What’s Everybody Reading?

[Donna]

I am a voracious bibliophile, primarily fiction these days. Sci-fi, fantasy, gothic, mystery, and romance are top of my list. If the story contains a fat heroine, all the better. So tell me…what’s your favorite genre? Author? Is there a particular trope you find more enjoyable than others?

Let’s get nerdy and talk books.

 

[Pluviophile]

These days I am into mythology. I am reading Olympus - An Indian Retelling of Greek Myths by Devdutt Pattanaik, an Indian writer. And so far it's going great and it's good to know that Indian and Greek mythology are similar in multiple contexts. May be I will read some of Hindu mythology books in future.
I don't always stick to one genre, instead I read as per my mood. And I enjoy exploring various categories.

 

[Donna]

Many eons ago (36 years ) I took a mythology course as one of my electives. I was surprised by the parallels myself. My final paper was a treatise illuminating the similarities in different cultures’ myths.

My current reading isn’t quite so cerebral. I just finished a sci-fi series by Tanas Stone. Seems in Stone’s futuristic world, all the earth women traveling in space are fat women whom the aliens they encounter find irresistible. The fat girl geek in me was in book heaven. Pure brain candy.

I’m cracking open an Olivia Dade novel now, ‘Desire & the Deep Blue Sea.’ No sexy aliens, but Dade’s characters are so well written, I forget I’m reading a work of fiction.

 

[Colonial Warrior]

Many eons ago (36 years ) I took a mythology course as one of my electives. I was surprised by the parallels myself. My final paper was a treatise illuminating the similarities in different cultures’ myths.

My current reading isn’t quite so cerebral. I just finished a sci-fi series by Tanas Stone. Seems in Stone’s futuristic world, all the earth women traveling in space are fat women whom the aliens they encounter find irresistible. The fat girl geek in me was in book heaven. Pure brain candy.

I’m cracking open an Olivia Dade novel now, ‘Desire & the Deep Blue Sea.’ No sexy aliens, but Dade’s characters are so well written, I forget I’m reading a work of fiction.

Greek mythology and fat women who attract aliens. Sounds very interesting for a crossover in the same vein of the myth of Pygmalion and Galatea.

 

[Donna]

Greek mythology and fat women who attract aliens. Sounds very interesting for a crossover in the same vein of the myth of Pygmalion and Galatea.

Can we make her Celtic or Norse? Some of their goddesses look like me…Galatea’s far too thin.

 

[Still a Skye fan]

I'm a reference librarian in a public library so I read pretty much whatever interests me at the time: fiction of all kinds, all sorts of non-fiction. I have many interests.

Anyway, I'm currently roughly 2/3rds of the way through The Living Dead, a 656 page book by George A. Romero and Daniel Kraus. Yes, this is the George Romero who directed the classic 1968 movie, Night of the Living Dead and is pretty much the "Father" of the zombie genre still going strong today. I once had the pleasure of meeting and chatting with Romero at a convention several years ago. He was a very tall, very nice and very cool guy.

Since Romero died back in 2017, I'm not quite sure where the second author took over and finished this book. It's still a long but very engrossing read about the end of the world thanks to a zombie virus. It's lots of fun, with good characters and the plot flows right along quite nicely.

 

[Tad]

Currently working on an e-book written by a lovely poster on a different fat-oriented site, "The Scarlet Flowers of Engelstadt". The lack of truly professional editing is noticeable, but I'm enjoying plenty about the book. (unfortunately the latest wave of Covid being immediately followed by the Covid supporters occupying the heart of my city for weeks immediately followed by the start of the war in the Ukraine has left my brain in complete hamster on speed mode, sprinting in place and having great difficulty in settling down enough to read. The time it is taking me to get through this book is not a reflection on the book, but on my mental state)

 

[Colonial Warrior]

Can we make her Celtic or Norse? Some of their goddesses look like me…Galatea’s far too thin.

I love the Greek mythology since I took a course in junior high school way back in 1981. By coincidence, in that year, in the movie theaters there was the classic movie Clash of the Titans. That fueled up my love for Greek mythology.

The Pygmalion and Galatea story came to me when I needed the most. When my best friend in college got married. I love her a lot but I always understood that we are not made for each other and kept my feelings for her in secret and told them to her after she was married.

Currently, I'm not ready yet for writing stories. By now, I write reviews for TV shows and comic books from the 70s. I'm a lover of retro sci fi.

Thank you for inspiring me for writing a story like that in the future.

And welcome aboard, @Donna !

 

[Colonial Warrior]

I'm very busy writing reviews this week, but I have found an interesting story here.

It's written by the late Debra "Teighlor" Perkins. I still have an interest to find more of her here because she was my attraction to women of her size brought me to the FA movement and to Dims.

Here is the link to the story titled Safari:

https://www.dimensionsmagazine.com/threads/safari-by-teighlor-ssbbw-feeder-fantasy.2822/

 

[Donna]

I love the Greek mythology since I took a course in junior high school way back in 1981. By coincidence, in that year, in the movie theaters there was the classic movie Clash of the Titans. That fueled up my love for Greek mythology.

The Pygmalion and Galatea story came to me when I needed the most. When my best friend in college got married. I love her a lot but I always understood that we are not made for each other and kept my feelings for her in secret and told them to her after she was married.

Currently, I'm not ready yet for writing stories. By now, I write reviews for TV shows and comic books from the 70s. I'm a lover of retro sci fi.

Thank you for inspiring me for writing a story like that in the future.

And welcome aboard, @Donna !

Warrior, (may I call you that?)

If I inspired the story, may I be one of your beta readers? I do some freelance writing and editing now that I’m retired just to give me something to do. I’m currently plotting a novel, but it’s more flashback and unrequited love than sci-fi.

‘Clash of the Titans’ was one of my favorite movies when I was fifteen. “I was partial to tragedy when I was a youth. That was before experience taught me life is tragic enough without having to write about it.” (My quote may not be exact, my memory isn’t what it was in my youth.) I might have to rewatch it now.

-D

 

[Colonial Warrior]

Warrior, (may I call you that?)

If I inspired the story, may I be one of your beta readers? I do some freelance writing and editing now that I’m retired just to give me something to do. I’m currently plotting a novel, but it’s more flashback and unrequited love than sci-fi.

‘Clash of the Titans’ was one of my favorite movies when I was fifteen. “I was partial to tragedy when I was a youth. That was before experience taught me life is tragic enough without having to write about it.” (My quote may not be exact, my memory isn’t what it was in my youth.) I might have to rewatch it now.

-D

You can call me anyway!

If I could write that story, you will be the first to know.

Thanks for sharing with me!

 

[Donna]

I'm a reference librarian in a public library so I read pretty much whatever interests me at the time: fiction of all kinds, all sorts of non-fiction. I have many interests.

Anyway, I'm currently roughly 2/3rds of the way through The Living Dead, a 656 page book by George A. Romero and Daniel Kraus. Yes, this is the George Romero who directed the classic 1968 movie, Night of the Living Dead and is pretty much the "Father" of the zombie genre still going strong today. I once had the pleasure of meeting and chatting with Romero at a convention several years ago. He was a very tall, very nice and very cool guy.

Since Romero died back in 2017, I'm not quite sure where the second author took over and finished this book. It's still a long but very engrossing read about the end of the world thanks to a zombie virus. It's lots of fun, with good characters and the plot flows right along quite nicely.

I thought the name Daniel Kraus sounded familiar when I first read your post; he co-wrote The Shape of Water with del Toro. I was curious about The Living Dead, so I downloaded a few preview passages to check out. I normally don't like zombies much, but I am hoping this will be better than the last zombie book I tried to get through, Pride & Prejudice & Zombies.

 

[Sonic Purity]

I am a voracious bibliophile, primarily fiction these days. Sci-fi, fantasy, gothic, mystery, and romance are top of my list. If the story contains a fat heroine, all the better. So tell me…what’s your favorite genre? Author? Is there a particular trope you find more enjoyable than others?

My thing is fat fic—writer and reader of the genre. The reason i’m posting in this thread is that right now i’m immersed in reading others’ works in the genre, as part of voting for the 2022 Fishery Awards (a.k.a. The Fishies), and finding some amazing, deeply moving stories.

The evolution of this genre is profound.

1990s: Banging Rocks Together stage. Coherent sentences with passable spelling and grammar, and actually finished rather than started and abandoned?: You’re a bleedin’ genius!

Now: Actual Literature. Below i will name a few things i’ve come across that i’ll put up against any professional writer/published books as peers. This is not “fap material”, or if there is even any of that aspect, it’s minor rather than the story being centered around it.

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Lady Luck by Marlow (here on Dims)(PDF on DeviantArt)
I never thought i’d see the day where there was an actual Regency-era historic romance novel in fat fic. I’m not well-read in Regency novels, but both my mother and housemate/ex True Love BBW Siber Hussy read a lot of those in paperback and on Kindle, so sometimes i’d pick one up and read for awhile, so i do have a sense of what these are about. While right now this one is electronic and free, as far as i can tell it is in every way a peer to the popular titles for sale—at least.

Deeply researched, very well written. Drew me all the way in, moved me deeply. I cannot recommend it highly enough. It’s my first exposure to Marlow, but not my last. Marlow is currently releasing Planet XXL here, which i’ve not yet had a chance to get into.

****
Meatier by ShrubberyLogistic (DeviantArt)
A short mind-twister which left me somewhat numb, in shock, and in tears. One of the most amazing things i’ve ever read written by anyone anywhere of any sort of fiction. I can’t write anything further without biasing you the (potential) reader, other than you’ll get the most out of this story giving it your full undivided attention. Sometimes what is not explicitly written conveys so much more than what is.

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Ameyalli by ophion8118 (DeviantArt)
Another milder mind-twister requiring the reader to pay attention, though not mild in terms of its set-in-future-and-past sci-fi aspect. This is another case where the less i write, the better will be your enjoyment/take-away.

****
F*ck America by Dania201 (DeviantArt)
Please don’t let the title put you off. Compelling story from the perspective of a Jordanian female lead character’s experiences, comparing/contrasting nations and cultures and commenting on life in general anywhere.

****
Pigverse Presents: Megababe by Katie-KTL-Lunalia (gallery/Issue [chapter] nav page on DeviantArt)
Here we get into more mainline fat fic. This piece stands out enough for me to recommend here in this post. The Pigverse is a shared story universe of fat superheroes, different stories and original characters created and written by different authors. Katie-KTL-Lunalia contributes The Extremely Radical, Totally Bodacious Megababe: a 50-year-old washed-up now-fat former superhero (barely) trying to make a comeback. Well written, well-developed characters, very funny.

****
The Shapiro Files and most anything else by MrWrong1 (Mal’s Maison: his own guide to all his released & available stories on DeviantArt)
This may be one of the few times an algorithm has done some good. Last spring, the DeviantArt home page recommended to me The Big Bunco: story #10 of the Shiva Shapiro hardboiled private investigator series. With total respect to all authors in fat lit, i’m personally soooooooooo tired of seeing nearly every story set in high school or college or just out of college, that as soon as i saw “Crashing into fifty years old” as the opening line of the short snippet with which DA teased me, i had to look closer. So glad i did!

Disclosure: MrWrong1 and i have become good online fat fic writer/FA friends.

Whether or not this was true, i’d still write here that he’s a top-notch writer, well worth checking out. His characters have depth and are well-developed (as characters, and for the women most often physically as well), and for the Shapiro series in particular, carried through the series and woven in and out. While each Shiva Shapiro story is self-contained and readable on its own, you’ll get much more out of them starting from the beginning and reading them linearly through in order.

If you want something stand-alone and shorter, two i’ve found (and i’ve yet to read everything) which are excellent:

Mind-Twister: This Little
MrWrong1’s synopsis: 40-something literary editor Jeanne has an unfulfilling marriage and a secret feedee kink she tries to satisfy through online encounters. When she accepts an offer to take her desires offline she has a rather… transformative experience. (3 parts)

Humor: The 2022 BBlympics
MrWrong1’s synopsis: The USA's greatest fatletes compete in McAllen, Texas, the country's fattest city.

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Last and likely least are my own stories. A few are here and/or on one or more of Curvage, Fantasy Feeder, and/or DeviantArt, but the only place with all of them is my personal homemade story site, jigglejunkie.com. Stories home page. I’ll let that page and that site speak for itself. It’s relevant to this post because i am routinely reading my own stories, because writing and proofreading and continuity checking don’t happen by themselves.

Happy Reading!

 

[Donna]

Thanks for all the suggestions, Sonic. I’m especially interested in ‘The Shapiro Files.’

I remember the paper version of Dimensions, and trust me, those stories were hard to read. Never mind the poor grammar and spelling, the obvious lack of editing was painful with poorly constructed storylines and plot holes big enough to fit my super size ass through. There was often unnecessary and graphic descriptions of sexual situations. I’m no prude, never was, but it was all just too hard to read.

Despite that, they were wildly popular. I submitted one of my first short stories to be published on the story boards of this version of the forums circa 2008 or so. I sent it to the mod at the time because I was afraid my friends here would give me grief for it, and he put it out on the boards. It may even still be in the archives somewhere, depending how far back they go. I was so disappointed when it garnered no responses, positive or negative. Apparently, a fat woman seduced by a vampire just didn’t pass the muster. Luckily for my bruised ego, my friends in the goth/vampire community loved it.

Sorry for the ramble, I do that….thanks again for all the suggestions. I will give them a read.

 

[littlefairywren]

I'm in a bit of a reading slump, but I've a book on the go at the moment that I'm enjoying (which I'm trying to read each week).
The Song of Achilles - It's a retelling of the meeting of, and then the love between Achilles and Patroclus (the main protagonist).

 

[loopytheone]

I keep reading this thread title as "Why is everyone reading?" which I guess is a much deeper philosophical question about mankind.

 

[Donna]

I keep reading this thread title as "Why is everyone reading?" which I guess is a much deeper philosophical question about mankind.

Hmmm…how about, “I read, therefore I am.”

Seriously, though, without books I never would have travelled to magical places like Narnia, Middle Earth, Hogwarts, a town called Garoureve, the Highland Moors, Camelot, the Little Shop Around the Corner, Margrathea, Xanth, Pern, the Forest Moon of Endor, or even the Hundred Acre Wood to name a few. Books transport me through time and space where I’ve met characters who repulse and terrify me, or who imparted wisdom I’ve needed, or best of all who I have fallen in love with.

 

[Tad]

A newspaper that I read has a journalist at the border crossing from Ukraine to Poland, talking to new refugees and taking pictures. One day it was focused on "what non-necessary thing did you have to bring with you". Most were fleeing with only minutes to pack one bag, not knowing if they'd ever get home again or if anything would be left if they did, so what do you take? One young teenager had filled half her small backpack with books, understanding that with her world destroyed books were the one thing that might keep her afloat. I cry every time I think of that, but it also reminds me powerfully of how important stories can be.

 

[Donna]

Once upon a time, in what seems like the distant past, I had shelves upon shelves of physical copy books. I fought the conversion to e-reader for a while, but losing some of my precious books changed my mind. I lived in Florida and had to bug out for a hurricane. I was able to get my precious signed and first editions into a waterproof tote before evacuation, but that was just a fraction. I still mourn the loss of some of those old paperbacks. After that, I started downloading everything to an e-reader. I live far enough north and inland now, so hurricanes are no longer a concern, but whose to say with the instability of this world if I wouldn’t have to someday bug out of here. My stories will always be with me now.

After checking out the amateur prose Sonic Purity (I nearly typed Sonic Boom…where is my brain today?) suggested, next on my TBR list is ‘Neon Gods’ by Katee Roberts; a modern retelling of Homer’s Persephone & Hades. I actually read the first chapter this morning and I’m hooked.

 

[cinnamitch]

I read a lot, labels being a personal favorite(hehe). Seriously though I read a lot of medical things, books from the Golden Era of Hollywood, biographies and such. Right now I read a lot of Amish romance, heading west romance and small town romance. I used to read much more graphic romance and I absorbed Rosemary Rogers, Kathleen Woodiwiss, Judith Krantz and Jackie Collins. I have two I’m reading now, The Mulligans of Mt. Jefferson by Don Reid, and my Merck Manual