In this light hearted story, a cat is given the chance to live out more lives as a ghost among the living. He accepts the offer but realizes it isn‘t so easy after all. He gets 120 years worth, and observes many changes during that time. The funniest parts are him experiencing new inventions that are useful to humans, and trying to catch a mouse. I loved the parts where humans could sometimes see him, if only for a second!

As someone who organizes Death Cafes, I found this title intriguing. I knew it would be the perfect title, because of its honesty in hard feelings, and in the other hard facts. In the early chapters, I thought, this has a Munchausen by Proxy feel to it. I wasn‘t wrong, as the author actually said this later. This memoir is about the hell her mother put her through for things she wanted for herself, but also to maintain a high control over her.⬇️

I went to the library this morning specifically to get the two books on top, but walked out with all of these…ooops. Meanwhile, I still have 2 previous stacks to get through…TBR never ends!

Books like this should be a mandatory part of curriculum. The author is white and has written many books on Carolina history; this narrative collection contains many stories about what life was like as a slave. There are accounts of being sold, separated, beaten; Union and Confederate soldiers during the war, the moments when freedom was announced, and more. A tough but necessary read on the horrors of the slave south.

I remember when ‘mancipation came. Freedom came and was like having been to the Devil and come back.

—Sabe Rutledge
The Ark Plantation, Horry County, SC

I loved this book! Packed with cute illustrations and step by step instructions, this is a very educational guide for how to cook Thai food. There are also history and cultural traditions thrown in too. This book is great for all ages. Read it, then try to make a dish at home, or seek it out at a local Thai restaurant! Shown: favorite Thai dishes and the restaurants they came from in Seattle. The silky noodles: perfection! I LOVE Thai food.

I adore books like this. The font used for the title makes me wonder if the authors like Black Metal (I hope so)! This is a short collection of the older, darker figures of winter time. Many of them predate Christianity by thousands of years. The lore is fascinating, but if you want something more in depth, you‘ll have to look further than this book. I was familiar with most of these figures, but not all; one of my favorite illustrations ⬇️

I love the author‘s style of writing, his reflection. In this collection of notes, he speaks on the importance of writing, of how it gives words power, how speaking truth is power. Truth may be forcibly hidden but like the moon, it cannot remain hidden for long. Here, he shares his emotional and physical experiences from his time in Senegal, SC, and Palestine. We must keep writing, reading, reflecting, and acting. There is no other way⬇️

My stack of check outs from tonight. Meanwhile, I still have 2 more books from a previous stack to finish.

This is a fast paced read, with each page leaving you wanting more. The kkk are not humans, but horrible monsters hiding under the white hoods…and only those gifted with ‘the sight‘, can see them for what they really are. Meanwhile, the 1915 propaganda film ‘The Birth of a Nation‘ is used to spread more hatred, and time is running out to stop it. Hate creates the monsters in this book, but we all know it creates them in real life, too.

Another challenging text, written in high detail. The Creek were used like a tool by Andrew Jackson to expand the confederacy, clearing out the land while fighting another tribe he called the ‘Red Sticks‘. Thousands of both tribes were slaughtered…this massive death event and violent colonization paved the way for expanded slavery territory, and eventually, the Civil War. Note: the confederacy enslaved both Black and Indigenous people, and⬇️

A challenging read, written in great detail like a text from university. I am from Charleston and I never knew the Grimke story until now. The house still stands and you can tour it. But do they talk about the horrors that went on inside it? There were some very dark parts in this book, as is anything truthfully told about slavery. The Grimke family were an elite, wealthy family who owned multiple plantations and hundreds of slaves. The⬇️

Secret Book Exchange at work: revealed! L: the book I brought. It was too dark for everyone except one person, and no one ‘stole‘ it from them🤣 R: the book I ended up with (which I did steal!). These are both now on my TBR.

We had the book exchange at work today—this year, we added the library card! Thorne encapsulates vitamins/minerals/supplements, (check us out)! L: the book I brought. R: the book I got. This game is the one where it‘s a white elephant gift, and you get to ‘steal‘…

https://www.thorne.com/?gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADLUbJVlU_LV4QLFUSu4YgAwi4MtI&g...

Holiday Party: Banned Books and Drag Queens Edition! Find your community and organize!

I‘m on #147 for this year; I can see right through the bullshit of these people banning books while saying they read and care about education. 👀

Party theme: Xmas, banned books, come as your favorite book character. I came as Love Quinn, with a fresh sprig of oleander on my apron and my best whisk in pocket, and got to read 4 more banned books while there😍

You all know what I read. Is Storygraph right?

Going to a banned book holiday party today…donating banned books to local youth!

Did you know that PA had a ‘gradual‘ abolition law in 1780? It was approved by the legislature only after Quaker leaders heeded the appeals of wealthy slaveholders and merchants who feared the economic and racial consequences of immediate emancipation. It gave ‘freedom‘ to enslaved children born after 1780 but required them to serve former masters for 28 years…

Told from the perspectives of a teenage girl and her parents, this is the future, but it‘s also the past. Her parents frequently tell her stories of what it was like before, how hard they had to fight, and how that progress is still so delicate due to the continuing capitalist greed of the fossil fuel industry and its climate criminals. Life looks radically different and is not easy, but together, humanity pulls through. When violence breaks⬇️

This book was a fast read, I couldn‘t wait to watch the screen adaptation. Nella is the only Black employee at Wagner, but in the moment she smells another hair grease, everything changes, and the new ‘other Black girl‘, Hazel, is not who Nella thinks she is. The story deals with micro aggressions and white supremacy in a way you might not expect.

Progress is fragile. Revolution is a delicate bird. We think we have fixed everything, but the old world – the destroying classes – they will roll it back the instant they can. They are trying. Are you listening to me?

Thinking of @TheBookHippie while listening to this episode! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/borrowed/id1453877748?i=1000678397270

As I dive deeper into understanding American politics, books like this one are very helpful. This book does not imagine a future that may come to pass if our projected path doesn‘t shift; it shows that we are already there. It discusses the flaws in the system that led us to this point. America will fall; its ‘democracy‘ will not last. It is falling right now, as we speak. The question is, what will you do? Highly recommended read.

At this point in history, 240 years after its composition, much of the US Constitution simply does not apply to reality. Democrats and Republicans alike worship the document as a sacred text, indulging a delirious sentimentality that was the precise opposite of what the framers envisioned as the necessary basis for responsible government. There is no way to govern rationally when your foundational document is effectively dead and you worship⬇️

The problem is not who is in power, but the structures of power. The US system is an archaic mode of government totally unsuited to the realities of the 21st century. It needs reforms to its foundational systems, not just new faces.

After having read this book, I think I‘d like to read the author‘s other books. The style of writing is beautiful. This book is about remembering to slow down, why we should do it, and that it‘s okay to do it. Shown: a stunning sunrise from this past Tuesday. I had no choice but to yield, and take in the beauty before hurrying in to this daily thing we call work. Hurry to work, when there‘s this to look at? Is that even a question?!

Michelle is an inspiring woman and she gives her down to earth life advice in this memoir. Reading it, it‘s almost as if you‘re sitting in the room with her, one on one. Takeaway: we must always be each other‘s light. And when the lights go out, keep going.

We are a forgetful species, obsessed with the endless succession of tasks that hover over our days, and negligent of the grand celestial drama unfolding around us. And here I am, remembering.

Shown: the pale blue dot (us!) visible under Saturn‘s rings. When looking at the cars and icy cascades of WA through the plane window, I thought, from up here, all the nonsense going on down there seems so petty! Why do we wrap ourselves up in wars, ⬇️

More library check outs for today😍📚

This book feels like old news now, but still so important to read. The authors lay out the warnings of a democracy in crisis, and all the moves to power that authoritarians make: Trump met (and continues to meet) each one of them. They discuss how these events unfolded in other countries, America‘s political history, and why democracy is so fragile. Voting and institutions alone will not save us. Highly recommend.
⬇️

I was hoping an idiot‘s or dummies guide existed for Sphinx/Sphynx cats, as I wanted something really detailed, but there aren‘t many books out there. This is a basic guide to caring for these gorgeous, exotic cats. Where it falls short, there is Google, there are groups, and fellow Sphinx Parents!

I walked over to the library today to request a hold on Justice KBJ‘s memoir, Lovely One, and walked out with this stack. Of course I did.

This was a quick read. YA, it features three tales of families seeking safety in three different timelines, from three different countries: Nazi Germany, Communist Cuba, and the war in Syria. Immigration is a hot topic, with violent, white supremacist right wing fantasies. We all have a right to live a life free from oppression and violence. This book asks us to see the humanity and worth in our fellow human beings.

I found this book at an indie bookstore in Seattle. It has very blunt, direct language (no softness or beating around the bush), and lots of dark humor. The author talks about his patients, and what is like to care for the dying. He especially talks a lot about those who wish to die, because they are suffering so needlessly. He provided that service with compassion to many of them. Shown: if you know, you know. And you‘ll understand why I⬇️

I carried this book with me to WA as my backup book (I read one on the flight there). I‘m a hospice volunteer and I love hearing others‘ stories! The author shares how she became a hospice nurse, some life stories of her patients, and some of their more ‘other worldly‘ ones too. Yes, these moments happen all the time! When finished, I donated it to a little free library that was in a lovely garden in SeaTac.

I found this edition while scanning the shelves in an indie bookstore in Seattle. It was a quick read with a lot of familiar information and ideas—but EKR is always worth reading. I honestly can‘t get enough of books on these topics! The world needs more of them. Death Care and Death Education can be so different, if we allow it to be. Shown: snowberries at Snoqualmie Falls in WA.

I read this book on a flight to Seattle, from Charleston. I‘m a hospice volunteer, medium, and death cafe organizer—so I really connect with books like these. The author shares the memoir of her life, how she became a hospice nurse, and some of the special moments she and her patients have had, regarding ‘the other side‘. And yes, these moments really do happen! Shown: my view from the plane window, going into WA.

I‘m officially part of the sphinx reader community here on Litsy. Childless cat lady (and dog) now 2x over. Everyone, meet Nova! This little girl is a heart stopper! We‘re going to be doing so many snuggles with a book together 💙
She‘s the first and only joy I‘ve felt in days. This has been one of the hardest weeks of my life.

This has been one of the hardest weeks in my life…and I‘ve been through a lot before. I haven‘t been able to focus on anything. But I‘m trying to gather myself and get ready because I refuse to give in. Anyway…these are the books I brought back from WA! All indie bookstores.

……………………………………..

Election Night check in. How are you handling it? I‘m trying…it‘s hard. Currently watching results come in with friends.

The majestic, stunning, breath taking Snoqualmie Falls. Home and land of First Nations People, the Snoqualmie. ‘People of the moon‘.

I have only unfortunately seen a few waterfalls in my life so far, but this one is the most beautiful. I couldn‘t look away. The water always calls me. Lots of spirit energy in this area. Hallowed ground.

We were in Leavenworth today and one of its book stores had this book. Some light reading helped me identify some of these beautiful trees I wanted to know a little more about. Shown: blue spruce, European weeping birch.

Ophelia‘s Books, Fremont, WA. Cozy little indie bookstore that smells wonderful, and has 2 cats…

This bookstore has 6 cats!!! Twice Sold Tales, Seattle, WA

We‘re celebrating our anniversary in Seattle and have stopped in a few indie bookstores. This one: Charlie‘s Queer Books, in Fremont. Fantastic reading room upstairs!

Democracy, not theocracy!
In the name of humanity and all that is good, REFUSE FASCISM.

#childlesscatladiesforharris2024

I couldn‘t have read this book at a scarier time. The author creates an all too familiar story of hate and violence in the United States when a fascist is in power. Echoes of the past, and current times. Who will speak up when nationalists and fascists take control? We are days away from an extremely consequential election in America. Days away from deciding if we will continue to be a ‘democracy‘. Fascism is here. Choose wisely. We do not⬇️

I saw the photo and heard the name for years, never knowing what the story was about. After grabbing it at a local goodwill while hunting for memoir/biography books for a hospice patient, I finally know the story. At first it was hard to follow, given the writing style. This book is full of dark humor and tragedy, from the early years of the author‘s life. Death, deep poverty, Catholic weirdness. The story makes you more grateful. An⬇️

I saw this book in the new release section at my library and couldn‘t leave it on the shelf. I couldn‘t put it down as it was a fast paced and scary read. When the all too familiar face of a slave owning mistress appears in Philadelphia with a young enslaved woman, other newly freed Black women in the city must band together to not only free her, but to stop the mistress from dragging them back to her plantation in the South. Direct action⬇️