Welcome to Litsy!

I used to get this book out from the library, but this year it seemed like it had been lost or culled. So I bought myself a copy as a present. It‘s such a great book to dip in and out of on those weird days around Christmas and New Years. And I‘m happy to have my own copy that I can highlight and fall asleep with.

Soon it will be time to go back to spinach salads and walks at lunch, but for now I‘m still indulging in sweets and books.

After a few late nights everyone is conked out early, and I‘m enjoying this Christmas present to myself.

This was a good book of short stories. My favorite was Snow Mama. It also gives directions for 12 feasts.
#Adventathon @BookmarkTavern
#AtoZ @Texreader
#DashingDecember @Andrew65
#PromptMazes @TheAromaofBooks
#Rushathon @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES
#WinterCosy @PuddleJumper
#RestingGrinchFace @Julsmarshall

Rereading again this year. It‘s so delightful.

Next up along with I Am Half-Sick of Shadows.

1. As an 80s child, my favorites are A Smoky Mountain Christmas with Dolly Parton and Santa Claus the Movie (not the Tim Allen one)
2. All I want for Christmas is that we have to get a better idea of the future. Sounds about right 😂
3. I don‘t have a favorite, but I really enjoyed the tagged a few years ago. Runner up: The Stupidest Angel 😄
#wondrouswednesday

Exactly what it says: 12 short stories themed around Christmas with 12 holiday recipes. Standouts for me were:

3). Dark Christmas - ghost story set in a house which has been rented by a small group of friends for Christmas but only one of them turns up.

9). A Ghost Story - haunting based around Mallory & Irvine's ill-fated attempt to climb Everest.

& (continued)

The tagged book is my favorite seasonal book. I love all the stories (and I don‘t typically like short stories) and Winterson‘s reflections and recipes in between. There‘s a bit of magic, a bit of creepy (but not too much for this 🐓) a bit of heartwarming content. The audio is excellent if you want to go that route.

#MidWinterSolace #Naturalitsy #FridayNightShare

1) I enjoy mostly light hearted reads during this time of year.
2) Cozy mysteries, some classics, winter themed tales, a rom-com or 2
3) A Christmas Carol and the tagged book are my yearly tradition books

#Naturalitsy

#MidwinterSolace #SeasonalFavorites

@AllDebooks @TheBookHippie @Chrissyreadit @jenniferw88

#Naturalitsy #Midwintersolace

Every week, I will be posting a different Seasonal Favourite. It seems appropriate that the first one should be books. 🩵📚🩵
📖 What books do you enjoy this time of year?
📖 Do you have a preferred genre?
📖 Do you have a traditional read?
📖 What would you recommend?

@TheBookHippie @Chrissyreadit @jenniferw88

#Womensprizeforliterature #12daysofchristmas

Do you have more room on your tbr shelf?

The women's prize for literature collated a list of recommended reads over their social media channels. Here are the themes over 12 days of Christmas.

https://www.womensprizeforfiction.co.uk/features/features/recommendations/our-ch...

What would you recommend?

#wishesandblessings # feast

Loved it!!

So light a candle to the dead.
And light a candle to miracles, however unlikely, and pray that you recognize yours.
And light a candle to the living; the world of friendship and family that means so much.
And light a candle to the future; that it may happen and not be swallowed up by darkness.
And light a candle to love.
Lucky love.

Happy Jolabokaflod, Littens 🕯

Great start to #WinterGame2021 #TeamGameSleighers

This book was delightful… definitely going to become a regular December read!

315pts for week 1!

That time of year, my friends.

Re-enjoying a favorite from last year 🤗
By candlelight #festivephotochallenge

#wintergames2021 #teamgamesleighers @StayCurious

#TeamGameSleighers #WinterGames2021

Here‘s my TBR for December 😁 tagged book is my book club read… can‘t wait to get cracking!

Also #bookspin #doublespin #bookspinbingo

Home.

I could have known I am not the audience for this book. I never read seasonal and it‘s for a reason. I am not cozy and not religious and I don‘t believe in Santa.
I did like a few of the stories though, my favorite being The Mistletoe Bride (the one without the happy ending 😉).

However, by finishing this book I am able to tick off the first prompts for 2021s reading challenges!

#Booked2021 #BakedGoodsOnCover #Pop21 #GenreHybrid

1) I loved putting together all my swap boxes. And my daughter and I have taken #Jolabokaflod to another level searching the world over for the best chocolates to give each other.

2) This year I am thankful for the continued good health of my family. We couldn‘t all be together except through zoom but we are all safe and that‘s what matters.

Want to play @AmyG @MegaWhoppingCosmicBookwyrm @Caryl

Thank you for the lovely gift @j9brown ! ☺️ I liked the ghost stories best, and Snowmama made me want to rewatch The Snowman from 1982 and I remembered how obsessed with it I am.

3⭐️ Some thoughtful writings here, especially those preceeding the 12 recipes. As for the stories, I‘m not a fan of spooky ghost stories, and there are some here (they gave me Halloween vibes instead 👻). My favorite is “The Lion, The Unicorn and Me”, and I‘d love to think that I‘m the donkey 🥰

I read a story a day and although I am not really a seasonal reader or a cozy Christmas kind of person I mostly like them. So far this is my favorite - probably because it‘s not cozy at all 😉

Day 2 #12Booksof2020. I really loved listening to this book this Christmas Season. I enjoyed the stories, recipes and Winterson‘s personal reflections. I know I will reread this each Christmas going forward and I had not read any of her other books but will now.

Diving back into this book and enjoying some festive rice krispie treats that my friend dropped off! 😍🎄🎅⛄

On the first day of Christmas my true love read to me...
#12Booksof2020

I loved this collection of stories, essays, and recipes. This will be a yearly read for me from now on.

Enjoying a warm and snuggly Christmas Eve! 😽📚💕 #catsoflitsy #littenkitten #roxas

Chaplin helped me unwrap my Jolabokaflod packages this morning! He's my favorite little holiday elf! 😁📚💕🍫 #jolabokaflod #catsoflitsy #littenkitten #chaplin

HAPPY JOLABOKAFLOD, LITSY PEEPS! 🎉🎉🎉💕📚🍫 I was soooooo excited to open my packages this morning, from the lovely @Shadowfat !!! I've never seen such fancy chocolate! 😍 I can't wait to dig in! AND OMG I LOVE JEANETTE WINTERSON SO MUCH! She's my lesbian queen! 😁💖 I can't wait to curl up with this fantastic book and yummy goodies today! Thank you so much, Molly! #jolabokaflodswap

Spooky, sentimental, melancholy, which feels like the perfect blend this year. Still my favorite Christmas read the second time around.

So I am glad of that last Christmas with my dad-not because it rewrote the past but because it rewrote our ending.

I cry every time reading this.
This Christmas is looking very different, not bad, not alone, but different and like many others at a distance from family. That strikes me hard because there are already a number of Christmases I missed with my dad. I didn't plan on more...

1st, the edition is beautiful. 2nd, it is Winterson so the writing is splendid. 3rd, it‘s a wonderful blend of stories, memories related to the recipes, and the introduction highlights the origin of Christmas and its traditions. About half the stories are ghost or Poe-like. A third are Fairy-tale romance, and the rest are magically uplifting. I loved the recipe-stories as much as the fiction, but the recipes seem a little too slap-dash to attempt.

Rereading this collection of Christmas stories and essays this year. I got this copy from a library book sale, but apparently someone had bought copies to share with their friends for a previous Christmas. I agree with that reader‘s book recommendations, too. 📚🎄📚

After reading 4 more short stories and watching 10 movies/TV episodes I have 8 new bingos.
#MerryReaders #WinterGames @Clwojick

...to the point in the night where you turn deeper into the bed, to the point in the night where there's snow in your sleep and your sleep is as deep as snow.

Yaaaaaaay my #canuckchristmasswap package arrived! So excited and happy 🤓🎄💌 thank you for the thoughtfulness @FantasyChick @StillLookingForCarmenSanDiego #poutinepenals 🇨🇦🎄

December 24 can‘t come soon enough!

This book is right up my alley (and perfect for the season) mystery & magic with brilliant story telling. Treat yourself to over the holidays! 🎄📚❤️

Thank you for posting your reviews @AnneCecilie @monalyisha looking forward to this year‘s #newyearwhodis 😺

I love this book. I read it last year and will read it next year too. This is a collection of 12 stories and 12 feasts.

My favorites in the book is when Winterson gives us information about the history of Christmas. This is the introduction and throughout the feasts and I absolutely love the one about Shakespeare and Company.

My favorite stories are The SnowMama and Christmas Cracker

In this part Winterson shares her own Christmas traditions and her first Christmas back home after she left for university.

Winterson talks about the end of the holiday season and different traditions in different countries, and how this is the time for new beginnings. She also reference Shakespeare‘s play Twelfth Night. And we get the recipe.

#WinterGames #TeamReadNosedReindeer. Recent reads, both were audio and great. I enjoyed Winterson‘s stories each with a recipe and some personal reflections and this version of A Christmas Carol has become a holiday tradition. And finally got to watch Charlie Brown this evening. 376 pts

Christmas Eve and a man is thinking about his lover that has died and their time together.

In this part, Winterson continues to tell us about the reflections she makes over the New Year. Then she gives us some fun facts and her recipe.

“Until 1752 Britain and her colonies (sorry about this, America) had two New Years s year because the legal new year began on March 25th, Lady Day, so-called because if you‘re going to have Jesus born on December 25th Mary has to be bang on time and conceive on March 25th - a date conveniently close to

This is the story about how the donkey became to be the animal to carry Maria when she and Joseph travelled to Bethlehem. Then we get the birth from the donkey‘s viewpoint.

Fun fact from this part:
“The Romans named January after Janus, god of doorways, deity of time and transitions. He has two faces because he looks backwards and forwards.”

Winterson also spend a lot of time writing about how she uses New Year Eve to reflect.
“I don‘t make New Year resolutions - instead I have a psychic clear-out. What would I prefer not to repeat?”

We also get the recipe.

I had to have this one after seeing great reviews by @AnneCecilie and @Liz_M And guess what? If I take my time to read it I can even use it for the (until now seeming impossible) #BakedGoodsOnCover prompt for #Booked2021 🙃😉

An orphanage is getting ready for Christmas and this orphanage is very Dickensian. One of girls breaks one of the baubles and inside she finds a silver frog. This frog is going to change everything.

I forgot about the photo challenge. Here's yesterday. The picture came out kind of dark, but I would call it navy blue.
@Clwojick Does it still count if I'm a day late?
#MerryReaders