Susan
LightNews LightNews
banner
violetephemera.bsky.social
Susan
@violetephemera.bsky.social
220 followers 140 following 170 posts
Teacher, ex-academic, avid reader, houseplant keeper, and cat person.
PhD in Victorian literature and science
📚 🐈🪴 🍉
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Susan
aubryjoi.bsky.social
Energy to take into 2026 ✏️✨

[ #cuteart #traditionalart #sketchbook ]
A sketchbook page of a cute, stylized little orange tabby cat sitting and looking smug/proud. Around them are various scribbles, doodles, other cat sketches, etc. It reads “just make something” amongst the doodles. All artwork is done in shades of orange, green, purple, and red with both paint pen and colored pencil.
January 3, 2026 at 12:46 AM
violetephemera.bsky.social
Couldn't finish This Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh before the year's end, but spent most of New Year's Day unable to put it down. The middle of the novel was thrilling with strong action scenes and plot-twisting time loops. Just wish the ending hadn't relied on so much deus ex machina. #booksky 💙📚
A hardcover copy of Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh sits on a woven blanket. The dust jacket is shiny and features the novel's title in bright gold overlaying the image of three purple-coloured planets in space.
January 2, 2026 at 9:48 PM
violetephemera.bsky.social
Some favourite fiction from 2025:
- The West Passage by Jared Pechaček
- The City in Glass by Nghi Vo
- Abigail by Magda Szabó
- The Cat Who Saved the Library by Sosuke Natsukawa
- The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong
- Snake-Eater by T. Kingfisher
- Other Worlds by André Alexis
#booksky 💙📚
January 1, 2026 at 8:04 PM
violetephemera.bsky.social
Book 70 of 2025 📚💙 There Will Be Bodies by Lindsey Davis, which I read in the summer, but forgot to post. The murder mystery fell flat for me, but the historical background of recovery and rebuilding efforts following the Vesuvius eruption was intricate and engrossing. #booksky
There Will Be Bodies ebook by Lindsey Davis - Rakuten Kobo
Read "There Will Be Bodies" by Lindsey Davis available from Rakuten Kobo. Ten years after the eruption of Vesuvius, the surrounding countryside lies buried and barren. But the destroyed cities a...
www.kobo.com
January 1, 2026 at 4:44 PM
violetephemera.bsky.social
Book 69 of 2025 📚💙 The Electric State by Simon Stålenhag, the story of a teenager on a quest to save her brother that's told as much by text as by the photo-realistic illustrations of an alternate 1990s haunted by rusting warships and addictive virtual reality tech. A fascinating book! #booksky
A hardcover, English translation copy of The Electric State by Simon Stålenhag rests on a woven blanket. The cover features an illustration of the protagonist leading her robot away from a much larger robot beneath the overhang of a building. Behind them is a parking lot and, more distantly desert and mountains.
December 31, 2025 at 7:46 PM
violetephemera.bsky.social
Books 66-68 of 2025 📚💙 this year's additions to Seth's Haunted Bookshelf from Biblioasis: three short stories featuring a possibly-immortal lady, a teacher's ghost seeking redemption, and a Christmas tree cursed by a local tree spirit. All three had just enough chills and thrills. #booksky
Three small books are scattered on a Persian-style rug: The Mistress in Black, Lucky's Grove, and Lady Ferry. The covers feature pop-art style graphics with bold lines and colours that feature major scenes from each story: a woman's face, lit by a match she holds, a burning manor house, and a skeletal old woman in a gown.
December 30, 2025 at 12:26 AM
Reposted by Susan
c0nc0rdance.bsky.social
This is the "SEA SHEEP" (Costasiella kuroshimae) & it took the old axiom: "you are what you eat" VERY literally.

It eats algae & rather than just digest them, it harvests the chloroplasts & becomes PHOTOSYNTHETIC. Solar slug!

Also, some of its cousins can rip their own heads off.
a close up of a green and white sponge with purple spots
Alt: A green and white sea sheep grazes on a green lawn of algae on a surface underwater.
media.tenor.com
December 27, 2025 at 5:02 PM
violetephemera.bsky.social
Book 65 of 2025 📚💙 Snake-Eater by T. Kingfisher, about a woman who move into her aunt's house and inherits more than she bargained fors. Both cozy and chilling in turns, the story was so much fun to read. I had trouble putting it down! #booksky
A library copy of Snake-Eater by T. Kingfisher sits on a blue fabric background. The cover illustration features a close-up of a road runner's face, its eye staring into the reader's soul while its beak holds a thrashing rattle snake.
December 28, 2025 at 7:11 PM
violetephemera.bsky.social
Book 64 of 2025 📚💙 The Keeper of Magical Things by Julie Leong, a fluffy romantasy about the chances a novice mage takes to bring magic back to a village using unwanted magical artifacts. I enjoyed most of the story, but the villain was too flat and the climax too over-dramatic for me. #booksky
A paperback copy of The Keeper of Magical Things rests on a decorative rug. The cover image features the protagonists - a tall blonde woman in blue robes and a shorter brunette in brown - standing together in a picturesque rural landscape.
December 25, 2025 at 11:57 PM
violetephemera.bsky.social
Book 63 of 2025 📚💙 These Lifeless Things by Premee Mohamed, a novella with a split narrative: a woman who survived an invasion of eldritch beings and the anthropologist who fights to have her testimony valued in a pragmatic future world. A fascinating story that I highly recommend! #booksky
A paperback copy of These Lifeless Things by Premee Mohamed is held up in front of a bookshelf. There is sadly a glare on the black cover, which features dotted-line circles surrounding a steam engine and rail cars.
December 23, 2025 at 2:06 AM
violetephemera.bsky.social
Book 62 of 2025 📚💙 A Mouthful of Dust by Nghi Vo, an excellent addition to the Singing Hills Cycle about a town once haunted by a famine demon and the horrible things the magistrate's family did to appease it. The narrative is tight, the prose is vivid, and the horror is chilling. #booksky
A hardcover copy of A Mouthful of Dust by Nghi Vo sits on a woven blanket. The cover features a white kitten sitting over a round bowl (possibly a well), surrounded by bells on a rope and bowls of food.
December 20, 2025 at 12:00 AM
violetephemera.bsky.social
Book 61 of 2025 📚💙 Katabasis by R. F. Kuang, which is, on the surface, about a fantastical journey through Hell. In reality, it's a scathing critique of academia and the exploitation of grad students by abusive professors. Hit close to home, but was ultimately cathartic and satisfying. #booksky
A hardcover copy of Katabasis by R. F. Kuang leans against a footstool. The cover features an Escher-like illustration of an endless staircase wrapping around a building, the novel's main characters trapped upon it.
December 13, 2025 at 1:05 AM
violetephemera.bsky.social
A holiday-themed #caturday from earlier this week when Ivy took a nap on a pile of tissue paper and bubble wrap from the Christmas ornaments. She thought it was the best new bed!
A calico tabby with a tabby mask over a white nose, mouth, and neck sits on a pile of tissue paper and bubble wrap.
December 6, 2025 at 11:41 PM
violetephemera.bsky.social
Book 60 of 2025 📚💙 All the Little Monsters by David Robertson, a memoir of his experiences with anxiety. His description of the uneven nature of "progress" as life events occur was especially helpful. Sometimes, you just need to hear about someone going through a similar experience to feel better.
A library paperback copy of All the Little Monsters: How I Learned to Live With Anxiety by David A. Robertson sits on a woven blanket. The cover features multi-coloured letters for the title and author name, along with the silhouette of a man followed by a stalking wolf.
November 30, 2025 at 9:19 PM
violetephemera.bsky.social
It's been a tough few weeks, so I treated myself to a couple of Regency Cats blind boxes and, fortunately, got the two I wanted! Lady Sheddington and Miss Meowsly now hold an honoured place on my bookshelf.
A plastic figurine of an orange-and-white cat dressed in a seafoam green Regency gown with a matching bonnet and a yellow spencer. In one hand, she holds a parasol, while in the other she has a grey mouse on a leash. Her base is a dark green book with gold detailing that spells out Lady Sheddington on the spine. A cat with seal points stands wearing a pink Regency day dress with a white chemisette, pink trim, and a white shawl wrapped around her arms. She holds a book in both paws. Beside her on the base is a tea cup and a pile of books (the topmost of which is Pride and Prejudice). On the side of her base, in gold, is her name, Miss Meowsly.
November 24, 2025 at 1:18 AM
Reposted by Susan
kf1n3.bsky.social
A bunch of cats I’ve painted 🐈
September 3, 2025 at 2:48 PM
violetephemera.bsky.social
Happy #caturday from Ivy. This photo is from a few days ago, when she took over my bed before I had a chance to make it, and she disapproved of my attempts to move her. Stay cozy, like Ivy!
A calico tabby cat sits on a woven blanket. She has tabby mask over a white face, a tabby spot on her back leg, and an orange and tabby-striped tail. There is also a cute little brown spot on her otherwise pink nose. Behind her are colourful bookshelves.
November 15, 2025 at 7:14 PM
Reposted by Susan
secondnaturemb.bsky.social
So this happened an hour ago. I don’t think I’ve seen red this deep in a long time. You could see it quite clearly with the naked eye. #aurora
A bright red curtain of light surrounded by green glow rains down from the sky behind the silhouettes of spruce trees A bright red curtain of light surrounded by green glow rains down from the sky behind the silhouettes of spruce trees A bright red curtain of light surrounded by green glow rains down from the sky behind the silhouettes of spruce trees. The light is reflected in the thin layer of ice covering the pond in the foreground.
November 12, 2025 at 2:07 AM
violetephemera.bsky.social
Book 59 of 2025 📚💙 What Stalks the Deep by T. Kingfisher, the third in the Gothic horror series, this time set in a West Virginian mine haunted by a Lovecraftian creature. As always with her work, I enjoy the descriptive writing and unique characters; this one also had a fun plot twist. #booksky
A library hardcover of What Stalks the Deep by T. Kingfisher lies on a woven blanket. The cover image features a bear's semi-skeletal body caught on a dead branch. The back of the bear still has its fur, but from the eyes down, the fur falls away to tendon, which falls away to skeleton.
November 9, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Reposted by Susan
japrenticewrites.bsky.social
Sometimes protagonists aren't able to fix the world. Sometimes they're not even able to see the problems with it. Sometimes they're just trying to survive. Sometimes they're even part of the problem.
The writer isn't the society and the writer isn't the protagonist.
November 9, 2025 at 4:37 AM
violetephemera.bsky.social
Book 58 of 2025 📚💙 Pick a Colour by Souvankham Thammavongsa, which depicts a day in the life of a thoughtful and observant nail salon owner. It's like Joyce's Ulysses retold by one many deem invisible, and it takes on the best and most memorable elements of Thammavongsa's short stories. #booksky
A hardcover library copy of Pick a Colour by Souvankham Thammavongsa lies on a woven blanket. The cover image features a variety of fake nails painted in many different colours.
November 2, 2025 at 5:45 PM
violetephemera.bsky.social
When I returned from a walk this morning, I found my cat sleeping like this in my bed, enjoying the sunshine. #catsky
A calico tabby lies curled up on a bed, leaning against the pillows. Her back end is toward the camera and she's facing the camera, her eyes half-open. Her front legs are bent, but one of her back legs is stretched out, looking weirdly like a chicken leg.
October 28, 2025 at 11:21 PM
violetephemera.bsky.social
I received the teabag bookmark that I ordered from @cupofmin.bsky.social this week, and it came with this cute assortment of goodies. The bookmark is a lovely work of fibre art, with many exquisite little details that bring the embroidery to life. 😊
A photo of stickers, cards, and envelopes from the order of an embroidered bookmark in the shape of a teabag. The goodies include pictures of animals peeking out of teacups and a teapot in the shape of a mushroom. The bookmark's embroidered image features a red toadstool mushroom with white spots and stem, leaved-stems with red berries, and a hedgehog.
October 26, 2025 at 8:40 PM
violetephemera.bsky.social
Book 57 of 2025 📚💙 Restaurant Kid by Rachel Phan, a memoir of her childhood in small-town Ontario, haunted by her parents' restaurant and her alienation as one of the few Asian people in her community. I especially enjoyed the last chapters when Phan connected with her family and history. #booksky
A paperback copy of Restaurant Kid: A Memoir of Family and Belonging by Rachel Fan, sits on a woven blanket. The cover of the book features a photograph of Phan as a child, wearing pink and holding a large stuffed toy of the pink Power Ranger. A broken fortune cookie and its fortune surrounds her.
October 26, 2025 at 6:50 PM
Reposted by Susan
ourmankoto.bsky.social
RELEASE DAY! Year's Best Canadian F&SF Volume 3 is now available! Grab ebooks at all retailers and print via Amazon, with Ingram to follow shortly for bookstore & library sales. Grab your copy today and pls share WIDELY!
#BookRelease #NewBook #SpecFic #fantasy #sciencefiction #canada #Booksky 💙📚🪐
October 21, 2025 at 6:42 PM