Chels
@chelsebooks.bsky.social
Writer, romance book collector, and co-host of the Reformed Rakes podcast.
theloosecravat.substack.com
theloosecravat.substack.com
i love it when tiktokers/youtubers pretend they're doing a public service by reading a controversial popular book so they can make content about it. "i wasted my life reading 1,000 pages of alchemised!" yeah buddy that was your fault. not gonna waste any of mine with your video
November 17, 2025 at 1:50 PM
i love it when tiktokers/youtubers pretend they're doing a public service by reading a controversial popular book so they can make content about it. "i wasted my life reading 1,000 pages of alchemised!" yeah buddy that was your fault. not gonna waste any of mine with your video
Reposted by Chels
PORN IS ART, PORN IS GOOD, PEOPLE MAKING PORN IS A SIGN OF A HEALTHY SOCIETY
There has been a noticeable reticence in left and liberal circles to voice full-throated support for pornography, even as it's become increasingly clear what the open end goals of the censorship movement are
In a lot of ways other leftists chose this path folks. They shrugged and didn’t care when Patreon banned a ton of hypnosis and TF creators, or when YouTube started their ASMR crackdown. Now it’s coming for queer porn creators, more and more. Who will stand up?
November 13, 2025 at 11:59 PM
PORN IS ART, PORN IS GOOD, PEOPLE MAKING PORN IS A SIGN OF A HEALTHY SOCIETY
being an Oscar Van Rhijn fan is so logical to me. He schemes! He slouches! He has quiet zingers!
August 14, 2025 at 9:02 PM
being an Oscar Van Rhijn fan is so logical to me. He schemes! He slouches! He has quiet zingers!
go through some newspaper archives, they said. it'll be FUN, they said
July 8, 2025 at 1:48 PM
go through some newspaper archives, they said. it'll be FUN, they said
Reposted by Chels
hi! 😃 i couldn't help but notice that scrolling is sapping your will to live! may i offer u a video essay in these trying times?
youtu.be/Bdj14_jdumI
youtu.be/Bdj14_jdumI
be your own algorithm
YouTube video by pagemelt
youtu.be
July 6, 2025 at 1:04 PM
hi! 😃 i couldn't help but notice that scrolling is sapping your will to live! may i offer u a video essay in these trying times?
youtu.be/Bdj14_jdumI
youtu.be/Bdj14_jdumI
Me, a person who has publicly called Thomas Cromwell "babygirl":
Ali Hazelwood is in trouble for WHAT
Ali Hazelwood is in trouble for WHAT
June 17, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Me, a person who has publicly called Thomas Cromwell "babygirl":
Ali Hazelwood is in trouble for WHAT
Ali Hazelwood is in trouble for WHAT
I did feel actively insane last year watching a lot of book creators say that a queer author is a sex pest over a PR box, so this breakdown of the situation... very cathartic to me
www.tiktok.com/@_happy_dagg...
www.tiktok.com/@_happy_dagg...
Quick, someone start a fight in the comments! #booktok #books #bookrecommendations #kindleunlimited #spicybooks
TikTok video by Jet
www.tiktok.com
June 2, 2025 at 9:54 AM
I did feel actively insane last year watching a lot of book creators say that a queer author is a sex pest over a PR box, so this breakdown of the situation... very cathartic to me
www.tiktok.com/@_happy_dagg...
www.tiktok.com/@_happy_dagg...
looking up something on the french revolution which is how i found out some history blog used AI to yasssify Desmoulins
May 28, 2025 at 9:30 PM
looking up something on the french revolution which is how i found out some history blog used AI to yasssify Desmoulins
i watched no less than THREE fake trailers for Pillion before realizing that there is not actually a real trailer for Pillion yet.
May 28, 2025 at 11:52 AM
i watched no less than THREE fake trailers for Pillion before realizing that there is not actually a real trailer for Pillion yet.
i saw residual discourse about an author who is a man "pretending" to be a lesbian and man, y'all need to leave it alone. Gender and sexuality are fluid, if someone is posting that identity chances are they're interested in exploring. Not your job to be a cop about it
May 22, 2025 at 4:57 PM
i saw residual discourse about an author who is a man "pretending" to be a lesbian and man, y'all need to leave it alone. Gender and sexuality are fluid, if someone is posting that identity chances are they're interested in exploring. Not your job to be a cop about it
Reposted by Chels
yes obviously you are allowed to critique popular books and social media creators but using"booktok girlies" as a pejorative is something you should rethink imoooooo
April 28, 2025 at 3:38 PM
yes obviously you are allowed to critique popular books and social media creators but using"booktok girlies" as a pejorative is something you should rethink imoooooo
it's not REALLY a big deal but i get sad when i see reviewers say things like, "here are the best books I read in Q1"
please exorcise corporate jargon from your hobbies! free yourself!!!
please exorcise corporate jargon from your hobbies! free yourself!!!
April 25, 2025 at 9:48 AM
it's not REALLY a big deal but i get sad when i see reviewers say things like, "here are the best books I read in Q1"
please exorcise corporate jargon from your hobbies! free yourself!!!
please exorcise corporate jargon from your hobbies! free yourself!!!
Reposted by Chels
New episode! The Phoenix Bride is an achingly romantic book set in London, 1666 and unlike anything we've ever read. Siegel managed to make an under explored setting feel very lived and pulls off the kind of happily-ever-after we wish we saw more of in the genre.
April 15, 2025 at 1:42 PM
New episode! The Phoenix Bride is an achingly romantic book set in London, 1666 and unlike anything we've ever read. Siegel managed to make an under explored setting feel very lived and pulls off the kind of happily-ever-after we wish we saw more of in the genre.
Reposted by Chels
MAKE GOOD MOVIES OR DIE!
Cecil B. Demented, John Waters (2000)
Cecil B. Demented, John Waters (2000)
April 10, 2025 at 7:07 PM
MAKE GOOD MOVIES OR DIE!
Cecil B. Demented, John Waters (2000)
Cecil B. Demented, John Waters (2000)
Sanjana recently shared this old piece in her latest (excellent!) Substack and I'm excited folks are discovering it. It's about Christine Monson's infamous book STORMFIRE, a bodice ripper that a lot of people view as a gratuitous, immoral work
theloosecravat.substack.com/p/a-history-...
theloosecravat.substack.com/p/a-history-...
A History of Violence
Stormfire, the scorpion, and the frog
theloosecravat.substack.com
April 10, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Sanjana recently shared this old piece in her latest (excellent!) Substack and I'm excited folks are discovering it. It's about Christine Monson's infamous book STORMFIRE, a bodice ripper that a lot of people view as a gratuitous, immoral work
theloosecravat.substack.com/p/a-history-...
theloosecravat.substack.com/p/a-history-...
Reposted by Chels
new episode! this week we’re talking about sex work, mistresses, theater, jewelry, estates and more with @scarr.bsky.social! His Lordship’s Mistress is a charming Signet Regency that explores many topics that newer readers might assume a stuffy Regency would shy a way from.
March 18, 2025 at 3:32 PM
new episode! this week we’re talking about sex work, mistresses, theater, jewelry, estates and more with @scarr.bsky.social! His Lordship’s Mistress is a charming Signet Regency that explores many topics that newer readers might assume a stuffy Regency would shy a way from.
I recently watched scent of a woman and it's going to haunt me for the rest if my life that *that* is what got Pacino an Oscar
February 26, 2025 at 12:14 AM
I recently watched scent of a woman and it's going to haunt me for the rest if my life that *that* is what got Pacino an Oscar
want to see my YouTube/Substack impression
"The ___ ification of ____" "The Problem with ____" "[Person Name] and [Widespread Aberrant Behavior I'm Pretending Originated with Them]"
"The ___ ification of ____" "The Problem with ____" "[Person Name] and [Widespread Aberrant Behavior I'm Pretending Originated with Them]"
February 21, 2025 at 4:48 PM
want to see my YouTube/Substack impression
"The ___ ification of ____" "The Problem with ____" "[Person Name] and [Widespread Aberrant Behavior I'm Pretending Originated with Them]"
"The ___ ification of ____" "The Problem with ____" "[Person Name] and [Widespread Aberrant Behavior I'm Pretending Originated with Them]"
did you know that in 1983 there was an Amtrak "Love Train" that took a large group of romance authors/fans to the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention? NYT was not a fan of the documentary about them, saying the women featured had "barren lives"
theloosecravat.substack.com/p/the-love-t...
theloosecravat.substack.com/p/the-love-t...
The Love Train
Sex, sales, and romance in 1983
theloosecravat.substack.com
February 19, 2025 at 5:24 PM
did you know that in 1983 there was an Amtrak "Love Train" that took a large group of romance authors/fans to the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention? NYT was not a fan of the documentary about them, saying the women featured had "barren lives"
theloosecravat.substack.com/p/the-love-t...
theloosecravat.substack.com/p/the-love-t...
ahhh @bayleyreads.bsky.social is my favorite WWI dad
New episode! This week @bayleyreads.bsky.social joins us to talk about Katherine Arden’s The Warm Hands of Ghosts! A WWI magical mystery romance, this book is incredibly special and Bayley helps us figure how Arden pulls off this magic trick. Available on all podcast platforms!
February 18, 2025 at 3:02 PM
ahhh @bayleyreads.bsky.social is my favorite WWI dad
*puts out cigarette*
back in my day "fairy porn" is what we called True Blood Season 3
back in my day "fairy porn" is what we called True Blood Season 3
February 5, 2025 at 3:35 PM
*puts out cigarette*
back in my day "fairy porn" is what we called True Blood Season 3
back in my day "fairy porn" is what we called True Blood Season 3
Reposted by Chels
Good Housekeeping website (?)
has done an article on "fairy porn" (??)
which recommends one of my books (???)
with specific detail indicating that the writer has read the book BUT NEVERTHELESS repeatedly misgendering the MC to make it into MF (?!?!)
www.goodhousekeeping.com/uk/lifestyle...
has done an article on "fairy porn" (??)
which recommends one of my books (???)
with specific detail indicating that the writer has read the book BUT NEVERTHELESS repeatedly misgendering the MC to make it into MF (?!?!)
www.goodhousekeeping.com/uk/lifestyle...
February 5, 2025 at 8:23 AM
Good Housekeeping website (?)
has done an article on "fairy porn" (??)
which recommends one of my books (???)
with specific detail indicating that the writer has read the book BUT NEVERTHELESS repeatedly misgendering the MC to make it into MF (?!?!)
www.goodhousekeeping.com/uk/lifestyle...
has done an article on "fairy porn" (??)
which recommends one of my books (???)
with specific detail indicating that the writer has read the book BUT NEVERTHELESS repeatedly misgendering the MC to make it into MF (?!?!)
www.goodhousekeeping.com/uk/lifestyle...
rather humiliating trying to buy from artists on instagram i'm in their dm's like "hello it's Philip Seymour Hoffman from Twister my page is All Romance Novels. i use them to unwind after a big storm"
February 4, 2025 at 9:29 PM
rather humiliating trying to buy from artists on instagram i'm in their dm's like "hello it's Philip Seymour Hoffman from Twister my page is All Romance Novels. i use them to unwind after a big storm"