kat (she/they)
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katkale.bsky.social
kat (she/they)
@katkale.bsky.social
470 followers 790 following 41 posts
library worker, reader, game enjoyer 🍉
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katkale.bsky.social
I have been LOVING reading @angelaslatter.bsky.social's books this autumn, so I whipped up a bingo card for some common things I've noticed in her gothic fantasy-horror series. Play along with me! bingobaker.com#68ea4fe64538...
A red 5x5 bingo board with white text. Each square has a text description of a trope or motif in Angela Slatter's work. The squares read, going across, then down, Dark magic, Monster Fuckers, Be the neck that turns the head, MC hits the bricks, Threat of marriage, Rich people suuuck, Murder, Story within a story, Unprovoked sudden violence, MC reluctantly shows mercy, Queer people mentioned, Mommy issues, Oh my god what the fuck? (free space), Badass Grandma (evil), consequences of MC's lies, scary creatures casually mentioned, abortion reference!, ominous foreshadowing, ghosts!, MC lies her ass off, Fuck am I becoming like my parents??, Backstory that changes everything, the church is evil, One (1) decent man, casual sex. End description.
October 11, 2025 at 12:47 PM
katkale.bsky.social
Had this realization about three of my favorite fantasy novels I've read this year: Asunder by @kerstinhall.bsky.social, The Last Hour Between Worlds by @melissacaruso.bsky.social and The Witch Roads by @kateelliottsff.bsky.social. All of them also have queer characters :) #booksky
A venn diagram featuring three fantasy novels. In one circle is the cover of "Asunder" by Kerstin Hall, in the second circle is the cover of "The Witch Roads" by Kate Elliott, and in the last circle is the cover of "The Last Hour Between Worlds" by Melissa Caruso. Where the circles of Asunder and The Witch Roads overlaps is text reading, "Terrifying eldritch beings and blood magic." Where the circles of Asunder and The Last Hour Between Worlds overlaps is text reading "Charming and incorporeal love interests." Where the circles of The Witch Roads and the Last Hour Between Worlds overlaps is text reading, "MC travels perilously for a living." Where the circles of all three books overlaps is text reading "Appreciation for a good pair of boots." End description.
October 4, 2025 at 5:04 PM
katkale.bsky.social
“The birds were still singing.”
-Victoria Goddard, The Bone Harp
The cover for Victoria Goddard's novel "The Bone Harp" It features an illustration of a dark bird standing atop a small wooden boat atop water, stars overhead.
May 10, 2025 at 4:08 PM
katkale.bsky.social
“I got so used to feeling nothing, and now I feel everything, and I don't know how to talk about it.”
-Woodworking by Emily St. James
The cover for the novel "Woodworking" by Emily St. James. It features a photo stacks of assorted types of chairs in a disheveled pile, with the text of the title playfully tilted around it.
May 10, 2025 at 4:06 PM
katkale.bsky.social
“The royal bees in the royal hives
huddle in clusters, shivering
waiting for spring, ignorant of kings.”
-The Sign of the Dragon by Mary Soon Lee, “Succession”
The cover of "The Sign of the Dragon" by Mary Soon Lee, a fantasy novel in verse. It is illustrated with a depiction of a grassy steppe at night, all of it in shades of blue except for a centered large full moon which glows a yellow that matches the text of the title. Across the horizon ride warriors on horseback, moving at what looks like a gallop.
May 10, 2025 at 4:02 PM
katkale.bsky.social
“If you must know anything, know that the hardest task is to live only once.” - Micaiah Johnson, The Space Between Worlds
The Cover illustration for The Space Between Worlds, a novel by Micaiah Johnson. The cover features two illustrations of the same light-skinned Black woman. She walks down the left side of the illustration in sturdy, practical clothes across a desert plain. On the right side, she walks up into a sci-fi city wearing tailored white business clothes.
May 10, 2025 at 4:00 PM
katkale.bsky.social
“Love is a tangible thing.” -Bryan Washington, Family Meal
The cover illustration for "Family Meal" a novel by Bryan Washington. On a mustard yellow background, two forks meet in the middle of the cover with the tines interlinked. The text of the title and the author is in pale pink.
May 10, 2025 at 3:57 PM
katkale.bsky.social
“What is an advertisement if not instructions?”
Emily Mester, American Excess
The cover illustration for "American Bulk: Essays on Excess" by Emily Mester. It features an American Bison falling over a mountainous backdrop surrounded by falling detritus of modern life such as an empty cardboard box, a ripped open cushion, etc.
May 10, 2025 at 3:55 PM
katkale.bsky.social
“The Leader had said she was an obscene woman who hated men. She hated the family. She wanted to undermine the family as the cornerstone of modern civilized society. It was her debasement of women’s virtues that had led to this degenerate art.” - Heather O'Neill, The Capital of Dreams
The cover of "The Capital of Dreams," a novel by Heather O'Neill. It features a repurposed old painting of a young white girl in a poofy blue Victorian dress sitting on a stone bench with an open book on her lap. Her back is to us and she is looking at something out of sight. In the top right corner, neon pink paint is sort of dripping stylishly. On the bottom of the cover is heavy black dripping paint, as though someone is attempting to censor the painting.
May 10, 2025 at 3:55 PM
katkale.bsky.social
“In the end, all that matters is survival. Survival has much to do with the art of giving.” - Erika Swyler, We Lived on the Horizon
The cover of Erika Swyler's novel, We Lived on the Horizon. It features striking orange sand dunes and a pink and purple sky above with a cutout in the middle of a blue sky and pale, fluffy clouds.
May 10, 2025 at 3:55 PM
katkale.bsky.social
I recently read @margaret.bsky.social's book The Sapling Cage and I really loved it. It reminded me in the best way of growing up with Tamora Pierce and Kristen Britain, the kind of coming-of-age fantasy stories that I have always loved. I cannot wait for more stories in this world!
Cover illustration for "The Sapling Cage" by Margaret Killjoy. It features an ornate golden cage holding a skull from which plants and stars are blooming on a mint green background.
March 23, 2025 at 7:26 PM
katkale.bsky.social
The Siege of Burning Grass by Premee Mohame was the kind of audiobook that had me pausing to rant, alone in my car, about its brilliance, about what it was communicating about men, nonviolence, and disability. It is an absolutely uncompromising book. I highly recommend it to SFF readers!!
Cover illustration for "The Siege of Burning Grass" by Premee Mohamed, which features a photo manipulation of a person with a corvid head wearing a military style jacket. The title is written in a handwritten font in bright red.
January 8, 2025 at 5:11 PM
katkale.bsky.social
Another day, another book I read and loved recently. Today's is Little Fish by Casey Plett, which I chose because I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. I love how this novel approaches writing about light, bodies, and faith. Cannot wait to read Plett's short story collection this year!
The cover illustration for the novel "Little Fish" by Casey Plett. The cover features a watercolor illustration of a snowy city. In the foreground are a few stylized figures painted in blue tones, the only color in the entire illustration. The title is written in large cursive with the authors name in much smaller serif text at the bottom.
January 3, 2025 at 2:53 PM
katkale.bsky.social
A belated Merry Christmas from BabyCat, who graciously allowed this photo in exchange for treats.
A chunky orange tabby cat held up in front of a decorated christmas tree by a person off-screen. The cat is wearing a little green hood and cape. There is a star on top of the hood that lines up with the star on the tree. The cat looks both ennobled and resigned.
December 27, 2024 at 1:35 AM
katkale.bsky.social
Time for another book I read and loved this year! This time it's The Z Word by Lindsay King-Miller. I'm going to be honest, I didn't really get the appeal of blockbuster Zombie movies until I read this book. This is the pride horror blockbuster of my dreams! An absolute blast to read.
Cover for The Z Word by Lindsay King-Miller. Centered is a large capital Z, white with dark borders. Inside the Z is the tagline of the book "The first pride was a riot. The last pride is a bloodbath." The Z forms borders revealing bright colored paneled illustrations in primarily yellow, pink, and light blue. The panel illustrations include women kissing, a gooey brain, a bloodied axe, clawing zombie hands, and pizza. The author's name (Lindsay King-Miller) is written along the base of the book cover.
December 26, 2024 at 5:20 PM
katkale.bsky.social
One of my favorite books this year was easily Nicked by M.T. Anderson. It's a heist novel. It's a gay romance. It's an ode to Saint Nicholas, so it's kind of the perfect Christmas book! It's also short, we're talking under 250 pages! If you need company this long winter's night, check it out!
Cover of the novel "Nicked" by M.T. Anderson. It has a black background with the title in all caps at the top with the author's name in a cursive script beneath all in a yellow-gold. Underneath is an oil painted skull being gently tilted up by a human arm reaching from off frame. The fingers of the hand are lifting it by one eye socket. The other eye socket is leaking some kind of sap.
December 24, 2024 at 3:43 PM
katkale.bsky.social
Cuckoo by Gretchen Felker-Martin was the most cathartic horror novel I read this year. I stayed up late, desperate to know what would happen next. It was bloody, terrible, and true.
The book cover for "Cuckoo" by Gretchen Felker-Martin. It has a black background. At the top, centered, is the title in yellow font. Underneath is a photo of a birds nest. Inside the nest are several small broken eggs and one larger, unbroken egg. Underneath the nest is the author's name in white font.
December 23, 2024 at 2:10 PM