mostly sapphic·witch·romance (pick two) and, in mentally calmer times, climate paranoia
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La ville de San Francisco… couvre un territoire relativement petit : environ 100 km² — la même superficie que Paris intra muros.
— Sociologie de San Francisco by Sonia Lehman-Frisch (Page 7)
san francisco has about the same land area as paris (city proper, excluding extended 'area'). huh.
A small, inexpensive book, organized by situational themes, of common Dutch phrases relative to their representation in French.
Two things made this stand out: Some common phrases, like "exit" or "where is?", appear in multiple sections so that you don't have to flip around guessing where to find the part that you should "already know." And the pronunciation guides use the International Phonetic Alphabet; this is important to me as Dutch uses phonemes from (at least) English, French, and German. Most guides try to approximate the pronunciation in the reader's tongue, with varying (but generally low) levels of success. IPA removes that ambiguity, at the cost of needing to understand IPA itself.
When I walk into Three Lives in New York, or other stores in San Francisco like Green Arcade or Green Apple, or on the rare chance I get to go to Seminary Co-op in Chicago, my eye gravitates to two things: one, the thing that I'm not familiar with and, two, something I may be very familiar with but now see in a new context. It's all about developing a conversation between the books.
— Reading the Room by Paul Yamazaki (Page 1 - 2)
In which the City Lights bookseller name-checks my beloved Green Arcade, which survived lockdown only to close soon after.
The world is on fire. So tell your story.
Things are scary right now. We’re …
Seven words sum up a really good landing: "Nothing will ever be the same again."
— Never Say You Can't Survive by Charlie Jane Anders (40%)
The question of how falling cats land on their feet has long intrigued humans. In …
Less a view of falling cats through a science lens, this is more of a survey science course seen through cat eyes. Most of the sciences are touched on: Newtonian physics, darkroom chemistry, anatomy and physiology, quantum mechanics.
There's a tremendous amount of history; my eyes glazed over from all the Important Old White Guys. It's worth flipping through if you like science, particularly if you like cats. It's a less compelling read if you just wanted to understand the cat trick.
[Reposted from old instance due to failed import]
The Honey Witch of Innisfree can never find true love. That is her curse to …
i like this book, it's cozy without being too slow. but there's a thing that keeps happening whose cause seems really clear. if the main characters figure it out 50 pages ago, there's no story. but how did they not figure it out? or will it be the mother of all red herrings?
If you’re a software engineer, developer, or sys admin who needs to get up to …
I didn't learn enough from the book to do the things listed on the tin, but there was enough high-level information that I could understand concepts and do productive searches for what I needed.
— Hot dang. This was in Harley Quinn. That's insane. — Welcome to California. 90% of LA is just leftover movie trash.
— Girlmode by Magdalene Visaggio, Paulina Ganucheau (Page 27)
in which l.a. thrifting is asserted as second to none
A young witch teaches her mother how to do magic--with very unexpected results--in this relatable, resonant novel about family, identity, …
With nods to Bridget Jones and Pride and Prejudice, a charming #ownvoices queer rom-com …
I'm not a gorgeous actuarial lesbian, but I've got the stick-in-the-mud bit down. Reading the chapters written in Darcy's voice is like seeing my internal monologue put to paper. That rabbit hole she leaps into is one that I've peered into a lot.
Another book for which I'm absolutely not the target audience, but acts as a sunnier, happier alternate universe. Who wouldn't want more of those?
[This review was made some time ago on another instance and is reposted as it failed to migrate.]
Imogen Scott has questions…
Imogen Scott may be hopelessly heterosexual, but she’s got the World’s …
I read this some time ago, quietly gave it five stars, and slipped out the side door. I still am not in a position to explain my reasoning, but the hardback is nestled between I Kissed Shara Wheeler and One Last Stop.
[This review is from some time ago, but is being added because it failed to import from the old instance.]
An undeniably fierce, unforgettably funny, unapologetically queer feminist romp through the England of medieval legend. Bestselling and acclaimed authors Amie …
