Tough to rate. Love the concept, (essays on close female friendships,) but a lot of times I just wished Dancyger had written more of a cohesive memoir. The separate essay format didn‘t always work for me, yet there are a lot of great passages here.

You will find yourself asking just how many red flags can a self proclaimed feminist miss, but the conclusion I‘ve landed on is that Flannery has heartbreakingly illustrated just how easily patriarchal thinking can swoop right back in when you come out of your academic bubble and are faced with the practicalities of needing a job. This book made me feel like I needed a shower.

My heart belongs to the Franklin expedition, but I‘m trying to branch out! Endurance doesn‘t disappoint (truly HOW did they survive that) but I do have an unpopular opinion™️. I am not sold on Shackleton‘s leadership skills! Lansing glosses over mistakes and tends to give Shackleton full credit for feats that were group efforts (or even just Frank Worsley efforts, justice for Frank.) It felt biased and made me wonder about other sides to the story

My Libby loan runs out in a couple days idk if I‘m gonna make it 😬😬😬

#FirstLineFriday

Interested enough to continue on with Bring Up the Bodies at least. Still figuring out what I think about this one, and a big part of that is even though we‘re basically in Cromwell‘s head the whole (very long) book, he‘s still largely a mystery. As a reader it‘s frustrating. Curious to see how I feel about it in the next two books.

Pick, but a soft pick. I‘ve read all(?) of Miranda‘s adult reader books and sometimes they‘re brilliant and sometimes they feel half baked. This is the latter. The framing of “[x] days without rain” was pointless which is a shame because she can do atmosphere so well. (Ex: The Last to Vanish.) I did really like the evolution of the Hazel/Jamie friendship, I think that saved this book for me.

Really cute and a little spooky. I think this is recommended for middle grade but I took a chance and read it with my toddler 🫣 Her favorite character was Carrot.

Working on another “wow I really should have read this by now” book after being shamed by the NYT list 💀

listennn I‘ve been off litsy for months so although I‘m sure you all have exhausted discussion on this weeks ago, I‘m posting mine now. Verdict: I need to read more 🙃📚

But really though, no Olga Tokarczuk? Three (three!) George Saunders but not a single Kelly Link?? The list is bad and it should feel bad.

As much as I disagreed with the NYT best books of the century list, it did highlight some gaps in my reading! Jumped into Erasure, loved the vast majority of it. The Stagg R Leigh novel in the middle is kind of unbearable and I know that‘s the point but it was such a slog to get through in an otherwise engrossing book. (The postmodern paper was equally unbearable but it didn‘t drag on as long at least.)

I am once again back after several months of not posting! Maybe this time I can maintain some sort of posting rhythm 🤥 Anyway this witchcraft memoir appealed to me because I too have dabbled in all things witchy on and off since tweenhood 🔮 What really worked for me is how Helmuth balanced her natural skepticism while also being open to experience.

Impossible for me to rate on a star scale, but this is a pick for me. This is part road trip memoir where Carroll travels across the states asking women “what do we need men for?” interspersed with anecdotes about the awful men in her life. The structure is all over the place, the tone varies from absolutely hilarious to straightforward and brutal. It‘s tough to get through because yikes she‘s really been through it. TW for terrible terrible men.

It‘s Hardy so this is still bleak and dramatic, though not as enraging as Tess nor as depressing as Jude. There are no clear villains here, just unfortunate circumstance. (Tbh I didn‘t care for Clym or Wildeve.) Also leave it to Hardy to have a minor character develop a catastrophic gambling problem in one evening only to be cured by it the next day. Wish Eustacia and Thomasin had ditched their subpar men and run away to Paris together instead.

For the Dracula nerds! (Me, I‘m the Dracula nerd.) I‘ve been growing my own Hungarian paprika this year and these are finally ready to dry! Now I just have to find a good vegetarian paprika hendl recipe 🤷🏻‍♀️🧛🏻‍♂️

Had lots of fun reading this one, Victorian gothics are my catnip. Just a couple minor annoyances, nothing that really detracted from overall enjoyment. I didn‘t care for Paul the gardener, he comes across more himbo than romantic lead in a gothic. Also lots of steadily held gazes and furrowed brows. Overall I think Lumsden shows a lot of promise and I‘m looking forward to what she might write next.

I think I liked this one more for the connections to the summer Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein than anything else! A good start to spooky season 👻

Fall baking is here 🤤🍏 Apple Tart from Dessert Person. My rough puff could have been puffier but this was delicious all the same!

What a bizarre little book. A mysterious and wealthy couple moves to a small French village (post wwii) and Élodie, the neglected wife of the baker, develops a psychosexual obsession with them. That is most of the book! Based on the real life mass poisoning ?☠️ of Pont-Saint-Esprit in 1951, I think I got more out of the book knowing that bit of history. (And also having read Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead.) I loved it but it‘s not for everyone!

I LOVE KELLY LINK. So many moments where you just stop and go “how does she do that????” These stories are clever and playful and grim and unsettling and and and and…! This is an author at the height of her power and we are all just along for the ride. All but one story were 5⭐️ reads for me (I didn‘t click with the Hansel & Gretel retelling.)

Me, absolutely delighted: WHAT is wrong with these people?

Not very far into this one so far, and I understand all of the mixed reviews/comments. It‘s totally working for me though.

“Pity the introvert with the face of a therapist or a kindergarten teacher. Like the werewolf we are uneasy in human spaces and human company, though we wear a human skin.”

Ok I do love gossipy books about neighborhood drama, but this one fell short for me. The characters felt flat and tropey, the twists were predictable, and it was just missing, idk, heart? It seemed like the author cared as little about the characters as I did. But it seems like mine is the minority opinion on this one so ymmv!

This one has been a little slow going for me so far. Wouldn‘t have expected that from a book with a giant octopus! (think the book should feature more of the octopus 🐙)

So many gems in this collection! Stories featuring mostly lesbian or bi women, lots of the stories have themes of climate change and have elements of magical realism. I‘m not always a short story person, but I found these really rich and immersive. Favorite here was “Fiddler, Fool, Pair” but really all of them are great.

Soft pick! What worked for me: speakeasy vibes + cozy mystery. Pure brain candy. What didn‘t quite measure up imo: I didn‘t care that much about who actually killed the dead guy, and I wanted a little more complexity in the main characters. I know Schellman can do better because I love her Lily Adler mysteries. This book sets things up for future installments, so I‘m hoping the characters will feel a little more lived in by that point.

Loved this one! A 40 something woman returns to her boarding school to teach a class, and ends up digging into a murder that happened while she was a student. I thought Makkai skillfully weaved together a compelling mystery while also exploring what it means to be “into” true crime and the ramifications it can have on victims and their families.

Loved Fever Dream and Mouthful of Birds. This story collection is more grounded in reality (so more approachable, if her previous stuff wasn‘t for you.) The stories here are centered around uneasiness in houses or domestic life, and I suspect different stories will resonate with different readers depending on what you‘ve got going on in your own life! The standout here is the novella, Breath From the Depths.

legit lol. thundering enthusiasm for pete wentz here

Haven‘t been on Litsy in 5(?) years! I‘m not sure anyone I follow is even still active anymore, lol. Wouldn‘t mind doing some casual book posting again, so! GBBO + murder, a fun cozy mystery. Anyone else get the feeling the author hates Pa*l H*llywood?

definitely didn‘t expect to come across an unsolved murder from my hometown 🤔

Realized “Borne” was the perfect name for my new airplant 🤓🌱

Tentative pick. Lots of moments that were really intriguing, creepy, and magical, but it also takes a while to get going, and my interest waned at times. Very interested and hopeful for where the future books will go! (Also, gorgeous endpapers)

Library haul 📚😬

I‘M YELLING. This series keeps getting better. The Diviners is one of the best YA series going right now. It‘s a long wait between books, but it‘s been so worth it.

No book has scared me more than reading House of Leaves for the first time 🎃👻💀👽🕸🦇 #boobooks

As someone who was obsessed with Serial a couple years ago, I readily inhaled this one. Nothing brilliant, but definitely worth a read.

To me, this would work better as three connected short stories. The framing of the found audio tapes, the disappearances, etc never quite did what I imagined it was supposed to. Excellent concept, though.

Adored this one. A mystery, 1980s Berlin, and the best seizure alert pug ever. There‘s a whole bunch of stuff going on in this book and some of it is fairly easy to see coming, but I enjoyed it so much I truly didn‘t care. (Also hi Litsy 👋 I‘m going to try to remember to post regularly again!)

I'm on a work trip this weekend, but I do have a few goals for #24in48 🤓📚

Funny, quirky characters and creepy wax imposters. Some really clever things here-- will have to check out more by Damico 😱💀👻🎃

Love this opening 😍

Really glad I got over my judgey lit nerd phase because ohhhhmygosh are romance novels hilarious

SO GOOD. The story of two missing girls is told backward, and I was a little concerned it would be too gimmicky, but I didn't feel that at all! Great pacing and energy throughout 😱🎡

This book thoroughly distracted me when my flight was delayed. Thank you, book!!!

Enthralling. The present day/future perspectives didn't work as well for me as the 1980s one, but I loved everything about Ada and the decades long development of ELIXER. 💾💾💾

House of Mirth retold in contemporary Houston. HoM is one of my favorites, so I was a little apprehensive about this one. And while it can't quite live up to Wharton's classic, I still found it an engrossing read. (It also made me want to enroll every single character into a gender studies class)

Alejandro Zambra is a treasure. Wittiest multiple choice test I have ever read. What are your answers? I like B for both 🤓

A lot is packed into this relatively slim book. Bleak Midwestern, character driven, a little Ethan Frome-y, but in a good way

Arguably, Lerner isn't saying anything new here, but this is a breezy, earnest essay that made me want to get into poetry again.

Who doesn't love a charming tale of ergotism????