I guess it would be cheating to use this cover for an #ISpy square. 😂
Christie's spy plots and her Poirot characters really don't mix well. It's melodramatic and silly and Poirot pokes fun at that while simultaneously being melodramatic and silly himself. I was stunned this followed “Roger Ackroyd“ but it turns out she wrote the stories individually and then came up with the framing device later. #ChristieCapers
“Life has certainly been more reliable under Vetinari,“ said Mr. Potts of the Bakers Guild.
“He does have all the street-theater players and mime artists thrown into the scorpion pit,“ said Mr. Boggis of the Thieves' Guild.
“True. But let's not forget that he has his bad points, too.“
It was Angua's mind that prowled the night, not a werewolf mind. She was almost entirely sure of that. A werewolf wouldn't stop at chickens, not by a long way.
She shuddered.
Who was she kidding? It was easy to be a vegetarian by day. It was preventing yourself becoming a humanitarian at night that took the real effort.
Isn't that a gorgeous cover? Finnish, if Google translate is right.
I'm attached to the characters, but I can see a day coming when I stop reading this series. :-( This is a bit overwritten and reuses some overly familiar themes. Still a good read overall.
#SeriesLove2025
Wow it was hard to write about this book without any spoilers... I hope I pulled it off.
https://willaful.wordpress.com/2025/08/04/the-undercutting-of-rosie-and-adam-by-...
Finally, at the suggestion of a friend, I called the Disability Rights Center in our state. I spoke with a lawyer, and I learned that many aspects of my daughter's denial were likely in violation of the law.
“You get more flies with honey,“ suggested another woman I'd been put in touch with for advice.
“I don't have any more fucking honey,“ I snapped.
This is going to be an absolute heartbreaker of a read, but I love this mom. She never misgenders or deadnames her daughter, even when writing about her birth.
“Holy shit, I've never seen a bona fide god before.“
“God. Bag of dicks. Tomato, To-mah-to.“
I feel like these hybrid boards I'm using aren't working well for me, because I keep getting open spin numbers and the main reason I like #BookSpin is to really push me to read from my list. I'll probably go back to having a list of all titles and maybe a separate list for the bingo board. We'll see how this month goes. Still trying to optimize! 😂
“I want to ask if you're all right, but I also don't want to annoy you by asking if you're all right,“ she told him.
He held up his hand, a gesture that lied, that said I'm fine, when it really meant Don't look at me and Don't see me and Don't try to know me.
Two bingos, not bad. But how did a I read an English domestic classic and not fill the teacup/teapot square? There's a weirdie every month...
so-soThis definitely had its moments, especially in the development of Alec as a character and in showing his commitment to Magnus. But the prose was often so weak, and Magnus, an immortal being with centuries of wisdom and experience, came off as TSTL. I had hoped to be reminded of why I love this series but mostly I was reminded of why I stopped reading it. 😔
#AllTheStoriesAreTrue
Image from
https://www.deviantart.com/taratjah/art/Malec-591275657
Oh man, this is scarily close to an experience I've had. (1989 earthquake, anyone?) I'm not sure I can read it.
New Audible policy may hurt authors.
https://www.royalroad.com/forums/thread/155349
How did I not read this as a little girl? It's so exactly my cup of tea, evoking memories of The Secret Garden, Sensible Kate and other beloved orphan stories. I like how Mandy starts out seeming so perfect, but we learn she has a lot of normal childish feelings and dumb ideas. 😂 And the ending is just perfect, because it addresses the unasked question of a lot of orphanage stories -- what about the other kids?
#CHILDRENSCLASSICREAD2025
rubyslippersreads, mcctrish, DebinHawaii, Daisey, MemoirsForMe, tpixie, erzascarletbookgasm, IMASLOWREADER, Soscha, DivineDiana, Cuilin, kspenmoll, TheBookHippie, PurpleyPumpkin, mrp27, merelybookish, Read4life, curiouserandcurioser, GingerAntics, Butterfinger, lil1inblue, julieclair
I love the main character of this book, but sadly the toxicity he encounters is way too familiar from my own experience as a child in the 70s, and I just can't stand reading about it.
You have always tried to do unto others as you would have them do unto you, but that doesn't work when you want to obliterate yourself.
“You just said that you couldn't complain, and I thought, really? You can't find something to be mad about right now?“
“I think if I let myself get mad,“ Clay said, “I wouldn't be able to feel anything else.“
This had a lot of potential, with some lovely writing and a fun background of working in a television writers' room. But I got intensely bored with the endless sex scenes and could really have used seeing more of the characters falling in love -- especially since they have huge strikes against them. The relationship ultimately comes off as co-dependent, especially for the male main character, who gets less growth.
Sharing books sparks love and new life choices for two college students. A cute bookwormy romance, though I got tired of Ben making the same mistakes over and over again.
Possibly my most reread book ever.
“Come on, it'll be fun, and it'll get you out of the house.“
Why is being in the house always considered a bad thing? Houses are a comfort zone of Internet, sofas, cushions, toast. They're really an embarrassment of riches in a cruel, indifferent, and largely toast-less world.
Another dark yet tender fantasy from Wiswell, for the lonely monster in all of us. Who might Heracles have been if being turned monstrous by a pissed-off, impulsive Hera had only made him more empathetic to others? Someone who wears the whole Nemean lion instead of its skin...
It's maybe a bit too long and repetitive, but overall a lovely rejection of toxic masculinity and an embrace of unconditional love and forgiveness.
#BookSpin
“Where is Purrseus?“
Logy says, “He wasn't listening.“
“What?“
“Have you never had a cat before?“
I'm in Ancient Greece, which is smelling considerably better since Heracles has cleaned out the Augean stables. 😷
#WhereAreYouMonday @Cupcake12
A divorced socialite finds herself working at a newspaper that reports on the paranormal, but real life turns out to be even weirder than her co-workers. Very fun story, with lovable, awful, and lovably awful characters.
This series won a “best audio award,“ and no argument here. The narration is fantastic, effortlessly distinguishing a very large cast of characters and adding to both the goofiness and sense of unease.
1. Going to visit my mom today.
2. Daughter's hormone levels show improvement.
3. Even though there's nothing to celebrate, I still love fireworks.
4. So many free trials right now, there's always something to read or watch.
5. Traveling to see some cool things soon.
Enjoyable look at Takei's life and many accomplishments. Every success had a sting in its tail though, because of his being fearfully closeted. He finally came out at 68 and life just got better and better!
I was a little wigged out by the depiction of his first sexual experience, as a child with a camp counselor. 😬 I get that it's a good memory for him, but that doesn't make it right and I think it could have used an asterisk.
to feel badly but calmly about what is spiritually deforming is the mediocre norm; to rage against it is to become an instrument of revolutionary change.
Don't know if I'm gonna get a lot of reading done this month, because I hope to do two items on my Bucket List! Those who read From Dust to Stardust with me for the #SundayBuddyRead might be able to guess what one of them is. 😁
Five bingos! I confess, I read a couple of picture books for the covers... but I couldn't not have a rainbow book for June, right?
Absolutely hilarious collection of short science fiction. Not much plotwise, more satiric vibes. The gossip of intelligent machines was a high point.
#AuthorAMonth
When the yogurt took over, we all made the same jokes--“Finally our rulers have culture,“ “Our society has curdled,“ “Our government is now the cream of the crop,“ and so on. But when we weren't laughing about the absurdity of it all, we looked into each others' eyes with the same unasked question--how did we ever get to the point where we were, in fact. ruled by a dairy product?
An old, not very findable book, but it taught me so much about reading and writing.
“Having read a book means nothing. Reading a book may be the most tremendous experience of your life; having read it is an item in your memory... We don't apply the same principle elsewhere: We don't believe in having heard Mendelssohn's violin concerto...I say, don't read the classics -- try to discover your own classics; every life has its own.”
I read some, then skimmed some and then read the ending, and I do think Alderton did something really interesting here, but I just couldn't force myself through the incredibly depressing part to read the book as a whole.
Also, as with another book I read that was set right before lockdown, I found myself worrying about how the characters would manage with this horrible new challenge in front of them. Why do authors do this?!
#BookSpinBingo
Almost bailed because the narrator's immaturity really got up my nose, but I'm glad I stuck with it. Former child star Jane has some heavy emotional baggage that makes her hide behind facades, but when she's teamed up with quiet, artistic Dan to try and get a movie made, he makes it all too easy to be her funny, quirky self. There's good growth arcs for both and a lovely romance that's not very steamy, but so descriptive it's a sensory delight.
I take out True Story and read a few scenes for comfort. Those characters showed up flawed and fell in love anyway. Their connection is the kind of love I never understood, the kind where the love is the reward for being yourself. It's *This is who I am* followed by *I'll take it!*
Started on part two of Wild, Dark Shore last night and of course I was up to 3 a.m. finishing it. What was I thinking?!
#CampLitsy
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