Alison loves stories

People look at this! Oh my goodness I can’t wait!!

Book cover for Francis Spufford’s Nonesuch. Central to the image is a woman shown from behind, 40’s attire, looking out across London. The air and sky a surreal rainbow sherbert color. She is standing in the palm of an enormous stone statue hand.

Enjoyed the characters, the gauzy approach to the London Blitz almost cozy. The plucky heroine still historically in step. The magic system allowed for an approach to World War II that felt fresh. Honestly, I really enjoyed this one until the very end, which fell flat for me. Thanks to #Netgalley

Reminiscent of A Resistance of Witches
Morgan Ryan. Readers will enjoy the magical element overlayed on the London Blitz in both cases. Though, Resistance of Witches has a more definitive and satisfying end.

“She thought of him when she saw the crumpled dent in the postbox every morning, with its reminder that the world contained angels as well as office-work; was fierce and fearsome as well as mundane.”

Book cover for Francis Spufford’s Nonesuch. Central to the image is a woman shown from behind, 40’s attire, looking out across London. The air and sky a surreal rainbow sherbert color. She is standing in the palm of an enormous stone statue hand.

Enjoyed the characters, the gauzy approach to the London Blitz almost cozy. The plucky heroine still historically in step. The magic system allowed for an approach to World War II that felt fresh. Honestly, I really enjoyed this one until the very end, which fell flat for me. Thanks to #Netgalley

For those who have read #TaiwanTravelogue curious if I'm overthinking or if the perpetual quest for food is more symbolic? Is it really just a woman snacking her way through Taiwan? Or is it a deeper exploration of colonial consumption given the period/setting #BookerInternational #LongList #Booksky

About “nailing the dismount” … I’ve got some thoughts. 🤔🤨

This is a statement for a white audience. There’s no conflict between what we see now & the narrative about America you believed if you’re Black.

Alabama Shakes - Hold On (Official Video) YouTube video by Alabama Shakes

Anyone else having an especially rough Monday? A little walk up music to get you through today.

youtu.be/Le-3MIBxQTw?...

Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz
Run for the Hills by Kevin Wilson
Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yombao
A sci-fi and a road trip found family followed by a cozy fantasy adventure. 3 recent books from my feel good favorites list.

Book cover: Yang Shuang-Zi’s Taiwan Travelogue featuring a window with a bowl 🥣 n it.

Taiwan Travelogue first impressions: so hungry! A Japanese woman looks for great food across Taiwan. #InternationalBooker #LongList

Book Cover for Francis Spufford's Nonesuch. Central to the image is a woman shown from behind, 40's attire, looking out across London. The air and sky a surreal rainbow sherbert color. She is standing in the palm of an enormous stone statue hand.

While I'd like to storm my way through the entire #InternationalBooker #LongList my #library wait has carved out room for this ARC. It's taking off in the most escapist fun way. Reminds me of a grown up version of China Mieville's Un Lun Dun so far, which is high praise. I loved that one. #Booksky

Confusing Lands board game. It’s a “tile laying game” but the “tiles” are cards. The cards are playing cad sized and each features 6 equal sized squares of varying symbols (river, field, village, elk and a few scoring icons) all sitting on a brownish quartz countertop.

Test playing a new #BoardGame for the teen #SchoolLibrary. #ConfusingLands is a great addition. Quick to teach. Plays in about 15 minutes. Small footprint. Already excited to see how the upcoming stand alone expansion Ice Bound Isles will impact the game play.

This one convinced me longer narratives do not carry more weight. I liked the intimacy of Women Without Men better. The streamlined prose reading more like poetry; individuals feeling much more dynamic and intense in the sparse text. The focus on women’s relationships felt more intense, raw & unique

Book cover for Shida Bazyar’s The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran. Foreground shows the roof and window arches of a white building with a red room and many chimneys against a blue sky

An incredibly intimate portrait of a family who left Iran during the ‘79 Revolution. The shifting narrative allows for a deeper look at motivations, family dynamics and the tension of waiting for revolution to transform Iran again while living in exile abroad.
#BookerInternational #LongList #Booksky

holy fuck holy fuck holy FUCK

Stuff I did instead of doom scrolling today:
1 Planted a whole bunch of seeds
2 Took a huge walk in the sunshine with my best friend
3 Tried 2 more recipes from this #Vegan #cookbook Success
4 Sampled this new to me album wow! www.npr.org/2025/12/11/g...
5 Discovered the joy of #CooperativeGame DORF

Crafting table cluttered with recycled plastic pots and seed packets.

Sun’s shining. Spring’s coming. Optimistic gardening. 🤞🌱🫜

violence and bloodshed.
“Now I tell you to go in search of darkness anew. Descend to the depths, to the depth of depths. There you will see the light aglow in your hands, by your side. That is being human. Now, go become human.”

spiritual nature (life after death, ascension into heaven, reincarnation, the ‘kind gardener’ & transcendental desire to ‘become light’) of the women’s stories. A bit reminiscent of last year’s Reservoir Bitches but this one has a surprisingly softer touch, less gritty in spite of the drama,

Book cover for Shahrnush Parsipur's Women Without Men. A dark haired woman sits center of the frame in a white nightgown plucking her right eyebrow looking right at the reader.

Interesting to read this one directly after On Earth As Beneath. Both isolate groups away from society so readers focus on character & universal traits over action. This one elevates due to the interlocking nature of the vignettes, symbolism & #BookerInternational #LongList #BookSky #TranslatedLit

💯 agree

My two favorite books I've read in the last few years have been this and Between Two Fires. Is there more historical fiction/fantasy/horror out there?

Have you read Justina Ireland’s Dread Nation duology?

A picture of the How Brave Is Mave? game box

I bet there’s a children’s book that would expand this into a complete lesson. That would be so much fun.

How Brave Is Mave? game in action a tiny barn weight on the right holds a growing expanse of cardboard pieces to form a path dangling over the counter edge. A tiny plastic goat walks the cardboard path.

Test playing games for the library. This dexterity game will be a winner for sure. Similar to Jenga, Kabuto Sumo it involves a lot of push your luck risk and includes competitive and cooperative game play. I’m thinking 2 games would give you a bigger competitive team game. #SchoolLibrary #Games

All hands on deck, folks. This will effectively eliminate all books by queer authors and about queer lives, even books with secondary characters, books where the author or a character uses they/them pronouns. This bill will erase identities and harm kids. And it won't stop at public schools.

😂

ESPECIALLY good in #audiobook format.