Stray (Book)Marks @straybookmarks - Tumblr Blog

“I thought, wow, y'know, a cup of tea may not be the most important thing in the world-or a steam bath, or a pretty garden. They’re so superfluous in the grand scheme of things. But the people who did actually important work-building, feeding, teaching, healing-they all came to the shrine. It was the little nudge that helped important things get done.”

A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Becky Chambers)

——————

“I don’t need this, she thought. My power comes from the Chalk. But is that what life’s going to be like? Nothing that you don’t need?”

The Wintersmith (Terry Pratchett)

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“But how awful would that be? How terrible to live surrounded by the stark, sharp, hollowness of things that simply were enough?”

The Slow Regard of Silent Things (Patrick Rothfuss)

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“He had produced the silver teapot as well. I considered his pack, which was larger than Jullanar’s - he was a smith, broad-shouldered and strong - and marvelled at the choice of bringing a silver teapot instead of anything else. Not that I disagreed with bringing the lovely instead of the merely useful; sometimes such delights make all the difference.”

The Return of Fitzroy Angursell (Victoria Goddard)

theliterarymess

#Brigands & Breadknives #2025 tbr

yourfavouritebookseller

Currently reading

Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher

#I loved that one #I want to reread it soon #nettle and bone #t. kingfisher

Just finished The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst, which was lovely and gave me a craving for raspberry jam.

#booklr #the spellshop #cozy fantasy

#10BeforeTheEnd

I heard about #10beforetheend from a couple BookTubers I follow about 4 weeks ago (I’m not in BookTok). I’m halfway through my picks and currently working on The Anthropocene Reviewed. It’s my first John Green book and I was charmed from the note and rating for the typeface.

(I’m subject to the whims of the library with this challenge. The only one of these I own is The Jasmine Throne and Libby keeps serving other books I want to read along the way. I’ll have to see how many I get to before the end of the year.)

#booklr #the anthropocene reviewed #10beforetheend #currently reading

aquareus

✨book recommendations✨ based on my last three years of active reading, out of 108 books, & listed in read order (* = a personal favorite)

A Psalm for the Wild-Built & A Prayer for the Crown-Shy, Becky Chambers - sci-fi, lgbtq, novella duology. utopian future post-robots. heart-warming messages/commentary with plenty of robot-companion fun.

Know My Name, Chanel Miller - memoir. very important read.

In The Dream House, Carmen Maria Machado - memoir. a beautifully and uniquely crafted perspective on abusive lesbian relationships.

A Strange & Stubborn Endurance, Foz Meadows - (tw: early on-page rape) fantasy, lgbtq. this book was a much needed comfort during a very hard time. despite that, the m/m romance and character arcs were well-done and satisfying. the tw section made for a bumpy start, but I enjoyed the rest without a hitch.

* The Jasmine Throne, Tasha Suri - fantasy, lgbtq, magic. w/w romance between someone that should be dead and the rightful heir to a throne. really lovely world-building, characters, and angst. the final book in the trilogy is sitting on my table staring me down as we speak (and will likely make this a favorite series).

* The Obsidian Tower (* entire trilogy), Melisa Caruso - fantasy, magic, lgbtq. this is my favorite series so far and it's completely based on personal preference - epitome of "if I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more". the characters, the world, the magical elements, everything hit exactly right FOR ME.

Angles Before Man, Rafael Nicolas - mythology retelling, lgbtq. this is an interesting one: the story of lucifer with a fresh new perspective. i need to buy and annotate this badly.

Finding Me, Viola Davis - memoir. beautifully written, beautifully narrated, and another important read.

* The Mask of Mirrors (* entire trilogy, but especially *Liar's Knot), M. A. Carrick - epic fantasy, magic, lgbtq. where do I even start. i love these bitches like family.

Educated, Tara Westover - memoir. wild ride.

I'm Glad My Mom Died, Jennette McCurdy - memoir. this one's pretty self-explanatory.

* Chain-Gang All-Stars, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah - the last two lines of this book killed me on the spot. such an important and impactful read.

A Memory Called Empire, Arkady Martine - scifi, space opera, lgbtq. amazing premise, and very memorable first book. curious what the rest of the duology will bring.

All of Us Villains & All of Our Demise, Foody & Herman - YA, magic, fantasy. just a really fun and unique tournament duology. the second book especially ate for me ('cause my fav wishful pairing got together and I love being insane and correct).

* Thistlefoot, GennaRose Nethercott - mythology, magical realism, lgbtq. book about a living chicken house with hard-hitting commentary on the importance of bearing witness.

Wings of Fire, Tui T. Sutherland - MG, fantasy, dragons. just a precious little series that I can always trust to be a good time.

Spin of Fate, A. A. Vora - fantasy, YA, future lgbtq hinted. loved the captivating world, magic, and interesting main characters. dying for the next book.

Strange the Dreamer, Laini Taylor - fantasy (duology), magic. first book was immersive, dreamy, and highly engaging. i wish the second book was granted more time + pages/another book to do everything and everyone justice.

The Bullet Swallower, Elizabeth Gonzalez James - historical fiction, magical realism. the first historical fiction to actually make me want to try the genre again.

my goodreads for any interested parties.

#I love several of these #and I own some that I haven’t gotten around to yet #good list

kamreadsandrecs

I read 70 queer books in 2024. Here are my 10 favorites, from queer horror to sapphic literary fiction to nonbinary cozy fantasy.

profiterole-reads

@biandlesbianliterature

biandlesbianliterature

These are my favourite queer books of 2024!

#Ooh!#I’m especially intrigued by the graphic novels

Let’s see if I can squeeze these in among what Libby gives me and my TBR

I’ve been hoping to revisit some wintry favorites. I just tried out the BBC dramatization of The Dark is Rising (pretty good) and finished the Spinning Silver audiobook today. It’s the perfect time for Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries since the 3rd book is out in February. The Raven and the Reindeer was my first T. Kingfisher book and I want to see if I still love it.

#booklr #rereads #winter books

anolis3

"Spinning Silver", by Naomi Novik.

"But it was all the same choice, every time. The choice between the one death and all the little ones.", from Spinning Silver.

"So the fairy silver brought you a monster of fire for a husband, and me a monster of ice. We should put them in a room together and let them make us both widows.", from Spinning Silver.

#Spinning Silver #book aesthetic #moodboard

skydaemon

finished spinning silver and i love these women and their terrible husbands

#Listening to this again #Spinning Silver

agardenandlibrary

Tao's response to most problems being "have you heard of the nunnery full of lesbians? I hear it's nice there" is so funny

#The teller of small fortunes

asexualbookbird

I'm sitting here quietly like Steve from Blue's Clues. What is there to say about November. Yall experienced it as much as I did. Saw my friends which was great and muchly needed. That's all this month had going for it, to be honest. November is never kind to me.

The Archive Undying by Emma Mieko Candon ⭐½ - I didn't understand anything that was happening. I thought it would be easier if I read it instead of listening to the audio and that made it worse. There were neat concepts floating around in here, but nothing hit right. Was the eating each other literal? Metaphorical? Both? Neither? Who knows. Not I. I don't wish to experience this author again.

Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee ⭐⭐⭐⭐- Hey look I finally made it through this! This is what took most of my reading time this month. I think I technically read it twice, since I'd reread it after listening to the audio and went back to some middle bits once I was all the way through. It's definitely confusing and a full brain book, but honestly I want to reread it because I think I'll have a better grasp at it the second (is it the third now?) time around. It's weird how with some books, having to do this is a chore, but here, like with Ancillary Justice, I look forward to it. Will read book two, but unsure when.

Sunbringer by Hannah Kaner ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - This took me like two months to get through. It wasn't bad, and I thought it was because I didn't want it to end, but I think the beginning is just slow. I think it's more set up than plot progression, if that makes sense. Still! A fun read!They're all together again, but at what cost! Can't wait for book three!

Even Though I Knew the End by CL Polk ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - OUCHIE. WOWEE. GAY. Look I solved the mystery pretty ealry on and I DID NOT CARE! NOT ONE BIT! It had cute bits it had funny bits it had painful bits so many painful bits. Bittersweet. Enjoyed much more than Witchmark and has put CL Polk back on my radar.

The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw ⭐⭐ - Meh. Reminded me of Someone You Could Build A Nest In at some parts, which was nice. Otherwise, bland and I didn't buy the romance. Where's the Connection where is the Chemistry. Shesheshen and Homily were at least friends.

Somehow, these books had Themes. Silly little guys in your head. Lots of blood and viscera. Eating your friends and enemies. That was unintentional. I have no plans for December except to speedrun a couple gifts that have somehow slipped through time as if December doesn't come to us every year. I would like to get at least one more book scratched off of my yearly list, but I won't beat myself up over it if I don't. Book club is coming up, and I"m excited to reread Monk and Robot. Might even treat myself and reread all of Murderbot too. I need a little treat. We all deserve a little treat.