in terms of books, she was doing fine

Floating Herbarium , Polychrome I - Julia Whitney Barnes , 2025.

American , b. 1970s

hiii i wrote out a long lengthy reply to this but i dont think it posted????? weird! if you get a duplicate answer i apologize 😭

- independent, black and woman owned business !! and fuck amazon!!

- in depth statistics

- recommendations are accurate and interesting!!

- you can easily join book clubs, buddy reads, and readalongs

- you can track a reread

- half and quarter stars and a much more robust review system

- you can add content warnings to books

- not as much of a social media. unlike goodreads, you can only like friends’ updates, not reply. this makes the site less of a time sink. it really focuses on reading and tracking

- ui is modern and simple and easy to navigate

- this site gets frequent updates and listens well to user feedback

- you can make yearly goals for pages to read, hours to listen, and books to read

- switching between book formats and editions is really easy

- you can track your irl collection by marking books as being owned

- there is a paid subscription for more statistic options and some other things to support the development of the site BUT the site is very much complete and ad free without it! so you never feel obligated to pay

- you can view the development roadmap to see what features are currently being worked on or what’s to come in the future

It’s like a combination of the morbid fascination of watching a car crash in slow motion layered with the upbeat thrill of a heist movie plus politics intrigue and spy-movie style paranoia, all in a gigantic blizzard swirling around this one little guy. I didn’t know how I would be able to become attached to a character in this series after reading Shards of Honor and Barrayar, because I loved Cordelia so much as a protagonist, but Miles Vorkosigan did the job. Truly the character of all time.

He’s a strategic genius. He can figure out a solution to almost any problem. He’s in love with his childhood best friend and gets shut down repeatedly. He serves as the officiant at her impromptu wedding to a guy he saved through another random act of kindness, and plays out the roles of three different people in it like some kind of vaudeville comedy act. He makes people laugh. He inspires everyone around him to genuine loyalty and trust. He was playmates with the current emperor of his home planet when they were kids and is the heir of an aristocratic family. He refuses to get anything by nepotism and uses his mother’s maiden name when he meets people so they won’t know who he is. On a whim, he decides to help a random stranger and has to lie to do it. He commits to the bit so hard that he ends up faking his way into running a mercenary fleet whose existence was initially a complete lie and stopping a war he had nothing to do with. He has stomach ulcers from how stressed out he is. He refuses to break a promise, even when doing so would allow him to escape the web of lies he’s woven. His house of cards is always one gust of wind from toppling and he’s somehow able to keep it standing by sheer force of character. He will not stop because if he does he’ll have a nervous breakdown.

Millard Owen Sheets (American, 1907-1989)

The Night Herd, n.d.

Watercolor, charcoal and ink on paperboard

22 x 30 in. (55.9 x 76.2 cm.)

tagged by @thereadingchallengechallenge, who was brave enough to start things off this year :D

Number of books you’ve read so far: 23!

Best book you’ve read so far in 2026: This is a delicious tie between The Unicorn Hunters by Katherine Arden and King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner

Best sequel you’ve read so far in 2026: hmm. I guess this goes to King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner and resolves the above tiebreaker.

New release you haven’t read yet but want to: I guess that to meet the technical requirements of the question, I have The Tapestry of Fate by Shannon Chakraborty on my shelves waiting to read. but The Witch Below the Dreaming Wood by HG Parry is out in like 2 weeks, and is actually what matters to me.

Most anticipated release for the second half of the year: The Scarlet Ball (Nghi Vo's vampire novel).

Biggest surprise favorite new author (debut or new to you): I don't think I've acquired one of these so far this year. most books were by authors I've read before, and no one book made me fall in love with an author. But I was surprised by how much I enjoyed The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami, just because it's litfic speculative/slipstream which is always hit and miss for me

Newest fictional crush: if Eugenides and Irene ever want a third, I will be there. but also probably feeling inadequate. as my love is their love.

(i did also take a photo with Anne of Brittany's statue in Paris. which, for the purposes of this question... kinda gay.)

Book that made you cry: I reread The Ministry of Time, and the closing page of that will never fail to attack me physically, mentally, and spiritually. 'the truth is, it won't get better if you keep making the same mistakes' etc. etc. etc.

Most beautiful book you’ve bought so far this year (or received): literally no physical books that didn't come from the library. the illustrated covers of Terri Windling's The Wood Wife are beautiful though.

Book that made you happy: The Last Contract of Isako is in fact, not exactly a happy book. did i leave it feel rejuvenated (crops watered, skin clear, etc.) yes. it was just really good.

What books do you need to read by the end of the year?

The Witch Below the Dreaming Wood by HG Parry

The Scarlet Ball by Nghi Vo

The Shippers by Katherine Center

Daggerbound by T. Kingfisher