305. WRAP | FANDOMTREES 2022.
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fandomtrees has taken root and I don't know tree metaphors well enough to make this work (despite doing a lot of work with trees in my day-to-day job which just makes this confession all the more embarrassing), but it's open! This is my second round participating, and the big theme of this year is "Let's get her to actually read" because damn, did I get a lot of book recs.Me before Fandom Trees:
Me after Fandom Trees:
I'm super ecstatic because the books sound fantastic, I got a range of genre suggestions, and I now have no excuse to not renew my library membership and go explore my local library. :) One of my goals for this year was to read more books and try different genres, and I feel very, very encouraged to take the plunge.
My tree is here if you'd like to check out the book recs!
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I also got a few drabbles and ficlets covering a span of fandoms, which was super amazing.
the hunger games drabble by
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obscure_ramblingsfinnick & katniss | gen; 100 words
This really captures the adrenaline of fighting side by side. Finnick and Katniss are a well-oiled machine, and this captured their dynamic, their ability to work together so well, and their resilience so effectively within the structure of the story.
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Hot Ass Cookie Monster by
bring_me_sugarabbott elementary | janine, gregory, ava, melissa, barbara; gen, 100 words
All you need to know is that Janine is Janine and tries to fix Gregory's dislike for the foods we all love. I could see this being an episode of the show. It just captured the spirit so well (and the last line is hilarious).
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The Salt Road
dolorosa_12six of crows | inej/kaz; gen; 1,997 words
Five times Inej Ghafa left Ketterdam, and one time she didn't.
One of my favourite things about the Inej/Kaz relationship is their emotional intimacy, and that's captured so beautifully in the progression of Inej finding herself on the sea and returning to Kaz for safe harbour. Even after all the heists, I love that Kaz is there for Inej even when she's chosen to fulfil a mission that he was never involved in. What I also really love is that even though they're not physically intimate i.e. hand touching, kissing, etc., they are still physically intimate in the non-conventional understanding where Inej always physically returns to Kaz and Kaz always, always welcomes her back.
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Playdates by
southernmedicinehawkeye | fanny & lucky (+yelena/kate); gen; 593 words
Just a couple of small snippets from the POV of the dogs. If Kate and Yelena are going to be getting along, it only makes sense for their furry friends to be close companions as well.
Anyone who knows me knows I love animals and this captures everything that's so special about having an animal in your life. Fanny and Lucky's perspectives are believably sharp and I really loved the language chosen to keep you situated in their POV. This was so beautiful. A big woof from me.
( originally posted here )
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As for me, I dropped a lot of icons beneath trees, which was a lot of fun considering I hadn't been in Photoshop to make icons in many months. I really enjoyed looking up animal and scenery photos.
I also wrote my first ever fic for Fandom Trees and it was for
southernmedicine! (It only makes sense to inflict this torture on a friend.)you kept me close
hawkeye (mcu) | yelena/kate; teen; 2,900 words
Five times Yelena and Kate wore one another’s clothes.
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Because Fandom Trees is structured very differently from the typical exchange I do (it's a fest, I suppose), a very kind nonnie on FFA compiled a list of all the gifts under categories to make it easier to view the trees. You can find that list here and the AO3 collection here!
Not everything is cross-posted to the AO3 collection. I've used the list to go around and check some things out and leave some comments, so if you see something you like, consider letting the creator know!
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Anything by Silvia Moreno-Garcia or Stephen Graham Jones is pretty solid. Moreno-Garcia does Mexican horror, sometimes of the gothic flavor. "Certain Dark Things" was a fun crime/thriller/fantasy.
Grady Hendrix has some good horror novels, but he's hit or miss for me. I absolutely HATED "The Final Girls Support Group" lmao (I have a Lot of Opinions on this lmfao)
I think Stephen Graham Jones' "My Heart Is a Chainsaw" took a similar concept and executed it much better (and that book is slated for a sequel this year! Yay!)
"The Funny Thing About Norman Foreman" by Julietta Henderson was super cute and charming, despite the bleak premise (also YA).
"The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter" by Theodora Goss was entertaining (and part of a series, if you're into that). It's definitely fanficcy (based on public domain literary horror figures), and I enjoyed it.
"Mercury Pictures Presents" by Anthony Marra was so good. Historical fiction that felt super atmospheric and a little slice-of-life in the best way.
Paul Tremblay is another good horror writer. "The Pallbearer's Club" was fun and clever, but if you want a real gut-punch of major character death and all hurt no comfort, try "The Cabin At the End of the World".
I can rec Stephen King until the heat death of the universe. "Lisey's Story" is dark and wonderful. "Later" is good, "Misery" ofc, "Gerald's Game" is an underrated gem, "11/22/63" is my FAVE, historical fiction + romance + all the feels. "Billy Summers" was better than I expected. "Cell" was Actually Good, okay? It's another underrated gem that gets swept aside because the movie was Bad.
"The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" by Taylor Jenkins Reid was really good. Lots of emotional twists and turns and the ending made me sad.
"Miss Benson's Beetle" by Rachel Joyce was FUN. OMG. It's a historical fiction set in 1950s London where a schoolteacher decides to upend her life and go searching for a rare beetle she was obsessed with as a kid. And then she meets a quirky Elle Woods-type who volunteers to be her assistant on the trek. It's a fun road trip
I just enjoyed this book so much I have to rec it. I had no expectations going in and it just charmed the hell out of me.
You could also raid my Goodreads, but my taste is... probably questionable. LOL A lot of people hate my favorite books/genres/styles and I'm okay with that. Definitely read the summaries, and sample the first few pages of anything I've recced here xD
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Thank you so much for these—and for giving me some direction with Stephen King. I never know where to really start with him beside the Big Names.
"Miss Benson's Beetle" sounds really, really cute.
And I'm also adding you on Goodreads. We're levelling up friendship-wise. It's time.
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