Welcome to Litsy!

12-2-22: My 120th finished book of 2022! Johanna Morrigan has decided she needs to be someone else. She is over being herself. Out comes Dolly Wilde, a black wearing, eye liner painting, top hat donning music critic for a publication called D&ME out of London. And all at 17. Coming from a poor family, her goal‘s to help them out while being a Lady Sex Adventurer. There is a lot of sex talk some of it off putting since she is a teen. Overall ok.

11-5-22: The main library in downtown Orlando was having a book sale today! Here is my haul-yippee!!🎊🙌🏼📖

Found a #pantone2022 match for my latest kindle read!

This was not for me. It‘s well written but I just didn‘t care enough about the MC, Johanna, and I never really got invested in her story. I did enjoy the 90s setting and music references, though! I would‘ve bailed but I was using this for #pop22 for a book with a misleading title, as this is indeed not a how-to manual about building a human female from scratch. 😂

#bookspinbingo

So true 😆

Today‘s two prompts are somewhat similar, so forgive any overlap on my part. In ‘How to Build a Girl‘ follows Johanna as she quite literally reinvents herself. She develops a new identity to pursue her dreams and soon begins not to recognize herself or the good she once saw in the new her. #tarottakeover

Finally got around to finishing this one. Caitlin created one of my favorite characters I‘ve ever had the pleasure of going on a journey with. I absolutely adore Johanna/Dolly, she is an absolute treasure. The only fault I have is that it was a pretty slow start.

#review #booked2020 #bookworm #readinggoals #readingresolutions

Yesterday was my friend/coworkers birthday so Saturday night I decorated the office so she would see it Sunday when she started her shift. I came in for my shift and found this note 🔆 brightened my day! Hope everyone else is having a good Monday 🌞🌻

#keeplitsypositive #mondaymusings

After this past week, these are words I needed to read 🌻🌞

#keepinglitsypositive #booked2020 #bookworm

🔆 current read is tagged - How To Build a Girl - Caitlin Moran plus I‘m still struggling with a kindle read “The Good Girl” because I struggle with ebooks
🔆These Women - Ivy Pochoda
🔆fave book I read this month is In The Dreamhouse - Carmen Maria Machado

#weekendreads
@rachelsbrittain

Man this part hit a little close to home. Hoo boy 😰😳

#currentlyreading #relatable #bookworm #booked2020

Starting this one now. Brody is keeping me company this morning. I‘m up way too early considering I work 4-12 tonight. Hope everyone‘s having a good Wednesday 🌻🌞

#currentlyreading #readingbuddy #catsoflitsy #booked2020 #bookworm

You can get drunk on Caitlin Moran's words. I fell in love with the teenage Dolly, watched her mistakes through my fingers and cheered her on from the sidelines. Timetravelling back to a time when I was a teenager and when Britain was, through either my youthful naivety or reality, a seemingly more hopeful place.

The buildings on the South Bank are pale, like dirty bridesmaids; women in bright dresses, promenading to their next destination. London feels like an infinite toy. Evenings never end - they just without you noticing, turn into tomorrow.

It is always sunny above the clouds. Always. That every day on Earth - every day I have ever had - was, secretly, sunny, after all. However shitty and rainy it is... On days where the clouds feel low, like a lid... If you fly high enough, if you get above the clouds, it's never-ending summer.

Yes Dolly! I didn't think I would enjoy this one as much as I did but I just might have to pick up the second book :)
A crazy whirlwind of a story about what what it takes to gain confidence, independence and sexual agency, obviously making some mistakes along the way. This is the real drugs-sex-and-rock-n'-roll read I needed after feeling like Daisy Jones was a bit of a flop 😂

It was super cute at times :)

#bookishbingo #audiobookbingo

So I‘m saying this is a pick, but I should have read it instead of listened to it. The story is great. It‘s heartbreaking at time but so so moving. What frustrated me the most listening to it was some of the screeching. It was ear splitting at times!

#WinterBookBingo #WinterBingo #Challenge
@Honeybeegirl

“I am getting incredibly high on a single, astounding fact: that it‘s always sunny above the clouds. Always. That every day on earth—every day I have ever had—was secretly sunny, after all.”

I loved, loved, loved this. Excellent representation of how childhood anxiety can develop and how it can make you go a little off the rails. Also, just a great story about finding your footing in the big, overwhelming world. Excited for the sequel... already put my library's copy on hold.

"My biggest secret of all is that I really, truly, in my heart, want to be beautiful. I want to be beautiful so much because it will keep me safe and keep me lucky, and it's too exhausting not to be."

This brought me almost to tears. I remember being a young teen wishing even praying for beauty. I figured life would be perfect if only I was pretty enough.

"My biggest secret of all is that I really, truly, in my heart, want to be beautiful. I want to be beautiful so much because it will keep me safe and keep me lucky, and it's too exhausting not to be."

?

(Image: Eli Allison online)

So based on @ShyBookOwl recommendation, I just downloaded this book on Libby. Excited to get this started (probably on the commute back to Houston later this week (since I am listening to Carrie on the way home)

Anyway, it looks very promising!

Also fits the prompt of #GreenCover for my #WinterBookBingo

Giving this a shot after coming across it on Libby while looking for something fun to read. I've been reading a lot of gothic classics lately, and wanted to lighten things up a bit. Hope it's good!

All the men turn to look at me. Their expression is a bit like one I saw in a documentary where someone once put a single flamingo in a zoo enclosure full of camels... All the camels stared. The flamingo stared back. Everyone seemed FATALLY confused (caps are mine).

I‘m a bit behind on my #14Books14Weeks Summer Reading Challenge with @TheHeartlandBookFairy , but I have 6 finished, and I‘m part way finished with another, so if I want to wrap up by Labor Day, I better get going.

But it has pushed me to read a few that have been languishing on my actual shelves for too long! So, no matter how far I get....Thank you for this challenge that encouraged me to read My Own Books! 🥳

I absolutely loved this heartbreaking, poignant, sometimes TMI, and often laugh out loud coming of age story set in 90‘s England. The daughter of a down on their luck family tries to find her way as she goes from awkward child to young woman by reinventing herself & “building a girl” from scratch as the kind of girl she thinks she should be...and all the angst, drama, mistakes, and sex, drugs, and rock and roll that she learns from along the way.

The most ADORABLE pen pal package from one of my very first Litten friends @CaliforniaCay 😍😍 Thank You so much!! This plant themed package brightened up my week!! Cannot wait to write you back! #Litsypenpal

Heartbreaking. Hilarious.
I immediately want to read everything Caitlin Moran has ever written.
Easily recognizable for every woman that went through being a teenager.

Post night shift recovery mode.
Man this girl can write!

Evening reading with a side of French onion soup.

It‘s taking me forever to finish this audiobook... maybe I should change over to the physical book.

Anyways, I‘m doing laps in my apartment hallways, and doing flights of stairs because I spent the day meeting my cousins newborn girl... and therefore didn‘t get too many steps in. #litsywalkers

Here‘s the view from the apartment stairwell.

Listened to the tagged audiobook while making some veggie soup. 😍

Nom nom nom

A coming of age story set in 90's London. The humour didn't really do it for me. I think maybe it would be better suited to audio. Had a few chuckles along the way though.

Back onto this audiobook while I make some breakfast. Then I think I‘ll be tackling more graphics today. ♥️📚

Just listened to the first four chapters of this while I was cooking some food, and I think I‘m going to enjoy this one.

Current reading time: 5hrs 25mins

#deweysapril #readathon

So accurate! 😂😂😂 although it's usually books with sexy time for me.

The tagged book is great on audio, but definitely read with headphones.

Thoroughly recommend these two from Caitlin Moran.

Johanna Morrigan is funny and loveable if a bit silly and misguided sometimes 😂 in fact; all the characters are really extravagant but human and it‘s just exciting to be reading about their lives and adventures. I flew through both books. I wonder if there‘ll be anymore...? I‘m very excited it‘s already being turned into a movie!

Very good. Somewhat concerned that the title might make this book accidentally land in the laps of some unknowing 10 year old girls after having been given a Christmas present by a well meaning but clueless aunt.
I accidentally read these books out of order so it might be unfair of me to say I like How To Be Famous better (as in my experience you tend to like what you've experienced first best). Still hilarious and all that great 90s goodness.

Funny and heartwarming - Johanna is a teen mixture of Bridget Jones and Adrian Mole, growing up in the ‘90s and trying to decide who she should be.

What a smart book. So glad I finally read this. Going to start on the next book immediately.

Finally finishing this one up today.

Complete change of mood. I abandoned my usual Scandi-noir for the English Black Country: Wolverhampton - see what I did there? Caitlin Moran's teenage years, her gloriously quirky family, an ambition to write and escape to London is filthy, funny and warm. She's a natural storyteller and you won‘t care how much might or might not be real. This a joy and a gem. The narrator of my audiobook version captures the accent and the tone delightfully.