Have to agree with @monalyisha on the font lol.
1. ARC of Monster, She Wrote, The Last Days of Video and Gulliver‘s Travels
2. Probably a cozy mystery
3. Do Comic books count? Captain Marvel

#weekendreads
@rachelsbrittain

I picked this up on a whim in a used book store called The Cornerstone, I like weird little books especially if they look dated.
Truthfully though, I just started reading it and I‘m appalled. 55 pages in, and a character has been called Warren Dwight Townsend and William Dwight Townsend as if they couldn‘t decide what he should be called. Where was editing?!

Meet my new reading buddy Pudgey!! He is a rescue from a hoarding situation and is the sweetest thing ever. His sister, Bug, does not yet know what to think of him.
I am so behind on my reviews and haven‘t been around much, but I have been reading up a storm!
#dogsoflitsy #pudgey #thebug

I did it! I got all of my winter #Booked2019 prompts before the deadline 😃😃
Widows of Malabar Hill
Forest of a Thousand Lanterns
The Library Book
Sadie
The Likeness
and The Caretaker Of Lorne Field FTW!!

Question for @Cinfhen @4thhouseontheleft and @BarbaraTheBibliophage regarding #Booked2019
For the female detective prompt, does the detective have to be officially a detective or do amateur detectives count, such as in the tagged book?

I did it! #24B4Monday, aside from the books I finished yesterday, I got a good start on We Are Never Meeting In Real Life, A Blade So Black, and Black Panther The Young Prince. I also finished My Sister the Serial Killer!

Ending day 2 of my #24B4Monday in pretty good shape thanks to audio books. I‘ve finished several books and I‘m behind on reviews again. I will catch up though. So far I‘ve finished:
White is for Witching - Helen Oyeyemi
The Good House - Tananarive Due
Bloodchild and Other Stories - Octavia Butler
Black Panther Vol. 2 - Ta‘Nahesi Coates

I‘m finally caught up on all my reviews!!
My friend got me this cool tote from the NYPL, so tell me friends what ARE you reading right now?

The girls tells a tale of a young somewhat neglected girl who falls in with a Manson like cult, and how it effected her both then and as an adult. It parallels Manson almost exactly, so TW for abuse, rape and murder.
Somewhere between a pick and a so-so for me, you see where the story is going but you can‘t really look away. It‘s interesting to see how someone could be taken in by a cult during a difficult time in their life.

This is a fictionalized account of the kidnapping and imprisonment of Sally Horner. Sally is often thought of as being the inspiration for Nabokov‘s Lolita. The innocence of Sally, and her sheer gullibility juxtaposed with the depravity of her captor is heartbreaking. While there are obvious TW for child abuse and rape, the author does not delve deeply into the actual deeds, instead focusing as it should be on the victim, and her family.

Mallory talked about this book and author on an episode of @ReadingGlasses and since I think she is amazing and we have similar tastes, I got it from the library. It‘s the story of a teenage music critic who finds her true voice through unrequited love and one terrible sexual experience. It was wonderful and empowering and just laugh out loud funny. The character development and growth was just so lovely. Highly recommend

A horror anthology, edited by Robert Bloch and published posthumously. Each of the stories is more about the horror humans can enact on one another rather than other tropes like monsters, or haunted houses. As is the case with most of these types of books, some were better than others, but in general I enjoyed the book as a whole.

This title went perfectly with my tote!
More vignettes than a cohesive story. Each however showcases the cleverness of Maude and the ways the elderly can be marginalized as less than, because people assume things about them without knowing about them. One story told from the point of a neighbor, then again from Maude‘s POV, are the only two related. While not a mystery I would still classify it as cozy.

This book reads like an Asian origin story for the evil queen in Snow White. And I think that was intended. The language and word building were simply amazing. It‘s as if you believe you are reading a retelling, but just the merest threads attach to the original story. Everything is that unique and absorbing. There is a sequel to this which I haven‘t read that I expect will be the other half of the Snow White mythology.

The story of a man who “saves the world every day” due to a contract his family had signed with the town hundreds of years ago. No one believes he is doing anything other than weeding a field. I found it both tense and sad, when his family doubts him, the townsfolk doubt him, the suffering he endures all leading to the fear of what could happen if he stops.

Imagine if Venom took place in another world where ancient beings had bred with humans, and became persecuted by a religious sect which uses their bones to create a substance that holds healing properties amongst other things. Beautiful artwork, immersive world building and a heroine out for revenge and to save her people all while struggling with the demon inside (literal demon-like Creature). Really enjoyed.

My only complaint about this novella is that it was too short. I realize it‘s a series of three novellas. I am eager to read the rest of them. Binti is from a tribe on earth that never leaves the planet. When she is accepted into a prestigious school on another planet she sneaks away and makes the trip, encountering an invasion on her ship that puts her wits to the test. She is a strong character with a lot of ties to her culture.

Finally catching up on the last of my reviews for January!
Loved this, the main character decides she wants to sleep for a year after losing her job. The lengths she goes to are harrowing. No one in this book is likeable. But for some reason I was down with it. It‘s a talented author who can make you care about characters you don‘t like.

This book was a nice whodunnit for middle grade readers. I believe it‘s a classic, I think might be required in schools occasionally. 12 “heirs” are asked to solve the mystery of who killed Sam Westing, the wealthy owner of a house near their condo.

I listened to this on audio, and while I thoroughly enjoyed it and learned a lot about libraries, I think I would have liked it better if I had read it. I think some of the nuance is lost when the library book isn‘t an actual book. All the stake the reporting was stellar and well researched.

I enjoyed this quite a bit, sort of modern version of The Running Man but with teenagers. Alcatraz Island has been remodeled into a new fangled prison colony where the country has made celebrities of a group of killers that have unique methods of dispensing Justice. There is a conspiracy and there is bloodshed, but pretty tame as this book is YA.

#UnpopularOpinion Let me start by saying this book was long, or it at least felt long. I don‘t really get all the hype. The language is lovely but all of the characters are so darned unlikeable. It reminded me of Catcher in the Rye, in regards to privilege and pretentiousness. My friend went to Bennington college where the author also went and this was based on an incident that happed there apparently.

I really enjoyed this collection of short stories, all of them were weird in the good way and I love that. I can‘t think of a single one I didn‘t enjoy. Beautiful language throughout

For those of you closed due to cold, how cold does it have to get before that happens? And what are your normal average temps this time of year? I‘m super curious about this.
We are used to cold here, the above didn‘t count wind chill which on the ski mountain that day was -75. But -35 to those of us down in the valley.

Memoir by an indigenous Canadian, not entirely told in the sequence of events but more in how you remember things not necessarily chronologically but where one story leads you to remember another thing that happened. The author‘s struggle with mental illness is raw, and heartbreaking.

I‘d like to get some opinions, as part of my #ReadHarder challenge I am to read an #ownvoices book set in Oceania. I am reading a book called The Glass Jar written by a man who grew up in a Methodist orphanage in Auckland about boys growing up in a Methodist orphanage in Auckland. It is not in the database here or on GoodReads. But did show up in other places. Does this count as #ownvoices? Or do you think they mean indigenous people of Oceania?

Interesting and brief (!) Stephen King novella about a young girl who is given a box by a stranger that has powerful capabilities if she chooses to use them. As with all King, the writing is very well done, the premise is interesting and carried out cleverly. Unlike other King work it‘s very brief but not to the detriment of the story.

I loved this book, intersecting characters tell the story of the urban native experience leading up to the big Oakland pow wow. Heartbreaking and uplifting, the sense of community that is available if the characters are willing to accept it. Beautiful writing, the audio as very well done.

A locked in/there‘s a murderer among us mystery set at a remote and rustic lodge where everyone gets snowed in. Each of the guests is hiding something. It was a quick read, my only quibble is that I am unsure as to whether enough or any breadcrumbs were laid leading up to the reveal. I listened on audio, so it wasn‘t practical to go back and forth looking for the clues.

My coworker recommended this book, and I happened to have it on my shelf. When a book has a page of “cast members” it usually tends to be confusing. And this one was through the first third with a lot of back and forth in time, lots of characters and persecuted women. It wasn‘t bad but it didn‘t get me like The Girl on the Train. I guess maybe I just expected more. YMMV

Another one from my #NewYearWhoDis partner @BridgetteM
I love a good book within a book. This was also a mystery within a mystery. Both were engaging, and clever. I got a real Agatha Christie vibe from it. Was a little long, but it was still enjoyable.

I read a lot of psychological thrillers, most of which due to popularity of the trope lately include unreliable narrators. This one was only so so for me. I felt as though it borrowed heavily from others and of course Rear Window. I had it figured out pretty early. This is not to say it wouldn‘t be good to someone who doesn‘t read a lot of these.
My third book from my #NewYearWhoDis partner @BridgetteM
@monalyisha

I finished #24B4Monday and #24in48 without much posting and fanfare, after an extended illness, and catching up, I have a billion reviews to post, so watch out for that cascade coming soon!
@Andrew65 @TheReadingMermaid

✔️Cozy reading nest built and stocked with drinks and snacks
✔️Books within arms reach
✔️Tea brewed
Let #snowmageddon begin!

Another winner picked by @BridgetteM from the #NewYearWhoDis list. The plot has been rehashed here a bunch, so I won‘t get into it. The historical setting was amazing so detailed and encompassing. I loved how the different aspects of Indian law were utilized, without making it feel like a glorified glossary. Love love love

I‘m an 8 shame face —>😞
@TheReadingMermaid #bookloversconfess

I felt every moment of Sadie‘s journey, the writing was so evocative. At times heartbreaking and other times edge of your seat suspenseful. That ending though, total gut-punch.
Thanks to @BridgetteM for having this on her #NewYearWhoDis list, it was amazing

I listened and read along in the paperback copy on the right, my fancy pants copy on the left. I loved this, the audio performance was wonderful, I loved the epistolary style of it and even though the story is well known, I was still riveted by all the parts I didn‘t know. First classic of the year.

Just started my first book from @BridgetteM ‘s #NewYearWhoDis list, loving it already!

I love this description:
“Every here and there the monotony of the landscape was broken with jagged scarps, where grey granite peeped grimly out as though nature had been sorely wounded until her haunt bones protruded from their covering.”
From The Mystery of Uncle Jeremy‘s Household

#in2019
@RealLifeReading
Due to my extreme rural location any chance for some of these is impossible.

This book made me want to run to the nearest flea market, and used Book emporiums and scour the shelves for titles featured that I somehow missed out on. Silly plots, silly titles, but all horror. The history of horror paperbacks during this time was lovingly told by Grady Hendrix who was obviously a Super fan of the genre and time frame

I enjoyed this storyline, though I was a little upset by the villain reveal, I liked to see all of the Justice League and Titans characters old and new come together for a cause.

Down to the wire! Totally deviated from my plan as usual.
#24B42019
@TheReadingMermaid @Andrew65

12 hours in to the #24B42019. Making some good progress

@sebrittain #sundayfunday

📚 No buying of physical books until they all fit on shelves and are not stacked everywhere.
📚read more classics

@kaye this is The Bug, sometimes just Bug, and sometimes snugglebug. As usual, she needs a haircut but is amenable to hats/headpieces, not clothes. #dogsoflitsy
She is about to be 15, and still has more energy than most toddlers I know.

While the writing itself and language was lovely, the majority of these stories seemed to end abruptly with no actual conclusion which became frustrating when you are riveted to the narrative and it ends as if in the middle of a thought, nothing was ever resolved.

My plans for #24B42019 *

*subject to change and any mood, whim or flight of fancy

Check out this cool bookend my sister got me for Christmas. It‘s so cool!