I‘ve been to 2/10. New travel goals!

https://vegoutmag.com/travel/r-10-libraries-every-bookworm-should-visit-at-least...

I don‘t usually read YA, but this is the August choice for the Banned Books reading group at my library. There‘s a lot in here (almost too much to cram into 1 story): alcoholism/substance abuse, racism, Islamophobia, poverty, domestic abuse. It‘s a story of generational trauma, grief and figuring out what‘s best for the people we love. The narrative was a bit uneven, but still a pick in the end. And no idea why people want to ban it. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I don‘t drink alcoholic beverages, and I particularly dislike wine and beer. Recently discovered Töst, a non-alcoholic sparkling beverage made from white tea, berries and ginger. It‘s lovely and very refreshing! (Not to sound like a commercial—I really do not have any stock in this company. ?) Just putting it out there in case others are interested.

Hubby is working 48 hours in a row (2 24-hour shifts back-to-back) so I took myself to the state park at the beach for a little bit of Vitamin D and a nice view for reading my book.

It‘s our national holiday! Happy Book Lovers Day, Littens! 💙💚🩵🎉📚📚

A day late, but the sentiment remains… We don‘t care if it‘s 80+ degrees out. We will turn on the AC and position several fans as needed to cool down enough to wrap ourselves in a blanket. Because when sleeping it‘s all about the coziness factor.

#WDNCW
#WeDoNotCareWednesday

Since this relates directly to a book I‘m going to assume it will be palatable to the “only talk about books on Litsy!” people. Let‘s discuss.

#antifabookclub
#readingispolitical
#BBB 💙🩵

#MondayMood on a Tuesday.
#BBB 💙🩵

Literally my dream come true … OMG, can we make this happen??

Reading stats for July 2025. Leaning heavily into the fiction this month in an attempt to avoid the real world. 😖

400 pgs of horrific crimes overlayed upon details about geographic areas that were heavily polluted (particularly the PNW around Tacoma and Seattle) in an effort to suggest that early/repeated exposure to toxic chemicals (lead, arsenic, etc.) created serial killers. Compelling but also confusing, as it‘s juxtaposed with the author‘s memories and lots of random historical facts that occurred at the same time. And so much about bridges. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Except for the clean house, cookies in the oven and lit candle, this is me right now. 😍

We don‘t care that it‘s not healthy. Our commute home from work (normally an hour) was doubled to TWO hours today because a multi-vehicle accident shut down the highway only about 6 miles from our exit. 😖 We had to drive 30 miles north to get to the nearest bridge that would take us over the river and then back down again through rural back roads. So we‘re having pie and ice cream for dinner. And lots of it.
#wdncw
#wedonotcarewednesday

Me too, Shoe. Me too.

#Tagyoureit @rubyslippersreads ! You posted a book with an image of trees on it, which fits this week‘s theme for the scavenger hunt! If you spot another Litten posting a book with a tree on it anytime this week, tag them to keep the game going!

Current situation. 😌😍📚☀️

Yay! My order from the Anti-Prime sale at Bookshop.org has arrived!

I understand the assignment! ☕️🫖📚😎

Stopped at Syd‘s Book Shack in Madison, CT, for their annual sale. It‘s a nonprofit used bookstore that raises funds to purchase assistive communication devices for nonverbal people. Here‘s my haul—and a view of the marsh out the back window.

Friday afternoon —made it to the end of the week! It‘s time to log off the work computer and enjoy a snack of chips and salsa while reading a book about serial killers.

#lifeisgood

1. My Marine son is home for a week before he leaves for another deployment on Aug. 3
2. The boardwalk in town with a gorgeous view of the ocean
3. Beautiful gardens at our town library
4. Anti-Prime sale at Bookshop.org
5. The humidity finally broke and today‘s weather is lovely 🥰

#5JoysFriday

When you completed the entire summer reading challenge at your library in less than 3 weeks but you‘re holding onto the entry form because you don‘t want the librarians to feel bad because it was too easy. 😚

I picked up this book and fell into it, coming up for air after 200 pages. It‘s a heartbreaking (trigger warning: death of a child) tale of the mistakes we make that irrevocably change our lives. Do we deserve mercy, forgiveness and reconciliation when we‘ve hurt the ones we love? Wally Lamb has done it again.

We were totally annoyed when we showed up at the blood draw station this morning for our fasting test and discovered that a glitch in the computer system meant that the appointment we had made on the app didn‘t go through and we‘ll have to come back another day. We were going to complain loudly but we decided that WE DON‘T CARE—and we went and bought doughnuts instead. 😎

#wdncw #wedonotcarewednesday

@marleed TAG, you‘re it! You posted a review with an image of the ocean on its cover, and that‘s this week‘s theme for the new scavenger hunt game created by @Chrissyreadit ! Your turn to spot a Litten! 😀

#tagyoureit

A-freaking-men. 🙌🏼😖

I‘ve been wanting to read Robert Caro‘s books about Lyndon Johnson for forever —hoping to get a start on the first one before this year is up.

#sundayfunday
@BookmarkTavern
#readingispolitical

Just finished my library books and was contemplating what to pick up next —and Wally Lamb appeared on my local news to discuss his new book. Ok, Wally! I got the message. Diving in now.

I know that Cosby writes characters who are difficult to root for—they are morally and ethically complicated. And they make choices that are hard to stomach. Every one of his books is a roller coaster ride, and I‘m totally here for it. But oof… this one was DARK. 😬

In 2009, historian Wendy Lower discovered this photo in the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. It depicts the actual moment of the murder of a Jewish family in 1941. Over a 10-year period, Lower conducted extensive research to identify the location and date of the mass executions, the German and Ukrainian soldiers who pulled the triggers, the Slovakian photographer who snapped the photo —and the identities of the woman and her children. #antifabookclub

This is the best thing the U.S. Postal Service has ever done and do not argue with me about it—I will brook no dissent. 😍🔥

We saw the weather forecast for the next week, and it included all the terrible “H” words that we hate about summer: hazy, hot and humid. 😖 We know that many people look forward to beach days all winter long, but WE DO NOT CARE for this weather and these temperatures. At all. We will be spending the weekend indoors with a book to avoid the humidity.

#WDNCW #WeDoNotCareWednesday
@dabbe

AMEN. 🙌🏼

I‘m a nonfiction geek, so these are the books that come to mind for when I need an emotional pep talk: Historians of fascism offer their guides to surviving and resisting America‘s recent turn towards authoritarianism. Because those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

Thanks for the tag, @Chrissyreadit !
#overcomingevilempires #readingispolitical #antifabookclub

When you‘re at the airport and you already have a loaded iPad and a paperback in your bag, but you can‘t resist picking up one of the books that made NPR‘s list of best nonfiction reads for summer 2025.

And that‘s a wrap for June 2025. Balanced perfectly between fiction and nonfiction reads —just the way I like it ! 👍🏼

We do not care that we went to pick up our library hold today without a bra on because a) it‘s 100-freaking-degrees outside and who wants any additional fabric touching their body?? and b) as a woman of a certain age we are basically invisible so nobody even noticed anyway. 🙄😄

#WDNCW #WeDoNotCareWednesday
@dabbe

Our library just started an intergenerational Read for Your Rights Book Club focusing on books that have been banned. Last night we met to discuss “Giovanni‘s Room.” I‘d never read Baldwin before and I was blown away by his prose. The discussion was wonderful. And the participants ranged in age from 18-early 70s, which provided a richer understanding and sharing of perspectives. Next up is “The Things They Carried.

The mystery is OK—a bit meandering and confusing. The characters, however, are what makes this book. I liked Amy, I loved Steve —and I adored Rosie D‘Antonio. She‘s a hot ticket. 😄 Even the bad guys were wonderfully droll. I‘ll read more of this series.

Even famous people geek out about authors!

I read a wide range of genres, but I‘d have to pick narrative nonfiction. I do so love a well-written nonfiction account that educates me about a person, event or topic while entertaining me at the same time.

#SundayFunday
@BookmarkTavern

Reading about the damage Facebook has done to democracy and society made me horrified, depressed and sick to my stomach. I literally felt like throwing up at the chapters about Facebook‘s role in the destabilization of Myanmar and active influence in the 2016 U.S. election. May Mark Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg, Joel Kaplan, etc. all burn in Hell. 😖

Short, sweet book about the friction that comes with relationships and marriages and the forgiveness needed to maintain them over long periods of time. As someone who‘s been married for almost 34 years now, I found myself nodding along to much of the dialogue and situations.

Heading out for our local #NoKingsDay protest and taking it to the streets. 💪🏼🇺🇸

When your office has a Summer Fridays policy and you can log off at noon to lounge in the yard with a cold drink and a stack of books on a glorious sunny day. 🥰

The harrowing tale of a cruise ship at the very start of the Covid-19 pandemic, and how the virus spread throughout the passengers and crew. A must-read for anyone who still thinks Covid was/is “basically like a cold.” It was frightening to read about how quickly things went terribly wrong and how politics stranded the people on board with no way off the ship.

Oh, it‘s a happy day when the new Wally Lamb book arrives in your mailbox! 😍🤩💃🏻🕺

A soft pick. Provides a background on the lives of four female scientists (2 Jewish, 2 not) and how they managed to get out of Nazi Germany. Also gives good info on the various immigration processes that people tried to use to escape. However, it‘s rather repetitive and I really don‘t like it when authors interject their personal opinions or make subjective snarky comments in a work of nonfiction like this.

I rarely listen to audiobooks. Except, of course, when it‘s a Malcolm Gladwell book read by Malcolm Gladwell. I was actually offered the hard copy of this from the library 3 months ago, but I declined and stayed on the waitlist until the audiobook was available. This dive into social epidemics and tipping points and how the overstories we create lead us in directions that are both unexpected and predictable was worth the wait.

This is the most depressing news I‘ve read in a long time.

https://www.abcactionnews.com/us-news/education/reading-to-kids-at-all-time-low-...