kat 🐈‍⬛

The audiobook cover of The Academy by Elin Hilderbrand and Shelby Cunningham featuring a large, historic brick building with a central tower, likely a school or academy. The building is set against a clear blue sky and surrounded by vibrant autumn-colored trees, with hues of red and orange. In the foreground, a girl with long blonde hair, dressed in a denim jacket, sits on a green lawn facing the building. The top part of the cover displays the author's name in large, prominent black text, with a smaller subtitle, "and her daughter, Shelby Cunningham," below in the same font. The title of the book is displayed in large, elegant white script across the bottom of the cover.

The Academy
Elin Hilderbrand & Shelby Cunningham
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Loved this, in part b/c the narration was excellent, in part b/c it was fast-paced & fun, in part b/c apparently boarding school stories are in my wheelhouse? Just less of the sexism next time, pls.

Full review: shorturl.at/McjZh

#booksky

At the moment, I'm regrettably not exploring a quaint bookstore on a cobblestone street in Vienna during a raging thunderstorm, so no, I'm afraid your email did not "find me well.”

Okay, this did make me cackle out loud.

This is a discussion I have on the regular in spaces.

People hear "leaderless" and have all kinds of freak-outs though. The idea that they don't need to automatically follow someone else's instruction is beyond the pale for many.

Vida Gábor (Hungarian, 1937–1999)
"The Apothecary", 1969.
Oil on Panel, 50 × 40 cm.
Private Collection.
#art #painting #artist #BlueSkyArt

Agreed!

The cover of Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh featuring a predominantly black background with white speckles representing falling snow. Dominating the upper portion is the book title in large red capital letters with white text above it stating "PEN/HEMINGWAY WINNER." Below the title, there is a circular gold emblem indicating "SHORTLISTED for the MAN BOOKER PRIZE." The center of the cover depicts a stylized black-and-white illustration of a vintage car driving down a road, headlights illuminating a path through the snow. At the bottom, the author’s name is printed in bold red.

Eileen
Ottessa Moshfegh
⭐️⭐️.5/5

I wish I had more positive things to say, but btwn the overall bleakness, the super slow storytelling, & the outlandish ending, this book just wasn't for me. (always weird to say abt a book so many critics _and_ readers loved)

Full review: shorturl.at/z6QEh

#booksky

The cover of the German audiobook version of Secondhand-Zeit Secondhand Time) by Swetlana Alexijewitsch featuring a monochromatic photograph as the background, which shows a person walking and holding a red Soviet flag with a gold hammer and sickle. The person is dressed in dark clothing and the motion of the flag is captured as it flows in the wind. The background has a foggy, indistinct building, giving an air of mystery. The title is prominently displayed in bold black and red text at the top. At the bottom, the names Marlen Diekhoff, Wolf-Dietrich Sprenger, and Bettina Stucky are listed as part of the audiobook presentation. The publisher's logo, "Hörbuch Hamburg," appears in the lower left corner.

Secondhand-Zeit / Secondhand Time
Svetlana Alexiévich
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

As someone who’s a scholar of state socialism, was born into it, & raised by parents who spent most of their lives under it, this felt both affirming &eye-opening. Heavy but highly recommended!

Full review: shorturl.at/cfGKX

#booksky

MUTUAL AID REQUEST THREAD

if you are seeking MA you are welcome to post here

if you have the means to donate, please do, and even if you can’t help monetarily please boost!

I’ll be pinning this for the foreseeable future, and will repost regularly

hopefully this will help get eyes on more MA!

Without naming your job, tell us something you say over and over again at work.

"Are you on any blood thinners?"

One of my most hated positions is "students on strike just want to get out of class". Because of course young people can't actually hold any unselfish beliefs, right?

Collage titled January 2026 reads featuring the following books: Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield A Boy Named Rose by Gaelle Geniller Mean Moms by Emma Rosenblum Christmas at Glitter Peak Lodge by Kjersti Herland Johnsen Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

January was a solid reading month. And I still can't believe how much of a fantasy reader I've become! #januaryreads #booksky

Anti-ICE Organizing Is Creating Counter-Institutions Based on Care Rapid-response networks and mutual aid are not charity. They’re shared infrastructure for collective care and survival.

"These were not merely acts of charity. They were counter-institutions — infrastructure designed to keep people connected, informed, cared for, and protected in a system built to fragment and isolate them." truthout.org/articles/ant...

Saidou Dicko (Burkina Faso, born 1976)
Le Jeune Penseur, 2022
Hand painted (ink) on photography
80 x 120 cm
Private collection

#art #painting #artist #BlueSkyArt

While independent bookstores are giving out free whistles, hosting protest sign making events, and donating proceeds to mutual aid, Amazon is *checks notes* providing technology that assists ICE in their terrorizing of communities.

Independent bookstores deserve your support. Amazon does not.

Guys! 😍

Richard Claremont (Australian, b.1965)
"Kitchen Nocturne," 2025
Acrylic on linen board
30 x 30 cm
#art #painting #artist #BlueSkyArt

The book cover of A Boy Named Rose by Gaëlle Geniller featuring a stylized illustration of an elegant room with dark red tones. On the left, there is an art déco table lamp with a stained-glass shade in yellow, teal, and pink with red accents. Below the lamp, a string of pearls and white flowers are placed on a black surface. To the right of the lamp, a person leans peaks through a curtain, with white light shining through a narrow gap in the curtain. They wear tight red pants and no shirt and are adorned with roses and dark gloves. The top of the cover displays the book title in decorative white lettering, with the author's name, above it.

A Boy Named Rose
Gaëlle Geniller
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

#queerjoy is what helps me keep up the fight in the hell we call our present. And this book is full joy, friendship, love, & a young person unapologetically being himself. Beautifully drawn & written.

Full review: shorturl.at/PXU9J

#booksky #queerfiction

I just assume most eulogies and wedding speeches are generated by chat gpt now because it’s largely well meaning people who have been sold on the idea that this is a tool to help you do “a good job,” when the actual point of you being up there is to say what you’re feeling even if it’s clumsy.

Someone just asked “Why waste time reading the book when you can simply watch the movie?” and long story short there comes a time when you must acknowledge that a friendship has run its course.

Can you imagine the fortitude it takes for these families to protest from the inside of an ICE camp? Eyes on Dilley.

The benefit of being pretty late to the party that was the first book is a short wait until the next one. And boy, do I _need_ something to look forward to while we all continue to live & struggle in hell. #queerjoy #booksky

Book cover of Mean Moms by Emma Rosenblum featuring a close-up illustration of a woman's face and hand. The woman has red lips and is holding her index finger vertically in front of her mouth in a "shushing" gesture. Her fingernail is painted. The background features an abstract pattern resembling a cityscape in muted gray tones. The title is prominently displayed in large, yellow capital letters across her face and hand. Below the title, the text "A Novel" is written in a cursive style. The author’s name appears at the bottom in yellow capital letters against a dark background. Beneath her name, it states, “author of BAD SUMMER PEOPLE and VERY BAD COMPANY.”

Mean Moms by Emma Rosenblum
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

Not usually a fan of the "rich people behaving badly trope," but this book was pretty entertaining. Would have been even more fun had the ending not felt like kind of an underwhelming copout.

Full review: shorturl.at/K7KRq

#booksky

Surround yourself with the kind of people who find the Oxford comma to be illuminative, beautiful, and necessary.

Olivier Neuray (Belgian, b.1962)

"21:27," 2024

Oil on canvas
90 x 70 cm

#art #painting #artist #BlueSkyArt

I'm increasingly convinced that if social media existed in the 1930s Germany, there would be endless videos of Jews being hauled out of their homes while people watched like this. People let this happen because they can't fight the state and it effectively encourages learned helplessness.

My PhD in history has proven pretty useless since we're clearly determined not to learn a damn thing from history, so this sounds like an appealing option.

Accusing other people of "ideology" is like accusing other people of having eyes. You have eyes too, dude! You just can't see them!

Audiobook cover for Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree featuring an illustration of two fictional female characters: a smaller pink succubus with shoulder-length dark hair and a tail wearing a light gray sweater and apron and a tall and muscular green Orc with dark long hair and fangs, standing back to back in a cozy café setting. The succubus is holding a plate with a cinnamon roll, while the Orc is holding a steaming pot and a mug. Both appear cheerful, surrounded by warm and inviting café elements like glowing lights, wooden shelves, and a coffee grinder in the background. The title is prominently displayed at the top in bold, stylized red and white text. Below, the text "Read by the author Travis Baldree is written in smaller, uppercase red letters.

Legends & Lattes by @travisbaldree.bsky.social
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

I am soooo late to this party, in part because I was _convinced_ high fantasy wasn't for me. Welp, I was wrong & absolutely adored this cozy adventure. Can't wait to read the rest of the series!

Full review: shorturl.at/4OTao

#booksky

How can we defend ourselves from the new plague of ‘human fracking’? Big tech treats our attention like a resource to be mercilessly extracted. The fightback begins here

Interesting article, but it took me 3 days to read, not due to screen time, but due to general life.
www.theguardian.com/books/2026/j...