Happy Monday and the start of the work week! I hope you don't have a bad case of the Mondays! Although, eating loads of lasagna and relaxing like Garfield would be great!

Yesterday was a blast celebrating the Benito Bowl with my friends and having a huge PR feast. It was also a beautiful rendition of the Black National Anthem by Coco Jones. Both of these displays of what truly makes America what it is warmed my heart and made me feel a bit more reflective in my choosing of hopefuls for this week.

Here they are:

Air & Essence by Mikayla D. Hornedo

Now I was enamored and enthralled by the first book when I listened to it on the way to renfaire last year, and I have been CRAVING to jump back into the world of Dayanara and her people.

The Great Disillusionment of Nick and Jay by Ryan Douglass

I am a lover of reimagined period pieces, especially when they are queer and Black centered. This is a retelling of the Great Gatsby, documenting love, joy, and the pursuit of happiness when society deems it as wrong. The moment my friend told me about this book, I knew that it was going to be something that would resonate with me!

Becoming Boba by Joanna Ho

This is a book that I am absolutely planning to read, since I will be doing a read aloud at the school I work at. Becoming Boba is a story about self love and being true to who you are. It also touches on Asian identity and knowing if you are enough. I thought that this book would also be great for Chinese New Year

Those are my hopefuls for the week. We will see what I add to it or how far I get through it!

Also ALSO, I am excited that Bindery is getting an Android App set to be released tomorrow! AHHHHHHH! So if you are an android user like myself, we will be able to use Bindery as an app!

Toni Morrison said that “The beauty of Love Medicine saves us from being completely devastated by its power.” That summarises my thoughts far more eloquently than I could put them, but I would also add that this is not just devastation. It reaches into the raw human experience and shows us stories of love and loss, or trials and tribulations, of heartbreak and betrayal, and everything in-between.

“It struck me how strong and reliable grief was, and death. Until the end of time, death would be our rock.

I know it might sound cliche, but this does not feel like a novel. This is a STORY. A story in its truest form. It does not ask you to care, instead it simply introduces you to characters who are flawed, stubborn, tender, cruel and just so alive that you cannot help but be invested in their stories.

There is nothing sentimental about Erdrich’s compassion. Her characters are often cruel, careless, or self-deceiving, yet they are never reduced to those traits. The novel’s emotional power comes from this refusal to simplify: love and damage coexist, intimacy breeds harm as often as it heals, and connection persists even when people fail one another.

A big discussion with reading or watching anything is the “willing suspension of disbelief”. The person engaging has to want to be immersed, but in reality it has hard to maintain this for such a long period of time such as it usually takes to read a book. I can honestly say Love Medicine did not break for a second. Every time I returned it felt like going straight back into the lives of these characters. They had just been put on pause whilst I went away, and were ready to continue the very moment I set eyes on the page once again. I do not know the last time I felt like that.

“Right and wrong were shades of meaning, not sides of a coin”

Louise Erdrich’s strength, as already touched upon, rests in her characters. The way she seamlessly introduces a variety of characters is nothing short of sensational. What makes this even more noteworthy is how each character has a rich history with one another that is built in from their very first interactions, and their complex family relations we discover gradually is masterfully constructed. This is about a group of characters who in some ways could not be more different from one another, but whose lives have been shaped by the key families around them in their Native American reservation from the 1930s to the 1980s. We witness characters grow from childhood to old age, we see others meet premature tragedy, and others simply fade out of the picture. This is the story of life and of living that Erdrich explores, and she does so with startling, devastating beauty.

5/5 Stars

Our February 2026 Book Club Pick is The Ascended by Grenwich & Lennox!

I am beyond excited to read this book since it's been on my TBR since it released last October. I keep hearing wonderful things about it (and after reading the first chapter, it did not disappoint!). If you'd like to join in on the fun and read this month's indie pick, we'd love to have you!

P.S. It's available on Kindle Unlimited, in case you need even more of a reason to join 😊 Weekly reading updates and discussion questions to come soon!

“I’m well aware that I’m … too much. You think you’re annoyed—imagine how I feel. I have to live with me and all my flaws every day.”

GENRE: Cozy YA Romantasy
RATING: 5/5 (would give it more if I could)
FORMAT: eBook Arc

Overall Impression: WHAT A BOOK!!!! Seriously, what a book ahhhh because guys this was a beautiful, whimsical Cozy YA Romantasy that discusses SO many important topics (Bipolar Rep and Mental health, Inequalities...etc.) while having so much whimsy! It is done so well and what I look for in Cozy Fantasy/Romantasy books

Review:
Guys, WHAT A BOOK OH MY GOD, like I repeat: WHAT A BOOK!

Okay, let’s get into it: I love Cozy Fantasy and Cozy Romantasy and this is literally what I look for in both (sub)genre. Until the Clock Strikes Midnight is a book that focuses on whimsical, lovely and magical moments filled with Glitter Magic while diving into topics like Inequalities, Mental Health (there’s a bipolar rep), negative spirals and so much more. The way the topics are handled is done with so much care and I teared up twice, which rarely ever happens with any form of media

This book is a beautiful journey that follows two POV (Darling and Calamity), who compete to change the destiny of our bookseller (Lucy). There are a few types of Endings in here: Happily Ever After, Ordinary Ever After and Unhappily Ever After and Celestials/Misfortunes (plus one Fairy, Darling) help guide Humans to achieve one of them essentially! This leads to a lot of discussion regarding whether humans deserve a chance at happiness and that not all of them start out on the same footing. I loved the way we get to explore this theme in the book, how it leads to so many important discussions between Darling and Calamity and how it connects back to the magical system in the book itself.

And the dynamic between Darling and Calam? AHHH, I loved their interactions! I think they are more of what we call “expected” to be enemies/rivals turned into lovers. I really enjoyed their interactions, how they both grow and learn about each other in different ways as well. Also, the fact that Darling’s name is, well, Darling just gives us so many cute opportunities throughout the book with cute nicknames AHH

And Darling being a rep for Bipolar? My god, this topic/theme/rep broke my heart and healed me in so many ways. Darling has always grown up feeling like she was too much, that she was too glittery, colourful...etc. and we get to see a few negative spirals and her doubting herself and her place in the world. As someone who heavily relates to this, the quote I picked in the beginning of the review just shows how heavily we live with the things people tell us and we watch how Darling has to slowly realise that she isn’t too much and that it’s okay to feel like she is sometimes because of what she has been told.

I cannot wait to read more of the author’s backlog and any future books! I’ll be yelling about this book everywhere possible essentially as it is now a top favourite/top cozy fantasy book in my list. Thank you to the Author, Publisher, Colored Pages Book Tour and Netgalley for the Arc copy!

WEEK OF 02/08/2026

Hi everyone! I hope you've had a nice and warm weekend. Welcome to the first newsletter of 2026. Again, thank you so much for your kindness and patience over the last month. I truly appreciate it.

ICYMI, I made a post sharing what you can expect here on Bindery for 2026. I've made some changes but for the most part, things will run similar to how they did last year. One of those changes is to my weekly newsletter. I've opened my newsletter to free and paid members. Paid members will get an extended version of the newsletter.

For more details, CLICK HERE to read the post.

Image description: A graphic with an illustration of a book, pen and paper, and a coffee mug in the center of a gray background. End of image description.

CURRENTLY READING 

As always, I'm reading a bunch of things.

• Ski-Crossed Lovers by Allison Temple (Ebook; I'm reading this for our Discord book club!)

• It's All in How You Fall by Sarah Henning (This is my physical read for TBR Tackle. TBH I'm not a huge fan of it, but I'm only 3% in.)

• The Healing Hippo Of Hinode Park by Michiko Aoyama (Audio via Libro.fm - I'm 56% in and started this back in January; planning to finish it up this week! )

• A Little Kissing Between Friends by Chencia C. Higgins narrated by J. Shani Michaels, Lauryn Nichols (Audio via Libby - I'm reading this for Trope Taste Test)

CURRENTLY FILMING 

• TBR Tackle Ep. 7 - Scavenger Hunt Picks My Reads

• Trope Taste Test: Friends to Lovers

ON THE CHANNEL THIS WEEK 

I'm not sure what my schedule will look like this month. Honestly, short videos have been so much easier for me to make at the moment; mental capacity wise. But I want to get back to long-form content.

This week, I'm planning to finally finish editing my end of the year content. So hopefully you'll get a video this week. I'm not 100% sure if I'm coming back to streaming this week or next. But I'll let you know by Monday! I will be streaming on Wednesdays at my usual time.

ON PATREON + BINDERY THIS WEEK 

For all paid members, I'll be sharing our monthly bookish poll this week!

Last week, for free + paid members, I shared my content plans & hopefuls for February, CLICK HERE to view the post.

Last week, I shared my content plans & hopefuls for February, CLICK HERE to view the post.

Image description: A graphic with an illustration of a book, pen and paper, and a coffee mug in the center of a gray background. End of image description.

WHAT I'M ENJOYING

I know they just started but it's probably no surprise that I'm throughly enjoying The Winter Olympics lol Joy has been really rough for me to find over the last month. But sports are always there to keep me company. Also these athletes are just SO good. I'm in awe!

WHAT I'M PLAYING

I've been playing a lot of Animal Crossing since the new update came out in January! I also treated myself to "Tiny Bookshop" for Christmas and that game has been really fun to play. For music, I've been listening to Louis Tomlinson's new album, "How Did We Get Here?" It's SOO good. I'm obsessed! I've also been listening to Olivia Dean and an old band that I enjoy, Transit.

WHAT I'M WATCHING

• Baking Championship: Next Gen - They revamped the Kids Baking Championship and it's under a new name now. I really like the changes because this show has siblings paired up and it's hilarious. These kids are super talented!

• Tournament of Champions - I got into this in January because I love Food Network and Guy Fieri. It's such a fun show! It's similar to Guy's Grocery Games because the contestants spin a wheel to determine what they make and have to use in their dish. In my opinion, it's a better show than Beat Bobby Flay.

• Abbott Elementary - No new episodes this month because of The Olympics but I've been enjoying this season so far!

• Modern Family - I've been finding comfort in watching shows I've already watched before. New to me shows can be hard for me to get into. Let me just say, this show has NOT aged well at all. The "jokes" are very ableist and racist. I've been watching it along with a TV & movie reaction YouTube channel called Reel Time.

NEW HOBBIES

I decided I want to pick up more hands-on hobbies and am going to start puzzling. And I bought a kit to learn how to crochet! I've been super frustrated so far because in my experience, it's super HARD. But I'm determined to learn and be good at it. I'm so pissed about how difficult it is that I want to master it out of spite now lol I'll keep you updated.

I want to hear from you!

Q: What are some of your 2026 goals? and/or what are you enjoying lately? Let's chat in the comments. Tell me some good news or anything you want to share that has brought you joy!

Hello All,

If you're in the Discord (and why wouldn't you be) you may already know that one of my perks for paid subscribers in 2026 is SNAIL MAIL. If you already had your address in your Bindery account, you likely received a holiday card from me sometime between Dec- Jan!

Moving forward, this will be opt in by quarter, meaning, I will send out a survey each quarter, and if you want to opt in for that quarter, you fill out your address.

This quarter, your mail WILL INCLUDE A WHAT FEEDS BELOW BOOKMARK. And they are so cute!

If you want to receive this mail, please fill out this form before March 1.

Here are 10 more horror books by women I can't wait to read this year.

You can find this year's previous list here, here, here and here.

1. Our Cut of Salt by Deena Helm (9/22) In this lyrical debut, three generations of Palestinian women must put the haunting of their ancestral home to rest, before the secrets of the past drown them all. Our Cut of Salt is a powerful and intimate look at what it means to make a home, to lose it, and to return, only to find it irrevocably changed.

2. The Haunted Houses She Calls Her Own by Gwendolyn Kiste (4/14) recriminations from bygone eras, where the regrets and malice of years past still reverberate and shape our doom. Here, morally complex women and queer antiheroines swim against the current of a social structure that serves as a spectral prison in these layered stories of the weird and the Other.

3. Odessa by Gabriella Sher (4/21) in a powerfully imagined Russia at the height of the pogroms, a grief-stricken family turn to ancient magic to bring their daughter back from the grave. 

4. We Call Them Witches by India Rose Bower (4/7) For fans of The Watchers and T. Kingfisher comes a queer, post-apocalyptic horror following one woman's journey across a merciless wasteland to save her brother and confront the dark truth behind the monsters that ravaged the world - with the help of a woman she's not sure she can trust but can't help falling for.

5. These Familiar Walls by CJ Dotson (4/14) In 1998, desperate loneliness pushes preteen Amber to ignore the misgivings of her family, particularly her younger sister, when she befriends the troubled new kid in the neighborhood―a boy with dead eyes, a fascination with fire, and no remorse. Their turbulent relationship is brief but creates lasting consequences.
   
   Twenty-two years later, in 2020, he resurfaces to kill Amber’s parents, and is in turn betrayed by his accomplice and killed in Amber's childhood home.
   
   After the deaths, Amber inherits the house and, in an effort to save money, moves in with her husband and two children, hoping to reclaim some sense of stability in the grief and chaos surrounding her. Instead, she finds that the familiar walls are haunted by more than just bitter memories and lockdown stress. She shifts in and out of dreamlike trances, her reflection won’t meet her gaze, and a menacing voice whispers to her from the gathering shadows. Although she tried to brush off the strange happenings as stress-fueled hallucinations, Amber is soon forced to admit that something much more real―and more dangerous―haunts her family. But Amber has deadly secrets of her own, and she must resolve these long-buried truths or lose the life she’s contrived for herself.

6. May the Dead Keep You by Jill Baguchinksy (4/21) A story about breaking cycles of abuse and overcoming generational trauma, May the Dead Keep You is an edge-of-your-seat read—equally horrifying, heart-wrenching, and hopeful.

7. The Cove by Claire Rose (5/5) Midsommar meets Fear Street in this modern, sea-soaked folk horror debut about fighting to survive, and fighting to be yourself.

8. Bone of my Bone by Johanna van Veen (5/26) The year is 1635.

   Sister Ursula, a young nun fleeing the ruins of her convent, and Elsebeth, a sharp-witted peasant, escape a band of marauding soldiers and disappear into the Bavarian forest. War scorches the land, and no one survives it alone. Amid the devastation, they find something in the arms of a dying man: the gilded skull of a saint.

   It is said that if you reunite the saint's skull with her body, a wish will be granted. Desperate for salvation, and each with secret desires of their own, Ursula and Elsebeth follow a ragged map across the blighted countryside. But darkness follows them. A necromancer, drawn to the relic's power. The saint herself, whispering at night. And as the lines between blessing and curse blur, the women must face a harrowing truth: the magic they seek comes at a cost.

   At the journey's end, they'll face an impossible choice―one that could tear apart everything they know… or bind them to each other forever.

9. Dead Weight by Holder Knutsdottir (5/26) horror/thriller Unnur was living a normal, if lonely, life until a black cat showed up at her door.
   
   When she tracks down the cat’s wayward owner, she finds a young woman just as lost and in need of help. Like a gust of cold air in a Reykjavík night, Ásta and her pet slip into Unnur’s life.
   
   It’s unexpected, but welcome. Unnur likes the company, and she begins to rely on Ásta in turn. But like a black cat, trouble has been tailing her new friend, and Unnur is the only one there for Ásta when things take a violent turn.
   
   The two women quickly learn: nothing tests a friendship like blood on your hands.

10. She Waits Where Shadows Gather by Michelle Tang (5/5) Avery and Carlos Tam have built their lives on logic, not legends. Carlos, the host of a hit reality show that exposes paranormal hoaxes, has made a name disproving the supernatural.

    But when they travel to his ancestral home in the Philippines, darkness clings to every corner. The mirrors are shrouded. The housekeeper won't stay in the house alone. And no one will speak of the tragedies the family has seen.

    Then a brutal car crash leaves Carlos trapped in his own body―silent, helpless, and utterly vulnerable. As Avery tends to him, the house begins to stir. It watches. It listens. And it speaks―in a voice only Carlos can hear―offering a twisted kind of comfort.

    And as the lies buried by Carlos and his family begin to surface, Avery must confront the truth: if the past won't rest, their future may never begin.

    Some inherit memories. Others inherit monsters.

Hey y'all,

Have you picked up your copy of Dust Settles North for the Children of Diaspora Book Club yet? There's still plenty of time to read it before our discussion on February 28th at 8 pm! Don't forget to join the Discord.

XoXo - Rae

Hi all! Our poll for this year's readalong came up as a tie (once the votes from Bindery and Patreon were combined) so we need to do a tie breaker round!

Hello ! This month we're reading a comic. It's called The Blue Road: A Fable of Migration text by Wayde Compton, illustrations by April dela Noche Milne. Here's a synopsis:

In this stunning graphic novel, Lacuna is a girl without a family, a past, or a proper home. She lives alone in a swamp made of ink, but with the help of Polaris, a will-o'-the-wisp, she embarks for the fabled Northern Kingdom, where she might find people like her. The only way to get there, though, is to travel the strange and dangerous Blue Road that stretches to the horizon like a mark upon a page. Along the way, Lacuna must overcome trials such as the twisted briars of the Thicket of Tickets and the intractable guard at the Rainbow Border. At the end of her treacherous journey, she reaches a city where memory and vision can be turned against you, in a world of dazzling beauty, divisive magic, and unlikely deliverance. Finally, Lacuna learns that leaving, arriving, returning -- they're all just different words for the same thing: starting all over again. 

You can read about the comic here in a feature with a Canadian newspaper: https://vancouversun.com/entertainment/books/the-blue-road-is-a-delightfully-subversive-young-persons-tale-of-migration

This comic may be difficult to get depending on where you are since it is published by a Canadian distributor, so here are my recommendations:

1. Purchasing: I have linked the book to this post, bookshop has an paperback version. Or buy directly from the publisher, they have an epub excerpt you can view before you purchase: https://arsenalpulp.com/Books/T/The-Blue-Road

2. Borrowing: I recommend putting in a request at your local library, purchasing a copy through bookshop (linked below in this post)

3. Lending: If you prefer an e-copy and you're having difficulty accessing it, I have added an epub version you can access in the discord.

If you do end up reading it by epub and can't financially support the cartoonists, I highly recommend and rating the comic on goodreads and storygraph, it helps the comic get on other people's radar.

You'll notice our first 2 reads of the year are aimed at young readers and are not particularly long. That's by design. I read a variety of genres and dense books all year long, but the ones that get less love because they're short are the ones I want to highlight and read together. I hope that interests you as well! There's a lot we can dive into and discuss together in a comic, if you never have before I recommend joining this month.

The poll is up in the discord now to vote on the next discussion date. Join the discord to vote!

Hello and welcome! A few people have found their way to this page before we've done our formal launch and even subscribed to the premium tier. Thank you so much, I'm so glad you're here.

I'm still trying to work out some kinks with the Discord integration before I do the formal launch announcement, but we are going to have a February Book Club read. Because it's a short month, and a delayed start, we're going to read the small but mighty Rules for a Knight, which is Ethan Hawke's shockingly good homage to the mirrors for princes or wisdom literature of old.

Hopefully the formal announcement will go out in the next day or so, but if you want to find a copy online or from your library, you'll have a head start! As a reminder, active book club participation is limited to the Greater Fool tier for now while I figure all of this out.