Susan
@violetephemera.bsky.social
Teacher, ex-academic, avid reader, houseplant keeper, and cat person.
PhD in Victorian literature and science
π ππͺ΄ π
PhD in Victorian literature and science
π ππͺ΄ π
Reposted by Susan
"in the street of money in the city of money in the country of money,
our great country of money, we (forgive us)
lived happily during the war."
- Ilya Kaminsky
our great country of money, we (forgive us)
lived happily during the war."
- Ilya Kaminsky
February 9, 2026 at 12:12 PM
"in the street of money in the city of money in the country of money,
our great country of money, we (forgive us)
lived happily during the war."
- Ilya Kaminsky
our great country of money, we (forgive us)
lived happily during the war."
- Ilya Kaminsky
Overall, I highly recommend! Ignore those bad Goodreads reviews! (I should do that more myself, honestly. The previous book I read, The Everlasting, was so disappointing in comparison, yet it has a high rating.) #booksky πͺπ
February 8, 2026 at 11:58 PM
Overall, I highly recommend! Ignore those bad Goodreads reviews! (I should do that more myself, honestly. The previous book I read, The Everlasting, was so disappointing in comparison, yet it has a high rating.) #booksky πͺπ
Reposted by Susan
I want all writers to be into writing as much like themselves as possible. I hate to see someone say writing's so good they wish they'd written it. You couldn't have, you're you, & they're them. That's the spirit of plagiarism behind AI. Believe in your capacity to create beauty unique to you.
February 8, 2026 at 8:50 PM
I want all writers to be into writing as much like themselves as possible. I hate to see someone say writing's so good they wish they'd written it. You couldn't have, you're you, & they're them. That's the spirit of plagiarism behind AI. Believe in your capacity to create beauty unique to you.
Yes, space pirates with lots of pirate politics, shifting alliances, backstabbing, and quests for revenge alongside thoughtful discussions of ethics. There's a romance too, which started too fast for me, but then felt more natural in the second half as the characters built an emotional connection.
February 8, 2026 at 11:37 PM
Yes, space pirates with lots of pirate politics, shifting alliances, backstabbing, and quests for revenge alongside thoughtful discussions of ethics. There's a romance too, which started too fast for me, but then felt more natural in the second half as the characters built an emotional connection.
I'm overwhelmed with work and, seeking sanity, am throwing myself into SFF novels. After a couple of disappointments, I chose The Red Scholar's Wake by Aliette de Bodard, knowing it was a safe bet for complex world-building and lovely writing. Even better, it also features space pirates!
February 8, 2026 at 11:37 PM
I'm overwhelmed with work and, seeking sanity, am throwing myself into SFF novels. After a couple of disappointments, I chose The Red Scholar's Wake by Aliette de Bodard, knowing it was a safe bet for complex world-building and lovely writing. Even better, it also features space pirates!
Reposted by Susan
This hit so fucking hard today.
January 26, 2026 at 8:52 PM
This hit so fucking hard today.
Reposted by Susan
I think a lot of us get hope wrong. Hope, I do not believe, is an emotion. In fact, hope makes space for lots of emotions to exist alongside it. You can DO hope scared, angry, sad etc...
Hope doesn't find us. We make hope through action and struggle. It's a practice of living and is re-made daily.
Hope doesn't find us. We make hope through action and struggle. It's a practice of living and is re-made daily.
January 25, 2026 at 2:05 AM
I think a lot of us get hope wrong. Hope, I do not believe, is an emotion. In fact, hope makes space for lots of emotions to exist alongside it. You can DO hope scared, angry, sad etc...
Hope doesn't find us. We make hope through action and struggle. It's a practice of living and is re-made daily.
Hope doesn't find us. We make hope through action and struggle. It's a practice of living and is re-made daily.
This rug is so cute! I love the design and colour!
January 25, 2026 at 8:10 PM
This rug is so cute! I love the design and colour!
Reposted by Susan
Todayβs Feature:
βChildhood Triptychβ by Billy-Ray Belcourt from The Idea of an Entire Life published by @carcanet.bsky.social
Read here:
poems.com/poem/childho...
βChildhood Triptychβ by Billy-Ray Belcourt from The Idea of an Entire Life published by @carcanet.bsky.social
Read here:
poems.com/poem/childho...
Childhood Triptych
What I don't know
about my childhood
doesn't destroy me.
poems.com
January 24, 2026 at 4:02 PM
Todayβs Feature:
βChildhood Triptychβ by Billy-Ray Belcourt from The Idea of an Entire Life published by @carcanet.bsky.social
Read here:
poems.com/poem/childho...
βChildhood Triptychβ by Billy-Ray Belcourt from The Idea of an Entire Life published by @carcanet.bsky.social
Read here:
poems.com/poem/childho...
It's difficult to read because the protagonist despairs so easily - he avoids action, for the most part, and easily loses himself in despair for what he's witnessing. But it's a timely story in our age of climate despair and ongoing extinctions. A beautiful, but very sad little book.
January 23, 2026 at 1:30 AM
It's difficult to read because the protagonist despairs so easily - he avoids action, for the most part, and easily loses himself in despair for what he's witnessing. But it's a timely story in our age of climate despair and ongoing extinctions. A beautiful, but very sad little book.
I recently read and recommend Sibylle Grimbert's The Last of Its Kind, translated by Aleshia Jensen. A reflective, tragic tale of an 1830s naturalist who captures a great auk, then bonds with it. As he realizes the species is going extinct, he loses faith in science, humanity, everything. #booksky
January 23, 2026 at 1:30 AM
I recently read and recommend Sibylle Grimbert's The Last of Its Kind, translated by Aleshia Jensen. A reflective, tragic tale of an 1830s naturalist who captures a great auk, then bonds with it. As he realizes the species is going extinct, he loses faith in science, humanity, everything. #booksky
One of my colleagues gave me an amaryllis bulb a few months ago, and it's finally come into full bloom. This is only the second amaryllis I've had, and the flowers are amazingly large and velvety. It's a treat to see something so beautiful when everything else is so dark and gloomy. #plantsky
January 15, 2026 at 8:04 PM
One of my colleagues gave me an amaryllis bulb a few months ago, and it's finally come into full bloom. This is only the second amaryllis I've had, and the flowers are amazingly large and velvety. It's a treat to see something so beautiful when everything else is so dark and gloomy. #plantsky
Reposted by Susan
Books don't tell readers who they personally are or who they are supposed to be. They do show readers a variety of characters. Implicit in that is this: "Here are some ways of being." Kids books aren't altering your kid to be someone new. They are simply showing them parts of humanity.
January 10, 2026 at 7:00 AM
Books don't tell readers who they personally are or who they are supposed to be. They do show readers a variety of characters. Implicit in that is this: "Here are some ways of being." Kids books aren't altering your kid to be someone new. They are simply showing them parts of humanity.
Reposted by Susan
January 3, 2026 at 12:46 AM
I wanted to see what came next: how do the separatists reintegrate with other humans? It's not going to be easy, and that conflict would be a fascinating story. The action-packed scenes were fun to read, but they were only the first step to resolving the story's problem. Still enjoyed it, though.
January 2, 2026 at 9:48 PM
I wanted to see what came next: how do the separatists reintegrate with other humans? It's not going to be easy, and that conflict would be a fascinating story. The action-packed scenes were fun to read, but they were only the first step to resolving the story's problem. Still enjoyed it, though.
This novel deals with interesting moral quandaries and tries to dissect the impact of fascist indoctrination. Kyr is a genuinely unlikable protagonist, and the text highlights how no one really likes her - yet everything works out too neatly in the end. The story just needed to go a bit further.
January 2, 2026 at 9:48 PM
This novel deals with interesting moral quandaries and tries to dissect the impact of fascist indoctrination. Kyr is a genuinely unlikable protagonist, and the text highlights how no one really likes her - yet everything works out too neatly in the end. The story just needed to go a bit further.
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 ππ
January 2, 2026 at 9:48 PM
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 ππ
I read so much this year, and while quantity isn't significant, I'm still impressed by the number and range of books I managed. Memoirs were outside my scope, but I challenged myself to read some and rather liked them - with the right writer and voice, the genre can work, even for skeptics like me.
January 1, 2026 at 8:04 PM
I read so much this year, and while quantity isn't significant, I'm still impressed by the number and range of books I managed. Memoirs were outside my scope, but I challenged myself to read some and rather liked them - with the right writer and voice, the genre can work, even for skeptics like me.
Then, for non-fiction and poetry:
- The Hollow Half by Sarah Aziza
- One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad
- Son of Elsewhere by Elamin Abdelmahmoud
- a body more tolerable by jaye simpson
- I Cut My Tongue on a Broken Country by Kyu Lee
- The Hollow Half by Sarah Aziza
- One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad
- Son of Elsewhere by Elamin Abdelmahmoud
- a body more tolerable by jaye simpson
- I Cut My Tongue on a Broken Country by Kyu Lee
January 1, 2026 at 8:04 PM
Then, for non-fiction and poetry:
- The Hollow Half by Sarah Aziza
- One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad
- Son of Elsewhere by Elamin Abdelmahmoud
- a body more tolerable by jaye simpson
- I Cut My Tongue on a Broken Country by Kyu Lee
- The Hollow Half by Sarah Aziza
- One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad
- Son of Elsewhere by Elamin Abdelmahmoud
- a body more tolerable by jaye simpson
- I Cut My Tongue on a Broken Country by Kyu Lee
Some favourite fiction from 2025:
- The West Passage by Jared PechaΔek
- The City in Glass by Nghi Vo
- Abigail by Magda SzabΓ³
- 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 AndrΓ© Alexis
#booksky ππ
- The West Passage by Jared PechaΔek
- The City in Glass by Nghi Vo
- Abigail by Magda SzabΓ³
- 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 AndrΓ© Alexis
#booksky ππ
January 1, 2026 at 8:04 PM
Some favourite fiction from 2025:
- The West Passage by Jared PechaΔek
- The City in Glass by Nghi Vo
- Abigail by Magda SzabΓ³
- 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 AndrΓ© Alexis
#booksky ππ
- The West Passage by Jared PechaΔek
- The City in Glass by Nghi Vo
- Abigail by Magda SzabΓ³
- 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 AndrΓ© Alexis
#booksky ππ
Book 70 of 2025 ππ 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
Book 70 of 2025 ππ 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
Book 69 of 2025 ππ The Electric State by Simon StΓ₯lenhag, 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
December 31, 2025 at 7:46 PM
Book 69 of 2025 ππ The Electric State by Simon StΓ₯lenhag, 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
Usually, I only pick up a couple of Seth's Haunted Bookshelf each year because the quality of these 19th and 20th century stories can be patchy. This year, I grabbed all three without checking the reviews, and I was lucky that they're all strong stories, with solid plots and vivid writing.
December 30, 2025 at 12:26 AM
Usually, I only pick up a couple of Seth's Haunted Bookshelf each year because the quality of these 19th and 20th century stories can be patchy. This year, I grabbed all three without checking the reviews, and I was lucky that they're all strong stories, with solid plots and vivid writing.
Books 66-68 of 2025 ππ 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
December 30, 2025 at 12:26 AM
Books 66-68 of 2025 ππ 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
It's a vicious cycle of knowing it needs doing but hating doing it and feeling stressed because it needs doing, which makes it even harder to do. Wish there was an easy fix.
December 29, 2025 at 3:54 AM
It's a vicious cycle of knowing it needs doing but hating doing it and feeling stressed because it needs doing, which makes it even harder to do. Wish there was an easy fix.