Merry Christmas! My family and I exchanged our gifts today because tomorrow we are driving up to visit relatives. My sister got me this book on sandwiches! 🥪 📖 And my mom got me a nice humidifier.

I made mac and cheese for dinner with some spaghetti squash as a side (the squash was from a coworker who loves to garden) and we have an ice cream cake for dessert.

Hope everyone has a happy holiday season!

Mocha and grilled cheese and reading time then off to Petsmart 🐈‍⬛

Because of the hype, I probs wouldn‘t have read this if not for the #ALSpine list from @Lin3han but I am SO GLAD I did! I mean, the component parts aren‘t necessarily original but they are combined so well. I love Violet. And the invisible disability rep was *so* relatable (being annoyed with an uncooperative body, dealing with others‘ ableism and your own internalized ableism, being able to do what other do but with adaptations,etc.). Audio is 💯

It took me a bit to get used to the style of the story and it starts out a bit slow as we learn about the Only People and their lives/culture, but once Young Hunter set out on his journey, I was hooked. I especially loved his relationship with his dogs!

“Reed looked hard at Young Hunter as she spoke those last words and he felt a shiver go down his spine. He understood. He saw who the fire hunters were and the greatness of their danger to all the people. He saw that they were beings to be pitied and feared. He saw too that his own weak seeing was needed now to help these people of the Village Between the Hills, as well as his own Dawn Land People.”

“The dogs looked up at him and then turned to run back in the direction from which they had come. Young Hunter faced the west and began to make his way quickly down the hill, angling toward the headland where his uncle had taken him four autumns before. As he ran, a part of his divided mind retold him that story of the hunter and his dogs. The rhythm of his grandmother‘s voice speaking the tale blended with the soft beat of his running feet.”

“All of the fear that had edged close to him was gone now. One of the dogs in the lean-to behind him stretched its legs, pressing them against Young Hunter‘s back. He would not think of tomorrow now. He would hold the sweetgrass basket close to his face and smell it; he would enjoy the warmth of his fire, and soon, the taste of his food. It would be enough. For now, it would be enough. Tomorrow he would reach the village of the Salmon People.”

The ice from yesterday‘s snow has melted enough for me to get out of the house for bit and enjoy a cappuccino and a cinnamon roll and start a new book 📖 ☕️ Enjoying the book so far, but I‘ve only read the first chapter.

“He built the fire before the sun was rose.”
#FirstLineFriday
@ShyBookOwl

“We have to ask what is lost, who is harmed, and what should be forgotten with the embrace of artificial intelligence in decision making. It is of no collective social benefit to organize information resources on the web through processes that solidify inequality and marginalization - on that point I am hopeful many people will agree.”

Soft pick. It took me awhile to get into this one because I couldn‘t really connect with the characters (in particular Adequin Rake) but switching to audio helped. It‘s a very plot-focused space opera with lots of action, almost like watching a movie or TV series. However, the last 30% were gripping, and it set things up very well for a sequel, which I think could be even better (sort of like how Empire Strikes Back is even better than the OG SW).

Cafe au lait and a little reading time before going to Trader Joe‘s ☕️ 📖 🧛

I‘m really excited about my #AuldLangSpine list from @BookmarkTavern . We both had What Moves the Dead on our list, and two books were already on my TBR (Inheritance of Orquidea Divina and Elatsoe). I really enjoyed Sistersong by Lucy Holland, so I‘m eager to read Song of the Huntress. I‘ll see what else I can easily get from a library - part of why I love this event is finding new books and authors I wouldn‘t have found otherwise!

“”‘I see . . .‘ said the vampire thoughtfully, and slowly he walked across the room towards the window.”

#FirstLineFriday @ShyBookOwl

Another ✨Inflectra✨ infusion means time for more reading! Time to start one more from the #AuldLangSpine 2024 list from @Lin3han before moving on to the 2025 list from @BookmarkTavern
 @monalyisha

Infusion also happens to be appropriately timed for #IBDAwarenessWeek

Enjoying my usual egg and cheddar with on a cheddar chive biscuit, but with a gingerbread latte and a slice of cheesecake while enjoying the tagged. Grocery shopping after this.

While I was able to guess what the connection between the past and present was and most of the twists, I‘m still giving this a pick because I wanted to see if I was right and ended up reading most of it (like 60% of it) today (split between my cozy coffee shop time this morning and my cozy cat-sitting time this afternoon - that‘s Miss Dahlia Snugglebottoms on my lap #CatsOfLitsy). And I thought the epilogue was perfect.

Wasn‘t originally going to leave my house today, but several days of extra sleep meant I woke up fairly early for a day off (8am!). So I decided to go out for a coffee. Got a cappuccino and a chocolate chip muffin and a seat by the fire. One errand to run after this, but no hurry. Plenty of time to enjoy my cozy spot with my book 📖

All registered for #AuldLangSpine2025! My favorite Litsy event every year! @monalyisha is an amazing matchmaker (definite Librarian Skillz, for sure)!

A blended latte and an egg and cheese on a cheddar chive biscuit with some reading before running errands and getting a haircut 💇 📖

Soft pick for me - an scientific history of how our understanding of gravity has changed from Newton to Einstein to quantum theory to string theory. A little background in physics is helpful, but expertise is not needed (I took an intro level college class in 2007, so…). Some sections dragged a bit (the chapter on tides 🫠), but I thought the last third was a great intro to quantum theory and string theory, which I knew very little about.

I love the overall theme of this YA anthology - that resistance is an everyday act and sometimes just surviving is resistance. And some of the stories were excellent (“As You Were” by Bethany C. Morrow and “Ruth” by Laura Silverman), but the short pieces didn‘t work in the audio format. And while the description mentioned #DisabledAndCute, the disability rep in here basically amounted to a mention of that hashtag in a poem, which was disappointing

I‘ve only followed Travis and Sigi on Instagram for a short time, but was interested in learning more about their story. Turns out this was the perfect post-election read. Travis is candid about his struggles with depression and suicidal ideation, yet his story with Sigi is heartwarming and shows how someone can overcome hardship and how we can make a difference by building community and using our skills and passions for good.

“That evening Bianca, Sigi, Ylva and I all tuned into the evening news. Seeing the man with the parrot, then me on TV was the strangest feeling. Suddenly I felt very self-conscious. I looked nervous, but Sigi couldn‘t have looked more chilled. As I sat on the sofa turning the day over in my mind, I reflected on how far Sigi and I had come. Only four years ago she‘d arrived at our apartment in San Francisco. I was loving life . . .”

There was a (black owned!) bookseller (The Soul Book Nook from Waterloo, IA) at the conference, so I picked up a couple titles. Then I got myself a candle and cute wrapping paper to treat myself this afternoon.

I‘ve been at a conference the past couple days for women in higher education. It‘s been both a nice distraction and a good reminder of how we can make a difference in our own communities. It ended earlier this afternoon, so I took some time for a cup of cinnamon plum tea and this hopeful book (much of which takes place during the pandemic).

Took the morning off. A little treat and some reading before I have to go into the office.

Had an errand to run, but now that that‘s done, it‘s time for a treat at Panera and some more reading 📖

“‘This isn‘t over yet,‘ Ann said. ‘Merciful moons, I hope that patch holds. Come on.‘”

April had to help me open my #HHS #HauntedHallowSwap package from @Bookwormjillk

Thank you so much, Jill! I had to open the cat toys for April right away 😆 I‘m really looking forward to both of these books, the Pet Sematary bookmark is perfect (one of my favorite of King‘s), but I‘m going to dive into the tea first (love a cup of chai in the morning).

Thank you @wanderinglynn for hosting! Happy Halloween! 🎃 👻 🐈‍⬛

“Well, at least-
That was when Tress‘s face exploded.”

“While we ate, Mami sat as far from us as she could. Omar couldn‘t get off work, I kept slurring, even after Leidy kicked and kicked my shin under the table each time I forced out the excuse. Dante crawled around on the floor next to her, moving from cousin to cousin, begging to be lifted. I kicked Leidy back and said it anyway - Next year, you‘ll see - to Neyda, to people who‘d been whispering about my mom‘s outburst, her door-slamming . . .”

While there was some interesting aspects of Ireland in the Middle Ages discussed here, this book got too bogged down in Rome and its fall (like 40% into the book before we get to Ireland) and the author‘s concept of “civilization” is definitely Eurocentric (Irish scribes saved Roman literature, basically). But I learned a lot about St. Patrick and Irish monastic culture, which was interesting.🤔

“I nodded to myself. I picked up the sheet of paper and I put it on the pile of pages and tapped the edges together as if I knew what I was doing, and I went to reheat my coffee.”

Time for a creepy book while having a cappuccino and an egg and cheese on a cheddar chive biscuit before running some errands.

My #HHS box is here! I think it‘s from @Bookwormjillk

#HauntedHallowSwap

Another infusion, another book finished! This is by no means a good book, but it was a fun - a campy, 1970s, supernatural And Then There Were None. I enjoy a bad/campy horror movie and that‘s what this was in book form (makes since because it‘s a novelization of a movie that did pretty poorly at the box office; the book was apparently more popular). Definitely a bit predictable but not totally so. I just enjoyed it for what it was.

“Then, ever so slowly, her body rose to the surface, tumbling gracefully, picking up speed as it neared the top and finally popped onto the surface like a cork, floating there face down in the center of the still water, her eyes staring intensely at the Ravenshurst crest imprinted on the bottom of the pool.
The cat at the end of the diving board watched the motionless body a little longer, then grew bored, yawned, and trotted off silently. . .”

#HHS #HauntedHallowSwap package all ready to go. I‘ll stop at the post office after work tomorrow and it‘ll be on its way!

And as expected, I picked up a couple books 📚 #BookHaul

Woke up a bit earlier than expected (thanks to my cat deciding to play attack my feet), so decided to use the extra time in my day to check out a coffeeshop/bookstore that I‘ve wanted to visit for quite a while! It‘s so cute! Enjoying my Earl Grey tea and cinnamon roll with one of my current library books and then will probably look through their books (because it‘s a bookstore, duh 😆).

Also, high temperature of 69 degrees F. Happy for fall! 🍂

It feels like August (87 degrees F for the high temp and road construction), but I can at least pretend it‘s October while enjoying a sandwich (egg and cheese on a cheddar chive biscuit), tea (Lady Grey), and a dark fantasy book 📖 🍂 🫖

“Granny wasn‘t exactly friendless, but what she commanded mostly was respect. People learned to respect storm clouds, too. They refreshed the ground. You needed them. But they weren‘t nice.”

From “The Sea and Little Fishes” by Terry Pratchett in the tagged volume.

Still enjoying this middle grade series on audio (Nicola Barber‘s narration is 💯). This one had some good growth for our main characters and a lot of high action and drama. A good set up for the final book.

“On this note she swept regally away, hands lifting the front of her skirt off the floor. Roland had heard that such as she couldn‘t go about in daylight, and that part of the old tales was surely a lie. Yet another part was almost true, it seemed: a fuzzy, amorphous shape kept pace with her, running along the row of empty beds to her right, but she cast no real shadow at all.”

From “The Little Sisters of Eluria” by Stephen King in the tagged 📖

“‘Take care of yourself, Jax. If staying up at Sparrow Crest turns out to be too much, call me anytime. I‘ve got a spare room, and my door‘s always open.‘”

Here‘s my Halloween aesthetic for #HauntedHallowSwap #HHS - always atmospheric, sometimes creepy and gothic, sometimes silly or campy

A soft pick because I liked pretty much everything about this book (relatable main characters, magical libraries and books, complicated but loving sisterly relationships, a little romance but only tertiary to the plot, a tiny pampered dog name Sir Kiwi, a thrilling climax), but don‘t feel like it was especially memorable. But it was fun and made a good easy read on my lunch breaks.

April in the background #CatsOfLitsy

A very evocative portrait of Roman Pompeii told from the perspective of Amara, a doctor‘s daughter who was sold into slavery after his death and is now a brothel slave. It‘s a brutal life and the narrative doesn‘t hold back on the brutality, yet there is also moments of pleasure and deep friendship between Amara and fellow brothel slave Dido. The plot might be too slow for some, but I thought it set up the story well for the second book.

It took me awhile to get into the actual plot of this one, but I still relate to Murderbot and loved the addition of ART. Plot picked up by the end and left with enough questions about what Murderbot will do next.

The historical setting (1930s turpentine camp) was vividly rendered and was swept into the story. But the “good” characters were too good and the “evil” characters were outlandishly so. I was also troubled by how heterosexual white characters were used to illustrate experiences that were predominantly those of black men (horrid labor conditions at the camp) and queer women (violent homophobia/misogyny).