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"Somewhere along the line we started misinterpreting the First Amendment and this idea of the freedom of speech the amendment grants us. We are free to speak as we choose without fear of prosecution or persecution, but we are not free to speak as we choose without consequence."

Lots of gems in this one! I didn't agree with everything she wrote but it gave me a lot to think about, much of which is still unfortunately relevant in today's society

It‘s time for my monthly #BookishMonopoly! I rolled another lucky 7 and landed on “Nonfiction.” Since I was so enamored by Pat Conroy‘s beautiful writing last month, I chose the tagged book. It was published in 2016, sadly the year Pat lost his battle with pancreatic cancer. It‘s a collection of Pat‘s most charming and memorable interviews, articles & letters as well as tributes honoring his legacy. He left us too soon. 😢
@AkashaVampie

This absolutely blew me away. It is, sadly, still so relevant for modern race relations in America. I thought his reflections on communal liberation were incredible. The prose is powerful and beautiful. I am really glad I read it.

It's no spoiler to reveal that there's no handy graph with great art on the X axis and monstrosity on the Y axis. What it does have is an ample selection of ethical chew-toys. She discusses themes such as: who gets to be considered a genius? How do we ascribe monstrosity differently to male and female artists? Who the hell is included in "we" anyway? To what extent does "our" individual, subjective judgement have any meaning? I liked it a lot.

#CoverStories #BodyPart

February was just not a good month for reading. Tagged and Omelas were both re-reads I let myself put on the card so it would look nicer. Besides, if you haven't read Eco's “Ur Fascism“, you should. Personal highlight was Beck&Call, which is a solid gay romance about working class men. It's not cosy - there's blackmail, job loss, cPTSD, and the relationship is rocky for a long time.

A delightful little collection of essays that were published in Chris Bohjalian‘s local newspaper over the course of 12 years. The columns are reflections on the unique idiosyncrasies of a small town while also recognizing its place in the larger world around it. I thoroughly enjoyed Bohjalian‘s nonfiction voice.

This was a nice collection of poetry and two Essays about nature, and more specifically various species of birds. I enjoyed most of them, but my favorite was “Wild Geese“

My only criticism is reading through her second essay about finding an injured gull, and instead of taking it to a wildlife facility or the vet, she and her partner started caring for it. It isn't what you fo with injured wildlife. You don't keep them as pets.

February Nonfiction #ReadingBracket2025