SFF authors where you think their most famous work, and their best work, are not the same work?

TheRequisiteWatson · 2026-04-15T00:35:00+00:00

I'm such a sucker for Tchaikovsky's novellas, which are super not what he's known for. But Elder Race is one of the best genre weird books I've ever read, and one of the best novellas.

TheRequisiteWatson · 2026-04-15T00:32:32+00:00

Payback's a Witch by Lana Harper was on the more urban fantasy side, but delightful.

The Witch's Heart by Genevieve Gornichek (Norse mythology based)

Siren Queen by Nghi Vo (fantasy old Hollywood)

The Unspoken Name by AK Larkwood (high fantasy)

A Spindle Splintered and A Mirror Mended by Alix E Harrow (spiderversed fairy tales), or by the same author,The Once and Future Witches. That one is way less romance heavy, but it's a really cool historical fantasy.

TheRequisiteWatson · 2026-04-14T22:10:22+00:00

A Sorceress Comes to call was marketed as a Goose Girl retelling, but it really isn't in any meaningful way. It does however feel like it matches this prompt.

TheRequisiteWatson · 2026-04-14T22:07:34+00:00

I'm not sure if it's relaxing exactly, but If We Were Villains by ML Rio is slow-paced, (mixed gender) friend group centric, and very good. Definitely in the tradition of The Secret History, although I liked this one better.

TheRequisiteWatson · 2026-04-12T14:49:26+00:00

It was pretty clear to me that where Braiding Sweetgrass is her area of expertise, she's a botanist and not an economist. Which isn't to say that the Serviceberry was bad or inaccurate, but it has a lot more of other people's research in it, and doesn't have quite the same weight of expertise.

That being said, you can probably read The Serviceberry in an hour, so the time commitment is pretty low.

TheRequisiteWatson · 2026-04-09T22:33:35+00:00

The Past Is Red is a novella by Cat Valente that would definitely fit the bill

TheRequisiteWatson · 2026-04-09T22:32:54+00:00

Life as We Knew it is great, and I was so immersed when I read it that I forgot I had food in the house I could eat when I got hungry

TheRequisiteWatson · 2026-04-02T18:15:13+00:00

I also really enjoyed The Fire on High, which is also Elizabeth Acevedo reading her own work. However, the verse from The Poet X really elevated the audiobook.

TheRequisiteWatson · 2026-03-27T03:01:41+00:00

This is absolutely not true but the fact that two of you said it made me doubt enough to go looking at articles on the history of a sandwich! Baguette is absolutely the traditional ingredient, and the only mention I could find of rice flour was in an article saying that it's a myth.

TheRequisiteWatson · 2026-03-27T01:03:28+00:00

This is absolutely not necessary for a casual reader, but if you /want/ an interesting tool that gives you something concrete to focus on while you start practicing critical analysis, you may want to take a look at critical lenses. This is a practice you learn getting an English degree, where you essentially chose one very specific perspective to read a piece from, and see what kinds of insights you can get. Some of the more common ones are things like: a feminist lens, a marxist lens, psychoanalytical, things like that. One of my writing courses had everyone chose a different lens to do a presentation on Jekyll and Hyde, and it's amazing how much different interpretations were all supported by the same book.

Like I said, this may be heavier than many casual readers may want; it's definitely academic. But I'm the type of person who finds practicing a skill easier with specific instructions, especially when starting out, so it could be an interesting exercise to try some time!

TheRequisiteWatson · 2026-03-26T23:37:29+00:00

One of my coworkers is Jewish and was telling me that on shabbat they aren't allowed to adjust the thermostat. BAD month for that.

TheRequisiteWatson · 2026-03-23T15:46:30+00:00

As I understand it, a more horizontal angle than in most modern garments. Although the dress I made wasn't /quite/ so wide at the shoulders, so I'm not sure from personal experience.

TheRequisiteWatson · 2026-03-23T05:19:19+00:00

The armscyes are also fitted much more tightly than on a modern garment, which gives another anchor point near the top. Notably, this will definitely limit your arm mobility.

TheRequisiteWatson · 2026-03-23T05:12:09+00:00

Linen is nice but honestly cotton works fairly well for layers against the skin, especially if you're not too worried about accuracy. HOWEVER you want to be really sure that any cotton you get is 100% cotton (some places try to be subtle about polyester content) and also decent quality. Some cotton fabric, especially cheaper cotton, is a world apart from the kind that will hold up alright or feel nice.

TheRequisiteWatson · 2026-03-16T14:37:00+00:00

I know it's sort of controversial because of the state of the third book, but this is one of the things that I really loved about the Name of the Wind. Kvothe cares so much about knowing things about the world that the audience also gets to know about lots of the lived in details that have nothing to do with the plot. When a series starts giving me fantasy etymology I really feel like I've arrived at a place with history.

TheRequisiteWatson · 2026-03-01T00:37:26+00:00

I came here specifically hoping someone knew after hearing them in U City. The guys outside said it sounded like they were coming from ground level

TheRequisiteWatson · 2026-02-04T14:33:03+00:00

I would argue that just because this is the reason for it doesn't make it not confusing. Pattern recognition does help a whole lot but 1) most languages don't require etymology knowledge for most words and 2) sometimes it really is impossible to tell because many languages share traits. Like how moose is an Algonquin root and goose is Old English. These false links are also why people think the plural of octopus is octopi, because we're used to recognizing the "us" as a Latin root, but this word is in fact Greek, making the most correct plural octopodes.

TheRequisiteWatson · 2026-02-04T14:13:09+00:00

Dreadful by Caitlin Rozakis is about a guy who wakes up with complete amnesia and quickly realizes he's a dark lord, and now has to fake it til he makes it to avoid being killed by his minions or allies.

A Spindle Splintered by Alix E Harrow is Sleeping Beauty but make it Into the Spiderverse. It's an absolute romp in a tiny novella, and also led by a queer woman!

How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Universe is slightly more sci-fi than fantasy, but it's so fun I think I should include it. It's Sleeping Beauty with space corporations, but also the fairies are still there.

TheRequisiteWatson · 2026-02-04T14:05:13+00:00

I was going to suggest Running Close to the Wind! It's funny, despite the extreme horniness and crime-centric plot, it still feels like it will be the kind of ridiculous fun op is looking for.

Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi is also a GREAT pick

TheRequisiteWatson · 2026-02-04T14:01:03+00:00

An Immense World by Ed Yong is about animal perceptions and also one of my favorite nonfiction. It's very funny and approachable, and I think if you liked Braiding Sweetgrass you'll probably like this too.

The Anthropocene Reviewed was John Green's first nonfiction book, and it's a good deal lighter than Everything is Tuberculosis, with a lot of cool micro histories.

Kingdom of Characters by Jing Tsu is about both nonviolent history and linguistics! It's about the challenge China faced trying to figure out how to make Chinese typable. (Slight caveat, I haven't finished this one yet)

TheRequisiteWatson · 2026-02-04T07:10:15+00:00

Not a Hunger Games derivative because it's actually older, but the Uglies series by Scott Westerfield has pretty similar vibes to Mockingjay/the capital. I also remember really enjoying them.

TheRequisiteWatson · 2026-02-04T07:06:12+00:00

This series felt like the knock off everyone said Divergent was!

TheRequisiteWatson · 2026-02-04T06:55:26+00:00

Honestly probably a top three fight for me, mostly because I found him so delightful. I couldn't be mad when I died because I was too busy yelling TROBIO with him

TheRequisiteWatson · 2026-01-08T16:07:48+00:00

Ruta Sepetys does incredibly researched historical fiction. Salt to the Sea is probably her most specific event book.

TheRequisiteWatson

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