β
β
β
β
.5 - a heartwarming, imaginative, & clever collection of intertribal Indigenous-authored short stories that are connected and centered around a special drive-in frybread stand that is always right where you need it, when you need it.
stopandsmellthebooks.substack.com/p/legendary-...
β
β
β
β
β
- THIS is how all fairy tale books should be done. A mix of historical context & biography through a matriarchal lens, followed by a boldly reimagined adaption or retelling of the tale/s. 10/10. No Notes.
stopandsmellthebooks.substack.com/p/women-of-t...
β
β
β
β
β
- Another favorite from Mother Rachel! I related to Landon *so* *much*βI loved seeing a character who dealt with Autistic touch-aversion, grief, & trauma-informed introversion get his HEA.
stopandsmellthebooks.substack.com/p/time-to-sh...
β
β
β
β
.5 - A big change from the earlier novels & I was here for it. Amelia has become a much more complicated character while Emerson remains an unproblematic king. But if they donβt LISTEN to Ramses immaβ
open.substack.com/pub/stopands...
β
β
β
β
- a fascinating & deeply informative book about the history & current state of duodji, SΓ‘mi handicraft - through the lens of a white settler but with many photographs & lengthy quotes from SΓ‘mi artists themselves.
open.substack.com/pub/stopands...
β
β
β
β
- read for a work (piano tech) bookclub & didnβt love the book but ADORED the film adaptation.
stopandsmellthebooks.substack.com/p/the-forest...
β
β
β
β
- A very interesting neuro-sci discussion of the newly realized psychological phenomenon of "limerence"βwhich is like falling in love but make it neurotic, just not quite pathological.
stopandsmellthebooks.substack.com/p/smitten-by...
β
β
β
β
.75 - My tips for reading this book are 1: do the audiobook, 2: trust the author, & 3: the title is important on multiple levels. Now go enjoy the brilliance that is Erdrichβs literary mind!
open.substack.com/pub/stopands...
β
β
β
β
- a stopover in London & occultist hijinx at the British Museum for book 5. I liked seeing more tension in the Emerson marriage tbh. It was cute. Ramses, however, remains the star of the show.
open.substack.com/pub/stopands...
β
β
β
β
β
- A truly masterful, moving, impressive, & satisfying ending to the best spec-fic / sci-fi / fantasy series Iβve ever read. My number one rec for these revolutionary times.
open.substack.com/pub/stopands...
β
β
β
β
.5 - a brief overview of the history of the Algonquian, Siouan-Catawban, & Iroquoian languages speaking peoples, particularly the Cherokee & Lumbee tribes, of North Carolina.
open.substack.com/pub/stopands...
β
β
β
β
.75 - a thoughtful overview of the history of the Algonquian, Siouan-Catawban, & Iroquoian languages speaking peoples of the Outer Banks with a focus on Indigenous experiences & perspectives.
open.substack.com/pub/stopands...
β
β
β
β
β
- an exceptionally deep & intentional contribution to the procedural thriller genre focusing on museum ethics & Indigenous culture, history & mythology.
open.substack.com/pub/stopands...
β
β
β
β
β
- a really special genre-defying, memoir-adjacent read about the modern Inuit experience through the eyes of two-spirit artist, musician, & shaman, Tanya Tagaqβmust read on audiobook!
stopandsmellthebooks.substack.com/p/split-toot...
β
β
.5 - a generally informative book with an exhausting amount of cisheteronormative assumptions, christian & imperial apologism, & queer & neurodivergency erasure.
open.substack.com/pub/stopands...
β
β
β
β
- a fun, hilarious, clever, & charming coming-into-oneβs-self story about a young boy who is apprenticed by Death.
stopandsmellthebooks.substack.com/p/mort-by-te...
β
β
β
β
β
- for lovers of whimsical, brilliant, unusual writing, characters that undergo affirming transformations, & storylines that explore under-examined, charmingly mundane, ND human experiences.
stopandsmellthebooks.substack.com/p/a-new-new-...
β
β
β
- disturbing, mysterious, dark, felt a bit thriller-tropey, ultimately just left me confusedβ¦
open.substack.com/pub/stopands...
β
β
β
β
.5 - a brutal, honest vignette of the violence of misogyny & the insidious way it shapes the psyche & directs all relationships.
open.substack.com/pub/stopands...
β
β
β
β
- the very autistic-coded mother-son duo of Amelia & Ramses is making this series for me. They keep getting better!
stopandsmellthebooks.substack.com/p/lion-in-th...
β
β
β
- interesting & informative, thoughtful & thorough, with some problematic momentsβa self-published work so go in expecting a lack of editing oversight & an amateurish writing style.
stopandsmellthebooks.substack.com/p/the-haunte...
β
β
β
β
- a compulsively readable, heart-rending, hilarious, sweet, & incredibly tragic vignette of modern Penobscot lifeβthe kind of literature destined to be a future classic.
stopandsmellthebooks.substack.com/p/night-of-t...
β
β
β
β
β
- an equal parts absorbing, satisfying, & infuriating dark academia mystery/thriller about co-ed private boarding schools, the dynamics of privilege, found family, & systemic misogyny.
open.substack.com/pub/stopands...
β
β
β
β
- My first time read of this horror classic - surprised to find that it's less about dual sides of one's identity & more about 'what if your worst intrusive thoughts were a person?'
stopandsmellthebooks.substack.com/p/the-strang...
β
β
β
β
.75 - Fairytale retellings that are as magical as they are horrorific, unhinged, flowery, feminist, & spectacular: my third time reading Carterβs collection has finally made me a fan!
stopandsmellthebooks.substack.com/p/the-bloody...
β
β
β
β
.5 - Brilliant & heart breaking with a powerful, believable, beautiful, & (mostly) satisfying ending. Three cheers for disability rep in historical fiction!
open.substack.com/pub/stopands...
