😂
TBR range!

"may we all receive the help we need to make our lives a bit more bearable"

This biography is so well put together. I loved the mix of straight autobiography sections mixed with different medias - transcripts of interviews Alice has given, a couple of poems, & photos. You can feel her anger at some of the systematic issues & also clearly see her humor & good graces.
A well balanced and interesting read.
#NFNovember @Bookwormjillk

"I was born on the last day of apartheid."

I doubt I have many here who are big rugby fans, I got into rugby 4 years ago, which was the first year Siya was team captain at the World Cup, it was South Africa's 3rd win tying them w/ New Zealand for most cup wins. since then I have been enamored w/ Siya (& Faf but that is another story). Watching them win again in 2024 - Siya still leading was amazing. This is his story from poverty to fame.

#Weeklyforecast
Chipping away at The Little Friend, picked up The Space Between Worlds on audio to move my #10BeforeTheEnd along.
Started Siya's book yesterday and I am hooked. I have loved his vibe and playing style for years now and this book is going to give me the biggest crush 🥰

I haven't been doing great on my #10BeforeTheEnd challenge. I am reading this longer Donna Tartt book, I am loving it but it is taking some precious time to get through. I am picking up The Space Between Worlds on audio to get me moving a bit this week.

So far I have love The Safekeep, thought She Would Be King was excellent - I wish more people talked about this one it deserves hype! And was disappointed in The Empusium.

#NFNovember @Bookwormjillk

We are half into the month and I am half through my picked NF books! I feel like this month is going reall well for me.

Of the 4 I have read so far I loved The Facemaker, Think Men Who Hate Women is hard but necessary, The Art of Power fell a bit flat for me, and while Why FIsh Don't Exist was very good (4/5) I was really taken aback by the last quarter of the book.

4 more to go!

Wow! This was excellent. Fitzharris takes us into the medic scene of world war one and the start of plastic surgery. When I was young I had thought this would be the very best career, and it was fascinating to read about how through trial and error and a lot of pain and trauma this field of medicine was created and advanced. A bit bloody, as it focuses on WWI injuries but it is done with care. I was fascinated throughout and love that 👇

Little book haul from Costco and the Goodwill.
I keep hearing great things about Frozen River. I liked this cover of Pillars maybe someday now I will read it.
I didn't realize Heyer had a mystery series, I know she was a terrible person but I do like her writing.

Has anyone read this God Save The Queen? Looks like a fun zombie series and the cover really drew me in I haven't heard anything about it before

How many have you read?

https://time.com/collection/must-read-books-2024/

I have only read 9 but have had many on my TBR.

#10BeforeTheEnd I have been wanting to read this for so long, and I think I did the book a disservice by reading it now. It is pretty grim (focusing on the founding of Liberia, involving a lot of slavery talk). But it is also magical, the characters are vivid and the writing is crisp and the storytelling well done. It just didn't land well with me in my state of mind, I still recommend it.
On another note isn't the table runner I got beautiful?

Biographies are always hard to judge. I feel like people should be allowed to tell their stories the way they want but I really found this lacking. The chapters are not chronological, but they also do not seem to build on each other. Which makes it feel like a hodgepodge of stories.

Overall it is fine (if you are not looking for humility or humbleness, which I think is okay). Really reminded me how awful Bush 2.0 was.

Needing a good escape I am diving into this regency romcom romp.

Out January 21, 2025

#10BeforeTheEnd

We are seven (7) weeks out fro mthe end of the year. How are your reading goals going? Chipping away?

Oh my. I really hate to say it because I adore Han Kang, but this didn't work for me. It is the longest short novel I have ever read. It just dragged. Which I guess works a bit for the plot, in the first half our narrator is going to check on a pet bird of a friend in the hospital. The snow is high and she is dragging herself and us through while also going back and forth in time telling us about herself & her friend. Things get weird and 👇

Low pick 3.5/5
I wasn't too interested in the book overall but there are some things I really enjoyed, mostly the structure. The book is laid out following the bracket of the tournament. We learn about each fighter as they fight. The story has a great flow back and forth from the boxers present, past and future. This kept me interested enough to finish the book even though the overall story was a bit bland.

"My compliments to Satan!"

Well. This was a wild ride. I have never really thought about classics being historical fiction of their time. This book was written about 200 years after some of the true events told. I think this is classified as an adventure book, honestly I found it more of a long winded book about soldiers run amuck. I didn't particularly like anyone and found most all of the characters immature.
#randomclassic @TheAromaofBooks

#weeklyforecast

I am reading the tagged on audio and need to start The Facemaker both for #NFNovember with @Bookwormjillk
Am half into Headshot (meh) library book that needs to go back
Not pictured #randomclassics The Three Musketeers with @TheAromaofBooks which I am determined to finish today so I can get back to chipping away on The Little Friend and start Flamingo both for #10BefiretheEnd
Reading As Escape!

"'What!" said he, "you have just lost a woman whom you thought good, charming, perfect, and now you are running after another?"
D'Artagnan felt the justice of reproach
"I love Madame Bonancieux," said he, "with all my heart; but I love 'My Lady's with my head; and by going to her house, I hope to enlighten myself as to the character she plays in court."
#randomclassics @TheAromaofBooks

"What do you do after letting go of hope?"

Well damn. LoL I should have done more research before starting this today. I didn't know the name David Starr Jordan so the first half of this lolled me into a false sense of feel good science story, then the book takes a shocking turn, and then a gross turn.
I do think the book is very well done, I just wish I was in a more stable mood for the twists and turns.
TW for eugenics

🎧 the tagged. A nature book in nature.

Book 2 #NFNovember has been on my list since 2022. @Bookwormjillk

Such an important read. I like that it is written by a UK author, so she looks throughout the world at this issue. Though unfortunately a lot of this has the US as ground zero. It is things I knew but didn't "KNOW"
Both enraging and informative.
First book for #NFNovember @Bookwormjillk

Incels.

Laura Bates

At its simplest the argument goes like this: if women‘s sexual autonomy has given them wicked & tyrannical control over men‘s lives, then women‘s liberation is at the root of all male suffering. Therefore, the obvious remedy is to remove women‘s freedom and independence and to use specifically sexual means (like rape & sexual slavery) to do so. In other words, the problem is not women having sex but women having the choice of whom to have sex with

“It is not women, or even feminists, who have limited, frustrated, diminished, hurt, and damaged men but masculinity itself or, rather, our society‘s constricting, toxic, self-defeating version of what it means to perform being a man. Yet every time anybody tries to make progress in tackling this particular version of masculinity, the MRM rises up as a united voice to condemn and undermine the attempt.”
Laura Bates

So glad I prioritized The Safekeep as one of my #10BeforeTheEnd because it might be one of my top reads of the year, I really loved it.

2 down, 8 to go. Got to pick it up!

Hoping my bookshop/library friends can help me!

I have been collecting Paper Mill Press editions of classics and have made a very preventable mistake. I didn't check before starting and now I am unsure if they have made literally all but one of Austen's completed novels?
I have been searching and googling for this collections Mansfield Park and am not finding it anywhere? They are soft leather bound editions.
If anyone could find the ISBN...👇

Making this my priority this week. And what a week it will be. Glad I can get into this a bit and tune out the American noise for a few minutes.

These French boys. Running around with such fragile egos! It is actually interesting to read this and Men Who Hate Women at the same time.

🗳️☑️
#RandomClassics @TheAromaofBooks

Oh my goodness. This is fantastic. I don't read many books around WWII and I am glad this one is written by a Jewish author, between that and the hype around the Booker I knew this would be a solid read but it was so much more. The tension and the evolution of the characters and story are masterfully done.
I am going to be thinking about this for a very long time.

Almost forgot to switch out the name of this month because HOW??

Here we go Nonfiction November!!
#bookspin
#Bookspinbingo

Feeling very lucky since I have already started both!

#Bookspin - Men Who Hate Women part of my #NFNovember with @Bookwormjillk
and
#DoubleSpin is my #RandomClassic which I will be completing this month! with @thearomaofbooks

October was not a great month for me in quantity, but I do think I read some quality books.

The tagged is an important and raw book about 1980s NYC
Nettle & Bone is a fun fantasy romp with a 30 year old hero.
Dancer is a beautifully told book about a Ballet dancer from 1950s Russia thru the 80s.
Interesting Facts About Space was interesting! & fun while tackling some heavy topics.
And I enjoyed learnig about Kelly Bishop in her new bio.

Remeber, remember I cannot believe it is already November.

#bookspin

Got to both my #Bookspin and #DoubleSpin and got one Bingo

"It is true that before moving to New York City in May of 1985, I turned my back on a six-figure trust fund."

Finished this today and it was so good! Focused on NYC, the AIDS epidemic and the start of Act Up.

I always love historical fiction books that parade through cameos of famous people of the time. This book centering on the 1980s NYC gay scene has so many cameos - Baynard Rustin, Fred Trump (not nice to see) Nora Ephron, Larry Kramer. Trey our main character is a bit annoying & a bit unbelievable but overall I really enjoyed the vibe and storytelling throughout. My favorite is the fictional look at the start of the Act Up organization.

#10beforetheend
I meant to post on Tuesday, the offical day of the end of the year - we now have less than 9 weeks to go, how is everyone doing on their list?

Work ha been incredibly busy and then I got distracted by the Dead Boy Detective TV show on Netflix so I am not doing great, but hoping to make up ground this weekend.

I am seeing your posts and a lot of you are really cruising along, laser focused! Great job!

Witchy vibes for October! I will admit that I was a bit annoyed we had to have a big strong man in this lovely story of women adventuring to save one of their sisters. I loved the characters here, even MC Marra who often felt a bit juvenile for 30, but her lifestyle explained this. The animals really made the book the demon hen, bone dog and little Finder chick. What a fun cast. A quick and easy read that has .e reaching for the book each day!

#WeeklyForecast

Started the tag and had to take a break when he started talking about how racist Donald Trump's dad was to renters in the 80s. .

High hopes for all of these.

Well this is disappointing. I am bailing on The Empusium. I loved the 2 other books I have read by Tokarczuk, but I just cannot get into this one. The misogyny which is a plot device here, is just not hitting me right at the moment.

But that is okay, it is off the TBR now. I am taking The Little Friend slowly, I am really loving her writing and this story but it is a big 1. Going to squeeze in Safekeep real quick to keep on one books a week.

#TBR

Got out to support a brand new Black Woman owned bookstore in town! Grand Gestures in downtown PDX is a romance books store and their grand opening today has been a roaring success! There was a line out the door from before opening! Wishing Katherine the very best luck!

My states voters pamphlet is in the Litsy system!

As it should be because this is a book!

Happy voting America!

My TBR for joining @Bookwormjillk for #NFNovember!

I am apparently focusing on the ladies this year. I have 7 nonfiction books by women and one by an amazing South African man who has been the captain of the Springbok rugby team for the last few years.

Some of these are going ot be a bit heavy but are very important in our current environment, I am hoping to get a lot out of Jesus and John Wayne and Men Who Hate Women.

Unfortunately books like Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds and Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough have set my expectations for YA novels in verse incredibly high. While I thought this was interesting, and really enjoyed the setting of a girl cleaning and exploring out of a Jewish cemetery this just didn't blow me away in language the way it did others. I do think it helps if you know some Yiddish and Hebrew words.

Goodness this book has a lot of vitriol on Goodreads. Which might be skewing my views in it because I don't get it? The book is good. It is interesting, the MC is fine? People just hate her over there and I don't get it. Yes she is from a rich family which causes her to be blind and a bit unsympathetic I thought it was very realistic, and I didn't hate her.
It is interesting how others opinions can influence my views on a book

Coates is being interviewed by local author Omar El Akkad who is an amazingly smart and interesting person himself. I am so excited for this, hoping for nothing but to learn.

#10BeforeTheEnd

We are officially at 10 weeks until 2025!

How is everyone doing? Did you get your books selected? Did you get started? Are you loving the books and annoyed you didn't read them sooner 😂?

Hope everyone is doing well on this challenge!

LoL

#WeeklyForecast

It's a big one! I am going to see Ta-Nehisi Coats on Tuesday so I want to make a bit of a dent in his book before that talk; I really need to return this library book, lucky it is in verse so I am flying through The Ghosts of Rose Hill; still plugging away at 3 Musketeers! The Little Friend is my #10BeforeTheEnd for the week and if I have time I will read a bit of Nettle and Bone!

Jackie Kennedy with Rudolf Nureyev

There are articles today - decades after their deaths that Jackie and Rudolf had an affair. These are just rumors. We know that he did perform at the White House and knew both Jack and Jackie, and kept a long friendship with Jackie for years.

McCanns book does not even hint at an affair, only a passing friendship filled with adoration on both sides.
I personally find the affair hard to believe.