Introductions
Apr. 14th, 2019 04:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
onlystoriesWelcome to Only Stories, my new blog about, unsurprisingly, stories of all kinds. I'm a bit of a story addict, and a great believer in the power of narrative to surprise, delight, alter, and teach. I love stories, and at this blog I want to share why, with you, by taking a close look at stories, and trying to explain what makes them work for me.
On to my tastes! After all, how will you know if you're interested in sticking around if you don't know what I like? I used to describe my reading tastes as 'wide-ranging' but being a bookseller, and being online, really shows you just how many genres, categories, and stories exist you've never even thought of touching. Now, I'd call my tastes 'varied, and ever expanding'; another consequence of being a bookseller is that everything sounds too fascinating to leave on the shelf.
I read from a range of age categories: adult fiction, young adult, and children's fiction. I like quite a few genres including lit-fic, science fiction, fantasy, crime, historical fiction. I've been known to read a bit of chick-lit and horror as well. SFF is my one true love though, so expect to see a lot of posts about SFF novels, stories, and comics here. I mostly read fiction, but I do read a little bit of non-fiction (ok, I buy more non-fiction than I read - I'd call myself an aspirational non-fiction reader). And I read across a few different formats: graphic novels, novels, short stories, novellas, and flash fiction.
My viewing tastes are similar - a big mixed bag. I love TV, and I watch a lot of it - SFF, documentaries, cooking competitions, crime dramas, historical dramas, comedies. If someone can convince me it's good, I'll give it a go. I'm always trying to find a way to watch more films, although time seems to be against me and I'm always behind on new releases and classics. One day, Citizen Kane, one day!
To help you get to know my tastes, I've picked out a selection of stories that I love, and that are pretty representative of the kind of stories I gravitate towards. They're some of the books and shows I'd try to shove on you as soon as we started talking about stories.
Novels (Adult - SFF)
White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi
The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley
The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno Garcia
Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel
The Carhullan Army by Sarah Hall
Under the Pendulum Sun by Jeanette Ng
Small Gods by Terry Pratchett
The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin
Everfair by Nisi Shawl
Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho
Zoo City by Lauren Beukes
Feed by Mira Grant
Novels (Adult - All Other Genres)
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
The Silver Pigs by Lindsey Davis
Homecoming by Yaa Gyasi
The Mothers by Brit Bennett
Pleasantville by Attica Locke
The Winter King by Bernard Cornwell
Washington Black by Esi Edugyan
Novels (YA)
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Steifvater
Iron Cast by Destiny Soria
Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore
PS. I Still Love You by Jenny Han
The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black
Mortal Gods by Kendare Blake
Graphic Novels
This One Summer by Jillian Tamaki
Giant Days by John Allison, Lisa Tremain & Whitney Cogar
Monstress by Marjorie M. Liu & Sana Takeda
Ms. Marvel written by G. Willow Wilson
Bombshells written by Marguerite Bennett
Check, Please! by Ngozi Ukazu
Non-Fiction
Hidden Figures by Margot Shetterley
Romantic Outlaws by Charlotte Gordon
The Geek Feminist Revolution by Kameron Hurley
Short Stories
"If You Were a Dinosaur, My Love" by Rachel K. Jones
"A Witch's Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies" by Alix E. Harrow
"Flow" by Marissa Lingen
"The Triumphant Ward of the Railroad and the Sea" by Sara Saab
"The Date" by R. W. Kalaw
"The Whalebone Parrot" by Darcie Little Badger
"The Witches of Athens" by Lara Elena Donnolley
"Packing" by T. K. Fisher
"A Priest of Vast and Distant Places" by Cassandra Khaw
"The Truth About Owls" by Amal el Mohtar
TV Shows
The Bletchley Circle
Scott & Bailey
The Frankie Drake Mysteries
The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Chef's Table
The Good Place
Films
The Sting
Ghostbusters
Jurassic Park
Wonder Woman
Black Panther
If you see something you like on these lists why not stick around a while, and see what I've got to say?
On to my tastes! After all, how will you know if you're interested in sticking around if you don't know what I like? I used to describe my reading tastes as 'wide-ranging' but being a bookseller, and being online, really shows you just how many genres, categories, and stories exist you've never even thought of touching. Now, I'd call my tastes 'varied, and ever expanding'; another consequence of being a bookseller is that everything sounds too fascinating to leave on the shelf.
I read from a range of age categories: adult fiction, young adult, and children's fiction. I like quite a few genres including lit-fic, science fiction, fantasy, crime, historical fiction. I've been known to read a bit of chick-lit and horror as well. SFF is my one true love though, so expect to see a lot of posts about SFF novels, stories, and comics here. I mostly read fiction, but I do read a little bit of non-fiction (ok, I buy more non-fiction than I read - I'd call myself an aspirational non-fiction reader). And I read across a few different formats: graphic novels, novels, short stories, novellas, and flash fiction.
My viewing tastes are similar - a big mixed bag. I love TV, and I watch a lot of it - SFF, documentaries, cooking competitions, crime dramas, historical dramas, comedies. If someone can convince me it's good, I'll give it a go. I'm always trying to find a way to watch more films, although time seems to be against me and I'm always behind on new releases and classics. One day, Citizen Kane, one day!
To help you get to know my tastes, I've picked out a selection of stories that I love, and that are pretty representative of the kind of stories I gravitate towards. They're some of the books and shows I'd try to shove on you as soon as we started talking about stories.
Novels (Adult - SFF)
White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi
The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley
The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno Garcia
Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel
The Carhullan Army by Sarah Hall
Under the Pendulum Sun by Jeanette Ng
Small Gods by Terry Pratchett
The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin
Everfair by Nisi Shawl
Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho
Zoo City by Lauren Beukes
Feed by Mira Grant
Novels (Adult - All Other Genres)
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
The Silver Pigs by Lindsey Davis
Homecoming by Yaa Gyasi
The Mothers by Brit Bennett
Pleasantville by Attica Locke
The Winter King by Bernard Cornwell
Washington Black by Esi Edugyan
Novels (YA)
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Steifvater
Iron Cast by Destiny Soria
Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore
PS. I Still Love You by Jenny Han
The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black
Mortal Gods by Kendare Blake
Graphic Novels
This One Summer by Jillian Tamaki
Giant Days by John Allison, Lisa Tremain & Whitney Cogar
Monstress by Marjorie M. Liu & Sana Takeda
Ms. Marvel written by G. Willow Wilson
Bombshells written by Marguerite Bennett
Check, Please! by Ngozi Ukazu
Non-Fiction
Hidden Figures by Margot Shetterley
Romantic Outlaws by Charlotte Gordon
The Geek Feminist Revolution by Kameron Hurley
Short Stories
"If You Were a Dinosaur, My Love" by Rachel K. Jones
"A Witch's Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies" by Alix E. Harrow
"Flow" by Marissa Lingen
"The Triumphant Ward of the Railroad and the Sea" by Sara Saab
"The Date" by R. W. Kalaw
"The Whalebone Parrot" by Darcie Little Badger
"The Witches of Athens" by Lara Elena Donnolley
"Packing" by T. K. Fisher
"A Priest of Vast and Distant Places" by Cassandra Khaw
"The Truth About Owls" by Amal el Mohtar
TV Shows
The Bletchley Circle
Scott & Bailey
The Frankie Drake Mysteries
The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Chef's Table
The Good Place
Films
The Sting
Ghostbusters
Jurassic Park
Wonder Woman
Black Panther
If you see something you like on these lists why not stick around a while, and see what I've got to say?
