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Ryan | Bookshelf

@library.of.ryan

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Literary Fiction | Contemporary | Queer | Historical
📚 Reviews & recs
📍Glasgow, Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
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Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I genuinely don’t know where to start with this one, I’ve had this on my shelf since the start of the year…I’ve been putting off reading it as every person that’s read it has raved about it and I was scared it wouldn’t live up to my expectations and hype but it surpassed anything I could imagine. What a NOVEL! I’m so glad I started my spooky season with this one.

Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova is a literary horror novel about a mother consumed by grief, cutting open her son’s corpse and taking a piece of his lung, guided by an old folktale she nurtures and feeds the organ in a glass jar at her mothers family home in Mexico City, until the creature comes to life.

I really loved the way the novel is split into 4 parts, and the shifting perspectives of Magos, Lena, Joseph and M, the pacing and time structure was perfect throughout along with the settings spanning across Mexico City, Brooklyn and Berlin.

What I absolutely adored besides the themes and story its self was the queerness throughout the book with multiple characters being in complex queer relationships and unconventional family dynamics.

At its core Monstrilio is a story of heartbreaking grief, loss, human attachment and maternal instinct but it’s so much more than just that.

Genuinely one of all time favourite reads!

#bookreview #booksta #bookstagram #bookish #monstrilio taken in Glasgow, Scotland by @library.of.ryan

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20 hours ago

Happy Aardvark Book Club UK Launch to those who celebrate, I was kindly gifted this launch box from @aardvarkbookclubuk to help celebrate.

Aardvark Book Club UK is a book selection box that you can choose up to 3 new reads a month, they drop 5-6 different titles each month so there’s something for everyone. Each book is high quality and have exclusive hardbacks and dust covers.

Each month’s membership cost is £13.99 (accounts for one hardback) plus an additional £8.99 for extra books. Use code “LAUNCH!” For your first book for only £8.99!

Once again a huge thank you to @aardvarkbookclubuk for involving me and sending me these two gorgeous books I can’t wait to delve in!

Gifted/Ad

#aardvarkbookclub #booksta #bookstagram #bookish #reading taken in Glasgow, Scotland by @library.of.ryan

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21 hours ago

A few days late but here’s my September wrap up, I had a really enjoyable reading month in September. I read some translated fiction, queer stories and a Booker Prize longlist. My stand outs this month have to be Switzy by Emma Cline and Isaac by Curtis Garner.

What was everyone’s favourite read of September?

Swipe for a yes/no/maybe of my September reads!

#booksta #bookstagram #booktrend #monthlywrapup #bookish

Yes / no / maybe
Switzy by Emma Cline - yes, phenomenal no notes.

Walk the Blue Fields by Claire Keegan - yes, a brilliant collection of short stories.

Restoration by Ave Barrera - maybe, if haunting stories are for you.

Queerphoria by Verve Voices - yes!!

Of Cattle and Men by Ana Paula Maia - yes, although not my favourite of hers it’s still incredible.

Isaac by Curtis Garner - yes, such a great debut novel!

One Hundred Guinea Pigs by Gustavo Rodríguez - maybe, if slow paced is your thing.

#translatedfiction #queerfiction #shortstory #queerstories #bookerprize taken in Glasgow, Scotland by @library.of.ryan

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6 days ago

Thought I’d try something fun and different here’s some books that perfectly capture…
#booksta #books #bookstagram #booktrend #bookish taken in Glasgow, Scotland by @library.of.ryan

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6 days ago

Isaac by Curtis Garner | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Phewww this one hit home for me. Curtis Garner has a real talent for creating such polished, fast paced complex novels filled with character and power.

This is my second Curtis Garner novel after reading Orange and this being his debut is so impressive and something to be truly proud of.

Set in London the story follows 17 year old Isaac as he discovers his sexual awakening in the digital age, spending his final few months before moving to Manchester for university. Isaac becomes infatuated with Harrison a 28 year old man who he meets at a party. As the story progresses there’s a sense of anxiety and overwhelmingness that plays out before you of age-gap power dynamics, masculinity versus femininity, mental and physical abuse.

Curtis has done a major job at achieving a main character who is highly relatable with such depth of character and a story so vivid. What really stood out for me with this novel is the way the author captures the queer experience in all aspects especially with the naiveness, and anxieties of growing up. This is a story of yearning but yearning to find one’s self as opposed to someone else.

There are many raw and unspoken themes and topics covered within this novel, that are handled delicately. Issac as a character and novel with live with me for a very long time.

I am now two for two on Curtis Garners work and I can safely say if he writes it I will read it.

#bookreview #bookreviewer #booksta #bookish #bookstagram taken in Glasgow, Scotland by @library.of.ryan

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8 days ago

Hopping on the 10 before the end trend, here’s the 10 books I want to read before the end of 2026! Hopefully manage these ones and more though! What’s everyone hoping to read be the end of the year?
#books #booktrend #booksta #bookstagram #10beforetheend taken in Glasgow, Scotland by @library.of.ryan

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10 days ago

One Hundred Guinea Pigs by Gustavo Rodríguez (translated by Daniel Hahn) | ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ½

One Hundred Guinea Pigs is tender, funny, slightly heartwarming novel about dignity, aging and assisted dying. Set in Peru the story follows Eufrasia Vela a compassionate professional caregiver, who looks after elderly clients dealing with isolation and fading independence.

When one of her bedridden clients, Doña Carmen makes a final request for help with assisted dying, Eufrasia faces a profound ethical dilemma.

The story continues as Eufrasia takes on work at a local nursing home, befriending a group of residents who call themselves the “Magnificent Seven,” eventually leading to complex ethical crossroads surrounding choice and compassion.

#bookstagram #booksta #bookish #bookreview #bookreviewer taken in Glasgow, Scotland by @library.of.ryan

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14 days ago

Colour hunt in my camera roll 2.0
Had so much fun time doing this the first I decided it was time to do another 🙂‍↕️
#booksta #bookstagram #bookish #reading #books by @library.of.ryan

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16 days ago

Queerphoria by Verve Voices | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Queerphoria is a joyful, totally loud and totally proud anthology by queer voices published by Verve as part of there Verve Voices series.

This gorgeous little book explores queerness in all shapes and forms, be it poetry, fictional short stories, essays and illustrations. This collection of work is beautifully put together using a wide range of voices from the LGBTQIA+ community, its emotional, joyous, engaging and very reflective. I’m so grateful to have picked this up, I have read a few of some of the different authors works before and now have been introduced to a plethora of new and exciting authors.

And most importantly by purchasing this book not only are you making a difference by supporting queer voices, but for every copy sold £1 will be donated to Switchboard, the UK’s national LGBTQIA+ support line.

#bookreview #booksta #bookstagram #queer #queerlit taken in Glasgow, Scotland by @library.of.ryan

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16 days ago

Come with me on a bookish day out in Edinburgh 🚂🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
Decide to go on a wee day trip through to Edinburgh to have a wander and more importantly have a look at some bookshops.
#bookshop #bookish #bookstagram #booksta #reading

Train ride essentials
• A good book
• Coffee

First stop was Topping & Company, my first time visiting and the place is HUGE, floor to ceiling. Any book you can imagine they probably have, and the best part is they have tons of signed and first edition books, I spent easily an hour in here.

First stop was Topping & Company, my first time visiting and the place is HUGE, floor to ceiling. Any book you can imagine they probably have, and the best part is they have tons of signed and first edition books, I spent easily an hour in here.

First stop was Topping & Company, my first time visiting and the place is HUGE, floor to ceiling. Any book you can imagine they probably have, and the best part is they have tons of signed and first edition books, I spent easily an hour in here.

First stop was Topping & Company, my first time visiting and the place is HUGE, floor to ceiling. Any book you can imagine they probably have, and the best part is they have tons of signed and first edition books, I spent easily an hour in here.

I’ve been looking for X Is Where I Am by Sara Torres for a while and they had a signed copy!

Next stop was Lighthouse Bookshop, a queer-owned and woman led independent community bookshop. Absolutely loved this one so many good books specifically radical, left-wing and Scottish politics, feminism, revolutionary history, environmentalism, LGBT+ writing, poetry and translated fiction.

Next stop was Lighthouse Bookshop, a queer-owned and woman led independent community bookshop. Absolutely loved this one so many good books specifically radical, left-wing and Scottish politics, feminism, revolutionary history, environmentalism, LGBT+ writing, poetry and translated fiction.

Next stop was Lighthouse Bookshop, a queer-owned and woman led independent community bookshop. Absolutely loved this one so many good books specifically radical, left-wing and Scottish politics, feminism, revolutionary history, environmentalis taken in Edinburgh, United Kingdom by @library.of.ryan

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20 days ago

Of Cattle and Men by Ana Paula Maia (translated by Zoë Perry) | ⭐️⭐️⭐️½

Completing three out of three Ana Paula Maia books, and I can confidently say after reading this one, she may be one of my favourite authors ever.

Of Cattle and Men is another brutal, bleak and atmospheric novella set in rural Brazil.

The setting for this one takes place in Mr Milo’s slaughterhouse, following the protagonist Edgar Wilson, the stun operator who takes a kindness for the animals he kills by blessing each and every one before doing the deed.

As the story continues the cattle grow bizarrely unsettled, miscarrying, charging at walks and throwing themselves off cliffs, leading the men who work the slaughterhouse into paranoia and madness.

Something about Maias writing really itches my brain, the way she manages to transport the reader to these desolate and grim places and leaves you questioning your morals with every read. I cannot wait for more stories and works from this author.

#bookreview #booksta #bookstagram #bookish #reading taken in Glasgow, Scotland by @library.of.ryan

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22 days ago

What I read in a week ✨
My week started with Of Cattle and Men and absolutely loved it, then read my first Claire Keegan and wow her writing is beautiful, of course I had to pick up Switzy on it’s publication day and I couldn’t put it down! Ending my week with something I’ve wanted to read for ages which is The Picture of Dorian Gray.
Whats everyone been reading this week?!
#whatireadinaweek #reading #booksta #bookstagram #bookish taken in Glasgow, Scotland by @library.of.ryan

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24 days ago