campLitsy2025

I‘ll probably never get reviews posted for August, I‘m still behind for July but I managed to read 20 books, which surprised me given my schedule & energy level for the month. Many were short books & I made 8 day trips in the month which gives me about 90 minutes per trip of reading + airport commute time.

Finished books for #SundayBuddyRead #SheSaid #NancyDrewBR #BobWhiteBuddies #EBBR #CampLitsy2025 #ChildrensClassicRead2025 #AuthorAMonth ⬇️

Megabooks, Riveted_Reader_Melissa, Soubhiville, TheBookHippie, Librarybelle, squirrelbrain, BarbaraBB, Ruthiella, TheAromaofBooks, PuddleJumper, julieclair

DebinHawaii … #ThematicCozies #FictionalTraveler #Roll100 #SeriesLove2025 & some assorted #BOTM & Kindle Challenges 5 were audiobooks & 9 were library books (print & ebook). Favorites were Tilt, Listen For the Lie, King of Ashes, The Compound & Wedding People 3w

TheBookHippie WOWOWOWOWOW!!! That‘s impressive! 3w

Ruthiella Nice work! 👏👏👏 3w

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squirrelbrain Glad you loved the #camplitsy books! 3w

Bookwormjillk Nicely done 🎉 3w

Librarybelle Excellent! 3w

Soubhiville Great! 3w

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! Fabulous month!! 3w

julieclair Great month! 2w

PuddleJumper Brilliant! 2w

60 likes10 comments

DebinHawaii

Accidents Happen | F.H. Batacan

#HaikuADay #HaikuHive

I survived silent book club last night! (See yesterday‘s haiku post.) while not entirely silent—there were intros & photos & small talk, I did manage to read 2 stories in the tagged book & get farther ahead in my ebook for #CampLitsy2025
It also inspired this haiku:

Comfort zone encroached
Silent club not so silent
Gold star earned last night🌟

I also received a bookmark & cute sticker. The people were nice. I‘d go back.

Kristy_K, DebinHawaii, Mimi28, TheBookHippie, JenlovesJT47, Susanita, Reggie, vivastory, Itchyfeetreader, jdiehr, CBee, dabbe, kelli7990, Jari-chan, ImperfectCJ, lil1inblue, The_Book_Ninja, julieclair, AnnCrystal, bellabella, BooksandCoffee4Me

DebinHawaii Here‘s the online definition of a silent book club. “A Silent Book Club is a book club where members gather to read silently in a public space. Unlike traditional book clubs, there are no assigned readings or mandatory discussions. Participants can bring whatever they want to read and enjoy the quiet camaraderie of fellow book lovers.” After seeing them mentioned on Litsy & other places, I looked to see if Honolulu had any & this group popped up.
1mo

lil1inblue Hooray for successful peopling! 🤩🤩🤩 1mo

dabbe Thanks to you and these two haikus, I bet I could survive something like this! 😍🤩😍 1mo

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JenlovesJT47 Definitely going to see if they have one near me! ♥️ 1mo

LeahBergen Yay! I‘m glad you enjoyed yourself. I‘ll have to try one sometime. 1mo

AnnCrystal Thank you for sharing this experience with us 👏🏼🐝👌🏼📚🐝💝💝💝...love the bookmark & adorable sticker 🤩🔖💝. (edited) 1mo

Jari-chan Silent club not so silent 😆😆 1mo

Mimi28 That sounds so cool!! 😎 1mo

56 likes8 comments

DebinHawaii

July | Julie Murray

I remain so behind on reviews for both June & July but I thought I‘d get my July recap up finally. I finished 15 books (including 3 I had in progress from June) which I think given work lately is good. I did read & love both #CampLitsy2025 selections but was not good about the discussions which has continued this month. I also finished books for #AuthorAMonth #SheSaid #SundayBuddyRead #NancyDrewBR #BobWhiteBuddies #EBBR #ThematicCozies ⬇️

Megabooks, Riveted_Reader_Melissa, Soubhiville, TheBookHippie, Librarybelle, squirrelbrain, BarbaraBB, Ruthiella, TheAromaofBooks, PuddleJumper, julieclair

DebinHawaii … #FictionalTraveler #Roll100 &#MonthlyNonFiction
Favorites were Woodworking, Death of an Author, Under A Painted Sky & I Who Have Never Known Men (carryover from #SheSaid June). (edited) 2mo

Ruthiella Looking good! 👍 2mo

kspenmoll Given your work life, this is an amazing accomplishment!!!! 2mo

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TheBookHippie Wow!!!! 2mo

Librarybelle Yay!! 2mo

AmyG That‘s a great number of books! 1mo

Cuilin I honestly don‘t know how you do it!!! That‘s amazing. 1mo

TheAromaofBooks Yay!! Fantastic month!! 1mo

squirrelbrain ❤️🩷💜 1mo

BarbaraBB 🧡 1mo

julieclair What a wonderfully varied reading month! 1mo

PuddleJumper 🎉🎉 1mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa You are doing better than me with reading and reviewing. So good job! 1mo

59 likes13 comments

BkClubCare

Tilt | Emma Pattee

pick

Finished this late last night and immediately considered that OOOPS I was supposed to only read the first half?! #CampLitsy2025

Very pregnant Annie navigates Portland Oregon after a devastating earthquake wreaks havoc. My heart was pounding, I was incredibly thirsty, I was so scared for her & lil Bean!!

#CherryRhubarbPie 📸 #Debut #EarthquakeLit #Happensin1Day #ILovePie #LitPie #July2025 Book65 (Book mentions #KeyLimePie)

BarbaraBB Yes, the thirst!! 2mo

squirrelbrain Ah well, it‘s a very quick read so you couldn‘t help it! 🤣 2mo

Christine Pie looks amazing!! Rhubarb + practically anything is my favorite. Recently made some rhubarb + homegrown plum jam which is hard to not just eat by the spoonful. 2mo

BkClubCare @Christine - I have tried for years to grow rhubarb but it is tough to start in hot Kansas. 2mo

Christine We‘ve failed more than once in various parts of California too. 😆 Grew like a weed in Wisconsin where I grew up. 2mo

49 likes5 comments

DebinHawaii

The View from Saturday | E.L. Konigsburg

#HaikuADay #HaikuHive
Saturday was planned to be a mix of errands & relaxing. I wrote the before haiku sat at a quiet table in the mall waiting for a craft fair to start. A spontaneous stop by the Apple Store to look at upgrading my old iPhone took a few hours & led to the after. #2fer

Before:
Errands and delight
Tangled in one easy day
Joy in the stillness

After:
Plans lost to the void
Apple Store, my holding cell
At least she's a beaut

⬇️

BooksandCoffee, Kristy_K, DebinHawaii, Mimi28, TheBookHippie, JenlovesJT47, Susanita, Reggie, vivastory, Itchyfeetreader, jdiehr, CBee, dabbe, kelli7990, Jari-chan, ImperfectCJ, lil1inblue, The_Book_Ninja, julieclair, AnnCrystal, bellabella

DebinHawaii … on the plus side of being trapped in the mall & mostly Apple with no phone but my Kindle meant I finished my read for #CampLitsy2025 I was behind on, read some for book #SundayBuddyRead tomorrow. I also have a lovely new Titanium Desert iPhone 16 Pro with more memory & a working battery. 🤷🏻‍♀️🤩 (edited) 2mo

JenlovesJT47 🩵🩵🩵 2mo

dabbe I love when trips meander into something unexpected and then with a big titanium win at the end! 😍🤩😘 2mo

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AnnCrystal 👏🏼🐝👍🏼🛍️🐝💝. 2mo

kspenmoll Yay for you! 2mo

Itchyfeetreader Yes to the new phone ! 2mo

lil1inblue 💓💓💓 2mo

42 likes7 comments

CarolynM

Woodworking | Emily St James

pick

Loved it. Great characters with distinctive voices , plotting that avoided cliché and predictability, smart writing and some wonderful calling out of the attitudes of the “Christian” Right - “…everything you say is bankrupt, warped by money and power and privilege”. “But a person‘s life is their own. Few sins are greater than trying to squeeze someone else into the shape you require them to be.” Can‘t wait to discuss #CampLitsy2025

Cathythoughts Great review 👍🏻❤️ 2mo

mjtwo Definitely need to order this 2mo

AmyG Yes, great review. I can‘t wait to discuss either. So much to say. 2mo

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Suet624 Fantastic review. 2mo

squirrelbrain Great review! Looking forward to discussing at the weekend. 2mo

Rissreadswithcats Oooooo! Great review! I was going to buy this last week but thought I would wait a little longer to see what the reviews would say. 2mo

61 likes6 comments

Kitta

Woodworking | Emily St James

pick

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Wow I read this in a day! Partly because it was due on Libby tomorrow and partly I just got so into it.

Erica starts to realize she might be trans later in life and doesn‘t know who to turn to. She‘s a teacher at a high school, she‘s divorced, and she‘s numb. The story jumps between her POV and that of Abigail a trans student at the school.

Engaging story, though a bit predictable

#campLitsy2025
#lgbtia2025
#transrightsreadathon2025

Butterfinger Being a teacher, I keep shaking my head and saying NOOOOOO. Even if it is innocent, you have to protect the reputation. But, there was an incident in my county. A few, in fact, but one relationship ended in suicide (the teacher). I didn't realize the close, intimate relationship would be a trigger for me. I just finished reading the part where Swee reads the texts between the two. She had the right reaction - TO PROTECT THE CHILD!!! ALWAYS. 2mo

Butterfinger Sorry, I just set the book down and still had anxiety when I opened Litsy. One part of my brain realizes they need each other, but then the other part sees a train wreck coming because a teacher should not ever develop a relationship with a student. Hopefully, it's all out of my system. 2mo

Kitta @Butterfinger oh I completely agree! There was a teacher at the junior school when I was in highschool who was caught with hundreds of child porn images and he fled to South America and also died by suicide, I believe. It was awful. Very triggering to read about their friendship here and not have anyone do anything?? I thought someone should act. I had a weird friendship with a teacher and cut him off when he was getting too close to me. 2mo

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Kitta @Butterfinger He was young for a teacher and I was close to graduating but I felt it was weird even if he didn‘t teach me directly. I don‘t think it was nefarious, I just kept running into him when I was out drinking (underage oops) with my friends or skipping assembly to get coffee. I was going to add commentary about how that aspect of the book made me feel but there wasn‘t space. 2mo

Kitta @Butterfinger I think it was uncomfortable and not at all good that Abigail acts as Erica‘s trans mom, given their situation. It‘s not fair on Abigail to keep that secret and be responsible. I don‘t know if it‘s realistic? I chose to believe it was possible though. I thought Erica didn‘t stress enough about how it looked, although she does stress a lot. 2mo

Butterfinger @kitta exactly. She is too young for that responsibility and Erica should know that. 2mo

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Kitta

Death of the Author: A Novel | Nnedi Okorafor

Re posting @Suet624 ‘s image - my copy is the same!

Different covers on the book jacket and hardcover! So cool and clever. I didn‘t even notice until she mentioned it.

Anyone else have the deluxe edition as well with this?

#camplitsy2025

ChaoticMissAdventures I am now sad I got mine through the Aardvark book box!! So cool 2mo

TEArificbooks Mine is that way too. Very well designed book. 2mo

BarbaraJean My library copy was the same way! 2mo

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Kitta @ChaoticMissAdventures I ordered mine from my local independent bookstore since it wasn‘t available on BOTM, I was so surprised! I hate the colour of the sprayed edges though haha. It matches the blue of the cover and hurts my brain. 2mo

Kitta @TEArificbooks yes! I feel like it‘s setting the bar high for others. 2mo

Kitta @BarbaraJean I ended up buying it because I wouldn‘t get it in time at the library lol. I mainly use Libby and the wait time would have taken me too long (past September I think). I need to start getting physical books out from the library too. 2mo

ChaoticMissAdventures @Kitta yeah, cyan. Every time she says it is her favorite color I cringed a bit. 2mo

BarbaraJean @Kitta I‘ve started doing what I think of as “library roulette” for in-demand library books: I put all three versions (print, digital, audio) on hold, and see what comes first! Print usually shows up first. This one came through in May and I didn‘t dare turn it down because the wait time on Libby was so long. I struck out with the first two for Camp Litsy, though—Wild Dark Shore is only just now on its way to me. 2mo

Kitta @BarbaraJean I got two from BOTM, two off Libby, and two I bought at my LBS. I need to go to the physical library though. It‘s not even far lol. I love my kindle and the convenience and I worry I‘ll forget to return them if they‘re print books! Also Wild dark shore was great! I hope you enjoy! Audition… was not for me. 2mo

BarbaraJean Going to the physical library is dangerous for me—I have to walk by the new releases shelf to get to the holds shelf 😆 And it‘s books like Audition that make me get these from the library! I snagged a 7-day skip-the-line checkout for it on Libby at the midpoint of the Camp Litsy discussion and it‘s for sure not one I needed to buy! Interesting to discuss, but frustrating to read. I‘m glad it was so short! 2mo

Kitta @BarbaraJean 😂 yes that‘s the danger. I‘m glad I got audition on Libby too, very frustrating read for me. You‘re right the discussion was good though! I love CampLitsy!! 2mo

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BarbaraBB

Kastanje a/d Zee | A.F.Th. van der Heijden

#WeeklyForecast 29/25

I started Woodworking for #CampLitsy2025. I am 100 pages in and enjoying it. No more reading time today however, as I am going to a Kendrick Lamar show in a few minutes 💃

Next will be the tagged one, a Dutch author.

I haven‘t made much progress with Cleo and Frankenstein. I‘ve been reading it next to Shark Heart and compared to that one, it really falls short.

Megabooks, squirrelbrain

sarahbarnes Have fun at the show! I was disappointed in her other book unfortunately.

Blue Sisters

2mo

Suet624 Have a great time!!! 2mo

AmyG Oh wow. Have the best time. I am so jealous. He is amazing. 2mo

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squirrelbrain Have a great time! @sarahbarnes - I really liked Blue Sisters. I read Cleo before that and liked it, but not as much. 2mo

Billypar Hope the show is amazing! 2mo

Megabooks ENJOY!!!!! I liked Blue Sisters more than Cleo and Frank. 2mo

Lesliereadsalot Ooh…a concert! Have so much fun! 2mo

BarbaraBB @sarahbarnes @squirrelbrain @Megabooks I was disappointed in Blue Sisters but Cindy said this one would be better. Not sure though. But who knows, I am not halfway yet! 2mo

BarbaraBB @Suet624 @AmyG @Billypar @Lesliereadsalot thanks! He is so cool, a great show. Crowd went crazy. And Sza was very good too! 2mo

79 likes9 comments

Kitta

Death of the Author: A Novel | Nnedi Okorafor

so-so

⭐️⭐️⭐️

This has all the things I should love in a book but it just didn‘t hit the mark for me. I was frustrated a lot and although the ending was interesting, I was kind of annoyed by it.

I will add some spoiler comments below.

Read for #camplitsy2025.

Kitta Anyone else keep thinking Zelu was going to die the whole time? The constant peril she is made me keep thinking she would meet an untimely death - the autonomous cars, swimming, the kidnapping in Nigeria. It frustrated me. 2mo

Kitta As mentioned in another post, the genetics was just wrong. This always irks me. 2mo

Kitta The writing style when the robots were talking sounded a bit… simplistic? I preferred the chapters from Zelu‘s POV. The interviews were also strange and I‘m not sure what they added besides some background. 2mo

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TEArificbooks @Kitta yes I kept waiting for her to die. I think it‘s the title. Needs a better title 2mo

Kitta @TEArificbooks I understand why that‘s the title - I think it‘s about the death of humanity (as humans are the authors of stories) in the robot version of the world. So it‘s sort of about Ngozi‘s death as she was the last author. But it made for frustrating reading. 2mo

Ruthiella I didn‘t love it either. I don‘t think I jive with Okorofor‘s writing style. Overall I liked the ideas but found the execution a little boring. 🥱 2mo

JamieArc @Kitta @TEArificbooks The title of the book was mentioned by @ChaoticMissAdventures as possibly coming from an essay by Roland Barthes using the exact same phrase. Reading about it, the title makes perfect sense to me. 2mo

Kitta @Ruthiella yes exactly that. There was a way to do this and make it more interesting throughout instead of just a twist ending. Reading the blurb I thought there would be more blending of her life with the book not just the last chapter when she goes to space. 2mo

Kitta @JamieArc so funny, I mentioned I was reading Death of the Author to someone last week and they assumed we were discussing the Barthes essay! So I read up on it then but if I‘d known about the essay beforehand I would have understood better. I agree the title makes sense, but before I read about the essay and read the ending, I assumed she would die and that kind of ruined the experience of reading it for me. It changed how I viewed everything. 2mo

Kitta @Chrissyreadit rotating shelf in the background! 2mo

Chrissyreadit it looks amazing- is that a light attached to it??? I‘m leaning toward getting one- where did you order yours? 2mo

Kitta @Chrissyreadit the light is separate! It‘s just sitting in front of it from this angle. I have some boxes hidden by the book lol or I‘d take a picture from another angle. I love mine, even if it‘s become a climbing tower for the cats haha. 2mo

Kitta @Chrissyreadit I think I got it from Flycity via the TikTok shop when they were on sale. Mine is the gold 5 tier. It has sorta fake wood and gold bars. I don‘t mine the fake MDF wood because you don‘t see it much with the books on it, and the dark colour gives a nice contrast to the gold. It was easy to put together! 2mo

Chrissyreadit love it!!! I‘m laughing because my cats race across the bookshelves in my house- they are 7 feet high! 2mo

Kitta @Chrissyreadit haha I‘m pretty shocked when she jumps up and it doesn‘t fall over tbh. She loves being up high. I wish I could get some of those climbing shelves for her. 2mo

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