she doesn't want anyone whose voice is broken she just wants a boy who is like a boy with braces who's really skinny who hasn't developed muscles or you know kind of grown into themselves, it also has to be somebody that she can trust not to tell anybody that won't gloat that they've had sex with the teacher and then she finds one boy that she likes his name is Jack and she basically pounces and starts grooming him and she's proud and excited and that's her main focus and the sex scenes are just sordid and dirty, it does make you cringe, its strange to read, cause it is well written and I can't deny the emotion that it evokes, when you're reading it feels wrong, like it's one of those car crash books where you shouldn't be reading about a 25 year old woman having sex with a 14 year old boy but you you need to know why why is she doing this what is compelling her to do this. and then the boys start falling in love with her and that's when it starts to get darker, and towards the end, its so sad there are situations that arise because of her behavior and honestly I nearly cried

I'm gonna tell everybody not to read this because it is just disgusting and disturbing but as the book went on it you got into these characters heads, and if your fond unhinged women narratives you might like it

Anonymous 11/13/22 (Sun) 06:54:27 PM No. 254877

>>254857
I'm definitely fond of unhinged woman characters but more like Eileen up there, not this. It really does sound disgusting.

But it's fucking funny that the author's last name is Nutting and she wrote a book like this

Anonymous 11/13/22 (Sun) 07:35:51 PM No. 254886

>>254877
I didn't hate it, but when I finished it, I wondered what was the purpose, I think the author wanted this to be like a gender flipped lolita, Celeste is unpleasant asshole just like Humbert and has a similar backstory as him of her idealized young love, but part of what made Lolita great is Humbert’s hilarious self-delusion and unreliability as a narrator; he wants the reader to believe that he’s good, the seduced instead of the seducer, a tragic victim of forbidden love
None of that happens in Tampa. There’s no euphemisms, no real justifications, no glossing over or romanticizing of the ugliest parts of what Celeste is doing.the explanation given for her pedophilia is a manifestation of her fear of aging and death and also a desire to have power over the male sex; also feel we didn't need various descriptions of pre-adolescent male genitalia.

Anonymous 11/13/22 (Sun) 07:42:37 PM No. 254888

>>254777
What the fuck kek. Ive been wanting to read more romance books but they're rife with this kind of weird shit and it's so off putting. I seriously hate being halfway through a book and something disgusting and weird happens so I can't enjoy it anymore. Kinda urelated but I asked someone for a romance book recommendation one time and I looked up the book they recommended and it turned out to be a published version of a Reylo AU fanfic with the names changed so I really fear for the state of other romance books….

Anonymous 11/13/22 (Sun) 07:51:06 PM No. 254890

>>254824
oh I'm so glad someone else has read this book! I absolutely loved it

Anonymous 11/13/22 (Sun) 08:14:26 PM No. 254899

>>254857
I read this one a couple of years ago. IIRC it was based on real events. I did find it interesting, but I also do think it's way too graphic and some of the sex scenes unfortunately still stick in my mind. The author wrote another book that includes a man with a dolphin fetish and it still somehow felt less degenerate than Tampa lol.

Anonymous 11/13/22 (Sun) 10:52:32 PM No. 254938

>>254857
Kek I remember this book was mentioned here a few times so I tried reading it. Just didn’t find it interesting removed the Riverdale tier lusty female teacher shock value. I just lack empathy for high school boys I guess. I wish the author has the gut to write her as a 40 yo hag but no she’s 25 and hot which to be blunt, ruins the creep factor for me. Despite all the porny descriptions clearly engineered to disgust readers, she lays it on thick and it fails to communicate compelling pedophile psychology. It just sounds like genderbending male fantasy.

Anonymous 11/14/22 (Mon) 02:53:47 AM No. 254972

>>254938
I mean there are real cases of seemingly beautiful adult women who for some reason lust after 12-14 year old boys

Anonymous 11/15/22 (Tue) 03:56:21 AM No. 255145

>>254857
I actually really liked this book. Maybe I'm just crass but I enjoy fucked up and wild stories and every page had me engaged. I really love psycho female protagonists too and a lot of them are a bit tame for me kek

Anonymous 11/15/22 (Tue) 04:53:05 AM No. 255147

>>255145
can I ask what you liked ? cause it sounds like some weird scrote fantasy to me, cause idk about you but wanting to have sex with 14 year old boys is not appealing to me or most other women

Anonymous 11/15/22 (Tue) 09:02:04 AM No. 255162

File: 1668502924445.jpg (21.44 KB, 307x500, 414uWiNo2JL._AC_SY780_.jpg)

What the FUCK did I just read

>>255147
Nta, but it sounds like she likes the unhinged/psychopathic woman element rather than the fucking 14 year old boys part.

Anonymous 11/15/22 (Tue) 08:02:50 PM No. 255253

File: 1668542570324.jpg (39.27 KB, 400x500, f26863b0415879c89402af0d1b25c3…)

After finishing the Bas Lag trilogy last year, I'm still searching for something as captivating, dense and immersive as Mieville's worldbuilding and characters. I think I might just reread it, The Scar at the very least. Though I will say that I had some trouble finishing The Iron Council, as much as I loved it I got kinda lost by the end.

Anonymous 11/16/22 (Wed) 02:47:16 PM No. 255436

>>255162
I wanted to get it, too, getting lured in by the cover, and I'm so glad I read the discussion about it on here before that lmao

Anonymous 11/17/22 (Thu) 05:12:22 AM No. 255682

File: 1668661942554.jpeg (801.5 KB, 826x1126, 74A8FFC6-D82B-4C02-BC44-1DC6AA…)

Holy fuUck praise the anons in the first thread who mentioned Under the Midnight Sun. I know I will remember this book forever and I will struggle to find reads that evoke the same intensity. My ADHD stood no chance against the pull of this story, a very rare instance where “devoured” isn’t exaggerated.
I have nitpicks of course and have written down some notes as I was reading and will post when I have gathered my thoughts. Right now I just have a lot of feelings.

Anonymous 11/17/22 (Thu) 05:47:12 AM No. 255692

>>254857
90% of books written in the 70's by scrotes are weirdly pedophilic and all about weird sex situations and 'life is strange huh' is the only supposed point. Those are critically acclaimed, you have to read them in school at 14 yourself to write book reports on them. I haven't read this book, but it's weird how this is banned in many places, when it's at least trying to do social criticism. Meanwhile nearly pro pedophilia books are required reading, because 'those were just different times and people weren't sensitive snowflakes back then, everyone was fucking everyone and it was great'

Anonymous 11/18/22 (Fri) 09:40:36 PM No. 256106

File: 1668807636846.jpg (99.78 KB, 720x540, original (3).jpg)

Once again turning to my favorite thread on Lolcow for some recs! I'm looking for books about intense and toxic female friendship. If it skews into the unhinged women category, that's great. Some examples of books like this that I've already read and enjoyed are Social Creature, The Paper Wasp, Little Star, Necessary People.

Anonymous 11/19/22 (Sat) 04:49:58 PM No. 256276

>>256106
have you checked out marlena? op of >>251637
also read some of the books you mentioned!

Anonymous 11/19/22 (Sat) 05:09:11 PM No. 256278

>>255692
Absolutely no one in the american (I assume you are american) educational system considers that required reading books are classified as such because they present values and morals that should be followed by students. Required reading books are required reading because their influence on today's culture cannot be dismissed, and because knowing what these books talk about make it easier for you to socialize with others. Your last sentence is as ridiculous as claiming that The Iliad is required reading because teachers want to brainwash children into believing that it'd be great if we went back to the time where women were essentially property to be stolen

Anonymous 11/19/22 (Sat) 05:44:53 PM No. 256285

File: 1668879893142.jpg (232.96 KB, 1556x2400, 714lyBjAMSL.jpg)

I'm actually disappointed in my self that this is the first book I managed to read in one sitting

Anonymous 11/19/22 (Sat) 08:29:06 PM No. 256309

>>254888
As someone who has been reading a fuck ton of romance for the past year, I can assure you that most (traditionally published) romance is pretty normal, to the point where I've seen some women say that mainstream releases are too vanilla for them. Ofc there are authors like Penelope Douglas who write degen stuff, but that's not representative of the romance genre as a whole.

Anonymous 11/19/22 (Sat) 11:27:40 PM No. 256350

>>256106
the world cannot give (same author as social creature), stargazer by laurie petrou, animals by emma jane unsworth, based on a true story by delphine de vigan, her by harriet lane

Anonymous 11/20/22 (Sun) 07:41:24 AM No. 256435

I always feel lowkey sad reading translated work. I know I’m missing out on so much. Why can’t we download language packs directly into our brains yet.

Anonymous 11/20/22 (Sun) 10:55:25 AM No. 256454

>>256435
Ikr. I think the closest you could get would be a translation with translator’s notes explaining every nuance on the side, but that’s still a different experience. If that kind of translation existed though I would be down to read it

Anonymous 11/20/22 (Sun) 03:32:41 PM No. 256483

>>256435
There's only about 4 or 5 languages worth learning for literature, learning all of them is a very achievable goal even if it takes 10 years to learn each one

Anonymous 11/20/22 (Sun) 05:28:38 PM No. 256506

If anyone could give me recommendations for books that fit any of these descriptions, I'd be very grateful:
>books about lonely women/women who struggle to find their place in the world, possibly seem autistic.
>books similar in theme to Mark Fisher's 'Ghosts of My Life' (particularly his writing on music and the discussion of hauntology & popular culture in the first section). I've ready read Capitalist Realism.

Also, does anyone know any sites/forums for discussing books that are good? This thread is cute but it's not very active and I cannot stand the people on /lit/.

Anonymous 11/20/22 (Sun) 07:27:23 PM No. 256541

>>256506
>lonely women/women who struggle to find their place in the world
The New Me by Halle Butler
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Otessa Moshfegh
Galatea by Madeline Miller
Schoolgirl by Osamu Dazai
Play It As It Lays by Joan Didion

Anonymous 11/20/22 (Sun) 09:27:14 PM No. 256575

>>256350
Thank you! I have Stargazer on my Kindle already so I think I'll start with that one. I'll definitely look into the rest of your list as well.
>>256276
I loved Marlena!

Anonymous 11/20/22 (Sun) 09:31:24 PM No. 256577

>>256483
I’m still gonna have to read translated during that 10 years or 50

Near max posts Anonymous ## System Message 11/20/22 (Sun) 09:31:24 PM No. 256578

NOTICE

Thread has reached 1100 posts. The thread will be locked and you will be unable to post in it shortly after it exceeds 1200 posts. Please begin preparing a new thread and post a link to it when it's created.

Anonymous 11/20/22 (Sun) 09:35:01 PM No. 256579

>>256506
Discord reddit local book clubs
Naturally, active means more people meaning higher chance of annoying retards

Anonymous 11/20/22 (Sun) 10:26:34 PM No. 256598

>>256506
lonely women: convenience store woman, there's no such thing as an easy job, sympathy by olivia sudjic, sorry to disrupt the peace (author has now unfortunately trooned out but this book is from a few years ago and is good), anything by fleur jaeggy, problems by jade sharma
for writing on music maybe try ian penman's criticism. there's a book about folk horror that discusses hauntology a lot but i can't remember the author, sorry

Anonymous 11/20/22 (Sun) 10:28:33 PM No. 256599

>>256541
Thank you so much! I’ve heard of some of these but I haven’t read any of them. I’ve been meaning to read Joan Didion for a while now so I might start with her.
>>256579
I’ll have a look around my area and see what I can find. I might try and get more involved with my university’s literary society but they’re very small and don’t really organise the kinds of events I’d want to go to, unfortunately. My dream is to organise a feminist book club that actually meets in person but I have no idea how to go about doing something like that!

Anonymous 11/20/22 (Sun) 10:31:13 PM No. 256600

>>256598
Thanks for the suggestions! I literally just finished Convenience Store Woman a few minutes ago. I loved it so I’ll take a look at the rest of your recommendations.

Anonymous 11/20/22 (Sun) 11:20:04 PM No. 256610

>>256600
Nta but I literally just read Convenience Store Woman today. I really liked it. I hated seeing many people disliking it because “nothing happens” and how she didn’t have a character arc in the way that they wanted (irony).

Anonymous 11/21/22 (Mon) 08:10:17 AM No. 256695

>>256483
What languages are those?

Anonymous 11/21/22 (Mon) 08:39:30 AM No. 256699

nta but I'm assuming those languages are English, French, Russian, Spanish and proablaly Arabic

Anonymous 11/21/22 (Mon) 08:50:05 AM No. 256701

>>256699
For me it’d be japanese, chinese, russian, italian and english. I’d love to read in French and German as well but I feel I don’t miss out as much because those translate to English quite well I think? Exception being poetry.

Anonymous 11/21/22 (Mon) 02:42:47 PM No. 256717

>>256435
i feel you, i started learning russian in order to understand tolstoy and it's been a decade and i still can't lmao. i haven't been studying for that entire time (maybe only two years total of productive study time) and i find it fun regardless, so it's not that big of a deal. but i think >>256483 is severely underestimating how hard it is to learn a new language fluently enough to be able to read literature and understand it, especially if it's a language that's quite different from english–russian and arabic are some of the hardest languages for english speaker to pick up. if you just focus on reading it may be a more achievable goal though.

Anonymous 11/21/22 (Mon) 03:45:09 PM No. 256727

File: 1669045509593.jpg (114.65 KB, 616x353, capsule_616x353.jpg)

Can you guys recommend books similar to I have no mouth and i must scream?

Anonymous 11/21/22 (Mon) 05:33:20 PM No. 256746

>>256598
AYRT – I read Sweet Days of Discipline by Fleur Jaeggy today and I loved it! I experienced a very similar friendship to the one between Frédérique and the narrator when I was about 15 and so I found the scenes with the two of them quite moving, particularly the moment when the narrator realises she is "punishing" frédérique for her own obsession with her. I have more I could say but I don't want to ramble too much. Thanks again for the recommendation, I'll definitely be reading more from her.

Anonymous 11/21/22 (Mon) 11:15:11 PM No. 256819

>>256695
English, french, german, japanese, russian, chinese, spanish. This is also taking into account the current popularity of the language
Contender languages: latin, ancient greek, sanskrit. They're very impressive to learn and plenty of texts to practice, but it's a real pain in the ass to find fluent speakers if you need help with them
>>256699
There are very few famous (or at least influential) books written in arabic, I can think of maybe One thousand and one nights and the Quran and that's about it. It peaked in the medieval ages imo
>>256717
Ten years is quite enough to understand one completely foreign language, that is if you do ten years of productive study time. It doesn't mean being able to read a book like a native, it means being able to read while only occasionally using a dictionary. That study time has to be continuous, or else you're going to forget what you learned, which can easily turn the ten years into thirty years. Inefficient learning can take decades, efficient learning just one
>>256577
Well if you -have- to read Dream of the Red Chamber next year yeah, you're going to have to read it translated. Personally I don't have to, so I'm not going to

Anonymous 11/23/22 (Wed) 07:12:10 AM No. 257243

File: 1669187530436.jpeg (279.21 KB, 1284x2048, 5164B097-D408-4A88-9EF1-68571B…)

I have an hour left of this book and I would’ve finished it earlier if the final act wasn’t so descriptive and felt so real that simply thinking about it made me have a full on panic attack in the shower

Anonymous 11/23/22 (Wed) 07:29:07 AM No. 257245

>>257243
Samefag also the author should be put on some government watchlist for how erotic some of the scene were written ~~when men were getting there ribcages torn open and electric drills shoved up their assholes~~

Anonymous 11/23/22 (Wed) 01:48:50 PM No. 257304

File: 1669211330323.jpeg (305.17 KB, 1440x1440, FB7BE053-C4AC-42B2-9136-FC54C4…)

I think a lot of people found Earthlings confusing and are disappointed by it. It was amazing to me. I found most of the book so viscerally upsetting that by the end of it, all I felt was excitement, catharsis, happiness even. I am infected, I can feel the stir of the alien inside me.

Anonymous 11/23/22 (Wed) 04:39:27 PM No. 257325

>>257304
I loved Earthlings! I guess I could see someone picking it up and being unprepared for how weird and dark it is. The ending affected me more than any other book I've read. I felt it physically.

Anonymous 11/23/22 (Wed) 08:58:54 PM No. 257401

just reread circe. the writing in that novel is so incredible. i'd reread song of achilles too but i'm wanting something different

Anonymous 11/24/22 (Thu) 06:46:16 AM No. 257484

>>189795
Especially Henious is why I stopped reading this. Regardless if the story was good or not, I think most people can agree it was just way too long…

Anonymous 11/24/22 (Thu) 06:26:17 PM No. 257605

File: 1669314377363.jpg (19.67 KB, 220x347, WhenTheDevilHoldsTheCandle.jpg)

Just finished When the Devil Holds the Candle by Karin Fossum. I thought it was going to be a generic short crime novel, but it couldn't be farther from that. If you want a truly Unhinged Woman story I highly recommend it!

Anonymous 11/25/22 (Fri) 12:41:45 AM No. 257672

>>255162
i actually read that pile of trash. why is every book a cheap gimmick now. i'm angry they wasted a kino cover like that on a garbage book.
>>255682
i've read a few by him, they're passable detective stories. it's the literary equivalent of a ham sandwich–formulaic but satisfying enough. i think the japanese scene is better than the english literary scene right now.

Anonymous 11/25/22 (Fri) 12:21:27 PM No. 257802

File: 1669378887485.jpeg (32.6 KB, 220x353, 9C9D5DB7-0F0F-4237-86D0-FCE4C8…)

>>186682
Coming here to recommend Susan Hill, I lurked in this thread recently and I think I didn’t see any posts about her yet (?).

> The Mist in the Mirror
Maybe not her most popular book but the first one I read. I liked the gothic mood. It turned out to have a few themes I was thinking about intensely before I found it. Recommending for the darker mood, mystery and ghosts but not in any sensational or cheesy form.

> The Woman in Black
Seems like her most famous ghost story, to me it wasn’t as addictive as The Mist in the Mirror (although I read this one during one day). Still like the gothic mood, a sense of isolation.

> The Boy Who Taught the Beekeeper to Read
A collection of short stories. Varied in themes, mostly about complex interpersonal relationships. Short forms but very rich in emotions, contexts.

I feel like I’ll be returning to this author again, you can recommend me some other books of hers I haven’t read yet.

Anonymous 11/25/22 (Fri) 01:50:04 PM No. 257813

>>257802
I like The Mist in the Mirror too! All her ghost stories are good but you do realize after reading a few that they are all similar. I enjoyed the collection "The Travelling Bag"

Anonymous 11/25/22 (Fri) 05:07:38 PM No. 257860

>>257672
The only other Higashino book I read is The Devotion of Suspect X. I enjoyed it but the ending ruins everything for me. So I was kinda disappointed since it’s the one with the most hype in the west. I don’t mind traditional detective novels though.
I enjoyed Under The Midnight Sun much more since it focuses on the psychology of the side characters, there’s a lot of reader interaction, the POV structure is quite cool. Although some parts did feel …manga-esque, like too convenient. And most of the female characters felt like the same person so it can be a drag reading their internal monologue. That’s the point I guess, the main characters take advantage of pathetic men/women, but the females def have less distinction.

Anonymous 11/25/22 (Fri) 08:00:20 PM No. 257914

>>257484
Wtf, I just finished Especially Heinous today. Get out of my head. I agree it's too long and tedious, even if I kind of appreciate the idea. If I was reading a physical copy I probably would have skipped through it. I will continue with the collection though, I really liked the first two stories.

Anonymous 11/26/22 (Sat) 02:53:21 PM No. 258088

I've had an e-reader for a long time, but lately it hasn't been fitting my needs anymore. I've been reading a lot of books with colour images (not manga/comics) and it's slower than I'd like it to be when I quickly want to flip back and forth. I also find Kindle's interface restrictive. So I've been exploring the possibility of getting a new colour e-reader.

Does anyone here have experience with (android based) colour e-readers? How do you like it? I've also read somewhere that modern e-readers haven't become much faster than older models, is that true?

Anonymous 11/26/22 (Sat) 03:44:59 PM No. 258098

>>258088
I wanna know too, I’ve been reading physical and on my phone this whole time so I’m a boomer when it comes to this lol

Anonymous 11/27/22 (Sun) 06:11:07 PM No. 258490

File: 1669572667714.jpg (183.38 KB, 500x500, Diary of a Void.jpg)

just finished diary of a void. I liked it for the most part, the metaphor of the book seemed a little superficial but considering gender dynamics in Japan it kind of makes sense that it wouldn't be super deep

Anonymous 11/27/22 (Sun) 06:19:55 PM No. 258498

>>258490

I felt the same way. I didn't love how on-the-nose it got when the main character went off on that monologue about women's place in the world (to the postpartum depression lady) but I love novels about how people find weird, secretive ways to cope.

Anonymous 11/27/22 (Sun) 09:23:20 PM No. 258534

>>258088
ive always personally not liked how limited most ereaders are, nor liked the b/w approach given the price. I jailbroke my Amazon Fire 7 because i have an older one. They are cheap, can do more than just eread, and you can add storage. They can be a bit slow depending but overall I prefer the versatility. (also i just noticed the new ones can be bought in blue or pink).

Anonymous 11/28/22 (Mon) 04:13:31 AM No. 258658

File: 1669608811264.jpeg (1.78 MB, 1170x2164, 32D62F84-63DD-4CEF-AFA5-C8FCF4…)

I would scroll on and ignore anything “booktok” has to say, but they’re always speaking in absolutes. I’ve come to realize that I’m not the target demographic for this kind of book, that I need to just let people have their fun. My initial reaction to shit on the author/story (having not even read it) is unwarranted and I need to stop acting like such a pompous bitch for having a different preference in literature to other people. Can anyone else here relate? I’m trying to improve my state of mind in general.

Anonymous 11/28/22 (Mon) 04:33:31 AM No. 258662

>>258658
I love being a hater so I have no advice for you on that front

Anonymous 11/28/22 (Mon) 04:48:42 AM No. 258665

>>258658
Not to be a gatekeeper but these people do not like reading. They are porn addicts. They are addicted to written porn, erotica, “spice” whatever you call it, and they never got into fandom or fell out of fandom so they don’t use ao3 for their written porn, they buy this shit instead. I guess they feel more sophisticated for “reading books” over reading fanfics or whatever. I have seen people on booktok saying they would never read a nonfiction book, or a book without romance. Like, what? They are free to read whatever they want but they are not as much of a bookworm as they think they are.

Anonymous 11/28/22 (Mon) 04:50:23 AM No. 258668

>>258658
this is going to sound snobby but I mean it as an actual solution to your problem: stop watching tiktoks. your state of mind will improve.

Anonymous 11/28/22 (Mon) 05:31:54 AM No. 258683

>>258665
Damn. That actually put things into perspective a bit more. I didn’t think this was an erotic novel, just regular YA shit. Huh.

Anonymous 11/28/22 (Mon) 10:27:45 AM No. 258733

>>258665
Based
- me reading my 100th utterly forgetable mystery

Anonymous 11/28/22 (Mon) 01:37:08 PM No. 258771

File: 1669642627924.jpg (200.74 KB, 1399x2173, everyoneinthisroom.jpg)

i just finished picrel. there were some annoying parts, like throwaway lines about how the narrator didn't think sex work was degrading or her finding pictures of her brother wearing her stolen clothes and being fine with it?but other than that i really liked it. i think this is probably one of the most accurate accounts of living with severe depression/anxiety. towards the end her behaviour grew more bizarre and it was painful reading about her struggling to explain herself or behave normally, if you've ever gone into deep depression you'll feel her pain as others perceive her as weird and offputting while she's struggling to not die lol. it does end on a hopeful note but it's still ambiguous. also as a nice bonus the main character is a lesbian with a girlfriend and their relationship is cute but realistic. i think someone in this thread recommended this book, thank you. this could fit into the "deranged female narrator" books theme this thread has going on for those of you that are also into that.

>>258658
>>258665
there have been readers like this in every generation imo. the male equivalent of this is reading only those airport paperback thrillers/mystery. the big difference to me is older women who are into romance/erotica will read like feral animals, literally i know so many old ladies who burn through multiple harlequin romances a day. whereas booktok romance readers tend to read less overall. reading is still good for your brain, way better than social media, so i guess it isn't really a bad thing. but yes i do judge people for only reading shitty books. and it is disappointing to me when someone says they love reading and then it turns out they only read booktok romances kek.

Anonymous 11/28/22 (Mon) 05:56:28 PM No. 258846

>>258658
No. They objectively read shitty books, and because they payfag for the shitty books, only more shitty books get published. Booktokers are cancer.

Anonymous 11/28/22 (Mon) 08:59:44 PM No. 258916

File: 1669669184017.png (552.29 KB, 782x921, d7a6a08196d4932afad49e6e40af39…)

>>258658
i hate booktok and the kind of books those tiktok obsessed kids read, but i'm 30 now and i probably shouldn't judge… but i'm also like >>258662 and i love feeling better for my taste in books.

picrel, maybe this is a phenomenon specific to germany, but there's this wave of shitty romance novels that only have some glittery splash graphic effects and text on the cover, and they all look the same and sound the same and probably read the same. i was in a book store a few weeks ago and they actually had all these books in a section dubbed "lonely hearts." when i see this type of stuff, all i see is super boring normie women who are DYING for their own romance to happen while also doing nothing to find romance. instead they just sit there and consume the 100th novel about shy and friendly charlotte and dark and mysterious bad boy bradley who's a total jerk and out to hunt her virginity or whatever.

Anonymous 11/28/22 (Mon) 09:09:25 PM No. 258921

>>258771
yeah these people always existed but young people are highly influenced by booktok, bookstores here in US make stands specifically for booktok-popular books. Pisses me off that so many young girls are tricked into porn addiction, they also get used to shitty ya writing style and become unable to read a normal book. At least grandmas with harlequins aren’t out there to promote the erotic shit they read to 15 year olds for profit and 15 minutes of fame

Anonymous 11/28/22 (Mon) 09:13:42 PM No. 258923

>>258921
>bookstores here in US make stands specifically for booktok-popular books
this happens in every country now, i think. at least i also see these popular tiktok book tables at every book store in germany.

Anonymous 11/28/22 (Mon) 09:23:05 PM No. 258931

>>258916
>all i see is super boring normie women who are DYING for their own romance to happen while also doing nothing to find romance
not necessarily a bad thing tbf, considering the state of real life moids

Anonymous 11/28/22 (Mon) 09:24:07 PM No. 258932

>>258921
it sucks and these books have basically no value, but are they really that explicit? i haven't read young adult fiction in years because i just don't like it and it's worrying if they've gotten that porn-y. anyway i don't think people who read booktok shit are doomed to read it forever, i think a lot of the readers are young and will grow out of it quickly, but if you're in your thirties and reading it all hope is lost for you.

Anonymous 11/28/22 (Mon) 09:31:07 PM No. 258934

>>258921
>Female “porn addiction”: exclusively reading bad romance/erotica novels.
>Male porn addiction: unable to coom, watch rape on tape, support industry that profits of womens mistreatment, see women as less human than sex object, early erectile disfunction.
Your opinion is yours but porn addiction is a stretch. It’s more just knowing what they enjoy or if you’re more cynical being unwilling to expand.

Anonymous 11/28/22 (Mon) 11:49:54 PM No. 258962

>>258932
Idk how modern YA is but picrel >>258658 is an adult romance so it being explicit isn't out of the norm
>>258658
You're better off ignoring booktok entirely. Most of the user base seems to focus on trashy melodramatic romances. I don't think the short video format is conducive for interesting or nuanced discussions anyway

Anonymous 11/29/22 (Tue) 02:48:25 AM No. 259006

some of my favorite books are absalom, absalom! by william faulkner, the heart is a lonely hunter by carson mccullers, anything by flannery o'connor (i think that i've read all that she wrote), and we have always lived in the castle by shirley jackson. i (clearly) really like southern gothic, and anybody who's also fond of the genre and who's not given these works a try really should! i know that a lot of people don't really enjoy william faulkner, but his work is my favorite that i've ever read, and i love the sort of "labyrinthine" quality to a lot of his novels, the fact that i have to put a lot of effort into them to get my (great, i think) reward. has anybody got some recs for books that they think i may enjoy? thx

Anonymous 11/29/22 (Tue) 03:20:44 AM No. 259010

>>258658
I don't use Tiktok but sometimes I read trashy shit like this among tons of other kinds of books including nonfiction. They're fun and hit the spot sometimes but they're the mcdonald's of books kek. Are there really people who exclusively read these and claim to be bookworms?

Anonymous 11/29/22 (Tue) 11:50:12 AM No. 259066

>>259010
Same here, anon. Sometimes you gotta balance out the heavy reading with some good old trash.

I've been reading a lot of political theory books and so far my favorite one that I've read has been mark fisher's capitalist realism. I don't usually buy books, but with the way things are heading in the US, I've been trying to buy physical copies of certain books because I'm expecting a more intense wave of book bans/burnings coming our way

Anonymous 11/29/22 (Tue) 12:03:54 PM No. 259067

File: 1669723434040.jpg (670.6 KB, 1558x2400, alittlelife.jpg)

This was extremely retarded, I wasted so much time on this trash.

Anonymous 11/29/22 (Tue) 12:13:11 PM No. 259069

>>259067
agreed. i already trashed this book in the previous thread but it bears repeating.
it's a glorified whump fic. terribly written all around. shitty writing style, cardboard cutout characters, exploitative story with no point but hamfisted attempts to tug at the heartstrings. not only does it have no literary value, but it's not even good as entertainment

Anonymous 11/29/22 (Tue) 02:51:14 PM No. 259099

>>254777
i stumbled over punk 57 today and i knew the author's name sounded familiar… it's the same one. i flipped open a random page and the first thing i read was that the female character got caught masturbating with a vibe by the male character? then i flipped to a different section and it was all about her clit and how wet she is and about how much she wants his dick. so yeah >>258932 these books that are hyped on booktok towards a teenage audience are pretty explicit. obviously not all of them since i grabbed a random book on the booktok table, but it's pretty weird that straight up porn is placed next to idk red white and royal blue and alice oseman.

Anonymous 11/30/22 (Wed) 03:23:25 PM No. 259476

File: 1669821804921.jpg (201.31 KB, 1592x2560, 71q3JzA1-hL.jpg)

any more nonnies read life ceremony yet, sayaka murata's latest book? it's a collection of short stories and i really enjoyed them. i love how all her stories revolve more or less about normalcy and the struggles of fitting into the lines of normalcy in modern day (japanese) society. many stories also revolve around food, consumption and bodies, and even the consumption of bodies.

i think the one story that resonated with me the most was the last story, about a woman struggling to decide which persona to put on at her wedding because she is a different type of person around every single group of friends she has ever made (junior high, senior high, college, part time job, work…). it almost pales in comparison to other stories about eating people or fashioning people's dead bodies into furniture.

overall i really loved these short stories. i also enjoyed earthlings and convenience store woman, but both books had a weird dip at some point where the store got boring and lost steam for me. in my opinion, sayaka murata's strength might be short stories, not novels. but i'm still excited to read her future works because she always manages to draw me in.

Anonymous 11/30/22 (Wed) 03:27:13 PM No. 259477

>>259476
no, but based on this i'm absolutely going to pick it up. thanks nonnie!

Anonymous 11/30/22 (Wed) 03:49:27 PM No. 259490

>>259476
I bought it recently and am planning on reading it soon! Will report in this thread when I'm done

Anonymous 11/30/22 (Wed) 04:13:01 PM No. 259497

>>259476
Gotta be honest, I got a bit tired after reading about humans being hypocrites, weird quasi-impregnations and everything being an organism in itself after the nth time lol. You can see the beginnings for Earthlings in a few of these. Agreed on the wedding story though, although my favorite were the maybe-maybe-not lesbian grannies. I even cried at some point, but when it comes to homophobia and your loved ones dying I cry easily, so that maybe isn't saying much. The one about food preferences was also kinda freeing to read lol.

Anonymous 11/30/22 (Wed) 06:45:54 PM No. 259530

>>259476
I liked it a lot and anyone who enjoys Sayaka Murata's novels will probably enjoy this collection because it's very much what you'd expect. I disagree about short stories being her strength though, I liked her novels a lot more personally. I also noticed what >>259497 pointed out, a few of the stories felt like early drafts of the idea that eventually became Earthlings.

Anonymous 12/01/22 (Thu) 09:23:30 AM No. 259723

File: 1669886610334.png (473.64 KB, 1204x1508, totally not rape.png)

>>254798
late reply but another annoying thing about this book was how many times the word "fisted" was used. I searched and it said it was only used 78 times which doesn't sound like that much but it felt like more than that. seriously, someone get this woman a thesaurus. grasped, gripped, grabbed.. just a few synonyms. there was no actual fisting in this book, though, thankfully.

I also just hated how generic it was, but I guess if you like this kind of book you probably like generic stuff. like how the male protagonists being overly possessive of tiernan and being generally chauvinistc, every man in the book would trip over himself for her and the main character males would get mad at her for it. generic dialogue, generic one dimensional villains (like the evil jealous brunette, and it's always emphasized how she's not as pretty as tiernan), generic scenarios that would never happen in real life etc. just basic mary sue/wish fulfillment stuff. also the main character mentions how she tried to commit suicide as a kid by walking into the ocean with a bag of library books, she doesn't end up drowning (I can't even remember why). I saw someone saying it bothered them how the subject of suicide was treated.

forgot to mention penelope douglas is also a they/them. I wish I was joking. and she has kids which worries me.

anyway here's the scene where kaleb tries to rape her. someone said that he was "already stopping" before noah stopped him but it doesn't explicitly state that.

Anonymous 12/01/22 (Thu) 09:32:49 PM No. 259877

>>259067
had the same reaction nonna. i enjoyed the first few hundred pages but after that i was just begging for jude to off himself already. yanagihara is a basically glorified fujo

Anonymous 12/01/22 (Thu) 09:34:01 PM No. 259878

any suggestions for books on the construction/myth of teenagehood and like american adolescence vs. it not existing in other cultures?

Anonymous 12/02/22 (Fri) 02:48:28 PM No. 260018

>>259476
Seconding this recommendation. I'm happy to see someone else talking about enjoying! Everyone loved Convenience Store Woman but I say no one mention Life Ceremony when it came out and it was a super good. I would devour another short story collection by her.

Anonymous 12/02/22 (Fri) 03:43:02 PM No. 260026

File: 1669995782549.jpeg (93.98 KB, 600x634, AA9C4E99-B3EF-4DBC-9682-F0D033…)

Do you guys count audiobooks toward your reading goal?

Anonymous 12/02/22 (Fri) 04:46:13 PM No. 260035

>>260026
I log them in my good reads account mostly so I can remember the title, but I don't think it counts and I'm tired of people thinking listening to an audio book on 1.5x or 2x speed is the same as reading a book

Anonymous 12/02/22 (Fri) 04:48:09 PM No. 260036

>>260026
i do, but i hardly use audiobooks because they're way slower than i would normally read, even at 1.75-2x speed.

Anonymous 12/02/22 (Fri) 07:01:43 PM No. 260059

>>258665
I always consider it from a relaxation perspective.

Day to day I read a large quantity of scientific papers and literature, so when I go home at night it’s nice to relax into something easy.

I agree though, as a whole those booktop people are just consuming porn

Anonymous 12/02/22 (Fri) 08:20:05 PM No. 260087

>>260026
I particularly enjoy them for books I’ve already read, but I think if you paid attention it can definitely count. But it’s too easy to put one on in the background and lose focus and that’s where I would say someone didn’t really “read” the book

Anonymous 12/02/22 (Fri) 11:16:31 PM No. 260132

>>260026
I personally don’t because I mostly only listen to “comfort” books when I’m doing something else, like middle grade fiction, or generic mysteries. There are exceptions when I end up liking the audiobook a lot, more often non-fiction.

Anonymous 12/03/22 (Sat) 12:53:41 AM No. 260148

>>260026
I don't listen to audiobooks, but I would count them personally. My maybe-not-so-controversial take is that listening to a book will never be the same as truly reading it. I listen to a lot of podcasts, but even during my favorite shows I will get caught in a train of thought and zone out for ten minutes missing everything that's been said. Actually reading a book requires you to engage, listening does not. When talking to people who only experienced a book through audio I find that they often didn't get a very deep understanding of the book and its themes. Whether all this truly matters is a different question, though. Especially when reading/listening for pleasure. Enjoy your audiobooks.

Anonymous 12/03/22 (Sat) 01:13:49 AM No. 260157

>>260148
Agreed. Sometimes I replay the same chapter at least 5 times because I wouldn’t focus, it does take away from the engagement and emotional investment. I do believe that great literature can only be experienced by spending time with it, hearing its voice in your mind as intended.

That said, there are quite a few audiobooks that I love more than its book form because they are good books brought to life amazingly by the performers (Flavia de Luce series comes to mind), so I’m not a purist at all.

Anonymous 12/03/22 (Sat) 03:41:45 AM No. 260175

>>260148
That's a fair opinion but imo books don't really 'force' you to do anything, it's easy to get in the habit of skim reading and letting your eyes gloss over words. On the other hand, audiobooks don't let you do that and provided you actually listen, you'll hear every word.

It's probably just a person thing and will depend a lot on how you listen to the audiobook. Eg I would listen properly while walking, but not while driving because I'm concentrating on the road.

Anonymous 12/03/22 (Sat) 02:00:40 PM No. 260233

>>260026
No

Anonymous 12/04/22 (Sun) 04:52:36 PM No. 260602

>>260175
You can definitely end up skim reading if you're unfocused or your mind wanders, but I'll usually catch myself doing it quickly and I'll correct it or I will do something else for a while until I feel more focused. This sounds like maybe just a personal thing like you said, though. I could never stay focused with audio books, my mind wanders easily, but when I read I find I am able to concentrate on it for long periods of time which is why I wrote that it forces you to engage. It might not be the same for everyone of course.

Anonymous 12/04/22 (Sun) 11:14:14 PM No. 260743

>>260148
>Actually reading a book requires you to engage, listening does not
>When talking to people who only experienced a book through audio I find that they often didn't get a very deep understanding of the book and its themes

this seems to be a common thing people say and I can't help but feel like it's more of an assumption than an actual fact. Idk, maybe I'm dyslexic or something but I've had the opposite experience in that when I listen to an audiobook my focus is (generally) better and I also retain it much better. whenever I read things physically I always do that thing where you read a whole paragraph/page but didn't actually read any of it and have to read it again and sometimes I totally miss things in books altogether. I will read a book then listen to someone talk about it and they'll be like "remember when this thing happened" and I won't remember that at all because my brain/eyes skipped over it. it's like my brain is trying to force me to read super fast and skim over things, I've tried forcing myself to read slower but then I end up paying even less attention. I listen to audiobooks a lot when I'm driving and sometimes I will be driving the same place that I was over a year ago and remember the exact part of the audiobook I was listening to then. I hardly ever remember reading physical books that vividly. zoning out does happen with audiobooks too but not quite as much for me. when people listen to an audiobook and don't retain it very well it's probably because they were listening on 3x speed trying to save as much time as possible.

I don't have organized reading goals but if I did I think I would count them or maybe have separate goals (like, listen to 2 audiobooks and read 2 physical books or something like that). at the end of the day I do prefer traditional reading but I also really like audiobooks, they are very convenient. I find that if I'm doing something like driving, drawing, walking or playing a video game I remember the audiobook a lot better too