#books!

[jadenite]

We all know what type of book the booktok girlies read right? Anyway, I thought I’d pay a little homage to that side of the internet for the Booktok theme for Mermay.

[cowperviolet]

I would have never thought that I would enjoy a novel set in the early Middle Ages (like, really early; post-Romans, but pre-Vikings), but Nicola Griffith’s Hild is absolutely amazing. It’s part 1 of what would be a biographical trilogy of the Abbess Hild of Whitby, and it’s just - so beautiful, with its lovingly described post-Roman England’s small kingdoms, and the warrior culture, and the politically-laden gift-giving, and the songs, and the shards of former Roman grandeur strewn through the landscape, and… honestly, just read it.

@cinemaocd in case you have a “dense biographical trilogies with beautiful prose and lots of politics” withdrawal @theladyelizabeth You’ll probably enjoy it too.

[c-is-for-circinate]

C Reads 2026

Doing a thing where I am going to attempt to read A Book A Week in 2026, which I think is a solid goal with several benefits including:

Actually read some middle-grade novels published in the last twenty years so I know what I'm handing my students isn't older than me

Shoving new ideas into my brain instead of fanfic after fanfic (which are delicious but man was not made to live on h/c alone) and staying in practice with how to read new stuff

I am going to REALLY LIKE some things I don't even know I'm going to read this year

Gives me a reason to post to tumblr once a week which means i might also post MORE than once a week sometimes

Put at least a fraction of a dent in the mountain of perpetually renewing library checkouts waiting for my attention already.

We're two weeks into the year and I've read two books and I think I shall take the discussions thereof into the replies, for the sake of consistency. Watch this post for more!

[lisamarie-vee]

[from-the-coffee-shop-in-edoras]

Hey, has anyone read the semi-recent Headley translation of Beowulf? The one that attempts to not just translate directly from Old English but to translate into our particular modern English vernacular? (This is the one that starts off right out of the gate by translating “Hwæt!”, an exclamation often given as “Listen!” or “So!”, as “Bro!”)

It’s billed as a feminist retelling of the story, which is intriguing to me but could also go horribly awry. My library doesn’t have it so I’d have to buy, and I’d love a peer review first!

[abcd-adventures]

I'm currently reading Bibliotherapy in the Bronx and really enjoying it! One of many reasons I'm so glad that I went with the bigger office is because I will be able to fit my bibliotherapy shelf in it!! I just LOVE that the things I've done in the past inform my therapy work so well, and the people I have met throughout my life stick and continue to be so supportive in my new ventures. If you followed my previous blog, you might remember that I used to be an English teacher at an alternative school, and I spent seven years working in community engagement and curriculum development for an early literacy non-profit. Through that work, I met several absolutely incredible librarians serving Title I school students. Wow--just some of the COOLEST human beings you will ever know! Reached out to a couple of them today about my new project and for some ideas, and they were SO on board and supportive!

I will probably be posting a dedicated post about this soon, but I will be asking people to share books/poems, podcasts, music, etc. that has had profound meaning in their lives and has helped them in some sort of distinct way. I will be asking for a brief note about why they recommend it and what it has meant for them. I'm going to print those notes and for the print media put them inside and for others have a board that I rotate out with posts and recommendations. Loneliness is a huge issue in our society and feeling alone profoundly impacts our mental health, so this is one of the ways that I am working to foster a sense of care and community in my practice. Like I said, I'll be doing a dedicated post about it, but if you'd like to share/participate feel free to comment or send me a message! :)

[verecunda]

Book meme

Tagged by @malkaleh, and by @chiropteracupola some time ago. Thankee both! <3

The last book I read: Edge of Empire: The Antonine Wall by David Breeze. Pretty short and basic tbh, not much I haven't already read in Breeze's other books. I'd recommend it, though, for anyone reading up on the subject for the first time. And the photos are excellent.

A book I'd recommend: I mean, I'd recommend different books to different people. But since I think this would appeal to quite a few folks in my Tumblr orbit: Ancestors: A history of Britain in seven burials by Alice Roberts. This is popular archaeology at its very best. It discusses seven prehistoric burials across Britain, across various periods, but far from just being a rehash of well-known finds, Roberts uses each case-study to explore what we think we know about prehistoric Britain (as well as how much we don't know!!), how these discoveries have been evaluated and re-evaluated over time, with the use of new scientific methods, how archaeology itself has developed over the centuries and how it's still evolving, how cultural attitudes and circumstances have evolved and informed, not just our interpretation of the past, but our own attitudes to the dead and how we treat them, drawing in discussion of other comparable sites worldwide... it's all brilliant, and I fear my summary here is doing it a disservice.

Roberts' writing is as engaging as her TV presentation, and one thing I love above all in this book is how she looks at these burials, not just as bundles of old bones, but as actual people. She thinks about them, wonders about their lives, and she has that wistfulness I think we all feel that these people of the past remain so out of our reach. And using her own expertise in anatomy and genetics, she very elegantly manages to stick the boot in at racism and transphobia at several points too.

So yeah. Everyone read this one!!!

A book I couldn't put down: I vividly remember reading most of The Reverse of the Medal by Patrick O'Brian in a single day, just because aaaaaahhh!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!! (If you know, you know!)

A book I've read twice or more: Great Expectations by big Chuckie D. never fails to be marvellous.

A book on my TBR: Smiley's People by John Le Carré. Having read Tinker, Tailor a few months ago, I am now enthralled by sad old spies having a thoroughly bleak and joyless time. X'D

A book I've put down: Alas, despite trying several times, and despite loving the 1995 TV adaptation, I have continually bounced off Persuasion (and indeed, any other Austen I've tried).

A book on my wishlist: The Lost Voices of Pompeii by Jess Venner is calling to me.

A favourite book from childhood: Eschewing the usual suspects to give a mention to Bad Dreams by Anne Fine. School bookworm realises that the new girl's jewellery is cursed so that she can feel the emotions of the characters in any book she touches as if they were her own - especially the scary ones! An eerie wee tale, very relatable to any kid who loved books, but also a reminder that some things are much better existing purely in books!

A book I'd give to a friend: That would depend on the friend and what they're into. But I think I would happily press Sutcliff's The Lantern Bearers on most people. Come and be destroyed with me, c'mon, it's great, you'll never be the same again!!! *____*

A book of poetry or lyrics I own: North, by Seamus Heaney. I am a confirmed philistine who really Doesn't Get poetry, but Heaney does it for me.

A non-fiction book I own: War Doctor by David Nott. Have I read it yet? Have I buggery. 😅

What I'm planning on reading next: Either One Moonlit Night by Caradog Pritchard, or Solinus' Collectanea. Depends on how the whim strikes me.

I tag: @cycas, @cuddlytogas, @xserpx, @helenvader, @regshoe, @thenookienostradamus, @iloveyoudie, and @queenmeriadoc.