This is nonfiction. This happened. This is making my stomach burn and I want to call Child Protection Services for 10-year-old Tara.

I think this is one of the hardest memoirs I've ever read, and I've read some that have made me go "jesus Christ how could you put your kid through this situation??". Well, this one takes the freaking gold medal at that.

Hello my lovelies 🌸🥰 I learned something very interesting today, and that is the language of flowers, also called floriography, which has been used for centuries to send hidden messages through the choice of flowers in a bouquet. Especially the Victorian period is known for this, but this has existed for way longer and in different parts of the world. And even today we can come across flowers symbolizing something, often in literature, but also some meanings that seem to be almost universal (like roses).

This gave me the idea to propose a small bookish game:

🌸 Think of your favorite flower (without thinking about what it symbolizes, just a flower you love). 🌸 Then look up its symbolism / meaning (if you don’t already know). It can be either a general symbol this flower has, something specific to your country, or from any country or culture or historical time period (in case the meaning changed over time). You can go as broad or specific as you like. The more diverse this game gets, the better ☺️ 🌸 And now compare it to your usual book taste, if there is any parallel whatsoever (this can be something as « obvious » as liking red roses and romance books, or also your favorite flower hinting at smaller tropes or themes you might like to read about. Or maybe there is no parallel at all. Many flowers have multiple associations so you can pick any that fits.)

I hope you find this fun; I just personally love these little getting to know each other games 🫶 Plus, maybe we can learn something new about what different flowers symbolize in different parts of the world.

I’ve discovered a particular niche of books that I seem to really enjoy, but I struggle to find more in a similar vein. I’ve looked at the lists, but I can’t find any that are really what I’m looking for.

Here’s what I’m hoping to find:

Books that have religion as a heavy influence, maybe as a central plot point, but that aren’t religious in tone.

As examples, two that come to mind are The Handmaid’s Tale and The Flame Alphabet. Both of those happen to be dystopian, but recommendations certainly don’t have to be. I also enjoyed The Poisonwood Bible and The Incendiaries, which I think also fit the description.

Like I said, I think this is a rather niche ask, but I’m hoping someone out there has some idea of what I’m looking for! Also let me know if there’s a list about this that I overlooked.

Commitment can be hard for me in the book world sometimes. I have now read 2 finished series that were over 5 books long in the last 2 years and it always takes me so long to come back after that long of a commitment. Idk if anyone else feels the same lol.

So what’s your preferred # of books, the sweet spot of commitment if you will? I think mine is either a trilogy or duology. I like a bit more story and want to feel pretty invested into the lives of the characters. Standalones can do that, but I feel like it’s tough to do that and be super memorable over time.

•One and done standalone •Duology •Triology •Long series (4+ books) feel free to share if you have a very specific book number you like for long series

Ps many of you may not think 4 is long. Some series are like 20 books long I get it lol.