MICROJOYS was the right next nonfiction book to pick up in this election-year-moment. a serendipitous library hold timing! Spiegel is giving me a handbook & guide for what Ross Gay so beautifully illustrates in INCITING JOY.
MICROJOYS was the right next nonfiction book to pick up in this election-year-moment. a serendipitous library hold timing! Spiegel is giving me a handbook & guide for what Ross Gay so beautifully illustrates in INCITING JOY.
got to see Kellye Garrett (MISSING WHITE WOMAN) and Alyssa Cole (ONE OF US KNOWS) in convo! absolutely lovely, thoughtful, and frequently hilarious discussion, so much so that i (who do not often thriller) bought both featured titles in hardcover
feels appropriate to have chrocheted this dragon for my niece while listening to EARTHSEA on audio 🐉
it took becoming a parent who has to do 3am feedings to rewire my brain enough for audiobooks, but i have arrived
was scrolling thru “available now” on Libby when this one caught my eye! brought it to the coffee shop with me while i wait for friends to arrive (did i get here early to read? MAYBE)
it may be 70 and sunny right now, but next week is likely to be in the 40s, so my recent library acquisition of WINTER SOLSTICE still feels seasonally appropriate
“You'll always need to use multiple platforms to move your projects forward. No single platform can do everything. The intention here is not to use a single software program, but to use a single organizing system, one that provides consistency even as you switch between apps many times per day.” 🤯
DANG Y‘ALL. this book! i was NOT prepared for the ending. just gonna put this bit on my wall for the coming year:
“And the universe would need them to do what small good things they could, even in the face of that which they could not stop. If all they could be were small rocks to break the current, it would have to be enough. ... She was one small part of an infinity, and there was much to be done.”
ok so this is both a NEW GLASSES! update, and a “which book on my extremely messy TBR shelves should i read next” poll, plz advise
options:
LITTLE DEVIL IN AMERICA
ZOOEY IS TOO DRUNK FOR THIS DYSTOPIA
NEVER CROSS A HIGHLANDER
SOIL
DANCING AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD
ALL ABOUT LOVE
WE KEEP US SAFE
my library holds contain multitudes
just got Vol 1 of ICE GUY & THE COOL GIRL (got hooked after seeing one ep of the anime)
3/4 way done with my HILD reread while i wait for my MENEWOOD hold!
birthday haul! my people know me 🥰
REALMS OF IMAGINATION (companion book to a British Library exhibit)
MYTHOS, HEROES, and TROY by Stephen Fry
my reread of MACHINERIES OF EMPIRE is proceeding nicely, and i can‘t believe i forgot the specifics of how extremely good Lee is with using POV to completely fuck with your head (in the best way)
i am rereading INCITING JOY (which is the actual best) with my partner and Gay has got me all hepped up about planning my spring garden beds
i remembered loving NINEFOX GAMBIT (i have been raving about it for years) but the glorious truth is, as i reread it for the first time, it‘s even better than i remembered
#AmReading
i have absolutely zero desire to go back to any sort of official schooling, but working towards project management certification (via a Udemy course, which is a super useful and affordable platform) is reminding me that i do still enjoy structured learning!
it turns out i am an absolute sucker for practical guides that have cool-toned illustrations in them! i was wondering what felt so familiar about REST EASY‘s illustrations (on the right) and suddenly it clicked — NO HARD FEELINGS (on the left, which i‘ve used repeatedly for work) has a similar style!
i have already forgotten where i heard about EVERY RISING SUN and what made me put it on hold at the library, but here it is! that cover!! #LibraryHaul
“Not working =/= Resting”
oh nothing just over here having my mind blown by Ximena Vengoechea. just when i think i have read every book about deprogramming “busy-ness” culture in my brain, here comes a new one to be like ‘AND ANOTHER THING‘
ok yep, a must-read. there are so many intersections covered here — race, queerness, age, disability, class, you name it — and so many different, amazing, resonant perspectives. if you‘ve been looking for a follow-up to DISABILITY VISIBILITY by Alice Wong, this is it.
i blew through this one the way i blow through all of the Thistle Grove books. Delilah is prickly as shit and there is plenty of side eye to go around, but it‘s also incredibly refreshing to have an angry, defensive heroine. also love the way Harper is expanding the lot of the town!
treated myself to this lil postcard art set by Anna Brones, around the theme of creativity, and i regret nothing
seriously tho. I NEED IT.
i am only three essays in and already this book has made me laugh, cringe, and feel like i‘m being hugged. whether or not you‘re a parent or thinking about parenting, whatever your dis/ability status, this feels like it‘s shaping up to a must-read. #AmReading
piggybacking on @Matilda — i talked about Waubgeshig Rice‘s MOON OF THE TURNING LEAVES for Book Riot‘s Most Anticipated, i CANNOT WAIT
https://bookriot.com/most-anticipated-books-of-2024/
ok y‘all i just found out this book exists, and is in the white hot core of my wheelhouse. i also read A FIRE BORN OF EXILE by Aliette de Bodard which is a COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO retelling — are there others i don‘t know about??? please advise
one of my intentions for 2024 is to allow myself to write — freely, unprofessionally, for no one else‘s eyes — just to see what comes out. if you‘ve got a writing goal of any kind (or are writing-curious) get yourself Jami Attenberg‘s newest book ASAP, y‘all
#writinglife
i absolutely inhaled this book, AND i have 2 critiques, one big & one “i wish it was a different kind of book.”
Coulter is hilarious, thoughtful & pretty direct about her experiences. her POV on AMZ is enlightening, her gradual awareness of the price of overwork spot-on. but she focuses solely on femaleness in tech, never mentions race — a huge miss, to me. she also doesn‘t talk more systemically like, say, DROP THE BALL, which i would have loved
gonna be hanging out talking #Arthuriana with @Runwithskizzers and Lex Croucher and Loyalty on Saturday the 20th! should be fun, details at loyaltybookstores.com/gwenandart
finally got another one of my friends to read FOUR THOUSAND WEEKS, excuse me while i take a victory lap
first books of the year are MORTAL FOLLIES by Alexis Hall (which i described as sexy mayhem with Napoleonic War jokes to a friend) and SAVING TIME by Jenny Odell which is even more intense and philosophical than HOW TO DO NOTHING and i am 1000% here for it.
(pink theme is accidental)
"There are times when the only way to bring down barriers is to set boundaries."
THE PLACES THAT SCARE YOU turns out to be an excellent follow-up to HOPE IN THE DARK.
sisterhood, morherhood, family dysfunction , anorexia, family secrets -- this book packs a huge emotional punch, and i loved it.
last book of 2016/first book of 2017
tfw you are surprised in the best way by a book
(clarification: one male character in a group with three women, rather than the usual opposite)
essential reading, and the perfect book to remind us what we're fighting for
EXTREMELY #GALLEYBRAG
this is maybe the first time i've choked up during my annual MIRACLE reread
getting choked up on the subway and i'm just at the intro of FIRE THIS TIME
i found this book randomly digging around in a used bookstore and bought it based on the Le Guin blurb. I ADORED IT. it has some of the scholarly feel of Susannah Clarke's work, plus the transgressive imagination of Margaret Atwood's. i am just obsessed. turns out it's actually a sequel, and i already ordered THE SILENT CITY, cannot wait to read it.
found an old favorite at a used bookstore this weekend
playing around with a new way to visualize my reading in my #bulletjournal! stickers from https://www.etsy.com/shop/breeeberrry
in its playfulness with mythology and folklore and also the tropes of its genre (magical YA), VASSA reminded me of Cat Valente's GIRL WHO series -- it delivers a romp that satisfies, while also turning all those tropes topsy turvy. a girl who saves herself while still being a selfish, messed-up teen; so enjoyable.
"Because being human is a hard lesson to learn and you really have to start young, and practice constantly, if you're going to stand a chance of getting good at it."
no YOU are crying over a book about a teenager in a walking convenience store