Sifting through fact & fiction, McLaird puts together a well researched biography that avoids both sanitizing & demonizing the figure of Calamity Jane.

This was fascinating! I only knew the barest folk stories about her, & it was so interesting to see other pieces of her story, like her alcoholism, her acting as a nurse in her communities, & the fact that she had children. A little dry, but well balanced, w/ lots of amazing photos! 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑

If you, like me, are having a rough time right now, *gestures vaguely at everything* I cannot recommend enough doing things together as a community.

A neighborhood clean up, volunteering at your local library, joining a new book club. Be with people. ❤️ Yes, even us introverts.

#WeirdWordWednesday #WeirdWords @CBee

The cover for the next Rivers of London book has dropped! #CoverReveal

What is it about haunted houses that captures our imagination? Taylor examines this phenomenon through the lens of houses in popular media.

A fascinating examination into what turns a home into a haunted house, from interior and exterior architecture, to landscape context, to the decay from lack of upkeep. I did wish that more time was spent on the real life examples that inspired stories rather than recounting the movie‘s plot. 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑

#WeeklyForecast

I‘m so excited to get to start the sequel to The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder! 💙

#BookReport

Sick Houses is so interesting, although I definitely wasn‘t expecting to be spoiled for as many movies as I have been reading it. 😅

Long ago, the town of Lucille banished all the monsters. When a painting of Jam‘s mother comes to life intent on hunting a new monster, Jam must decide who to believe.

A powerful story about what makes a monster & how a monster can hide when we don‘t have the words to talk about them. I loved Jam & Redemption, & I really appreciated the ending. 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕

I really didn‘t appreciate this one the first time I read it, but one multiple rereads after, I‘ve grown to love this motley crew and what they accomplish.

#SundayFunday Have a wonderful day everybody, and don‘t forget to tag me in your posts!

#DinnerByTheBook

I‘ve got the nibling over for themed dinner and a movie tonight! ❤️

Moist von Lipwig is hanged for his crimes. And then, he‘s put in charge of rehabilitating the Ankh-Morpork post office. Only, there‘s competition that Moist didn‘t count on & maybe a curse?

This remains 1 of my favorites of the Disc. Every time, I pay attention to something else. For instance, Gilt gives me such strong vibes of current political figures who shall remain nameless. & I fall in love w/ Adora Belle & Moist so much. 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗

A fabulous collection of short stories from a master wordsmith, spanning both science fiction and fantasy.

Le Guin can pack such a powerful story in so few words. Some weird stories, some lovely, all very human. Loved revisiting Earthsea, (The Rule of Names introduced me to her in a 5th grade textbook), & seeing new Hainish stories! Did have to skip Omelas though, I know I wouldn‘t have been able to handle rereading it right now. 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑

It has been a rough few weeks at home, and I am feeling this word pretty hard right now. But I know I can come here and find small pieces of joy. ❤️

#WeirdWordWednesday @CBee #WeirdWords

August returns to the magical island of his youth to bury his mother. But he has to confront the love he left behind, & the community that thinks he‘s a killer. There are more dark secrets to be unearthed than he expects.

I liked the atmosphere & the magic. But I think this should have been a movie, w/ multiple random POVs, out of order flashbacks. Every time I started getting invested, it felt like Young switched it up to confuse me.🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑

This was such a strong start for January! Let‘s hope I can keep up the energy! 🎉🎉 #MonthlyRoundup

#WeeklyForecast

I am so excited to start Sick Houses! And I‘ve got my #QueerBC all lined up next too!

#BookReport

Going Postal is probably in my top three Discworld novels, and I‘m so happy to be revisiting it right now.

I‘ve got some amazing reads lined up for February!#BookSpinBingo #BingoBoard

#BookSpin Calamity Jane, #DoubleSpin Artful Dodger

#Roll100 The Wind‘s Twelve Quarters, Gwenhwyfar, Calamity Jane

#OokBOokClub Making Money

#BobWhiteBuddies The Marshland Mystery

#BeyondTheYellowBrickRoad Ozma of Oz (one of my favorite Oz books!)

#QueerBC Pet

#ThematicCozies Artful Dodger

#AuldLangSpine A Strange and Stubborn Endurance

@Butterfinger ‘s response to last week‘s question made me realize I had never read any of Louisa May Alcott! So I‘m going to have the tagged book be my next read on Serial Reader! 🩷

#SundayFunday Have a great day, and don‘t forget to tag me!

This past week and a half has been absolutely buck wild, but things are finally settling down, so I had time to put together my #BookSpinBingo list for February! ❤️

Feeling curious & trying to escape a bully, Saffron follows a mysterious woman through a portal, & lands in a world of magic & queens & prophecy.

I love portal fantasies! & this was a fun 1! All the most important characters are women, the fantasy world is queer normative, & such interesting magic. But for such an info dump heavy book, the world itself felt narrow, w/ a rushed romance & abrupt ending. Hopefully book 2 is better!🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑

A fascinating look into the often forgotten and erased women who helped to build the study of Egyptology into what it is today.

This was so interesting! It covered a lot of time, and several different women who all influenced Egyptology. I really appreciated how the author emphasized the presence of LGBTQ women, & the role all these white women played in the colonialism against Egypt. It was a bit dry, but well worth the read. 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑

Watching the nibling for the afternoon, and they‘re doing a Greek mythology thing at school, so it‘s time to bring out the book I got for Christmas when I was their age. ❤️

Look at me, being a grown up and going in for my regular physical. 😅

By the sea, there is a restaurant. A restaurant where you can say a final goodbye to a lost loved one, through a remembrance meal.

This style of Japanese fabulism, examining the interconnected nature of food, family, memory, & grief is fast becoming a favorite. Connected short stories, plus recipes, show different griefs & the closure we need. I would have read 600 more pages of this. ❤️ & I want to cook something of my grandma‘s now.🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗

Tagging another book by the same author, as this one isn‘t in the database!

Here‘s my #ThematicCozies pick for February, Romance! @julieclair

Darwin‘s pet boutique gets some extra help from her ability to psychically connect w/ the pets. And she really has to stretch herself when her new friend is murdered, & the only witness was his dog.

I liked the twist of the psychic powers, but ultimately the rest of this kind of fell apart. Flat characters, instalove, & a final reveal that just left me frustrated & confused. Definitely not going to pursue this series. 🌕🌗🌑🌑🌑

#WeeklyForecast

Going Postal is up next! Woo! ✉️💨

#BookReport

I absolutely loved revisiting the world of Oz, and I‘m so excited for the next one. Ozma of Oz is one of my favorites. 💚

I am so ready for February‘s #Roll100 picks! 💕

The Winds Twelve Quarters by Ursula K Le Guin
Gwenhwyfar by Mercedes Lackey
Calamity Jane by James McLaird

@PuddleJumper

I am… having a difficult time right now. So let‘s share some of your favorite comforting reads.

This one, with Mark‘s perseverance, the story‘s respect for science & scientists, the whole community coming together to rescue him, the sheer unending hope. I actually found a substack that‘s releasing this one in chronological order, so I‘ve jumped in! 🧡

#SundayFunday I hope you are all doing well, and don‘t forget to tag me! 💛

Lily‘s whirlwind romance & happily ever after become much more complicated when she learns about Ryle‘s temper.

I am all for a book that gets people talking about & bringing awareness to difficult topics, as this turned out for my book club. But the characters all felt flat, Lily‘s letters about a past relationship really interrupted the narrative flow, & there was too much telling, not enough showing. 🌕🌕🌑🌑🌑

Felicity‘s in the middle of catering a dramatic wedding, when one of the wedding party is found murdered. W/ her best friend a suspect, & the return of her long absent father, Felicity‘s life is in turmoil.

This was a cute sequel. I loved the use of the baked goods, the family drama was interesting, but I don‘t think the final reveal was set up enough, & this relied a bit too much on rabbit ex machina for me. Do want to try the recipes!🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑

Ensign Dahl is newly assigned to the starship Intrepid. When he gets there, he learns that ensigns die on away missions. A lot. What he discovers will change everything about his world.

This was so meta, I strained my eyes rolling them. I also laughed harder than I have in a while, so 🤷🏼‍♀️. This poked loving fun at sci fi tv, but also turned into a moving story about taking control of your own destiny. The codas did feel unnecessary.🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑

After Tip runs away from the witch who raised him, he teams up w/ the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodsman, & new friends to save the Emerald City from an army of revolters.

I forgot just how silly this one is! My dislike of General Jinjur & her army & the revolution storyline is mostly outweighed by my love for the Woggle-Bug‘s jokes, the Gump, & the Sawhorse! & I love the reactions to Ozma‘s reveal. & so much new world building!🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑

A pawnshop where clients can exchange their regrets. A missing father. & a visitor from another world. Hana‘s world gets turned upside down.

I‘ve seen this described as Studio Ghibli vibes, which is true! & it‘s also a moving story about letting our fears control us, & the purpose of regret & acknowledging our choices. & a sweet love story. I just wish we could have spent more time in the locations, especially the Library of the Lost!🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑

#WeeklyForecast

Bad news… I requested an ARC and got approved for it, and it‘s is the sequel to something I haven‘t read.

Good news… I apparently own a physical copy of book one, so I‘m diving into An Accident of Stars as soon as I finish the Land of Oz! 😂

#BookReport

Finished some great books this past week, and finally get to start the Oz book where we meet a few of my favorite characters! 💚

Lieutenant Kerensky is Miles O‘Brien, and I will not be taking criticism. 😂

#LitsySciFiBookClub

I was originally going to tag The Hunger Games, but then I remembered how much I enjoyed this book when I read it! It‘s always encouraging to read about the strength of a community coming together against a rising fascist power.

#SundayFunday Hope you all are staying safe and healthy, and don‘t forget to tag me in your posts!

Trixie & the BobWhites are at it again when sheep thieves are targeting the Belden‘s Uncle Andrew‘s farm!

We get to see the gang investigate another high stakes mystery, meet some new kids, some development on young love, & a dramatic rescue! More importantly, we get to see Trixie fail in her investigations, & then pick herself back up, apologize for her assumptions, & try, try again. It‘s always great to see failure treated as natural.🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑

A diverse (in genre type and representation) collection of short stories.

Anthologies are pretty hit and miss for me, but there wasn‘t a story I disliked here. I did have my favorites, Meet Cute made me laugh & Why I Learned to Cook made me cry at work 😅. The narrators all fit the tone of their stories pretty well, and the stories were a good representation of the authors. Now I‘ve got a couple new authors to check out! 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑

Finally used that Christmas Barnes and Noble gift card! ❤️🎁❤️

Emma Woodhouse‘s favorite pastime is to arrange the love lives of the people around her. What could possibly go wrong?

I wanted to enjoy this as P&P was foundational in my decision to pursue an English degree, but god I did not like Emma or Knightley. 😅 There‘s also not a lot that happens, plot wise. And, more importantly for me, I did not feel invested in literally any of these romances. On to Persuasion! 🌕🌕🌗🌑🌑

Usually, I am not a huge fan of crab. But wow this turned out beautifully! #DinnerBytheBook

A fascinating work exploring the queens of Medieval England from Matilda of Flanders through to Elizabeth of York.

Very interesting! Dense, and I would have appreciated it more dipping in and out instead of reading it straight through. The best part though is the conclusion which examines the historical queens through the fictional lenses of Beowulf and Mallory‘s Arthurian saga. 🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑

Lily‘s high school year is greatly complicated by McCarthyism, developing feelings for a new friend, & a desire to shoot for the stars.

This was a hard listen, but fantastic. High school stories are always tricky for me, but this was beautifully done. Lily‘s strength of character dealing w/ homophobia, her father getting investigated for links to communism, & a toxic friendship was amazing. Wasn‘t a fan of the time skip @ the end. 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑

Semiramis was born a commoner in a village in Assyria. Through her own ambition & machinations, she eventually becomes Queen of Assyria.

Casati‘s luxurious scene setting was present throughout the novel & her character work remains unparalleled.We see the evolution of her from an abandoned orphan to the most powerful woman. I did want to see more, & see Semiramis‘s control when she was on the throne, not just leading up to it. 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑

#WeeklyForecast

I am so looking forward to starting Fresh Ink! It‘s been on my TBR for years, and @shortsarahrose ‘s recommendation through #AuldLangSpine is just the push I needed! I‘m also really enjoying Telegraph Club!

#BookReport

I am enjoying Babylonia so much! ❤️

The 2nd Raiders of Arcana book is just as fun a historical treasure hunting romp as the 1st!

Have I already read this book? Yes. Did I request this arc entirely for Picard‘s narration? Also yes. She does a fantastic job giving each character such a strong individual voice that I know whose POV we‘re in w/out any other clues. & the emotion she conveys throughout is amazing. I‘m ready to seek out books she‘s narrated w/out any more info.🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑