Loved this follow up to Ninth House! Alex Stern is an excellent heroine - flawed, complicated and reckless but wildly entertaining to follow. The action started from page one and kept up a breathless pace to the last sentence; I blew through the second half of this in a day. Can‘t wait for the third book. #botm

And with that, I‘m a #tob23 completist! (Well, except for the one I bailed on halfway through 😅)

I really enjoyed this. It was all over the place in a good way, and I loved following all the threads. This sort of rambling, character driven writing is right up my alley. It didn‘t always work perfectly but it‘s really impressive for a debut. A strong contender for the tournament but still second to Sea of Tranquility for me.

One of the saddest, most honest memoirs of grief I‘ve read. It‘s brutal and devastating, but it doesn‘t wallow. Delaney narrates beautifully. It‘s excellent, if your heart can take it. As he quotes at the outset, a heart that hurts is a heart that works.

After thinking book one was good but not great, I‘m now totally in on this series. Maas writes a really compelling romance and it‘s just what I needed right now. It got me through most of my waking hours on a 15 hour flight so that‘s saying something! There was way more action vs the first book, and though the plot left me scratching my head at times (did they really think through their plans sometimes??), it was all very entertaining.

I tried… but I couldn‘t. Bailed at around 45% of the audiobook. I just found I didn‘t want to keep listening. I respect the author for the boldness of the subject matter, though! Second to last #tob23 book for me, sadly I won‘t be a full completist since I couldn‘t finish it.

There‘s a lot going on in this Booker prize winning novel. Sometimes too much, especially with so much brutally gruesome material. Once I got used to the style it did flow better for me, and I did like the surprisingly hopeful way things were wrapped up. Still took me a couple weeks to get through, though. Will definitely be interesting to see how this does in #tob23!

I liked this well enough, but it feels like an unusual choice for #tob23. I liked the section about the narrator‘s adult life the best, but that was just a part of the final third. An interesting portrait of how deep grieving affects one family, and a surprisingly easy read given the content.

Trying to manage some anxiety around some medical stuff I‘m in the middle of (nothing dire, still stressful), so I did the logical thing and went to The Strand. The walk combined with picking up these two books definitely helped! Seven Moons is for #tob23 and Liberation Day is a signed copy that jumped in my bag - am a huge Saunders fan and had been meaning to pick it up ☺️

I went into this with a lot of trepidation after reading a lot of mixed reviews, but I really liked it. Although it was definitely a bit meandering, most of the characters were so well-written I found myself just enjoying the tour. A strong contender for #tob23! #BOTM

Just way too much going on here, which I know was the whole point, but the constant wtf-is-happening feeling made me tired. I really liked certain storylines, especially Ash & Joao, and the early parts of Mackayla‘s thread before it got real weird. I liked this more than 2 AM, but need to read the third play-in round book for #tob23.

Eh. This struggled to hold my attention on audio, although it was read really well. As others have said, it felt a bit flat to me and never really pulled me in. #tob23

Last post from paradise. This one frustrated me for the first half and made up for it somewhat in the second half. I‘m hooked enough to keep reading the series, and interested in seeing how the relationships progress given I already know too much about the later books from posts and reviews.

This will also be the last post with my Voyage - thanks for your 7 years of service, but a white screen of death incident means it‘s time to trade in!

I felt like bailing for the first 20%, but I stuck with it and am glad I did. The style is challenging and there‘s an uncomfortable theme here that I wish hadn‘t been the focal point. But it‘s also highly captivating; the side characters provide colorful tangents and I really enjoyed Bobby‘s solitary sections. #tob23

This had a little too much insta-love for me, even by historical romance standards, which is a shame because I liked Penny and her animals. The humor in this one was well done, at least. A decent low stakes, light read for my Hawaiian vacation 😎 #romantsy

I adored the show, and finally got around to reading the first volume of the series. It‘s just wonderful, can‘t wait to read the rest (and for season 2 of the show!).

I struggled with this book in the beginning - it‘s challenging in multiple ways. But it‘s worth it for paragraphs like this that take my breath away. #tob23

Started out strong but ended up somewhat all over the place - I think it was trying to do a bit too much. Loved Olga as a character though, and the New York and Puerto Rico elements. #TOB23

This should have been right up my alley, but I was ultimately disappointed. It was super didactic and academic and the fantasy elements seemed like afterthoughts. I also thought the characters were pretty flat and lacked nuance. I think the ending was supposed to feel profound, but I was just glad to be done. Won‘t be rooting for this one in #TOB23!

Update, changing this to so-so as it wasn‘t THAT bad 😅

Oh Murderbot, you get better with every installment. I wish they were all full length novels like this one because it was such a delight. The super techy sci-fi bits still lose me from time to time, but it‘s all worth it. This is also one of the best narrated series I‘ve ever listened to, it‘s just perfection. I‘m tempted to go back and re-listen from the beginning but will force myself to wait until after I‘ve devoured the rest of these!

A quick and unusual read that was surreal at times. The writing was very compelling, as was the relationship between Agnes and Fabienne. I probably missed a lot of the symbolism but will be digging into reviews on this book to try and understand it a bit better - definitely a lot going on under the surface. It wouldn‘t be my pick for #TOB23 but I‘m glad the tournament brought it my way.

#PercyCat

Merry Bookmas everyone!!! Here‘s my book haul, thanks to my mom and my father-in-law ☺️

I hope all Littens are having a wonderful holiday season ❤️

I struggled with this one, as I usually do with allegorical fiction. The concept is really interesting but the protagonist just seemed so removed. I did it on audio and had a hard time paying attention. #TOB23

I bought this book waaaay back in 2011 and finally picked it up off my groaning TBR shelf. I‘d hesitated because of the mixed reviews, and sigh, they were right. It‘s an academic fantasy that‘s more academic than fantastical; a book that takes itself very seriously. The plot was also a bit confounding at times. I won‘t be continuing with the second book, needless to say.

Here we goooo #TOB23! I‘ve only read two of the shortlisted books so I have my work cut out for me (Sea of Tranquility and Tomorrow). I own Mercury, Babel, and Olga in print.

I‘m going to need to do some of these as audiobooks to get through the whole list. I‘m picky when it comes to fiction on audio so thinking hard about my strategy. Has anyone listened to the audio versions of the shortlisted books?

What a nice surprise, I hadn‘t realized this would be my hundredth read! Have definitely slowed down lately with work being insane so not sure how many more books I‘ll be able to finish this year, but at least I hit my goal.

As for The Maid, I liked it more than I thought I would (especially on audio) but thought it could have used some editing in the final third; it just kept going on and on. A low/moderate pick.

A quiet, introspective novel with a LOT going on between the lines. All about the traumas of our past and how we choose to share these with our loved ones (or not). Beautifully written and translated from the Norwegian. I‘m very happy to have gotten this in my Strand subscription box as I never would have come across it otherwise. It would make an amazing movie.

Thanks to #PercyCat for being a sturdy book prop!

An easy read that still took me 2 weeks to get through (granted I had a lot going on); the whole premise was just so… dumb. I was rolling my eyes with every chapter. Unfortunate given the depiction of the main character‘s struggle with OCD held promise and was refreshingly different to see. #BOTM

Oooh, I‘m so so excited this is being adapted! It‘s probably my favorite fantasy series of the last few years. I hope it actually happens and that they do it justice!

https://deadline.com/2022/11/meera-menon-to-helm-a-deadly-education-film-for-uni...

I‘ve wanted to read Kelly Link‘s stories for a long time and glad I finally got to this collection. It ended up being more of a mixed bag than I expected. I loved a few of them (The Summer People, The New Boyfriend, The Light) but really struggled with others, some of which were a bit incomprehensible. Overall a moderate pick.

Dammit, I‘m mad at how much I loved this book. I couldn‘t stop listening. I know JKR is a garbage person, but Strike and Robin are just a delight and I loved spending 33+ hours with them.

This was really good, especially on audio, despite the lack of structure - it‘s really just a collection of anecdotes and sound bites about Bourdain, arranged mostly chronologically. I‘ve read so many think pieces about him that I found it both refreshing and revealing. The last sections are tough to get through, but I feel like I learned more about him and why his life ended so tragically. I miss his voice so much, still.

I loved this more than I thought I would - am always skeptical of award winners. The writing on pets and animals was especially moving. I zoomed through it in only 2 days but this kind of meditative book probably deserves a little slowing down and introspection.

I heard this song on a random Instagram reel today and distinctly remember it was referenced in a book I‘ve read, but can‘t remember what book! I think it might have been a creepy book, maybe fantasy? The main character had to sing it to another character at different points in the story?

I tried googling but no luck at all. Can anyone help me with this brain worm, it‘s going to drive me nuts!

Was very lucky to see David Sedaris perform in my town the other night, and got to meet him. It was a delight, as is his new collection. One of the few things my husband and I can enjoy together on car rides!

Very good and completely understand why it won a Pulitzer, but I found it hard to focus on. I think that‘s more about me and having a lot of stuff going on though. Need to stick to some lighter reads for a while.

This is the lovely view from my hotel room in Madrid, where I got to spend last weekend! 🇪🇸

This was more of a page turner than I thought it would be, and I enjoyed it while I was reading. But it‘s only a light pick for me - there were just a lot of plot holes and odd threads that didn‘t really come together. The handful of excerpts from Maggie St. James‘s children‘s book didn‘t really add anything, in my opinion. Still entertaining. #botm

Sarah MacLean kills it, as usual. Loved her latest and so happy her novels seem to always come out right around my birthday, they‘re always a gift to myself! I‘m less enamored with my broken splinted fingers 😞 Some unsolicited advice - if your cat starts puking on the bed in the middle of the night, sometimes it‘s better to let him do it so you don‘t get tangled in the sheets and fall flat on your face, and somehow break your fingers 🤦🏼‍♀️

This snarky, funny novel about committing (or not committing) to love in your late 30s was right up my alley. I loved the way she writes about New York, men and cats. The framing device was outlandish but I actually liked that it wasn‘t over explained - it fit the tone of the book. Highly entertaining.

I loved the dreamlike, eerie style of this book, and the writing was gorgeous. I wanted more out of the climax though, and the end of the Leah narrative was a bit disappointing. This felt like stripped down Jeff VanderMeer to me, though not in a bad way. Like in a VanderMeer book, I wanted clearer answers at the end. Still a pick, and glad I picked this up for #camplitsy!

Really enjoyed this audiobook! Loved all the different narrators (and their various accents, even the smarmy posh Brit a-hole one). I also didn‘t guess the ending, which is always nice. Lucy Foley is pretty reliable after this and Paris Apartment - this isn‘t my favorite genre but I‘m a fan!

Not my favorite #camplitsy read. While Emezi‘s writing is very good, I found the pacing to be off and couldn‘t buy in to the central romance. I think the point of the book is to be a challenging, uncomfortable concept though, which it definitely achieved. The audiobook narration was great.

I‘m a big fan of VanderMeer but overall this was disappointing and my least favorite of his books. It started out strong but I couldn‘t get a handle on what was really motivating the main character‘s obsession, at the expense of literally everything else in her life. The suspenseful tone was on point throughout though and kept me reading.

I love the unapologetic feminism of Dunmore‘s series; what a great take on the typical historical romance. I really loved how she ended this one. It did feel a bit long and took me a surprisingly long time to get through, although being sick with Covid definitely didn‘t help - did not feel like reading at all. Really glad to be mostly through it! #romantsy

Can never get enough David Sedaris - trying to get through the backlist before seeing him live in October. I realized I‘ve barely been on Litsy; super busy at work, the US is a dumpster fire, and then Covid finally caught my husband and me after over two years of dodging bullets. It hasn‘t been fun at all but really hoping to be on the upswing in the next few days!

Wasn‘t enamored with the selections this month, but I skipped last month and have a ton of credits to use, so I went for the thriller. And Lessons in Chemistry since I keep hearing about it. Hoping these will serve as a couple quick, light summer reads! #BOTM

I was worried that I‘d miss a lot of references to Goon Squad since I read it so many years ago, but that wasn‘t really an issue. I know I didn‘t love it as much though - Goon Squad just felt so unique at the time, like nothing I‘d ever read. That being said, this was definitely entertaining and worth it - some sections are just stronger than others.

Starting this doorstop today and regret putting it off for so long. The writing is just *chef‘s kiss*. The first line: “Once the queen‘s head is severed, he walks away.”

(Also, check out the insane pollen build up on my outdoor table 😬)

What a ride - I loved this one the whole way through but the ending disappointed me. I‘m conflicted because some of the threads were tied up beautifully while others felt abrupt. It also really feels like there‘s more to explore with these characters and the storyline; I hope the rumors of a third book are true!

One more pic from my trip - this is the bar at our hotel in Paris, the Library Bar 😍 Basically the bar of my dreams. The hotel cat even popped in one night when we there to nap on one of the comfy chairs!

Photo from my favorite London bookstore, Daunt Books, from this past Saturday! I squeezed in a visit between a work trip and a wedding (plus a 12 year anniversary celebration because the timing was just too perfect). So glad I made it there! I limited myself to one book purchase to save on packing space ☺️