readasawriter.bsky.social
@readasawriter.bsky.social
Interested in books, creative writing, Judaism, and cats

Book review blog at readasawriter.wordpress.com
#Books #Reading #Bookreview

Here's a summary post of all the book reviews I posted this year! It includes star ratings for each book and a roundup of the book recommendation lists I've made. Happy New Year!
2025 Book Wrap-Up
Here's a summary post of all the book reviews I posted this year! This is also where you can find my star ratings of each book. (I don't normally include these in reviews, but I think they're useful for comparison purposes when evaluating my overall thoughts on a book, and you can always find them on my Goodreads reviews.) It also includes a roundup of book recommendation lists I've made.
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December 31, 2025 at 6:34 PM
Woodworking is a heartwarming exploration of friendship among trans women, the necessity of love and community, and the ways that people try to be themselves—or hide themselves. It's an amazing book with flawed, sympathetic characters and amazing uses of narrative POV.
Book Review: Woodworking by Emily St. James
This post contains affiliate links to Bookshop.org. If you purchase a book through those links, I will earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I loved this book. It was a heartwarming exploration of friendship among trans women, the necessity of love and community, and the ways that people try to be themselves—or hide themselves. In…
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December 17, 2025 at 6:17 PM
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Taking kids to a Hannukah celebration, lighting candles publicly, trying to be publicly Jewish feels fraught but also necessary. Try to bring some light into a dark world.
Jews everywhere understand that this is the omnipresent reality of being Jewish now. There's a reason my synagogue built a 10-foot tall fence around the whole building and has armed security guards.
December 14, 2025 at 2:44 PM
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Extraordinary courage from Ahmed al Ahmed, a Muslim, 43-year-old father of two, who bravely risked his life to save his neighbors celebrating Hanukkah.

Praying for his full & speedy recovery.

And so deeply inspired by his example.
WATCH: Bystander disarms active shooter at Bondi Beach in Sydney
December 14, 2025 at 2:37 PM
#jewishbookmonth #jewishbookmonth100 #Jewish="/hashtag/JewishBooks" class="hover:underline text-blue-600 dark:text-sky-400 no-card-link">#JewishBooks #Jewish #Books

Celebrate Jewish Book Month by reading some Jewish books! Check out this list of Jewish books I've enjoyed, including fantasy, nonfiction, and an essay collection!
Jewish Book Month 2025
Jewish Book Month is an annual celebration of Jewish books during the month before Hanukkah. This year, it takes place from November 13, 2025 to December 14, 2025. If you're looking for a book to read to celebrate, here's a list of Jewish books I've enjoyed (with the exception of the last one, which I haven't read, but I think it sounds interesting)!
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December 11, 2025 at 5:18 AM
Is everyone ready to write a novel this November? NaNoWriMo may have shut down, but we can still write 50,000 words! Here's a list of writing resources for inspiration and assistance with writing your novel!
Write a Novel This November!
Happy (almost) National Novel Writing Month! NaNoWriMo may have shut down, but we can still write 50,000 words this November (or 30,000 words, or 60 pages—I just take it as a challenge to write every day, so do whatever you have time for). If you’re looking for a structured writing experience, check out Chill Subs’ First Draft November newsletter; they’ll be sending out prompts and providing a space for discussion and accountability throughout November.
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October 31, 2025 at 2:12 PM
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August 21, 2025 at 1:46 AM
#Writing #WritingPrompts #WritingCommunity

Here's my monthly writing prompt roundup, a post containing all the writing prompts posted on Read as a Writer in August. Happy writing!
August Writing Prompt Roundup
Here's a list of all the writing prompts posted on Read as a Writer in August 2025! You can also find these prompts, plus all the prompts ever posted on Read as a Writer, on the writing prompts page. And check out my new page of writing resources here. Character Write a piece where the protagonist is keeping a secret from the reader, the people around them, and, to an extent, themself.
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August 31, 2025 at 6:00 PM
#Writing #WritingCommunity #WritingResources

Looking for some writing and publishing resources? Check out this list of my top ten writing resources! I also have a whole writing resources page on my blog if you're looking for more tips (link in blog post).
Top Ten Tuesday: My Favorite Writing Resources
This post contains affiliate links to Bookshop.org. If you purchase a book through those links, I will earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish and is now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Today’s Top Ten Tuesday prompt is “Non-Bookish Freebie,” so I chose to make a list of my top ten writing resources.
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August 27, 2025 at 5:03 AM
#Books #Writing"/hashtag/WritingCommunity" class="hover:underline text-blue-600 dark:text-sky-400 no-card-link">#WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts #Writing

Do you want to learn how to write realistic characters with social anxiety? Or how to develop amazing magical animals for your worlds? Check out my craft analysis of The Phoenix Keeper for some tips and writing prompts!
Craft Analysis: Anxious Characters and Magical Creatures in S. A. Maclean’s The Phoenix Keeper
In The Phoenix Keeper, Aila Macbhairan, the head phoenix keeper at San Tamculo Zoo, has to figure out how to relaunch the zoo’s dormant phoenix breeding program while arguing with the phoenix program’s new PR director, Luciana Reyes, and navigating her relationship with Connor, the diamondback dragon keeper. Two of the craft elements I thought were well done in this book were Aila’s characterization and the descriptions of magical creatures.
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August 21, 2025 at 5:45 PM
#Books #Reading #Fantasy #WritingPrompts

I loved this book. Socially anxious protagonist? Check. Important message about endangered species conservation? Check. Amazing side characters? Absolutely. If you have anxiety, read this book!
readasawriter.wordpress.com/2025/08/14/b...
Book Review: The Phoenix Keeper by S. A. Maclean
This post contains an affiliate link to Bookshop.org. If you purchase a book through that link, I will earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I loved this book. Socially anxious protagoni…
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August 19, 2025 at 4:11 AM
#Books #Reading

Are you in a reading slump and looking for a way to get out of it? Check out these attention-grabbing books to find your next read!
Top Ten Tuesday — Books Guaranteed to End Your Reading Slump
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish and is now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's Top Ten Tuesday prompt was "Books Guaranteed to End Your Reading Slump," so here's my list of books that I think are guaranteed to pull you in and inspire you to keep reading, in no particular order. Hope you enjoy!
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August 13, 2025 at 3:33 AM
#WritingPrompts #WritingCommunity #Writing

Writing prompt time! Here's a set of writing prompts to help you create a sense of mystery around your protagonist. What are your characters hiding? See a more in-depth discussion of character secrets here:
readasawriter.wordpress.com/2025/08/04/c...
August 5, 2025 at 5:34 PM
#Writing #WritingPrompts #WritingCommunity #Books

New type of post today: a craft analysis of Maiga Doocy's Sorcery and Small Magics. Writers can learn about character dynamics and characters keeping secrets; readers get to read a deep dive into those elements. There's something for everyone!
Craft Analysis: Sorcery and Small Magics by Maiga Doocy
I'm going to try a new type of post today. While thinking about how reading benefits my writing, I realized I might find it helpful to analyze specific craft elements more closely, especially those that a particular book does well. Thus, in this post, I'm going to be discussing two specific craft elements that Sorcery and Small Magics does well. After the discussion, I'll provide a summary of how I think writers might apply these craft elements to their own work and offer some writing prompts to help you get started.
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August 4, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Review of Our Infinite Fates by Laura Steven
readasawriter.wordpress.com/2025/06/23/r...

#Books #Fantasy #Fiction #WritingPrompts

Two people are cursed to reincarnate again and again, and each time, they kill each other before they turn eighteen. Will this be the life where they escape their fate?
Review of Our Infinite Fates by Laura Steven
[Skip to writing prompts] In Our Infinite Fates, Evelyn and Arden are reincarnated every lifetime and kill each other in every one before they turn eighteen. Evelyn does not remember why they need …
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August 1, 2025 at 5:49 PM
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Happy August, everyone!
August's newsletter went out to subscribers early today. It's packed with #opportunities that are now or will soon be open for submissions. Please share with *your* #WritingCommunity. bit.ly/4lp7EAV
August 1, 2025 at 12:15 PM
#Writing #WritingPrompts #WritingCommunity #writers

Here's a roundup of all the writing prompts posted on Read as a Writer in July! You can also find these prompts, along with all the other ones I've posted, on the "Writing Prompts" page of the blog. Also, I recently read
July Writing Prompt Roundup
Here's a roundup of all the writing prompts posted on Read as a Writer in July! You can also find these prompts, along with all the other ones I've posted, on the "Writing Prompts" page of the blog. In addition, I recently read an article on Authors Publish called "7 Reasons Why You Should Try Using Writing Prompts…
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July 31, 2025 at 7:40 PM
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July 28, 2025 at 11:42 PM
Review of This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
readasawriter.wordpress.com/2025/06/09/r...

#Books #Fiction #SciFi #WritingPrompts

If you like sapphic enemies-to-lovers plotlines in an epistolary format (plus time travel, of course), this book is for you.
Review of This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
[Skip to writing prompts] This is How You Lose the Time War is an engaging, character-driven novel primarily told through letters between the two protagonists. If you like sapphic enemies-to-lovers…
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July 30, 2025 at 9:17 PM
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From Palestinian-American poet and doctor Fady Joudah's book, Alight: bookshop.org/a/862/9781556594229

#poetry #books #writing
July 25, 2025 at 4:21 PM
#Books #Fantasy #Fiction #WritingPrompts

When Leovander Loveage is accidentally cursed to follow all commands from his longtime rival, Sebastian Grimm, the two must journey through a magical forest to find a legendary sorcerer to break the curse.
Review of Sorcery and Small Magics by Maiga Doocy
[Skip to writing prompts] In Sorcery and Small Magics, Leovander Loveage and his longtime rival, Sebastian Grimm, attend the Fount, a school dedicated to training sorcerers to use Grandmagic and the less powerful magic of charms and cantrips. A mishap in one of their classes leads to Leo being cursed to follow Grimm’s commands. But that’s not all: as time passes, the curse worsens, and Leo finds himself in terrible pain if he goes more than a day without seeing Grimm.
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July 28, 2025 at 5:07 PM
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The old Cincinnati Library [1874-1955] was a stunning architectural marvel. It was a cultural hub until its demolition in 1955, when they built a new library 📖 📚

I could have gotten myself lost in there for weeks 📖 📚

#greenwitchtea #greenwitch #books #reading #science #fantasy #learning #truth
July 26, 2025 at 7:09 PM