By request … 2026 Book bracket in a second color palette for your enjoyment 🤗

#readingbracket #readingbracket2026
#bookbracket #bookbracket2026

Happy new year, everyone! I made a 2026 bracket template for those who would like one.

Each month, choose the best book you read that month and repost this graphic with your book added to the appropriate box. They will face off against each other until one is crowned the best book you read all year. There are also two “bonus” spaces to even up the matches!

#readingbracket #readingbracket2026
#bookbracket #bookbracket2026

All About Me #AuldLangSpine introduction :)

You can tell from this photo that I have GenZ-aged kids. Why they love taking these fisheye photos, I‘ll never understand, but my camera roll is full of them 😆 This was taken in an airport during a trip my youngest and I took to visit my middle child on the east coast.

1. My name is Caroline Seydel: both names have the long-I sound, but mostly people don‘t pronounce them that way. cont‘d ⬇️

I made myself a little #LitsyWrapped

Some perennials reappearing on this list 😂

#bookspin

December‘s winner is PASSAGE by Connie Willis.

This isn‘t my favorite Willis — not even top 3, honestly — but it was still entertaining and thought-provoking and full of all the Willis-isms we have come to expect. Speaking of which, I kept having to remind myself when it was written, since people kept getting “busy signals” when they tried to call each other, which is super anachronistic even for 2001 (sorry Connie).

Still working on The Humans, which is going kinda slow so far. Getting ready for my end-of-year blizzard of posts …

On the fourth day of Christmas my true love read to me…

Four amazing fungi
Three exotic pets
Two faulty O-rings
and a Scottish countryside

#12booksof2025

Here are some more category ideas to choose from if you want to post your own #MyLitsyAwards

Have fun!

And here is a non fiction template! Tag me in your award posts, I love to see what everyone‘s enjoying!

#MyLitsyAwards
#LitsyAwards2025

Here‘s a blank fiction template for anyone who wants to participate in #MyLitsyAwards

UPDATE: if you use Canva, you can access the template file using this link - https://www.canva.com/design/DAG7mpVhJok/q_1rxvUMO2_18pv9jiediQ/edit

That way you can make your own categories and otherwise fool around with the layout. If you do use the link, PLEASE COPY the template into your own new document! Don‘t edit it directly - leave it blank for others.

The bracket is fun, but sometimes it‘s hard to compare books across genres, styles, and moods. To spread the end-of-year honors around, I‘ve made up my own awards to give out in completely arbitrary categories.

(If anyone else wants to play, let me know and I can post a blank template for you!)

#MyLitsyAwards #nonfiction #LitsyAwards2025

The bracket is fun, but sometimes it‘s hard to compare apples with oranges. Or apples with sushi, or with chocolate cake… so I‘ve decided to make up my own awards to give out in completely arbitrary categories. (If anyone else wants to play, let me know and I can post a blank template!)

#MyLitsyAwards #fiction #LitsyAwards2025

Scary ghost stories for a foggy weekend

#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain

Progress so far on the #christmascrimechallenge

Modeling the ear warmer I made for my daughter, who requested a new ear warmer.

#craftersoflitsy #knitting

My great #auldlangspine list from @sebrittainclark

I‘ve already read Everything is Tuberculosis and Project Hail Mary, and I loved both of them. A good sign!

For January I'm going to try for Britt-Marie Was Here, Automatic Noodle, The Mercy of Gods, Kill the Beast, and the Ina Garten memoir. There‘s quite a long wait list for Kill the Beast at my library, though, so if I can‘t get it right away, I‘ll sub in Where the Axe is Buried.

#bookspin and #doublespin for December!

#November wrap-up. I started listening to Ron and Clint Howard‘s memoir The Boys, which is entertaining if a bit gentle, but paused it to listen to Sorrow and Bliss, which a friend vigorously recommended.

Only managed to complete one nonfiction for #NFNovember, but it was a banger!

#readingbracket2025 #bookbracket2025
#readingbracket #bookbracket

#December #bookspin list

Oh dear. When you enthusiastically recommend a book to a friend, is it worse if the friend doesn‘t read it, or reads it and isn‘t impressed?

A friend recently listened to this book and recommended it in the most glowing terms. She loved it so much that when she finished it, she immediately started it over from the beginning. I‘m listening to it and it IS good, but I‘m not blown away. I‘m getting frustrated with the MC … but maybe that‘s the point

#37by37 starts today! Now I just have to remember to time myself when I‘m reading 😳😬

Happy birthday, Marie!

Still working through my last #GrimReaders pick… Death with Interruptions is charming, incisive and inventive, but also a slow read. The stream-of-consciousness format, with no quotation marks or line breaks, is not difficult exactly, once you get used to it, but it does require intense concentration. I‘m enjoying it.

Hellhound is, of course, gripping. #weekendreads

#bookhaul Cashing in some credits at the used bookstore. My main goal with this purchase was the hardcover edition of The Shadow Rising, since my husband‘s 30-year-old mass market paperback did not survive my reading it. Unfortunately this edition is a different size than the hardcovers he has of later books. 😡

#bookspree

After finishing The Trees, how can I not dive directly into Hellhound On His Trail? The characters in The Trees even make a point of driving by the Lorraine Hotel when they are in Memphis.

Of course the other thing I feel compelled to do after finishing The Trees is research the names he mentions … spent the afternoon yesterday reading about the Rock Springs Riot in Wyoming, which I knew nothing of.

Definitely won‘t get through all of these, but I‘m going to try to knock out a few more October books in addition to my November reading. We‘ll see …

Great spin this month! I‘ve been eyeing this Hampton Sides book about the MLK assassination for months, since I picked it up at a used bookstore. Looking forward to reading it for #NFNovember! And Our Missing Hearts is for my in-person book club this month. #bookspin

My final #ErasGhostsBingo board. Thanks for putting this together, @Charityann !

#ReadingBracket2025 #BookBracket2025 #ReadingBracket #BookBracket

Strong contenders this month but a clear winner with Capote‘s true-crime classic. But is that Brandon Sanderson I see sneaking into the Wild Card spot? #October

Lots of great books this month! Now the decision: do I keep working on Octobers TBR, or toss it and switch to November? 🤔🍁🤎

Absolutely tremendous narrative nonfiction about a botched robbery, a senseless mass murder, and the two young men responsible. Capote successfully navigates a sensational high-wire act: he writes complex, deeply humanizing portrayals of the murderers without seeming to excuse their actions, neglect the victims, or minimize the horrific crime. I found it fascinating how a variety of circumstances lined up just so, leading to the murders. 5⭐️

I did end up finishing it, but the humor wasn‘t really on my wavelength. Pros were the creative premise and some of the comical scenarios; cons were the crass humor, the unlikeable cast, and the “twist” that is obvious to the reader long before the MC figures it out. Also the downside of a creative premise is that it‘s easy to get out over your skis and wind up with some very weird explaining to do. 2⭐️

Got to catch up with my #GrimReaders reviews before #HauntedShelf ends!

Reaper Man was a solid Discworld installment, full of Pratchett‘s signature satire and wordplay, but I felt the plot was a little all over the place. There was a wizard/Ankh-Morpork storyline and a Death storyline, and the balance between them felt uneven. That said, even a second-tier Pratchett is a worthwhile read. 3⭐️

Oooh thank you so much @MommyOfTwo for this fabulous #AllHallowsReadSwap package! How cute are those little bows?! I am definitely going to save the fabric to use again! I have actually not read any of Joe Hill‘s novels yet, although I did read his story collection Twentieth Century Ghosts and enjoyed it. And I am a big fan of Werthers Originals, thank you! The soap is so cool also, looking forward to trying it.
Happy Halloween! 🤎🧡💜🖤

#bookspin November list

Just a couple more days until #HauntedShelf is finished! This is your last chance to finish a book, get those bingos, and check in on the Cluedo game to earn some extra points #GrimReaders

**Report your final points total by Sunday 2nd November**

That is ALL of your points, everything you‘ve got from readathons, games, word searches etc. Take the time to get everything added up then either make a post or comment below.

Thanks for playing!

I‘ll probably give this book one or two more chapters, but I‘m within a hair‘s breadth of bailing. Maybe my sense of humor is lacking, but I don‘t find anything funny about giving a two-week old baby a cocktail sausage and making jokes about her giving a Teletubby a blow job. FFS

This sequel to Mickey7 was GREAT! Definitely read Mickey7 first, but if you liked that one, you will not want to miss this story, which takes place about 2 years later. I would say this one has more action and adventure than Mickey7, but definitely includes some of the philosophical and socio-political musings that made the first one so interesting. There is also some great character development. 4⭐️

Hey #GrimReaders, it‘s time for the mid-month points check-in! Please tally your points and either post an update on your profile and tag me, or post your points in the comments. How‘s everyone doing? Having a good time?
#HauntedShelf

#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain

Antimatter Blues is the sequel to Mickey7 and it‘s excellent!

Reaper Man is the second Discworld book in the “Death” series and it‘s extremely good, also. Very funny and poignant. I so enjoy Pratchett‘s style and his sense of humor.

I‘m now 3 for 3 in books that didn‘t live up to my high hopes. I‘m giving it a pick because I learned exactly what went on in Flint that probably caused the lead crisis, but the narrative was all over the place and the tone was off. She tries to strike a conversational, storytelling tone but I found it a little too informal in places, and she comes across a little bit manic, impulsively shooting off e-mails and such

3⭐️

#10BeforetheEnd

Featuring selections from #HauntedShelf #trappedinaspookyhouse #NFNovember and my in-person book club

#HSCluedo

10pts per question/answer
10pts per guess
25pts for correct guess

I'm going to try my hand at #HSCluedo —

Players, please only use this tag. Don't tag your team or your team lead. People who want to play can just search the tag.

If you aren't playing the game, you can block this tag.

Guess the title or ask yes/no questions in the comments below.

10pts per question/answer
10pts per guess
25pts for correct guess

My #AHRS2025 package arrived today, somewhat damp from our big rain today, but none the worse for wear, I think.

I meant to send mine over the weekend, but I didn‘t manage it. Tomorrow for sure.

@MommyOfTwo I think this came from you? I‘m so excited! Thank you :)

I had high hopes for this one, but the ending left me cold. It was extremely well-written and I enjoyed both Zelu‘s and Ankara‘s storylines. Most of the book told a rich, evocative story brimming with symbolism, techno-optimism and philosophical commentary on what it means to be human and the purpose of stories in human and post-human culture. The last two chapters took that and turned it into a goofy joke.

Disappointing.

Finished this one Thursday, I just didn‘t get a chance to post about it. This is a collection of short mystery/crime stories largely set in Scotland or by authors with a connection to Scotland. Many of them were very good; a few were disappointing, partly because they just hit different 70+ years later.
#OneSnackToRuleThemAll #TeamPumpkinSpice
#grimreaders #hauntedshelf

At the risk of outing myself as the most basic of basic white b****es, this is what I‘ve been listening to last night and today. I love it and I don‘t care

#TuesdayTunes @TieDyeDude

(Lest you think I‘m trapped in the past, I also listened to Life of a Showgirl yesterday in the car with my daughter)