alette

Fantasy & sci-fi sparked my love for reading, so I'll always have a soft spot for them. I'm a mood reader and genre-flexible—but nonfiction? Still my final boss.

1221 points

0% overlap

My Taste

Campfire Cooking in Another World with my Absurd Skill (MANGA) Volume 2

Reading...

The Only Grant-Writing Book You'll Ever Need

The Great Cleric (Light Novel): Volume 1

Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill: Volume 1

Astrology: Using the Wisdom of the Stars in Your Everyday Life

The Witches of Eileanan (The Witches of Eileanan, #1)

Smart Brevity: The Power of Saying More with Less

The Kamogawa Food Detectives (Kamogawa Food Detectives, #1)

alette commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum

V.LaRosa

Birthday Post Challenge

Oct 5th is my birthday. And I would love to do a small challenge.

Current read! Turn to page 105 The first quote you see on that page and comment it below!

alette commented on Silvana's update

Silvana earned a badge

16h

Level 2

100 points

alette commented on Rae_Jordan_Reads's update

Rae_Jordan_Reads earned a badge

Level 2

100 points

alette commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum

Pipsy

Edited

Story behind your username ✨

Hey, beautiful people 💫 After that post I made in the forum I felt so surprised to see so many people relate to my situation, and it was overwhelming (in the best way) to feel everyone's support and understanding. So I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who took the time to give me a little uplifting, it really made a difference.

This made me think that we really are a community of dear anonymous friends, who support each other through the love of books. Which led me to this thought: There are so many beautiful and original usernames... What's the story behind each one? (except for one_crazy_eliott, I think I understand the reason behind Mr. Crazy's username 🤭🤭🤭)

So, if you feel comfortable, share the story behind it. I think it will help bring us closer and keep everyone's anonymity anyway.

I'll start: The OGs know I started PB as fantasy.betareader but decided later to change my username to Pipsy to help me feel more connected here. This is a nickname my sister gave me when I was 3 or 4 years old, and it stuck until today. My whole family calls me by it, my friends, my teachers, my bosses, etc. Even on my passport, my signature says Pipsy. So that's basically my name 😊

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707

alette wants to read...

10h

Asian American Histories of the United States (ReVisioning History)

Catherine Ceniza Choy

An inclusive and landmark history, emphasizing how essential Asian American experiences are to any understanding of US history Original and expansive, Asian American Histories of the United States is a nearly 200-year history of Asian migration, labor, and community formation in the US. Reckoning with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the surge in anti-Asian hate and violence, award-winning historian Catherine Ceniza Choy presents an urgent social history of the fastest growing group of Americans. The book features the lived experiences and diverse voices of immigrants, refugees, US-born Asian Americans, multiracial Americans, and workers from industries spanning agriculture to healthcare. Despite significant Asian American breakthroughs in American politics, arts, and popular culture in the 21st century, a profound lack of understanding of Asian American history permeates American culture. Choy traces how anti-Asian violence and its intersection with misogyny and other forms of hatred, the erasure of Asian American experiences and contributions, and Asian American resistance to what has been omitted are prominent themes in Asian American history. This ambitious book is fundamental to understanding the American experience and its existential crises of the early 21st century.

alette started reading...

14h

Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations

Mira Jacob

Mira Jacob's touching, often humorous, and utterly unique graphic memoir takes readers on her journey as a first-generation American. At an increasingly fraught time for immigrants and their families, Good Talk delves into the difficult conversations about race, sex, love, and family that seem to be unavoidable these days. Inspired by her popular BuzzFeed piece "37 Difficult Questions from My Mixed-Raced Son," here are Jacob's responses to her six-year-old, Zakir, who asks if the new president hates brown boys like him; uncomfortable relationship advice from her parents, who came to the United States from India one month into their arranged marriage; and the imaginary therapy sessions she has with celebrities from Bill Murray to Madonna. Jacob also investigates her own past, from her memories of being the only non-white fifth grader to win a Daughters of the American Revolution essay contest to how it felt to be a brown-skinned New Yorker on 9/11. As earnest and moving as they are sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, these are the stories that have formed one American life.

alette finished a book

19h

The Otome Heroine's Fight for Survival: Volume 4

Harunohi Biyori

After bonding with a mythical coeurl and failing to kill Graves, Alia gets recruited by her old mentor Viro to join his party, the famed Rainbow Blade. Alia heads to the royal capital to take care of the necessary proceedings at the Adventurers’ Guild, and to meet with the rest of the party so they can prepare for their escorting the young royals of Claydale during a dungeon expedition. Knowing that Princess Elena is among them, Alia feels she has no choice but to go along with the plan. As usual, trouble follows Alia wherever she goes, and when she finds herself in a difficult situation, she reunites with an old ally...

alette wants to read...

21h

A Natural History of Dragons (The Memoirs of Lady Trent, #1)

Marie Brennan

You, dear reader, continue at your own risk. It is not for the faint of heart—no more so than the study of dragons itself. But such study offers rewards beyond compare: to stand in a dragon's presence, even for the briefest of moments—even at the risk of one's life—is a delight that, once experienced, can never be forgotten. . . . All the world, from Scirland to the farthest reaches of Eriga, know Isabella, Lady Trent, to be the world's preeminent dragon naturalist. She is the remarkable woman who brought the study of dragons out of the misty shadows of myth and misunderstanding into the clear light of modern science. But before she became the illustrious figure we know today, there was a bookish young woman whose passion for learning, natural history, and, yes, dragons defied the stifling conventions of her day. Here at last, in her own words, is the true story of a pioneering spirit who risked her reputation, her prospects, and her fragile flesh and bone to satisfy her scientific curiosity; of how she sought true love and happiness despite her lamentable eccentricities; and of her thrilling expedition to the perilous mountains of Vystrana, where she made the first of many historic discoveries that would change the world forever.

alette paused reading...

21h

The Spellshop

Sarah Beth Durst

The Spellshop is Sarah Beth Durst’s romantasy debut–a lush cottagecore tale full of stolen spellbooks, unexpected friendships, sweet jams, and even sweeter love. Kiela has always had trouble dealing with people. Thankfully, as a librarian at the Great Library of Alyssium, she and her assistant, Caz—a magically sentient spider plant—have spent the last decade sequestered among the empire’s most precious spellbooks, preserving their magic for the city’s elite. When a revolution begins and the library goes up in flames, she and Caz flee with all the spellbooks they can carry and head to a remote island Kiela never thought she’d see again: her childhood home. Taking refuge there, Kiela discovers, much to her dismay, a nosy—and very handsome—neighbor who can’t take a hint and keeps showing up day after day to make sure she’s fed and to help fix up her new home. In need of income, Kiela identifies something that even the bakery in town doesn’t have: jam. With the help of an old recipe book her parents left her and a bit of illegal magic, her cottage garden is soon covered in ripe berries. But magic can do more than make life a little sweeter, so Kiela risks the consequences of using unsanctioned spells and opens the island’s first-ever and much needed secret spellshop. Like a Hallmark rom-com full of mythical creatures and fueled by cinnamon rolls and magic, The Spellshop will heal your heart and feed your soul.

alette started reading...

22h

The Wind Weaver (Reign of Remnants, #1)

Julie Johnson

Magic and adventure swirl through this spellbinding romantasy where a young woman reignites the embers of an ancient prophecy, unleashing a storm that could save her realm or doom them all. Fear of maegic plagues war-torn Anwyvn. Halflings like Rhya Fleetwood are killed on sight. But Rhya’s execution is interrupted by an unexpected savior—one far more terrifying than her would-be killers. The mysterious and mercenary Commander Scythe. In the clutches of this new enemy, Rhya finds herself fighting for her life in the barren reaches of the Northlands. Yet the farther she gets from home, the more she learns that nothing is as it seems—not her fearsome captor, not the blight that ravages her dying realm, not even herself. For Rhya is no ordinary halfling. The strange birthmark on her chest and the wind she instinctively calls forth means she is a Remnant, one of four souls scattered across Anwyvn, fated to restore the balance of maegic…or die trying. But mastering the power inside her is only the beginning. Desire for the Commander—a man she can never trust, a man with plans of his own—burns just as fiercely as the tempests beating against her rib cage for release. Rhya must choose: smother the flames…or let them consume her.

alette DNF'd a book

22h

The Poppy War (The Poppy War, #1)

R.F. Kuang

When Rin aced the Keju — the Empire-wide test to find the most talented youth to learn at the Academies — it was a shock to everyone: to the test officials, who couldn’t believe a war orphan from Rooster Province could pass without cheating; to Rin’s guardians, who believed they’d finally be able to marry her off and further their criminal enterprise; and to Rin herself, who realized she was finally free of the servitude and despair that had made up her daily existence. That she got into Sinegard — the most elite military school in Nikan — was even more surprising. But surprises aren’t always good. Because being a dark-skinned peasant girl from the south is not an easy thing at Sinegard. Targeted from the outset by rival classmates for her color, poverty, and gender, Rin discovers she possesses a lethal, unearthly power — an aptitude for the nearly-mythical art of shamanism. Exploring the depths of her gift with the help of a seemingly insane teacher and psychoactive substances, Rin learns that gods long thought dead are very much alive — and that mastering control over those powers could mean more than just surviving school. For while the Nikara Empire is at peace, the Federation of Mugen still lurks across a narrow sea. The militarily advanced Federation occupied Nikan for decades after the First Poppy War, and only barely lost the continent in the Second. And while most of the people are complacent to go about their lives, a few are aware that a Third Poppy War is just a spark away. Rin’s shamanic powers may be the only way to save her people. But as she finds out more about the god that has chosen her, the vengeful Phoenix, she fears that winning the war may cost her humanity ... and that it may already be too late.

Post from the The Poppy War (The Poppy War, #1) forum

22h

alette

Edited

Thoughts from 57% (ch 14)

So, this is my 2nd time trying to read this book and I knew it going to be heavy but I think I might have hit my wall with this book. I really wanted to like it and I was enjoying the earlier part of the book, getting introduced to the characters and the world. But now it feels like a struggle listening to it and the plot feels like it isn't moving forward as much as I expected/would like. I gave it 2 shots so maybe it's just not for me. Alas to the dnf pile you go—maybe I'll try again in another few years.

alette commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum

23h

caroleecorne

How do you pick what book to read next when you don’t know which one to pick?

I’m curious, I always try to have at least 5 books to choose from for my next read but sometimes I don’t know which one to pick, how do you usually pick?

alette commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum

23h

lucepuce

Edited

an example why tracking books is so important

i've just read a whole blurb thinking all the while this looks interesting. I move to add it to my tbr, and... SURPRISE! I've read it already. 3 years ago apparently How could the blurb not even remind me of anything?? Even after seeing the evidence that I have read it, still nothing comes to mind lol This not even the only time that this has happened Please tell me I'm not the only one!

alette commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum

clubby

Edited

Finish a Book a Day Challenge (October 2025)

Hi Friends! Similar to what @one_crazy_eliott did last month with starting a book a day this month I'll be embarking on a challenge to finish a book every day of October! (Last year I ended up averaging about 179 pages a day I believe.) The rules for myself are simple:

Finish a book everyday of October. (I use the word 'book' lightly. What I generally mean is a published work of fiction or nonfiction. The shortest book on my list this year is 44 pages.)
All books must be started in October...can't use anything I started before then. (Books don't need to be started and finished all in one day. So long as I started reading them in October, they are fair game.) Time to see if this will be an annual occurrence or not! 😂

Goals: Read a book everyday of October! Attempt for an average of 185 pages a day.

October 1: The Chibok Girls by Helon Habila— 124 pgs October 2: A Desperate Road to Freedom by Karleen Bradford— 240 pgs October 3: A River in Darkness by Masaji Ishikawa-- 174 pgs October 4: Footsteps in the Snow by Carol Matas-- 185 pgs October 5: October 6: October 7: October 8: October 9: October 10: October 11: October 12: October 13: October 14: October 15: October 16: October 17: October 18: October 19: October 20: October 21: October 22: October 23: October 24: October 25: October 26: October 27: October 28: October 29: October 30: October 31:

Page total: 723 Average pages per day: 180

alette started reading...

The Only Grant-Writing Book You'll Ever Need

Ellen Karsh

From top experts in the field, the definitive guide to grant-writing Written by two expert authors who have won secured millions of dollars in government and foundation grants, The Only Grant-Writing Book You'll Ever Need is the classic book on grant seeking, providing a comprehensive, step-by-step guide for government, nonprofit, and individual grant seekers. Drawing on decades of experience in grant writing and professional development, Ellen Karsh and Arlen Sue Fox demystify the process of securing grants while offering indispensable advice from funders and recipients. This updated fifth edition

alette started reading...

Babel

R.F. Kuang

From award-winning author R. F. Kuang comes Babel, a historical fantasy epic that grapples with student revolutions, colonial resistance, and the use of language and translation as the dominating tool of the British Empire Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal. 1828. Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. There, he trains for years in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, all in preparation for the day he’ll enroll in Oxford University’s prestigious Royal Institute of Translation—also known as Babel. The tower and its students are the world's center for translation and, more importantly, magic. Silver-working—the art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation using enchanted silver bars—has made the British unparalleled in power, as the arcane craft serves the Empire's quest for colonization. For Robin, Oxford is a utopia dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. But knowledge obeys power, and as a Chinese boy raised in Britain, Robin realizes serving Babel means betraying his motherland. As his studies progress, Robin finds himself caught between Babel and the shadowy Hermes Society, an organization dedicated to stopping imperial expansion. When Britain pursues an unjust war with China over silver and opium, Robin must decide . . . Can powerful institutions be changed from within, or does revolution always require violence?

alette started reading...

Smart Brevity: The Power of Saying More with Less

Jim Vandehei