Low pick. It is hard when people pour so much of themselves into a book. This is a good introduction for people who are new to body positivity, eating disorders, and queer and disabled body talk. As someone who is familiar with the issues there wasn't much new for me here. A lot of the book was Instagram quippy talks.
I don't recommend the audio. There are a lot of quotes she reads from I think her IG communityand it started to be confusing.

Okay July!

My focus is going to be on clearing some of my physical TBR

I am excited to reread Jane Eyre (which I remember not liking) so that I can read Wide Sargasso Sea - If anyone wants to join me in this reading let me know!

Then getting to the summer vibe books - Instruction for a Heatwave, Hughes Simple, Sky Daddy all feel very summer reading to me.

@thearomaofbooks

End of the month book organization has begun with a Calamity helper.

#weeklyforecast

I have the tagged as my audiobook this week. Need to finish up Well of Loneliness, then will tackle Little Rot and Just By Looking at Him. Will start the chunky Hollinghurst with no hope to finish by EOM.

I cannot believe we are on the last full week of #Pride month!

Sunday. Taking a beat before meeting up with friends to watch Materialists and then eat our body weight in sushi.

Today is a dark day for the country, trying to not spiral.

This is so, so good and the library copy was due back with a couple of people waiting so I caved and just bought a copy, very lucky to have found a used one at my local store!

A gorgeous and sad novel. This is my first Isherwood but will not be my last. I thought George was a sympathetic and complex character and in his grief we can see limits to human emotions that are not so often pondered on in this beautiful but tragic way. I really enjoyed this.
Also this was dedicated to Gore Vidal and I had not known about their relationship - mentorship where they write letters to each other for 40 years until Isherwoods death

I read the book yesterday and decided I needed to see the movie immediately after. And I am so glad I did. What a sad and gorgeous story.

The cast of the movie is perfect. The house. Goodness the House!! Beautiful. There are a few changes they made that I am not too sure about, but definitely made things more dramatic.

Normally I find age gap stories super sketchy, but Isherwood and the producers did things in a way that didn't feel creepy

"You're neither unnatural, nor abominable, nor mad; you're as much a part of what people call nature as anyone else; only you're unexplained as yet--you've not got your niche in creation. But some day that will come, and meanwhile don't shrink from yourself, but face yourself calmly and bravely. Have courage; do the best you can with your burden. But above all be honourable."

Continuing my Pride book recommendations, today is Juneteenth (the day the Black folks of the US celebrate the end of slavery). So here are 6 books I feel are proper recommendations for the collision of these two celebrations

If you have not read The Prophets yet, get on it. Rarely has a book made me gasp out loud, this one did it and I fell utterly in love with Isaiah was Samuel. Your heart will break, but in really important ways.

3 favorites
Slaughterhouse Five (love it so much I got this tattoo)
Song of Solomon
Interview with the Vampire

I have read most of Ian McEwans books and Cement Garden is his worst by miles and miles.

#TLT @dabbe

Glad I am done looking at this cover.
This is my second McQuiston. I find her characters annoying. I thought I liked Kit but then he quickly got on my nerves when we switched POVs. I guess I dislike books where I cannot really see why one character likes the other. Theo was mostly an ass. Everything revolves around mis or no communication.
Too much sex to be considered YA but not enough maturity for olders. 20 somethings might like it

Starting this ARC with a US release date of 22 July

A woman goes to dinner with her husband, and finds out he is having an affair. Soon after she is told she has a tumor. She names the tumor Maggie - her husband's mistress' name.

From GR: "she embarks on a journey of grief, healing, and reclamation."

It is supposed to have a lot of Chinese mythology (told by narrator to the narrators children)

I love the edges but goodness do I hate this ugly cover. Every time I reach for the book I think about how much I dislike the cover 😂

This is my second McQuiston and I feel like they just might not be for me. Though I did like the movie version of RW&RB I really didn't like the book, so if their stuff is ever adapted again I would try that medium.

#weeklyforecast

Serious consideration going on here by Serene.

Main focus is on the lesbian classic Well of Loneliness, my monthly chunky read.
Then: The Pairing, A Single Man, and my car/bedside Kobo read is the ARC Maggie: or, A Man And A Woman Walk Into A Bar

Listen to this mostly on a long drive this weekend. A haunting and original books. Narrator Chris has lost her wife Bo when Bo gives birth to their baby. Unfortunately in this timeline when you harm someone the government gives you an extra shadow as warning to others, so the baby gets one within minutes of being born. Unfortunately for The Kid Chris also has an extra shadow. What are they going to do without Bo?
Very well written with many 👇

We are just about half way into the year!

How are your book goals looking?

Are there any goals you are changing or bailing on?

How are you feeling about your 2025 reading?

We are halfway through the year. How did that happen?

Looking at the goals I set for myself at the beginning of the year, I am doing pretty good! I am almost done with my book count goal (86/100) and am holding steady on my read count (57% done). I am keeping up on reading non-US books (currently at 38% US)
I have these books I am trying to prioritize this year, and I hit the half way mark recently.

It has been a long time since a book has kept me up past my bedtime, but this YA romance did it.
I adore Henry and his fun family, and though I thought Len a bit of an ass all the way through I also felt it was realistic.
The pacing on this was great and the side characters added to the story and the vibe. I do wish the third act was a bit more flushed out. There were words that should have been said.
4.25/5⭐

This was a bit of a disappointment. I have read Kann before and really like her book Romantic Agenda, but this time around I was just annoyed with most of the characters. Our MC felt super juvenile - she is in college but I am reading an actual YA of boys set in HS and they are acting more mature than this.
I thought everyone around her was awful including her best friends & love interest which is always a bummer
Overall this just wasn't for me.

Friday #Pride book recs!

Ace and Intersex books are not very common. Here are three each I recommend.

Ace = A-sexual this is such a scale! Angela Chen's nonfiction book Ace helped me so much to understand that range. I really recommend it.

**I originally added a book that after more research (I read it years ago before I knew better) appears to be harmful. This is an updated graphic.

At a party: "Why did I agree to this? There aren't even any cats."

Starting this one tonight.

Carrie Fisher was his BFF and sometimes roommate. Joan Didion was his aunt. He is an actor, directed one of my favorite comfort movies (Practical Magic) and his family is incredibly tragic. Mostly swirling around his sister's murder in 1982 Dunne's book tells the complex story of growing up in a Hollywood family. It is a bit crude but also funny & heartfelt. I didn't recognize his name when the book came out but his stories here are memorable

3 favorites:
Cat's Cradle
Stranger in a Strange Land
The Bell Jar

3 on my TBR:
Once and Future King
Wide Sargasso Sea
Master and Margarita

3 books turned movie/show I liked
Breakfast at Tiffany's 😍
Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
Nurse Ratched (spin off of One Flew Over The Cuckcoo's Nest)

@dabbe #TLT

I am thinking about this book, and what our conversation on Saturday will look like, and there is an NPR interview with Kitamura that is super interesting. She talks about how she wants the 2 halves of the story to sit along side each other, and the idea of this image comes up.

Is it a rabbit or a duck?

NPR article here: https://www.npr.org/2025/04/16/nx-s1-5243214/katie-kitamura-says-a-solution-is-n...

Okay my poetry fans!

My 11 year old niece is obsessed with Emily Dickinson. She loves how "soft" her words are (her description) I am on the hunt for other - age appropriate - similar poets. I keep picking up and putting back things when I see a lot of violence (or randomly the word clitoris in a sentence it has no business be in? Is that an adjective now??)
All suggestions appreciated! ❤️

#allhailthebail
This is my #bookspin and I am bailing. But I only made it 20 pages in so not marking it as traditional review bail, just realized this language is not for me. It is super intense Irish and 20 pages in I haven't understood anything. That is totally on me. I am sure my annoyance of the McConaghy book earlier today isn't helping. I just want a book I can sink right into that makes sense.

#WeeklyForecast

I have started the tagged. So far it is great, recommend for people who find Hollywood and Joan Didion fascinating. Lots of famous cameos but the root of the story is the Dunne family of 5.

Well of Loneliness is chunky I need to get cracking on
I grabbed The Pairing on audio for my daily walks
Thunder Song needs to go back to the library next weekend
Henry Hamlet's Heart looks like a quick read and is my #doublespin

3⭐ I am an outlier on this author. This is my third book of hers, and I am only reading it for #CampLitsy25. I could have skipped it and saved 2 days of reading...
I just don't understand. I find the characters, their motives and actions, utterly silly and unbelievable. I think that the language she uses is good but the way others gush about it I just don't feel the same (there is nothing I want to take a highlighter to).
👇

#sumdayfunday @BookmarkTavern
The list is so long.
James Baldwin, always more Baldwin.

Ocean Vuong (Tagged)

I would like to start reading Alan Hollinghurst (his books are huge so intimidating)

My main focus this year though is Patricia Highsmith, I am having a lot of fun with her this year.

At a cafe reading #CampLitsy25 book 2 which is due back tomorrow thinking about our conversation earlier today about if a character felt judged by the waiter as I overhear a conversation by 2 women that started "Well when my dad left my mom for your mom...." ?. I am a nosy cafe person!

Low pick
This is my first Henry, I for sure should not have read it directly after Giovanni's Room. I spent the first bit super annoyed at the rich white people. Then scared a coworker when I tossed my headphones off when a characters "nipples pinched" when she saw someone ?. The story grew on me until the end then I was annoyed again. I guess I see what others see, it just really isn't for me. I have one more of her books in my office...

Happy Pride Month! Last weekend I did classic, classics of Pride - which because they are older skewed very male. This weekend I want to do some ladies with Modern Classics (published after 1980)
All of these are FANTASTIC and worth the read.
Stone Butch Blues was written by a trans author it is novel about a lesbian that is heartfelt, sad, and for many an informative look at what being Butch in the 50-60s was like. Please check TW
5 ⭐

#14books14weeks

I have somehow lost track if we are still on week one or if we are in week 2? Either way I have finished 3 books! The tagged has been my favorite.

Up next Anne of Green Gables.

Book mail!

Disappoint Me and Death of the Author from Aardvark book box

Box from Blackwells with Ocean Vuong Emperor of Gladness and Baldwin's Just Above My Head

Pango box contained John Lewis' Across That Bridge and 2 more Baldwin's Go Tell It On The Mountain and Going To Meet The Man

🏳️‍⚧️
4⭐

This was a bit predictable, things that felt like the author were setting up to be a twist too early and easily identified. But overall I enjoyed this. There was some depth - but Charles and James having family drama and a sense of not being seen. I enjoyed the writing and really liked the ending.

#TLT @dabbe

Favorites
Baldwin (Giovanni & Go Tell It)
Invisible Man (should be required reading)
Talented Mr Ripley

Some I own but have yet to read:
Zorba
Cry Beloved Country
Dr Zhivago

"One day I'll weep for this. One of these days I'll start to cry."

5⭐

This is maybe my 4th time reading this and (my memory is not good) each time I am in awe of Baldwin's language and how he weaves the story of Giovanni, Jacques, Guillaume, Hella and David.

This might be my perfect book. I love the heart, the tragedy, the setting is visceral and the characters are incredibly realistic.

"'Somebody," said Jacques, "your father or mine, should have told us that not many people have ever died of love. But multitudes have perished, and are perishing every hour--and in the oddest places!--for the lack of it."

#Baldwin

Out according to GR on Aug 5, 2025

I thought this was cute and original. A group of robots fresh off a war that breaks California from the US start a noodle restaurant. Some are passionate about the noodles some just need to make their servitude payments. While some awful topics are touched upon (war, robot slavery, robot phobia) the book stays mostly light hearted as the motley crew try to figure out how to run a biz & who is review bombing

I fear this book is the victim of my expectations based off Murderbot which I absolutely adore. Wells' use of world building, her use of gender and fluidity is all done so well. But this felt a bit too slow and I found myself really struggling to pay attention which then caused me to lose track of who everyone was (it felt like a lot of characters)

Overall this was just okay for me.

Well. This was just lovely. I wish it had a different cover, I think I would have picked it up sooner.
The Berry's and The Marsh's couple of years living next door to each other their lives so intertwined and yet not at all. This book is about the power of a chosen family. I loved how each POV reveals a different look at all of their lives and the slow unraveling of how everyone got to where they are. I really loved the language Elliott uses.

Here we go!!

Happy June!
Happy Pride!

#Bookspin
#BookspinBingo
@TheAromaofBooks

#Bookspin = At swim, two boys

#DoubleSpin = Henry Hamlet's Heart

So excited! They both look excellent in different ways and have been on my bookcase for over a year

@TheAromaofBooks

I am almost finished with the tagged. That and WDS need to go back to the library next weekend so those are priorities - after Giovanni's Room

Happy Place I grabbed on audio and is part of my #25in25 & #14in14 so want to ✅ that off. It will be my first Henry.

Marsha - this looks incredible and I am looking forward to it, trying to read one NF a week this Pride

And then A Gentleman's Gentleman for pure fun!

It's PRIDE month!!

Here are 5 classic books I think everyone should read at least once.

Chorus of Witches was recently found and re-published. It is the first known book about Drag Queens. Written in 1959 by British author Paul Buckland, it is set against the backdrop of a traveling drag show, and a set of parents that don't know what their son is getting up to.
The secondary characters banter and behind the scenes scenes are the best!

I am so excited Aardvark has Nicola Dinan's new book!! I was able to read an ARC of it, and absolutely loved it. She is fast becoming an auto buy author of mine.

Also thrilled that Nnedi Okorafor's book is still in stock so that I can grab it for #CampLitsy25

#AardvarkBookBox

I read my #doublespin but didn't get to my #bookspin... will get to it this summer though. I am determined.

5 Bingos!

#Bookspinbingo @thearomaofbooks

May reading (I have about 60 pages left of Flamingo so I am counting it for May)

It was a lot of good not amazing books.

4.5 ⭐
By The Fire We Carry

4 ⭐
A House For Miss Pauline
Hula
Conversations w/Friends
Flamingo

3.75 ⭐
A Master of Djinn
Deep Water
I Think They Love You
Some Desperate Glory

3.5 ⭐
A Leopard-Skin Hat
Colored Television
The Dark Maestro
The Phantom of the Opera
The Chromatic Fantasy

3 ⭐
Crazy Rich Asians
By the Book

Oh. Oh no .. 😂.