In the last few years mornings have been when I tend to read the most for some reason. I think the quiet helps, less environmental input to deal with, easier to focus. It‘s the first morning I‘ve had time to read in quite a while. My summer coursework concluded yesterday and I have two weeks‘ break before my fall classes start. I hope to spend a lot of my break reading, resting. Maybe I‘ll do some birding of the temperature breaks. ⬇️

Lately I‘ve taken to the idea of reading more short stories and poetry. I‘ve rearranged a few cubes of my bookshelves so I could gather a bunch all together. But I‘m also not sure where to start. I‘m leaning towards not reading a single author‘s collection all the way through in one go. A short story buffet. Does anyone have a favorite short story writer? I‘d love suggestions!

From what I understand this is a series which collected new writing from a variety of authors in the Penguin Publishing range. This is No. 36 in the series, and it‘s a mixed bag so far, as I imagine the others are also. The highlight so far has been a Mary Lavin story called “A Single Lady,” about the misapprehensions a daughter has when her wealthy father falls in love with a servant who she perceives as an urchin. ⬇️

This was a gift from a friend who knows my partner and I adore cats. And what a charming read it was. This poem by Nancy Willard stood out to me: “Most Merciful Seer who saw an angel and let it pass.” What a beautiful unexpected gem!
#catsoflitsy

This was just what I needed this past week, a page-turning, suspenseful, slightly whacky novel to take my mind off life. Like many of Crichton‘s novels, this revolves around a premise that requires a sizable suspension of disbelief, this one maybe even more so than most. Perfect it was not. Still, it was entertaining and kept my attention.
#manifesting #giantsquid

#morningperspective

This is a short zine offering a very basic intro to identities on the aro-ace spectrum. I didn‘t get much out of this, but I‘m so glad things like this exist and are being made available to folks. For a while now I‘ve been thinking about starting a small zine library in my neighborhood- this is a keeper for that initiative. Either that or I‘ll donate it to the Lilac Library in Rochester. #microcosmpublishing

Started this last night after a fit of bookish and general ennui. One of those times where I stand in front of the bookshelf for an hour and stare. This is quite engaging so far, as Crichton‘s writing tends to be for me. We‘ll see.

This is certainly not the first bail of the year but it‘s going to be a memorable one.

I won a swag bag in a drawing after completing the Library Thing Pride month scavenger hunt. Boy am I excited to have a Litsy sticker! It‘s the little things.

A graphic novelization of a fascinating historical occurrence, this tells the story of Gareth Jones, a Welsh freelance journalist who broke the story of the man-made famine in Ukraine in 1933. This depicts the intrigue Jones faced, including a cover up by western journalists like Pulitzer Prize winner Walter Duranty. It‘s a pretty straightforward telling and conveys the story well, but I don‘t think this was the ideal medium for it. ⬇️

Off to a slow start with this (only about 40 pages in). I was turned off by the animal trauma at first but I‘m going to take the journey and see where it goes. 🤞I‘m down with a bad cold this evening so books may be my go-to pastime this weekend.

This is probably my most reread book of the past few years. This time I‘m facilitating a book club discussion on it. I am really looking forward to discussing it and seeing everyone‘s takeaways.

This was a brief, soft spoken graphic memoir about the death of the author‘s mother, Sue Bird, whose art adorns the cover and is sprinkled throughout. There‘s not much to say about the content of this memoir, mainly because it felt so delicate and personal. I found it rather affecting. Best to let it breathe.

I‘ve been on a horror kick lately, mostly watching films and TV in between grad school work. However, I‘ve been feeling like reading lately when I have the bandwidth. Tonight I‘m starting the tagged. This cover reminds me of the film The Witch, though I doubt there‘s any overlap plot-wise. I have zero expectations which is the way I like it.

This is a medium to low pick. I enjoyed the tone of the story- it put me in mind of Broadchurch, even though the plots are different. The revelations are slowly peeled back in a pleasing way. I liked the inclusion of Tommy‘s journals even though the font was often challenging. The story hints at the supernatural and never outright denies its presence which adds to the suspense. Still, it never reached page-turner status until near the end. ⬇️

I read the first in this volume, Laura by Vera Caspary, after viewing the 1944 film by the same name. It was fascinating to read the book knowing the twist. I think because the book is from multiple perspectives, including the killer‘s, it added to the overall experience of the characterization and kept me riveted. Both the novel and the film get a thumbs up! #screenadaptation #filmnoir

Last weekend movers brought my aunt‘s piano from PA to upstate NY. It‘s a Story & Clark that I used to play on when I was a kid; many great memories were made sitting on this stool. My aunt passed away in January and my cousin knew I would cherish it, and cherish it I will. ⬇️

On Tuesday I facilitated a discussion on this for the Keuka Compass LGBTQ+ Book Club. We had a vibrant conversation about whitewashing, trans and queer misogyny, policing and prisons, and activism. While I still get anxious after events like this from the crash post-socializing, my community groups have been a lifeline recently in addition to powerful books like this one. #stonewall #lgbtqia+ #solidarity

Waldo‘s narrative is intriguing, often full of vibrant vocabulary. “Scrofulous,” suitable for #weirdwordwednesday , means having a diseased appearance, and similarly “rachitic” refers to rickety geraniums. Interesting word choice. Revealing much?….

Week 4 of my LIS Master‘s, thinking about user groups.

This is a wonderful piece of storytelling. Weaving together a fiction based on several true stories of segments of the Dutch Resistance, this graphic novel outlines the overlaps between making art and resisting fascist regimes. van Lieshout contrasts her original art with photos, many taken by the resistance group Underground Camera. What we get is a unique look at how art can be used to fight hate in a meaningful way. Highly recommend.

1943, The Dutch Resistance, the blackbird sings.
“You‘ve seen my presence in beauty: LOVE, ART, MUSIC, NATURE. Many believe that‘s all I do. But every now and again, I reach into someone‘s gut and turn them INSIDE OUT. I strip them of their innocence and of the PERMISSION it gives them to carry on as usual.”

Not really in the mood to give an extensive review of this. It was a comforting, gentle, coming of age story. The writing, especially the expression of Annie and Liza‘s romance, was sweet. I wish I read this in high school. I find the cover a bit weird though…a bit too Hallmark movie which doesn‘t quite fit. Maybe that‘s a me problem.

Late night, can‘t sleep, here‘s where I‘m at. I found the graphics in this interesting but also a bit distracting. The formatting of some of the text was also not ideal, e.g. white print on an image of the sea. I prefer my original edition, but I‘m not really complaining. In the end, it contains the same message.

I‘ve been leaning into creative projects recently, and crochet has been one of them, offering me comfort in the repetition of the process. Unusually for me, I‘ve also turned to audiobooks while I crochet. This is the most recent one. It‘s a very timely read in a way, a reminder that no community is always safe for all, especially if we actively ignore elements of society which are uncomfortable to pay attention to. ⬇️

This is the November pick for my local LGBTQ+ book club. My first Highsmith, a lot of my expectations were subverted. I am really looking forward to discussing it.
I don‘t really have any other words in my brain right now… maybe I‘ll come back and edit this review when I‘m feeling loquacious, but for now this sparse vagueness is all I‘ve got. Despite that, I didn‘t want to wait too long to review this. I know I‘ll forget otherwise.

In the wake of US election results, in the midst of other local activism planning, I‘m finding some small comfort in looking through my shelves to find books which will inspire me to keep going, keep fighting. These are books I‘m going to move up my TBR for the near future. I‘m sure I‘ll add to the stack as I look through my library more. Are there any books y‘all are thinking about these days?

An enjoyable October read, this ate up a lot of my focus for the month. I enjoyed many of the characters, as well as the twisty plot, even though it did begin to seem dragged out. I surmise that its original serialization is to blame for that. Not much else I can say without spoilers, beyond expressing that I am left entertained. I think I may end up trying to be a completist of Wilkie Collins, but perhaps I‘ll reserve his books for #Victober. ⬇️

Today was a weird day for me. It‘s one of those when I just crash. I retreated into my reading chair but I became hyper fixated on crochet. This morning I made a dishcloth, the green one on the right, and then searched for patterns/started the scarf on the left. When I hyper fixate it‘s like nothing else exists. Now, I‘m in the stage of awakening to the real world, just in time for bed! Maybe I‘ll read some of the tagged before I turn in. Hmff.

Whenever I read Wilkie Collins it tends to be in October. Of course there‘s the #Victober tie-in, but his books also seem to fit the season. Melodrama, cliff-hanging chapter endings, mystery, dynamic characters. Something about the crisp fall weather makes me want to curl up, get cozy, and escape into a twisty story with a meticulously arranged plot. I started this yesterday morning and I‘ve been immersed since. 1/4 way through this page turner!

I love a good zine! This one includes several short essays by neurodivergent authors on the topic of masking. Several are through the lens of autism, but experiences of borderline personality disorder, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia are also represented. I‘m going through my own journey exploring my own neurodivergence experience, so I wasn‘t surprised to relate to many of the essays. If you‘re able to find a copy, it‘s worthwhile. ⬇️

Another graphic memoir centering a crisis of faith! I‘m on a roll…this one focuses on Mann‘s upbringing in an Orthodox Jewish community. At a young age, he realized that he was gay. This does a good job illustrating his difficulties navigating the traumas he experienced, as he notes, “at the intersection of high-demand religion and authoritarian parenting.” The art, by Mann and his partner Ryan Gatts, is simple and highlights shades of blue. ⬇️

A worthwhile reread. Judging by this Scholastic edition, the last time I read this was probably middle school. In this read I was struck by the metaphor of class division. I also found myself contemplating history, its preservation, its fleeting nature, its destruction. As bleak as that sounds, I didn‘t find this a depressing read- its philosophical interest was second to the entertainment factor. ⬇️

“If only I had thought of a Kodak! I could have flashed that glimpse of the Underworld in a second, and examined it at leisure.”

This sentence sent me down an internet rabbit hole researching the timeline of photographic innovation. I did a double take when I saw the brand Kodak treated like a household name. The company was incorporated in 1892, just three years before the publication of the tagged. Wild!

Let me begin by saying I really appreciated this story being told. It‘s a perspective that I‘ve never seen in a graphic narrative, that of a boy growing into young adulthood and navigating his faith, all while dealing with abuse, bullying, and essentially a rather traumatic childhood. It‘s a vital story, however painful it is at times, one that I can see a lot of people connecting with, particularly those navigating their own conflict of faith. ⬇️

The Picture of Dorian Gray is a marvelous October read! It was challenging at times- passages of dense, florid language, and the encyclopedic descriptions of Chapter 11. Nonetheless, I found this to be a page turner. There were several quite shocking twists (I gasped at one point), and the philosophical discourses appealed to me. I even found myself often amused by Lord Henry‘s waggery! This is one that will stand up to a reread in future.

“…and there were several very courteously worded communications from Jermyn Street moneylenders offering to advance any sum of money at a moment‘s notice and at the most reasonable rates of interest.”

Some things never change…

From “Unmasking My Parents,” by Eliot K. Daughtry:

“On Saturday, all the laundry was done before a trip to the library, where she would check out the maximum allowed books to feed her reading habit that week…my mom used the words on the page as a combination of stimming and shutdown, hidden behind a perfectly acceptable habit.”

This gives me pause to reflect on my own experience.

I didn‘t really like this as much as the first volume in this series, but it had a lot to offer in terms of suspense and a cliffhanger ending. My library has book three but not four, so a lot is riding on volume three in terms of whether I keep going with this series.

I‘m spending a few hours with the Spike Lee film this morning. It‘s interesting to note what details from the book have become focal points of the film. This is from the scene when the Fruit of Islam representatives demand medical care for a victim of police brutality. This moment seems to be portrayed as having greater importance than in the book. I‘d love to read something that puts these moments into context with their impact on the movement.

I love finding watermarks! I hauled this book recently and, beyond the well-written descriptions and plates which will be an excellent birding resource, I was thrilled to find this watermark for Warren‘s Olde Style. A quick search uncovers that this was a line from S.D. Warren Company, Boston. The official description, taken from an advertising digest I found online is, “a watermarked antique finish for type and line illustration.” Cool!

This was a decent collection of graphic short stories, each with an eerie premise. I feel like the art was a tonal mix of classic fairy tale and Goosebumps. My favorite was the final story, “A Nesting Place.” It was the most “fleshed” out and had a concrete premise that I could sink my teeth into (see what I did there…) Some of the other pieces were a bit too ethereal or subtle for me and I felt like I was left wanting more. ⬇️

Ugh! I have complicated thoughts upon finishing this. There are many things which I despised, chief among them the brutal antisemitism which poisoned so much of the reading experience. Also, for me, the story boils down to a sociological character study on the negative effects of money, the extremes to which greed can push people. The writing captures the tone and feeling of inevitable destruction excellently. That element kept me reading. Yet…⬇️

I‘m really enjoying this collection so far. It‘s cool to see little concentrated moments like this which depict navigating the politics of relationships. These strips make me reflect on what we have that is like this today. I think of people like Julia Kaye in Super Late Bloomer and on her Instagram where she‘s exploring the day to day of transitioning and navigating relationships and breakups. ⬇️

I picked this up at a library book sale last week, and I‘m already finding it a great resource. I‘ve read two speeches which have helped give context to recent reads. First, “More African than American,” given by Malcolm X a week before his assassination, and then “We Shall Overcome,” an address Lyndon B. Johnson made to the House about a month later, in March 1965. The latter was depicted in Volume 3 of March by John Lewis.

This was an exceptional conclusion to an exceptional trilogy of graphic novels. One of the things that stood out to me was how many moving parts there were at play at this time. There is great detail here about the conflicts among the various leadership, which was often exacerbated by the growing violence and intensity of the situation. Simply put, this was a perfect mix of informative and moving, a challenging but vital read.

“I had no way of knowing then, but that was the last time I would see Malcolm alive.”

This is the second time I‘ve read almost this exact sentence in the past week. The first was in the epilogue to Malcolm X‘s autobiography. On February 21st, 2025, it will have been 60 years since his assassination.

I‘m about half way through this 1899 naturalistic novel. I read this in my college days and decided to reread it and see why I kept it on my shelf. My notes in the front of the book note the influence of Zola and discuss the prevalent criminological theories of the time, namely Lombroso‘s criminal types. There‘s an awful lot of stereotyping, racism, and antisemitism throughout the book which I‘m not enjoying, yet something is keeping me reading ⬇️

This was a powerful volume. Many moments stood out, but a favorite is the image of Aretha Franklin singing “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” at President Obama‘s inauguration, contrasted with the images of the bloodied and beaten freedom riders in Montgomery in 1961. ⬇️