I liked very few of the projects in this book. I would definitely not call all of them upcycled, and many of them needed more detailed instructions. Also, the author seemed really arrogant. But there are some good ideas and useful tips (like what kind of glue to use), and I think one of the things about upcycling is it‘s hard to say “here‘s a project you can do” because it‘s so dependent on what materials you have at hand. Borrow, not buy.

Sorry, #HitchtoScreen. I just couldn‘t stand to be with these people a moment longer.

This book takes two hands and that‘s not permitted at the moment.

I‘ve been sick the last couple days and Let This Radicalize You is just too much for my tired brain to take right now. This seems like it will do the trick instead.

Fun, twisty murder mystery—it just never really grabbed hold of me and I found being in Pippa‘s head a little annoying. I definitely didn‘t see the ending coming and it all clicked together! I did love that the intro has her capstone project proposal and the teacher says “whatever you do, don‘t contact the families.” I immediately hoped she would contact the families and that‘s the very first thing that happens 😂

First #AuldLangSpine @Ellie_H

What a cute book! This is my first time continuing the series past the first book. It was fun to revisit the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman, and all the other characters are funny. I loved how the girls with knitting needles were able to conquer the Emerald City! I didn‘t like how beauty is equated with goodness, but the ending made me very happy nonetheless. I wonder if the rest of the wishing pills will be discovered as the series continues.

😂😂😂

#BeyondtheYellowBrickRoad

This book is part memoir, part writing instruction/inspiration. I didn‘t think the two aspects were well connected, and I wasn‘t enthusiastic about either one. The memoir was interesting, but it was told in such a non-chronological way that I was frequently confused. The writing part seemed shallow at first, but as it continued I did find some gems.

I was a HUGE fan of FLB‘s teen books when I was a teen, so maybe I expected more.

I‘m disappointed not to have liked this more than I did! A sapphic sci-fi Sherlock Holmes?! Yes, please. And all those aspects were great. The worldbuilding was so creative and fascinating. But I never felt a connection to the characters or the chemistry between them. I never felt the importance of Pleiti‘s profession and the ending fell pretty flat because of that.

#doublespin for January @TheAromaofBooks

Last week I got into a conversation with a coworker about Jane Austen because she was wearing a sweatshirt with Wentworth‘s letter to Anne on it. Today she gave me this sticker 😄

I enjoyed this a lot. It‘s violent and heavy-handed but the characters and story are fun. Some of my complaints definitely seem to be assuaged by the ending and I will be reading the next book.

Also, I can now be even more enthusiastic about my hopes to knit the Chrysalis shawl, designed by disyarning inspired by this book 😄

I have no idea why Storygraph thinks Little Women is longer than The Mysteries of Udolpho. 😂 But here‘s my 2024 wrap-up!

Squeezing in my #booskpin list for January! You‘ll see that the final three are from my #auldlangspine list from @Ellie_H !

The tagged is my top book for December 2024. But, as soon as I read Braiding Sweetgrass, I pretty much knew it was going to be my top read for the year. *Maybe* if it had gone up against the entire Rook and Rose trilogy as a whole (as you‘ll note both the first and third books of that trilogy were my favorites for their respective months)… but that‘s not the case.

I feel really good looking at this. So many wonderful books read! #BookBracket2024

What a beautiful, intense, wrenching book. Aberg-Riger puts together words and images so creatively to tell stories from America‘s past, mostly about the ways people have been oppressed. Many of the stories I knew, but didn‘t know all the details, or had never seen them from the angles she shows. There were also stories I didn‘t know. Highly recommended.

The best thing I can say about this book is we probably wouldn‘t have Northanger Abbey without it 😂😂😂

Small but mighty Christmas #bookhaul 😄

Not exactly a holiday book, but it‘s such a cozy reread that it‘s still perfect for the time of year! 🥰 #BeyondtheYellowBrickRoad

Beautiful start!

A fascinating book with a sense of humor! I love linguistic history and this book really delved deep. I learned all kinds of fascinating nuggets. For example, did you know that the “hus” in “husband” and the “house” in “housewife” come from the same thing?! The author did share some opinions that I side-eyed as on the border of TERFy. Note: the title is a little misleading; this book is very specifically about English.

Nymph, in thy orisons / Be all my sins remembered.

Though this be madness, yet there is method in‘t.

#hashtagbrigade #hamlet

I got my #AuldLangSpine list from @Ellie_H and she obviously has GREAT taste! Holly Black 😍🖤😍

I‘ve put The Dark Fable and Primer on hold. Looking forward to them and the rest of the list! Except I‘ve already read the first four… but… maybe 2025 is a year for a Holly Black reread?

OK, I‘m satisfied with that information about Morano. Let‘s move along now. #hashtagbrigade #accumulatemoremisfortunesplease #countkidnapper #countdickwad

#bookbracket2024

Wow. Powerful and really makes you think. Scary, as well, because how many people are actually going to be strong enough to stand up to tyranny? The illustrations are unusual and fascinating. I‘d like to read the full book at some point; there are definitely parts of this that I didn‘t understand. I wrote down a lot of quotes.

I did find it strange that there were frequent and specific references to Trump, but he is never named.

Join me and @BookmarkTavern #BeyondtheYellowBrickRoad starting next month! I read the first book many times as a kid and have been meaning to continue the series for a few years, so even though I am overloaded on buddy reads and library books, I can‘t resist joining in.

Here‘s my #bookspin list for December! @TheAromaofBooks

“Make an effort to separate yourself from the internet. Read books.”

That‘s some advice I can get behind 😁📚📚📚

“The mistake is to assume that rulers who came to power through institutions cannot change or destroy those very institutions—even when that is exactly what they have announced that they will do.”

I‘ve seen so many people talk about the 2026 and 2028 elections as though we can rely on them happening. I don‘t believe we can.

So much happens in this book! How do I review it without spoilers? I‘ll just say that some stuff I knew would come up in the end did have a major impact (Fiavla!) and other stuff I never saw coming and was emotionally wrenching as well as story-logic perfect (Tanaquis!).

Damn, Daphne du Maurier can write.

I thought this painting was of a horse so I figured I‘d use it for my review picture. When I saw it I realized it was a stag. But I didn‘t have any better ideas 😂

I keep setting myself a limit on library books so I can find time to read books I already own. And then… #libraryhaul

Haymarket Press is offering ten ebooks on anti-racism and anti-fascism for free. https://www.haymarketbooks.org/blogs/517-ten-free-ebooks-for-getting-free

“When you order someone to give up, doesn‘t that only spur them to fight harder?”

I‘m surprisingly disappointed in this after how much I loved Elatsoe. I don‘t remember Darcie Little Badger‘s writing being so stilted previously. There was a lot of unnecessary detail (like, describing every movement of a different driver making adjustments to a car) and it seems like she missed the memo that “said” is a perfectly good dialogue verb. The story was interesting and surprising. The ending was frustrating because…

I started two buddy reads today. The first chapters of both involve a mother dying after a long illness while being faithfully nursed by her daughter. It‘s a good thing I saw my mom yesterday and she was well… 😬

#hashtagbrigade #hitchtoscreen

It seems a bit wrong to choose a reread as my favorite book of the month, but I didn‘t read any new books that rose to the level of consideration. And there‘s a reason I reread it!

Yes, there are two blank spaces where the next tier up should go. It‘s hard to make decisions 😅

#readingbracket2024

Here‘s my #bookspin list for November! @TheAromaofBooks

1. Always! I mean, I‘ll wear one of my witch hats (probably the new one with the strawberry pattern because I love it so). That will just make it a little more obvious.

2. Is it redundant to recommend The Haunting of Hill House and Dracula? They‘re both great!

I love Shirley Jackson so much.

But now I‘m out of spooky reads for October 😅 Luckily I still have the movies to watch!

I‘m glad I read this all the way through even though I wasn‘t that into it, because the ending was the best part. Very creative and unusual. I just never really connected to Maire, and I felt like the world should have either been a straightforward, conventional fantasy world or a lot more wild. I never got a sense of the “surprising yet inevitable” (until the epilogue, which I would have been mad without)—just surprising.

I had part 1 of a shingles vaccine yesterday and it has hit me harder than any vaccine since my first covid booster. At least I can soak away the ache and enjoy a spooky classic at the same time.

This was a fun and sweet book. Felt like a pretty young YA (for example, there‘s a romance but the feelings aren‘t overwhelming and they only kiss once), which isn‘t my favorite, and the world with the competition among seven girls to be queen felt almost like a parody of other YA novels. But the Treesinger culture is wonderful, and I enjoyed the book.

Lots of creepy stories. A few weren‘t very good (or at least weren‘t creepy). Most were good. A few were spectacular.

But it‘s a *lot* of stories. I‘m so glad to have finally finished it.

Life‘s too short.

Much to my disappointment, I‘m not enjoying this at all. I can see how it would be funny, but it‘s not working for me. Anyway, I wanted creepy, not funny.

I did not know this meaning of “levee”! #randomclassics

Starting Dracula for #hashtagbrigade during school dropoff!

We usually walk, but it‘s raining, and my husband usually does it, but he‘s sick. I arrived early enough to park which meant I was stuck while the line of cars went around. But I had just the right amount of time to read the first chapter!

I read a lot of great books in September, but Starling House still jumped out as my number one pick.

I forgot to mention this in my review, but anyone who loves the ecological/class and horror aspects of this book should listen to the podcast Old Gods of Appalachia. And if you like Old Gods, definitely read this book!

Wow! It‘s my Litsyversary! 8 years on this great app. Thank you, everyone, for making Litsy one of the absolute best places on the internet.