@Christine You may know that Pittsburgh is having a rough time right now. I cannot tell you how blown away and moved I am by your thoughtfulness & generosity just when I need it most. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE everything. And I now own the best pen ever made!! @monalyisha #WitchPleaseSwap is better than XMAS. Thank you!

Pure joy.

How deeply and for how long are our lives a product of things that happened in adolescence? In books, especially a certain type of thriller, the answer to both question is totally. In real life, not so much or perhaps not quite as literally at least.

I feel like this is one of those books where the plot hinges on the mc making bad decision after bad decision.

A fun queer urban fantasy. This is a good natured queer romp with a hapless masculine of center witch searching for a missing magical sword. There are the usual emotional messy entanglements and a very nicely written BDSM scene. If those things appeal to you, I‘d recommend giving this a try.

Another absolutely bananas book. I‘m about halfway through, have no idea what is going on and remain intrigued.

I think the ‘shocking ending‘ moment should end or at least go on hiatus for a while. This is a fine scary summer movie. I mean book.

I had a great reading month. The tagged book blew me off my feet.

Creativity porn.

I liked this and tore through it. I‘m not sure it‘s as deep as it wants to be, but it‘s still a good ride.

Every time I think I‘m done with the coming of age memoir one is released that makes me eat my words. This one lives up to its reputation.

Fun. Smart. A bit silly. I enjoyed this. However, Zeus feels there were too many horses and not enough dogs.

“Reader. I murdered him.” SOLD!! I‘m enjoying the heck out of this one about midway through

I feel like this attempt at writing memoir and true crime simultaneously results in failure at both. Neither teenage Weiss nor the crime she is focused on interested me enough to like this book. For a much more successful attempt at this specific genre read Maggie Nelson‘s ‘Jane‘ and ‘The Red Parts‘.

Nothing to see here. It has things like vague instructions on making paper snowflakes and advice to take winter beach walks. In good conscience I cannot even count this toward my yearly reading. I‘m moving on to a book about death cleaning which I hope has some substance.

I am not a graphic novel kind of reader. However, I knew as soon as I finished The Library at Mount Char that I was in danger of a reading slump. When my library emailed me suggesting I‘d like this, I decided to give it a try. Never fuck with the prediction of a library. I LOVED this. I loved the art, the characters, the humor, the queerness. I wish I could take the day off and binge read. I ❤️ my library.

My partner and I hung out at our kitchen table this evening and made collages. I feel both silly and a little proud.

Mind blowing. I have no words for how much I loved this wild ride of a book.

A successful visit to the library!

A few weeks ago I put this on hold at my library based on a Pick review on Litsy. I began reading it on the trolley this morning and very quickly my reaction was, “Holy shit! What in fresh hell is this?!” I am soooo excited to find a book that rocked me back on my heels. Thanks Littens.

This novel of the real life relationship between Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena “Hick” Hickok is a lovely mix of romance, wit and history. It‘s the perfect length to satisfy without bogging down. I adored it.

Very pretty patterns as you‘d expect from Interweave Knits. I am currently having significant joint pain so I got this from the library knowing it would essentially be knitting porn.

I loved this book about siblings who visited a fortune teller as children and learned when they were going to die. However, I was completely unprepared when there was harm of animals in the book and it knocked it down a few pegs in my enjoyment.

Kicking this off on my commute. So far I‘m quite intrigued.

Disturbing and illuminating.

I had a great reading month. 10 books. Three are 5 Stars and one is 4! Yay!!

This show stole my reading time this weekend.

A solid three stars. A good summer read that holds your interest without taxing your heart or your brain. I never try to solve a mystery or plot line. I‘m much more interested in going on the ride an author wants me to take. However, at 80% of the way through this I‘d figured out the upcoming plot twist and outcome. Weird.

Run don‘t walk if you haven‘t read this. A favorite.

I‘m not a big fan of historical novels, but that some of the narrative is contemporary and the descriptions of the Cornwall setting have propelled me forward.

A fun supernatural romp. Like his YA novel, Shadowshaper, this book nearly every character is a person of color. Recommended

I‘m not doing 24 in 48, but I am inspired to use a timer when I read this weekend because I‘ve never done it before and I‘m curious. It‘s not likely to go well if Zeus doesn‘t leave me alone though.

This graphic feminist memoir of a sexual abuse survivor coming of age during the era of the Yorkshire Ripper seemed to be right up my alley. However, something about this didn‘t work for me that I can‘t quite name. The final drawings were amazing and moving though. I think perhaps someone who reads more graphic books will like this more than I did.

So beautiful. I began thinking it was too clever, too wordy, too mysterious. I then remember I like those things and allow myself to be immersed. I finish thinking I‘ve been intimate with ... the characters? Smith? Words? Story? Imagery? Ideas? I finish feeling utterly moved and unable to say exactly why or how.

I bought this as part of a haul from my library‘s used bookstore yesterday. It‘s a 1950 edition, all in color albeit a little yellowed. I got it for only $2!!!!

Do you like well-written British police procedurals with troubled female MCs? If so, you will probably like this series kick-off because I do and I did.

My partner locked our keys in the car while we went to an estate sale. I‘m trying to think of it as an opportunity to read.

I get tired of reading about youngsters (get off my lawn) so the topic of what is essentially a woman‘s midlife crisis appealed. Pahoa, Big Island is my happy place so the setting was perfect. The twists and turns of an obsessive friendship between a free spirit and a housewife were fun to read. Sadly, the writing is uber clunky. It crosses the line into distracting from the story. It‘s a shame because it could have been perfect. It just wasn‘t.

Took a mental health day and hung out with Eleanor Oliphant by the local pool. All in all she was a marvelous companion.

Exhilarating. I am not a fan of short stories, generally speaking. These, however, are relentless in their demand to be read and absorbed. Five stars.

A bookerly breakfast.

Vastness is our home.

This book is amazing. If you haven‘t read it, it is worth $3

That may not be the version of the story you‘re familiar with. But I assure you, it‘s the one you need to know.

I cannot decide what why I think of this book. It feels like an emotionless intellectual exercise in which every character describes feelings and never feels anything at all. And yet. And yet. I find it a somehow compelling narrative just the same. In the end because of its brevity I‘m declaring it a pick.

Revolutionary erotica.

Notes taken while reading this book. I found it very useful as I try to work through some health issues. It is very definitely Buddhist, though. That works for me quite well, but may be off-putting for some folks.