This was one of my recent Tailored Book Recommendations. It was cute. I definitely appreciate cheesy queer romance with nonbinary cuties. There was a LOT of sex for my asexual brain, though, so not one of my all-time faves.

I borrowed this from the library because it‘s considered essential reading for polyamory (and there‘s so much overlap between the queer and polyamorous communities) and it actually led to a really sweet, open dialogue between my spouse and I about future relationship goals. I recommend anyone read this, even if you‘re a monogamist.

I love Tara Brach‘s writing. She‘s one of the most accessible mindfulness/meditation authors out there, in my opinion.

I‘m very sleep deprived and I finished two very inspiring books today and my brain doesn‘t know what to do with itself.

I don‘t do a lot of hosting (even in regular, non-pandemic times) but this book still had a ton of fantastic tidbits that could be carried into coaching, teaching, and more. I think I need to get a physical copy.

My hold for Stiff finally came through, and it was worth the wait for sure. Mary Roach‘s writing is incredible as always—intelligent and illuminating, but wildly funny at the same time. I thoroughly enjoyed learning all the weird stuff we‘ve done (and considered doing) to human bodies after death.

A really phenomenal entry point into mindfulness and meditation practice. I‘m using the author‘s guided meditation app now, too.

Overall I did really enjoy this book—it digs deeper into how to tailor your spiritual practices to your Enneagram number. It was a MUCH more Christian-leaning book than I expected, which is fine, but I was kind of hoping it would be more nondenominational. But I am proud of myself for sticking with it anyway—there‘s a lot of good material that can be translated to other spiritual/religious leanings.

Wishing @BayouGirl85 the happiest of birthdays!! I‘m sorry it‘s a smidge late, but keep an eye on your mailbox—there‘s a box headed your way!

Okay, so here‘s the thing. I LOVED the world and the sci-fi reimagining of fairy tales. I loved the characters. But subterfuge and betrayal are big triggery messes for me, which this book has a lot of. And then it did the thing where it just STOPPED. I knew it was the beginning of a series, but I didn‘t realize there would be no pausing place at the end of book one. I‘m not sure I‘ll go on to the next books. Too intense in the wrong ways for Rus.

I didn‘t realize until I started this that it‘s adapted for younger readers from White Rage (which was also on my reading list). It succinctly details the history of racism and, yes, white rage from slavery up through President Obama. It‘s infuriating and heartbreaking. I learned some things I didn‘t know before. We have to do better.

I am wildly sleep deprived and can‘t word good. But this was excellent.

This was a fun, quick comic that my lovely spouse got me for my birthday. I definitely need to acquire the other issues now!

Absolutely required reading for anyone who cares about changing police brutality, racial inequality, and true justice. This book has utterly changed my views on what real reform should look like.

July wrap-up!

Hitchhiker‘s Guide to the Galaxy, but make it queer? Yes please.

The Wayward Children series has been one of my most beloved finds this year—I have all of them on kindle, but I love them so much that I wanted physical copies as well. So of course Mom sent me a box with ALL FIVE BOOKS. 🥰🥰🥰

e. e. cummings is one of my absolute favorite poets (and my mom‘s)—to the point that I actually wrote an entire play based on one of his poems! I had no idea this picture book about his life existed until Mom sent it to me as a birthday gift. It‘s lovely, and incorporates cummings‘ style of writing and a few of his poems, too. I can see myself reading this to my kiddos one day.

So when @BayouGirl85 sent this to me as a birthday gift, I was expecting to have fun reading it. I was NOT expecting to fall so utterly in love with the characters and the incredibly tender and genuine love story. Romances are rarely my cup of tea, but I truly, truly loved Red, White & Royal Blue. Thank you for bringing this into my life, Carmen.

One of my mom‘s childhood favorites. I read it when I was much younger and found it fun. My reread of it now is pretty similar—it‘s some light, childhood fun. Although there are definitely some of-the-times gender roles to be found here. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Wow. I‘m so delighted to have found The Power of Ritual. It‘s the perfect book to be heading into a week of rest and self-care with; I‘m going to immediately start applying some of the spiritual techniques I found within its pages. I especially love the idea of sacred reading as a practice that can be applied to ANY book. I want to give this as a gift to everyone I know.

This is the first time I‘ve dipped my toe into Enneagram stuff, but I love it! I feel like I need to get my hands on every book ever written about it now.

Tagged book is my main read. I‘m gonna say 😁—it leans a little more Christian than I personally prefer, but it‘s an excellent introduction to Enneagram stuff and I definitely want to read more. Thanks for the tag, @BayouGirl85 I‘ll tag @Schnoebs !

Mom sent me this book for Valentine‘s Day and somehow I only just read it, but it was the perfect time. I was supposed to be going to visit her and my brother for my birthday week, but with COVID spiking again we decided to postpone. I miss them so much. But this book perfectly articulates how everyone who loves each other remains connected, no matter the distance. 💙

I‘m finally diving into Discworld! It‘s exciting to be digging into such a beloved series, especially since I‘m already in love with Good Omens, so I know I like Pratchett‘s writing style. This was a fun intro to the world and some of the characters, and I‘m eager to continue!

I just got this amazing birthday #bookmail box from amazing #litsylove pen pal @BayouGirl85 and my week is absolutely made. I‘m stoked to dig into both of these books, and the notepad, bookmarks, and coloring book are perfect. Thank you so so much!! (And expect a return volley in a few weeks. 😏)

Congrats @SamanthaMarie on 10k Litfluence! That‘s super impressive.
My top three TBR books that I‘m most excited to read currently:
* In the Company of Trees by Andrea Fereshteh
* The Art of Mindful Reading by Ella Berthoud
* A Trail Through Leaves by Hannah Hinchman

#sm10kgiveaway

I‘m on a streak of queer memoirs today, it seems. Kate Bornstein is just a phenomenal writer with a completely unique voice. That is all my sleep deprived brain can articulate at the moment. Someone tell my insomnia to take a smoke break or something.

Brilliantly written, and an important reminder that queer relationships can be abusive in all the ways that straight relationships can be. This isn‘t talked about with any frequency, and the author expertly points out how this silence grants an extra layer of power to queer abusers.

So here‘s the thing. I LOVED the main character. The whole idea of a genderqueer shapeshifter is automatically a thumbs up for me. And I honestly really appreciate how sex positive the whole book is. But I‘m so asexual that sex scenes get boring pretty quickly for me. Plus it does that thing where it just sorta stops without any real ending or conclusion. So it wasn‘t my favorite, but I‘m glad to have read it anyway.

#ThoughtfulThursday (accidentally on Friday though. Oops!)
* The tagged book was so absolutely wonderful that I couldn‘t read any other fiction for several days. I literally started rereading it as soon as I finished it the first time.
* Hmmmm...Denethor from LOTR comes to mind.
* I MUCH prefer standalones.
@BayouGirl85 have you done this one?

My mom sent this to me as an early birthday gift and I read the entire thing in one sitting. My absolute favorite thing is when whimsy and profoundness intersect, and that‘s exactly what the advice in this book does. I adore it.

I think this should be required reading. It captures the magnitude of a lifetime of racial microagresssions and the weight of history on an individual of color.

This is one of those books I‘m going to order a physical copy of, and reread from time to time. It‘s deeply inspirational. (Also, it‘s made me think about finding an online meditation class or group...HMMMM.)

I‘m having an especially rough week and took today off work so I could kick this fibromyalgia flareup to the curb, and I decided I needed something goofy and simple. My in-laws got this book for me ages ago, but today was the right day to read it. Cats are such lovable weirdos.

Pardon me while I order twenty copies of this book to give to everyone I know.

It‘s been a rough couple of weeks, so I didn‘t do much reading—but I finally finished off this lovely one! I highly recommend it, especially right now. It‘s all about the many ways of giving, and how giving can improve your life as well as others‘.

I‘ve fallen a bit behind on my #LitsyLove correspondence, so I‘m hoping to catch up this weekend—if I owe you a letter, I should be responding very soon!

Beautiful, powerful, and important.

Finally finished! I probably shouldn‘t have chosen to read such an emotional book on an already-emotional day, but...ah well.

Okay ARGH. So good, but ARGH. I can‘t read book three until tomorrow and I HATE when books just stop and cliffhanger like this. AAAGGGHH.

#ReadYourSign book fifteen: The Golden Compass, which features Leo‘s spirit color in the title. I read this a few years ago but lost my momentum in the first few chapters of the second book. I decided this prompt was a good opportunity to start from scratch. I‘m determined to finish the trilogy this time! (Also, that‘s all fifteen Leo prompts DONE!)

#ReadYourSign book fourteen: Fierce Fairytales, which I read between the hours of 5AM and 10AM today. Oh man, I love Nikita Gill‘s writing so much. The way she weaves feminist themes through fairy tales and legends is just lovely. 💙

That was one of the weirdest things I‘ve ever read. And I mean that mostly in a good way. The worldbuilding is unbelievably detailed. But whoa. My brain hurts.

#ReadYourSign book thirteen: Ruby Coral Carnelian, which features Leo‘s gemstone carnelian (and, as a bonus, also my birthstone ruby) in the title. This was meh for me. It had all the beats of a good fantasy, but it felt too rushed. The worldbuilding was flat and the character growth didn‘t feel earned. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Mary Roach has been on my authors-to-try list for ages now, and I‘m delighted to have started with Packing for Mars. Not only was this fascinating and hilarious for me, but I know now what to get my scientifically-inclined grandfather for Christmas. He‘ll adore this book.

“The clearest metaphor I had for my own gender identity...was the image of a scale. A huge weight had been placed on one side, without my permission. I was constantly trying to weigh down the other side. But the end goal wasn‘t masculinity—the goal was balance.” This is the most seen I‘ve ever felt. Holy shmolies. That‘s EXACTLY what my gender identity feels like.

#ReadYourSign book twelve: I‘ll Give You the Sun, which features my ruling planet in the title. Whoa. This was all kinds of intense, but ended so beautifully and with so much hope. It also reminded me of Holes, with how seamlessly all the different-time-period pieces fell into place by the end.

#ReadYourSign book eleven: Turn this World Inside Out, which I found optimistic. This book explores how we can hold people accountable for their actions while also acknowledging their tendency to default to shame (which then often leads to lashing out or gaslighting). Maybe an odd choice for an optimistic book, but I found it hopeful.

#ReadYourSign book ten: With the Fire on High, which features my element in the title. This was so good! I don‘t know that I‘ve ever read a book featuring a teen mom as the MC, and this author really explored all the highs and lows with grace and tenderness. I‘m not sure I would have picked this book up if not for the challenge, but I‘m so glad I did!