Hm. The art in this graphic novel is cute, and I liked the overall theme. I kind of wished for more dialogue though. There are pages and pages of just art, and I think it could have been cut down some and conveyed the same message. Meh.

Why isn‘t this book more popular? Yes it is from a small publishing house, but wow, what a deep, thoughtful, emotional story.

It‘s about a family in Philadelphia who are changed forever by a tragic incident. Ava is 11, wild and artsy and her free spirit is admired by most of her community. Then we meet her again in her 30‘s and you‘d never know she‘d ever been happy or had any dreams.

Such beautiful writing, gave me all the feelings.

My wrap up for September. A bunch of 4 or 5 star reads this month!
My favorites: Winter‘s Orbit, Any Other Family, Unnatural Magic, The Kaiju Preservation Society, and Dear Justyce.

It‘s October, time to pull out our Grady Hendrix books for #AuthorAMonth. What are you planning to read?

#AuthorAMonth is a no-pressure, no-commitment Litsy challenge. The goal is to celebrate the works of a particular author each month. Authors were chosen through polls by Litsy participants. Read as many as you like, skip months when needed, it's entirely up to you!

There will be some prizes sent at the end of the year: ⬇️

I had fun putting together this collage of my #bookspin and #doublespin books for the year so far. Just 2 days until we know what we read in October!

Inspired by @MaleficentBookDragon 😊

What an excellent book about chosen family, parenting, adoption and relationships.

The beginning was confusing because there are a lot of characters, but once I was clear on which parents went with which children I fell in love with this family.

It‘s about 4 siblings adopted by 3 parent sets, and the way the adoptive and birth parents structure their lives so that the kids keep their sibling relationships. Amazing book. 👍👍

I loved this. There are two storylines, and I was a little lost right at the beginning, but it wasn‘t long before I was all in. Trolls, humans, magicians, murders, a mystery, and possible romance. Really great.

It‘s here! Happy Publication Day! I can‘t wait to dig into this later this week. 🙂 The cliffhanger in The Last Graduate was a doozy.

I am sad the spine isn‘t gold like the first two books. Strange design choice.

Scalzi describes this book well in his author‘s note at the end- it‘s like a pop song, fun to sing along to, kind of predictable, might get stuck in your head a little.

It‘s a fun, amusing, lighter sci-fi read. Pretty much what the title suggests. I enjoyed it a lot, it was just what I was looking to spend my weekend with.

With my little monster Venkman.

I pulled my October #Bookspin list today with a theme of Spooky/Creepy/Fall Colors. Appropriately enough Black Cat Venkman wanted to pose on top. Lol.

The ones that might be tough to read titles on are
5- The Little Friend by Donna Tartt
16- The Island of Dr Moreau by HG Wells
19- The Enchanted by Rene Denfeld

Anyone who is familiar with this series won‘t find it surprising that Mma Romatswe has a hard time actually getting work off her mind when she goes on holiday.

I love that everywhere she goes she wants to help the people she encounters, and the overall positive outlook of these characters.

I always find myself craving tea and cake while I read though. Wonder why 😘🍰☕️.

Sometimes I get sneaky and put a book really close to her while she‘s sleeping. 😆

#NunsInSpace part 2 🙂. I thought this was a great follow up to Sisters of the Vast Black. The Sisters pick up two new passengers at a space station, one a novitiate and the other the blood sister of one of the Sisters.

2 things I love- discovery of a herd of wild live ships and seeing the beginning of an uprising.

I‘ve had this on my shelves for a year or more, cover showing because it‘s just a gorgeous shot. Finally got around to reading it.

There are terrific photos of European birds, as the authors and photographer are Swedish, and most birds have an accompanying scientific fact laden essay. My favorite parts were the anecdotal bits from birders familiar with each species. Little stories about each bird‘s habits or personalities. ⬇️

Rainbow Rowell writes in her author‘s note of wanting to try her own version of a “chosen one” fantasy. This to me definitely felt like it was made of bits of Harry Potter and Twilight, but with song lyrics and nursery rhymes as spells and more humor.

I liked it more than I expected to, and appreciate that though it‘s first in a trilogy, it works as a stand alone.

It‘s my Sept #doublespin.

Sietje is pouting because we haven‘t walked yet. 🦮

Here we are halfway through September already #AuthorAMonth readers. I hope you‘re enjoying your books by Nic Stone. I have been!

Reminder that October‘s author is Grady Hendrix in case you need to place library holds or locate him on your shelves. 🙂📚

Ooooo, this was fun! Old secret families who eat books as sustenance, but also absorb the knowledge of the pages they eat. There‘s a gene mutation that results in a kind-of vampire who craves human brains, called mind-eaters, and eating someone‘s mind results in absorbing their knowledge and life experience.

A fantasy/thriller/horror story that‘s mostly about parenthood and chosen family. I loved it!

Thank you Book People for urging me to buy this book with your adorable recommendations shelf.

A political marriage between 2 men from different planets, what could go wrong?

I found the beginning a little slow, but I was still enjoying it. At about 200 pages things picked up and I charged through the second half in one day. I love these characters and would definitely read a sequel!

This was my #bookspin for September. 📚💜🪐

Well, I made it about halfway through these short stories. The writing is very good, it flows well and is compelling. The subject matter is too much for me right now. I‘ve never tagged so many content warnings on StoryGraph before. I don‘t generally mind bleak stories, and if there had been any bright spots in the collection I‘d have kept reading, but every story here is packed with trauma. Frankly depressing.

#weeklyforecast @Cinfhen

I‘m enjoying both of my current reads and I‘ve enjoyed both of these upcoming author‘s other books so I‘m looking forward to a great reading week. 📚

Samantha Allen and her friend Billy travel across the country to cities and towns not really known for having a LGBTQ scene, to find the little queer pockets and find out how and why people live there. Visits with friends and checking out businesses, all while discussing some of each region‘s political recent history.

There was a part about found/ chosen family that resonated with me- essentially a feeling of fate bringing people into your life.

Whoa! I wasn‘t sure if I‘d finish this one, because it‘s quite creepy 😬😱. But I made it through.

I really like Sarah Gailey. They‘ve got a wide range of genres they‘ve tried, and I definitely think they nailed horror!

So many elements here, but the creepiest for me was the possible haunting unknown noises in the night vibe. Gave me goosebumps!

If you‘re looking for seasonal fall/ spooky reading, this is a good one to check out.

#weeklyforecast @Cinfhen

Once again I have a bunch of books going at once 🙄😆📚.

Real Queer and Mothers are for my Topics bookclub, which for September is reading Short Story or Essay Collections.

I‘m just starting Winter‘s Orbit for #bookspin and if I finish it this week I‘ll start Carry On, my #doublespin.

Just Like Home is my current audio. It might be too creepy for me, I don‘t read much horror. I‘m trying because I like the author.

This is a follow up to Dear Martin that Nic Stone didn‘t plan to write. She was asked for what happened after that book, and also for a book about a kid with less opportunity than Justyce, and so she chose Quan.

Nic Stone‘s writing is engaging, and I listened to this all in one day. I‘d recommend both this and Dear Martin, for adults and teens.

You may want to look up Trigger Warnings first.

Did I go a little overboard with the fiction sale on BookOutlet? Depends on your description of overboard… (yeah, I did…)

Other than a few auto-buy author new releases, I won‘t be doing any more shopping for me until after the holidays.

Exactly what the subtitle describes: a book about carbon storing, species preservation, and saving the world as we know it by protecting the large forests that still exist. It was a little more dense than I usually like, with lots of statistics, but I still enjoyed it and pushing through felt worthwhile.

#catsoflitsy Hello from #Igor.
#EnvironmentalNonfiction

I didn‘t finish this, but I might come back to it at some point.

The first half is slow moving, about Andrès who returns to his parent‘s home in his late 30‘s because his dad‘s health is declining. Andrès‘ marriage seems to be on the rocks, we don‘t know why only that his husband is in Nairobi for business.

At 2/3 there are a couple chapters focused on other families in the community, and at that point I lost interest. Maybe I‘ll finish ?‍♀️?

It‘s fun when you search for an author‘s audiobooks on Libby and come across something unexpected!

This was an hour long short story about a carnie kid with an interesting past. A quick fun listen that made me want to look for this anthology 🎪❤️

(Looks like the whole anthology is available from my library on Libby. Woo hoo!)

It‘s September, time to pull out our Nic Stone books for #AuthorAMonth. What are you planning to read?

#AuthorAMonth is a no-pressure, no-commitment Litsy challenge. The goal is to celebrate the works of a particular author each month. Authors were chosen through polls by Litsy participants. Read as many as you like, skip months when needed, it's entirely up to you! ⬇️

I won‘t be finishing anything else today, so here‘s my August Wrap Up.

My favorites were Deacon King Kong, Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, A Strange and Stubborn Endurance, and His Majesty‘s Dragon.

I‘m a bit speechless. This book is excellent and heartbreaking. I didn‘t realize it was based on a true story until I heard the author‘s note.

It‘s no surprise lots of people don‘t trust the police when things like this happen. 💔

My dad takes a small packet of salt from his pocket. “Here,” he says. “In case of an emergency.”

The first time I saw my father after coming out, he gave me a five-pound wholesale bag of restaurant salt packets. “You can throw this in their eyes and run,” he said. “Always run, mi‘jo. Always.”

Ok I‘ve settled on my #bookspin list for September. This month‘s books are either next in a series I‘m partway through, first in a new series, for #AuthorAMonth or my topics bookclub (Short Story or Essay Collections for Sept), or audiobooks I‘ve got on hold from the library that should be coming available.

Looking forward to this month‘s drawing @TheAromaofBooks !📚💕😁

#weeklyforecast and #20in4

For now I‘m hibernating the other two books I was hoping to finish this month, as they just aren‘t holding my attention.

Town of Babylon had a slow start but I‘m enjoying it now at 65 pages in. Nightcrawling on audio is excellent so far!

I‘ve got to get to Ever Green, it‘s due back at the library this week! Dear Justyce is for #AuthorAMonth and I‘ve been holding onto Real Queer for my topics bookclub- September is ⬇️

I loved this queer fantasy romance! The characters were wonderfully believable, I want to visit the Jade Market in this world.

Political intrigue, a mystery, lots of sexual tension, and a little magic made for an engrossing story.

Content warning for sexual assault, it‘s how the whole story starts.

Book 2 finished for #20in4 🙂📚

From the 1970‘s to 2015 China had a One Child Policy. Families were only allowed to have one child. This graphic novel tells the stories of four families who lost that only child, and the devastation of those losses.

The author is the same for all 4 stories but there are 4 different artists. It‘s obviously quite a sad book. The intro and afterword offer more insight into life in China during the time period.

I‘m taking advantage of the Special End-of-summer #20in4 readathon to try to wrap up some August reads before the end of the month. Starting with the tagged today, since it‘s my bookclub discussion book for tonight, yikes! I‘m more than halfway through though, so it may be possible.

I‘ve just gotten some new plants for the garden I need to put in tomorrow morning, but should be able to get a good deal of reading in for the weekend.

I started out really liking this. The unfortunate circumstances that kept stacking up against Sitwell had me rooting for him, hoping something would finally go his way.

The first half of the book is from his point of view, and the second half, which I didn‘t like nearly as much, is from the point of view of a former coworker and potential love interest of Sitwell‘s, named Jennie.

The switch felt really abrupt and I couldn‘t settle back in.

I only finished this for #CampLitsy, and unfortunately my favorite part about it has been our discussions. I‘m not going to say more because I want to save it for the second-half discussion on Saturday.

#weeklyforecast @Cinfhen

I‘d love to read all of these physical books this week, but we‘ll see. Our Wives for #camplitsy should be done today. Native Nonfiction is for bookclub this Friday so hopefully I‘ll persevere with that! Babylon was a rec from my bibliologist at MyTBR. The other two are from the library New Release shelf and just caught my eye.

For audio, it‘s going to depend which holds come in first! I‘m looking forward to all 3!

Erica- the younger sister from Stranger Things you find both extremely annoying and kind of endearing.

Here she takes 3 of her friends (reluctantly) on their first DND adventure. Her cocky attitude causes some friction, and they have to work together to save the day.

Cute and fun, great artwork. It jumped off the library‘s new release shelf onto my stack. 😊📚

Sietje says the secret to being a real hero is: naps, plenty of naps.

Fun, very inclusive fantasy adventuring graphic novel. I liked the characters and the art, the story is a bit simple but satisfying. Great for Critical Role or RPG fans.

Wow I feel like August is rushing by! How is your reading going #AuthorAMonth folks?

I‘m very excited for the next in the Scholomance series which comes out end of September.

I also discovered a new series by Naomi Novik that I am enjoying- the Temeraire series, beginning with His Majesty‘s Dragon.

Heads up that next month our author will be Nic Stone. You may want to place your library holds now. 🙂📚💕

What a great book! I had a feeling it was going to be fun when I started meeting the characters. There are a ton, and most of them have fun names: Sportcoat, Hot Sausage, The Elephant, Sister Gee Golly, Bum-Bum, Sister Bibb, Sweet Corn, Pudgy Fingers, Jet, and more. And the first chapter is called Jesus‘s Cheese.

There‘s a comedy of errors feel to a lot of the book, but it also really digs into 1969 life in the cause-houses. Loved it!

#weeklyforecast @Cinfhen

I can‘t believe it‘s the final 2 weeks of #camplitsy! I‘ve been looking forward to Our Wives Under the Sea. I‘ll be starting it this afternoon.

Native Nonfiction is for bookclub, and I admit I‘ve been procrastinating about it. Maybe it‘ll grab my attention more if I really give it some time.

The other two are just for fun, though I may discuss them with my other Topics club, for BIPOC authors month.

I wasn‘t sure how I‘d feel about His Majesty‘s Dragon since I‘ve had mixed feelings about Novik‘s past books.

I really liked this though! My favorite part was the bonds between the dragons and their human Captains.

I‘m glad I found this used volume that has the first three books in it, and I‘ll continue with the series.

Good call voting in Naomi Novik #authoramonth readers! (The Scholomance series is still my fave though.)

Once again I went into the library to pick up two holds and came out with 7 books. 🤦‍♀️ My Own books are glaring at me.

I love hearing librarian and bookseller stories of customers coming in looking for books of which they remember neither title or author. The one I hear the most is “it has a blue cover.”

This entire tiny book is drawings of those books, and the author‘s imagining of their covers. I only know for certain what one of them is, and it‘s pictured here. Do you recognize it?

If you have one of these stories I‘d love to hear it! 📚🤷‍♀️📘

I don‘t consider myself a gamer, but I‘m surrounded by them. My Dad, sister, and husband all slay at them. I had a few years of playing WoW, but not as it was meant to be played (mostly solo or with just my hubs.)

I think having gamers in my life helped me relate to this more, though like others have said it‘s just as much about friendship as it is about games. I loved my time with Sam, Sadie, and Marx. I thought this was terrific.

Early morning cuddle-reading with Igor 💜.
#AuthorAMonth I‘m really glad I picked this up and that Novik was voted in as an author this year! I am about halfway through and totally in love with Temeraire and Captain Will Laurence. If the whole series is like this I‘ll read it all. 🐉🐲🖤

This was fine. Its me, not the GN. YA time travel paper delivery girls plus the graphic novel genre, just not my jam. (I may try the adaptation anyway, as I bet I‘ll like it more in that medium.)

Thanks for the loan @Eyelit . I made it about halfway through the second book, but I don‘t think I‘ll finish them.