to understand pedophiles’ sick little games and know my enemy because I was already suspicious and wary due to having been raised on a diet of Lifetime movies by my paranoiac women’s studies professor mother.
Also:
* Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
* every Stephen King book I could get my hands on
* random bad murder mysteries by James Patterson/Phillip Margolin (his books made me want to be a lawye)/Jonathan Kellerman (his books made me want to be a psychologist…) or whatever
* The Mediator series — weird YA romance series written by Meg Cabot author of The Princess Diaries about a psychic girl who falls in love with a Spanish 19th century ghost and investigates murders?
* Blue is for Nightmares — generic series about yet another teenage psychic who is also a witch and she uses her powers to investigate murders at her boarding school
* The Seance by Joan Lowery Nixon — girl goes missing at a seance lol
* House of Night — wow this YA vampire series sure is bad
* The Sitter — bizarre and twisted young adult book by RL Stine
* The Face on the Milk Carton — YA thriller series about a girl who sees her own face on a missing children’s graphic on a milk carton and begins to believe she may have been kidnapped by her parents
* Princess Ai — manga series by Courtney Love lmao
* NOT TWILIGHT (jk I totally read and loved Twilight)
May 14, 2024
Related Recs
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my absolute favorite book as a kid was trial by journal by kate kline, and as a tween it was the year of secret assignments, both of which are a combo of letters/emails/diary entries etc
I also liked speculative fiction/more grounded sci fi and fantasy:
-heir apparent by vivian vande velde, a vr middle school novel
-12 impossible things before breakfast by jane yolen, a series of creepy/fantastical short stories
-the true meaning of smekday by adam rex, a fun romp of an alien invasion novel from the perspective of a teenage girl
My number one rec is the book when you reach me by rebecca stead!! just a beautiful coming of age novel about friendship and love and also (unexpectedly) time travel. i haven’t reread most of the others in ages but I revisit this one every few years.
(Also possibly a controversial opinion, but if you never read twilight it might be worth it for the cultural experience lol)
Feb 28, 2024
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Random books from very different genres I think about a lot:
- And Then There Were None (Or literally any book by Agatha Christie)
- The Picture of Dorian Gray
- City of Brass
- Books by Garth Nix (I loved them as a kid)
- A series of unfortunate events
- Howl's Moving Castle
- Chess (Stefan Zweig)
- 1984
- Shogun
- The Golden Compass
2d ago
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the tail of emily windsnap (mermaids)
mysterious benedict society (mystery)
uglies (scifi)
chronicles of narnia (fantasy)
Feb 28, 2024
Top Recs from @taterhole
My dad teases me about how when I was a little kid, my favorite thing to do when I was on the landline phone with somebody—be it a relative or one of my best friends—was to breathlessly describe the things that were in my bedroom so that they could have a mental picture of everything I loved and chose to surround myself with, and where I sat at that moment in time. Perfectly Imperfect reminds me of that so thanks for always listening and for sharing with me too 💌
Feb 23, 2025
May 28, 2025
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I’ve been thinking about how much of social media is centered around curating our self-image. When selfies first became popular, they were dismissed as vain and vapid—a critique often rooted in misogyny—but now, the way we craft our online selves feels more like creating monuments.
We try to signal our individuality, hoping to be seen and understood, but ironically, I think this widens the gap between how others perceive us and who we really are. Instead of fostering connection, it can invite projection and misinterpretation—preconceived notions, prefab labels, and stereotypes. Worse, individuality has become branded and commodified, reducing our identities to products for others to consume.
On most platforms, validation often comes from how well you can curate and present your image—selfies, aesthetic branding, and lifestyle content tend to dominate. High engagement is tied to visibility, not necessarily depth or substance. But I think spaces like PI.FYI show that there’s another way: where connection is built on shared ideas, tastes, and interests rather than surface-level content. It’s refreshing to be part of a community that values thoughts over optics.
By sharing so few images of myself, I’ve found that it gives others room to focus on my ideas and voice. When I do share an image, it feels intentional—something that contributes to the story I want to tell rather than defining it. Sharing less allows me to express who I am beyond appearance.
For women, especially, sharing less can be a radical act in a world where the default is to objectify ourselves. It resists the pressure to center appearance, focusing instead on what truly matters: our thoughts, voices, and authenticity. I’ve posted a handful of pictures of myself in 2,500 posts because I care more about showing who I am than how I look.
In trying to be seen, are we making it harder for others to truly know us? It’s a question worth considering.
Dec 27, 2024