A very small section of my TBR 😊
Trying to do some tidying before Gladstones. Gotta be honest... the room isn't looking much better 😭😭

https://youtu.be/JbcYko1IqEk?feature=shared

Made another vid. This one is the Book Design Tag where I show off some of my special editions.

It's #flatlayfriday folks 💛

Today I'm displaying yellow books 😊

https://youtu.be/gMgj_CRR5J8?feature=shared

Attempt at upload number 2... some technical difficulties 😅😅

If you're on a computer this might be better.

On phone it doesn't make a lot of difference 😊

I want to read the new ML Rio novella, but I absolutely HATE the cover.

Almost as much as I hate this edition of Monika Kim's "The Eyeballs are the Best Part":

https://youtu.be/sbCtljoGqb0?feature=shared

Not as much as I hate the US cover of Brainwyrms ??

It's a GOOEY MELTING RAT with FUNGUS. I hate it so much that instead of posting it, I have substituted a pic of Alan Cumming in a ridiculous jewelled poncho.

I'm getting a bit better at thumbnails 😄

Happy October, everyone!

https://youtu.be/4vOgu8imdLU?feature=shared

When you're checking out Kindle deals for the month and it requires at least 2x notebook pages 😄

@BarbaraJean @Librarybelle @Leniverse @Caroline2 @AnneCecilie @Larkken @Kristy_K @Cuilin @wanderinglynn @deblovestoread @jess @leniverse @aa_guer2021 @sparklemn

OK guys.... you may begin!!!!!!!!

But if you've got a lot on, don't worry. We are going at a leisurely pace.

After all, when we've finished #CAPbuddyread it's on to Ulysses.

Use the hashtag to update us on how you're doing.

THERE IS NO RUSH. And feel free to start at a later date.

@BarbaraJean @Librarybelle @Leniverse @Caroline2 @AnneCecilie @Larkken @Kristy_K @Cuilin @wanderinglynn @deblovestoread @jess @leniverse

Hello fellow glutens for punishment!

The plan was to start C&P at a leisurely pace starting 1st October. How does everyone feel about this?

1) Yes, let's start tomorrow!
2) Delay start 1 month to November
3) Let's start January instead

The translation I have is the Oliver Ready version (cover above).

The writing here was so gorgeous. Our Wives felt, to me, like a horror story. It was creepy, claustrophobic, and surreal.

I did want a little more from the ending, either in terms of clarity or impact, but this was still a haunting, beautifully-written little book.

It's not uplifting though. Be warned!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Do not read this book if you are afraid of the sea. Or claustrophobic. Or claustrophobic and afraid of the sea.

It's... damp!

(I was going to say moist, but that might give off the wrong vibe 🤣)

Check out my edges, though.

#flatlayfriday

Another shameless attempt to import this Instagram trend to Litsy 🤣🤣

I just love making aesthetically pleasing pictures with my books!

These are all books about books 😊😇

Bookhaul 💃💃💃💃

PACKAGE!!!! 🥰🥰

#wondrouswednesday @Eggs 💕
Thanks for the tag @dabbe 😊😇

🍁 Stressed. Anxious. Chunky. 🤣🤣

🍁🍁 Honest. Kind hearted. Intelligent. Friendly. Warm. Funny.

🍁🍁🍁 I was gonna say Mrs Danvers as a joke, but I'm gonna go with Eleanor Oliphant. Because I spent a lot of time as a teenager and beyond not knowing how to connect with people and not understanding how to be social. I don't think I'm like her now, but I empathised hard.

Miri's wife Leah has returned from a submarine expedition after months lost under the sea. But Leah has changed and Miri is left wondering if she has really returned after all.

I'm halfway through this beautifully written, but not-at-all uplifting read, and appreciating its waterlogged prose and sense of loss.

October TBR... why do you mock me so?????
Need to do more reading and less staring into space 🤣🤣
Plus I'll soon need to choose which books to take to Gladstone's on the annual #gladstonerds reading retreat 💕💕💕💕

Here's the TBR vid in case you missed it:

https://youtu.be/hKP-aIA_BVk?feature=shared

https://youtu.be/hKP-aIA_BVk?feature=shared

New video now live! 🥰🥰 Thank you to everyone who supports my channel / enjoys my vids.

Today's vid is 30 mins of me discussing what books are on my Autumn TBR. There's no way I'm going to get round to all these, so let me know in the comments if there are any that I need to prioritise 😁

I'll post Illumicrate unboxing for the month next. Pickles heavily featured (but not helpful!) 🤣🤣

A few new arrivals 💃💃💃💃

I was supposed to have a week off getting on top of my life this week, but I got the lurgy. So I got next to nothing done and I'm back to work on Monday feeling worse than when I started.

Also, I borked the diet and book ban 😵

Please send reprimands and sympathy in equal doses!!! 🤣🤣

Today's #flatlayfriday is focused on my Art section TBR.

Not pictured are the seminal text "The Story of Art" by Gombrich, and the hugely necessary "The Story of Art without Men" by Hessel, both of which changed the way I see and think about art, earlier this year.

I've been rifling through the Art section ever since, and can't wait to explore this expansive and fascinating topic further.

My first cameo 😄 (Sorry about the face / general exhausted ambience, haha)

My BookTube Buds Laura and Ross are celebrating their first anniversary on BookTube and they invited me to share a rec or two! 🥰🥰

They are well worth following if you like SFF.

https://youtu.be/ef4Nn9b5Jnw?feature=shared

"The deep sea is a haunted house: a place in which things that ought not to exist move about in the darkness."

#firstlinefriday

This first line is *chefs kiss*

I am loving this so far! And they've just mentioned my little town 🥰🥰🥰

This was OK, but it wasn't exactly Gosford Park.

The mystery was crap, for a start. And the characters were mostly ghastly.

I can see what the author was trying to achieve; I just wish it had been more focused. If she'd beefed up the mystery, or cranked up the comedy, or gone for more social commentary, I feel it could have been more effective. Instead, we get a pinch of each, and it never quite felt like it was hitting the brief.

#wondrouswednesday @Eggs 💕
Thanks for the tag @Yuki_Onna ❤

1) This will surprise no one 😄

2) Paper 📚

3) I referred to Storygraph for this! Literary followed by mystery. I'm surprised Sci Fi isn't further up on the list. (I 100% DO NOT read more romance than sci fi 🤣) Expect more Fantasy and Art reads in coming months.

If you see this, you're tagged 😘

When you decide to write a mystery farce set in Scotland during lockdown, and you decide to call it Loch Down Abbey 🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️

(I was never going to be able to resist this cover, was I?)

I loved this action-packed, fantasy murder mystery. It was full of heart, brilliant fun, & I enjoyed every minute of it.

The whole story gives off Locke Lamora vibes. There's smart-mouthed skulduggery, shimmering towers, opulence and grandeur against streetwise determination.

The story does unfold in a linear way that cements it more as a fantasy adventure rather than a mystery novel, but the plot is fast paced and a lot happens along the way.

Thank you so much @The_Penniless_Author for my lovely present 🎁🎉

Well done on finding not one, but two, authors I haven't yet explored! 💕

Everybody give a big welcome to my Discord buddy @camscampbell who has just joined us 😊 He also does BookTube and reads eclectically from SFF to Russian poetry!

Also, Pickles. Just because.

Ok maybe just one flatlay. After all, it is #flatlayfriday 🥳🥳🥳

Preparing my Autumn TBR! Here are all of the stacks I've been curating. See anything I need to prioritise?

I didn't want to spam you all with flatlays of all these, but I've posted them here if you need a close up 😁😁😁💕

https://www.instagram.com/p/C_20887AdkE/?igsh=b2Q0em1tMGZodmU1

#Ihavequestions

SPRING: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up (Marie Kondo) or Atomic Habits (James Clear)

SUMMER: Sunburn (Laura Lippman)

AUTUMN: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Agatha Christie)

WINTER: Game of Thrones (George RR Martin)

Let me know your seasonal reads 😊

EVERYONE IS TAGGED, but I'm going to tag everyone who wished me a Happy Litsyversary in the comments yesterday. Thank you all and much love 💕💕 I'd love to see your choices.

It's my 5 year Litsyversary and I love you all very much 💕💕

Having a little oasis on the internet where it isn't constant ads and drama, but just people wanting to share something they love is incredible.

Thank you for being such a wonderful, welcoming community.

Rae xxxx

More Vendula masterpieces! They just keep getting better!!!!

New acquisitions!

Autumn Pickle-friend 💕🍂

#catsoflitsy #picklescat

https://youtu.be/nBQeoWgSXKo?feature=shared

My latest vid is my Top 10 Fiction reads of 2024 so far.

Thank you to everyone for supporting my little channel. If you enjoy my book-ramblings, don't forget to like and subscribe 🥰

What a beautifully written, sensual story.

For a book that deals poetically with such emotive material, I didn't find it overbearingly saccharine or contrived. The writing just flowed off the page & slowly took root in my heart.

The less you know going in, the more impact the story will have. Slowly, inexorably we watch things unravel. So much feeling crammed into so few pages. I hope The Safekeep makes the Booker shortlist at the very least.

Was it just really breezy today or was The Safekeep giving me goosepimples 😭😭😭

Update: wow. This post looks like CHECK OUT MY BLOTCHY ARM. But I'm leaving it here because THIS BOOK.

That's the camera, not a rash 🤣🤣

I tried to take a cute pic of her snuggling in the grass but she ALWAYS NOTICES!!!

#picklescat #catsoflitsy

And of course, it's #flatlayfriday 💃💃💃💚

Green stack! 💚

I match my book sleeve today! 💜

Currently reading The Safekeep. Loving it so far, but I've just reached Part 3 and actually have no clue where it's going...

https://youtu.be/z7yJeYUVoNY?feature=shared

Mini reviews for (most of) the books I read this summer.

Come for the book content, stay for the laughing at how exhausted and haggard I'm looking. Or vice versa 😘

I'm going to make a top 10 of 2024 so far vid once I'm feeling less crud 💃💃💃

Do you agree with my verdicts??? 👀

Weird #blameitonbookstagram purchases.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C_bgDDrAeZi/?igsh=cWhpNW44czV1M2M2

Pretty sure these wouldn't have been on my radar if they hadn't been recommended to me online.... (except maybe the Anton Hur which has a yummy cover)

September #bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks 💕

Time is flying and the books are not getting read quickly enough!!!!!

Got some Booker prize nominees on here, some thrillers for escapism, and a couple of chunky books I'm dreaming if I think I can finish them in September 🤣🤣

I'm a street photographer now.

Just me and mah buddy Liam 🥰🥰

#flatlayfriday

Shamelessly trying to import this trend from Insta. This is my post-cocktails Birmingham book haul 🍸💃

LIE THOSE BOOKS DOWN, LITSY! 🤣🤣

Coo-eeeee! Good morning! Did you mek mah breakfasts yet?

#catsoflitsy