The October #BotM selections are up! There were so many good choices and add-ons this month that I had to pick three!

What did you choose?

New book release day! I'm both excited to see how the series ends, and sad that it's going to be over.

Heaven.

In Ann Arbor for an author event that's part of the #BigGayRead this cycle!

I haven't been on Litsy much lately, but I'm still reading! The tagged book finished my GoodReads challenge for the year (I upped it to 175) and was also one of the best books I've read this year!

I loved 'The Wolf and the Woodsman', so when I heard there was going to be a new book set much later in the same universe I was really excited.

I... really didn't care for this one. I didn't particularly like any of the characters and found a lot of it unnecessarily erotic. I don't mind sex scenes, but I swear every third page was the main character talking about her nipples. 😅😬

My September #BotM picks! I was only planning to get the Ali Hazelwood book, but the other had such a unique premise I couldn't help it!

What did everyone else pick?

😂💜

It's going into show season, so we've been super busy, but I have managed to get some reading done. Right now I'm re-reading the Sandman books before I watch the show.

Our big news is that we accidentally got a new reading buddy. This is Crumpet, a year old tordico stray that had decided being a house cat is awesome. She's already joined #KAL and enjoys napping on my arm when I'm trying to read, and annoying her brothers.

#CatsOfLitsy

It is ridiculously hot and humid today, but I'm so sick of being indoors that I drug a fan out onto the sunporch. I'm doing a reread of the Sandman comics before I watch the show... I'd forgotten how twisted some of this story is...

Have you ever finished a book and thought WTF did I just read?! Yeah. That's how I'm feeling. Huh...

I'm not sure what I expected, but it wasn't this. It's a story of two friends that spans 30 years, a business, relationships, and a hell of a lot of video games. It's dense and heavy at time, but also lovely and hopeful. The last quarter of the book hit with such an emotional punch that it actually left me breathless. I'm going to be thinking about this one for a long time.

One of my favorite WebToons has a real book now! Time for a reread! 💜

It's funny because it's true. 😅

There are a lot of dead rabbits in this book. A lot. Which makes it extra awkward when this guy is keeping me company while reading on the deck. Sorry, little guy, I swear I don't like ritual animal sacrifice! 😳

After spending two hours in the fabric store getting materials for a commission I decided I deserved a reward. Coincidentally, there was a Barnes & Noble in the same parking lot! 😂

The theme for the weekend was four.

4 books.
4 days.
4 stars each.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The tagged book comes out later this month and if you like small down magical realism (that borders on horror) you should check it out.

The biggest problem with reading in the woods is that Napoleon thinks he should have my undivided attention. I have to bring a bag of peanuts with me just to distract him!

#SquirrelsOfLitsy

I've been sitting on this exciting news and I can finally share it! Michael Lucas commissioned #Studio42Books to do custom leather covers for the top tier of his new Kickstarter! This is a huge deal for our tiny little company! The Kickstarter just went live this morning and there are already a few top tier backers🤯🥳😍

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mwlucas/prohibition-orcs/description

My July #BotM picks showed up today! Did anyone else pick either of these? They both sounded great and I couldn't choose just one... 😅

Has anyone else been so stressed out the last few days that they're having trouble reading? I've sat down with this book a dozen times and have still only made it 20 pages in. 😕

Reading is supposed to be my escape from all of this...

Starting my final #LMPBC book for this round! This one looks cute, so it should be a pretty quick read. My goal is to have it in the mail by the end of the week.

#GroupJ @Johanna414 @Shadowfat @peanutnine

I'm working a show in Hell, Michigan today and there's a super cute Little Free Library!

I've been listening to audiobooks like crazy for the last week while I've transformed our house from a boring brown box to something that suits us a lot more.

I still have to paint the porch and planters, but that can wait until we get a few more days under 80°.

What snacks do you like to eat while reading?

I eat candy canes all year along and they make a great reading snack. They're sweet, minty, and I like how they can be treated like hard candy OR a chewy treat.

For our anniversary my partner and I went to the Toledo Friends of the Library sale (where I got most of these) and then we drove up to Dawntreader in Ann Arbor (where I got Carry Me Like Water). Then we had nice lunch and wandered around A2 playing Pokemon Go. We stopped at B&N on the way home and picked up the air frying cookbook, because we were gifted one a month ago and still have no idea what to do with it. 😅

This was, by far, one of the best romances I've read and I think Reality Show Romance might be a new favorite trope.

When Dahlia (a divorced aspiring writer) and London (a non-binary sound engineer) meet as contestants on a reality cooking show things get a little spicy.

It was adorable and funny, with believable characters, just enough spice, and a strong subplot about pronouns and proper gendering.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

I finished the first set of reading challenges for #BotM... And just in time to add my reward to my June book! I think June is also going to give me BFF status! 📚🧡

Pippin and I are enjoying a beautiful evening on the sun porch. So far I'm enjoying this dark, twisted take on Peter Pan, though I'm very glad I checked the trigger warnings before I started! 😳

Kaikeyi is another book where a woman tries to have agency over her life and to help other women, but gets fucked over by both men and gods. It was beautiful and fascinating, and made me do some research into the actual story is based on.

If you have trouble with it I'd suggest the audiobook- it really helped me separate all the characters and unfamiliar words.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

SURPRISE!

#LMPBC #GroupJ I hope you folx don't mind that I let other people write in our book, but when I saw that Christina Lauren was going to be in Ohio I couldn't resist going and having our book signed! They were completely charmed by the idea of a postal book club. 🧡

@Johanna414 @Shadowfat @peanutnine

I'm heading to the other side of the state on a super secret bookish mission! If everything goes according to plan I'll be able to share what I'm up to in a few hours! 🤞

(Listening to the tagged #audiobook while I drive)

Rainy days are for reading and cuddling cats. Our sunporch has a metal roof, so the rain hitting that makes for a perfect soundtrack.

#CatsOfLitsy

#PoetryMatters

#AudioGardening to get my veggies started.

If you like your fairytales dark and your heroes unlikely Kingfisher is the author for you.

The 30-something third daughter (and almost nun) of a tiny nation goes on an impossible quest to save her sister from an abusive husband. Along the way she creates a bone dog, visits a goblin market, enlists the help of a dust-wife (and her demon chicken), and befriends her fairy godmother (who might actually be the most wicked of them all).

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Motor City day one. #MC3

I am SO FREAKING THRILLED with how our Princess Bride cover turned out! We gave our artist few free reign and once again she delivered!

We'll be at Motor City Comic Con in Detroit this weekend, so stop by if you're attending.

#MCCC #MCCC22 #Studio42Books

Came home from visiting my folks and had a bunch of #BookMail!

The downside of reading in the woods is that my fuzzy little friend here doesn't like when I ignore him. 🤣 🐿

#SquirrelsOfLitsy

What happens when you find out a fellow litten lives in your city? A Barnes and Noble meet up!

 @AmandaBlaze is lovely and I had a lot of fun wandering the stacks with her (even if my TBR list got a lot longer!). 🧡📚

So much good #BookMail today! I don't know which to read first!

Today was a really difficult day. We had to say goodbye to my reading buddy, Fred-Fred. He's been my companion for 16 years and I'm really not sure how to exist without him. 💔

Please feel free to recommend happy/funny with no animal characters. I'm going to have to relearn how to read without him cuddled next to me.

I listened to this entire book today and I feel sorry of wrecked over it. It takes place in a small town, over the course of one year. There is no central narrator and the chapters jump around between a dozen different people. It's beautifully written, painful at times, but ultimately hopeful and lovely. A five star read.

I'll add a spoiler comment with some trigger warnings.

My #BotM picks for May! I'm kind of sick of retellings, but Darling Girl sounds darker and more inspired by... but really, I just needed to pick something so I could get The Change. 🧡

Well... I finished it. I'll try to get it in the mail by Monday.

#LMPBC #GroupJ @Johanna414 @Shadowfat @peanutnine

Tommy and I are trying to make some progress on my #LMPBC book tonight. It's a good thing he's cute, because he keeps trying to eat my supplies! 😅

#GroupJ @Johanna414 @Shadowfat @peanutnine

#CatsOfLitsy #KAL