It's been a busy, but rejuvenating week:
1. I went to a rally to stand with Ukraine
2. At #1, I heard about a community organizing event that I attended the next day
3. At #2, I heard about an upcoming mutual aid workshop, which is just what I've been looking for
4. I saw Frigg, a Finnish folk band, in concert
5. I'm going to the symphony tomorrow

Tl;dr: Community and music are healing. 🩵

#5joysfriday @debinhawaii

#sisterlove #feelinthelove

@eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

At the suggestion of @TheBookHippie, and for the sake of my mental health, I swapped this out for #withthebanned. It's also a #childrensclassicread2025.
While my experiences in school were not as extreme as in this book, this did bring me right back to my elementary days. I wish I had read this book back then. Blume understands the dynamics of grade school, as well as the herd mentality that bullying often has.

I found this installment of the Shardlake series to be quite timely. In the US, at least, I think many of the themes resonate today, particularly fanaticism and the struggle for power. The uncertainty of the period is also quite familiar.

My one quibble is the repetitive nature of Shardlake's crushes - I'd like to see some fresh plot lines in Shardlake's romantic life.

#shardlakeseriesbr @dabbe

Once I saw today's #feelinthelove prompt, this song got stuck in my head. 🤣
https://youtu.be/h8KDknyNzsw?si=3ysaS-ruhl5ltwza

#lovepotion
@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

#feelinthelove #illicitloveaffair
@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Just feeling this song today, and today's #feelinthelove prompt gave me an excuse to share.

https://youtu.be/VdOkQ6THDVw?si=HiA4s-qUTKjbNXiH

#heart
@Eggs @alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

#feelinthelove #timelesslove
@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

I'm a day late, but I couldn't miss the final AP List for #threelistthursday!

6 that had an impact (and all have stories attached)
🩵 The Waste Land
🩵 Things Fall Apart
🩵 Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead
🩵 The Stranger
🩵 A Separate Peace
🩵 Waiting for Godot

1 Confession:
I've never read To Kill a Mockingbird. Nor have I seen the movie. (I know, I know. On both fronts.)

#tlt @dabbe

#feelinthelove #valentinesday
@eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

"They burned down the market on the day Vivek Oji died."

#firstlinefridays
@ShyBookOwl

#iykyk
#feelinthelove #lovelost
@Eggs @alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

🩵 I'm going on another lantern lit snowshoe tonight. (Pic from the one I did 2 weeks ago)
🩵 My mom and I are having a girls' day tomorrow - bookstore, yarn shop, library, and lunch
🩵 I got a new humidifier and my dry nose is so happy
🩵 I'm finding my niche in my new social media. Also, I'm finally deleting my dormant meta accounts this weekend!
🩵 MisterinBlue and The Familiars (that should be a band name 😂 )

#5joysfriday @debinhawaii

#feelinthelove #lovequote
@eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

ICE is in our small town. We usually are pretty isolated, so the community as a whole is confused and scared. Today I'm just sad.

#poetrymatters

This week's #threelistthursday score is 22.

3 that had an impact:
🩵 The Picture of Dorian Gray
🩵 The Poisonwood Bible
🩵 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

3 that have been on the tbr for a really long time:
⏰️Oryx and Crake (since it's release - 22 years)
⏰️M. Butterfly (since 1996-ish, 29 years)
⏰️ Orlando (since college, 24ish years)

1 confession:
I've never read Shakespeare for my own pleasure, only for school. I'd like to change that.

#feelinthelove #steamylove
@eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

White liberal feminism has always left a horrible taste in my mouth. This book explains why. Just as no one is free until everyone is free, no woman is empowered until all women are empowered. It is essential reading at this moment in time.

There were things I appreciated about this book. It is a bittersweet coming of age and coming out story. The characters are well developed and interesting. I liked the storyline with the grandmother. However, it did rely on a lot of tropes that didn't quite sit well with me.

This was intimate, beautiful, heartbreaking, brilliant, and painfully honest. Just read it.

This is a brutal, but necessary, read. It is a re-read for me for #withthebanned. It was valuable to read it while also reading Hood Feminism. Pecola is the sort of woman that white feminism often ignores. I appreciate that I get something new from this book on each re-read.

This is a 12 Dancing Princesses retelling that I paired with the original fairy tale for #childrensclassicread2025. It didn't quite live up to my expectations. The first part of the story felt like a different book than the second half. I did enjoy some of the world building, and the horror sequences were done well. The story just needed to be a little more cohesive.

@TheBookHippie

This was a subtle, layered book about freedom, power, fate, and identity. The tone is darker than the first book, and for me the story is more satisfying. It was slower-paced, but an excellent read. Though released in 1970, I think the themes and story are still relevant today.

#feelinthelove #loveisblind
@eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

I came across this poem about Ritchie Valens, and wanted to share on the anniversary of "the day the music died."

https://youtu.be/AvVulbbm85s?si=R4WW8Loy6Dkx-b3g

#poetrymatters

I've read 23 or so from this week's #threelistthursday

3 that left an impression:
🩵 Love Medicine
🩵 King Lear
🩵 In the Time of Butterflies

3 on the TBR:
🩵 The Inheritance of Loss
🩵 Kindred
🩵 Invisible Man

1 Confession:
I loathe Hemingway. 🫣😂

#tlt @dabbe

#poetrymatters #wane
@TheSpineView

#25alive #bright
@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Today's #25alive prompt, #laughter, is the perfect excuse to use my favorite picture of me and my paternal grandfather. He always made me laugh. ❤️
@eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

#poetrymatters #wand
@TheSpineView

#poetrymatters #walnut
@TheSpineView

#25alive #hope
@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

#poetrymatters #wallet
@TheSpineView

I love this entire album, but this song is so beautiful.

https://youtu.be/FZAG1Qk9MhE?si=z23WvTxxu9M4oUSN

#25alive #favenewsong @eggs @alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

This week has been a much needed mental health recharge week:
1. I haven't read any news or gone on any other social media this week.*
2. I'm going on a lantern-lit snowshoe hike tonight. (old pic from a daytime hike)
3. I painted my nails for fun, and I love how they turned out.
4. Othello (the black cat) and Johan (the gray cat) are the best familiars. 😻😻
5. MisterInBlue. ❤️ My ride or die. (old pic with our niece)

#5joysfriday @debinhawaii

@dabbe You're really testing my memory with these! 🤣 I hope Mr. Locascio, who was my AP Humanities teacher, wouldn't be too disappointed in my score.

3 that stuck with me:
🩵 Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
🩵 Dreaming in Cuban by Cristina Garcia
🩵 Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams (Technically I've never read this, but I've seen the play several times. And the movie because Paul Newman)

#tlt #threelistthursday

#poetrymatters #wake
@TheSpineView

#25alive #positivity
@Eggs @alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

"First there wasn‘t and then there was. Before God, no one was."

#firstlinefridays @ShyBookOwl

#25alive #celebrate
@eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

#poetrymatters #waist
@TheSpineView

#25alive #favewinterfood
@eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

#poetrymatters #wain
@TheSpineView

I had a low down, no good, very bad day yesterday. And then this morning, my nose wouldn't stop bleeding because it's so cold and dry. I started to read the news after skipping it yesterday, but I'm just not ready. I'm going to make time this week to recharge. It's going to be a long 4 years.

Some of my reading got really dark, so my husband handed me this. Quite an enjoyable, quick read, and a good #palettecleanser.

Short description: The book begins with a murder in Istanbul 1591. The aftermath is told from the perspective of several sometimes unreliable narrators.

But it's so much more complex. It explores art history and cultural history. It explores the influence of the West on the Ottoman Empire. It's creative, ambitious, and quite simply a masterpiece. The quote above is from my favorite chapter.

I read this for a personal #readtheworld challenge.

#25alive #fvwinterdrink
@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

#poetrymatters #wail
@thespinview

I have several large memory gaps from childhood, so this was hard to answer! This is my best recollection.

My favorite is The Witches by Roald Dahl. My 4th grade teacher read this to her class every year. She had an epic, powerful Grand High Witch voice. I remember hearing it echo down the hall in 3rd grade & hoping that I'd get Mrs. Abrams the next year. I liked reading before her class - I LOVED it after.

#tlt #threelistthursday
@dabbe

#poetrymatters #vow
@TheSpineView