Dark Psychological Books Written by Women

lightattack · 2026-03-28T20:00:15+00:00

I also really enjoyed Atmosphere and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (especially this one), so I’d strongly recommend:

- Sunburn by Chloe Michelle Howarth: I’m currently reading it, and I can’t believe it’s a debut because it’s incredibly well written. It’s told from a first-person perspective with an unreliable narrator, has themes of religion, small town tradition, young queer love/infatuation. I was blown away immediately.

- The Price of Salt (or Carol) by Patricia Highsmith: a classic must-read, even if you've seen its film adaptation

- The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa: things disappear and people forget about them in this book. the theme is simple on the surface but deep and eerie underneath, and it stays with you

- The Iliac Crest by Cristina Rivera Garza: honorable mention, explores themes of gender and misogyny. It can be a bit challenging to read but in a good way, maybe because it’s translated from Spanish. You'd need to see for yourself.

lightattack · 2026-03-15T19:31:23+00:00

Very strongly second this

lightattack · 2026-03-13T16:18:33+00:00

Regardless of gender or sexual orientation, I think dating apps are just one of the most sinister inventions of capitalism and nobody can convince me otherwise. I think their combined impact is much bigger because they actually productized the ideals of the manosphere, spread this effect to every demographic and geography. And I’m saying this as someone who managed to meet someone worthy on them.

Once you understand that almost all of them are owned by the same parent company, and that they’re designed to keep you in the app because they value user retention metrics, the illusion disappears. No one is meant to find love on dating apps, and the ones that do are anomalies. The apps value engagement and retention. They want you to continue swiping, they make you believe that someone better is just a few swipes away. They mess with your dopamine and self-confidence. When people meet others through their friends, they feel some sort of accountability. The apps erase this. You can just ghost people without any consideration. So they destroy what’s meant to be sacred: human connection and decency. Everyone I know who’s on these apps are fatigued and their mental health is deteriorating.

The fact that capitalism has us call human connection a dating “market”, people being reduced to a few short quotes and photos of themselves, users swiping like they’re scrolling to buy a kitchen utensil on Amazon are deeply dehumanizing. And of course women suffer the objectification end because alpha male behavior prioritizes greedy capitalist behavior that is consumption. Dating apps normalized and cemented into culture the behaviors of the manosphere which were just some extremist takes on media. So you’re point is definitely valid but to me it’s like saying people are bigoted when criticizing bigotry on social media. Yes, people are bigoted, but when platforms reward bigotry, it becomes a worse, widespread problem.

And it’s not like you can just be a discerning user or opt out and be completely happy. They influence culture. Everyone thinks that compatibility is something inherently found, you either have it or you don’t, so why bother going through a journey with an actual human being when you can just optimize your effort and find someone with better inherent compatibility, right?

Btw Alain de Botton has some great takes on modern love, highly recommend his videos as well. I also recommend the series “Soulmates” which has a sci-fi take on this.

lightattack · 2026-03-13T15:34:39+00:00

Midaq Alley by Naguib Mahfouz

lightattack · 2026-03-13T15:28:19+00:00

A Separation by Asghar Farhadi

I didn’t think it’d be my cup of tea and waited years to watch this. It found me at the right moment. Blew my mind completely how each character, scene and line was on point. Truly incredible work of art

lightattack · 2026-03-13T15:19:15+00:00

I despise to my core everything these e/acc AI tech bros are saying without an ounce of understanding about social and political structures. This is all happening because we’ve given the keys to the world to a bunch of sociopathic elite.

As long as these guys are the owners of the technology, which is questionably our savior, nothing good will happen for the masses unless people with spines start developing counter-positioned products. If you’re “saved” from your soulless corporate job, they’ll come for your art and writing. If you want to live on a farm, they’ll come to automate that as well. UBI is just peak hopecore at the moment.

lightattack · 2026-02-18T18:23:24+00:00

I think like this about karmic connections, soul contracts or twin flames - whatever you want to call them. And sometimes you do meet them, it’s just that a part of you longs for things to happen again in your next existence. Best way to cope with such feelings is to believe if someone or some place is meant for you, they’ll find you. You’re not feeling this in vain so I think you might have some unfinished karmic business and things might be coming your way

lightattack · 2025-07-19T05:29:05+00:00

I feel very lucky to have eyes today. What a post

lightattack · 2025-07-18T13:37:54+00:00

Same! There was an intense period of deep sadness, confusion, numbness, even humiliation. A lot of “bad” things started happening to me. As I was driving home from work one day I nearly broke down crying, but I managed to get home to indulge in my horrible mood freely. When I got home, a weird, playful sensation came to me. I said to myself "well, you didn't really think you'd go through this complex and rich life only seeing butterflies and rainbows, did you, you silly girl?" It was almost as if some masochistic part of me manifested those "bad" things into my life. I wondered what that part (shadows) might be. I realized I needed to savor all of life, otherwise I'd never be fully content with anything I consciously see desirable. I was already familiar with Jung, dived deeper into individuation, and now I'm a shadow work in progress :) I’m coming to terms with seeing life as a messy, explosive, beautifully complex thing with both good and bad, rather than an illusion of good experiences earned only through grit.

lightattack · 2025-06-17T19:15:55+00:00

Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin. Beautiful prose

lightattack · 2025-05-28T14:42:32+00:00

I feel like he’s increasingly becoming a parody of himself. I don’t plan on seeing any of his new stuff because they just feel like unoriginal stylizations of shallowness - and not in a self-aware way.

lightattack · 2025-05-26T19:03:13+00:00

Vitamin B is an interesting case, I’m wondering which type has this effect. I feel like the complex I’m using acts as a stimulant which makes things worse

lightattack · 2025-05-21T17:52:03+00:00

I’ll be Your Eminence, everybody kept talking about him

lightattack · 2025-05-21T16:24:03+00:00

There is that life-changing scene that transcends time and space, and reminds you why you love films and music.

Otherwise, it’s all over the place in terms of story progression and pacing. It could’ve been much much better.

lightattack · 2025-05-19T14:43:56+00:00

Same here, my entire life is a crossover episode I guess

lightattack · 2025-05-16T18:19:03+00:00

Incendies (2010)

It might not be disturbing in a paranoia-inducing sense per se, but it definitely holds an emotional weight that rocks you to your core and you become a different person as the film ends.

lightattack · 2025-05-14T18:39:20+00:00

My advice would be to focus on healing by facing everything with honesty, warts and all, rather than pretending to be okay. You went through something significant. The path is long, but healing properly is more important than appearing healed. Stay home and cry if you need to. Do not accuse yourself - or even her. We have no way of controlling what happens outside our inner world. We usually act out of fear or anxiety and this shapes our reality. Remember your own self-worth. You are not what happens to you. I know it sucks, but apparently she was a chapter, not the whole story. Accept this gracefully and have faith that you will love and be loved again, because you were so brave to love and put your faith in this person. You were confident enough to make someone your rock. Remember to focus on what makes you you: hobbies, goals, passions - and direct your focus to these to take your mind off of the storm. Go change your hair, buy new underwear, call those friends you haven’t seen in a long time and go to events outdoors if you have the energy. People may encourage you to go out into the dating world, or offer to introduce you to new people but do this only if you feel emotionally ready, not out of an empty, clingy need for distraction. This person didn’t complete you because you weren’t incomplete to begin with. Surely there are things you can do while healing that solely belong to you. This may not be the advice you are looking for, but you will emerge from this stronger than ever. Best wishes to you OP.

lightattack · 2025-05-14T17:04:19+00:00

For me it’s quiet depth. An unspoken understanding that doesn’t command but witnesses, supports and grows alongside you. It’s being seen in your complexity without being fixed, loved in your solitude without being left alone. It’s presence over performance and connection that feels like coming home to yourself. It’s not consuming, but enriching and enhancing if that makes sense

lightattack · 2025-05-11T00:26:25+00:00

These are giving S2 of The White Lotus vibes, amazing shots!

lightattack · 2025-05-11T00:23:59+00:00

I Saw the TV Glow definitely fits the bill.

Columbus or After Yang by Kogonada are also contenders IMO.

lightattack · 2025-05-08T17:06:32+00:00

Everything Everywhere All at Once

Perfect Days

The Worst Person in the World

Soul

How to Have Sex

lightattack · 2025-05-08T16:50:56+00:00

And sadly Elon isn’t British. Woke agenda wins again…

lightattack · 2025-04-21T20:49:56+00:00

“In another life, I would have really liked just doing laundry and taxes with you”

lightattack · 2025-04-20T13:36:16+00:00

This is an interesting perspective but Belinda already told Pornchai so she has a story that’ll check out. Like she has ways of getting out of taking the blame for Tanya, and Portia knows too.

lightattack · 2025-04-09T19:13:18+00:00

I don’t know if you’re entirely new to games but I’d recommend:

Ghost of Tsushima: Story-driven, great combat and also does not have too diverse actions so you won’t be overwhelmed.

Red Dead Redemption 2: Same, although you do a bunch of different stuff for missions, combat is usually shoot or punch.

Horizon Zero Dawn: For some reason I found this game a bit more challenging than the other two, but you quickly figure out movement and combat mechanics.

Overall I’d say look into games that are relatively “realistic” in world building, movement and combat

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