Rin's Books

Books and plants!

[thesinglesock]

someone should make a flowchart or list or something that’s like: “book recommendations for adults trying to get back into reading for fun, based on your favorite childhood series”

because honestly my biggest obstacle with reading nowadays is that I don’t connect as much with books written for teens anymore, but I still love the majority of tropes and literary devices used in those books, and I don’t know where to find them outside of the YA section of the library

[ninja-muse]

I’m willing to give it a go! (Pro bookseller over here.) What tropes and/or books do you love? What are you after, besides “homey”?

[thesinglesock]

Really? If you have any recommendations, I’d love to hear it!

honestly, my main thing is that I love character-driven stories that don’t take themselves too seriously, without becoming a comedy. I love when the narrator is a prevalent character, whether it be written in first or third person. As a teen I loved Percy Jackson because of the self-aware narration, and as an adult I enjoyed the Martian and Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy for the same reason. But still, Sci-fi isn’t my favorite genre, I’d rather read something that’s more of a fairy tale setting, something that isn’t hard fantasy with tons of worldbuilding you have to get into, but has some fantasy elements, if that makes sense.

(urban, modern, or historical fantasy is golden, also Found Family trope is a plus.)

Mostly I’m just looking for something that’s fun to read and doesn’t feature a 10-year old as its main character. (I do love childrens’ and YA lit. but I want some variety, y’know?)

No pressure, of course, but I’d love to get some pointers on where to look for books like this, if you have any <3

[ninja-muse]

Okay, so fantasy is 100% my happy place and it sounds like we share a taste within the genre too. Excellent!

If you want fairy-tale feel, take a look at Stardust by Neil Gaiman, pretty much anything by Robin McKinley, Spirits Abroad by Zen Cho, Uprooted and Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik, and the works of T. Kingfisher. She writes horror as well as fantasy, so be sure to check cover blurbs, but her fantasy is great fun, definitely self-aware, frequently with a fairy/folk tale vibe to it and sensible protagonists and narrators. She’s just released Nettle & Bone, which I adored, but also look at Toad Words, her short story collection, and Bryony and Roses. I also recently finished The Escapement by Lavie Tidhar, which I think also fits in this section despite it being set in an alternate Wild West dreamscape.

It’s also become more popular in the last while to write stories that critique fairy tales and fantasy tropes. Nettle & Bone is in that vein, but I’m also thinking of Seanan McGuire’s Wayward Children books, which examine portal fantasies and how the kids cope when they come “home”, and Alix Harrow’s A Spindle Splintered, which is a take on Sleeping Beauty. Both of those are novellas from Tor.com, who’ve been putting out some of the best novellas in the business, the last couple years. I’d definitely recommend looking up those up in general, and not just because novellas are great for short attention spans and getting a feel for an author.

As for urban fantasy, I really enjoy the Rivers of London books by Ben Aaronovitch, which has a great narrator-protagonist and deals with magic-related mysteries in the UK. If you want snark and geeky references, that’s likely the series for you! I’m also a big fan of Seanan McGuire’s work in general, so I have to add in her Incryptid and Toby Daye series. Incryptid is the zanier of the two, but they’ll both deliver funny narrators, interesting plots, hijinks, and found families. You might also be into Charlie Stross’s Laundry Files, Jim Hines’ Libriomancer books, Tom Holt, Tanya Huff, Vivian Shaw, or Jasper Fforde’s Nursery Crimes or Thursday Next books. (Thursday Next does have lots of world-building but it’s rarely of the “pay attention” variety and mostly of the “author thought it would be fun to introduce cloned dodos, intercontinental transit via pneumatic tube, incidental vampires, and machines that can put people into novels” type.)

Some other fantasies you might be into:

the Invisible Library series by Genevieve Cogman, if you like the idea of bookish crime-solving but the sheer amount of stuff in Fforde doesn’t appeal

the Dead Djinn universe by P. Djèlí Clark, which are steampunk mysteries in a magical Cairo

Discworld by Terry Pratchett (everyone has a different idea about entry points for it; I say go for whichever one sounds most fun)

Moonshine by Jasmine Gower, if you want a magical Jazz Age mystery with found family

Gail Carriger, if you want funny steampunk werewolf romances with mystery elements

India Holton, if magical pirate women with flying houses, over-the-top Victorian manners, and sexy spies sounds like a fun time

C.M. Waggoner, who’s written two books about determined women in a magical world, with a very fun pseudo-Victorian voice

Diana Wynne Jones, who is more all-ages than middle grade, whatever anyone tells you

When you’re ready for something more absorbing, look at:

Among Others by Jo Walton (very strong narrative voice, about a girl at boarding school who may or may not interact with fairies)

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke, again for the narrative voice and the beautifully minimalist world-building

The Golem and the Djinni by Helene Wecker, if you want historical New York with magical protagonists and themes of self-discovery

Flyaway by Kathleen Jennings, if you want an Australian gothic novella with fairy tale vibes

As for sci-fi, I’m a huge fan of the Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold, if you want funny space opera mysteries with a protagonist who’s best at solving problems by creating even more problems. I also liked the found-family feel of Fortuna by Kristyn Merbeth and Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki, and I think you might also like Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots, if you’re into upending superhero tropes. Great voice in that one, again, but also not the lightest read. (Not the darkest, either. Just … needs attention.) I haven’t read the Murderbot books by Martha Wells yet, but I feel they might also appeal.

And if you want to check out genres beyond SFF, I also recommend:

The Diary of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell, which is exactly what it says

Vivien Chien, who writes about a twenty-something amateur sleuth in an Asian-themed mini-mall

The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters by Balli Kaur Jaswal, which is a travel-comedy about heritage and a family reconnecting

The Mangle Street Murders by M.R.C. Kasasian, which is a riff on and send-up of Sherlock Holmes

Jodi Taylor, for awkward time-travelling academics

Aaaand I’m going to force myself to stop there, because that’s probably too much already, lol. Good luck and happy reading!

[petrareads]

I know that being a bookworm is a HUGE part of many of our identities. Like at school and in friend groups we were the “book ones” so I think that’s why when some of us get older and read 30, 10, 5 books a year instead of 100 we feel guilty for not reading more. I can’t speak for everyone but I remember thinking, who am I anymore? I was still the book person to my friends but I didn’t feel like it because I only really finished a book once a month instead of a new book every week. If you’re feeling that rn I want you to know that feeling passes !! You begin to accept books are still important to you but you’re more than that too: you’re a good friend or a good listener, someone who makes people laugh,  inspires others, is kind to animals or cares about social justice. Books will always be a part of you, but there’s lots of things that make you, you! 

[lots-of-little-books]

Can we please see your bookshelf/ whole collection of mini books??

But of course!

I have about 280 miniature books- there's a margin of error on that depending on your definition of "miniature" and "book". I keep most of them scattered on my regular-sized bookshelf, in front of my regular books, but I store ~90 of them in this craft box/miniature bookshelf I made:

(The owl's name is Archimedes. He does his best.)

Another 101 of my books are from that one Del Prado series:

And here's most of what's left!

(For scale, the biggest book here is 5 inches tall, the smallest is 2 inches, and most are near 3 inches.)

[booksandghosts]

[doctorslippery]

I’m all over this.

[manuscripts-dontburn]

BOOK MOTH (Czech)

[books-coffee-and-the-woods]

Shelf Update!

The first photo is the comics shelf and the TBR (it fills exactly 1 shelf which is exciting, and also means I can't buy any more books lmao). The second photo is everything else, arranged by genre.

[books-read-in-nooks]

Me: “Well I seem to have a lot of free time on my hands. I guess I could start reading from my TBR pile.”

My TBR pile:

[i-dare-say]

Can we talk about how much young adult covers have improved through the years?

I mean, we went from these

TO THESE

[latenightsushi]

We moved this bookshelf closer to my desk over the weekend, and I’m really happy with how it turned out! I even had time to set up some Halloween decorations 🎃

[listentothestories]

silkreads

[booksandrandomfandoms]

Book photo challenge day 2

I’ll be loving you til I’m seventy

.... probably how long it will take me to read all my books 😅

[bookofmirth]

The view from the foot of my bed

[bookaddict24-7]

Newly rearranged bookcases are so satisfying. 📚📚

How do you like to organize your shelves?

IG: @daylafm

[booknerdstudies]

my bookshelf, a la CART ☺️✨

my bookstagram

[the-ronan-cycle]

Happy Pride! Enjoy this book rec list of fiction books with LGBTQ+ and Black representation, written by Black authors! Goodreads and Bookshop.org links and text version of the list below the cut.

Some of these books involve some pretty heavy content, be careful to check content warnings! 

Keep reading

[teashoesandhair]

In the wake of JK once more being a total jk, here’s a (non-exhaustive) thread of works by Black trans writers.

Don’t Call Us Dead - Danez Smith, poetry about Black masculinity, police brutality, gender and queerness. Probably the best book of poetry I’ve ever read. Smith has several collections available and you should read them all.

The Deep - Rivers Solomon, a speculative fiction novella about the descendants of murdered slave women. Themes of trauma and memory. Really beautiful writing. Their sci-fi novel An Unkindness of Ghosts is equally unmissable.

Redefining Realness - Janet Mock, the memoir of Mock’s childhood and adolescence as a trans woman before she transitioned. Mock’s second memoir, Surpassing Certainty, focuses on her life in her twenties.

Felix Ever After - Kacen Callender, a YA novel about a teenage trans boy (at the start of the book), Felix, as he further questions his identity, tries to find love, and works on his artistic future. Everything that makes YA novels great.

Reacquainted with Life - KOKUMO, a debut about Black trans womanhood and the power of her voice and body. This work is so hard to describe. Ferocious? Lively? Witty? Completely different to literally any poetry I’ve ever read? All of the above and more.

Mannish Tongues - jay dodd, a poetry collection about Black youth, queerness, religion, family, and gender. I hate how pretentious the word ‘visceral’ is, but it’s pretty accurate here. dodd’s collection The Black Condition ft. Narcissus is also phenomenal.

Pet - Akwaeke Emezi, a YA novel about a Black trans teenage girl and having to confront the existence of monsters. Emezi also has an acclaimed adult novel out, Freshwater, and I believe their new adult novel, The Death of Vivek Oji, is out in August 2020.

trigger - Venus Selenite, poetry about being Black, trans, queer, and unapologetic. This one is hard to get hold of, but worth it if you can. Selenite also co-edited and is featured in Nameless Woman, an anthology of writing by trans women of colour.

Surge - Jay Bernard, a poetry collection written in response to the 1981 fire at New Cross Road, as well as Grenfell Tower and the Windrush Scandal. Bernard is one of those poets who can use 10 words to say more than most of us can in 1,000.

Nameless Woman: An Anthology of Fiction by Trans Women of Color - ed. Venus Selenite, Ellyn Peña and Jamie Berrout, this one includes several stories by Black trans women and is, as a body of work, completely invaluable. The stories here range from semi-autobiographical and romance to sci-fi and speculative fiction.

Resilience - ed. Amy Heart, Larissa Glasser and Sugi Pyrrophyta, an anthology of writing by ©AMAB trans people. Again, this anthology is not specifically dedicated to Black trans people, but it includes work by KOKUMO and CHRYSALISAMIDST, amongst others. This book is super varied, with short stories, poetry and personal essays.

Consider ordering these, where possible, from independent Black owned bookstores.

You can also financially support Black trans people through donating to organisations such as this and these.

Important addendum: I tried incredibly hard to find published works by Black trans women, because trans women are the focus of JK Rowling’s tweets and indeed an overwhelming amount of violence and bigotry in general, but I’m sure it’s no surprise to anyone that Black trans women are enormously discriminated against by the publishing industry, and are routinely denied a platform for their work and their voices. Literally, when you Google ‘black trans woman author’, you just get Janet Mock’s author page. I think all of the books by Black trans women in the list above, with the exception of Janet Mock, are self/indie pub.

I have trawled through online indie and radical publishing magazines, message boards, and nearly 100 lists of ‘trans authors you must read now!’ and I would charitably say that about 1% of people featured in such lists are Black trans women. Obviously, Black trans women are writing, but the lack of available platform for their work is a huge barrier to their voices being heard. If anyone else has recommendations for work by Black trans women, whether it’s a physical book, an online chapbook, an Insta account of poetry, or anything else, please add it, because there must be so much more than I’ve managed to find.

[rinsbooks]

I've been stress-buying plants since I lost more hours at work, but I'm so happy with this Tiger Stripe Fern, it's gorgeous!