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moss-mylk

mossy or maya. but also the sweet prince snapdragon. šŸ›šŸŖ· lover of whimsy, clouds + the earth. of sunlight + shadows. of love + tomato. 26, they/them

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Cozy Fantasy
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My Taste
Echo North (Echo North, #1)
A Thousand Steps into Night
Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows, #2)
Magnolia, 木蘭
This Fatal Kiss
Reading...
All Woven With IvyReflections of Lilje DamselflyMad Sisters of EsiTiny Moons: A Year of Eating in ShanghaiEmily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales (Emily Wilde, #3)

moss-mylk commented on inkyfingers's update

inkyfingers wants to read...

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Dungeon Crawler Carl (Dungeon Crawler Carl, #1)

Dungeon Crawler Carl (Dungeon Crawler Carl, #1)

Matt Dinniman

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moss-mylk commented on sunnysunshine's review of Babel

14h
  • Babel
    sunnysunshine
    Oct 04, 2025
    4.5
    Enjoyment: 5.0Quality: 4.5Characters: 4.0Plot: 5.0
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    What does it take for one to forgo their proximity to empire to fight back against it? What elements of violence are essential to that fight? Where is the balance between violent revolution and political maneuvering? These questions are all explored in a historical fantasy where silver and the translations between languages serve as the main tool of empire.

    The not-so-good (aka my only critiques and possibly personal preferences rather than objective critique of the writing):

    The pacing, while intentional to distort the reader's perception of time as it reflects the experience of Robin, our main character, is overdone to the point that certain less exciting parts drag on while the excitement and action happens relatively quickly. While I do appreciate the time distortion I don't believe every sentence in the slow sections was necessary and so the slow pacing for me was overdone. I wanted more character development and just more time with the characters. I would have sacrificed some of the lectures on translation if it got me more Ramy, Victoire, and Robin interacting (and I LOVED the linguistic lectures.) Some of the times where characters are really dived into I did feel more often that I was being told who they were rather than shown as well.

    The amazing: This book isn't meant to teach you that colonialism is bad - it's pretty specific that everyone in the story already knows this - it's what conveniences one is willing to give up for this knowledge that Babel tackles, and what methods of fighting the injustice are considered valid or effective and how this distorts with what privileges one is accustomed to. This is explored through quite a few different intersections and what this means for different character relationships and decisions. One parallel with today's world is that many people by now know that their smartphones and other technologies are created unjustly and at the expense of the people whose countries we are exploiting for such conveniences. Yet we all still use our devices just as those who know there is injustice in Babel continue their translations and using their silver and separating themselves from the reality of empire. There is no clear answer to what balance between violence and political maneuvering must be struck, this is not an instruction manual to righting the wrongs of empire - it's a recognition that we must do -something- or we will remain in our complicity, shaking our heads and wringing our hands at injustice while believing that there's nothing we can really do as individuals. It's a reminder that this is the world we are in and if we do not take action to choose a side then we will inevitably side with the empire.

    This book isn't going to teach you anything about colonialism as a negative force that you don't already know - it's going to make the privileged readers in the imperial core uncomfortable with all they do know and how they move through the world despite this knowledge. It's a reminder that when we choose comfort and convenience in the face of a known injustice that we are serving the empire while we ignore its victims.

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  • moss-mylk commented on a post

    14h
  • The Last Hour Between Worlds (The Echo Archives, #1)
    Thoughts from 4% (page 16)

    ā€œIt's easy to fall into the wrong world.ā€

    This opener lures us into thinking slips between realities are casual mishaps, but I think it foreshadows the chaos of unintended consequences. It mirrors how small choices lead to vast shifts in life. Thought-provoking start. 🌌

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  • moss-mylk commented on cabeiro's update

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    moss-mylk commented on notbillnye's update

    moss-mylk commented on a post

    22h
  • Indian Inspired Stories?

    Hiiii, I am excited to read some of these books, but I was also wondering if anyone had Indian specific recs? I'm half Indian but raised in New Zealand so I don't really have a ton of connection to my culture and would love some recs to get a bit more connected :)

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  • moss-mylk commented on moss-mylk's update

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    moss-mylk commented on minsuni's review of Before the Coffee Gets Cold (Before the Coffee Gets Cold, #1)

    1d
  • Before the Coffee Gets Cold (Before the Coffee Gets Cold, #1)
    minsuni
    Oct 03, 2025
    3.0
    Enjoyment: 3.0Quality: 4.0Characters: 3.5Plot: 3.0
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    I mean, this was ok? Each story was interesting and emotional enough that it was enjoyable to read, but I also didn’t feel like it was anything that special that moved me or made me feel connected to the characters or story. The theme/lesson for each story also felt repetitive, with the ā€œMother and Childā€ being the most original and moving, where the characters all went to the past for the general same reason and learning the same lesson: don’t wait to say what you want because it might be too late.

    The way the women were narrated was a little yucky to me. They were jealous, childish, workaholics, with their soft skin and eyes that resembled the ones of a little girl, while the men were devoted to their work, romantic and caring and basically being praised for doing the bare minimum. The women changed their whole lives and did these grand gestures, while the men were just… there.

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  • moss-mylk commented on a post

    1d
  • A personal note + nonfic rec

    This year has been really tough in my personal life (although Pagebound has been a joy amidst the bs) and one of the things I've had to grapple with is my relationship to anger. As women, we're socialized to be understating, empathetic, and forgiving, often to our own detriment. Instead of feeling angry, many of us (myself very much included) tend to feel hurt or sad. I've found so much inspiration from women in literature who embrace their anger and act on it, even if it's in "unhinged" ways.

    My therapist asked me to read "The Dance of Anger: A Woman's Guide to Changing the Patterns of Intimate Relationships" and I HIGHLY recommend to anyone looking to tap into their anger and use it in healthy ways. Anger is such an important emotion to be in tune with; it lets us know when our boundaries have been crossed and when we're being treated unfairly.

    This quest means so much to me and really feels like a personal quest as well; I hope others find just as much inspiration from these books as I have.

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  • moss-mylk commented on a post

    1d
  • The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1)
    Rant

    I just saw a Goodreads review say that this book was too political and far too unrealistic and everyone was flat as cardboard. Tell me you didn't get the point without telling me you didn't get the point. That made me RAGE because you would've GOTTEN it if you'd had basic reading comprehension!

    Look, I get it if you didn't like the writing style, it's not a one size fits all, but you didn't like the book for ENTIRELY WRONG REASONS! A book being too political is the dumbest excuse for disliking a book that I've ever heard. And if you say it's "unrealistic"—look at our world now. Palestine, Congo, Syria, AND more. They don't have to be games like THG, but clearly, hundreds of thousands of children and innocents are dying. If you cannot see that, then society is doomed.

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  • moss-mylk commented on BunniLuxe's update

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    moss-mylk commented on kathytrithardt's update

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    moss-mylk commented on kittytornado's update

    kittytornado completed their yearly reading goal of 150 books!

    1d

    kittytornado's 2025 Reading Challenge

    150 of 150 read
    Spark of the Everflame (Kindred's Curse, #1)
    The Frozen River
    Direbound: A Dark Romantasy
    Sunrise on the Reaping (The Hunger Games, #0.5)
    Caught Up (Into Darkness #2)
    Assistant to the Villain (Assistant to the Villain, #1)
    Flock (The Ravenhood, #1)
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    moss-mylk commented on robyn00's review of Silver Under Nightfall (Reaper, #1)

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  • Silver Under Nightfall (Reaper, #1)
    robyn00
    Oct 03, 2025
    3.5
    Enjoyment: 3.5Quality: 4.0Characters: 4.5Plot: 3.0

    Cared a lot about the threesome, not so much about the main story Please more of the trio in the next book, thank you

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  • moss-mylk commented on MadHoney's review of Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries (Emily Wilde, #1)

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  • Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries (Emily Wilde, #1)
    MadHoney
    Oct 03, 2025
    4.0
    Enjoyment: 4.0Quality: 5.0Characters: 4.0Plot: 4.0
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    I liked this story so much more than I thought I would. I was a little iffy the first 20% but once creepy little Poe showed up I was sold. The banter in this story was great, they could tease each other but it didn’t seem mean. I also really liked the inclusion of the fairy stories, it really made it feel like she knew her field. I am looking forward to picking up the next book, I just need to figure out when I can fit it into my plan.

    Format: Audio + eBook

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  • moss-mylk commented on a post

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  • The Starless Sea
    Thoughts from 59% (page 336)

    My mind is all over the place and blown so far 🤯🤯🤯

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