LITLOVERSNETWORK

litloversnetwork is a community chock full of book nerds just waiting to scream about their newest literary obsession. our goal is simply to spread a love of books by introducing people to new ones they may not have otherwise heard of. we track #litloversnetwork and you can tag us in any literature edits you make.

[neemakraa]

my favorite media of 2025 [4/?] ↝ the raven scholar by antonia hodgson

life is a puzzle with no answer; a game with no rules; a maze with no exit, except death. and still we stumble on through the dark, creating form where there is none, seeing patterns that are not there.

[neemakraa]

my favorite media of 2025 [4\5/?] ↝ you started it by jackie khalilieh

axel: "i'm lebanese." me: "oh. that's cool. i'm half arab." axel: "i don't believe in that." me: "in what?" axel: "being half of something. it trivializes your identity."

as a mixed race arab/black/indigenous girly, this scene made me feel so incredibly seen and understood. i'm lucky in that all of the arabs, black folk, and indigenous folk i've met/in my community have always accepted me as one of their own and never questioned my identity, but i see online that a lot of mixed folk feel like their identity is constantly being questioned, even within their own communities. i will always stand 10 toes down that i am not conglomeration of percentages of anything; i'm 100% black, i'm 100% arab, i'm 100% indigenous---and they are all 100% me. i feel like i'm lucky to have been around people and communities that accept that, and i wish i could give that to other mixed folk, especially mixed kids and teens. anyhoo, this scene from you started it by jackie khalilieh reminded me of that, and it was so lovely to read.

[inspiredbyabook]

read in 2025↝ the raven scholar by antonia hodgson

We are here, exactly where we should be, at exactly the right moment, because we are the Raven, and we are magnificent.

[inspiredbyabook]

blood over bright haven by m.l. wang

truth over delusion. growth over comfort.

[inspiredbyabook]

between earth and sky by rebecca roanhorse

i am the only storm that matters now, and there is no shelter from what i bring.

[inspiredbyabook]

currently reading ↝ what the river knows by isabel ibanez

in egypt? we're all looking for something.

[inspiredbyabook]

lit meme: series or books [3/10] ↝ the truly devious series by maureen johnson

↳ look! a riddle! time for fun!

[inspiredbyabook]

endless list of favorite books/series [3/∞] ↝ between earth and sky by rebecca roanhorse

↪ a man with a destiny is a man who fears nothing

[inspiredbyabook]

purple hyacinth

↳ what if you believed you knew better than anyone else? because unlike you, they can't see the lies. yet ironically, for the past ten years, you have been the blindest of all...

[canceled-netflix-showdown]

Cancelled Netflix Showdown, Semi-Finals

Which One?

Lockwood & Co.

The Get Down

Voting ended onAug 25, 2023

Lockwood & Co: Cancelled after 1 season, A girl with psychic abilities joins two teen boys a the ghost-hunting agency Lockwood & Co. to fight the deadly spirits plaguing London, doing their best to save the day.

The Get Down: Cancelled after 1 season, Set in the late 1970s, when New York was at the brink of bankruptcy and disco was dying out, the rise of hip-hop is told through the lives, art, music and dance of a group of young people in the South Bronx.

[hoardingcorpse]

there's no point per se in arguing about the level of influence gamzee was under, be it substance, mind control or that of the demiurge² because imo what's actually important (and for the sake of attributing him the little agency he had) is how at every single turn gamzee is implied to have been under the impression he was doing the right thing. murder. clownpocalyse. other miscellaneous downright terrible stuff. he's always acting under the belief that it's all for a greater good and he's doing what he's doing because it all will work out in the end, or in the rare occassion he takes active action for a more selfish purpose, it's when he experiences hatred out of feeling wronged, which is rare—gamzee has withstood all the insults and everyone's less than decent demeanor directed towards him for the entirety of his existence and he never truly minded.

moreover, re: intention, he's a prospit dreamer. prospit dreamers want to be heroes, they're optimistic, they want what they think is best for everyone, and gamzee is the epitome of someone who strives so badly for good they don't realize their evil. he genuinely cared about everything that he was aware of in his little world and he continued to care even as they fucked shit up in sgrub.

to strive for good and all you achieve is harm is tragic, but it's also comedic to the outsider. that's the entire point of slapstick comedy, arguably also why we historically have clowns in the first place as a form of entertainment, because there's something innate that causes one to see something so ridiculously tragic and almost exaggerated, that you cannot help but chuckle regardless of the fool in front of you. this requires ignorance on both parts, and it's related to both the concept of ignorance as bliss and the jester's privilege, mixed in and punctuated by gamzee's entire character.

this all ties in well with the concept of being a "clown" (albeit he is one both by alternian and human standards, which are different, mainly talking about the latter)

and, much like the disconnect required to giggle at the clown who frowns with cake batter smeared across their carefully applied facepaint after getting thrown a plate, everything about gamzee relies on a carefully woven ignorance: his position as a villain or antagonist, rather than victim of the universe's narrative, since it's even implied that seeing him as a victim would be "falling for his manipulation" (when truthfully it doesn't make narrative sense, gamzee /is/ a victim of this universe as much as everyone else), the value of his existence depends on the reader and their preconceived bias, because it wants you to gauge life and stab the less favorable one.

of course a hostile universe would turn hostile against the kid who wanted nothing out of playing its doom game but for spending time with his friends, and the narration is the culprit, all because it needed him to perform a role like a dutiful puppet. his pre-sgrub existence was lonely, spent barely in reality and quelling any attempt at undoing that so carefully woven ignorance. at this point in time he doesn't want anything but to remain in that faux bliss. and for better irony and tragedy, since he had nothing to gain from the game as per the aforementioned ignorance, in turn he lost everything: the idylls of sopor slime, his faith, the dogmatic nature of his ignorance, an autonomy he never truly possessed, and moreover his friends, with him being dubiously aware of the situation, as it's safe to assume gamzee is at all times under an altered state of consciousness.

his level of understanding is limited to what he's been told during moments of vulnerability and clouded judgement, he has no information to possibly counter a lie or misconstrued truth, both due to a neglectful upbringing, and being alone in every sense, as the people he considers friends do not return that kindness. and if they did, who's to say their effort wouldn't be futile? but who's to say they shouldn't try?

for as much as Homestuck deals with themes of enlightenment and fighting back against a seemingly predetermined fate, gamzee instead succumbs to it every time, one way or the other.

the conditions were set and any effort to change them will be pointless because of the way he /is/, because he thinks he's doing what needs to be done and cannot divise an alternative, because he's stubborn and he thinks he's right, because he's been told he's right by possibly the worst actors in their verse.

gamzee is tragically comedic and comedically tragic. he's a clown in the way he is a fool: the innocent pawn that turns into a device to facilitate the universe's narrative with his role as a bard of rage—in a world-ending game of interstellar chess he doesn't even reach the end of the board in order to mutate into something else because his purpose was to be consumed at some point during the battle and that's as beautiful as it is depressing in a plot where the theme is breaking free from that board in the first place.

there's no conclusion to be had here. he did horrible things and had a horrible fate. his character is doomed from the very beginning and there's nothing to be done. the universe is woven in ways it leaves some to fall through the cracks and in spite of his rage, gamzee is one of those. the narrative neglects him as much as everyone else. he was never respected and never cared for until it was too late, and not even a fraction of how much he cared. and unfortunately I adore him and will talk about it

[inspiredbyabook]

lit meme: series or books [1/10] ↝ the seven husbands of evelyn hugo by taylor jenkins reid

please never forget that the sun rises and sets with your smile. at least to me it does. you’re the only thing on this planet worth worshipping.

[inspiredbyabook]

xiala of the teek from black sun by rebecca roanhorse

don’t sink your ship just to prove you can swim

[inspiredbyabook]

@chaptersnet event viii: female protagonists

↳ rielle dardenne & eliana ferracora (the empirium trilogy by claire legrand)

i fear no darkness i fear no night i ask the shadows to aid my fight

[longmemoried]

@storyseekers event 20: alternative genre  — the pearl thief by elizabeth wein as a contemporary

Just as I’d done, she used the tip of her own index finger to turn my face back towards hers. Just delicately. And then she suddenly closed her mouth over mine, and there was strength in it, and hunger, and control, and it was like standing on the edge of the cliff in a gale, frightening but also marvellous.

[inspiredbyabook]

favorite books & series [1/∞] ↝ the truly devious series by maureen johnson

you have to take things as they are, not how you hear they’re supposed to be.

[longmemoried]

They watch us kneel, they see the back of our heads, and they think we’ve given in. They don’t realize you can think from your knees just as well as from your feet.