You know that saying “If I had a nickel for every time __, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice”?

I found it strange that I don’t run into a lot of books where the dialogue wasn’t in between quotation marks - and yet I’m currently reading 2 that don’t XD

• The Country Under Heaven by Frederic S. Durbin
• We Hexed the Moon by Mollyhall Seeley

I’m enjoying both, even if it is definitely an adjustment.

Just thought this was a funny coincidence.

And we're off to the races, folks 🏇🏽💨

To deny the reality of any genders beyond male and female is also to deny the reality of many genders that white people in Western Europe and the USA aren't socialised to recognize . . . White non-binary people often seize upon the existence of these genders to prove the validity of our own: tokenising, instrumentalising, and romanticising them, often without really taking the time to understand them on their own terms. This is a problem: when white people use the genders of people of colour in this way, it recapitulates a colonialist dynamic of exploitation. The desire to name and categorise people according to Western metrics reflects and re-enacts a similar colonialist impulse.

I'm so glad that this author brings this up in the introduction. It's important to remember that there are genders that exist outside of the Western world's daily lexicon and that we should not be co-opting terms nor trying to force these genders into boxes that they previously never existed in.

Heads up for anyone with this on their wish list! The Kindle version of Pet by Akwaeke Emezi is $1.99 as of June 9, 2026. 😁 Happy questing, friends!

You know that saying “If I had a nickel for every time __, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice”?

I found it strange that I don’t run into a lot of books where the dialogue wasn’t in between quotation marks - and yet I’m currently reading 2 that don’t XD

• The Country Under Heaven by Frederic S. Durbin
• We Hexed the Moon by Mollyhall Seeley

I’m enjoying both, even if it is definitely an adjustment.

Just thought this was a funny coincidence.

I hope y'all are doing well (and happy first day of Pride)! Here is the long awaited 'buddy finder' for the summer of 2026.

How it works -> You post a comment with the book and give any info that you feel is relevant for a potential buddy to know. Ex: Polterbook comments "Looking to read Earthlings by Sayaka Murata either late July or early August. I'm hoping to finish this book within a 7 to 10 day period." -> Post each book in a separate comment if you're wanting to read more than one of the books so that potential buddies can see/find it easier.

Rules -> Please make sure it's a book already in the quest. The point is to try to knock out some of your TBR books while also getting closer to a badge. -> Be kind to each other (OBVIOUSLY) -> The idea is that the readalong happens during the summer season so try to plan the readalong with that in mind.

I'm going to temporarily pin this post so that it's easy to find. Summer 2026 runs from June 1st, 2026 to August 31, 2026. Get your summer spooky reading on!