Check me out, reading John Steinbeck voluntarily!!

I had to read him in high school and did not get much out of the experience, but I‘m finding Cannery Row to be delightful! I just randomly pulled it off my shelf and I‘m glad I did.
#penguindropcaps

I‘m bailing at about 30% of this novella. I just don‘t care about these characters, especially one of them. The world-building—Earth inhabitants fleeing a decimated planet build a new society on Jupiter—is sort of interesting, but I‘m done. Moving on…

We‘re heading to California on Thursday and I have been in a wicked reading slump. So I picked these up today for the trip, and hopefully one will work out for me. All of them rather slim so as not to overwhelm myself. 😵‍💫

#vacationreading
#dogsoflitsy

My town‘s library decided to pull out of the digital consortium through which we borrowed Libby books, and now the library has its own account (or whatever) with Libby. I was searching for a Carl Hiaasen book and Libby showed four pages of results. Then before my eyes, the app made me sign in again under the new account and four pages shrank to one. I know funding is very tight, but I wonder if the only books available will be the most hyped 👇

I‘m having this weird problem with Hoopla where it won‘t let me advance through the book with the scrubber bar at the bottom. I‘m already about 25% in with the audiobook and I just DLed the ebook version. But it won‘t let me catch up; every time I slide the circle to the right it just pops back to the beginning.

Anyone else having this issue?
#hoopla

Not my first Discworld book, but it is my first book of the Watch. Very enjoyable to listen to! #audiobooks #discworld

Movie/TV tie-in covers. Just no.

@BookmarkTavern #sundayfunday

I loved the first maybe 60% of this, but the writing became so overwrought and repetitive. It‘s the fictionalized story of the life of Hildegard von Bingen, an anchorite-turned-abbess, about whom not that much is known, since she lived a thousand years ago. So much flowery, religious language! I just got bored.
#nunlit #nunlitquarterly

Hey there! Does anyone know how to unfollow someone? I don‘t need to block them, I just don‘t want to read their posts.

*Gratuitous pic of the elementary school library where I work.

#sundayfunday

Samantha Irby at a signing here in Chicago, years ago. I had loved the blog she did before her books and loved “Meaty.” She had also been an assistant at our vet‘s office and she remembered me! I definitely fangirled at that!

Mailing our postcards today…
#idesoftrump

The one and only political post I have ever made or ever will make. (probably, but who knows?)

Chaim Grade was a big deal in the Yiddish literature world of the early 20th century but not known today as Singer or Aleichem are. His “mercurial” widow would not allow this book to be translated so it had to wait until after her death, and the result will be released March 25.

I‘m very much looking forward to reading this window into shtetl (Yiddish word for “village”)life. #yiddish #translatedliterature

@TheBookHippie

“Major Picquart to see the Minister of War…”
#firstlinefridays @ShyBookOwl

A novel about the historical Dreyfus Affair, late 1890s France, in which a Jewish officer in the French army was (knowingly) wrongly convicted of treason and sent to Devil‘s Island. Picquart was the officer who came to believe in his innocence.

I‘m loving the second in the The Stranger Times series on audio. This time around the gang at the paper is dealing with vampires, which definitely DON‘T exist!
Brendan McDonald is delightful and hilarious as ever as the narrator. It‘s hard to believe that someone could come up with as many distinct voices for so many characters as he does.

Oh. My. Goodness. I just started watching the series “Dalgliesh” and I am crushing hard on Bertie Carvel!! I think it‘s the sideburns! 😂

“There are various ways of mending a broken heart, but perhaps going to a learned conference is one of the more unusual.”

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The Stranger Times publishes stories about weird and impossible occurrences: a man believes he is possessed by the spirit of David Bowie, who wants to get back to the studio and record a new album, for example. But the newspaper isn‘t quite what it seems…
The narrator, Brendan McDonald, should win an award, his distinct and hilarious voices are that good. The audio version is a must, IMO.

I DNFed this at 40%. I really tried but it just wasn‘t for me. It felt so relentlessly gloomy to me, which wasn‘t helped by the narrator of the audio. All of her voices sounded like variations on Eeyore.

#DNF

#Two4Tuesday @TheSpineView

1. Pineapple, even though it makes my mouth feel weird.
2. The whole Dr. Siri Paiboun series, because Dr. Siri marries a woman who owns a noodle shop in Laos and they often eat noodles together.

Thanks for the tag, @Sace

I have been teaching myself bridge for the last few months with books and apps. It is fiendishly complicated! 😈 #nelson #dogsoflitsy #greyhound

This series is so comforting to listen to. I think this narrator adds a lot to the experience. #comfortreads

I did the audio version, which had quite a good narrator. I don‘t think I would‘ve enjoyed it as much in print.
The premise of a new husband emerging from the attic whenever Lauren sends the last one up is frothy fun, and this is a good light choice for a summer read.
#summerread #audio

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for this baby!! Lehane does an amazing job creating believable characters. His descriptions evoke the images, but he doesn‘t ramble. I‘m on to the sequel, The Given Day, so I can stay in 1930s Florida and Cuba.

My photo skills leave a lot to be desired. Yeah, maybe don‘t cut off the title! 🤪
I‘d retake it but I already returned it to the library.

We went to this excellent bookstore—complete with a bookstore cat named Natalie—on Kauai during our trip. It‘s the only bookstore on the island, as far as I know. I bought a book on Hawaiian grammar because I‘m a nerd! 😂 #hawaii #vacation

I‘m enjoying this series a lot, but the constant references to this character‘s size (once she was described as having a “massive head”) are irritating and a bit sexist. The author doesn‘t do this with any other character, but he makes this woman sound like she‘s 7 ft tall and built like a linebacker.

Man, this irritates me! These are all I have of the series so far, so I don‘t know what the rest look like.

#bookwormproblems

I‘m very excited about the release of Katherine Arden‘s new book. I adored her Winternight trilogy and although the premise of this book is intriguing, I had sort of been hoping for another Russian setting. But I‘m happy anyway!

My current view while I wait for a tow truck. My car just lost power as I was driving to work because I think I ran out of gas 😣. Fortunately, I have John Scalzi to entertain me! Thankfully, it is FRIDAY!!! #tgif

Woohoo!!! It doesn‘t look too bad in this pic, but our district called it last night because we were going to have blizzard conditions in the morning.

Whatever shall I do with my bonus day??? 🤔
#snowday

I discovered these highlighter pencils recently and have come to love them. It feels like I‘m doing less damage to my book than when I‘m using marker highlighters. And you can control how intensely a word is highlighted. They‘re called Textsurfers (and you‘ve gotta love the name!), made by Staedtler.

Do any #nunlit or #nunlitquarterly folks have resources to clarify the whole convent vs. abbey and prioress vs. abbess thing? I‘ve always found these religious and clerical terms (rector, vicar, curate) baffling. Someone really needs to write a short handbook!! 🤓

Davis is a translator and writer. This book contains essays which are a sort of journal of her translation process. She has translated Flaubert and Proust, and the essays discuss how she makes choices and solves problems. She also records her adventures in teaching herself Norwegian by reading a difficult novel without any resources.
I found it fascinating, but then I think I am a frustrated translator.
#translation #French #classics

I enjoyed the heck out of this book! I only had a minor quibble about how much time Isaka spends inside The Prince‘s mind, to the point where I felt it took me out of the story. The ending was a bit anti-climactic as well, but otherwise I loved the very unique characters and the unique setting.

#thriller #trains #Japan

Probably one of the last few reasonably warm mornings to sit out on the patio with some cold brew and my book.

I don‘t read many thrillers because they tend to feel very samey to me, but this book sucked me right in. The translation is marvelous, the characters are a bit bonkers, and I can‘t wait to see where it‘s all going.

I‘m also listening to the audio version, read by a very good narrator.

#thriller #sundaymorning

Reading this delightful book at a heavenly spa in Santa Fe. I‘m reading and listening to the audio version. Warner‘s language is lovely, and the narrator of the audio is excellent.

#summer #summervacation #spalife

1. When little, a “stewardess” 😂 because I flew a lot to see distant family and thought it looked exciting. When a little older, an Egyptologist.
2. I am an extremely over-educated paraprofessional in a kindergarten class.
3. Lately, a lot of 70s music because reminds me of simpler times and it soothes me.

#wondrouswednesday

I don‘t really think this was a thing in 1946, the not drinking when pregnant, much less anybody noticing if you refrained. I was enjoying the book but I think the author was a bit lazy about researching the setting, and not only because of this. It really takes me out of the story.

The ‘hound is ready to get this show on the road NOW PLEASE!!!

I‘m doing the print and audio versions of the appalling saga of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos. I‘ve already seen the documentary series and the drama series but I‘m still hooked by this story.

#nelson #greyhounds #dogsoflitsy

This writer is one of the main subjects/interviewees in the first season of the podcast pictured. It‘s about the Missionaries of Charity order, founded by Mother Teresa. I just finished listening and found it fascinating. The tagged is her book about her experiences joining the MCs and eventually leaving.
#nunlitquarterly #nunlit

My #libraryhaul for the New Year. I‘ve read the first few pages of the tagged book, Cranford, and The Secrets We Kept, and those are the ones I‘m leaning toward. But I‘m also feeling in a #chunkster mood, so maybe Bleak House?

Decisions, decisions…

Happy New Year all!!! 🎉🎊🥳

The narrator for this is fabulous!! I would like him to read all the books, please.

The book itself is pretty good, too!

#audiobooks #newbooks

It‘s as if Miss Havisham moved into Grey Gardens with Big Edie and Little Edie.

#nyrb

This might be an #unpopularopinion but this is not feeling very thriller-y, and I‘m at the halfway point. Not much has happened, and the things that have happened are not very creepy.

I hope it picks up!

My first Riley Sager!

#thriller

A Hoopla question…is there a way to select chapters from a list when listening to an audiobook? It seems like the app has been updated somewhat, and I can‘t remember if there ever was a way to do that in the past. The scrubbing bar is basically useless.

Am I missing something? Any tips appreciated!
#hoopla

I just learned about Uli Beutter Cohen, who has been wandering the subway system in New York for years, asking people about the books they‘re reading. This is her new book about her experiences, and I can‘t wait to check it out! #booksaboutbooks

Thoroughly enjoying this wacky time-travel chunkster.

Gratuitous pic of #nelson with his lovey/pillow, Lambchop. 🐑 ❤️

I rarely read romance but I picked this up on audio because it has rave reviews. And I see why; it‘s an original premise for romance and it‘s quite funny. The narrator is excellent, but I have learned that audio sex scenes make me cringe 😳. #romance #audioromance

I requested that the library purchase this right before the pandemic and then forgot about it. This first of a trilogy is gritty noir set in Sweden in 1932, with a queer protagonist. So yeah, I‘m pretty sure it‘s a one-of-a-kind!😄 #lgbtqia #nelson #dogsoflitsy

Oy! At the 80% mark this book is really starting to feel like a slog. The paperback is over 700 pages and I haven‘t been that enthusiastic about it since I started. I enjoyed The Lies of Locke Lamora—the first book in the series—much more than this. #isitoveryet