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willowlthewisp.bsky.social
Willow (they)
@willowlthewisp.bsky.social
370 followers 27 following 160 posts
They/Them. Autistic. Queer. Stories most welcome. Adventures, dragon hoards, faery rings, wizards' towers. Let's get lost in the woods together.
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willowlthewisp.bsky.social
Today's book: "Wide Sargasso Sea" by Jean Rhys

I love "Jane Eyre", but poor Bertha really gets the short end of the stick. I'm eager to read her side of the story. My library's copy has lots of annotations and essays which should be interesting as well.

💙📚 #BookSky #CurrentlyReading #NowReading
The cover of Jean Rhys's postmodern historical novel "Wide Sargasso Sea" featuring in part a painting by Rhys's aunt Brenda Lockhart: in soft watercolors the lush foliage and flowered trees of Dominica surround a low wooden house.
November 20, 2025 at 1:25 PM
willowlthewisp.bsky.social
Today's book: "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens

When I last tried to read this—gosh, almost 10 years ago now—I put it down after only a few pages. (I was quicker to DNF then.) Historically Dickens hasn't been for me, but this time I'll finish it.

💙📚 #BookSky #CurrentlyReading #NowReading
The cover of Charles Dickens's ghost story "A Christmas Carol" featuring one of John Leech's illustrations centered upon a creamy-white field bordered by gold flourishes: in a verdant robe, fur-lined and plush, the rosy-cheeked Spirit of Christmas Present raises a flaming torch and beckons a bewildered Scrooge to enter; Scrooge himself, in dressing gown and night cap, gawks at the larger-than-life Spirit sitting amidst not a spare, cold chamber, but a room warm with hearthfire and strewn with festive garlands and a great, sprawling feast.
November 19, 2025 at 12:50 PM
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Today's book: "The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World" by Robin Wall Kimmerer

This one's been on my to-read list all year. I love John Burgoyne's cover illustration, especially the waxwings (I'm a sucker for songbirds).

💙📚 #BookSky #CurrentlyReading #NowReading
The cover of Robin Wall Kimmerer's book "The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World" as illustrated by John Burgoyne: a pair of cedar waxwings with nut-brown-and-yellow bodies and charcoal wings flit about the green, leafy branches of a serviceberry tree, plucking with their beaks the ripe berries from the red and purple bunches.
November 18, 2025 at 2:53 PM
willowlthewisp.bsky.social
Today was library day! It's a deceptively tall stack this time: presently I only plan to read one Dickens story.

–Robin Wall Kimmerer's "The Serviceberry"
–Morton Dauwen Zabel's "Dickens' Best Stories"
–Jean Rhys's "Wide Sargasso Sea"
–Nicola Dinan's "Bellies"
–Daphne du Maurier's "Rebecca"

💙📚
A photo of five library books stacked on a shelf; behind them march the spines of more books. From top to bottom the library books are: "The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World" by Robin Wall Kimmerer, "Dickens' Best Stories" as edited by Morton Dauwen Zabel, "Wide Sargasso Sea" by Jean Rhys, "Bellies" by Nicola Dinan, and "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier.
November 17, 2025 at 11:43 PM
willowlthewisp.bsky.social
Today's book: "Storm Front" (Dresden Files, Book 1) by Jim Butcher

"It is the prerogative of wizards to be grumpy."

The newest Dresden File arrives in January! I'm going to pace myself this go around by rereading the series between library stacks.

💙📚 #BookSky #CurrentlyReading #NowReading
A photo of Jim Butcher's urban fantasy Dresden Files novel "Storm Front" in paperback, surrounded by other Dresden Files books. The cover, illustrated by Chris McGrath: protagonist Harry Dresden, wizard, in mantled duster and broad-brimmed hat, stands before yellow crime scene tape on a dark Chicago street. Runes carved into the wizard staff in his hand smolder red-orange like live coals. Rain pours in sheets all around, blurring the cityscape behind Dresden; a gnarled finger of lightning flashes against skyscrapers and storm clouds alike.
November 17, 2025 at 12:56 PM
willowlthewisp.bsky.social
"The world is changing, I said. It is no longer a world just for boys and men."

—Nettie, from Alice Walker's "The Color Purple"

💙📚 #BookSky #SundaySentence
The cover of Alice Walker's epistolary novel "The Color Purple" as illustrated by Sacrée Frangine: on a soft pink background two black women in purple clothes and lipstick share a close moment, the woman behind resting her cheek on the shoulder of the woman before her.
November 16, 2025 at 12:35 PM
willowlthewisp.bsky.social
"The Last Dragon" by Silvana De Mari, as designed by Christine Kettner: The last elf Yorsh seeks out the last dragon to save their broken world from a looming dark age.

I stumbled upon it at a school book fair and loved it for being so different from most fantasy stories I'd read.

💙📚 #BookishQOTD
The cover of Silvana De Mari's fantasy novel "The Last Dragon" (or "L'ultimo elfo" in its original Italian) as designed by Christine Kettner: a castle out of medieval tapestry rises amidst brown, wooded hills beneath a vibrant orange sky; overlaid in a central oval flies a great dragon green above and gold beneath, with the small figure of an elf astride it; while along the spine of the book run green spines like those lining the dragon's back.
November 15, 2025 at 2:41 AM
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Today's book: "Children of Virtue and Vengeance" (Legacy of Orïsha, Book 2) by Tomi Adeyemi

Last of this library stack! I devoured the first book; hopefully its sequel lasts me the weekend, ha ha. What a breath of fresh air this series is for fantasy!

💙📚 #BookSky #CurrentlyReading #NowReading
The cover of Tomi Adeyemi's Legacy of Orïsha fantasy novel "Children of Virtue and Vengeance" as illustrated by Sarah Jones: the portrait of a young black woman, silver-eyed, defiant and dark amidst her wild white coils of kinky curls; rich gold tattoos swirl in intricate patterns over one eye and upward to disappear beneath her red-and-blue beaded headdress, while white markings encircle the glinting pendant on her brow.
November 14, 2025 at 12:56 PM
willowlthewisp.bsky.social
Today's book: "The Teller of Small Fortunes" by Julie Leong

"On the day the Teller of Small Fortunes came to Necker, the village was in an uproar because the candlemaker's would-be apprentice had lost all the goats."

Just the first sentence, and I love it already.

💙📚 #CurrentlyReading #NowReading
The cover of Julie Leong's cozy fantasy novel "The Teller of Small Fortunes" as illustrated by Devin Elle Kurtz: under a night sky deep blue and twinkling a young woman sits on the steps of her wagon home with a steaming cup of tea in her hand, gazing across flowering fields and gently arching bridge toward the lights of the small town across the river. Light spills invitingly from the curtained door behind the fortune teller; cooking pots and paper lanterns hang by the jamb, and from the eaves of the entry awning are suspended herbs and roots and bulbs. A campfire and scattering of candles cast a warm glow over the fortune teller and the cat perched on the step below her. Unlike the womam, the cat stares up at a round lantern floating in a swirl of sparkles over the camp.
November 12, 2025 at 12:29 PM
willowlthewisp.bsky.social
Today's book: "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker

This has been on my to-read list for ages. Eager to finally read it.

💙📚 #BookSky #CurrentlyReading #NowReading
The cover of Alice Walker's epistolary novel "The Color Purple" as illustrated by Sacrée Frangine: on a soft pink background two black women in purple clothes and lipstick share a close moment, the woman behind resting her cheek on the shoulder of the woman before her.
November 9, 2025 at 1:41 PM
willowlthewisp.bsky.social
"They'd built that place to keep their people together and to ask for mercy from the Creator, since justice was so sketchily applied on earth."

—from Louise Erdrich's "The Round House"

💙📚 #BookSky #SundaySentence
The cover of Louise Erdrich's political mystery novel "The Round House" as designed by Oliver Munday: on a stone grey field, spiralling splintered shards of copper-colored wood surround the white title letters, with a strip of repeating hatch marks separating title and author name.
November 9, 2025 at 1:03 PM
willowlthewisp.bsky.social
Today's book: "The Round House" by Louise Erdrich

So glad my library had a copy! I don't know much about this book besides what the blurb hints at, but I'm excited to read along with the #BlueSkyBookClub.

💙📚 #CurrentlyReading #NowReading
The cover of Louise Erdrich's political mystery novel "The Round House" as designed by Oliver Munday: on a stone grey field, spiralling splintered shards of copper-colored wood surround the white title letters, with a strip of repeating hatch marks separating title and author name.
November 5, 2025 at 1:17 PM
willowlthewisp.bsky.social
Today was library day! Last time I had some trouble finding books on my list, but this trip I was spoiled for choice, ha ha.

–Julie Leong's "The Teller of Small Fortunes"
–Alice Walker's "The Color Purple"
–Louise Erdrich's "The Round House"
–Tomi Adeyemi's "Children of Virtue and Vengeance"

💙📚
A photo of four library books stacked on a bookshelf before a colorful row of more books. From the top of the stack down, the library books are: Julie Leong's cozy fantasy novel "The Teller of Small Fortunes"; Alice Walker's epistolary novel "The Color Purple"; Louise Erdrich's political mystery novel "The Round House"; and Tomi Adeyemi's young adult fantasy novel "Children of Virtue and Vengeance", the second book in her Legacy of Orïsha trilogy.
November 4, 2025 at 10:36 PM
willowlthewisp.bsky.social
'"I teach you to be warriors in the garden so you will never be gardeners in the war. I give you the strength to fight, but you all must learn the strength of restraint."'

—Mama Agba, from Tomi Adeyemi's "Children of Blood and Bone" (Legacy of Orïsha, Book 1)

💙📚 #BookSky #SundaySentence
The cover of Tomi Adeyemi's Legacy of Orïsha fantasy novel "Children of Blood and Bone" as illustrated by Rich Deas: the face of a young black woman gazes out through grey eyes at once level and intense; faint gold designs swirl across half of her face, and from beneath her beaded red-and-blue headdress flies her wild white hair like fire.
November 2, 2025 at 1:01 PM
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"They knew many things but had no idea why. And strangely this made them more, rather than less, certain that they were right."

—Fraa Erasmas, from Neal Stephenson's "Anathem"

💙📚 #BookSky #SundaySentence
The cover of Neal Stephenson's novel "Anathem": behind the tall title letters looms the shadowed hall of a great monastery; light from an open door bounces off wide pillars of stone and geometric tile inlays. Through the doorway a stair ascends into brilliant daylight, and a robed figure climbs the stair toward that brilliance. In the dark rafters of the cloistered hall behind him, a wheeling pattern of stars loops in a manner reminiscent of a figure eight.
October 26, 2025 at 12:27 PM
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Ramses is a very sleepy reading buddy this #Caturday.

I can feel all the clever mathematical metaphors/worldbuilding in this book ("Anathem") whooshing over my head, but the thinly-veiled Star Trek reference near the beginning has definitely earned Stephenson some brownie points, ha ha.

💙📚 #CatSky
A photo of a very sleepy tabby cat snoozing on a plush blue blanket before the pages of a reader's open book.
October 25, 2025 at 7:43 PM
willowlthewisp.bsky.social
Today's book: "Anathem" by Neal Stephenson

Reading buddy Ramses helped me get started on this behemoth spec fic last night. So far these monks and their society remind me of the Laputians from "Gulliver's Travels".

💙📚 #BookSky #CurrentlyReading #NowReading
A photo of a very sleepy tabby cat snuggled up on a reader's lap, pillowing his head on their arm. Behind him lies the open pages of the book the reader is attempting to read without disturbing His Majesty.
October 24, 2025 at 12:22 PM
willowlthewisp.bsky.social
"I'll make my report as if I told a story, for I was taught as a child on my homeworld that Truth is a matter of the imagination."

—Genly Ai, from Ursula K. Le Guin's "The Left Hand of Darkness"

💙📚 #BookSky #SundaySentence
The cover of Ursula K. Le Guin's novel "The Left Hand of Darkness": tall letters stand dark upon a white field, through the center of which lies a photograph of the sworling, frosted crag of a glacier frozen forever in its slow progress through dark waters beneath a steely sky.
October 19, 2025 at 12:18 PM
willowlthewisp.bsky.social
Today's book: "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin

First book with the new library card! This was recommended to me as a feminist alternative to Heinlein. Judging by the introduction, Le Guin was intimidatingly intelligent. I am here for it.

💙📚 #BookSky #CurrentlyReading #NowReading
A photo of a paperback library book open in a reader's lap; a green bookmark lies across the lower righthand corner, hiding the words there. The visible page is the first chapter of Ursula K. Le Guin's novel "The Left Hand of Darkness", the chapter itself entitled "A Parade in Erhenrang".
October 17, 2025 at 1:05 PM
willowlthewisp.bsky.social
Library card acquired! It's been literal decades since I was last in a library (I know, I know...). I feel like Macaulay Culkin in "The Pagemaster".

Plus, 6 books left my shelves for new homes, and I found a secondhand copy of "The Hound of the Baskervilles"!

It's been a very good book day. 💙📚
A photo of two books stood upright on a bookshelf, obscuring most of the titles behind them, with a little ceramic turtle figurine squatting on their left. The lefthand book is a paperback Signet Classics copy of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes adventure "The Hound of the Baskervilles", its cover deep blue and purple with whire and taupe lettering, and an image of an eerily backlit mansion on the edge of a shadowy wood. The righthand book is a paperback copy of Ursula K. Le Guinn's book "The Left Hand of Darkness", with an icy blue image of an iceberg centered on its otherwise cream-colored cover.
October 16, 2025 at 10:07 PM
willowlthewisp.bsky.social
"Rock stars, of course, have long had the capacity to act like babies but have not had the sense to sing like them."

—from Bruce Dickenson's "What Does This Button Do?"

💙📚 #BookSky #SundaySentence
A photo of Bruce Dickenson's autobiography "What Does This Button Do?" in hardcover, surrounded by Iron Maiden concert DVDs. On the white cover is a photograph of Dickenson himself, leaning forward on his arms, with one hand raised to point at the rather small dark buttonlike circle containing the book's title in even smaller letters; and beneath Dickenson's name and the autobiography tag reads the cautionary phrase: "May contain flying heavy metal".
October 5, 2025 at 7:23 PM
willowlthewisp.bsky.social
"I will not do battle to further the causes of false prophets, to further the treasures of kings, or to avenge my own injured pride."

—Drizzt Do'Urden, from R.A. Salvatore's "The Legacy" (Legacy of the Drow, Book 1)

💙📚 #BookSky #SundaySentence
A photo of the hardcover omnibus Collector's Edition of R.A. Salvatore's Legacy of the Drow quartet, with his name below in chunky yellow letters and the stony Forgotten Realms logo above, surrounded on all sides by more of Salvatore's Legend of Drizzt books. Brom's cover illustration is couched in a taupe motif of long-legged spiders swarming within a nest of webs and egg sacs. Hooded and cloaked, the drow ranger Drizzt Do'Urden and fierce fighter Catti-brie of Clan Battlehammer warily descend a steep stone stair with weapons ready—Drizzt his signature scimitars and Catti-brie her enchanted bow. Firelight casts their shadows long upon the graven wall behind them, and all around lay cracked, grinning skulls and the decayed remnants of dungeon prisoners yet languishing in iron bars and suspended from iron rings.
September 28, 2025 at 2:23 PM
willowlthewisp.bsky.social
"No, I will speak as liberal as the north:
Let heaven and men and devils, let them all,
All, all, cry shame against me, yet I'll speak."

—Emilia, from William Shakespeare's "Othello"

💙📚 #BookSky #SundaySentence
A photo of the title and introduction page of William Shakespeare's play "Othello".
September 21, 2025 at 11:52 PM
willowlthewisp.bsky.social
Today's book: "Coriolanus" by William Shakespeare

Squeezing in one more Bardic play, one I likely wouldn't have sought on my own. This was recommended to me because it apparently has a strong female character. Color me intrigued.

💙📚 #BookSky #CurrentlyReading #NowReading
A photo of the title and introduction page of William Shakespeare's play "Coriolanus", with a green bookmark lying across the opposite page, obscuring one column of text; gold letters on the bookmark read: "May the Road rise up to meet you. May the wind be always at your back."
September 18, 2025 at 1:04 PM
willowlthewisp.bsky.social
Today's book: "MacBeth" by William Shakespeare

Wrapping up my brief Bardic binge with an old favorite.

💙📚 #BookSky #CurrentlyReading #NowReading
A photo of the title and introduction page of William Shakespeare's play "MacBeth".
September 16, 2025 at 11:58 AM