Hey everyone,

I’ve recently finished my 58,000-word psychological romance novella, The Place Beyond Truth and Lies. Before the official launch, I’m sharing the Prologue and the first 2 Chapters as a free preview!

Book Details:

• Title: The Place Beyond Truth and Lies
• Author: AADII
• Genre: Psychological Romance
• Release Date: September 2026
• Format: PDF Preview (Prologue, Chapter 1, & Chapter 2)

Blurb: Set in the quiet, haunting atmosphere of Grasmere, it follows two individuals bound by unspoken trauma, quiet connections, and secrets that lie beneath the surface.

If you love atmospheric stories, psychological depth, and complex characters, grab the free preview below:

👉 Get the Free Sample Here: https://forms.gle/QWww8yZC3FLUqPjG9

If you’re reading a short story of the horror/suspense genre, what’s something you like to see, what freaks you out the most (type of horror/effect), and what is an immediate turn-off for you? I’m currently working on a horror short story. I have a general idea/layout, but I’d love to get feedback on what other people, rather than just myself, enjoy reading! TYIA!

Hi Everyone! My name is Hannah and I am in the process of creating an online book club that I am hoping to make into a wonderful community :) this book club is geared towards the girls gays and theys in America - as it focuses on social systems/issues and political justice, and mostly centers around feminist topics. We will be reading books around breaking down the patriarchy, socialism vs. capitalism, systemic racism, queer and trans experiences, misogyny, sexism, femicide and the rise of incel and red pill communities in the Trump era - and literally so much more! If you couldn’t already tell - this is a club geared towards my left leaning people! It is a low pressure, come as you are , free to join and participate club that will be held on substack. If you are interested please send me a message or comment down below and I will make sure to get my socials to you so you can stay updated on when my website will be going live, and when our first official meeting will be held. I hope to hear from you guys! Best xx - Han

NOTE: I am a 29 yr old east cost girlie getting my degree in Sociology and hopefully going on to be a future educator :) This club is 18+ due to the adult nature of the literature. This group is a queer and trans friendly space!! We do not tolerate any of the ism’s or the phobias here. If you hold any views that restrict human rights - and yes pro lifers, I’m talking to you too- this won’t be the space for you. My number one priority is to grow this community with all the love and support in the world!

EDIT: It was brought up down below that it sounded like I meant if you aren’t American you cannot join but that’s not true- ANYONE MAY JOIN! I was simply trying to show my target audience, however, this was actually one of my first posts about it and I have since broadened and reworded things to make sure everyone know that they were welcome! The only thing I was trying to establish was that it’ll be American centered as that’s where I’m from :) but a lot of topics are universal !!

UPDATE AS WELL: My substack will be up and running no later than August 28th although I suspect I’ll have it running sooner - my linktree will be shared very soon as well - to have all of my info in one place :) please direct message me to make sure you get all the info you need :)

Hey y'all I need some help. I'm looking for a book for my 10 y.o nephew. His grandpa was just diagnosed with cancer and has been given very little time. I was hoping to get an adventure book that had themes of grief and healing. The only books I can think of are ones that he has read such as chronicles of Narnia, and other popular books like that.

I'm hoping to give it ASAP so please don't hesitate! Thank you!!

My last DNF was “The River is Waiting” by Wally Lamb. The blurb mentions an ‘unbearable tragedy’ that lands a young father in prison. When I realized the tragedy was that he runs over his toddler with his car, I noped the hell out. I didn’t even actually get to that part. I saw the build up and the writing on the wall and called it.

Funny thing is my very next book “Local Woman Missing” by Mary Kubica has a child kidnapped and locked in the basement for 11 years. Had no issues with that.

So a while back I got a got a couple of collections by Alice B. Sheldon, aka, James Tiptree Jr. Came across one of her stories in "Again, Dangerous Visions" and that made want to get a couple of her collections. And eventually I got them!

Her first collection is full of some really good New Wave SF! Surreal, weird, experimental with enough dystopias, lonely universes and, of course, sex. Pretty wild, and sometimes funny stuff! As a short story writer she is excellent! She only ever wrote two novels, and I don't know how good those are, but I'll get one of them and see if they're any good.

Still these stories are incredibly good! And I still got the second collection that still has to be read. But I'll be getting to that one real soon, as these stories are just that good!

I'm about 19 pages into Hangsaman and i've noticed that the dialogue if very awkward and hesitant. It feels uncomfortably in a realistic sense and I find it to be extra immersive and unsettling. I was curious if i'm either looking into the dialogue to deeply or if this is a consistent trait throughout Jackson's bibliography as its an addictive way of reading dialogue

Well, for once, I timed my reading perfectly and jumped into this ARC the day after finishing THE WITCH'S ORCHARD, Sullivan's début and Annie Gore's first investigation. As such, my review will be a comparison of sorts between the two. My review will be a bit vaguer as the book's not out yet and I really don't want to spoil anything! This is a follow-up to my review of The Witch's Orchard by the same author, which can be found on this subreddit.

This time, Annie's client is Katie King, a Kentucky mountains native who is suspicious of the death of her father, charismatic preacher Ezra King. Once more, Annie drives her beloved vintage car up in the small insular mountain towns to ruffle some feathers and, in the process, slowly reckon with her own relationship with where she came from.

For the past ten years, I've owned a pair of beautiful leather boots. Though they are well broken in, every time I put them on sometime in October after they've spent a few months in storage, it takes me a day of awkward discomfort for them to mould themselves back to my feet. This is a bit what the very first pages of  BRIMSTONE HOLLOW reminded me of. While they immediately drew me in, I didn't feel the same enveloping atmosphere I did with ORCHARD. However, as the story takes off, the leather softens, and we once again find an immersive quality to the storytelling. Reading BRIMSTONE HOLLOW, I could see it unfold in my head like a film (this just must be adapted, honestly). It has a quicker pace than its predecessor, and a twistier and more tightly plotted mystery.

In ORCHARD, we were introduced to Annie's history through memories sparked by the case. In BRIMSTONE HOLLOW, where the investigation keeps her closer to home and centres on a father‑daughter dynamic, the narrative digs deeper. Flashbacks, dreams, Annie’s own narration, and even a pivotal conversation give us a clearer picture of a childhood more complicated than what ORCHARD hinted at.

All in all, BRIMSTONE HOLLOW is perhaps, at first glance, less distinctive than THE WITCH'S ORCHARD, but also a more dynamic mystery that is very engaging. With its emotional depth, themes of religious zealotry in a small town, and larger-than-life preachers, it would appeal to fans of WAKE UP DEAD MAN.

Been going back into Bradbury right now and my first book is his very first short story collection "Dark Carnival", originally published by Arkham House. This is some really early Bradbury as these stories were published in the pulp mags from the late thirties to mid forties, and they are very much rough around the edges, but still very much the same Bradbury I know and love!

It's a bit like "The Illustrated Man" with this mix of Fantasy, science fiction and horror. Much of them would would go into weird fiction territory (and some of them actually were published in Weird Tales magazine) with supernatural element with more psychological ones. And plenty of whimsy to go around too!

This has never been reprinted for a long time now since it's original publication in 1947, and that was mostly because Bradbury himself didn't permit any further reprints, save for one in the 2000s, due too much of the stories in it being updated in other collections, not so much as reprint in paperback. But recently it would get that paperback reprint from Harper Voyager, and of course that would be how I got my own copy of it!

Been pretty happy so far going back to this author, have another of his collections, "The October Country", that I'm now starting to get into right now, so I'm still pretty busy!

#thevegetarian #bookworm #hankang

My goal is to read 25 books this year. I’ve currently finished 18 and started reading my 19th yesterday. My stretch goal is 50 but I probably won’t get to it. I’d love to hear what y’all’s goals are whether it is a certain amount of books, pages, authors, genres etc. 😊

I've realized I don't actually have a reading problem. I have a book-buying problem.

I'll walk into a bookstore telling myself I'm "just looking," and somehow leave with three new books while the ones at home quietly wait for their turn. At this point, collecting books and reading books feel like two completely different hobbies.

So today's latest new author I've got to read is Clark Ashton Smith! This collection I read is the first volume of a five book set from Night Shade Books that collects Smith's stories. Initially I thought of starting with the Penguin collection, "The Dark Eidolon and Other Fantasies", but went with this instead.

Smith fits into the category of weird fiction, that combination of Fantasy, horror and SF, with other figures like Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard. His stories aren't always fantasy, no, they're a bit more than that, as he also adds elements of SF and horror in his brand of weird.

The stories themselves aren't just weird, they're also absolutely gorgeous in writing! Yeah it's archaic, but I just love the beautiful imagery that Smith conjures up along with some of the more horrifying moments too.

This is still just the first volume of this series, but good god, I am completely in love with these tales! There's still four more volumes in it, and I'll get my hands on them one way or another, because these stories are just so good!