FINALLY!

“As you know, men are apt to idolize or fear that which they cannot understand, especially if it be a woman.” —Jean Toomer, “Fern”

I had no idea there was a TTRPG for the Tales from the Loop Universe. I was psyched to come across this in my library system.

Meh. Just not my kind of thing. Lots of Doctor Who quotes sans context lumped together by themes. The best lines seem to all be in here along with lines that look suspiciously like they were chose for page layout more so than content. DNF at page 50 because, while book-shaped, this does not fulfill book-want for me.

#doublespin

Reading horror on the porch at twilight with the wind blowing through the leaves of the trees is delightfully creepy.

A delightful board book far more aimed at the joy of adults, but, hey, it's a board book. Babies don't actually care what's in them. Read it in your best Bob Ross voice. It'll be great.

In English or Spanish, this series is great for little readers interested in life in the 1800s. It even includes enough interesting details of the customs of the time to hold the interest of older readers. I'm looking forward to the next book!

A lot of setup in the beginning, including some great character development for Shallan. Her growth and evolution really made her an unexpected favorite of mine. But then BAM! So. Much. Battle. Lots of excitement followed up with some nice ending closure.

On a side note, someone at GraphicAudio needs to be told that French kissing sound effects are totally unnecessary.

A beautiful but bittersweet tale of family and heritage and the way food connects us to our roots. All accompanied by the lovely art that I've come to expect from Jason Chin.

Always meant to read a Patterson out of curiosity, and this Dolly Parton co-authored book seem like the perfect one. It's not my thing, but I can definitely see the appeal. Glamour, romance, excitement, intrigue, a light and easy read. I won't be reading another, but I enjoyed how Dolly's voice was well captured and the way her experiences were captured through the Nashville journeys of two characters.

A solid conclusion to an fun and beautiful graphic adventure with a lead-in for the next series. I think I might have liked it better if it had simply ended there without the set-up for Ascender, but that's a very subjective thing. The art in this series is exceptional and I'll be very happy with the next series if I get to enjoy more of that.

A sweetly encouraging picture book centering the experiences of children of Chinese descent, in particular the children of immigrant families. A reassuring reminder of the beauty within and without for children who can face discrimination in harsh and undermining ways.

Though set some 10,000 years in the future, this does what the best of scifi does and says so much about who we are right now and what is the essence of humanity. That is done in part through a fully developed and complicated protagonist who is on par with even the best of Stephen King's character writing. It held up as well on this reread as it did the first time.

Obvious bait. Too obvious. To take that bait would be madness. To walk into a trap this ornate was insane.

Well then, I thought to myself. Into the trap I go.

I liked the first story quite well, but after 3 days, I simply cannot get into this one. DNF @ 11%.

I achieved an actual #bookspinbingo this time!

I am ready for May! #bookspinbingo

“It is a general role that those women end by heaven with great beauty and verably either destroy themselves or destroy someone else.”

—Yuan Chen, “Thestory of Ying-Ying”

Hey, look! Some 1200 year old bullshit. Neato. 😑

A remarkable bilingual volume of poetry touching on the ordinary in an extraordinary way.

A gothic science-fiction reimagining of The Island of Doctor Moreau with a strong romantic subplot. The history of the Caste War of Yucatan is deftly interwoven with themes of colonialism, oppression, and feminism. The pace starts at almost a crawl and steadily builds until reaching a crescendo of action as the denizens of Yaxaktun face choices of life, death, loyalty, and love. Despite too much romance for me, I enjoyed it tremendously.

This outloud reread of The Stand with my spouse was the best reading ever of one of my favorite books, because he LOVES dogs. So throughout all the bits with Kojak, he was shouting out “What a good boy!“ and it was everything about why I married him. 💖

A sweet, if somewhat didactic, story of coping with changes and facing difficult times.

An adorable chapter book for the little cat lover in your life.

This is one of my favorite times of year for porch reading. The temperature is comfy and I can see the red & white azaleas, pink dogwood, and purples in bloom. ❤️🌸📚🍺

That was disturbing and beautiful and delightful and I said “what the fuck“ all the way through to the end. I devoured it in one sitting, and it was everything I want from a story.

Book two picks up at Chimney Rock with your family now trying to make the next leg of the journey from what is now Nebraska to Devil's Gate (modern-day Wyoming). Every bit as interesting and fun as the first. I was a bit disappointed that you never get a chance to die of cholera in this one, but that is forgivable.

Me and Ralphie Boy are taking on the Oregon Trail again!

Fascinating concept, but the writing style is far too dramatic for me. It's the prose equivalent of a Renaissance lady draped on a fainting couch. DNF at 20 pages.

I have mixed feelings on this one. It is a somewhat fictionalized account of the Peet family's unfortunate decision to order a capybara as a pet. It's more sad than funny to me, and even sadder for now knowing how the real story ended. I think it could be a good book if a young reader needs to understand why some animals shouldn't be pets even if you can get one. Great illustrations as might be expected of Bill Peet.

I have no idea what people see in this, but I am happy that it gives them joy. DNF this #doublespin @ page 25 due to total indifference.

A delightful board book with all the bells and whistles for toddlers - touch and feel, lift the flap, pop ups, AND levers.

Dry, Eurocentric, and not really what I was hoping for. Had some neat info in it, but overall not what I wanted. DNF @ 152 pages.

It‘s a statement of their social relevance that, when reading history and ancient texts, I have often come across the value of a thing given in cows.

In the time of Charlamagne, late fines could include excommunication.

Say what you want about my harsher reviews, I‘ve yet to order an execution. 🤷🏻

Lots of buildup in this one to an excellent ending, but some of the side bits seem like filler and don't add anything but pages.

DNF @ page 77. Lifeless characters and dull writing. This #bookspin was no winner, but now at least I know.

A lovely tribute to Wash that imagines how his life playing out before his eyes might have looked.

A beautifully written story of Ethiopia's fight against Mussolini's invasion. It is brutal and heartbreaking, but I don't think the truth of war can be told in any other way.

See comments below for content warnings.

“What war ever really ends …”

“Girls die from many causes: childbirth, illness, disease, men.”

That is a heavy fucking truth.

A stand-alone story centering the women of the show. As much as I love the idea of the story, there was something a bit off-putting about the tone for me.

I so wanted to love this. The lead is a nonviolent sociopath. Individuals with this mental health issue are consistently portrayed as serial killers, and I was excited to see someone managing the condition cast in a role as a whole person. Unfortunately, as cool as all that is, the book was too predictable for me. No surprises. No shocks. Nothing unanticipated. Pleasant enough to read, but not what I want from a suspense book.

A pretty successful March #bookspinbingo if I do say so myself!

Ready for #bookspinbingo 🤗

An exciting and delightfully chaotic end to the Blue Sun Rising story arc. Wonderful resolutions and breathtaking action.

This is a 188 page infomercial, 95% of which is comprised of secondhand testimonials.

The art is fine in this one, though seldom breathtaking. The story is good, but you can feel that it's a setup for something greater. Definitely looking forward to seeing what happens with Blue Sun in volume 2.

I made it 10% of the way through this book and I am utterly indifferent to it. The plot is kind of interesting. The world is kind of interesting. The characters are flat and/or annoying.

I was really taken by surprise with the Josefina books. I have an aversion to American Girls, and I lean heavily towards own voice. These are excellent though. This is well-researched, enjoyable historical fiction.