Getting a head start on this today. It‘s the book I chose for the first meeting of the LBGTQ+ book club I will be facilitating starting in January. Fingers crossed I didn‘t pick a dud 📚🤞

From the poem “Every Cat Has a Story”:

One cat hid her head
when I practiced violin.
But she came out for piano.
At night she played sonatas on my quilt.

These poems are such a delight!
#catsoflitsy

I haven‘t done a lot of reading in the latter half of the year, but what I have read has been substantive. Including this, a collection of essays on war and justice. I found this collection bracing, full of writing which challenges a status quo. Similar to A People‘s History, this is full of more nuanced history as well as reminders of the social changes that have been made by people working in solidarity through nonviolent active resistance. ⬇️

A little nighttime reading has yielded a word for #weirdwordWednesday. I‘ve heard of locavore, or one who eats food grown locally whenever possible, but locavorousness took me off guard. It makes sense but I find it a mouthful…pun intended. Aside- Bennett Sims‘ writing is interesting. So far, the stories in this collection are a mix between Black Mirror and Escher, but no standouts so far. I‘ll see how I feel when I finish. #weirdwords @CBee

This small book is a collection of art from the Denver Art Museum. All of the pieces depict flowers in some way. There are short texts interspersed, recipes for a milkweed seed bomb, candied rose petals, a perfume, and an “in full bloom cocktail,” as well as artist quotes, a writing prompt, a drawing exercise, and a brief introduction to Ikebana. From the art, I quite enjoyed this colorful watercolor by Barbara Latham, Decoration Day. ⬇️

Another entry in this expansive series. Vaughan and Staples have a great way of educing my care. There were several emotional cliffhangers between issues- I can see how the hiatuses later on would be difficult to handle. I got all the currently available volumes from the library yesterday and I‘ll be working through them this week, in between my other reading. Pictured: my own personal Lying Cat: Sleepy Disinterested Cat. #catsoflitsy

Waiting for my car at the shop. This was good reading to help me ignore the made for TV movie playing in the waiting room. This was just as enjoyable as the first volume. I‘m intrigued by the Will and Lying Cat, and I hope there‘s more backstory there in later volumes. I‘m glad that I decided to reread this series- it‘s more relatable to me now than it was when I was in college.

Another Greek word for #weirdwordsWednesday . Οίκος is the Ancient Greek word for home. The modern word is σπίτι (spiti- gives us hospitality). The ancient root can be found in modern Greek words like οικονομία (economy), οικολογία (ecology), and οικογένεια (family, or the generation of the house). Oh, and the yogurt company as well (no clue why…). #weirdwords #mybigfatgreekwedding #kimono @CBee

I read this ages ago but didn‘t remember much about it. I don‘t think I was focused on the detail of the story then and it went over my head. This time, I enjoyed the political aspects and the world building. A story like this can overwhelm me. If I don‘t read it all in one go then I forget details and lose the plot. So, I ended up taking notes on the characters and their backgrounds to reference as I continue the series. On to the next volume!

This was a good find in the graphic novel section of my local library. I felt seen in a lot of the imagery and the simple text accompanying the illustrations. This reminded me of a zine but in hardback form. Not much else to say about it- it was short and concise, the kind of thing I wouldn‘t mind picking up when I need to feel like I‘m not alone.
#anxiety #onlyhuman

I recently ordered these Greek comics from the artist Smar‘s Etsy shop in the hopes that I can read them in Greek in the next few months/years. I‘m tip-toeing through them, recognizing little words or phrases here and there. It‘s like magic when I spot something I understand. I figure comics will be a good way to practice reading and even speaking because they‘re dialogue-centric. Plus, the art is very fun!
#greek #languagelearning

On the Use and Abuse of History:
“We do need to learn history, the kind that does not put its main emphasis on knowing presidents and statutes and Supreme Court decisions, but inspires a new generation to resist the madness of governments trying to carve the world and our minds into their spheres of influence.”
These essays are breathing some fire into me today.

I haven‘t been doing as much reading lately. So, for this week‘s #weirdwords, I‘m going to dip into my Greek language class again, since it‘s taking up most of my brain space anyway. The word on my mind is περίπτερο which is the word for kiosk. What‘s interesting is it‘s an architectural word that has been in use since antiquity and can describe the Parthenon, an open building surrounded by columns. #weirdwordWednesdays @CBee

“If this isn‘t nice, what is?” #catsoflitsy

This is a low pick for me. It‘s not that the story isn‘t impactful, being autobiographical fiction about a day in a Russian prison camp in the 40s. It‘s more so that the writing style made the story drag, even though it‘s only 140 pages. Nonetheless, I do feel that this was intentional. After all, time must be experienced differently in a prison camp like this, especially when one expects exile at best upon release. In the end, strong stuff.

This is a short art book, with about 20 pages of explication and 81 prints, mostly b/w. I picked this out of a batch of art books I just received from my aunt. I knew nothing about Ryder prior to looking at this. I‘m intrigued by his use of unique materials, as well as the way his art is decaying because of the way he layered his paints so thickly. ⬇️

By examining the progression of bad faith arguments used to belittle writing done by women, each progressively more desperate/illogical, Russ shows how flawed and dangerous much critical analysis of women‘s work can be. As someone who doesn‘t do a lot of academic reading, this was a slough in parts. However, Russ makes excellent points regarding the literary canon, college syllabi, and cultural values- and this was written in ‘83! ⬇️

I‘ve been in a bit of a reading slump the past few weeks, focusing on other things. Tonight I have some free time and I‘ve decided to check some books off of my currently reading list. I hope to finish the tagged at the very least. 🤞Does anyone else feel more motivated when you post on Litsy or is it just me?

I‘ve been really enjoying my venture into learning Greek, even though I get overwhelmed at least once per day. So, for today‘s #weirdwordWednesday, I thought I‘d share another Greek root. Ναύτης is the Greek word for sailor, which can be seen in αστροναύτης, or astronaut, a sailor of the stars! When I heard that, I had to smile. It‘s such a beautiful idea contained in a word I never really thought about before. ☺️ I love it! #weirdwords @CBee

“For life today in America is based on the premise of ever-widening circles of contact and communication. It involves not only family demands, national demands, international demands on the good citizen, through social and cultural pressures, through newspapers, magazines, radio programs, charitable appeals, and so on. My kind reels with it. What a circus act we women perform every day of our lives.”
-1955

This is probably one of the best YA/Teen novels I‘ve read in a long time. The story is told in two timelines, which allowed for the story of 1950s pulp to be put into context for a modern teen audience. However, I found myself losing interest in the 2017 characters, often wanting to get back to the 1955 timeline. ⬇️

My trip to Greece last summer as a chaperone for a study abroad inspired me to learn Greek. This week I‘m finally digging in with the beginning of an online course. I had language classes in high school/college but I never seriously set my mind to them. I‘m determined to learn now. My word for #weirdwordsWednesday is φιλμ, or film, mainly because it‘s pronounced the same in both languages and I‘m grateful some words are gimmes. @CBee

I really enjoyed folding this Cube Snail by Gen Hagiwara. This was taught at this year‘s Origami World Marathon which I missed the live stream of. Thankfully, participants have access to instructional videos for a year. I couldn‘t resist posing this cutie outside. I think it would be cool to fold with patterned paper or do some gel printing on the shell side of the paper. @Catsandbooks #litsycrafters #creatures

My partner and I recently used up a bunch of birthday gift cards and splurged on this super comfy reading chair. The joke that day was about how we only got one and we‘d have to fight over who gets to sit in it. Well, it just got delivered and it looks like the cats have decided to usurp it already. Typical!
#catsoflitsy

The scuppernong, used as a descriptor in this evocative poem, is my choice for #weirdwordsWednesday. The poem “When I Call Your Name” almost makes me blush just reading it, let alone posting about it. Its got such an open and honest depiction of sexual longing which is quite beautiful. And I couldn‘t not post about such a fun and evocatively descriptive word.
#weirdwords @CBee

After reading The Bathysphere Book by Brad Fox, I decided to look for Beebe‘s own account. I just found this edition in the college library with super cool endpapers depicting the map of Bermuda and the radius of where the bathysphere dives happened. I‘m not sure if I‘ll read this right away but I‘m excited to peruse the illustrations at the very least.

A mixed reading experience. I‘m impressed by Fox‘s writing style, poetic and dreamy yet informative. However, the format didn‘t always agree with me. Its nonlinear, fragmentary organization made me lose the thread sometimes, especially since I wasn‘t binge reading it. Still, a fascinating, if niche, topic written about beautifully with accompanying illustrations, including Else Bostelmann‘s wonderful paintings.
#ReadingtheAmericas2023 #Bermuda

As much as I‘m in awe of the research done with the bathysphere, I‘m saddened to learn of the eugenics background of Beebe and those that funded his project, like Madison Grant. However, I‘m glad the author isn‘t ignoring that aspect of this story. Also, I‘m glad Beebe began to see the error of his ways, signing a 1941 letter denouncing Hitler and calling “for improved workers‘ rights and an end to racial discrimination in the US.”

“A siphonophore…appears to be a single organism but it‘s not…The citizens share a common ancestor that once emerged from a fertilized egg, but now they grow and clone themselves and attach their offspring to their own bodies…There is no central brain…This frees the small bodies to pursue whatever they might devote themselves to. Some provide protection, some are responsible for eating, for reproduction, or for producing colorful glowing light.”

I‘m too late for #weirdwordsWednesday, but I had to post about this, a siphonophore. While reading the tagged, I stumbled upon this:
“A siphonophore…appears to be a single organism, but it‘s not. It‘s a colony of smaller animals-polyps and other beings called zooids. It‘s a city adrift in the ocean, an undersea metropolis whose citizens cooperate closely to keep the bustling society harmoniously alive.”
Isn‘t that stunning?! #weirdwords @CBee

SEEKING ADVICE! I have agreed to take charge of reestablishing a local LGBTQ+ book club, with pretty much free reign to choose books/moderate/schedule how I‘d like. So, here are my questions. What has been your favorite queer book club read? And do you have any advice for moderating a book club and making it an engaging, welcoming, and fun experience?
This will be a new kind of challenge for me, but I‘m very excited for the possibilities. 📚

Phew! This book gave me anxiety at times. Experimental horror that explores themes of religion and cultism, mother-daughter relationships, and adolescence. I admired the risks Ojeda took with her writing, but I felt that the complexities of the story weren‘t managed well in the end. I‘m left feeling more perplexed than anything. Shout out to Sarah Booker for her excellent translation!
#ReadingtheAmericas2023 #Ecuador

The thing that I found so striking as I read this was how subtle the writing is and how much breath flows through its 171 pages. The themes of power/control/hatred/safety are prominent. Much can also be said about the feeling of being in-between (colonial generations, nationalities, race, etc.) A lot to ponder, and definitely something I will want to reread in the future.
#ReadingtheAmericas2023 #Dominica

A partial pile of possibilities for #SummerEndReadathon. All but one of these work for #ShortySeptember, a few will be double dippers with #ReadingtheAmericas2023. This doesn‘t count all the library books I want to get to. September promises to be a busy month.
@TheSpineView

Low pick. The pacing is a bit weird and the writing didn‘t wow me. Also, its cultural relevance has diminished the twist (I‘ve not seen the films and I still knew what was going on). Nonetheless, I felt it still had thematic potency, reflecting the lengths that some white, cis-het men in particular will go to in order to gain or maintain power. I found it quite bleak in that respect, particularly with the way it ended. A cautionary tale for sure.

My impression of this memoir is that it succeeds more as an expression of self-healing than it does as a traditional memoir, almost a therapeutic project. The time jumps, flow, and structure in general seem to mirror Page‘s own progress/setbacks in his gender/sexuality journey. His alchemical refusal to let negative experiences rule him was radical, but there were also times when I got too confused and lost the arc of his story. ⬇️

I am not very sports-literate these days. While reading Elliot Page‘s memoir today, this word stopped me in my tracks. I played football (soccer) in elementary school so I should know better…
#weirdwords #weirdwordwednesdays @CBee

The Development and Engagement director at Lambda Literary posted on Instagram that they‘re looking for shelfies! They are sick of using stock images only to crop/zoom and see books with titles relating to extraneous topics. If you have a shelf or stack of exclusively queer books, why not snap a pic and send it in- they‘ll credit your photo as well if you‘d like. Here‘s the link: https://forms.gle/vYNvpddVe684kAhH8

A genre-defying novel full of memorably surreal occurrences. It was a wild reading experience, with moments of terror and laugh-out-loud funny satire that made our own reality scarier and more stark, but not entirely hopeless. In the end, I‘m not sure what else to say beyond praising its existence. Thank you again @Lindy for putting Stintzi on my radar.
P.S.- The cover depicts not a hawk as I thought originally, but a myna bird.

Seeing a post earlier from @Bookwomble reminded me about kennings, those metaphorical compound words used in Old English and Norse poetry. Think “earth-stepper” to mean wanderer, etc. As expressed above, “we can only speak of what we do not know in terms of what we know.” I learned about these delightful constructs in a college course on Tolkien- I‘ve been filled with fond memories all day.

#weirdwords @CBee #WeirdWordWednesdays

“I think about that moment a lot - the anger that man felt entitled to display and my response to it. In our society anger and masculinity are so intertwined - I hope to redefine that in my own life.”

I‘m finding Elliot‘s transmuting of so many negative experiences into such radically positive intentions to be quite beautiful.

Bathysphere: a strongly built steel diving sphere for deep sea observation

There are many wonderful words in this book relating to deep sea exploration and luminous effects. Learning about the people involved in using this contraption in the 1930s has me reflecting on recent disasters in the deep. The researchers then seem more prepared. I‘m also enamored with the paintings of sea creatures done by Else Bostelmann at the time.

#weirdwords @CBee

I‘m unsure how to review this, other than to say I‘m ambivalent about it and move on. I don‘t think it will be memorable beyond my learning the term “comedy of humors.” Perhaps I would feel more strongly if I saw a live production or read it in French. Pictured: Jack, one of the household misanthropes (a quality most apparent in the presence of new noises). I think it‘s a more apt characterization of Finn but he didn‘t care to be in the photo.

I ended up making a full review of this for my YouTube channel. It‘s the first time I‘ve scripted a review and I feel I ended up reading from my script too much. I‘m not 100% pleased with my delivery. Nonetheless, my enthusiasm for re-filming takes is gone. The end result is what it is. Anyways, I thought I‘d share it here for posterity.

Cakes and Ale by W. Somerset Maugham (A Spoiler-Free Review)
https://youtu.be/rtGbrjpWPmU

Started this after seeing a discussion video on @shawnmooney ‘s BookTube channel about the author. It explores the complexities and nuances of human struggle for survival, contemplates morality in a world corrupted by colonialism, and asks, “What does it mean to be free?” A book which does not seek to provide easy answers. I took many notes and underlined a lot. Destined to be a top read of the year for me.

I‘m glad I found this trail guide in my local bookstore. It brought to my attention the history of the outlet between Keuka and Seneca lakes, once brimming with mills which ran parallel to the Crooked Lake Canal. The author points out where you can see evidence of the locks, etc., and I love the tips about plant identification and birds/animals to keep an eye out for. The trail has reignited my interest in nature- I‘m glad to have this resource.

Quite an interesting collection of spy stories, all centered around Ashenden, openly based on Maugham himself who was a WWI spy. The stories flow into each other but could be read individually. Many unlikeable characters, colonial BS, racism, and antisemitism make some of the stories distasteful. Yet, overall, I‘m glad I read this. I‘m intrigued by Maugham for some reason and I haven‘t figured out why yet. Next up, some plays and a biography.

This was such a fun read. Over the top, with manga inspired art, anachronisms out the wazoo, and full of cheesy puns. It was the perfect read for a stressful day. What a great pick for #LGBTbookclub !

Perfect lunch/reading combo for this #LGBTbookclub pick. I‘m enjoying the story so far. It‘s the first book club pick I‘ve been able to get to in any sort of timely way so I‘m pleased with myself today. @AbigailJaneBlog