Shay Shortt
@requiredreading.bsky.social
Longtime book blogger, sometime librarian, and current book seller based in Washington State. Find me at www.shayshortt.com
Reposted by Shay Shortt
"There were fifteen stairs; she struck her head on the seventh."
We're sharing a delicious (and dark) excerpt from @freyamarske.bsky.social's upcoming sapphic Cinderella novella Cinder House! Things are looking awfully Gothic in here.
reactormag.com/excerpts-cin...
We're sharing a delicious (and dark) excerpt from @freyamarske.bsky.social's upcoming sapphic Cinderella novella Cinder House! Things are looking awfully Gothic in here.
reactormag.com/excerpts-cin...
Read an Excerpt From Cinder House by Freya Marske - Reactor
Murdered at sixteen, Ella's ghost is furiously trapped in her father's house, invisible to everyone except her stepmother and stepsisters.
reactormag.com
September 18, 2025 at 7:41 PM
"There were fifteen stairs; she struck her head on the seventh."
We're sharing a delicious (and dark) excerpt from @freyamarske.bsky.social's upcoming sapphic Cinderella novella Cinder House! Things are looking awfully Gothic in here.
reactormag.com/excerpts-cin...
We're sharing a delicious (and dark) excerpt from @freyamarske.bsky.social's upcoming sapphic Cinderella novella Cinder House! Things are looking awfully Gothic in here.
reactormag.com/excerpts-cin...
It has been a while since I wrote a long review, but I had a lot of thoughts about Katabasis by R.F. Kuang!
This novel is Babel's spiritual sibling, but instead of the relationship between academia and imperialism, it delves into the individual human cost of climbing the ivory tower.
💙📚
This novel is Babel's spiritual sibling, but instead of the relationship between academia and imperialism, it delves into the individual human cost of climbing the ivory tower.
💙📚
Katabasis
by R.F. Kuang ISBN 9780063021471 Disclaimer: I received a free review copy of this title from the publisher. “Alice sat, chewed througha stick of Lembas Bread, and tried not to let her despai…
shayshortt.com
August 31, 2025 at 7:09 PM
It has been a while since I wrote a long review, but I had a lot of thoughts about Katabasis by R.F. Kuang!
This novel is Babel's spiritual sibling, but instead of the relationship between academia and imperialism, it delves into the individual human cost of climbing the ivory tower.
💙📚
This novel is Babel's spiritual sibling, but instead of the relationship between academia and imperialism, it delves into the individual human cost of climbing the ivory tower.
💙📚
Reposted by Shay Shortt
It’s Friday, and if you haven’t read this towering stack of great literature, it’s new to you! This week, Ann mixes it up a bit and responds to an op-ed by David Brooks in the NYT. Is the novel really dead? Read the article, watch Ann’s take, and let us know what you think.
New to You: Literature Isn’t Dead
YouTube video by Parnassus Books
youtu.be
July 18, 2025 at 3:47 PM
It’s Friday, and if you haven’t read this towering stack of great literature, it’s new to you! This week, Ann mixes it up a bit and responds to an op-ed by David Brooks in the NYT. Is the novel really dead? Read the article, watch Ann’s take, and let us know what you think.
Reposted by Shay Shortt
God bless the librarians who tape little numbers on the spines of series books so you can know what order the books go in. stars in their heavenly crown, truly.
April 1, 2025 at 9:40 PM
God bless the librarians who tape little numbers on the spines of series books so you can know what order the books go in. stars in their heavenly crown, truly.
"When a trope befalls a character I don’t care about, it’s like holding a blank slate up to a mirror to see a second blank slate reflected back at me."
👆👆👆👆👆
I LOVE a good trope, but you have to make me CARE first.
reactormag.com/let-them-eat...
👆👆👆👆👆
I LOVE a good trope, but you have to make me CARE first.
reactormag.com/let-them-eat...
Let Them Eat Tropes: Why Romantasy Needs to Grow Beyond Trends - Reactor
When does a genre literary trope cross the threshold into marketing trend?
reactormag.com
March 13, 2025 at 12:33 AM
"When a trope befalls a character I don’t care about, it’s like holding a blank slate up to a mirror to see a second blank slate reflected back at me."
👆👆👆👆👆
I LOVE a good trope, but you have to make me CARE first.
reactormag.com/let-them-eat...
👆👆👆👆👆
I LOVE a good trope, but you have to make me CARE first.
reactormag.com/let-them-eat...
I was looking for more info about how @thestorygraph.com uses AI, and didn't find their privacy policy very forthcoming. I found this social media post, but I really don't feel like that information should be buried there! So in case anyone else was wondering:
www.threads.net/@the.storygr...
www.threads.net/@the.storygr...
The StoryGraph (@the.storygraph) on Threads
Mr. StoryGraph is back! This time he’s talking about our use of AI!
Regarding the environmental impact (which wasn’t addressed in the video): All text generation, across all users, is being handled b...
www.threads.net
March 13, 2025 at 12:22 AM
I was looking for more info about how @thestorygraph.com uses AI, and didn't find their privacy policy very forthcoming. I found this social media post, but I really don't feel like that information should be buried there! So in case anyone else was wondering:
www.threads.net/@the.storygr...
www.threads.net/@the.storygr...
“It wasn’t like he’d ever demanded anything of her. He was the only person she’d ever loved of whom that was true. It was the greatest gift he’d given her—and the worst blow he’d dealt.”
- THE FRIEND ZONE EXPERIMENT by Zen Cho
#bookreview 💙📚
- THE FRIEND ZONE EXPERIMENT by Zen Cho
#bookreview 💙📚
The Friend Zone Experiment
by Zen Cho ISBN9781250330390 Disclaimer: I received an advance review copy of this title from the publisher. “It wasn’t like he’d ever demanded anything of her. He was the only person she’d ever loved...
shayshortt.com
August 7, 2024 at 6:21 AM
“It wasn’t like he’d ever demanded anything of her. He was the only person she’d ever loved of whom that was true. It was the greatest gift he’d given her—and the worst blow he’d dealt.”
- THE FRIEND ZONE EXPERIMENT by Zen Cho
#bookreview 💙📚
- THE FRIEND ZONE EXPERIMENT by Zen Cho
#bookreview 💙📚
“You’ve been so focused on marrying off your children to the debilitated descendants of Victoria and Albert that you’ve forgotten where all the real action is nowadays: Asia.”
The new Kevin Kwan book is here, and it's a retelling of an Anthony Trollope novel. 💙📚
#bookreview
The new Kevin Kwan book is here, and it's a retelling of an Anthony Trollope novel. 💙📚
#bookreview
Lies and Weddings
by Kevin Kwan ISBN 9780385546294 Disclaimer: I received an advance review copy of this title from the publisher. “You’ve been so focused on marrying off your children to the debilitated descendants of...
shayshortt.com
May 21, 2024 at 10:19 PM
“You’ve been so focused on marrying off your children to the debilitated descendants of Victoria and Albert that you’ve forgotten where all the real action is nowadays: Asia.”
The new Kevin Kwan book is here, and it's a retelling of an Anthony Trollope novel. 💙📚
#bookreview
The new Kevin Kwan book is here, and it's a retelling of an Anthony Trollope novel. 💙📚
#bookreview
“Magical girls exist because justice does not.”
A quixotic blend of fantasy & reality. Magical girls are real, but so too are credit card debt, COVID-19, and mass unemployment. This strangely nostalgic, deceptively simple novel taps into both the dreams & anxieties of millennials.
💙📚
#bookreview
A quixotic blend of fantasy & reality. Magical girls are real, but so too are credit card debt, COVID-19, and mass unemployment. This strangely nostalgic, deceptively simple novel taps into both the dreams & anxieties of millennials.
💙📚
#bookreview
A Magical Girl Retires
by Park Seolyeon Translated by Anton Hur ISBN 9780063373266 Disclaimer: I received an advance review copy of this title from the publisher. “Magical girls exist because justice does not.” Unemployed a...
shayshortt.com
May 1, 2024 at 8:24 PM
“Magical girls exist because justice does not.”
A quixotic blend of fantasy & reality. Magical girls are real, but so too are credit card debt, COVID-19, and mass unemployment. This strangely nostalgic, deceptively simple novel taps into both the dreams & anxieties of millennials.
💙📚
#bookreview
A quixotic blend of fantasy & reality. Magical girls are real, but so too are credit card debt, COVID-19, and mass unemployment. This strangely nostalgic, deceptively simple novel taps into both the dreams & anxieties of millennials.
💙📚
#bookreview
The Emperor in the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang was such an interesting read, but so difficult to talk about! I think I'm going to need to write a spoiler review in order to really dig into the meat of it!
The Emperor and the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang
“What if I told you that the feeling we call love is actually the feeling of metaphysical recogni...
app.thestorygraph.com
April 21, 2024 at 11:30 PM
The Emperor in the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang was such an interesting read, but so difficult to talk about! I think I'm going to need to write a spoiler review in order to really dig into the meat of it!
“Now that Preston did not appear inclined to have it out with her, Lissie wanted all the more to have it out with him.”
A modern Chinese American retelling of Pride & Prejudice in which the reputation of the beloved family restaurant stands in for the reputation of the Bennet girls.
💙📚 #bookreview
A modern Chinese American retelling of Pride & Prejudice in which the reputation of the beloved family restaurant stands in for the reputation of the Bennet girls.
💙📚 #bookreview
Pride and Preston Lin
by Christina Hwang Dudley ISBN 9798890130044 Disclaimer: I received access to an advance reader’s copy of this title. “Now that Preston did not appear inclined to have it out with her, Lissie wanted a...
shayshortt.com
March 29, 2024 at 4:23 PM
“Now that Preston did not appear inclined to have it out with her, Lissie wanted all the more to have it out with him.”
A modern Chinese American retelling of Pride & Prejudice in which the reputation of the beloved family restaurant stands in for the reputation of the Bennet girls.
💙📚 #bookreview
A modern Chinese American retelling of Pride & Prejudice in which the reputation of the beloved family restaurant stands in for the reputation of the Bennet girls.
💙📚 #bookreview
Crazy Rich Asians meets Portrait of a Thief in this heist story set amidst the glitzy upper crust of Shanghai society.
Successful & well-educated, Lulu, Jane, and Rina—3 of China’s "shèngnǚ" or "leftover women"—spent their 20s pursuing their careers. Now they must decide what's next
💙📚
#bookreview
Successful & well-educated, Lulu, Jane, and Rina—3 of China’s "shèngnǚ" or "leftover women"—spent their 20s pursuing their careers. Now they must decide what's next
💙📚
#bookreview
Women of Good Fortune
by Sophie Wan ISBN 9781525804304 Disclaimer: I received access to an advance reader’s copy of this title. “When she moved to Shanghai, everyone said she was moving
shayshortt.com
March 21, 2024 at 4:48 PM
Crazy Rich Asians meets Portrait of a Thief in this heist story set amidst the glitzy upper crust of Shanghai society.
Successful & well-educated, Lulu, Jane, and Rina—3 of China’s "shèngnǚ" or "leftover women"—spent their 20s pursuing their careers. Now they must decide what's next
💙📚
#bookreview
Successful & well-educated, Lulu, Jane, and Rina—3 of China’s "shèngnǚ" or "leftover women"—spent their 20s pursuing their careers. Now they must decide what's next
💙📚
#bookreview
Reposted by Shay Shortt
& you can use libro.fm to buy audiobooks from independent bookstores (rather than amazon's audible)!
And in the US, you can use bookshop.com and support an indie near you—or any indie in the country!
Reminder - if you are buying books online - Jeff Bezos is the richest human in the world while many indie bookshops are fighting to survive - use this link and you will support Cardiff’s brilliant shelf life or you can choose another indie
uk.bookshop.org/shop/shelfli...
uk.bookshop.org/shop/shelfli...
March 20, 2024 at 6:09 PM
& you can use libro.fm to buy audiobooks from independent bookstores (rather than amazon's audible)!
“An Earth with climate change and nuclear war and, like, zombies and werewolves is still a way better place than Mars.”
A City on Mars takes a much-needed step back and examines the technical, legal, and psychological barriers that remain between us and viable space settlement.
💙📚
A City on Mars takes a much-needed step back and examines the technical, legal, and psychological barriers that remain between us and viable space settlement.
💙📚
A City on Mars
by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith ISBN 9781984881731 “An Earth with climate change and nuclear war and, like, zombies and werewolves is still a way better place than Mars.” With humanity staring down the ...
shayshortt.com
March 14, 2024 at 4:03 AM
“An Earth with climate change and nuclear war and, like, zombies and werewolves is still a way better place than Mars.”
A City on Mars takes a much-needed step back and examines the technical, legal, and psychological barriers that remain between us and viable space settlement.
💙📚
A City on Mars takes a much-needed step back and examines the technical, legal, and psychological barriers that remain between us and viable space settlement.
💙📚
Congrats to Heather O'Neill for championing The Future (L'Avenir) by Catherine Leroux (translated by Susan Ouriou) to victory on #CanadaReads2024
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Canada Reads 2024: The Future
by Catherine Leroux Translated by Susan Ouriou ISBN 9781771965613 “The story, tough going and complicated, nonetheless proved to be a revelation for Lego; for the first time, he has understood what St...
shayshortt.com
March 8, 2024 at 5:02 PM
Congrats to Heather O'Neill for championing The Future (L'Avenir) by Catherine Leroux (translated by Susan Ouriou) to victory on #CanadaReads2024
💙📚
💙📚
And so #CanadaReads2024 comes to a close! New review of the final book soon, but for now:
March 7, 2024 at 6:05 PM
And so #CanadaReads2024 comes to a close! New review of the final book soon, but for now:
Reposted by Shay Shortt
Continuing my Canada Reads 2024 read-a-long with Shut Up You're Pretty by Téa Mutonji, which consists of vignettes from the life of a Congolese-Canadian girl growing up in Scarborough's house projects and grappling with identity and the expectations of femininity while trying to survive
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Canada Reads 2024: Shut Up You’re Pretty
by Téa Mutonji ISBN 9781551527567 “I had a mother who was a sadistic mourner, and her sadness bored me. So I fucked a lot, and I drank a lot, and I wrote a lot of apology letters. That’s how bad I was...
shayshortt.com
February 15, 2024 at 4:45 PM
Continuing my Canada Reads 2024 read-a-long with Shut Up You're Pretty by Téa Mutonji, which consists of vignettes from the life of a Congolese-Canadian girl growing up in Scarborough's house projects and grappling with identity and the expectations of femininity while trying to survive
💙📚
💙📚
Bad Cree is an atmospheric horror novel that grew out of a short story Johns published in 2019. Frightening as this story is, it is also a tale about hope, healing, and family, themes which I found more compelling than the horror elements of the tale. 💙📚
#CanadaReads2024
#CanadaReads2024
Canada Reads 2024: Bad Cree
by Jessica Johns ISBN 9781443465489 “But I guess the bad isn't a thing you can run from, because it's not a thing that can be held. It doesn't announce itself, there's no siren or beacon. Instead, it'...
shayshortt.com
March 6, 2024 at 4:07 PM
Bad Cree is an atmospheric horror novel that grew out of a short story Johns published in 2019. Frightening as this story is, it is also a tale about hope, healing, and family, themes which I found more compelling than the horror elements of the tale. 💙📚
#CanadaReads2024
#CanadaReads2024
Reposted by Shay Shortt
In Toronto’s rapidly gentrifying Chinatown, an elderly Chinese man is struck and killed by a driver in a hit and run accident. His widow is left alone to grieve, and to remember.
As a matter of personal taste, this might be my favourite Canada Reads 2024 contender so far (still two left to read).💙📚
As a matter of personal taste, this might be my favourite Canada Reads 2024 contender so far (still two left to read).💙📚
Canada Reads 2024: Denison Avenue
by Christina Wong Illustrated by Daniel Innes ISBN 9781778520990 “We seem to all be fighting for something to call home.” In Toronto’s rapidly gentrifying Chinatown, an elderly Chinese man is struck a...
shayshortt.com
February 21, 2024 at 4:55 PM
In Toronto’s rapidly gentrifying Chinatown, an elderly Chinese man is struck and killed by a driver in a hit and run accident. His widow is left alone to grieve, and to remember.
As a matter of personal taste, this might be my favourite Canada Reads 2024 contender so far (still two left to read).💙📚
As a matter of personal taste, this might be my favourite Canada Reads 2024 contender so far (still two left to read).💙📚
Reposted by Shay Shortt
I can't believe it's already time to start my annual Canada Reads series again! Kicking things off with the first romance novel ever in this competition, Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune. Less than a month until the debates begin! 🇨🇦
shayshortt.com/2024/02/07/c...
💙📚
shayshortt.com/2024/02/07/c...
💙📚
Canada Reads 2024: Meet Me at the Lake
by Carley Fortune ISBN 9780593438565 “One great thing about meeting someone you’ll likely never see again is that you can tell them anything about yourself without any consequences.” Fern Brookbank…
shayshortt.com
February 7, 2024 at 11:12 PM
I can't believe it's already time to start my annual Canada Reads series again! Kicking things off with the first romance novel ever in this competition, Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune. Less than a month until the debates begin! 🇨🇦
shayshortt.com/2024/02/07/c...
💙📚
shayshortt.com/2024/02/07/c...
💙📚
March 4, 2024 at 3:18 PM
Very probably not going to make it all the way through The Future by Catherine Leroux before the Canada Reads debates begin tomorrow. Oh well! Four out of five isn't bad.💙📚
March 4, 2024 at 4:05 AM
Very probably not going to make it all the way through The Future by Catherine Leroux before the Canada Reads debates begin tomorrow. Oh well! Four out of five isn't bad.💙📚
Finished the fourth Canada Reads book! Bad Blood is an atmospheric horror novel that grew out of a short story Johns published in 2019. Frightening as this story is, it is also a tale about hope, healing, and family, themes which I found more compelling than the horror elements of the tale. 💙📚
Canada Reads 2024: Bad Cree
by Jessica Johns ISBN 9781443465489 “But I guess the bad isn't a thing you can run from, because it's not a thing that can be held. It doesn't announce itself, there's no siren or beacon. Instead, it'...
shayshortt.com
February 28, 2024 at 8:05 PM
Finished the fourth Canada Reads book! Bad Blood is an atmospheric horror novel that grew out of a short story Johns published in 2019. Frightening as this story is, it is also a tale about hope, healing, and family, themes which I found more compelling than the horror elements of the tale. 💙📚
Love to see CBC providing information about to access the Canada Reads books in accessibility-friendly formats 💙📚
www.cbc.ca/books/canada...
www.cbc.ca/books/canada...
February 27, 2024 at 6:18 PM
Love to see CBC providing information about to access the Canada Reads books in accessibility-friendly formats 💙📚
www.cbc.ca/books/canada...
www.cbc.ca/books/canada...
Had to put it down a lot of times (and maybe almost put it in the freezer) but I made it through! One week to the debates, one more book to make it through. 💙📚
My next book from the Canada Reads shortlist is supposed to be Bad Cree, but it's slow going not because its bad but because its too creepy to do my usual pre-bedtime reading! 💙📚
February 26, 2024 at 4:29 AM
Had to put it down a lot of times (and maybe almost put it in the freezer) but I made it through! One week to the debates, one more book to make it through. 💙📚