The title is “Strong“ in English, but this is a better cover! Second word down for #WickedWords @AsYouWish

L M Montgomery's characterisation of Cousin Ernestine is just hilarious.

Another month down in #ISpyBingo #ISpy @TheAromaOfBooks

The Cartoonists Club was a fun read, part story of the formation of a new school club, part instructional book on making comics and zines, part Ms Frizzle style encouragement to budding artists and writers to “take chances! make mistakes! get messy!“

I love the librarian who facilitates the group meetings, she's great.

Anne of Windy Willows (Poplars) has never been my favourite of the Anne books, but I'm still enjoying this read!

First #WickedWords of the month @AsYouWish #bet

(this is a followup story to the tagged book)

And I'm done for April!
#WickedWords @AsYouWish

I've been struggling for ages to find a cover match for Where the Drowned Girls Go, and I reckon this works! Colour, ocean theming, portal in the middle, etc. @TheAromaOfBooks #Bookchain2025

This entire Teacup Magic series is so enjoyable! It is set in a Regency-ish but more LBGTQIA+ friendly set of islands. >>

#tlt #threelistthursday I scored 52 that I can remember from this list (I inhaled a LOT of books as a kid/teenager!)
there are a few faves on it but I‘ll pick out Anne, P&P, and Little Women as those I have re read the most often.

Link for quiz is from @dabbe original post

Massachusetts! #WickedWords @AsYouWish

This is a different book by Auntie Fay, not in the database.

Always Was Always Will Be is an excellent book of the history of First Nations protest movements in Australia. Suitable for middle grade and up, but I learned things also. Recommended.

Book 4 of the very enjoyable Regency-flavoured Teacup Magic series! Lady Liesl, two seasons out and still unmarried, hunts a missing diamond in the peculiar Bohemian artist's community her stepmother's seaside villa has become. She finds a much bigger mystery, and maybe also herself. Sapphic, crackling with magic, with nods to gothic fiction.

I love how different each Teacup Magic novella has been, the pacing, the banter. Looking forward to more

Took a punt that a graphic novel called “Portugal“ might contain the word #Portugese, and I was right! #WickedWords @AsYouWish 


Am I enjoying it? Not really. Angsty artist dude treats woman terribly because angst, travels to find himself.

Also, Lettering Hall of Shame, gold star edition.

Just another entry in the Graphic Novel Lettering Shame Files.

There I was wondering which book to read for the Island prompt... when I realised I was reading a book set in Taiwan!

@julieclair #FictionalTraveler #Island

#Bookchain progress!

#Bookchain2025

@TheAromaOfBooks

“Fish“ was in my current read, hooray. Don't know where I'm gonna find “Portugese“, though. Cruising Libby now...

#WickedWords @AsYouWish

I‘ve read a little bit of Oodgeroo‘s poetry before, but I didn‘t realise how funny she is.

This rather lovely graphic novel of Botticelli's “chicken girl“, who wants to be an artist but is stymied by attitudes about her gender, completes my first full board in 2025 #ISpyBingo ! #ISpy @TheAromaOfBooks

And I'm done for March! #WickedWords @AsYouWish

#WickedWords @AsYouWish. #meetcute

In this wholesome romance, the hero and heroine both have limb differences. He has a prosthetic leg, she has one small, atypical hand. So long as you can handle the surprise pregnancy trope, read this! It has stellar disability rep and banter and he's a secret giant nerd and there is all sorts of boundary respect and communication and stuff.

I read it in one sitting, and I haven't done that for quite a while. #romantsy #romance #disability

This is a sweet romantic fantasy-magic novella set in Englandtimes.

“Also, they say the ducal estate of Storm has the finest library in all the Isles. Three thousand volumes!”
“A fine library does increase the appeal of any potential husband,” Mneme conceded. She thought better of Miss Agnew, that she counted the library as a bonus to a gentleman‘s appeal. “If only one could be sure that he had ever read a book.”“

#WickedWords @AsYouWish

Finished these Goodreads challenges! #readingchallenge #goodreadschallenge

Well this was perfect.

#WickedWords @AsYouWish

I was bored by nine tenths of this hot mess of a graphic novel. But would absolutely be here for an entire book of just Nora Grey's Victorian crypto-academic research hijinks.

#creepycover #clothesnotonaperson #ISpyBingo #ISpy @TheAromaOfBooks

2nd #WickedWords @AsYouWish

I'm afraid I'm Ms Unpopular Opinion for this book too, though it's not a wall-throw like Lessons in Chemistry.

The pace was glacial. Major moments of what should be emotional or character-changing events were skipped (totally skipped, as in time-jumped). The character had zero agency and less character. She was just buffeted around by life, and learned almost nothing.

[cont in comments]

First #WickedWords for March, in this poetry collection by a Wiradjuri author

 @AsYouWish

A graphic novel about Mary Shelley‘s greatx5 granddaughter. “I‘m going to my tree house!”

How beautiful is this cover?

Finished February! #WickedWords

I quite sorta enjoyed On The Way To The Wedding, with the usual caveats about problematic dude behaviour in these books. I just have to engage older-romance-novel-brain and whimsy away that nonsense in my head.

Now stalking @AsYouWish for the March words :)

For kids interested in the arts and a bit of history, this is a DELIGHT. It's the illustrated story of Clara Driscoll, who designed Tiffany lamps and other incredible glass art, with a bit of gender & labour history thrown in. The art is gorgeous.

I thought I might not find this one, but Julie Quinn to the rescue. And that's February done!

#WickedWords @AsYouWish

I finished Imaginary Numbers! It took me a minute to get into it, but I loved it in the end. Cuckoo lore! High stakes! True love!

#WickedWords @AsYouWish

Yes, yes they are

#Bookchain2025 progress - first page done!

@TheAromaOfBooks

Oof.

And my third #WickedWords for the month is Yellow.

@AsYouWish

This is a good middle grade graphic novel/memoir. The central character is a parentified 12 yo girl in Indonesia, and the book tells the story of a several-week period being stuck at home while they all have chickenpox.

#WickedWords @AsYouWish

This YA novel in verse was very good, and definitely kept the pages turning. Set in a British high school, the central character is a nerdy girl who is virally shamed (combination of slut and period shaming). The shaming gets pretty intense, with a couple of rape threats, so content warning for that. The ending is perhaps implausibly happy, but for a YA audience that's to be expected.

Why did I put this McGuire series down for so long? I love it. Currently reading number 9.

#WickedWords @AsYouWish

#Bookchain2025 progress! #Bookchain @TheAromaOfBooks

This feels topical...

@TheAromaofBooks #iSpy #ispybingo progress for January! I run all boards all year, with the aim of filling them, allowing multi-dipping. Always get off to a good start as a result.

Not quite any Bingo lines yet, but I'll get there!

I was a bit reluctant to pick this up because of the hype, but I'm really enjoying it so far. The first half had been basically a slice of life cosy with time travel, but the foreshadowing and ramp-up promises a change of pace and some higher stakes to come.

Early Connie Willis vibes.

Wrap for January #WickedWords @AsYouWish

Two romance novels, two SF, and a graphic novel. I'm not sure if my pick would be Love Laodice or This is How You Lose the Time War; they're so different that I have no way to compare them.

Last #WickedWords for January! @AsYouWish

This third book in the series was a bit of a holey hot mess, plot-wise, but still fluffy fun.