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willaful

willaful

Joined April 2022

Love to read, garden, dance. Pretty sure my last words are going to be “where did I put my Kindle?“ She/They.
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willaful
It Rhymes with Takei | George Takei, Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott
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Enjoyable look at Takei's life and many accomplishments. Every success had a sting in its tail though, because of his being fearfully closeted. He finally came out at 68 and life just got better and better!

I was a little wigged out by the depiction of his first sexual experience, as a child with a camp counselor. 😬 I get that it's a good memory for him, but that doesn't make it right and I think it could have used an asterisk.

BarbaraJean 😳 Yikes! I don't understand why that wouldn't be given some kind of caveat! 9h
Faranae What ages are we talking?? Because attitudes around that have definitely changed in his lifetime (and I'm sure a lot of young people probably stumble over the age gap between him and his husband, even...) 9h
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TheBookHippie I‘ve had that in other books and thought the same thing!!! 🫣 9h
willaful @Faranae He didn't specifically say but he was a camper and the other guy was a counselor. It's not analogous to two adult people having a relationship.
9h
Faranae @willaful If it was at a Boy Scout camp back in the day, though, a counselor could have been 16 to 18. My dad was a “counselor“ in his summer camp organisation when he was 15 (but that wasn't Scouts), in charge of boys *older* than him in some cases. It's still a power differential, but the ages might not be as terrible as it would seem - all the more reason to explain, because kids *now* have a very different context! 7h
20 likes6 comments
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willaful

to feel badly but calmly about what is spiritually deforming is the mediocre norm; to rage against it is to become an instrument of revolutionary change.

TheBookHippie Rage is useful. 9h
18 likes1 comment
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willaful
BookSpinBingo | Untitled
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Don't know if I'm gonna get a lot of reading done this month, because I hope to do two items on my Bucket List! Those who read From Dust to Stardust with me for the #SundayBuddyRead might be able to guess what one of them is. 😁

TheBookHippie Yay!!!!!!!! ♥️♥️♥️♥️ 1d
julieclair Fairy Castle!!! 🧚🧚‍♀️🧚‍♂️🏰 1d
willaful @julieclair I still can't believe I don't remember it from my childhood. 1d
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TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! Looks fantastic!! 1d
julieclair I would love to see it someday. 🧚‍♀️ 1d
33 likes6 comments
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willaful
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Nice to not have any “meh“ weeks. A great reading month.

Read4life I love excellent reading months!!! 💙☀️💙 3d
29 likes1 comment
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willaful
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Five bingos! I confess, I read a couple of picture books for the covers... but I couldn't not have a rainbow book for June, right?

TheBookHippie It all counts! 3d
willaful @TheBookHippie So annoying though, I read 9 books with queer authors and/or content and not a single rainbow cover! Well, I guess 10 books now. :-) 3d
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TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! Looking fabulous!! Picture books TOTALLY count!! 3d
willaful @TheBookHippie Oh for goodness sake, I just realized I borrowed It Rhymes with Takei for that prompt and then completely forgot about it.... 🤦🏻‍♀️ 2d
TheBookHippie @willaful 🤣 me all month long… 2d
32 likes6 comments
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willaful
BookSpinBingo | Untitled
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I'm really happy with how many of my #BookSpin books I managed to read or try this month! Just 6 titles left!

TheAromaofBooks Yay!! Fantastic month!! 3d
33 likes1 comment
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willaful
BookSpinBingo | Untitled
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TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 4d
27 likes1 comment
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willaful
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Absolutely hilarious collection of short science fiction. Not much plotwise, more satiric vibes. The gossip of intelligent machines was a high point.

#AuthorAMonth

Soubhiville Oh fun! This is the first I‘ve seen of this! 4d
willaful @Soubhiville I think it may be rather hard to find. None of my Libby libraries had it but my local library had a limited edition print copy! 4d
29 likes2 comments
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willaful

When the yogurt took over, we all made the same jokes--“Finally our rulers have culture,“ “Our society has curdled,“ “Our government is now the cream of the crop,“ and so on. But when we weren't laughing about the absurdity of it all, we looked into each others' eyes with the same unasked question--how did we ever get to the point where we were, in fact. ruled by a dairy product?

julesG It's one of the Netflix Love, Death and Robots stories 4d
Eggs 😂 4d
25 likes2 comments
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willaful
How to Make Sense | Rudolf Flesch
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An old, not very findable book, but it taught me so much about reading and writing.

“Having read a book means nothing. Reading a book may be the most tremendous experience of your life; having read it is an item in your memory... We don't apply the same principle elsewhere: We don't believe in having heard Mendelssohn's violin concerto...I say, don't read the classics -- try to discover your own classics; every life has its own.”

BookmarkTavern I‘d never heard of this one before! Thanks for posting! 4d
23 likes1 comment
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willaful

I read some, then skimmed some and then read the ending, and I do think Alderton did something really interesting here, but I just couldn't force myself through the incredibly depressing part to read the book as a whole.

Also, as with another book I read that was set right before lockdown, I found myself worrying about how the characters would manage with this horrible new challenge in front of them. Why do authors do this?!

#BookSpinBingo

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willaful
It's a Love Story | Annabel Monaghan
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Almost bailed because the narrator's immaturity really got up my nose, but I'm glad I stuck with it. Former child star Jane has some heavy emotional baggage that makes her hide behind facades, but when she's teamed up with quiet, artistic Dan to try and get a movie made, he makes it all too easy to be her funny, quirky self. There's good growth arcs for both and a lovely romance that's not very steamy, but so descriptive it's a sensory delight.

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willaful
It's a Love Story | Annabel Monaghan

I take out True Story and read a few scenes for comfort. Those characters showed up flawed and fell in love anyway. Their connection is the kind of love I never understood, the kind where the love is the reward for being yourself. It's *This is who I am* followed by *I'll take it!*

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willaful
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A fairly typical #Roll100 month for me... I only read numbers that *weren't* chosen! 😂 Hey, it's five books off my TBR.

PuddleJumper That still great progress! 6d
30 likes2 comments
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willaful

Started on part two of Wild, Dark Shore last night and of course I was up to 3 a.m. finishing it. What was I thinking?!

#CampLitsy

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willaful
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In some ways this is just as silly as When the Moon Hits Your Eye, but it has so much more sweetness and heart. A reread for me, and just as good as the first time.

*#AuthorAMonth @Soubhiville

PuddleJumper 😂 1w
BookmarkTavern LOLOLOL This is the shirt to wear to a Star Trek convention. 1w
willaful @BookmarkTavern I actually own a replica t-shirt of the red with a printed com badge... also a blue. Passed down from a friend, I swear! 1w
Leftcoastzen 😂love it ! 1w
Soubhiville Great shirt and great book! 1w
34 likes5 comments
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willaful
Mr Warren's Profession | Sebastian Nothwell

Not finding this very engaging and wondering if I should bail. @Faranae do you have an opinion?

#DoubleSpin

Faranae I enjoyed it but it's definitely fluffy until it is very not fluffy. It does rely heavily on its tropes, and never quite breaks free of them, so if those early tropes don't work for you and hurt/comfort isn't your thing (which is very much Northwell's main catnip), it's probably best to bail. 1w
willaful @Faranae I certainly can enjoy it but I don't think I wanna plow though to get there. Thanks for the input. 1w
Faranae @willaful Happy to help! Also while I was doing yardwork, I thought about how Nothwell is definitely in the school of historical romance who aren't terribly concerned with getting the history right, so the characters' concerns are often much more reflective of what you'd see in a contemporary, unlike say, Aster Glenn Gray, who writes stuff exploring period identity. 1w
willaful @Faranae I guess they can't all be AGG. 1w
22 likes4 comments
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willaful
Mr. Fox's Game of "No!" | David LaRochelle
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Cute interactive book along the lines of “The Monster at the End of this Book.“ Though do you really want to train your child to say “no“ to everything? 😂

#ISpyBingo Negative word

LiseWorks Look at you go. 1w
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 1w
willaful @LiseWorks I have books for both sock and polka dot, but I doubt I'll manage to get to them in time. Ahh well. 1w
28 likes3 comments
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willaful
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Cool that I finished this in June! Does anyone remember who the creator of these cards is?

#LGBTQIA2025

30 likes2 comments
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willaful

This is *not* the intergenerational friendship story the blurb promises; I think the marketing dept. had no idea what to do with it. It's pretty dark, but also tender; I was thoroughly engrossed but left going “I don't know how to feel“ by the end. The messages about loving books and the vagaries of fandom are very mixed. (Perhaps inevitable for an book written in these times.)

#BookSpinBingo

willaful BTW, though it's very easy to equate the author in the book to Rowling and the fandom to HP, *this* author's children's series has a character that uses they/them pronouns, so yay for that! 1w
24 likes1 comment
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willaful
A Novel Love Story | Ashley Poston

I didn't expect to like this as much as I did, because there's something about Poston's style that I don't quite jibe with, and I'm not a big fan of the sweet, small town romance subgenre this celebrates. But I do love me a high concept story and this was very clever and pretty touching.

#BookSpinBingo

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willaful
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This satire on our weird times makes excellent use of terrible cheese puns and is also very schadenfreudelicious... I half wondered if Scalzi wrote it as therapy. It suffers from not having a main character to follow and root for and inevitably comes off feeling insubstantial, like the lightest cheez whiz instead of a solid slab of cheddar. Just fine, if that's what you were wanting on your cracker. Pairing: Martians, Go Home.

29 likes2 comments
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willaful
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I liked the first book in the series but I *really* liked this one. The plotting is tighter, the writing very clever, and the characters so endearing, I was much less bothered by moral ambiguity.

(Can you guess why I chose this image to illustrate my blurb?)

#SeriesLove

Ruthiella It‘s been too long since I read it, so I can‘t guess as to why you chose that drawing . 😅 But I definitely agree these books get stronger with time. Is it better familiarity with the characters or Osman refining his talents or a combination of both? 👍 2w
34 likes1 comment
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willaful

“You're not going to shoot us?“ says Joyce.

“Not if you behave yourselves,“ says [ ]

“Not really our specialty,“ says Joyce.

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willaful

People from history have been reappearing, and down-on-his-luck music producer Darnell finds himself enlisted to help Harriet Tubman make an album--a new voice for a new generation needing new roads to freedom, like Darnell himself.

A quiet personal odyssey; I confess I was expecting something more fabulous. The author's narration is surprisingly amateur, though the two songs are the end are great.

#lgbtqReads

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willaful
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The overworked head of a school for magicians is deeply suspicious of the handsome prince who keeps stopping by, and who always seems to know exactly how to fix his problems... A charming short romance, with lovable, caring characters. This is a prequel to Magician but may be better read after that, since you get to see Lorre in his heedless, quixotic days and he is so much fun.

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willaful
The Testimony | Laura London

It was her mother's most unnerving trait. She could pinpoint with breathtaking accuracy the areas where you were perfectly secure, and then undermine them with reassurances. The Ludens, of course, were fairly immune. As Indiana had once remarked, unless you made it a major project, you could only work emotionally stable people over if you started young enough.

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willaful

My mother always instilled in me the importance of our history but somewhere along the way I stopped listening. I had a hard time accepting my Blackness because my Blackness had a hard time accepting me. My mother also instilled in me the fear of God, and I‘ve spent my entire life learning not to be afraid.

willaful This should have been in quotes, of course. 3w
24 likes1 comment
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willaful
A Candle in the Dark | Megan Chance

My #ReadOrDonate book; I did read about a third of it. Megan Chance wrote intense, interesting, dark romances but a lot of their value was in how different they were for their time, and that's no longer a big draw for me. Neither is 400 pages of stress.

julieclair 400 pages of stress? #HailtheBail 🪂 2w
23 likes1 comment
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willaful
The Testimony | Laura London
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A married couple adjusts to being back together after the reporter husband does a short stint in prison for refusing to identify a source. The story is mostly vibes, and pretty dated ones, although the political elements aren't: he's committed to free speech as a child of Hungarian immigrants. But it's mostly about the relationship, and though I usually love how LL writes them, this came off as too purple. A soft pick.

#BookSpinBingo

21 likes1 stack add
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willaful
Wives and Daughters | Elizabeth Gaskell

It will be very dull when I shall have killed myself, as it were, and live only in trying to do, and to be, as other people like. I don't see any end to it. I might as well never have lived.

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willaful
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A humorous expose of negging techniques that's a reasonably funny short listen, though probably more fun in its original tiktok form. To make for a longer audiobook it has a section of the author and his mom interviewing each other, which was heavy on “you know, like...“ and then an advice section which was pretty entertaining. I'm not a big fan of prank humor, so it wasn't really for me.

#BlameItOnLitsy #MonthlyNonfiction2025

Faranae This comic is hilarious though, I love it. 3w
julieclair I think you get the award for most unique nonfiction book this month! 😆🥴 3w
willaful @Faranae It's so fun when you can find just the right illustration... 😁 3w
CarolynM Love that comic strip! 😆 3w
24 likes4 comments
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willaful
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I've never encountered this feature for a kindle book before! Very cool, especially since I DNF'd book 2. 😂

Deblovestoread Ooooo, I need that recap in my life! Thanks for sharing ❤️ 3w
JenlovesJT47 Ooh that‘s cool! 3w
29 likes3 comments
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willaful
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TheBookHippie 😵‍💫 3w
willaful @TheBookHippie Sorry, not trying to make fun of anyone's completely justified upset and outrage. 😔 It's just something that happens to me a lot, most horribly when I was out shopping when Newtown happened. 3w
TheBookHippie @willaful It‘s how it is. 🤦🏻‍♀️ 3w
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lil1inblue Do I laugh or cry? I'm going with both. 😭 😂 😭 3w
willaful @lil1inblue works for me. 3w
TheBookHippie @willaful @lil1inblue most days is WTAF this FOOL unbelievable .. laugh cry scream throw up … 3w
lil1inblue @TheBookHippie 🎯 🎯 🎯 Some days I wish I could throw a good old toddler tantrum. Just kick and scream and cry on the floor. 3w
24 likes7 comments
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willaful
Midnight in Austenland | Shannon Hale

I had the same problem with this as the first book, which is that the whole Austenland experience seems to be a real drag. I skimmed ahead some and am not sorry I bailed.

#JaneAustenThenAndNow #Pemberlittens @Crinoline_Laphroaig

Crinoline_Laphroaig Austenland movie is much more fun. 3w
24 likes1 comment
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willaful
The Testimony | Laura London

“The components of a free press are reporters who aren't afraid to tell a story and citizens who aren't afraid to talk to reporters.“

“Could you explain why you think criminals have the right to that kind of shield?“

“Could you explain why, in a nation that assumes innocence until conviction, you would stick a label like 'criminal' on people who've never been convicted of a crime?“

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willaful
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Another outrageously wrong cover, this one a Kindle cash-grab rather than a foreign language edition.

This social satire from 1926 didn't wear well. The title character is an amiable working class girl who just wants to live a simple working class life, but happens to have been born so ethereally beautiful, no one can resist her. Hijinks ensue that make everyone involved utterly miserable, especially her. Far more depressing than funny.

Ruthiella That IS a misleading cover based on your summary and what I know of von Arnim! 😬 4w
julesG I saw the cover and wondered how title and author could fit with the picture. 🤔🤐😬 4w
LeahBergen Umm, isn‘t this novel set in 1910 or something? 😆 4w
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willaful @julesG Go read the blurb, it's unbelievable! Elizabeth is rolling in her grave. 4w
Faranae I can't decide if that cover is genAI or just way too many “fun“ filters applied to a stock photo. 4w
julesG @willaful I've read the book, in German. It's weird AF. 4w
willaful @julesG Wild! 4w
23 likes1 stack add7 comments
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willaful
Three Days in June | Anne Tyler
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I wonder if Tyler was inspired to write this by All Cats Have Asperger Syndrome?

I haven't related to an Anne Tyler book so much in years, and I loved it.

Karisa 😂 That‘s my cats 💯%. Meow at any closed door and then want back out as soon as it‘s closed with them inside😅 1mo
Faranae There's an actual book?! Funnily enough, I often explain autism to folks who don't understand it by comparing autism to being a cat. I know the other way is more respectful, but when people know cats and don't know autism.... 😂 1mo
willaful @Faranae Yes, though the title was updated when the diagnosis changed. (The image isn't actually from the book.) There's also an All Dogs Have ADHD, though I don't know if she managed to find an animal for the amazing combo of both my daughter has. 😂 1mo
36 likes4 comments
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willaful
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Just happened across this on K.J. Charles' Redbubble site.

#junespecials #cheese
@eggs @alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

TheBookHippie 🙃 1mo
PuddleJumper 🤣 1mo
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AkashaVampie Should also have Read Things 1mo
willaful @AkashaVampie I know, weird omission! I'm guessing it's a quote from one of her books, though I don't recognize it offhand. 1mo
AkashaVampie @willaful probably. dont know the author! 1mo
willaful @AkashaVampie Oh, she's fantastic! Mostly m/m historical. Very sharp writing and vivid characters. 1mo
Eggs Perfect 🧀 1mo
julesG 🤣🤣 1mo
CarolynM I love KJ Charles. I enjoyed her FB posts & I totally get why she‘s left that platform, but I never remember to check her .discord channel 1mo
willaful @CarolynM It's sooo busy! 1mo
39 likes11 comments
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willaful
BookSpinBingo | Untitled
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I've been fine-tuning to try and enjoy the fun of the bingo without feeling too much pressure. We'll see how this month goes.

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! Looks fantastic!! 1mo
28 likes1 comment
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willaful
The Book of Three | Lloyd Alexander
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This is such a hard question! I can't remember a time when I wasn't a bookworm and I always read so much. But this feels like a right answer, if not *the* right answer.

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willaful
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Just got the audiobook today. I figured since the author is a performer, I'd probably enjoy the book most in that format. Also have Mutual Aid to read, which is nonfiction by a transgender activist.

TheBookHippie I‘ve got this on hold! 1mo
BookmarkTavern What an interesting sounding book! Thanks for sharing! 1mo
18 likes2 comments
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willaful
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May books read and DNF'd.

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willaful
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I got two last minute bingos thanks to @MatchlessMarie today. :-) I really tried to find a book with a straw on the cover but there was just nothing that grabbed me. Still four bingos doesn't suck.

MatchlessMarie Yeah!!! 😄 1mo
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! Looking great!!! @LiseWorks - I just posted it today! You guys gotta remind me earlier in the month 😂 1mo
27 likes3 comments
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willaful
BookSpinBingo | Untitled
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I didn't read my #DoubleSpin book! 😱 I did start it, but it seemed like a serious commitment and I didn't have the bandwith. Will definitely try to finish it before the end of the year.

In my quest to reduce pressure, I removed three books from my list that I decided I really wasn't all that interested in trying. Go me!

TheAromaofBooks Yay!!! Fantastic month!!! 1mo
26 likes1 comment
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willaful
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I was looking at my library wishlist and noticed that Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall by Spike Milligan was still there. I listened to it a while back, so I removed it from my wishlist. The library gave me a notification saying “Adolph Hitler has been removed from your wishlist.“

If only it was that easy!

Leftcoastzen 😄 1mo
CarolynM The idea of having Adolf Hitler ON your wish list is a bit disturbing…😳🤣 (edited) 1mo
willaful @CarolynM seriously! 1mo
23 likes3 comments
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willaful
Guards! Guards! | Terry Pratchett
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There's nothing like reading Terry Pratchett for being reminded that there's nothing new under the sun.

#OokBookClub

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I don't think I've ever participated in this before but... 1) My daughter has finished the semester! (CC) She worked very hard but needed so much support, I feel like I took a class too!

2) I wrote in depth about a book! Doesn't happen that much anymore and it makes me happy.

3) Fresh peas from the garden, so nummy.

4) The pressure-reducing plans I made for this month were pretty successful.

5) Solved a phrazle in one move. 😎

#5JoysFriday

Christine As someone who teaches community college, well done re: your daughter‘s accomplishment!! And as a mom who (heavily) supported her disabled son with Geometry II this semester…solidarity!! 😆 1mo
willaful @Christine *fist bump* We're hoping to get her a homework aide for the Fall -- she's taking the composition class she needs to transfer and it's going to be an ordeal! 😰 1mo
dabbe 💚💙💚 1mo
30 likes3 comments
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willaful
The Emerald City of Oz | L. Frank Baum
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Haven't a clue what's going on in that picture, but I had to use it.

I saw the #BeyondTheYellowBrickRoad group reading this & was surprised I couldn't place it in my memory. I've definitely read it multiple times but I think it must be one I didn't go back to as an adult. Not hard to see why... Dorothy and Ozma are both kind of obnoxious in this one and I feel bad for Uncle Henry and Aunt Em. Still lot of fun to be had though.

BookmarkTavern Ozma is a little on her high horse in this one, isn‘t she? 😂😂 1mo
willaful @BookmarkTavern She's the perfect, kind ruler... just don't disagree with her! 😱 1mo
26 likes2 comments