#mapping the interior

[brightbeautifulthings]

"'I'm all right," I told her. This is the lie, when you're twelve. And all the other years, too."

— Stephen Graham Jones, Mapping the Interior

[phaedraismyusername]

Do you have any book recs for someone in a reading slump? I always had a book out from the library when I was at school, but fell out of the habit and want to get back into it!

Personally when I find myself in a slump I tend to go for short books and novellas to try and avoid that mid-book slog that can happen when I'm not feeling motivated lol

Some excellent fast reads for me were

- Six Deaths of the Saint by Alix E Harrow it's only 33 pages and it is legitimately one of the best stories I've ever read lol

- This Is How You Lose The Time War by Max Gladstone and Amal El-Mohtar is less than 200 pages and has some of the most romantic language I've ever read if, like me, you live for the yearning lol

- Milk Blood Heat by Dantiel W Moniz is a collection of short stories that comes in around 200 pages and has some of my favourite contemporary lit fic stories I've ever read mostly surrounding the Black female experience in Florida. Just the range and quality of writing are just *perfect*

- The Singing Hills Cycle by Nghi Vo currently has 5 or 6 books around 120 pages each and are all excellent examples of Asian inspired high fantasy and are real love letters to storytelling in all its forms (the second one is my favourite though I love the tigers lol)

- Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells are a great choice if you like Sci-Fi, the first one All Systems Red is 150 pages and surprisingly funny and heartwarming considering the name lol. I think a couple of the books are full length novels but the first one at least definitely isn't

- or, if you're more of a horror girlie, Mapping the Interior by Stephen Graham Jones, Helpmeet by Naben Ruthnum, The Country Will Bring Us No Peace by Matthieu Simard, and Green Fuse Burning by Tiffany Morris are all dark weird little 100 page stories that I ate up in one sitting

Hopefully there's something on this list that appeals to you because slumps are so tough to be in and push through so I hope you you find something that helps soon 😩❤️

[autumnbell32]

from Mapping the Interior, by Stephen Graham Jones

[demon-witch05]

"I'm all right," I told her.

This the lie, when you're twelve. And all the other years, too.

You never tell your mom anything that might worry her. Moms have enough to worry about already."

— Stephen Graham Jones, Mapping The Interior

[halcyondaaze]

mapping the interior

Dan Bodelson (detail) | Stephen Graham Jones

[judgingbooksbycovers]

Mapping the Interior

By Stephen Graham Jones.

[bookcoversonly]

Title: Mapping the Interior | Author: Stephen Graham Jones | Publisher: Tor (2017)

[anthologarium]

To sleep is to be inhabited, yes, but not by something else, so much. What's kicking one foot in front of the other, it's yourself. It doesn't make sense, but I don't think it's under any real compulsion to, finally. If anything, being inhabited by yourself like that, what it tells you is that there's a real you squirming down inside you, trying all through the day to pull up to the surface, look out. But it can only get that down when your defenses are down. When you're sleeping.

Stephen Graham Jones, Mapping the Interior (2017)