"...I started to wonder, Where is my fantasy, my future? Why don't Black people exist in speculative worlds?"

Man, the editor's introduction took me back to my childhood. I remember falling hard for speculative fiction. Like her, I wondered what happened to all of the Black people that seemingly disappeared from various versions of those strange and familiar worlds. My suspension of disbelief depended so much on ignoring the absence of BIPOC.

Second warm day in a row!! I really needed this. 🔆

"The analog flying foxes of the air, the fruit bats with the wingspan of a child, roost under the eaves and orifices of the rotunda, upside-down like furled umbrellas in the groove of a coat rack or a lacquered tree."

Someone please tell me. Is Karen fucking with me?? I just want to know. Asking for a friend. That friend is me. Because I am in tears, literal tears, crying laughing at the literary excess.

We got a bit of sun and warmth today! FINALLY. I am so sick of the cold. It is the middle of May. Pittsburgh, do better.

Three books came in my Lit Love subscription from Amazing Books. I never know what's coming and it's fun to see what they pick for me.

#Minnie took a moment to sniff each book. Then #MooMoo decided these books were best suited for sitting and sunbathing.

Free audiobook to anyone willing to try the Penguin Random House audiobook app. The app rating in the Google Play store is not great. I wonder what this is like on the iPhone.

I cannot stop giggling. These sentences are extra as f***.

"The information highway, bereft of its data warehouses, lies noiseless as a liquid gold sun drops into the horizon, one glowing elegy to a bygone age of digital flotsam and jetsam."

Book: "...this age of crisis. No amanuensis...”

Me: *puts dictionary on speed dial*

This sounds like such a strange little book. #nextup

From cover to cover every story is a Filipino story. At times tender or absurd or unsettling. Siasoco created a diverse group of complex characters. After reading the first two stories I began to lose interest in this collection and needed to take a break to go hang with some others books. I'm glad I picked this up again a couple weeks later and gave it another shot.

”Congratulations, Hugo, you are the equivalent of a human platypus."

Nothing quite like a little casual bigotry to bring a character into sharp focus. Equating American with whiteness. The derogatory Tagalog used to reference people of Chinese descent. This made me bristle.

Comedy specials, Netflix rom-com and now this book. Loved them all. Count me in on whatever's next for Ali Wong.

That's a wrap! I really enjoyed my reading day. I clocked 11 hours 8 minutes of reading time and very nearly finished my second book. Now to sleeeeeeeeeep.

#24hourreadathon

"I'm your mother. I don't write fancy. I don't use words like 'facetious' or 'effusive.' I use words like 'doo-doo,' 'caca,' and 'punani.' Once I embraced that, these letters were an absolute pleasure to write."

Next up!

#24hourreadathon

I've snacked. I've napped. I've finally finished a book! And, I'm feeling pretty good. Now I break for dinner.

#24hourreadathon

Almost finished my book and going to join #MooMoo for a quick nap. You'd think I would get a good night's rest before a #24hourreadathon and you would be using the sense I wish I had yesterday.

"Jen and Oona are in sync like ballerinas in the New York City Ballet. And I am the drunk clown who stumbles on stage in the middle of the ballet and trips on his own pee."

And away we go! #24hourreadathon

I haven't read much of anything this week. 😬 I'm going to snack, relax and redeem myself.

http://www.24hourreadathon.com/

Out of all the excuses I could use to add yet another book to the TBR pile, this seems like an excellent one. #stacked

Story: The Rice Bowl
First line: "Viva wants her boobs back."

It's here! It's here! My #bookhaul from Amazing Books & Records has arrived. I had no idea what they were going to send my way. Love that there was a handwritten note from the owner and an extra book thrown in. 📚

These are all new to me. I'm intrigued. Has anyone read one or more from this stack?

-Outside the Dog Museum by Jonathan Carroll
-Hopscotch by Julio Cortazar
-Somewhere in Time by Richard Matheson
-The Ecliptic by Benjamin Wood

Graphic memoir. America forcibly incarcerated Japanese Americans during WWII. It ends on a hopeful note, but sometimes I fear my country is intent on repeating past mistakes.

Thanks @batsy!

1. They Called Us Enemy
2. If on a Winter's Night a Traveler (a ≠ the)
3. Found a cute book fan @ tagged.
4. Fahrenheit 451
5. The Prestige (Movie is waaaay better.)
6. The Foley Artist #nextup
7. Iono 🤷🏽
8. Bambi: A Life in the Woods (BRUTAL)
9. 60 books (9 books behind schedule 😭)
10. Couch w/ fuzzy blanket and kitties.
11. Bunnicula
12. @PMMREADS & @mollyrotondo WDYT? 📚

@Graciouswarriorprincess #quarantinereadschallenge

Thanks for the open invite @Mitch !

1. Important (tagged book)
2. Yes, 3 from one of my local bookshops.

#Two4Tuesday @TheSpineView

#currentlyreading

I've been taking sips of this short story collection over the last few days. The Hidden Order Of Things, Path Two, the reading order suggested by the author for those folks that "spent your childhood imagining that you could enter into other dimensions" didn't quite work for me. Those hand-picked stories didn't make much of an impression. I found I enjoyed this more once I stopped flipping around and just turned the pages as they came.

Didn't need more books but ordered more books. 😖 Now I get to try a book subscription and help out a local independent bookstore! Kinda reminds me of blind-date-with-a-book. No idea what they'll send me. Also have no more room on my shelves but I'm feeling reckless. 😜

Link below in case anyone else would like to support and get some books shipped from Amazing Books in Pgh.

https://donorbox.org/book-love-in-the-time-of-covid-19-the-devine-deal

I found a pretty pastel purple cover on the shelf. Thanks for the #ISpy tag @IamIamIam. I'm inviting @Sace , @Lindy , and @batsy to find a green book.

https://blog.getbookly.com/

I signed up! Link included above if anyone is interested in joining the readathon. One week, 25 hours. 📖

There's "The Order of Things" (aka a table of contents) and then there's "The Hidden Order of Things." I'm going to try Path Two. It me.

Sibling rivalry. Loyalty. Jealousy. Control. DEATH. This was exactly what I needed. Rapid fire chapters and dark humor. I was all in from the first line. 🔥

#Minnie tried to Jedi mind trick me into giving up my lunch. She has no shame. 😹

Well I guess we're getting straight to it! 😮

My library started a reading challenge. I love this. Read 3 bookish items each week (ie. books, chapters or hours on audio).There is an app and badges can even be earned by engaging with the library or city/federal services.

💕 📚 💕

George Washington Black. Coming of age across continents. Barbados. The Arctic. Nova Scotia. England. Morocco. This was a great read. Beware if you find loose endings upsetting.

”You did not see me—you did not look at me, and see me. You wanted to, but you didn't, you failed. You saw, in the end, what every other white man saw when he looked at me."

"But here, finally, was a thing of my own making—the invention of a boy born for obliteration, for toil and death. What vindication, to think I might leave this mark."

"It was clear to me that both were intelligent, kind people, but careless with each other's feelings, and poles apart in temperament. I liked both immensely; I hated their way together."

So many changes in a short period of time! The library is closing through the end of March. The museums are closing. Gov. Wolf announced schools will close statewide. My university department's operations have also been suspended through March 31st. For the first time, I'll be telecommuting most weekdays. COVID-19 has reached Western PA.

Take care of yourselves! Be a glutton for books but try to leave some toilet paper on the store shelves. 🧻

*shouting from the rooftops* 📣: My good friend @PMMREADS has joined Litsy!

I am so hype that she's here y'all. Please give her a warm welcome. 🥳 🎊 🎉

Bernardine Evaristo canceled her US tour. 😭 I won't get to see her speak on Monday due to COVID-19 concerns. Even my university has suspended in-person classes for the remainder of the Spring term. It's a wild time.

Silver lining: I have more than enough books to ride out this storm.

Random book sale find of the day. Not on my list, but at $0.24 why the hell not?!

Carnegie Music Hall is beautiful.

Tonight's the night!!!

😥