Really nerding out for this #weirdwordsWednesday. While doing my Greek homework this morning I came across the word τσιπούρα. Having been to a Greek distillery before, I thought this was the word for what some people know as “raki,” an anise-flavored alcoholic beverage (which is apparently the national drink of Turkey!). The problem was it was on a list of things you can buy from a fisherman. (See comments for more explanation.)⬇️
@CBee

A comedy in which tragedy is narrowly avoided by manipulating others into thinking that a tragedy has occurred. Hmm…quite interesting. Leonato‘s soliloquy in Act V, Scene I was the most effective part to me, full of seeming anguish despite the fact he knows his daughter isn‘t dead- the real emotion seems to come from her ruined reputation. ⬇️

This took me a long time to read, esp. for a graphic novel. Vellekoop uses the graphic memoir format to chronicle his life, growing up in a conservative Christian family, his growth into an artist and his coming out/dating experiences. Most of the second half draws on his long-term struggles with depression, as well as his journey to eventual self-acceptance and expression in middle age. There are long scenes lifted from counseling sessions.⬇️

More and more it‘s the feeling that a book gives me which is what I remember most. If it‘s a particularly powerful or emotional reading experience, I cherish it long after I forget the characters‘ names or other details. This is a book that will leave a lasting mark. Chang‘s imaginative, haunting writing really impressed me. I wanted to underline every sentence. ⬇️

I picked this book up for a bit of research on a short story I‘m writing and I‘m learning a lot (and becoming a bit more paranoid with each page). One cyber, or information, security term that came up is “zero-days.” These are flaws in software or hardware which make every user around the world vulnerable. They‘re named because the targets of attack have zero days to come up with a defense. These are scary! #weirdwords #weirdwordWednesdays
@CBee

Recently I started volunteering one day a week at the history center for my county, hoping to glean some experience in archiving work. My goal, besides helping out, is to see if I like it enough to pursue a degree in library or archival science. So far, it‘s amazing and right up my alley! Anyways, this book is coming in handy as I begin indexing the history center newsletter for easy searching. Any Litsy archivists out there? #archives #history

I‘m bailing on this a bit more than 50% through. This was on a books to read before you die list, and I can see the merit of its place there. Unfortunately, several unlikable characters and the misery of the plot are just too depressing for me to continue. I‘m grateful for learning about the author and this book‘s place in inspiring the quiet revolution, and I‘m ultimately glad I picked it up, but it‘s just not for me right now.

I‘ve settled on this for #LMPBC #GroupQ. I‘m in the midst of reading it, and loving it. I hope to be finished in the next few days so I can send it off.
@Reggie @Bookzombie @BookmarkTavern

I‘m a big Vivek Shraya fan, despite this being only the second book of hers I‘ve read (The Subtweet was the other and it was incredible). This collection of essays is a celebration of change and reinvention. I found the discussion about labels being “choices I make for the comprehension and comfort of others,” to be an interesting reframing. ⬇️

I haven‘t finished a book in a few weeks, but today I‘m celebrating my ever growing currently reading stack. I‘ve posted a bunch about the White essays and Walden which have taken a backseat to some library volumes. A common theme of some in this stack is refugee, migrant, and immigrant experiences. Tin Flute has been my melancholy bedtime reading, and People Change is my pick for the LGBTQ+ book club I‘m facilitating next week. Huzzah!

A late night #weirdwordwednesday. A malaphor, or a mixed idiom is when two idioms are mixed with a comic result. They remind me of malapropisms. I meant to come up with a few of my own but didn‘t have much creative energy. Has anyone got any other funny ones? #weirdwords @CBee

“Readers and writers should not deceive themselves that literature changes the world. Literature changes the world of readers and writers, but literature does not change the world until people get out of their chairs, go out into the world, and do something to transform the conditions of which the literature speaks.”
This book is the community read for my town this year. So far I‘m finding it thought provoking and bracing.

All right, Group Q. Here‘s what I‘ve got. The tagged is a YA trans superhero novel. Hola Papi is NF, sort of a memoir I believe (?). Brickmakers is tragic gay love I think. Manhunt is trans dystopian horror. Gods of Want is short stories in a fabulist style. I‘ve got other options if we‘re not feeling any of these. These are kind of the first that came to my hand. Let me know. @Reggie @Bookzombie @BookmarkTavern

This was a wild, strange read. It took me a while to sink into what was happening. I think the terror-filled, apocalyptic, other-worldly weekend away resonated with me in the end as an excellent metaphor for what it can feel like when queer people of many stripes are in extended situations when they have to pretend to be something they aren‘t and accept all manner of uncomfortable and inappropriate situations to survive. Was this over the top? ⬇️

This was a gorgeous book. Jedrowski manages to invoke the aura of Giovanni‘s Room without being tedious or derivative. The writing is incredibly sensitive to the complexity of the characters‘ relationships, and is full of poignant descriptions of the MC‘s internal life. The author chose to write in English, not his first language, because it allowed him to channel his own voice and not feel like his parents were speaking through him. ⬇️

Saw some delightful news today that the 20th album of one of my favorite songsters, Chris Smither, is set to be released in May. I saw him live in November and he played one of his new songs called Down in Thibodaux. It‘s full of words that rhyme with the title: bateau, chapeau, crapaud, and fais-dodo, a typically Louisianan evening country dance. I had to share my enthusiasm for these delightful words on #weirdwordWednesday. #weirdwords @CBee ⬇️

“I thought of the photographer and his courage, imagining how the photo had made it out of the country: a roll of film smuggled into West Germany… Anonymous figures trapped on the wrong side of history, compressed and rolled up inside a stranger‘s pocket. No matter what happens in the world, however brutal or dystopian a thing, not all is lost if there are people out there risking themselves to document it. Little sparks cause fires too.”

This was a fun read, my first Scalzi. The only reason it‘s not fully a pick for me is my own mood. Normally, I would have enjoyed the snark, the Hitchhiker‘s Guide-ness of it. However, I just haven‘t been in the mood for the light tone that this delivers. Also, I‘m miffed that my own cats haven‘t delivered the way Hera does for Charlie. They haven‘t made it past the plotting stage as far as I‘m aware. Pictured-Jack, mid-plot. #catsoflitsy

Another end-of-month DNF. This started off strong with a strange loop of a story about a cell phone, a voice mail, and a suspicious stranger in a mall. I set it down after a story about slaughtering chickens. Today I went back for another try and the story I landed on seemed overly tedious, a description of carvings on a sarcophagus. I feel like Sims tried for atmosphere and shock based on the stories I tried, and nothing is drawing me in further.

This is a bail for me. I just wasn‘t connecting with it this time around, but I will probably give it another chance eventually. Erdrich‘s writing is generally quite good. Under normal circumstances, I think I would have enjoyed this. Perhaps because this is a prequel and I haven‘t read Love Medicine, or perhaps because of the magical realism elements which made me feel a bit distant from the characters, I just wasn‘t feeling it.
#catsoflitsy

I mean, the cliffhanger is real. This might be one of my favorite volumes so far, I think because of the intertwining of the various plot threads and their culmination. This series has so many memorable moments. My favorites are the emotional, reflective asides Hazel offers, and the ones in this volume really tug at the heartstrings.

A low pick, but thought-provoking. This shorty is one of the newest in Biblioasis‘ Field Notes series. Plett does a good job of exploring possible definitions of community, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of communities. She explores online camaraderie, “third places,” Mennonite communities, queer spaces/groups, and much more. It raises a lot of questions without answering them, embracing ambiguity. ⬇️

“What if we had social media platforms that might eventually meld into the fabric of a life in a less inflammatory, more convivial way, in a way that one day might leave us going ‘Water, what the hell is water?‘”
In reference to a David Foster Wallace anecdote about fish. Some young fish pass an old fish who says, “Morning boys, how‘s the water?” One young fish replies, “What the hell is water?”

Another solid addition to the series. My reading across the board has slowed down in ways. I‘ve got a stack of books on the go and I‘m dipping in and out of them all. As a result, there are some character names and minor details in this series that I‘m starting to forget. To combat that, I started keeping a note on what happens in each of the volumes, which is helpful. Not much else to say. Great writing and arresting visuals as usual.

There‘s been a few #weirdwords sprinkled throughout White‘s essays, but a recent one that I never heard before was the phrase “shoe hockeys.” I tried searching the term but it was unproductive. I‘m thinking he‘s either describing skates that you attach to the bottoms of shoes or, as he mentions later in the paragraph, a pair of skates. Anyone else heard this phrase before? Is it a retronym? @dabbe
#weirdwordWednesdays @CBee

I absolutely loved this graphic memoir! 10/10 The incredible artwork accentuates how Summers‘ pregnancy pushed her out of her comfort zone in so many different ways, challenging her perception of herself and the people around her constantly. I really appreciated the depictions of each stage of the pregnancy, from DIY home insemination, through birthing classes, to the birth of her son. Add to that a marvelous sense of humor. Just wonderful!

“‘Actually Mr. Duggins, I have gained weight—the reason is that I‘m going to have a baby.‘ Does anyone else have conversations like this with your landlord? … My privacy was gone.”

In the intro to this graphic memoir, Summers writes about the positive shift in public attitudes towards homosexuality and trans people. ⬇️

“Events carry us rapidly in directions tangential to our true desires…Perhaps success in the future will depend partly on our ability to generate cheap power, but I think it will depend to a greater extent on our ability to resist a technological formula that is sterile…There is more to these rocks than uranium; their is the lichen on the rock, the smell of the fern whose feet are upon the rock, the view from the rock.”
-1956

“Gober‘s closet is a hinge point, arriving twenty years after Marsha P. Johnson and company rioted at the Stonewall Inn and in the midst of the AIDS crisis. It opens to nothing, nowhere. There is no place to hide. Nothing in it, too- no collared shirts, no ties, no pressed trousers draped on hangers. It is empty because I have left it.”
from the essay “Robert Gober” by Andrew Durbin

This dynamic graphic novel brought back many bittersweet memories of my own trips to NYC in high school/college with friends. The energy that the authors bring to the page with their artwork/story captures so much of what it‘s like to be in the city, the motion of the traffic and subway, the smells and lights, the unexpected connections/interactions with strangers. ⬇️

First book of the year! I found Jemisin‘s writing to be very precise and evocative on a sentence level. I love how she played with the characters‘ knowledge and how it is revealed. The urban fantasy elements were sort of reminiscent of Gaiman‘s writing but Jemisin‘s voice is unique. I can‘t wait for the sequels! P.S. I returned my copy to the library so the photo is a tessellation I folded appropriately called “Suction,” apropos of the antagonist.

This morning I‘m trying to speed through the end of the tagged so I can return it to the library. Just in time for #weirdwordsWednesday, I found the word gormless, which I had never heard before. I guess it stems from a dialect noun “gaum,” which can mean understanding or attention. Throw in a spelling change and the current meaning makes sense. Still, I‘m surprised I‘ve never noticed it in British literature I‘ve read. #weirdwords @CBee

Following the reunion of the family, I knew everything would go downhill eventually. After all, that is the nature of a tragic war story like this. Nonetheless, I was not prepared for the gut punches in this volume!

The series continues strong with great storytelling and compelling characters. There‘s never a dull moment!

“…but anyone who thinks one book has all the answers hasn‘t read enough books.”
📚

For today‘s #weirdwordswednesday I wanted to share the phrase “superfluous glowshoes.” Thoreau is writing here about the futility of keeping more things than needed around one‘s house. I was simultaneously delighted and puzzled by this phrase, and glad for a footnote which clarifies that Thoreau meant galoshes. But come on! Who doesn‘t want a pair of superfluous glowshoes? What a delightful phrase! #weirdwords @CBee

“…if I hear the term the trans community without further clarifying context, it‘s impossibly abstract to me, even as tiny and specific a group as we are… One economical solution I use in my own personal life is the phrase my [X] communities. To say ‘my trans communities‘ or ‘my writer communities‘ implies something more accurate and specific yet leaves room for heterogeneity. There‘s an understanding of internal range built into it.”

My morning activities today: lazy reading, coffee, and maybe some crochet, my newest hobby. My reading has slowed down a lot as the year progressed, but I‘m refusing to see that as a bad thing. It‘s been deeper and more meaningful in many ways. Still, it‘s a mystery to me that I tend to read less when I start having more time off of work for the holidays. This morning‘s mood is an anomaly.
#craftersoflitsy #crochet

This novel, a historical fiction, takes a look at the figure of Jeanne Bonnet, a frog-catcher, cast here as a woman who cross dresses and, by doing so, lives the life of an outlaw in 1876 San Francisco. The novel is about Bonnet‘s murder but follows Blanche, a danseuse working as a sex worker/burlesque dancer. Donoghue‘s writing choices didn‘t always appeal to me. She writes in 3rd person present, and she alternates between the past/present. ⬇️

When I ordered my copy of the tagged, I didn‘t realize it was large print. At first, when it arrived, I was a bit annoyed- larger book, more unwieldy. However, now that I‘m halfway through I must say that it is much easier on my eyes. I‘ve always worn glasses, but with my work as a transcriber and using a cell phone, I have noticed my eyes straining to focus after too much screen time. The large print is a relief and has made me less strained. ⬇️

“I have no sharp taste for acquiring things, but it is not necessary to desire things in order to acquire them. Goods and chattels seek a man out; they find him even though his guard is up. Books and oddities arrive in the mail. Gifts arrive on anniversaries and fête days…Under ordinary circumstances, the only stuff that leaves a home is paper trash and garbage; everything else stays on and digs in.”
#booksandoddities

I enjoyed the various side quests with the characters paired off. These scenes allowed the characters to develop in different directions and show how terrible Marko and Alana are when apart. Geez those dragon lizard scenes were too much though. This was a lower pick than the previous ones, but I‘m still really invested in the overarching story for now. It‘s interesting to see how various traumas manifest, and I love the narrative asides of Hazel.

Getting a head start on this today. It‘s the book I chose for the first meeting of the LBGTQ+ book club I will be facilitating starting in January. Fingers crossed I didn‘t pick a dud 📚🤞

From the poem “Every Cat Has a Story”:

One cat hid her head
when I practiced violin.
But she came out for piano.
At night she played sonatas on my quilt.

These poems are such a delight!
#catsoflitsy

I haven‘t done a lot of reading in the latter half of the year, but what I have read has been substantive. Including this, a collection of essays on war and justice. I found this collection bracing, full of writing which challenges a status quo. Similar to A People‘s History, this is full of more nuanced history as well as reminders of the social changes that have been made by people working in solidarity through nonviolent active resistance. ⬇️

A little nighttime reading has yielded a word for #weirdwordWednesday. I‘ve heard of locavore, or one who eats food grown locally whenever possible, but locavorousness took me off guard. It makes sense but I find it a mouthful…pun intended. Aside- Bennett Sims‘ writing is interesting. So far, the stories in this collection are a mix between Black Mirror and Escher, but no standouts so far. I‘ll see how I feel when I finish. #weirdwords @CBee

This small book is a collection of art from the Denver Art Museum. All of the pieces depict flowers in some way. There are short texts interspersed, recipes for a milkweed seed bomb, candied rose petals, a perfume, and an “in full bloom cocktail,” as well as artist quotes, a writing prompt, a drawing exercise, and a brief introduction to Ikebana. From the art, I quite enjoyed this colorful watercolor by Barbara Latham, Decoration Day. ⬇️

Another entry in this expansive series. Vaughan and Staples have a great way of educing my care. There were several emotional cliffhangers between issues- I can see how the hiatuses later on would be difficult to handle. I got all the currently available volumes from the library yesterday and I‘ll be working through them this week, in between my other reading. Pictured: my own personal Lying Cat: Sleepy Disinterested Cat. #catsoflitsy

Waiting for my car at the shop. This was good reading to help me ignore the made for TV movie playing in the waiting room. This was just as enjoyable as the first volume. I‘m intrigued by the Will and Lying Cat, and I hope there‘s more backstory there in later volumes. I‘m glad that I decided to reread this series- it‘s more relatable to me now than it was when I was in college.