Tell Me I'm A Freak (Reddit Bookish Edition) + 3 Witchy Books I'm Loving
I'm an internet 'normie' as the kids say (whose tho? who are these kids?). I'm told the internet gets really, really weird when you start scratching beyond the thumbnail-deep varnish level, so I try to avoid digging into it much. My internet use can be summed up this way:
- This newsletter
- Bookstagram (i.e., waving books around, talking about them, posting cozy pictures of those books next to teapots)
- Things Bookstagram sells me
- The deeply painful and depressing major news cycle
- To find actual information I want to or need to know for work, writing, or my personal life
On that last bullet: because I loathe how "AI" is being used right now, and I like to make Google mad, one non-normie internet hack I've learned is to add "Reddit" (and also now "-ai") to the end of every Google search.
Reddit--which is where extremely weird people go to hang out on the internet--actually does have a lot of really helpful information. I'd say it seems maximized to crowdsource great "best of" tips, and, to my surprise, seems to have good advice on a bevy of interesting topics.
I do have a point, bear with me a bit longer.
Here's how I've applied this Googling strategy:
- How to know if I can still save a dying plant? Reddit -ai
- Can I grow peanuts in my state? Reddit -ai
- Best writing residencies Reddit -ai
- Best cheap Korean skincare Reddit -ai
- Is Goodwill really a scam? Reddit -ai
Because Reddit has delivered in these instances, I've lingered there more in the last few months. I created an account and tried to focus it on plants and bookish things (the only stuff I really like).
But then I found this:
Here's the description:
Perhaps this description sounds innocuous to you, but what I've realized is that, like many situations involving the internet, in practice things get very bizarre.
Users post photographs of their bookshelves and in the captions they are like:
- Recent reads I enjoyed (looking for judgment and recs)
- Diagnose me!
- OK, Analyze my personality please
- I'm curious what my vibe is?
- Tell me what kind of person I am.
Basically: this is like the book equivalent of "Am I hot or not?" or "Rate Me" and boy does internet culture deliver in comments to these posts.
Some users comment in total earnesty, and it's honestly pretty cringe.
Some deliver with snark and bad one-liners ("well looks like somebody loves Chicago yuckayuckayuck").
Some are just mean as hell, holy cow (i.e., "It means your dad hates you" or "It means you've never felt the touch of a woman" or "It means you're ugly and fat").
Um, OK...
I totally get posting photos of your bookshelves on social media (I do this), but I don't understand why a person would go online and specifically solicit judgment from strangers about what kind of human being they are.
Everyone gets enough weirdness, hate, and judgment from the internet, why actively seek it? It seems wholly masochistic to REQUEST that strangers on the internet provide unvarnished commentary on what "type" of dude you appear to be (I noticed a lot of the OPs are dudes, though this is not exclusively true). And like, what the hell makes them an expert on judging people anyway?
What does this say about us as humans on a more collective level, that we seek this type of negative attention? Well according to the psychologist cited in this article about "Rate Me" sites, it's natural for human beings to seek validation from others on their overall fitness. To no surprise, women get picked apart much more than men, and when kids do it (yes...kids do it, like kids who are 12) the results on mental health and self-esteem are disastrous.
Oh, and check out the woman who wrote the aforementioned article by The Independent. She voluntarily submitted to one of Reddit's 'Rate Me' sites (for the article) and GOT A FOUR OUT OF TEN. Just go and look at her picture. Finish your drink before you do this, because if you're in the middle of a glug when you open her photo, you'll do a spit-take on your computer.
I think such an insane answer can only come from asking such an insane question, tbh.
Anyway, as always, there are probably far worse things to wander into online, but threads like r/BookshelfDetectives remind me that being an internet normie is the best way to go.
Alright, with that behind us, time to go forth with the GOOD stuff.
Book Reviews!
Without any planning, I've been on a witchy streak. Maybe it's the universe, releasing all these Libby holds about the same time--maybe I need to go re-evaluate my Libby holds to find out if like half of my books are witch books, I dunno.
But I can tell you that all of these are great, though very different by way of vibes!
A Resistance of Witches, by Morgan Ryan
Rating: 4.5/5
Genre & Vibes: Historical Spec Fiction/Witches v. Nazis
Super Short Synopsis: British witches have pledged to help liberate Europe from Nazi takeover. But their coven is infiltrated by a Nazi witch. One of the British witches, and some interesting non-witch friends, go on an adventure to f**k up Nazis, including the (admittedly few) Third Reich witches, and stop them from finding and using a very powerful grimoire.
Review: K!11ing Nazis, woo! The Nazi unaliving can get pretty gory, actually, and I am HERE 👏🏻 FOR 👏🏻 IT 👏🏻. But don't worry if you don't have a strong stomach for this stuff--it happens in flashes, and you could skip through. The real triumph here is the world-building and the deftness with which Ryan layers her events over real ones that occurred during WWII. The magic system, the friendships, the love interest--all of them are chef's kiss. But best of all...lots of Nazis get kilt.
Get it guuuurl.
Human Rites (Book 3 of Her Majesty's Royal Coven), by Juno Dawson
Rating: TBD (70% complete)
Genre & Vibes: Millennial Spec Witch Fiction/For the Girls & Gays
Super Short Synopsis: This final installment of the series is epic so far. We follow our fave gurlz as they begin their epic showdown. There are a lot of surprises, and the book is very fresh ('m about 70% through, but I wanted to share now because, well, it's on theme. That's the only reason). Shenanigans ensue.
Review: The sheer number of millennial pop culture references dazzle me. Really deep cuts too, folks: Gilmore Girls, Britney Spears, Mean Girls, Spiceworld, Polly Pocket, jelly sandals, I mean...the list goes on. If you follow any of those 90s and 2000s nostalgia accounts online, you'll love Juno Dawon's Her Majesty's Royal Coven series.
OK, that alone would make me read these books but what makes the series BANG is the world-building and relationships between the women in the story. Totally drool-worthy gaggle of five. Great system of magic, and there are real stakes and consequences that make me sad as a reader but IMPRESSED as a writer. I also appreciate the themes of equality and social justice, which I think are delivered effectively and without didactic ranting. Do pick up the first book and get cracking.
A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping, by Sangu Mandanna
Rating: TBD (10% complete)
Genre: Spec Witch Fiction/Cozy cottagecore
Super Short Synopsis: Sera Swan lost all of her powers, oopsie (but did she tho?). She has a sassy daughter, and a bad a$$ great aunt, and they run an inn full of oddballs. A handsome stranger comes to town. What could go wrong? Of course, shenanigans ensue!
Review: Do you sometimes look up from your book and think, I need to know what's going on in the world? But then you look around and go, "Oh god nvm" and then you need to cleanse what you saw from your brain? Yeah, me too. And for me, the prescription is a book just like this one!
I love Sangu Mandanna, and I luuuurved The Secret Society of Irregular Witches (swoon!) So I'm excited for this charming journey, and the magical inn is already as magical as I'd hoped. Is this book going to get 5 stars from me? Probably not. Do I care? Absolutely not! I love a little escapism, and even more so when in the hands of a strong writer like Mandanna.
Work in Progress Update: I'm at the halfway point of my second draft of What The Body Wants! Squee! The revision process is fun; much more pleasant than first drafting.
Speaking of, I've started promising myself 500 words toward a second novel each day, and so far, that's going alright. I love the idea for what will hopefully be my sophomore slump--time will tell how delusional I am on this one, I suppose!
Short one today (for me, anyway, most people write like half as much of this abbreviated edition in their newsletters, but I'm vain. I've also recently been told by a craft course instructor I have a "tendency to overwrite" with a nice followup comment adding "I'm sure a lot of people have told you that". Actually, no--I've quite literally never heard that (I'm being serious). But gee, thanks, message received, I'll go stick my head in the microwave now.)
And, at last, friends, here we are--and thank you for sticking with me!
Please email me and tell me what you think about these reviews! Have you read any of these? Any to recommend?
Have a great weekend, and read banned books.
ILYSM,
Charlotte
Author Site: charlottechamberswriter.com
IG: having.written
BlueSky: having-written.bsky.social
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