'The Phynodderree And Other Legends Of The Isle Of Man' By Edward Allow Illustrated By W. J. Watson,

'The Phynodderree and other Legends of the Isle of Man' by Edward Allow illustrated by W. J. Watson, 1882.

Socrates: “We are in a kind of prison, and must not free ourselves or run away.”

Also Socrates: *commits suicide*

I am Bilal, displaced from Gaza, now living in Egypt with part of my family, while most of my family is still in Gaza. Leaving Gaza was not an easy decision, but it was the only option after 150 days of bombing and siege. Now that we are here, we feel that we have left a large part of our lives and hearts there.

Life here is not what we expected. Everything is expensive and difficult. We face endless challenges every day, whether in the cost of living or in trying to adapt to a new reality. Prices do not stop rising, and every step requires great effort. Rent, bills, food, everything seems to be pressuring us more and more.

With all this, there is a constant longing for our land and for our people who remained in Gaza. We live here, but our souls are suspended there, with every news we hear, with every new bombing, with every scream we hear. Missing my family in Gaza is a feeling that never leaves me. We are here trying to live and build a new life, but we feel that we are always waiting, waiting for something that we do not know when it will happen, if it will happen.

In these difficult times, any support can make a huge difference in our lives. Every small contribution helps us to continue and overcome these daily challenges, so that we can see a more stable future for ourselves and our loved ones.

To donate and help: [Click here](https://gofund.me/ba5b76e9)

...

"Does it have smut? 🤭" but the smut is actually good

I'm tired of being labeled as a prude for pointing out that there's a difference between a plot where sex is relevant and sex that is replacing the entire plot. Also, a lot of the so called smut from many famous books is poorly written in my honest opinion. So here's a list of erotic novels which I consider that those who like to read erotica would enjoy, with the clarification that my assumption might not be true.

Tropic of Capricorn by Henry Miller

Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller

Sexus by Henry Miller

Delta of Venus by Anaïs Nin

Henry and June by Anaïs Nin

Little Birds by Anaïs Nin

The Lover by Marquerite Duras (Note: The ecranisation was also really good)

The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio (Will never forget the "Putting the devil into Hell" joke)

120 Days of Sodom by Marquis de Sade (Though I would also like to emphasize the fact that this one is less erotic and more disturbing; Pasolini's movie was WAY better)

TW: Explicit Content

Let's make one thing clear: I don't read Greek Mythology Retellings. And by that I mean physical books. I read fanfictions, but I'm not willing to pay money for a book which you can instantly quess that it's mediocre only by looking at it. The common saying "Don't judge a book by it's cover." can be applied to anything but books.

So when I found out that there's a whole HxP book series that is trending on BookTok I decided that I will avoid it like the plague, especially after reading a Goodreads review which described it as "If the worst parts of Fifty Shades of Gray and LO had a baby."

Unfortunately, one of my classmates read it, and when I told her that I will never touch that book she sent me a link with one of the *ahem* scenes in order to convince me:

First of all, it seems like a 12yo kid wrote it. Seriously now, even my celibate ass could write better erotica than this. And second of all, what sequence is supposed to be romantic, exactly?

The worst part is that I'm also an up-and-coming med student, and one of the essential things that you're supposed to learn about the reproductive system is that you have to be "prepared" before getting penetrated. Lubrification begins only after the hormones send signals to the brain that you are sexually aroused and the vaginal glands start secreting fluids to help the process of penetration. Otherwise it feels painful and you risk to get injured. Not to mention the fact that if a someone gets inside you without at least giving you a sign then it could be considered rape.

So there's nothing passional or sensual in this scene, it’s straight up disturbing. Also, is it just me or does anyone else cringe when they read these sort of scenes even when they're alone? Honestly, I'm currently trying to comprehend the fact that there are people (especially girls) who would read this thing and be like 🥵🥵🥵 or something like that.