I loved the writing in this book more than I loved the book itself. Marra‘s writing is clever and his turns of phrase stuck in my mind. A broadly scoped story about WWII refugees/immigrants making their way in 1940s Hollywood, this book perhaps spread itself too thin with too many characters and stories, but, honestly, the vivid and hilarious descriptions of the main character‘s Italian great aunts is worth the price of admission. March #bookspin

I almost gave up on this one early. It‘s a realistic look at commercial fishing in Alaska from the perspective of Adam, who‘s trying to make enough for tuition to finish college. That comes with a level of unpleasantness that got to be a bit much at first, but I‘m glad I didn‘t bail. I came to appreciate the realism and Adam‘s testing and coming of age. An unexpected ending left me thinking about personal identity, who defines it and how.

Almost forgot to post my #bookspin list! Phew!

This story of ILLC, a nursing home for disabled kids and teens, as told by its residents and staff is bleakly honest about the greed, abuse, and other systemic problems that plague the institutions that house the most vulnerable. Vivid characters put a human face on this story and temper its bleakness with the hope of people who really care. The full cast audiobook performance makes this powerful story even more affecting. 🌟🌟🌟🌟

I enjoyed this quick read while I was listening but have been surprised to find it very forgettable. The relationship between Amanda and Max is believable but Pippa‘s easy willingness to be misled by her untrustworthy husband despite his troubled history is a pretty unsteady pillar to build the suspense on. Not bad, but not great either.

It was a privilege to spend this rainy Saturday morning weeping my way through the end of this book, a brilliant novelization of the author‘s Jewish family‘s experiences living through World War II in Poland. I was captivated by this story of how one family navigated impossible times with courage, ingenuity, and love. What a story. All the stars. 🌟 🌟🌟🌟🌟

I liked the heart of this one but wanted it to be a little more about the “feeling left out” of the subtitle than feeling actively rejected. Not a perfect fit for me in this season, but still worth reading. February #bookspin

My February #doublespin was a reread because I want to finish this series this year. It‘s the story of girls at a creepy boarding school in Victorian England flighting to take back some power over their lives by accessing magic from a secret (and, of course, dangerous) realm. I loved it the first time and loved it again! Looking forward to the rest of the series.

Sure, I haven‘t reviewed either of my February picks yet, but let‘s pretend I‘m ready for March #bookspin 🤷🏻‍♀️😆

In a town founded by a sea captain who fell in love with a mermaid, humanity and myth meet. The present day citizens find their lives interwoven with the magic of mermaids but the characters are all too afflicted by the plagues of humanity: grief, hate, and loss. This book has a unique atmosphere, an interesting mythology, and characters who are more than they seem. A little repetitive but still a quick read about where magic and mundane meet.

Loved this story of two sisters, the daughters of addict parents. Gem is barely holding it together as the responsible one and Dixie is desperate to believe their parents can be better. When their father unexpectedly returns, they have an opportunity to change things, but at what cost? This is a heartbreakingly realistic portrayal of neglect/abuse. The storytelling is so genuine and both girls so sympathetic, it had me in tears by the end.

Falls into the precocious kids coming of age genre. I struggle with this genre because it‘s hard to pull off while still seeming genuine. Sal, Sam, and Fito are great characters and so is Sal‘s adoptive father Vicente. The book shines as they patiently help each other navigate hard times, but Sal‘s narration reads more like a message Saenz is trying to get out than a real teenage boy‘s perspective. Sweet, if heavy-handed, I still give it a pick.

Vasquez-Lavado‘s memoir is my favorite book of the year so far. She deftly weaves the story of her abusive childhood and self-destructive young adulthood with her journey to healing as she attempts to summit Mt. Everest. A story like hers could easily be told in an emotionally heavy-handed way, but Vasquez-Lavado‘s honesty and vulnerability make every last bit of her journey compelling and meaningful. January #bookspin catch up!

The library book sale has been good to me. Too good to me, one might say. Ergo, I give you “Breakfast in a Book Fort” with special cameo from a book I‘m actually reading because, yes, every once in a while I *do* take a break from buying books to read one. 🤪📚

This is one of those books that I objectively know is a Good Book™️. A historical tale of a girl fleeing the starving Jamestown settlement, it seamlessly combines the visceral experience of surviving alone in the wild with the haunted inner life of the girl recalling her journey to that point. For the first half, I was heavily invested but I struggled with the end where its more dreamlike, spiritual bent left me a little unsatisfied. Still a pick!

Still churning through my January #doublespin but it‘s time for a new list. Here‘s hoping something here will jolt me out of what has been a pretty mediocre reading year so far. #bookspin

Livy West is a trailblazing female aviator in the 1920s desperate for a chance to prove herself in the Dole Derby race to Hawaii. Wren Summers is a down on her luck artist who has unexpectedly inherited a piece of land on the Big Island in the 1980s. The chronicle of Livy‘s death-defying flight pairs nicely with Wren‘s journey of discovery of her past to make for a sweet story filled with adventure, healing, and unexpected love. Hits shelves 2/6!

This Vicious Grace was so good that its sequel had a good chance to disappoint, and it did. As Alessa and Dante turn their attention to saving the world, the emotional richness and plot urgency of the first book is overwhelmed by a lack of communication trope and surface-level flirtations for almost every side character. The end, however, goes a long way toward redeeming the whole. No spoilery details, but it did make me cry, in a good way. 🥲

Late is better than never! Managed to whittle my favorite reads of 2023 down to a respectable 15. 😀 #Bestof2023

The premise of this YA book is wild. Piano prodigy Kiri, whose older sister died in an “accident,” spends 6 weeks home alone while her parents go on vacation. She makes some bad decisions then some worse ones and ends up with a mentally ill boyfriend, a drunken friend, and the truth about her sister‘s death. As her mental health splinters, the people around her do little. Soft pick for the boyfriend‘s redemption arc and Kiri‘s unique voice, but 😯

Happy New Year! In 2023, #bookspin helped me clear 20 books of my TBR, at least half of which had languished there for an embarrassing amount of time. Here‘s to another year of chipping away at the mountain! 🥂🏔️📚

A big thank you goes out to audiobooks for making me the sort of person who can finally read more than 50 books in a year. 😆📚

This is a bizarre little book, possibly made more bizarre by translation. Am I glad I finally read it? Yes. Will it be on repeat in my holiday reading rotation? Probably not.

I couldn‘t put down this story of high school misfit Bodie Kane returning to her boarding school alma mater as a teacher. As Bodie reflects on her time at school and finds herself re-investigating a classmate‘s murder, Makkai adroitly plumbs the depths of traumas big and small. I was captured by the mystery but it‘s the deep dive into violence against women, validity of trauma, cancel culture, and justice system bias that will stick with me.

Not getting much reading in today, but positive potato and I wish you a Merry Christmas! 🎄🎁🥔🙃

Merry Christmas Eve! I finished the other book I was reading yesterday which means I have time for one more Christmasy read before the holiday is passes. 😀🎄📚

Spotify “tricked” me into an impulse audio reread of A Christmas Carol. No regrets. I love this story.

Bad reviews almost put me off my November #doublespin pick. Glad they didn‘t because I really enjoyed this immersive piece of historical fiction that brought late 19th century NYC to life. The pace was slow but I enjoyed following the hapless Harris as he stumbled from Barnum, to street gang, to sewer, to the Brooklyn Bridge in search of the elusive American dream or at least just a safe place to land in the growing chaotic city.

Bea and Lo Denham lost their parents to a car accident that almost took Lo‘s life, too. Bea finds solace in The Unity Project, a religious cult. When Lo recovers, she only wants her sister back but is soon tangled in the web of the Project. An eerie atmosphere, slowly revealed truths, believably damaged main characters and perspectives on the cult and its leader from both inside and outside make this a compelling read.

I‘m still reading my November #doublespin but time marches on and it‘s already time for a new list! 😱#bookspin

This YA series has been a bright spot in my reading year. Artistic Marguerite, who has spent her childhood surrounded by scientists, travels the multiverse with technology developed by her parents and their two (of course) handsome research assistants. The world-building is a bit fragile at times but I loved the glimpse into each universe Gray created along with a romance angle that digs into fate, destiny, and ethics in tightly nested universes.

What a well-drawn character is Stevens! This is a bit of a somber, reflective story of a man in the twilight of his career who sacrificed everything to serve as butler in the house of a great man. As he takes an unusual vacation to reconnect with a former housekeeper, Stevens reflects on matters of dignity and greatness and wonders if it was worth it. This reads like a classic in the best kind of way. #authoramonth #bookspin

An eerie thriller that mixes science, bioethics, and murder - this scratched a fictional niche itch I didn‘t even know I had. What happens when a wife, famous for perfecting cloning technology loses her husband to a clone …of herself? How deep do secrets go when that tech is misused? Xe Sands narrates in an emotionless way that emphasizes the main character‘s predominantly analytical nature which adds to the eerie mood of the book. Excellent!

My pre-Paris read. I didn‘t love it. think maybe I was expecting it to go a certain way and the way it went was actually weirder. When Pierre-Francois Chaumont purchases a portrait of a man who bears a striking resemblance to himself, he is disappointed that his loved ones don‘t see the resemblance. Soon his life as he knew it unravels, but the portrait‘s secret may lead him into a different life altogether. Well written but a bit unbelievable.

November #bookspin

An interesting Hawaiian mystery with a main character who is a distinct callback to Miss Marple. While it did a good job of digging into indigenous issues and had a great suspicious cast of characters, the pacing of the plot felt a little off which made the mystery reveal a little unsatisfying. #netgalley #bookspin

I actually switched the hard copy for audio and enjoyed listening to David Sedaris read. His humor is a little quirky and I think hearing it definitely adds something. At first I thought it was a little *too* quirky but by the time he arrived in France and began to struggle with the language, I was rolling. There will definitely be more Sedaris books in my future!

I‘m not ready! I still have 100 pages to go in my September #bookspin and it‘s already time for October! 😱 Anyhow, here‘s my list. Here‘s hoping I find a way to catch up in this busy month!

This novella featuring a girl from a reclusive, homebound people leaving home to accept a place at an intergalactic university has a sympathetic, unique main character and great world building. My only complaint is that the conflict seems to resolve altogether too easily. #authoramonth

Found a good reading spot in our vacation rental. 😁

One of the characters mentions that people‘s pasts are more interesting than their futures, and this book is told with that in mind, introducing the characters after World War II and telling their stories in reverse. I had mixed feelings about this format, but Waters‘ writing is, as always, in top form, her many characters and often bombed late-war London are brought vividly to life.

Happy September! Here‘s my #bookspin list.

My copy included I Am Legend and some short stories. I Am Legend is supposed to be the star, but I found Matheson‘s take on a vampire story to be kind of tedious. The short stories had some highlights including Mad House about a house that becomes so destabilized by its owner‘s anger that horror unfolds. Young girls conduct a war of the imagination in Witch War, and the narrator of Dress of White Silk is a perfect blend of innocent and scary.

This is a quietly told story of an American professor and his Italian family who are living out their days in a dying town. Hugh, still grieving the loss of his mother and wife, welcomes his Italian sabbatical but finds himself pulled into family drama as the mystery of his grandfather‘s death reveals itself and the town‘s dark World War II legacy comes to light. A good story, but it‘s the subtle beauty of the writing that makes it sing. #bookspin

This was OK, but I didn‘t love it like I expected to and I‘m having a hard time pinpointing way. The writing was good, the audiobook narration is great, but maybe there was just too much going on? It markets itself as an immigrant story and is one, but the focus quickly moves to Detroit, abuse, crime, racism, police violence, etc. so maybe it was just all a little much going on to make a cohesive, satisfying whole? Still a soft pick.

Aww, hey, look, it‘s my Litsyversary! 💗

Somebody needs to slow this year down. How am I already posting a #BookSpin list for *August*??

Loved the premise of this one. The main character‘s best friend disappeared from her hometown, La Cachette, a bayou backwater that is the refuge of an enclave of psychics. Each character had a unique psychic power. Grey‘s return the summer after Elora‘s disappearance is welcome but also fraught with mystery and grief. Sain brings the town and its secretive denizens vividly to life, and I couldn‘t put it down until the mystery was revealed.

Iris answers the phone one day to find that she is the family contact for her grandmother‘s sister, Esme, who she has never heard of and has been institutionalized for most of her life. From the points of view of Iris, Esme, and Esme‘s sister Kitty who is partially lost to dementia, O‘Farrell peels layer after layer from characters until their heartbreaking stories are laid bear. Love Maggie O‘Farrell and the way she tells stories. #authoramonth

My #doublespin for this month is a bail. Wooden characters and a weird attention to detail in describing bodily functions with no actual reason for it. 🤔 Next!