dragonlord

adult | trying to read more books | not super picky about fiction genres but extremely picky about worldbuilding and characterisation | generous ratings because i like to like things

742 points

0% overlap

My Taste

Men Who Hate Women: From Incels to Pickup Artists: The Truth about Extreme Misogyny and How It Affects Us All

Reading...

50%

17%

23%

dragonlord TBR'd a book

The World After Rain: Anne's Poem

Canisia Lubrin

“How incandescent the language is, each line emitting light through the membrane of time and anticipated grief. The work has a rigorousness, the poet pushing through the ache of experience from the first to the last word.”—Dionne Brand In her signature epic vision, Canisia Lubrin distills a radiant elegy for her mother along an interwoven and unresolvable axis of astonishment, belonging as much to history as to today. Grief, tender and searing, is the channel through which the poet refracts the realm of contemporary life to reveal the blistering paradox of its private and public entanglements. This is poetry of haunting gravity and resonance, with meditations on love, time, and loss, at once meticulously far-seeing, interior, and inexpressible.woman from fine-print time, disclose to the the forecast of our noontime births outdoors; how I distrustevery form of authority, chiefly my own astonishment this poisoned wish is why I love, I bow to deserts,these claychildren of forests everywhere I love the rain, this is no secret, I love the solar wind; hold their elliptical life in the wasteland of our third mouths where flowers are invisible and bones are sanded and amusing,and every heliopause cloud senses our head, how we astonish our memories vining where no shade is enough,since many who’ll feed me will refuse me their names, and good, who knows what bargains I would makewith their meanings, more bundles of thyme . . . tournaments of family recipes with you at my question,

dragonlord TBR'd a book

Dante's Inferno: A new translation

Lorna Goodison

'Halfway tree. The journey of our life found me / there at midnight in a ramshackle state.' So begins Lorna Goodison's astonishing new translation of The Inferno by Dante, a poet she once described as 'uncompromising as an Old Testament prophet, stern as a Rastafarian elder'. This Jamaican Dante, a quarter-century in the making, is as much transformation as it is the poet's narrator, its Dante figure, is now guided through an underworld by Goodison's great Jamaican predecessor Louise Bennett, 'Miss Lou' in the book. Goodison draws on the entire continuum of Jamaican speech yet securely grounds the action in Dante's formal architecture, bringing an entire world to we encounter other poets, including Goodison's friend Derek Walcott, as well as Caribbean politicians, reggae innovators and other public figures. Here, she recreates the journey through the 'unpaved and rocky road' of Dante's Hell for a contemporary audience and attempts to do for Caribbean vernacular what Dante did for his Italian language in the fourteenth century – endow it with an entirely new vocal music and power.

dragonlord created a list

Caribbean book recs (Bocas Lit Fest 2026)

by dragonlord

15 books

These books were not chosen by me!! The Bocas Lit Fest is a Trinidad and Tobago based organisation that lifts up literary artists from the Caribbean. I wanted to have this list of books here instead of having to go back to their website when I wanted to reference it and thought that it may be useful to anyone looking for recent releases from Caribbean authors. The winners were: Fiction: Ibis Nonfiction: The Snag: A Mother, a Forest, and Wild Grief Poetry: The World After Rain: Anne’s Poems

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Fearless, Sleepless, Deathless: What Fungi Taught Me about Nourishment, Poison, Ecology, Hidden Histories, Zombies, and Black Survival (Great Circle Books)

dragonlord TBR'd a book

Ibis

Justin Haynes

A bold, witty, magical new voice in fiction, Justin Haynes weaves a cross-generational Caribbean story of migration, superstition, and a search for family in the novel Ibis. There is bad luck in New Felicity. The people of the small coastal village have taken in Milagros, an 11-year-old Venezuelan refugee, just as Trinidad’s government has begun cracking down on undocumented migrants—and now an American journalist has come to town asking questions. New Felicity’s superstitious fishermen fear the worst, certain they’ve brought bad luck on the village by killing a local witch who had herself murdered two villagers the year before. The town has been plagued since her death by alarming visits from her supernatural mother, as well as by a mysterious profusion of scarlet ibis birds. Now, skittish that the reporter’s story will bring down the wrath of the ministry of national security, the fishermen take things into their own hands. From there, we go backward and forward in time—from the town’s early days, when it was the site of a sugar plantation, to Milagros’s adulthood as she searches for her mother across the Americas. In between, through the voices of a chorus of narrators, we glimpse moments from various villagers’ lives, each one setting into motion events that will reverberate outwards across the novel and shape Milagros’s fate. With kinetic, absorbing language and a powerful sense of voice, Ibis meditates on the bond between mothers and daughters, both highlighting the migrant crisis that troubles the contemporary world and offering a moving exploration of how to square where we come from with who we become.

dragonlord made progress on...

Razorblade Tears

S.A. Cosby

50%

dragonlord TBR'd a book

Trad Wife: A Novel

Saratoga Schaefer

A ‘traditional wife’ influencer allows a demonic creature to impregnate her in this unnerving horror novel, perfect for fans of Nightbitch and Mary, from the author of Serial Killer Support Group. Every #tradwife needs a baby. She’ll get one at any cost.When Camille Deming isn’t cooking, cleaning, or homesteading in her picture-perfect country farmhouse, she’s posting about her tradwife lifestyle for her online followers. She takes inspiration from other tradwives on social media, aspiring to be like them, but Camille’s missing a key a baby. And contrary to what she posts online, things with her husband Graham have been strained. Pressured by her eager followers, Camille fears that without a baby, her relationship will suffer and her social media will never grow out of its infancy.When Camille discovers a mysterious, decrepit well in the wheatfield behind her house, she makes a wish for a baby. Afterwards, she has unsettling experiences that she convinces herself are angelic in nature, and when she’s visited one night by a strange creature, her wish comes true. Camille’s pregnancy announcement gets more engagement than anything she’s ever posted—so what if Graham’s reaction is lukewarm? Camille’s life is finally falling into place. Never mind that her pregnancy is developing freakishly rapidly and she’s suddenly craving raw meat. Being a traditional wife is worth it.Rosemary’s Baby for the digital age, this disturbing horror novel is one you’ll want to devour in just one bite.

dragonlord TBR'd a book

Maeve Fly

C.J. Leede

Winner of the Golden Poppy Octavia E. Butler Award! A Bram Stoker and Splatterpunk Award Nominee! One of Esquire's Best Horror Books of the Year! An Indie Next Pick! "This is gory and brutal and beautiful and painful and terrifying and a pure delight."—Stephen Graham Jones A provocative and unforgettable debut that is both a blood-soaked love letter to Los Angeles and a gleeful send-up to iconic horror villains, Maeve Fly will thrill fans of slashers and the macabre. By day, Maeve Fly works at the happiest place in the world as every child’s favorite ice princess. By the neon night glow of the Sunset Strip, Maeve haunts the dive bars with a drink in one hand and a book in the other, imitating her misanthropic literary heroes. But when Gideon Green - her best friend’s brother - moves to town, he awakens something dangerous within her, and the world she knows suddenly shifts beneath her feet. Untethered, Maeve ditches her discontented act and tries on a new persona. A bolder, bloodier one, inspired by the pages of American Psycho. Step aside Patrick Bateman, it’s Maeve’s turn with the knife. "An apocalyptic Anaheim Psycho." —Grady Hendrix, New York Times bestselling author of How to Sell a Haunted House

dragonlord commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum

11h

summerofgeorge

How do you treat your books?

Okay Boundlings, I fear this may get me kicked out of PB (jokes) but I have to know if anybody else here is a freak like me...

Does anybody else dog ear their books? Just your own physical copies, not a borrowed book! I have alwayssss just folded over the page I'm on for any book I own. When it's a borrowed book from a friend or library then I make sure I have bookmarks (even if it's just a receipt), but for my own.. down the corner goes. I find it really satisfying and I love to look back when I'm re-reading a book and see where I've paused previously. I find it comforting haha. I also believe that books should be loved and used, so I don't really care if I make a food stain (lol oops) or slightly rip a page or something. I also will break the spine of the book to make it easier to read. 😅 My cats growing up used to bite the side of my books, so a bunch of books I have from my youth have little teeth marks on them. When I look at them I just remember my little kitties and it makes me really happy!

To be clear I really value books! I've never been wealthy, so bought a lot of my books second hand or received them as gifts. When I lend them out I expect people to take care of them, but I also don't get mad if shit happens. Like once a friend left my book in her car with the window accidentally down and it got rained on and ruined, but I didn't mind. It was an accident!

I know most people are really really careful with their books, so I'm just curious if I'm alone in this.

Please other freaks, let yourselves be known (or not, nothing is gonna change me at this point haha) 💗

dragonlord commented on The_BookishBug's review of Fabulous Bodies

The_BookishBug

Apr 17, 2026

4.0

Enjoyment: 5.0Quality: 4.0Characters: 4.0Plot: 3.5

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👨‍🎤

Fabulous Bodies was an absolute blast to read. The sequins! The gore! The power of love! I think it's my favorite of Chuck Tingle's novels yet.

First, Poppy feels like a genuinely smart protagonist. Likable? Nope, but she's definitely funny. She knows what her goals are and knows how to achieve those ends, no matter who she inadvertently harms along the way. She's calculated and absolutely doesn't fuck around. And Eddie Michaels! He is such a classically flamboyant villain and I absolutely loved it.

I loved how gory this book got. I wasn't expecting such heavy slasher-movie vibes, but this book absolutely hit that tone. It was tense and exciting and I read parts through squinted eyes in absolute horror. I was really impressed with how well the tension was maintained through the violent joyride that this book follows. The pacing is solid and I was always eager to see what happened next.

I did feel like a small part of the plot wasn't wrapped up quite as well as I would have liked and some other plot points were left a bit vague. And while I loved Poppy as our protag, it never quite felt like her specifically being a fashion influencer was fully integrated into the character, she really could have been any kind of influencer. I also thought Noah was pretty underbaked, but Marlo was actually quite good! Child characters can often be precocious in a way that feels unrealistic, but Marlo was very grounded.

The ultimate message of the book is delivered in such a genuine and sweet way, and I really appreciated the little full-circle moment there. I got through this book in one night and enjoyed myself the whole way through. If you can handle some gore and believe love is real, trot on and give this book a go.

Thanks to Tor Publishing Group and NetGalley for the ARC.

dragonlord TBR'd a book

Fabulous Bodies

Chuck Tingle

From Chuck Tingle, USA Today bestselling author of Bury Your Gays, comes Fabulous Bodies, a supernatural joyride where Drive meets Beetlejuice. Fashion influencer by day and grave-robber by night, Poppy Stringer is on call when Eddie Michaels—a flamboyant, piano-slamming rockstar and queer icon—unexpectedly dies. All Poppy has to do is retrieve Eddie’s body from the medical examiner’s office, but what starts as a routine delivery quickly goes off course when Eddie wakes up. Poppy must fight for her life in a blood-soaked night of carnage and fabulous entertainment all across Palm Springs. Also by Chuck Lucky Day Bury Your Gays Camp Damascus Straight

dragonlord made progress on...

Razorblade Tears

S.A. Cosby

48%

dragonlord TBR'd a book

What a Nightmare

Rebekah Faubion

They called her a nightmare, so she became one.Haven Powers has spent years trying to disappear. Once a loud, troublemaking girl who defied every expectation in her small town of Friendship, Texas, now she’s learned to hide her fire behind a quiet receptionist’s smile. It’s safer that way—for her, and for everyone else.When an unsettling encounter with her predatory boss cracks open the tightly locked box inside her, Haven dreams a terrifying dream about him, only to wake up and discover it’s come true; he’s dead. Desperate to gain control of this deadly power once and for all, Haven returns home. Welcomed suspiciously with open arms, Haven is immediately met with the ghosts of her past. Under the suffocating pressure of the town and her family who believe obedience is next to godliness, Haven soon finds herself on a path to revenge. She’ll show them what happens when the girl they called too much, too loud, too everything, finally lets her demons loose.

dragonlord paused reading...

Dude, You're a Fag: Masculinity and Sexuality in High School

C.J. Pascoe

High school and the difficult terrain of sexuality and gender identity are brilliantly explored in this smart, incisive ethnography. Based on eighteen months of fieldwork in a racially diverse working-class high school, Dude, You're a Fag sheds new light on masculinity both as a field of meaning and as a set of social practices. C. J. Pascoe's unorthodox approach analyzes masculinity as not only a gendered process but also a sexual one. She demonstrates how the "specter of the fag" becomes a disciplinary mechanism for regulating heterosexual as well as homosexual boys and how the "fag discourse" is as much tied to gender as it is to sexuality.

dragonlord commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum

mimilovesreading

Intimate scenes are different from smut

Hello everyone! I recently came across a post that asked about how most marketed books as YA now include smut/spicy scenes. It got me thinking (again, I already had a discussion with my friends about it) how not all sex scenes are smut. Of course that if there are these kind of scenes written in YA books they should always put a warning in the beginning and the author should have in mind the fact that it will be teens reading these books. I also think parents should be open to answer questions the teens might have, and not make a fuss about it.

And now I want to ask you, what does, for you, mean smut and what differentiates it from intimate scenes?

dragonlord commented on a post

Flyingsaucer

Thoughts from 57%

spoilers

View spoiler

dragonlord TBR'd a book

Let This Radicalize You: Organizing and the Revolution of Reciprocal Care (Abolitionist Papers)

Kelly Hayes

What fuels and sustains activism and organizing when it feels like our worlds are collapsing? Doing Justice is a practical and imaginative resource for activists and organizers building power in an era of destabilization and catastrophe. Longtime organizers and movement educators Mariame Kaba and Kelly Hayes examine some of the political lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the convergence of mass protest and mass formations of mutual aid, and consider what this confluence of power can teach us about a future that will require mass acts of care, rescue and defense, in the face of both state violence and environmental disaster. The book is an assemblage of co-authored reflections, interviews and questions that are intended to aid and empower activists and organizers as they attempt to map their own journeys through the work of justice-making. It includes insights from a spectrum of experienced organizers, including Sharon Lungo, Carlos Saavedra, Ejeris Dixon, Barbara Ransby, and Ruth Wilson Gilmore about some of the difficult and joyous lessons they have learned in their work.

dragonlord TBR'd a book

Hijab Butch Blues

Lamya H.

A queer hijabi Muslim immigrant survives her coming-of-age by drawing strength and hope from stories in the Quran in this daring, provocative, and radically hopeful memoir. When fourteen-year-old Lamya H realizes she has a crush on her teacher--her female teacher--she covers up her attraction, an attraction she can't yet name, by playing up her roles as overachiever and class clown. Born in South Asia, she moved to the Middle East at a young age and has spent years feeling out of place, like her own desires and dreams don't matter, and it's easier to hide in plain sight. To disappear. But one day in Quran class, she reads a passage about Maryam that changes everything: when Maryam learned that she was pregnant, she insisted no man had touched her. Could Maryam, uninterested in men, be . . . like Lamya? From that moment on, Lamya makes sense of her struggles and triumphs by comparing her experiences with some of the most famous stories in the Quran. She juxtaposes her coming out with Musa liberating his people from the pharoah; asks if Allah, who is neither male nor female, might instead be nonbinary; and, drawing on the faith and hope Nuh needed to construct his ark, begins to build a life of her own--ultimately finding that the answer to her lifelong quest for community and belonging lies in owning her identity as a queer, devout Muslim immigrant. This searingly intimate memoir in essays, spanning Lamya's childhood to her arrival in the United States for college through early-adult life in New York City, tells a universal story of courage, trust, and love, celebrating what it means to be a seeker and an architect of one's own life.

dragonlord TBR'd a book

The Thursday Murder Club (Thursday Murder Club, #1)

Richard Osman

Alternate cover edition of ASIN B07S5D5TH7 In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet up once a week to investigate unsolved murders. But when a brutal killing takes place on their very doorstep, the Thursday Murder Club find themselves in the middle of their first live case. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron might be pushing eighty but they still have a few tricks up their sleeves. Can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer before it's too late?

dragonlord commented on a post

antari.reads

Edited

🎧 | Thoughts from 24%

I've been listening to the audiobook while I'm doing other things and I'm not sure how I feel about the world-building.

I feel like I'm missing a few puzzle pieces, honestly, but that's just me. I'm not saying I'm not enjoying it but I just feel like I'm missing things from the world-building.

dragonlord commented on a post

dragonlord

Thoughts from 39% (page 187)

Currently beefing with my sister who pointed out to me how often the dialogue in this book is written as "Ike said... Buddy said... Ike said." I was already not liking this book and now there's just another thing peeving me about it. I feel like I need to make this everyone else's problem.

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