Also finished this week: Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers. It was fine, a decent cosy mystery. It did drag a bit for me, though I'm not quite sure what was missing.

Filled the England prompt for #WickedWords @AsYouWish , also Poolside Puzzlers for the Goodreads challenge.

This is an excellent graphic novel adaptation of Williams-Garcia's classic novel. Recommended!

#WickedWords @AsYouWish

Tag is current read, just started. Mostly posting to show you my finished beanie! #litsycrafters

Tag is current read, just started. Mostly posting to show you my finished beanie! #litsycrafters

I really really disliked this book, so I'm glad it at least filled a prompt!

Little rich kids and their hateful family gather on a private island and *waves hands* twisty blahblah I really don't care because the only likeable characters are the dogs.

@julieclair #FictionalTraveler

Beautiful art in this illustrated book of creation stories

Local literature from the library today

Gorgeous little sapphic (?) romance novella featuring an ace heroine and a robot who runs a tea shop. Examinations of SFnal AI personhood, ethics, nurture, and autonomy.

And I'm done! Nine graphic novels, nine text novels/novellas, and a poetry book.

#LGBTQIA2025 @Kenyazero

Gorgeous cover, cute title, liked the mooncake contest storyline idea. The rest was just meh. Theo was a dick, and there was no chemistry between them. Took me ages to read because I kept falling asleep a few pages after picking it up.

I did get the #Autumn prompt for #LGBTQIA2025 @Kenyazero - one to go! As well as Cake, finishing March for #ISpyBingo #ISpy @TheAromaOfBooks

After a long period of chaos and homelessness, Dan‘s alcoholic mum abandons him at his Meemaw‘s place in the Smokies. It‘s not a very queer-friendly town, but there is also joy to be found. I‘m loving this graphic novel so far.

on page 28 :

- Terrible Lettering Hall of Shame award

- That's not how retinal detachment works

- That's not how disability diagnosis works

- That's not how anything works

Impending DNF

Cute MG graphic novel with a bit more going on below the surface.

And with scissors on the cover, that's February done! #ISpyBingo #ISpy @TheAromaOfBooks

Four grids are fully completed; 15 prompts to go.

Murder by Memory - a generation-ship murder-mystery with a nod to knitting? There's really no way I wasn't going to like this.

And I finished my Goodreads seasonal challenge! #goodreadschallenge #readingchallenges

I'm not particularly enjoying the artwork in this graphic memoir so far, but I did spot an Italy!

#WickedWords @AsYouWish

Only “Italy“ to go! #WickedWords @AsYouWish

This little graphic novel is pretty fun.

Absolute banger of an opening page

Two-thirds of the way through. I love Ursula Vernon, but I feel like this book would benefit from slashing 100 pages or so out of it. The pining is repetitive and the roadtrip overly long without good justification.

Fingers crossed it speeds up from here.

1. Always be learning. This includes learning about people who are not like you and backgrounds/experiences different from your own

2. 🧶📚👩‍🦼🐶🐔🌏 (i never have been obedient)

3. Dog videos on insta

@Eggs #wondrouswednesday

Guess what's on Hoopla now? :O \o/ #graphicnovel

On my hook : a Marinus baby blanket #litsycrafters

I'm having good luck happening across #WickedWords prompts in graphic novels this month. @AsYouWish

This was a cute-ish graphic novel on a Beauty & The Beast theme. OK, but a bit forgettable I think.

#WickedWords @AsYouWish

And I just realised that with the rainbow on the cover, this book also gives me a finished grid for June!

I now have nineteen unfilled prompts for the year.

#ISpyBingo #ISpy @TheAromaOfBooks

Really lovely counting picture book about a little child whose parents take him to a pride parade after he is bullied for liking rainbows. Lots of diversity on the page in areas other than sexuality & gender, too. The child learns a lesson about the joy in just being yourself. A good one to stash in little free libraries especially if you're in a book-banning area!

I'm really enjoying the second book in the Paladin series!

Plus, word one from #WickedWords knocked off on day one of the month. @AsYouWish

So I hate-read the rest of it. This was DIRE.

Terrible characters making even worse decisions. Completely non-believable situations. Zero character growth, something that is essential in a young-adult series that ends in adulthood. No introspection. And for a series that bills itself a “romance“, having the final getting-together part take place completely off-screen was ... certainly a choice.

I'm halfway through and this book is _dire_. Not sure if I'll DNF or hate-read.

Ooh, just realised this dud of a book also fills my last Read Harder prompt, reading a holiday romance that isn't Xmas. So there's that!

#readharder2025 #readingchallenge #readingchallenges

I've finished #Bookchain2025 @TheAromaOfBooks !

Unfortunately the tagged book was not to my liking. Superficial insta-love, unformed minor characters, dynamics that made no sense, slow-burn/angst with an abrupt unearned third-act breakup and no payoff. The MC needed therapy, not a boyfriend.

May done - a bit easier this month!
#WickedWords @AsYouWish

It's Paloma's first trip to Mexico City, home of her long-deceased father, and she doesn't want to be there.

Until she meets new friends, is intrigued by Frida Kahlo, and finds there is a mystery to be solved.

Last Wicked Words for the month! #WickedWords @AsYouWish
And Spanish-Speaking country for @julieclair #FictionalTraveler
Also a GORGEOUS cover.

Sharing my current crochet WIP, a Rain Boheme blanket in Hobbii Wool Blend Tweed. #litsycrafters

#firstlinefridays @ShyBookOwl

#ThreeListThursday @dabbe #TLT @TheSpineView

Oof, yeah nah. And my score would have been way lower if not for Austen!

I read the novel a while ago ; now reading the graphic novel.

Part YA graphic novel, part epistolary story, this lovely book tells of a rural Canadian girl who is figuring out who she is and how to be true to herself and her beliefs while her best friend is away at camp. It tackles queerness, masc/femme presentation, gentrification, and it has a great sibling relationship to boot.

Fourth #WickedWords down for May. @AsYouWish

This historical graphic novel is wonderful so far! It's a sapphic re-imagining of the true story of Helena “Nell“ Cusack, NYC stunt-girl reporter who exposed terrible conditions in garment factories.

#feminist #graphicnovel #lgbtq
#WickedWords @AsYouWish

The title is “Strong“ in English, but this is a better cover! Second word down for #WickedWords @AsYouWish

L M Montgomery's characterisation of Cousin Ernestine is just hilarious.

Another month down in #ISpyBingo #ISpy @TheAromaOfBooks

The Cartoonists Club was a fun read, part story of the formation of a new school club, part instructional book on making comics and zines, part Ms Frizzle style encouragement to budding artists and writers to “take chances! make mistakes! get messy!“

I love the librarian who facilitates the group meetings, she's great.

Anne of Windy Willows (Poplars) has never been my favourite of the Anne books, but I'm still enjoying this read!

First #WickedWords of the month @AsYouWish #bet

(this is a followup story to the tagged book)

And I'm done for April!
#WickedWords @AsYouWish

I've been struggling for ages to find a cover match for Where the Drowned Girls Go, and I reckon this works! Colour, ocean theming, portal in the middle, etc. @TheAromaOfBooks #Bookchain2025

This entire Teacup Magic series is so enjoyable! It is set in a Regency-ish but more LBGTQIA+ friendly set of islands. >>

#tlt #threelistthursday I scored 52 that I can remember from this list (I inhaled a LOT of books as a kid/teenager!)
there are a few faves on it but I‘ll pick out Anne, P&P, and Little Women as those I have re read the most often.

Link for quiz is from @dabbe original post

Massachusetts! #WickedWords @AsYouWish

This is a different book by Auntie Fay, not in the database.

Always Was Always Will Be is an excellent book of the history of First Nations protest movements in Australia. Suitable for middle grade and up, but I learned things also. Recommended.

Book 4 of the very enjoyable Regency-flavoured Teacup Magic series! Lady Liesl, two seasons out and still unmarried, hunts a missing diamond in the peculiar Bohemian artist's community her stepmother's seaside villa has become. She finds a much bigger mystery, and maybe also herself. Sapphic, crackling with magic, with nods to gothic fiction.

I love how different each Teacup Magic novella has been, the pacing, the banter. Looking forward to more

Took a punt that a graphic novel called “Portugal“ might contain the word #Portugese, and I was right! #WickedWords @AsYouWish 


Am I enjoying it? Not really. Angsty artist dude treats woman terribly because angst, travels to find himself.

Also, Lettering Hall of Shame, gold star edition.

Just another entry in the Graphic Novel Lettering Shame Files.