i definitely want to read Any Man now. from the description, it sounds like it taps into a topic i'm really invested in - as a gay guy, i think some people don't fully understand that, despite the amount of privilege men have, being rejected from masculinity has serious consequences, mostly a huge risk of violence. plenty of men will be hostile or even physically violent towards a man not meeting masculinity standards, and not a lot of people are going to come to the victim's defense. it's the same reason that growing up as a gay boy was pretty terrifying for me. i'm just really curious to see how the book portrays that experience. especially because the concept of being rejected by masculinity /because/ of the worst trauma they went through is just a really sad thought to me. i know the feeling of being so scared that other guys are going to find out how you've "failed" masculinity standards, and i'm just thinking of having that fear about them finding out you were a victim, and it's sad :(
Growing up is realizing that things people did to you when were younger that made you uncomfortable at the time but brushed off were, in fact, abuse. ❤ I’m going through this journey too. It’s hard and I’m grieving the childhood I thought I had.
Also, it is so heartwarming to hear that you are in the “opposite of a reading slump” currently❤ yay! I’m sending you all the happiness that is derived from books and life moments for you!
i relate so hard to the spotify wrapped stereotype thing. my #1 song on wrapped was the olivia rodrigo song from the Hunger Games movie, and my #1 artist was taylor swift. i might as well write "dramatic gay" on my forehead in permanent marker
already commenting to mention that i'm super pleased to know you've read The Magic Fish! Literally a book I gift to everyone when I get the chance, I've been a huge fan of Trung Le Nguyen's work for so long hahaha your likes often crossover with my taste, so i'm pretty stoked to put your recs on my list! previous books i've read from your recs that I rly enjoyed are Chanel Miller's Know My Name, Heather Fawcett's Emily Wilde series, and Kate Goldbeck's You, Again. I hope you have a great holiday, Cindy, and I always look forward to your other videos 💝
I've wanted to read The Magic Fish for a while now. I really love artstyles that have a prominent lineart and this one looks wonderful ❤ I'm glad you talked about this graphic novel.
So sorry you experienced that 😔 I hope that the book is healing for you! Also understandable if it becomes too triggering though. Pls take care of yourself ❤️
Omg I LOVE The Magic Fish! The art is gorgeous. And the STORY?? One of my favorite graphic novels ever, so I’m really happy to hear someone else talking about it.
I love The Magic Fish, one of my favorite graphic novels of all time!! The creator actually also made a tarot deck called Star Spinner Tarot with the same kind of art style and it's so gorgeous 😭
I really found myself enjoying the sunbearer duology by aiden thomas! it was SO much fun and quick to read, and it gave me the same type of feelings that percy jackson used to give me years ago. I feel like that duology is some of the best ya I have ever read
I really appreciate your short discussion at the beginning of the list about people growing up out of reading YA, as well as your comments throughout the year about not being the audience for it yourself anymore. YA is so hegemonic that people feel like, if they want to be considered a "reader" or if they want to make successful content about reading then they absolutely *have to* engage with it even when they're finding nothing in contemporary YA that speaks to them anymore. A lot of online people would be much happier if they could feel freer to explore outside of hegemonic genre tags, and without the anxiety of feeling like they *have to* be apart of a trending conversation about certain books. They would even enjoy the few YA books that speak to them, without the weight of having to compare each YA book to every other YA book they like they need to read.
I’m addicted to the “Space Boy” graphic novel series. BEAUTIFUL artwork. Cinematic. Multilayered story. U got your sci fI, u got your action, u got your teen besties romance. I also enjoyed a couple light young adult rom coms: “Slow Coach” and “Some Like it Cold”. The first is queer friendly and a genuine feel good read-in-an-afternoon book; the second is neurodivergent friendly.
Omg, you were the one who introduced me to the House of Hollow and made me overly excited for the Invocations. So, my dearest thanks for helping me find my now favourite author in this genre. Exquisite taste right there
Krystal Sutherland was already in my TBR but I will definitely check out the others! My favorite books I’ve read this year is To Shape A Dragon’s Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose (think steampunk fantasy set in alternate universe 19th century USA featuring a queer Indigenous female protagonist and DRAGONS) and The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins (I’m not even going to pretend to know how to describe this one). Happy holidays and looking forward to your next video 🧡
I looooove The Magic Fish, it's probably one of my favorite books ever :,) thank u for the recommendations, they sound so good, and love your videos! Some favorite books I read this year are "Everyone in this room will someday be dead" by Emily Austin and "Cultish" by Amanda Montell
Every time you talk about annie bot it gets higher and higher up my tbr 😂 i think my favourite book i read this year was the sign for home by blair fell, it's about a deaf blind man and his interpreter. It was well written and made me think about a whole community i've never really considered before
I also loved Annie Bot! Other books I loved this year: Four Squares by Bobby Finger, The Shining by Stephen King, and The Secret History by Donna Tartt
I only read four real books this year (I’ve been burnt out and only felt like reading about 65 manga, webcomics, and webnovels). Two of them were Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries and the sequel, after you talked about it. Thanks for the rec. ^_^
I’ve been really struggling to read for a long time and I’m slowly getting my way back into it (partly with the help of audiobooks bc one of my issues is that I struggle with restlessness when I try to just sit down and read, which wasn’t always the case, so listening while keeping my hands busy is really helpful rn). So the two audiobooks I finished recently and tremendously enjoyed are: Pax by Sara Pennypacker: this one was on my tbr for years, I even bought the physical book years ago after hearing so many good things about it. It’s a middle grade book and I thought I’d ease my way back into reading with it and didn’t even look at the blurb again (all I remembered was that it’s about a friendship between a boy and a fox). Come to find out it wasn’t simply a lighthearted story about friendship 😅 it’s dual POV (the boy and the fox) and handles various heavy themes/thoughts pretty effortlessly. At the beginning of the book the boy (around 12 y/o) and his fox get separated and the boy is brought to his grandfather to live with while his father joins the ongoing war. The fox grew up in the care of the boy and is a half tamed animal that never had to survive in nature on his own. The book then follows the journey the boy takes to get his fox back. Themes in the book: parental loss, grief, relationship between nature (and animals) & humans (and how estranged most adult humans are from nature specifically in the west), anti war commentary, growing up, losing your childish innocence & the pressure to conform against your nature, various trauma (including childhood neglect & abuse), healing, friendship, found family, loyalty. By nature of it being middle grade & the tone it uses, it strikes a good balance of showing just enough for emotional impact but not overwhelming you too much, so it’s a bit easier to digest. For children it’s a great book to introduce them to these themes, or to have a story to help digest their experiences if they’re unfortunately too familiar with some of the themes already. For me as an adult with unprocessed baggage around my childhood/growing up and other themes of the book it helped me revisit them and process them a bit more. My only criticism is that the ending felt very sudden bc it basically ended in a climax and after the emotional journey I’d have simply preferred another chapter or two for cool-down. I’m just mentioning this bc maybe it’ll help anyone who wants to give this little book a go to be a bit more prepared for the suddenness than I was 😅 The other book I read was Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier, a gothic romance taking place mostly in 1920/30 (?) England. I loved how atmospheric it was, and the genre typical simmering unease of a darker mystery. The protagonist is a young adult woman from a lower class, and with no family left she works for a woman of a higher social class. As the companion of that woman, she meets a good-looking, older widower of higher social standing and befriends him. She doesn’t understand why he seeks her company; for all she knows he’s just recently lost the wife he was devoted to so it’s a complete shock when he ends up proposing to her. I found the book to be elegantly executed in the way it set the mystery up and let it unfold, how it portrayed the main character and her very understandable insecurities around class and her new social standing that she can’t seem to fit into. I’m not someone who seeks out 1st person pov, but I always love when I can enjoy a book that uses that pov to full effect. I really don’t think this story would go as hard in a 3rd person POV. I had this book on my TBR bc a while ago I watched the video about the mystery of the failed broadway transfer of the Austrian musical based on the book (the video is by wait in the wings, a great watch) and since finishing the book I’ve been listening to the musical recording repeatedly & am a bit obsessed with it (it might help that my native language is German, so I can get the most out of listening to the recording).
If you enjoyed Any Man, I would recommend the film Mysterious Skin. Heartbreaking and really sensitive (imo) portrayal of childhood SA with two male protagonists who both cope very very differently. Watch with caution (and maybe not alone!). As a survivor I find it oddly cathartic and it remains my all time favourite film 🩷
in terms of book recs, i really really enjoyed the burning kingdoms trilogy by tasha suri!!! the final book came out last month and i’m still getting over it it’s queer south asian fantasy (specifically the main two are lesbians) !!!!
I was in a reading slump for a couple of months and left books unfinished. Now am trying to read as much as I can before the year ends; I feel good about it!! Always love watching your reviews if only my tbr could handle more weight lollllll
Per Cindy’s list, I just finished reading Any Man in one sitting and… wow. Obviously proceed with caution or don’t proceed at all if you have a hard time reading about SA, but my god what a masterful work.
omggg the magic fish! i recently read it for one of my classes and i really ended up loving it. i keep recommending it to everyone so i'm very happy to see you talk about it! :-)
The Magic Fish was already in my TBR to get from my library, but thank you for giving it your stamp of approvals. Ive read so many queer graphic novels this year but i always want MOAR
Another 4 books for my tbr, only because I already had Not That Bad on the list but I'm gathering the courage to read it, I know it will wreck me. My best reads this year were: Elena Knows The English Understand Wool Bright Young Women Circe (A theme? Mayhaps...)
I really liked " The house of Hollow" too and got "The Invocations" after I finished it. Haven't yet read it but as usual I have a library pile I have to finish before the due date.
Im not usually a non-fiction reader but I read A Man’s Search for Meaning this month and it was incredible. It’s a memoir of a holocaust survivor who was a psychiatrist prior to capture, so he has a fascinating, almost clinical view of the events he witnessed. It’s a pretty quick read as well. I am definitely reading Any Man next!
I've been listening to a lot of nonfiction books lately. Some recs: "There is no ethan" by Anna Akbari (tw manipulation) "Womb" by Leah Hazard (tw miscarriage) "Men who hate women" by Laura Bates (heavy tw misogyny, violence speech and action towards women, SA)
this year i really enjoyed “the time in between” by maria dueñas! it was originally in spanish and i read that version so idk what the translations like, but its about a spanish woman living during the spanish civil war and wwii in spain and colonial morocco. its really interesting and i feel like i learned a lot about that time period in those locations, too
“The Magic Fish” was one of my 5 star reads this year. It also got me out of a reading slump! I also plan to read “House of Hollow” by Krystal Sutherland for one of my 2025 Storygraph reading challenges and now I have to add in “The Invocations” somehow lol.
13:09 that's a thing that's happened to me too, i guess since that period of time was unpleasant/traumatic to me, my brain just decided it'll be better to forget
Of course Cindy got me again with that title; love how high quality the audiobook productions sounds, I previously loved The Two Princes podcast and have been looking for my audio stories with full voice acting and audio
i really loved 'Any Man' too, it was such a heavy read but i had to finish it in a single sitting because of how much it moved me. i think it was such an interesting and unique way of continuing to examine and dissect the rape culture we live in.
Jaded by Ela Lee is a book I was blown away by this year - even with high expectations. I really think you’d love it too. Definitely a very heavy, social commentary book that relates to grape culture in the work place. Also think Sunburn by Chloe Michelle Howarth could be for you!
Okay you have mentioned Annie Bot a lot this year, and as a girl who has been in an emotionally abusive relationship... girl you might have convinced me, message heard loud and clear! Have a good Christmas.
Not me immediately clocking amber tamblyn’s name as an actress from sisterhood of the traveling pants despite having not thought of the movie in like 20 years 😂 I had no idea she was a published author. Sounds like an interesting book!
Aaaand that’s several more books going into my shopping cart. Also! Can’t remember if I recommend this yet cus I’ve been yapping about it nonstop- “Don’t Let The Forest In” by CG Drews. Ace and Bi rep nestled in a YA botanical horror with beautiful writing and soul crushing twists. It’s probably my favorite book of 2024 and what kicked off my seasonal depression.
usually i try to say something semi witty in the comments but like that second quote from the invocations altered my brain chemistry especially with the misandry discourse everywhere
Just read Some Desperate Glory. I almost didn't read it because the description sounded pretty generic, but wow! It was great! And an honest look at people raised in a "cult" and internalized misogyny.
My favourite book this year was Long Live Evil by Sarah Brees Brennan. It's an isekai fantasy about a girl with terminal cancer who's transported into the body of a minor about-to-be executed villainess of her favourite grimdark fantasy book series. So obviously she has to blag her way out of it and try to keep the plot on track while constantly accidentally fucking it up. I feel like you'd appreciate her rage and quippiness. Plus the writing's very funny with lots of social commentary, meta and trope deconstruction. I highly recommend this author! Oh, and the MC's love interest is the ultimate simp for her, just peak devotion, which I know you enjoy, lol. I screamed at the ending, can't wait for the sequel!
i definitely want to read Any Man now. from the description, it sounds like it taps into a topic i'm really invested in - as a gay guy, i think some people don't fully understand that, despite the amount of privilege men have, being rejected from masculinity has serious consequences, mostly a huge risk of violence. plenty of men will be hostile or even physically violent towards a man not meeting masculinity standards, and not a lot of people are going to come to the victim's defense. it's the same reason that growing up as a gay boy was pretty terrifying for me.
i'm just really curious to see how the book portrays that experience. especially because the concept of being rejected by masculinity /because/ of the worst trauma they went through is just a really sad thought to me. i know the feeling of being so scared that other guys are going to find out how you've "failed" masculinity standards, and i'm just thinking of having that fear about them finding out you were a victim, and it's sad :(
It's a really nuanced and powerful book! I hope you get to check it out ❤️
Gurl, your conversational transitions to the sponsor always take me out 😂😂 like yas get that bag babe!!
Hahaha thank u 😎
It’s a masterclass
Growing up is realizing that things people did to you when were younger that made you uncomfortable at the time but brushed off were, in fact, abuse. ❤ I’m going through this journey too. It’s hard and I’m grieving the childhood I thought I had.
Sending u love ❤️❤️
I'm sorry your going through that I hope you find a way to heal
Also, it is so heartwarming to hear that you are in the “opposite of a reading slump” currently❤ yay! I’m sending you all the happiness that is derived from books and life moments for you!
Sending you all the love back!! 🥰🥰
@ Aw thank you hehe😊😊
not really about the video but you are looking so great as of late (i love your sweater) and i hope you keep taking care of yourself
Thank you so much! 💕
i relate so hard to the spotify wrapped stereotype thing. my #1 song on wrapped was the olivia rodrigo song from the Hunger Games movie, and my #1 artist was taylor swift. i might as well write "dramatic gay" on my forehead in permanent marker
Omg I loved Olivia's song, it was so perfect for the hunger games
Same! Taylor was my #1 too, just like every other year lol
already commenting to mention that i'm super pleased to know you've read The Magic Fish! Literally a book I gift to everyone when I get the chance, I've been a huge fan of Trung Le Nguyen's work for so long hahaha
your likes often crossover with my taste, so i'm pretty stoked to put your recs on my list! previous books i've read from your recs that I rly enjoyed are Chanel Miller's Know My Name, Heather Fawcett's Emily Wilde series, and Kate Goldbeck's You, Again. I hope you have a great holiday, Cindy, and I always look forward to your other videos 💝
It really is a special book! 🥰 And Chanel Miller will forever be that gurl
I've wanted to read The Magic Fish for a while now. I really love artstyles that have a prominent lineart and this one looks wonderful ❤
I'm glad you talked about this graphic novel.
Aww I hope u get to check it out! The art is lovely
I'm gonna check out 'Any Man'. I'm a male victim of SA and I've never heard of a book like that, sounds interesting.
So sorry you experienced that 😔 I hope that the book is healing for you! Also understandable if it becomes too triggering though. Pls take care of yourself ❤️
I'm so sorry that that happened to you. Hope you're doing better now ❤
Omg I LOVE The Magic Fish! The art is gorgeous. And the STORY?? One of my favorite graphic novels ever, so I’m really happy to hear someone else talking about it.
I know right?? It's so good! 😍
This better be a clickbait Cindy. Men? Really?? In 2024???
Shocking, I know!
you're just in time again Cindy. thank you. that Spotify Wrapped list is 1000000% relatable!
Gotta love that playlist
Annie Bot was 3 stars for me. I am adding Any Man and Magic Fish to my ever growing TBR. Happy Holidays Cindy!❤
Happy Holidays to you too!
I love The Magic Fish, one of my favorite graphic novels of all time!! The creator actually also made a tarot deck called Star Spinner Tarot with the same kind of art style and it's so gorgeous 😭
I'm obsessed with their art style! 😍
I really found myself enjoying the sunbearer duology by aiden thomas! it was SO much fun and quick to read, and it gave me the same type of feelings that percy jackson used to give me years ago. I feel like that duology is some of the best ya I have ever read
Aww I heard good things about Aiden Thomas books! Thanks for the rec
📌📌📌
Omg I love PJO I'm moving The Sunbearer up my TBR.
I really appreciate your short discussion at the beginning of the list about people growing up out of reading YA, as well as your comments throughout the year about not being the audience for it yourself anymore.
YA is so hegemonic that people feel like, if they want to be considered a "reader" or if they want to make successful content about reading then they absolutely *have to* engage with it even when they're finding nothing in contemporary YA that speaks to them anymore.
A lot of online people would be much happier if they could feel freer to explore outside of hegemonic genre tags, and without the anxiety of feeling like they *have to* be apart of a trending conversation about certain books. They would even enjoy the few YA books that speak to them, without the weight of having to compare each YA book to every other YA book they like they need to read.
The Magic Fish was also in my top books this year, it absolutely took me out and was so gorgeous
yay glad we both enjoyed it!!
Your vids are my company. Love from Korea
Aw that’s so sweet 🥺
tbr list in hand cindy dropped a recommendation video!!!!!
I’m glad my videos can help you make your TBR list! 🥰
I’m addicted to the “Space Boy” graphic novel series. BEAUTIFUL artwork. Cinematic. Multilayered story. U got your sci fI, u got your action, u got your teen besties romance. I also enjoyed a couple light young adult rom coms: “Slow Coach” and “Some Like it Cold”. The first is queer friendly and a genuine feel good read-in-an-afternoon book; the second is neurodivergent friendly.
I've been following space boy for ages it's really one of a kind
ooh thanks for the rec!!
I love space boy too
I always look forward to this video; I always end up picking up so many good books because of you. Thank you!! 💕💕💕
You are so welcome!
Omg, you were the one who introduced me to the House of Hollow and made me overly excited for the Invocations. So, my dearest thanks for helping me find my now favourite author in this genre. Exquisite taste right there
I’m so glad you love them! They’re a treasure
The Magic Fish looks so good! Definitely adding it to my tbr!
I hope you enjoy it!
I have heard such mixed things about annie bot. You sold me on reading it soon tho; I love a book we can actually enjoy and engage with
I hope u enjoy it!
Ooo I been waitin for this one
Enjoyyyy
Krystal Sutherland was already in my TBR but I will definitely check out the others! My favorite books I’ve read this year is To Shape A Dragon’s Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose (think steampunk fantasy set in alternate universe 19th century USA featuring a queer Indigenous female protagonist and DRAGONS) and The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins (I’m not even going to pretend to know how to describe this one). Happy holidays and looking forward to your next video 🧡
To Shape A Dragon’s Breath sounds incredible!!
I looooove The Magic Fish, it's probably one of my favorite books ever :,) thank u for the recommendations, they sound so good, and love your videos! Some favorite books I read this year are "Everyone in this room will someday be dead" by Emily Austin and "Cultish" by Amanda Montell
I’m so glad my videos are helping you find good reads! 🥰
Every time you talk about annie bot it gets higher and higher up my tbr 😂 i think my favourite book i read this year was the sign for home by blair fell, it's about a deaf blind man and his interpreter. It was well written and made me think about a whole community i've never really considered before
Ooo sounds good!! Thx for the rec
cindy's really unpacking her trama this year, and I love that for her xx
sigh a yearly occurrence unfortunately!!
Thank you so much for the recs! They all sound like great reads.
You’re so welcome! 💕
Everyone needs to read Annie Bot!! It’s so good! I read it back in February and I think about it so often
annie is forever that gurl
Definitely adding Annie Bot to my library cart! Happy Holidays Cindy! ✨
Happy Holidays to you too!✨
Every year I watch your best book videos and tell myself to read them in 2025 but then December exams kick my ass and I forget about them lmao
It's ok bb u can always pick it up when ur ready ❣️
I also loved Annie Bot!
Other books I loved this year: Four Squares by Bobby Finger, The Shining by Stephen King, and The Secret History by Donna Tartt
ooh thanks for the recs!
Woahh I love the quotes from the first book!
I only read four real books this year (I’ve been burnt out and only felt like reading about 65 manga, webcomics, and webnovels). Two of them were Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries and the sequel, after you talked about it. Thanks for the rec. ^_^
LOVE the art in the background!!
thank you!!
I’ve been really struggling to read for a long time and I’m slowly getting my way back into it (partly with the help of audiobooks bc one of my issues is that I struggle with restlessness when I try to just sit down and read, which wasn’t always the case, so listening while keeping my hands busy is really helpful rn). So the two audiobooks I finished recently and tremendously enjoyed are:
Pax by Sara Pennypacker: this one was on my tbr for years, I even bought the physical book years ago after hearing so many good things about it. It’s a middle grade book and I thought I’d ease my way back into reading with it and didn’t even look at the blurb again (all I remembered was that it’s about a friendship between a boy and a fox). Come to find out it wasn’t simply a lighthearted story about friendship 😅 it’s dual POV (the boy and the fox) and handles various heavy themes/thoughts pretty effortlessly. At the beginning of the book the boy (around 12 y/o) and his fox get separated and the boy is brought to his grandfather to live with while his father joins the ongoing war. The fox grew up in the care of the boy and is a half tamed animal that never had to survive in nature on his own. The book then follows the journey the boy takes to get his fox back.
Themes in the book: parental loss, grief, relationship between nature (and animals) & humans (and how estranged most adult humans are from nature specifically in the west), anti war commentary, growing up, losing your childish innocence & the pressure to conform against your nature, various trauma (including childhood neglect & abuse), healing, friendship, found family, loyalty.
By nature of it being middle grade & the tone it uses, it strikes a good balance of showing just enough for emotional impact but not overwhelming you too much, so it’s a bit easier to digest. For children it’s a great book to introduce them to these themes, or to have a story to help digest their experiences if they’re unfortunately too familiar with some of the themes already. For me as an adult with unprocessed baggage around my childhood/growing up and other themes of the book it helped me revisit them and process them a bit more.
My only criticism is that the ending felt very sudden bc it basically ended in a climax and after the emotional journey I’d have simply preferred another chapter or two for cool-down. I’m just mentioning this bc maybe it’ll help anyone who wants to give this little book a go to be a bit more prepared for the suddenness than I was 😅
The other book I read was Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier, a gothic romance taking place mostly in 1920/30 (?) England. I loved how atmospheric it was, and the genre typical simmering unease of a darker mystery. The protagonist is a young adult woman from a lower class, and with no family left she works for a woman of a higher social class. As the companion of that woman, she meets a good-looking, older widower of higher social standing and befriends him. She doesn’t understand why he seeks her company; for all she knows he’s just recently lost the wife he was devoted to so it’s a complete shock when he ends up proposing to her.
I found the book to be elegantly executed in the way it set the mystery up and let it unfold, how it portrayed the main character and her very understandable insecurities around class and her new social standing that she can’t seem to fit into. I’m not someone who seeks out 1st person pov, but I always love when I can enjoy a book that uses that pov to full effect. I really don’t think this story would go as hard in a 3rd person POV.
I had this book on my TBR bc a while ago I watched the video about the mystery of the failed broadway transfer of the Austrian musical based on the book (the video is by wait in the wings, a great watch) and since finishing the book I’ve been listening to the musical recording repeatedly & am a bit obsessed with it (it might help that my native language is German, so I can get the most out of listening to the recording).
oooh thank you for the recs! im glad you found books that you enjoyed this year :)
hi cindy! your channel is my go to comfort channel. you’re so funny and real. i love it lmaoooo
Thank you so much! 💖
Your hair looks so nice!!
Thank you! 💖
My top artists on Spotify was a FICTIONAL band in a show that got cancelled 😭I hyper fixated on them and forgot abt it
JULIE AND THE PHANTOMS???
@ HOW DID U KNOW ?? 😭😭
@@chacharealsmoove bc i was obsessed w them too
@ HELP,,,, its all connected 😭😭
HELL YEAH THE MAGIC FISH!!!!! I LOVE THAT PIECE OF MAGIC ✨💖
I read Annie Bot because of you 😁 it was really interesting and good!
Glad you liked it!!
Love the Invocations. It is one of my favourites of the year too.
yesss its so fun
The Magic Fish was a favorite of mine too!
It's so good
cleaned my washroom as I listened to this. it was awesome
Added to the TBR pile thank you
You’re so welcome! I hope you enjoy it 💕
I love the invocations!
Yessss it's so fun
Vengo a agregar màs libros a mi larga lista de lecturas pendientes 🎉
Happy reading!
If you enjoyed Any Man, I would recommend the film Mysterious Skin. Heartbreaking and really sensitive (imo) portrayal of childhood SA with two male protagonists who both cope very very differently. Watch with caution (and maybe not alone!). As a survivor I find it oddly cathartic and it remains my all time favourite film 🩷
The perfect video to watch whilst I am eating my lunch❤ you are such an icon!
I’m so glad you’re enjoying it! 🍔
@ Aw yes, it’s true! I really admire your introspective view on the books you read/review, whether they are portrayed in a funny or learned way! 🫶🫶
haven’t watched the full video yet but i love the magic fish!! i read it a few years back and it made me cry :’)
in terms of book recs, i really really enjoyed the burning kingdoms trilogy by tasha suri!!! the final book came out last month and i’m still getting over it
it’s queer south asian fantasy (specifically the main two are lesbians) !!!!
thank u for the recs and glad u also loved the magic fish
I'm reading young adult primarily lol, I loved the invocations too. Also wow that graphic novel.
Omg, all these books sound so good/fun!!!
🤩
thank u!!
I was in a reading slump for a couple of months and left books unfinished. Now am trying to read as much as I can before the year ends; I feel good about it!! Always love watching your reviews if only my tbr could handle more weight lollllll
You got this!
Love Annie Bot. I don’t know why a lot of people have not reviewed it.
I'll put the magic fish on my tbr list. The other books are outside my usual read genres but I might try Any Man because you recommend it.
Hope u enjoy magic fish!
I'm reading (listening to) Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun now so maybe I'll try Annie Bot next. Thx : )
i saw theres gonna be an adaptation of klara and the sun starring jenna ortega!
As I was about to buy more books BUT also personal recs from me - I just finished reading the gearbreakers duology and I rlly enjoyed it !!
I haven't read that yet but good to know!!
my favorite books that i read this year were legendborn and bloodmarked! i will definitely check out these books.
Ooo I've heard good things about those books!
Perfect fricking timing, finished my exams and need to clean my disaster of my room. This makes it bearable:)
Omg same, my room is a total disaster zone
Per Cindy’s list, I just finished reading Any Man in one sitting and… wow. Obviously proceed with caution or don’t proceed at all if you have a hard time reading about SA, but my god what a masterful work.
I’m so glad it resonated with you!
omggg the magic fish! i recently read it for one of my classes and i really ended up loving it. i keep recommending it to everyone so i'm very happy to see you talk about it! :-)
It really is a special book!
The Magic Fish was already in my TBR to get from my library, but thank you for giving it your stamp of approvals. Ive read so many queer graphic novels this year but i always want MOAR
I hope you love it!
And that sweater is 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Another 4 books for my tbr, only because I already had Not That Bad on the list but I'm gathering the courage to read it, I know it will wreck me.
My best reads this year were:
Elena Knows
The English Understand Wool
Bright Young Women
Circe
(A theme? Mayhaps...)
I LOVED bright young women!!
Enjoy your opposite of reading slump, Cindy 🥰 My favourite books are the A Gathering of Shadows trilogy! Have you read them?
Not yet!
@@withcindy I also love Memory Theater by Tidbeck, dark fantasy with a folktale flair, we stan non-binary butch authors in this house
YOUR HAIR LOOKS SO GOOD CINDY !!! 🙂↕️😍💕
thank youuu!!
I really liked " The house of Hollow" too and got "The Invocations" after I finished it. Haven't yet read it but as usual I have a library pile I have to finish before the due date.
yesss house of hollow will always be great
I look at The Magic Fish every time I'm at my library. I'm going to actually read it now!
Yay!! 🙌
Any Man is my #1 this year. Such a good book and great writing.
Yesss glad u agree 💯
All this makes me so hyped for your book!💖💖💖💖
Aww thank u !!
Im not usually a non-fiction reader but I read A Man’s Search for Meaning this month and it was incredible. It’s a memoir of a holocaust survivor who was a psychiatrist prior to capture, so he has a fascinating, almost clinical view of the events he witnessed. It’s a pretty quick read as well.
I am definitely reading Any Man next!
wow it sounds amazing!!
mother is here to save my dinner time again except it's just bread n jam so more like dinner snack!
Bread and jam is a mood 🍞
I've been listening to a lot of nonfiction books lately. Some recs:
"There is no ethan" by Anna Akbari (tw manipulation)
"Womb" by Leah Hazard (tw miscarriage)
"Men who hate women" by Laura Bates (heavy tw misogyny, violence speech and action towards women, SA)
thank u for the recs!!
YASSSSSS ANNIE BOT
Annie is my gurl
this year i really enjoyed “the time in between” by maria dueñas! it was originally in spanish and i read that version so idk what the translations like, but its about a spanish woman living during the spanish civil war and wwii in spain and colonial morocco. its really interesting and i feel like i learned a lot about that time period in those locations, too
Ooo sounds like a good read!!
“The Magic Fish” was one of my 5 star reads this year. It also got me out of a reading slump!
I also plan to read “House of Hollow” by Krystal Sutherland for one of my 2025 Storygraph reading challenges and now I have to add in “The Invocations” somehow lol.
I liked House of hollow best! Which one do you think you will start first?
@ Honestly? Whichever one has the shortest hold time on Libby 😂
i would like to apologise to all men for the face i made while reading the title
Understandable
13:09 that's a thing that's happened to me too, i guess since that period of time was unpleasant/traumatic to me, my brain just decided it'll be better to forget
Oof big mood
Annie Bot is my fav book of 2024. It surprised me as well. It had me fearful and emotional for Annie. V powerful in execution imo
Glad u agree!! I was so surprised at how much I empathized with her
You either die a hero or live long enough to love a book by a man
Of course Cindy got me again with that title; love how high quality the audiobook productions sounds, I previously loved The Two Princes podcast and have been looking for my audio stories with full voice acting and audio
Don't worry the book is still written by a woman !! It's not over for me yet !!
i LOVE the magic fish
i really loved 'Any Man' too, it was such a heavy read but i had to finish it in a single sitting because of how much it moved me. i think it was such an interesting and unique way of continuing to examine and dissect the rape culture we live in.
A Book to help me with my efforts about decentring men? Count me in!!
Let's do this!
Jaded by Ela Lee is a book I was blown away by this year - even with high expectations. I really think you’d love it too. Definitely a very heavy, social commentary book that relates to grape culture in the work place. Also think Sunburn by Chloe Michelle Howarth could be for you!
Oooh thanks for the recs they both sound good!!
Okay you have mentioned Annie Bot a lot this year, and as a girl who has been in an emotionally abusive relationship... girl you might have convinced me, message heard loud and clear! Have a good Christmas.
OOF this may hit hard for u then
Not me immediately clocking amber tamblyn’s name as an actress from sisterhood of the traveling pants despite having not thought of the movie in like 20 years 😂 I had no idea she was a published author. Sounds like an interesting book!
I didn't know she was in that movie! That's so cool
Aaaand that’s several more books going into my shopping cart. Also! Can’t remember if I recommend this yet cus I’ve been yapping about it nonstop- “Don’t Let The Forest In” by CG Drews. Ace and Bi rep nestled in a YA botanical horror with beautiful writing and soul crushing twists. It’s probably my favorite book of 2024 and what kicked off my seasonal depression.
I've heard so many good things about that one! Sounds like my kind of book.
usually i try to say something semi witty in the comments but like that second quote from the invocations altered my brain chemistry especially with the misandry discourse everywhere
Yesssss the invocations is that gurl
I apologize for intruding.. will continue to watch your reviews… hope to one day see mine… most of my main characters are females
CINDY YOU READ MANY MEN CINDY OH CINDY HOW I LOVE YOU
It was soooo good
charli xcx made my top 5 too! along with nct the kpop group which has been consistently there since 2020
Love her brat album!
@@withcindy same!
Heck yes, Any Man was my #1 favorite book that I read last year. That book is so powerful and brutal, but so well written and thought provoking. 🤯
Totally agree!! 💯
23 seconds ago I AM SEATED
And ur first!!
Honestly, forget the books. You are glowing girl.
Aww thank u 😊
Just read Some Desperate Glory. I almost didn't read it because the description sounded pretty generic, but wow! It was great! And an honest look at people raised in a "cult" and internalized misogyny.
Ooo I'll check that one out
Wow the magic fish looks kinda life changing
I want a magic fish to change my life too
You're nice and nicest friend
Aww you're so sweet!
My favourite book this year was Long Live Evil by Sarah Brees Brennan. It's an isekai fantasy about a girl with terminal cancer who's transported into the body of a minor about-to-be executed villainess of her favourite grimdark fantasy book series. So obviously she has to blag her way out of it and try to keep the plot on track while constantly accidentally fucking it up. I feel like you'd appreciate her rage and quippiness. Plus the writing's very funny with lots of social commentary, meta and trope deconstruction. I highly recommend this author! Oh, and the MC's love interest is the ultimate simp for her, just peak devotion, which I know you enjoy, lol. I screamed at the ending, can't wait for the sequel!
Ooo sounds rly good!!