It‘s been a wild summer! We moved into our first home 🏡 , I got laid off 😒 , my nephew was born 👶🏻, I got married 👰‍♀️ , and I started a new job 👩🏼‍💻

I‘ve had no time to read and even less time to catch up on my #litsylove correspondence but things have settled down and I should be back in business 😊 I miss reading and this community greatly!

We move in a bit over a month, so my mind has been on so many things that by the end of the day I can‘t focus on anything! Which is probably why I‘m not as in love with this book as I thought I would be. I‘m about 120 pages in and I find it a slow build. I‘m not super invested in Sarah and find myself wishing the focus was more on Handful. Hopefully it picks up soon and I get back into my groove 🤞🏻

The hype surrounding this book made it a must read for me. It was my first Schwab, and while I really like her writing style for the most part, I felt she repeated herself often. We get it, Luc‘s eyes are green!! I also found the ending to be a bit rushed, and I‘m a bit sceptical about the love story. Overall enjoyable, and part of me hopes she revisits this world to explore other characters who made deals with the darkness 😉

⭐️⭐️⭐️ ✨

May the Fourth Be with all you Littens today 🌟

Thanks for the tag @ShelleyBooksie 😊

1. Not very often, it‘s not my favorite genre
2. Citizen Erased. It‘s new and not on Litsy yet but is available through Amazon. A story about a 15 year old boy with high functioning autism who navigates an early childhood loss and feeling like an outsider at school.
3. For me it‘s if the MC is a teen (although as I get older that age will likely change 😆)

#sundayfunday @ozma.of.oz

Tagging any interested!

Saturday nights are for #LitsyLove 💌📬 I had a lot of catching up to do!

@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Tattooedteacher

My April book report 📚

The collection of short stories is what slowed me down a bit towards the end of the month. I enjoyed The Yellow Wall-Paper, but found the other ones to be rather repetitive in theme. I gave up about three quarters of the way through but still count it as complete 😉

Thanks to #AxeTheStacks April these have all been removed from my TBR 🎉

Thanks for the tag @MegaWhoppingCosmicBookwyrm 😊

1. The Nightingale probably, although I just started The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue which is also a contender I‘d say!

2. House elves or dragons 🐉

Tagging @ShelleyBooksie if you‘d like to play ☺️

@TheSpineView #Two4Tuesday

It‘s an absolutely beautiful day here today so we took a drive to the water, where there‘s a little volunteer-run bookshop. Voilà my book haul for a grand total of 7$ ? I dropped off four bags of books so I feel it was well deserved ?

So many emotions reading this short story! The Yellow Wall-Paper has been on my TBR for a very long time, and I‘d always heard great things about it. It is a harrowing tale, describing a woman‘s descent into madness. The story‘s major theme of mental health and the way it is not taken seriously - sometimes by those closest to us, sometimes by those in the medical field - is still relevant in today‘s society. Powerful, creepy, and a must read.

Finishing this one for #AxeTheStacks. The writing style is not for me. Readers have called it pretentious and I tend to agree. However, the content is engaging. The novel‘s commentary on the feats and failures of marriage are compelling, but I had a hard time connecting with the characters. Mathilde‘s section ties up loose ends and is more interesting so if you‘re struggling through the first half, keep going.
3⭐️
Currently escaping the 🌨❄️

#AxeTheStacks April is a wonderful opportunity to dive into this little classic that has been on my TBR since grad school. Has anyone read the full trilogy? Would you recommend books 2 & 3? Am I looking for an excuse to pay my bookstore a visit? 😉

To move the dog or not to move the dog - that is the question 🤪 #dogsoflitsy

Up next for April‘s #AxeTheStacks challenge is a book only recently added to my TBR thanks to this lovely community and all the hype it‘s gotten on here 😊

@howjessicareads

This is a challenge I can get behind! Time is not often on my side so I tend to stay away from any time-related challenges, but who doesn‘t have a huge TBR that needs attending to? Looking forward to participating 😊 #AxeTheStacks

@howjessicareads

I honestly can‘t believe I‘ve never picked up a Kristin Hannah before 😳 I am VERY excited to start this one, as I‘ve only heard great things. Today was spent spring cleaning so the rest of the weekend is Easter festivities and reading 🐰

My March book report 🍃 keeping steady at five books a month, which I‘m okay with given how busy life is right now 😊

Three 4 ⭐️ reads - My Dark Vanessa, Anybody Out There, and Any Known Blood

One 3 ⭐️ read - Unless

One 1 ⭐️ read - Worthy Brown‘s Daughter

Looking forward to April! 🐰

This is my first by Carol Shields, and I‘m an instant fan. This book is about family, feminism, the writing process, powerlessness. Shields had a true mastery of language and style; I‘m constantly amazed by her prose.

It‘s a rainy and gloomy day here so Dobby is settling in for some cuddles while I try to finish this today so I can add to March‘s book report 🥰

It‘s a eat macaroons and catch up on #LitsyLove letters kinda evening here 🥰 husband is watching something involving zombies so I came to my safe space 😂

I should have bailed. This book was all over the place, jumping from one event to the next and back again. The description at the back is misleading - the story is not at all about saving Roxanne Brown, which could have been an interesting court case to follow, especially had it involved a deeper look at the juxtaposition of racism and law in the late 1800s. Quite frankly it reads like a soap opera.

Happy Spring!! It‘s a lovely day here, made even lovelier by this fantastic swap - thank you @Cuilin 😊

#litsylovespringswap #llss
Thank you for hosting @Bookgoil and @rsteve388 🌸

I just finished reading My Dark Vanessa and needed to get out of that headspace. Marian Keyes is one of my favourite authors; her humour is right up my alley and her books are always a breath of fresh air. I‘m sad there aren‘t many left of hers that I haven‘t read!

Also, how fitting of a day to start ☘️

It‘s here!! @Cuilin can‘t wait until the 20th to open 😊

#litsylovespringswap #llss

@Bookgoil @rsteve388

Trying to get in some reading as my munchkin who‘s getting 3 (!!!!) teeth at the same time naps for who knows how long 😅 I enjoyed The Book of Negroes so much I wanted to try something else by the same author. About 100 pages in and it‘s enjoyable, though not as gripping as Book of Negroes (so far).

February wrap up 👏🏻 not one but TWO five ⭐️ books this month, which is unheard of for me 😆 - Book of Negroes and Hy Brasil. Looking forward to March!

Sent hubby to the post office with this today 📦 @Cuilin really hope it gets to you on time! I got your note in the mail today too, what timing! 💌 #litsylovespringswap

@rsteve388 @Bookgoil

Excited to be sending out my first #LitsyLove letters today! 💌 hopefully they don‘t take ages to arrive at their destinations! 🥰

Thank you @Cuilin for the tag!

1. London. I have a long-standing dream to visit there one day and I love reading about it!

2. No definitely not

#Two4Tuesday @TheSpineView

Tagging anyone who‘d like to play! ☺️

Today is a great day! FOUR #litsylove letters came in 🥰 I‘ve been like a wartime bride anxiously awaiting the mailman every day since I became a member 😆 already feeling the love and can‘t wait to keep it going 💝

“I would hate to have to choose, but I think I‘d rather have travelling than sex.”

If that‘s not a captivating first line I don‘t know what is 😆 I‘ve had this book on my shelf for almost ten years🤭 something finally drew me to it yesterday and I‘m pleasantly surprised! A quirky and fun style of writing, pirates, an isolated island, volcanos, and love - I think I‘m in for another good read 👌🏻

Hubby‘s little surprise this morning 💝 #happyvalentines

Thank you so much @DinoMom for the book and these sweet treats for #bookcupidswap 🥰 I can‘t wait to sit down with a cup of tea and start this novel, it‘s been on my tbr for awhile 😊 you made this a great first swap experience!

Thank you @candority for organizing!

The stores finally opened back up here and I think I may have overdone it 😆 I 100% blame this amazing community ❤️my TBR has grown exponentially since returning! 📚 #notcomplaining

Starting with the tagged book because my husband wants to watch the movie on Netflix 🎥

Thanks for the tag @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks 😊

1. Does #bookcupidswap count 😆 otherwise not really unless hubby decides to!

2. Possibly? I might be an odd one out in the Litsy community but I don‘t pick books in advance, I generally only read one at a time and then pick my next one once I‘m finished! 💝

Who would like to play? ☺️

@TheSpineView #Two4Tuesday

Bookriot 💯% putting into words what I have found so frustrating since becoming a mom! I received some wonderful recommendations on here for more diverse children‘s literature and I‘m really thankful for this community‘s knowledge - but there really is a gaping hole in baby 👶🏻 books. Full article linked below

https://bookriot.com/board-books-featuring-disabled-people/

Snow on the horizon for this weekend to add on top of the two storms we already got this week ❄️ What more Canadian way to start it off than with these classics - Timmies and Lawrence Hill ☕️ 🇨🇦 🍩 I am confident this book will break my bad book cycle!

William is a 12 year old boy living in an orphanage in 1934 Seattle. William suspects actress Willow Frost is his mother, and sets out to find her with his friend Charlotte.

Most of the characters are one dimensional unnecessarily awful and EVIL monsters. William and Charlotte unrealistically think and speak like adults.

Depression era Seattle was interesting to read about. It was clear the author did their research in this area.

⭐️⭐️

January books! I feel like I never have much time to read anymore so I‘m pleased with 5 total 👏🏻. There were more so-so novels than amazing ones this month. I gave Devil‘s Highway 4 ⭐️ as it was so interesting, and definitely saved the month! Fallen Skies was one of the worst books I‘ve ever read 😅 hoping things look up in February!

While part of the Peculiar universe, this collection of short stories can be read as a standalone. Newcomers to Peculiardom might not understand all the character references or some of the terms, but would still enjoy these quirky and strange stories. For those of you who have read the series, you‘ll recognize this as the folklore often referenced throughout the books. Each tale is surprisingly layered with meaning and moral. Quick and enjoyable!

I‘ve never been very good at keeping diaries 📔 I‘ll start off strong and then life takes over and I get too busy! But my mom bought me this for Christmas and I look forward to filling it out every day! There‘s only 4 lines/day with little prompts - some light, some soul searching. I love that it‘s over 5 years and that every year I‘ll be able to relive the little daily memories that we tend to forget over time 💙

“Cutters read the land like a text. They search the manuscript of the ground for irregularities in its narration. They know the plots and the images by heart. They can see where the punctuation goes. They are the landscape grammarians, got the PhD in reading dirt.”

Absolutely love Urrea‘s style of writing. Incredibly interesting read; also quite disturbing. Have a glass of water handy.

Received my #bookcupidswap package today! So excited to see the goodies inside from @DinoMom but I‘ll be patient 🥰

Took about 17 better pictures than this one but Litsy wouldn‘t let me upload them 😬

@candority

Thanks for the tag @Butterfinger ☺️

1. Biggest adjustment has been becoming a mom during a pandemic and being prohibited from seeing most of my friends and family

2. I am grateful for my family, my baby boy, our health, my dogs, the roof over our heads ♥️

#thankfulthursday @Cosmos_Moon
@StillLookingForCarmenSanDiego

Litsy world I need your assistance! 🙋🏼‍♀️ I want a diverse library for my kid. One that has books with protagonists or characters that don‘t look, talk, or act like him. Ben‘s Adventure and Daniel Tiger (who has a friend with leg braces) have been recommended to me already. Stores are closed where I‘m at so I can‘t go browse 😞, but you all are a community with so much knowledge that thought I‘d try here!!

My husband and I are watching Night Stalker on Netflix. I was really in the mood for a true crime 🔍 show (that‘s a normal person mood right? 😅) So in keeping with the theme, I‘ve already decided on my next two books. With the help of Jack Torrance 🪓 #truecrime

25cm of snow ❄️ calls for a good cup of coffee ☕️ and a good book. Seriously hoping I break my streak of bad books with this one!

Off to the post office to mail my #BookCupidSwap package! 📦 Proof that it was wrapped pretty before it passes through the chaos of the postal service 😆. @StillLookingForCarmenSanDiego be on the lookout for your package shortly and hope you enjoy! ☺️

Thank you @candority for organizing! 🥰

I wasn‘t the only one to receive books as a gift this holiday season! Although my munchkin is still too young to appreciate these stories just yet, I‘m really looking forward to sharing them with him. It‘s so important to me that I raise him surrounded by diversity, inclusion, and empathy - books like these certainly help me do that 🤘🏻

Seems I‘m cursed this year to read books I don‘t like written by authors I usually enjoy👎🏻Stephen Winters is probably one of the worst protagonists I‘ve ever had the displeasure of reading 😩

🙅🏼‍♀️I am SO happy to be finished with this. The only reason I didn‘t bail is because it‘s such a quick read. I loveddddd DaVinci Code and Angels & Demons but I‘m thinking Robert Langdon (and maybe Dan Brown 😬) should start looking into retirement 🙃 #origin #danbrown