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willowlthewisp.bsky.social
Willow (they)
@willowlthewisp.bsky.social
370 followers 27 following 160 posts
They/Them. Autistic. Queer. Stories most welcome. Adventures, dragon hoards, faery rings, wizards' towers. Let's get lost in the woods together.
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willowlthewisp.bsky.social
Today's book: "Compound Fracture" by Andrew Joseph White

Chose this one for its autistic and trans rep, its Appalachian setting, and because I wanted to read something outside my usual wheelhouse. I'm about a third of the way through, and it is brutal.

💙📚 #BookSky #CurrentlyReading #NowReading
The cover of Andrew Joseph White's horror/thriller novel "Compound Fracture" as illustrated by Evangeline Gallagher: protagonist Miles Abernathy, in sleeveless shirt and red bandana around his neck, stands furious and defiant before an evergreen West Virginia wood, battered and bloodied, with one raised hand shadowing an injured eye; his loyal canine companion Lady is at his side, wary and watchful. The tines of eleven-point bucks, draped in shredded velvet and bloody-tipped, border the illustration along with red-tinged railroad spikes and strands of barbed wire.
November 27, 2025 at 1:13 PM
willowlthewisp.bsky.social
"Trolls" by Brian and Wendy Froud: not only an art book of Brian Froud paintings and Wendy Froud maquettes and props, the Frouds weave everything together with the tale of a young troll who must collect his first three stories from elder trolls in a coming-of-age ritual.

💙📚 #BookSky #BookishQOTD
The cover of Brian and Wendy Froud's art book "Trolls", featuring one of Brian Froud's illustrations from the book: a troll crone, wizened and gnarled, glares over her beaky nose with her remaining eye. Leatherwork and beads, skulls and stone talismans adorn her stout woolen dress, and curtains of grey hair like silvered moss drape her bent frame. Perched on her uplifted, seemingly frail hand, a long-eared owl, tawny and tall, stares with golden eyes unblinking. Dank wood and fen surround the troll witch and her familiar: lichen and shadows cling wetly to graven stones and twisted trees.
November 26, 2025 at 2:09 PM
willowlthewisp.bsky.social
The last library stack didn't keep as long as expected, ha ha. A smaller stack this time to help get through the chaotic and stressful holiday week:

–Andrew Joseph White's "Compound Fracture"
–Arundhati Roy's "The God of Small Things"
–Tomi Adeyemi's "Children of Anguish and Anarchy"

💙📚 #BookSky
A photo of three library books stacked on a shelf; behind them marches a row of more books. The library books from top to bottom are: "Compound Fracture" by Andrew Joseph White, "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy, and "Children of Anguish and Anarchy" by Tomi Adeyemi.
November 25, 2025 at 11:20 PM
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Today's book: "Fool Moon" (Dresden Files, Book 2) by Jim Butcher

The series reread continues! I love these books. They're a howl of a good time.

💙📚 #BookSky #CurrentlyReading #NowReading
A photo of Jim Butcher's urban fantasy Dresden Files novel "Fool Moon" in paperback, surrounded by other Dresden Files books. The cover, illustrated by Chris McGrath: protagonist Harry Dresden, wizard, complete with his iconically canonical broad-brimmed hat and oaken wizard's staff, stands on the ledge of a high building looking out across the misted city of Chicago. Wind sweeps his mantled duster out behind him like a cloak, while a great moon rises silver and full in the night sky behind him, its pale light pooling upon the enormous bloody paw prints on the concrete corner of the building at Dresden's back.
November 25, 2025 at 1:25 PM
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Since I finally read it just the other week and keep thinking about it, I'll have to go with "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker.

💙📚 #BookSky #BookishQOTD
The cover of Alice Walker's epistolary novel "The Color Purple" as illustrated by Sacrée Frangine: on a soft pink background two black women in purple clothes and lipstick share a close moment, the woman behind resting her cheek on the shoulder of the woman before her.
November 24, 2025 at 11:20 PM
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Today's book: "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier

Last of this library stack, and another book I was recommended early in the year. So far the language and imagery are gratifyingly Gothic.

💙📚 #BookSky #CurrentlyReading #NowReading
The cover of Daphne du Maurier's Gothic novel "Rebecca" as designed by Julie Duquet and Ashwini Jambotkar: the tall, thin letters of title and author border the cover top and bottom, scarlet on white textured like canvas; in the center sweep the arcing pen strokes of an embossed capital R.
November 23, 2025 at 1:24 PM
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"Maybe that's what people are supposed to do, sponge out the bad, wring out the suffering as much as we can, even if it stains our hearts and hands."

—Ming, from Nicola Dinan's "Bellies"

💙📚 #BookSky #SundaySentence
The cover of Nicola Dinan's novel "Bellies", the lineless image credited on the jacket to iStock: two people sprawl beneath a large blue duvet, one lying on a pillow at the head of the bed, head and arms uncovered, while at the opposite end of the bed only the feet and trousered legs of the other person are visible.
November 23, 2025 at 12:40 PM
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Today's book: "Bellies" by Nicola Dinan

Been looking forward to reading this ever since it was recommended to me early this year. I'm a few chapters in already, thoroughly hooked. Ming's dysphoria is extremely relatable.

💙📚 #BookSky #CurrentlyReading #NowReading
The cover of Nicola Dinan's novel "Bellies", the lineless image credited on the jacket to iStock: two people sprawl beneath a large blue duvet, one lying on a pillow at the head of the bed, head and arms uncovered, while at the opposite end of the bed only the feet and trousered legs of the other person are visible.
November 22, 2025 at 12:42 PM
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Today's book: "Wide Sargasso Sea" by Jean Rhys

I love "Jane Eyre", but poor Bertha really gets the short end of the stick. I'm eager to read her side of the story. My library's copy has lots of annotations and essays which should be interesting as well.

💙📚 #BookSky #CurrentlyReading #NowReading
The cover of Jean Rhys's postmodern historical novel "Wide Sargasso Sea" featuring in part a painting by Rhys's aunt Brenda Lockhart: in soft watercolors the lush foliage and flowered trees of Dominica surround a low wooden house.
November 20, 2025 at 1:25 PM
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Today's book: "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens

When I last tried to read this—gosh, almost 10 years ago now—I put it down after only a few pages. (I was quicker to DNF then.) Historically Dickens hasn't been for me, but this time I'll finish it.

💙📚 #BookSky #CurrentlyReading #NowReading
The cover of Charles Dickens's ghost story "A Christmas Carol" featuring one of John Leech's illustrations centered upon a creamy-white field bordered by gold flourishes: in a verdant robe, fur-lined and plush, the rosy-cheeked Spirit of Christmas Present raises a flaming torch and beckons a bewildered Scrooge to enter; Scrooge himself, in dressing gown and night cap, gawks at the larger-than-life Spirit sitting amidst not a spare, cold chamber, but a room warm with hearthfire and strewn with festive garlands and a great, sprawling feast.
November 19, 2025 at 12:50 PM
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Today's book: "The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World" by Robin Wall Kimmerer

This one's been on my to-read list all year. I love John Burgoyne's cover illustration, especially the waxwings (I'm a sucker for songbirds).

💙📚 #BookSky #CurrentlyReading #NowReading
The cover of Robin Wall Kimmerer's book "The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World" as illustrated by John Burgoyne: a pair of cedar waxwings with nut-brown-and-yellow bodies and charcoal wings flit about the green, leafy branches of a serviceberry tree, plucking with their beaks the ripe berries from the red and purple bunches.
November 18, 2025 at 2:53 PM
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Today was library day! It's a deceptively tall stack this time: presently I only plan to read one Dickens story.

–Robin Wall Kimmerer's "The Serviceberry"
–Morton Dauwen Zabel's "Dickens' Best Stories"
–Jean Rhys's "Wide Sargasso Sea"
–Nicola Dinan's "Bellies"
–Daphne du Maurier's "Rebecca"

💙📚
A photo of five library books stacked on a shelf; behind them march the spines of more books. From top to bottom the library books are: "The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World" by Robin Wall Kimmerer, "Dickens' Best Stories" as edited by Morton Dauwen Zabel, "Wide Sargasso Sea" by Jean Rhys, "Bellies" by Nicola Dinan, and "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier.
November 17, 2025 at 11:43 PM
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Today's book: "Storm Front" (Dresden Files, Book 1) by Jim Butcher

"It is the prerogative of wizards to be grumpy."

The newest Dresden File arrives in January! I'm going to pace myself this go around by rereading the series between library stacks.

💙📚 #BookSky #CurrentlyReading #NowReading
A photo of Jim Butcher's urban fantasy Dresden Files novel "Storm Front" in paperback, surrounded by other Dresden Files books. The cover, illustrated by Chris McGrath: protagonist Harry Dresden, wizard, in mantled duster and broad-brimmed hat, stands before yellow crime scene tape on a dark Chicago street. Runes carved into the wizard staff in his hand smolder red-orange like live coals. Rain pours in sheets all around, blurring the cityscape behind Dresden; a gnarled finger of lightning flashes against skyscrapers and storm clouds alike.
November 17, 2025 at 12:56 PM
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"The world is changing, I said. It is no longer a world just for boys and men."

—Nettie, from Alice Walker's "The Color Purple"

💙📚 #BookSky #SundaySentence
The cover of Alice Walker's epistolary novel "The Color Purple" as illustrated by Sacrée Frangine: on a soft pink background two black women in purple clothes and lipstick share a close moment, the woman behind resting her cheek on the shoulder of the woman before her.
November 16, 2025 at 12:35 PM
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"The Last Dragon" by Silvana De Mari, as designed by Christine Kettner: The last elf Yorsh seeks out the last dragon to save their broken world from a looming dark age.

I stumbled upon it at a school book fair and loved it for being so different from most fantasy stories I'd read.

💙📚 #BookishQOTD
The cover of Silvana De Mari's fantasy novel "The Last Dragon" (or "L'ultimo elfo" in its original Italian) as designed by Christine Kettner: a castle out of medieval tapestry rises amidst brown, wooded hills beneath a vibrant orange sky; overlaid in a central oval flies a great dragon green above and gold beneath, with the small figure of an elf astride it; while along the spine of the book run green spines like those lining the dragon's back.
November 15, 2025 at 2:41 AM
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Today's book: "Children of Virtue and Vengeance" (Legacy of Orïsha, Book 2) by Tomi Adeyemi

Last of this library stack! I devoured the first book; hopefully its sequel lasts me the weekend, ha ha. What a breath of fresh air this series is for fantasy!

💙📚 #BookSky #CurrentlyReading #NowReading
The cover of Tomi Adeyemi's Legacy of Orïsha fantasy novel "Children of Virtue and Vengeance" as illustrated by Sarah Jones: the portrait of a young black woman, silver-eyed, defiant and dark amidst her wild white coils of kinky curls; rich gold tattoos swirl in intricate patterns over one eye and upward to disappear beneath her red-and-blue beaded headdress, while white markings encircle the glinting pendant on her brow.
November 14, 2025 at 12:56 PM
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Today's book: "The Teller of Small Fortunes" by Julie Leong

"On the day the Teller of Small Fortunes came to Necker, the village was in an uproar because the candlemaker's would-be apprentice had lost all the goats."

Just the first sentence, and I love it already.

💙📚 #CurrentlyReading #NowReading
The cover of Julie Leong's cozy fantasy novel "The Teller of Small Fortunes" as illustrated by Devin Elle Kurtz: under a night sky deep blue and twinkling a young woman sits on the steps of her wagon home with a steaming cup of tea in her hand, gazing across flowering fields and gently arching bridge toward the lights of the small town across the river. Light spills invitingly from the curtained door behind the fortune teller; cooking pots and paper lanterns hang by the jamb, and from the eaves of the entry awning are suspended herbs and roots and bulbs. A campfire and scattering of candles cast a warm glow over the fortune teller and the cat perched on the step below her. Unlike the womam, the cat stares up at a round lantern floating in a swirl of sparkles over the camp.
November 12, 2025 at 12:29 PM
willowlthewisp.bsky.social
Today's book: "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker

This has been on my to-read list for ages. Eager to finally read it.

💙📚 #BookSky #CurrentlyReading #NowReading
The cover of Alice Walker's epistolary novel "The Color Purple" as illustrated by Sacrée Frangine: on a soft pink background two black women in purple clothes and lipstick share a close moment, the woman behind resting her cheek on the shoulder of the woman before her.
November 9, 2025 at 1:41 PM
willowlthewisp.bsky.social
"They'd built that place to keep their people together and to ask for mercy from the Creator, since justice was so sketchily applied on earth."

—from Louise Erdrich's "The Round House"

💙📚 #BookSky #SundaySentence
The cover of Louise Erdrich's political mystery novel "The Round House" as designed by Oliver Munday: on a stone grey field, spiralling splintered shards of copper-colored wood surround the white title letters, with a strip of repeating hatch marks separating title and author name.
November 9, 2025 at 1:03 PM
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Today's book: "The Round House" by Louise Erdrich

So glad my library had a copy! I don't know much about this book besides what the blurb hints at, but I'm excited to read along with the #BlueSkyBookClub.

💙📚 #CurrentlyReading #NowReading
The cover of Louise Erdrich's political mystery novel "The Round House" as designed by Oliver Munday: on a stone grey field, spiralling splintered shards of copper-colored wood surround the white title letters, with a strip of repeating hatch marks separating title and author name.
November 5, 2025 at 1:17 PM
willowlthewisp.bsky.social
Today was library day! Last time I had some trouble finding books on my list, but this trip I was spoiled for choice, ha ha.

–Julie Leong's "The Teller of Small Fortunes"
–Alice Walker's "The Color Purple"
–Louise Erdrich's "The Round House"
–Tomi Adeyemi's "Children of Virtue and Vengeance"

💙📚
A photo of four library books stacked on a bookshelf before a colorful row of more books. From the top of the stack down, the library books are: Julie Leong's cozy fantasy novel "The Teller of Small Fortunes"; Alice Walker's epistolary novel "The Color Purple"; Louise Erdrich's political mystery novel "The Round House"; and Tomi Adeyemi's young adult fantasy novel "Children of Virtue and Vengeance", the second book in her Legacy of Orïsha trilogy.
November 4, 2025 at 10:36 PM
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'"I teach you to be warriors in the garden so you will never be gardeners in the war. I give you the strength to fight, but you all must learn the strength of restraint."'

—Mama Agba, from Tomi Adeyemi's "Children of Blood and Bone" (Legacy of Orïsha, Book 1)

💙📚 #BookSky #SundaySentence
The cover of Tomi Adeyemi's Legacy of Orïsha fantasy novel "Children of Blood and Bone" as illustrated by Rich Deas: the face of a young black woman gazes out through grey eyes at once level and intense; faint gold designs swirl across half of her face, and from beneath her beaded red-and-blue headdress flies her wild white hair like fire.
November 2, 2025 at 1:01 PM
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"They knew many things but had no idea why. And strangely this made them more, rather than less, certain that they were right."

—Fraa Erasmas, from Neal Stephenson's "Anathem"

💙📚 #BookSky #SundaySentence
The cover of Neal Stephenson's novel "Anathem": behind the tall title letters looms the shadowed hall of a great monastery; light from an open door bounces off wide pillars of stone and geometric tile inlays. Through the doorway a stair ascends into brilliant daylight, and a robed figure climbs the stair toward that brilliance. In the dark rafters of the cloistered hall behind him, a wheeling pattern of stars loops in a manner reminiscent of a figure eight.
October 26, 2025 at 12:27 PM
willowlthewisp.bsky.social
Ramses is a very sleepy reading buddy this #Caturday.

I can feel all the clever mathematical metaphors/worldbuilding in this book ("Anathem") whooshing over my head, but the thinly-veiled Star Trek reference near the beginning has definitely earned Stephenson some brownie points, ha ha.

💙📚 #CatSky
A photo of a very sleepy tabby cat snoozing on a plush blue blanket before the pages of a reader's open book.
October 25, 2025 at 7:43 PM
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Today's book: "Anathem" by Neal Stephenson

Reading buddy Ramses helped me get started on this behemoth spec fic last night. So far these monks and their society remind me of the Laputians from "Gulliver's Travels".

💙📚 #BookSky #CurrentlyReading #NowReading
A photo of a very sleepy tabby cat snuggled up on a reader's lap, pillowing his head on their arm. Behind him lies the open pages of the book the reader is attempting to read without disturbing His Majesty.
October 24, 2025 at 12:22 PM