Us: 💜 every purchase supports indie bookstores 💰 pays local taxes 🎉 raised more than $39 million for bookstores 🌎 certified B-Corp Them: ❌ does not pay their fair share of taxes ❌ does not care about putting indie bookstores out of business ❌ harmful to the environment

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This is going to be a devastating blow to the sciences and the crisis we're already seeing in research, education, and advancement.

“There’s a level of terror I haven’t seen before.” A psychiatrist who provides care to undocumented immigrants in Los Angeles talks about the psychological harm caused by recent ICE raids and anti-immigrant rhetoric.

Okay... leaving everything i know behind is rapidly becoming the most appealing option... I'm in total disbelief at the way things are falling apart.

Hey pals! I disappeared for a moment. The state of the world is terrifying. But I've created a writing discord! We'll be doing bi-weekly meetings for critique on Fridays, if you're interested! Please feel free to join us! #writersky #booksky 💙📚 discord.gg/HSDc2Xzc

Review: Jesus and John Wayne by Kristin Kobes Du Mez Rating: 5⭐️ Reading Method: 🎧 This made me sick to my stomach. Du Mez does an amazing job tracing the threads of the evangelical to alt right pipeline through history, presenting how we got where we are in the US. #booksky 💙📚

#booksky 💙📚 Another decent month where I somehow read 16 books!

Review: The Cult of Trump by Steven Hassan Rating: 5⭐️ Reading Method: 🎧 Written by a former Moonie and Cult Expert, Hassan puts Trump's first presidency under the lens of cults and manipulation tactics. Excellent analysis. #booksky 📚💙

Review: Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher Rating: 4⭐️ Reading Method: 🎧 I love T. Kingfisher's fairy-tale style of storytelling. This was dark and rich in lore. Chef's kiss! #booksky 📚💙

I'm still on IG (I know, I know), but nothing makes me angrier than seeing all of the stupid target ads/influencers and people gushing in the comments and breaking boycotts. New pet peeve unlocked.

I am sick of this timeline. Get me off this bus pals.

#writersky, is there any interest in a discord group/writing support club for critiques and review? I've been part of several, and would love to create something to fill a niche if needed. #booksky 📚💙

Review: First-Time Caller by B.K. Borison Rating: 5⭐️ Reading Method: 📘 This was soooo perfect. I want to inject whatever this story is made of directly into my bloodstream. Tooth-achingly sweet and full of heart. #booksky 📚💙

Review: Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler Rating: 5⭐️ Reading Method: 🎧 This book did not let up. Poignant and terrifying, Butler built a world that feels far too close on the horizon. Loved this. #booksky 📚💙

Review: Saving Five by Amanda Nguyen Rating: 5⭐️ Reading Method: 🎧 As a survivor, Amanda's narrative weaving of her path towards justice felt like a step towards healing for me. I loved the way her story followed her life at different stages. Beautiful. #booksky 📚💙

Book banning is not an “inconvenience”. It’s bigotry. Whether packaged as keeping kids safe from sexual content or removing politically charged material, the intention & practice of removing books from schools and libraries IS to directly undercut freedom.

Review: Dreadful by Caitlin Rozakis Rating: 4.5⭐️ Reading Method: 📘/🎧 This was such a fun little jaunt through a fantasy world. Immediately, I want more villains with amnesia. #booksky 📚💙

Review: Harvest House by Cynthia Leitich Smith Rating: 2⭐️ Reading Method: 📘 This book had a lot of issues at the basic level of writing. Characters with no purpose, unnatural dialogue, and lack of a compelling follow-through. Super disappointed bc I love Indigenous lore. #booksky 📚💙

Review: The Stars Too Fondly by Emily Hamilton Rating: 3⭐️ Reading Method: 🎧/📘 This was fine. I didn't feel super invested in the story. The characters were likeable and the sci-fi aspect was not so much that I felt overwhelmed. A fine story. #booksky 📚💙🏳️‍🌈

I have finally almost made it through my endless library hold list 😌 After at least 3 months, I am proud to report I am down to only 7 holds (none of which will arrive soon). I can finally read the books on my own shelf. #booksky 💙📚

Review: Sweet Obsession by @kateerobert.com Rating: 4.5 ⭐️ Reading Method: 🎧 Easily one of my favorite installments in the Dark Olympus series. While Eros and Psyche still have a chokehold on me, the ending of this book was SUPERB. #booksky 💙📚

Review: Out On A Limb by Hannah Bonham-Young Rating: 5 ⭐️ Reading Method: 📱 I don't think I love the pregnancy tropes but this was sooo sweet. The characters carried a lot of weight, but still maintained the light air of a romcom. Chef's kiss. #booksky 💙📚

So like... Is traditional publishing going to be impossible now for debut authors? The tariffs, the already-insane competition of the publishing industry... is there going to be a place for us in that space in the times we live in? #booksky 📚💙 #writersky

Just for the record, because I do feel some people need the reminder, adults can enjoy middle grade (MG) & young adult (YA) books. #Booksky #Readersofbluesky #Blackbooksky #Readercommunity #Writingcommunity

Review: Our Wicked Histories by Amy Goldsmith Rating: 2.75 ⭐️ Reading Method: 🎧 I've noticed in several YA thrillers that the main conflict centers a boy with issues and the girl pursuing him. This doesn't escape that unfortunate fate. I'm begging YA MCs to PLEASE stand up. #booksky 📚💙

It’s ended with one phrase from John Lewis: “Let’s get in good trouble”. - 25+ hours

The first quarter of the year is over! How are your yearly challenges going? I'm sitting at 62/100! #booksky 📚💙

"I don't want a Disney vacation of our history! I don't a whitewashed history, I don't want a homogenized history. Tell me the wretched truth about America, because that speaks to our greatness" -- 20 hours into his speech, Cory Booker is spitting absolute 🔥

Cory Booker's 19+ hours (and counting) on the senate floor has re-energized me in a way that I can't explain. He's been playing in the background during my work day. I am so proud to know that in the sea of chaos in D.C., there are still voices for the people. Thank you @booker.senate.gov.

Review: The Strange Case of Jane O. By Karen Thompson Walker Rating: 3.5 ⭐️ Reading Method: 🎧 This was an interesting glimpse into the intriguing life of a woman with perfect memory, her trauma, and the responses of her doctor. #booksky 📚💙

I did it! March was a slower reading month with some fantastic reads. #booksky 📚💙

Review: Oathbound by Tracy Deonn Rating: 4.5 ⭐️ Reading Method: 🎧 That ending... I'm in shock. I need book 4 right now!! #booksky 📚💙

Review: The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica Rating: 2.5 ⭐️ Reading Method: 📱 This was boring. The ending was the most interesting part, but was so rushed I was almost confused about what was happening. I feel like there could have been so much more intrigue. #booksky 📚💙

Finished another project rough draft this morning. Feeling so accomplished and so behind simultaneously. Is this the life of a writer? #booksky 💙📚 #writersky

Saw Cabaret this weekend at a local theater. I sobbed because it felt like watching our present and future play out in real time. And yet, many walked out unaffected.

Every day, this hellscape gets worse.

Review: The Unmothers by Leslie J. Anderson Rating: ⭐️⭐️.5 Reading Method: 🎧 This might have been better had I read it rather than listened to it, but there were so many POVs that I found myself confused many times throughout the story. #booksky 📚💙

Review: The Reformatory by Tanarive Due Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Reading Method: 🎧 This was an extremely disturbing in-depth view of the horrors of the Jim Crow era South. I loved the characters, the way that none of them were flawless. It brought each of them to life beautifully. #booksky 📚💙

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Review: The In-Between Bookstore by Edward Underhill Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 Reading Method: 📱 I adored this. The slow unfolding of discovery and being lost in your own life was beautiful. Took 1/2 star away because I desperately wanted my version of a happy ending, but still superb. #booksky 📚💙

Immediately had to delete my last post because of unwanted sexual content in the replies. Hey! Please don't do that! It's not cool to reply to an innocent thread with sexual harassment.

Public library energy is the best energy. Like here is all the knowledge we could find, it's been meticulously organized and catalogued and it will cost you nothing today, welcome to the absolute pinnacle of human civic evolution, feel free to pull up any bean bag chair you like :) 📚❤️

Review: The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Reading Method: 📘 This started strong! It focused on different octopuses that came through the aquarium. But the second half felt meandering as it delved deeper into the author's personal life and the lives of those around her. #booksky 📚💙

I was an educator. I used to work in a museum. I am a librarian. The rapid dismantling of IMLS and the DOEd has shattered something inside me. They are tearing apart vital community services that elevates each generation and provides them resources they wouldn't otherwise have. It's sickening.

Review: Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Reading Method: 🎧 I waited 14 years for this story. Haymitch's Hunger Games is devastating and a stark reminder of each person's role in upholding corruption and injustice. #booksky 📚💙

Literally feel like I'm buried beneath my WIP in my editing hole rn. 🫠🫠🫠 How's everyone else's WIPs going? #writesky 📚💙

Review: Private Rites by Julia Armfield Rating: ⭐️⭐️.5 Reading Method: 🎧 I feel... kind of indifferent to this? It's a King Lear retelling, which sounded interesting, but the overall story fell flat. May be more enjoyable as a physical read? #booksky 📚💙

Review: The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Reading Method: 📘 Another childhood favorite reread in adulthood. I just love how DiCamillo held the narrative close, embedding the stories of the characters within the reader's heart as it unfolded. #booksky 💙📚