@mrwreadsbooks.bsky.social
Retired. I read, walk the dog, make art, lunch with friends. Life is slow but full.
Last read of 2025–Possession by A.S. Byatt. Byatt wrote all the Victorian poetry featured in the novel as well as letters and diaries. It’s a literary mystery and romance that asks questions about possession of scholarship, relationships, secrets, poetry. A gorgeous novel.
January 2, 2026 at 6:40 PM
Last read of 2025–Possession by A.S. Byatt. Byatt wrote all the Victorian poetry featured in the novel as well as letters and diaries. It’s a literary mystery and romance that asks questions about possession of scholarship, relationships, secrets, poetry. A gorgeous novel.
“Truth and Falsehood are arbitrary terms.... There is nothing in experience to tell us that one is always preferable to the other.... The force of an idea lies in its inspirational value. It matters very little whether it is true or false.” US politics today mirrors the democracy of 1917-20.
December 22, 2025 at 2:29 PM
“Truth and Falsehood are arbitrary terms.... There is nothing in experience to tell us that one is always preferable to the other.... The force of an idea lies in its inspirational value. It matters very little whether it is true or false.” US politics today mirrors the democracy of 1917-20.
Lauren Groff has been on my list for too long! This novel is genius. Marie is exiled from court by Eleanor of Aquitaine to an impoverished abbey in England where Marie uses all her powers to create an amazing community of creative women. A tapestry of violence, sensuality and mysticism.
December 7, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Lauren Groff has been on my list for too long! This novel is genius. Marie is exiled from court by Eleanor of Aquitaine to an impoverished abbey in England where Marie uses all her powers to create an amazing community of creative women. A tapestry of violence, sensuality and mysticism.
Winter is a great time to travel to Western Africa—at least in a fantasy written by the talented Nnedi Okorafor. So beautifully written! Great characters and a thrilling story.
December 1, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Winter is a great time to travel to Western Africa—at least in a fantasy written by the talented Nnedi Okorafor. So beautifully written! Great characters and a thrilling story.
Finished! This book was not what I was expecting from a novel centered on WW2. I’m glad I traveled with this absurd circus of characters to the end. It was a dark, weird tour.
November 3, 2025 at 2:20 PM
Finished! This book was not what I was expecting from a novel centered on WW2. I’m glad I traveled with this absurd circus of characters to the end. It was a dark, weird tour.
The great challenge as a reader is to recognize brilliance. This book seemed to me, at first, boring. Then daunting. Then, with a humbled mind I realized I had misunderstood and went to back to reread chapters and paragraphs. This is a memoir that reads like great literature.
October 23, 2025 at 8:22 PM
The great challenge as a reader is to recognize brilliance. This book seemed to me, at first, boring. Then daunting. Then, with a humbled mind I realized I had misunderstood and went to back to reread chapters and paragraphs. This is a memoir that reads like great literature.
Great read for a windy October Sunday!
October 12, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Great read for a windy October Sunday!
I love this novel! Written by Sri Lankan author Shehan Karunatilaka this book is a murder mystery, political thriller & poignant discourse about love & friendship. Main character Maali Almeida has 7 moons to solve his own murder, reveal the horrors of a civil war and fight demons. Highly recommend!
September 19, 2025 at 8:56 PM
I love this novel! Written by Sri Lankan author Shehan Karunatilaka this book is a murder mystery, political thriller & poignant discourse about love & friendship. Main character Maali Almeida has 7 moons to solve his own murder, reveal the horrors of a civil war and fight demons. Highly recommend!
I finally read this one! So good. Here’s some other historical fiction I’ve read that include the gods or this time period: The Last of the Wine, Mary Renault; Silence of the Girls, Pat Barker; and Thessaly, Jo Walton which includes robots which is awesome! Here’s to fate and fallen heroes!
September 8, 2025 at 5:53 PM
I finally read this one! So good. Here’s some other historical fiction I’ve read that include the gods or this time period: The Last of the Wine, Mary Renault; Silence of the Girls, Pat Barker; and Thessaly, Jo Walton which includes robots which is awesome! Here’s to fate and fallen heroes!
Just starting Trust by Hernan Diaz. A friend recommended it so I moved it from my TBR shelf to the reading chair which I’m sharing with Leeloo and flat squirrel.
August 22, 2025 at 7:24 PM
Just starting Trust by Hernan Diaz. A friend recommended it so I moved it from my TBR shelf to the reading chair which I’m sharing with Leeloo and flat squirrel.
Sometimes the book doesn’t survive the reader…Finished this one finally but the book paid the price. RIP to a good book with a glued spine.
July 20, 2025 at 7:48 PM
Sometimes the book doesn’t survive the reader…Finished this one finally but the book paid the price. RIP to a good book with a glued spine.
Swinging in a hammock on my front porch, reading about Murderbot. It’s a good way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
July 13, 2025 at 8:26 PM
Swinging in a hammock on my front porch, reading about Murderbot. It’s a good way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
This remarkable memoir by Beaton is a graphic wonder. She captures the scale of the machinery and the mining sites and writes candidly about the alienation and harshness of the labor. We learn with Beaton about the exploitation and alienation of large corporations on indigenous communities.
June 27, 2025 at 6:08 PM
This remarkable memoir by Beaton is a graphic wonder. She captures the scale of the machinery and the mining sites and writes candidly about the alienation and harshness of the labor. We learn with Beaton about the exploitation and alienation of large corporations on indigenous communities.
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Please share this
June 19, 2025 at 4:01 PM
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“Who can forget having been master of herself? … Those who remained can’t forgive us for having a key to our own room.” From the 1938 novel about the hidden lives of women by de Cespedes and translated by Ann Goldstein.
June 17, 2025 at 9:44 PM
“Who can forget having been master of herself? … Those who remained can’t forgive us for having a key to our own room.” From the 1938 novel about the hidden lives of women by de Cespedes and translated by Ann Goldstein.
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There is no greater moral failure than stealing a child from their family. It is evil, full stop. Those who carry it out have forfeited their humanity. I’m hoping karma is real & she exacts her full vengeance upon them. We are called to act. Show up. Speak out. Call every single day.
June 16, 2025 at 11:31 PM
There is no greater moral failure than stealing a child from their family. It is evil, full stop. Those who carry it out have forfeited their humanity. I’m hoping karma is real & she exacts her full vengeance upon them. We are called to act. Show up. Speak out. Call every single day.
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Who’s really behind book bans?
It’s not just concerned parents… 72% of book censorship efforts come from pressure groups and government officials. Only 16% come from parents, and 12% from others like teachers or library users.
#FreedomToRead #StopBookBans #FactsMatter #LetBooksBe #ProtectLibraries
It’s not just concerned parents… 72% of book censorship efforts come from pressure groups and government officials. Only 16% come from parents, and 12% from others like teachers or library users.
#FreedomToRead #StopBookBans #FactsMatter #LetBooksBe #ProtectLibraries
June 16, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Who’s really behind book bans?
It’s not just concerned parents… 72% of book censorship efforts come from pressure groups and government officials. Only 16% come from parents, and 12% from others like teachers or library users.
#FreedomToRead #StopBookBans #FactsMatter #LetBooksBe #ProtectLibraries
It’s not just concerned parents… 72% of book censorship efforts come from pressure groups and government officials. Only 16% come from parents, and 12% from others like teachers or library users.
#FreedomToRead #StopBookBans #FactsMatter #LetBooksBe #ProtectLibraries
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#PostcardDay! June 7th we will swamp social media with DIGITAL postcards to get ready for the June 14th No Kings! protest.
Find links to pre-made postcards and templates for making your own:
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
POST/REPOST with #PostcardDay on June 7th
@50501supporters.bsky.social
Find links to pre-made postcards and templates for making your own:
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
POST/REPOST with #PostcardDay on June 7th
@50501supporters.bsky.social
June 5, 2025 at 2:33 AM
#PostcardDay! June 7th we will swamp social media with DIGITAL postcards to get ready for the June 14th No Kings! protest.
Find links to pre-made postcards and templates for making your own:
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
POST/REPOST with #PostcardDay on June 7th
@50501supporters.bsky.social
Find links to pre-made postcards and templates for making your own:
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
POST/REPOST with #PostcardDay on June 7th
@50501supporters.bsky.social
Intense psychological thriller. Nordic noir can be twisty and dark so it’s not always my first choice. This was well-written but I always worry about Sweden’s mental well-being when I finish a book like this. No happy endings with this one!
June 5, 2025 at 10:36 PM
Intense psychological thriller. Nordic noir can be twisty and dark so it’s not always my first choice. This was well-written but I always worry about Sweden’s mental well-being when I finish a book like this. No happy endings with this one!
Read this so fast, I almost forgot to post it. Look this awesome cover! A compelling mystery that compassionately includes mature topics faced by young students. I read this in one day because the writing is so good and the characters were amazing.
May 28, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Read this so fast, I almost forgot to post it. Look this awesome cover! A compelling mystery that compassionately includes mature topics faced by young students. I read this in one day because the writing is so good and the characters were amazing.
My read this week. Set during the Dustbowl in Nebraska. Beautiful characters, a little witchcraft and magic. Depth and humor deftly written to impart the importance of hope for the future by giving respect to the past.
May 18, 2025 at 5:22 PM
My read this week. Set during the Dustbowl in Nebraska. Beautiful characters, a little witchcraft and magic. Depth and humor deftly written to impart the importance of hope for the future by giving respect to the past.
This amazing novel spans the lifetime of Zorrie Underwood. After
The deaths of her parents and guardian, she moves West from Depression-era Indiana to work in a radium processing plant then back home where trials and pain must be faced with tenacity.
The deaths of her parents and guardian, she moves West from Depression-era Indiana to work in a radium processing plant then back home where trials and pain must be faced with tenacity.
May 3, 2025 at 9:43 PM
This amazing novel spans the lifetime of Zorrie Underwood. After
The deaths of her parents and guardian, she moves West from Depression-era Indiana to work in a radium processing plant then back home where trials and pain must be faced with tenacity.
The deaths of her parents and guardian, she moves West from Depression-era Indiana to work in a radium processing plant then back home where trials and pain must be faced with tenacity.
This week’s read. Historical fiction with a great story of the influences that inspired her to write Frankenstein; or the Modern Prometheus. Lots of gothic atmosphere and eerie imagery.
April 23, 2025 at 3:45 PM
This week’s read. Historical fiction with a great story of the influences that inspired her to write Frankenstein; or the Modern Prometheus. Lots of gothic atmosphere and eerie imagery.
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Every time they come for my fam, I’m gonna get louder📚📣❤️
April 17, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Every time they come for my fam, I’m gonna get louder📚📣❤️
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This is the first year that Francisco has harvested mandarin oranges. He's working near Sanger CA and shares: The work is dangerous. I've seen other workers get injured so I'm very careful. The pay is low but I do it as my family depends on me. #WeFeedYou
April 15, 2025 at 8:01 PM
This is the first year that Francisco has harvested mandarin oranges. He's working near Sanger CA and shares: The work is dangerous. I've seen other workers get injured so I'm very careful. The pay is low but I do it as my family depends on me. #WeFeedYou