Just curious, what's your reading routine like?

I recently got over a months-long reading slump and I've finally gotten back into the habit of reading every day. These days, I usually read during short work breaks, before bed and whenever I have extra time on the weekends. I also listen to audiobooks on my walks. Gotta make up for lost time 😆

What about everyone else? Do you squeeze in reading whenever you can or do you set aside a specific time for it?

“a brown carp cleared the final gate of the city’s dams and became a calico dragon.”

this is a really interesting story in chinese mythology!! the story goes that when yu the great was regulating the flow of rivers and watercourses, he cleaved apart the mountains with an axe, creating what's known today as the jinshaan gorge between shaanxi and shanxi, which is the narrowest part of the yellow river. but what he didn't know was that the carp in the yellow river were swept downwards with the new currents that were created, and were unable to return to their home upriver.

these carp then went to tushan jiao, the wife of yu the great, and begged her to help them; upon hearing their plea, she pointed out the breach in the gorge to them, and told them that if they could leap across the breach, they would transform into dragons and ascend into the heavens. as promised, those who succeeded turned into dragons, but those who didn't were marked with a black scar on their heads. that's how the story of 鲤跃龙门/鲤鱼跳龙门 / the carp leaping over the dragon gate became an idiom to describe rapid advances in one's career and/or accomplishments.

fun fact: in journey to the west, 龙肝凤胆 / dragon liver and phoenix gall is a popular dish at the jade emperor's many banquets. this is a dish that, in the real world, is usually made with carp 😂

edit: forgot to link the videos i found!! here's one of a swarm of carp trying to swim upriver, and another higher-quality video here of a single carp and the butterfly that pointed the way for it

So tomorrow is pride month, and I just wanted to ask: what are some queer books you‘ve read that you find incredibly underrrated?

(For me The Works of Vermin is a criminally underrated book)