Otilla gets things done! The skull just wants to live its best life! Sweet and creepy children‘s book. The illustrations are lovely.

“This human being of yours,” Panin said angrily, “still has no clear idea of what‘s under his feet, and he‘s already snatching at the stars.”
“That‘s why he‘s a human being,” Malyshev answered. “That‘s the way he is. Look, don‘t go against the laws of nature. It doesn‘t depend on you. There‘s a law: the aspiration to find out in order to live inevitably turns into the aspiration to live in order to find out.”

Picked up my interlibrary loan today. I love Tove Jansson‘s Moomin imagery and have been wanting to read the books for years. Last week I thought, “Duh. Use your library!” This is the first book in the series, originally published in Finland in 1945. It looks beautiful and I can‘t wait to start reading!
🧡

Just finished The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Didn‘t hate it, didn‘t love it. An awfully long book to explain how teenage Coriolanus becomes President Snow, even though it seems kind of obvious as soon as you get insight into his thoughts. But there were a few parts that were interesting.

Also, here‘s a giant happy leaf person from our walk this morning.

“In 1946 Hazel Walker started playing for the All-American Red Heads, a professional traveling team. After three seasons, she broke off and started her own barnstorming squad, Hazel Walker‘s Arkansas Travelers. The team played men‘s teams with men‘s rules. Walker played until she was fifty-one years old.” From Hoop Muses by Kate Fagan, Seimone Augustus, & Sophia Chang
Photo from https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/hazel-leona-walker-669/

Went by our little library today! Looking forward to checking out Hoop Muses: An Insider‘s Guide to Pop Culture and the (Women‘s) Game.

Went by our little library today! Picked up the book that follows Black Sun, Fevered Star.

This book was fascinating & beautifully executed. I found some of the statements (regarding either her personal history or the films) to be challenging, but I appreciated her frankness & vulnerability in what she shared, even if it was not written with sensitivity or political correctness in mind. The way she draws connections between her life & various horror & exploitation films, some of which are utterly disturbing, is just my cup of tea.

I‘m enjoying the Young Wizards series by Diane Duane so far. Wish I would have found these books sooner!

I‘m thrilled that my community has a small library branch now so I‘m committing to checking out at least one physical book per month (more if possible). I returned Wisconsin Death Trip yesterday and picked up Black Sun. In the future, I may need to request books ahead of time to pick up there because they mostly have children‘s books. Any other ideas for ways I can support our new little library?

I finished Wisconsin Death Trip with a sigh of relief yesterday. It was absolutely fascinating but also so devastatingly bleak that I could only read one or two sections at a time. I‘m glad I finally got around to checking it out. It will stick with me for a while and take a bit to process.

I was wondering if the librarian at the small branch mostly geared towards children was going to look at me strangely when I picked up my inter-library loan for Wisconsin Death Trip. Actually she said “Oh I‘m sorry! I‘ve been looking through your book. It‘s so interesting!” So that‘s what I get for underestimating librarians.

I ordered this special hardcover edition of the Heartstopper Vol. 1 graphic novel from the UK. The plus side = Shipping was free. The down side = Basic shipping beat up the beautiful shiny cover a bit. Still the same great story of Charlie and Nick, which is basically a hug in a book 🧡

My partner has a dental appointment but I‘m not allowed in the waiting room due to COVID restrictions. Currently reading in the car but debating trying to find a patch of grass...

A trio of lovely books from my trip to Tattered Cover Colfax yesterday ❤️ Parable of the Talents by Octavia Butler, You Were Born For This: Astrology for Radical Self-Acceptance by Chani Nicholas, and Wonder Woman: Warbringer the Graphic Novel based on the book by Leigh Bardugo, adapted by Louise Simonson, and illustrated by the amazing Kit Seaton ❤️

“He still had some doubts about the decision he had made. But he was able to understand one thing: making a decision was only the beginning of things. When someone makes a decision, he is really diving into a strong current that will carry him to places he had never dreamed of when he first made the decision.”
-Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
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Re-reading The Alchemist with a long-distance bestie ❤️

Finished Rising Strong today. First I‘ve read by Brené Brown. Found a lot of gems and inspiration. I would be interested in reading more of her work. Overlapped a lot with the class on Conflict Resolution I‘m taking right now.
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Excited to get back into some fiction though!

“I now recognize that people learn how to treat us based on how they see us treating ourselves. If I don‘t put value on my work or my time, neither will the person I am helping. Boundaries are a function of self-respect and self-love.”

“Just because we didn‘t measure up to some standard of achievement doesn‘t mean that we don‘t possess gifts and talents that only we can bring to the world. Just because someone failed to see value in what we can create or achieve doesn‘t change its worth or ours.”

Loved this book. I noticed some reviewers having issues with the style of the writing and presentation but I believe the author addresses this in the introduction. It does feel like reading someone‘s journal and I had no problem with that. Lots to be inspired by here.

Visited #tatteredcover Colfax for #smallbusinesssaturday . I‘m finally going to read Dune, and I picked up that Sally Mann memoir hardcover for $10. Support your local bookstore ❤️❤️❤️

Luna 💙

Attended a live event for my fave podcast - Harry Potter & the Sacred Text - and met the hosts who were so lovely. We read Ch. 8: The Hearing through the theme of failure. Also got to hang at Tattered Cover bookstore so it was a wonderful night ❤️

Good morning! It‘s been a stressful few weeks and I haven‘t found much time to read... So Saturday morning snuggled up with my dog Pippi and a book has been the highlight of my week ❤️ (She doesn‘t seem thrilled about being a book-rest)

I am re-reading the Harry Potter series as I do every few years... I‘m currently on Goblet of Fire and, for the first time, the part with the dragons is really bothering me. Exploiting the protective relationship of the parent-dragons towards their offspring for sport?! AND THEN some of the eggs are even smashed?! Who coordinated this event?

Reading in a hotel lobby in Tucson... I‘m about halfway through this book. It is powerful, beautiful, haunting.

1. Purple-ish pic I snapped at a Sleater-Kinney show feat. Carrie Brownstein (of Portlandia and author of Hunger Makes Me A Modern Girl which I read a few months ago)
2. I love fruit. Give me pies, give me sweet little pies.
3. I‘m not a jewelry person... but I wear glasses everyday!
4. I work in an office and get away with jeans and a T-shirt.
5. I‘m mostly done. I need to finish state and hit send!
Happy Wednesday! #humpdaypost @MinDea

Sunday morning favorite things - Sipping some black coffee and writing a few letters before jumping back into Heart Berries and a cup of tea.

I‘m on the last two chapters of this fascinating book.

I met the author last year at a reading/signing event in Denver. She was the sweetest and so funny.

#signedbooks

1. A tea-stained Tori Amos mug
2. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
3. From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death. I would recommend - though maybe not for *everyone.*
4. Sunny, almost warm!
5. Six tattoos. I think. I lose track.
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@MinDea #humpdaypost

“Burning is an art.”