pickNot an easy read, but a worthwhile one. Full credit to Gustafson for consistently tackling tough subjects from human and animal welfare perspectives with compassion and vulnerability.
I knew going in that animals in distress, their illness, injury and death might be touched upon, but in the course of her work Gustafson also encounters people in distress, and reckons with how it can be harder to help her own species, 1/?
Coldest take: It's a BAD system.
Cheers to Bubbles! 😺🫧 ❤️ The little guy who got the author away from Robby, the bad guy. 😒
“I would be different.“
No, money can't be directly exchanged for happiness, but anybody who's experienced poverty, food or housing insecurity, can tell you: financial stability, leading to other kinds of stability, makes a world of difference, provides the kind of foundation that allows the freer pursuit of happiness.
This book is going to hurt me. 😿
Just a little trash-talking the green lanterns. 💚
pickThere's no way I'm going to do this book justice in attempting to explain why it should be read.
This isn't about the quality of the writing, though it's staggering to recognize a young woman wrote this and conveyed such a strong feeling of being present at the moments of growing up, those early years of childhood innocence and joy, considering everything that came after, the brief moments of pure storytelling relaying family foibles, 1/?
“Dreams are so important in one's life, yet when followed blindly they can lead to the disintegration of one's soul.“ 💔
“I used to believe there was no worse sin in this country than to be poor.“
pickA book about making things with the latest things I made. ☺️ Having Canadian Thanksgiving before Halloween makes it really easy to go into Xmas mode in November. 🤷🏼♂️Tricky to summarize for the purposes of assessment. The subtitle 'The Education of a Craftsman' helps in that regard, to pair up the strong threads of memoir with the more philosophical and didactic passages that might otherwise fit better on their own in a treatise or manual. 1/?
We love a good simile. 🌬️💨
Today's 'scratched my brain just right' sentence.
“...craft's materiality imposes cooperation on the sometimes discordant factions of the mind...Thus the holistic quality of craft lies not only in engaging the whole person, but also in harmonizing [their] understanding of [themselves] in the world.“
“... intellect, manual skill...when you add in the creative component of design, craft becomes a fully integrated application of one's capacities....pleasure and empowerment...like an engine firing smoothly on all pistons...“ 😌❤️
panHard to look at this one objectively, the premise holds such potential and I feel thwarted by this particular execution.
Choosing a selection of nine books or authors, coming back to these works over a period of decades, reflecting on what the books had to say to a person at different times in their lives, relating to the authors' lives as well as pivotal moments in your own, is in itself an essay collection with dash of memoir I could get on 1/?
pickThis collection gets all the love for the essays I truly enjoyed, but I will say there's a variance, in the quality of the writing, in how the author's chose to address, or seemingly not quite address the topic suggested by the title of the collection.
I don't know if it's a matter of understanding or not understanding the assignment, I think it's more accurate to say that there are essays 1/?
...a historical war... And I hope it stays there. 😮💨
From “Permission to Scream “ by Rachel Harrison.
so-soI do treasure a cheeky last line.
I'll admit to being a bit surprised that this one felt so much more like a court drama than a classic mystery, it was technically following the beats of looking for clues, discovering evidence, but Wimsey seems to play a smaller role in figuring things out, we get less fun or incisive character moments with him and Bunter, less cozy or outrageous about town moments, and there were large swathes 1/?
Spirit bar in the bathroom, with 'wretched hive of scum and villainy' vibes. The visual! 🤩
Wh- Hey! I want that story, too! 👀
The ultimate physical form of a detective? 🕵🏼♂️🤔
“Now you know how I feel. And if you already felt it? Then you know you aren't the only one.“ ♥️
Aspects of my personality, also well-represented communities on Tumblr...😏
“...life is a process of continual becoming.“
pickIt's tricky putting together an anthology based on a well-known, LONG book. Because there's a lot of material you could expand upon, and while I respect the authors' creative impulse to take inspiration as they find it, I don't know that that matches up with the readers' interest in what they'd like to see more of based on The Stand. Half of this book or more, dwells on stories involved in the admittedly lengthy beginnings of The Stand: 1/?
pickTo no one's surprise, I had a great time reading this. I'll admit to being biased towards the first book in what looks to be a series, but this one followed in its footsteps with lovely illustrations and a good message. The shift to cakes in the narrative means somewhat of a pastel departure from the rich tones of the original, and similarly, there was a beautiful contrast between earlier moments of loneliness and concern to warmth 1/?
When in doubt, go to the library. 🥰
Reminder for Ember: Shiny coins are NOT worth more. 😊💰
pickNot quite as straightforward as a series of linked short stories, even the interstitials between each short story don't quite fall into a single chain, but there's certainly an interplay, a weaving in and out of themes, characters and imagery. For those wondering: no, it's not horror, though the Devil pops up occasionally to act as muse or seeker of stories, to seemingly offer aid or apologize for when he cannot, indicating his age old role 1/?
Okay, new first place in memorable dedications! 😈
pickThat was so much fun! This book truly is a love letter to the films, to their place in the horror genre, the self-made whodunnit slasher subgenre. I'd say this is definitely more of a film history, sharing the ins and outs of how each movie was made, but among the reflections and reminiscences there are discussions about how each instance and the series as a whole differs from other horror/slasher movies, 1/?
An essential part of why I love them.
Today I learned shaving cream is the secret to getting fake blood off?! 🪒
Okay, but I really, really want to see the bedazzled Ghostface mask. 💎👻
Interior decorating? 🩸🫣
Happy little trees! 😁🌲🌳
Feels like a cornerstone of a healthy Hollywood set: if you as the director wouldn't feel comfortable doing it, don't make your actors do it. 👏🏻🩸
Promise I'll get back to absorbing nifty Scream movies trivia in a moment, just had to pause for this:
What do you mean TOM HANKS was in a slasher movie?! 🤯 Is this the same Tom Hanks? Was he not acting but directing/producing /writing? Which one feels odder? Was it early in his career? Did that wholesome fellow actually play creepy for once? Just gonna go IMDB...🤔
With incredible writing skill, Gustafson moves through difficult moments in her own life paralleled with stories of cats who see her reflecting on her past: dealing with a previous abusive partner, childhood illness, her mother's cancer treatment, 5h
The heartbreaking material is regularly countered by Gustafson's simple need to keep doing the work, the inability to stop caring even when grief temporarily overwhelms, and the sense of wonder at the community that develops, those who join teams to help the cats, those who follow and donate online. 5h
If you came for cute cat stories, maybe skip this one.
Sidebar: One of my favourite covers of the year. 5h