Got to see Martín Espada read at the Care Center in Holyoke this morning and got verbal permission to take a writing class with him in the Spring, had Mia Mingas as a guest in my transformative justice class, then my anthropology professor with a reputation for being a tough writing critic said my latest essay was so good that she hopes I‘ll consider publishing it in some form, so I‘m having a pretty good day despite the rain and dark. ? ? ??

Still listening to the audio but remembered that I have it on kindle too so I opened the app to grab this quote:

Open creamery day adventures with @brandybear22 did not include listening to my book, but I‘m listening now and this is a much cuter pic than a screenshot of the audiobook cover 😋

Sometimes a little something says, “go to Bull Moose before home,” and when you listen, you‘re rewarded with something magical like this #literarywitchesoracle deck 🥰📖📚

Know how I can tell that the heat kicked on? #BlackCat #fuckcoldweather #herewegoagain

I don‘t get as many pictures with Iliena because she‘s more my brother‘s cat than mine these days, but he and I watched an episode of Instinct together this afternoon so she‘s out here on the couch 😊 Also, it‘s scarf weather 😭 but at least I have some lovely options including this Iliad infinity scarf from @brandybear22 🥰

“The circus looks abandoned and empty. But you think perhaps you can smell caramel wafting through the evening breeze, beneath the crisp scent of the autumn leaves. A subtle sweetness at the edges of the cold.”

Don‘t mind me, just gonna sit here scrawling references in the margins to other things I‘ve read/experienced through my copious tears, nbd ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Starting this one for Medical Anthropology.

Scanning cookbooks for a recipe for the mussels I picked up tonight, came across this one for a condiment I definitely bought at a roadside stand in PR when we stopped for quenepas. Nothing says “authentic” like an unsealed repurposed bottle of unlabeled sauce from a local farmer 😁

I‘ve started this one on paper several times but have always set it down when I needed to read for school. I happened to look for it on audible today while thinking about long-time TBR books that could be my next audio and this was on sale for $6.95. So! Here we finally go 😊

I found myself sort of, puzzledly delighted by this book‘s quirkiness at the outset? but after sitting in that weird spot for several hours, it slid off the rails and I couldn‘t be sure what to think anymore. I didn‘t bail, and I didn‘t wish I had read the physical book for no other reason than that I wanted to throw it against a wall, but I definitely do not know exactly what I just finished.

This afterword is the most goddamned wholesome thing.

“But for heaven's sake — you're wizards! You can do magic!“
Scrimgeour turned slowly on the spot and exchanged an incredulous look with Fudge, who really did manage a smile this time as he said kindly, “The trouble is, the other side can do magic too, Prime Minister.”
(I can't be the only person who thinks of sci-fi/fantasy world connections while reading every assigned text for my classes, can I?)

Don‘t mind me, just sitting here crying in the dining hall 🥺😭💔

After a whirlwind month during which I made a lot of decisions very quickly out of what felt like necessity, I finally slowed down enough to think about what is POSSIBLE, not just what‘s most efficient. As some of you know from SOTT, my position at LT was one of two eliminated in August. I adjusted my courseload, so I‘m full-time, but only taking three classes so I can really dive into the work. My planner felt like a lie, so I fixed it. 😋

Starting this one on my commute to campus thanks to a review of interstellar restaurants in the Tor newsletter 🤓

One of the ongoing assignments for my creative writing class is to bring in an index card each week with one sentence that we found striking in some way, whether read or heard, from some form of media.
This one reminds me so much of one root of dissonance between generations in the queer community, but it is reversed for me: pride in protection, frustration with complacency.

I cackled.

Had a long and tearful meeting with my soon-to-be advisor, now trying to get through my reading for creative writing before 1:30 while also eating SOMEthing today 🙄

“Because how do you know for certain he‘s going to die unless you‘re going to kill him?”
Hard to argue with that logic 🤷🏻‍♀️

Starting the 3 chapters for tomorrow morning.
“Violence, starvation, destitution, exile, and death were, however horrific, within the sphere of known, or at least conceivable, tragedies. What had happened to Lia was outside that sphere.”

I was reminded immediately of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Anyone else?

Ah, back to the good ol‘ boy, Evans-Pritchard.

“And white feminist theory had also neglected the voices of women of color, often regarding gender and only gender as the bond and platform on which the women‘s movement was be grounded.”

“When you are on the other side, You will not be like what you were before you get through the Mekong. On the other side you cannot say to your wife, I love you more than my life. She saw! You cannot say that anymore! And when you try to restick this thing together it is like putting glue on a broken glass.”

Current commute listen, recommended by someone I follow here and/or on other social media and qualifies for #SpaceOperaSeptember which I‘ve basically just been using as a TBR generator 🤷🏻‍♀️

“When it became apparent that there would be no more planes, a collective wail rose from the crowd and echoed against the mountains. The shelling of Long Tieng began that afternoon. A long line of Hmong, carrying their children and old people, started to move across the plateau, heading toward Thailand.”

I don‘t know how this is the first time a college class I‘ve taken has prioritized vocabulary building: not memorization of terms, though I imagine some of that is inevitable, but being asked to bring a word we didn‘t know from the reading in to class. I can‘t tell you how many words I understand well enough from context that I don‘t bother looking up, but then I‘m not likely to remember or use them either, without looking up and writing down.

From Tuesday: I knew the Atwood would be featured front and center, but it was also an important book birthday for Akwaeke Emezi, award-winning non-binary POC author of Freshwater, whose sophomore novel was released this week. Haven‘t started either, but looking forward to both.

“‘And how long have you had these headaches?” asked one bored doctor. His Hmong patient replied matter-of-factly, ‘Ever since I got shot in the head.‘”
I cackled. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

“It walks a line between punishment and survival, like so many tools of escape do.”

Here 👏 for 👏 this 👏
#thecalliscomingfrominsidethehouse
[ETA: not from this book, but a journal article by Adam Gary Lewis]

💜 Too short, but a satisfactory conclusion.

This is just charming, I love it.

Got home late but still need to get some reading done for class. Xander is helping, per usual. #catsofLitsy

Commuting home after the first week on campus. Getting there much later than usual because holy moly did I need a nap after class. #audiocommute

Not a required text, but one we‘ll be using in my Wednesday class on transformative justice. Three classes today (one I‘m on the waitlist for and may not get to keep), then home to collapse for a couple of days before coming back for the first meetings of each of two more 3-hour classes on Mon-Tues. 😴 #backtoschool

Book birthday! #audiobook

“Adam is super practical about everything. He‘s the kind of person who always parks his car in the direction of his house, so he doesn‘t waste extra time when leaving for home.” #queerbookclub #audiobooking

Today‘s #BYObook prompt: Text on a warning label. 😳☠️
Your response should be sequential text of any length: it can be a word, a phrase, a sentence, or multiple sentences.

So I‘ve discovered a game that works like Apples to Apples or Cards Against Humanity, but the twist is, your responses come not from cards dealt to you, but from whatever book you have on hand. So I thought I‘d see if folks are into playing virtually 😊 Here‘s the first prompt: to play, submit a quote —one word, a phrase, a sentence, a paragraph— from a book you‘re reading, that answers the prompt. Mine in the comments! #bringyourownbook #BYOBook

Sign me the F up.

::sits angrily in Cat::
If you‘ve ever had a cat sit at you in this tone of voice, you know exactly how that tail is whipping, admonishing and full of warning.
#catsofLitsy #coneofshame #catmom

Piña colada and a porch read in the sun for this Sunday afternoon. #queerbooks

This morning‘s reading buddy, Lily, is chilling with me as I try to finish before #bookclub in a few hours. #queerbooks

I was reading on the porch because it‘s such a beautiful day, but had to come in to get my highlighter for this passage.

“To oppose something is to maintain it.”
I appreciate Le Guin‘s way of spinning out these simple philosophical statements. #bookclub #queerbooks #queerbookclub

#audiogardening

“It is not altogether a bad thing to have criminal ancestors. An arsonist grandfather may bequeath one a nose for smelling smoke.” #queerbooks #queerbookclub #bookclub