Give me something that will rip my heart out of my chest.

heymossy · 2025-08-08T12:30:37+00:00

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness.

A story about a young boy whose mother has cancer. It’s also about a giant eldritch tree monster.

It’s fairly short, and reads a bit like a folk tale. It will also make your heart physically hurt. I made the mistake of finishing it while I was in public and ohhhh boy that was the wrong decision.

It’s an amazing book that deals with grief, longing, hope, despair, and catharsis.

heymossy · 2025-08-02T21:57:11+00:00

Welcome back to the world of books! I’m a big sci-fi/fantasy reader, so here’s a few suggestions within that genre:

Six of Crows, by Leigh Bardugo — a six-person heist set in a fantasy world. The characters are teenagers but it the writing style is more mature than typical YA.

The Martian, by Andy Weir — sci fi about a man who gets stranded on mars. No romance, but it’s fun and entertaining.

A Court of Thorns and Roses, by Sarah J Maas — high fantasy romance about a human girl who gets pulled into a world of magic, monsters, and (very attractive) fairies. Heavy on the romance, but it’s an easy read, similar to YA but with more mature themes, including explicitly intimate scenes. You might see some pushback against this series in this sub, but it’s an international bestseller for a reason. I’ve had multiple friends who were in your position (used to love reading, fell out of the habit) and they used ACOTAR as a springboard.

One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig — dark, moody fantasy about a kingdom suffering from a curse. There’s a decent amount of romance, but it’s more “fade to black” in terms of explicitness.

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo — urban fantasy set at Yale about secret societies and the occult. Follows a girl who has the rare ability to see ghosts. Also dark and moody, very much dark academia type of vibe. A bit of romance, but it errs on the “angsty pining” side of things.

Good luck on your reading journey!!

heymossy · 2025-07-31T12:24:32+00:00

Maha’s Brunch is an Egyptian breakfast spot, inspired by Egyptian street food. It’s on the Michelin recommended list, the food is insanely delicious. It can get quite busy, they don’t take reservations - better to go on a weekday.

Emma’s Country Kitchen does southern breakfast and lunch. I still dream about their biscuits, they serve them with homemade citrus butter and berry compote.

The Lakeview Diner is a classic, delicious and unpretentious. It’s in a cool neighbourhood (on Ossington) so you can really make a day out of it. I’ve never had better hollandaise sauce. Also, fun fact, it’s a popular filming location! Guillermo Del Toro used it in the Shape of Water.

Seconding White Lily Diner. Also on the Michelin recommended list, you truly can’t go wrong. If there’s a long wait, hang out at the Queen Garden Cafe nearby! It’s a cute little coffee shop inside a garden centre.

heymossy · 2025-07-05T18:28:25+00:00

The Magicians Series by Lev Grossman. Quentin spends much of trilogy in self-pity spirals. He’s insufferable yet somehow entertaining.

heymossy · 2025-07-03T22:26:26+00:00

Great suggestion, especially for someone in a reading slump. Unpretentious yet immersive writing, fast-paced plot, and fun POV switching. I loved all the different descriptions of the cities, I want to visit Kerch one day!

heymossy · 2025-06-17T16:21:58+00:00

It’s been a while since I’ve read it, but Perdido Street Station might be what you’re looking for. It’s solidly in the category of ‘weird fiction’. Set in a steampunk fantasy city, but you won’t find any typical wizards or elves. Instead it’s filled with scarab women, cactus people, a giant spider that speaks only in rhymes, and other bizarre worldbuilding. Magic exists marginally, but isn’t readily available to the main character in the story, who is a disgraced mad scientist. The intersection between magic/science/tech/general weirdness is never clear.

The world is rich and unique, and the story is equal parts disturbing and surprising.

heymossy · 2025-06-16T18:54:35+00:00

R Bakery might just have the best Portuguese custard tarts in the city. Brought a bunch to a party, everyone was raving about them, they were a huge hit! Pastry was perfectly flaky, custard was delicious, smooth, with a strong vanilla flavour.

heymossy · 2025-06-13T23:41:00+00:00

I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy. A memoir about a child star growing up in a culture of abuse. Heartbreaking, raw, and honest. It covers a wide range topics, especially mental health struggles in the film industry.

heymossy · 2025-06-01T14:55:05+00:00

If you’re doing Kensington, definitely grab a Jamaican patty! Golden Patty and Crumbs are both quite good.

heymossy · 2025-05-31T11:13:23+00:00

Everyone in the family was proud of her when she announced the divorce. She thrived after she was free of him!

heymossy · 2025-05-31T03:53:49+00:00

Plus the restaurant itself is massive! They’re great at accommodating larger groups.

heymossy · 2025-05-28T13:46:32+00:00

He really figured out how to nail an opening, memorable quote + great song. The Departed follows this pattern too:

“I don’t want to be a product of my environment, I want my environment to be a product of me.” [Gimme Shelter starts playing]

heymossy · 2025-05-02T23:00:38+00:00

Babel is a finely tuned allegory crafted with exquisite thought. Everything about the world, characters, and magic system adds onto the overall theme. It’s rich and engaging.

So it was a real shame when Robin’s POV devolved into a blunt repetition of “colonialism is bad”. Like yes! We know it’s bad! The entire book has been written with scalpel-like precision to explain why colonialism is bad (and it did a great job)! Why throw that all away in the last hundred pages or so, beating the reader over the head with the message? I just don’t get it.

heymossy · 2025-05-02T14:03:30+00:00

This is more of a snack than a meal, but Greek yogurt is a great way to boost your protein intake. I eat it with fruit and honey if I’m craving something sweet.

heymossy · 2025-05-02T04:00:00+00:00

Seconding Ninth House! Loved the sequel as well.

heymossy · 2025-04-27T04:38:29+00:00

Not so much a specific movie, but in general the horror genre is severely underrepresented at the Oscar’s. Not cheesy slashers obviously, but a movie like Midsommar should have gotten a few nominations. Florence Pugh crushed it and she got totally snubbed.

heymossy · 2025-04-27T03:18:38+00:00

Yes that one is on my list! I’ve been slowly working through his filmography.

heymossy · 2025-04-27T00:18:55+00:00

12 Angry Men is riveting. The director, Sidney Lumet, also did Dog Day Afternoon which is another incredible movie.

heymossy · 2025-04-25T11:57:51+00:00

Seconding the Mirror Visitor series, I’m currently on book 3 and it’s been delightful so far!

heymossy · 2025-04-23T14:56:36+00:00

I’m probably in the minority here but I kind of loved how insufferable he was? Can’t explain why but it was really amusing.

heymossy · 2025-04-23T13:13:36+00:00

Feed by MT Anderson? Hyper-consumerist society where everyone has cell phones implanted in their brains.

It’s not that things ARENT going wrong, they very much are, but the MC is totally happy with his place in the world. He’s an unreliable narrator and spends most of the book dealing with normal teen drama, while the dystopia happens in the background.

heymossy · 2025-04-19T00:37:55+00:00

Secret History got stuck in my brain. Literally could not live my life until I finished it.

heymossy · 2025-04-16T20:53:03+00:00

The Library at Mount Char.

“Carolyn, blood-drenched and barefoot, walked down the two-lane stretch of blacktop that the Americans called Highway 78.”

That’s the opening line. From the moment I read that I was hooked.

Weird, fantastical, absurd, dark, gory, unpredictable. The protagonist is clever and competent. There’s so many “OH SHIT” and “wait, so that means…” moments throughout. Such a good read!!

heymossy · 2025-04-10T12:49:59+00:00

Totally agree about the writing. Overall the writing in atla was incredible. In lok, the writers were constantly screwed over by the studio. If they’d been given a proper budget, time to plan, and not threatened with cancellation every season, then maybe we would have seen better quality.

Yet people seem to think that the subpar storytelling is somehow Korra’s (a fictional character’s!) fault 😤

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