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rmc28

Books on pre-order:

Queen Demon (Rising World 2) by Martha Wells (7 Oct 2025)

Books acquired in June:

and read:
1. Playing for Keeps by K A Findlay (Kim Findlay) [7]
2. The Charlie Method (Campus Diaries 3) by Elle Kennedy
and unread:
1. Dying to Meet You by Sarina Bowen
2. Sort Your Head Out by Sam Delaney
3. The Pairing by Casey McQuiston

Borrowed books read in June:

Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton
The Domino Pattern (Quadrail 4) by Timothy Zahn [8]
Judgment at Proteus (Quadrail 5) by Timothy Zahn [8]

Annoyingly, when I thought I'd cancelled my KU subscription in May, Amazon thought I'd suspended it for a month, so I got charged again in June. And as the above makes clear, I didn't really get my value for the month of it. The Timothy Zahn Quadrail series is really fun (Trains! In Space! And also galaxy-spanning conspiracy and action adventure with really interesting aliens!) and I'm glad I got to finish it, but I have now definitely and for real cancelled the subscription until further notice.

I don't expect to read much this month either, with the women's football Euros running most of the month. Farocation is running again and I didn't yet get through all the books from last summer, so I'm being even pickier about which ones I decide to pick up this summer.

[1] Pre-order
[2] Audiobook
[3] Physical book
[4] Crowdfunding
[5] Goodbye read
[6] Cambridgeshire Reads/Listens
[7] FaRoFeb / FaRoCation / Bookmas / HRBC
[8] Prime Reading / Kindle Unlimited

delphi

✓

kingstoken's 2025 Book Bingo: Non-Human POV

(I checked this square off my bingo card last time, but this new release arrived with perfect timing, so I'm doubling up.)

Ew, It's Beautiful is the newest collection of cartoonist Joshua Barkman's webcomic False Knees. It contains around 120 short comics, the majority of which were new to me, separated into sections for winter, spring, summer, and fall based on their setting.

The stars of False Knees are usually birds, but there are some cats, insects, and at least a couple of beavers in the mix here. Barkman's art is legitimately beautiful, with a naturalist's specificity and a knack for combining human expressions with realistic animal features, and his writing captures the universal experience of being a small creature in an unfathomably big world. It's full of absurd humour, occasional moments of awe, and recurring bits about the creative process, self-image, and the way friends or family can be on entirely different wavelengths. The comic is where I got my current default icon from, and it almost never fails to bring me a little joy or give me something to appreciate.

( 3 Comics )

nanila posting in

awesomeers

It's challenge time!

Comment with Just One Thing you've accomplished in the last 24 hours or so. It doesn't have to be a hard thing, or even a thing that you think is particularly awesome. Just a thing that you did.

Feel free to share more than one thing if you're feeling particularly accomplished! Extra credit: find someone in the comments and give them props for what they achieved!

Nothing is too big, too small, too strange or too cryptic. And in case you'd rather do this in private, anonymous comments are screened. I will only unscreen if you ask me to.

Go!

james

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

badfalcon

I've been wanting to get better at noticing the small, good things in my days, especially the quiet ones that are easy to miss when I'm overwhelmed, in pain, or just having a rough brain day. I keep going back to

3_good_things_a_day but figured I'd share them here too.

So this is me, starting a little series called glimmers and good things: three things each day (or as close to daily as I can manage) that made me smile, feel seen, feel safe, or feel a tiny spark of joy.
They won’t always be profound. Sometimes they’ll be “I had a nice sandwich” or “Carlos Alcaraz didn’t destroy my soul today.” But they’ll be real, and I want to keep track of them.

three tiny joys, glimmers, or moments of soft comfort from today
🧡 Someone sent me a gorgeous pic of ( Darren & Simone ) they found online because they knew I’d love it and wanted to make sure I’d seen it. It made me feel so known.

📚 Seanan McGuire/Mira Grant Tumblr reblogged my review of Rolling in the Deep (!!) and I am still ~~quietly~~ screaming about it.

🍕 Friday night comforts: pizza, mango Pepsi Max, Nutella ice cream, and Carlos Alcaraz winning his 3rd round match against Struff. We feast. 🎾💛

That’s me for today. If you feel like sharing your glimmers, I’d love to read them 💛
Be gentle with yourself, especially if the good things were hard to find.

Current Mood: content

yourlibrarian posting in

common_nature

Our last stop on the Historic 30 route was Horsetail Falls. If you look at the next photo you can see people sitting on the log stretching out into the pool for scale. .( Read more... )

daily_otter_feed

Posted by Daily Otter

https://dailyotter.org/posts/2025/7/4/the-perfect-summer-activity-for-otters-or-humans-really

Via Oregon Zoo

https://dailyotter.org/posts/2025/7/4/the-perfect-summer-activity-for-otters-or-humans-really

nanila posting in

awesomeers

hannah

Things which I don't get to say nearly enough: "Can you break a hundred?"

To make things as simple as possible, I got paid in cash earlier today, and to make things really simple, it was a mix of twenties and hundreds to use as few bills as possible. I'll freely and happily admit it cut down on the volume of currency being exchanged. It also struck me that while $100 is a standard unit of currency, it's an atypical one, which isn't a combination of traits I see much.

My plan was to break them into twenties if the bank was open for customers, or deposit them intact in an ATM kiosk if it wasn't. On the walk to the bank, I decided to buy a luxury imported British film magazine at Barnes & Noble, and in thinking about how to pay for it, I asked the clerk my question.

Then I said it was fine, and handed over $21 to more easily make change for the $15.50 price tag. A much more ordinary type of payment. I took the hundreds to the bank and deposited them at the ATM, as I'd planned.

And for a moment there, just a brief moment, I had a glorious glimpse into another life where I always asked that question.

Current Mood: amused
Current Music: Betting On Trains - Hem

badfalcon

So the creative prompt for

sunshine_revialchallenge 1 is: Shine a light on your own creativity. Create anything you want (an image, an icon, a story, a poem, or a craft) and share it with your community.. Post your answer to today’s challenge in your own space and leave a comment in this post saying you did it.
Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

Mpreg is kinda popular on tennisblr right now - both Carlos/Jannik and Jack Draper/Jannik - and the other night before I went to bed,

deliriouslyshipping had posted responses to a couple of asks she'd had. One of which involved

I could see Simone or Darren putting her on their knee while they sit, guiding Jannik from wherever they are, trading off as needed. But they'll also set her down and let her explore more, try to teach her how to toss the tennis ball.

, I fell asleep with visions of Darren and Simone with a baby and... well.. y'all know I ship those coaches. So this happened (and apparently in mpreg it doesn't matter if you're 59 - you can still give birth)

( “I’m a grown man,” Simone says with confidence and absolutely no foresight. “I can bathe my own child.” )

badfalcon

Challenge #1 Journaling Prompt: Light up your journal with activity this month. Talk about your goals for July or for the second half of 2025.

June was a bit of a blur, honestly. I read a lot — but only finished four books. I posted 8 fics and wrote a lot more in my head. I got very distracted by Roland Garros (because how could you not?!), and now Wimbledon’s here to steal what’s left of my focus. That’s okay.

So I’m going into July with gentleness. Here’s what I’m hoping for, aiming toward — not in a pressure-y way, but in a “this would feel good if it happened” kind of way.

📚 Reading Goals
I want to read 6 books this month, or at least finish 6. There are currently 12 books in progress. Oops.
Also:

Prioritise a few summer TBR titles
Tackle my mountain of library loans (13 books out, most nearing their final renewals 😬)
Catch up on posting reviews
Keep going with “20 mins a day” as my baseline
Read for joy, not pressure

✍️ Writing Goals
There’s a lot on this list, but I’m not expecting to do all of it — I just want to keep the creative momentum going, especially when the ideas are flowing.

Finish A Field Guide to the Sinner Pack
Update:
- You Wouldn’t Take My Word for It If You Knew Who Was Talking
- I Had the Time of My Life Fighting Dragons With You
- The Courage of My Convictions
- Wolf-Tethered
Maybe write or post a one-shot, just because·
Keep sharing, even if it’s scary — people want to read these stories

🌿 Life Goals
Soft intentions. Low stakes. Good food. Hopefully fewer appointments. But also:

Make a doctor’s appointment to talk about the arthritis diagnosis
Day trip to the RAMM in Exeter + sushi 🍣
Visit Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm 🦙
Reclaim one chaotic space at home (possibly the laundry chair)
Come back to Dreamwidth, and stay
Cook something that feels like summer
One proper lie-in, no guilt
One evening offline with candles, music, or silence

If I do all of this, amazing.
If I do half, still pretty great.
If I just read something I love and write one scene that lights me up, that’s enough too.

Let’s see what July brings 💛

Current Mood: okay
Current Music: Draper v Cilic

daily_otter_feed

Posted by Daily Otter

https://dailyotter.org/posts/2025/7/3/alaska-sealife-center-has-another-rescued-admit

Via Alaska SeaLife Center, which writes:

❗New northern sea otter pup patient admitted ❗

Have you heard the news? There’s another adorable sea otter patient admitted to the ASLC Wildlife Response program! He was first spotted high up on the beach in Homer with no adult otters in sight. After a few hours alone, birds began to approach the vulnerable pup, and the team knew they needed to act. With authorization from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the ASLC Wildlife Response Team coordinated the pup’s safe transport to Seward for immediate care.

So far, the pup seems to be doing well, and our team is caring for him around the clock.

Read more at ASLC’s website!

https://dailyotter.org/posts/2025/7/3/alaska-sealife-center-has-another-rescued-admit

nanila posting in

awesomeers

hannah

Thinking it'd look more professional, I went with a messenger bag instead of a backpack today. As professional as it may have looked, I'm going to go back to the backpack. So much easier for so many things on so many levels, not the least of which is being able to ride a bike. Yes, I know bike messengers do it all the time. No, I'm not a professional bike messenger, and I'm unwilling to try. Especially if I'm already wearing a nice dress.

There wasn't much time to read at work, mostly because I'd been given an actual task to do: sorting through patient folders and setting aside old records to discard. Not as much fun as it'd have been if I'd had an MP3 player with me, and still satisfying to see the piles start to rise, and space in the drawers start to emerge. Where there's space in a drawer, there's objects to be discovered, and found my second office perk. A stain remover stick's not much, but it's still something I could take home with me. The first thing is a large can of cold brew coffee sitting in my fridge, waiting for a morning I need a jolt beyond all meaning.

Current Mood: exanimate
Current Music: nothing now

tellshannon815

Off on holiday from tomorrow, back Monday, probably will be a bit sporadic on here in terms of comments and not posting, so will catch up properly when I get back!

tellshannon815

Challenge #1

Journaling Prompt: Light up your journal with activity this month. Talk about your goals for July or for the second half of 2025.
Creative Prompt: Shine a light on your own creativity. Create anything you want (an image, an icon, a story, a poem, or a craft) and share it with your community.

For me I think it's going to be easier to set myself some goals for the second half of the year, rather than focusing on July, bearing in mind that my July involves two trips during which I'll be less online. So, I'll start with finally finishing that Dark series that I started at the tail end of 2023 and then got stuck on because I keep being drawn back to the conclusion that I wanted to avoid (brief spoiler-lite context: once I had more of an understanding of the timelines of this show, I understood that giving this character his happy ending just wasn't possible). I also would quite like to do something with a School Spirits plot bunny that could turn into a series (bit complicated to explain if you didn't watch season 2). And I also keep saying I'll go back to Lost's "Sun went back to 1977" series which I haven't touched since 2010 (Smokey McSmokeFace, that one's on you. Well, technically the writers, for going in the direction that I was not okay with.)

I'm getting the to-watch list down a bit, but still going to keep that one (I find that easier when I'm properly able to focus, meaning NOT in the middle of a heatwave which for some reason seemed to hit me harder the last two days even more so than 2022 did and left me not feeling like doing anything much. In that state, I can handle old favourites I'm familiar with, but not so good with something fairly new to me.

Ever since Isabella and Isla presented me with a Make Your Own Luna Lovegood crochet kit for Christmas (and that was 2022, so it's been a while) and I didn't like to admit that I'm clueless about it, I've thought I should get round to starting. Maybe this will be the year I get round to it.

I may not do both prompts all the way through, but here's a creative response:

Title: But I Still Need Love 'Cause I'm Just A Man
Fandom: School Spirits
Characters: Wally
Pairing: Wally/Maddie
Rating: PG
Warnings: Spoilers all the way through Season 2
Summary: Wally knows he couldn't expect Maddie to stay with him; he envisions how she could have ended up resenting him if she'd chosen to remain a ghost to be with him, but also can't regret that he's spoken up about what he wants for once.

( Read more... )

just_ann_now

Two heat waves, and two sets of storms to break them. Pleasant this morning and a sunny and warm weekend predicted (so I can cut my grass.)

What I've Just Finished Reading

An interesting reading week! A selection (but not everything):

A Garden's Purpose: Cultivating Our Connection with the Natural World, by Felix de Rosen. A very pleasant read inside in the AC when it's too outside hot to garden. Not a garden how-to but a garden think-about, with lots of really nice photos.

Bad Badger: A Love Story, by Maryrose Wood, illustrated by Guila Ghigini. Charming middle-grade novel; if the illustrations has been in color it would have been breathtaking. For Monthly Keyword: Story.

The Last Murder at the End of the World, by Stuart Turton. Whhhhhhhaaaaaaat was this even. Postapocalyptic, twisty, confusing. I had The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, by the same author,on my To-Read list, based on

rachelmanija's review (Summary: "It was weird"), but now, nope. It wasn't horrible, just too - something, and I don't quite know what. For a Goodreads "Poolside Puzzlers" challenge.

On the other hand, Arboreality, by Rebecca Campbell, climate-change distopia, but also hopeful and lovely. Interrelated stories joined to novella-length, lovely characterization.

Saving the best for last: Orbital, by Samantha Harvey. Not a plotty book - 24 hours in the lives of an international group of astronauts on the ISS. Gorgous prose, introspective characters, passing mention of things happening outside their metal cocoon. [A spoiler, but a worthwhile one, so no apologies: NO horrible crisis pops in from nowhere, so you don't have to be on tenterhooks, as I was.] Very short, barely 200 pages, won the Booker Prize last year, which usuallly makes me go "Uh-oh, this will be too thinky for me", but what I think is that I'll buy my own copy for when I need soothing. For Monthly Motif: Single Day Story.

What I Am Currently Reading

Just this morning started The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, by V.E. Schwab, also for a Goodreads challenge.

What I Am Reading Next

I'm planning my holiday weekend around Somewhere Beyond the Sea, by T.J. Klune!

Question of the Day: I don't have one. Do you?