'It was unrealistic to think that I would be 100 percent to be medically cleared at any point'

The video has been digitally altered to include pro-Palestinian lyrics

'Long shameful history of opposing LGBTQ rights'

'They had rooms‚ which they hid in'

A North Florida deer hunter is sitting in his favorite location at Camp Blanding Wildlife Management Area when he notices an unknown greenish-gray blob moving through the trees."It was in late 1991. I was solo hunting midweek in the north section of Camp Blanding Wildlife Management Area‚ here in North Florida. It is better than 60‚000 acres separated by a large state road. The main function of the area is a National Guard base which was a POW camp during World War II for captured German prisoners.This part of the state is lightly populated by Florida standards. Like I said I was solo hunting midweek as I did often in my early 20s. It is a cold clear windy day here and the temperature is around 40 degrees F. The wind had been blowing hard all week‚ but I went out to my favorite spot like I always did. I found a blown-down large oak tree that had a large branch that formed a natural armchair-style seat about 15 feet off the ground. I'd been using it to watch over a natural boundary between a pine grove and an oak ridge. This boundary was essentially a large deer trail and an excellent ambush point.I climbed up the tree and nestled into my spot just after lunchtime intending to sit until dark. Once I climbed up I took my orange vest off and wrapped it around the tree above my head. I did this because it would catch on the limb and restrict any movement. Not long after sitting there‚ I realized the wind was swirling around me and success was not very likely deer-wise. I decided to stay put and proceed to nap on and off and relax.An hour or so later I was roused by loud shuffling and rustling in the oak leaves way up to my left. I perked up and listened intently as the noise grew louder and louder. I could see better than 100 yards through the scrub oaks and large pines in all directions‚ so I knew it was truly a loud sound. I spotted movement off to my left. I could just see something passing through the lighted gaps moving from my left to the right about at the limits of my vision. My custom .308 was lying on my leg and I lifted it to my eye to try to get a glimpse of whatever was causing all the racket. The wind was blowing and it was making enough noise for me to hear it crashing along above the constant rustle of the leaves.The noise stopped abruptly and I noticed something looking at me around an oak tree. I arranged myself to get a look at it through my scope and it appeared to be just a greenish-gray blob resembling Spanish moss. I continued to watch it and appeared to be moving from tree to tree playing a game of hide and seek with me‚ all the while moving across my horizon. When it got to about there for better than 5 minutes not move out my crosshair on it the whole time. I honestly thought of shooting. It never crossed my mind I had never felt fear in the woods until that second. No matter what was watching me it had to know that I was aiming at it.I tried and tried to rationalize what I was looking at. I was truly unnerved and decided to slide down the tree and get my butt back to my car. I was parked about a mile away and walked backward the whole way. I've shared this account with select friends over the years and never received any ridicule or doubt from them as I'm a no-BS kind of guy."Transcribed Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sq9I_0OfTD0Magickal Servitors: Create Your Own Spirits to Attract Pleasure‚ Power and ProsperityPractical Sigil Magic: Creating Personal Symbols for SuccessCreatures of Thought: The Creation of Living Thought-Forms And The Mastery of Your RealityThe Slenderman Mysteries: An Internet Urban Legend Comes to LifeReality Denied: Firsthand Experiences with Things that Can't Happen - But DidAnswers from Heaven: Incredible True Stories of Heavenly Encounters and the AfterlifeSlenderman: From Fiction to FactALIEN DISCLOSURE: EXPERIENCERS EXPOSE REALITY - AudiobookRegister a SNAP EBT CardTHE MEME HUMANOIDS: MODERN MYTHS OR REAL MONSTERS - AudiobookTry Audible PlusPHANTOMS &; MONSTERS READING LISTFeel Free to Post PHANTOMS &; MONSTERS DIRECT LINKS ON YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA &; WEBSITE. Thanks For Your Support!Have you had a sighting or encounter?Contact me by email or call the hotline at 410-241-5974Thanks. LonAccess Phantoms &; Monsters Posts on Twitter 'X'-----YOUR SUPPORT IS APPRECIATED! THANKS-----CRYPTID CANINES: PENNSYLVANIA &; MARYLAND CASEFILES - LIVE Chat - Q &; A - Lon Strickler (Host)I’m opening the Pennsylvania &; Maryland casefiles‚ beginning with these original reports &; accounts. I have investigated these cases‚ some of which were reported since Butch’s passing. I plan to periodically present some of our past cases along with newer inquiries‚ like what we have done with the Chicago winged humanoid phenomenon. So‚ just sit back and listen to these sightings &; encounters. If you have questions‚ feel free to post them in the live chat. I will do my best to answer each.-----ORDER THE AUDIOBOOK VERSIONORDER THE AUDIOBOOK VERSIONProject Threshold: Team Riker: Division A-----TODAY'S TOP LINKSMystery over bizarre creature dubbed the 'Salish Sea Monster' as experts left stumpedA Monumental Prehistoric Discovery In Siberia Rewrites Human History‚ Scientists SayCREEPY CHRISTMAS CHEER SHOW - Our Favorite Holiday Horrors! - LIVE - JOIN US! Lon Strickler (Host)LISTEN TO NARRATIONS OF PHANTOMS &; MONSTERS REPORTS &; CASES - PLEASE SUBSCRIBE‚ LIKE &; SHAREHow Christmas Murder Mysteries Became a U.K. Holiday TraditionNASA identifies 17 planets with possible subsurface oceans‚ and they could be fit for lifePHANTOMS &; MONSTERS READING LISTCONSIDER ADVERTISING ON PHANTOMS &; MONSTERS RADIOLET'S DISCUSS YOUR OPTIONSClick the link for our Media KitCHICAGO MOTHMAN / O'HARE BATMAN YouTube PlaylistPHANTOMS &; MONSTERS RADIO Podcasts on Spotify**********Your financial support of Phantoms &; Monsters and our other pursuits is much appreciated. Please click the banner above. Thanks.Have you had a sighting or encounter?Contact us by email or call the hotline at 410-241-5974Thanks. LonAlso available with audiobooknarration by Terry Springs‚CBS-TV Las Vegas affiliate.The Dark Arts of MISTER SAM SHEARON - Original Prints &; MerchandiseThis blog and newsletter are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Work 3.0 United States License.Registered trademark PHANTOMS AND MONSTERS ® / PHANTOMS &; MONSTERS ® - USPTO #90902480 - Lon D. Strickler© 2005-2023 Phantoms &; Monsters - All Rights Reserved

The following photograph was forwarded to me today. Apparently‚ it was originally posted on X (Twitter) and was captured at an undisclosed location north of Pittsburgh‚ Pennsylvania. The date of the photo is unknown‚ though the foilage suggests that it was in the Spring or Summer.It's a curious image of a quadrupedal creature that has characteristics like both a white-tailed deer and a canine (possibly a coyote). The forward-set eyes‚ like that of a predator‚ seem to suggest that it is a canid. But the body structure is more suited for a deer or similar mammal.What are your thoughts on this photo? LonMagickal Servitors: Create Your Own Spirits to Attract Pleasure‚ Power and ProsperityPractical Sigil Magic: Creating Personal Symbols for SuccessCreatures of Thought: The Creation of Living Thought-Forms And The Mastery of Your RealityThe Slenderman Mysteries: An Internet Urban Legend Comes to LifeReality Denied: Firsthand Experiences with Things that Can't Happen - But DidAnswers from Heaven: Incredible True Stories of Heavenly Encounters and the AfterlifeSlenderman: From Fiction to FactALIEN DISCLOSURE: EXPERIENCERS EXPOSE REALITY - AudiobookRegister a SNAP EBT CardTHE MEME HUMANOIDS: MODERN MYTHS OR REAL MONSTERS - AudiobookTry Audible PlusPHANTOMS &; MONSTERS READING LISTFeel Free to Post PHANTOMS &; MONSTERS DIRECT LINKS ON YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA &; WEBSITE. Thanks For Your Support!Have you had a sighting or encounter?Contact me by email or call the hotline at 410-241-5974Thanks. LonAccess Phantoms &; Monsters Posts on Twitter 'X'-----YOUR SUPPORT IS APPRECIATED! THANKS-----CRYPTID CANINES: PENNSYLVANIA &; MARYLAND CASEFILES - LIVE Chat - Q &; A - Lon Strickler (Host)I’m opening the Pennsylvania &; Maryland casefiles‚ beginning with these original reports &; accounts. I have investigated these cases‚ some of which were reported since Butch’s passing. I plan to periodically present some of our past cases along with newer inquiries‚ like what we have done with the Chicago winged humanoid phenomenon. So‚ just sit back and listen to these sightings &; encounters. If you have questions‚ feel free to post them in the live chat. I will do my best to answer each.-----ORDER THE AUDIOBOOK VERSIONORDER THE AUDIOBOOK VERSIONProject Threshold: Team Riker: Division A-----TODAY'S TOP LINKSMystery over bizarre creature dubbed the 'Salish Sea Monster' as experts left stumpedA Monumental Prehistoric Discovery In Siberia Rewrites Human History‚ Scientists SayCREEPY CHRISTMAS CHEER SHOW - Our Favorite Holiday Horrors! - LIVE - JOIN US! Lon Strickler (Host)LISTEN TO NARRATIONS OF PHANTOMS &; MONSTERS REPORTS &; CASES - PLEASE SUBSCRIBE‚ LIKE &; SHAREHow Christmas Murder Mysteries Became a U.K. Holiday TraditionNASA identifies 17 planets with possible subsurface oceans‚ and they could be fit for lifePHANTOMS &; MONSTERS READING LISTCONSIDER ADVERTISING ON PHANTOMS &; MONSTERS RADIOLET'S DISCUSS YOUR OPTIONSClick the link for our Media KitCHICAGO MOTHMAN / O'HARE BATMAN YouTube PlaylistPHANTOMS &; MONSTERS RADIO Podcasts on Spotify**********Your financial support of Phantoms &; Monsters and our other pursuits is much appreciated. Please click the banner above. Thanks.Have you had a sighting or encounter?Contact us by email or call the hotline at 410-241-5974Thanks. LonAlso available with audiobooknarration by Terry Springs‚CBS-TV Las Vegas affiliate.The Dark Arts of MISTER SAM SHEARON - Original Prints &; MerchandiseThis blog and newsletter are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Work 3.0 United States License.Registered trademark PHANTOMS AND MONSTERS ® / PHANTOMS &; MONSTERS ® - USPTO #90902480 - Lon D. Strickler© 2005-2023 Phantoms &; Monsters - All Rights Reserved

An abduction experiencer details his strange account‚ then explains that he started losing weight and was hospitalized. People have commented that they believe he is getting younger.I received the following account:"Hi. I'm from East Long Island‚ New York‚ and single. One night in the summer of 2016 I was lying in bed unable to sleep when a very bright white light entered the room. Then several humanoids appeared in my bedroom and stood by my bed. These beings were about 4-foot tall‚ wide in the torso‚ with large heads‚ large black eyes‚ no ears‚ or hair with dark bluish-grey skin. Their hands were very wide with thick fingers and nails. They wore white robes down to the floor.They asked me to come with them and I followed them down to the street. There I saw a group of women‚ maybe 2 dozen or so‚ slowly walking down the street. All appeared to be in a trance and were going in the direction of the beach. I also felt drawn to the water.When I got there‚ I observed 4 brightly lit disc-shaped objects hovering over the surface. A tall beautiful female with pale skin and wearing a long flowing black hooded robe appeared in front of me. I was called by this being and asked to conduct a 'test.' I soon found myself standing by the foot of my bed with the stocky beings attempting to stick me with a long needle. It was inserted into my upper chest and an opaque yellow liquid was extruded from me.I remember waking mid-morning the next day with a terrible headache. I have no idea why this occurred. I couldn't find any marks‚ but I did experience intense dizzy spells and had problems eating some days. I lost about 50 lbs during the next 4 month period and was hospitalized for one week while tests were being conducted on me. I did not relate my experience with anyone‚ not even the doctors. The results of the tests did not result in a diagnosis.Over the past 6 years‚ my body and appearance have drastically changed. Some people say that I am looking and acting much younger. There is no explanation." JNMagickal Servitors: Create Your Own Spirits to Attract Pleasure‚ Power and ProsperityPractical Sigil Magic: Creating Personal Symbols for SuccessCreatures of Thought: The Creation of Living Thought-Forms And The Mastery of Your RealityThe Slenderman Mysteries: An Internet Urban Legend Comes to LifeReality Denied: Firsthand Experiences with Things that Can't Happen - But DidAnswers from Heaven: Incredible True Stories of Heavenly Encounters and the AfterlifeSlenderman: From Fiction to FactALIEN DISCLOSURE: EXPERIENCERS EXPOSE REALITY - AudiobookRegister a SNAP EBT CardTHE MEME HUMANOIDS: MODERN MYTHS OR REAL MONSTERS - AudiobookTry Audible PlusPHANTOMS &; MONSTERS READING LISTFeel Free to Post PHANTOMS &; MONSTERS DIRECT LINKS ON YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA &; WEBSITE. Thanks For Your Support!Have you had a sighting or encounter?Contact me by email or call the hotline at 410-241-5974Thanks. LonAccess Phantoms &; Monsters Posts on Twitter 'X'-----YOUR SUPPORT IS APPRECIATED! THANKS-----CRYPTID CANINES: PENNSYLVANIA &; MARYLAND CASEFILES - LIVE Chat - Q &; A - Lon Strickler (Host)I’m opening the Pennsylvania &; Maryland casefiles‚ beginning with these original reports &; accounts. I have investigated these cases‚ some of which were reported since Butch’s passing. I plan to periodically present some of our past cases along with newer inquiries‚ like what we have done with the Chicago winged humanoid phenomenon. So‚ just sit back and listen to these sightings &; encounters. If you have questions‚ feel free to post them in the live chat. I will do my best to answer each.-----ORDER THE AUDIOBOOK VERSIONORDER THE AUDIOBOOK VERSIONProject Threshold: Team Riker: Division A-----TODAY'S TOP LINKSMystery over bizarre creature dubbed the 'Salish Sea Monster' as experts left stumpedA Monumental Prehistoric Discovery In Siberia Rewrites Human History‚ Scientists SayCREEPY CHRISTMAS CHEER SHOW - Our Favorite Holiday Horrors! - LIVE - JOIN US! Lon Strickler (Host)LISTEN TO NARRATIONS OF PHANTOMS &; MONSTERS REPORTS &; CASES - PLEASE SUBSCRIBE‚ LIKE &; SHAREHow Christmas Murder Mysteries Became a U.K. Holiday TraditionNASA identifies 17 planets with possible subsurface oceans‚ and they could be fit for lifePHANTOMS &; MONSTERS READING LISTCONSIDER ADVERTISING ON PHANTOMS &; MONSTERS RADIOLET'S DISCUSS YOUR OPTIONSClick the link for our Media KitCHICAGO MOTHMAN / O'HARE BATMAN YouTube PlaylistPHANTOMS &; MONSTERS RADIO Podcasts on Spotify**********Your financial support of Phantoms &; Monsters and our other pursuits is much appreciated. Please click the banner above. Thanks.Have you had a sighting or encounter?Contact us by email or call the hotline at 410-241-5974Thanks. LonAlso available with audiobooknarration by Terry Springs‚CBS-TV Las Vegas affiliate.The Dark Arts of MISTER SAM SHEARON - Original Prints &; MerchandiseThis blog and newsletter are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Work 3.0 United States License.Registered trademark PHANTOMS AND MONSTERS ® / PHANTOMS &; MONSTERS ® - USPTO #90902480 - Lon D. Strickler© 2005-2023 Phantoms &; Monsters - All Rights Reserved

An Oklahoma City commuter and his passengers observed a driverless van on US-44 while on they're way to work. While driving home‚ they again saw the same driverless van!I received the following account:"I was recently driving to work in the morning just before 8 AM in Oklahoma City‚ Oklahoma. I had 2 other co-workers with me. I had a feeling recently of being followed or something when I saw this. One of my passengers said‚ "Look‚ a van and no driver." I could see no one driving the van behind me. It was following us and when I looked through the rear-view mirror‚ there was no one on the driver's side.It was an inexpensive van‚ a Mercedes. It came up fast behind us several times‚ then sped off fast going south down the street after it passed us. When we looked over‚ no one was driving the van. Was it a ghost? There was no hint of an apparition. We thought someone was hiding while driving but it clearly wasn't.We were talking about it at work because we thought it was odd to see a ghost car. Clear windows and during a well-lit time of day.That afternoon‚ while driving home on the same highway‚ the same driverless van pulled up behind us? Once again it passed us and there was no one in the driver's seat! This occurred on I-44. I wonder if anyone else had the same experience?" HMagickal Servitors: Create Your Own Spirits to Attract Pleasure‚ Power and ProsperityPractical Sigil Magic: Creating Personal Symbols for SuccessCreatures of Thought: The Creation of Living Thought-Forms And The Mastery of Your RealityThe Slenderman Mysteries: An Internet Urban Legend Comes to LifeReality Denied: Firsthand Experiences with Things that Can't Happen - But DidAnswers from Heaven: Incredible True Stories of Heavenly Encounters and the AfterlifeSlenderman: From Fiction to FactALIEN DISCLOSURE: EXPERIENCERS EXPOSE REALITY - AudiobookRegister a SNAP EBT CardTHE MEME HUMANOIDS: MODERN MYTHS OR REAL MONSTERS - AudiobookTry Audible PlusPHANTOMS &; MONSTERS READING LISTFeel Free to Post PHANTOMS &; MONSTERS DIRECT LINKS ON YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA &; WEBSITE. Thanks For Your Support!Have you had a sighting or encounter?Contact me by email or call the hotline at 410-241-5974Thanks. LonAccess Phantoms &; Monsters Posts on Twitter 'X'-----YOUR SUPPORT IS APPRECIATED! THANKS-----CRYPTID CANINES: PENNSYLVANIA &; MARYLAND CASEFILES - LIVE Chat - Q &; A - Lon Strickler (Host)I’m opening the Pennsylvania &; Maryland casefiles‚ beginning with these original reports &; accounts. I have investigated these cases‚ some of which were reported since Butch’s passing. I plan to periodically present some of our past cases along with newer inquiries‚ like what we have done with the Chicago winged humanoid phenomenon. So‚ just sit back and listen to these sightings &; encounters. If you have questions‚ feel free to post them in the live chat. I will do my best to answer each.-----ORDER THE AUDIOBOOK VERSIONORDER THE AUDIOBOOK VERSIONProject Threshold: Team Riker: Division A-----TODAY'S TOP LINKSMystery over bizarre creature dubbed the 'Salish Sea Monster' as experts left stumpedA Monumental Prehistoric Discovery In Siberia Rewrites Human History‚ Scientists SayCREEPY CHRISTMAS CHEER SHOW - Our Favorite Holiday Horrors! - LIVE - JOIN US! Lon Strickler (Host)LISTEN TO NARRATIONS OF PHANTOMS &; MONSTERS REPORTS &; CASES - PLEASE SUBSCRIBE‚ LIKE &; SHAREHow Christmas Murder Mysteries Became a U.K. Holiday TraditionNASA identifies 17 planets with possible subsurface oceans‚ and they could be fit for lifePHANTOMS &; MONSTERS READING LISTCONSIDER ADVERTISING ON PHANTOMS &; MONSTERS RADIOLET'S DISCUSS YOUR OPTIONSClick the link for our Media KitCHICAGO MOTHMAN / O'HARE BATMAN YouTube PlaylistPHANTOMS &; MONSTERS RADIO Podcasts on Spotify**********Your financial support of Phantoms &; Monsters and our other pursuits is much appreciated. Please click the banner above. Thanks.Have you had a sighting or encounter?Contact us by email or call the hotline at 410-241-5974Thanks. LonAlso available with audiobooknarration by Terry Springs‚CBS-TV Las Vegas affiliate.The Dark Arts of MISTER SAM SHEARON - Original Prints &; MerchandiseThis blog and newsletter are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Work 3.0 United States License.Registered trademark PHANTOMS AND MONSTERS ® / PHANTOMS &; MONSTERS ® - USPTO #90902480 - Lon D. Strickler© 2005-2023 Phantoms &; Monsters - All Rights Reserved

Our Top 10 Carly Simon songs list looks at the material Carly Simon recorded during her most commercially successful periods during the 1970s and 80 that her fans loved the most. During that period‚ Carly Simon was one of the most popular singers in the music business. How do we know what Carly Simon songs her fans loved the most?  First‚ we are all big fans here at the site. Second‚ we review tons of emails and comments. And finally‚ the charts don’t lie. Carly Simon burst onto the music scene in 1971 with the release of her debut album The post 10 Most Loved Carly Simon Songs By Her Fans appeared first on ClassicRockHistory.com.

My first forays into cozy science fiction and fantasy left me thinking I wasn’t a fan of the genre. I was disappointed by this. I wanted an SFF addition to the romance novels and small town mysteries in which life is better than it should be and the ending feels familiar in its rightness. Like many readers‚ I sometimes need a book to shake my hand and promise that nobody I care about in its pages will die. Yet the cozy SFF I tried was either too self-serious or too slow for me. Then came Legends &; Lattes. It sounds like a goofy fanfiction challenge: Write about an orc who quits battling and opens a coffee shop. Yet thanks to Baldree’s tenderness for his characters and unabashed optimism (plus a neatly constructed magical device justifying his cast of kind and talented people)‚ I adored it. My one quibble was that Americanos taste so much worse than a simple shot of espresso‚ and that’s the first drink Viv serves her employee-business partner. Bookshops &; Bonedust is even more of a delight than its predecessor/sequel. Taking place two decades before Legends &; Lattes‚ Baldree’s second book is a meaty slice of Viv’s backstory‚ so fully realized that it can be read as a standalone. Certainly‚ there are references that will be more fun for a fan of Legends‚ namely the origin of the sword Blackblood and a contentious early relationship with the gnome Gallina‚ but someone who’d never heard of Travis Baldree would still enjoy this adventure. On her first big gig with Rackham’s Ravens‚ a respected mercenary crew‚ Viv goes too hard too fast and too alone‚ and gets stabbed in the leg. Before she passes out‚ Rackham himself tells her he’s sending her to the nearest safe haven to recover‚ promising to pick her up once his troop has finished their mission. This is how Viv finds herself trapped in the sleepy seaside town of Thune‚ with a bum leg and nothing to do. This does not suit her sense of self‚ which will be recognizable to anyone who has built an identity around a less-than-stable career. (Artists‚ hello!) So‚ Viv heads out to explore. She ends up befriending the local bookstore owner‚ rattkin Fern‚ who needs a hand with her moldering business‚ and learns to love reading in the process. The genius town baker‚ a dwarf named Maylee‚ takes a shine to Viv‚ resulting in their quiet summer romance. Viv disobeys her doctor regularly‚ establishes a grudging detente with the local Serpenti Gatewarden‚ and finds an unexpected friend in untethered fighter Gallina.There’s a poetry-reading and spouting construction worker‚ a reclusive author‚ and a necromancer that eludes Rackham’s Ravens and comes for Viv instead. Why does Varine the Pale take an interest in this injured orc? A book‚ of course! A book stolen from the necromancer winds up in Viv’s hands‚ accompanied by a mysterious skeletal servant. Without giving too much away‚ the ending is as neat and as satisfying as if the story were a ballad or a fairytale. Buy it Now Taken on its own terms‚ Bookshops &; Bonedust excels at what it sets out to be. It doesn’t surprise me that Baldree admits in an afterword that he didn’t intend to write this book as his second offering; the organic quality of the story transmits itself through the text. The balances that Baldree strikes seem a kind of intuitive magic. He tells his story with great seriousness from the perspective of his characters‚ honoring them as struggling people while maintaining a light touch. The mastery and danger of the necromancer is present‚ but never skews Epic like so many Dungeons &; Dragons-adjacent universes. The novel’s humor is tongue-in-cheek in places but never declares itself‚ offering readers the gift of laughing at characters who don’t know they’re being funny. Baldree even achieves a cutesy animal character that isn’t annoying: Fern’s pet gryphet Potroast. The creature is a combination of an angry owl and a short stocky dog‚ and gets up to all kinds of hijinks. If Potroast were a Disney sidekick‚ he’d probably have given me a toothache—but instead‚ he’s genuinely funny and expressive. As the title implies‚ Bookshops &; Bonedust is not only a light-hearted adventure but also an ode to independent bookstores and their staff. Fern represents every bookseller who brims with brilliant book recommendations and love for the written word. Baldree sets himself the authorial challenge of including snippets from many purportedly excellent imaginary novels‚ aiming to show how every book scratches a different itch. Though the stylistic similarity and general melodrama of these excerpts are the one weak point in this otherwise tight novel‚ their presence allows for a touching meditation on reading and how it changes us. The narrative explores how authors may not always understand everything they’ve created‚ and that doesn’t make the meanings readers find for themselves any less valid—the opposite‚ in fact. As Viv explains to Fern near the end‚ “Maybe that’s what the story says in the words that got put down‚ but if you could read past the end? The words that didn’t get written? Maybe it ends up being something else altogether.” Fern sums up Viv’s reflection with a phrase appropriate for a prequel: “the story past the story.” Although I stand by Bookshops &; Bonedust’s integrity on its own‚ I do think it benefits from reading the story past the one it holds. Read as a pair (in any order)‚ Baldree’s two novels gain depth‚ offering a more powerful character arc for Viv. It’s poignant to see a time when her mercenary life was her identity‚ and get to know the inner fighter that prompts her to refuse to pay the local extortionist in Legends &; Lattes. Seeing Viv’s early life elevates her later commitment to leaving violence behind‚ revealing it as the transformation of a lifetime. If Baldree’s breakout hit was the story of Viv finding her people‚ then Bookshops &; Bonedust is the story of Viv becoming her own person. Engrossing‚ meaningful‚ and fluffy all at once‚ it is a charming afternoon read—perhaps alongside a cup of coffee. Bookshops &; Bonedust is published by Tor Books. Read an excerpt. Maura Krause is a writer and Barrymore-nominated theatrical director‚ currently pursuing their MFA in Writing at California College for the Arts.