Welcome to Litsy!

I listened to this audiobook back in August for The Sealey Challenge, and I feel like this collection of poetry fundamentally changed me as a person. I immediately bought a physical copy, and it will be a regular reread for me for years to come.

#12BooksOf2024 @Andrew65

Letters. For in finding love and forgiveness for the worst in others, maybe we can find love and forgiveness for the worst in ourselves.

This book hit like a sucker punch. Emotional and resonant, full of anger and love and despair and joy. I need to immediately buy a copy of this to reference. #TheSealeyChallenge 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗

I‘ve been struggling a bit lately. A lot of people I love are *really* going through it. I‘m feeling burned out, candle‘s going at both ends, compassion fatigue is at an all-time high. But this morning (after getting labs done and dealing with bridesmaid responsibilities), I sat in front of my house for a brief moment in time and just listened to the birds. It helped.

Thanks to:
•The song sparrow
•Coffee
•A hermit cookie
•Fat bumblebees
•Azaleas

Okay, WOW WOW WOW. This collection of letters -- which sometimes take the form of poems, prayers, spells, and prompts -- is going to become my new spiritual guide to life. It's generous, fierce, sad, hopeful, inspiring, angry, loving, and incredibly powerful. Addressees of the letters range from trans femmes of colour to TERFs. This is an instant new queer classic and the kind of book that makes you feel alive, and glad to be. Dynamic #audiobook!

Finished my 2nd book for #AuldLangSpine. This one is short but was so moving and powerful. It feels heavy but in the way that a weighted blanket feels. I can see myself recommending this one a lot. Reads as a poetry memoir of sorts with lots of self-healing. I think anyone would benefit from reading it, but perhaps especially those who have experienced their own crisis of faith. ⛪️🏳️‍⚧️ #ReadAway2024

What do you do when the world threatens your belief that all beings are worthy of love? Here, Kai Cheng Thom, a Chinese Canadian transwoman, writes to reclaim her love of being human through tender, intense letters to: former johns, J. K. Rowling, Jesus Christ, fellow trans femmes, “the church of social justice,” compulsive caregivers, & more, each followed by an action, my favorite being to send a poetry book to someone you‘d rather see punished.

Started listening to this one today, and it's so good!

HIGHLY recommend this audio read by the author. It was like spoken word. Gorgeous, melodic, heart-wrenching. These letters/poems center largely on trans women and sex workers, and it really felt like a gift to hear the author share so vulnerably. Now I need the print edition; each poem ends with a suggested activity, and I want to do them all!

THANK YOU to the Litten who posted the bookriot quiz, “find your perfect autumnal read” - this was mine!

Listened to this audiobook, (loved hearing the author‘s voice and inflection) but it would have been better as a physical book to use for reflection. Tasks are assigned throughout for self awareness and mindful meditation on one‘s worth and experiences. These types typically don‘t appeal to me. This would be better suited for “lost souls” as the subtitle suggests, and I‘m not in that place right now. It‘s not you, book, it‘s me!

Wee Allie helped me finish Kai Cheng Thom‘s FALLING BACK IN LOVE WITH BEING HUMAN this morning. There‘s a lot to reflect on here, both in terms of self-love and of social interaction with people who try to steal it away. Her letter to J.K. Rowling hit me especially hard.

I made my library haul ahead of schedule so I had an excuse to squeeze in a bike ride before the heat moves in this afternoon. Alas, I missed the heat but not the wind. The way there was MISERABLE.

At least I‘ve got a bunch of books to console me. I‘m especially excited for Kai Cheng Thom‘s latest. It‘s so small and beautiful!

An absolutely beautiful collection of letters, poems, and calls to action - each letter ends with an ask that begs the reader dive deeper into the work and their own interior life.