This is a gorgeously and vividly illustrated story about a highly imaginative young girl who always seems to be off in her own world. I love that it encourages the dreamers amongst us to embrace and share our imaginings.

All I‘ve been reading in 2021 is children‘s picture books. I don‘t have kids; it‘s just such a fun and low stress way to indulge my love of stories and children‘s illustration. The tagged book is a retelling of a classic, but the illustrations take it to a whole new level. The t-rex is portrayed in many a splendid outfit. The attention to detail is just amazing.

“Perfectionism is fear in a fancy dress.”

I haven‘t been reading much lately, but I have been browsing a lot of published sketchbooks & the like. This is the work of Hannah Hinchman. If you‘re suffering from a bit of nature withdrawal, I highly recommend these as a soothing balm 🌞

The library re-opened for walk-in service today (with time restrictions and limited capacity), and even though I just had a few minutes to visit on my lunch break, I couldn‘t resist swinging by. It felt amazing to be surrounded by available books again.

I‘ve got several books to return to the library, so I made these watercolor bookmarks to slip into them. Perhaps one will find the right person at the right time.

Have you ever found a bookmark or note left behind by another reader?

Just finished this for the second time in as many weeks. What a powerful novel.

I‘ve been enjoying the Clarkesworld Podcast lately. They provide an audio recording of each piece of short fiction that they publish.

This story featured a centenarian woman as she faced the end of her life w/ her Artificially Intelligent caregiver by her side, who all the while is learning from her. The formatting is interesting, & for this one it was helpful to view the story in written language online to get a feel for it when I listened.

So excited! Even though I‘ll probably just walk in and out quickly to pick up my holds, it‘s going to feel like such a luxury to be able to just swing by to pick up books without it scheduling an appointment first. 🥳🥳🥳

There‘s a cat in my TBR 🐈

“A divorcée fleeing an abusive relationship befriends a Jewish refugee who has escaped a concentration camp in Germany.” This story examines trauma - how it divides us, and how it unites us. I loved that this story was able to accomplish its aim without graphic depictions of traumatic events. Strong writing. I hope to read more by this author.

Perhaps I could call my boss and say “Sorry, boss, I can‘t come in this week. I finished reading Beloved and then just turned straight back to page 1 and started it all over again. My husband also started reading it, so we need some time; besides that, I‘ve got to go to the library to pick up my holds of Jazz and Paradise.” And my boss would say, “oh yes. Only a week? Take two and I‘ll see you once you‘ve put yourself back together again.” #dream

“Listening helps you see that we are all dealing with similar issues — wanting to be loved, looking for purpose, and fearing the end. You learn you are not alone.”

“In one study of children at a device-free outdoor camp, researchers found that after just 5 days without phones or tablets & interacting w/ peers, the kids were able to accurately read facial expressions & identify the emotions of people in photographs and videotaped scenes significantly better than controls who had not attended the camp & continued using their devices.”

This is a book to be read deeply, slowly, really seeing each sentence, each moment - because Morrison can convey more about a character with a couple of sentences than many skilled authors can do with a couple of pages. ⤵️⤵️

“Sad as it was that she did not know where her children were buried or what they looked like if alive, fact was she knew more about them than she knew about herself, having never had the map to discover what she was like.

Could she sing? (Was it nice to hear when she did?) Was she pretty? Was she a good friend? Could she have been a loving mother? A faithful wife? Have I got a sister and does she favor me? If my mother knew me would she like me?”

Told as a “over a couple of beers” story between colleagues, this is a tale of the adventure described in the title. It was a fun read, but if you really don‘t like the “C word” in reference to genitalia (not used as a slur), skip it. It shows up several times.

Callen must travel through miles of dangerous desert plains - losing bits of herself in the process - to find a witch on the top of a mountain, who she‘s been told will help save the woman she loves from where she is imprisoned. This fantasy story, set in the future, is a retelling of an ancient Chinese tale. Atmospherically bleak but highly compelling.

Both of my afternoon clients canceled last minute; normally I‘d be a bit annoyed but I just got the messages while I‘m in my bed with a cat, a dog, a book, several handmade quilts, and a chocolate chip cookie from the batch I made to celebrate the inauguration. Sooo... my bit of annoyance has been replaced by a bit of giddiness! Off to read!

Have ya‘ll seen the StoryGraph app yet? It was mentioned on bookriot today. It can be a goodreads alternative, but it‘s strength is in recommendations - even for me, a hard to please mood reader. I completed a profile & clicked on some of the random recommendations they‘ve given me - and I‘ve found 3 under-the-radar books that I‘ve never heard of, and I sampled them and want to read them RIGHT NOW. It‘s amazing. Found at: app.thestorygraph.com

Usually it‘s hard for me to focus on reading fiction at work - even on my lunch break. But this one, I‘m having to resist picking it up in the 5-10 minutes between clients. Morrison is so good at plopping you down inside characters heads and in slowly revealing them layer by layer. Just one more page!

In this futurist retelling of a classic Native American story, Mr. Hunter, a rising celebrity, is deeply entrenched in grief for his recently deceased girlfriend, Cherie. When offered a vial of her engram (memory-holding DNA material), he can‘t help but inject it straight into his own brain, but the result is less comforting and more horrifying than he had hoped.

“Charles Reagan Wilson, an emeritus professor of history and Southern studies at the University of Mississippi, recalled asking the short-story writer and novelist Eudora Welty why the south produced so many great writers. ‘Honey,‘ she said, ‘we didn‘t have anything else to do but sit on the porch and talk, and some of us wrote it down.‘”

This is the story of how Fisher-bird (presumably a belted kingfisher) got her red belt - and it involves meeting a man with god-blood (“the kind that clogs up your veins and makes you a hero even if you‘d rather just be an ordinary soul”) & arms that are “tree-trunk thick.” This was a fun, light-hearted re-telling of a particular Greek myth (but it feels like a spoiler to reveal which one). Enjoyable read :)

This short novel was super interesting on an intellectual level, and I loved reading the perspective and the storytelling of a traditional Ghanaian hunter. It didn‘t toy with my emotions which was greatly appreciated given how emotionally challenging the past couple of weeks have already been. Right book, right time! Actual review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3411063466?book_show_action=false

In this 1st contact story, a ship‘s captain has gotten impatient after 2 years of trying to negotiate with an alien species to mine their moon, and he gives an unconscionable order. Commander Gray isn‘t ready to repeat mistakes that humanity made time and again on Earth, but what will she sacrifice to protect a species that she can barely even communicate with? ⤵️⤵️⤵️

This is a story inspired by ancient Egyptian mythology (in particular, Sekhmet, warrior goddess and goddess of healing) but set far, far into the future. Het is summoned by the immortal world ruler to destroy any threat of insurrection - but summoning one known for destruction to do one‘s bidding may have unintended consequences. ⤵️⤵️⤵️

There‘s a Toni Morrison read-a-long on Instagram (see @ creemyles), and I‘ve wanted to read this forever ... but I‘m also scared that it‘s going to rip my heart out and chew it to bits.

“Those who have lived know that darkness is only temporary; morning brings its own light.”

(Let‘s hope he‘s right.)

I‘ve been in a book slump for ~3 weeks (and it‘s been driving me bonkers), but I picked up this short mystery/literary fiction novel by a Ghanaian poet last night and am really enjoying it. It started from the perspective of a hunter in a rural village (with appropriate dialect) which gave my brain something to do, but it has now switched perspectives to one of a forensic pathologist; still, I‘m really interested to see where this goes.

While en route to Alpha Centauri, a ship‘s AI wakens a psychotherapist to help a crew member who believes she is being stalked by a monster. The psychotherapist believes she is delusional.. until he begins to experience a similar phenomena. A story about guilt and about figuring out what matters. Honestly, I was unimpressed with the plot, character development, and writing. Just not for me.

This was such a cozy and gently hilarious romantic-comedy. I love well-written escapism about women (re-)discovering their awesomeness - and bonus points if it includes older women and a lovely countryside.

I brought this fascinating book with me for my retreat to the forest, and I‘ve been so inspired to pick it up by the astounding variety of mosses I‘ve noticed here. I‘ve been amazed by mosses since reading The Signature of All Things (Elizabeth Gilbert). They‘re like a tiny forest themselves.

I‘m packing for an Airbnb stay in a national forest & my overpacking demons are having it out. I‘m trying to NOT pack these books. I‘m bringing a kindle but won‘t have WiFi. I‘m such a mood reader - what if I don‘t have a book for whatever mood I find myself in? Agghh

17 y/o Aracely has never left the carnival, never having been allowed outside by her mom (the carnival owner), but while setting up in a midwestern farm field, she does the unthinkable, leaving the bounds of the carnival to explore a nearby estate, and meets the most striking girl - with hair like coal and eyes like embers, and burn scars on one side of her face - who she is drawn to in a way she‘s never experienced before. ⤵️⤵️⤵️

I‘ve started listening to this anthology of 18 stories that “explores retelling a of myths across culture and civilizations.” It‘s narrated by Samantha Desz, who I had never heard perform previously - and wow, if the first story is any indication, she‘s an amazing narrator. Excited to listen more!

There are some amazing stories here - some that will be on my favorites of 2020 list (The Long Walk by Kate Elliot; The Nine Curves River by R.F. Kuang). There are a couple that aren't “best of..“ but keep tugging at my heart (We Continue; Where the River Turns to Concrete; Matriculation). And there are also some that just irritated me (Hikayat Sri Bujang/The Tale of the Naga Sage; The Last Hunt; Except on Saturdays). Still, glad to have read it.

When our story starts, WWII has just ended, and Emery has been recently discharged from the Marines due to an injury. He hasn‘t quite figured out what to do with himself with suddenly - dragons show up in the world, mostly keeping to themselves except when they snacked on local livestock or a couple of unlucky residents. Emery is recruited by the local Sheriff to protect the county from the dragons. ⤵️⤵️⤵️

Just finished listening to the audio of The Book of Dragons (more on that tomorrow), and I was able to finish sewing up a dragon, a purple mermaid, and a castle for a quilt I‘m working on while listening. Always enjoy a good thematic book/quilt match :) Fun book, fun pattern! Excuse the rest of the mess on my design wall.

There is a dragon in the barn, but Cecily knows she's not to talk about it - especially not to outsiders, but not even with her parents or brothers. It quickly became clear that this story is a metaphor for domestic abuse, for surviving/healing from trauma, & for the bravery it takes Cecily to live life on her own terms - once the immediate danger has passed. The metaphor was a bit tangled up (as is living with trauma) & it worked. Recommended!

It‘s time for Will to take the final exam in his History of Ancient Sorcery class, and his professor sends him to another time and another place - a place with dragons and an ancient battle brewing. Another fun adventure story about finding and embracing one‘s own strengths . 3 stars.

Olav (a wandering adventurer) and Nahal (his child servant) are approached by a mage and given an unusual job, which is all well and good until they must confront a dragon. A fun adventure story with a bit of time travel, but nothing special.

This is printed in poem format, but as I listened to the audio version, it read just like prose. A bit of flash fiction, really. A woman arrives home to find a litter of 7 baby dragons hanging out in her back yard. She can‘t quite figure out what else to do with them, so she brings them inside and adopts them. What follows is an 8 minute read with almost no conflict, but just a bit of seratonin-inducing joy. A fun and happy read :)

Jing-Wei (a young girl) is on a quest to find the cave of miracles; she wants to save her village which has been beset by demons. On the way, she meets a lion and an elephant who are also demons (sort of, maybe), but they don‘t seem to want to eat her yet. There are some things about this one that are confusing, but overall it was an interesting read.

Jacq (aka Child) knows something is wrong. He lives in a dragon hive, having been found by a dragon (Collector aka Auntie) as a child & taken into her care. But she's beginning to act a bit strangely, seems to be physically declining, & Jacq is becoming very concerned. An interesting story - I liked that it shifted perspectives from Child to Auntie and back, turning some of our human ideas around to reveal their absurdity. A recommended read!

I was dubious about this story at first but I ended up loving it & it won a Nebula Award. An anthropologist turned astronaut travels alone to an alien planet to visit a library, hoping to find answers to save Earth. There were a couple of minor things I didn't like, but overall - it was touching and it helped me process a bit of my grief for what we've done (and continue to do) to this beautiful planet we call home. Free to read/listen online.

Okay, what? Just.. what? Evidently this story is a prequel to a novel by the author- but it seems to assume that you‘re familiar w/ that novel or that you don‘t care to understand the story. I don‘t get this story & honestly the whole experience (okay, the audio narrator was also exceptionally bad) was so annoying that I don‘t care to get it anymore. I don‘t understand why Jonathan Strahan (anthology editor) allowed this story to stand alone.

Only a few pages long. Our main character has a hoard - but it‘s not gold or jewels .. it‘s human children. The story itself was obvious (given the anthology and the story title) and there wasn‘t significant plot or character development. I think the author is trying to speak to the issues present in our foster care system and also assumptions that folks make, but there just wasn‘t really enough story to do this effectively.