I was doing so good on minimizing my book buying this year, but post vacation blues had me bringing this stack home. Hooked is a #BlameItOnLitsy choice (thanks @swishandflick ), two magazines in prep for a kitchen reno, Oh Reader is a lovely bookish magazine, and the tagged has a lot of elements that draw me (mostly nuns!).

Set on an unnamed Caribbean island, this story came alive to me as I read it while in St. Lucia and could imagine it here. The short chapters and constantly changing story worked for me. I almost couldn‘t put it down. This story is about so many things, and a lot was packed in to the last 50+ pages. Some editing could have been done. Overall, I really enjoyed being with each of the characters and learning how the story unfolded. #LiteraryCrew

A couple go away for their 5 year anniversary, trying to find what their relationship lost. Circumstances allow them to pretend they are meeting for the first time. I really enjoyed this fresh take on a romance about a couple who is already married. It was fun while also showcasing some honest things about imperfect marriages. Read while on my own 5 year anniversary trip to St. Lucia, with the BEST reading view from our room.

I decided to tempt myself during #buyless2023 with a stroll through Barnes and Noble and was SO tempted by the tagged book. The left is the hardcover under the dust jacket and the right is the endpapers. Putting it on my list of really want, even if it‘s getting mixed reviews.

Tonight‘s moon has put a spell on me, forcing me to put on my cozy clothes, pour a cup of hot tea, and figure out which gothic novel to spend the night with.

1. Leggings, chunky cozy socks, t-shirt with my favorite cardigan, and my favorite knit hat which feels like a hug for my head ?
2. Hmm. 4? Middlemarch, Démon Copperhead, an audiobook, and a book about weight lifting (a brand new hobby I never thought I would get into but is doing amazing things for my mental health).
#Two4Tuesday

Did you know that The Good Earth is first in a trilogy? I didn‘t until I was searching for the #Booked2023 prompt. But this had been on my TBR since visiting one of her homes 20+ years ago. The story of the farmer Wang and how his life plays out over a lifetime was surprisingly hard to put down. While some aspects were hard to read, I really enjoyed this and am glad to FINALLY have read it.

Catie, dear friend, thank you so much for thinking of me and sending this hug in a box. I may have shed a few tears when I realized what it was. It‘s been difficult trying to figure out how to navigate feelings that come up when I wasn‘t one directly impacted. Did you specifically choose green-colored things? You are one of the most generous and thoughtful people I know. Thank you 🙏🏼 💚 Lastly, I‘m intrigued by this mug!

The tagged is February‘s favorite. So far, @monalyisha ‘s #AuldLangSpine list is winning with TWO monthly favorites! I loved both so much that I cannot currently choose which wins.
#readingbracket2023

1. The tagged was my favorite February book, and will make the favorites of 2023 list.
2. St. Lucia! A week of total downtime with beautiful views. I‘m currently carefully curating my vacation reading stack.
#Two4Tuesday

March‘s #Bookspin list, featuring mostly books that would be good vacation reads for our upcoming trip to St. Lucia (pictured in background). And then there‘s Middlemarch, which I‘m thoroughly enjoying reading with #PemberLittens and need a little boost to not get too far behind 😂

I was one of many Littens who came home to a surprise book and note. It‘s been a rough week and a half, so this gesture is so much appreciated. Thank you! ❤️❤️❤️
#LitsyLove

I was going to save this one for fall but I‘m so glad I didn‘t. It was exactly the comforting hot cup of tea I needed. This was almost the perfect book for me. British found family is my fave genre. A great cast of characters. Cold hearts that soften. Tea, house by the sea, bountiful witchiness… I need more exactly like this. And the UK cover is 😍. Another 5⭐️ home run for #AuldLangSpine

Read for #Booked2023: Book described by words twist, stretch, balance. 1918: 4 sisters start a Vaudeville act to provide for their family. This was a fun historical fiction that included some interesting points in history that had me doing some research. The author was inspired to write this after learning her great-grandfather had a Vaudeville act. Also, aren‘t these endpapers gorgeous? 😍

If you‘ve seen the news of the shooting at Michigan State University, that is where I work. It was a long night worrying and not being able to tear my eyes from the news. I‘m grateful that Mondays are not my late nights at work. It‘s a strange juxtaposition to have so many celebrate love on Valentine‘s Day while this community is grieving and in shock. Hold us in the light 🕯️

I‘m craving long periods of reading, so the #FabulousFebruary readathon sounds very appealing. My reading goals are:
📙 Catch up on Middlemarch
📕Finish The stumbling Turner Sisters
📘Finish one other book
📗Make significant progress on another book

Tonight‘s Silent Book Club meeting featured Middlemarch, The Tumbling Turner Sisters (for Booked2023), and a delicious spiked chai tea.

With renewed commitment and having finished January‘s #Bookspin pick, I‘m excited to see what February brings.

I often have the reading version of “my eyes are bigger than my stomach,” so I didn‘t read near as many as I had wanted, but I‘m really happy with what I did read (and look forward to finishing the #ALS list throughout the year!). The tagged was a standout. Keegan‘s work settles deep in my heart. And Wayward, I have a lot of thinking to do about. I really enjoyed getting to know you @monalyisha and reading your faves of 2022. Thanks for hosting ⬇️

Wayward felt like a snapshot of 2016. I didn‘t necessarily want to go back to those days - they give me anxiety 🙃. I finished this last night, and it‘s going to take time to process before adequately reviewing. It poked at uncomfortable points - who I am and who I will be as a white woman, mother/daughter relationships, etc. Lily‘s home felt like respite for me as a reader, as it was for Sam and Ally. I‘ll be thinking about this for a while. #ALS

Keegan‘s books are different than any I have read. They contain multitudes: small but mighty, dealing with hard issues but somehow leave me feeling calm and peaceful. Characters who are every day people but have such depth to them. They are stories that stick with me. Foster is no different. I also appreciate some of her male characters - they aren‘t perfect but they are good. I hope there are many more small books to add to my Keegan collection.

I loved seeing everyone‘s brackets come along last year so I decided to play along this year. The tagged is January‘s favorite. It‘s very possible I would never have read this if not for #AuldLangSpine. I think it will go quite the distance for the year. Thanks to @chasjjlee for creating the bracket!

“Meet the 2023 Canada Reads Contenders.”
This is my first time hearing of this.
Canadian Littens, is this something you follow at all?
Link for more: https://www.cbc.ca/books/canadareads/meet-the-canada-reads-2023-contenders-1.671...

I always WANT to read more poetry but am afraid I‘ll have to think too hard and the meaning will go over my head. I‘m so glad I picked this up first for #AuldLangeSpine. It hit me in the feels so many times. It‘s meaning was evident - it demanded me to think about it but in a deeply reflective way. Each poem was great, but some caught my breath, some made me sob, and some felt uncomfortable because they were way too personal. (Cont ⬇️)

A great #LitsyMail day! Thank you, Christine! The birthday card is beautiful and will become a great bookmark 😊. And oh my gosh!!! THANK YOU for sending the Middlemarch character list! I was so excited to see it. I‘m going to keep it tucked in my book. Thanks for thing of me ❤️

Today‘s reading of Middlemarch is a little slow going. Whether it is the book itself or this adorable distraction in need of pets, one will never know… #chapteraday #pemberlittens #dogsoflitsy

Another of the too-many-holiday books started that I‘m so glad I finished. I‘m a sucker for communities that come together. Books about books don‘t always do it for me, but this one did. And set in a cute British village? Holiday perfection. I may or may not have cried oceans of good tears through the last 40 pages…

I‘m so glad I followed through and finished the holiday books I started. This one was particularly timely as it‘s set where I normally go for my birthday, but was unable to this year. It was good to at least be there in fiction 😊. This is over-the-top Michigan fiction, but it was refreshing to read a holiday story that wasn‘t strictly romance. I look forward to more of Shipman‘s books next holiday season. #mittenlitten

Starting this #ALS read tonight. This paragraph is the whole first page, and I‘m intrigued.

I just learned that one of the paintings (Novel Reader, pictured here which I badly want a print of for my future library) of the Van Gogh exhibit in Detroit is alleged to be stolen. For more, read the article. Curious to learn how this plays out. https://www.freep.com/story/entertainment/arts/2023/01/11/van-gogh-painting-laws...

I spent the day at the Detroit Institute of Art at the Van Gogh exhibit. One of the joys was seeing his paintings of women reading/with books. I somehow hadn‘t seen them before, and didn‘t know how much books influenced his painting. The exhibit had me going through your posts @catiewithac to stack all the books on Van Gogh you‘ve read 🎨🖼️

Thank you for all of the birthday wishes, here on Litsy as well as those who sent cards. I felt celebrated and love being a part of this community ❤️. I turned a new decade and it‘s hard to believe I‘ve been on this earth so many years, but I will have lots of time to contemplate that under sunnier skies when I do the real celebrating in March 🌞🌄🏝️. I have high hopes for 2023, including being a great reading year!

“…correct English is the slang of prigs who wrote history and essays.” 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼. I‘ve been trying to get away from my own snobbish need for correct grammar, or “proper” English and doing a lot of thinking about the cultural implications of talking about proper English grammar, so I love this quote. #PemberLittens #chapteraday

“…correct English is the slang of prigs who write history and essays.” 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼. I‘ve been trying to get away from the need for “proper” grammar and the cultural implications when we talk about proper grammar, so I love this quote. #PemberLittens #chapteraday

Oh holy f***. My husband and I were having a conversation tonight about feeling like it‘s time to start saying no to some things that are good for the greater good so we have some more time for the things that strengthen our souls and bring us joy. And doing it without feeling guilt. And then I read this, about sometimes making a decision that rubs up against our values for humanity. Choosing one love over another. It made my eyes leak. A lot 😭

I‘m so glad I joined the #PemberLittens #chapteraday read of Middlemarch. I‘m having much more fun with it as a buddy read, reading people‘s comments and hashtags of course 😂 I‘m also enjoying the nightly ritual of reading a chapter.

Also, thank you @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks for the birthday card and bookmark! I‘m so glad to have a #LitsyLove bookmark!

Thank you for the birthday package @catiewithac ! The wrapping paper was so fun 🤩 The book sounds really interesting - I like learning about niche trades, hobbies, etc. Thanks for thinking of me for my birthday - I value our Litsy friendship ❤️
#LitsyLove

My #Bookspin and #DoubleSpin books are two that I want to read very soon, so I‘m excited for these picks!

One of my goals this year is to do better reading my #Bookspin books. January‘s list, and once again, I wish I could read them ALL this month.

#AuldLangSpine is off to a promising start with this one. The first poem, “Acceptance Speech After Setting the World Record in Goosebumps” took my breath away, made me think “This is how I want my year to be” and yes, gave me goosebumps, and maybe even tears. I can‘t remember the last time I‘ve been moved by poetry ❤️

We rang in the new year with our favorite local Blake‘s Triple Jam Hard Cider. Happy New Year to you, @monalyisha

#PemberLittens #chapteraday #buddyread
Finally sitting down for some reading time. When I saw this quote on the back of the book, I knew I needed this edition. It‘s similar to how I try to live my own life. ❤️

#AllAboutMe #AuldLangSpine
-I don‘t have a lot of favorites, but Over the Rhine is definitively my favorite music group, and Waking Ned Devine is my favorite movie. Pictured is the scene at the very end when Old Lang Syne is playing 🍻
-Ladybird “Birdie” Sanders is our pandemic pup. We got her from a rescue. She is a pointer, and super quirky. She doesn‘t like when I read as she requires both hands for pets.
⬇️⬇️

#AllAboutMe for #AuldLangSpine
I may be late to the game, but I still wanted to play. In 2022, I reverted to a lot of nostalgic listens (Tom Waits, Alanis Morissette, music from City of Angels, and the Raising Sand Album - especially since they released a new one together).
Laura Mvula and Paris Jackson provided some chill backdrop music.
I am a recent convert to Brandi Carlisle after loving The Highwomen album.

1 While driving to my father-in-law‘s house on Christmas Day, when the traffic light turned green, the red stayed on. How very Christmas appropriate. Thankfully, it only stayed both colors during a green light, so not as dangerous as during a red light. I had never seen this happen before.
2 We will spend a quiet, cozy day inside. Making ourselves a yummy dinner, reading, puzzles, etc.
#wondrouswednesday

Time to get our Jolabokaflod on! All set with warm beverages, chocolate, books, and mood lighting. Happy holidays to all. Wishes for a peace and love-filled holiday!

Thank you @PatriciaU for my #JolabokaflodSwap package! And an extra thank you for the surprise extra book! I‘m doing a #NunLit buddy read in 2023 so Illuminations will be a great companion read and glad to know you really liked it! Happy Jolabokaflod and happy reading!

And thank you to @MaleficentBookDragon for hosting this beloved swap!
#Jolabokaflod

I couldn‘t be reading a more relevant book right now as the snow is falling in Michigan and we wait to see how bad it actually gets…. Looking forward to being snowed in the next couple of days ❄️❄️❄️

Some photos inspired by beverages, and a way to get to know me:
Top left: The only time I have ever liked beer was ice cold right after a week-long trek through the Sonoran desert
Top Right: Even though I don‘t like beer, I loved having a sip of Guinness in the oldest pub in Belfast, Ireland (I‘m in middle)
Middle left: we aren‘t big drinkers, but do enjoy a fancy cocktail at a cool jazz club in Ann Arbor once in a while
#AuldLangSpine
(Cont. ⬇️)

Just stumbled upon an article featuring this afrofuturistic beauty, written by a Detroit native. Saving for #Booked2023

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/entertainment/books/2022/12/19/novel-by-detroi...

Thank you for the Christmas goody package, @catiewithac ! You always put books on my radar that I wouldn‘t have found otherwise. The Michigan pin/patch are so pretty 😍 Wishing you and your family a happy holiday season!