#dolgorukov

'proper' epic/high fantasy:

the poppy war by rf kuang (check trigger warnings)

foundryside by robert jackson bennett

red sister by mark lawrence*

mistborn series by brandon sanderson*

the broken earth trilogy by nk jemisin

the priory of the orange tree by samantha shannon

fantastical/fairy tale/myth:

the bear and the nightingale by katherine arden

the binding by bridget collins

the mercies by kiran millwood hargrave

follow me to ground by sue rainsford

for the wolf by hannah whitten

all have interesting female characters with a lot of charm and depth!

Thank you! ♥ This is a funny question, because the answer changes often. I am most motivated to write in my diary when I'm feeling negative emotions -- which is something I want to change -- and thus, the majority of my entries are explorations of how I feel and why. Sometimes, I describe striking moments, even if those striking moments are just bumping into an old friend or seeing a funny bird while waiting for the bus. Sometimes, I describe my day, as a treat for my future self. Strangely, those are the entries that I find most interesting when I reread my diaries years later.

These days, when I have nothing to say, or can't find the energy to put my thoughts into words, I copy poetry into the pages. Sometimes, song lyrics. Even if I can't describe how I feel, I can leave a trace of something that moved me on a particular day.

Sometimes I make lists. Sometimes I reflect on what I'm reading. Sometimes I use my diary like a Twitter feed and write a few mostly-unintelligible sentences every hour. Sometimes I copy recipes or weird things I've overheard. Mostly, my diary is a mess.

My most recent diary entries include: a scoresheet from 2 games of Sushi Go; an excerpt from "Hunger" by Taylor Johnson and my commentary; my feelings about lunch with my coworker on Thursday; an excerpt from "From the Book of Time" by Mary Oliver and a note that I should send this to the person it reminds me of; a trial of my new ink (Pilot Iroshizuku Yama-budo); an overly detailed log of everything I did on July 15; and three separate entries about how I miss my dad, how I feel like I don't care enough about anything, and how I feel like I am never actually where I ought to be.