Welcome to Litsy!

This was actually my first Garth Nix, but I don‘t think it will be my last. This was a great adventure, with dips into British myth and legend, and another world hiding in the shadows of our own. You get a very good sense of the time period, too (the 8os). But really, it‘s the characters that make the book shine — beautifully drawn and lively and sympathetic, you really feel like their story is unfolding in front of you. Loved it.

I loved Garth Nix‘s Sabriel and the other Old Kingdom books, so naturally I had to try this series. It‘s fun to see my own adolescence reflected in the setting and I generally liked the characters (though Merlin did irk me quite a bit). The last third or so goes at a breakneck pace and I wish he had slowed down a bit, but I‘m invested enough to try the next book(s) in the series.

Booksellers with superpowers. Old gods and gangsters. This was a romp of a story. A bit too detailed at times, but fun.

First book of May completed. Yay! 🎉

Now trying to decide if I should pick up the next one or finish something else I started in April. Hm, decisions, decisions. 🤔🤣

Starting with just a 2 book series, though maybe there will be more added in future. Love Garth Nix series, so have high hopes.

Just noticed the tag line above the title "Authorised to kill... And sell books" LOL

No surprise it's another read on my new bestie Paperwhite ?
#kindle

#SeriesLove2024
@TheSpineView @Andrew65

I picked this up because the premise sounded, to me, like Buffy with booksellers (basically, booksellers patrol the Hellmouth). The fantasy focus in this was more fey than demonic (which isn‘t typically my jam). Points added for the obvious Ursula K. Le Guin homage. Points detracted for the author‘s weird obsession with the tv show The Professionals, & for falling into that fantasy-genre trap of too much plot/fighting, too little character/dialog.

•I got my hair cut & I deleted the rest of my social media, so you all get the obligatory selfie. 😜

•I‘m peacefully reading this morning before heading to a cafe & a nature walk with my mother-in-law. Then, back home (an hour‘s drive) to see my mom. 🌸

•I‘m on Chapter 6 of the tagged.

•I learned about a rug-tufting workshop in an ice cream shop at the end of May. I don‘t know who I‘ll be dragging with me but you better believe I‘m going!

I am posting one book per day from my extensive to-be-read collection. No description and providing no reason for wanting to read it, I just do. Some will be old, some will be new. Don‘t judge me - I have a lot of books. Join in if you want!

#ABookADay2023

I really enjoyed this book. It took me a while to finish it but once I got into it - it was pretty good. The next one comes out march 2023.

What an absolute delight in the #NightmareMakersSwap package I received from @LibrarianRyan! Three books I‘ve been wanting to read for ages, the fabulous Frankenstein bag, three handmade spooky booksleeves, and some other fun goodies! Thank you so very much. This swap has been one of the most fun I‘ve ever done! #NMS #NightmareMakerSwap

This fantasy looked like a slam dunk, but fell short for me. Read my full review here: https://debbybrauer.org/#the-lefthanded-booksellers-of-london

Not quite as good as the Sabriel series IMO but still a great deal of dark fun!!

This is the story of soon to be art student Susan who finds herself whisked into a world of magic, ancient beings and booksellers. The story and action starts instantly and doesn't stop for a beat. I loved the characters and there is something special about Merlin. I really hope there will be a second book and maybe a few more. For me it was a wonderful return to the brilliant imagination of Garth Nix.

#ReadersLiveAThousandLives #InkDrinker

I‘ve always enjoy Garth Nix and this doesn‘t disappoint. The action is so fast paced something exciting is happening on every page. There is some minor peril but mixed with humour. You know it‘s good when you‘re still sat in the car in the driveway at home listening because you don‘t want it to stop!

This books starts! No waiting around straight into the story and action...love it. Forgot what a great writer Garth Nix is with his humour and wit on every page.

#Booklovers #BookNerds #LibraryMouse #InkDrinker #ReadersLiveAThousandLives
#BookNerdsUnite #BookWitch #BookGeek #Reader #ReadABook #LostInABook #Tea #Books #BookLover #WeekendReads #ReadThisBook #JustOneMoreChapter #LetMeRead #GreatReads #MIAB #ProfessionalBookworm #LostInABook

1) My greatest achievement this year was crossing my bucket list item of "suspension bridge walk" which I did back in July during our 2nd anniversary. My greatest challenges this year have been trying to improve my A1C, dealing with IBS and also dealing with my mom's cancer diagnosis and and family drama fallout from that.

2) Left-handed Booksellers of London was my favourite book for 2021

3) I hope that 2022 brings better health for me.

The Secret Book Santa with my cousins went really well. I got sent a book I've been wanting for ages 😍😍😍 perfect way to end Christmas Eve

Wishing all you lovely Littens a very Merry Christmas filled with bookish wonders 🎄🎁🎅📚

#MerryChristmas #TheJoyOfGiving #BookItForward #WeAreFamily #Bookworms #BookNerds #InkDrinkers #LibraryMouse #LitsyLove

This was a very creative, adventurous, fast-paced book. My favorite part was the goblins. I want to check out more of this author's work. It was a really good time.

Despite that I wish the bookstores had played a larger part of the story, I still really enjoyed this fun magical adventure.

Book 16 for #Screamathon & #SpookOWeen readathon
Book 11 for #littenlisten

YA urban fantasy book set in London 1983. I enjoyed this book even though I don't usually read fantasy. It is about Susan Arkshaw who is trying to find her father. She meets up with Merlin, a left-handed bookseller, and his sister Vivien, a right-handed bookseller. They are looking for whoever has killed their mother. I love the fact that this book is about books and bookshops. I found it clever and entertaining and filled with British forklore.

Up next is this hold that came in like 10 minutes to midnight (and I have to get up at 5 am 😩), about missing fathers and alternate-1983 London.

The murmuration of birds: I can imagine that it would be loud enough to sound like a roar. Every night, the birds that come back to roost along Orchard Road (Singapore) make so much noise that you can‘t hear yourself speak.
💖 💖 💖 💖🤍

Meh. I liked parts of this. Would have loved for Nix to reference books written by people other than old white dudes. Also, a little more character development would have been lovely. Nix got a little carried away with the world building - which was very thorough and very fun. Maybe could have been two or three books?

This wasn‘t on my TBR but I couldn‘t resist that tagline “Authorised to kill ... and sell books” Susan visits London to find her father but gets sucked into the magical world of the booksellers after potential dad #1 is turned to dust in front of her. I found this book delightful, full of whimsy and charm. Plot-wise it worked really well as a stand-alone but I feel like the characters could develop more in a series. I would love to see more Vivian

Oh wow, that was a disappointment! The synopsis sounded so great but the execution was just bad. I found myself drifting off all the time and when I picked the book back up I could hardly remember what I had read before. What a pity as it really had a lot of potential.

On the eighth day of Christmas, we're back in the Eighties!

Full review: https://sceptre.sktc.hamburg/2020/10/its-may-day-1983-in-great-britain/

#12Booksof2020 @Andrew65

This is an enjoyable read, set in an alternate London in 1983, Susan Arkshaw is looking for her father. In the process of finding him she meets Merlin who is a young left-handed bookseller. There is also the right-handed side too. Susan is brought into a world of magical beings, which she may well be a part of somehow! So Susan, Merlin and Vivien (his sister) try to find Susan's father and try to find who killed the Merlin and Vivien' mother.

Such a satisfying read!

Lots of great action sequences. Nix's writing is so cinematic. The novel is almost a perpetual chase scene

Thank you so much @CarolynM for my #Jolabokaflod gifts! I have been dying to read this book & the chocolate smells amazing. I absolutely love the bookmark too, the Aussie version of the classic “Gothic” painting is hilarious, I particularly love the magpies. Thank you so much my friend😘♥️♥️♥️

I don‘t use the word “romp” as much as I should... and this is a romp. It‘s set in London in the 80s and features a secret, magical extended family of booksellers: the right-handed are scholars and the left-handed are fighters. I mean: you had me at magical crime-fighting booksellers. It‘s full of legends and mythic beings out of the Old World, and it‘s just a fun ride.

A whimsical yet gritty fantasy adventure set in a magical version of London in the 1980s. Susan has never met her father, and in the break before she begins university, she heads to London to find him. Instead of her father, she finds magic and mysterious creatures who are trying to capture her. She also finds Merlin, a Left-Handed Bookseller tasked with helping to keep everyday people safe from the magical world.

Garth Nix is one of my favorite fantasy writers, so I'm pumped to start his new book.

One of these will be my next book! Which one would anyone recommend?

❤
#GoodReads2020Challenge

This week‘s #bookhaul. Top 3 from Waterstones, including 2 Waterstones exclusives (and I way prefer the #UKcovers for Sanderson‘s books), and the bottom 3 are my #BOTM #BookoftheMonth selections. 🥳🥳🥳

"It was 5:45 a.m. on May Day, 1983, in the West of England, and a sliver of the sun had edged above the ridge."

Finally ready to dive into this! ?

My anxiety is still super high today, especially since my state still hasn't been declared red or blue yet. C'mon Michigan! Don't get us all down! 🙏 But it's 68° so after work I brought my book to the park and that has definitely helped me feel better! 💕📚🌿

Sooooo.... I took a quick reading break to put up the Christmas tree and all the other holiday decorations! 🤣😂 I don't even care that it's only November 1st! I could use the extra cheer! Plus the fur babies love it! 🎄🎅☃️💖

I truly believe that the absolute BEST feeling in the world is the bliss that is felt when starting a new book! 💕📚

Finished up the witchy books I was reading last night and now I'm feeling the urge to dive back into some fantasy! 💕📚 I'm comfy in my book room, settled in with a blanket, tea and popcorn. It's windy and cold and flurrying outside a bit, and I couldn't be cozier! 😊

Great tag line! Mediocre book. Lots of action but little depth. Missed opportunities to make this like The Kingsmen (and women) of books but too much time was spent on what people were wearing, insignificant 80s allusions, & new magical entities every few chapters. What should have been the climax wasn‘t because the book moved on to a different problem for the last 50 pages. Good premise but disappointing execution. #ya #bookclub #teachersoflitsy

I didn‘t know it was a life goal of mine to belong to a booksellers mafia, but it sure is now.

LitJoy does their editions right! I loved this story! I had a hard time putting it down. I loved the characters and the world building. Just wow! If someone doesn‘t already have a LitJoy subscription and wants one or wants to try out a single month, here is my referral link: http://rwrd.io/u21hdk1

Really enjoyed this urban fantasy set to 1980s England

I liked it all. The characters are wonderful and lovable, or hate-able. The world-building is very inventive. Yes, it‘s an UF built on the UK of the 1980s, using all the fads and fashions of the time. As soon as you enter the world of the booksellers though, you see the genius behind Nix‘s work. It‘s all believable. And that‘s what makes a good UF for me.

Full review: https://sceptre.sktc.hamburg/2020/10/its-may-day-1983-in-great-britain/

Check out my latest #bookreview at LaceyDoesLit.com! @HarperCollinsCh @EpicReads @garthnix #books #bookworm #booknerd #reading #reader #ilovebooks #bookblog #bookbloggerharler #bookish #totalbooknerd #newbook #currentlyreading #bookmail #read #bookshelf

IT‘S HERE!!!

And just in time for the weekend ☺️

(I still haven‘t read Angel Mage 😅)

I am posting one book per day from my extensive to-be-read collection. No description and providing no reason for wanting to read it, I just do. Some will be old, some will be new. Don‘t judge me - I have a lot of books. Join the fun if you want.
This is day 175 #bookstoread #tbrpile #bookstagram

Garth Nix is an auto buy author for me. His Abhorsen series has always been a long standing favorite fantasy series, and I've loved the refreshing whimsy of his more recent works as well. This one looks absolutely fantastic! 💕📚