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#auldlangspine
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sebrittainclark
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A quick #auldlangspine about me
@monalyisha @CSeydel

1. My name is Sarah

2. My husband and I met in Kansas, but now we live in Northwest Arkansas closer to where I grew up

3. We have two boys (3 and 1)

4. I work as a software engineer

5. Other than reading, my hobbies are knitting, crocheting, and journaling

6. I have one dog and two cats, all seniors now. The kitten in the photo is one of @rachelsbrittain's foster kittens

Texreader This is awesome! 3h
CSeydel Great photo! Thanks for sharing! 2h
14 likes2 comments
review
Deblovestoread
The Girls Who Grew Big | Leila Mottley
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Pickpick

No sophomore slump from Leila Mottley. My first finish of 2026 and the first off my #AuldLangSpine list. It is a bit of a cheat as I read about the first 3rd earlier this year and set it aside when the world felt too heavy. I needn‘t have worried. Mottley writes about young women in hard circumstances but hope shines through. I sm so grateful @ncsufoxes had this on her list. I might not have picked it back up and that would have been a shame

review
monalyisha
Pew | Catherine Lacey
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Pickpick

Lacey‘s novel makes the reader complicit. The superiority you may feel because *you* don‘t need to know the MC‘s gender, age, or race is short-lived. You‘re still demanding something of them simply by entering their orbit. You want them to open up, to talk, to remember, to bond, to escape, to find home, to find friendship, to find freedom. And, by proxy, you want things of the author, too — like narrative momentum. 👇🏻

monalyisha 1/7: It brings up the meta-question of how an artist can create art *purely* without considering its reception. This novel feels like intentional obstinance and a cry for independence. As Pew sits on Tammy‘s porch, silent, in the dark, she says (and then quietly repeats), “Alright, well, I can‘t make you do nothing… nobody can make you do nothing.” It‘s a novel about freedom, violence, and attention. 10h
monalyisha 2/7: The question is: do we need forgiveness because we have needs? Do our needs fundamentally *harm*? The answer, as always, is nuanced. Want may cause suffering but it also makes meaning. As humans, we help, we better, we improve, we hurt, we harm, we destroy. In short, we impact. The best we can do is be aware and act in accordance with that awareness. 10h
monalyisha 3/7: As soon as you make a choice, you‘re doing violence to its opposite. As soon as you are one thing, you are rejecting another. Lacey writes, “I am only one person, ruined by what I have and have not done.” But that‘s living. We can do important work in breaking binaries but we can‘t avoid making choices. In fact, breaking the binary is freeing *because* it‘s making a choice. 10h
See All 13 Comments
monalyisha 4/7: Avoidance and disassociation equate to pain *not* freedom. But we cannot choose for other people, we cannot define and limit for them what it is they‘re choosing between, and we cannot demand *when* they choose, or how often they choose and choose again. 10h
monalyisha 5/7: We have to look at others. It‘s part of existing in community. The author asks what our gaze *does.* Explicitly, Lacey asks how many different kinds of respect there are. Implicitly, she asks how many different types of looking there are. And how do the two relate? How can we look at others and at ourselves with kindness? How can we best inhabit our bodies and our minds? 10h
monalyisha 6/7: I‘m not convinced this text will make my list of favorites this year, in terms of style and prose. I almost liked thinking about it more than reading it! But there are moments that will stick with me; Pew staring out at the fireflies, flickering, being then not being, ad infinitum. What I appreciate most is that it gave me plenty to ponder. Interesting and expertly structured. 10h
monalyisha 7/7: I‘d read another book by this author — ironically, to try to pin them down: what is Lacey *about*? Thanks, @billypar, for including this book on your #AuldLangSpine list, and for kicking my brain into high gear in the New Year! 10h
sarahbarnes Great review! I loved this book, the first of hers I read. All her books I‘ve read are very different, but I‘ve really enjoyed each of them. I feel like a theme of her writing could be the fluid nature of identity - that it‘s hard to pin down who someone “is.” 8h
Billypar Great review and exploration of the novel's themes! It was a strange reading experience hopping from one lengthy one-sided conversation to another, and everyone seems to have a slightly different response to the core 'problem' of Pew's inexplicable presence. On one hand, you see their perspective: they're trying to help, not getting a response. Yet, they're also taking the first step towards oppression or violence based on gender or race. 7h
Billypar What you say about people causing harm to others, sometimes inadvertently is spot on. It does seem like when Pew does speak, it's in response to those who try to control them the least. Like they don't consciously know what they want to protect but can sense who may wind up causing them harm. 7h
monalyisha @Billypar That sinister, locked attic staircase. Shivers. 6h
ReadingRachael Fantastic review! 6h
ReadingRachael @Billypar So well put, I agree 💯 6h
48 likes13 comments
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BarbaraJean
End of Year Report | New Jersey. Workforce New Jersey
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StoryGraph 2025 wrap-up! My first book of the year was an #AuldLangSpine pick from @Librarybelle and my last book of the year was another #blameitonLitsy book. 😁 I‘m especially proud of #DoorstopKristin, my longest book of the year, buddy read with the #KLBR crew.

Wrap-up link: https://app.thestorygraph.com/wrap-up/2025/barbarajean

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Laughterhp
Mate | Ali Hazelwood
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My January #bookspin and #doublespin picks are both for #auldlangspine!

TheAromaofBooks Yay!! Enjoy!! 18h
31 likes1 comment
review
TheKidUpstairs
The Axeman's Carnival | Catherine Chidgey
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Pickpick

I had picked this one up a couple of months ago, and couldn't really get into it, and put it aside, thinking it just wasn't the right time. Turns out #AuldLangSpine was totally the right time! I whipped through this one in three days (yes, I was overly eager and started early, too @CBee 🤣). I love Chidgey's ability to tell the story hidden behind the story, the sense of unease and apprehension she lends with just a few well placed glimpses. 👇

TheKidUpstairs It was gripping and thoughtful, tense but full of heart, intriguing commentary on lives lived online, domestic violence, and our relationship with the animals around us, and a generous sprinkling of humour. I loved it. 18h
TheKidUpstairs My son is really into origami, so I included the talking crow he folded me in this pic - he knows I love a corvid! 18h
See All 7 Comments
CBee I absolutely adore your review and even more, the origami crow!! Perfect 🐦‍⬛ 16h
squirrelbrain Great review! 14h
monalyisha @TheKidUpstairs @CBee I can‘t even get over that you‘re both the first to post #AuldLangSpine2026 reviews and that you both picked up a book from the other‘s list, started it, stopped, then picked it up again for the event. And that you both started early, unbeknownst to the other person! Just fabulous. 😅💖 9h
CarolynM Great review. You‘re absolutely right about that “story behind the story” thing. 3h
51 likes2 stack adds7 comments
review
CBee
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Pickpick

Okay, so I‘d started this a couple of months ago and stopped listening. THEN it appeared on my #ALSpine list from @TheKidUpstairs and I thought, here‘s my sign to finish it! I‘m so glad I did. What a beautifully written, well researched, thought provoking, informative, emotional read this was. #AuldLangSpine @monalyisha don‘t dock any points cause I started early 😂😂

monalyisha I would never! 😂 So happy you loved your first book! 20h
CBee @monalyisha 💚💚💚 16h
TheKidUpstairs 💗💗💗 9h
50 likes3 comments
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HOTPock3tt
The Compound | Aisling Rawle
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I am very excited for this list from @BennettBookworm !☺️🎊 I will be starting with either the tagged book which is on my TBR too! Or ‘The River Had Roots‘ since it‘s set in faerie! I might also jump back into the Scythe trilogy. I read the first book years ago and loved it. I have read (and ADORED!) both ‘Yellowface‘ and ‘The Wedding People‘. Thank you for such a fun list and thank you @monalyisha for holding this great event! ☺️#Auldlangspine

BennettBookworm Yayyyy enjoy!! 1d
monalyisha I loved God of the Woods and Such a Fun Age. The River Has Roots definitely appeals to me — and the first book on your list, as well. 💖 Enjoy! 20h
24 likes3 comments
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Chrissyreadit
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Pickpick

Another great addition to this mystery series- Kendra is newly married and solving multiple murders with modern knowledge in Queen Charlottes England. Shout out to @Librarybelle for introducing me to this series in the inaugural #auldlangspine when it was #newyearwhodis (hosted by the incredible @monalyisha )

Librarybelle Yay!! 1d
monalyisha Sounds like a fun series! 1d
62 likes2 comments
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LeafingThroughLife
Untitled | Unknown
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Happy New Year, all! My January #BookSpin list is working hard this year. It‘s got all the books I have in my possession from @Texreader ‘s #AuldLangSpine list and all the books I have in my possession for this month‘s #AuthorAMonth - T. Kingfisher, along with the usual odds and ends. Here‘s hoping the spin makes some helpful choices so I don‘t have to, *gasp* use my own decision making skills! 😱📚😍

Texreader Oh awesome!! 1d
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 21h
15 likes2 comments