I have a big list for this, but if I squish it down just to the really good stuff, I'd say my most anticipated upcoming titles are:
The Poet Empress, Shen Tao (20 January). Okay I already read this but it was really good. Girl trades herself away to the crown prince of a mythical China to save her family. Plays a lot with dark romance tropes and absolutely nails it thematically.
How To Fake It In Society, KJ Charles (28 April). KJ Charles literally never misses. m/m historical featuring a scam artist pretending to be a nobleman and a shopkeeper.
Radiant Star, Ann Leckie (12 May). New Leckie Radchaai book?? Sign me up immediately
The Dragon Has Some Complaints, John Wiswell (23 June). Extremely funny concept of a three headed dragon who infiltrates a dragonrider academy for free food
Bodies of Magic, Freya Marske (15 September). I've been waiting for this one for absolutely ages. Murder mystery in the evil magic medical school.
Call Me Traitor, Everina Maxwell (27 October). I've ALSO been waiting for this one for ages. magical weapon x traitor soldier f/f.
Code & Codex, Yoon Ha Lee (19 November). New Yoon Ha Lee??? Seems to be very much like Ninefox Gambit thematically but with linguistics this time.
I don't want to be a teacher but I do like the idea of having a big book of Short Stories to Fuck You Up on a high shelf, secured with a chain, which I get down and dust off and unlock and read from on special request, and then a group of young people go away from it forever shaken.
Some of the stories would be...
Give Me Your Heart by Joyce Carol Oates
The Chaser by John Collier
The Veldt by Ray Bradbury
The Teacher by Paul Tremblay
Feed by Richard Matheson
Hand in Glove by Elizabeth Bowen
From A to Z, The Chocolate Alphabet by Harlan Ellison
Some more stories I've been reminded of in the comments, and others I've thought of:
The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas by Ursula K. Leguin
To Build a Fire by Jack London
Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
The Swimmer by John Cheever
A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner
The Life You Save May Be Your Own by Flannery O'Connor
The Donner Party by Dale Bailey
His Face All Red by Emily Carroll
Bring the Moon to Me by Amelia Gorman
The Prayer of Ninety Cats by Caitlin R. Kiernan
Especially Heinous by Carmen Maria Machado
The Screwfly Solution by James Tiptree
Hell is the Absence of God by Ted Chiang
The Judge's House by Bram Stoker
The Room in the Tower by E. F. Benson
Harry by Rosemary Timperley
The Tears of Squonk, and What Happened Thereafter by Glen David Gold
Phosphorous by Veronica Schanoes
The Dead Line by Dennis Etchison
Need by Gary Braunbeck
I could always get a fancy blank journal, print these out and glue them in, but I would still need to find a way to lure people into asking to read one...
I could . not. put. this down for 48 hours - stayed up too late, had weird dreams about it, woke up early, and played it while I was supposed to be doing other things. the last several dozen items took a lot of googling, which I do not even begrudge it.
and then. My partner started it. And the SAME THING happened to him.
surprisingly compelling. start when you have free time. like, yanno, a snow day.
oh my god, if you are the kind of person who gets sucked into logic puzzles, do not click that link if you have to do anything/go to sleep in the next couple hours
I was disappointed there weren't more levels, so I made them! The creator's code was under CC Share Alike, so I moved a copy to my website, rustled up 40 new categories, and added buttons so you can generate smaller puzzles!
Hey y’all I have an announcement! My web app that I’ve been working on, Afro Index, is now live! It’s a visual reference library of Black hairstyles, for artist, animators, writers, and anyone who wants to learn more about them!
Check it out at afroindex.org! 💛✨
A reference library for Black hairstyles with accurate naming,
structured filtering, and curated reference images.
I threw together a little rec list for fans of Murderbot :)
This is aimed at fans of the novellas and the TV show and I tried to capture various different elements of the story and characters.
Text of slides below the cut
The Tea Master and the Detective by Aliette de Bodard
Adult science fiction novella
Imagine Sherlock and Watson if Watson was a sentient, traumatized spaceship and Sherlock was a human detective investigating a murder
Faster-than-light travel, deep space unreality, mind-altering herbal teas
Spaceship POV
The spaceship really enjoys reading/watching period dramas
Vietnamese-inspired sci fi setting
No romance
One Day All This Will Be Yours by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Adult science fiction novella
The grumpy last survivor of a catastrophic time war lives a solitary life…until other time travellers try to disrupt his carefully curated retirement
The main character has a pet dinosaur
Darkly funny, misanthropic narrator
If you liked Murderbot’s first-person POV in the books, you’ll probably enjoy the narrative voice of this novella
The Butterfly Assassin by Finn Longman
Young adult dystopian thriller set in a walled city ruled by assassin guilds
Isabel Ryans is a former child assassin and the daughter of a notorious scientist
Wanting nothing more than to live a normal life, she escapes and assumes a civilian identity…but finds her past and her assassin training harder to leave behind than she’d hoped
“Raised as weapon” character grappling with violence, morality, and friendship
Aromantic asexual main character with PTSD and severe hand scarring
No romance
The Wolf Among the Wild Hunt by Merc Fenn Wolfmooor
Adult dark fantasy novella
Scythulf, a wolf shapeshifter, was raised to be nothing more than a pit fighter until he’s rescued by Brennus, a knight who offers him a new life
When Scythulf accidentally kills a corrupted nun, his only chance at redemption is to run with the Wild Hunt, a trial of blood and courage
“Raised to be a weapon” protagonist; aspec rep; strong platonic bonds
Aroace protagonist; aroace nonbinary queerplatonic partner, queernorm fantasy world
No romance
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
Adult science fiction novel
A motley spaceship crew finds adventure and friendship on their voyages through the universe
Episodic storytelling and found family dynamics
Interesting alien characters and cultures
Queer characters + F/F relationship
Cursebreakers by Madeleine Nakamura
Adult fantasy novel
Adrien Desfourneax, a disgraced physician turned professor of magic, finds himself investigating a dangerous curse while grappling with his own mental health and a dangerous ally
Gay main character with bipolar disorder; autistic-coded side character
If you love rotating TV!Gurathin in your mind, you will probably find Adrien a very interesting character
Archivist Wasp by Nicole Kornher-Stace
Young adult fantasy/dystopia
A young ghost hunter joins forces with the ghost of a supersoldier to traverse the underworld in search of the lost ghost of his partner and answers about their post-apocalyptic world
Characters shaped by ruthless dystopian worlds learning to claim their autonomy and identity
Strong M/F friendships that don’t turn into romance
Aroace-coded main character + no romance
Hullmetal Girls by Emily Skrutskie
YA science fiction novel
Hundreds of years in the future, the last survivors of the human race travel through space in a fleet of ships, searching for a new habitable planet to settle
When two girls join the order of cyborg soldiers who keep order in the fleet, they find themselves questioning their loyalties as violence brews
Explores bodily autonomy and privacy through sci fi elements
Main characters of color + ace main character
No romance
The Outside by Ada Hoffman
Adult science fiction novel
Cosmic horror x space opera
In a galaxy ruled by AI gods and their ruthless cyborg-angels, young prodigy scientist Yasira develops new technology that could change the trajectory of humanity–until her work backfires and is declared heretical
Offered her life in exchange for hunting down her vanished heretical mentor, Yasira must decide who to trust as her world’s fate hangs in the balance
Autistic lesbian main character of color
Redshirts by John Scalzi
Adult satirical science fiction novel
Ensign Andrew Dahl is excited for his new position on board the the starship Intrepid…until he begins to realize there’s a mysterious pattern of low-level ensigns like himself dramatically dying on missions…and the reason why might reshape his very understanding of reality
For the enjoyers of the TV’s take on Sanctuary Moon being a Star Trek parody
The Stardust Grail by Yume Kitasei
Adult science fiction novel
Anti-colonial space heist
Maya Hoshimoto, an art thief turned grad student, finds herself pulled into one last job to retrieve an artifact that could save an alien species–and possibly doom humanity
Alien-human friendships, explorations of sentience and consciousness
Japanese diaspora main character with chronic migraines
Of Monsters and Mainframes by Barbara Truelove
Adult science fiction inspired by classic horror stories
Demeter is a spaceship that transports humans across galaxies–except her passengers keep dying in mysterious paranormal murders
To prevent herself from being decommissioned, Demeter must track down the ultimate evil behind her passengers’ deaths: Dracula
In a near-future dystopian America, salvager Valentine runs odd jobs in the wastelands of Utah in hopes of earning enough for the gender-affirming care he desperately needs
When he encounters Osric, an AI forced into an android body, he’s offered a job that could pay him everything he needs–but at the cost of his own morals
Explores sentience and autonomy through a science fiction lense
Android/human romance
Gay, trans man main character with ADHD; gay main character
Bluebird by Ciel Pierlot
Adult science fiction novel
In a galaxy ruled by three warring rival factions, gunslinging inventor-turned-thief Rig has abandoned her former faction and is happy as a rebel–until her former faction ransoms her twin sister for what she stole from them
Alongside her librarian girlfriend, a mysterious bounty hunter, and a network of resistance contacts, Rig embarks on a journey across the galaxy to save her sister–and maybe tear down the factions for good
Rip-roaring romp of a sci fi story full of action
Alien protagonists
Lesbian main character; amputee representation
Emergent Properties by Aimee Ogden
Adult science fiction novella
Scorn is a state-of-the-art AI investigator who becomes entangled in brewing corporate warfare
When Scorn wakes up one day day on the moon with no memory of zir past ten days, ze begins a hunt into zir own past that leads them to uncover far more explosive truths than ze could have expected
Oh hey, do you know what time it is? It is highly specific resource time!
Today we have the Royal School of Needlework Stitch Bank! There are HUNDREDS of stitch types in the RSN Stitch Bank.
And more added regularly, let’s look at a recent addition
I picked the first one in the 25 recently added Elizabethan stitches, the Elizabethan French Stitch
The stitch bank provides written and photo tutorials as well as a video option to learn to do it yourself. There are examples of the stitch in use, resources, references, everything but a needle and thread!
I looked at some of the tutorials last night and holy shit I'm so impressed! They're SO thorough!
Not only do they have written and video instructions, but there are photo and illustration options for each image AND a "flip view" button so that left handed people can see all the images in reverse!
I am going to jump in and add, as you said they are very detailed in their directions, something that takes a lot of time and money.
If anyone who has enjoyed this resource has the means, I encourage you to adopt or sponsor a stitch to help keep this free to access. I know not everyone has the means to (fair, been there) but if you can, check out their sponsor options
RSN Stitch Bank Progress
And one other resource I have shared before, The Lady's Magazine. Embroidery patterns from 1770-1819. In case anyone wants some historic ideas for using all these new embroidery stitches
unironically i think we need to bring back computer labs because APPARENTLY some people WERENT taught basic computer literacy and internet safety in school
things about computers/the internet i think kids should be formally taught in schools because theyre important to know and the amount of soon to be grown adults i know who know NOTHING about any of these is quite frankly almost all of them (and resources to learn if you dont know these things, because its never to late to get better with computers)
how to troubleshoot by yourself when you have a technical problem
what common file types are
some very basics on how to use ""developer tools"" on your computer (because i cant think of a better way to refer to them) like task manager and command prompt (and their mac equivalents, terminal and activity monitor ofc)
how to read and understand a privacy policy and what your personal data is, as well as what it being collected actually means and steps you can take to keep it private
how to understand terms of service
(hey. if you have trouble with reading legalese and worry about being able to understand these policies anyways, here's a site that gives basic summaries of privacy policies and ToS)
what a cookie actually is
internet privacy and your digital footprint!! seriously i dont know why we stopped teaching people that they shouldnt be putting their entire real identity online in a world where your online actions can ruin you irl
basic safety measures like antivirus software (and why you should use it or if the built in one on windows or mac is enough for you) and backing up your computer (also a mac guide)
common keyboard shortcuts (and on mac)
as an additional note: things i think everyone should know on computers and the internet but schools may bit hesitant to teach about for whatever moral/legal standards schools pretend to operate on
vpns and adblockers! (btw for most of these where you can pay for things im purposefully not recommending any specific software but seriously just use ublock origin for an adblocker)
how to not get a virus while pirating something
what a temporary email is and when to use one
red flags that you shouldn't trust a website (and how to quickly check the security of a site)
what javascript on a website does and how to disable it to get around paywalls
ok one last addition! if you want to take it one level higher, i think learning the very basics of at least one programming language is good for people. it makes computers less scary and it makes you feel very cool, and a lot of people get discouraged about it because it seems overly complicated and hard to learn outside a formal classroom setting, so heres some resources for learning the very basics of python (because i consider it the easiest language to learn and knowing one language will make it easier to learn others)
an online compiler so you dont need to download anything or worry about running code directly on your computer if that makes you nervous
a basic video guide to introduce you to python and walk you through beginner steps
a guide to some syntax and commands you should know (this was literally my lifeline in my first CS class)
some performance tasks to give you things to code to practice and assess yourself
As more and more people are being forced to switch to Windows 11, Microsoft's most AI-malware-ridden OS yet, I've been putting together articles and links for how to undo the damage and save your battery, your RAM, your disk space, your privacy, and your sanity from this bullshit.
FIRST:
The easiest way to get rid of the majority of the bullshit that Windows is forcing on us, as of October 2025, is this one-stop-one-click debloat solution from a modern day hero:
A simple, lightweight PowerShell script to remove pre-installed apps, disable telemetry, as well as perform various other changes to customi
It's very easy, even if you're not tech savvy or get scared of pop up windows saying "ARE YOU SURE?" Yes, you are sure, I promise. This program takes maybe two minutes and will save you SO MUCH pain, time, and money (and exploitation).
Now that you've done that, here's the cleanup, to catch the little shit that the debloat might have missed (most of this will already be done by debloat, but hey, it's good to double check).
Microsoft wants to put AI everywhere on your PC, but you can take back control.
Even just reading about some of these features makes me angry. Fucking Copilot and "Discover" AI scrapers are in Notepad. NOTEPAD. And then there's this uncanny valley garbage:
No uncanny valley video calls for me, thanks! (Also, what else is it doing while it scans your face and listens to your calls? What else, microsoft? Because there was a lot of memory being assigned to this program for a simple "smooths your skin" add on).
Tired of Microsoft pushing ads throughout Windows 11? Here are the settings you can tweak to turn them off and reclaim some privacy.
The truly insane number of places they have stuck ads on your own home computer is sickening. Become Unmarketable.
Bonus:
Some background programs you probably don't need that are taking up space and how to remove them (Microsoft forums, 2024)
Your Samsung Galaxy Phone comes with 22 apps you don't need (Android Police, 2025)
How to disable the AI in firefox (still the only browser that lets you do this permanently) (Windows Report, 2025)
Me upon discovering an online game that helps you learn git: haha I've been using git for years now, I could skip ahead many levels, methinks hahaha no, no, I'll be humble and start on level 1
Me on level 5: You can do what??? There are commands for what???
use overdrive, libby, hoopla, cloudlibrary, and kanopy instead of amazon and audible.
use firefox instead of chrome or opera (both are made with chromium, which blocks functionality for ad-blockers. firefox isn't based on chromium).
use mega or proton drive instead of google drive.
get rid of bloatware
use libreoffice instead of microsoft office suite
use vetted sites on r/FREEMEDIAHECKYEAH for free movies, books, games, etc.
use trakt or letterboxd instead of imdb.
use storygraph instead of goodreads.
use darkpatterns to find mobile game with no ads or microtransactions
use ground news to read unbiased news and find blind spots in news stories.
use mediahuman or cobalt to download music, or support your favorite artists directly through bandcamp
make youtube bearable by using mtube, newpipe, or the unhook extension on chrome, firefox, or microsoft edge
use search for a cause or ecosia to support the environment instead of google
use thriftbooks to buy new or used books (they also have manga, textbooks, home goods, CDs, DVDs, and blurays)
use flashpoint to play archived online flash games
find books, movies, games, etc. on the internet archive! for starters, here's a bunch of David Attenborough documentaries and all of the Animorphs books
burn your music onto cds
use pdf24 (available online or as a desktop app) instead of adobe
use unroll.me to clean your email inboxes
use thunderbird, mailfence, countermail, edison mail, tuta, or proton mail instead of gmail
remove bloatware on windows PC, macOS, and iOS X
remove bloatware on samsung X
use pixelfed instead of instagram or meta
use NCH suite for free software like a file converter, image editor, video editors, pdf editor, etc.
feel free to add more alternatives, resources or advice in the reblogs or replies, and i'll add them to the main post <3
- Use Linux. I know it sounds scary because people think Linux is just a black terminal screen and you have to type in a string of code to do anything. This hasn't been the case for like...decades at this point. Linux Mint Cinnamon has a desktop that looks just like Windows and you can learn anything you don't understand by looking it up. It has a robust community of supportive users and like 90% of Steam games work on it.
- Syncthing is a great alternative to Google drive or Dropbox or OneDrive. It's locally hosted so you don't have to rely on anyone's "cloud", you just set up a shared folder and you can view/move/edit files between multiple devices. You can even share files with other people if they also use Syncthing.
- You don't really need a PDF alternative to Adobe, Firefox opens PDFs just fine. Highly recommend alternatives to other Adobe products though.
- If you don't want to burn CDs you don't have to, but you should have "hard copies" of your music library stored locally. Like, actually saved on your device and not streamed. I recommend Stacher7 for ripping songs from YouTube.
- Proton is tempting but honestly the free plan is annoying. They constantly push a paid premium on you, ads and banners and "this feature is premium only" on every damn page. I use their email, but putting all of your eggs in the Proton basket feels just as ill advised as using Google for everything. I don't want to move everything over to Proton Mail, Drive, VPN, Vault, whatever only for them to also end up a piece of shit corporation that will sell my data to the highest bidder.
- YouTube Revanced for android phones. You'll have to look up the directions on how to install it on github but it isn't hard.
I'll always talk up internet radio stations because I don't think the average person is aware that they're free, can run in your browser (or in any program that can connect to them), work on your phone, run better than a youtube tab, and give you a much better selection of music than you could get from a general algorithmic playlist
(also lots of them have live shows which you can tune into for free)
if u like folk and/or roots music: wumb.org !!! it is AD-FREE it has ZERO MORNING TALK SHOWS it is on air at 91.9 FM in the BOSTON AREA but streams WORLDWIDE on the WEB it is perfect.
Maybe niche but for any Irish speakers or learners out there, Radio na Gaeltachta streams online and is a great way to listen to some Gaeilge without YouTube.
All of these resources are fantastic, but I wanna give a specific shoutout to Raidió na Gaeltachta streaming online - and I say this as a person who works in Irish-language visual media - if you wanna gainna better grasp of spoken Irish and how the language is used in casual settings, Raidió na Gaeltachta is the way to go, not visual media 😬📻😁
