Welcome to Litsy!

I‘ve heard of the tale of Vasilisa the Beautiful and her encounter with Baba Yaga, but had never read it. I adore fairytale retellings, and was excited that this one had a darker spin on it. I thought all the nods to the original tale were clever, and I was prepared for how weird it would be based on a review. At times I didn‘t understand some of the character motivations and the book got gruesome at the end. However, I enjoyed it a lot!

I was insure about this one but it grew on me as I read. Modern world but has magic. Some scenes I can still picture perfectly. #bookspinbingo

5/5 for this wonderful weird book! I love strange books and this one was strange in the best way. Vassa and Erg are such great characters. I loved the magic and chaos in the book. Babs is a great villain. She is creepy and wicked. I highly recommend this book.

Wow, what can I say about this book? It's been sitting on my shelf for 4 years because I always had others that I really wanted to read. This one should have been one of those books! This was a pick for me because it was witty, strange, grotesque, surrealistic & just plain weird. I got so much more from it than I originally thought I would. But man, I cried in a couple of parts. My takeaways: you're never alone, have hope, never doubt yourself

I enjoyed this retelling of a Russian folk tale. Without having read what it‘s based on, it just seemed really weird in a good way. It was phantasmagorical! I love that word & never get to use it, so thank you Sarah Porter.
🦢🦢🦢🦢
🧡🖤 Thank you @Scochrane26 for this book from the #BasicWitchSwap !
💙 This book puts me 1 square away from Bingo in #BookSpinBingo! It is also my #BookSpin book for March! Thank you for hosting @TheAromaofBooks !

Found this at Dollar Tree. Pretty good find. I read it when it came out, and it is great for fans of Grimm style fairy tales (it's kind of dark). It's an urban fantasy retelling of the Russian folktale called Vassilissa the Beautiful

Looks like I‘m in the minority, but I loved this bizarre retelling of a Russian folktale. It is really weird but then the source material pretty much guaranteed that it would be. All those strange things, like the store on chicken legs, the hands, the doll—all came from the original story. The writing is quite lovely. And some of my very favorite books inspired the question, “WTF is happening?” as I read! Obviously, that‘s not a turnoff for me!😁

🔥 I already finished Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng this morning. I read it for the #whatsinaname challenge.
From Mt. TBR I still hope to tackle ...
💪 The Power by Naomi Alderman for book club
🏔 A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin & In the Heart of the Canyon by Elisabeth Hyde for the #monthlykeywordgxo challenge
& if I‘m really going to dream big
🐎 Vassa in the Night by Sarah Porter for the #bookspin challenge w/ @TheAromaofBooks

#LitsyATXReadersSociety met yesterday to discuss our books on this month‘s topic: Myths or Faitrytales Retold or Reimagined.

I found it interesting that we all chose more in the fairytale range. Also a large number of short story collections this month.

As usual, many read multiple books 📚😁.

Baba Yaga is a Russian fairytale witch who lives in a house on chicken legs.

This book is a modernized retelling in which the house is a chicken legged convenience store, and the witch, Babs Yagg, beheads shoplifters.

It‘s a kooky story with lots of strange characters. Main character Vassa finds herself trapped in the store for three nights.

I thought this was ok, but not great. To be fair, this isn‘t a genre I usually like.

Monday mornings this is how we roll.

Sietje wore herself out digging in the yard this morning, a fact I did not discover until her muddy feet were on the couch. So, a second cup of tea for me before I go out in the drizzle to do some lawn maintenance.

I sincerely hope to finish Vassa today. It‘s not really for me.

@DebinHawaii I finally made your Red Bean Tortilla Soup! It only took me several weeks to find time.

It‘s delicious, I‘m definitely adding it to my recipe box. I only used 1/2 of a small jalapeño because I‘m a wimp, but it‘s barely spicy at all so I‘ll use the whole thing next time. I also added avocado to the top, and more cilantro than a normal person would use because I love it.

Can‘t wait for my picky husband to try it.

Fun book too!

I was in such a reading slump in May--it took me a while to finish my only read, Vassa in the Night, and then I didn‘t pick anything else up until the end of the month.

But I did finish a book off my physical TBR, completed a booked2019 prompt, and am still on track with my Goodreads challenge!

1 Goodreads TBR

1 Physical TBR (owned/on shelf)

1 booked2019 challenge prompt

Vassa in the Night-⭐⭐

#monthlywrapup #maywrapup

There have been a few recent weird reads (Strange Grace, Sawkill Girls, The Hazel Wood) that I‘ve enjoyed, but this one missed the mark. It was darker and more gruesome than I‘d expected.  The beginning of the book pulled me in, but I found myself disconnected and apathetic about the characters and plot by the middle. An surreal, dark retelling on an unfamiliar folktale, but this just wasn‘t for me.

#booked2019 #nightorientedtitle

BOOK: Vassa in the Night (I‘m in the minority on this here and on GR and everywhere, but I fucking loved this book)
AUTHOR: Sarah Vowell!!
MOVIE: V for Vendetta
FOOD: Veggie burger #vegetariansoflitsy 😬
#manicmonday #letterV

I know I'm in the lower percentile here, but I love this book (and have since it was released 2 years ago). It's quirky and weird and beautiful. And it made Sarah an insta-buy author for me as well as a great friend.

Either this author is a genius, or she's tripping on some hard drugs. Some weird stuff in here. Most events did not correlate to the ending and made no sense. It's as if the author had a beginning and ending, and just threw some sh*t in the middle. It started off promising but quickly lost direction. I'm calling it a so-so because I like the writing style. She really did do creepy well.

So me, especially after this crap day at work. Most people will binge on food or drink, but me? Give me a book and leave me alone. #booktherapy

This book is like...hmmm..if you combined Alice in Wonderland with Beetlejuice?
It is dark and creepy. Magical and weird. Confusing and yet somehow still addictive.
I was never sure where the story was leading or if any of it will make sense in the end, but I still enjoyed the crazy ride.

I‘m honestly not sure how I feel about this one. At times I found it charming, funny and even sweet but I was more often the not completely confused. I don‘t even know how many times I asked myself what the hell am I reading. In the end though, it was easy enough to continue on and finish and I did enjoy the climax. Giving it a shaky ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Okay it may not be #whendovescry but I bet there are swans.

#princeofjuly @vkois88 @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

I wasn't really sure what to go with today's prompt, so I decided to go with a personal definition. You ever have a recollection of a book that doesn't match your rating? I feel like this ended up as an #underratedbook in my own estimation. I remember really liking it, but only gave it 3 stars on #goodreads. Perhaps my rating system needs improvement?

#readingresolutions @Jess7

I have been stuck traveling for work which means no downtime for reading. The only exception is during flights but it's just not the same. So! Diving into a new book with a gorgeous cover that introduces a Russian folk tale with a modern twist.

Happy #weekendReads everyone!

#LitsyClassics #MayLovesClassics #day4 #Retelling When I was a child, I read the original folktale of Baba Yaga,the Russian witch that flew through the forest in a mortar & pestle and lives in a house that has chicken legs. It was one that made an impression! This book is a mashup retelling of the Baba Yaga story & another Russian fairytale, Vasilisa The Beautiful, but set in modern Brooklyn. It‘s very clever & magical with an undertone of menace.

Bedtime stories?

Russian themed infuser for a Russian inspired novel.

This book contained a lot of elements I usually like: fairy tale retelling, magical creatures, and magical realism. But this was definitely not for me.

Weird is good. I like weird. But this was so bizarre and disjointed, it was hard to follow. Like Alice in Wonderland on steroids (I happen to love Alice). I refreshed my memory on the original Baba Yaga fairytale first, I definitely recommend doing that or it will make no sense at all.

So glad to be able to sit down with tea and a book after an emotional day!

It is always difficult for me to drop my child at school the day after a mass shooting. 😢

What helped lift my heart, was hope. Hope that things can change. Because today was also the day I got to stand with my friend Christy Clark...a founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, as she filed to run for office in the NC House.

Peace. Love. Books. ✌️ ❤️ 📚

Does anyone else love dolphins like I do? 🐬

So far, so good. I love dark fantasy inspired by folklore, so this book is right up my alley.

Fish in my tea! The book is a retelling of a Russian folk tale which I read when I was a kid, but don‘t remember much right now. Hopefully it‘ll come back to me as I read.

This book is...weird.🤔 #owlcrateathon

A day or two late, but I am finally delving into my unread #OwlCrate books for #owlcrateathon, a #readathon that runs from Feb 10 - 23.

I‘ll be starting with the tagged book, a retelling if the Baba Yaga Russian folk tale, which is the OwlCrate book I have owned the longest.

This will also hopefully help boost my numbers for #MountTBR! #OwlCrateSociety

My #februarytbr has a few selections to cover #Booked2018 prompts, and some past #Owlcrate books to go along with the 2-week readathon later this month!

Really looking forward to this stack of books (plus an Agatha Christie ebook not pictured)!

#ReadingResolutions @Jess7

Eeehhhhhh..... The concept of this book sounded better than the book ended up being. There was a lot of description but the plot didn't progress very fast at all. It seemed to talk in circles in several parts and tried to add romance where there obviously was none. All in all I wouldn't really recommend it.

So.

I binged this so fast. Literally, i couldn‘t put it down.

The New York of this world is definitely not the New York of my world, but I couldn‘t help but fall in love with this rich setting and story oh my god I can‘t 😍

I‘m such a sucker for retellings 🙈 and this was no different. I loved every moment, all the gorey details and creepy moments were just perfect.

5⭐️ hands down. This literally blew me away. (favorite read of 2018 so far ♥️)

A good read, but maybe a bit too long. It dragged for me in certain parts, while others had my heart beating faster and I couldn't turn the pages quick enough. It was a dark retelling of a dark Russian fairy tale 👌

This was my last book on my #RussianLit2017 tbr, and I have had so much fun with reading a lot of Russian and Russian inspired literature 👍

This was almost a bail. I just could not get into this story. It reminded me of The Night Circus, all the makings of a book I should love, but just didn't​ do it for me. But the writing was lovely, and I could see why some people would love it.
Gave it 2 stars on GoodReads and I am wavering between a so-so and a pan.

I'm going home to my home town to visit my parents and friends, and bus time equals reading time 👌

#Currentlyreading #RussianLit2017

Continuing my #RussianLit2017 reading with this retelling of Vasilisa the Beautiful from #theretellingbookswap. So far, it is good - weird and mysterious, just like a retelling of a Russian fairy tale should be 👌

And when it is paired with iced coffee and chocolate, I can't be anything other than happy!

The book is okay, but these cookies are the best thing on the planet.

Oh, I loved this book so much! I owned it for a year before finally reading it and whhhyyyy did I wait so long? I acknowledge it's definitely not the book for everyone. It's an acquired taste, but if it is for you, you will adore it. The world the author made, the magic and the reality, the characters - all so unique and vibrant. I don't even want to say specifics about the story because I think it's best the less you know. A new fave 💗5/5 ⭐️

It feels like I'm acting out gestures that have been waiting for me all along, like my movements are grooves cut into the air and I'm suddenly flowing inside them.

Harmony has no better preservative than obliviousness.

I started this earlier and am about 50 pages in and it's so wonderfully weird and I like it a lot already ...
#nowreading #currentlyreading

Finally finished this one! I really enjoyed it, but it took forever because I only read it before bed. Some nights it's was only a couple of pages.

Jada had five books stacked! I guess she had some major reading plans!!

I stopped at a local Little Free Library and this librarian had t hooked up! Super cute bookmarks, dog treats, sign in request form, banned book pins! It was awesome! I got the last in the Harry Potter series to finish off my collection and my daughter got a book from her fave author!

This type of magical thinking is one of the many reasons reading is a journey!