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Relish Reading (She/Her) 🌈

@reading_relish

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Bookworm📚Introvert☺️Writer✏️
#ReadingIsPolitical
📖: 37/35
CR: These Kids from Fawn Creek by Erin Entrada Kelly

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Abdullah needs our help this winter. Please help in any way you can. Li nk to GoFu ndMe in my bi o.

HASHTAGS:
#FYP #Gaza #FreePalestine by @reading_relish

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10 months ago

QOTD: What sapphic books would you recommend to people who say, “There aren’t any good sapphic books”?

AOTD: I was inspired to make this after reading The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School by Sonido Reyes. I was SO INVESTED from the beginning, and after finishing it, I thought, “Ugh, WHY do people pass up on sapphic stories??? 😭 They’re missing out!” Don’t get me started on the way Achillean rep in books, movies, and shows get so much more attention (and when it comes to TV, are less likely to be cancelled after one season).

And so, in my frustration, I compiled a (non-exhaustive) list of books with sapphic MCs that I think will change the minds of skeptics. Whether it’s a feminist retelling of Sleeping Beauty (A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow), a fun YA contemporary with fake dating in reality TV (Good Luck, Babe! by Erin Baldwin, a graphic novel where a sapphic witch and non-binary werewolf fall in love, there’s something for everyone.

BOOKS:

—Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy by Nora Dåsnes
—Dear Medusa by Olivia A. Cole
—Good Luck, Babe! By Erin Baldwin
—Hazel Hill Is Gonna Win This One by Maggie Horne
—Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me by Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell
—The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School by Sonido Reyes
—Mooncakes by Wendy Xu and Suzanne Walker
—Orpheus Girl by Brynne Rebele-Henry
—A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow
—You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson

Please support my friend Abdullah any way you can, whether that’s liking, following, posting his content on your stories, and/or donating.

Free Pale stine 🍉 by @reading_relish

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6 days ago

Your ableism and pretentious ignorance is showing, girlypop. 😒

SOURCES:

https://wecapable.com/audiobooks-blind-people/

https://medium.com/everylibrary/listening-for-life-the-benefits-of-audiobooks-for-dyslexia-814ff05bd8fd

https://literacybuffalo.org/2025/01/23/adult-literacy-rates-are-falling-new-literacy-study-shows-big-problems/ by @reading_relish

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20 days ago

QOTD: Do you watch sports?
My Answer: Only the Olympics. 😂 I especially enjoy watching the lesser-viewed sports like synchronized swimming and cross-country skiing. Because I don’t see them often on regular TV and don’t always know how athletes compete, I love learning more about them!

Other than that, though? I will HAPPILY miss the Super Bowl, thank you very much.

Doing the #FootballSeasonBookTag (middle grade edition)!

I found this while browsing for trending book tags, thanks to @dreamerwithabook and @bookmarkedby_andrea. While I’m not an American football fan, I really liked the prompts on this book tag, so I decided to participate! I know I’ve said this before, miss doing these. 🥺 They’re a great way to create content when I’m unmotivated or can’t figure out what to make.

One thing I’ve realized when making these, though, is that if I have to choose between ALL the books I’ve read/are on my TBR, I’ll become too overwhelmed to answer a prompt (or I answer with multiple books, which takes longer to fit into a slide 😅). So I’ve decided every time I do a book tag, I’m gonna narrow it down to a genre, age category, trope, etc.

I will not pass up the opportunity to bring up my friend Abdullah in my post. Please support my friend any way you can, whether that’s liking, following, posting his content on your stories, and/or donating.

Free Pale stine 🍉

🏈KICKOFF: A book you wish you could reach again for the first time

Starting off the football tag with a book about track and field, Ghost by Jason Reynolds! Reynolds is one of my favorite authors, every book of his being four or five stars. I listened to the audiobook for Ghost while I was on the train and never wanted to finish it. @guylockard did a fantastic job with the voices and made me laugh so many times. Reynolds just KNOWS how to nail voice, making me feel like the characters are actually talking to me. And the topics this book covers, such as grief abuse, and racism are handled with great care. I WISH I could read this for the first time, but I also KNOW that I’ll get even more out of this on a reread!

🏈QUARTERBACK: A book with found family or teamwork

Not sports found here, but there IS a c by @reading_relish

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22 days ago

Late but hopping onto the trend “Books You Couldn’t Pay Me To…”

Please give what you can to my friend @abdallha.alashi!

Books you couldn’t pay me to PUT DOWN…

—Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex by Angela Chen

One of the best nonfiction books I’ve ever read. Validating of my own experiences with asexuality and insightful on the intersectionality of asexuality and other marginalized identities, such as race, gender, and other queer identities.

—The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy

Read BOTH BOOKS in a day. I cried at least twice. It’s like reading Mr. Rogers.

—The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang

The first graphic novel I read and it’s SOOO CUTE!!! Lowkey, I think this would be a fun musical. 👀

—A Quiet Kind of Thunder by Sara Barnard

Read it in 2021 and it’s still stuck with me. The best anxiety rep I’ve ever come across in any media.

—The Selection by Kiera Cass

Are these books trash? Yes, but they’re MY TRASH.

Books you couldn’t pay me to PICK UP…

—Dune by Frank Herbert

I just…I have no interest. 🤷‍♀️ And definitely not with the movies because Timothy Chalamet.

—Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

Yeah, no, I don’t read books by homo phobes. Next. 👍🏻

—Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

I read just about every book in school and I couldn’t finish this. I have NO desire to try again either.

—Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

@rereadingtherevolution episode on this book was all I needed. That was so fun to listen to, and that’s where my enjoyment will stay. (Please go follow RTR if you haven’t already.)

—Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

SJM has A LOT of problems with race, queer people, and Zio nism, as pointed out by so many bookworms. I’m not supporting her or her books, plain and simple.

Books you couldn’t pay me to REREAD…

—City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare

Look, I love Shadowhunters, but City of Lost Souls was A SLOG to get through. 😭 I’ll stick with The Infernal Devices, thank you.

—Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

This book is problematic and I have other books to revisit that aren’t.

—Kingdom of the Feared by Kerri Maniscalco

*violent flashbacks*

—Life an by @reading_relish

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a month ago

Happy Fat Liberation Month! Recommend some books with fat rep!

The second slide are some of my recs! The books with a star on the left corner means they’re my favorites!

⭐️ The (Other) F Word is a collection of writers that discuss how being fat intersects with other marginalized identities, such as queer and BIPOC. It also has gorgeous illustrations from fat artists, and is a great eye-opener to intersectionality.

⭐️ Belly of the Beast was one of my more recent reads, discussing anti-fatness and anti-Blackness, as well as a call to tear down the systems that keep them in place. It’s a small book, but it never holds back on exposing how anti-fatness and anti-Blackness have neglected, harmed, and killed so many Black Americans. A must read for everyone.

⭐️ And finally, There’s Something About Sweetie is a YA contemporary romance about Sweetie and Ashish, two teens who get set up, go on the most adorable dates, and maybe…fall in love? Sandhya Menon is one of my favorite authors, but this one is my favorite of hers! by @reading_relish

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2 months ago

QOTD: What have been some of your highlights reads of 2026?

My post for the #MidYearFreakoutBookTag! (Uploaded a month later than planned and it’s already out of date, it’s fine, I’M FINE 🥲). A lot of the books I’ve been reading have made me digest, think further, and learn new things, whether it’s a picture books like Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr or an adult nonfiction book like Jesus and John Wayne. One of my goals by the end of the year is to have read twelve books from my physical TBR (basically one book a month). And I’ve read seven so far!

Don’t forget to share @abdallha.alashi’s story and donate if you can! by @reading_relish

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3 months ago

QOTD: What are some books with disability rep that are your jam?

Been seeing Bookstagram get back into book tags and I COULD NOT resist rejoining! I used to participate all the time during my early days on my account, and wow, have I missed these. I’m doing #ThatsMyJam book tag, Disability Rep Edition! Yes, I’m late to the trend, but I gotta start somewhere, right? 😅

Anyways, here are some of my recs! To all of my disabled friends, you are welcome here. You deserve respect and support. Let’s all keep fighting for a better future!

[Picture on the second slide from Google]

#DisabilityPrideMonth by @reading_relish

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3 months ago

Ever learned about the theory of the average lifespan of an empire? Look it up if you haven’t.

No one is free until we are all free.

#FourthOfJuly #HappyBirthdayAmerica #USA White text on a black background read:

“Land of the Free?

You mean the Land where healthcare isn't free or affordable?

You mean the Land where trans people aren't free from bills that ban them from sports, bathrooms, etc.?

You mean the Land where a presidential candidate is free to assassinate an opponent, but a homeless person can get arrested for sleeping outside (even if they have nowhere to go)?

You mean the Land where guns have more freedom and rights than actual people?

You mean the Land where many people who can get pregnant aren't free to get access to an abortion?

You mean the Land where disabled people aren't free to marry without losing benefits?

You mean the Land where companies with large carbon footprints are free to continue pollute for a profit?

Oh, yes. That Land of the Free.” by @reading_relish

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3 months ago

QOTD: What queer books did you read in June?
AOTD: I read The Deepest Breath by Meg Grehan, Moonflower by Kacen Callender, and This Day Changes Everything by Edward Underhill! I also started The Court of the Dead by Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro, and will finish it in July (which is okay, because reading queer books don’t stop after June 30!).

Even though I’ve been on Bookstagram since 2018, I’ve never made a monthly wrap-up until this! I’m NOT a graphic designer, so please be nice. 🙈 Thought I’d try it out and see if it’s something that I’d want to do it again. I would’ve included a slide about “What I Watched”, but I think I only watched two movies in June? And not much TV either. What other types of slides could I include in future wrap-up posts?

Help @shemoadel1 and her children in Ga za! 🍉 Her youngest is in need of medical care, so check out the li nk in her bi o!

BOOKS IN JUNE!!!

—The Deepest Breath by Meg Grehab (sapphic middle grade novel-in-verse)
—Moonflower by Kacen Callender (contemporary fantasy with a Black nonbinary MC and themes around mental health)
—This Day Changes Everything by Edward Underhill (YA contemporary romance in New York City)
—Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre by Carole Boston Weatherford, by Floyd Cooper (nonfiction picture book that teaches about Tulsa Race Massacre)
—Watercress by Andrea Wang, illustrated by Jason Chin (picture book about food and immigration and opening up)

SYMBOLS ON THE CORNER OF THE COVERS:
Rainbow heart = Library book
Yellow star ⭐️ = Owned book
Headphones 🎧 = Audiobook

🩷 You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love

This album brutalized me, kicked me in the guts, made me drop dead, but we are SO BACK!!! 🥳 My favorite songs were “Honeybee”, “Begged”, and “Less”!

💜 Hazbin Hotel: Season Two

These songs need to start playing red in my head because they’ve been playing ON REPEAT. I’ve even been brainstorming blocking/choreography, and how I design the sets for a staged adaptations for both seasons. It’s never gonna come to fruition because of legal reasons, but it’s still SOOO FUN to be creative in a way that’s not just writing. Makes my theatre heart VERY happy! 😌

JULY HOPEFULS!!!

—About Us, by @reading_relish

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4 months ago

Happy Pride!!! 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ What are some queer books that you’ve recently read and/or are on your TBR?

I’ve been reading This Day Changes Everything by Edward Underhill, which has a questioning cis FMC and a trans MMC! By the end of 2026, I want to read The Court of the Dead by Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro, He/She/They by Schuyler Bailar, and Painted Devils by Margaret Owen!

Doing the the #PrideBookTag!

❤️First LGBTQIA+ book you read: I am J by Cris Beam and Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz (don’t read it, though, the author is transphobic!)

🧡Book you’d recommend to first time LGBTQIA+ readers: Prince & Knight by David Haack for children, Heartstopper by Alice Oseman for older people, and Beyond the Gender Binary by Alok Vaid-Menon for everyone

💛Last LGBTQIA+ book you read: The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School by Sonido Reyes

💚Favorite book with LGBTQIA+ rep: Answers in the Pages by David Levithan, Heartstopper by Alice Oseman, Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

💙Favorite LGBTQIA+ couple: Nick and Charlie from Heartstopper; Vanja and Emeric from Little Thieves; and Zetian, Yizhi, and Shimin from Iron Widow

💜Book with bad LGBTQIA+ rep: I’ve heard Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman doesn’t have a good LGBTQIA+ rep, so I’ll go with that.

🩷Next LGBTQIA+ book you’re going to read: Only Mostly Devastated by Sophie Gonzales by @reading_relish

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4 months ago

Happy AANHPI Heritage Month!!! Recommend some authors in the comments! And slide through for book recommendations by Asian authors!

My favorite authors on here include Sandhya Menon and Marie Lu! by @reading_relish

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5 months ago