…well, poetry and settings suitable to poetic vibes.
Today, I read most of Leila Mottley’s woke up no light while seated in my favorite comfortable chair, at my local library branch. I finished the rest of the collection at home.
I tried to get a photo of the cover art, working around the library’s barcode, but the glare from the protective sleeve got in the way. Moving on.
There’s something especially magical about consuming poetry at the library.
Could you simulate this experience in a treasured bookstore or cafe? Maybe.
I just wrote a brief review of the book on Goodreads, though I somewhat fear it was more about my personal, subjective, in-the-moment experience of the text, today.
Is that wrong?
There were times I found some of the language inaccessible, but they were few and far between. As I said in my review, her imagery “seethes.” Beyond just a lack of cliches, the language consistently surprised, and maintained an impressive tonal intensity.
It was another good day. And it’s not even over.
On a not-so-lofty note, I rediscovered my Chocolate Mint lip balm, in the pocket of my olive-green zip hoodie. The hoodie is in somewhat sad shape, but I can’t imagine parting with it. I stitched a skull graphic from a t-shirt onto the back of it, then covered that with some colored and glow-in-the-dark fabric paint.
At one of my former jobs, we had an unhoused gentleman who’d come in upon occasion. He was always very charming, even if he did kind of insinuate that he might leave bad Yelp reviews and such for any business that he found less than hospitable.
The manager would give him something from the snacks we sold, and a bottle of water from our fridge.
One day, he saw the hoodie hanging on a hook in the corner, skull facing out.
“Whose is that?” he asked.
“Mine,” I answered, “and it glows in the dark.”
“Will you marry me?”
Lotta memories tied up with this jacket, including a bizarre one where I stretched it over a chair with the skull facing me as I sat up in bed. I stared and stared at it, and in my delusional state, thought I had thusly cured myself of any fear of death.
It’s a bit chilly in here again, so I put it back on, after getting back home.
Surprisingly, I was able to deny the siren song of yet more library books. I returned three, and read the one, but didn’t check anything out. But fear not– beyond the one I just finished, I still have 3.
One of those is a New Orleans travel guide, which is more a point of reference than something I plan to read cover-to-cover. I’ve enjoyed picking sections at random and seeing what I’ve found.
Of the other two, one is a fantasy novel I picked up because one of the characters has the same name as one I roleplayed in D n D.
Elowen was, I think, a druid I played, famous for Healing Spirit. We kind of abused the mechanics until Wizards nerfed them.
Our DM even made me a unicorn based on my description of how I thought my Healing Spirit would appear. He’d also make very elaborate play surfaces for our minis.
E.B. Asher’s This Will Be Fun. Hopefully, it will be!
Here’s a cropped pic of the cover of the OTHER remaining book, subtitled A Guide to Magical New Orleans. Again, I had to cut out the subtitle in order to avoid photographing the barcode.
I have two more holds that I’m awaiting, also about New Orleans, etc. One is a digital hold for Libby, and the other is a physical book. It’s delightful to have holds in your queue as something to anticipate, like waiting for a book to come in the mail, only free!
Speaking of which, while it wasn’t free, I do still have Lost Souls on the way. Wooo!!! I don’t imagine there will be a great deal of book-buying in my near future, but it felt like a worthy treat.
My work-in-progress characters are currently still stuck in Texas. One of them is being questioned by a police detective. Her intuition and ensuing research suggest there’s something amiss about Jared and his traveling companions. The specifics of her theories may not be correct, but she’s still a possible threat.
So, again, I don’t know if this story will get as far as New Orleans.
Maybe that will be the next one?
This one was supposed to be Mystery Train, after all. And there was already a lot of storytelling leading up to their getting on the train.
Either way, I am having SO much fun researching the city, and its folklore and superstitions, and spiritual practices.
It’s even been fascinating to see how the record of supposed hauntings in one location vary from book to book, down to vast differences in the description of the history behind these phenomenon. Some of the books, I later thought less informed than others. But I never would have known that had I not tried them all, and cross-referenced.
A wealthy white woman decried as abusive in one book, seems to have more likely been made the scapegoat for the actions of her husband, general resentment of her social status, and possibly unrequited love on the part of a neighbor.
One book suggested unrequited love gone awry. Another indicated their neighbor was embittered about a business deal or lack thereof, I think with her husband.
History is complex.
There may be some sort of patchwork “truth” one can construct from every available source, but I don’t know that such layered accounts are ever uniform or cohesive.
SO… what’s on deck for the rest of the night?
Not sure yet.
OH, I did learn today that Prime will be adding a series that picks up after the end of the Blade Runner sequel. And I think both of the films are now on Netflix. I don’t own the one Gosling was in.
Maybe I should watch those before my Netflix pause takes effect. Not sure if I’m feelin’ sci fi tonight. Especially for the first one. It’s a bit grisly in places.
At the moment, I’m just a bit bored, and a little stir crazy, while also simultaneously vastly fatigued. But it’s a fatigue sleep and rest breaks don’t fix. Pervasive.
Trying to perk myself up with my 2025 Manifestation Vibes playlist and a little more caffeine. Evidently Spotify went down for a time today, but I didn’t have it running until it was back up again.
The Weather Channel’s Threads account had an hysterically funny take on that, saying they were just standing outside and pretending the wind was a vibe until Spotify came back online.
I suppose I could rustle up some art supplies and make something tangible? Not just digital collages? I was recently asked what if anything I had painted lately. Still have some large-ish magnetic heart-shaped canvases that I could have some fun with. They don’t ever have to become something up for sale, for Valentine’s Day. I can do whatever I want with them.
Also, I should probably water my plants lol… and myself.
There was that slogan about juice and soda that “every drop counts” since they technically also contain water. Buuuut I imagine 100% water hydrates more effectively.
Consider this your reminder to drink some H2O. Peace!
All the Bright and Sparkly Things 
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