BANANA PANTS GOOD. any way i try to describe it will not do it justice. just read it. trust me.

ooh! nifty filter!
this graphic novel was funny, sweet, cute, clever. my fave character is def Emiko. she is hilarious. all of my LOLs were related to her shenanigans.

ok the caveat: don‘t expect the damsel in distress to be realistic. none of Crais‘s damsels make much sense to me, frankly. like, does he even know any young women irl? BUT if you‘re already a Pike/Cole fan, this one delivers the usual mayhem and bad Cole humour. (speaking of...i stuck the suns on bc it‘s L.A.) i think past novels in this series have had better plots so thus the middling rating.

moving along now to contemporary mystery and the latest in the Elvis Cole/Joe Pike series. im def a Pike fan over Elvis so looking forward to this one. thanks as always to my 💕public library 💕 for keeping me in new things to read!

starting this tome, second in the series. Jade City was really something so i expect similar gut-wrenching tribulations for the Kaul family here! 😧

so glad i tried this despite some hesitation. (i‘d been disappointed by The Ghost Bride.)
the last scene was a delight and so satisfying. i mean, there are some bumps, for sure—mainly with characterization—but im happy with the overall experience. the historical details are great. i do think the commentary on colonials could‘ve been sharper, but 🤷🏻‍♀️ there‘s no such thing as a perfect book. 🌟

i was a mild fan of The Ghost Bride so this has been a really pleasant surprise. quite enjoying it so far. at about halfway...

i was immediately intrigued by this premise and Ms. Grant (aka Seanan Macguire) packs a ton of plausible science into this SF, extrapolating it all into some truly terrifying and fascinating creatures and ideas. BUT i found that i had to slow down too often to read exposition or abt internal motives etc. of a character i didn‘t care abt/for.

a smart, compassionate story about terrible things and deeds. lots of familiar tropes esp. if you‘ve read The Forever War. i also liked the hidden homages to it plus other similar novels like Starship Troopers and Armor. and, like i posted earlier, the end made me cry.

[edited to add mention of homages cuz i was in a rush yesterday!]

this made me cry

“Our cultural obsession with murder stories and the criminal justice system is a prime example of the impulse to narrativize a reality that is basically unexplainable.”

an apt description of a crime writer‘s raison d‘être from one of the many interesting essays in this. im just past halfway through.

inspired to make homemade cheat chai 🤤💕

tried starting this novel months ago but kept getting distracted. now, though, it‘s hitting the spot. and im reminded of an old friend teaching me to make chai similar to this... 💕🤤

seems like a timely read...

birthday book haul! Seven Fallen Feathers (nf), The Red Power Murders (f), and The Collected Adventures of Bannon & Clare (f)! ☺️
can‘t wait to start...

AMAZING. beautifully written.

still thinking of the themes & character choices days later. i think this book does have what i call 'first novel syndrome': ending too abruptly, but it's definitely worth reading. immersive, imaginative, thematically challenging & relevant.

harrowing. Ms McNamara writes compassionately and skilfully abt horrific crimes and honestly abt her own obsession.
i had to stop a few times, to take a break from the fact that these were real people who'd been victimized; that was the toughest part for me. but ultimately, it felt like a duty to bear witness.

what a delight! great contemporary take on the fake relationship trope. adorable f/m characters. i totally cried.? so glad i let the Roxane Gay blurb convince me to try this book: "What a charming, warm, sexy gem of a novel." all true!!

well-written, imaginative, intriguingly flawed characters. also, disturbing in a good way.

im not even done yet but this is a riveting read.

an extraordinary read. im no opera buff but it seemed to me this book read dramatically & thematically like an opera.

at 500+ pages in hardcover, it was also ~really~ heavy! 😁

definitely recommend for historical fiction fans.

when you pluck a package from your mailbox & it's a book you'd forgotten you'd ordered..! 😁
i ❤️ food reference books.

just one of many important points that Fine highlights in hilarious ways.
"None of which is to say..." ?

my latest impulse buy! there are new poems at the start. so beautiful. 💞

*sigh* and thus it ends. a beautiful, wondrous book. my husband asked me what this book was about. me: "magic and love." but really, aren't those one and the same?

next up! isn't this page divine?
(have i mentioned im a bit of a design nerd?)

ooooh, sneaky. 😈
someone inadvertently gave away the big reveal to me, but i still enjoyed this immensely. a classic for a very good reason.

"Do you know the feeling when you start reading a new book before the membrane of the last one has had time to close behind you?"
yes; so many times! sometimes, i need days before i can begin a new book properly. *sigh* #booklove ?

this. every book lover's dream, yes? i am already in love with this book. 💕

such an enjoyable book! comedic and poignant, simple and profound.

this was my first completed read of 2017. thoroughly enjoyed it. loved the motif of the bells. my favourite Lord Peter Wimsey, just by a smidge over Busman's Honeymoon.

so enjoyable--even when i don't know the Latin nor recognize the many poetic allusions! 🤓
Harriet is intriguing and Peter is a hoot. Ms Sayers deserves her place in the canon of Great Detective Writers indeed.

thoroughly enjoyed this. riveting and compelling. and i appreciated the ambiguity of the central mystery. thematically, i thought it spot on. also: a fellow Canadian author! 🍁

meh. i didn't connect with the narrator nor with her difficulties. and i found the set-up totally contrived.

alternate history positing the death of Wallis Simpson in 1936 & its impact on Europe in 1939 as Edward VIII is a sympathizer. just my type of book. what could go wrong?
somehow, Mr Taylor mucks it all up with a pompous, detached narrative voice. *sigh*

"In other words, the KCI [Kyoto Costume Institute] presents clothing not just as historical artifacts, but also as vital elements of fashion."

im looking forward to seeing how Western fashion is curated and filtered through the Japanese lens of the KCI--a neat reversal of many Western collections of fashion from other countries.

my very first Linda L Richards! just purchased at Noir at the Bar Vancouver.

just bought this! looking forward to finally reading it.

i had some bumpy moments with this one, similar to ones i had with The Chain, all related to issues of cultural appropriation and cultural context, but ultimately, i think the direction of the characterization of Munroe made those moments acceptable for me. as usual, plotting and pacing were excellent. i really enjoy the continued exploration of Munroe's relationship to love and to herself.

bingeing on the Vanessa Michael Munroe series! whew. Munroe is put through the proverbial wringer in this one. her turmoil, emotional and physical, is palpable. the story's action and plotting are fast-paced yet intricate. great stuff.

given what her author bio says about Ms Stevens's upbringing in a cult, the details that provide the backdrop for this book are chilling and troubling and heartbreaking.
the plot and pacing are again, excellent, and the character of Munroe continues to intrigue.

Ms Stevens is so good at putting her series protagonist into seemingly impossible situations and letting her figure it all out. we just strap in for the ride, as they say. really enjoying this series.

complex protagonist. amazing pacing. great start to her story.

there are so many beautiful, lyrical phrases and passages in this novel, made all the more moving for their use in narrating a story within a dark world of brutality and despair. this is a story of everything human beings are and everything we cannot stop being. there are so many themes here, pressed into the very shapes of the words Ms Denfeld chooses to tell this unforgettable narrative. i know i'll be re-reading this for years to come.

this is breaking my heart right now. i had to take a break.

popped into the library after picking up the kids. started this immediately. im so hyped to read it. 🤓

it's here!!! thank you Edmonton Public Library! 📚💕🌟

this book compelled me to read thoughtfully during the astrophysics-heavy sections, while simultaneously tugging me along with its intelligent plot and memorable characters. i thoroughly enjoyed it and am going out tomorrow to buy the next book in this trilogy. a fantastic book.