My #bookspin reveals itself pretty clearly as a first novel. The plot is mostly derivative and the dialogue can be stilted. But there‘s potential: there‘s a strong sense of place in the bayou and New Orleans scenes. Urquhart has worked in a morgue, and those scenes feel pretty realistic. If reviews are good, I might pick up a future book of hers â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�

#bookspinbingo list is UP. Excited to read these!

Two #bookspinbingo lines as well as my #bookspin and #doublespin 🤓 Not too shabby!

This gloomy Saturday was perfect for polishing off my #bookspin. Oof. Knowing the Raj was morally indefensible and exploitative is one thing — but Tharoor can give detailed proof. Vital to understanding the British colonization of India. ����������

Picked up my #doublespin today. It was my #Jolabokaflod present to myself and worth every penny. David Quammen writes so well and accessibly that he‘s an insta-buy for me. If you have the slightest interest in how / where COVID-19 originated and spread, as well as the characteristics that made it into a pandemic, you‘ll be riveted. â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�

Well, nuts. No #bookspinbingo for me this month 😢 I did get my #bookspin and #doublespin though. Let‘s go, 2023!!!

January 2023 #bookspin #doublespin #bookspinbingo list coming in hot! (Or maybe cold. SO COLD 🥶)

My #bookspin was interesting - and oof, gnarly in places. But too many if / then statements to hold up in the later chapters. ������

Glorious book of black womanhood and struggle for my #doublespin �������� The language and imagery here are beautiful.

My #bookspin #doublespin #bookspinbingo #d100 list is UP!!! Looking forward to it �

Finished a #d100 this morning that was SUPERB. Sam Kean unrolls the history and effects of various gases here. If that sounds dry, believe that in Kean‘s hands, it isn‘t. I can‘t equation, & that wasn‘t an issue either. His examples are at layperson-level and grounded in delightful humor. Treat yourself. I‘m glad I did. â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�

That‘s a wrap on my #bookspinbingo for October. I managed my #bookspin #doublespin and a #d100 this month. Lots of good spooky reads too 👻

Snagged my #bookspinbingo with the tagged. The story is delightful, featuring a Seelie vs. Unseelie war between fantastical creatures that can only be resolved by a couple of doughty human kids. The art is delightful. No surprises but it‘s a good time. â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�

I snagged my #bookspin on audio. It wasn‘t read by Black - a shame, I loved her voice in Written in Bone - but the narrator did a good job. This job is less focused on cold cases and more on the broad brushstrokes of death, dying, and legacy. Although it felt a little repetitive at times, I enjoyed Black‘s wry humor and death-positive (yet reverent) perspective. â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�

My #doublespin is the PERFECT atmospheric - cozy - witchy graphic novel for October ��������

September was a good month! Lots of good reads too, including a five star for How to Enjoy Art. Nabbed my #bookspin and #doublespin and knocked out a #d100. On to Spooktober!

My #doublespin this month. Come for the art, stay for these cases solved (with a little help from their friends) by three of the Baker Street Irregulars. Yes, Sherlock himself makes an appearance, but it‘s these expertly-rendered London street urchins that pose the main attraction here. â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�

My #bookspin could be describes as Appalachian fantasy. Deep in the hollows live a mysterious people, the Tufa, who live by their music and, some say, can fly. Wounded vet Bronwyn returns to her home and Tufa roots in the wake of her injuries and the death omens appearing around her family home. She may have a role to play in Tufa society whether she can endure it or not. Fascinating folklore, rich setting, interesting characters. ��������

October, my #bookspinbingo list is coming for you! #d100 #bookspin #doublespin

It‘s time for a book tasting! Reading the first chapter or so of each then deciding on one keeper. The rest go back to the library! THIS. IS. THE. LIFE. ✨✨✨

I‘ve loved museum-going all my life, but this book opened up my frames of perception on SEEING art. Much to consider and all of it valuable, though it‘s not a long book. Can‘t wait for my next trip to the Art Institute now. I don‘t give many five-star reviews but had no problem awarding them here. If you enjoy art even a little, pick up this. â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�

Okay, I‘m calling it. #bookspin #doublespin #d100 and five #bookspinbingo rows. Someday I‘ll get the whole card, but not THIS day 😊September, here I come!

Ready for my #bookspin #doublespin #bookspinbingo #d100 ✨✨✨

Shipwreck horror? YES PLEASE. I couldn‘t put down this book until I finished it in the wee hours. And I thought sharks were the scariest things in the ocean: Not. Even. Close. 😱â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�

Got my #bookspinbingo with the tagged. I‘m no fan of the Witcher books. Geralt and Yennefer seem like Gary Sues &Mary Sues, respectively, and if there‘s humor, it‘s lost on me. The plot seems like Standard Fantasy no. 1 too, with a Chosen One who‘s troubled and even more Mary Sue than Yennefer. But: it‘s finished at least. â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�

My #bookspin was a fantastic translated detective novel from Japan. If you love twisty mysteries, pick up a Higashino for the plot but also the characters. And the poignancy, in this case. ��������

My #doublespin was this powerhouse graphic novel about life in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge. As expected, it was hard to read and view at times. I was looking for a translated work with a layperson‘s view of what happened, and this fits the bill. It follows the (mis)fortunes of one extended family who lived in Phnomh Penh as the Khmer seized power and tracks them for the next several years until the Vietnamese come to power. Haunting. â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�

Ideally, I‘d be reading this ON THE BEACH. But as a capitalist wage slave who lives in a cornfield, the dining room table will do. True confessions: For years, I didn‘t read romances. Then my library needed me to start a romance book club so here we are. Y‘all, THE DIALOGUE AND SITUATIONS ARE FUNNY. And there are poignant moments that ring true as well. finally get why people are reading Emily Henry like crazy, even in a cornfield.

I‘m calling it! #bookspin #doublespin a #d100 and my #bookspinbingo ✨ 14 books don‘t seem like many for July, but I‘ll take it. On to August!

Wow. Abercrombie rarely disappoints, and he‘s at the top of his form here. Fantasy with MANY fascinating, morally grey characters who consistently surprise? Oh yes. You can almost smell the gunpowder (yes, there is) and taste the blood in your mouth from that dagger someone slipped in your back. They call Abercrombie Lord Grimdark for a reason. If that‘s your jam, this book is as good as it gets. â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸� #d100

Got my #bookspinbingo list settled. The top item is The Axe of Ice. Can you tell my library is having a ‘read a book in translation‘ challenge this month? 😆 What can I say: I wanted MANY options. #bookspin #doublespin #bookspinbingo #d100

I‘m calling it! A good month for reading. I picked up my #bookspin #doublespin a couple of #bookspinbingo lines and both my #d100 challenges. Book of Night was a lot of urban fantasy fun with antiheroine Charlie Hall. May I also have a quickened shadow? I won‘t use it for naughty things, I promise 🤞â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�

July #Bookspinbingo #bookspin #doublespin list coming in hot! 🌞

This fantasy takes a while to build up steam due to all the world-building, but it pulls you along as it gets going. The creepy magic system, archipelago world, and strange creatures will captivate you even more than the humans (and there are many). I‘m not sure how Stewart will top her Big Bad here (an emperor who sucks the life from his people to make FLESH PUPPETS 😱). But I might need to snatch up the sequel to watch her try. â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸� #d100

My first #d100 of the month was pretty good. I enjoyed the idea of a fairy-tale wood just outside Portland, filled with bandits, coyote soldiers, and a parliament of fowl. The central story, Prue‘s quest to recapture her brother Mac from an evil queen bent on controlling the wood, was well-constructed but felt a little long. There‘s nothing new here, but the pieces come together well. â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�

Knocked out my #bookspin tonight. I was surprised by the amount of heart King put into this crime story, which also became a bit of a bildungsroman and tearjerker. The crime, committed before the book opens, is pure King though: murder on a haunted house ride in an amusement park. Nice job, Mr. King. ��������

Well, sugar. May didn‘t go great - no #doublespin, no #d100 gains. We‘ll see if this month picks up. Happy June!ðŸ’� #bookspin #doublespin #bookspinbingo #d100

It‘s kinda scribbly, but my list is DONE! #bookspin #doublespin #bookspinbingo #d100

Thought-provoking read on the complex picture of what it means to co-exist with, protect, or neglect grizzlies. This isn‘t a collection of grizzly stories but an explanation of how complicated, practically and bureaucratically, conservation can be. â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�

My #bookspin was over-the-top 😳 I think I‘m supposed to find all this conspicuous consumption funny or maybe even enticing. I‘m just kind of… horrified. Also, I would have left Nick Young in a hot minute for blindsiding me like he did Rachel. And he‘d be lucky if I didn‘t stomp his nuts on the way out. DUDE 😡 â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�1/2

ðŸ’� I‘ve gathered up a lovely bouquet of #bookspin and #roll100 books for May. It‘s going to be a good month!

Not too shabby this month. I‘m happy to see the three #bookspinbingo lines and the #doublespin, but I didn‘t manage my #bookspin 😢 I did cross a #roll100 off my list, though. I‘m ready for May!

Well, I got my #bookspin #doublespin and one #bookspinbingo ðŸ‘� Just one #roll100 pick though. I read some chonks this month including Perdido Street Station and Wolf Hall (1,314 pages right there). I‘d like to read a few more titles in April, though. Onward!

Let‘s hope I can get far into my new #bookspin #doublespin #bookbingo #roll100 booklist. I‘m excited!!! 🎉

Finally knocked out my #bookspin � This book does a good job of explaining the fascinating path to octopus intelligence, one very different to our own, and how that manifests in octo behavior. Due to its explanations of consciousness generally, the book was drier and less octopus-central than I was hoping, but I considered consciousness in new ways ������

My #doublespin (and #roll100 pick 1) was an outstanding epic fantasy set in a dystopian, shattered, quasi-modern Bulikov where a scholar has been murdered, the gods are long dead, and the last thing anyone wants is an interfering Saypuri diplomat-spy poking around with her Northman bodyguard in tow. Bulikov, City of Stairs, seems as dead as the scholar. But absolutely nothing and no one here are what they seem. Ripping snd gripping yarn! ��������

And here we go for March #Bookspinbingo 🙌

Okay, I‘m calling it: February #bookspinbingo is as finished as it‘s going to get. Grabbed up my #bookspin and #doublespin as well as three bingos and both my #Roll100 picks. It still felt like I didn‘t get much reading done this month, oops. Ready for March!!!

Wow! My second #Roll100 read was this cracking mystery set in Sambalpore in the 1920s. Maharajahs, tiger hunts from the back of an elephant, diamond mines, opium addiction - and of course, the dastardly public murder of the Maharajah‘s heir. â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸� Page-turner par excellence.

Y‘ALL. I thought I hated romance novels. The heaving bosoms, the turgid throbbing, the ‘love of a good woman will change him‘ crap. THIS IS NOT THAT, although it still gets steamy. This novel is funny - I laughed aloud often. Nik and Carlos seem so real in the way they talk, act, mess up. Maybe I like some romance novels? Or maybe Jasmine Guillory is a good writer (who overuses the word ‘grin,‘ but at least it‘s not ‘turgid.‘) â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸� #Bookspin