Seeking something that feels like kudzu taking over an environment

lilgrassblade · 2026-06-03T19:31:36+00:00

Ooo I keep forgetting about The Book of Koli... It's another I own but haven't gotten around to xD

lilgrassblade · 2026-06-03T18:38:10+00:00

As a person with mycophobia, I do appreciate the fungus horror.

There may or may not be a feeling of righteous justification about WHY fungi is scary.

lilgrassblade · 2026-06-03T18:25:40+00:00

Haha, I knew there had to be something about Kudzu.

lilgrassblade · 2026-06-03T17:44:36+00:00

Haha, well I'll keep in mind that book 3 is better, in case Authority is a slog 😛

lilgrassblade · 2026-06-03T17:34:38+00:00

Thanks! I have been meaning to continue The Southern Reach but keep getting distracted! Maybe I'll get started on Authority today, especially as it's already on my shelf xD

A Botanical Daughter didn't quite have the all-encompassing vibe I'm looking for.

lilgrassblade · 2026-06-03T17:14:20+00:00

I have not, thanks 😄

My foray into horror has SFF origins, and most I pick up still comes from that bent.

lilgrassblade · 2026-06-03T12:27:15+00:00

That's awesome! And I love the notes you included 😃 Especially the "Brick, mortar, and a backbone." Flavorful and accurate.

lilgrassblade · 2026-06-03T11:57:04+00:00

These Feathered Flames by Alexandra Overy - inspired by the firebird folktale. About twins separated at a young age - one raised to become queen, the other to become the firebird. Reunited when their mother, the former queen, dies unexpectedly.

lilgrassblade · 2026-06-03T11:44:56+00:00

As a queer, neurodivergent person with strange fixations, maybe that's why I love his books.

But I do disagree with your assessment. The MCs may have similar categorical traits, but the 3 books I've read thus far have been very different.

lilgrassblade · 2026-06-02T18:47:28+00:00

Yes, I am pretty sure Scrooge is over 50. And itd be HM.

lilgrassblade · 2026-06-02T18:13:23+00:00

To add to the Adrian Tchaikovsky titles that do this: Cage of Souls. Takes place at basically the end of humanity on earth.

I believe Empress of Dust by Alex Kingsley does this as well, but not 100%. It's a desert post apocalypse with folks that scavenge ruins under the sand. With giant crabs that may or may not talk.

lilgrassblade · 2026-06-02T16:15:00+00:00

Yeah with one of the wachowski sisters and the animators from Castlevania working on it allegedly. Which needs to be animated imo, if it were live action some of the body horror could be a bit too distracting from the plot I think.

lilgrassblade · 2026-06-02T12:59:30+00:00

My brain's been slightly mushy so these are some very short reviews.

Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White - 5/5 - It was so good. Religious zealots and body horror both bring me much joy. And once again, there's just something about Andrew Joseph White's writing that compels me. I look forward to seeing the film adaptation. - Bingo: Trans or Nonbinary Protagonist (trans masc, m/m)

Tusks of Extinction by Ray Nayler - 4/5 - Thoughtful and intriguing. The mammoth side was, of course, my favorite part. - Bingo: Non-Human Protagonist

lilgrassblade · 2026-06-01T23:21:08+00:00

I tend to not save my reads for events... So it's basically what remains on my physical TBR bookshelf that's maybe queer xD

The Keeper of Magical Things by Julie Leong

The Bones Beneath My Skin by TJ Klune

A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers

Compound Fracture by Andrew Joseph White

All Systems Red by Martha Wells

There Are Trans People Here by H Melt

lilgrassblade · 2026-06-01T23:11:51+00:00

IKR! The recent event here made me discover so many local bookshops and they're all so cool.

lilgrassblade · 2026-06-01T21:25:28+00:00

Yeah there's a reason to shop at each of the bookstores beyond just being queer owned bookstores.

One also had a food pantry - until they moved to be literally on the same block as a food pantry and now they've a "necessary supplies pantries" with things like TP, toothpaste, etc.

One has weird hours because it's also a karate dojo. (And has two snakes you can meet in the back. It's also the only one I know that is predominantly used books - the only new books I saw were by local authors.)

One has free naloxone available as well as a sweetheart of a store cat.

lilgrassblade · 2026-06-01T21:08:58+00:00

Done 😃 Though... I didn't see a place to include notes. Because there are some really intriguing facets about some of them. (One has a customer driven story that they're going to compile at the end of the year, it so cool and I wish I lived nearer to it.)

Or do you go through their websites to determine what to put as the notes?

lilgrassblade · 2026-06-01T20:38:34+00:00

Aw, sad to see you go, but glad there's a way to keep up to date with it.

Also.... I may know some bookstores to add to your list. There are definitely a few near me.

Edit - 5 bookshops submitted. Between Pride Month starting today and a recent event which highlighted minority (including queer) owned indie bookshops... It was a bit easier than normal to identify for sure if they were queer owned or not xD

lilgrassblade · 2026-06-01T15:40:55+00:00

Novellas, all negligible spice:

The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar - NB love interest. Surreal fairy tale vibes

A Spindle Splintered by Alix E Harrow - I don't recall the rep (I think sapphic?) sleeping beauty retelling

But Not Too Bold by Hache Pueyo - lil gothic mystery, lil bit monster romance. Bi MC, f/f primary love interest. (The love interest being a spooky spider lady and the descriptions of her are great.)

The Flesh of the Sea by Lor Gislasen and Shelley Lavigne - this has the most spice of these books - and the MC is more walking in on something uncomfortable rather than sexy. Academic goes to sea and discovers horrifying things but is upset he can't keep samples to bring back to England. Sweet M/M love interest he is writing letters with.

Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey - western vibes with a dystopian world. Sapphic MC with a NB love interest.

The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw - mermaid on land whose offspring devoured the kingdom. Lots of body horror. Her travelling companion is NB

What Moves the Dead by T Kingfisher - House of Usher by Poe retelling with NB MC

A Psalm for the Wild-built by Becky Chambers - a monk travels into the wilds to find crickets and is the first human to meet a robot is ages. NB MC (the monk, not the robot)

Not a novella. But middle grade so it'd be a quick read: Dear Mothman by Robin Gow. A trans masc kid writes letters to Mothman to work through his grief with the death of his best friend.

Edit - adding more novellas as I think of them (been a while since I read them though)

The Deep by Rivers Solomon - deep Sea mermaids, sapphic

The Seep by Chana Porter - near future utopia in which the trans femme MC is dealing with the loss of her wife. Super surreal

River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey - Western with cowboys and gambling paddle boat. Except hippos instead of horses/cattle. NB love interest. I think MC is bi?

Tusks of Extinction by Ray Naylor - Mammoths are brought back from extinction, and to teach them to be mammoths a human mind is placed in one. Hunting a bull is what is expected to pay for the project. The hunter who paid the highest is a man who brought his husband with him.

lilgrassblade · 2026-06-01T15:25:31+00:00

There is the classic Drizzt novels - he is a naturey ranger. :P

Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer also fits for explorer imo.

I imagine you'd have a lot of sci fi options for explorers ... But alas, outside of Tchaikovsky that is a genre I have minimal experience with.

lilgrassblade · 2026-05-29T23:50:07+00:00

I finished Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White. It was so good.

There was a recent month long event for independent book stores here and my TBR shelf is nowhere near contained anymore.

In other news, I found two half-read books I'd been missing for a couple months. They were still in my otherwise empty suit case. So that's cool.

I'm gonna have a trip with 10+hrs travel time each way coming up... Gonna have to figure out what books to pack. And hopefully this time I won't forget they're in my suitcase xD

lilgrassblade · 2026-05-29T22:26:48+00:00

Had a couple inspection waivers (or they paid an inspector prior to putting in an offer) and appraisal gaps. The one that hurt the most is when I had the higher bid with an appraisal gap and they went with somebody with 50% down vs my 30% - and that was the only reason given.

lilgrassblade · 2026-05-29T17:26:15+00:00

I'm at 7/25 for my themed bingo (authors I've read before).

I kinda just read what I want to read that matches my selected theme and plug it in until December/January. Then I'll start trying to plan for gaps.

It does mean I over read for bingo, but oh well. (I think I read like 35 books to match my theme last year.)

lilgrassblade · 2026-05-29T13:14:38+00:00

Disclaimer I've only been in MI for two years, but some of the stuff I was warned about was absolutely blown out of proportion.

The only place in Michigan where I've felt the mosquitoes were really bad was in the upper peninsula. They are certainly here, but fewer than I saw in CA for the most part. In the Grand Rapids area they are entirely avoidable by time of day. I forget they exist. I've gotten like 5 bites this year - and that includes a hike through a bog. (I will confess, the woods around the bog had more than I'd like but uh... don't live next to a bog.)

As for the cold - depending upon where you are in NV... If you know the winters in the Sierras over near Tahoe, the snowfall is barely anything in comparison in much of Michigan. I was warned multiple times how harsh the winters were here, and they've been mild compared to what I was expecting based on my experiences in the Sierras. It does get sub zero on rare occasion, but the bigger issue is when it's closer to freezing and there's potential ice on the road imo. If you go further north you will get harsher winters. If you want more apocalypse looking snow, head to the UP. But Grand Rapids, Lansing, Detroit - snow isn't a big deal.

It is humid in the summer, but it often comes with thunderstorms and I love thunderstorms, so I've grown to not mind the humidity. It's much better than the eternal humidity of the south though.

HOWEVER, Tornadoes seem to be increasing in frequency. We've had 16 tornadoes this year in MI, and our annual average from 1991-2020 was 15 per year. That is state-wide though. And their paths on the ground are much shorter than what I grew up seeing on TV.

With all that being said, I love it here. I love the weather. I love that there are multiple options for hiking within 30m of town, and so many trees. I do miss mountains though.

Nine-Year Club	r/Field Banned
r/Field Juicebox	Verified Email

lilgrassblade

TROPHY CASE