@TheAromaofBooks #bookspin #bookspinbingo
May 2025

Thanks to @debinhawaii for this giveaway a while back!

This features several stories that examine the tension of claiming Hawaii as home: people who were born there, people who left and came back, people who weren't born there but lived most of their lives there, and outsiders/tourists. Definitely some new-to-me perspectives and themes. Well written and easy to get caught up in the stories!

This was entertaining enough, but a little disappointing overall. The Batman/Elmer Fudd issue rightfully got the most attention, but the Wonder Woman/Taz issues was also fun, and the Martian Manhunter/Marvin the Martian was a good idea, if a little lazy in execution. Lobo/Road Runner was overly silly. Johan Hex/Yosemite Sam was overly serious. Legion of Superheroes/Bugs was just bad. The 8-page looney comics were also bad.

#tuesdaytunes

Candi Staton, maybe best known for “Young Hearts Run Free,“ covered a country hit titled “He Called Me Baby,“ and it completely transforms the song!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CTvhlWA0HY (Candi's)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6dpIEtUhRg (Original by Charlie Rich)

Candi has had a career spanning 50 years, releasing her latest album in February, her first following her battle with breast cancer.

We saw the movie Sinners on Saturday, and I can't stop thinking about it! A superb film.
I could help but think of Ring Shout, which has a very similar vibe, as well as Bitter Root and The Ballad of Black Tom. I've also heard others compare it to The Reformatory and Blackheart Man.
But, if you are in the mood for a bloody vampire tale with amazing music, brilliant acting, and a stellar story, even before the vampires, go see Sinners!

#5joysFriday @debinhawaii

- I passed my CHAA exam
- We got first place in bar trivia for the first time
- Papa Murphy's has dairy-free cheese options
- @wildalaskabibliophile made me a Sazerac, and it was a freakin' delight! I had been gathering ingredients but hadn't made one yet.
- Words cannot describe the joy that Dick Van Dyke exudes. Found this on Instagram from a few days ago https://www.instagram.com/p/DIsBYq_zWWo/

I wanted to like this more, but it was a little repetitive reading about rebels living in the ice caves and oppressed workers fleeing Bespin. It felt like 80% of the stories were either on Hoth or Cloud City. There was also less creativity in the formatting; mostly straight prose. Still, there was enough in here to make it an enjoyable read.
#bookspin

#Two4Tuesday @TheSpineView

I got in the habit of keeping $10-20 in the car for tolls when I lived in the lower 48, but since there aren't toll roads in AK, I've fallen out of the habit. I don't often carry cash in my wallet. 💵

There have been some cool stories of a stripped-down Batman, but for the most part, his tools and gadgets are a big part of his character. 🦇

This webcomic was started in 2013. It follows the story of Patrik the Vampire, switching back and forth through several periods of his life. He is certainly a loveable, but flawed, character, and the story goes to some interesting places; however, the artist last posted about three and a half years ago, so who knows if it will continue. Do you have a favorite webcomic that was never concluded?

patrikthevampire.com/about

#tuesdaytunes

I am not at all current on pop music, which really hampers our bar trivia performance. Our trivia host gives weekly hints, and they were having a category on Coachella, so I did some research before, and, not only did I learn about an excellent song and artist, but it was a trivia question (we still came in 5th, but I got that question right 😜)

https://youtu.be/XoiOOiuH8iI?si=_miU_VdmijFkf-YF

@WildAlaskaBibliophile and I enjoyed some chocolate milk spiked with chocolate vodka, served in a hollow chocolate bunny, while watching an episode of Batman '66 with Egghead (and an unfortunately whitewashed American Indian character). I always looked forward to this character's episodes being aired on TV Land on Easter 🤣

Mini book haul from the past couple weeks. Two new, one used from ThriftBooks.

#5JoysFriday @debinhawaii

1. Andor Season Two starts next week!
2. Lots of announcements from Star Wars Celebration, including a new Maul animated series.
3. Trailers for Superman are looking good
4. My sweet, loving, caring wife, and new cat. Our dog is feeling better, too!
5. My new 17“ stuffed Peep, because I'm an adult, and if I want to spend my money on a tie-dye bunny to comfort me as my country is destroyed, that's what I'm going to do!

I have had a rough time lately, mentally. I'm stressing about an upcoming certification exam. I've been sick for two weeks now with some respiratory virus. I've been getting garbage sleep. I've had to listen to deplorable people use their platform to disparage transgender, asexuals, anti-war protesters, immigrants, AmeriCorps, and people with autism. And I've spent way too much time on Facebook seeing people (or bots, who the f knows) celebrate.

@eggs #wondrouswednesday

1. Recursion by Blake Crouch was an engaging story expertly executed. Top-tier sci-fi.

2. Several, unfortunately, (People Love Dead Jews (poor narration), At 30 I Realized I Had No Gender (not what I expected)), and at least one that I wish I had (Sailor Twain)

@TheSpineView #Two4Tuesday

1. I don't know that I've ever failed to file before March. Granted, my taxes have always been very simple, but I don't like to wait.

2. Varied 😁

Of course, after posting about his upcoming book, I went down a rabbit hole and learned that, as well as a legendary actor, Sir Hopkins is an accomplished composer. I can't find his album anywhere, but there is evidence of at least one song, including this video of Rieu playing in the first public performance of a waltz Hopkins wrote 50 years prior.

https://www.classicfm.com/artists/andre-rieu/sir-anthony-hopkins-watches-waltz/

#tuesdaytunes

A huge piece of Lady Mechanika's past is revealed as we learn about the time immediately following her reawakening with her mechanical limbs. A sad, brutal story, but, as always, beautifully told and beautifully expressed through the art. One more volume until I'm caught up, and Joe Benitez just announced that the newest volume will hit Kickstarter soon!

Thanks for sharing, @theludicreader. From readyourcolor.com

The Purple Reader is The Unbound Innovator—a bold, unconventional thinker who thrives on experimental storytelling and genre-defying narratives. They read to challenge norms, stretch their imagination, and fuel radical creativity. After finishing a book, they want to feel intellectually awakened and creatively invigorated, as if they've glimpsed a new way of seeing the world.

I can't imagine that this will be anything less than brilliant, especially in audio. Releasing November 4.

So many of these movies are on my To-Watch list, but I did better than I expected.

There are the three I've seen that shook my core. Not necessarily the best or my favorite, but the most memorable:

The Father - A mind-blowing, soul-crushing portrayal of dementia
The Tree of Life - More than a few walked out of the screening I was in. I don't know if I liked it, but it was art
The Substance - Not for the squeamish, but brilliant

#tlt @dabbe

The newly announced Star Wars: Master of Evil by Adam Christopher (author of the bestselling Star Wars: Shadow of the Sith) chronicles Vader‘s haunting pursuit for the power to conquer death. Take a look at the creepy cover reveal with art by Simon Goinard, and get your hands on this sinister story on November 11, 2025.

https://www.starwars.com/news/star-wars-celebration-2025-lucasfilm-publishing-pa...

@bookwormahn

*Sigh* My second bail of the month. I'm sure this may be interesting to some people, but the first handful of "life lessons" discuss how they decide to wear their hair, what kind of glasses to buy, and what gender to select on their health monitoring app. Not exactly riveting reading for me. I guess it provides insight into the decision making of an intersex person, but that is not what I'm in the mood for now.

A comprehensive profile of a legendary Western figure. To avoid hero-worshipping, the author used three historical texts as his main source of information. An often tragic tale of a woman who yearns for the freedom of the plains, but is forced into female-appropriate roles in the communities she interacts with. The sketch-style art is serviceable, but rarely memorable. As a fan of graphic memoirs, though, it is an excellent offering.

Ahh, this was the boost I needed! I've been sick for the past four days, and not really feeling any better today. Forcing myself to work, since we are trying to save PTO for vacation, but I have a dr appt in a couple hours. Thankfully, the trailer for Murderbot has dropped, and it is marvelous. We are even going to get to experience The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon!

https://reactormag.com/murderbot-adaptation-trailer-martha-wells/

Another day, another POS sounding off about things they don't understand. I don't care about HP; therefore, don't care about JK. I don't agree with her AT ALL about trans issues, though there could be room for empathy if she made any attempt to grow from the reaction. But this just proves she is fine being uninformed and delights in causing controversy. She has no skin in this game. She is just a miserable person and she can f*ck all the way off.

I am just not vibing with this narrator. I'll have to try again in print another time...

I really dislike the practice of re-releasing albums as deluxe or expanded editions within months of the initial release.
For example, Coldplay's Viva la Vida. Obviously, this deluxe edition with the Prospekt's March EP was planned, since it came out just 5 months after the album's release.
Still, this was an amazing album I revisited yesterday, and luckily, I didn't buy it at first, avoiding their blatant money grab.

#tuesdaytunes

A masterpiece! This is not only a love letter to DC Comics history, but a stark reflection of our current political times. Catwoman is released from prison 10 years after the death of Batman. Can she adjust to the new world order? Can she rely on old friends? Can she save her city?
Writer/artist/colorist/letterer Cliff Chiang (of Wonder Woman and Paper Girls) makes quite the statement with this project!

A steamboat captain saves an injured mermaid, but her situation isn't as innocent as it seems, and the boat's owner's promiscuity is hiding a complex secret.
What a wasted set-up!
Aside from this beautiful imprint under the dust jacket, I didn't like much about this book. The art was mostly bad, the main character looked like a muppet, and the story kinda sucked until around Page 300, but then it totally flubbed the ending. Very disappointing.

April #bookspin #bookspinbingo @Thearomaofbooks

#Bookspin selections are This is Paradise and Calamity Jane

RIP Val Kilmer

@TheBookHippie, spreading the joy! View her original post here - https://www.litsy.com/web/post/2852357

For the movie buffs:
My brother and I were watching some action movie and there was a huge gun fight with dust and gun powder everywhere, and we were wondering why no one was sneezing. I said that would be a great scene for the next Boondock Saints. My brother says, without missing a beat, says “Boondock Saints 3: God Bless You“

Began the month with a strong start, but the last few reads have been a little disappointing. We'll see what April and BookSpin brings 😁

My main thought after finishing this book was: Why? This is a fictional story, written as a true-crime novel, with the author as the main character and incorporating parts of his hometown and youth into the book. But there are so many real true-crime books, and this didn't do anything extraordinary with the story. It is a neat concept, and the writing is solid and captivating, but I would have rather read about real people than these fake ones 🫤

The War and Treaty are an American husband and wife duo. Michael served in the United States Army. During his deployment, while encamped in one of Saddam Hussein's private palaces, Michael learned how to play a piano found there when his company commander encouraged him to toy around with the piano knowing he had a passion for singing.
Don't go dismissing Tanya, though. Here is just a taste of her vocals
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uc0ADXvbeAY

Halle Berry is using her platform as a Hollywood A-lister to start the conversation about the lack of awareness and knowledge surrounding menopause.

I watched this excellent interview with Hasan Minhaj (https://youtu.be/wcgN_X-GWR0) and she posted about this just-released book on her social media.

54 of 100 · 54%

#tlt #threelistthursday @dabbe

Congrats to @Kerrbearlib, winner of the (Completely random & unannounced) #TuesdayTunes 500 Post Giveaway 😋

We reached 500 posts this week, so I ran a random number generator of 1 to 500. The number was 200, and the 200th post was about Kerry's favorite radio station.

Congrats Kerry! I'll send you a $25 gift card for your favorite record store or VISA gift card for an online music shop. Send me an email (akkline106@gmail.com) to connect.

I've been on a hip-hop kick lately. Nas is an undeniable legend, and this biographical single was one of my early introductions to him. Featuring his father Olu Dara, it doesn't even make his "This is..." Spotify playlist, which is a damn shame because it is a great song.

"Bridging The Gap from the blues, to jazz, to rap
The history of music on this track"

https://youtu.be/hq7z3JBKCTE

Enjoy! #tuesdaytunes

While any abridged adaptation is necessarily going to come with its share of deviations, I think the team at Marvel did an excellent job at adapting this epic story. They even included a cheeky King cameo, with “Rich Bachman“, drawn to resemble King, as one of Flagg's lieutenants. #constantreader #losersclub
Having read both the original edit and this adaptation, it'll be interesting to one day read the “complete and uncut“ version.

Creator Joe Benitez only illustrated the prologue for each chapter in this series, while main art duties were delegated to guest artist Brian Ching. It was an interesting change-up; it wasn't bad, just felt a little... lesser. Solid story. Lady Mechanika is flying solo, going up against vampires as she again crosses paths with La Dama de la Muerta.

An interesting story. There are four different storylines in 100 pages. While they all converged and concluded well, it felt like too much. Just when I got invested in one story, it switched to another. I don't think it would have benefitted from being longer (it told the story it wanted to), but it would have been better if it was more focused on fewer characters or connected the characters more directly.

Is the known universe 99.9999999999999999999958% empty? Or is it 0.0000000000000000000042% full?

NOT BOOK RELATED: This beautiful site maps our solar system if the moon was the size of one pixel. Sometimes humanity needs a reminder of how insignificant we are and how stupid it is to destroy the planet and your fellow humans in the name of country, religion, or money.

https://joshworth.com/dev/pixelspace/pixelspace_solarsystem.html

Litsy server issues are fixed! (Post on the Litsy Facebook group by Kate from LibraryThing)

I don't have anything special for #tuesdaytunes this week, but I had the urge to blast some Eminem this afternoon after all the patients had checked out of the clinic. It was funny hearing him railing against George W. Simpler times...

Another day, another attack on knowledge and education.

“Libraries of all types translate 0.003% of the federal budget into programs and services used in more than 1.2 billion in-person patron visits every year, and many more virtual visits.“

https://www.ala.org/news/2025/03/ala-statement-white-house-assault-institute-mus...

The groups start to arrive in Boulder and Las Vegas. New relationships form as old bonds strain. I am reminded of a bit from comedian Lee Camp: Evil people have plans. Good people don't have plans. They want to live their lives in peace and enjoy themselves. Well, the evil people here are crucifying rule breakers and gathering weapons while the good guys are trying to build a coalition by committee.
#losersclub #constantreader

Meta sued to prevent the author of a tell-all book from promoting her work. So Sarah Wynn-Williams can't go on talk shows or be interviewed about her new book Careless People, which was released March 11 and is available now whenever books are sold. What a shame that she can't get the word out about what is being called an "explosive dispatch" covering "seven critical years" at Facebook. How ever will people learn about this book now? ?