This is a sweet, very cozy fantasy about witches and family/no family/found family. I read it as an online read with a small group of others and found lots to discuss and lots to like.

Haven't been on Litsy in forever, but I miss it! So I'm putting in some books I've read recently. This was #17 in the Kate Burkholder series. How does Castillo keep coming up with such different ideas?

#11 of 2023 Pros: Interesting characters. Descriptive setting (Alaska, mostly in deep winter)almost like another character. Believable protagonist. Cons: Too long, made the story drag. Many of those interesting characters didn‘t seem particularly real. Read for a Bookgirls challenge.

February 2023 Book Spin & Bingo
1-The Fire and the Ore
2-Fountains of Silence
3-The Dark Room
4-Keeper of Enchanted Rooms
5- Knitlandia
6-Caught
7-The Birchbark House
8-Midnight Children
9-Signal Moon
10-Indigo Girl
11-The Lying Club
12-Lonely Hearts #4 Jessica Shaw
13-House at the End of the World
14-2023 Newbery winner
15-2023 Printz winner
16-New middle grade novel
17-New YA novel
18-An actual physical book
19-A memoir
20-Free Choice

#10 of 2023. The perfect book to read when you need a break from darker stuff. The two protagonists were so clever/incredibly good looking/funny that it should probably be labeled a farce! HEA of course - gotta throw in a romance every now and then!!

#9 of 2023
This is the closest to a “so-so“ of any in this series so far-this is the 11th. It refers back quite a bit to the first in the series, which I only partially remember. Maybe some of the themes, motivations, similar characters are starting to be repetitious? I‘m getting a little bit tired of the Ruth/Nelson…situation Ms. Griffiths has Ruth applying for a job at Cambridge, a little change of scene might be just what the series needs.

#8 of 2023
Excellent. When three friends are confronted with blocked out words in their sixth grade literature circle book, The Devils Arithmetic (a great book itself), they begin a campaign against censorship. A timely topic that includes a middle school boy dealing with his very odd, untrustworthy, father and the usual pre-teenage angst about friendships with girls. My favorite character is the ex Vietnam War granddad, who practices mindfulness.

#7 of 2023. 4.5/5. Third in the Jessica Shaw, Private Detective, series. A great protagonist - smart, lots of emotional baggage but devoid of physical baggage… she practically lives out of her car. Set in 29 Palms, California, it‘s about the disappearance/abduction of several women and goes back and forth between time periods and voices. I liked it a lot and could clearly picture it because I‘ve visited this area several times. Good one!

#6 of 2023
4/5. Love this series, love Ruth Galloway. Elly Griffiths has been trying some very unusual plot twists to end the last couple of books. Really interested in seeing where she takes us next … good mysteries!

#5 of 2023
Couldn‘t wait to read a 2023 published novel, and this one looked good. Didn‘t work for me, though. The narrator did the protagonist voice OK, but all the other voices were just horrible. The story was shown through different viewpoints, so you immediately knew what was going to happen, there weren‘t many secrets at all. I did like the main protagonist, Harry. This is the first of the series, will I tried the next? Perhaps.

#4 of 2023
2.5. If you‘re interested in the newspaper publishing business and how it‘s disappearing and want to be lectured ad nauseam about it, this is the book for you. It wasn‘t particularly the book for me! The other half of the book, the actual mystery, was OK…

#3 of 2023
3.5. Although I was able to pretty much figure out what was going on quite early in this book, I still enjoyed seeing it all come to fruition.

#2 of 2023 This book took over 15 hours to listen to, and, although I love the banter between the two protagonists – such clever writing – I think it didn‘t need to be that long. A bit of a different premise for a romance, which was refreshing.

#1 of 2023
I knew that this one would be a difficult one to figure out, and I was determined. I was also wrong. I didn‘t figure it out, L O L! Lots of books seem to get smooshed together in my mind and I can‘t remember details, but I think I‘ll remember this one.

I haven't been on Litsy in ages, but am looking forward to participating again in this fresh new year. I'm going to have to relearn everything!

Here's my #bookspin for January 2023.

@TheAromaofBooks

OK, I‘m game to try. Hope this list works for #BookSpin.

I loved reading this YA sci-fi/fantasy series. I believe it was written in French and translated to English and I anxiously awaited the arrival of each in the series. I happily recommend all three books.

#Bookspin
1-Beantown Girls
2.-The Changeling
3-Little Comfort
4-Letters to the Lost
5-The Graveyard Book
6-One Hundred Years of Solitude
7-Fahrenheit 451
8.-Paper Wife
9.-Murmur of Bees
10-The Downstairs Girl
11-Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus
12-The Life We Bury
13-Stillborn Armadillos
14-The Dovekeeper
15-All Systems Red
16-The Curiosity
17.-All the Beautiful Lies
18-The Hunt for the Dingo
19-Onyx & Ivory
20-Magpie Murders

After reading Big Lies in a Small Town and thoroughly enjoying it, I decided it‘s been along time since I‘ve read much historical fiction, so now I‘m on a roll. We Hope for Better Things was also a big hit for me and so now I‘ve started The Shoemaker‘s Wife. I‘ve discovered I particularly enjoy books that flip back-and-forth between two time periods or come from two different protagonists‘ point of view .
Any other suggestions for me?

A question to help me round out my 2019 reading: What have been your favorite fiction novels of 2019?

This story was told by hopping back and forth between 1999, 2013, and 2016. Intricate characters were developed as the protagonist, Loveday Cardew, told her story. Abusive relationships, mental illness, foster care, grief and despair, forgiveness and love of all sorts are the main themes of this fascinating story. Another winner.

What a funky, funny, unusual novel. Clever, over the top, and extremely humorous, the story kept me giggling, rolling my eyes, and completely hooked. Written mostly as emails, letters, faxes, etc., The glimpses of Microsoft, Seattle, private schools, architecture, the Antarctic, and five unique personalities are an absolute delight! Can‘t wait for the movie.

What a beautifully crafted story, how I enjoyed listening to it! I have a feeling that if I had read it I would‘ve been impatient with some of the description of the marsh, the animals, the winds and grasses and beaches. But listening to it read in Cassandra Campbell‘s lilting voice, it became poetry. Loneliness and aloneness, beauty and nature, described brilliantly. This is a wonderful piece of storytelling.

QUESTION:
If the setting of a book is 1969 .... 50 years ago — would you consider it historical fiction or contemporary realistic fiction?

I remember being extremely frustrated after finishing the first book because it left everything so incredibly up in the air. I think I feel even more frustrated at the end of this second installment! Decent mystery, especially since it‘s YA and a good YA mystery is a bit unusual. A year to wait before the sequel comes out, the final in the series, when the entire mystery BETTER BE wrapped up, lol!!

Another wonderful book that I read in one long gulp. It was told in two voices 25 years apart, by two innocent young women, one whose decisions and silence profoundly affected the life of the other. A mystery that one could almost… but not quite… figure out. Well defined characters. Lovely British setting. And read beautifully by Elizabeth Sastre.

This book IS actually full of exotic stories, as well as insight into the Punjabi/Indian/Sikh culture in contemporary London. Told from the point of view of a modern British young woman of Punjabi heritage, the twists, turns, inter-generational friendships, arranged marriages, and honest peeks into a fascinating culture enthralled me totally. And listening to the lilting accented reader was a special added treat.

A bit of a slow start to my February reading, but all three were quite interesting, to be sure. A psychological thriller, a dystopian Navajo reservation mythological adventure, and a scientifically – based serial killer chase. Hmmm......

SO much good reading this month-horrible weather and the “creeping crud” kept me snuggling in with a book or listening whilst knitting. Particularly enjoyed the murder mysteries/police procedurals. Would love some recommendations!

January‘s been a great month for reading! Paul Doiron‘s Mike Bowditch series keeps getting better and better – The Precipice was number six. So good, especially if you‘re interested at all in a great mystery, the state of Maine, and/or the Appalachian Trail. Run You Down was another excellent mystery, helping me learn more about the highly-Orthodox Jewish community. And Time‘s Convert allowed me back into the world of the All Soul‘s Trilogy folks.

My most recent four reads – I really enjoyed listening to Lethal White (Galbraith/Rowling‘s descriptions are wonderful) and Essie‘s story is mesmerizing and flies by. Definitely nixed Toxic, Accidental Romeo was another “just for fun” guilty pleasure. Sure helps the winter pass!

It‘s fun to throw in a little romance once in a while – and if it‘s sweet, and it takes place in a bookstore, well…

I‘ve read them all (this is #10) – I used to love them – but they‘re starting to sound more and more alike. Similar phrasing, similar reflections, similar characters. Maybe I should read the next one with my eyes and not listen with my ears? I‘ll keep reading them because I love the setting and enjoy the main characters, but…

Very simplistically written, with lots of unedited errors, always frustrating. A very promising story, but just didn‘t follow through. The bad guys were very very bad and the good guys were very very good. Blah. The plot, setting, basic ideas, we‘re super – but the writing left a lot to be desired. YA. Dystopia. Setting: Southern California and Arizona 50 years from now.

Oh my goodness, what a clever, addicting book, though not the greatest cover, right? I couldn‘t put it down. Never a dull moment!! There were so many things I loved about this book: all sorts of twists and turns, following five different people that were easy-to-remember in an uncomplicated way, being left on the edge-of-your-seat short chapter after short chapter, and a premise that made you think, wonder, and rationalize throughout. A winner.

Others have compared this book to a sci-fi Hunger Games, and other than having slightly more than one winner at the end, that‘s pretty much what it is. I loved the entire premise from the start and was pulled into the story immediately, which hasn‘t happened a whole lot lately. Nothing like “coming-of-age“ in outer space! Loved it - 4.5.

I have such admiration for an author that can weave together a story like this one. Getting to know and understand the three protagonists is a slow (in a good way) process and makes this story all the more delicious. This book is also a reminder that there are more good people than bad in the world and that you don‘t have to be born into a family to be surrounded by love. Listening to it read aloud was really amazing.

Definitely another winner by Kimberly Willis Holt! Though touched throughout with sadness, it isn't a sad story. It's about blooming where you're planted, making the best of everything, seeing the good things there are to see, and learning from the mistakes of your parents and grandparents. And it has a wonderful array of really cool characters. I so enjoyed this story!

There‘s a fascination and pull towards the simplicity of the Amish life that more-than intrigues me, especially as I now live near numerous Amish communities. But my spiritual beliefs and those of the Amish are so very different that it makes books likes these particularly difficult to digest. The last quarter of the book pulled my rating way down, very hard for me to take. Or understand.

This is the first short story in the series that hasn‘t seemed rushed and fit really well into the short story category. My only question – who paid for all the food and entertainment of the Amish Rager? Ribs and beer and a live band for 200 people? Whew! Not a bad story at all, and it even includes a tiny glimpse of Tomasetti…

Shifting back-and-forth between the past and the present, and told from the points of view of two young women whose lives and destinies are entwined, The Color of our Sky paints a picture of contemporary Bombay that is fascinating, illuminating, and incredibly sad.

#makemereadit #helpmechoose
All my books are on Kindle, so I couldn‘t stack them.
Please choose for me!

As much as I try, I just can‘t get into romances. What‘s wrong with me? Sure, I like the sexy bits, but the silliness surrounding it all just keeps my eyes rolling. There was definitely some humor in this one, I snickered occasionally, and I loved all the stuff with the cat, Hamlet (thus this cute sticker). I can‘t even say it‘s because I guess I‘m getting old, because I don‘t think I‘ve ever liked romance....but I keep trying…

I definitely didn‘t enjoy this book as much as I did the first one - it was all I could do to finish. The plot was boring, the killer‘s actions at the end ridiculous. And the way the protagonist was portrayed by the audio reader didn‘t match what I had in my head. She gave Eve a particularly bitchy edge that just didn‘t sit right with me. So when you have a lousy story that isn‘t read to your liking, the rating isn‘t going to be too high. Bummer.

June
June - 13 Books - A good month!
3,726 pages
4 Audio - 7 Kindle
1 SciFi - 1 Dystopian- 1 Fantasy - 1 Memoir
1 CRF- 3 Mystery/Suspense - 3 Murder Mysteries

I love mysteries, but not usually from the pov of a journalist (harassing people to get a story). That being said, this was a good mystery that Rebekah solved all by herself - mainly because it was not being pursued by the police - while encountering clues from her own past. I love reading books that take a peek inside the Hasidic Jewish community, and for that this book did not disappoint. It gave me that peek, a good mystery, and a short read.

An in-depth look at one screwed up family, The Last Equation of Isaac Severy comes at you from many directions. Told distinctly from two different points of view and less distinctly from one or two others; mystery, reality of a gritty world, and some scientific/fantastic mathematics combine to make quite an interesting tale.

This was a long, endless, DEPRESSING story told from the point of view of four different people. For quite a while I couldn‘t help but compare it to The Fifth Wave, with shades of Station Eleven, until it went in its own direction. So depressing, it‘s going to take me a while to climb back out of the hole it put me into. It worked well as an audiobook.

Got to another #indiebookstore today, this one is in Frederick, Maryland, one of my favorite towns anywhere.

Help, please…
I‘m going to splurge on an Audible book to listen to while I finish a quilt.
Suggestions please!!
Fiction – published this year, 2018.
Thanks so much 💜