e-b-reads

[e-b-reads]

seed packets!! 🌱🌱🌱 | prints

[e-b-reads]

Koff

A koff is a historical type of sailing vessel that was used for coastal shipping off Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany in the 18th and 19th centuries. A typical koff had one and a half masts with a gaff rigged main sail and spanker and one or two square sails in the main top. The hull was plump with a flat bottom and a heavily rounded, raised bow and stern. Smaller koffs could be equipped with leeboards. Due to the shallow draught, koffs were especially suited for inshore shipping in shallow waters.

Delft tile mural of a Koff, 1800, Netherlands

The koff had been developed in the late 17th century in the Netherlands. Smaller than the fluyt, its rounded bow and stern provided however for more storage on board. This made it a popular type that saw increasing service.

Koffs were often counted among the galiots by contemporary sources because the differences are very subtle: the galiot was considered more slender and therefore more elegant. On the koff, a deckhouse could be installed between the two masts which would provide shelter for up to twelve crew men. The typical dimensions have been reported as "80 feet (25m) long, 21 feet (6,5m) wide and 11 feet (3,5m) deep". Later versions could have a schooner or galeas rig.

[e-b-reads]

Naomi Novik is definitely a good example of this from what I've read! Similarly, I think Robin McKinley can be good at it (in Chalice, for e.g.).

The rest of these I have not heard much about except maybe seeing the names, so neat to know they fit the bill! I will investigate!

What are your all's favorite (canon) romantic relationships in books/book series that aren't primarily romance? As in, the main plot would be filed under mystery/fantasy/etc., but there is a compelling romantic subplot. Looking for recs but also I have just been thinking about what elements makes these romances good and interesting vs. just there for the bit.

Interested in queer couples but also maybe a little more curious about straight couples b/c in my (non-exhaustive) experience it seems maybe a little more likely for writers of straight-romance-subplots to sort of phone it in by going "and here's an attractive character of the opposite gender...oh look they got together. the end."

[e-b-reads]

What are your all's favorite (canon) romantic relationships in books/book series that aren't primarily romance? As in, the main plot would be filed under mystery/fantasy/etc., but there is a compelling romantic subplot. Looking for recs but also I have just been thinking about what elements makes these romances good and interesting vs. just there for the bit.

Interested in queer couples but also maybe a little more curious about straight couples b/c in my (non-exhaustive) experience it seems maybe a little more likely for writers of straight-romance-subplots to sort of phone it in by going "and here's an attractive character of the opposite gender...oh look they got together. the end."

[e-b-reads]

Mid Year Book Freakout 2025

Tagged by @logarithmicpanda and @linebetween , thanks!

Number of books you’ve read so far: 49, which is pretty good! 6 of those were audiobooks.

Best book you’ve read so far in 2025: I’ve read a lot of good books this year. Let’s go with Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson

Best sequel you’ve read so far in 2025: let’s say. Bee Sting Cake by Victoria Goddard. I love riddles and curses and dragons. And bees.

New release you haven’t read yet but want to: Faithbreaker by Hannah Kaner! It’s on my shelf, waiting for me to get my act together.

Most anticipated release for the second half of the year: Is All Hail Chaos coming out this year? Google says 2026 :( the only other book I have on my TBR that’s coming out this year is Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle but since I haven’t read any Tinglers I’m not sure I’m really anticipating it so much as interested.

Biggest surprise favorite new author (debut or new to you): new authors I read this year who I have enjoyed: Sarah Woodbury, Margaret Rogerson, & Jacquelyn Benson. None of these were particularly surprising bc they were all recommended to me by ppl whose reading tastes align with my own lmao

Newest fictional crush favorite character: Perry Dart. I just think he’s neat.

Book that made you cry: The Greenwing and Dart series but definitely Blackcurrant Fool specifically, which is wild b/c it took me a whole month to read it.

Most beautiful book you’ve bought so far this year (or received): I picked up The God of Endings and the cover art is soooo good.

Book that made you happy: this was a re-read but I read Every Heart a Doorway again and just. I’m so happy the next Wayward Children book is going to be about Nancy. Love that girl.

What books do you need to read by the end of the year: I would really love to finally read To Shape a Dragon’s Breath.

<3

[e-b-reads]

Louise Glück // "Midsummer"

[e-b-reads]

The littlest things we know to be small = debut literary fiction

The dark wife: thriller, adapted into a Hulu original

The mailman’s niece = historical fiction

The mailman of Warsaw = also historical fiction but about war

The gate of wind = fantasy

The gate of wind and bones = young adult fantasy

A gathering of pelicans = mystery, part of a long running series that takes up a whole shelf at the library

The Group Project Partner Gambit = romance with a cartoon cover

Wendy Jenkins is Scared of Commitment = romance with a cartoon cover of gay people

[e-b-reads]

I had to explain the game Sardines to a couple of coworkers so now I'm wondering

WikiHow article explaining sardines

[e-b-reads]

SF Bookstore The Booksmith Commits to Stop Stocking JK Rowling's Books

trans book lovers + accomplices! go support The Booksmith, an indie bookstore in san francisco, that recently decided to stop stocking jk rowling's books in solidarity with trans people. their statement (beneath which, at the link, is a list of alternative wizard books) is as follows:

In May of 2025, author JK Rowling publicly committed to using her private wealth from the Harry Potter series to develop the "JK Rowling Women's Fund," an organization dedicated to removing transgender rights "in the workplace, in public life, and in protected female spaces." With this announcement, we've decided to stop carrying her books. We don't know exactly what her her "women's fund" will entail, but we know that we aren't going to be a part of it. As a group of queer booksellers, we also had our adolescence shaped by wizards and elves. Look at us, it's obvious. If you or someone you love wants to dive into the world of Harry Potter, we suggest doing so by buying used copies of these books. Or, even better, please find below a list of bookseller-curated suggestions for books we genuinely love that also might fit the HP brief for you and yours. Many are series; some are standalone. Books for the younger folks are listed first, switching to teen/YA about halfway through (the book Wise Child is the first in the YA section). Questions? Concerns? orders at booksmith dot com. Happy reading, solidarity forever.

visit + order from them if you can, share either way!

[e-b-reads]

"King of the Creek" - by Me

This one is the concept illustration for the mural I made in my hometown <3 I Finally have prints available of this beauty in my shop if you are interested: https://www.etsy.com/shop/SpookyMooseStudio

Also, here is what the mural ended up looking like:

[e-b-reads]

the shirt i just made out of pillowcases and bits of quilting cotton is the coolest thing on this earth perhaps

[e-b-reads]

Do you have a hot take about romance novels/the romance genre

I wish more male leads in het romances were under six feet tall and didn't have abs and were maybe even fat sometimes where the fuck is the wish fulfillment for bitches who like regular men

[e-b-reads]

Haul from my (first) trip to the library book sale this week! I confess I *do* already own a copy of Lord Peter, but I couldn't resist this sturdier looking trade paperback.

[e-b-reads]

and you're telling me the popular ship in the fandom is gideon/harrow and not gideon/dulcinea. that's what i'm given to understand. no one else is melting at gideon saying very genuinely "i don't want you to die". no one else is really really smitten with dulcinea and practically swoons when she talks

[e-b-reads]

Letter of Marque, by Geoff Hunt (b.1948)

[e-b-reads]

This particularly sad monthly earnings email from Threadless reminded me that alongside my Etsy prints and custom work I should occasionally mention that I sell T-shirts of my bookish designs 📚

Go to the shop if you’d like one via my links!