Adored this gem of natural history.

This week‘s #comics heavy #libraryhaul

There‘s a reason Octavia Butler has become one of my favorite authors. Just finished Dawn, and I know I won‘t be able to resist digging into the next book for long.

I pretty much unabashedly adore this book. Forgot to take a photo of it before returning it to the library today, so I took a photo of all the classic sci-fi and horror stories it plays with. It is the huge soft spot I have for these stories (though I haven‘t read Dr. Jekyll—shame on me!) that initially grabbed me. But there‘s so much more—meta elements and humor and the most original solution to the Whitechapel murders that I‘ve ever heard. 😊

This week‘s #libraryloot

Pretty much adored this book with all my heart. ❤️❤️❤️

Got this book from the library a few months ago but only got a third of the way through before having to return it. Was enjoying it but it was a slow read for me. Decided to try over again, but in audiobook. Such a unique zombie apocalypse story in that its both horror and what I think would be called literary fiction. Lots of flashbacks which sometimes momentarily confused me, especially as there are no chapters. Ended up really enjoying it.

Why did I wait so long to read this?!! Actually I‘m sort of glad I did—because it was just the sort of book I needed right now. The kind that made me gulp it all down in one go and left me just wanting to hug it tight.

The first of the Miss Marple books and the first I‘ve read. Enjoyed it even more than I expected. Now at 18 hours, 17 minutes for #25inFive Was hoping to be farther along by now... Still hopeful though.

I don‘t know that I can say anything that hasn‘t already been said about this incredible book. And I don‘t know that he‘d be comfortable with the term, but Bryan Stevenson is everything a hero should be. #25inFive update: 10 hrs. 51 min. down, and these two books completed.

Decided to take the plunge and join in #25inFive My tentative tbr pile, though goodness knows I‘m apt to change my mind.

What an amazing, powerful, unapologetic poetry collection. Smith‘s poems speak to the realities of living in a black, queer, HIV-positive body in our society. Quite possibly the best poetry collection I‘ve ever read, but damn is it hard on one‘s heart.

Tomi Adeyemi captivated me with her straightforward storytelling. This story is all the more vivid and heart wrenching for its unmistakable parallels to the unjust society we live in.

Thouroughly enjoyed this short novella. I just wish there had been more...but then that‘s what the rest of the series is for, huh? 😉

I enjoyed this so much more than I expected to. While I‘ve generally loved his books, for nearly forty years now, this one just didn‘t strike me as one I‘d get attached to. Happy to be wrong about that.

Great intro to queer theory. Extremely accessible. I not only enjoyed it, I definitely learned a thing or two or ten.

This anthology of essays by marginalized women is so good! These essays awed me and humbled me, they broke my heart and filled it with joy, they made me think and inspired me. It‘s so much more than a book about radical mothering, and one needn‘t be a mother to gain from it.

A collection of poetry that shares the fierce, protective nature of motherhood and the anxiety that comes from living in this world. A few of these poems will sit in my soul for eternity, and thus I give it a pick.

A clinical psychologist, a person who served on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa, a black woman, a human being. It is from all these perspectives that Gobodo-Madikizela writes this book which is ultimately a book about how people move forward after overwhelming atrocities. I suspect much of what she said will stay with me for a very long time.

After a string of nonfiction, none of which was particularly happy, I needed some fun. And fun I got! While I wouldn‘t call this book perfect, I loved it! Been meaning to read it for years, but too-many-books-too-slow-a-reader syndrome. As this is one of the few books reluctant reader teen son has actually read for fun, and he asked if we could go to movie when it came out, I knew I had to move it to top of tbr pile. Glad I did.

Went to the used bookstore this weekend intent on splurging. Goal met. #bookhaul

This is the of Levi‘s writing I‘ve read. There were places in this memoir where the beauty of his writing was so incongruous with the horrors he had lived that it rightly left me speechless.

Spent my gift cards. Pretty damn happy about this lovely pile.

I cannot get over how many truly awesome books I‘m reading this year. This will definitely be near the top of my end-of-year best list. Cannot recommend highly enough!

There‘s an almost painful innocence in the author‘s honest portrayal of dealing with her depression and her sexuality and her need to break away from the expectations of her parents. It touched me deeply. #comiclove

Definitely enjoyed. Not as in-depth as I generally like my natural history to be (I don‘t mean that as a criticism). It was a very fun book to read. And I loved the author‘s respect for all animals, humans included, which came shining through.

Because it‘s hard to separate out, this pick is for both volumes. I really, really loved these books. The kind of books I just want to hug. There were tears and there were smiles. These characters stole my heart, especially in the way they so cared about and for one another. Trigger warning for suicide. #comicslove #manga

My first Tayari Jones book, but yeah, not my last! Damn, did I love this book...

I realize for oh so many people this would be an unremarkable month of reading, but 18 books in January is somewhat a minor miracle for me. And while they weren‘t all great, quite a few of them were. Here‘s hoping February is just as wonderful!

Okay, so I loved A Nation Under Our Feet, but this...damn, I love love love love love! #24in48 Six books down. Shocking.

Unsurprisingly, not an easy book. But an excellent one. Just shy of 18 hours for me for #24in48 which is actually better than I thought I‘d do. And I never thought I‘d finish five books either. Maybe six? *fingers crossed*

Zonked our way early last night but have thoroughly enjoyed my reading thus far this morning. #24in48

Up to almost 10 hours of reading now for #24in48 The last 7 of those have been spent on this. As excellent as this book is, I need to switch to something lighter for the rest of the evening.

Oh how I adored this book! I need a new word though, because I cannot find one to capture the feel of these stories. They are magical and lyrical and whimsical and yet dark and sometimes heartbreakingly sad. This is my first finished book for #24in48, but I had started it prior to today. (Slightly more than two hours down.)

My to-choose-from pile for #24in48. So very much looking forward to a weekend wallowing in books.

Pretty much loved this one. I‘m not the hugest fan of series (except for comics) and I really feel like this book can easily stand on its own...but I admit I‘m curious about where she takes the story next. So do I continue on to Deadline or not? Seriously, any advice would be appreciated.

Hey @BkClubCare — the title of this short story made me think of you. Of course! And thinking of you made me smile. 😊

I‘ve only read a few of Woodson‘s books thus far, but have loved them all. This was no exception. It broke my heart and filled it up all at once. Yeah, I loved it hard.

This book is brutal. It‘s a story of broken systems and broken people. Set in a prison, we meet death row inmates, a woman hired to help try and get death sentences commuted, the warden, a fallen priest. No one is whole and all are human. I think the author‘s choice to leave most characters nameless is a powerful one. And all of it is told in such beautiful language. I suspect this one will truly stick with me.

Such an excellent book. As much as I love nonfiction, they often take me longer to read. Not so with this one. I couldn‘t put it down. #diversebooks

Such a sweet little treasure of a book! I‘d forgotten how happy middle grade books can make me. #kidlitrocks #diversebooks

This was the perfect book to read while sick in bed. With a definite nod to Christie‘s And Then There Were None, this was quite the fun little locked murder mystery. And I totally admit I did not have it figured out.

Okay, so I really enjoyed the art (her facial expressions were so full of life). And I thought the story was charming, while told in a biting kind of way. But overall, it just wasn‘t memorable for me. But I think that probably says more about me than the book, as I suspect many would love it. #comics #diversebooks

Told myself I was going to get better about posting my reads this year, and already I almost forgot. First in her African Immortals series, this book made sure I would read the rest. Not because of any cliffhanger ending, but simply because it was a unique, suspenseful, compelling read. Supernatural tales aren‘t really my most-loved genre, but so far I am two for two when it comes to Due‘s books. #diversebooks

This is not actually a so-so book for me at all. But the problem is that I do not know how to rate it because I both loved it and despised it. It is unmistakably one of the most bizarre, disturbing books I have ever read.

A lovely trip to a favorite used bookstore. #bookhaul #diversereads

Finished up second book of my personal readathon day. This was the book my sweetie and I had been reading together (I had been reading it aloud, and then we switched to audiobook when hold came in). Really enjoyed it, and am looking forward to spending more time with this odd, and mostly endearing, trio of characters in the second book.

This same point was made, in different words, in the book I finished earlier today (Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith). I love #bookcoincidences

I've been in the biggest reading slump I can remember this summer. Was so bummed about missing 24in48 last weekend as I was hoping it would push me in the right direction. So I declared today a personal readathon day. This was my first book finished, and it was wonderful! I don't read much historical fiction; this book makes me think I should read more. #diversebooks

It pains me immensely to say this, but this book was such a major letdown. 😕 I loved The Passage so hard, and ended up really enjoying The Twelve. But this book, just ugh. Much of it I truly loathed, and that rarely happens. If it weren't for the fact that I had well over a thousand pages invested in the trilogy, I never would have finished it ever hoping it would eventually redeem itself. It didn't.