26 july 2023
7/24/23 - Feeling peaceful from the beach still. I'm thinking about moving there but it would take years if I do it responsibly. My mental health has been bad for years. I'm fortunate and don't enjoy it, which at least is a bit of a waste.
I'm listening to CL Polk's Witchmark as an audiobook (https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/a8d4efa7-9b72-49d3-bc5c-d3c352b171f0). I'm enjoying my time with it. Its a genre I generally don't bother with, urban mystery fantasy romance. This one is slow and cozy. I'm not sure why I'm ok with this one. Its a tad cheesy but not overwhelmingly so.
Another cranky day. I really thought about my irritability. My anxiety. I'm going to up my meds (doctor ok'd) and see if that helps.
I'm also trying to be ok with my cranky self. That I can take care of my cranky self. This seems to help.
7/25/23 - Sunny this morning, rainy at night.
I hate public bathrooms. I hate public bathrooms. I hate public bathrooms.
Just read Red Jellies by Lina Rather (https://giganotosaurus.org/2020/02/01/thin-red-jellies/). Its about a young couple sharing a body and the struggles it brings. I really liked it, but its not a happy story.
7/26/23 - Warm, not has humid as the previous few weeks. Okish outside. Although my spouse and I tried to go to a trail after work. We quickly left due to mosquitos and lack of repellent. Hopefully we will remember that for next time.
I did a bookshelf purge. I am getitng rid of most of my books. I'm looking at them but don't feel much emotional attachment. I will be putting them in little free libraries. There are a ton around and the books I put in tend to go fast, probably as they are nicer quality.
That said I do have a few books incoming. Not enough to fill my shelf but I appreciate the room.
Before that, I am halfway through Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh with Sena Bryer (Narrator). I am listening to the audiobook and Bryer does a phenominal job. Tesh's previous novella dualogy (Greenhollow) was lovely. While I expected to have a solid time with this novel, I didn't not expect it to rip my heart out. If it keeps going like this, will probably be a top of the year.
"A thrillingly told queer space opera about the wreckage of war, the family you find, and who you must become when every choice is stripped from you, Some Desperate Glory is Astounding Award Winner and Crawford Award Finalist Emily Tesh’s highly anticipated debut novel."
Link: https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/d3554318-b227-4225-89c4-d93412272ec6
Incoming books:
1) The Dragon of Ynys by Minerva Cerridwen - Every time something goes missing from the village, Sir Violet makes his way to the dragon's cave and negotiates the item's return. It's annoying, but at least the dragon is polite.
But when the dragon hoards a person, that's a step too far. Sir Violet storms off to the mountainside to escort the baker home, only to find a more complex mystery-a quest that leads him far beyond the cave. Accompanied by the missing baker's wife and the dragon himself, the dutiful village knight embarks on his greatest adventure yet.
The Dragon of Ynys is an inclusive fairy tale for all ages.
Link: https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/0085ebc5-e89a-4e93-a72e-79f3c2815baa
2) Escaping Exodus #1 by Nicky Drayden - Earth is a distant memory. Habitable extrasolar planets are still out of reach. For generations, humanity has been clinging to survival by establishing colonies within enormous vacuum-breathing space beasts and mining their resources to the point of depletion. Rash, dreamy, and unconventional, Seske Kaleigh should be preparing for her future role as clan leader, but her people have just culled their latest beast, and she’s eager to find the cause of the violent tremors plaguing their new home. Defying social barriers, Seske teams up with her best friend, a beast worker, and ventures into restricted areas for answers to end the mounting fear and rumors. Instead, they discover grim truths about the price of life in the void. Then, Seske is unexpectedly thrust into the role of clan matriarch, responsible for thousands of lives in a harsh universe where a single mistake can be fatal. Her claim to the throne is challenged by a rival determined to overthrow her and take control—her intelligent, cunning, and confident sister. Seske may not be a born leader like her sister, yet her unorthodox outlook and incorruptible idealism may be what the clan needs to save themselves and their world.
Link: https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/6b6e3065-2add-4e1b-8509-ed0bf571251a
3) Skyward Inn by Aliya Whiteley - A thoughtful, literary novel about conflict, identity and community, after Earth makes contact with the seemingly harmless planet Qita. A fresh new perspective in speculative fiction from critically-acclaimed writer Aliya Whiteley.
Drink down the brew and dream of a better Earth.
Skyward Inn, within the high walls of the Western Protectorate, is a place of safety, where people come together to tell stories of the time before the war with Qita.
But safety from what? Qita surrendered without complaint when Earth invaded; Innkeepers Jem and Isley, veterans from either side, have regrets but few scars.
Their peace is disturbed when a visitor known to Isley comes to the Inn asking for help, bringing reminders of an unnerving past and triggering an uncertain future.
Did humanity really win the war?
Link: https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/ffb7b385-e101-45a6-94c1-5e53055621c0
4) Royal Rescue by A. Alex Logan - At age eighteen, when they become marriageable, all royal children in the Thousand Kingdoms must either go questing to rescue another royal or be hidden away to await rescue themselves. Some go the traditional route of princes rescuing princesses, but not all princes want to be rescuers...and some would rather rescue other princes.
Then there's Prince Gerald, who has no interest in getting married at all. When he refuses to choose a role as either rescuer or rescuee, his royal parents choose for him and have him magicked away to a distant tower to await a spouse.
Gerald, however, is having none of it. He recruits his guardian dragon and a would-be rescuer and soon the trio is dashing to all corners of the united kingdoms on a quest to overturn the entire system.
Link: https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/68bd9ee4-f23d-46e3-b013-f316fbd1cda9