Chin rubs are crucial. Reading can wait.

Alix E. Harrow tricked me into reading a time travel book!

OK, when I say she tricked me I mean she wrote a book and therefore I read it.

And I did love it despite the time travel. I was riveted as Owen untangled the path of his own story and that of his country. I never guessed what was going to happen next. My heart was broken and mended. This is a story about stories, and about history, and above all about love.

This books epigraph: “For those who are born different and feel they don‘t belong in this world, it is because you were brought here to help create a new one.” ❤️

Once again we discover a hidden corner of Oz where the people disobey Ozma‘s laws, doing magic and also not being happy and contented. This time Glinda‘s magic book comes in handy to inform them about the problems. This is one of the more plotty books in the series, which isn‘t saying much! I appreciated Baum acknowledging in the narration that Scraps has good ideas. She‘s still my favorite. I‘m a little sad that this was published posthumously.

I liked this, I just never really felt compelled. I dunno, the stakes were low? The characters lacked depth? Objectively, neither of those are true so I‘m not sure why it felt so shallow to me. I really like the idea of stories in which every problem is solved by people being kind and in community, but other than Becky Chambers, I haven‘t loved a story like that.

I thought this book would be all about the titular book, but only the first few stories related to The King in Yellow. I found some of them, especially the first, deliciously creepy, but some were just baffling (the one with the sculptor may have made more sense to the original audience). Then there was a cool story about time weirdness, and then some about Paris? Some with war and some with art students? I expected consistency and found none.

One of the things I love about my Kobo Clara is the button location. The page turn buttons are on the side front and the on-off button is on the other side on the back. They aren‘t in a place where I will accidentally hit one when trying to hit the other… and more importantly, for this morning‘s purposes, there‘s no button on the bottom (unlike on my Kindle) so I can hold it upright on my bath board without worrying about turning it off!

#monthlywrapup

I was so busy being a witch demanding children for my stew last night that I forgot to make my #bookspinbingo list! Good thing the number draw isn‘t until tomorrow. @TheAromaofBooks

I found some of these stories more interesting than others, but my overall impression is of frustration. Machen‘s incredibly detailed setting descriptions make his bland characters and coy endings all the worse. I think with a good teacher, or a Victorian mindset, I would enjoy these a lot more. The introduction/afterword did help, but I was disappointed that it didn‘t address his sexism and racism.

It‘s so prettyyyyyyyy

A lovely story about asshole managers and how they can change, even if that involves death. (Ghost included for relevance!)

The books I‘m currently reading count for #10beforetheend, right? I hope so because they‘re half the list 😆 @ChaoticMissAdventures

Magrat is keeping my lap warm as I read.

“From a deep sleep [Jonas] would start suddenly, lifting his head as though listening, and then, on his feet and moving in one quick ripple, he ran up the stairs and across the beds and around through the doors in and out and then down the stairs and across the hall and over the chair in the dining room and around the table and through the kitchen and out into the garden where he would slow, sauntering, and then pause to lick a paw…”

Ozma‘s birthday is approaching, and her friends are determined to get her gifts that she doesn‘t already have. This involves lots of adventuring all over Oz. Oh, there are also some people with secret magic who want to conquer Oz. This was fun with the Glass Cat and all the talking animals, and even some genuine peril.

I love the way this artist draws the Wizard. He looks so slick and clever. #BeyondtheYellowBrickRoad

I appreciate this warning! I hate when I start to read a book and the introduction spoils me. (Plus, I know plenty of people like spoilers, so this is useful for them, too!)

My blind date with a book revealed! I‘ve heard great things about Brom but never read any of his books. THIS COVER!!! 😍🤩

My library is doing a horror-themed blind date with a book! It was hard to pick one but I didn‘t want to be greedy 🤭 Any guesses before I unwrap the newspaper?

Absolutely gorgeous book. Gothic queer romance that doesn‘t shy away from the darkest aspects of the folklore that inspired it. I knew going in that Muirin was a selkie, but the author succeeded in the delicate balance that meant it didn‘t annoy me that Jean never figured it out. I loved the rich detail of the lives of Nova Scotians in the early 19th century, and the reactions to characters‘ queerness felt realistic.

Excellent spooky season read. Easton is as ever hilarious and relatable. Angus is as ever laconic and competent. This time they have to go down a mostly abandoned mine in West Virginia and creepy, gruesome, delightful horrors ensue.

Kobo apparently agrees with my previous post, since it‘s trying to tell me that a Murderbot book is next in the Sworn Soldier series.

“And now we were talking about feelings. I would almost rather he had poured the burning oil on me.”

Easton really reminds me of Murderbot sometimes 😂 (Murderbot, of course, *would* rather have burning oil poured on itself.)

I‘m so glad I reread this. It starts slow, but the world and characters are SO rich it‘s very much worth the investment. I need to read book 2 and the rest of the series!

I liked this okay, but it seems like the movie is really faithful (unsurprisingly) and while this adds more detail, it wasn‘t Earth-shattering. I had some trouble tracking the characters, in and out of armor. I had definite trouble tracking the air battles. Too much action in black and white, crammed into small panels. I did really appreciate the fold-out map!

“That is horrifying and I want to go home,” I said, although I pronounced it, “Ah, I see.”

Note that Easton is not reacting to the horrors that ka has been invited to investigate, but to what ka has just learned about coal mines. 😂

Holly Black has done it again! I feel like I missed some background because it‘s been so long since I read the first book, but I could certainly follow the plot. Charlie has to get rid of Blights while trying to figure out how to get Red, the shadow tethered to her, to remember her from his previous existence as her human boyfriend. This story was a ride and I enjoyed every minute, especially the cackle-inducing ending.

I‘m on a mini-vacation in a cute little tourist town so naturally I had to patronize the local bookstore. I was so excited to see Witches, Midwives & Nurses on display that I snatched it up hard enough to knock over the bracket holding it up 😅 #bookhaul

Reading in a very cute house on a weekend trip!

The other cat kindly agreed to model for this picture 😄

My knowledge of Welsh is sufficient to help me appreciate the beauty of the poetry. I don‘t know enough to pick out many words (maybe I would have done a tiny bit better with modern Welsh), but it was fun to recognize a word here and there! Mostly I enjoyed the earliest known reference to King Arthur.

Here‘s my reading for September! It looks like it went steadily downward through the month but I think that‘s just because I finished my one audiobook partway through.

#bookspin list for October! @TheAromaofBooks

I sat down to read but then this happened. #catsoflitsy

Beautiful writing, characters who are awful people. I want to shake them all, particularly Charles. It reminded me of The Secret History in that way, except these characters are more shallow, and the end of this book wasn‘t satisfying to me. I guess if you think of it as being about the place, the ending and epilogue are more compelling? But then Charles doesn‘t really reflect on how he‘s leaving Brideshead.

I‘m excited! I hope I remember enough of Book of Night that this isn‘t too confusing. I vaguely remember the cliffhanger ending.

I liked the mystery in this more than the romance, though they were rather important to each other and I appreciate that. I was interested in the world and in the magic, but frequently confused by it. I think there was too much going on. It‘s supposed to be “our world with magic” but it was much more different than that. Like the author, Leaf was my favorite character.

Lovely but too short! I‘d guess this is a novella or even novelette rather than a full novel—you may notice it took me only three days to read. It had a fairy-tale feel that I adored but between that and the length it felt almost like a prologue rather than its own story. I wonder if she plans more in this world? It is a fun world (like an inverse Spinning Silver, summerlings rather than Staryk), and wonderful & very smart characters.

I don‘t even know what to say, I loved this book so much. I started out, after the prologue, empathizing with Shiva as a queer woman mourning a beloved Jewish father who died too young of cancer (okay, my dad died almost four years ago, but the pain is still there). But there‘s so much more to this book. Four+ generations of Jewish women‘s silence and stories. Love and laughter. Magic and possession.

Squeeeeee 😍😍😍

Somebody points out to the Tin Man that he never reconnected with the girl whose love caused him to be chopped up and turned to tin. Time for an adventure! The usual random bizarre assortment of creatures and places await. I appreciated Baum explaining a bit of the history of Oz becoming a fairyland where no one dies, though as a mom I‘m horrified at the prospect of babies staying babies forever. Then again, if they can‘t die, maybe not so bad?

@BarkingMadRead This book is quite large. And you say it‘s only 15 chapters?! 😨 I hope the print is big…

Really fun #bookhaul from the Renaissance Festival! Enfys J. Book is actually a visiting author but sadly I won‘t be able to make it the weekend they are coming.

This was a lot of fun! I confess myself baffled by the autofiction aspect; with most of the other DTWOF characters there, why not use Mo and Sydney instead of “Alison” and “Holly”? A lot of the same themes from DTWOF are there, and it‘s less about money than I expected. I wonder if Holly‘s video success with wood chopping is inspired by one of my internet crushes, Nicole Coenen.

Apparently Stuart COULD get more my type: now poly and tattooed 😍

I have enough to read, I told myself. I‘ll just pick up my two holds (one for #hashtagbrigade) and not look at the other books. But… they had this staff picks table right at the entrance… and can I resist a sapphic selkie story? No, no I cannot. (I‘m glad to see at least that I‘d already stacked it thanks to a couple of positive reviews! And the fact that it‘s a sapphic selkie story.)

I read the last chapter of this book over a lovely white peach and I‘m mad they‘re both finished.

I‘m not sure how to review this book. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I‘m glad I read it and glad I had @BarkingMadRead and the #hashtagbrigade along with me! Archer drove me crazy and I felt sorry for Ellen. I feel like there was a lot more to the two women (May and Ellen) than he ever noticed and wish he would have figured that out. Or at least consciously noticed that things had been changing his entire life despite his belief that society never changed.

I liked the characters in this book and the trajectory of their romance, and I loved the language of flowers aspect—that was really well done. I was also interested in the depiction of people living under-the-radar queer lives in Regency England. But Charlotte frequently annoyed me and I was very frustrated with this book as P&P fanfic. There were a lot of little ways it differed from canon, plus one big one, a convenient wealthy eccentric aunt.

This didn‘t always grab me and haul me along, but I definitely enjoyed following the twists of Lore, Bastian, Gabe, and their friends and gods. The ending was very satisfying… in that it‘s the second book of a trilogy and I have no idea what‘s going to come in the third book. I‘ll definitely be reading it, though!

I spent the weekend at the shore with my family—here‘s proof of reading on the beach!