June #storygraph book report, right on track for 52 books this year!

#camplitsy25 pick Wild Dark Shore and a Murderbot novel take first place!

I think that‘s the last of the Murderbot novels. I hope Martha Wells‘ health improves and that she can possibly write more, I‘m obsessed with the series.

Mary Oliver ❤️

On the train to Boston for a conference and starting this.

My kindle screen stopped responding, usually I only travel with my kindle! This will help me get through the pile of physical TBR books though until Prime Day. Then I will buy a Paperwhite Signature Edition with my 20% trade in credit.

Very tempted by the ColourSoft but omg so expensive. Anyone have one? Is it worth it? So pretty but I don‘t often read graphic novels or comics.

#kindle

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Soo atmospheric and I loved reading the chapters from Orly about the seeds (maybe the biologist in me coming out). There was one instance where the science was wrong which always bothers me but I still love this cli-fi novel about a woman who washes up on the shore and the family living in a lighthouse on a deserted island who find her.

Interested in hearing @Ruthiella ‘s view on this one for our #camplitsy discussion!

#camplitsy25

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Interesting fantasy world where you decide what gender you will be and where a magic know as slackcraft is practised. The story is about twins Mokoya and Akeha born to the Protector.

Interesting storyline, I just checked for book 2 in the series but it‘s not available in my library! 😩 Might purchase it as it ended without really resolving some things.

Reading by my moon happy lamp for #hyggehour.
#QueerBC
#LGBTQIA2025

I love when a book has a map!

Catching up on #QueerBC from last month.

#lgbtqiabookbingo counts for this one too!

#hyggehour reading

Happy Pride Month all 🏳️‍🌈

#Kindle hive mind!

My 10th gen kindle Paperwhite isn‘t responding well when I press in the pink circle so I can‘t really open my library or remove the banner to “stay here” when syncing across devices. I contacted Amazon and they‘ll give me 20% off if I trade in.

Should I get a Paperwhite Signature Edition or a Coloursoft? I‘d love to have the colour but the price tag is high and I don‘t really read much in colour, I‘m not sure it‘s worth it.

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First #Camplitsy25 book is not a pick for me unfortunately!

I don‘t like reading things with unreliable narrators where you don‘t quite understand what is happening, and I get that the book mirrors the play, but it doesn‘t really rescue this for me. I‘m left with too many questions unanswered. Maybe I just didn‘t “get” it and the discussion will change my mind.

#camplitsy

8 books in May! Can you tell I‘m between jobs? 😂

I‘m also halfway through Audition for #CampLitsy2025. Finding it a little tough going as I dislike the main character. I‘ll probably push through to finish it this week and start on something queer for Pride month.

#storygraphwrapup #storygraph

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Set on Preservation, MuderBot helps to investigate a murder of a human who‘s body is dumped at a mall.

Always love a MurderBot novel but this one wasn‘t quite as good as the previous one. Hearing about MurderBot‘s interactions with ART was my favourite parts of the previous novels and this novel was a bit too much focused on interacting with humans who don‘t trust it. Still worth a read if you‘re reading the series.

#lgbtqia2025

Forgot to post this but I finally finished the #TransRightsReadathon challenge for this year!

I‘ve been making #LGBTQIA books a priority and it‘s got me reading a bit more out of my comfort zone and introduced me to new authors!

Definitely recommend giving this challenge a try!

#BOTM must have known we were reading this for #CampLitsy25 😂

With this I‘ll have 2 BOTM copies of #CampLitsy books (King of Ashes & Wild Dark Shore), 2 from my local independent bookshop (Tilt & Death of the Author) and 2 from Libby (Audition & Woodworking)!

Anyone else reading from a mix of different sources?

Another little free library in my neighbourhood that I didn‘t know about!

Love a little free library! 📚

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I can see why this isn‘t everyone‘s cup of tea, lots of nothing happens for most of the novel, but I loved it. The perfect amount of magical realism, interesting historical perspective, and great writing. Even if the storyline was a little predictable, I enjoyed it nevertheless.

My mermaid at heart is a siren and I love tales of them! 🧜‍♀️

#hyggehour a little early today

Picked these up for #CampLitsy because the wait for them on Libby was 24 weeks!! 😳

I don‘t like the trend of sprayed edges unless it has a design on it. The colour they chose for Death of the Author is… ummm… not to my taste. But whatever, here‘s hoping the content is better than the edges! Or at least that it sparks a good discussion!

Can‘t wait for camp to start! I‘m packing my tent and sleeping bag already. 🏕️

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Whimsical and strange in the way that a lot of books translated from Japanese are. Short interconnected stories about people struggling with something, who come to Kokoro Clinic for the Soul and receive strange remedies for their problems. Set in Kyoto and it was cute and lighthearted. Loved the illustrations.

Felt a little repetitive but I raced through it in two days, so a low pick from me.

Starting this tonight for #HyggeHourReadathon.

Thought it worked so well with my ocean waves blanket!

#hyggehour #litsycrafters

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Interesting read about some bandits who are joined by a nun on their escapes. I found the language a little stilted and the word choice odd in places.

Read early for June #QueerBC! My Libby hold came in before expected.

Also using this for #lgbtqia2025!

@Kenyazero @PuddleJumper

So funny and true.

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I‘m not a huge poetry fan, but Ocean Vuong gets me everytime. Some poems hit harder than others. While not as good as Night Sky With Exit Wounds, I really enjoyed this.

Hearing him speak in 2022 transformed the way I think about poetry and he was very insistent that everyone can be a writer/poet - you just have to write! It really inspired me.

#lgbtqia2025
#litsycrafters - the crochet blanket I made is getting a lot of use.

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Love a MurderBot story!

I should have ordered the next one from Libby earlier. 7 week wait! Oh well. Gotta be patient!

#lgbtqia2025

Three books forecast for this weekend.

Forgotten Home Child for #ohCanada

Want I might DNF. I‘m at 50% and it‘s the third time I‘m borrowing this from Libby. Idk. Too spicy to read on the subway and I don‘t choose it when I‘m at home. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Network Effect is a great addition to the MurderBot series. Very happy to see ART again.

@rachelsbrittain #weekendreads

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Interesting historical fiction novel about the British Home Children - street kids who were shipped to Canada to live with new families before the First World War. Not every placement was a good one and this novel details some of the lives of children sent to work on farms. Covering their lifespans, it‘s ultimately a story of both loss and hope. I didn‘t like the style of narration but overall learned a lot.

Read for #OhCanada. @Jess861

#hyggehour on the balcony. It‘s raining but I‘m safely covered by the balcony above and snuggled in the blanket I crocheted specifically for these moments.

#litsycrafters

Reading this for #OhCanada in the shade of the cherry trees in Brooklyn Botanic Garden. 🌸 The trees are dropping all their petals and it‘s like it‘s raining pink! So beautiful but impossible to capture properly.

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Oh wow, strong pick for me. I liked this even more than the first book - The Space Between Worlds. Dystopian rebels fighting to keep their way of life and some people travelling the multiverse coming to interfere!

I love this type of science fiction. I stayed up late reading last night past midnight to finish this one. Definitely recommend!

Counts towards #lgbtqia2025 as well!

Really good books this month!

Favourite is the tagged. I‘m trying to read more LGBTQIA books as well as books by non-cis white male authors.

#storygraph

#botm selection! I skipped last month but this dystopian fantasy novel seem really up my alley!

Very excited for this one.

Oooooo!

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Beautiful debut Canadian novel. Nominated for many awards.

Translated from French and set mainly in Cairo and Montreal, this is an LGBTQ and family saga, told from the point of view of a narrator who‘s relationship to the main character is unknown (you find out about half through but I‘m not spoiling it!).

I loved the translation and had to look up a few English words I didn‘t know and this is my first language! 🙈 😂

#lgbtqia2025

#bibliologistbio

Go-to genres: literary fiction, speculative fiction, science fiction.

Desert island reads: Soo hard! Definitely the Picture of Dorian Gray, & maybe something a little longer like LoTR to pass the time!

Snack: a nice cuppa

Weirdest reading place: At a concert with 500,000 people on a blanket in a field! SARSStock in 2003 in Toronto & the new Harry Potter had come out. 😂

When not reading: I‘m a scientist and pole dancer!

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My sister sent me her copy of this WW II novel about French women in the resistance during the Nazi occupation of France. And wow. So good.

Some things felt a little clichéd but I don‘t care, I was moved by the story of Isabelle and Vianne, and still want to give this five stars.

It was scary to be reading about this and how it mirrors some of what is happening in the US right now. Not the same of course, but there‘s some parallels.

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jaye‘s second poetry collection delivers some really good stuff but a few of them missed the mark for me. Maybe it‘s cause I‘m reading on the subway and it‘s hard to take it all in while reading on a phone. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I do think it‘s important to read more queer, indigenous voices and jaye‘s description of their relationship with their body as a 2 spirit indigiqueer person is really moving.

#indigenous
#lgbtqia2025
#transrightsreadathon

« I can see her in the falling leaves » hits so hard.

New poetry by jaye simpson!

My nominations for #camplitsy25! Always my favourite summer activity. Tags in comments!

@Megabooks @squirrelbrain @BarbaraBB

I found a new bookstore cafe/wine bar today when wandering around the neighbourhood! It was so cute inside and had a great selection of books - I‘ll definitely be back!

Corner of Franklin and Bergen in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.

https://www.readyourcolor.com/take-the-assessment

I think blue (introspective) fits me better but red (adventurous) is something I enjoy too!

Fun little quiz with book recommendations.

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Not as good as the power but an interesting read!

Science fiction/Speculative Fiction/Dystopian

Started out a little slow, but it builds. Some plot twists I guessed at, others I was genuinely surprised by.

And crochet blanket I finished today as the background!

#lgbtqia2025
#litsycrafters
#transrightsreadathon

March wrap up from StoryGraph!

Got my special copy from Barnes and Nobel! Look at those edges!! 😍 🐠🐟🪼🦀🦑🐙

Bonus: I only bought this one book like I was planning to. Got too many to read!!

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Working as a traverser who moves between worlds in the multiverse, Cara mainly collects data and brings it back to Earth 0. She‘s been picked for the job because you can only visit worlds where your other self has died and she‘s dead in most of them. One day she discovers she‘s been murdered in one of the other worlds and she starts digging into what happened.

Excellent LGBTQ sci-fi. Would recommend!

#lgbtqia2025

Hazel being my reading helper again!

#catsoflitsy

First snowdrops coming out in Prospect Park!

Finally found Unnameable Books!

Couldn‘t stop in because my family is visiting and they wanted to continue our walk but at least I know where it is now!

#brooklyn

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Just noticed this free short story from the Legends & Lattes series! Set before the first book, it‘s about a quest Viv is on to capture Bodkin and retrieve stolen documents.

https://www.travisbaldree.com/pages-to-fill

Just found out from a friend about the Queer Libration Library which offers membership cards to anyone living in the US and grants you access to their Libby library of queer books!

It looks fantastic. I just joined!

https://www.queerliberationlibrary.org/members

#lgbtq #lgbt #lgbtqia #queer #lgbtqia2025

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Murderbot #0.5 a short story about before Murderbots first adventure (All systems red).

Only 9 pages, but a great little intro to the tone of this funny science fiction series. Available free on Wired!

https://www.wired.com/story/future-of-work-compulsory-martha-wells/

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More Murderbot!!

Mensah is in trouble and Murderbot (a bot programmed to protect clients and kill those who attempt to hard them) uses its free will to decide to help.

Dry humour & science fiction, I love this series so much.

#lgbtqia2025 as Murderbot sorta counts as asexual? @Kenyazero