Welcome to Litsy!

Geo helped me read a goodly chunk of BECOMING A MATRIARCH this afternoon. It‘s another Canada Reads longlist title I‘d love to see jump to the shortlist in a year or two. Knott‘s a powerful writer. #MFMarch

I read the first 30% of SALT MAGIC, SKIN MAGIC last night, and I‘m hooked. Lee Welch writes the kind of prose that practically reads itself, with great characters and an intriguing version of 19th century England to boot. Penny‘s promised she‘ll help me devour the rest of it today. #MFMarch

I dug into SAFFRON ALLEY before bed last night, which was a mistake because I was too tired to read more than 20% and I wanted to devour the whole thing. A.J. Demas is so good at illuminating relationships and digging into the uncertainty that comes when you‘ve had a really intense, interrupted connection with someone and you need to figure out how to build on that within the framework of your everyday life. #MFMarch

I decided to do a Kobo Plus trial because a) they offered me bonus points, b) it‘ll give me a steady supply of digital, due-dateless reading material while I‘m in France, and c) I can finally knock a bunch of stuff off my wishlist. I began with A THIEF IN THE NIGHT, KJ Charles‘s thief/victim romance set in the same world as THE GENTLE ART OF FORTUNE HUNTING. It was great. Penny appreciated the snuggles she got as my reading buddy, too. #MFMarch

I got an iron on my jacket this morning, and now it‘s done! Next up: the trousers. I‘ve mostly finished them, but I want to redo the lining because the stuff I chose is way too loud.

I‘m making good progress through MEMORIES OF ICE, too. It amazes me how very D&D the worldbuilding is, but I guess that‘s all in line with Erikson‘s stated goal to offer a more nuanced take on a particular kind of fantasy. #MFMarch #audiosewing

Saki‘s just chillin‘ by my fireside bookstack. The top book, BAD ENDINGS, is my current short story collection, and it‘s a strong one. Carleigh Baker excels at finding the slices of experience that illuminate a character‘s life. #MFMarch

Supper was tasty Korean fried chicken and kimbap that was SUPPOSED to have kimchi rice instead of plain rice. Booo. I would‘ve gone for shrimp over tuna mayo if the menu hadn‘t lied to me. At least my new Jenni Keer is enjoyable. I hope to log a couple more hours with it tonight.

Also, this was a LOT of chicken, so I‘ve got tomorrow‘s supper sorted too. #MFMarch

MARIGOLD MIND LAUNDRY was a random shelf grab that turned out to have a 0% Litsy rating. That‘ll probably change after I finish it because I‘m once again the unpopular opinion person and I liked the first 100 pages an awful lot. Jungeun Yun isn‘t flashy, but she has a good eye for the problems modern Koreans face. The Mind Laundry is more about emotional regulation as a coping mechanism, too, rather than fully erasing bad experiences. #MFMarch

Lunchtime reading with my squinty friend. (It‘s borderline sunny today.) I read the first 18% of THE SECRETS OF HAWTHORN PLACE last night and I‘m looking forward to another big chunk this afternoon. Jenni Keer‘s pretty great. #MFMarch

Uber Eats was like, “You haven‘t had delivery in a while! Here‘s 60% off!” but they‘d only let me use it at the poke place 8km away instead of the location 1km away. So I just went and got takeaway poke for very slightly more money.

Then I ate it and read an enormous chunk of HOW WE MET, which is one of those memoirs so clear and absorbing it practically reads itself. Gonna settle in and finish it this morning before I start my day. #MFMarch