Sarah
@sarahsiska.bsky.social
200 followers 450 following 150 posts
Mom | Wife | Reader | Gardener | Learner I believe love, curiosity, and compassion lead to wisdom and a life well-lived. Learning, #booksky, Libraries, Service, Rotary, Bolingbrook, IL, USA Opinions are my own.
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sarahsiska.bsky.social
I can protect my peace or stay informed, but I can’t seem to do both.

#books #booksky
sarahsiska.bsky.social
Atmosphere
by Taylor Jenkins Reid
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Great characters and thoughtful composition. The second half makes up for the slower pacing in the first half. Her prose is fantastic.

Found family, historical fiction, women in stem, self discovery.

Yes, I cried.

#booksky #bookreview
Book cover for Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid shows woman wearing aviator glasses looking up at the sky. You can see a suave shuttle launching into the sky reflected in her glasses. Her dark hair is wind blown her expression shows a small smile.
sarahsiska.bsky.social
It’s almost banned books week!

Whether it’s The Lorax, Maus, or I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, reading books with challenging ideas and difficult themes better prepares us to recognize and deal with challenging situations in our lives and feel compassion for those facing similar challenges.
sarahsiska.bsky.social
Wow! I had no idea this was coming. It looks like it’s going to be super creepy
sarahsiska.bsky.social
Just watched episode 100 with my 10 year old tonight. The live action was my entry point. So excited for season 2!
sarahsiska.bsky.social
I love how varied all the tribes were. I wish there were more first person stories about them all. I’m trying to embrace the lack of closure we get in the novel.

If I had to choose one, I would choose to spend more time with the Deadpools’ arc.

Did you read it as well? I’d love your thoughts.
sarahsiska.bsky.social
Fantasticland
by @mikebockoven.bsky.social
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Great premise! Theme park Employees isolated by a hurricane form rival tribes that violently clash.

Structured as a series of interviews, we explore a tale that’s horrificly compelling. I’ll be thinking about this for years.

#booksky #bookreview
Book cover for Fantasticland by Mike Bockoven. Depicts an empty Ferris wheel with a tent in front of it with some haze.
sarahsiska.bsky.social
Stephen Colbert and Anderson Cooper interview from 2019 about practicing gratitude in the face of grief.

Source for the full interview: youtu.be/YB46h1koicQ?...
sarahsiska.bsky.social
Starter Villain
By John Scalzi
⭐️⭐️⭐️

Light, funny, and the right amount of ridiculous. This novel takes the villain tropes we love and spins them into hilarious absurdities.

✅ Volcano lair
✅ Shadowy Villain network
✅ Pet Cats
✅ Stolen Nazi Treasure
✅ Dolphins trying to unionize
✅ Lasers

#booksky
Book cover for Starter Villain by New York times best selling author John Scalzi 

Depicts cat wearing a business suit with the text “Meet the New Boss”
sarahsiska.bsky.social
Just finished the sequel, The Enchanted Greenhouse. Same cozy vibes as the first but with more plants, more flying cat scenes, plus tiny dragons and a friendly sea turtle!

Thanks @sarahbethdurst.bsky.social! The book club was gushing about these books!
sarahsiska.bsky.social
Agree! I found this was absolutely charming. Looking forward to reading more from Klune!
sarahsiska.bsky.social
This is why speaking truth to power is not just a simple act. It’s bravery.
sarahsiska.bsky.social
I highly recommend people read Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. It was one of my favorite reads from last year and the movie comes out in March. Warning: Some spoilers in the trailer.

#booksky
Project Hail Mary - Official Trailer
YouTube video by Amazon MGM Studios
youtu.be
sarahsiska.bsky.social
The Heartless Sky (Zodiac Academy 7)
By Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti
⭐️⭐️

Peckham & Valenti must be paid by the page. So much filler. So little editing. Characters became caricatures and we crossed from whimsical into the absurd.

Fans of this one are loyal fans indeed

#booksky #bookreview
Book cover for The Heartless Sky: Zodiac Academy Book, 7
By Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti
sarahsiska.bsky.social
I suspect the classics are on the list specifically to demonstrate that “sexually explicit” does not equal gay. The argument from the banners is that the school board didn’t follow the “intent of the policy.” The intent is likely to have literature depicting gay characters banned.
sarahsiska.bsky.social
A judge paused Canada’s ban on books with explicit content “It contained more than 200 titles, including “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” “Brave New World” and more.

… additional books … inaccessible to K-9 students, including… “Nineteen Eighty-Four” and …“The Great Gatsby.”

#booksky #librarysky
Alberta government pauses ban on school library books with sex content
EDMONTON - Alberta's education minister is directing school boards to pause a government order to remove books with explicit sexual content from libraries.
ground.news
sarahsiska.bsky.social
I’m endlessly charmed by the variations of my violas 🌱
sarahsiska.bsky.social
The Names
By Florence Knapp
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Follows a family through 3 parallel time lines branching from different choices.

While the name of the youngest is distinct in each timeline, the decision to fight back, leave, or endure domestic violence is the choice and consequences Knapp explores.

#booksky
sarahsiska.bsky.social
The Night Shift
By Alex Finlay
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What a great thriller! We time hop exploring similar crimes separated by several years in the same small town.

Short chapters. Multiple narrators. Great characters. Enough mystery to keep things interesting without being contrived.

#Booksky
sarahsiska.bsky.social
The Spellshop
by Sarah Beth Durst
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Absolutely adorable.

Librarian with a talking plant for a side kick uses magic, friendship, and kindness to save a community and find love.

Durst really knows her audience. Did I mention there are flying cats?

Fantasy, romance, no spice.

#booksky
Book cover for The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst. Pictures Stone stairs leading up to a cottage over grown with vines. Sun trickles through the canopy giving a sense of calm beauty. A winged cat sleeps on the steps.
sarahsiska.bsky.social
Agreed! Your sense of place is masterful. Horrifying, heart wrenching, yet somehow heartwarming and hopeful.

I’ll be thinking about this book forever.
sarahsiska.bsky.social
Today’s @carolynhax.bsky.social features this amazing Cartoon by @Nick Galifianakis
Man stands on a cloud talking to an angel who stands behind a lectern with a large book balance on top. 

The caption reads: So what do you take here, cash, piety, “regrets“? Gerrymandering? I know people.
sarahsiska.bsky.social
Cucumber season!
sarahsiska.bsky.social
10 years after our CIO incentivized interactions on the internal company social platforms, and 8 years after they stopped giving out points you could redeem for merchandise because people were gaming the system and not adding value, people still post “done” in the comments thread for our courses.
sarahsiska.bsky.social
The Mighty Red
By Louise Erdrich
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Erdrich’s prose borders on poetry. The characters are beautifully drawn and realistic yet charmingly fantastic.

So glad she didn’t make the love of a good woman the fix for broken men. ❤️

Erdrich is why I fell in love with magical realism.

#booksky
Book cover for The Mighty Red
By Louise Erdrich
sarahsiska.bsky.social
“Spend time thinking about how you do the work. Is there a way to do it that is life-giving?”

Austin Channing Brown
Author of Full of Myself
2025 United for Libraries keynote

Thanks for an amazing keynote @austinchanning.bsky.social

Check out her books!

#booksky #librarysky