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@writertimes.bsky.social
260 followers 850 following 150 posts
Reader, writer, caregiver. Trying to be a better, kinder person, but this world sure doesn't make it easy, does it? Send me more cat/dog posts, please.
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The Night War by @kimbbbradley.bsky.social — historical fiction + a twist.

Separated from her family in the Vel d'Hiv roundup in Nazi-occupied France, Miri berates herself for not being brave enough … but she has far more courage than she thinks.
In the night, a girl in a red dress runs toward us from a castle that spans a river. She looks determined and scared. War planes fly overhead. The text says, "The Night War. Two-time Newbery Honor-winning author Kimberly Brubaker Bradley."
May 4, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Workdays: *Yawn* "It's too early to get out of bed."
#indiebookstoreday: *Jumps out of bed* "Let's GO!"

From my haul today:
Heartwood by Amity Gaige shows the profile silhouette of a woman, but the silhouette is made of tall green trees, leaves and branches.
April 26, 2025 at 7:47 PM
April showers + #indiebookstoreday = Saturday morning happiness.

Included in my #ArvidaBookCompany haul: Gary Paulsen's Dogsong.
Dark purple background with the silhouette of a howling wolf in profile. Title says, "Dogsong/Three-Time Newbery Honor Author Gary Paulsen. Circular silver Newbery Honor medal is in the left lower corner.
April 26, 2025 at 6:05 PM
I'm in awe of @erinbowbooks.bsky.social's brave and beautiful Simon [Sort of] Says. It is wise, funny, and full of heart.

Also, best name ever for a supporting character (Pretty Stabby, the pea-brained peacock).
The cover of Simon Sort of Says is an illustration of a middle-grade boy with brown hair, a green hoodie and jeans, floating between his new town (with his home and a huge telescope) and his previous hometown, with its upside down school and a flag at half mast. With Simon is his golden puppy, Hercules, wearing a service puppy green vest.
January 28, 2025 at 4:07 AM
My two favorite books of 2024 have strikingly similar titles:

Gone to the Woods, by Gary Paulsen
The God of the Woods, by Liz Moore

The 1st is a powerful memoir by a children's lit icon; the 2nd is a beautiful thriller.

In both, the woods offer literal and metaphorical shelter and redemption. 💙📚
Cover of Gone to the Woods by Gary Paulsen: A silhouetted young boy walks from a cityscape into the woods. The cover of The God of the Woods by Liz Moore shows a painting of green-leaved trees with a large tree in the foreground. A trickle of pink paint appears to drip from the upper edge of the book onto the cover.
January 1, 2025 at 5:20 AM
#BookSky
#20DayBookChallenge
#BookChallenge
20 of 20
This has been fun. Thanks, #BookSky!
The cover of Christmas Day in the Morning by Pearl S. Buck, illustrated by Mark Buehner, is an illustration of a snow-covered brown barn under a star-filled early morning. A small human figure is holding a lantern and walking from the barn.
December 24, 2024 at 4:14 AM
#BookSky
#20DayBookChallenge
#BookChallenge
19 of 20
Colorized photo of a young boy sitting on the fender of a dilapidated car during the Dust Bowl era. The name of the book is Children of the Dust Bowl: The True Story of the School at Weedpatch Camp.
December 23, 2024 at 3:08 AM
#BookSkky
#20DayBookChallenge
#BookChallenge
18 of 20
And the previous book in @kimbbbradley.bsky.social's series, The War That Saved My Life.
The cover of The War I Finally Won is an illustration of a young girl riding a brown horse in a green field. In the background are a red barn and buildings that are military barracks.
December 22, 2024 at 3:49 AM
#BookSky
#20DayBookChallenge
#BookChallenge
17 of 20
Bought my first (quite battered) copy for a dime at the school's used-book sale.
Beige cover of To Kill a Mockingbird has a gold starburst that says, "The Pulitzer Prize Winner by Harper Lee." Under the title, the cover says, "The triumphant novel that the New York Times called 'The best of the year … exciting … marvelous" Over 12,000,000 copies sold.
December 21, 2024 at 3:26 AM
#BookSky
#20DayBookChallenge
#BookChallenge
16 of 20
Rereading @katemilford.bsky.social's Greenglass House (or listening to the audiobook) is our #Christmas tradition.
Cover of Greenglass House by Kate Milford is an illustration of a five-story (plus attic) inn with great green stained glass windows, surrounded by pine trees at the top of a snow-covered hill.
December 20, 2024 at 3:41 AM
#BookSky
#20DayBookChallenge
#BookChallenge
15 of 20
Stupidity, said Immanuel Kant, is caused by a wicked heart. Repent.
Cover of Nurture, Poems by Maxine Kumin has a photo of a deer lying in tall grass.
December 19, 2024 at 1:34 AM
#BookSky
#20DayBookChallenge
#BookChallenge
14 of 20
My favorite book on my 2024 shelf is this stark memoir by iconic middle-grade/YA author Gary Paulsen. This reads like a miracle.
Cover of Gone to the Woods: Surviving a Lost Childhood by Gary Paulsen is an illustration of a boy who has broken through fencing to get to the woods, depicted by tall trees and a crescent moon.
December 18, 2024 at 2:49 AM
#BookSky
#20DayBookChallenge
#BookChallenge
13 of 20
The Memory Police hauntingly depicts how easily we can forget losses … as well losses impossible to get over.
Cover of The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa shows a dot-matrix image of a young Asian woman's face. Parts of her photo, such as her shoulders, the right part of her forehead, and the right part of her jaw and mouth, are missing and have been replaced with crude red-lined illustrations.
December 17, 2024 at 2:50 AM
#BookSky
#20DayBookChallenge
#BookChallenge
12 of 20
Unimaginable loss and grief. This humbled me.
The cover of Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala is almost entirely black, with WAVE superimposed in bluish-green-t0-white letters. At the bottom of the cover are simplified waves in white with the author's name in blue-green.
December 16, 2024 at 1:58 AM
#BookSky
#20DayBookChallenge
#BookChallenge
11 of 20
Some animals are more equal than others.
Cover of Animal Farm by George Orwell has a red background. An illustration of the front half of a pink pig is shown with the words "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than the others" superimposed on it.
December 15, 2024 at 3:32 AM
#BookSky
#20DayBookChallenge
#BookChallenge
10 of 20

A short, perfect novel that's still impactful today.
Cover of Address Unknown by Kathrine Kressmann Taylor shows a painting of a man with a cane walking down the street of a village with brightly colored buildings and a tree.
December 14, 2024 at 2:55 AM
#BookSky
#20DayBookChallenge
#BookChallenge
9 of 20

The most recent book to stay with me. Just stunning.
The God of the Woods, by Liz Moore, has a cover with a painting of a large tree with green foliage in the foreground, with more trees in the background. Pink paint trompe-l'oeil drips from the top edge of the book toward the center of the cover.
December 13, 2024 at 2:27 AM
#BookSky
#20DayBookChallenge
#BookChallenge
8 of 20
Discovering Francie Nolan — another girl who loved to read, created stories in her head, and was thought to be a little odd — felt like finding a kindred spirit.
The cover of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith has a green spine, a brown background at the bottom with the author's name, and a light background behind the title.
December 12, 2024 at 2:42 AM
#BookSky
#20DayBookChallenge
#BookChallenge
7 of 20
Incredibly funny, sweet and wise. (And such a memorable cover!)
Cover of Noggin by John Corey Whaley shows a Ken-style action figure with its grinning plastic head illuminated. Includes silver National Book Award Finalist logo.
December 11, 2024 at 2:45 AM
#BookSky
#20DayBookChallenge
#BookChallenge
This textbook taught me to distinguish good poetry from great poetry.
Burgundy-colored cover of Sound and Sense, an introduction to poetry, by Laurence Perrine.
December 10, 2024 at 2:44 AM
#BookSky
#20DayBookChallenge
#BookChallenge
Ma Joad's assertion that those with little to spare are the most likely to help others has stuck with me.
Illustrated cover of The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck shows a man, a woman, and their young son, backs to us, gazing out on a caravan of cars heading west through the countryside. The family's own run-down car is in the background.
December 8, 2024 at 6:02 PM
#BookSky
#20DayBookChallenge
#BookChallenge

4 of 20: Loved the illustrations & textures … and even as a young child, I noticed that Peter the protagonist has brown skin, like me.
The cover of The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats is an illustration of a small brown boy in a red snowsuit. He is walking on a city street and looking back at his footprints. There is a gold Caldecott Award medal on the cover.
December 7, 2024 at 8:03 PM
#BookSky
#20DayBookChallenge
#BookChallenge
3 of 20: The entire "Thief" series by Megan Whalen Turner respects young readers, trusts them to stretch and reach, and never writes down.
The cover of The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner shows an illustration of two hands holding a round stone with a blue circular stone within it. The hands are rough and dirty, but hold the stone reverently. The cover includes a silver Newbery Honor logo.
December 7, 2024 at 2:21 AM
#BookSky
#20DayBookChallenge
#BookChallenge
2 of 20: A quietly perfect, deeply wise book from Rebecca Stead.
Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead: Cover shows illustration of a blue apartment building against a blue sky. A pair of binoculars hangs from the S in Spy.
December 6, 2024 at 2:30 AM
#BookSky
#20DayBookChallenge
#BookChallenge
1/20
Cover of Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich pictures a waitress holding a coffee pot.
December 5, 2024 at 3:30 AM