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ravenlee

ravenlee

Joined March 2018

Homeschool mom trying desperately to read grown-up stuff (at least occasionally)
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ravenlee
On Death and Dying | Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
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Another very timely moment.

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ravenlee
On Death and Dying | Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
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Well, this seems to hit the nail on the head, not so specifically about dying, but generally for the existential crisis of our times.

Leftcoastzen She was so smart 5d
29 likes1 comment
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ravenlee
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Current library borrows. The tagged was on the New Books shelf, and how could I not?

CBee Okay, I need to find the cat book asap 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 5d
kspenmoll I just bought this cat book for my husband! (edited) 5d
40 likes2 comments
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ravenlee
Untitled | Anonymous

Hey Littens - I‘m having a bad spot and need some help. My mom is declining, pretty rapidly. Well, to be specific, she‘s exceedingly healthy but one of her cancers has returned and there‘s not much to be done. I know there are some good books to help with this transition (more for me than for her) but I‘m having trouble finding them. Recommendations? Nothing religious, please, I am atheist and my mom is a recovered Catholic. Thanks for anything.

RaeLovesToRead I'm so sorry 🩷 If you're looking for a book about finding optimism and life in the face of terminal illness, the tagged was very good. It speaks of Rebellious Hope in the face of hardship and living ones best life regardless of the time we have left. The author was a remarkable woman. 4w
RaeLovesToRead If you're looking for more of a distraction, or something less specific, then I'll try and recommend you something different 💕 Sending best wishes to you and your Mum. 4w
CBee I don‘t have recs but, wanted to comment and let you know how sorry I am about your mom. Sending you light, strength, and love ♥️ 4w
See All 20 Comments
TheBookHippie I‘m sending you so much love. I only read poetry in these situations. I wish I knew a book for you. I‘m holding you close in my heart. 4w
DaveGreen7777 I‘m so sorry about your mother. 😔 Sending healing energy to you and her! 4w
Ruthiella So sorry to hear that. ❤️ (edited) 4w
SamAnne Oh condolences. Yes, what others said, poetry. if you choose to read any books about death, I'd avoid Sally Tisdale's Advice for Future Corpses. I listened to it while I was with my mother in her last days. Had it been a print book I would have hurled it out of the car window. I have enjoyed Caitlin Doughty's books. But poetry. Read poetry. 4w
Liz_M I'm sorry to hear about your mom. I haven't read it yet, but I want my elderly mom to read with me and discuss the tagged. 4w
Librarybelle I am so sorry to hear this. Thinking of you and your family at this time. 4w
dabbe I am so sorry to read this and am keeping you, your mom, and family in my thoughts. 💙🩵💙 4w
Eggbeater My heart goes out to you. I remember reading this book by a doctor with terminal lung cancer years ago, and it really touched me. I read it so long ago, and so I can't guarantee anything, but I don't think there were religious elements. I am an atheist also. 3w
Chelsea.Poole So very sorry 💔 3w
TheBookHippie Stopping in to say I‘m think of you… 2w
ravenlee Thank you @TheBookHippie I appreciate the thoughts. 2w
ravenlee Thank you, everyone. It means a lot to have this kind of support. My mom just got out of a procedure to determine if there‘s a viable treatment option, so 🤞🏻 for good news on that front. If so, she‘s scheduled for that treatment in about two weeks. If it‘s not viable…not sure. I‘m working on some of the recs, and I thank everyone who suggested anything (I haven‘t found yours, @RaeLovesToRead ). I‘m very glad for this community 💗 2w
ravenlee @Eggbeater I finished your rec a couple days ago and, wow. It left me in tears, but it was incredibly good. Thank you. @Liz_M thank you; I had stacked this one ages ago and then couldn‘t bring it to mind when I needed it. I requested it from the library, so I should get it soon. 2w
Eggbeater You're welcome. I'm glad you found it helpful. You and your mom are in my thoughts. 2w
RaeLovesToRead All my fingers and toes are crossed for your Mum ❤️ The book is by Deborah James, but maybe it's one that was mostly popular in the UK. 2w
SamAnne @ravenlee you are in my thoughts. I will give some thought to books that might be good. Am noting some of the recommendations here. (edited) 1w
21 likes20 comments
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ravenlee
Bailedbailed

And I‘m out on this one, too. I tried to overlook the emphasis on teaching “godly” character and a biblical worldview, but now there‘s garbage about avoiding “government indoctrination” about gender and “critical race theory.” Enough dog whistles, thanks.

27 likes3 comments
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ravenlee
Bailedbailed

You know the people who think homeschoolers are anti-education system, militant in their beliefs, and generally antagonistic toward all non-homeschoolers? This book perpetuates all of that. Traditional school is socialist! And conformist! And deliberately bad for most children! And the only solution is for everyone everywhere to educate their children at home, regardless of economic situation, family philosophy, ability, or desire! Hard pass.

Tamra My kids would not do well at all with homeschool! They are far too social and just having extracurricular activities wouldn‘t be enough. Plus, it would be a full-time job and I already have one of those! 😅 (edited) 4w
28 likes1 comment
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ravenlee
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I started this yesterday as my commute audiobook, and it turns out to be almost perfectly sized for it. I‘m only in the car for about 20 minutes at a time, which is about the length of most of the essays so far. I already highly recommend this one, too.
#DannyBoy for tax. He‘s not impressed with Mom working and gone for several hours every evening, so we get extra morning snuggles whenever we can.

TheBookHippie ♥️ 1mo
dabbe 🖤🐾🖤 1mo
37 likes2 comments
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ravenlee
The Saint | Tiffany Reisz

People keep asking me what I‘m reading. The past month I was traveling and preparing for an upcoming musical theater gig, planning kiddo‘s birthday party, getting her to her various obligations; I‘ve got zero bandwidth to spare. What‘s the best thing to tell people when the truth is: copious amounts of digital smut because I can‘t concentrate on anything else? 😆🤪🤣

Ruthiella Haha. 😆 Maybe just always keep the first page of some “OK for the public” book on tap and say that is what you are reading. (edited) 1mo
Prairiegirl_reading 🤣🤣 whatever works!! 1mo
Suet624 I always go with “the world is falling apart and I have no bandwidth for reading.” 1mo
See All 9 Comments
GingerAntics This is when you pop out something they definitely will not ask more about like “I‘m muddling through Voltaire in the original French. Just me and my French dictionary.” The only follow up question you‘ll even get is “why?” Say something vague and academic sounding… “intellectual edification” or “warding my brain against Alzheimer‘s” and people will leave you alone. They‘ll think you‘re vaguely nuts, but they will definitely never ask what… 1mo
GingerAntics …you‘re reading again! 1mo
dabbe @GingerAntics 🩵🎯🩵 1mo
GingerAntics @dabbe 🤣😂🤣 1mo
ravenlee @GingerAntics I love it! Maybe I should tell people I‘m wading through the complete works of Joseph Campbell and Mircea Eliade again (I dabbled in the past, with the intention of an as-yet-unrealized deep dive into both). It used to be a conversation stopper! 😆 1mo
GingerAntics @ravenlee see! That‘s the spirit! 1mo
39 likes9 comments
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ravenlee
Untitled | Unknown
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My mom sent the packages of what I couldn‘t squeeze into our suitcases when we came home. Kiddo already absconded with her stack of manga drawing books and Baby-Sitters Club graphic novels. I must have put a cookbook or four back at HPB because I thought I had more coming, but these actually fit on my shelves! This is a combo of HPB, BN, and my mom‘s shelves shopping sprees. One of them is for our homeschool library, does that make it better?

mcctrish Books make it all better regardless 1mo
Lindy What @mcctrish said! 1mo
33 likes2 comments
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ravenlee
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Am I ignoring my towering, teetering stack(s) of books at home to read this book that just came in to the library? Why, yes. Yes, I am, thank you for asking.

Susanita This is the way. 1mo
38 likes1 comment
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ravenlee
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Mehso-so

Very generously rating this a meh. The idea is good, but the execution…not so much. Poorly written from a grammar-and-punctuation standpoint, this feels like fanfic at its mediocre-est. I enjoyed the cameos (Mr. Woodhouse as a cranky plane passenger, for instance). I HATED how Frederick Wentworth‘s Navy career got explained (it isn‘t hard to find out how rank structure works, even in the US Navy). Plus, pages keep falling out of this copy. Meh.

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ravenlee
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This section ends: “Take care of yourself and remember that taking care of something else is an important part of taking care of yourself, because you are interwoven with the ten trillion things in this single garment of destiny that has been stained and torn, but is still being woven and mended and washed.”

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ravenlee
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“Who the hell wants unity with Nazis until and unless they stop being Nazis?”

Another great essay.

kspenmoll I cannot wait to get this- one day soon! 1mo
25 likes1 comment
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ravenlee
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Very similar in tone to Hope in the Dark, in how change is incremental and invisible until it‘s not, this essay in particular is really striking to me. Sometimes I miss with Solnit, but this is a home run.

Sace I want this book for this page alone. 2mo
24 likes1 comment
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ravenlee
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We are writing stories that are not markers to say, “We got here,” but compasses to say, “Press on in this direction.”

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ravenlee
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These were acquired BEFORE our trip (to be joined by the rest my mom is sending…I have a cookbook problem, for real) as library discards. I showed restraint, I really did! But I cannot be trusted at the freebie cart. Now to squeeze them into my already-groaning cookbooks bookcase.

kspenmoll More books is always a plus! 2mo
Tamra 👏🏾 No such thing as a cookbook “problem” 2mo
TheBookHippie I adore the top book. 2mo
TheBookHippie @Tamra exactly! 2mo
30 likes4 comments
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ravenlee
Step-By-Step Manga | Gecko Keck
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Part 2 of kiddo‘s haul: she‘s recently become obsessed with manga/anime/kawaii/chibi art styles, so when she found the bottom five at Half Price Books I wasn‘t going to say no. Even when we found many (many) more at B&N, too. I‘m a sucker, that‘s no secret. The rest are en route thanks to Gramma because our suitcases were maxed out.

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ravenlee
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Part 1 of kiddo‘s haul: the tagged has been borrowed from the library at least a dozen times, the bottom two finish the series, the Daughter books is her cousin‘s absolute favorite series (she carries them around and calls them her children) and a birthday present for my kiddo, and the Calin just because (and author‘s first name is kiddo‘s first name so if that‘s ever a bingo square again she‘s set).

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ravenlee
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My most recent Haymarket subscription book. I wasn‘t really excited about any this month, but this is a beautiful cover.

Kiddo and I just got back from 16 days at Gramma‘s house (kiddo did a ballet intensive and we had some sorely-needed family time). We may have gone crazy with the book shopping. Photo deluge incoming (some are being shipped, so this will last a while).

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ravenlee
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review
ravenlee
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Pickpick

Just as enjoyable as all the others! Full of book references and fun puzzles, as usual.

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ravenlee
Along Came Amor | Alexis Daria
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#bookmail from the last few days, as preorders trickled in. I‘m traveling next week and considering taking one or both of these along. Might need to do a series reread for the tagged, though, because I don‘t remember the first two primas stories, so maybe that will wait for later this summer. Oh, the decisions!

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ravenlee
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Kiddo has been begging to go to the bookstore, and I finally gave in. The deal: less than ten minutes, we‘re only buying her one book (Misty Copeland‘s new book, Letters to Misty), and minimal browsing. Then I saw this one. Well, one is minimal, right? And it was for me…

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ravenlee
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I do so appreciate a good Elon dig.

dabbe 🤣🎯🤣 2mo
28 likes1 comment
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ravenlee

I recently subscribed to SK‘s Substack, and it turns out I have a few gift subscriptions. It‘s a one-month subscription. Anyone interested? I have five to offer, so I‘ll set a deadline of noon tomorrow (1200 CT on 30 May). If more than five people are interested I‘ll do a drawing. Simply comment below if you‘re interested, and I‘ll let you know if you‘re a winner! Feel free to repost, but only comments on this post will count.

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ravenlee
Untitled | Untitled
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Thanks for the tag @Eggs
1 - I actually like my name, though I went through a period of disliking it (more specifically being OVER Annie) and trying to go by AC around sixth grade. But now I‘m good with Anne. Maybe I should have tried Cordelia…😜
2 - Danny; Boris and Natasha; Laddy Buck (not sure I named that one); Paula (who was in fact Apollo and never forgave me)
3 - Mercedes Athena Thompson Hauptman; Jordan from Real Genius

Tag if you wanna!

Eggs Thanks for playing 🥳 I love Boris/Natasha❣️ 2mo
27 likes2 comments
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ravenlee
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Hope in this sense is just the recognition that…the future is not (as it is so often spoken of) a place that already exists, toward which we are trudging, but a place that we are creating with what we do and how we do it (or don‘t) in the present.

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ravenlee
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Starting this one today.

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ravenlee
The Outsiders | SE Hinton
Pickpick

Okay, I get it now. I never had anyone assign this, so I just never got around to it. Now I feel all sorts of wrecked. What an incredible piece of writing - and SE Hinton was 15 when she started it?! Okay, brb, need to go track down her other work.

TheBookHippie It is all good. ♥️ 3mo
dabbe Love all of her books. 💜 3mo
24 likes2 comments
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ravenlee
Abundance | Derek Thompson, Ezra Klein
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Pickpick

I wasn‘t sure at first, but this was a very interesting and thought-provoking read. Why is there such scarcity in America? In housing, clean energy, and tech development (not innovation, but the follow-up), Klein and Thompson posit that yesterday‘s policies hinder today‘s and tomorrow‘s progress. I‘d like to see some more concrete examples of how to solve these problems, especially at a grassroots level, but it‘s worth a read regardless.

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ravenlee
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Pickpick

I finished this on audio and…holy crap, Sarah Kendzior is so spot-on about everything. Her predictions from Trump‘s first term have all come true, everything she was worried about has come to pass. We should call her Cassandra. I need to find everything she‘s ever written now, and you need to read this book! I subscribed to her Substack a few months ago, and I just upgraded to paid when I finished this. Seriously, read it.

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ravenlee
Pickpick

This book is what I wanted Angela Garbes‘ work to be: personal yet with research and numbers to back up the claim that modern motherhood is unsustainable. While a lot of the information is familiar, and there are no quick fixes offered here, Grose‘s work gives a solid foundation to the general unease and overwhelm so many of us feel. If you‘re interested in the economic value of caretakers, this one‘s a good piece.

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ravenlee
Dating and Dragons | Kristy Boyce
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Pickpick

I didn‘t finish it in one day, but I did wrap it up this morning over tea. Just as good as the first, there‘s no connection between them (except a blink-and-you‘ll-miss-it cameo by an unnamed Riley). Quinn has baggage to deal with when she joins Logan‘s D&D group at her new school, and their brewing attraction could scuttle the whole game. Green flags abound in these stories! Just the pick-me-up I needed when the world is terrible.

32 likes2 stack adds
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ravenlee
Dungeons and Drama | Kristy Boyce
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Pickpick

I read this entire book in one day. It was fun, low stakes but engaging, I loved the characters, and there was just enough teen angst to make it feel real. I‘m glad to have the next one ready to go. And I‘ve already talked it up to a friend who caught me reading it while kiddo danced.

41 likes1 stack add
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ravenlee
Dungeons and Drama | Kristy Boyce
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🥰 My first paying gig as a musician was with the Columbus Junior Theater, performing A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, the summer between sophomore and junior years of high school. The next year, CJT became Columbus Children‘s Theater, and that summer I played for their production of The Mystery of Edwin Drood. I LOVED playing for CJT/CCT!

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ravenlee
Panpan

I finished this a week or two ago, and I‘ve already forgotten most of it. The first section was promising, but other writers have trod the same territory and done it better. I don‘t remember most of part two, and the self-help part three was boring and useless (yes, we should all learn to focus on breathing, that‘s revolutionary, thanks). I‘m sorry I wasted money, time, and shelf space on this one.

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ravenlee
Pickpick

A very good essay collection, with a combination of travel stories, behind-the-scenes of the Rick Steves machine, memoir, cultural studies, and humor. It‘s not a travel guide, but more of a travel guide‘s raison d‘être. If you like the writing style of the Rick Steves guidebooks, you‘ll probably enjoy Hewitt‘s writing here. Recommended. And honestly, I liked this MUCH more than the RS travel writing book from a few years ago.

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ravenlee
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Pickpick

Low pick. The story is important and worth telling, though I agree with other reviews that the way it‘s told could be better. It‘s repetitive in many places, and I feel like I wouldn‘t necessarily like Jones if I knew her in person. She makes some leaps of logic, and has expectations of people that sometimes exceed reality (and is then disappointed in them). But, what she‘s been through and how she fought back are worth sharing. 👇🏻

ravenlee Her appeal was denied by the first appellate court, but in December 2024 the Louisiana Supreme Court approved her appeal of that decision and sent it back to the appellate court for reconsideration. The suit is still active, and I‘ll keep an eye on it. Overall, the big-picture parts of this book are worth reading, but the personal parts maybe less so. 3mo
32 likes1 comment
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ravenlee
Bailedbailed

I couldn‘t connect with this on audio. I think because multiple essays/authors share readers, and it messed with my mind. I may try again in print sometime, but for now it‘s a DNF.

22 likes1 comment
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ravenlee
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Pickpick

I love this series! I sat down last night and read the entire thing. Some serious revelations in this one! Now I have to wait for October when the final volume comes out, but then I can reread the entire series.

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ravenlee
Dungeons and Drama | Kristy Boyce
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And hubby picked up my library #bookhaul today, too 🤷🏻‍♀️ I think I have a problem (actually, I have two: not enough time to read and not enough bookshelves)

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ravenlee
Untitled | Unknown
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Did I need to order 20 new books from Book Outlet? Well, no, not really. Did I cross my fingers that this would arrive while hubby is at work so I don‘t have to explain why I‘ve received something like six book deliveries in the past week or so? Well, yes, of course. And then I tried to find places for them so they‘re accessible but not OBVIOUSLY new. Don‘t mind me being a little crazy over here. #bookmail is the best mail.

TheBookHippie 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 3mo
catiewithac I see you and support you! 🤓 3mo
Birdsong28 Totally understand this. I do it myself 😂📚📖 3mo
Reggie Lol 3mo
dabbe 🎯🩵🎯 3mo
36 likes5 comments
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ravenlee
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“…it is about dumbing down society for a more easily les population, and it is about using libraries for political gain.”

This, all of this.

kspenmoll 🎯 3mo
25 likes1 comment
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ravenlee
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#bookmail is the best mail!

kspenmoll I just ordered Solnit‘s new book too! 3mo
30 likes1 comment
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ravenlee
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Today‘s #bookmail from BN (bottom left) and Bookshop.org for the rest. I may have had to sneak the boxes into the house so hubby didn‘t see them, as this may have been the third and fourth book packages this week… The bottom two are for kiddo, and the top two (the skinny ones) are mine.

I may also have several preorders filtering in over the rest of the year. And a sizable order from Book Outlet shipping soon. I really shouldn‘t be unsupervised.

Kenyazero looks like an excellent selection! 🤩 3mo
35 likes1 comment
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ravenlee
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Continuing my political/current events self-education with a slight pivot. Starting this one while hubby and kiddo battle it out on the chess board.

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ravenlee
Pickpick

This book was amazing! You have to read it. Ressa is a Philippine American dual citizen, journalist, and Nobel Peace Prize winner. Her story is incredible. She describes her work to preserve the integrity of journalism and democracy in the Philippines, the global south, and the world. What she‘s been through under Duterte and his successor, her fight against Facebook/social media misinformation…it‘s all so relevant. Just take my word and read it.

TheBookHippie Will do! 3mo
29 likes3 stack adds1 comment
review
ravenlee
Antidemocracy in America: Truth, Power, and the Republic at Risk | Eric Klinenberg, Sharon Marcus, Caitlin Zaloom
Mehso-so

Like many compilations, this is a mixed bag. It suffers from being already outdated, although many of the contributors‘ predictions were spot-on for this disastrous second term. I found a lot to be rambling and unhelpful. The highlight was the penultimate essay, “The Right Type of Citizenship” by Jefferson Cowie. It focuses on the Left needing a solid action plan and vision to combat the Right‘s American exceptionalism and 👇🏻

ravenlee white nationalistic bluster. Overall, I give this collection about a C. Helpful if you‘ve got the time and energy, but easily skippable in favor of more up-to-date work. 3mo
24 likes1 comment
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ravenlee
What the Hex | Alexis Daria
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Recent #bookmail - two kinda different vibes here…

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ravenlee
Math Without Numbers | Milo Beckman
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Starting this while kiddo has her violin lesson. This is Mr. Weasley, who tolerates my presence in his home once a week.

dabbe 🖤🐾🖤 3mo
Ruthiella 😻😻😻 3mo
32 likes2 comments