professional side character simp

skum. 25. i read bad books and like side characters. sideblog. IG: skumreads. 2022 Reading Goal: 18/50

[ivvanaga]

+ bonus

[emrowene]

So....I'm releasing a thing. There'll be a fancier announcement later, I'm sure, but for now, I wanted to share this thing with you all:

If you like Sherlock Holmes, cozy fantasy, the beauty inherent in kindness, or funky magic systems, this thing might be for you!

So...what is it?

A fantasy detective series, published serially and delivered straight to your email inbox (much in the style of Dracula Daily). The first chapter of the first case in the series will be released on May 29th, with new chapters coming every Sunday thereafter.

Find out more (and subscribe) here!

[skumreads]

Dreaming about color coded bookshelves

[npdclaraoswald]

Made these for instagram and figured I’d crosspost here

[Image: a series of edits all with a background image of an old book lying open with blue lights emanating from it and a transparent white square overlaid so that the text is more legible. The first image has text that says “Magic schools that aren’t racist and transphobic.”

The second image has the cover of Lobizona by Romina Garber, which depicts a Latina girl with yellow eyes and star shaped pupils whose hair turns into plants. She is standing in front of the moon. The title, author, and a tagline reading “Undocumented. Unprotected. Unafraid.” are also on the cover. Next to the cover is text reading “While fleeing after her mother was detained by ICE, a young girl comes across a magic school where girls are witches and boys are werewolves, but her existence as a girl werewolf proves there’s more to the magic world than there seems.”

The next image has the cover of In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan, which depicts a black and white sketch of two mermaids. One mermaid only has her tail visible and the other has long hair covering her naked chest. She stares off to the side. The title, author, a tag calling Brennan a New York Times best selling author, and a quote reading “Brennan delivers witty, nervy, romantic adventure that fizzes with feeling and giddy imagination” which is cited as being from Leigh Bardugo. are also on the cover. The text next to the cover reads “An obnoxious teenager discovers a magical other world enrolls in their school to learn how to be a diplomat and try to bring peace to the warrior world while balancing his friendship with an elf girl and son of a warrior family.”

The next image has the cover of Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire, which shows a forest during sunset and a freestanding door in the middle of a clearing. The title, author, a tag calling McGuire a New York Times best selling author, a sticker declaring the book a Hugo and Nebula Award winner, and a quote from Charlene Harris reading “Seanan McGuire has long been one of the smartest writers around… we know this story isn’t true, but it is truth.” are also on the cover. The text accompanying the cover reads “A boarding school for kids who return from portal fantasies to readjust to this world and wait for their portals to reopen. Series alternates between the school and flashbacks to the fantasy lands and alternates character POVs between books.”

The next image has the cover of Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor, which depicts an albino Black woman with her hair up and wearing a black outfit. Her face is covered in glowing runes and a bug is on her forehead. The title, author, a tag calling Okorafor a World Fantasy Award winning author, and a quote reading “There’s more vivid imagination in a page of Nnedi Okorafor’s work than in whole volumes of ordinary fantasy epics” from Ursula K LeGuin are also on the cover. The text next to it reads “A young American Nigerian girl discovers she has magical ancestry and becomes involved in the world and customs of the Leopard People while carving her way as an albino newcomer and hiding her magical life from her otherwise ordinary immediate family.”

The next image has text on top reading “Not a school to learn about magic, but a school in a magical world.” It has the cover for Bethany C Morrow’s A Song Below Water, which depicts two black girls standing back to back underwater with seaweed in their floating hair and bubbles surrounding them. The girl on the left has an afro, a blue shirt, and an earring shaped like a seashell. The girl on the right has braids, hoop earrings, a white shirt, a necklace with a small bottle hanging from it, and scales along her cheekbone. The title, author, and a quote reading “Riveting storytelling. The best YA novel I’ve read all year.” by Daniel Jose Older are also on the cover. The accompanying text reads “A siren and her vest friend of unknown magical heritage work to hide her siren status as they reel from a very public murder trial where the victim was a siren and deal with the political fallout and the discrimination against sirens.”

The final image has text on top reading “Not a school to learn about magic, but following magic users in college.” It has the cover of Legendborn by Tracy Deon, depicting a black girl with an afro in a black tank top with her arms positioned in front of her. One arm glows with red magic and the other with blue magic. The title, author, a tag calling the book a New York Times bestseller, and a quote from Dhonielle Clayton reading “A searing modern tale of grief, power, and self-discovery.” are also on the cover. The text next to the cover reads “A student witnesses magic and discovers the secret magical society at her college. Suspecting her mother’s death involved magic, she befriends a member and joins the society to learn more.” End.]

[headspace-hotel]

Anyway unpopular opinion probably but the school system (and general book snobbery) fucks up by trying to force kids to read "classics" before they have the mental and emotional development to appreciate them.

This post is me telling you to consider revisiting that classic book you read in the 7th grade that you hated because the ability to understand a lot of literature gets unlocked later, for reasons a lot to do with emotional maturity

[muresetivoire]

Hot girls create intense fictional scenarios to fill the void of no romance in their life

[skumreads]

"Her heart did whisper that he had done it for her."

[skumreads]

“He’s more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.”

[skumreads]

“You don’t think monster girls and wicked boys deserve love?” 

[skumreads]

“I claim you, Rowan Whitethorn.” 

[skumreads]

“He was the worst kind of wrong. He was so wrong it felt right, and that made me feel completely out of control.”

you can really tell how well-loved my copy of hush hush is.

[skumreads]

“Veron. Veron. Forever and always Veron.”

[skumreads]

“That’s the point of it, Bryce...Of life. To live, to love, knowing that it might all vanish tomorrow. It makes everything that much more precious.”

[skumreads]

“What’re we toasting to, this time?”  “To tomorrow.” “What’s tomorrow?”  “Everything.”

[skumreads]

“The problem with wanting, is that it makes us weak.” 

[skumreads]

“You unmanageable, contrary creature. You have made me believe in something at last. It feels as wretched as I imagined.”

This book made me yearn for a sequel that doesn’t exist. I never wanted to leave the world that Rogerson created and filled with these lovable, grimy characters. 

art from atouchofmagicau on etsy

[sabrinaacarpenters]

defending my favorite female characters that have a bitchy personality, but only to hide that deep down they are incredibly vulnerable and feel unlovable and half the fandom hates them for it online isn’t enough. i need a gun