Edmund White died on Tuesday. I first read The Beautiful Room is Empty in college. It was profoundly moving, and I learned a great deal from it. Recently I've been looking forward to reading his recently published “sex memoir.“ He was a great writer and an icon for many.
#queerbc
The Guardian had a beautiful piece to remember him:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/jun/04/edmund-white-remembered-colm-toibi...
pickWow. Just... Wow. This book was dark, unsettling, and dystopian. But it was also fascinating, philosophical, and deeply human. This is among the best speculative fiction I have ever read.
pickThis is my favorite book so far this year. There aren't enough characters to expound on my love, but here's a few highlights:
💛 This has been compared to early Didion and Patti Smith (and I would add Erica Jong), and given the late 1970s setting, this appears deliberate & brilliant.
💛 Kushner plays with pacing to accentuate themes of speed and time. It's fascinating.
💛 There were jaw-droppingly exquisite passages that I had to stop & re-read.
pickSmythe portrays the behavior of Greek gods and goddesses in exactly the way I imagined when I first learned about them. This was a refreshing #palettecleanser.
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To be clear: There aren't wildfires near me. But the smoke from Canada is causing some beautiful sunsets and moonscapes. It's strange how something so destructive can also cause such beauty.
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Another catch-up post. The rest got a little dark, so I'll keep those in my journal. 🤣😉
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8/100 😭 😭 😂 😂
I don't think Peter Boxall and I share many literary pursuits, though *some* of the ones I haven't read are on #mounttbr
💙All Quiet on the Western Front was a “Whoa“ book for me.
💙Just remembering Pippi Longstocking gives me so much joy. I should re-read.
💙I do appreciate that these lists venture outside the usual canon.
#tlt #threelistthursday @dabbe
Had a long weekend with my niece (and sister and brother-in-law). I'll have to do some catch-up posts!
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This is too funny. I thought that the 1700s would be my worst showing, and my scores would improve by the 1900s. But the 1700s were my best score, and they've gotten progressively worse. If I'm 100% honest, I don't know about some of these titles. 🫠 My only thought besides shame after this quiz is that I would like to read more Edith Wharton and Virginia Woolf. 😉😏😂
#tlt #threelistthursday @dabbe
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💙Chinese. The logograms in their writing system are fascinating.
💙💙I haven't read The Unknown Soldier by Väinö Linna in English or in Finnish. It's hard to find it in translation (it's out of print), and my Finnish is nowhere near good enough! But I long for the day that I can do it, and I'm back to practicing my Finnish!
#two4tuesday @thespineview
so-soThis one didn't quite do it for me. I like the structure of the concrete poetry, as well as some of the writing. But overall, it had an after-school special vibe that I couldn't connect with.
#withthebanned @jadams89
pickThis was a Gatsby-esque novel set in the 1980s. Nick, a gay man, moves into the home of a conservative member of parliament and his family. This was beautifully written with a wry humor. It touches on the Aids crisis, politics, and the nature of beauty, and exposes much of the hypocrisy of the era. There was a bit in the middle that felt overlong and sluggish, otherwise a great, insightful read.
#queerbc @puddlejumper
Had a busy weekend, so here's another catch-up post!
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Catch-up post - I had a 2-day migraine. 😵💫
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This one usually flies under the radar, but it's excellent. It was a #pulitzerwinner in 1935 and Johnson is the youngest person to win for fiction at 24. Highly recommend.
#bibliophile
@Eggs @alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
A rough haiku today, because sometimes I like to break the rules. 😏
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💙 Tuck Everlasting was a book that really stuck with me as a kid. I loved the plot. The book made me think. I still re-read this book and love it every time.
💙 There are parts of Marigold from Magic for Marigold that remind me of myself as a child.
💙 I most recently finished The Line of Beauty. 3.75 stars It started and ended strong, but was a bit of a slog in the middle.
#wondrouswednesday @eggs
My sister and I are meeting up in Green Bay, Wisconsin at the end of the month, and I'm looking for recommendations! Especially any indie bookstores I should visit! I'm hoping there's some littens here that are in the know. 🥰
5/12/25
Anxiety decided to pay a visit today for no reason whatsoever. 🙄
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5/9, 5/10, 5/11/25
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I chose the poetry class over the lit class for this era in college. 🤣 Random thoughts:
💚 I was one of the only people in my class who loved Candide when we read it in high school. This still baffles me.
🩵 I saw the netflix series based on House of Usher, and it was so strange. I really want to read the story now.
💙 I hadn't heard of A Dream of Red Mansions before today, and now it's on my tbr.
#tlt #threelistthursday @dabbe
Today's #poetrymatters prompt inspired yet another haiku. 🤣
#weed #haikuhive
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"Inspired" by work this week. ?
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