AuldLangSpine

pick

Well, Amanda, I am blown away by this first selection from #Auldlangspine. I loved this book. I loved how it started, how it progressed and how it ended. Three stories, three timelines, three outcomes. At the beginning, a woman can name her newborn son any of three names. And as she chooses three different names, we see what happens to her family based on the name she chose. Improbable? Of course, but nonetheless, fascinating and brilliant⬇️

Lesliereadsalot Highly recommend this so very well written book, which touches on so many topical subjects. @Sapphire @monalyisha #Auldlangspine2026 12h

monalyisha Love to see it! My IRL book club is reading this together later in the year. 12h

Lesliereadsalot @monalyisha Something to look forward to! 9h

BarbaraBB I‘ve been on the fence about this one but now I think I should read it! 6h

Lesliereadsalot @BarbaraBB It can be a little confusing following the three story lines, but I really liked the different family dynamics. Will be interested in your thoughts. now

29 likes1 stack add5 comments

Soubhiville

Hemlock & Silver | T. Kingfisher

To keep this book related I tagged my current read, which is for both #AuthorAMonth and #AuldLangSpine.

But really just look at these amazing portraits of my furkids! Aren‘t they perfect? Link to the artist, she‘s local to me and just such a wonderful artist and person!

https://www.owendaleart.com/

Hooked_on_books, monalyisha, rachelsbrittain

Soubhiville I want to get one of Princess Mirabel too but haven‘t yet gotten a good enough picture of her. 13h

tpixie 🩵🩵🩵 13h

lil1inblue Those are wonderful! 😍🤩😍 12h

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Chelsea.Poole Wow! 12h

AmyG This is great! My daughter would love this. 12h

Soubhiville @AmyG have one made for her, or send her the website 🥰 12h

TheBookHippie Oh this is wonderful!! 12h

Aims42 Love these!!! 12h

Yenya1954 Awesome pictures!! 12h

TheKidUpstairs Fabulous! She captured so much personality! 11h

Leftcoastzen Awesome! 11h

JenReadsAlot Amazing! 11h

ShelleyBooksie Fabulous!!!! 11h

Deblovestoread These are fantastic ❤️ 11h

dabbe I am #gobsmacked. 🤎🐾🩶🐾🖤🐾 10h

Merethebookgal How lovely!! 10h

Hooked_on_books Oh! These are wonderful! 😍 9h

Julsmarshall So precious! 8h

64 likes18 comments

peaKnit

Betty: A novel | Tiffany McDaniel

@monalyisha

My first read of the year was inspired by #AuldLangSpine - my partner @Yenya1954 -
It was a hardscrabble story of a family plagued by abuse and struggle, yet I marveled at the resilience of the kids in part due to the stories and care of their Native American father, Landon. “All ya have to do is to walk the hills to know there‘s something‘ bigger. A tree preaches better than any man can” - I could not agree more. 🌲 🏔️ ☀️

CBee Ooooo I still remember this one. So heavy and intense and heartbreaking. I loved it 😅 15h

Yenya1954 Very intense and heartbreaking but very moving. I‘m glad you read it. 12h

26 likes1 stack add2 comments

monalyisha

Hymn for the Black Terrific: Poems | Kiki Petrosino

so-so

The poems inside deal largely with the speaker‘s body, which is fitting because all I want to do is talk about the physical body of her book. It‘s gorgeous.

A note at the back informs the reader, “Founded in 1994 as an independent, nonprofit, literary press, Sarabande publishes poetry, short fiction, and literary nonfiction—genres increasingly neglected by commercial publishers. We are committed to producing beautiful, lasting editions…” 👇🏻

monalyisha 1/3: …”that honor exceptional writing, and to keeping those books in print.” I believe every word! Everything from the creaminess and texture of the paper to the embossed logo of the publishing house on the endpapers makes you ache with the careful attention paid to every detail. I feel I should specifically be addressing the jaw of the book, because Petrosino seems *obsessed* with the word; alas, books have a “spine” but no jaw (to my knowledge). (edited) 21h

monalyisha 2/3: I most enjoyed the poems in the section, Mulattress.” Each of the 10 poems include the words of a horrific quote from Jefferson, “They secrete less by the kidneys, and more by the glands of the skin, which gives them a strong and disagreeable odor.” Italicized words usually appear at the ends of lines, and the content of each poem is different. The (brilliant!) structure lends a helpful hand to poems that can otherwise be overly obtuse. 21h

monalyisha 3/3: My favorite line from the collection comes from “The Terrible Test of Love.” The poet writes, “My will to touch, outsized, that colored *if*” — which looks much more elegant as it‘s written on the page, with the word “if” in italics. 20h

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monalyisha Thank you, @Billypar, for including this on your #AuldLangSpine list! I have, in the past, gone through stretches where I start my day with a poem, first thing, before looking at my phone or letting any external disquiet seep in, and it‘s a practice I want to revive this year. I will always take a poetry rec! 20h

KT1432 This is such a beautiful and thoughtful review! And now I want to hold a copy of it lol! 18h

Billypar Great review and commentary! I've been trying to increase my poetry intake in the last few years, but I still feel like such a newbie. It's hard to describe what I like or why I respond to some vs others. I think this collection and another of Petrosino's hit that sweet spot where I need to read the poems a few times to fully process them, but I feel like the rereads pay off and leave me 'pleasantly confused' vs 'hopelessly confused'. 13h

monalyisha @Billypar The top Goodreads review says much the same, “Glorious!” Followed immediately by, “I didn‘t understand any of it!” 😂 I‘m demanding. I want it all: meaning, understanding, comprehension, *and* inventive phraseology that‘s pleasing to the eye, mind, & tongue. I think the sweet spot is when it‘s personal/specific/intimate *and* somehow universal at the same time; I don‘t think she achieves transcendence enough for the last bit. 👇🏻 7h

monalyisha @Billypar Or at least not often. Though to achieve it at all, ever, is a feat and a magic trick. 7h

58 likes8 comments

TheKidUpstairs

Saltwater: A Novel | Katy Hays

Happy Monday everyone! The kids are back at school, so I get to have a nice quiet breakfast and start another #AuldLangSpine selection from @CBee 💗

@monalyisha

CBee You are speeding through these! Hope you like this one too 🤞🏻 21h

Lesliereadsalot Really liked this one! 20h

BarbaraBB Your breakfast looks delicious 😋 19h

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TheKidUpstairs @CBee I do tend to go on all guns blazing at the turn of the year! Part off what i love about the ALSpine is the chance to throw away any expectations. I have a lot of fun with the opportunity to let someone else make the choices for me! But this is quick, even for me. I think because I've started with some of the more intense, fast paced, and/or plot driven books from your list. 18h

TheKidUpstairs @Lesliereadsalot I'm starting to get into it. The narrative style is very melodramatic which took a few chapters to get used to, but now I'm invested in the drama of it all! 18h

TheKidUpstairs @BarbaraBB it was, thank you! After all the indulgences of the holidays, I really start to crave giant plates of veggies. 18h

BarbaraBB Lol, me too. Veggies and no alcohol! Enjoy the book, lots of drama indeed! 16h

CBee @TheKidUpstairs excellent way to look at it! And yes, you‘ve picked some doozies! But in a good way 😂😁 15h

62 likes8 comments

KT1432

Victorian Psycho: A Novel | Virginia Feito

I am super late posting my #AuldLangSpine list from @Avanders due to the holidays and absolutely not because of a lack of excitement for these titles!! I am interested in literally all of them lol! I had Victorian Psycho so I‘m already almost finished, and it is deliciously unhinged! 😆 Next up will be Heartwood or Mapping the Interior. I HAVE to get to James this year (already own it) and I own The Family Upstairs so I‘ll continue this list!

monalyisha

25 likes

PurpleyPumpkin

Heartwood: 'nearly impossible to put down' Jennifer Egan | Amity Gaige

My first book purchases of 2026! The Correspondent was on my Christmas wish list so I couldn‘t resist buying it when I saw it in the bookstore. What I REALLY went to buy was the tagged book from my #AuldLangSpine list courtesy of @BarbaraJean and I‘m really looking forward to it!
(January 4, 2026)

monalyisha

monalyisha Lots of echoes of orange and green here. Fun! 🍊💚 1d

TheBookHippie ♥️ 1d

willaful Charlie Brown tree! 1d

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PurpleyPumpkin @monalyisha Too funny! That‘s entirely coincidental but works out well. 🍊💚 1d

PurpleyPumpkin @TheBookHippie 👍🏽😉💜 1d

PurpleyPumpkin @willaful 🙌🏽😉 1d

BarbaraJean Hahaha... this is amazing. I went to the bookstore today to buy a copy of The Correspondent (for #WintercampLitsy), because it had been on my Christmas wish list but didn't end up under the tree. And I ALSO walked away with an additional couldn't-resist-it book (a gorgeous collection of Dickens' Christmas stories). 😁 Hope you enjoy BOTH books!! 1d

julesG @willaful right?! So cool. I want one too. 1d

Erinreadsthebooks Those two are in my top 5 books of the year. So good! 23h

dabbe And a Charlie Brown tree! 🩶🤍🩶 12h

48 likes10 comments

sebrittainclark

In Cold Blood | Truman Capote

pick

4.5/5

Shocking in both the incredible way it is written and the nature of the crimes it covers. I can see why it's considered a classic of the true crime genre. I don't think I ever would have picked it up, if it wasn't an #auldlangspine pick, but I'm very glad to have read it. I didn't want to put it down. Thanks @cseydel and @monalyisha.

CSeydel I‘m so glad you enjoyed it! I also found it incredibly compelling, more than I expected. I thought it would seem much more dated than it did, but the writing really is outstanding. 1d

sebrittainclark @CSeydel yes, I was also surprised that it didn't really feel dated. I had to keep reminding myself that it was written 60s. I also lived in Kansas for about five years, so it was interesting to see places I remembered referenced. 22h

Singout Is this the one that‘s connected to Harper Lee in some way? 19h

sebrittainclark @Singout I believe she helped with the research for the book. 17h

57 likes1 stack add4 comments

TheKidUpstairs

Her Majesty's Royal Coven: A Novel | Juno Dawson

pick

Guess who already put book two on hold? 🙋‍♀️

It takes a heck of a lot of skill to write a book that is, essentially, a rage-y F U to a certain TERF-y fantasy author who-shall-not-be-named and actually make it really good. So engaging, fabulous characters (and fabulously awful ones). Must. Read. More.

Thank you @CBee for putting this on your #AuldLangSpine list, I wouldn't have read it otherwise and if you can't tell, I loved it!

Cont'd 👇

TheKidUpstairs
And thank you, always, to @monalyisha for your always amazing literary matchmaking prowess. 1d

monalyisha I love that you loved this! It‘s the most “into” a series I‘ve been for a while! 1d

TheKidUpstairs @monalyisha have you read all of them? 1d

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monalyisha I have! I really loved the audio. Queen B didn‘t hit the same way for me but I suppose it was interesting in its own way. 1d

CBee @TheKidUpstairs I am seriously over the moon that you loved it so much. IMO it gets better (and it‘s a trilogy and yes, you‘ll immediately need book 3 😂). Love your review too - it‘s making me think about the books in new and different ways and I love that! 1d

CBee @monalyisha felt the same about Queen B. Still enjoyed that one but part of me just wants more and more HRMC. I wanted it to keep going! 1d

monalyisha I honestly think the first book was my favorite but I have that problem a lot. It‘s hard for a second book to compare when the first has that brand-new author/brand-new series glow. The novelty and thrill of discovery is a powerful high! 1d

TheKidUpstairs @monalyisha I know that feeling. It's rare that a second book holds up all the way to the first, it's so often more of a set up for the finale. But I'm totally sucked into this! 1d

TheKidUpstairs @CBee I've made sure the library has book 3, and without a huge wait list, so I'll be ready!!! 1d

CBee @TheKidUpstairs 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 1d

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Laughterhp

Mate | Ali Hazelwood

pick

First book finished for #auldlangspine! This book was so good, I started and finished it today.

It was already on my radar and TBR, but this gave me the push to actually pick it up!

My first 5⭐️ read of 2026!

Chrissyreadit, monalyisha

monalyisha Exciting to see all these 5 star reviews! 🤩 1d

Chrissyreadit 🎉🎉🎉 1d

Laughterhp Forgot this was my January #bookspin @TheAromaofBooks 13h

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 18m

50 likes1 stack add4 comments

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