Monica Adams Skips Christmas, by Krista Harper
New Adult Romance, Sapphic

When Monica Adams arrives home in Chicago for Christmas break she has no intention of returning to university for her engineering degree. To make matters worse her boyfriend from high school dumps her on the phone. So Monica has plans to skip Christmas this year.

And yet... there‘s Paige. Maybe things could work out for the best, and Christmas isn't so bad after all?

Pub. 2022
My favorite pig and the Deckawoo Drive family is back with a sweet story of the holiday magic that happens with community, and of course, hot buttered toast!

#picturebooks #christmas

Pub. 2022 | Teen - Asexual
Jack Shannon is away at his private school when his mother, a casino owner in Las Vegas, is hauled off to jail. Jack is determined to clear his family's name so he calls on his closest group of friends- teens from his online asexual support group that he hasn't actually met. Together the teens plan to infiltrate a high-stakes gambling club. What could possibly go wrong?

Historian Beth Allison Barr shows how events throughout history, stemming from patriarchy, set the stage for today‘s take on complementarian Christian womanhood. Barr also illustrates how the intent of Christianity was not subjugation but equality, and how an unbiblical adherence to patriarchy has distorted women‘s roles throughout history.

This was a fascinating read, and fits nicely with “Jesus and John Wayne.”

When the robots of Panga gained consciousness they came to an agreement with the humans, and went off into the wild, never to be disturbed by the humans. Centuries later, a tea monk is in search of purpose and feels they will find it in the wild.

Robot is searching for the answer to “What do people need?” In an effort to find out, Robot must enter the world of humans, the first time a Robot has done so in centuries.

Sick at home re-reading a comfort read today. Oh, and being a bench for a cute puppy butt as he scans the horizon for Fed Ex, UPS, Amazon, or (today) the garbage truck. Saints preserve us.
#dogsoflitsy

“Your self-worth is not found in the minds of other people.” Haig writes openly about his struggles with depression and anxiety, and has filled a book with thoughts, quotes, and ideas that he‘s found comforting over the years.

I just loved this book. I‘m so glad I happened upon it on the “New” Nonfiction shelf at the library.

Shout out to all the public librarians enforcing mask mandates right now. I‘m so done with the rude people. SO. DONE. It‘s been a crappy week, but my co-worker gave me this mug today and I can‘t stop laughing at it.
Love and hugs librarians, love and hugs. We are all unicorns. Unless you don‘t want to be. You be you 💕

Loved this sweet story! As a child Sylvia Townsend was kept out of dance studios by racist people enforcing segregation and poverty. Determined to dance, Sylvia taught herself using library books from the bookmobile.
As a teen Sylvia found a teacher who recognized her talent and wanted to teach her. Eventually Sylvia became a successful teacher training dancers who would be picked up by professional companies.

This beautiful story won the Caldecott medal for illustrations today and the Newbery honor for writing.
As the child of Chinese immigrants, the author would sometimes harvest watercress from the side of the road, something she hated doing. In this story she comes to understand her family history as her mother shares about eher childhood and food scarcity.

Beautifully written and illustrated, a great story to share.

I can‘t stick with any new book right now, so I‘m back listening to a favorite while I knit- something I haven‘t done in ages, but I finished this scarf for my sister today!

Just finished listening to this really long audiobook! This is my dad‘s favorite book and I‘ve been meaning to listen to it for years. It was good, and I‘m glad I listened to it… But, yeah, I‘m glad to be done. I prefer my sci-fi & fantasy with feminism or queerness.

I picked this one off the New Shelf at the library because it wasn‘t too long and has a fabulous cover. Sometimes I just want to be surprised by the story, and oh my goodness, this did not disappoint!

What might life be like in a post-apocalyptic world if you live on the great garbage heap? I absolutely loved the narrator in this story. Honest and also unreliable. A great story.

“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”
Somehow I had made it 44 years without reading this sweet story. My mom gifted me these lovely earrings for Christmas, but I couldn‘t wear them until I read the story!

The name of this book changed and Litsy doesn‘t have the updated title yet. This was a stellar read. A perfect book to reflect on the world as we move into a new year. I love Gorman‘s voice and look forward to watching her as a poet.

Happy National Introvert Day!
I‘m sitting on the couch with my weighted blanket and puppy reading Amanda Gorman‘s new book, Call Us What We Carry (which I can‘t find in Litsy).

I picked up the second in this series from the library‘s New Books Shelf. Ellen works as a professional declutterer, and solves murders along the way.
Meh.
I felt like the build up of a particular angle didn‘t work with the story, I guessed the ending a little way into the book, and the ending wasn‘t very satisfying, but it did seem realistic so I‘ll give it a so-so. I‘m not planning to read any others though.

Almost every year I listen to this story, but this was the first year I found the Hugh Grant version. Great performance!

This year my daughter and I did a ton of baking since I took the week before Christmas off. When your family has gluten, dairy, egg and nut allergies it‘s no small feat!

I found the main character annoying at first, but I ended up really liking this one- redemption, sisterly love, Scotland, The Muppet Christmas Carol, and a bookshop that needs saving.
Also, the narrator was great for the audiobook!

Nine short stories loosely follow the plot lines of “Love Actually,” but all end happily at Gigi‘s Nochebuena party. Written by a great collection of Latinx Romance writers (straight and queer). This was a fantastic and 🔥 🔥 🔥 read, perfect for the holidays!

Powwow day is a day River usually loves, but this year she‘s not able to dance as she wants. As River watches her community and family dance for her and healing, she feels comforted knowing she will dance again. This lovely story is a great introduction to modern indigenous culture and traditions, and a good read for preschool and early elementary. Illustrations by Madelyn Goodnight beautifully capture the story by Traci Sorell.
#NetGalley 2/7/22

Amy loves to bake, so when she‘s outed to her conservative baking boss and subsequently fired, things feel like they‘re falling apart. Thank goodness for her new love interest, Charley, her two best friends, and her part-time gif at Ruby Red‘s Tavern. And then there‘s the new job she invents - Bridesmaid for Hire.
Full of lovely characters, self-examination, and lots of love and heart, this is a charming read!
#NetGalley

Intertwined with Jules Verne‘s “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,” this is another great high-action middle grade read from Rick Riordan!

This was adorable, I absolutely loved it!
Olive is a PhD student and she, well, kisses the first guy she sees in order to convince her best friend that she is completely over- or never really into- the last guy she went on a date with who is very into her best friend.
So, fake dating. It‘s a fake dating trope and I couldn‘t put this one down. I accidentally stayed up until midnight to finish it. 💕

This is just as wonderful as you would expect from Amanda Gorman and Loren Long!
Vibrant illustration pull out Gorman‘s words, creating a story of service in action and community. Loved it!

I loved this middle-grade novel so much! Palacio‘s first novel outside the “Wonder” verse was completely different and I might like it more.

This is the epic journey of Silas, a twelve-year-old boy in the 1860‘s who sets out to find his kidnapped father on the back of a bald-faced pony with only his friend and ghost, Mittenwool, for company. Silas is terrified of his journey, but the universe is connected in a beautiful way.

Here‘s a page from my library‘s Instagram page that I put together. Indigenous people are the most underrepresented people in literature. AND there are also fantastic Indigenous writers putting out amazing work for all ages!

Salma is living with her mother in Vancouver while waiting for her father to arrive from Syria. Salma is trying to adjust to their new life and she desperately want to make her mama laugh again.

When she decides to make her mama‘s favorite dish the welcome center community comes together to support her in this beautiful story of new beginnings.

Look who we had for a Zoom author visit 😍. I love Aiden Thomas! They‘ve just finished two more books and will be at their first in-person author event at Bridgeport Barnes & Noble (Tigard) at the beginning of November.
They also shared they come up with the main character first, and then plot (but doesn‘t recommend it).
And they‘re a big Disney fan. And likes hiding Easter eggs in their books.
Our Teen‘s Librarian killed the interview too!

Evelyn Hugo is one of the best known actresses of all time, so when she asks low-level reporter Monique Grant to write her biography Monique is intrigued, flattered, and confused. As Evelyn‘s story unfolds Monique sees the person Evelyn has kept hidden from almost everyone- the good and the ugly, and how Monique‘s own story is intertwined.

Everything I read of Taylor Jenkins Reid I love! This was another fantastic book.

Number 2 in the series, and I just can‘t get enough! Murderbot is the best at reluctantly saving humans while his internal monologue shows his irritation with the whole situation. Already started #3.

This will be a book that stays with me. Historian Rebecca Hall gives us the hidden history of women-led slave revolts, and the graphic novel illustrations of Hugo Martínez add another layer to the story, literally reflecting the past in the present.

While Hall‘s story is based in history, the tales in the book are imagined based on the known history since much has been erased, or is inaccessible to the historian, another fascinating aspect.

Bea is a plus size blogger who loves the reality show Main Squeeze, but she‘s sick of the lack of representation of body size. When her post goes viral the producer asks her to be next up to pick her husband on the show.

I‘m leaving this as a pick because there was so much I liked about it around body representation, calling out fam shaming and more. But these kinds of reality shows make me feel itchy and I almost out it down 2X.

This was a fascinating look into the start of NPR and the prejudice faced by white women trying to work in the industry- which is to say BIPOC women had it so much worse but that wasn‘t discussed in the book.

At times it felt a little choppy and incomplete, but it was worth a listen if news show or NPR hold interest for you.

Author Anita Diamant offers a brief history of menstruation in the US and outside it, shaming of menstruaters worldwide, and the powerful younger generations who are actively working to change cultures worldwide. I appreciated the different lenses of racism, poverty, sexism and exclusion used to view menstruation as well.

While heartbreaking in some parts, this small book is definitely worth a read.

Murderbot is really terrible at its job. Really, it just wants humans to go away so it can watch video series and not have to interact with anyone. Gone rogue, Murderbot no longer has to follow directions, and it‘s tired of humans telling it what to do.

I loved this short space adventure with a sarcastic, human-wary human/bot who, despite everything, keeps saving humans even if he might not like them much.

Oh. My. Goodness.
If you need a charming middle- grade-Autumn-queer-affirming graphic novel in your life, choose this one!

This is a great friend adventure with a witch, weregirl, pumpkin head, and a living ghost. Good read-alike for fans of the Cardboard Kingdom series or friend adventure fans. I loved this so much we are reading it for my Grades 4-7 graphic novel book club in October.

Author Rob Sanders has another winner with this historically based picture book about Queer history- America‘s first Gay wedding.

Told from the perspective of the cake topper, this charming story follows Jack and Michael as they meet, fall in love, and figure out a way to marry. Throughout, baking is a metaphor for relationship- Jack‘s last name is Baker - see what he did there?

Author‘s note and timeline are included.

This picture book beautifully takes the reader through the building of Black Wall Street and all that it offered its residents at a time when Black people were barred from most of those services in white communities.

Then the heartbreaking turn of events as white police and city officials plotted with the white mob in what became the Tulsa Race Massacre where 300 Black people were killed, hundreds injured, and eight thousand left homeless.

The Lady Hardcastle mysteries are just the right amount of cozy mystery and snark for me.

Lady Hardcastle lives in a small town with an inordinate number of murders. Fortunately for the town, Hardcastle and her trusty sidekick Armstrong are nearby to save the day- at least for those who remain. In this story more of Lady Hardcastle‘s often referred to past is illuminated, which was also refreshing.

I love Helen Hoang‘s books, and this is my favorite.

Anna life is falling apart around her, but her recent Autistic diagnosis becomes the beginning of rebuilding an authentic life. There with her is Quan, who isn‘t the one-night-stand he was supposed to be, but a partner who loves her as she is.

This story was lovely and hard and beautiful. Hoang, who is also Autistic, writes honestly, challenging stigmas and giving us all a heroine we need.

In World War II London three children are orphaned when their grandmother passes, just as children are being evacuated from the city. To put off the question of guardianship, the three are evacuated to the country where hopefully they can find a forever family.

This was a lovely story of longing, friends, and found family. Great for fans of Penderwicks or The War that Saved My Life.

I loved the world building and the story was great. But the ending, sheesh. It felt like the end of the chapter, not the end of the book, and I needed resolution. I‘ll probably read the second book, but I‘m grumpy.

Also, there are definite Hunger Games vibes, but a very different story. I liked it, I did.

Reading today with this little cuddlepup 💕
#dogsoflitsy

I‘m so excited about this! I just registered for this free online event. Posting the link in comments.

This was a fantastic middle grade book, perfect for fans of The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street.

When a crime is committed in their community, three youth are brought together forming an unlikely friendship to not only solve the mystery, but save their community from falling into corrupt hands.

The sense of community in this story is heartwarming, and narrator Bahni Turpin, as always, makes this a performance that shouldn‘t be missed.

My friend gave me her ARC to read and WOW. I enjoyed You Had Me at Hola, but I loved this one. Friends to lovers AND pretend dating tropes. This was so much fun.

I love stories where all the pieces epically fit together in the end in a magical heartwarming (it‘s okay if I saw it coming) kind of way.

I love stories featuring neurodiverse people in a normal everyday kind of way - because that‘s life, and isn‘t it so much better that way?

Apparently I also love teleporting kittens. This story has it all. If I wore socks it would have charmed them off!
#middlegrademagic

I dabble in knitting, so when I found this I thought it would be fun to learn a little more about the process of creating yarn. What a fun adventure! A thoroughly enjoyed this look at American wool, and now I feel compelled to go find a wool sweater made with American wool for Autumn too!

I have a friend who is a big fan of Murderbot, so when one of the series came up on Audible‘s Daily Deals I went for it.
The sarcastic internal dialogue was so damn funny. This was a great story, I just wish it was a little longer. I‘ve put the rest of the series on hold at the library. I think I jumped in at book six, but it was still a good stand alone.