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Jordan E McNeil 🐐

@mcjordie

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✏️📚🎮 Level 8 #T1D cyborg. Cat Mom to Saga & Murphy (@mckitties.clowder). Amateur PSN 🏆 hunter. Partly a #bookstagram in NE Ohio [she/her] 🏳️‍🌈

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A simple #ShelfieSunday post

Don't stop protesting. Don't stop boycotting. Keep sharing information & aid campaigns. Keep speaking up. Don't stop fighting for each other. Don't stop protecting each other. Keep talking about Palestine, about Sudan, about Congo, about ICE. Don't stop demanding better.

#ReadersForMinnesota: Stand With Minnesota has collected mutual aid requests & donation links to the Immigration Law Center of Minnesota & Immigrant Rapid Response Fund at www.standwithminnesota.com. Link is also in my bi0. (Thanks to @tomesandtextiles for the flyer on the 2nd slide.)

Donate. Share. Spread the word.

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[ID: 1st photo is of public library bookshelves with 3hr following text edited on top: "Yes, this is a #bookstagram account, but you can't read books if you're killed. READING IS POLITICAL. Abolish ICE. Free Palestine. Free Sudan. Free Congo. Trans Rights are Human Rights."

2nd photo is a digital flyer/info graphic #ReadersForMinnesota: an emergency mutual aid request for Minnesota.] by @mcjordie

October Reading List 💫

Time is so quickly escaping me, what do you mean it's November already??

I had intended to participate in #OwnedOctober this year...but that didn't happen lol Honestly, physical reading in general was really low last month as I just had no energy/motivation/idk to pick up a book outside of my audiobooks during work shifts.

Maybe November will be different, but it's also SADs season so not going to feel too bad about it if it isn't. (Easier said than done 😬)

Let me know what your favorite read of October was! I think for me it's a tie between Ungrateful Immigrant Daughter & A Snake Among Swans.

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October Wrap-Up:
▪︎ When Adoption Promises Are Broken by Nicole Chung (essay/article)
▪︎ Ungrateful Immigrant Daughter by Katya Suvorova (memoir)
▪︎ Alternate History; Exile by Letter by Saba Keramati (poems)
▪︎ Small Scale Sinners by Mahreen Sohail (fiction)
▪︎ A Snake Among Swans by Hannah Kaner (novel)
▪︎ The Sleeping Sisters by Jennifer Givhan (novel)
▪︎ My Fourth Time, We Drowned by Sally Hayden (nonfiction)
▪︎ Ars Poeticas by Juliana Sphar (poetry)
▪︎ How Settlers Get Away With Murder by Liza Black (nonfiction)
▪︎ I Have a Message by Caitlin Conlon (poem)
▪︎ You're No Better by Andrew Joseph White (novel)

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[ID: 1st photo is of a pink journal with crescent moons laying on a black metal nightstand, with a glass mug of coffee next to it. Text reading "October Wrap-Up" has been edited onto the photo.

2nd photo is a screenshot of my StoryGraph reading moods for October. The bar chart has 10 data bars, with the following moods listed underneath, from largest to smallest: dark, emotional, tense, sad, reflective, informative, mysterious, inspiring, challenging, adventurous.] by @mcjordie

Audiobook Roundup 🎧

▪︎ A Snake Among Swans by Hannah Kaner: I loved The Fallen Gods trilogy, so when I heard Hannah was coming out with a new series, inspired by The Wild Swans, I was sat. This appears to be more politicking/maneuvering than her previous series, which isn't usually what I gravitate towards, but I enjoyed my time & am going to sit here impatiently for whenever the next book comes out lol

▪︎ My Fourth Time, We Drowned by Sally Hayden: Sally Hayden is a journalist who was in personal contact with many North African refugees admist the migration crisis around 2018. This is a book of both the personal & the reporting, & allows those affected share their own stories. Listening to this, I found so many parallels with ICE & Gaza. An important & timely read.

#Buzzwordathon: ordinal numbers

▪︎ How Settlers Get Away With Murder by Liza Black: Like the subtitle says, this is a book about the killing of Indigenous women & Two-Spirit people in the Americas. An important addition to the true crime genre, including a good critique in the introduction on the idea that "true crime genre" exists at all. Highly recommend, especially for anyone who has consumed such content.

*ALC thanks to @LibroFM

▪︎ You're No Better by Andrew Joseph White: After reading a couple books from the parent's perspective thinking their child is capable of terrible things, I ended up picking up one from the child's perspective thinking they're destined to do terrible things. This was my first AJW book, & I can see why his work is seen so much on bookstagram. Another YA I think would pair well with this is HAVE YOU SEEN THIS GIRL by Nita Tyndall (both share themes, but do differ in tone).

[CN: murder/violence; SA; self-harm; transphobia]

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[ID: 1st photo is of yellow metal library bookshelves, with the repeated text of "Audiobook Roundup" edited on top.

2nd photo is of the same yellow bookshelves, with the title text "Audiobook Roundup" at the top, with the audiobook covers of the six books listed in the caption underneath the text.] by @mcjordie

I read SALT BONES by Jennifer Givhan last year & really enjoyed it. So as soon as her next book was announced, I immediately added it to my TBR.

"Inspired by true events and shot through with a Chicana-Indigenous reimagining of the legend of the headless woman, THE SLEEPING SISTERS is a fevered, feral hymn to motherhood and the monstrous bargains we make to protect those we love." (Publisher blurb)

THE SLEEPING SISTERS is a literary horror with unreliable & occasionally unlikable narrators (the detective character a couple times made me mad with her opinions, but I wanna say I believe that's completely on purpose). There was a point where this aspect of the story annoyed me, about halfway through or so, but the final third really made up for it. The ending was very good for me.

I was reminded of WHAT BOYS LEARN by Andromeda Romano-Lax a bit (which I've previously reviewed), particularly the relationship between Fortuna & her son, but THE SLEEPING SISTERS accomplished those similar themes/characters *much* better imo.

I'm definitely going to keep pick up Jennifer Givhan's work in the future. (Just learned she also has poetry collections, so those are for sure next on my list.)

If you're interested in mild body horror, fables & legends, tense deadly mystery, & unreliable narrators, you should definitely pick this one up. (Also pick up SALT BONES if you haven't already. Not the same kind of book, but still a good one.)

#DecolonizeYourShelf2026: 2026 pub

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[ID: Two photos of a white hand holding The Sleeping Sisters by Jennifer Givhan above the public library's flowerbed.] by @mcjordie

#MinimalistMonday 🌫

"During the time of an increasingly powerful alt-right which was also the time when species extinction was ever increasing, Juliana Spahr sat down to read Brecht. She was looking for an answer to Brecht's question about the dark times, about whether there will also be singing during the dark times. The answer that Brecht provides is that yes, that poets will sing of the dark times. In the six ars poeticas that Spahr writes, she sings of the dark times but also of coral, the pop song's possible liberation, and the love of comrades. She writes not only of the rich history of what politics and poetry have done with each other, but what they might yet do together." (Publisher blurb)

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Don't stop protesting. Don't stop boycotting. Keep sharing information & aid campaigns. (🔗 in bi0) Keep speaking up. Don't stop fighting for each other. Don't stop protecting each other. Keep talking about Palestine, about Sudan, about Congo, about Lebanon, about ICE, about Iran, about Puerto Rico. Don't stop demanding better.

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[ID: 1st photo is of Ars Poeticas by Juliana Sphar laying open to page 32, on a blue-green multi-patterned comforter.

2nd photo is a flatlay of Ars Poeticas by Juliana Sphar on the same blue-green multi-patterned comforter.] by @mcjordie

Just a quick #Caturday reading update. What have you been reading this week?

Books featured:
▪︎ The Sleeping Sisters by Jennifer Givhan (fiction / audiobook)
▪︎ My Fourth Time We Drowned by Sally Hayden (nonfiction / audiobook)
▪︎ Ars Poeticas by Juliana Sphar (poetry / physical read)

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Don't stop protesting. Don't stop boycotting. Keep sharing information & aid campaigns. (🔗 in bi0) Keep speaking up. Don't stop fighting for each other. Don't stop protecting each other. Keep talking about Palestine, about Sudan, about Congo, about Lebanon, about ICE, about Iran, about Puerto Rico. Don't stop demanding better.

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[ID: 1st photo is of Saga, a black and white cat with an orange collar, sitting on a gray wooden desk, looking left toward an empty off-white wall. Text reading "What I Read This Week" has been edited on the top of the photo.

2nd photo is the same base photo of Saga on the desk. The covers for three books, listed in the caption, are on the wall to the left so it looks like Saga is looking at them.] by @mcjordie

#TwoForTuesday: Short Stories

I'm always down to try out a short story collection, & these are two recent ones that I enjoyed.

SMALL SCALE SINNERS by Mahreen Sohail is a collection of stories that explore the idea of what it means to be good. While as a whole, these stories lean more literary in function, there are a variety of formats, structures, & voices. One of my favorites was the plural first person POV of a group of sixth graders. (Gave me a bit of BUNNY by Mona Awad vibes.)

THE GRIEF SHOP is a collection of connected stories by Alex DiFrancesco, exploring a world that after a catastrophe has become numb to any emotion. As I've mentioned before, I've enjoyed Alex's work since we were in grad school together, & this book is no different. I really love the idea of connected stories like this & thought it was well done.

The emotional heart of this collection I believe can be summed up by this last bit of their acknowledgements: "To everyone who has gone numb to deal with the ongoing tragedy of the world around us—this book is really for you. If only we can make it to higher ground."

Would love recommendations for more short story collections, if you have any you think I should pick up next!

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[ID: Photo of a flatlay of two books—The Grief Shop by Alex DiFrancesco; and Small Scale Sinners by Mahreen Sohail—laying on a black metal nightstand up against a bed covered by a pink and gray paisley-print blanket.] by @mcjordie

Happy ONE YEAR to Murphy the Menace joining the @mckitties.clowder 💙

My sweet soft boy who loves cuddles & bothering his older sister, how has it already been a whole year since I brought you home?! (Time is both quickly passing by & an illusion lol)

Even though 99% of my photos are of him sleeping, it was still hard to narrow it down to only 20 to share. He's just such a cutie 🥰

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[ID: 20 photos of Murphy, a gray polydactyl cat with greenish-yellow eyes and a blue collar.] by @mcjordie

Audiobook Roundup: Memoir Edition

Still chipping away at my nonfiction percentage. So here's some recent memoirs I've read:

▪︎ Conversion Therapy Dropout by Timothy Schraeder Rodriguez: This is a story for queer Christians who are dealing with rejection from the church, as well as for Christians who claim to be allies but refuse to do real interrogation of what that means.

[CN: homophobia; religious trauma]

▪︎ Mother Tongue by Sara Nović: In this memoir, Sara Nović discusses her own experience losing her hearing & joining the Deaf community, & how that influenced her experience when adopting her deaf son.

▪︎ Huna by Abdelrahman ElGendy: Another political prisoner memoir (this time from Egypt) that I feel is a good pairing with Mahmoud Khalil's No Land to Stand On.

▪︎ Ungrateful Immigrant Daughter by Katya Suvorova: A devastating read; I wanted to fight every terrible adult in Katya's childhood. A different view of the immigration story than the general public usually thinks of.

[CN: DV; alcoholism; CSA]

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[ID: Photo of some library shelves full of books. Edited onto the photo are the covers of four audiobooks, listed in the caption, with the text "Audiobook Roundup" curved above and the text "Memoir" curved below.] by @mcjordie

#PeacetoberBookStackChallenge 🕊

Peacetober is a daily artivism challenge hosted by @coffeesforgaza in October to raise awareness & funds for their mutual aid efforts supporting 🇵🇸 families.

@thereadingquest is also hosting a #BookStackForACause to support Iyas' family after he was martyred last May. For every bookstack based on the Peacetober prompts (2nd slide) with the hashtag #PeacetoberBookStackChallenge & tagging Mia, $2 will be donated. Be sure to check Mia's original post for more details.

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Don't stop protesting. Don't stop boycotting. Keep sharing information & aid campaigns. Keep speaking up. Don't stop fighting for each other. Don't stop protecting each other. Keep talking about Palestine, about Sudan, about Congo, about Lebanon, about ICE, about Iran, about Puerto Rico. Don't stop demanding better.

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[ID: 1st photo is of a stack of books with the theme of birds, water, or flowers in the titles.

2nd photo is a graphic from @coffeesforgaza with the 31 daily art prompts for Peacetober.] by @mcjordie

September Reading List 💫

Spent September mainly working on my fiction/nonfiction ratio & only got it to move 1% closer to 50/50 😅

Also realized that I *am* in fact succeeding in my overall goal to read less this year as at this point last year I already was past 100 books read, & I'm currently at 79. So that feels good.

Other highlights of the month include visiting new kittens at the farm, & a co-worker bringing her dog in for a visit 🥰

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September Wrap-Up:
▪︎ Evicted by Matthew Desmond (nonfiction)
▪︎ My Broken Language by Quiara Alegría Hudes (memoir)
▪︎ Our Cut of Salt by Deena Helm (novel)
▪︎ Conversion Therapy Dropout by Timothy Schraeder Rodriguez (memoir)
▪︎ The Eternal Cocktail Party of the Damned by Fonda Lee (short story)
▪︎ Mother Tongue by Sara Nović (memoir)
▪︎ No Land to Stand On by Mahmoud Khalil (memoir)
▪︎ The Grief Shop by Alex DiFrancesco (fiction)
▪︎ They Say a Girl Died Here by Sarah Pinborough (novel)
▪︎ Huna by Abdelrahman ElGendy (memoir)

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[ID: 1st photo is of a pink journal with crescent moons laying on a black metal nightstand, with a glass mug of coffee next to it. Text reading "September Wrap-Up" has been edited onto the photo.

2nd photo is a screenshot of my StoryGraph reading moods for September. The bar chart has 9 data bars, with the following moods listed underneath, from largest to smallest: emotional, reflective, informative, tense, sad, hopeful, dark, mysterious, challenging.

3rd photo is of three kittens (two gray and white, one black and white) playing with each other on a barn floor.

4th photo is of me petting a golden-brown Cavapoo dog sitting next to my feet.] by @mcjordie

NO LAND TO STAND ON by Mahmoud Khalil is a short but impactful & important read. It details his experience being taken by ICE in retaliation for speaking for Palestine at Columbia University, while also sharing his family's history of displacement & the stories of the men he met while in ICE custody. Obviously a timely read.

I think the most impactful moment for me with the audiobook are the two chapters regarding missing his son's birth, which he has a friend narrate as he is unable to. But even his friend's narration is so full of emotion for these moments that it hurt. I'd definitely recommend the audiobook if you're looking to pick this up.

NO LAND TO STAND ON is out tomorrow, September 29, 2026! ALC thanks to @librofm.

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[ID: Photo of a black eReader laying on a dark blue kufiya. The cover for No Land to Stand by Mahmoud Khalil has been edited onto the screen.] by @mcjordie