Not quite as good as her memoir but a solid debut from Adrienne Brodeurr (Wild Game). Once again Adrienne explores dysfunctional families. Told in multiple pov‘s during the summer of 2016, this book hits on male privilege, family secrets, art and sexual manipulation. #ARC @SimonSchuster #BookClubFavorites

An epic fantasy based on Indian mythology regarding the legend of Prince Rama and his step-mother Kaikeyi. I was unfamiliar with the original story so I found this re-telling enthralling. My only complaint was the length of the novel. I think 100 pages less would have made this a 5 star read. Excellent audio narration 🧡#52books23

Here‘s my April #BookSpin #DoubleSpin @TheAromaofBooks
And a few photos from my dad‘s 80th bday party 😁

I‘m in the middle of 3 books - all are good but a bit on the longer side😬not sure what else I‘ll get to as Passover begins next week and I‘m in panic mode. Spring is in the air so I‘m all here for that 🤗I have lots of appointments this week so I‘m hoping on getting in waiting room reads 😉

Pretty pleased with my reading this week… Despite lots of family time and then travel time I managed to finish 3 books and start 3 new ones. I bailed on Big Swiss - felt like the author was trying too had to be different 🤷🏼‍♀️

#HubbysStack has caught my eye 👀 He‘s in middle of all three books - a #TrueLitten 😁I‘ve got my own stack going #MoodyReaderAlert 🚨🚨🚨

You were right @LeeRHarry …this book is FANTASTIC💕 I‘m loving the legend of Kaikeyi, Indian Queen and warrior- destined for greatness. It‘s nearly 18 hours on audio but I‘m loving every minute. #Mythology #52Books23

Perspective of time raised this from a so-so read back in 2014 to a full on pick in 2023! Beautiful writing - a fragmented story of one woman‘s life growing up in 1940‘s Brooklyn. Quiet and lovely♥️

My friend asked me to cover for her this coming Sunday as the moderator of our synagogue‘s Seniors Bookclub. Seems like a fun idea. I read this book ages ago but I‘m in need of a re-read….glad it‘s only 232 pages 😊As moderator, the synagogue gifted me a copy of the book 🙌🏻

I really wanted to love this one, but it was SUCH a chore to get through. I think this would have worked better for me in print, as I really needed to access the character list often and I disliked the author‘s narration. Billed as Medusa‘s story, Medusa is only a minor character in this telling of the Greek Gods & Goddesses. I was surprisingly bored and out of sorts. Disappointing #WomensPrize23LongList #52Books23 #GreekMythology

It‘s a bail at the 60% mark. This book started out entertaining but it quickly became gimmicky and a bit too much for me. A woman who transcribes a therapist‘s sessions becomes obsessed with one of his patients. When they meet by chance, Greta the transcriber,initiates an affair with the woman she‘s named “Big Swiss”

This book was AMAZING. The story of Cam & Eleanor- falling in love and then out of love and all the messy moments in between. A story about family and loyalty and making hard choices and the sacrifices you‘re willing to endure. Such GORGEOUS writing! A tad long at times but totally worth the journey. Above are some photos from my nephew‘s wedding. Such a magical night🫶🏼🪄✨🥂

🔔Friendly Reminder 🥳It‘s almost time for our next #Booked2023 prize drawing🥰 while we LOVE to see your posts on Litsy we only count those who submit the Google doc 🤓 How can we be nearly finished with the first season already???

You have until Midnight April 3 to submit all books read between Jan 1-March 31, 2023 🧭 to enter the #FirstQuarterDrawing:

Here‘s the link: https://forms.gle/DJJdqbFZydvy9ndv7

Keeping it simple 😅💜

Sorry I‘ve been awol from Litsy!! Just BUSY BUSY with family celebrations 💜💍🥳🥂🫶🏼I still managed to have a successful week - finished 6 books, most were slim reads (🙌🏻) & I pretty much liked them all. 4 are from #WomensPrize23LongList which is turning out to be wayyyy more enjoyable than the #ToB23 😃 im REALLY loving my IRL bookclub read Count the Ways!!!!! Have a great week everyone xx

#WomensPrize23LongList I didn‘t love this book as much as @Cortg but it was a solid debut. My disappointment was with stylistic choices - mostly the nonlinear time jumps from multiple characters #POV, which were not easy to distinguish between. I did enjoy the audio narration. A story featuring 3 generations of southern black women with a strong bond of sisterhood.

#AirportRead - Enjoying this book that my IRL bookclub is reading this month💚 Heading to NY for family wedding on Sunday but first a whole weekend of festivities 🥂🍾🍻

A blending of genres, mediums and languages, Jennifer Croft pens her coming of age in an auto-fiction visually styled novel. It‘s sad and unsettling but easy to appreciate and get through. Croft is an award winning translator who‘s worked with many prominent authors, this is her debut. #WomensPrizeLongList23 I was able to borrow both audio and e-book from #Hoopla

Thanks for putting this on my #ReadersRadar @TheKidUpstairs I borrowed both the audio and e-book from #Hoopla because I realized I NEEDED to see the photos that accompany the text. A story/ memoir by Jennifer Croft who is a literary translator. Croft replays her childhood experiences growing up with a beloved younger sister who is diagnosed with a brain tumor. There‘s a sense of melancholy and urgency on every page. #WomensPrizeLongList23

Zany, quirky and definitely offbeat. It seems Penny Rush is always just one minute away from another impending disaster but her good natured disposition keeps her going. This was a fun listen & I really enjoyed the audio narration. Not a perfect book but a perfect distraction while I sat on the beach. #WomensPrizeLongList23

Whacky and wonderful 😅Poor Penny has a FULL plate and yet the universe keeps dumping MORE 💩 unto her platter! #WomensPrizeLongList23

A solid debut - when slavery is abolished in 1834 the Caribbean plantation owners institute a mandatory 6 year “apprenticeship” where the slaves MUST remain & work under the same harsh conditions. Rachel, a slave woman decides to put her faith in GD and escapes #Barbados to go & search for her 5 children who were taken from her. A moving & powerful story of a mother‘s love. Based on real events. #ReadingTheAmericas23 #Trinidad

Wow! This was a fantastic debut despite a few structural issues. The story of a young girl & her 2 siblings who escape Vietnam in 1978 as they hope to resettle in the United States but find themselves instead in the UK. As refugees their lives are about adapting, surviving, thriving. A book about grief, healing, belonging. Based on real events the author weaves multiple storylines and true accounts of the Vietnamese “boat people”. #AudioWalk👇🏼

Makkai is a talented writer and there‘s a lot going on here but it took wayyyyy too long for this book to make an impact. Better editing would have elevated this from so-so to SO GOOD. There are traces of her previous writing style but the whole podcast troupe is starting to wear thin for me. A professor returns to her boarding school 23 years after her roommate there was murdered to teach a mini class on podcast production. 👇🏽

What are the odds that the book im currently reading and the book im listening to on audio each have a female character named Bodie??? I don‘t think I‘ve ever come across that name before!!! #BookishCoincidence / By the way… I‘m really enjoying this book!!!

Might be a bit too ambitious but let‘s see….

Despite being busy with friends & family I had a full reading week 😌Mostly hits but a few were a little disappointing ( Pineapple, Black Cake, Adult Assembly ) Jury is still out on Questions but I really LIKED Hello Beautiful, Love Pamela, Paris Wife, Children of Paradise (from the Women‘s Prize long-list)😍 I enjoyed the Steinbeck and hope to get to Grapes for #AAM

Really enjoying this one - Bodie Kane a professor of film returns to her boarding school to teach a course in podcast production. During her time at the school her roommate was found dead under suspicious circumstances. Now Bodie has her students re-examining the mysterious case Julie Whelan‘s narration is spot on. .

#UnpopularOpinion I just found this book so difficult to follow- multiple timelines, dozens of characters, so many side stories- it was just too messy for me 🤷🏼‍♀️curious to see what the #LiteraryCrew has to say about this one!! This was also on @MallenNC #ALSpine list - sorry I didn‘t love it as much as you did, Melyssa! I enjoyed the author‘s notes & im interested to see what she writes next. #ReadingTheAmericas23 #Jamaica

This book is ok but it took 170 pages before anything really happened. And even then there wasn‘t anything original or special in the story. This book got a ton of pre-publication buzz but I have a feeling once readers start reviewing some of the sparkle will begin to fade out. It‘s rich people behaving badly and the author preaching about the dangers of generational wealth which I found condescending. #MoreMehThanYeah

Good Morning Littens 🌞Starting my day with another divine cup of tea ( curtsey of @Bklover ) and a few more chapters of Pineapple Street. Also sending BIRTHDAYS LOVE to one of my FAVORITE people on this planet @Megabooks 💜I hope your day is full of birthday happiness and bookish joy 📚🎊🎶

#MugLove23 THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU @Bklover
I LUV my new mug and the selection of teas you sent me 💕😊
Im currently sipping the Serenity tea and it‘s delightful ☕️
Once again, you COMPLETELY spoiled me xxxxx

#BookAndBeach - gorgeous day, gorgeous book cover but after 100 pages nothing is really happening yet 🤷🏼‍♀️ not sure why all the hype but it‘s an easy breezy read 😎

WOW! If this book sets the tone for the #WomansPrizeLongList23 we are in for a wild ride😊! This book was BANANA PANTS
It does get a bit graphic at some points, which might turn some readers off, but I found the book original and memorable. Similar in style to Ottessa Moshfegh and Melissa Broder. The story of a small independent cinema that becomes acquired by a big chain conglomerate. Descriptive and distinct - excellent audio narration- LOVED IT

Wow, I owe Pamela Anderson an apology - I definitely had some preconceived notions about her and she really surprised me with her intellect, curiosity and candidness. At under 4 hours this was a wonderful travel companion during my 14 hour flight. Another reviewer called her “ an enigma in a red bathing suit” - perfect description 😉

Look at my lovely pile of books just waiting for me 🥰
I‘ve already started Pineapple Street - you‘re right @squirrelbrain it‘s not quite as good as I was expecting -

#AirportAudio LOVING this quirky story of a group of eccentrics who work at an old fashioned cinema. #WomensPrizeLongList23

?NEW MONTHLY CHALLENGE Beginning May 1 @BarbaraBB and I are introducing #TitlesAndTunes ??
On the first of each month we‘ll share a prompt and we ask all Littens to read a book for that prompt (open to your own interpretation) & post what you read & name a favorite song that fits the prompt. At the end of each month we‘ll combine all the songs shared to create a monthly Spotify playlist. This is meant to be easy and fun - no pressure. ⬇️⬇️

Still packing - thank goodness for audiobooks 💕🙌🏻

This was sweet but it veered very close to cheese & saccharine which makes it a light pick. I enjoyed Laura & Bob and the rest of the crew and would be interested in continuing on with this series. Sorry @TheBookHippie #SundayBuddyRead friends, I realized I wasn‘t going to be able to stick to the schedule this month, so I finished the book this morning 😅

Told from the perspective of Ernest Hemingway‘s first wife, Hadley Richardson, we get a glimpse into their early years & the world of a struggling writer in 1920‘s Europe. I enjoyed the setting & McLain really brings her characters to life including the Fitzgerald‘s as well as Gertrude Stein & Ezra Pound. A quick read - audio narration was FABULOUS. #52Books23 #Roaring20s🎶 Gratuitous hamantaschen - Purim Sameach 🥳

#ARC #NetGalley #AvailableNextTuesday A bighearted family drama centering around William Waters, a lonely boy and the loud and boisterous Padavano Family. Spanning several decades this book covers it all with heart and soul. I was hooked from the start 💜

Loving this one #SetDuringTheRoaring1920s #52Books23 The life and marriage of Hadley & Ernest Hemingway 😍

#AAM EXCELLENT audio narration by the talented Gary Sinise❤️‍🔥Steinbeck‘s writing is so vivid and descriptive - and his love for California really shone through these pages. He made want to get in my car and cruise the roads and lanes that snake across the USA. This was a meditative read especially knowing how a few years later the country was to undergo big changes. So grateful to @Soubhiville for choosing this iconic author.

This was my #DoubleSpin #MoreMehThanYeah
Anna Weiner at 25, leaves her low level job in NYC publishing to move to San Francisco and throw herself into the world of high tech in it‘s infancy. As a young woman, in a very bro culture she‘s subjected to a toxic workplace but stays on because the temptation of BIG MONEY & possibilities is to large to ignore. The memoir starts out strong but soon became repetitive and soul crushing.

Keeping it simple as I‘m off to the States this week. Lots of family celebrations coming up so keeping my reading goals simple. I‘m SUPER PSYCHED for the new release of Pineapple Street this Tuesday - seeing LOADS of BUZZ around it 🤩

A slow reading week for me. Finished two and I really enjoyed them both! I‘m in the middle of four books and the standout is definitely the Napolitano which publishes next week( Hello Beautiful). Others are all good. I‘m still binging on Netflix 😅Finished all 4 seasons of Fauda, watched the documentary about Alex Murdaugh and I‘m in middle of the Bernie Madoff dramatization.

Possibilities were endless😎Excited to see all your faves

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7fxiWC6sr6FEOgCkQOyxv1?si=9T_lpUbCSxKY1DvvWNVk...

#IndependentWomen #BigBuddyRead
Excited to kickoff our weekend celebrating women all over the world who inspire and empower 💪🏼Too many to choose from but here‘s a few I admire 🤩

#DoubleDip #Booked2023 #ShortStoryCollection #ReadingTheAmericas23 #Argentina Im really enjoying this collection of twisted stories- each containing a trace of horror, set in a contemporary Argentina. Themes of poverty, mental illness, displacement and marital discord seem to be a common link so far.