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zesmerelda.bsky.social
Zesmerelda
@zesmerelda.bsky.social
1.1K followers 500 following 4.7K posts
Salty. Dark 🖤 of the forest. #PNW artist, hockey fan, emergency management, communications geek, econ nerd, avid reader, multi-faceted citizen. #SeaKraken #CVFirebirds #cronesofanarchy #Project2029 🐸

http://steepedinthelore.com
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zesmerelda.bsky.social
Win or lose, it's gravy boat night in Seattle. In a sense, the team has already won. #seakraken
Kraken gravy boat in an aquatic scene
November 27, 2025 at 1:29 AM
zesmerelda.bsky.social
"A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking" -T. Kingfisher Reads like a cheeky D&D adventure, only the wizard is restricted to casting spells w/dough. Fun. #booksky #254
Cover of "A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking" -T. Kingfisher. A gingerbread man with a sword, burgundy background with some flourishes.
November 25, 2025 at 7:32 PM
zesmerelda.bsky.social
"Tender Morsels" -Margo Lanagan. A retelling of Rose Red & Snow White, with the mother getting a particularly raw deal/some racist tropes. Well written, just not enjoyable, emotionally manipulative, even. Okay with this as an older kids book because they gotta know this stuff happens. #booksky #253
Cover of "Tender Morsels" -Margo Lanagan. Cartoony rendition of a blonde-haired girl embracing a bear, surrounded by thorns.
November 25, 2025 at 7:27 PM
zesmerelda.bsky.social
"Shades in Shadow Inheritance Trilogy #0.5; 1.5; 2.5" -N.K. Jemisin. If you haven't read the rest of the series, none of this will make sense. I did & found that too much time had passed for it to make a lot of sense. #booksky #252
Cover of "Shades in Shadow Inheritance Trilogy #0.5; 1.5; 2.5" -N.K. Jemisin. Gothic stone interlacing in blueish to blackish tones.
November 25, 2025 at 7:24 PM
zesmerelda.bsky.social
"Miss Lonelyhearts" -Nathanael West. I have read a few older satires lately, this one from the 1930s, and am increasingly of the opinion there should be an expiration date. Lots of misogyny, violence towards women, etc. that I could've done without. Learn from my mistakes. #booksky #251
cover of "Miss Lonelyhearts" -Nathanael West. A single window in a skyscraper is lit up with someone typing at a desk. Some cityscaping around the building.
November 25, 2025 at 7:21 PM
zesmerelda.bsky.social
"The Hellions of Havisham" -Lorraine Heath. 3 whacked out Victorian romances featuring: sex clubs, death by ape, twin impersonation, marrying father's fiancé all tucked btwn the prudish norms of the time. Fun tho the romances are tough needles to thread, insta-attraction is dull. #booksky #248-250
Cover of "Falling into bed with a duke" - Lorraine Heath. Typical bodice-ripper cover. Cover of "The Earl Takes All" -Lorraine Heath. Typical bodice-ripper cover. Cover of "The Viscount and the Vixen" -Lorraine Heath. Typical bodice-ripper cover.
November 25, 2025 at 7:17 PM
zesmerelda.bsky.social
"On Repentance and Repair: Making Amends in an Unapologetic World" -Danya Ruttenberg Explains how apologies fail, what it means to actually seek forgiveness, make amends, and make people whole. The steps come from the Jewish tradition, but it's not really religious. #booksky #247
Cover of "On Repentance and Repair: Making Amends in an Unapologetic World" -Danya Ruttenberg. Black text on a beige marbled background...maybe these are meant to be cracks? Repaired cracks? Not sure.
November 25, 2025 at 7:08 PM
zesmerelda.bsky.social
Speaking of the dog, happy gotcha day to our Shawzy. 6 years of making our lives fuzzier and weird. #doglife
Shawzy, the pnw wonder pup, in his yellow rain slicker, hunting for the perfect stick in a wood full of sticks.
November 22, 2025 at 5:04 PM
zesmerelda.bsky.social
My dog walked on by. Nothing to see here, just a bunch of trees.
Doe in the woods
November 22, 2025 at 4:42 PM
zesmerelda.bsky.social
"The Harder I Fight the More I Love You: A Memoir" -Neko Case. Rough childhood w/parents who married as teens & didn't know how to raise a kid. Goes into the evolution of her career, but it's mostly about her screwed up family. Y'all, her mother staged her own death to get away. #booksky #247.
Cover of "The Harder I Fight the More I Love You: A Memoir" -Neko Case. Author as a young girl holding a cat. An old truck in the distance. Behind her, here's a cartoon wolf wrapping his claw around her.
November 19, 2025 at 5:10 PM
zesmerelda.bsky.social
"The Price is Wrong: Why Capitalism Won't Save the Planet"
-Brett Christophers. Not sure I agree w/the author's premise, but found the description of energy markets/investment considerations to be fascinating. Current market construction won't turn to renewables w/out a lot of gov help #booksky #246
Cover of "The Price is Wrong: Why Capitalism Won't Save the Planet" -Brett Christophers. A stylized "price is right" wheel done with the title in a garish green with the word wrong in red. Set on a black background. Why don't these guys hire actual designers? Ugh.
November 19, 2025 at 5:05 PM
zesmerelda.bsky.social
"Three or More Is a Riot: Notes on How We Got Here: 2012-2025" -Jelani Cobb. Essays on U.S. social/political events starting in 2015. The author explores how the nation is trapped in a cycle of racial trauma & denial. Especially hard to read against the backdrop of the current admin. #booksky #245
Cover of "Three or More Is a Riot: Notes on How We Got Here: 2012-2025" -Jelani Cobb. Yellow, orange and red text on a black background. The kerning his horrible.
November 19, 2025 at 5:00 PM
zesmerelda.bsky.social
"My Italian Bulldozer" -Alexander McCall Smith. A romance? An author gets dumped & goes to Italy at the urging of his editor (who's attracted to him). Hijinks & he ends up driving a rented bulldozer to his location to finish his book. More hijinks. Love wins? What's his gas mileage? #booksky #244
Cover of "My Italian Bulldozer" -Alexander McCall Smith. Yellow cover with an illustrated bulldozer in the lower third. A small Italian town in the background of the upper third.
November 19, 2025 at 4:54 PM
zesmerelda.bsky.social
"I Died for Beauty" -Amanda Flower. The 3rd in this series featuring Emily Dickinson, her dog Carlo, & her maid Willa solving murders in Amherst. Cozy mystery format with a historical figure, budding feminism, changing gender/class roles. These are enjoyably quirky, fun to read. #booksky #243
Cover of "I Died for Beauty" Amanda Flower. The protagonist in silhouetted against a snowy Amherst background.
November 19, 2025 at 4:49 PM
zesmerelda.bsky.social
"Burn It Down: Power, Complicity, & a Call for Change in Hollywood" -Maureen Ryan. What the author describes is what it's like for anyone who isn't white, male & privileged to make a living in entertainment. She's got the #s & scandals to prove it. Honestly tho? This is every industry. #Booksky #242
Cover of "Burn It Down: Power, Complicity, and a Call for Change in Hollywood" -Maureen Ryan. A red "cover" burning away to reveal the Hollywood hills sign in the background. Flames along the edges of the cover.
November 19, 2025 at 4:41 PM
zesmerelda.bsky.social
Decided to use up my Posca pens before they ran dry and freehanded a portrait of my dog in a devil costume (that he clearly hated). I was a little surprised at how well this turned out. #artyparty #petportrait #posca
Portrait of my dog Shawzy in a devil costume done with posca pens. My dog is giving me a death glare because he hates dress up time.
November 16, 2025 at 10:18 PM
zesmerelda.bsky.social
"Uncommon Measure: A Journey Through Music, Performance, and the Science of Time" -Natalie Hodges A thoughtful memoir about the role of music in the author's life, why she left the soloist musician path, and how she found her peace with it. Very relatable. #booksky #240
Cover of "Uncommon Measure: A Journey Through Music, Performance, and the Science of Time" -Natalie Hodges. Stylized violin strings/hole with the title.
November 15, 2025 at 12:09 AM
zesmerelda.bsky.social
"Hanging Out: The Radical Power of Killing Time" -Sheila Liming. A surprisingly thoughtful treatise on the topic of spending unstructured time in various contexts & why it's valuable. I enjoyed this. #booksky #239
Cover of "Hanging Out: The Radical Power of Killing Time" -Sheila Liming. Colorful checkboard with the title on top. Hanging out is centered in letter-by-letter in a square with some special character treatment.
November 15, 2025 at 12:05 AM
zesmerelda.bsky.social
"Blind Date with a Werewolf" -Patricia Briggs. Romantasy with some fang. Set in the author's Alpha & Omega universe with a few of the side-bar characters. Pretty entertaining tho the 2nd "date" was jarring because it started at the end & is told in flashbacks. Never a good idea, imho. #booksky #238
cover of "Blind Date with a Werewolf" -Patricia Briggs. Has the main pov characters from the Alpha & Omega series on it....or at least, it's waaaay too close to that pair to be distinguishable. A few black roses, too, which the male main character purportedly grows. okay.
November 15, 2025 at 12:02 AM
zesmerelda.bsky.social
"The Guerilla Art Guide: Everything You Need to Put Your Message Out Into the World--For Fun, Nonprofit, and World Domination" -Keri Smith. I promised to not read these any more because they're always basic, as this one was. Okay, now I'm done. Mean it this time. #booksky #237
Cover of "The Guerilla Art Guide: Everything You Need to Put Your Message Out Into the World--For Fun, Nonprofit, and World Domination" -Keri Smith. Bright orange w/text and clip art. This is a book about art, right? Pretty basic cover.
November 14, 2025 at 11:57 PM
zesmerelda.bsky.social
"My Year of Really Bad Dates: A Memoir" -Rachel Lithgow. Appreciate she was documenting dates while going thru a rough divorce w/a famous family involved, but damn girl, grow a backbone & change the locks on your door. Please tell me you have done this. Also, internet dating is creepy #booksky #236
Cover of "My Year of Really Bad Dates: A Memoir" -Rachel Lithgow. A cat unravels a strand of yarn that runs through the bright pink title. The background is violet and the cat is highlighter yellow. It's a choice.
November 14, 2025 at 11:54 PM
zesmerelda.bsky.social
"An Audience of One: Reclaiming Creativity for Its Own Sake"
-Srinivas Rao. Pretty standard how to improve your creative life book based on the author's podcast. I will start interrogating my dreams before I sleep. WORST pull-quotes ever. Super annoying. #booksky #235
Cover of "An Audience of One: Reclaiming Creativity for Its Own Sake" -Srinivas Rao. Multi-colored color blocks that I suppose creative people throw onto canvas. It's not how I paint, but YMMV.
November 14, 2025 at 11:49 PM
zesmerelda.bsky.social
"Several People Are Typing" -Calvin Kasulke. This was a howling take-down of both corporate life, modern interactions, and attraction. A guy gets trapped into his co's slack channel due to a corrupted spreadsheet. Hijinks ensue. True love is "found", & maybe there's a sunset. #Booksky #234
Cover of "Several People Are Typing" -Calvin Kasulke. A stick-figure slumped over a desk with a sunset. The screens are split to suggest these figures exist between a pane of glass and the gizzards of a device.
November 14, 2025 at 11:46 PM
zesmerelda.bsky.social
"Redshirts" -John Scalzi. Space romp through a trek-like universe where the red shirts start comparing notes and decide to take action. Fun, fast read that gets a little meta and mushy in the back half.👾🚀 #booksky #233
Cover of "Redshirts" -John Scalzi. Text on top of the shirt of a red uniform. They were expendable until they started comparing notes.
November 10, 2025 at 7:29 PM
zesmerelda.bsky.social
"Giving Up is Unforgivable" Joyce Vance. A speed run through civics and the impacts of the current administration/scotus and what to do about it, though you don't need a book if you've been following along lately. #booksky #132
Cover of "Giving Up is Unforgivable" Joyce Vance. Text on a beige background. There's a blue colored bar and a red colored bar that breaks up the text.
November 10, 2025 at 7:23 PM