My attention wavered a little with this one, but I was drawn back in by the dark humour and appreciated the role that Misha the penguin played.

☀️☀️☀️🌤

This memoir reflects Maloney's experience of life in rural Japan, having moved there from Scotland. It's well-written and does a good job of avoiding the usual tourist observations about Japan.

It does get a little repetitive towards the end though and, while his humour carries some chapters, it hinders others a little, trying too hard to land a punchline.

I'll read it again and hope some day to follow in his footsteps!

☀️☀️☀️🌤

I really enjoyed watching some of the movies again after reading this book. Created by fans, this is a fun dive in to the history of the company and what inspired the characters, themes and landscapes of each movie. It includes some gorgeous unique artwork too.

Highly recommended to fans of Studio Ghibli 😃

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A few newbies for the pile 📚 the tagged book will probably be up first.

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend.

Visited the gorgeous Daunt Books at Marylebone this morning, where there was a steady stream of people looking for an Instagram shot. My pic probably doesn't do it justice, but it's a beautiful place to browse. I also made it to Foyles, Forbidden Planet and Judd Books.

Time well spent 😁

Thanks @RaeLovesToRead and @julesG for the tips - I will return to see more!

A rare but very enjoyable non-fiction for me. This delves in to the history of some of the Japanese cultural phenomenon that we know today, looking at how they may have shaped our lives.

It's well researched and focused on the people behind these products, which made for a satisfying read. I loved the sections on anime, karaoke and, strangely, Hello Kitty....🤫

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Although I did let it get water-damaged on my way back to the hotel 😖

I'm heading down to London for work tomorrow, but will be staying on an extra night because... well its London 😁

Hoping to take in as many indie bookstores as I can as while I'm there, as well as a years supply of coffee and cake.

Grateful for recommendations from fellow Littens 🙂

Not sure why I took so long to read this, but I'm glad that I did. Such a compact yet powerful and engaging story. Already on my to be re-read list.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A disgruntled employee and the daughter of a wealthy CEO conspire to fake a kidnapping. For one it's about money, but for the other it's the thrill of the game.

I liked that this was a quick read and it was engaging in a 'what's-round-the-next-corner?' way. But the characters felt a bit one dimensional and the narration was grating. What could have been a cool plot ended up falling short.

I'm usually a big fan, but this one missed the target.

Happy Friday all! These are my mornings for a sneaky coffee and read before leading a health walk in the woods. Beautiful snowy walk for my group this morning.

I should be finished my latest Higashino by tonight. I'm a bit of a fanboy, but going to reserve judgement on this one until I see what's up his sleeve for the last 50 pages.

I loved, loved, loved the first book in this series, so expectations were high when picking this one up. I was already very invested in the characters and world that Jemisin had built, so no surprises that I did like this, but...it felt a little bit like the story was running out of steam second-half.

3.5 city avatars out of 5 🗽🏢

Life has been colourful over the last year, but it's good to be dipping back in here when I can. I snuck in a few pages of this before heading out in to the woods earlier. Feels like I'm maybe getting my reading groove back... 🙃 hope everyone is well.

The author covers a year in his life as an anti-social behaviour officer in a very similar style to Adam Kay's accounts of being a junior doctor. His stories range from bizarre and hilarious to some that are desperately sad. I thought he walked the line between compassion and humour very well.

Despite the warmth and humour it is largely written with the subject matter is tough, including real accounts of drug use, homelessness and abuse.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Loving this one so far and enjoyed seeing this passage from when the author was talking to a co-worker. It's the exact same 'why would you do that..?' tone that I have had from some family and friends when they hear what I've done with my spare time.

'So you just sat in on Friday night reading a book...and that's it?'

I made it down to London to see some friends at the weekend and, despite hoping to get to lots of indie book stores, only had time to visit this one. They were awesome though and promised to post me up a stack of bookmarks when I said I was collecting them.

As always I'm slightly behind the curve, but excited to pick this one up.

I was confident that I was going to enjoy this but those first two-thirds blew me away! Fantastic storytelling, which had me picking it up any time I had a spare five minutes (and even sometimes when I didn't).

Sadly the last stretch didn't grip me quite as much, so I lost a little momentum there.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Hope everyone is having a good week so far.

This is the Japan and Korea section of my tbr pile 🇯🇵 🇰🇷 Any recommendations on what I pick up first?

The look on her face very much says 'why did you dump your book on my bed?'

Well Skye, its because I wanted to join in with #dogsoflitsy

Quirky little touch from the seller at an indie store in Edinburgh, who was making origami animals at the till. Its hard to see here but this is a frog 🐸 which she thought represented my purchase of the tagged book.

I am now even more curious to read it, which I guess means she has done her job very well!

3.5 ⭐ Worth a read if you enjoy video games or have an interest in how they link to mental health. The author tells his own story, while doing some mythbusting and raising valuable awareness of indie games that have been designed with mental health in mind 🎮

Despite finding it interesting there were an awful lot of typos. I can normally tune those out, but they came in way too thick and fast on this occasion.

Thanks for the tag @RaeLovesToRead !

1. No, I'm nowhere near organised enough and work is providing enough scares for October, so my reading time will be a wee bit limited.

2. The tagged book is sitting on my shelf and is going to get picked up next. It's been a while since I've read anything by him, but looking forward to this one.

#Two4Tuesday

Consider yourself tagged if you haven't been already 🙃

Thanks @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks . I'll admit I wasn't feeling all that positive this morning, so it has done me some good to do this!

I have a habit of comparing myself to others, or a fictional version of myself, so this one really stuck with me. The tagged book has had the biggest impact of any on how I see myself.

Tagging anyone else who feels like joining in 🙂

#ThinkPositiveBePositive

Solid pick ⭐⭐⭐⭐ I enjoyed the cocktail of jazz, duelling mob factions and post-war communism hysteria that wove it's way through this story, the third in a series following private detective Ida Young.
Its ultimately crime fiction, but some of the characters and events are real, adding a few interesting sub-stories around the evolution of jazz music and the emergence of acts like Charlie Parker.

This morning was the annual recreation of the 1745 Battle of Prestonpans, just a few hundred yards from my house. Outlander fans might recognise the name from an episode in season 2 (which sadly wasn't filmed here).

Even cooler than that though is what might be a Jacobite uniform button, which my daughter dug up at school.

She's really proud of her streak of petty vandalism on school property, which I'll choose to ignore for now 🙃

Looks like this is my first post in around two years. It doesn't feel like I had dipped out for that long, but it's nice to be back soaking up the bookish vibes again!

Part way through this one, which is the third in Celestin's series and so far the most enjoyable, pitching in cameos from a wearied Louis Armstrong, among others.

Hope you all enjoy your Friday and have those feet up early this evening. Thats what I'm aiming for 😃

I havent read much non-fiction recently, but this is one that will stick with me. Kay's accounts of his time as a junior doctor in the NHS are revealing and often had me either in shock or laughing out loud on public transport. Such a good read 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Hope the week is treating you all well.

This is great @Alora Thanks for the tag @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

1. I ran an ultramarathon, I am missing a rib, I am vegetarian
2. I wouldn't say I really disliked it, but I did feel let down by American Gods..
3. Terry Pratchett, Chuck Palahnuik and Christopher Brookmyre.
4. I'm one of those oddballs who really likes the cold side of the bed 🙄

Hope everyone is having a good Saturday 📖

#Litsylearn

Thanks @Eggs. Appreciate the tag @JessClark78 @veritysalter @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Balibee146 @TheLibrarian
1. No, but I enjoy trying (and failing) to guess the meaning of -phile words!
2. It depends a lot on setting and story for me. My favourites are Discworld and Lonesome Dove, both very different 😄
3. I write short stories. Going to do #LitsyLove too, which should be fun.
4. If you are interested @Crimson613 @cleoh
#wondrouswednesday

I grew up a fan of Sherlock Holmes and it is believed that James McGovan's book provided some early inspiration for Conan Doyle. Set in Victorian Edinburgh this series of short cases demonstrates a different kind of fictional detective at play - dry, witty and working class. McGovan is armed with grit and logic as he chases less exotic brands of criminal mastermind, which made it all feel authentic as well as enjoyable. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

After the first 50 or so pages I thought I was reading a horror classic. After 400 it was on course to be a pick - good story, characters worth investing in and growing suspense with each page. Then he started to lose me. I wasnt a huge fan of the direction that the plot took towards the end and it all started to feel too drawn out. I do see why some people loved this though and can imagine it making a good TV adaptation.

Thanks @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks 😃

1. Curse of Lono by Hunter S. Thompson and Part two of The Black Room by Luke Smitherd.
2. “That finished that. Ralph limped away in a funk and even the bartender got weird“.
3. A very rock n roll fruity chamomile tea combo

Hope everyone is having a restful page-filled Sunday!

Decided to sign up for my first Litsy games, thanks @Clwojick and @StayCurious for organising!

This means ditching my occasional December Grinch act and harnessing my inner Buddy the Elf 🎿

Looking forward to it 😃 #WinterGames

1. I used to love (and apparently throw many tantrums) playing Boggle
2. Japan has been there for a while. I just need that lottery win.....
3. I'm 5 books away (58/63), so it's tantalisingly close to being met!
4. JK Rowling. Finally read my first Harry Potter this year and enjoyed it 😁
5. You inherit a lot of money. Do you use it to fund a public library or open your own book store?
Thanks @howjessreads #friyayintro

Thanks @ljuliel !
1. Connecting with people like me from around the world. Its a positive, encouraging place to share bookish things. Love it 😁
2. Not yet!
3. The ability to enable direct messaging, for users who want that feature.
4. Around 5 times a week. I do want to post more, but, you know...life...trying my best to comment more.
5. Have only tried questionnaires so far, which I enjoy
6. Remove the need to tag books, unless reviewing

Just like any other normal person, I spent some of my Saturday afternoon categorising the books in my tbr pile.

I honestly have no idea which one to go for next...

Finally delving in to this one tonight. Hope you all have your feet up as early as possible.

Thanks @howjessreads Happy Friday all 😁
1. Coffee ice cream. I have a problem with that stuff.
2. Just starting to! Looking forward to having them while I'm walking at weekends.
3. Some long overdue time off work and attempting to tackle tbr mountain.
4. I honestly lost count. It wasn't pretty 😂
5. Feel like I'm a green kinda guy this month.
#friyayintro

The tagged book arrived today, which finally finishes my Lonesome Dove collection. I have mixed feelings about this period in history, but it'll be great to complete the story.

I've somehow managed to read this series backwards. Has anyone else read a series this way before?! Does this make me my own worst spoiler? 😂

Loved this spooky commute to work, through a park blanketed by fog with other people appearing as dark, blurry shapes in the distance.

I would never have survived more than 5 minutes as a character in the tagged book, but coffee and a muffin-related sugar rush gave me the courage I needed on this occasion 😁

Hope the week has started well for everyone. I had some Monday luck, picking up this bargain on the way home.

Brookmyre is one of my favourite authors, and this book has been on my wish list for a while. Looking forward to getting stuck in!

Thanks to the many people on here who have systematically brainwashed me in to this with their photos over the last week - my first ever pumpkin spice latte.

It tastes like all three courses at once 😂 i'm still not sure if thats good or bad!

Reading the tagged book. Nothing new but may interest people who enjoy his tv work. The book has a slightly different feel, revealing a little more of his own personal insecurities.

My first time doing one of these - better late than never!
> April 2019 which makes this my 6 month anniversary 😃
> I googled 'cool apps for book lovers'!
> A little more, so thanks for the motivation 😉 tbr is growing rapidly though
> crime, thriller, fantasy and anything set in Japan
> I haven't posted enough yet, but have enjoyed following lots of people including @Reggie, @Birdsong28, @Jas16, @DGRachel & @suzie.reads
#wondrouswednesday

New indie bookshop joy part 2! So happy to see these places pop up near me and just hope they can survive then thrive in the years to come 📚🤞

#happinessisbookshaped

This is a fun read for the kiddo's, as well as adults, like me, who never really grew up. It's full of short 6-8 page mini stories in comic book form about his many hapless plots to take over the world.

This was a joy to read. Webb, a writer and comedian, grew up in a working class Lincolnshire village, having very clear notions of what it means to be a man drummed in to him from an early age. This book explains how that upbringing shaped his future actions with humour, honesty and humility. He managed to take me with him the whole way, highlighting his greatest mistakes while never losing sight of his privilege as a man 🌟🌟🌟🌟

This a compact little thriller, which i felt was too short for any real depth. Although it was a mostly solid read - Nesbo is a good writer - I found parts of it quite predictable and the whole 'formidable-yet-flawed male hero wants to save repressed female' angle just felt way past its sell by date for me personally. 2.5 / 5.

Reasons to drink coffee at 10.30pm:

1. I promised myself that I would read 100 more pages today
2. I may as well just finish the whole book at that point
3. I live by a strict moral code, called Bookido, which requires me to start the next book in the pile straight away.
4. Coffee will give me good dreams. Ask any scientist.
5. I have a work assignment due tomorrow morning. That can probably wait though...

The king of gonzo journalism and home-made banana loaf - two things i did not expect to be mentioning together!

I do love Ralph Steadman's artwork, even better in big hardback.

Jo Nesbo and a flat white courtesy of an extended lunchbreak ☕ really hoping the week continues like this 👍 hope your week starts off well too!

Pretty happy with this free mini haul from a local book swap. I now have 5 books about maps in my tbr pile and will absolutely hang my head in shame if i ever get lost again 🗺 #turnsoutimamapgeek