Introductions for All New Members 2024

[Cas ✨]

1. Name: Cas
2. Age: 30 somethin'
3. Why you joined the group: I am absolutely enamored with the beautiful intricacies of danmei and am hoping to find new ones that others have found enjoyable to read!
4. Languages You Can Speak: English, can read some Latin but that's not super helpful in most cases lol
5. Fun Facts: Hmm... probably not that exciting since y’all are readers too but, exciting for me because of my chronic illnesses and how they affect me -- I've read over 200 books so far this year as of the end of May. I'm also working on my own novel but its very slow going. ☺️

[Sollenbum]

nana ☆ wrote: "Hello hello! ૮ ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶ ა
1. You can call me Nana!
2. 19
3. I saw this group under someone’s profile and I thought ! I like danmei and I’ve never been in a group before! ໒꒰ྀིっ˕ -｡꒱ྀི১ Nice to meet ..."

How great that you decided to join a group here in GoodReads.

Impressive that you are studying Chinese at university. Do you read the books in the original language?

[Sollenbum]

Cas ✨ wrote: "1. Name: Cas
2. Age: 30 somethin'
3. Why you joined the group: I am absolutely enamored with the beautiful intricacies of danmei and am hoping to find new ones that others have found enjoyable to r..."

Wow! How impressive that you read Latin :-)

If you like the intricacies of danmei, you will fit right in. Speaking for myself, I enjoy people who help me understand details that I might otherwise have missed.

[ana ♡]

dont know why i haven’t introduced myself earlier, i’ve been in this bookclub for a couple of months already!
1. Anastasia or Ana :)
2. 20
3. i wanted to find community with those, who love danmei as much as I do. im always open to hearing different opinions as well as sharing my own
4. i speak english, ukrainian, russian, i can understand and speak most german and spanish
5. i am an english philology major and i seldomly write for my university’s gazette. im also a huge gamer :)

[Sollenbum]

ana ♡ wrote: "dont know why i haven’t introduced myself earlier, i’ve been in this bookclub for a couple of months already!
1. Anastasia or Ana :)
2. 20
3. i wanted to find community with those, who love danmei ..."

Glad to know that there is a fellow English major in this group :-)

[NAD]

1. Name : Alexa
2. Age : As old as haitang tree (ancient)
3. Why you joined the group :
2022- I was diagnose with cancer n when through very challenging phase of my life, in 2024 i discover Danmei, i started reading MDZS and i fell in love. I never thought i can read so many vols at one time.
To be honest Danmei pull me out from depression and i look forward to read many2 more remarkable stories. I join this group to share my love of reading especially Danmei genre
4. Languages You Can Speak : English, Malay, Thai, Chinese (a little bit)

[Hoong]

1. Name Hoong
2. Age (Optional- preferred (if you are a minor, vague)) almost at retirement age
3. Why you joined the group? I enjoy reading fiction/nonfiction with/about Chinese norms, culture, and beliefs as I can readily relate to these. I hope to get title recommendations to read. These Danmei fiction, like the live action BL genre, these days also have gay/queer elements mixed in with Danmei elements. I have dropped a few Danmei when the Danmei (non-gay) elements are too overwhelming for me to continue. Some, I could enjoy the gay elements and gleam over those non-gay parts meant to entice the wide majority of Danmei consumers. Recent Danmei ones I enjoyed are Professional Body Double & Yandai Xie Jie no. 10. However, if members who can kindly refer/recommend me titles that are of the queer genre, too, I would also be grateful. (Queer genre examples are 'Beijing Comades' (Chinese) & 'Crystal Boys' (Taiwanese) in case you are curious. Translated Chinese-themed queer fiction is not as plentiful as its 'for entertainment' genre; and as I particularly enjoy Chinese characters with references to Chinese culture and beliefs, I also read the Danmei genre).
4. Languages You Can Speak: English, low level Cantonese, Hokien, & Mandarin, beginner's Vietnamese, and Thai
5. Fun Facts (Optional): according to the latest survey of Danmei readership that I saw from an academic paper published by a Chinese researcher at a UK institution, I belong to the 2.7% of readers who consume this genre.

[Sollenbum]

Hoong wrote: "1. Name Hoong
2. Age (Optional- preferred (if you are a minor, vague)) almost at retirement age
3. Why you joined the group? I enjoy reading fiction/nonfiction with/about Chinese norms, culture, an..."

Hi Hoong,

How wonderful that you are a member of this group now. The academic paper that you mentioned is really interesting. It sounds very exclusive to be a member of 2.7% of readers who read danmei.

:-) Henriette

[Sollenbum]

NAD wrote: "1. Name : Alexa
2. Age : As old as haitang tree (ancient)
3. Why you joined the group :
2022- I was diagnose with cancer n when through very challenging phase of my life, in 2024 i discover Danmei..."

Hi Alexa,

Glad that I'm not the only one who is ancient in this danmei group :-)

[Hoong]

Hello Henriette,

I agree that I was surprised, too, to discover academic research done on this entertainment genre by a Chinese female scholar studying in the UK. I hope you have surmised that 2.7% of that audience constitutes gay men. Moreover, I am astonished that some of the behaviors of the Danmei characters in novels I have read correspond to those reported by Zheng Tiantian, a Chinese female anthropologist who wrote the book 'Tongzhi Living: Men Attracted to Men in Postsocialist China'. I am also currently reading that, too.

Still, I enjoy learning what the majority of the reading audience finds interesting in this particular book genre.

Regards,
Hoong

[Kaze]

1. Koralys ✨♥️
2. 25 years old
3. I’m currently reading Heaven Official’s Blessings
4. I can speak spanish and english

[Sollenbum]

Hoong wrote: "Hello Henriette,

I agree that I was surprised, too, to discover academic research done on this entertainment genre by a Chinese female scholar studying in the UK. I hope you have surmised that 2.7..."

Hello again,

Sorry to answer you after such a long time! I hadn't seen your interesting post. It sounds like fascinating research to look at which behaviours are represented in danmei fiction are derived from men in China and which are written specifically for the female gaze.

I should think that there is some overlap but there must also be some significant differences. Perhaps that explains why danmei is such a diverse genre. Some qualitative and quantitative research on the topic would be good...

Take care,
Henriette

[Sollenbum]

Kaze wrote: "1. Koralys ✨♥️
2. 25 years old
3. I’m currently reading Heaven Official’s Blessings
4. I can speak spanish and english"

Welcome :-)

[Hoong]

"I should think that there is some overlap but there must also be some significant differences..."

@Sollenbum, to discern documented information from entertainment, I'd suggest Tongzhi Living and Queering Chinese Kinship (whose data come from qualitative research). (I am very aware that most, if not all, Danmei readers consume this genre for entertainment, though).

[Sollenbum]

Hoong wrote: ""I should think that there is some overlap but there must also be some significant differences..."

@Sollenbum, to discern documented information from entertainment, I'd suggest Tongzhi Living and ..."

Thanks! I've bookmarked it. It's been a while since I've read academic analytical books, but it might be nice to have a look again :-)

[voodoocactus]

1. Name: hmm… you can can me ship
2. Age: 40+
3. Why you joined the group: I saw this on sollenbum’s profile and decided why not. I read my first danmei in 2020 but I’ve only really dived into them this year when I decided to do a book bingo as a danmei version. The reviews here are mirrors from my journal elsewhere. I’m curious to branch out from the most popular books and interested to see what other people are reading.
4. Languages you can speak: Finnish (native), English, some Swedish, a bit of German and French, some phrases in Latin and Chinese. I like languages and usually understand a lot more than I can speak.
5. Fun facts: I have a giant armadillo tattooed on my back.

[Andrea]

Hi everyone! :)

1. Name: Andrea
2. Age: 30
3. Why I joined: I’m pretty new to this genre, but I wanted to interact with other Danmei fans and find good recommendations for when I’m ready to move on from TGCF, lol. I watched the donghua in January, and my brain decided it would be fun to let TGCF consume my soul (novels, manhua, audio drama, fanfics, merch…).
4. Languages: I’m fluent in Spanish (native), English, and French. I’ve also studied German and Greek before but I stopped practicing, so I can’t speak them very well anymore. Now I want to learn Chinese!
5. Fun fact: My useless superpower is “mirror writing.” I can write backwards (like Leonardo da Vinci), and you can read the words using a mirror. I’m a leftie, and apparently, it’s easier for us to write this way. One day I gave it a try, and it worked!

See you around! :D

[Konta]

Name: Konta

Age: 20

Why I joined: I recently began reading TGCF—after such a long time of having the book, haha I could only find the time now—and I'd love to read more and interact with fellow people! I did also create my Goodreads account like yesterday, after hearing about the communal aspect of it ^^

Languages: English and I do speak Turkish as well. Back in the day I learned Spanish and Japanese too, but I'm a wee rusty with those at the moment hahaa

Fun fact: I'm actually writing a novel series! If you're curious, feel more than free to ask questions to me about it! It does have some Chinese culture/mythology aspects of it, and that's also yet another reason why I began reading Danmei novels hahaa 💜

[Karla]

Hiiii!~
1. My name is Karla
2. I am in my early 30s TuT
3. I joined because I was curious what people were talking about in the danmei goodreads world and to see if there was any new recommendations. I'm not much of a talker. Sorry.
4. I know English and Spanish. .
5. I cried too many times in Erha and I started to read it because of a fanart.

[Albert]

HIII GUYSSS
You can call me Chins
I am in my late 20s.

I just wanted a space where I can talk about danmei.
I think my first danmei was MDZS, after that I was just HOOKED!!!!
My latest read was Wushuang (Peerless) and I'm thinking of starting Earth is Online.
I can speak English, Hindi amd Marathi.
And I'm very very excited to discuss more about danmei with you guys

[leo✩]

1. Name: logan or i prefer leo!
2. Age: 15-17 is my age range!
3. Why i joined: i recently became obsessed with Danmei novels- mostly mxtx's works! My friend recommended TGCF to me and that was the first one of many.
4. Languages: English mostly. I also know ASL but that's not really helpful here haha. My friend is helping me learn Chinese (Mandarin) and Japanese, plus we're both (slowly) learning Korean together for fun.
5. Fun Facts: I fancy myself a musician (acoustic guitar, drums, trombone). I also love to draw and write! I'm very excited to get recs from you guys and talk about my new favorite type of novels!!

[Jasi]

Hi everyone

I’m a member of this group already for a longer time, but unfortunately never introduced myself earlier.

1. My name is Jasi.

2. I’m 26.

3. I joined the group as I’m a big fan of danmei novels, and I wanted to connect with others who share the same passion. I enjoy discussing the intricate plots and character developments in danmei novels and hope to find likeminded people here. 🤗

I’m also eager to discover new danmei novels that I might not have found on my own and get recommendations from other fans.🤩

4. I can speak German, English, and Slovak. I studied French and Italian in high school but unfortunately forgot most of it. I also took beginner classes in Chinese and Russian at university.

5. It’s not really a fun fact, but I currently work as an intern at a bigger law firm and also study for the bar exam, so if I don’t respond it’s because I’m busy with work. Don’t take it personally and apologies in advance. 🫣

[Gray]

1.Gray
2.teens
3. i need recs honesty, mostly the reason why im here, and the fact i love baihe/danmei
4.only English
5.i play the violin, not that great though

[Sollenbum]

chuwannwann wrote: "1. Name: Alisha
2. Age: just a teenager
3. Why you joined the group: looked interesting and i wanted new friends(possibly) and i also really like danmeis and baihes too
4. Languages You Can Speak: ..."

Welcome to the group! Hope you find lots to talk about ...

[glau]

1. Glau
2. 25yo
3. Curiosity! And to meet more danmei readers on the platform
4. Pt-br, Eng and Esp
5. Oh, there aren't many fun facs about me, just that I really like characters who are a bit crazy and obsessed with their romantic interests.

[Sollenbum]

glau wrote: "1. Glau
2. 25yo
3. Curiosity! And to meet more danmei readers on the platform
4. Pt-br, Eng and Esp
5. Oh, there aren't many fun facs about me, just that I really like characters who are a bit craz..."

Hi Glau,

Welcome to the group!

Your fun fact sounds like it fits right into this genre :-)

[Sollenbum]

Ratty wrote: "1. I go by Rat(ty) online
2. 28 years-old
3. Why I joined: I binged TCGF recently and have fallen deeply and quickly down this Danmei rabbit hole. Although my partner listens to me gush about the..."

Hi Ratty,

Great to have you in the group! Gushing about books that no one else in our vicinity wants to talk about is a fabulous reason for joining.

You are right; danmei is a rabbit hole :-)

[glau]

Sollenbum wrote: "glau wrote: "1. Glau
2. 25yo
3. Curiosity! And to meet more danmei readers on the platform
4. Pt-br, Eng and Esp
5. Oh, there aren't many fun facs about me, just that I really like characters who a..."

Right?? Hehehe, I hope to meet more people who are like this here in the group too <3

[Dori]

Name: Dori
Age: 18
Why you joined the group: for some new good recs and for chatting
Languages: Kazakh (native), Russian (fluent), English (ehh, C1)
Fun fact: my fav mxtx novel is svsss, lol. i loved mdzs and tgcf, but not as much as svsss...

GuyS! I'm very open to convos and making friends, so pls send me friend reqs if u want to. I can't say I've read lots of danmei or baihe, but I know quite a few.

P.S. im still learning how to navigate on this cite so im sorry if im kinda inactive

[Sollenbum]

Hi Dori,

Welcome to the group!

It sounds as if you have read quite a lot already... Some people here have read lots and others are playing catch-up but everyone's reading experience is valid :-)

[Sollenbum]

Hello Angel,

Welcome to the group!

You sound as if you will fit right in. There are many international danmei fans here and although we have quiet spells, we are all here to share our love of danmei.

Looking forward to reading your posts…

[Calista]

Hello Angel,

Do you know of a writing group for queer stories? That would be helpful.

[thedeadlyscimitar]

1. I go by thedeadlyscimitar
2. 30s
3. I decided to join because I'm new to danmei and looking for some good recommendations and info about the genre. Plus, I just want to connect with others who share my interest.
4. English
5. I love to read, but I am unfortunately a very slow reader. Unless I'm able to listen to an audiobook, it takes me quite a while to get through on my own. That's why I've only managed to read TGCF and the first volume of MDZS so far. So yes lol I am very new to the genre!

[Calista]

Angel wrote: "Calista wrote: "Hello Angel,

Do you know of a writing group for queer stories? That would be helpful."

Hi Calista,
I'm currently still looking though I found a couple places where you can submit ..."

Thank you Angel. I'll look on discord. I totally don't want to submit. I would like a group.

[marty]

Hello everyone!

1. Marty
2. 24
3. I wanted to find other people that share my interests to connect and talk some more :) I don’t really have friends irl who like BL/danmei
4. Polish, English, and currently learning Japanese (although I’m still very much on a beginner level)
5. I’ve been reading BL manga/webtoons for the past 10 years now and I’ve been trying to get into danmei novels since 2020 but idk why I haven’t been able to 😭 I tried watching the MDZS donghua or watch the live action version, but for some reason couldn’t get past episode 1 of either of these. I also tried reading 2ha back in 2021 but read a few chapters and also never finished. So fast forward 3 years and I’m trying yet again, especially since there are soooo many other titles to read that were officially published. But for some reason, I’m still kinda scared to start reading these very popular series like MDZS, TGCF or 2ha because they’ve been praised by so many people and I already have very high expectations for them and I really, really want to like them but I’m scared that ultimately I won’t be able to share the enthusiasm, as I tend to be rather critical with what I’m consuming and often end up disappointed 😭 so I decided to play it safe and I’m currently reading Little Mushroom, so kind of an unconventional start for a danmei fan lol. Anyway, sorry for that essay but I really felt the need to share that!

[Sollenbum]

marty wrote: "Hello everyone!

1. Marty
2. 24
3. I wanted to find other people that share my interests to connect and talk some more :) I don’t really have friends irl who like BL/danmei
4. Polish, English, and ..."

Hello Marty,

Welcome to the group!

It sounds as if you have found the right place to talk about your book interests. Perhaps sharing your reading experience can help you crack the books?

We are quite different here, so don't worry that you don't like the same series as everyone else. For example, I haven't read "Little Mushroom" yet so would be interested in hearing your opinion...

[kriszeth]

1. Joana, but on the net i go by kriszeth (in lowcase)
2. 37
3. i feel like lately i am reading more chinese novels than english ones, so i guess i wanted to see what is out there outside what twitter pushes onto my feed
4. spanish, english, procrastinating while lowkey learning mandarin
5. my current hyper fixation is reading bjyx fic on quotev, so mostly what i read lately is mtl chinese yizhan fics, so..... yeah.

[Sollenbum]

kriszeth wrote: "1. Joana, but on the net i go by kriszeth (in lowcase)
2. 37
3. i feel like lately i am reading more chinese novels than english ones, so i guess i wanted to see what is out there outside what twit..."

Hello kriszeth,

You seem to have fallen down the same rabbit hole that many of us here find ourselves in :-)

Welcome to the group!

[Lillian]

1. Name - Lillian
2. Age - 38
3. Why you joined the group - To see what danmei folks are reading/talking about.
4. Languages You Can Speak - English. Slowly learning Mandarin (to read/watch/listen to more danmei lol).
5. Fun Facts - Late intro (sorry), but wanted to at say hi. :) Not a fun fact, but shy/anxious, so may be a bit quiet. Wish there were emoji reactions to posts on Goodreads. Got into danmei after watching the TGCF donghua, then binge reading the MXTX trio of TGCF, MDZS, and SVSSS (yay). I also enjoy other BL media like anime, manhwa, manga, dramas, etc. Happy reading to everyone. <3

[Katie❄️]

If you have a desktop computer. You can hit the windows key and the period key together and an emoji window should pop up. 🙂 Just learned this myself.

[Sollenbum]

Hi Lillian,

Welcome to the group!

Hope you will like it here. Such groups are the perfect place to talk to people without having to worry about being shy.

Besides emojis can be reproduced with punctuation :-)

[Sollenbum]

Thanks, Katie! I learned something new today 😃

[Lillian]

Thanks, Sollenbum/Katie! Someone told me about that shortcut a long time ago and I always forget. I'm on Mac, so it's ctrl+cmd+space, but same idea. I guess was hoping for a "like" button but with emojis. Oh well, replying with emojis works too. 😄

[Calista]

🥹 It works. So cool.

[Katie❄️]

Hehe. 🙆🏻‍♀️

[Queens Love]

1. Name: Elle
2. Age: *Prefer not to say
3. Why you joined the group: I want to discuss/read Danmei novels related stuff
4. Languages You Can Speak: English, Tagalog/Filipino
5. Fun Facts (Optional): I have 20 cats.
bookstagram: queenslovebooks

[Sollenbum]

Hi Elle,

Welcome to the group!

If you want to discuss danmei and related topics, you have landed in the right place.

Impressive that you have quite so many cats 😺 I have two and they keep me on my toes. With your interest in cats 🐈 perhaps you have read “The Husky and his White Cat Shizun”?

[Brittany Lattimore]

Hi Everyone!

1. Name: Brittany
2. Age: I’ll be 38 on Monday ☺️
3. Why did I join: I’m always looking for book recommendations. I am absolutely in love with TGCF, it’s my favorite story. I have several series that I haven’t read yet (I read a variety of genres) but I would love to know your favorites
4. I speak English but I’m trying to learn Mandarin

Happy reading everyone 🥰

[Sollenbum]

Brittany Lattimore wrote: "Hi Everyone!

1. Name: Brittany
2. Age: I’ll be 38 on Monday ☺️
3. Why did I join: I’m always looking for book recommendations. I am absolutely in love with TGCF, it’s my favorite story. I have sev..."

Hi Brittany,

Welcome to the group!

You have landed in the right place 😊 Some members here have read extensively in this genre and have an excellent memory of what they have read. Some of us, including me, are still fairly new in the genre but are enjoying exploring the books together with others...

If you are looking for recommendations, there are some discussion strands that are dedicated to recommending books to others.

[Katie❄️]

Happy upcoming Birthday Brittany.