I‘m a huge Mad Men fan and after watching the show countless times, I decided to finally dive in to the Mad Men reading challenge, which takes you through all of the books shown read by the characters on the show. I‘ll post the link below if anyone is interested but I‘m just doing it at my own pace and in no particular order. I started with this classic book of poetry which is a quick read and available on openlibrary.org for free! I just ⬇️

This was such a fun book full of juicy Hollywood gossip. It covers about 100 years from 1914 to 2012 with a scandal for each day of the year. It‘s full of sly humor which I so appreciate over corny stuff. No one should be shocked that Charlie Sheen shows up more than anyone else in this book with about 8 entries dedicated to him. 😆 Highly recommended for movie buffs and lovers of Old Hollywood. 5⭐️🍿🎥

#cinephile
#Hollywood
#OldHollywood
#movies

I listened to the #audiobook for our #Pemberlittens buddy read. It took me awhile to get into it but overall I enjoyed it. I learned a lot about the Muslim culture and I think by the end of the book all of the P&P tie-ins were clear and well done. Thanks for hosting @StayCurious ! 4⭐️

I got a little (ok, a lot!) behind on my #Pemberlittens buddy read but I finally read the last 30% this morning and what can I say? I loved this book! I loved how you can clearly see all of the main scenes from P&P played out but also done so differently that it still kept me guessing, and I can‘t wait to read the rest of the series! Glad I stuck with it. Akarra was my favorite. 🐉💚 5⭐️

#JaneAusten
#Pride&Prejudice
#fantasy
#retelling
#buddyread

Attention all bibliophiles! 🤓 I was drawn in by the beautiful cover and the premise of doomed love and the dual timelines of 1941 and 1984. Ashlyn, who restores old books in her inherited bookstore in 1984, can feel the emotions of the previous owners when she touches a book. She stumbles on 2 old books that appear never to have been published, his and hers stories about a doomed love affair in 1941. She soon becomes absorbed in their stories ⬇️

An excerpt from Seen & Unseen. Toyo Miyatake smuggled a camera into the camp and had a friend smuggle him film.

#quotes
#art
#photography
#graphicnovel
#history
#WWII
#ToyoMiyatake
#DorotheaLange

An excerpt from Seen & Unseen.

#quotes
#art
#graphicnovel
#photography
#DorotheaLange
#history
#WWII

Continuing with my stack of Dorothea Lange books, I was pleasantly surprised to discover this was a graphic novel with beautiful yet haunting illustrations. It goes into detail about the internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII and should be required reading for students. It also includes photos by Toyo Miyatake (who was imprisoned in a camp) and Ansel Adams. A part of American history that should not be forgotten. 5⭐️

#art
#photography

For recipe inspiration for #foodandlit this month, I chose The Pepper Thai Cookbook. I‘ve read Chrissy‘s cookbooks and enjoyed them and know her mom is a huge inspiration in her cooking. Pepper seems like a cool person and I like that she is so creative and not rigid in the kitchen. I screenshotted a ton of mouthwatering recipes and look forward to trying some within the next week or two. If you read this, you will go away hungry! 😆 4⭐️

For #foodandlit this month, I chose a romantic comedy/adventure set in Thailand. I admit I wasn‘t a huge fan of the narrator, but this story succeeds in its purpose. A fluffy romantic comedy when you need a bit of escapism. I‘m interested in reading more from this series. 3.5⭐️

#Thailand
#romance
#adventure
#fluff

Better extremely late than never for the #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead 😆! I adored this book and all of the expertly woven family drama, and of course, LMM‘s beautiful descriptions of nature. Her books are a mood and if I could only pick one word to describe them, I‘d go with “cozy”. 🥰 5⭐️

#LMMontgomery
#LMM
#classics
#historicalfiction

Dorothea Lange‘s most famous photograph from the Depression, Migrant Mother, is the inspiration for this fictionalized tale of Mary Coin, the migrant mother herself. “Vera” is Dorothea Lange‘s counterpart and this book takes you on a journey with both Mary and Vera from 1920 to 1982, and I just loved it. It‘s very true to Dorothea‘s real background and an interesting what if. Recommended for fans of historical fiction and Dorothea Lange. 5⭐️

Continuing with my stack of Frida books, The Heart is about Frida‘s short time in Paris in early 1939 and her romance with Michel Petitjean. They moved in the same circles and began a brief but passionate affair. Upon her departure, Frida gifted Michel one of her now most famous paintings, The Heart. The book is written by Michel‘s son and covers a brief but important time in Frida‘s life. Highly recommend for fans of Frida. 4⭐️

#FridaKahlo

My sister has gotten me into photography books lately and she told me about Lee Miller, so naturally I had to grab all the Lee Miller books from the library 😆🤓. Man, what an interesting life she led! She worked as an American photojournalist in Europe during WWII and was the first woman allowed to enter a combat zone. I highly recommend this for photography lovers and WWII buffs. Looking forward to learning more about her. 5⭐️

#photography
#art

Book 2 in this fiery miniseries introduces us to this handsome stranger Devon Whitelaw, poor little rich boy who‘s parents have just been killed in a car accident. He takes off from Connecticut on his motorcycle in search of a legal guardian. He will not be able to inherit his millions without one. Methinks this pretty boy will end up in Sweet Valley one of these days. 🤔 Meanwhile, Jess & Liz are SO pissed that Lila and Steven are now dating. ⬇️

To ease back into my Litsy Buddy reads, I chose this for #FoodAndLit this month, since we‘re focusing on Syria. I went the audiobook route and was a little disappointed. It‘s a kids book so my expectations weren‘t unrealistic. It‘s set in London and focuses on a group of students who befriend a young Syrian refugee boy named Ahmet. It‘s a little too syrupy sweet for my tastes, but good for kids to read. My complaint lies with the audiobook ⬇️

I have become obsessed with Frida Kahlo over the past year and have been slowly working my way through my library‘s collection. This book is 150 pages of letters Frida wrote to various people between 1924 and 1953. She and Diego Rivera were truly one of a kind. Her pain as well as her passion comes out in each page. Chipper approves! 5⭐️

#art
#letters
#FridaKahlo
#Chipper
#catsofLitsy

I‘m a year behind on reviews and my brain can‘t handle trying to catch up on all of it 😆, but I couldn‘t let my SVH reviews fall by the wayside!

Book 1 of the next miniseries opens with Lila home alone in her giant mansion while her newly remarried parents are on a remote island and can‘t be reached. Someone sets fire to Fowler Crest and Lila barely escapes. Meanwhile, big bro Steven Wakefield just returned to SV for an internship at a law ⬇️

I am long overdue for a check-in with my Litsy family. I‘ve been AWOL for awhile. The last couple of years have been rough but things are getting better. And I realized today how much I miss Litsy and all of the great friends I‘ve met on here. So, I‘m back!

Jace says hi everyone 👋🏻 Can you believe he‘s almost 5?! 🤯 Time flies. Here‘s a pic from his 1st trip to the library a few months ago. He‘s now obsessed!

So glad to be back. ❤️

#Jace

Unpopular opinion time! 🙋🏻‍♀️ I listened to this on audiobook and was a little disappointed. I think the title is a bit misleading and I‘ve never listened to their podcast, although I do consider myself a true crime junkie. The self help aspect was a little grating, with long passages about their childhood memories that didn‘t add much to the story imo. The true crime parts were interesting. Maybe it wouldn‘t have bothered me as much if I had ⬇️

Another compelling listen by EH but I pretty much hated all of the main characters, especially the hypocritical mean af best friend of the main character, Claire. Wasn‘t too happy with the ending either. But I still sped through it. 🤷🏻‍♀️ 3⭐️

#audiobook
#ElinHilderbrand
#Nantucket

If you‘re up for lots of wedding drama amidst the rich people of Nantucket, then look no further! I wasn‘t in love with these characters but the drama was compelling as always. EH has surely mastered the art of writing about dysfunctional families! 4⭐️

#audiobook
#ElinHilderbrand
#Nantucket

This is EH‘s first book, and while I enjoyed it okay, you can tell her writing has come a long way. It feels a little clunky and I wasn‘t really a fan of any of the main characters, but if you like EH I‘d still recommend grabbing it from the library. 3.5⭐️

#audiobook
#ElinHilderbrand
#Nantucket

The Island takes us on a summer vacation in secluded Tuckernuck Island off the coast of Nantucket with newly divorced Birdie Cousins, her two daughters and her sister, and their various romantic entanglements. It‘s another one I got sucked into and had a hard time putting it down. 4⭐️

#audiobook
#ElinHilderbrand
#Nantucket

Another tearjerker from EH! This one deals with the aftermath of a car crash on grad night in Nantucket, where promising student Penny gets killed and her twin brother is in critical condition. It was sad but compelling and I couldn‘t put it down. 4⭐️

#ElinHilderbrand
#audiobook
#Nantucket

This is one of my #BOTM books but I think EH‘s books are better on audio so that‘s the direction I took. I loved this one! This is one of her forays into historical fiction and I loved reading about the characters in Nantucket in the summer of ‘69. So much interesting stuff happening that year. 5⭐️

#audiobook
#historicalfiction
#ElinHilderbrand

I‘ve been on a huge Elin Hilderbrand kick lately and I really think her books are best consumed via #audiobook — they are more character driven and it‘s easier to pay attention, since sometimes it‘s hard not to let your mind wander while listening and multitasking. I loved this one because we got behind the scenes experience of working in a super fancy restaurant in Nantucket. It‘s nice seeing how the other half lives and the food descriptions ⬇️

This is my first Erle Stanley Gardner book and I quite enjoyed it. I love these Hard Case Crime books and am trying to read as many as I can in order. They‘re fun, fast reads that keep your attention and as always, I love the noirish vibe. 4⭐️

#HardCaseCrime
#Noir
#ErleStanleyGardner
#Mystery

On my first read of the series 10+ years ago, book 4 (Anne of Windy Poplars) was my favorite. Now, I think book 5 may be it! Anne‘s House of Dreams is full of whimsy like her other books, with laughter, heartache and lots of great characters. I do wish we got more of the story from Anne‘s POV but I‘m really enjoying this reread. Better late than never to the #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead !! 5⭐️

#classic
#historicalfiction
#LMMontgomery
#AOGG

I‘m a few months late to the party but Saga is back! I just remembered the new issues are on Hoopla so I had to grab this. It‘s been way too long but I‘m happy to be able to be back with these characters and the artwork is great as always. Such a unique series. On to the next issue! 4⭐️

#graphicnovel
#Saga
#BrianKVaughan

Book 3 in the Cordially Invited series is just as good as the first 2! The audiobooks are about 6 hours long each & are available on Hoopla. Again, I don‘t read many romcoms but these are fun, well done, and not corny at all. The characters are very realistic imo which makes them more relatable. Book 3 gets all of the main characters from each book together so it‘s extra fun. I loved these and highly recommend this series! 5⭐️

#audiobook
#romcom

This was a great book to listen to. We have dual storylines set in 1914 and 1964. Vivian in 1964 is trying to find out what happened to her great aunt Violet, a brilliant scientist who was accused of murdering her fellow scientist husband and falling off the face of the earth in 1914. I especially loved Vivian‘s part and I think the #audiobook is the way to go. 4⭐️

#historicalfiction
#WWI
#BeatrizWilliams

I‘m a huge Dolly fan so I just had to read this. I got sucked into the story of aspiring country music artist AnnieLee Keyes and her struggles. I think people who are reading this more for James Patterson might be disappointed because the thriller aspect was only about 5% of the story & was almost anti-climatic. But I loved the rest of it. I can see Dolly‘s hand all over it so it seems like a legit snapshot of trying to make it big in Nashville ⬇️

Ok I almost bought this from #BOTM last year & I‘m glad I didn‘t! I grabbed the #audiobook for this & I actually think that made it worse! I‘m all for a bit of fantasy but I just could not take this seriously because there is no way these people are in their 40s. They really sound like early 20s at the most and the dialogue makes them sound like teenagers. I really wanted to like this book but I just couldn‘t! My first pan of the year. 🤷🏻‍♀️2⭐️

This was another fun #audiobook by EH that has the usual suspects: infidelity, sick people, crazy rich people, refreshingly unconventional families, plus the beautiful descriptions of the beauty of Nantucket and the small knit community with descriptions of real restaurants and stores in Nantucket. But she does this SO well and what I like most about her books is how realistic and relatable her characters are. Another pick from me! 4⭐️

I finally finished a #BOTM this year! 😱 I‘m so behind. Anyway, I‘m a big fan of SSJ and I think murderinos would really like this book. It is intriguing and suspenseful, although I think it fizzled slightly towards the end. But I still enjoyed it, just not quite as much as I did her last 2 books. But she‘s still an auto buy for me! 4⭐️

#paranormal
#historicalfiction
#murderino

I love this little trilogy on kindle unlimited! The first half of the book is the story completely in French with questions to quiz you at the end of each chapter. The second half is the English translation. I love that I can get completely immersed in a book written totally in French and understand more than 95% of it. It‘s very helpful to those learning French and I highly recommend it. Looking forward to book 3! 🇫🇷

#LearningFrench

I‘m giving book 2 in the Hamish Macbeth series a low pick. I think it still hasn‘t quite found its footing at this point but I have confidence it will. I do really like Hamish and the narrator does a great job. It was a little better than book 1 imo. So happy these are all available on Audible Plus! 3.5⭐️

#audiobook
#cozymystery

Now on the one hand, this book was so hard to put down & I listened to the 11-hour audiobook in one day. On the other hand, what a huge bunch of despicable awful people! Except for Kayla, who was a pushover also, there is not one single character in here who is likable. They are all awful. Also leaves you with a grubby feeling when a 40-something woman has an affair with her best friend‘s 18-year-old son. So gross, yet nonetheless compelling. 3⭐️

I went back and read the 1st book in the Cordially Invited series and I really enjoyed it! It‘s not as good as book 2 imo but again I really liked it because the characters and situations seem so real without being corny. Here we have Beckett & Emily who end up getting married since Beck‘s fiancée just dumped him right before they were supposed to get married and move into student housing. Emily has also just had all of her money stolen so ⬇️

I feel irrationally guilty for giving this a so-so rating. I listened to the audiobook and while I can say that I liked it, not much happens and it was hard for me to stay completely focused while listening. I think it would probably be better to read the physical book. But the narrator was good and it‘s a lovely little book about a family going for their annual seaside vacation in England shortly after WWI. I actually really started to like ⬇️

I was looking for an audiobook that would really hold my attention and I found one! This was in the popular reads section on Hoopla and I‘m so happy I stumbled across it. It‘s technically a romantic comedy, which I don‘t read much of, but I loved it because it felt so real. Hadley and Will are great characters and the dialogue is very realistic and avoids a lot of the corny tropes from this genre. I listened to all 6 hours in one day! 😱 ⬇️

I am so loving reading all of the LMM books I had never gotten to before. Kilmeny of the Orchard has all the charm and warmth of her other books. I think that‘s what I like most about them - escaping to a different time filled with interesting people and beautiful descriptions of various places in PEI. Best way I can describe it is they give you the warm fuzzies. The story itself gets a tad predictable at various points but it doesn‘t bother ⬇️

I can mark another classic off my list! I‘m giving it a pick because it should be read at least once, but I didn‘t love it. I liked it but to me it was nothing special and therefore a tad overhyped for me. I listened to the #audiobook and Will Patton is the narrator. He does a great job and is so easy to listen to. 3.5⭐️

#classic

I thoroughly enjoyed my return to The Golden Road. There were a lot of great moments and the ending was bittersweet. I wish there were books about the kids after they were grown up. I think it‘s time to watch Road To Avonlea again. Thanks for organizing the #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead @BarbaraJean ! 5⭐️

#LMM
#historicalfiction
#classic

I give this 5⭐️ because I think it deals with a lot of heavy issues that teens face and does it so well. I think it is great for the target YA audience. I also love the artwork.

#graphicnovel
#YA
#LGBTQ

I‘m somehow already caught up with the series! I didn‘t enjoy this one quite as much because they were away from their house and the usual setting, but it was still fun. 3.5⭐️

#cozymystery
#historicalfiction
#audiobook

Book 4 finds Beryl and Edwina defending their sexy new Irish gardener for murder of the magistrate! Another fun entry in the series. 4⭐️

#cozymystery
#audiobook
#historicalfiction

This one is even funnier! Edwina‘s gardener ends up being accused of murdering his brother-in-law and also finds himself the heir of a vast fortune from a condiment company. It doesn‘t get any cozier than this! 4⭐️

#audiobook
#historicalfiction
#cozymystery

Book 2 is a lot of fun and I‘m enjoying learning more about these characters. The more I read the more I like it. I‘d highly recommend this series! 4⭐️

#audiobook
#cozymystery
#historicalfiction