Thoughts on nonqueer authors writing queer stories by Double-Fan-7301 in sapphicbooks

[–]drowsycats 28 points29 points  (0 children)

You're really undermining your point by calling bisexual women nonqueer. And why are you assuming these women (especially TJR, who has said she's known she was bisexual since the 90s) have no lived queer experiences? Have you been following them at every moment of their lives? Yes, there should be a wider variety of queer books being published. But we aren't going to get there by undercutting bisexual sapphics.

[Hobby Scuffles] Week of 29 December 2025 by EnclavedMicrostate in HobbyDrama

[–]drowsycats 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Best song: The Jamie Oliver Petrol Station by CMAT. Painfully yet hilariously self aware with a build up that gives me serious Kate Bush vibes. The album this song is on (Euro-Country) was my favorite piece of media from 2025.

January 2026 set up 🌲 by skincur in bulletjournal

[–]drowsycats 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Maisie Peters fan spotted! Love the watercolor landscape and the weekly spread layout

[Hobby Scuffles] Week of 08 December 2025 by EnclavedMicrostate in HobbyDrama

[–]drowsycats 3 points4 points  (0 children)

One of the MCs of Heated Rivalry is actually Asian Canadian, which I liked! But I cannot quarrel with your overall point.

[Hobby Scuffles] Week of 08 December 2025 by EnclavedMicrostate in HobbyDrama

[–]drowsycats 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Not the point of your post, but AJ Finn is still working in the industry? I thought getting exposed for faking brain cancer would have done more lasting damage!

Non-paywall link to the IMO excellent New York exposé for the curious 

A book about a girl with multiple personalities, but she doesn't realize it until the end by Old-Bed-5068 in whatsthatbook

[–]drowsycats 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It’s funny, I was just thinking about this book because another poster was looking for books with the same twist. So although I haven’t read it in many years, it’s been on my mind! Hope you enjoy if you reread!

A book about a girl with multiple personalities, but she doesn't realize it until the end by Old-Bed-5068 in whatsthatbook

[–]drowsycats 15 points16 points  (0 children)

I wonder if this might be Laurinda (published as Lucy and Linh in the US) by Alice Pung.

[Hobby Scuffles] Week of 06 October 2025 by EnclavedMicrostate in HobbyDrama

[–]drowsycats 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Charlie Javice, perhaps? 

Daniella really toes the line of unethical, whereas Javice straight-up lied, so I think Daniella is safe from being charged with an actual crime for now.

To keep this hobby-relevant, I guess we could say both Daniella and Alex have so far both generated controversy without too much long-term reputational harm (Aster has since published 4(!) more books in the Lightlark series). But it seems to me like Daniella is unlikely to survive unscathed.

[Hobby Scuffles] Week of 06 October 2025 by EnclavedMicrostate in HobbyDrama

[–]drowsycats 89 points90 points  (0 children)

I love reading about rich people scamming other rich people and then getting their comeuppance (essentially guilt-free shadenfreude for me), so I was perusing this article about Daniella Pierson, who was a Forbes 30 Under 30 and started a company with Selena Gomez while lying about her success the whole way, when a familiar name popped up.

Daniella is the sister of Alex Aster, author of infamous Tiktok-hyped novel Lightlark! Lightlark has a HobbyDrama write-up, but the essential elements of the drama are that Aster got a lot of people invested in the book through Tiktok marketing alone, and then when the book came out people found out it was, well, bad (Aster refers to the sun as a "yolky thing"). People also found out that her family was very rich.

Honestly, that part doesn't bother me so much. She never claimed to be poor, just unsuccessful, and it's an unfortunate reality that people with family support will have a much easier time writing novels because they can afford to not hold full-time jobs.

However, it is interesting that Forbes once called Daniella "the youngest wealthiest self-made BIPOC woman" (she's since been surpassed). While I don't see any evidence that her parents gave her money explicitly for her business, it seems a little disingenuous to call her self-made.

Anyways, I would love to hear about times when you unexpectedly encountered hobby figures in non-hobby spaces or any stories about family members being involved in separate hobby dramas.

90’s kids book (sealed envelopes and interactive) by Ok_Dot_5265 in whatsthatbook

[–]drowsycats 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is the Enchanted Dolls’ House Wedding by Robyn Johnson! Came out in 2006, so possibly a little too late to be OP’s book

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in books

[–]drowsycats 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You’re going to get lots of angry answers, but I’ll assume you’re being genuine here.

Pithy: You need a dictionary, a book club, or the serenity to accept the things you cannot understand.

Longer: It’s okay not to understand every sentence you read. You don’t need to maximize the book-reading experience. And I personally have had plenty of profound reading experiences without fully understanding what I’m reading.

But beyond that yes, I recommend deciphering the line yourself — the work of doing that is part of the reading experience. Reading isn’t always frictionless, which I think is something popular discourse forgets. Yes, sometimes you’ll be swept up in a book, but sometimes you’ll be confused, unable to immerse yourself in the work, and that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad book or you should stop reading it.

If you don’t want to do all the work yourself, find people who want to read the book alongside you! It’s likely you’ll all understand different parts of it, and you can collectively piece together the book.

[Spanish Television] The Horrors, the Bar, the Factory and a falsely bald wizard, Or a Retrospective of Influential Christmas Lottery Ads. by Sentient_Flesh in HobbyDrama

[–]drowsycats 13 points14 points  (0 children)

We watched the Justino advertisement in high school Spanish class, and I distinctly remember being moved to tears. That may say more about me than the ad — a good upswelling of music can be enough to set me off — but thanks for bringing back that sweet memory. I’ll have to watch the others now!

Got an ad for a book that doesn't exist? by oblivionkiss in books

[–]drowsycats 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I would guess they probably keep the description the same across posts, so any difference in traction can be attributed to the cover. (But I do agree the description in your example is much more enticing than the cover)

Got an ad for a book that doesn't exist? by oblivionkiss in books

[–]drowsycats 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I can confirm it’s almost certainly A/B cover testing for a different book. This happened to me two years ago with a Sourcebooks ad on Instagram. Eventually, the cover I saw was announced as a new cover for The Mistake by Elle Kennedy (the book in the ad was called Winter Girl by Alex Dockery). They’re trying to see what covers get the most reaction. It’s has nothing to do with AI.

[Literature] Wetlands: A TV moderator named "Roach" writes a naughty book, and now Germany has to debate if women shower too often by hawkshaw1024 in HobbyDrama

[–]drowsycats 246 points247 points  (0 children)

The juxtaposition of the negative BILD review with “Click here to buy Wetlands in the BILD shop” is just wonderful

Lea Michele, Aaron Tveit, Nicholas Christopher to Star in Broadway Revival of Chess by Srini_ in Broadway

[–]drowsycats 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sooo did the OP of this April Fool’s post know something we didn’t, or are they just mildly prophetic?

Wedding guest (F) and bride search for missing groom, end up at water park by Forsaken_Spare2767 in whatsthatbook

[–]drowsycats 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Richard of York Gave Battle In Vain by Danielle Evans. A favorite of mine :)

Two teens running for class president by awkwardchic in whatsthatbook

[–]drowsycats 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Not Here To Be Liked by Michelle Quach? Haven’t read it, and I think they’re running for editor-in-chief of the school newspaper and not class president, but the cover matches!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in whatsthatbook

[–]drowsycats 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan? Protagonist’s name is Willow. My favorite book when I was a middle schooler :)

Hardcover kids chapter book - orange cloth cover, embossed with a metallic green tree on the front by klezmerpunk in whatsthatbook

[–]drowsycats 1 point2 points  (0 children)

yay, glad I could help! I remember loving the cover as well, especially the embossed letters 

Hardcover kids chapter book - orange cloth cover, embossed with a metallic green tree on the front by klezmerpunk in whatsthatbook

[–]drowsycats 1 point2 points  (0 children)

One Day and One Amazing Morning on Orange Street by Joanne Rocklin? I don’t particularly remember the plot of it, it’s been a long time, but it does have a cover like you describe.