“She is too fond of books, and it has turned her brain.”

⭐︎ book blog ⭐︎ Soetkin | 32 yrs | belgium | infj vegetarian fighter for world peace learn to love yourself! buy me a virtual coffee

[emilidickinson]

Soetkin’s what ya need to knows:

born April ‘93 so 32 y/o.

wifey to the most fantastic human - July '21.

high fantasy fan.

punk is not dead.

girly girl who lives for floral dresses.

audhd / dcd and still thriving despite the hiccups.

Questions? Ask me pls.

all of my (side)blogs!

@emilidickinson - main blog im still reinventing

@rhysandl - colorful multifandom blog

@ohmightysansa - pale multifandom / aesthetic blog

@bookwyvrn - booklr / book photography etc blog

@selflovewarrior - recovery / positive (pastel) blog

@ohdearmordred - merlin blog

@merehygge - hygge / cosy blog

@cosyspring - spring / cottagecore blog

@musedilluster - grandeur comme fashion & architecture

I’d love you heaps if you checked them out!

also -  Arab.org is a donate-by-click website. They’re a Middle Eastern organisation that strives to do good not only for Arab people but for all. All their donations go to UN charities, such a Unicef. More information can be found in this post.

thanks bb!

[excessivebookshelf]

Reading in Central Park

[apagewithaview]

[literatureandtrees]

currently reading and books i bought today

[owl-eyed--witch]

It begins.

[therefugeofbooks]

Two books by Queer Black authors I read recently that you might enjoy!

Real Life by Brandon Taylor

Almost everything about Wallace is at odds with the Midwestern university town where he is working uneasily toward a biochem degree. An introverted young man from Alabama, black and queer, he has left behind his family without escaping the long shadows of his childhood. For reasons of self-preservation, Wallace has enforced a wary distance even within his own circle of friends--some dating each other, some dating women, some feigning straightness. But over the course of a late-summer weekend, a series of confrontations with colleagues, and an unexpected encounter with an ostensibly straight, white classmate, conspire to fracture his defenses while exposing long-hidden currents of hostility and desire within their community.

Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn

Capturing the distinct rhythms of Jamaican life and dialect, Nicole Dennis- Benn pens a tender hymn to a world hidden among pristine beaches and the wide expanse of turquoise seas. At an opulent resort in Montego Bay, Margot hustles to send her younger sister, Thandi, to school. Taught as a girl to trade her sexuality for survival, Margot is ruthlessly determined to shield Thandi from the same fate. When plans for a new hotel threaten their village, Margot sees not only an opportunity for her own financial independence but also perhaps a chance to admit a shocking secret: her forbidden love for another woman. As they face the impending destruction of their community, each woman—fighting to balance the burdens she shoulders with the freedom she craves—must confront long-hidden scars.

[whilereadingandwalking]

Navigational Entanglements by Aliette de Bodard features a navigator from the Rooster clan and an assassin from the Snake clan teaming up to find and defeat a deadly space creature called a tangler. While the sci fi and politics in this one were interesting, the romance at the center of the story felt a little forced, and I wish more time had been spent on the characterization and more companion-esque bonds formed throughout the adventure.

[abernathyvalois]

i love reading very very late at night because that’s when the lines between reality and fiction blur and everything becomes a fever dream and you can properly disappear into the pages

[aliteraryprincess]

November Challenge Your Shelf

Day 3: Unexpected

I was pleasantly surprised by a twist I wasn’t expecting at all in this book.   

[godzilla-reads]

Book Haul

“River of Books: A Life in Reading” by Donna Seaman

“Eyes on Gaza: Witnessing Annihilation” by Khaled A. Beydoun

“If They Come in the Morning…: Voices of Resistance” edited by Angela Y. Davis

“Sister Outsider” by Audre Lorde

“Blues Legacies and Black Feminism: Gertrude “Ma” Rainey, Bessie Smith, and Billie Holiday” by Angela Y. Davis

[thenovelsanctuary-blog]

January #WrapUp Read more than I thought, actually. Overall great reading month, no disappointments.

#bookstagram #bibliophile #instabook #booknerdigans #booknerd #bookish #booktag #bookphotography #bookpictures #flowers #flowerstagram #books #reading #januarywrapup #bookaddict #booklr #bookblog #instareads #firstandthen #walkonearthastranger #Lumberjanes #TheMartian #everythingeveryrhing #persuasion #JaneAusten #ya #youngadult

[godzilla-reads]

“In the nineteenth century, antislavery activists insisted that as long as slavery continued, the future of democracy was bleak indeed. In the twenty-first century, antiprison activists insist that a fundamental requirement for the revitalization of democracy is the long-overdue abolition of the prison system.”

—Are Prisons Obsolete? by Angela Y. Davis

[thecornercoffeeshop]

Discovering new bookshops in new cities

[manuscripts-dontburn]

[excessivebookshelf]

My cat loves books (as pillows)

[jessread-s]

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review

✩🥀⛓️Review:

A haunting, dark fantasy that will captivate you cover to cover. 

“Rose in Chains” follows Briony Rosewood after she is captured and stripped of her magic by enemy forces. She, alongside other survivors, are quickly put up for auction. Facing a life of servitude and imprisonment, she is sold off to none other than Toven Hearst, Scion of a family known for their cruelty. All hope seems lost…until it arises in the most unlikely of places.

Please make sure to check the trigger warnings before reading. The topics are very heavy. Take care of yourself.

Above all else, this is a story of the strength found in female friendship and resilience in the face of adversity. Despite all Briony has suffered at the hands of her oppressors—the loss of her brother, freedom, magic, and bodily autonomy—she is a character that exudes determination. For her, resistance is strategic. It looks like strengthening her mental defenses, reminding women in her situation that they aren’t alone, and absorbing as much information as she can about her captors. It is this “quiet” resistance, her intelligence, and resilience that makes her character so compelling. 

Toven Hearst is a very complex character that constantly had me questioning his motivations. It is hard to reconcile the man who treated Briony so coldly during their school years and later purchased her in the auction with the man who returns her magic to her, protects her from harm, and gives her the tools she needs to evade mind control.

Their relationship is just as layered, the line separating friend from foe blurring as the tension and yearning heightens. Soto incorporates a dual timeline in the narrative to help readers piece together which aspects of their past impact their present. 

At the same time, Soto weaves in political and fantastical elements to add depth to the story. The world she creates with her lyrical prose is immersive. While it took a moment to take everything in, once I did so, I was gripped by Soto’s plot and grew invested in the lives of her characters.

I eagerly await book 2 as I recover from the criminal cliffhanger the last chapter left off on. 

Cross-posted to: Instagram | Amazon | Goodreads | StoryGraph

[bookwyvrn]

Bookworm asks:

4, 23, 39

4. Favorite science fiction book(s).

oh, I don't often read science fiction. hardly ever tbh.

If I don't count dystopian novels, I've only really enjoyed The Host by Stephenie Meyer, I fear. Though perhaps that's dystopian too? oops!

23. Favorite heist story book(s).

Six of Crows! yes please! no doubt. the bickering, the arrogance, the camaraderie, the vibes are top notch i think.

39. Do you read reviews before picking up a book?

Yes! I usually add books to my tbr before I own them. I often come across them via instagram or goodreads or the storygraph or lists I see appearing somewhere. Sometimes I don't, but that happens only occasionally.

Though i would never base whether i want to read a book or not over only one or two reviews. i hate some books others rave over, and love some others hate, so it depends on what criticisms i find in the reviews if i'm going to give it a shot

thank for asking babe! sorry it took me a bit to reply :o

just had long call with a friend and i tend to really really talk A LOT

ask me one of these bookish questions. please?