#good dirt

[marsscorkboard]

Two pretty mid books with pages that make good use of some new washi tapes!

I finished Deltarune chapter 5 this morning and already made up the next page for it - hopefully I finish the second half of that spread soon so I can share it!

[via-the-net]

black history month reading challenge

sooooo for the month of february i challenged myself to read as many books by black authors as i could. this is the first reading challenge i've give myself besides the standard yearly reading goal. it was kind of a spur of the moment decision made literally on the last day of january. however, my spontaneity blessed me with some truly fulfilling reads.

i ended up reading six books this month - some were HITS some were just fine, but either way i really enjoyed the journey. so, of course, i want to recap/review those books in order to share my bhm experience.

happy black history month! <3

☆ imago by octavia e. butler (read from 2/1-2/2) ☆

octavia e. butler is one of my favorite authors of all time, and i usually eat her books within like three days. that being said, imago is my least favorite butler novel. this is not say it was bad!!!! it was just the least engaged i have been while reading any of her books.

this is the final book in the lilith's brood trilogy. the series has a premise like nothing i have read before where these nasty, monster like aliens "save" humans after a world war that basically kills the earth. however, these aliens intend to breed with humans in order to become a better species. just some wild stuff.

rating: 3.5 stars

☆ such a fun age by kiley reid (read from 2/4-2/5) ☆

such a fun age is, in my opinion, a "fun" approach to a black trauma story. it has the ability to stay comedic while broaching topics of fetishization and micro-aggressions. it definitely got a few laughs out of me.

it especially resonated with me because it follows this 26-year-old who is basically floundering as she attempts to figure out what to do with her life before she gets kicked off her parents health insurance. like.... THATS MEE?!!?! i'm not 26 just yet, but boy am I floundering

rating: 3.75 stars

☆ good dirt by charmaine wilkerson (read from 2/7-2/10) ☆

oh, good dirt..... i dont know. it was nice. i've read a few of these through-the-generations style books recently, and they're usually hit or miss for me. i was mildly entertained throughout the novel, but once i finished it felt like it was missing something. i know people have been raving about it recently, but it was just okay for me.

rating: 3 stars

☆ the city we became by n.k. jemisin (read from 2/12-2/17) ☆

n.k. jemisin, like octavie e. butler, loves to write some weird shit; imma fucking eat it up every time. this idea of cities having human avatars is already impressive in itself, but then to center the book on new york a city with five cities within it just transforms it to something even more captivating. plus the enemy in it is so otherworldly and monstrous - it's just another signal of jemisin's creativity.

i will say the twist/solution at the end was a bit silly, in my opinion. i do like how the story comes to a satisfactory ending while still leaving questions for book two (which i will be reading).

rating: 4 stars

☆ if beale street could talk by james baldwin (read from 2/18-2/19) ☆

gold, gold, fucking gold! simple, beautiful, sharp, but sweet - like a cold arnold palmer in the middle of summer. james baldwin created such a strip down image of being black and in love in a nasty american society. it's sorrowful, but it's also filled of love; not just romance, but familial too.

the ending is very open, so its open to really any interpretation. to me it delivers a message of perseverance and hope through an ocean of indefinite struggle.

rating: 5 stars

☆ the nickel boys by colson whitehead (read from 2/20-2/24) ☆

i wanted to read the nickel boys because of the movie that just came out, and was pleasantly surprised. at first i thought it was going to be a classic historical black trauma story but au contraire! the twist at the end was simultaneously extremely heart shattering and heart warming.

i also loved the deconstruction of dr. martin luther king's rhetoric. many people feel compelled to his philosophy as law due to the man he was, but i think it deserves a more nuanced view. maybe dr. king could do it, but i cannot love my oppressor.

rating: 4.5 stars

aaaaaaannnnnddddd thats all folks :D

[caribeandthebooks]

August 2025 Reading Wrap-Up

I read 4 books and got 5 Kindle/Goodreads challenge achievements this month!

Now lets look at the breakdown :)

StoryGraph Reading Challenge Progress: 20/20

Goodreads Summer Challenge Progress: 8/9

Kindle Summer Challenge Progress: 11/15

Top Genre read as at August 2025: Fantasy

My first read for August and Book #28 was A Murder for Miss Hortense by Mel Pennant. Rating: 3.5/5

I picked this book up because it qualified for a kindle reading challenge and by the time I was done reading it the book was no longer on this list and it was going for $6 cheaper (flips off Amazon). Thankfully, Mel didn’t disappoint. I love that this book felt very Caribbean to me; often times you’re very aware they’ve migrated even when they’re not saying it. Also how Mel handled curse words in the story is hilarious.

Despite the Kindle Challenge's efforts of sabotage, A Murder for Miss Hortense helped me earn the Book Lover Achievement from the Kindle Summer Challenge and the Book Boss achievement from the Goodreads Summer Challenge.

Book #29 was Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng Rating: 3.5/5

Celeste was right to start the story by telling us the nosy lady's house burnt down because it made her getting on my nerves so much easier to put up with. Also reading a story set in 1998 I had to remind myself that technology really was at a different place - I had to remind myself of that often. I see how it became a tv show!

Little Fires Everywhere helped me earn the Acclaimed Titles achievement in the Goodreads Summer Challenge.

Book #30 was Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson. Rating: 3/5

I love that this story is about Black American history and the experience of enslaved people but it didn't feel like a struggle story. Also have a black family with generational wealth? I don't see that in contemporary fiction very often.

Good Dirt helped me earn the Chart Toppers achievement from the Goodreads Summer Reading challenge.

Book #31 was To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers. Rating: 2/5

This was a travelers log of a book and I fear reading Project Hail Mary has made me expect more from stories like this. But also Becky's writing from Monk & Robot also caused me to expect better characters in my opinion.

To Be Taught, If Fortunate helped me earn the Lightning Round achievement from the Goodreads Summer Reading Challenge

I would like the Kindle Reading Challenges to stop trying to bludgeon me with the same romantasy books for every challenge. FREE ME AND FREE YOURSELF!!! That said, I'm probably gonna ignore their book recs challenges going forward. I get the feeling I won't have access to the challenges for much longer anyway.

See you next month!

[tulipmp3]

Charmaine Wilkerson, Good Dirt

[judgingbooksbycovers]

Good Dirt: A Novel

By Charmaine Wilkerson.

[thinksideways]

most of the photos I've taken this trip are like shitposts

[andreabadgley]

Lazy Sunday.

[badhouseplant]

I’m drinking a beer called Dirt Church. It is tasty but also kinda tastes like dirt? I like it? It’s weird. But I bought it because if ever I attend a church it would be a church that worships that Good Dirt