Space Station Mir

 What a cool topic! Like Jana , there was a period of time where I went to a lot of author events and book festivals. I didn't go to a lot for a while after Covid, and lately, there have been other reasons that I haven't felt comfortable going, but I have been lucky enough to meet many of my favorite living authors. Charlie Jane Anders-- I've actually been lucky enough to meet her twice, both times at the Baltimore Book Festival. So glad I got to chat with her, while she added some one-of-a-kind doodles to my books! 😊 Margaret Atwood-- I got to meet her at the National Book Festival one year and got her to sign my copy of MadAddam! Amy Tan-- I met her at the Fall for the Book Festival many years ago! James McBride--I got to listen to him read at the National Book Festival one year from one of my favorite books, The Good Lord Bird, and it was a profound experience. The rain literally stopped for him. Maggie Stiefvater-- I got to meet her at the Baltimore Book Festival last ...

 Hopefully I'll do a better job with the blogging in the fall. I'm hoping for a slower fall than summer this year--usually, fall/beginning of winter is busier but after this summer, I'm doing my best to slow down and breathe.  Books Read in August 2026 The Red Heart by James Alexander Thom (Book club read)--A long, very '90s historical novel about an apparently real-life white woman who was captured as a child from her Quaker family and lived out her life among the Delaware and other Native American tribes. Once I got past the long-winded style (once so familiar to me!), I enjoyed the book and all the research the author put into it, although his commitment to verisimilitude was actually a little jarring to me since I'm both not accustomed to and suspicious of that style of historical fiction these days. However, after reading more about the author, his process, and his other books, I think he's genuinely trying his best for a thorough and detailed depiction of ...

 Here's to me having the energy to do a Top Ten Tuesday this week! Finally! I enjoyed last week's topic, plus I've visited a few of the same bookish places as Jana , so I'm using her list to jumpstart mine. 😊 Me at the State Library of Victoria in 2025 Top Ten Bookish Places I've Visited --and I hope to visit many more in my lifetime! Shakespeare & Company Bookstore in Paris, France--This was one of the highest on my to-do list when I was in Paris. I wasn't able to buy a book as I was a poor student backpacker (space being actually more of an issue than money) but I'm so glad I went! To me, it makes me think of Sylvia Beach, Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas plus Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Joyce--all the Lost Generation in Paris, especially back when I idealized that more than I do now. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City--Kid me was not very interested in museums but I always wanted to see the Met because of  From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil...

 Oops, it has been a while! Consequences of not having a personal computer, and I've had a lot going on. I did, however, read a lot in June and July, so here's the breakdown! Books Read in June 2026 The First Ladies by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray (Book club read)-- I enjoyed learning about the life of Mary McLeod Bethune and her relationship with Eleanor Roosevelt. I didn't learn much I didn't already know about the latter. I was also disappointed about how much was changed historically because I don't feel like it was necessary for this novel, but at least it was very well researched and well explained in the author's note. Game Changer by Rachel Reid--Everyone loves Heated Rivalry but Kip and Scott were actually my fave so I loved reading a book about them. Will probably read the rest of the series at some point but maybe when the craze has faded a bit more. The Greatest Sentence Ever Written by Walter Isaacson (Another book club read)--An i...

 Mostly finished book club reads but one just for myself;  Katabasis was a really fun and immersive read. Thought I'd also add some books I'm currently reading, since we're getting well into June! Books Read in May 2026 The Good Good Pig: The Extraordinary Life of Christopher Hogwood by Sy Montgomery (Book club read)--This is the second of Montgomery's books that we've read in this book club. Highly, highly recommend--Hogwood's life, the silly, sweet, social, and genuine life of a pig that lived out his natural years--is healing and inspiring and a fun joyous read. Dear Debbie by Frieda McFadden (Other book club read)--The character is literally a psychopath and plot twists very contrived. It's a feminist revenge fantasy which some people may like but I did not. Katabasis by R. F. Kuang--Two graduate students at an alternate magical version of Oxford descend to the underworld to retrieve their dead advisor. Nerdery, academia, and chthonic adventures ensue. H...

 Hey! It's been a while. Happy Top Ten Tuesday! I think last week's topic is a bit easier so I'll take the opportunity to catch up. Still writing from my phone so sorry for the plainer entries lately! Books I Can't Believe I Haven't Read Yet Wuthering Heights--I don't know how I never got assigned this but I somehow missed it in school and it's one of the few books I picked up as an older kid/teen that I just couldn't get through (before I embraced DNFing lol). It sounds pretty awful though so I'm not really mad but it also feels weird I've never read it. Anything by Annalee Newitz- I love everything by their partner, Charlie Jane Anders, and I love their podcast together but I haven't gotten around yet to any of Newitz's work. I just bought Automatic Noodle though! Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell--I loved Carry On and now I need to get to the rest of the series! Pachinko by Min Jin Lee--I attended and loved a talk by the author on this boo...

It's been a busy month and a half or so, plus my laptop conked out, but here are the books I read in April. May is shaping up to be busy as well, as is June. Many good things, but lots of overwhelm. I'm doing a lot of escapist reading right now, but writing about it on the blog may have to wait. Books Read in April 2026 Shadows We Carry by Meryl Ain (Book club read)--Follows the lives of Holocaust survivors' children--appreciated the more uncommon topic but the writing/structure was not for me.  How to Read a Book by Monica Wood (Other book club read)--Quick read, a bit saccharine, but enjoyed the characters and the Maine setting. Revolves around a book club in a women's prison, and how a young former prisoner reestablishes her life when she gets out. Featuring African grey parrots--they are pretty cool! Working the Mound by K. Iwancio (eARC review): Read my review here The Potency of Ungovernable Impulses (The Investigations of Mossa and Pleiti #3) by Malka Ann Older--...