4/5⭐️

One March #bookspin down; one more to go.

It was as good as I remembered.

@TheAromaofBooks

4.25/5⭐️

The one where things start to get dark.

I may not have finished this in February, but it was my February #BookSpin.

@TheAromaofBooks

Bonus: it works for #allergictochunksters and is a petite chunkster for the #chunksterchallenge

@julieclair @Amiable

this installment of the Nancy Drew series was a hit for me because of the wonderful eye rolling laughs it gave me. A meteor? Getting tossed over board? Nancy actually loses a ping pong game 😱? Ad nauseam references to cabin 128? Yes, please! Can‘t wait for the next installment!

#NancyDrewBR @Librarybelle

“By the time Alex managed to get the blood out of her good wool coat, it was too warm to wear it.”

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl
Reading this for #authoramonth @Soubhiville

I never made a special section for the #EBBR that @Ruthiella is hosting. I also don‘t think I need to do a star rating for each book so I‘ll just be keeping track of the cases I figured out and the ones that stumped me. I am utterly embarrassed by not being able to “solve” the secret pitch case. 🤦‍♀️

#5JoysFriday @DebinHawaii

1. Today is Friday.
2. Next week is Spring break.
3. I‘m having tacos for dinner.
4. Reading good books.
5. Spring is here.

I‘m actually still working on a book from the February #bookspin so I‘m picking short reads for this month‘s numbers.

My prompt #1 is “A First”.
My prompt #12 is “Paperback Crush”.

As always, thank you @TheAromaofBooks ! I hope the move is going ok.

3.5/5⭐️
Was it the best writing? No
Were the characters complex and well written? Not really
Were there plot holes? Yup with a little Nancy Drew coincidence and luck thrown in.
Good ending? NOPE

But I couldn‘t stop reading and I enjoyed it anyway.

I don‘t usually do an offical TBR, but I‘m giving it a try for March.

I decided to read a chapter a day for the #literarycrew February selection and it resulted in reading synchronicity! I am on chapter 29 about M Paul‘s fête which is taking place March 1…though not on a Thursday.

#5JoysFriday @DebinHawaii
Even though I‘m not consistent with my five joys every week, it is one of my favorite Litsy events.

1. My husband (always)
2. Warmer temperatures and sunshine ☀️
3. Litsy (always)
4. My reading journal.
5. Reading (which is why I‘m a little less active lately)

I skipped last month‘s #aardvark picks, but I made up for it this month!

I finally got around to reading Roxane Gay thanks to #authoramonth hosted by @Soubhiville . I forgot I had this one on my kindle so I‘m diving in. I doubt I‘ll finish it before Friday though.

5/5⭐️
I loved this book. Atmospheric, mysterious and impossible to explain until the end. If you choose to read this one just go with the flow and keep reading.

Chapter 25. Apparently being a teacher was a horribly shameful thing? Or was the teaching profession a sign of poverty? I‘m laughing at this whole conversation at the Bretton breakfast table.

#LiteraryCrew

Thanks to some kindle credits I got the next selection for the #furrowedmiddlebrowclub for free!

I‘m glad #AuthorAMonth prompted me to finally pick this off my shelf. These short, readable essays were powerful, but sometimes hard to read.

I love the StoryGraph and the stats are the best. However, I really hate this stat. I wish I could turn it off. (It looks ok now but by December the number will be much higher.)

#SundayFunday @BookmarkTavern

First I walk around looking at my bookshelves and sigh dramatically. Then I pick up a few books, read a few pages and lounge on the couch consumed by ennui. Sometimes I‘ll scroll through Litsy looking for inspiration. Or I‘ll avoid looking at my bookshelves because I feel guilty. I‘ll look over my TBR and wonder what the purpose of it even is anymore. And then finally some book appeals and I‘m reading again.

I bought myself a birthday present. My birthday is in March. Close enough, right?

2.75/5⭐️

My engagement with this selection for the #furrowedmiddlebrowclub was up and down. I struggled to get into it. I was delighted with the book with a book. I often fell asleep while reading after that point. Then it picked up again with young Addie‘s diary. It was indeed too long and I think it could have been executed better or at least could have gotten some editing. The structure was weird to me.

“There is nothing like taking all you do at a moderate estimate: it keeps mind and body tranquil; whereas grandiloquent notions are apt to hurry both into fever.”

I am going back and forth between physical and audiobook for this. I am enjoying it! #literarycrew

That‘s a rather unfortunate last name. 😂
#NancyDrewBR

I made a special spread in my reading journal for the #NancyDrewBR. Just don‘t look too closely since I messed up some lettering and spacing. I shouldn‘t work on things when I am tired and the lighting is bad 😂

2.5/5 ⭐️
Just a so so for me. There seem to be fewer cases and lots of hints get dropped each book, but then they never get picked up again. I‘m going to take a little break from this series for a bit.

I find this to be one of the more unattractive Nancy Drew covers. #NancyDrewBR

It‘s #bookspin day! My forever list prompt number 4 is “Kindle” and 10 is “2000-2010”.

Thanks for such a wonderful game @TheAromaofBooks

I‘ve had the tagged book on my wishlist for a bit. So glad it was one of the #BOTM picks this month!

“Dina, we‘re going to host 61 space chickens.”

🤣

#hyggehourreadathon

I‘m reading the tagged book on my kindle and I‘ll read a few pages of my library book as well. If you look closely you can see my green, snuggly blanket and my flannel plaid pajamas. There‘s a gentle rain outside. Happy to be reading with everyone!

@Chrissyreadit @AllDebooks @TheBookHippie @jenniferw88

17% and I‘m trying to get into it. I hope is picks up.

#furrowedmiddlebrowclub

@rubyslippersreads @quietjenn @Jess_Read_This @Kimzey @erzascarletbookgasm @catebutler @CarolynM @LeahBergen @Lizpixie @elkeOriginal @Aimeesue @batsy @Tamra @bookandbedandtea @Teresereading @kwmg40 @Cathythoughts @Ruthiella @julieclair @MrsK

4.5/5⭐️

Unreliable narrator, bleak, violent, sad, dark and all the triggers.

I couldn‘t stop reading.

My 2025 #bookspin list. Can‘t wait to see what numbers February will bring.

@TheAromaofBooks

#EBBR @Ruthiella @DebinHawaii @DGRachel

I‘m ready!

#5JoysFriday @DebinHawaii
❄️Three days off of work due to snow.
📚Lots of reading time.
🍕Pizza!
💌Sending and receiving #LitsyLove
❤️Quality time with my husband (who has also started reading more).
Bonus: lots of good urban fantasy recs from fellow Littens.

tagging @xicanti @DogMomIrene @AnnCrystal @julieclair @PageShifter @Leftcoastzen @MegaWhoppingCosmicBookwyrm @Deblovestoread @Darklunarose @Anna40

4.75/5⭐️ (Close to excellent)

Dina is asked to protect a race that is victim to what amounts to ethnic cleansing.

The full-cast, graphic audio accounts for much or the excellence of this #audiobook, but the story/premise/world is also excellent. I love the characters. While the first two books felt almost like stand alones, this book ends up making connections from previous ones and ends with a tease of the next.

Next book for #LiteraryCrew hosted by @Librarybelle . My edition has 528 pages so it will work for the #chunksterchallenge (bitsy chunkster) and #allergictochunksters too! 🎉

Edit: And this is perfect for #LitsyAtoZ #LetterV !

@Amiable @julieclair @Texreader

Why does stuff like this drive me so crazy? It‘s jarring and sort of takes me out of the story for a sec.

#pedantry #LiteraryCrew @Librarybelle

(Images from Google and Wikipedia)

I don‘t know if #recommendsday is still a thing here, but I sure could use some recommendations. I‘ve been reading the Innkeeper Chronicles by Ilona Andrews and really liking it. I‘m wondering if any #Littens have other urban fantasy suggestions. The fewer vampires the better (if that even exists.)

2.75/5⭐️

I read this one for my January #bookspin (3). I had read the first two in the trilogy about 2 years ago, but the second book was a real “pan”. While I‘m glad I finished the series, this one was just barely a so-so. I don‘t like the characters being separated because it made a disjointed story for me. I liked some of the plot lines better than others. By the end I was tired of the book.

#LitsyAtoz #LetterD

@TheAromaofBooks @Texreader

#Two4Tuesday @TheSpineView Thanks for the tag!

1. A state department of education whose decisions affect poor minority districts differently than more affluent districts and the inequalities that it creates. (And honestly parents and a society that doesn‘t trust teachers and assumes the worst of us. Of course not many people volunteer for the job either. )

2. I honestly can‘t think of one. 😂

Consider yourself tagged!

I‘m rethinking my rating system since StoryGraph (and most people) use a five star rating. I‘ve gone from C.A.P.E to C.A.R.P.E. The “R” being for readability (font choice and size, complexity, good wordy or bad wordy). Obviously had to change my reading journal page too 😂

I am starting this one today for a read along on Annie Aboulian‘s Substack (The Tarot Professor).
#witchyreads

3.75/4⭐️(between very good and excellent)

Characters are great. Atmosphere and world building is really amazing and I love the magic system (spores). Plot is really fun and sweet. However, my engagement was only at a level three. It‘s really good but wasn‘t quite a page turner. The pacing wasn‘t consistent.

#litsyatoz #letterT @Texreader

A little late but I finally got the #journalingprompts into my journal. Thanks so much for these @TheBookHippie !

#5JoysFriday @DebinHawaii

1. Reading the tagged book with @BooksNBowls and others for #whimsicalreads.
2. Cuddly cats.
3. Wearing a warm sweater that I made for myself.
4. A long weekend.
5. Litsy friends.

I‘m so in love with my new library log page! On the left I was just jotting down titles of books I wanted to read that were at my library, but I saw this idea somewhere on a Google image search so I recreated it. Next year I‘ll have the pocket on both pages.

I really enjoyed this one. It had everything: Golf! Ghosts! Wild animals! Fire! Romance!

#NancyDrewBR @Librarybelle

#NancyDrewBR

Bartescue is just awful. Anytime he‘s in a scene I think of Julia Sugarbaker and Ray Don.

https://youtu.be/P7xS54IGEGI?si=xi9jnnFLldP2P-up

3/4⭐️ (very good)
In this installment Dina is asked to allow her inn to be the location of a tricky peace summit. The cook is a new character and I‘m glad it appears he will be a new addition to the inn. I will definitely be giving the third one a go. My library has several of the books as a full cast audio which I loved.

Also works for #LitsyAtoZ #LetterS. @Texreader I think I‘m going to try the title only route.