Even giving myself 3 months, I didn‘t get BINGO 😆

But now I get to regroup and redistribute the leftovers on the next board 😁

#bookspinbingo

Heeeeey look what I happened to catch! I want to celebrate reaching 50k with a lil old giveaway. To enter:

1. make a post sharing your favorite thing related to Litsy. This can be a hashtag, a game, a swap, a buddy read, a particular gift you got from a fellow Litten, even just a book you loved that someone here recommended. What do you love about Litsy?

2. Tag me @CSeydel and use the hashtag #50kgiveaway

I‘ll pick the winner in one week!

Been listening to the long-awaited new album from Mumford & Sons, Rushmere. My favorite track, not surprisingly, is “Caroline” (okay but it actually might be my favorite even if it didn‘t feature my name! It‘s really catchy!)

#TuesdayTunes

I‘ve been reading this one a little at a time for a couple of months now, but it‘s really good and I‘m picking it for my March winner. It was a tight contest and I may yet add a February or March book as a wild card pick … looking at you, Intermezzo … we‘ll see

Final count for March!

Carried over from Feb:
Challenger - 5⭐️
Once Upon a River - 4⭐️
My Family and Other Animals - 4⭐️
Sam Neill‘s memoir was a strange, meandering experience but very entertaining, especially hearing him read it. 3⭐️

March:
Strange Sally Diamond - 3⭐️
The Dry - 4⭐️

Currently reading:
Last Bus to Wisdom
Entangled Life

April #bookspin

#weekendreads
Mostly I‘m working (trying to) because I have a feature due Monday and I am wrestling with the material. But when I need a break I have this to look forward to. It‘s so good!

My Book and beverage - coffee in my favorite mug #BandBDay @TheSpineView

The town of Gros Ventre was so far from anywhere that you had to take a bus to catch the bus. #firstlinefridays

Tore through this police procedure set in a dying, drought-plagued Australian farm town. I thought the author did a good job immersing you in the setting and the characters‘ lives and motivations. Well-plotted with good suspense and a satisfying resolution. Thank you @TheAromaofBooks for sending me this gift! #bookspin

Powerful and compelling. I‘ve seen a few reviews complaining that it felt like too much NASA history rather than focusing only on the Challenger itself, but I truly believe the historical context is necessary to explain some decision-making down the line that seems inexplicable on its own. There was a lot I didn‘t know about the Rogers Commission findings (I was only 10, ok) and I knew nothing about Thiokol‘s warnings about the O-rings. ✨5 stars✨

#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain

In a book with so many sad, heartbreaking moments, this sentence has to be the saddest.

“The Columbia Accident Investigation Board delivered its report on August 26, 2003, and concluded that many of the lessons of the Challenger disaster had gone unheeded.”

Of course for today‘s #tuesdaytunes I have to promote the new song from The National Parks, “Welcome to the Mountains.” We took a road trip to southern Utah this weekend to see them perform at Tuacahn Amphitheater, which is a gorgeous venue tucked among the awe-inspiring rock formations near Zion NP. Incredible show!

It took a while for this one to grow on me, but in the end I found it a poignant exploration of how we unnecessarily constrain ourselves with ideas of conventionality. Her descriptions of people‘s inner lives are vibrant and feel authentic. The ending didn‘t quite work for me - I have my doubts about some aspects of their arrangement - but it did feel cohesive with the rest of the story.

I‘m not sure exactly what I was expecting, I think probably one of those “see the world through the eyes of a neurodivergent protagonist, and realize that ‘strange‘ is in the eye of the beholder” type books. This was not that - it was a crime thriller, and a lot darker and more graphic than I expected.

#bookspin #auldlangspine

✨Magical realism
✨Historical setting
✨Large cast of characters
✨Multiple plot threads that intertwine in unexpected ways
✨Beautifully evocative writing

I always decide I‘m not going to do a Bingo card because I don‘t always read that many books in a month, and I can‘t help but feel pressured to fill out the card. But it looks so fun, I‘m sad to miss out … then I remember: I can do it however I want to! This is my quarterly #bookspinbingo 😁

#weekendreads

I have my work cut out for me this month … once I finish Challenger that is …

The books pictured include #bookspin and #doublespin from February AND March, plus two more #auldlangspine books I‘m still looking forward to.

I‘m not finished with this book yet, but I‘m still counting in as my favorite book of the month. Incredible storytelling; he expertly combines the human side of things with the technical details that I‘m so interested in.

Graphic is a little misleading because all three of the middle books are still in progress. Sadly I had my book club meeting for Once Upon a River today, and I‘m only about halfway through 😩 But it‘s really good so far! I‘ve enjoyed all of these books.

Work has been consuming this month and I haven‘t done as much reading as I‘d hoped. I‘m still working on Intermezzo and Challenger, and I haven‘t even started either of my February #bookspin books! And now it‘s time to pick books for March! Well, I‘ll get to it when I get to it…

This is a strange, melancholy book, but there are some beautifully expressed descriptions of complex human emotion.

“In her satisfied exhaustion … Margaret feels that she can perceive the miraculous beauty of life itself, lived only once and then gone forever, the bloom of a perfect and impermanent flower, never to be retrieved.” …

Can‘t believe my baby girl is 21 years old today! She doesn‘t hang out on Litsy anymore but I‘m still posting her a Happy Birthday because I‘m so darn proud of her 🎉

🎂2️⃣1️⃣🍷

When work pops up in the most unexpected places!
🧬🦟🌱

Best laid plans …

My holds came in on Challenger and Intermezzo, so I‘m bumping them ahead of my bookspin picks and reading them next.

Last one tonight. Another #auldlangspine - I listened to this one, and Griffin Dunne did an excellent job narrating this memoir of his extraordinary family. He begins with his mother‘s grandparents (I think) and touches on his father‘s difficult early life to set the stage for the family dynamics that infuse his life story, mostly his early years. Hilarious and wrenching. The climactic event is the 1983 trial of his sister Dominique‘s killer.

Also #auldlangspine! I really lucked out with my partner this year. What I love about your list @CBee is the variety of styles you chose, and yet they are all so enjoyable. This was a fun, hilarious and cozy caper that was perfect for unwinding at the end of the evening. I loved that it had a truly all-ages cast of characters ranging in age from 8 months to 90 years. (Ok, he wasn‘t *actually* 90, but what happened was … )

Another #auldlangspine pick from @CBee

This was so unexpected and intense. I loved it and definitely see myself revisiting it in the future. A haunting story of an odd little family in post-WWII Scotland, and a bright and sensitive young girl who is deeply unconventional and frequently misunderstood. Richly drawn and evocative portrait of a unique time and place. The writing is spare yet poetic. 4.5⭐️

Read for #auldlangspine

Nice historical fiction inspired by a real-life midwife who kept a daybook. I have a hard time with historical fiction because I‘m hyperaware of the modern attitudes that inevitably creep in. Still this was an emotional story and likeable characters, with several powerful storylines that managed to never cross the line to melodrama. Thank you for recommending this, @CBee

Read this with my brunch gang. It was pretty good, didn‘t blow me away, but the suspense kept me reading. There weren‘t any big shocking twists, it was more of a slow burn, little by little revealing more pieces of the puzzle, which I quite liked. Most of the book is from the MC‘s perspective, but some chapters are written from the psychiatrists perspective in a weird, pseudoscientific passive voice, an affectation that quickly grew tiresome. 3⭐️

Have been busy and gotten behind on posting proper reviews. So welcome to my Friday Night Review Dump!

Summary:
An Anonymous Girl: 3⭐️ - decent thriller with some annoying flaws
O Caledonia: 4.5 ⭐️ - haunting, poetic, evocative, and compelling
Frozen River: 3.5 ⭐️ - well written, tautly plotted
How to Age … : 3 ⭐️ - cute, witty, cozy; a fun read
Friday Afternoon Club: 4⭐️ - powerful and entertaining memoir of an extraordinary family

My ambitious reading goals for a short & busy month.

#ReadingBracket #BookBracket2025

Starting strong with a clear winner for January slipping in just under the wire before the month‘s end. This is a book I already know I‘ll re-read because it‘s full of gorgeous description and characterization. By turns hilarious, poignant, bleak, heartbreaking. #auldlangspine

#weekendreads #auldlangspine

Frozen River is a historical fiction about a real midwife, Martha Ballard, in colonial Maine. A woman is raped; later, one of the two men accused of the crime is found dead. Politics and fingerpointing ensue.

How to Age Disgracefully is a fun little British story about an eclectic assortment of people who cross paths at a community center in a lower-middle-class neighborhood. So far it‘s funny and charming.

#january #wrapup

Making a good start at #auldlangspine with these - top and bottom shelf are from the list @CBee gave me. All very good! I‘m only about halfway through the Dunne but it‘s a terrific listen so far. Middle shelf are book club picks for my two in-person book clubs, which have been unfortunately lackluster. As sometimes happens.

#bookspin list loaded up and ready to spin

#TuesdayTunes

Recently I‘ve been digging this cover of Careless Whisper by Brigitte Calls Me Baby. I don‘t know why, there‘s nothing particularly special about it, but somehow it scratches the itch of novelty and familiarity at the same time.

Check it out:
https://youtu.be/ITBP3fo3fzY?si=EuAndRTpHhn3WeKL

Once again interrupting #auldlangspine for a book club selection. I‘m nearly done with O Caledonia (which is exquisite by the way) but I went ahead and started An Anonymous Girl for my book club that meets next Saturday. (The worst thing you can do is show up to discuss a suspense thriller that you haven‘t quite finished - !) And I got Frozen River back from the library so I plan to finish it up soonish
#weekendreads

#whereareyoumonday
Spending a moment on the beautiful island of Corfu this morning

#snowedin @Texreader

#auldlangspine
See, I knew I‘d end up flying through this one. It was a fast read and so, so good.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Since @BethM asked … here‘s a 2025 bracket, if anyone wants it

#bookbracket2025 #readingbracket2025

#weekendreads #auldlangspine

I enjoyed The Thursday Murder Club, but I thought ehhh, this one probably won‘t be as good as that one, right? No. Wrong. It‘s top tier, really hilarious and touching and action-packed and very English (but in the endearing way, not the annoying way). I‘m enjoying it so much that I can‘t stop reading it, and that makes me sad that I‘ll be done with it too soon.

Barbara Kingsolver is a very good writer, and this book is rich with metaphor and well-drawn parallels between the 2015 and 1870 storylines that illustrate the ideas about America she‘s trying to convey.

But. It‘s not a good book.

The problems are:
- the book is tedious and the story and characters didn‘t draw me in
- I disagreed with much of her overall sociopolitical message, which made it even more tedious to read.

#weekendreads

Reading this one for my in-person book club which meets this Thursday. I suggested it because I enjoyed Demon Copperhead tremendously. This one, unfortunately, is a slog. I‘m about halfway in, and there‘s no plot to speak of - it‘s long on characters discussing social issues and short on story.

Finishing up this slim but powerful novel recommended by @CBee and I‘ve been pondering how to articulate my feelings about it. Just a few pages before the end I came to this poignant, eloquent passage that I felt sums up [one of] the book‘s themes. I appreciate how well Newman‘s writing captures the feelings of family life in middle age, so that even though the details of my marriage & family are quite different than Rocky‘s, I can relate.

I may be busy in the next few days

My library hold came in, so I‘m listening to Lisa Marie Presley‘s story as narrated by Julia Roberts and Lisa‘s daughter, Riley Keough. I‘ve visited Graceland but I never knew a great deal about Elvis‘s personal life or that of his wife and daughter. So far it‘s quite engaging, though sad. #auldlangspine

#LCS #LittleChristmasSwap

Happy Epiphany! Hope everyone enjoyed their Twelfth Night revelries. If you are back to work like me I hope it‘s not too taxing today. Meanwhile gaze upon my glorious gifts from @bookish_wookish - how cute are those candies?! And the card says “Merry Bookmas” 😆 I love it! I am so excited to read this book, thank you Amy!! And thank you for hosting this fun event.