Not too many spooky season reads, not feeling it this year yet. We will see if that changes.

#Bookspin

*Cat (Serene) is not allowed on the table
This was the wrong time to read this book. I thought it was well crafted. Chan handled the multiple times and POV well. I was never confused where or who we were dealing with. I appreciate this being an area that is a historical blind spot for me (British Malaya occupied by Japan)
The writing is obviously debut level, a bit chunky, occasionally trying to do too much. But she gets her points across.

This sounds like the perfect book for an Aardvark book box! Fingers crossed!

I wish I would have read this while in Prague and in a better headspace. I think it is very good, I am just not in the mood at the moment. He compares moving countries and going back to Odysseus and mirrors 2 characters journey. It was well written and smart without feeling pretentious.

It has been a rough week, but I am stopping to appreciate this moment

ARC - Hole In The Sky by Daniel H Wilson (known for Robopocolypse) out in the US October 7, 2025

Girl math I try to pitch to my therapist

I enjoyed this. A literary character driven story. I have a fear of mice so the book really got under my skin in a creepy crawly way. But I enjoyed the slow contemplating writing and liked the MC. Living in a religious order when you are not religious is a draw for me. As a non believer myself I have stayed in nunneries but always go short periods while traveling this idea of escaping the world by doing that really drew me in.

Current and up next reads.

My goal each year is to read less than half American stories, so this week is great with Australia, Czech (could technically be considered French), and Malaysia.

I am finishing SYD today and hoping to also finish Ignorance if I can squeeze it in then the others this weekend.

This one really isn't for me 😂. I dislike fall. It is my 2nd least favorite season and it comes after my favorite which is hard!

I really dislike pumpkin spice things so I have tried that latte but no thank you!

3 favorites though:
Mulled wine
Pecan pie
Cinnamon rolls

PS what is the difference between a cinnamon bun and a cinnamon roll? I don't know if I know the bun

#TLT @dabbe

This has a fairy tale feeling to it that I really enjoyed, it also felt like fall even though it was set in an oppressive dry summer. There is a continuous ramp up of hysteria that was done very well.
I liked that there were a few different POVs and that they were all distinct and easy to tell apart.
I really enjoyed this.

Low pick. The writing as always with Hollinghurst is gorgeous, but he has an old fashioned way of writing that makes me question what decade or even century we are in.
This is deeply a character study. It feels very slow moving but you go through most of this man's life He is bi-racial in England, a student an actor and a writer
It was a big too slow for me but I appreciate the beautiful writing.

Back home and back at it!
#WeeklyForecast

I am 3/4 through Our Evenings
Want to tick off this Kundera that I dragged through Austria and Czech Republic and didn't open. Then Patricia Highsmith and I grabbed the audio of The Storm We Made which has been on my bookcase forever.

"Thomas nodded. He saw what she was trying to say: that history was round, that all things pass. But she was wrong to think it about this situation. There had never been anyone like the Mansfield sisters; there would never be anyone like them again. Their spiritedness and singularly, the way rumors about them bred. How people grew preoccupied with them, how they dreaded and pursued them and might eventually ruin them."

There are 2 things Prague loves a weird statue and Franz Kafka.
In the old Jewish quarter you can find this interesting statue of Kafka outside the Spanish Synagogue

New Emily Austin! US publication Jan 13, 2026.

Like with most of Austin's work it is incredibly in the he MCs head. Her fans will enjoy this one. I felt a bit bogged down in the current event library/censorship talk. But overall I enjoyed spending time with Darcy. I really loved how she showed the difference in a 20 and 30 year old and how much a person grows and changes. Through the cleaver like ok back using therapy sessions.

This is a must read. Such an incredible dive into being Asian American. With a focus on art, and what she describes as the invisible area between Black and White America.

Park Hong is a poet and her writing shows. It is not overwritten but is very well told.

I am planning on reading Anne of Green Gables and Middlemarch before the end of the year.

Favorites:
Persuasion and Rebecca are 2 of my all time favorite books. I also really loved We Have Always Lived In The Castle Shirley Jackson is the queen of subtle horror.

#TLT @dabbe

Another Faber story I picked up here in Prague. A perfect size for a purse novella.

Unfortunately this one didn't work as well for me as the Ishiguro of yesterday. We are following Sukie as she goes to visit her ailing father in Dublin, she is circling Nathan who is in love with her, but much older and keeping her at a distance. Compared to Rooney's other work I found the writing a bit weak and even for a short the plot non-existent.

I have been obsessed with Artemisia Gentileschi since reading the tagged and it is so interesting to see one of her paintings in real life.

Here is Susanna and the Elders

I love these little Faber editions! They are all around 100 pages and perfect for throwing into your bag for the day. This one from Ishiguro is hilarious. It is a miscommunication trope, but about friendship and aging, and you as the reader sit back as things get more and more wild. Raymond, Charlie and Emily are all a bit awful but also relatable.
Realizing my mushroom risotto doesn't look as pretty as it tasted 😂

It is pouring rain here in Prague, so a great time to read this tiny short that I bought at the cutest bookstore in Prague 1.

3⭐ Taking off a star for the guy MC repeatedly calling his penis "Charlie" for a reason I missed but doesn't matter because ew.
I wish there was more about her work, interestingly we get a bit about it in the 1st chapter about how she put off dating to be a success, then nothing, while at the same time we see him at his job many times. I also wish for more aunties, they felt very shadowy.
But overall I enjoyed & stayed up way too late finishing

The question becomes how long do we as tourists wait in line to see a free work of art?

I waited about 25 minutes which I think is fair. I cannot imagine the wait time during high season.

This is actually super cool. I had not realized that the stacks were not flat, there is a mirror on the top and bottom to make it look "infinite".

There is a "Instagram" vs "realty" thing going on at the book tornado in Praha.

I arrived 30 minutes after opening (on the off season "

I wish I had not read the last 2 paragraphs. This was set to be a 5⭐ read, and then he threw in child marriage and now I have to shake off that grossness.

Overall though I loved this. Aunt Augusta is goals, she gets up to all sorts of mischief and our poor Henry gets all caught up until he realizes that adventure (even if maybe illegal) is fun. I loved his growth as a character, and the unraveling of secrets (even if obvious)

Shakespeare a Synové is not in the Litsy data bank but is a nice English (with a few French) bookstore in Prague. They do not have many brand new (to Western readers) titles but they have lots of cute covers I don't see in the US or UK stores. And lots of pocket copies.

And I made it!

Prague's Klementinum. The "most beautiful library in the world". The Jesuits founded the Clementinum in 1556 and named it after the former Dominican monastery of St. Clement from 1227, where they settled. In 1775, meteorological data began to be collected here regularly; thus Prague has the longest continuous series of meteorological observations in Europe.
Prague City Tourism page: https://share.google/akNMEnw19yU9BQCq7

I don't know why it tickles me but I love the idea of buying a Korean book translated to English at an Austrian shop where the cashier only speaks German.

A great reminder of what a global world we live in.

I read the ARC of this a while back and I struggled a bit, I want to try it again in the completed form.

"what a lot of traveling you have done in your day, Aunt Augusta."

"I haven't reached nightfall yet," she said. "If I had a companion I would be off tomorrow, but I can no longer lift a heavy suitcase, and there is a distressing lack of porters nowadays."

Unlike Aunt Augusta I do not wait for a companion, but I agree with her it is hard with a heavy suitcase.

Down the street from my hotel is this fabulous cafe - bookstore where laptops are prohibited and conversation is encouraged. I am here to read and kill time before my train to Prague.

If you find yourself in Vienna I recommend!

I appreciate the big SA warning before the last story and I am skipping it.

This books is 12 short stories about men and women having relationships in Lagos. I thought it was well compiled giving lots of different view points. My biggest complaint is with the audiobook, there was one man and one woman narrator, but more women stories, I often couldn't hear the changeover between stories which led to confusion on my end. Overall though 👍🌶️🌶️

🎧 Listening to this audiobook while touring around Schönbrunn palace. Not exactly matching vibes 😂

Annakirche church Vienna

I am touring the Vienna Habsburg Schönbrunn castle and it has changed my brain for what I am going to picture when a book says a Dovecote/ aviary.

Last night I went to a concert in a very fancy church. I kept looking over to this bump out (I am unfamiliar with church language) there is room for a seat but no entrance. I kept thinking about little Tibb being an angel up here!
#WomensPrizeFiction25

While this was formulaic I still really enjoyed it. Ofosua is in publishing, starting from the bottom working her way up which isn't easy for an African woman in the US. I thought the racial aspects were handled well, I loved the setting. I am not usually one for reading about super wealthy people and that isn't changing, I found everyone's money gross and a convenient story crutch. I also thought the 3rd act break was annoying but I ❤️ O & Cole

This was interesting, I really enjoyed it. At 50 pages in I worried that the book was going to be too long, it is "quirky" and often those books cannot be tolerated for a very long time, but this turned out to be perfect length. There were enough side characters and story lines to keep the story moving along, and the main thread - Linda's intense desire to marry a plane - was well balanced. I have always thought objectophilia was fascinating.

I met my Aunt Augusta for the first time in more than half a century at my mother's funeral.

#firstlinefriday
@ShyBookOwl

Travel writing for travel times - Currently in Vienna

Not my pet sitter sending library Glamour Shots of my cat 😂😍

Listened to this on my flight to Prague. I just think John Green is the most pleasant and kind person. 4.25/5
I really loved the idea of this book. Each chapter is a subject or item he "reviews" gives a story, tells the origin or facts about and then rates. I don't think I have ever seen this done before, and it is John so things are lyrical and filled with anxiety and a wish for a better world.
4.5/5

This was okay. About the last son of the Habsburg dynasty, and what a complete ass he was. He unfortunately took his wife and mistress down with him, his mistress much more so. I do think the authors make a good point about people needing a purpose and if these old guards keep gripping tight to everything the new generation flounders. But maybe I am looking too deep given my country's current climate.
Good if you like a rich family drama

A low pick. I had trouble concentrating on this, which is probably a me problem. Ondaatje's writing is gorgeous. This is just a very quiet book. I was going to rewatch the movie once done reading it for the first time but the movie is almost 3 hours long!!
Glad I read it but I am unsure how much will stick with be beyond the bomb dismantling.

No better place to read this than the airport and on a plane 😂

#bookspin = Classic
#DoubleSpin = Trace of Sun (if I don't finish this this month I will be donating it)

New #BookspinBingo board!

Thanks @thearomaofbooks and happy reading!

I am unsure if this is just a US thing but this is very cool. WCK is a fantastic organization, if you have been thinking of getting some Martha Wells this is a great time!

https://www.humblebundle.com/books/martha-wells-murderbot-and-more-tor-books

I read 16 books in August.

4.5⭐
Dusk
4.25⭐
Only God Can Judge Me
Just By Looking At Him
4 ⭐
Fugitive Telemetry
Network Effect
Tilt
Three
3.75⭐
The Poppy War
The Tokyo Suite
The Goldfinch
3.5⭐
King of Ashes
The English Patient
3⭐
Fearless and Free
Tell Me Everything
Book Lovers
2.75⭐
Too Loud A Solitude

A fun tiny book I got from a friend for my birthday!

It has chapters like
Stay Nimble and Unpredictable
Knock Things Over Strategically
Keep Your Claws Sharp

It is 55 pages of advice 😹😻

#bookspin #bookspinbingo

I read my #doublespin - or at least I dnf'd it and removed it from my TBR

I had my #bookspin on my coffee table all month staring at it, but never opened it, I will get to it though!

3 Bingos one that sort of feels like a cheat with DNFs but I am getting that TBR down so that is good progress!

#14books14weeks

Not the best and not the worst I guess!

I read 8 of the 14 I had set out to read this summer. For the most part they were all at least okay, and I am glad to have them off my TBR. Flamingo was probably my surprise favorite of this bunch, I don't know why I waited so long to tackle it!

Sometimes classics hit right and you understand why they are standing the test of time, and sometimes not at all. Unfortunately this is one of those lesser times. I hate the repetitive nature of his writing, you really need to know your philosophy and Eastern European literary critics (he throws a bunch of dead white men's names at you just to let you know he knows who they are). There are a lot of scenes with bodily fluids? Luckily this will 👇