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ceallaigh.bsky.social
Ceallaigh
@ceallaigh.bsky.social
110 followers 190 following 140 posts
🏳️‍⚧️🧚🏻‍♂️ (she/they/fae)
📖𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈: fairytales, retellings, queer, folkhorror, gothic, litfic, Indigenous…
🏀🏒🏉🎿🎾
🧬DID, Autism
📍Piscataway + Nacotchtank land
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ceallaigh.bsky.social
Ceallaigh @ceallaigh.bsky.social · Feb 21
✨New Reading List:✨ Indigenous Literature—Sápmi // “Can you hear the sound of life / in the roaring of the creek / in the blowing of the wind / That is all I want to say / that is all…" - Nils-Aslak Valkeapää ❤️💙💛💚
open.substack.com/pub/stopands...
Indigenous Literature—Sápmi
“Can you hear the sound of life / in the roaring of the creek / in the blowing of the wind / That is all I want to say / that is all…" - Nils-Aslak Valkeapää
open.substack.com
ceallaigh.bsky.social
★ ★ ★ - disturbing, mysterious, dark, felt a bit thriller-tropey, ultimately just left me confused…

open.substack.com/pub/stopands...
THE NIGHT GUEST
★ ★ ★ - disturbing, mysterious, dark, felt a bit thriller-tropey, ultimately just left me confused…
open.substack.com
December 5, 2025 at 8:36 PM
ceallaigh.bsky.social
★ ★ ★ ★ .5 - a brutal, honest vignette of the violence of misogyny & the insidious way it shapes the psyche & directs all relationships.

open.substack.com/pub/stopands...
TRIFLES by Susan Glaspell (1916)
★ ★ ★ ★ .5 - a brutal, honest vignette of the violence of misogyny & the insidious way it shapes the psyche & directs all relationships.
open.substack.com
December 3, 2025 at 9:54 PM
ceallaigh.bsky.social
★ ★ ★ ★ - the very autistic-coded mother-son duo of Amelia & Ramses is making this series for me. They keep getting better!

stopandsmellthebooks.substack.com/p/lion-in-th...
LION IN THE VALLEY by Elizabeth Peters (1986)
★ ★ ★ ★ - the very autistic-coded mother-son duo of Amelia & Ramses is making this series for me. They keep getting better!
stopandsmellthebooks.substack.com
November 29, 2025 at 6:46 PM
ceallaigh.bsky.social
★ ★ ★ - interesting & informative, thoughtful & thorough, with some problematic moments—a self-published work so go in expecting a lack of editing oversight & an amateurish writing style.

stopandsmellthebooks.substack.com/p/the-haunte...
THE HAUNTED HISTORY OF THE TRANS-ALLEGHENY LUNATIC ASYLUM by Sherri Brake (2014)
★ ★ ★ - interesting & informative, thoughtful & thorough, with some problematic elements—a self-published work so go in expecting a lack of editing oversight & an amateurish writing style.
stopandsmellthebooks.substack.com
November 4, 2025 at 7:42 PM
ceallaigh.bsky.social
★ ★ ★ ★ - a compulsively readable, heart-rending, hilarious, sweet, & incredibly tragic vignette of modern Penobscot life—the kind of literature destined to be a future classic.

stopandsmellthebooks.substack.com/p/night-of-t...
NIGHT OF THE LIVING REZ by Morgan Talty (2022)
★ ★ ★ ★ - a compulsively readable, heart-rending, hilarious, sweet, & incredibly tragic vignette of modern Penobscot life—the kind of literature destined to be a future classic.
stopandsmellthebooks.substack.com
November 2, 2025 at 7:11 PM
ceallaigh.bsky.social
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ - an equal parts absorbing, satisfying, & infuriating dark academia mystery/thriller about co-ed private boarding schools, the dynamics of privilege, found family, & systemic misogyny.

open.substack.com/pub/stopands...
WHERE SLEEPING GIRLS LIE by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé (2024)
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ - an equal parts absorbing, satisfying, & infuriating dark academia mystery/thriller about co-ed private boarding schools, the dynamics of privilege, found family, & systemic misogyny.
open.substack.com
October 31, 2025 at 5:39 PM
ceallaigh.bsky.social
★ ★ ★ ★ - My first time read of this horror classic - surprised to find that it's less about dual sides of one's identity & more about 'what if your worst intrusive thoughts were a person?'

stopandsmellthebooks.substack.com/p/the-strang...
THE STRANGE CASE OF DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE by Robert Louis Stevenson (1886)
★ ★ ★ ★ - My first time read of this horror classic - surprised to find that it's less about dual sides of one's identity & more about 'what if your worst intrusive thoughts were a person?'
stopandsmellthebooks.substack.com
October 29, 2025 at 8:52 PM
ceallaigh.bsky.social
★ ★ ★ ★ .75 - Fairytale retellings that are as magical as they are horrorific, unhinged, flowery, feminist, & spectacular: my third time reading Carter’s collection has finally made me a fan!

stopandsmellthebooks.substack.com/p/the-bloody...
THE BLOODY CHAMBER by Angela Carter
★ ★ ★ ★ .75 - Fairytale retellings that are as magical as they are horrorific, unhinged, flowery, feminist, & spectacular: my third time reading Carter’s collection has finally made me a fan!
stopandsmellthebooks.substack.com
October 29, 2025 at 8:28 PM
ceallaigh.bsky.social
★ ★ ★ ★ .5 - Brilliant & heart breaking with a powerful, believable, beautiful, & (mostly) satisfying ending. Three cheers for disability rep in historical fiction!

open.substack.com/pub/stopands...
THE INSTRUMENTALIST by Harriet Constable (2024)
★ ★ ★ ★ .5 - Brilliant & heart breaking with a powerful, believable, beautiful, & (mostly) satisfying ending. Three cheers for disability rep in historical fiction!
open.substack.com
October 20, 2025 at 8:00 PM
ceallaigh.bsky.social
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ - for readers who love to be philosophically & intellectually challenged by their fantasy / sci-fi reads, especially when they have ultimately wholesome & very queer themes.

open.substack.com/pub/stopands...
NO GODS, NO MONSTERS by Cadwell Turnbull (2021)
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ - for readers who love to be philosophically & intellectually challenged by their fantasy / sci-fi reads, especially when they have ultimately wholesome & very queer themes.
open.substack.com
October 18, 2025 at 6:04 PM
ceallaigh.bsky.social
★ ★ ★ ★ - a dark but powerful look at the (young adult) Autistic experience & the search for belonging, community, mothering, love, & acceptance as one’s true, whole self.

stopandsmellthebooks.substack.com/p/hollow-by-...
HOLLOW by Taylor Grothe (2025)
★ ★ ★ ★ - a dark but powerful look at the (young adult) Autistic experience & the search for belonging, community, mothering, love, & acceptance as one’s true, whole self.
stopandsmellthebooks.substack.com
October 13, 2025 at 8:15 PM
ceallaigh.bsky.social
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ - more dreamy Victorian worldbuilding, witty, relatable & lovable characters, themes of progressive politics, feminism, queer love, & found family, with lotsss of delectable spice!

open.substack.com/pub/stopands...
YOU'RE THE PROBLEM, IT'S YOU! by Emma R. Alban (2024)
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ - more dreamy Victorian worldbuilding, witty, relatable & lovable characters, themes of progressive politics, feminism, queer love, & found family, with lotsss of delectable spice!
open.substack.com
October 11, 2025 at 7:39 PM
ceallaigh.bsky.social
★ ★ ★ .5 - it should have been five stars because of the overall content (fascinating, challenging, & extremely important), but the writing style & the tone made it positively excruciating to read.

open.substack.com/pub/stopands...
THE COURAGE TO BE DISLIKED by Ichiro Kishimi& Fumitake Koga (2017)
★ ★ ★ .5 - it should have been five stars because of the overall content (fascinating, challenging, & extremely important), but the writing style & the tone made it positively excruciating to read.
open.substack.com
October 10, 2025 at 2:46 PM
ceallaigh.bsky.social
★ ★ ★ ★ - a thrilling ride with lovable characters & hilarious banter; a bit repetitive at times & an MC that drove me CRAZY but it all comes together for a very satisfying end. Sequel??

stopandsmellthebooks.substack.com/p/hammajang-...
HAMMAJANG LUCK by Makana Yamamoto (2024)
★ ★ ★ ★ - a thrilling ride with lovable characters & hilarious banter; a bit repetitive at times & an MC that drove me CRAZY but it all comes together for a very satisfying end. Sequel??
stopandsmellthebooks.substack.com
September 29, 2025 at 5:31 PM
ceallaigh.bsky.social
One of the most beautiful & bookish cities I've ever visited!

open.substack.com/pub/stopands...
Copenhagen Bookshops - Summer 2025
One of the most beautiful & bookish cities I've ever visited!
open.substack.com
September 28, 2025 at 6:47 PM
ceallaigh.bsky.social
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ - the sapphic historical fiction romance novel of my dreams! I loved everything about this book from the characters to the setting to the plot—all I can say is “Bridgerton who??” Read it!

open.substack.com/pub/stopands...
MORE THAN A BEST FRIEND by Emma Alban (2024)
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ - the sapphic historical fiction romance novel of my dreams! I loved everything about this book from the characters to the setting to the plot—all I can say is “Bridgerton, who??” Read it!
open.substack.com
September 27, 2025 at 5:39 PM
ceallaigh.bsky.social
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ - Osunde’s immaculate second novel is a wholesome, hopeful, & heart-wrenchingly, devastatingly beautiful Deep Envisioning™ of a better world for queer folx in Nigeria & beyond.

open.substack.com/pub/stopands...
NECESSARY FICTION by Eloghosa Osunde (2025)
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ - Osunde’s immaculate second novel is a wholesome, hopeful, & heart-wrenchingly, devastatingly beautiful Deep Envisioning™ of a better world for queer folx in Nigeria & beyond.
open.substack.com
September 22, 2025 at 7:09 PM
ceallaigh.bsky.social
Agassi just coached De Minaur to his first victory over Zverev in their last eight matches? & Fritz to his first win over Alcaraz AND a world number one ever? That’s probably not insignificant, yeah? #LaverCup
September 21, 2025 at 3:55 AM
ceallaigh.bsky.social
★ ★ ★ ★ .75 - The creeping pace, nauseating imagery, rage, trauma & pain all weave together to make this one of the darkest, cruelest, & most effective slow burn literary horror novels I've ever read.

open.substack.com/pub/stopands...
WHAT HUNGER by Catherine Dang (2025)
★ ★ ★ ★ .75 - The creeping pace, nauseating imagery, rage, trauma & pain all weave together to make this one of the darkest, cruelest, & most effective slow burn literary horror novels I've ever read.
open.substack.com
September 20, 2025 at 6:44 PM
ceallaigh.bsky.social
A week in this dreamy, historic Norwegian fjord-town was not nearly enough time! Come for the culture & food, stay for the nature! There's plenty for book lovers of all kinds to enjoy. <3

open.substack.com/pub/stopands...
Trondheim, Norway - Summer 2025
A week in this dreamy, historic Norwegian fjord-town was not nearly enough time! Come for the culture & food, stay for the nature! There's plenty for book lovers of all kinds to enjoy. <3
open.substack.com
September 14, 2025 at 6:47 PM
ceallaigh.bsky.social
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ - a heart-warming & clever story about two outsider children grappling with an absentee parent & repressed grief while working together to break their families’ curse.

stopandsmellthebooks.substack.com/p/tumble-and...
TUMBLE & BLUE by Cassie Beasley (2017)
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ - a heart-warming & clever story about two outsider children grappling with an absentee parent & repressed grief while working together to break their families’ curse.
stopandsmellthebooks.substack.com
September 10, 2025 at 6:38 PM
ceallaigh.bsky.social
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ - An unhinged look at the power of greed, lust, possessiveness, & the irresistible pull of our deepest animal urges & carnal desires as explored through the Finnish tradition of troll folklore.

stopandsmellthebooks.substack.com/p/troll-by-j...
TROLL by Johanna Sinisalo (2000)
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ - An unhinged look at the power of greed, lust, possessiveness, & the irresistible pull of our deepest animal urges & carnal desires explored through the Finnish tradition of troll folklore.
stopandsmellthebooks.substack.com
September 8, 2025 at 10:30 PM
ceallaigh.bsky.social
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ - a fascinating book that covers so many important & interconnected themes & subjects—I’ll never stop thinking about this one!

open.substack.com/pub/stopands...
HOW TO DO NOTHING by Jenny Odell (2019)
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ - a fascinating book that covers so many important & interconnected themes & subjects—I’ll never stop thinking about this one!
open.substack.com
September 5, 2025 at 8:51 PM
Reposted by Ceallaigh
gregsargent.bsky.social
Ominous: Trump and Stephen Miller are very clearly working to acclimate Americans to the spectacle of US troops in US cities, to the idea of the military carrying out domestic enforcement on US citizens.

Harrowing stuff from @vermontgmg.bsky.social in this exchange:

newrepublic.com/article/1995...
August 26, 2025 at 12:18 PM
Reposted by Ceallaigh
diannalgunn.bsky.social
No, authors aren't burnt out because "writing without AI is slow"

We're burnt out because we're paid dirt so we need day jobs to survive
August 26, 2025 at 2:05 PM