Emily's Reverie

North Sun, or the Voyage of the Whaleship Esther by Ethan Rutherford shows a line cut drawing of a creepy bird face

Arctic horror is my favorite, and it has a brilliant new entry. It's 1878. Whaling is on its last legs when the Esther sets out. Time is elastic on the ocean, but the thread of violence is constant. A strange and brutal tale. Spare prose. Go in blind. National Book Award nominee.
#books #booksky

Voices in the Snow by Darcy Coates book cover shows a doll face , blue eye open, layered with in snow

Good old fashioned B movie fun:
As the apocalypse loom, Clare is racing to safety when: car crash! She wakes up in a creepy gothic mansion, with amnesia. A mystery man says she is safe. But she hears & sees things that make no sense. As the storm rages outside, what will happen? #books #booksky

Two empty coat of armor figures with flowers display

Worcester Art Museum
Massachusetts USA

the-unflappablewolf Who would you trust more? total stranger in a star trek shirt? 94.5% total stranger in a star wars shirt? 5.5% 99.421 Stimmen • Verbleibende Zeit: 2 Tage 23 Stunden thebaconsandwichofregret No exaggeration, the vote split on this poll is hysterical.

No but this is entirely correct

Yes. I expected some history of antisemitism, aside from the statement that "collective guilt" is a tool for marganizalization. That is just a universal truth.

I don't see the connection to the "oldest accusation against Jews"..... it seems like a really inflammatory subtitle.

80 Mini-Reviews Sharing my unfiltered & occasionally ungenerous "immediate reaction" notes about every book I read in 2025. Part 1 of 2.

When I read a book, I take notes right away. I would absolutely LOVE to read other folks similar notes. Sharing that in this spirit. Mix of genres, I don't expect anyone to read it all, but I do have all book covers -- feel free to scroll to see what interests you. #books #booksky

AURORA LEVINS MORALES POEM "V'AHAVTA'

#poetry

German POWs Held in Minnesota Described It as HEAVEN YouTube video by War Chronicle

The real American dream is treating every person with dignity.

Box of Darkness by Simone St James picutre shows a child's tricycle in an attic.

A ghost story/adult siblings reunite mystery-thriller. 18 years ago, in a haunted house in a creepy town, Ben disappeared during a game of hide & seek. Why is his ghost appearing now? Complex characters, an emotional investigation, and it nails the ending. An auto-buy author for me. #books #booksky

The Autism Springs Retirement Home Massacre by Philip Fracassi book cover is red, with yellow letters, showing the outline of a knife.

Cozy mystery meets gory slasher: Rose, 78, gets suspicious about friends dying. There IS a killer on the loose, targeting the infirm. Sounds awful, but this books is a delight! Empathetic portraits of quirky old folks and introspection make this mystery heartwarming. Witty. DARK.
#books #booksky

Party of Liars by Kelsey Cox shows a fancy looking house with walls of windows and a pool outside

Whodunit at a Texas sweet 16 party! As told by the influencer stepmom, the bitter ex-wife, the elderly nanny and one of the teens. Not a popcorn thriller. The characters are complex & not always likable. Chilling reveals keep you guessing. An elevated debut / one night mystery. #books #booksky

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison-book cover shows a gray faced young man with pointed ears in a long white ceremonial robe

Odd one: Maia, 18, is unexpectedly pulled from exile & named emperor. He's unprepared, but kind, ethical and empathetic. Tag along as he figures out how to lead and who to trust. It's about intrigue, but it's comforting, hopeful & lovely. Gentle fantasy that never condescends.
#books #booksky

Twelve Months by Jim Butcher

Not everyone loves Dresden Files but I'm in. He's my Spider-Man. This Chicago wizard fighting vampires, fairies & {spoilers} delivers twists, wit, poignancy & nerdiness. Book 18 was emotional & satisfying.
Must be read in order, start at book #3. Best on audio with James Marsters. #books #booksky

Lost Lambs by Madeline Cash

If you took a Jeffrey Eugenides book and put it through a Wes Anderson filter, you'll get something close to this clever, absurdist story. The family's antics left me cold, but I did like this line: "Why kill myself? If life is nothing and death is nothing, why make a lateral move?" #books #booksky

All of Us Murderers by KJ Charles has a Scooby Doo style spooky mansion with 2 disheveled Edwardian men in front of it.

A romp set in a gothic mansion: Zeb, who is super kind, visits his horrible family's estate & learns several cruel plots are afoot + maybe it's haunted? He & Gideon (his ex, now the butler) must solve the mystery. Themes; ADHD, second chance romance, murder. Spicy, frothy fun.
#books #booksky

I learned something today

Yestereyar by Caro Claire Burke

"A traditional American woman, a beautiful wife and mother who sells her pioneer lifestyle of raw milk and farm-fresh eggs to her millions of social media followers, suddenly awakens cold, filthy, and terrified in the brutal reality of 1855" - currently "Read Now" on NetGalley #books #booksky

"Hope is not a lottery ticket you can sit on the sofa and clutch, feeling lucky. It is an axe you break down doors with in an emergency. " - Rebecca Solnit

A coconut decorated with gold wing, head and feet to look like an owl.

Like everyone, when I visit a museum, I ask myself: what would I steal? To be mine (not to sell).
At the RISD Museum in Providence, I would take this 1553 owl-shaped beaker made of a coconut. The head also functions as a cup!

a hockey player wearing a helmet and a jersey with the number 21 on it is standing on the ice . Alt: Heated Rivalry gif of Ilya playfully kissing Shane's helmet on the ice

Like most Americans, pretend hockey is my whole personality right now.

swampy

Consider yourself lucky. I got

Sermon Guidelines for UU Lay Leaders With gratitude, I’m sharing my notes from The Shared Pulpit: A Sermon Seminar for Lay Leaders by Erika Hewett.

I'm sharing my notes from The Shared Pulpit: A Sermon Seminar for Lay Leaders by Erika Hewitt. Guidelines, how to structure a story, and what to never do. Aimed squarely at #UU lay leaders without any sermon writing experience. With gratitude to the author & the New England UUA for this workshop.

On Heated Rivalry, it takes our main character, a Canadian, a long time to get that his being gay is profoundly different than his boyfriend FROM RUSSIA being gay.
In this analogy, the 1980s are Russia.
It would not be safe.

The Ghost Woods by CJ Cooke

A Scottish gothic horror dripping with dread, mystery & fungus imagery. In the 1950s, Lichen Hall is a "home for unwed mothers". We read the stories of 2 heavily pregnant women, 6 years apart, who each come to realize something is very wrong. Atmospheric, menacing, supernatural.
#books #booksky

The Parfit Knight by Stella Riley shows a couple in fancy Georgian dress gossiping

A Marquis has to find help for his injured driver, and stumbles onto a lovely young woman's home. He is unfazed to learn that she's blind. This is the start of a delightful 1774 London society romance. Witty, tender, immersive. Lots of good characters. Chaste. Best on audio. #books #booksky

I just opened up facebook. In a mom group I'm in, so many of the replies are "You should ask ChatGPT!" It's wild to me.

Haunt Sweet Home by Sarah Pinsker

A novella about a drifter who gets a job as a PA on a show that fakes hauntings. Mostly about that existential phase you hit around age 25. I liked the lived-in oddness of her whittling, fiddling family, and the behind the scenes TV details. Paranormal, but not horror / scary. #books #booksky

A Swim in the Pond in the Rain

Why did reading the thoughts of a novelist I've never read about short stories by Chekhov, Turgenev, Tolstoy, and Gogol become one of my favorite books of the year? This writing seminar in book form was DELIGHTFUL: witty, compassionate, insightful, odd, full of glinting truths. #books #booksky

Rockets owners expand talks to buy, move Sun

Terrifying headline if you don’t realize they are sports teams.