“there are worlds where you are too much of a coward to find out, and worlds where you are brave enough. So. It‘s up to you: which of those worlds do we exist in right now?”
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“there are worlds where you are too much of a coward to find out, and worlds where you are brave enough. So. It‘s up to you: which of those worlds do we exist in right now?”
“I could remind myself that somewhere in the multiverse of possibility, there existed a world where I was all of those things. Maybe it was the world that I already lived in.”
“She‘d lived with fear and anxiety for so long, and fell into fits of dread and despair over the smallest things. Going to work. Making a dentist appointment. Grocery shopping. The light right after the sun went down, when she realized she‘d accomplished almost nothing that day. All normal things that normal people could deal with, and she was never equal to the challenge of them.” #mood
bailedThis is the second book I‘ve bounced from in 2021 because something ableist snuck up and stabbed me in the heart: “He didn‘t know why, but it bothered him that she couldn‘t speak. It was selfish, and odd, but he couldn‘t help but guess at what her voice would sound like.” The fact that the heroine can speak is not the point. It‘s that the hero presumes being able to speak is a prerequisite for being a full human and love interest.
“Trust was a funny thing in that people thought they guarded it closely but were often willing to hand it over at the slightest sign of camaraderie.”
“How do you invite another person into a lifetime of moments—a million tiny stings? How do you translate the sharp pain that comes from seeing your secret fears confirmed—that your life really is a tragedy? What words do you choose to communicate the weight of believing—through your spine and into your digits—that you don‘t belong?”
“A world built on speed, productivity, more, more, more! and far too few bathrooms (and bathroom breaks) does not consider or care for the actual bodies we live in. In other words, ableism affects all of us, whether we consider ourselves disabled or not.”
#libraryhaul Two graphic novels: Bombshells for my queer book club, and Turf Wars because Korrasami 💗
#Litsythisorthat answers:
1. Tea. Tea is appropriate for every occasion.
2. Cats. It used to be dogs, but I really love my cat. I was bitten by a dog recently and I'm much more cautious now.
3. Vampires, I guess.
4. Thriller
5. Voldemort
6. Marvel for the general MCU, Jessica, and Kamala, but D.C. has Wonder Woman
7. When asked that, have some candy 🍬
" 'Before they allowed your father to be a priest,' my mother tells me, 'they made me take the Psychopath Test. You know, a priest can't have a psychopath wife, it would bring disgrace.'"
? #firstlineofcurrentread
For a show that I don't watch, I sure spend time reading recaps and watching clips!
pickWhoa. We get all the answers in this book, and they're even more horrifying than I could have imagined. But such is the nature of oppression for the privileged and unaware. We can't just be horrified when some among us are designated as not-people; we have to act. The emotional stakes are high throughout the book, creating a powerful closing novel. 3 for 3 on the Hugo?
1. The First Bad Man, I guess. I'm not that impressed with anything I've read so far this month.
2. Most of the time
3. 78 degrees
4. Pirates
5. Off to meet people!
#friyayintro
so-soI feel like I didn't read the same book everyone else did. Or perhaps this was the right book, but at the wrong time. I enjoyed the book, but felt like something was missing--the ending and the romance too abrupt, perhaps. I loved the descriptions of the Wood, and of the faeries.
Ooooo I can't wait what's going to happen to Essun and Nassun and their world? And the James Baldwin book came in too!
Current TBR pile. Ash is next for a book club on Tuesday. But when the new N.K. Jemisin book is available for me to check out at the library, all bets will be off.
I'm about halfway through this book and I have no idea whether I'm hate-reading it or genuinely enjoying it.
Just starting this book and I love that in the present day, all the named characters are people of color. Evelyn is Latina, Frankie is black, Grace is Asian. And Monique is biracial, but not white-passing; she has tight curls. David might be white--I'm picking up on some coding in that direction--but I don't know.
#libraryhaul today: A couple of holds came in, and then my girlfriend requested some LGBT fiction for her upcoming trip to Fire Island, so I picked a couple titles off the stacks that I want to read myself. I've been waiting probably about 6 months for the Putin book, so I'd better prioritize it...but I don't want to. 😑
"She could not see his humanity, and Noa realized that this was what he wanted most of all: to be seen as human."
Returning to Litsy to say that I am four pages into this book and I cannot stop laughing!
I wanted Alina to be on her own at the end, and triumph over the Darkling once more simply by living. She has no chemistry with Nikolai. That isn't a problem with the Darkling, but that would never be a healthy relationship. I actually like Alina and Mal's relationship arc, but I wanted Mal to stay dead so his sacrifice would mean something 😭
I don't really care about this book. Ordinarily I'd DNF it, but I do care about not being the only person around not to know what happened. So I keep reading.
so-soI read the series this week and, on top of the white savior narrative others have identified, keep coming back to the plot's reliance on divine intervention as a huge flaw. Aly doesn't have to make any of the hard choices that would have made the rebellion more interesting. I liked seeing her succeed, but I wanted to see her struggle in a meaningful way. Still, it's Tamora Pierce, and I mostly enjoyed it.
pickI was fascinated by Jende and Neni's approach to the American Dream. The first half of the book is stronger than the ending, which I found somewhat abrupt, but I found their story compelling all the same.
I'm in a post-ASOUE reading slump. Book club is on Sunday and I haven't started this book. Living on the edge!
Release date this fall? I am so ready for this book. 😁🤗💝🙌🎉
One of my few disappointments in the ASOUE TV series is that we couldn't have Thomas Newman's score. He's probably my favorite composer, and his work for the film expressed such a beautiful understanding of getting by in an uncertain world.
pickThe End poses the question of whether it's worth living in a world where unexplained unfortunate events happen to people and where you don't know if you're noble or villainous at any given moment. The Baudelaires decide that the answer is yes. I think that's a wonderful theme that ends the series on a good note while taking into account that there is no happy ending.
pickNow what 😱😱😱 What happens to the orphans? What's in the sugar bowl? 🍚 Why did I stop reading this series? Oh, and now I know a whole lot more about the water cycle 😂
"People aren't either wicked or noble. They're like chef's salads, with good things and bad things chopped and mixed together in a vinaigrette of confusion and conflict."
Klaus Baudelaire has got to be my reading companion. It is, after all, the trait he is most known for. (Photo snagged from vfdbooks.vfdsnickets on Instagram) #litsypartyofone
pickStarting off #litsypartyofone by catching up on reviews. This was ASOUE at its best: Baudelaires with agency, ingenious inventions, mysteries revealed, and excellent character development.
I don't know why I stopped reading ASOUE, but I've resumed the series (starting from Carnivorous Carnival) and I love it more than ever. Sunny POV, and Sunny making her own decisions, makes me squee. Sunny POV is a phrase which here means "Lemony POV focused on Sunny."
pickYes! A little slow to start, but it ultimately kept up the twists and turns just like Six of Crows. And I wound up loving the ensemble even more in the conclusion to the series. All six main characters are so well drawn, and all six had my heart. Don't make me pick favorites (okay, fine, Inej and Wylan).
Again and again, Kaz and the team emphasize the importance of developing new strategies when old ones fail, and of refusing to play someone else's game. "When they backed you into a corner, you cut a hole in the roof," he thinks. That's the thinking we need for our real-life resistance. #allisnotlost @Liberty
so-soI love Lumberjanes as a whole, and the issue where our quintet first arrives at camp is a standout. I ❤ Jo and her dads, and I liked seeing Mal and Molly meet, and and and. If only the rest of the volume had carried that momentum through, since I didn't love the band storyline. Eagerly awaiting volume 6!
pickI enjoyed this anthology of Valentine's Day stories. Most of them are contemporary romance, with some historical fiction, a bit of science fiction and fantasy, and even an appearance from Eros. Somewhat of a slow read because these stories were pretty sexy!
"Who else would be so frank with him? Who else loves him enough to tell him the truth? . . . Jan van Eck had done his best to care for his son, and if he'd failed, then the defect lay with Wylan."
?okay Wylan is my new favorite character after the scene when they visit his mother and if anything happens to him I will throw this book out the window
Does my desire to keep reading this book outweigh my desire to stay home? The book is currently at my office, where I dropped off things that were weighing down my bag prior to the Women's March.
so-soI enjoyed the themes about defining yourself by someone else, and how that changes you. But I felt like something was missing in the pacing, especially in the denouement.
#libraryhaul My ebook checkout on The Girls expired, so I'm finishing it in print. And more Lumberjanes! 🤗
pickI enjoy reading about baseball and what strategies teams are doing to advance the game. This book gets into sabermetrics in a way that's easily readable and shows how defensive shifts and pitch framing are impacting baseball. Plus, it's a great underdog story. Maybe my team is next and that 15-year playoff drought will end? #goms
pickI'm used to the portrayal of Elizabeth managing everything perfectly, but here, she's very flawed. I didn't like her as much as I usually do. Then, I realized that the primary sources are men who were often irritated by her, and who held her to a higher standard than other monarchs. Besides, the circumstances of Elizabeth's reign were so difficult, yet England came out so far ahead.
#libraryhaul I'm looking forward to finding out what happens to the team next! But I have to get through my two e-books that expire in 3 days first.
I used to name Queen Elizabeth I as the historical figure I'd most like to meet. Now she's not on that list anymore. I'm terrified of her temper! 😬
