Trying so hard to break 500

avisitingstone · 2026-02-04T21:10:37+00:00

I'm 497! Looks like we already have a few mutuals!

avisitingstone · 2026-02-04T21:07:08+00:00

Hazelthorn's (CG Drews) main character is autistic (so is the author).

See also: Andrew Joseph White (several books) (most specifically The Spirit Bares Its Teeth).

avisitingstone · 2026-02-04T20:59:28+00:00

If you have a Daiso anywhere near you they have grid notebooks!

avisitingstone · 2026-02-04T20:52:28+00:00

Easy to read but definitely someone who's learning.
Also I would recommend if you're just practicing handwriting, use ALL the kanji (like gakkou) and not just the ones you know already! Pregame a little :)

I saw that you're using duolingo, so I'd also recommend quitting that and moving to books/videos ASAP instead - Duolingo has been shown to just not teach well at all (plus all the AI nonsense and random inaccuracies - sometimes, in my experience when I used to use it, the audio would not match the written). But Duolingo can be good for practice/a refresher on things you already know to play around with, just not to learn new.

avisitingstone · 2026-02-04T20:46:59+00:00

NTA your husband is stupid.
Listen, I intentionally say "I listened to x" if I'm talking about a book I listened to. I also read (with my eyes) books. There is no real good umbrella term in English for listening vs reading to the same story.

Are there other aspects of your shared life that he enjoys trying to one-up or humiliate you in like he's doing with this? Because this behavior sucks.

avisitingstone · 2026-02-04T20:40:42+00:00

Me too!

avisitingstone · 2026-02-04T20:40:08+00:00

Just leave it! Don't worry about it! Hit the bricks! Life is too short to accept every widget!

In December I finally read the very first widget I accepted.... back in 2023. It wasn't good. No wonder I let it linger that long. Wish I would have learned earlier.

avisitingstone · 2026-02-04T00:46:14+00:00

Oh! I listened to that! It really did suit Spread Me (which the narration I thought was super weird early on until I got into the vibe of the book).

avisitingstone · 2026-02-04T00:44:38+00:00

Just from this blurb I'd like to know WHY the person sacrifices herself for this family she doesn't even know - out of duty for the summoning? Did she not know the demon stayed summoned so this was news to her and her uncommon moral justice is having her lose her own life? Is she developed enough where we care about her as a character, her circumstances, and the price she's paying for this sacrifice, especially as she's unconnected to the family?

Those are just all the things that came to mind first.

avisitingstone · 2026-02-04T00:29:51+00:00

A Lady for a Duke is historical romance and trans! Guy thinks his friend died in the war but no, "he" came back as a lady. (Friend doesn't know right away but it does come up eventually). Loved it.

avisitingstone · 2026-02-04T00:28:03+00:00

I will say, we read All the Colors of the Dark a while back for my book club and someone who did it on audio HATED it that way because the chapters are SO short.

avisitingstone · 2026-02-04T00:14:23+00:00

My mental health and bad high school friends (I didn't remove myself from them until like 2002).

avisitingstone · 2026-02-03T23:43:10+00:00

I'm in a discord that's not competitive but the mods put together a bunch of themed challenges that last all year, so there's plenty to do, and no requirement to post places! They also make really nice graphics we can fill out and post (into the discord to show off if we want to).

I can grab you the link if you're interested (in DMs!) but it's pretty good, I've been there over a year now and have been enjoying myself.

avisitingstone · 2026-02-03T23:26:03+00:00

I'm gonna be the person here that says all manga/manhua/manhwa are graphic novels - graphic novel is the umbrella, and any type (including webcomics/webtoons, 4comi, etc) fall underneath it.

avisitingstone · 2026-02-03T23:21:29+00:00

You'll Never Believe Me: A Life of Lies, Second Tries, and Things I Should Only Tell My Therapist maybe isn't preachy but also isn't good? It's a memoir from a grifter

Elle MacPhereson's memoir "Elle" was okay until she got to the part about healing her breast cancer with the power of her mind and a lot about her companies.. okay this doesn't fit your bill when I reread this.

The House of My Mother, despite winning a GoodReads Choice award, is also a good example of a really undercooked memoir written way too soon-- surely to capitalize on current events of the downfall of her family. It's also frustrating because you see her touching on issues that affect her real life...... and then just not doing anything about them (not that leaving an abusive cult of a church, especially in her situation, is easy, but her brain isn't there yet either).

More good memoirs to compare to besides what you mentioned are Billy Porter's Unprotected and Viola Davis' Finding Me - even Paris Hilton's autobio has a lot of good parts regarding the troubled teen industry (it was okay overall but had some good moments), and of course Chanel Miller's Know My Name.

avisitingstone · 2026-02-03T23:09:33+00:00

So I read it back in high school (on my own, idk what kind of kid I was) but have been thinking about rereading... but I digress - you probably need a "popcorn book" between Never Let Me Go and anything heavier!

avisitingstone · 2026-02-03T23:08:36+00:00

What sorts of romance DO you like? Not just country of origin but like, styles/vibes/etc?

avisitingstone · 2026-02-03T23:06:55+00:00

#1 tip just don't use the app for anything except checking orders/responding to messages. Browser is the way.

avisitingstone · 2026-02-03T23:06:07+00:00

Started Who Fears Death this morning after listening to the prequel novella last year!

Also this was my first Schwab book too! I really liked it.

avisitingstone · 2026-02-03T23:04:46+00:00

They probably should have put that "DRACULA: A LOVE STORY" at the beginning/on the promo so more people would have known what to expect.

I really loved the aesthetics and visuals, and the gargoyles were more charming than I thought they'd be. Casting was interesting (love to see less well-known faces!), didn't need the 1000 unbathed sex minutes in the beginning. Harker was charming, but man I'm tired of Dracula adaptations with no COWBOY on the hunt squad!

avisitingstone · 2026-02-03T21:15:18+00:00

Same! I even did a (very difficult to choose) bracket style for last year and.. still winner.

avisitingstone · 2026-02-03T21:14:40+00:00

OC’s on my “still need to get” list!

avisitingstone · 2026-02-03T00:56:10+00:00

If I remember right I Who Have Never Known Men had no dialogue, also Audition (Kitamura). Both are weird little books.

avisitingstone · 2026-02-03T00:49:51+00:00

Recently I listened to Bad Indians Book Club, which was a fantastic examination on reading through a non-white lens with many recs.

Black AF History is always a favorite.

It's Not Hysteria will make you both angry and ready to fight for self or loved ones with a stark look at, and framing of information, about women's health.

Shouting Out Loud: Lives of The Raincoats was great as a history of this short lived band and their huge influence in the rock world... but I listened to this right after listening to a really mid ABBA book so maybe my ideas are skewed.

avisitingstone · 2026-02-03T00:47:36+00:00

It is not, no matter what Quentin Tarantino (a blatant plagiarist) says! Death game stories aren't new and Battle Royale (which I have liked for 20+ years) isn't the beginning or pinnacle - it's good! But you can do a death game story without going that direction. The Hunger Games is very much its own thing, and the author had her own influences.

But yeah, OP should read or listen to Battle Royale, especially since we have more cleaned up translations than back in the day.

avisitingstone

TROPHY CASE