I know I‘m not here as often as I once was but I came here today to give a virtual hug to those in this community who I am grieving with today.

And if you voted for Trump? I don‘t want your book recommendations, or your well wishes, or your stupid bookish games and fake declarations of love for all. You don‘t care about us. And you don‘t care about this country or those in other countries.

May paper cuts abound with every page turn.

I‘m still not over 2016, and I‘m stress eating and nail biting as we await next week. I still managed a few chunksters in October. #octoberrecap

This is my #AuthorAMonth read, and I‘m interested, but I‘m not sure how it‘s all going to come together 🤔

This is the second book this year where my name makes an appearance! I never see it in normal life!

Ok, I‘ll bump it up 1/2 a star. 😉

I don‘t laugh out loud at books but this one kept me doing so. Highly entertaining and I‘m always pleased to see asexual rep, which we need more of in fiction!

Still waiting in line for Somewhere Beyond the Sea, but I may go ahead and check out the sequel to this one on Hoopla in the meantime.

#AuthorAMonth

Ok. I‘m lawling at this book. Loling? Sorry, Gus. I‘m way older than you but you‘re hysterical!

#AuthorAMonth

I‘m amazed that I‘ve had no DNF‘s this year and we only have 4 months to go!
#augustwrapup

After more than 7 years of using Leio to track my reading, I had to look to an alternative as the app broke sometime this spring and stats aren‘t accurate. So giving Bookly another go.

Does anyone know if there‘s a way to mark a book Finished without rating it? I‘m terrible with rating and I had to start RuPaul this morning before I could close the figurative book on this one.

July was a slow reading month, comparatively speaking, but comparison is the thief of joy, right?
#julywrapup

Here are the books I finished in June, courtesy of The Storygraph‘s new graphic generator!

I cannot believe 2024 is half over. 65 books down. Let‘s see where we are in six months. #junerecap

You know that expression on Brian‘s face as he watches Allison construct her lunch? Not the one here, it‘s a bit more grossed out than this.

That‘s how it feels to peek inside Celeste Price‘s head reading this book. The story is a bad car accident that you can‘t help but show down to look at. When you think it can‘t get worse, it does.

And now I‘m realizing Brian Johnson is already too old for Celeste and I‘m disgusted all over again.

Name sighting! It‘s always nice to see it in print, even though the audiobook narrator pronounces it the “other” way 🤷🏻‍♀️

#authoramonth

From the chapter “How Diet Culture Steals Your Well-Being.” This is my nightmare fear.

What are we thinking, you guys? Tempted or not?

Hm. Well, this was my first Jane Harper, and I‘m not sure how to feel. Seems like such an abrupt ending, with no resolution.

I did like the atmosphere and I think I‘d give the author another try, but I‘d say I‘m just whelmed by this one.

#AuthorAMonth

Ok, really considering this readalong! I have almost all of the books on my TBR abut have yet to read ‘em. Anyone else considering it? #maaseffectreadalong

“Clutter, like emotional chaos, has a way of running in families, passed down like curly hair or blue eyes or musical ability.”

Scarier than King meant in the late nineties…

I think my jaw actually dropped as June‘s thoughts and beliefs were vomited into the page. What a terrible person! And yet, there are no angels in this story. What a twisted tale Kuang weaves here; I‘ve finally read her for the first time, and surely not the last.

Another winning #AuldLangSpine pick courtesy of @jenniferw88 !

He ardently loves her! Have I read far enough where I can rewatch the BBC version yet? 😁

#AuthorAMonth

I listened to Binti last week and was impressed with how much the author packed into such a short novella! This is my second book by her and I‘m struck by how vivid a picture she paints with her words.

You‘re two for two with #AuldLangSpine picks, @jenniferw88 !

I‘m so glad I got to go into this one blind! I was 14 when it was released and never had it as part of my high school curriculum.

Is ignorance bliss? Is a sanitized, safe existence any more than just existing? This book is beautifully written and definitely poses some great questions. I think I will always answer that the choice can‘t be to stay asleep.

Wonderful pick to start off #AuldLangSpine, @jenniferw88 !

No other #fiction I‘ve read since February managed to knock the tagged book from its top spot this year. I still find myself thinking of Vanessa. #readingbracket2023

For the past couple of years I‘ve read a classic during the span of twelve months. In thinking about 2024‘s yearlong project, I‘m considering ramping up my #chronologicalkingread and trying to finish one book every month. If I can do it, I‘ll head into 2025 about to complete The Dark Tower!

Nothing like spur-of-the-moment reading goals on the last day of the year…

No more #nonfiction to finish this year, so the #2023readingbracket goes to Barbra Streisand! I highly recommend the audio version of her nearly 1000 page memoir; it was like listening to a friend chat for many, many hours.

With all due respect, if you couldn‘t answer that question the first time, you shouldn‘t be running for the office you‘re running for. I don‘t want a president who panders to a base who can‘t accept an honest answer.

https://www.npr.org/2023/12/28/1221988690/nikki-haley-didnt-say-slavery-caused-t...

My first tentative TBR for 2024! I like to start the year at zero current reads, so I won‘t be cracking these open before Monday.

Well, that was fucking bleak.

I‘m so excited that there are so many books I haven‘t read on @jenniferw88 ‘s #AuldLangSpine list!

I‘ve read two, and I‘ve tagged a bunch of these on Libby, Hoopla, and Amazon for 2024. In January, I plan on reading the tagged book (the only one I currently own), as well as Binti and The Giver, both books I‘ve wanted to read for awhile.

#AuldLangSpine About Me! Like you, Jenny, I carried over some items from last year but added a few new ones, too.

One of my first role models. 🌟#WonderWoman

It‘s the last #AuthorAMonth book of 2023, and I might just DNF it. There‘s been some interesting plot points so far but I‘m mostly not feeling it. I switched from the hardback to audio today; I‘ll give it another session or two to change my mind.

Anyone else underwhelmed?

I love it when my reading comes together like this. I‘m feverishly trying to finish Bab‘s audiobook before the library takes it back and here she appears in Crying in H Mart, after I listened to a chapter about her difficult relationship with her mother earlier today.

It‘s the most wonderful time of the year! #AuldLangSpine2024 sign ups are open! 🥰

I‘m asking Santa to magically make my matches list already exist on my owned TBR.

I‘ve reached the last hundred pages of #LesMisCAD! I‘m excited to check it off my list at the end of the month.

Anyone doing a yearlong read next year? I was considering a series like Throne of Glass or something on those lines.

#readingbracket2023 #fiction

#readingbracket2023 #nonfiction

Someone is getting ready for #authoramonth2024.

It‘s me, hi. I‘m the someone, it‘s me.

Thanks, Soubhi, for keeping it going and working hard to keep us organized!

Well that‘s a crappy gift, PRH. Booooo ☹️

Oh, gosh. This might have been the headline I read when I burst into real tears at the terrible news that Patrick Swayze was dying. I thought I had already known he was sick, but the thought of a five week timeline really made me cry.

Tabloids should be ashamed of themselves.

I just don‘t know if I‘m ready for this…

#LesMisCAD

Coffee and an audiobook on this chilly Saturday morning. I‘ve felt down this past month, unable to help those needing help, unable to shake the feeling that whatever I say will be the wrong thing. And so I continue to listen, to hope I understand, to never stop learning.

Here are some of the contenders on my #nonfictionnovembet TBR, made up of things I own and end of October Hoopla credits. We‘ll see what I make it through!

Today is my 7th Litsyversary and I thank each of you who has made this place such a great community over the years! ❤️

#readingbracket2023 #nonfiction

#readingbracket2023 #fiction

This is not the big, terrible thing I wanted to hear about today. I read Matthew‘s book last year and was really rooting for him in recovery. He didn‘t get enough time.

He sure made me laugh as Chandler for a lot of years, though. Thanks, Matty. RIP.

https://www.tmz.com/2023/10/28/friends-star-matthew-perry-dead-dies-drowning/

I regret how I viewed Britney Spears at the height of her fame, and letting the news stories and edited interviews sway my opinion so much. Looking back over her career, it‘s impossible to deny how hard she worked. In hindsight, a lot of the behavior she got brutalized for wasn‘t so different than what others get to do without the flash of paparazzi. You stumble, you get up and try again. Fuck her family.

And yes, JT is a TOOL. Fuck him, too.

#LesMisCAD

A little fall of rain, can hardly hurt me now…

Today was the day. (I‘ve been reading forever.)

I don‘t know if I feel seen…

…or judged!

Had no idea when I posted this as an answer to a QOTD in the company water cooler channel last week that halfway across the world, stress and trauma were being experienced by Jewish civilians 80 years after these words were written in a diary.

I haven‘t the knowledge nor the understanding to pretend my opinion means anything today. But I‘m horrified for all the innocent people who are suffering during this terror.

How DO we improve this world?