Author Archives: Ryn PB

Book Review: The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton

Posted on September 13, 2021 by Ryn PB

The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton is so freaking good. It’s Daisy Jones & the Six dialed up to 11. Now, I’ll admit that this book already has a lot of elements I like—oral history format, … Continue reading →

Posted in new era, polysyllabic spree | Tagged 1970s, Afropunk, book review, books, daisy jones and the six, dawnie walton, music, oral history, racism, review, the final revival of opal & nev | Leave a comment

August 2021: How I relaxed my reading expectations after losing my job

Posted on August 31, 2021 by Ryn PB

What I Got: The Heartbreak Bakery (ARC) by A.R. Capetta The Prodigal Tongue by Lynne Murphy We Are Not Like Them (ARC) by Christine Pride & Jo Piazza As You Were (ARC) by Elaine Feeney Grievers (ARC) by adrienne maree … Continue reading →

Posted in mental health, new era, polysyllabic spree | Tagged anxiety, ar capetta, arcs, athletes, bakery, baking, bojack horseman, book nerd, bookish, books, bookworm, depression, erin morgenstern, fantasy, fence, getting fired, graphic novels, green day, illustrations, jobs, kevin panetta, LGBT+, life lessons, magic, music, queer lit, reading, romance, romance books, sapphic, skateboarding, sports, the starless sea, work, writing | Leave a comment

July 2021: How I accidentally did “Nonfiction July” instead of “Nonfiction November”

Posted on August 3, 2021 by Ryn PB

What I Got: Juliet Takes a Breath (1st Edition) by Gabby Rivera Can I Say by Travis Barker Rolling Stone, July 2020, Issue #1341 Transgender History: The Roots of Today’s Revolution (Revised Edition) by Susan Stryker What Storm, What Thunder … Continue reading →

Posted in polysyllabic spree | Tagged books, bookworm, buying books, cat, depression, graphic novels, life lessons, mental health, nonfiction, reading | 1 Comment

June 2021: How a pile of Hydra heads fell on top of me and my reading life reflected it, or How I’m all bullshitted out

Posted on July 9, 2021 by Ryn PB

What I Got: Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi L’arbre généreux: l’école de loisirs by Shel Silverstein Honing Your Craft: Developing Your Writing Skills on a Budget (zine) by Lydia Rogue World War Z by Max Brooks is5: poems by e.e. cummings … Continue reading →

Posted in mental health, new era, polysyllabic spree | Tagged ace rep, alice oseman, anthropocene reviewed, anxiety, bo burnham, books, comics, dark humor, depression, elatsoe, freshwater, inside, james baldwin, john green, julia kaye, LGBT, LGBT+, lgbtq, loveless, maggie stiefvater, mental health, mister impossible, pandemic, queer lit, readathon, reading, tea dragon, the dreamer trilogy, the raven cycle, trans | Leave a comment

May 2021: How I read my entire Asian Readathon TBR but made little time for anything else (sorry, unnamed novel I need to edit)

Posted on May 31, 2021 by Ryn PB

What I Got: Sigh, Gone: A Misfit’s Memoir of Great Books, Punk Rock, and the Fight to Fit In by Phuc Tran Bird Uncaged: An Abolitionist’s Freedom Song (ARC) by Marlon Peterson The Poppy War & The Dragon Republic by … Continue reading →

Posted in polysyllabic spree | Tagged aapi, asian, banned books, black cat, blog, books, cat, cats, crying, domesticity, emotions, family, graphic novels, history, japan, literature, manga, pets, philipinnes, punk, punk rock, readathon, reading, siblings, sister, tbr, the poppy war, the way of the househusband, to be read, travel, vacation, visit, zines | Leave a comment

Repeat Rewind Book Tag: How booktube inspired me to mash together two of my favorite things and gave me an excuse to talk about my fave books

Posted on May 1, 2021 by Ryn PB

Part of my quarantine coping strategy has been to watch a lot of YouTube, of which a large chunk has been booktube. There’s this tag I’ve seen that is similar to the Playlist Book Tag but is specific to Spotify. … Continue reading →

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March 2021: How I forgot most of the month halfway through but still enjoyed some books

Posted on March 31, 2021 by Ryn PB

What I Got: Walking on Cowrie Shells (ARC) by Nana Nkweti Shake It Up: Great American Writing on Rock and Pop from Elvis to Jay Z ed. by Jonathan Lethem and Kevin JH Dettmar Tr*nny by Laura Jane Grace Libertie … Continue reading →

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February 2021: How I slowed down and found my love for reading again (just in time for Valentine’s Day)

Posted on February 28, 2021 by Ryn PB

What I Got: Punch Me Up to the Gods (ARC) by Brian Broome The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead Everyone in this Room Will Someday Be Dead (ARC) by Emily Austin On the Books by Greg Farrell Out of the … Continue reading →

Posted in polysyllabic spree, stories | Tagged amber ruffin, antiracism, arcs, books, colson whitehead, comics, graphic novels, historical fiction, LGBT, lgbtlit, lit, nigeria, nigerian civil war, nonfiction, queerlit, romance, romance books, self care, sherlock holmes, sherlock holmes retelling, talia hibbert, the nickel boys | Leave a comment

January 2021: How I started off the new year by reading about ghosts, music, and intelligent kids

Posted on February 7, 2021 by Ryn PB

What I Got: The Toll by Neal Shusterman How Do You Live? (ARC) by Genzaburō Yoshino Brown Girl Ghosted by Mintie Das Roving Pack by Sassafras Lowrey An Abundance of Katherines by John Green Nobody Likes You by Marc Spitz … Continue reading →

Posted in mental health, new era, polysyllabic spree | Tagged an abundance of katherines, books, books about music, comics, doodle, Indian lit, japanese classic, john green, miyazaki, music commentary, muslim rep in lit, new puppy, new year, nick hornby, phantom of the opera, pop music, pop science, queer lit, songbook, the great gatsby, the mysterious benedict society, translated lit, yesimhotinthis | Leave a comment

December 2020: How I’m closing out the year with hope, easy reading, and a Match.com ad

Posted on December 30, 2020 by Ryn PB

What I Got: The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern A Book of One’s Own: People and Their Diaries by Thomas Mallon A Study in Scarlet Women (Lady Sherlock #1) by Sherry Thomas The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes by Adrian Conan … Continue reading →

Posted in new era, polysyllabic spree | Tagged anxiety, books, books about music, charles dickens, christmas, death, depression, erin morgenstern, graphic memoir, graphic novels, grief, holidays, lemony snicket, LGBT, lgbt lit, mental health, mystery books, nick and norah's infinite playlist, phantom of the opera, queer lit, reading, series of unfortunate events, the starless sea, zines | Leave a comment