All cozied up in bed getting ready to start this December #doublespin book. I‘m pleasantly surprised to find a map inside! I love #mapsinbooks but rarely see them in romance novels.

#readromancerepeat

Finished my November #bookspin last night. This is #8 in The Hollows series. The first half is slower than I remember, but necessary to set up the big action & choices Rachel makes at the end, which in turn sets up where the series goes from here. I took my previous rating from 5 to 4⭐️ after this reread.

Read 9 books counting this one. Mostly romance - I needed some HEAs this month. No bingos, but I did finish both my #bookspin and #doublespin.

The feature lineup for #litsycrafters

The goal is to bring crafters together over a shared interest, share tips & tricks and maybe learn new things together. You can participate as much or as little as you like.

I‘m very excited to hopefully get more painting/crafting done because that was the first thing to fall off my list in 2021 & I really want to get back to it.

Check out @Catsandbooks and @curiouserandcurioser pages for more details.

December #bookspin list.

Included some wintery books from my shelves, an Isabel Allende book on my shelf + a spot for one more for #authoramonth, & the books from my #readromancerepeat box.

Both old & new categories including “from a previous bookspin list” & “received in a swap” for a book I haven‘t read from a previous swap; ❄️ “winter/holiday book” for something seasonal.

Added a spot for a book I receive in the #wintersolsticeswap

The contents of my #readromancerepeat box from The Ripped Bodice. Both books sound like a lot of fun & the sloth socks are so cute! They say Slow Down on the bottom 😆🦥❤️

Donut Fall in Love is about a movie star who hires a professional baker to help prepare for his TV cooking show debut. The punny title is fun & I love baking shows.🍩😍

Wild Cowboy Wolf is a fresh spin on classic tropes combining 2 sub genres - cowboys & werewolves. 🤠❤️🐺

Came home from spending Thanksgiving with my in-laws to find this bookish goodness on my doorstep! My #wintersolsticeswap from @erank58 arrived. 🎉❄️✨

+ my first box for The Ripped Bodice‘s Romance of the Month Club. I‘ve been looking for a book subscription box that isn‘t just popular titles or YA. I didn‘t want so many extra goodies, but I didn‘t want only books either. I love romance so I thought I‘d try this one. Contents coming in next post…

@GingerAntics here are the local bookstores!

Barnes & Noble is the biggest with the most selection. It‘s also the easiest to get to.

Zandbroz Variety (downtown Fargo, tagged) carries books & other things. They usually have new popular literary fiction reads along with some older books, but not a huge selection of genre reads. They always have a shelf of local books from Minnesota & North Dakota authors. Parking can be tricky. zandbroz.com
⬇️

A fantastic #newyearwhodis list from @JackOBotts 🎉😍 I‘ve already read #1&3 - loved both. The tagged book is on my #newyearwhodis2022 list also & I read it last January because it was on @BarbaraJean ‘s list!

The top 3 pictured are already on my TBR list so I will definitely read those. I‘ve been meaning to read more Matt Haig books for years. I‘ve also been meaning to try Colson Whitehead. There is No Good Card looks fascinating & new to me ⬇️

With the tagged title I completed my #doublespin (library book) & yearly goal of 100 books on The StoryGraph & Goodreads. 🎉 Everything else is just bonus now.

Tagged book was good, not great. Started out pretty slow. I didn‘t really get into the story until past the halfway mark. I‘m hoping the other character‘s books in this series will be better because we already know them a bit. So far I definitely prefer MacLean‘s Rule of Scoundrels series.

I thought I had my list all ready to go & it still took me way too long to sign up for #NewYearWhoDis because I changed the order & added extra notes… but I‘m signed up & cannot wait to get my list! Hurry off to @monalyisha ‘s post if you‘re interested.

@BarbaraJean 3 books off your list made it onto my list of favorites this year… and I was seriously considering 3 more!

I‘ve done this three years in a row and found so many amazing books. ❤️⬇️

Got my #bookspinbingo board done & got to color off a square.

This was an incredibly fun, snarky take on a grim reaper. I love Charley‘s sense of humor & her relationship with her friend Cookie. I also found the idea of a grim reaper helping lost souls find peace & pass through her to the other side a fascinating take. I‘ll definitely continue the series.
Thanks @DebinHawaii for your post that pushed me to finally check my library & start this!

Ok I also signed up for #jolabokaflodswap because this whole concept makes my heart happy. @MaleficentBookDragon thank you for continuing to do this swap every year!

Now I‘m cutting myself off of December swaps. No more. Please don‘t post any exciting ones that tempt me because I have zero willpower when it comes to swaps. 🤣🤷‍♀️

Signed up just in time! It‘s been a crazy work week and I completely forgot about this until I saw @sprainedbrain and @Chrissyreadit ‘s reminder posts. I would have been so sad if I had missed it.

If you‘re interested you still have a few hours to join in. Head over to either of their posts for the link ❄️🌲✨💙

I‘m off to add some winter solstice books to my wishlists! #wintersolsticeswap

My November #bookspin list.

📚This month it‘s back to categories, including a new category for number 9: A book from a previous book spin list. Since I never read all 20 books on my list and change it each month, I thought this would be a fun way to go back and look through those to choose.

🖤Also continuing my Hollows reread.

✨Added a few titles from Halloween swaps and some titles I thought I might feel in the mood for this month.

Final #scarathlon2021 #teamhendrix totals!

Week 4 total: 1,292
That includes the books pictured, the short story Ley Line Drifter from the tagged book, this weeks word find game, readathon hours, and lots of tv shows and movies including Hocus Pocus, Riverdale, Rocky Horror, and Practical Magic.

Grand total for all 4 weeks = 13,237.5 🎃🎉🖤✨☠️

I had a lot of fun celebrating with all of you and this was my best reading month so far this year!

My final #bookspinbingo board for October: my best month all year with 16 books and 2 bingos! It helps that the 5 free spaces were graphic novels from the library, but those were all ones on my tbr list anyway so it was nice to cross them off as well.

I finished both my #bookspin Bridge of Souls
And my #doublespin Practical Magic

I loved almost all of these except for The Southern Book Club‘s Guide to Slaying Vampires (2⭐️) and The Rival (3⭐️)

I finished my chronological reread of this series last week with Practical Magic on Saturday. However the Rules of Magic remains my favorite of the series — I think because Franny and Jet‘s stories resonate the most with my own past experiences figuring out who I am and what I want.

We spent Halloween evening handing out candy and watching the movie Practical Magic 🖤✨🔮

Practical Magic was my October #doublespin @TheAromaofBooks

Catching up on a few #scarathlon2021 #teamhendrix posts. Snuck a few Halloween kids books this week. It was fun to revisit these as it‘s been a few years since we‘ve read them. Big Pumpkin remains my favorite! 🧙🏻‍♀️👻🧛‍♂️🦇🎃

2/2 #basicwitchswap
@DebinHawaii you clearly read my answers carefully because I asked for mahogany obsidian & now I have this beautiful sphere to set on my desk to help manifest my creative ideas. The turquoise pouch you wrapped it in is beautiful. The Taurus oil smells lovely. I‘m looking forward to finding different ways to use it.
Deb, you really spoiled me! I cannot thank you enough, I hope you love yours too. Happy Halloween + Samhain 🔮✨

1/2 @DebinHawaii I‘m in tears this #basicwitchswap box is so amazing!🖤 I‘m excited to try the Hawaiian coffee, tea & chocolate. The tarot book sleeve is gorgeous & I‘ve never seen one this big! I love the witchy zippered bag, this saying is perfect 🧙🏻‍♀️The black tote bag is perfect to throw in my purse. And the books, oh my goodness! I can‘t wait to dive into all the witchy stories. The witches datebook looks fascinating to explore all year⬇️

Thank you @LeslieO for this amazing #hauntedhollowswap package!

This fall book sleeve is absolutely beautiful! 😍🎃
Yummy chocolates and 2 books off my wishlist which I‘m very excited to read - Waking the Witch looks fascinating and Wolf Gone Wild is a fun supernatural romance I know I‘m going to enjoy. Plus a sweet Hocus Pocus bracelet set, perfect to wear with my witchy tees.

You are amazing! 🖤🎃✨🔮🍁 Happy Halloween! #hhs

Oh my goodness @Twainy I‘m so excited for this book! This was the mysterious Amazon package I received today. I‘m so very thankful that you sent this to me.

I loved The House in the Cerulean Sea & @Branwen ‘s posts about this book had me extremely curious about what Klune does in his earlier writing. I‘ll definitely be putting this one on my November list.

Nancy, you are incredibly kind & thoughtful! I hope you love your #hhs just as much! 🖤

Attended an author talk tonight with a few friends by Anton Treuer. His book was chosen as our city‘s 1 Book 1 Community read and I finished it Sunday.

The book was excellent. Treuer addresses a lot of questions and does so in a way that is thoughtful, accessible and with personality. I definitely recommend it if you would like to know more, especially about the Ojibwe nation of which Treuer is a member. ⬇️ (continued in comments)

Received a book shaped package from Amazon today marked to MeganAnn Litsy. I assume it goes with one of my swaps so I don‘t want to open it too early and I‘m not sure which one so I‘m tagging everyone.

@DebinHawaii is it for the #basicwitchswap ?✨
@wanderinglynn I‘m not sure who my secret sender is for the #hauntedhollowswap so I cannot tag them directly. Do you have any insight? 🎃🖤

Week 3 #scarathlon2021 #teamhendrix total points = 887.5

5 theme books + graphic novels (tagged GN was a lot of fun✨🖤)
2 unrelated book + GN
23 movies + tv episodes (including The Addams Family and several episodes of Riverdale)
10 comments for this week‘s game (some guesses + some book emojis posted)

Finally got a bingo on my #bookspinbingo board 🎉 @TheAromaofBooks

18.25 hours read x 3 readathons #screamathon #spookoween bookspinbingo

My #basicwitchswap from @DebinHawaii just arrived! Deb, tracking says yours is out for delivery today as well so it should appear at your door soon. ✨

And now the waiting begins… I‘ll have occupy my mind with the tagged witchy read I just started. So far, I love the MC‘s vibe and her crystal shop. I received this book in last year‘s #basicwitchswap from the lovely @MicrobeMom 🖤🔮✨

Week 2 #scarathlon2021 #teamhendrix total points = 897

1 Halloween book
2 theme stories
22 tv episodes + movies (watched a lot of The Curious Creations of Christine McConnell and Buffy the Vampire Slayer this week)
34 book tags in the game this week

13 hours read x 3 readathons for #bookspinbingo #screamathon #spookoween

Currently reading the tagged book so those points will go towards next week but most of the hours read are in this week.

Had a lot of fun wrapping up swap gifts on Sunday to mail out! My #hauntedhollowswap (top) and #basicwitchswap (bottom) packages were both sent out priority mail this morning and should hopefully arrive by the end of the week. 🔮🎃✨☠️

@DebinHawaii the post person said delivery wasn‘t guaranteed to Hawaii by Saturday, but will definitely be there before opening day.

@DebinHawaii I have to let the cat out of the bag to let you know that you will be receiving a package from an Etsy shop called Anita Apothecary today. It‘s for your #basicwitchswap. I sent it directly to you because I didn‘t think it would make it in time for me to send with everything else - the seller got it out earlier than estimated and I got a notification that it‘s out for delivery today!

The rest of your box will be on its way Monday. ✨

Continuing my reread of The Hollows series. 5⭐️

Finished the tagged book which starts with Rachel shopping for a magical Halloween costume with her mom. Halloween is mentioned throughout the book and the final action takes place a few days afterwards. +25 points #scarathlon2021 #teamhendrix

+ read 2 stories from Into the Woods collection (tagged below). The Bespelled & Pet Shop Boys. +30 points.

8.5 hrs #screamathon #spookoween #bookspinbingo

Came home to find my #hauntedhollowswap #hhs package on the doorstep.

I don‘t see a name or handle so this will remain a mystery until opening day! ☠️🎃🦇🖤👻

@wanderinglynn I‘m waiting for the last item I ordered to show up and mine will be sent off as soon as it arrives.

Week 1 total for #scarathlon2021 #teamhendrix = 10,161 points 🎃✨

Early TBR post: 50 pts
Books read: 8 total [1 unrelated, 1 team read, 4 team theme, 2 take place on halloween] The tagged book is a fun, quick novella from one of my favorite paranormal romance authors if you like your Halloween reads to be more sweet than scary.

Movies + TV episodes watched: 21
Game: 907 words
25.5 total readathon hours x 3 #bookspinbingo #screamathon #spookoween

Another cozy morning spent reading while my husband and son are out hunting.

This is book 3 in the series and I think it‘s my favorite! Cassidy, Jacob and Lara team up in New Orleans after Cassidy starts being haunted by the Emissary of Death. The New Orleans setting is perfect for this supernatural ghost story and I love the Society of the Black Cat characters who help them.

This is also my October #bookspin @TheAromaofBooks

It‘s raining outside and I‘ve spent a delightfully cozy day so far finishing this book. This prequel follows Maria Owens and her daughter as we learn about the start of the Owens family and how they came to be cursed in love. I loved it and I‘m looking forward to rereading Rules of Magic & Practical Magic later this month.

15 points for team theme + 1 participation #teamhendrix #scarathlon2021
8h15min for #screamathon #bookspinbingo #spookoween

I‘ve been working on this word game when I have a few minutes. Started writing them down which quickly got out of control so I entered them all into a spreadsheet to make it easier to check for doubles. I love word games like this! 🖤

Calling it at 907 words x 10 points = 9,070 points for #teamhendrix #scarathlon2021

link to my list: https://docs.google.com/file/d/1vMPOTweSthc5zDOUTPkJLlDjVq6CMulZ/edit?usp=docsli...

I loved this witchy graphic novel! Three witches go on a road trip to recover their stolen magical stuff and find out who took it in the first place and why. Along the way, they meet and help others who bought their magical stuff on a dark web like auction. The art is lovely and the artists really brought each of their personalities to life in the art. I wish my library had the second volume because I wasn‘t ready to leave these characters.

Finished the #scarathlon2021 #teamhendrix buddy read and we watched the movie tonight. #screamathon #scarepairs

I remembered enjoying the movie when I first saw it several years ago. However I was pleasantly surprised by the depth of the book and really enjoyed it. The friendship between R and M was one of my favorite things in the book and I loved seeing those moments in the movie. I may pick up the second book at some point too.

September #bookspinbingo recap:
No bingos this month but I was SO close!

Finished my #bookspin (tagged): the 3rd Bridgerton novel which was really good. This one was about Colin and Penelope. Those books are like candy in the best way. 🍬

Also finished my #doublespin which was For a Few Demons More - the Hollows 5. So good!

8 books read total including my #lmpbc book and two Persuasion retellings for #pemberlittens

Persuasion retelling #pemberlittens

This was absolutely delightful. I loved the sense of place this story gets being set in Tobago. Reyna‘s artists soul had me hooked from the beginning and Aiden‘s music makes him the perfect match for her. I loved seeing our Persuasion characters reimagined in this setting and enjoyed how the author brought a little empathy to the characters that aren‘t very nice in the original. I couldn‘t put it down! 5⭐️

Gearing up for ALL the Halloween things! 🎃🔮🧛⚰️🧟‍♀️☠️✨👻 My #bookspin list for October is filled with witches and vampires, zombies and ghosts… minus the top two titles for book clubs.

This is also my tbr for:
#scarathalon2021 #teamhendrix @StayCurious
#screamathon @4thhouseontheleft
#spookoween @TheSpineView
I may try to work in some Halloween related graphic novels or children‘s books as time allows.

Finished my #doublespin for September!

This is book 5 of The Hollows series I‘ve been slowly rereading. This book is a huge turning point in the series and I forgot that so much happens in this one book - most of which changes the dynamics of Rachel‘s world, including the twist ending. From here, Rachel starts to really come into her own as a powerful witch. 5⭐️

I‘m curled up on the couch completely engrossed in my #lmpbc book - Pucked. Started it last night and so far it‘s laugh out loud funny and very steamy. @BethM

And then my husband walks in with the mail and hands me a package with the next #lmpbc book to read - the Rival. @cwarnier you finished that so quickly! @Annie1215 I‘ll send Pucked along next week once I finish.

1. Treats
2. Both! Especially if they are in the same story. But if I HAVE to choose, witches have a teeny advantage. 🧙🏻‍♀️
3. Pumpkins 🎃
4. Nope and nope! No scares.🙅‍♀️
5. Caramel everything!
6. Dracula🧛‍♂️
7. Costume Party. I do not like being scared.
8. Chocolate 🍫
9. Zombies ala warm bodies or izombie. 🧟‍♀️ Although I don‘t mind skeletons so much either ☠️
10. Pumpkin spice. Yum!
11. Black cats 🐈‍⬛
#hauntedhollowswap #hhs

1. We try to carve pumpkins every year as a family.
2. Nope… I‘m picky about my socks and prefer to choose them myself.
3. Blue. For fall, I love dark jewel tones - emerald and forest greens, dark teal, eggplant and amethyst, garnet and burgundy, rust, navy.
4. Cozy scarves and hand warmers
5. Bookmarks and book sleeves
6. We made diy giraffe costumes when my son was 3. Now I usually dress a little witchy.
7. Yay! It‘s cold here. Slouchy or beanie

My #witchaesthetic for #basicwitchswap #bws

Bohemian witch with a love for layering jewelry + loose flowing clothing of various textures/prints + dark florals. I love my witches to be strong woman who own who they are. Rachel Morgan (tagged book 1 of the series) is a favorite along with the ones pictured. I do also love A Discovery of Witches but forgot to include that. Very slowly learning tarot.
See also my spooky aesthetic in the previous post

Here‘s my Halloween/fall #spookyaesthetic for #hauntedhollowswap #hhs

I‘m all about urban fantasy + ALL the supernatural creatures / magic. Pictured some of my favorite tv shows, movies + book series. I don‘t mind if my supernatural leans in to dark/horror/blood/gore but no scary horror movies for me. I also like gothic romance + cozy mystery.
I also love hygge/ cozy fall stuff, pumpkin pie/spice, plaid + jewel tones. See also my witch aesthetic

Here‘s my September #bookspin list.

Planning to continue my reread of the Hollows series.
Will try to read a couple Persuasion retellings with the #pemberlittens. Filled in the rest with some other atmospheric titles off my shelves that felt like fall, along with a few categories.

And of course there‘s my #lmpbc title for this month as well which I‘m very excited about since @BethM and @cwarnier both loved it.

Here‘s my final #bookspinbingo board for August. Counting the DNF, I managed two bingos 🎉😬

Overall it was a pretty great reading month. Reread the first four books in the Hollows / Rachel Morgan series (book 4 tagged). Still love this world and it‘s characters. 5⭐️

#bookspin was the DNF nonfiction book from my last post
#doublespin was The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels which I loved 5⭐️

Good Omens on audio was also very good 4⭐️ ⬇️

Bailing on this one. Too much about war and political movements of the Al Qaeda with small parts about the actual manuscripts in between. I enjoyed the parts about protecting and moving the manuscripts and about Abdel and his family/community. But since those parts are few and far between, I cannot make myself slog through the rest to finish the book.

This was my #bookspin nonfiction choice for August, unfortunately it‘s a DNF @TheAromaofBooks