1. I wanted to reference dragons and being a bookworm, so I used the Old English wyrm. Then I was being facetious and decided to use as many synonyms for “big” as I could before using up the character limit. 😅
2. I don‘t typically listen to audiobooks. I honestly wish I could, it‘s just my mind wanders too easily and I snap back to myself and am completely lost.
3. Last book I finished was HEX by Thomas Olde Heuvelt.
#WondrousWednesday
1. No. I‘ve never been much for sports and the only one I actually enjoy isn‘t played in my country. So no one else really knows about it. 😅
2. The Only Good Indians- basketball plays a surprisingly significant role.
#Two4Tuesday
so-so3 ⭐️s
The scariest parts were the horrible townsfolk. The last few chapters are filled with some truly chilling violence. There were a lot of questions I had throughout and none of them are really answered in the end. Bit frustrated with how the story was told. The author originally wrote it in Dutch and then rewrote the ending when it was translated to English. I don‘t know if that impacted the story for me since I don‘t read Dutch. 🤷♀️
panNegative stars!! If I could go back in time and stop myself from wasting time reading this, I would. I HATE this book.
If you want my full opinion, here‘s the link to my Goodreads. Litsy doesn‘t have the character space for this level of rant.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5028052
Omg! Guys! Look what I found in one of my library loans! This one came from several towns over. I wonder if they do this with all of their books? I love it! It gave me such a nostalgic feeling when I opened it. Can‘t wait to add mine once I finish it. ❤️
There aren‘t words for how I‘m feeling about the book I‘m reading right now. Two characters just decided to make love in the middle of a shootout and the girl got shot right through the eye socket. What the fuck did you THINK was going to happen?!?!?!
My bingo board for July-September. Modified a few spots again. Trying to find the perfect balance between Litsy and BookTube events, buddy reads and book clubs. 😅
I‘m honestly surprised at how this bracket has been turning out. 😅 Halfway through the year! Hard to believe. So many good reads. So many more to come. ❤️
My second quarterly bingo board. I don‘t think I‘ll finish my current read before July 1st. I‘ve definitely been enjoying doing my bingo boards like this. Now for July-September!
Library holds came in today!!! 🤘😆🤘
My choice off my wishlist is Making it So: A Memoir by Patrick Stewart. ❤️ Thank you @TheSpineView for doing a giveaway! ❤️
#Two4Tuesday #TuesdayGiveaway
My selection for July. I haven‘t been keeping up with these as well as I had planned. I‘ve joined multiple readalongs/buddy reads (which are all worth it, but tend to take me away from this list). Might get to Queer Magic before the end of this month, so I‘ll put a different selection up if I do. Good luck everyone!
#BookSpinBingo
pick4 ⭐️s
I really enjoyed this one. The descriptions of the tech and time dilation were fun. I honestly liked Will for the most part despite his personal hang ups on a few things. I appreciate the fact that the violence/war wasn‘t glorified. The changes Earth went through over the course of the story were fascinating. There were a few things I rolled my eyes at, but they‘re mostly products of the time the book and author come from.
#ClassicLSFBC
Favorites in no particular order:
The Mummy
Lord of the Rings
Gladiator
#TLT #ThreeListThursday
so-so3 ⭐️s
There‘s a lot going on and also not much happens… Many of the characters (especially these three doofuses) are very different than their tv counterparts. Data shows too much emotion, I especially hated the moments where he seemingly got his feelings hurt. I LOATHED the part where Carey says he actually pouts like a child. Riker‘s an unprofessional lunatic. Geordi was just a tad bit too insubordinate. (Although I must say, his ⬇️
1. Good, yes. Great? No. My husband is the tech head in our house. Sometimes I have to ask him to repeat some jargon in layman‘s terms because he‘s totally lost me. 😅🤣
2. Probably my current read, The Forever War by Joe Haldeman. I‘m loving all the tech descriptions so much I told my husband he needs to track down an audiobook of it so he can enjoy the story too. (He‘s not a big reader.)
#Two4Tuesday
Thanks for the tag @The_Penniless_Author
Honestly The Wyrmling could take up all 5 spots, but I whittled down to 2: 1.) he‘s 2 now!!! And 2.) he‘s sitting front facing in the car. His smile is so infectious. 🥰
3. I received the kindest/most inspirational comment on one of my fanfictions. Knowing my writing has actually helped someone through hard times is extremely humbling.
4. I‘ve saved up enough to purchase my dream BJD! She‘ll be mine soon. ❤️
5. We‘re watching Baki Hanma on ⬇️
A man appreciating the fact that a woman can have a good appetite has always been a huge green flag for me. 😅❤️
so-so3 ⭐️s
(It barely squeaked over being a 2 ⭐️.)
This was a story about settlers/pioneers meddling with indigenous people and the consequences on both sides. I liked how Zane didn‘t try and make it seem like either side was evil or virtuous. His characters mostly acknowledged that the white invaders were the cause of most of the problems. I didn‘t like the constant fainting of females or the attitude that Christianity was going to save the “savages”.
#Naturalitsy #MidsummerSolace #WednesdayWanderings
1. Most ambitious walk I‘ve done: 10+ mile hike in southern Indiana carrying a 50+lb pack. Ambitious dream: I want to hike the Appalachian Trail.
2. Rural
3. I like trails with lots of water, deep ravines/cliffs, etc. If I don‘t get wet, I‘m bummed. 🤣
4. I always feel exhausted but accomplished. One of my best friends is the only one crazy and fit enough to do the big long hikes with me. ⬇️
It‘s still a day that starts with “T”, so I‘m not really late…right? 😅 #Two4Tuesday
1. I have a convoluted system for organizing my TBR. If I allow myself to just mood read, I‘d stare at my shelves for hours and waffle back and forth. I keep a note in my phone to keep track of what books I‘m “allowed” to choose from at any given time. The order doesn‘t matter, it‘s just showing them from oldest to newest added. I also have a designated shelf ⬇️
1. Not a specific one, but smaller mass market paperbacks tend to be what I associate with laying outside under trees or taking along on hikes.
2. Not anywhere overly exciting. Hope to visit the state parks a lot though.
3. My son and his budding sense of humor. The belly laughs he brings are priceless.
Consider yourself tagged if you‘re reading this! ❤️
#WondrousWednesday
1. A very difficult question. Tolkien created whole, working languages for his stories, it‘s hard to beat that. Robert Jordan is the king of world building. Douglas Adams has a way with the English language and humor that is, as yet, unmatched. Stephen King cranks out more unique stories than anyone I‘m aware of, and I typically love them. In the end, I‘d have to go with Tolkien.
2. The Lord of the Rings, obviously. 😅
#Two4Tuesday
pick4 ⭐️s
A novelization of the first TNG episode. There are some obvious differences that they changed later during filming of the show. Riker goes by Bill in this, but Will in the show. Data‘s origin is different. Things happen in a different order and I definitely prefer the tv version of that better. But what I like better in the book are the thoughts of the characters. A fun look into how they think/perceive each other.
Book 1 of #BookTrek2024
pick4 ⭐️s
I absolutely fell in love with Rye, such an unassuming badass. Westerns catch a lot of undeserved criticism for being gun worshipping propaganda. This story follows the reluctant gunman, Ryan Tyler, as he navigates growing up as an orphan in the dangerous Old West. He fights to hold onto the morals instilled in him by his late parents, even when faced with the ultimate betrayal.
Book 1 of #JuneontheRange2024.
so-so3 ⭐️s
A decent collection of vampire lore from all the way back in antiquity up through to the 1900s. You can definitely see the evolution of these popular creatures of the night, especially the superstitions for dealing with them. My favorite was The Living Dead by Robert Bloch.
This was one of my February #Roll100 picks.
so-so3 ⭐️s
I love a bit of satire. Many parts of this book felt like a Monty Python skit or a Mel Brooks film. I‘ve never been able to get behind the whole “everything is as it should be” way of thinking, and Voltaire does a really great job of skewering that philosophy in this very short read. The “tend your own garden” line at the end really stuck with me. I think it‘s very important advice, especially in this time of social media oversaturation.
My #BookSpinBingo list for June!
I have several events/challenges/buddy reads/etc. that I‘m doing in June, so I‘m not certain of what I‘ll be able to get to, but I‘m still very excited. 🥰
so-so3 ⭐️s
This was…interesting, to a point. Probably my favorite parts were the interesting twist on linguistics and Sumerian history/mythology. I‘m a sucker for anything pertaining to ancient Mesopotamia. Probably the only reason I finished. The characters aren‘t likable, they‘re a Mary Sue and Gary Stu. 🙄 I really thought Stephenson was going to do more. The ending was so lackluster and felt very slapped together. Really hoped for more oomph…
I don‘t know how many of y‘all pay any attention to anything BookTube related, but there are two events coming up that I‘m pretty excited about.
June on the Range is hosted by Michael K. Vaughan and basically you just have to read at least one Western sometime in June.
Book Trek is hosted by Revenant Reads and runs June-August. You read Star Trek fiction, from whichever iteration you prefer. ⬇️
This made me chuckle. I‘m getting ready to start Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson for #ClassicLSFBC and I was checking how many pages it has for tracking purposes. Finding David Brin books being suggested in the back felt like a very good sign that I‘ll likely enjoy this one too. 😅
It‘s a small world out there. 🥰
pick5 ⭐️s
I love this book SO much!! It‘s the 2nd book in Brin‘s Uplift series and I enjoyed it even more than the 1st, and I loved that one too! This story is set centuries later with an entirely different cast of characters. A spaceship with a crew of humans, dolphins and a chimp, stumbles upon a history altering find out in space. Now it finds itself the focus of countless dangerous galactic enemies. An epic science fiction adventure follows that⬇️
Woot! FOUR YEARS!!!
I love this app and the community it connects me to so much. I found it at the beginning of the pandemic. Life is so very different now, but Litsy remains a constant hub of happiness for me. Thank you all for making it my preferred social media “home”.
I find it sad that so often when I click on the other usernames on these that they‘re inactive. I hope those readers found a space that brought them joy. ❤️
pick5 ⭐️s
An absolutely amazingly well researched book that goes into the eight remaining bear species, their past, present and mostly bleak future. I cried several times. Had to stop taking it to work as my break time read. The bit about the sun and moon bears was especially hard to read. I knew the future of bears (like most things that share this planet with us) was dire, but this was certainly eye-opening.
April‘s #Naturalitsy read.
pick3 ⭐️s
I don‘t normally do this, but this book absolutely won‘t allow me to edit my thoughts down enough to fit Litsy‘s word count cap. So here‘s a link to my Goodreads review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2135109536
This was also my March #Doublespin for #BookspinBingo
My #BookBingoFromHell so far. I‘ve already read 10 new to me authors so I get a ☄️ and the number reset. My treat was to play Fallout uninterrupted for several hours. It was bliss. I hadn‘t touched a video game in over a year, since after the Wyrmling was born I dropped many of my hobbies. 😅
I got the blank template from Literary Diversions on YouTube/instagram.
I really thought this process would be easier. 😅 I really had to deliberate with myself on which books got to move onto the next bracket. I can only imagine what it will be like once I hit the halfway point. I‘m trying to hold off on adding the first two bonus books until I get to the end of June. Then I‘ll select them from everything I read the first half of the year.
Thanks to @CSeydel for the original template!
1. Farm.
2. Not necessarily a place but a process. I couldn‘t think of a book with a farm that I actually want to live on. Anne of Green Gables might be close but I wouldn‘t want to live in that time period. 😅
#Two4Tuesday
My May list for #BookSpinBingo. 🥰
It‘s a gorgeous day out! Letting The Wyrmling play in his water table while I attempt to get in a few pages of this new read. Forecast says it‘s supposed to drop back down to the 30-40 range in the next few days so we‘re enjoying it while we can. 😔
Watching the last episode of Fallout tonight and ordering my favorite pizza. It‘s going to be a great day! 🥰
pick5 ⭐️s
After my first Simak merely a week ago, I was nervous about how much I might like this one. I ADORE it! It‘s a library copy but I love it so much it‘s been added to my list of books to buy for my collection. Enoch is such a wonderful protagonist. Just enough of the old fashioned without being a patriarchal ass. His relationships with all the supporting characters were so lovely. I will absolutely be picking up more Simak in the future!
1. Stranger in the Mirror
It‘s been hard coming to grips with how much I‘ve changed since getting pregnant and having The Wyrmling. Not just physically but emotionally and mentally as well. Although it‘s still a surprise when I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror. My mental image of myself hasn‘t updated to the new outer look…
2. Tagged. Excellent book about an adventure I could never hope to survive, but loved reading about.
#Two4Tuesday
pick4 ⭐️s
I‘m surprised how much I enjoyed this. My heart hurt for the two characters but also I was happy for them and what little time they did have. It took some adjustment for me due to it being an affair, and I was a bit surprised how accepting I was of it. The quietness of the love is what I think did it for me. In a world where 99% of the romance books are just thinly veiled smut, it was refreshing.
This was my #BookSpin for March.
so-so3 ⭐️s
My first Simak, I‘ll be tackling another once my library hold comes in. I enjoyed the writing and sped through the book. The ending was quite a letdown. I was especially annoyed with the blatant misunderstanding of evolution and how the entire narrative hinged on that misunderstanding. There were several loose ends that remained undone by the end as well. Still enjoyable enough for me to look forward to reading another by the author.
1. There are many people that if I were to describe my feelings for them might fit the description of a personal hero, but I shy away from using such a label. Unfortunately I‘ve come to regret the ones I‘ve labeled as such in the past. In all honesty (as vain as I‘m sure it sounds) the person that is most likely to be my hero is myself.
2. This entire series has numerous heroes in it, so I chose the final book.
#Two4Tuesday
1. Checked off the eclipse. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and we can go for a hike Saturday.
2. Coffee. I don‘t snack a lot while reading, but a good dark chocolate if I do.
3. I love matching my bookmarks to what I‘m reading. Whether it‘s by theme or color.
4. Currently reading multiples. I‘ll tag the one I‘m likely to finish this week then add the others in the comments.
Tagged if you were in the path of totality!
#MotivationalMonday
Totality. I‘ve seen an eclipse before but never been in the path of totality. Truly a unique experience. The pic is with my phone, so nothing great, just the universe doing its thing. To the right you can see the little spot of light, Venus, and the little light to the left is Jupiter.
The Wyrmling was thoroughly impressed. I don‘t think he‘ll be capable of remembering it, but that‘s what photos and videos are for. ❤️🌌❤️
pick5 ⭐️s
I honestly can‘t help but love this series. 😅 This one really started to branch out the multiple POVs a lot more than the previous ones. I always enjoy that. I‘m so glad I saw through the bs at the beginning or I would have been awfully upset. I still adore Richard and Kahlan. Even though he is still a big doofus a lot of the time. Zedd was fun as always. The supporting cast continues to be fleshed out more and I love many of them as well.
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