We‘re more than halfway through November #AuthorAMonth readers! I hope you‘re enjoying your time with Sarah Addison Allen. I‘m almost finished with my book for the month, Other Birds, and I really like it.

December brings us one of my very favorite authors, Terry Pratchett. I can‘t wait for you to experience him if it‘s your first time! If you need recommendations I‘ll make a couple in the comments. 🙂💛📚

Here is the big announcement #AuthorAMonth readers! Here are our 2025 authors!

The most votes went to Leigh Bardugo this year, then Kate Quinn, then Octavia Butler so I decided to include her as a repeat author.

What do you think? Who are you excited for? Any suggestions for different ways to run the voting next year?

Thank you all for your nominations and your votes. I‘m pleased with the 2025 list, should be some great reading.

I finished The Starless Sea for the third time this morning. Sometimes I need the comfort of a favorite reread. And this is a book that begs to be read over and over. I would crawl into this world if I could. I would open a painted door. 🐝 🔑 🗡️💛

Here we are #AuthorAMonth friends! Your nominations are organized and the poll is ready. I can‘t wait to see who ends up on next year‘s #AAM list!

https://forms.gle/bzB4u9ACcqMGfakA6

Voting is open to everyone who thinks they might be interested in reading at least one book for #AuthorAMonth next year.

A fun light read with a friendship between an early 20‘s woman, Tanner, who is disgruntled with life after an injury ends her college soccer career, and Louise, an octogenarian who may be on the run from the law for a jewel theft and from an old enemy.

It‘s a little bit road trip story, a little bit friendship meet cute with two grouchy characters, and there‘s a smidge of romance.

I liked this, and the narration was very good.

It‘s time! Time for nominations for authors you‘d like to see us read for next year‘s #AuthorAMonth. Please comment with your suggestions. I‘ll give this post a week, the release the poll.

2025 will be our seventh year with this challenge! Wow.

Along with your nominations, please say if you would prefer that we have all new authors or if you think we could repeat some from previous years if they get enough votes. Suggestions appreciated. 🙂📚💛

Welcome to November #AuthorAMonth readers! Time to pull out our Sarah Addison Allen books. What are you planning to read?

#AuthorAMonth is a no-pressure, no-commitment Litsy challenge. The goal is to celebrate the works of a particular author each month. Authors were chosen through polls by Litsy participants. Read as many as you like, skip months when needed, it's entirely up to you! ⬇️

My November #bookspin list. I completely skipped October, for the first time since @TheAromaofBooks started Bookspin!

If you‘re following my Helene saga, this weekend I return to an almost-normal work schedule in a loaned salon space, which feels like such an enormous relief! I am glad that I‘ve had the free time to do some volunteer work, but I miss my routine and sense of stability.

The pets and I are doing well though! 💛🐱🐶💪💋

I admit these are my favorite graphic novels of all time. This compendium is over 1000 pages and HEAVY! The best use of my Beani book support pillow.

I‘ve really enjoyed being back in this world with the characters I‘ve loved over many years now. It‘s made me want to start rewatching the show. (Maybe. When I have WiFi again. We‘ll see.)

All the stars! Best book of October. I hugged it before putting it back on my bookshelf.

A history of how society‘s views on butts has changed through the ages. Discussions of fashion, politics, mainstream media, and other aspects that influenced perceptions of preferences of body shapes, with focus on posteriors.

I find it funny how one person‘s art project- be it a fashion style, drawings for magazines, a song or music video, can start a swing of society‘s current “body preferences.”

Also disturbing, because no matter what ⬇️

How is October halfway over already? My mind has been elsewhere this month (understandably), but I hope you‘re enjoying your Tana French books #AuthorAMonth readers.

Reminder that November‘s author is Sarah Addison Allen, in case you want to place your orders or library holds now.

Happy Reading!

This is a great spooky season read! I had no idea where it was going and I‘ve never read anything quite like it. Best to go in without knowing too much, but do look up content warnings if you need to, cuz it‘s dark!

Venkman and Igor want me to lower the purple blanket- this is their electric blanket cave in cold weather, and I‘m letting in a draft. Sorry boys!

This is an indie press dystopian horror about a Monsanto type company that control all seed in a desert like US. It mostly takes place in Colorado, but stretches from Texas to Kansas.
There are several perspectives, from migrants who travel yearly to where the crops will grow, to mutant clone like beings, to soldiers.
Pretty fast paced, some gore, overall dark subject but I liked this.

I‘m doing ok, post Helene recovery has been a mix of sadness and joy.

I have power and water, so thankful. The main water facility for the city may be offline until January. Yes, thousands will be without water for months. Things are still difficult for so many.

Large photo is my work building. My shop was on the ground floor, you can‘t even see our windows. Small photo is our gofundme. Link in comments.

We‘ll rebuild. #AshevilleStrong

If you need a cozy fantasy this is a good one. Nothing mind blowing. But Venkman and I liked it.

It‘s October #AuthorAMonth readers, time to dive into some books by Tana French.

I‘m not going to post all the rules today, my connection is spotty. But at least wanted to get this up. I‘m going to try tagging but honestly don‘t know if it will work, my apologies if it doesn‘t.

Still getting by in Asheville, but I am one of the lucky ones. Again if you are able to donate to relief efforts it‘s desperately needed.

As many know I live in Asheville NC. I have been incredibly lucky, my apartment only took very light wind damage and I live in an area that didn‘t flood. My workplace was under water to the ceiling, no idea when we‘ll get the shop operational again. But I am safe, my power is back but I have no water. FEMA distribution started today, so I have bottled water and I have plenty of food. So many are much worse off than I am. Please keep NC in your⬇️

I‘m really glad the #AuthorAMonth readers voted for TJ Klune this year!

I didn‘t love this quite as much as Cerulean Sea, but it was good. So many fun characters and funny kid situations.

I know some folks find his messages too heavy handed, but I love how supportive and championing he is of the queer and neurodivergent communities. The acknowledgements almost brought me to tears. ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

I found this hard to get into, but once I started to connect to the three main characters in their three timelines I didn‘t want to put this down. I love stories of women deeply connected to nature, so in that way Altha and Violet resonated with me.

Thanks for recommending this @Eyelit !

Igor reluctantly models. 😸

I preordered this on audio from Libro.fm because I loved Bone Shard Daughter and its trilogy.

This is the first in a series (another trilogy?) and while I liked it a lot I would recommend reading the physical book, as I didn‘t like the cadence of one of the narrators.

Two sisters are split up during a Devine ecological event and 10 years later end up on opposite sides in a war of gods.

Lots of unique characters, lots of plot depth.

Hi #AuthorAMonth readers!

We‘re about halfway through September already, our month with TJ Klune. I hope you‘re enjoying your books!

October brings us Tana French. You may want to start putting in orders or holds for her books soon.

Happy Reading! 📚🙂🩷

#ihavequestions @RaeLovesToRead

Spring- A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers

Summer- The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien

Fall- Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey

Winter- The Starless Sea by Erin Morganstern

Enjoy!

I finished up this book after a gorgeous day of hiking with Sietje. 2 waterfalls, 4 miles, over 1500 ft elevation, perfect hiking weather.

I liked the story and the writing though I felt the wrap up was a bit too simplistic.

I love Melissa Etheridge‘s earlier albums, and didn‘t know much about her personal life going in to this. I had no idea this was her second memoir, and I didn‘t even know she‘d had 4 children.
It was interesting hearing bits of what she was going through when some songs I love were written. And the audio has a lot of little live acoustic clips of her songs.
Overall though, this was just so-so for me. May interest bigger fans more.
Check triggers!

@kspenmoll your package came! Thank you for the pin and bookmarks and this book which was on my TBR!

This was my final book from the #book2book exchange. Thank you @KateReadsYA , for organizing another great round of sharing books. 🥰📚

TJ Klune brings a slow burn super spicy romantasy with this werewolf story. It‘s the first in a series, and I liked it enough that I ordered a used copy of book 2.

It‘s got some great shapeshifting scenes, bloody fight scenes, wonderful found family, and characters with compassion in the way he does so well.

Plus look at these lovely endpapers 🐺🤍

#Bookspin and #Doublespin both gave me newish releases for September. The tagged will be on audio from the library; my hold says I‘ll have it within 2 weeks. And my aunt gave me The Berry Pickers, I love the cover!
Thanks @TheAromaofBooks 🙂📚🩷

@julieclair you #book2book arrived a few days ago. Thank you! And I got your card and stickers @KadaGul , thank you! Another fun book exchange 🙂📚.

In the 30‘s two botanists took an excursion through the Grand Canyon on the Colorado in wooden boats to collect samples of plants. They were the first to try to chart the botanical ecology of this unusual area, where desert meets water and extreme weather makes the cliff faces constantly change.

The author included so much history of the times, and the societal misogyny that meant most press attention focused on their gender instead of science.

Welcome to September #AuthorAMonth readers! Time to pull out our TJ Klune books. What are you planning to read?

#AuthorAMonth is a no-pressure, no-commitment Litsy challenge. The goal is to celebrate the works of a particular author each month. Authors were chosen through polls by Litsy participants. Read as many as you like, skip months when needed, it's entirely up to you! ⬇️

The second book in a queer romantasy duology. Great narration.

One of the MC‘s has lived through abuse, and I love how gently his new husband treats him, giving him time and space to work through the best way for their relationship to progress.

Definitely read book one first- I‘ll tag in comments.
It‘s a betrothal trope, and there are dark moments and CW for SA.

Two more Audible collection short stories I listened to this month. Summer Frost was great- about a video game character accidentally evolving into an AI. I didn‘t care for the Victor LaValle as much.

It‘s September #bookspin time! I‘ve already started Brave the Wild River on audio. And Wolfsong is for #AuthorAMonth so I‘ll definitely pick that up soon. What else will I be reading @TheAromaofBooks ? 🙂📚🩷

My second from the #book2book exchange came today. Thank you @Catsandbooks ! Thank you for the cute bookmark and postcard as well. 🙂

My first #book2book exchange arrived today. Thank you @Melmar and thanks @KateReadsYA for organizing!

This was even darker than I anticipated. It‘s been on my shelf for ages.

It‘s about a 15 year old boy who falls in love with an older (30s?) woman. They have an affair that lasts about a year, then she disappears.

The next time he sees her he is in law school, and attends a trial for SS officers (this takes place in Germany) and she is one of the women on trial.

It‘s strangely both emotional and detached, I think because he doesn‘t have ⬇️

It‘s the last week with Sarah Waters #authoramonth readers. I hope you‘re enjoying your books.

September brings us TJ Klune. Place your library hold or orders or find him on your shelves.

(How is it almost September?!)

I‘m glad the wait at my library for book 2 is short; I need to know what happens!

Not the best first book in a fantasy series I‘ve read, but it was good. The magic system uses cards for powers, there is a small town trapped and isolated by an enchanted mist, and the main character has a Nightmare living in her head.

I‘m not sure if this is going to be a duology or trilogy, I haven‘t looked it up. But I‘m ready for more of the story.

I‘m glad #camplitsy chose this one. I loved Disappearing Earth, so I expected good things.

Julia Phillips really brings across her characters‘ emotions, the prevailing ones for me were dread and the claustrophobic feeling of being financially stuck or trapped. The relationships between the mother and daughters and sisters and the fact that you never truly know another‘s mind, all so real.

These are the books I‘ll be sending out today for #book2book. The rest will be dropped off at a nearby LFL 🙂📚. Thanks for book trading Litsy friends!

I listened to these three short stories on Audible last week. (Each about an hour long, all free with Prime)

They are from two different Audible collections- the top one from the Vegas/ Gambling series and the bottom two from the Black Stars sci-fi series. I enjoyed all of them, but the Jemisin was my favorite.

If you‘re looking for little palette cleanser stories between big books, these are great. Dark but I love that.

I appreciate learning about Ashley‘s Sack, a burlap bag passed through generations of black women, beginning with Rose, an enslaved woman in Charleston SC. The author researched so many aspects of life in Rose‘s time and since then. While not many details are known about Rose‘s family, there are records of other women who might have lived under similar conditions. The photos and illustrations are great, plus recipes, so print is the way to go.

Yes I did read this for my bookclub that reads all nonfiction about death. Yes we do meet virtually if that sounds like a thing you‘d enjoy too!

I enjoyed this quite a bit, though the author goes all in with the smells, viscera, and gore. Maybe don‘t read while eating if that would bother you. I‘m glad there are quite a few books by women in this mostly male dominated profession, and I thought this author balanced work with life tales well.

Final set for #book2book giveaway for now… I may purge my shelves a bit more.

@TheBookHippie @CindyMyLifeIsLit @Catsandbooks @KadaGul @Melmar @Bookish_Gal @julieclair @kspenmoll @KateReadsYA @Daisey

#book2book next set

@TheBookHippie @CindyMyLifeIsLit @Catsandbooks @KadaGul @Melmar @Bookish_Gal @julieclair @kspenmoll @KateReadsYA @Daisey

Another set of Giveaway books through #book2book

@TheBookHippie @CindyMyLifeIsLit @Catsandbooks @KadaGul @Melmar @Bookish_Gal @julieclair @kspenmoll @KateReadsYA @Daisey

Giveaway books through #book2book

@TheBookHippie @CindyMyLifeIsLit @Catsandbooks @KadaGul @Melmar @Bookish_Gal @julieclair @kspenmoll @KateReadsYA @Daisey

I really enjoy this micro-genre of indigenous dystopian fiction. This may be classified as YA but I found it mature and definitely on the dark side. Cherie Dimaline hasn‘t disappointed me yet!

US friends, I‘ve participated in this before and got quite a few new to me books. The more participants the more variety! See link for all the info: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSerhWSE_Q6hXeljta7awzQxeByoK1TQSnTOYdpu...

Hosted by @KateReadsYA , you can also go to her original post for more info.

I wanted so much to like this! I tried and hoped it would improve, but I‘m giving up. Made it a little more than halfway through. Why is even the play part boring? I don‘t like these women and they mostly don‘t feel like real, complete humans with true sisterly feelings for one another.
Sorry #camplitsy.
#hailthebail