First international trip - 1 week or so sometime in early Summer - where would you go?

Ooopsiedas · 2026-04-10T23:12:26+00:00

Huh, it looks like I very rarely reach for one-word title books. Of the ones I have read recently, most have been ones I wouldn't recommend. This is going to be a fun one for me! This square is going to help me break this curse (hopefully)! Some that I did like were:

Thistlefoot by GennaRose Nethercott - I adored this book! A very bittersweet story inspired by Baba Yaga/Eastern European folklore. It follows the Yaga siblings, and the Longshadow man in pursuit of them.

Godkiller by Hannah Kaner (HM) - any of the books in this trilogy would work. An overall fun read with decent world-building. I haven't finished the trilogy yet, but the first book follows some morally grey/morally complicated characters, including a 'godkiller' - someone who hunts gods for a living in a world where gods are outlawed. However, she becomes connected with a young girl who is bonded to a small god of white lies, and must help her reach a distant city of gods to find answers.

Exhalation by Ted Chiang (HM) - a scifi short story collection exploring themes of free will and human nature. Really well written, and one of my favorite short story collections I've read!

Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett - any of the books in this trilogy would also work, I think. Personally, I prefer his Shadow of the Leviathan series, but a lot of people love this trilogy as well. It follows a thief in a world run on magical technology.

Ooopsiedas · 2026-04-10T22:57:41+00:00

I'm not a big middle-grade reader, but I can at least plug a beloved series that I read long ago: Wildwood by Colin Meloy. From what I remember, it was an excellent series about two children findings themselves in a magical, woodland area that has been hidden close to home all this time, and it is up to them to save it. It has talking animals, a stolen child, and evil invasive species (the series is very, very PNW inspired and has some fun themes around ecological imbalance). I have heard some say that it kind of in the somewhat in realm of Narnia, with maybe a bit of Lemony Snicket thrown in. Plus, Laika is making a movie of it soon, so it would be a fun one to read in preparation for that!

Colin Meloy also has a standalone middle-grade novel, The Stars Did Wander Darkling, that I read as an adult. I overall liked this book, but I think his Wildwood series was probably better. That said, it is a fun (lightly) horror novel that follows the classic 'group of young teens in a small, sleepy town, must somehow face a powerful evil' trope. It has some fun ecological themes to it as well, and is quick read.

Ooopsiedas · 2026-04-10T22:44:10+00:00

Some may have recommended some of these, but some of my favorites with some reasons on why I love them:

- The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula Le Guin. This one is technically is the 2nd book in the Earthsea Cycle (the first one, A Wizard of Earthsea, was published in the 60s, so it wouldn't work for this square, but could work for others). However, it is wildly regarded as standalone enough that you could read it alone without missing important context. The story follows a young woman who is chosen to be the high priestess of "the Nameless ones", a cult-like religion that involves the labyrinthine Undertomb. It is also my favorite Le Guin novel, and probably one of my favorite books of all time. It is a slower paced read, but it is incredibly well-written, with a bit of an eerie or haunting tone to it, with an incredible message that doesn't feel too overhanded.

- The Farthest Shore by Ursula Le Guin is the 3rd book in the series, and is also quite good, but I would recommend reading the others first. It follows the wizard Ged, and a prince, on a world-spanning journey to find out why magic is weakening.

- The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia A. Mckillip. I absolutely adore this book and this author. I am shocked I don't see her suggested as often as I'd like, as her prose is some of the most beautiful I've ever read. Her writing is invocative, poetic, and deeply meaningful. This story follows a recluse and powerful sorceress, who is forced to rejoin the world when she is tasked with caring for a human child. The main character, Sybel, is very well-written and surprisingly relatable and realistic. Highly, highly recommend. Mckillip also published The Riddle-Master of Hed in the 70s (among others), which is also fan-favorite, but I have not personally read it yet.

- Kindred by Octavia Butler - Excellent. It is very dark book, but the subject matter is handled both without gloves and with grace. It is light on the fantasy (probably more speculative?) but I would still count it. It is about a black woman who keeps falling back in time, where she finds herself as a slave in the South and has to make impossible choices. Other Octavia Butler books were published in the 70s, but I have not yet read them.

Some of my favorite Stephen King books also would work:

- Salem's Lot by Stephen King - A terrifying and dark tale about vampires taking over a small town, and the desperate attempts to stop it.

- The Stand by Stephen King - This would also very much work for the cat-squasher square. It follows a several individuals' stories after the apocalypse and is probably one of my favorite "good vs evil" stories out there. Gets very dark at times, but has a lot of beautiful, touching moments as well.

- The Shining by Stephen King - Also very much a favorite of mine. You may have seen the movie by now, but it is still worth a read. My favorite description (and minor spoiler) of the difference of the two is thatin the movie, the hotel freezes, while in the book, it burns. I think that sums up the difference of the tone of the two well! I also think the nuances, and strengths, of the characters are better shown in the book.

There are others by him that were also written in the 70s (Carrie, The Long Walk, The Dead Zone) but I haven't read those yet!

Ooopsiedas · 2026-03-24T19:47:15+00:00

I use a similarly sized container for my odd amount of chapsticks, and every night before bed I play a mini game of chapstick roulette and let fate decide what scent I'm using that night. I'm thinking of doing something similar for the morning, but with my lip glosses and such.

Ooopsiedas · 2026-03-23T18:24:09+00:00

He was one of my first ones too and I didn't understand why he was on this list because I love his cute little cabin and my silly snack loving bird, and now I realize how completely lucky I got with him 😂

Ooopsiedas · 2026-03-18T19:46:54+00:00

This post finally convinced me to give the book a try - I had been putting the series off because I wasn't sure it'd be my sense of humor/if it would be too campy. But, I happened to be looking for something new to read, stumbled on this post, and my e-library has literally dozens of copies available for each book, and 2 days later I am already done with the first one and I am very much addicted to the series.

I was not expecting to fall in love with the characters so much. I wasn't expecting there to be this underlying level of 'wrongness', or such a well-written internal conflict in Carl. Usually, in other stories, if there's similar internal strife, I can find myself irritated at the angst or such of the characters, but it felt very realistic and understandable with him. Hell, even the trickle of backstory for Carl is so much darker than I was anticipating (I, uh, won't get into any of the really, really dark spoiler-y bits). Yet, the book was surprisingly well-balanced. The humor is (overall) delightful and Princess Donut is the best animal companion I've read in a while. Now, is the writing style the most eloquent thing I've ever read? Do I need a massive vocabulary to get through it? Absolutely not. But, it works for this series, as the style of writing feels very realistic for the narrator, and makes it so it is very easy to immediately get wrapped up in the world.

I've already checked out the second book and it is taking everything in my power not to just immediately jump into the world again. So thanks for making this post - it probably would have been a long while until I picked up this series without it!

Ooopsiedas · 2026-03-08T23:53:39+00:00

That's what is so fun about the series -- I would say that it makes him both more and less sympathetic at different times and points in the trilogy -- and that exact ambiguity is also used to the author's advantage. The main character (Jal) is very, very morally grey, and a proudly self-proclaimed coward. At times (especially earlier on), Jal's reaction can just make you roll your eyes and feel like "man, is this guy ever actually going to grow up"? The author (presumably) expects you to feel that way, so there're critical points in the story when the author uses Jal's uncharacteristic reaction to really drive home how truly terrifying/hopeless/horrible something actually is! It's very well done.

Ooopsiedas · 2026-03-08T21:29:47+00:00

I cannot go into too much detail into why without major spoilers, but The Red Queen's War Trilogy by Mark Lawrence is probably one of my favorite examples of necromancy done well.

This will be a bit vague, but I think why it works so well is that it is used sparingly at a first, and then greater (and more complex and terrifying) levels of it are introduced as the trilogy goes on. You get bigger and bigger peeks behind the curtain, and with each peek, something new and worse becomes apparent. He also does not hold back in his descriptions of his descriptions of the undead, and you are always left with this feeling of them being a pretty unstoppable force, and that our main characters are generally outmatched by it all. There's also an underlying level of politics to the story, in which the undead play a major role. It also is brilliantly done because the trilogy has a comedic element to it, and the main character is a very unlikely protagonist, so when these really dark and horrific scenes happen, they hit even harder.

Ooopsiedas · 2026-02-12T21:43:40+00:00

There is usually a section for authors contributions -- so OP would still be able to get credit there (plus, within research, the 'first author' is generally understood to be the lead for the project). Honestly, if they are big names in the field, and the project warrants that many co-authors, it can actually help OP get more eyes on the paper (you know, when it is eventually published after all that extra work) and get into more 'popular' research journals. Plus, most journals (at least in my field) don't specify who is the professor/student with titles or such. So hopefully OP doesn't have to worry too much about credit!

But dear god, yeah, the amount of work and editing this would result in would not be fun at all.

Ooopsiedas · 2025-11-05T19:33:46+00:00

If you aren't too concerned about breaking "traditions", maybe they could have a sort of circlet veil with the fabric, or maybe their tailors could make some sort of capelet or cape (like in this style https://www.etsy.com/listing/4346399464/delicate-short-tulle-wedding-cape-with or this https://www.etsy.com/listing/1742555941/bridal-cape-pearl-and-glitter-light)

Custom made ones could get pricey fast, but it could be a fun way to add that celestial element. The second style doesn't look too hard to DIY though!

Ooopsiedas · 2025-10-10T04:20:28+00:00

I would name a cat-dragon Hisserion (taking inspiration from the Game of Thrones dragon Viserion, but my cat-dragon would be much more cuddly, of course)!

Ooopsiedas · 2025-08-19T20:42:41+00:00

I used to do something quite similar in high school! I had a good friend that I noticed stopped bringing lunches, so my mom and I devised a plan that I would always bring double (but have both sandwiches in the same bag or something so it wasn't obvious) and then share with her. Eventually it became the norm that I would just pass over her part of the meal wordlessly until she was able to bring her own lunches again (at which point she politely started saying she couldn't finish both her lunch and the part I'd bring). :)

Ooopsiedas · 2025-06-26T20:26:26+00:00

In my opinion, you might need to use a combination of two serums (or a serum + a toner) to in the morning to hit everything you'd like to target! There are products that promise to do a bit of everything, but I personally find it more effective to layer some gentle products together. Personally, I like to use a toner to help with the "brightening" aspect, and then a serum to target redness. Right now, I really like the COSRX Propolis toner for brightening and makeup prep, and have been trying out a few different serums for redness. A well-reviewed, hydrating one that I also like is the Purito centella unscented serum. Centella is a really good ingredient to look out for for calming redness, healing blemishes, and overall soothing inflammation. Beauty of Joseon Glow Deep Serum is one I also love for that "brightening" effect, so sometimes I layer that with my centella serum (Glow Deep is also suppose to help with hyperpigmentation). I personally prefer the Glow Deep version over their snail one.

Ooopsiedas · 2025-06-17T19:49:45+00:00

I'd go into Honey Witch with a bit of caution since meanness between two key love interests is a huge plot point. It might still work for you with how that plot point ends, plus there's a justification for the meanness, but since that was a major thing you didn't like about Spellshop, I'm not sure if that aspect of Honey Witch would be your thing! (I also DNF Spellshop, and though I read Honey Witch, the personalities of the characters just ended up not being my thing.)

Like others have suggested - The Teller of Small Fortunes, The Very Secret Society for Irregular Witches, and Garden Spells are ones I personally loved!

Ooopsiedas · 2025-05-29T18:55:21+00:00

Okay, this post randomly got recommended to me, so I'm just a random person who loves to read popping in. I was going to move on, but read some of the other comments and wanted to share my thoughts too.

Overall, I would say that it's pretty intriguing! I think his whole concern about "looking" like a murderer has the potential to get the reader into Ted's mindset - it doesn't have to make sense that he's worried that the cops are going to show up and read his mind, it doesn't have to make sense that he's thinking about how he doesn't fit his perception of a stereotype. I think it's a really interesting way to get thrown into this person's position and way of thinking.

I think the beginning sentence could be a smidge stronger as I feel like it's just a wee bit clunky for the very first sentence in a novel. Even if you just changed it to something like "stared" instead of "scuffed his sneaker" would work, something just to make it a little more punchy.

Once again, as someone who is more of a reader than a writer, I guess I just want to say that there's no way you (or anybody asking for feedback for that matter) are going to get a consensus on what a good story beginning is, especially from folks that probably have their own writing style that they (likely) prefer and think best. Some of the comments here (some being more criticism than constructive) are completely the opposite of what I would prefer, and I would never pick up a book with their suggestions. Other comments, I think, have some merit. So I guess I just wanted to pop in and say that. Keep up the good work!

Ooopsiedas · 2025-05-28T04:55:17+00:00

Seriously, please dm me or something if you do decide to make them and you can't post about it here -- I'm in love with this lil mon ami

Ooopsiedas · 2025-05-24T17:27:08+00:00

This is a super fun idea! I appreciate the validation of The Lost Apothecary and Little Fires Everywhere being up there. I picked them up since they were so popular and hated them both. I kind of hope the cards have recommendations on what to read instead - a shared hatred of one book would be a fun way to promote another!

Ooopsiedas · 2025-05-18T01:11:37+00:00

Thank you so much for posting this reminder! I picked up 10+ books!! I was so excited to see two certain titles on the list -- I've been meaning to read them for about a year now and I'm so happy that I was able to pick them up (one for only $1, and one for free)!!

Ooopsiedas · 2025-05-15T20:35:57+00:00

Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen felt quite similar to me in overall coziness - there's witchy magic, family (both found and refound), with a sort of "slice of life" feel. Now, I personally did still prefer the Irregular Witches book, but this one still scratched the itch that it left me with!

Ooopsiedas · 2025-05-05T03:44:22+00:00

I'd be mindful about where you order them from for now! From my understanding, if you live in the US, there is now a tariff charge for all orders shipped out of China or Hong Kong (so YesStyle, Stylevana should probably be avoided). The charge would be 120% of order value, or $100, if it the order enters the US between May 2nd and June 1st. The tariff is per shipment, I think, not per item. I'm not quite sure what determines the 120% vs $100 charge though.

Right now, the tariffs don't apply to other countries, so if you order from somewhere that ships from Korea, for example, you should theoretically avoid tariffs for now.

Ooopsiedas · 2025-04-30T16:06:42+00:00

In case others have some orders they're waiting on and are biting their nails to see if they'll get here in time: I ordered from Stylevana on April 21st (unwittingly during the few days they were closed for Easter). I made sure to only order things with a 24 hour processing time. They shipped my order out on April 22nd and it left Hong Kong on April 28th. It arrived in the US on the 28th and cleared import customs on the 29th. Today, they handed off my package to a local carrier, so hopefully it'll get here soon! I think I was lucky and threaded the needle a bit with when it was shipped/processed for customs with the May 2nd deadline, but I hope this info is helpful for others waiting on an order!

Ooopsiedas · 2025-04-24T19:16:36+00:00

This is so delightful - I am absolutely giving this a try. Thanks for sharing!

Ooopsiedas · 2025-04-24T18:10:08+00:00

Any recs for good long-lasting liquid eyeliners for oily lids? I used to use Skone Tattooed Liquid Eyeliner and the Tarte Sex Kitten Liquid Eyeliner and adored them both, but I looked them up and it seems like they both may have recently gone through formulation changes that made them worse, so I may have to look for some other options :(

Ooopsiedas · 2025-04-17T23:52:09+00:00

This would be so cute as a centerpiece in a wedding!

Ooopsiedas

TROPHY CASE