Space Station Mir

 Happy Spring! I've missed the last few Top Ten Tuesdays , so I'll take the opportunity to share my Spring TBR list here. Per usual, it's books I'm reading for book clubs or just what I'm interested in right now, rather than anything especially seasonal. Although, the birding book I'm reading now does feel apropos, as I hear more birdcalls outside my window, the daffodils and forsythia are blooming, and the cherry blossoms are budding. I feel like a lot of people read specific books in the Fall especially and sometimes for Winter or Summer. Does anyone out there have specific Spring reads? What are you all planning to read for Spring? My Spring 2025 TBR Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World by Christian Cooper (Book club read)--I'm almost done, and so glad I suggested we read this one! I love the birding parts, and it's more of a memoir than I expected, but fortunately, as a fellow Marvel and Star Trek fan, Cooper ha...

Oof. It has been a month, a year, an eternity. A lot of books I enjoyed this month, thank goodness. And I read straight through into March and already have a couple books done for that month. It has been that kind of a year so far. I enjoyed getting to share a lot of these reads and would love to hear your thoughts if you've read any! Books Read in February 2025  No One Will Save Us: A Reimagining of the Atlantic Slave Trade by Julie L. Brown (received for review from LibraryThing)--I'm so glad I asked to review this because I don't think I ever would have seen it otherwise, and I absolutely loved it. This is the inspiring, educational, and just freaking awesome alternate history we need. The warrior women of Kana (the primary of multiple cultures in what we would call Ghana that Brown brings to life) stop the Atlantic slave trade in its infancy--even traveling to Virginia to bring their people and others back home, and allying with the Powhatans along the way! If you'r...

The Fire Apprentice by Jane Buehler (Sylvania #5)  Release Date: March 18, 2025 I previously reviewed The Village Maid and The Woodland Stranger   for LibraryThing, both of which I loved, especially the latter. When I heard that Jane Buehler had another book coming out in the cozy fantasy romance series set in her bucolic land of Sylvania, I knew I wanted to review it! Sadly, it wasn't on offer from LibraryThing at the time, so I appealed directly to the author, who kindly sent me an eARC (and it sounds like her books will be back on LibraryThing's Early Reviewers soon as well).  Jane, the female protagonist, is a character that was introduced briefly in earlier books. Like all of the books so far, you could read The Fire Apprentice as a standalone and wouldn't miss out on any of the present story. However, if you want a fuller picture of Sylvania, the different human and fairy (and dragon!) cultures, and the interrelationships between the sets of characters in each of ...

 As a huge fan of time travel, books set in the future, and alternate histories, I love this week's Top Ten Tuesday topic over at That Artsy Reader Girl . I also used to read a lot of historical fiction, but these days I tend to prefer reimaginings, more inclusive historical fiction, or historical fiction fantasy. One of my friends said recently, "I need at least two layers of separation from reality" in her reading life, and my reading lately would tend to concur. Here are some of my recent favorites set in another time--and probably also an alternate timeline! My Top Ten Books Set in Another Time (And Probably Also In An Alternate Timeline) No One Will Save Us by Julie L. Brown--I read this for a LibraryThing review and really loved it! It's a reimagining of the Atlantic slave trade where a group of West African warrior women sail to the New World and rescue the enslaved Africans! Incredibly and vividly imagined characters, scenery, cultures, and plot. The Once and ...

Today's Top Ten Tuesday over at That Artsy Reader Girl is a "love freebie," so I made up a couple of related prompts that I hope you will find amusing! Whether you celebrate Valentine's Day or not, I'm wishing everyone some love and lightness right now. It seems like it would be silly, but leaning into romance these past couple years has actually helped me focus on what's important--love, community, and lifting up those around us so that we can be stronger together and literally create a better, kinder world.   Favorite OTPs from Books I Read in the Last 5 Years 1. Zoya/Nikolai from the Grishaverse novels by Leigh Bardugo--These two are so hard-earned. Both characters have been through so much individually and together, and you see how they complement each other both as people and as rulers. Plus, my heart just aches for both of them.  2. Kaz/Inez from the Grishaverse novels by Leigh Bardugo--If you think you're seeing a trend, you are absolutely righ...

 A fresh new year! I've been reading a lot of different books, but not finishing or enjoying as many as I would like. The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store , technically my first read of the year, was an exception, but I started that in December. I hope that changes soon. I've got books checked out of the library for four different book clubs, and some of these are books I've wanted to read for years. Of course, as soon as I have them in my possession, I'm less keen. I feel like I should finish the books I'm already reading, or I don't want to start them in case I don't like them as much as I thought I would. Here's to better reading months for the rest of the year! Books Read in January 2025 The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride (Book club read)--Loved it--I love everything McBride writes--but it was fun to read a book by him with more Jewish characters, and I love how he understands exactly how each ethnic group in this story is oppressed in...

 I discovered a lot of new authors in 2024, mostly thanks to Kindle Unlimited and Stuff-Your-Kindle days and also that I've newly gotten into the genres of romance and romantasy, which has opened up a lot of new authors to me as well. It feels nice to support new authors both as a reader and as a reviewer (and a member of 4-5 book clubs), and I hope I get to do more of it in 2025.  Happy Top Ten Tuesday over at That Artsy Reader Girl! New-To-Me Authors I Discovered in 2024 Megan Van Dyke--I started seeing her posts on Instagram probably sometime in 2023, and I finally read Captive of the Stolen Empire in early 2024, and then I was hooked. I love her standalones, fairytale retellings, and fae realm books--she does lush worldbuilding, intense characters, and spicy romance. I plan to keep reading books as long as she keeps writing them! Allie Lasky--I found her by searching for Hanukkah romances on Kindle Unlimited. Her characters are Gen Z and very alternative, but she delivered...