Library
Reading is a hobby that is dear to my heart. I read books to travel to other time periods, countries and bodies.
ੈ✩‧₊˚ I have read 50+ out of 50 books this year ੈ✩‧₊˚
What I like to read
Things I typically like*:
- a certain amount of suffering & misery
- women-centric stories
- historical fiction based outside the USA
- outcast characters who don't meet societal standards
- dysfunctional or abusive family stories
- gothic and spooky themes
Things I typically dislike*:
- romance-heavy plots
- historical fiction based in the USA
- too many action-heavy / fighting scenes
- predictable plots
- stories without hardships or conflict
* There are always exceptions, of course!
Let's ★ read!
I track my reading history on Goodreads. Below are some highlights of what I've read lately.
An incredible thought experiment about a scientist who was born and raised on an anarchist planet who attempts to bridge the ideological and practical divide between his home and its twin planet, a capitalist society.
There are so many things I loved about this book.
The first book in an amazingly complex, dark and witty series with super compelling (and gay) female characters. Each book I like a little more than the last; this is the first in the series.
Full of skeletons and bone puns, and complemented with lesbians. What more could one ask for?
An in-depth prequel to the Wizard of Oz that provides background on the Wicked Witch of the West.
A complex and thoughtful morally-gray (green?) character study. I fell in love with Elphaba. (Bonus points for sapphic undertones.)
A re-telling of the witch-goddess Circe's life, which crosses over heavily with the events in The Odyssey.
Beautiful and descriptive writing that paints a vivid picture of greek mythology.
A woman recovering from a suicide attempt begins visiting a ward in the women's prison. She becomes fascinated with a prisoner there who is a spiritual medium. Set in Victorian-era London.
Very gothic, very gay.
A young girl grows up with dysfunctional and abusive family in a secluded, rundown mansion and feels pressured to live up to the legacy of her dead sister.
Couldn't stop reading, one of my favorites.
A generational family saga set in South America spanning 60 years with a dash of magical realism and political unrest.
Writing style took a little getting used to but it was 1000% worth it.
A note on unfinished books
Sometimes, I start a book that I don't end up finishing. My first reaction is to feel bad about it, like I've failed. I have to remind myself that I don't need to push myself to read out of obligation. I think forcing yourself to read something you're not in the mood to read, or not enjoying, is a good way to build bad associations with reading in general.
There are a lot of different reasons why I may not finish a book. Maybe right off the bat I dislike it. Maybe it's just not the right time to be reading it. Sometimes I intend to pick it up at a later date. Here is a running list of books I did not finish (DNF). TheStorygraph allows you to write a brief explanation as for why you did not finish them, which is nice when deciding if I ever want to return to one.
I can tell that I'm not enjoying a book if: I dread continuing to read it, I'm reading it very slowly compared to my normal reading speed, I'm not looking forward to reading more, it feels like a slog, I notice that I wouldn't really care if I set down the book and never picked it up again.
Sometimes I realize I can't continue after I've read about 10% of the book, but other times it's after I've read 50% or more. I just do what feels right to me.