Space Station Mir

Happy Top Ten Tuesday over at That Artsy Reader Girl ! 1. "Some worlds are built on a fault line of pain, held up by nightmares. Don't lament when those worlds fall. Rage that they were built doomed in the first place." -The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin 2. "He had strabismus, a quality Lulay used to spout about as a feature shared by mystics, geniuses, thieves, imaginative children, and those possessed by kapres. One eye looked the world in the face. The other eye needed a break and wandered off." -America Is Not the Heart by Elaine Castillo 3. “I half-wondered if I should return to the bathroom and climb through the mirror, then send out the other girl, the one who was sixteen. She could handle this, I thought. She would not be afraid, like I was. She could not be hurt, like I was. She was a thing of stone, with no fleshy tenderness. I did not yet understand that is was this fact of being tender—of having lived some years of a life that allowed tenderness—that wo

Books Read 1. Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons 2. The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon 3. The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden 4. The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden 5. Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri 6. Yes Please by Amy Poehler 7. The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan 8. The Truths We Hold by Kamala Harris 9. Outer Order Inner Calm by Gretchen Rubin Favorite Book(s) This Month 1. Ruin of Kings:  I LOVED the footnotes and the message about how slavery infects society. Incredibly well done fantasy. 2. The Bear and the Nightingale: Beautiful, Russian fairy-tale atmosphere--I don't know why twists on Russian fairy tales are so popular in fantasy right now, but I'm here for it! 3. Empire of Sand: Incredibly unique system where dance is a conduit for magic and only some people can do it. I also like the straight from frying pan into the fire type plot. Places Traveled in Germany  1. Tubingen 2. Stuttgart 3. Baden-Bade

Happy Top Ten Tuesday over at That Artsy Reader Girl ! I prefer last week's topic, so I'll do that one since I missed it. I'm taking "rainy day reads" to mean a number of things, namely a combination of books in which rainy weather features and yet a cozy and comfortable atmosphere ultimately prevails. 1. The Small Rain by Madeleine L'Engle Besides an apropos title, The Small Rain has the melancholy but ultimately cozy atmosphere to match. 2. His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik Enthralling enough to take your attention off the rain, plus it's the first in a nine-book series. 3. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen The quintessential cozy read, and I always think about that scene where Elizabeth walks through all the rain and mud just to get to Jane. That's sisterly devotion! 4. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis The Narnia Chronicles are definitely a comfort read for me and many others, and this one involves plenty of g

Just Finished: This is the last of the presidential candidate memoirs I had selected to read. I'm glad I did it because I feel like I have a better sense of the context and personality of these candidates. Gillibrand in particular is very feminism-oriented and is a strong voice for women to "get off the sidelines." Currently Reading: I am loving this...it's like a combination of Guns, Germs, and Steel and Freakonomics for jewelry. Also, if everybody read this (which they should!), I'm pretty sure it would crash the diamond market. My favorite fact that I've learned so far though is that apparently looking at the color green (e.g. emeralds, but also plants) can lower your blood pressure. Makes sense to me! I'm listening to this right now. I'm kind of eh on it, but I'm having trouble finding audiobooks I like at the library. Any recommendations? Next Up: Snagged this new release on hold at the library! Spani