let me set the scene…for some additional context i just booked a trip to maine with some friends!

to me, this was definitely a nightmare. i was with family in what was presumably maine, at this huge bookstore that felt more like a venue. it had an outdoor garden area and everything. i was at a book signing for the song of achilles and the “author” was a very old woman. i had weirdly come unprepared and though they were sold out of almost every copy, i managed to find one, which had similar vibes to the cover of the illustrated edition of the hunger games.

on top of everything, it was going on much longer than it should have. my family was getting impatient and wanting to leave. finally, it seemed like she was heading over to the garden area to sign some books. i left my copy with my family to go investigate, and once i approached i realized i no longer had my copy! i ran back to my family but they had put it back so we would leave. the only copy remaining had the ugliest font i’ve ever seen, blinding vertical white and light pink stripes, and an asymmetrical lobster. it was the same texture as those classics found in the back of barnes and nobles! i left quite crestfallen.

have any of you ever had a dream like that either related to books or even with scenes from ones you’ve read? this is the first one i’ve had that i can recall so i was wondering if anyone’s had a similar experience!

i really love poetry. like genuinely love it. there’s something about the way a few lines can hold so much feeling without explaining everything. i love poems that are reflective and emotional but also just good. not forced or trying to be clever, just honest in a way that stays with you. i love rereading poems and finding new meanings depending on my mood, or getting stuck on a piece trying to figure out the context or message between the lines. poetry feels personal in a way nothing else does. so i’m curious, is anyone else like this. if you love poetry too please tell me. and if you have any recommendations i would love them. reflective, emotional, comforting, devastating, anything that meant something to you. i’m always looking for poems that feel like they understand something i couldn’t put into words.

I’ve heard that most resolutions drop by the second Friday in Jan, so I’m curious how people are doing now we’re a month in! Any new favourites as a result of a resolution? A change in genre now we’re moving into February? Is January a wash and the new year is taking place at the end of the month instead?

Personally, non-fiction reading was a miss this month, but I did watch a fun documentary about penguins! 🐧 I’m aiming to read about embroidery in February, it’s a long-standing hobby but I don’t know much about the history of it. Wishing everyone the best with your bookish goals!

My in-person book club decided yesterday that for our February meeting we can all read whatever book we want as long as it’s pink. We’ve thought of a few titles but I’m sure there are tons we haven’t thought of. Pink book recs?

I think these few months there will be a lot of re-reading happening. Because I just remembered how much I love Scythe by Neal Schusterman and how I've not re-read it in a long time. But I'm currently re-reading the Dark Artifices by Cassandra Clare. But I also want read the Elsewhere Express by Samantha Sotto which released a few days ago. AAAAAAHHHHH I'M SO OVERWHELMED.

I love a “forbidden romance” or “secret relationship” trope, but I feel like they’re rarely developed well. What I want is yearning for a relationship through a star-crossed lovers type of deal. I want the trope to be really fleshed out. Does anyone have recommendations for this??