Amanda McNeil (she/her)

Haha that happens to me too!

Have you ever loved a book with a lower average rating?
Tell me—I’m always hunting for hidden gems. 💙

#BookSky 📚💙

Book Review: Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler (Series, #1) Summary: Lisabeth Lewis thought it was just a nightmare.  Death coming to her when she tried to commit suicide with her mom’s antidepressants and offering to make her Famine–one of the …

📕 Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler – ED as a horseman of the Apocalypse.
My review: opinionsofawolf.com/2011/03/21/b...

Book Review: Haven by Emma Donoghue Three monks struggle to survive on an inhospitable island off the Irish coast. Summary:In seventh-century Ireland, a scholar and priest called Artt has a dream telling him to leave the sinful world…

📘 Haven by Emma Donoghue – Loneliness, faith, nature, secretly queer.
My review: opinionsofawolf.com/2023/01/02/b...

📙 Death Valley by Melissa Broder – Magical realism. Chronic illness in marriage.
My review:
opinionsofawolf.com/2024/02/20/b...

Not every book hits for everyone.
But these three hit me hard.

I gave them 5 stars, even if GoodReads didn’t.

#BookSky 📚💙

Crafting reminds me I’m part of a long tradition of people tying things together. Literally and figuratively.
So yeah, I glued a fish together and called it resistance.
#SlowLiving #CreativeLife #CraftWithMeaning

This was my second-ever macramé project and WOW did I hit a low point mid-fish. The left side looked… off.
But I kept going. And somehow it still looked like a fish in the end. 🐟

Macramé isn’t just a retro trend—it has roots in 13th-century Arabic weaving, was a favorite of Queen Mary II, and became a rebellious act in the 60s counterculture.
And somewhere along the way, I made a little fish.

YouTube video by Acutely Amanda Macraméing a Fish: How One Keychain Connects Me to Sailors and Hippies

What do sailors, hippies, and fish-shaped keychains have in common? 🧶🐟
This week on Acutely Amanda, I dive into macramé, make a fish, and explore how a simple craft became a global movement.
🎧 Watch here: youtu.be/V7mq9I_-KXU?...
#FiberArts #DIYCrafts #Macrame #CraftingHistory

Waiting for Daybreak: A Hopeful Zombie Novel I just want to live like normal people. But my Borderline Personality Disorder fills each day with emotional pain. And drives other people away. Not that there’s anyone to drive away anymore… Fried…

Waiting for Daybreak is a hopeful zombie novel that centers recovery. Find it wherever books are sold. Direct links here:
opinionsofawolf.com/publications...

4.5 stars on the Zon, with reviews like Arlene M's -

"It left me feeling good...empowered!"

I gave the FMC the recovery arc I hadn't known I needed.

It's hopeful. It's cozy adjacent. It's got a cat (who lives).

A white woman with frizzy brown hair wearing a green, white, and black dress holds a book up to the camera. The cover is visible, and it reads Waiting for Daybreak in white font. There is a silhouette of a cat and a woman on the cover, along with some blood splatter.

I thought I was writing an empowering main character.
But after I got sober, I realized I wasn’t.
So I rewrote the whole book.
Now it’s not just about saving yourself from zombies. It’s about saving yourself from addiction too.
#BookSky 📚💙 #zombienovel #recoveryreads

If you love soft little serotonin moments like this—books, crafts, miniatures, weird joy—I share those here often.
Follow for cozy creativity 🧶📚🌈
And tell me… what’s your favorite tiny thing?

There’s something so healing about assembling tiny things with no stakes.
No deadlines. No pressure. Just vibes.
Kirby’s entire vibe is “you deserve a nap” and I support that.

YouTube video by Acutely Amanda Sleepy Kirby is here! 💤 New Acutely Amanda episode coming next week. #kirbyfan #blindbox #shorts

✨ Need a 31-second break from reality?
I assembled a tiny Kirby blind box. Which one did I get?
📦💤💖

Find out here:
youtube.com/shorts/vG8HE...

#BookSky 📚💙 #MiniJoy #CozyVibes #Unboxing #BlindBox

If you struggle to find queer books that make you feel this good, I got you.
I hunt for them. I review them. I recommend the ones that spark serotonin.
Follow along for some happy queer fiction in your life. 🏳️‍🌈✨

Who else feels this way when they pick up a queer sci-fi? Raise your hand 👋🏼
Bonus points if there’s found family, slow burn tension, or sentient fungus.
(But I’ll also take space lesbians and post-capitalist hopepunk.)

Me, 2 pages into a new queer sci-fi book:
"I love life again. I've never been sad before in my life. Everything is fine. Happiness! I feel serotonin!"
📚🏳️‍🌈🛸

#BookSky 📚💙

Sometimes, the best family time is quiet. Just the shared joy of books, stacks, and stories.

Do you have a go-to book you love gifting? I’d love to hear your favorites.

#LibraryLove #ReadersLife #BookishFamily

Today we all went to a neighboring library “to look at the architecture.”

But of course… we ended up spending hours there, each of us happily lost in varying sections.

It’s nice to have married into a family of readers. 💙

My in-laws are in town, and I gifted my mother-in-law a book. She finished it in one day and immediately asked to go to the library for the sequel.

#BookSky 📚

I am begging lit journals etc… to stop posting “we’re hiring” when you are paying nothing!! The words you need are “seeking volunteers.”

Plus, a quick dive into the history of wool crafts. It's more recent than you might think! (Unless you're my friend's teenager who thinks I'm old.)
Come for the tiny cactus, stay for the art + history. 💚
Have you tried needle felting before?

I talk about what needle felting actually is, my experience as a beginner (mistakes & all), and what surprised me most about “painting with wool.”
(Also? It’s way more sculptural than I expected.)

YouTube video by Acutely Amanda Stabbing Wool Into Art: My First 2D Needle Felting Project

New episode! 🧶✨
This week on Acutely Amanda, I’m needle felting a tiny cactus landscape—with some monstera leaves thrown in 😄
🎧 Listen: youtu.be/Lp7zx_mtALw?...
#Crafting #NeedleFelting #Podcast #BookSky 💙📚

My best guess is I can tell that I’m almost to the last act I won’t want to put down and subconsciously slow down until I have time for a big read. But I’m not sure. What do you think, fellow thriller readers and thriller writers?

Now the end of book surge I expected - that’s the last act twists and intensity. But what about the sharp dip right before?

A line chart that shows dates on the x and reading time on the y. It goes up gradually then sharply dips then sharply goes up.

I’ve noticed something interesting while reading thrillers lately…
Both of the last two I read created reading graphs like this 👇 (Generated using Bookly) #BookSky 💙📚

Yikes! Yes my husband is very nervous about lithium batteries. It honestly didn't cross my mind that the ereader is one.