Like it says on the tin.

And off course I have no idea what the world, or my world, would look like without them. But these came out (in my country) when I was about 13, and these were books my parents also liked. When a new book came out, my dad would put it on reserve. It would go on sale at 13.00, I was the first in line to read it, because I was the fastest reader (my dad second, my sister 3rd and my mom 4th).

We would sit on the spoilers like hot coals and wait for everyone to finish to geek oit about it. No other piece of media/fiction has ever done that.

It made me see my parents as people.

I'm sure had the HP books never been published, something else would have. But still, it's hard to hate the books for me.

[in bold font] What kind of gifts do you give? [Bold font ends]

I always give books. And I always ask for books. I think you should reward people sexually for getting you books. Don't send a thank-you note, repay them with sexual activity. If the book is rare or by your favorite author or one you didn't know about, reward them with the most perverted sex act you can think of. Otherwise, you can just make out.

The dream library, which would you borrow first?

Yiddish for Pirates by Gary Barwin - super Jewish historical fiction featuring the Spanish Inquisition, star-crossed lovers, and Caribbean piracy, as narrated by an African Grey parrot

The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin - New York City becomes self-aware and embodied in the minds of select, random people, is instantly attacked by Lovecraftian entity, starts with battle against tentacle monster that’s won with an umbrella and an antique taxi to give you some idea.

Eifelheim by Michael Flynn - alien first contact in medieval Germany, features quantum drives, the synchronicity of medieval philosophy and scientific knowledge, a battle against the town down the mountain, and the Black Death

Middlegame by Seanan McGuire - found family, telepathy, time travel, alchemy, deconstruction of portal fantasies, ancient Greek ideas about math, music, and the nature of the universe, and also a spin on Frankenstein

His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik - alternate Regency England where they have a dragon air force (but so does Napoleon). Continue the series to get international travel and the dragons unionizing to get their “human” rights.

Among Others by Jo Walton - epistolary boarding school coming of age novel that doubles as a classic SF rec list and also there are fairies and the MC can do magic

The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson - science fiction with super-advanced nanotech where everyone lives in gated community-countries based on Aesthetic™ and also there’s an orphan girl who gets a talking book (made by Neo-Victorians) that changes her life

Child of a Hidden Sea by A.M. Dellamonica - new adult portal fantasy about a nature photographer, with coming-of-age vibes, magic, a water world where almost everyone lives on tall ships, and ecological themes

never heard of | never read | want to read | terrible | boring | okay | good | great | a favorite

this is an EXTREMELY fun style to work in, and also

many of the most iconic romance novel covers you’re probably picturing when you think “classic painted romance novel cover” were produced by one prolific, masterful artist

Her name was Elaine Duillo, and she had a long and extremely productive career spanning from the mid 60’s to her retirement in 2003. She worked mainly in acrylics.

She did illustration work in other genres as well, but she really found her niche in romance novels. She pretty much redefined the aesthetic conventions of the genre, popularizing male models and male nudity and sexualizing men to cater to the female gaze in a way that simply wasn’t the norm before her work. You know Fabio? she’s the one who started using him as a model, and essentially launched his career. And honestly, just look at her work:

Chapter titles

Maps

Indexes of characters and places with pronunciations

Numbering books in a series on the spine