Whoa. This book is beautiful and strange.
A metaphor for grief - how do you cope when your wife has returned when you thought she was dead, but she‘s no longer the same person you loved?
Powerful writing - gothic, romantic, and full of despair.
Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy.

My new mug (from Etsy). So dark-academia-delicious.

TFW you get so many books on a roadtrip that you have to use the panoramic option ❤️❤️
Bookstores visited:
The Booklegger, Huntsville, AL
McKays, Chattanooga, TN
Mr K‘s, Asheville, NC
Unclaimed Baggage - Scottboro, AL (not a bookstore per se, but major book haul acquired)

Pick!
Unusual cast of characters during the Civil War: a postmortem photographer and a female embalmer. Engaging historical fiction fit for all audiences. Educational and endearing.
Thanks to Netgalley!

I think I‘m really going to love this book.

Not for everyone, but I found this book insightful. It‘s difficult with regard to subject matter, and sometimes painful to read. The author is candid. My heart broke a lot reading this, but I was receptive to the pain of the main character, even though it was outside my own experience.
⚠️ Eating disorders, explicit sex

Pick, mostly
Young gamer, known only as “K”, has the ability to recognize patterns in seemingly random coincidences. Because of this skill, K quickly becomes immersed in a dangerous underground game, Rabbits.
The clues and plot are not always easy to follow, but navigating the adventure along with K was a fun ride.
Thanks to Netgalley

I really appreciated the angst of being a young teenager in the mid-80s since I was one, and Vida captured some spot-on anguish from that time of my life.
However, Eulabee alternated from being too naive to too sophisticated, and the end of the book went off the rails, so I had to give this one a so-so.

Stunningly beautiful, melancholic, nostalgic

You don‘t have to have read The Leopard, but it may give more depth to your experience if you have.

Help, Littens!
I have never read Barbara Pym! (How did I miss her?)

Which one should I start with?

Just got the ARC from Netgalley
1850s - A postmortem photographer and Union Army embalmer (a woman disguised as a man), both on the spectrum, fall in love. To preserve their relationship they have to go on the lam . . . Sounds original and engrossing to me!

Daaaaamn!!!!! All the stars for this book.
1897 - the Belgica leaves for a jaunt to Antarctica and ends up unexpectedly overwintering in the pack ice. Scurvy, insanity, and despair plagues the crew (except maybe for Amundsen, since he was such a bad ass).

The usual review cliches: jaw-dropping, compelling, riveting. Well-researched, never tedious.
Can‘t recommend it highly enough.

Pick!
BIG TIP: you can skip to 43% in and not miss a thing.

Fascinating true story of a WWII soldier surviving being torpedoed and stranded alone on an enemy-filled Pacific island. He single-handedly takes out numerous enemies while dealing with severe injury and trying to evade discovery.
Seriously, though - skip the first 43%. It‘s filler.

Gothic haunted house story (love it!). Jane marries Augustine in a chaste business arrangement, and soon learns why he insists on sleeping alone at his family‘s manor house. Ghosts, blood, gore, scares. All good there!
I appreciated the concept of mathematics intertwining with the metaphysical.
Got a little too Twin-Peaksy for my taste in that it stopped making sense.
Great cover though, huh?
*ARC from Netgalley

It was good. Not great, but still worth reading.
I learned a lot about event riding, and the plot never lagged; however, the author allowed the usual convenience of having teenagers behave like wise adults, which interrupted my suspension of disbelief.
⚠️ sexual abuse

Heard about this on the Get Booked podcast and had to read right away!
June is the niece of a famous scientist who developed fuel cells to enable extended space travel. The first astronauts using the new technology were assumed lost, but June knows they‘re still out there.

Loved this
A beautiful, melancholy story from a tormented narrator. Set in the near future with a dystopian outlook. I loved the story, the writing, the non-linear organization. One of the best I‘ve read in some time.

Don‘t.
Saw this on a list of “best underrated horror novels”. I was duped.
The book is told from 6-year-old Kassandra‘s POV. She‘s abused, has extreme violent tendencies, and is grossly precociously sexual.
Also, because K is so far removed from reality and understanding of what‘s happening around her, the book doesn‘t make any sense. It‘s like watching David Lynch murder a kitten.
⚠️ animal abuse
⚠️ child abuse
⚠️ sexual assault

Is there a word for the heart-fluttering giddy delight you feel when you dive into a new book that you know you‘re going to love?

Had to get some faves while reading this . . .
Super enjoyable, nostalgia-filled read, especially for Gen-Xers, like me!

Wow. 5-stars for this one.
I was blown away by the raw and powerful writing of this debut. An honest and empowering story.
Wetmore is definitely a writer to keep my eye on.
Thanks again, @AmyG for sending this to me!

I LOVED THIS BOOK.
It‘s full of philosophy and longing and friendship and self-discovery. So many ideas resonated with me. I highlighted so many passages. And that ending . . . 🥺
Thanks so much for renewing my interest in this one @UnabridgedPod - I would have missed out on this 5-star read otherwise.

Pick!
Just what you want from good historical fiction.
1940s Italy: Nico, a young farmer recently in seminary, agrees to take Nina, a Jew, to his family‘s farm and hide her in plain sight as his new bride. Both families are torn apart.
Not maudlin or sentimental, this is well-researched and based on the author‘s husband‘s family history.
Really enjoyed this one!

Our family is weird. When we put presents under the tree, we always put fictional or famous people in the “from” space.

It was my fault that we listened to Under the Glacier on a road trip this year, so I thought this was a good choice.

Christmas book haul! Very excited about all of these!
Husband got me the memoir of Greg Page, the yellow Wiggle, 💛💛 as we have always been huge fans.

Thank you, @AmyG !! So very happy! I‘ve been so looking forward to this book. And thanks too for the yummy chocolate and cute notebook & bookmark! You‘re the best! I know how I‘m spending my evening after everyone goes to bed!

Thanks for organizing this @MaleficentBookDragon - you‘ve made a lot of Littens very happy! #jolabokaflod

WWII: 11 members of an all-star college football team enlist and are dispersed throughout the world. The 11th man, a war correspondent, covers their stories as a piece of propaganda to boost public morale. I especially appreciated the incorporation of the role of the WASPs. Great read.

I fell prey to the hype.
I‘m glad I read it, and Leilani‘s writing style is unusual (in a good way), but I just kept waiting for something to push the story along.

It‘s here! It‘s here! YAY! 🎄📖📚🍫 🎄
#jolabokaflod

The book has an app?!?! I am SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS.

Pick!
A tight-knit group of friends is torn apart when their wealthy Colorado community opens a school for highly gifted children who must pass rigorous testing for admission. The author hit on many parental insecurities and the stress of the children who bear their parents‘ expectations.
(I especially related to Emma Q. Did Holsinger see straight into my head?!)

There‘s a fine line between artful, poetic prose and contrived obfuscation. This is on the wrong side of the line.

Pick
An immortal dog spends a century searching for his beloved master and their nemesis who separated them. Faces adventures, love, and war in his quest.
Has a slow start but quickly becomes engrossing and endearing.

Pick!
Three “trash boys” living in poverty in a third world country find something amazing. The police and influential politicians all want to get their hands on it. The boys keep the secret of their mysterious treasure and stealthily attempt to figure out what it leads to.
Written as middle grade, but adults will enjoy it too.

Excellent, classic sci-fi. Earth is being observed/governed by alien overlords who never descend. They stay in airships in the sky and keep watch over everyone‘s actions. All evil is corrected, despotism eliminated. But there‘s a lot more to their intentions.
I flew through this one. It was written in the 50s, but is still relevant and has aged well. Definitely a must-read.

First library sale of 2020!!
So many good finds . . . What do I start first, Littens? 😯

Truly remarkable. Her writing just carries you away, wrenches your heart with the anguish of love. Highly recommend.

Holy crap - I cannot put this book down!
It‘s so disturbing and I can‘t stop reading. Wow.

Wow - her writing is exquisite. I am savoring this book.

I hate to disparage any book . . . But aside from the unusual setting exploring the Ashininaabe culture, this book doesn‘t have anything else going for it 😬

I am completely stunned.

I am entralled with this book. I can‘t stop thinking about it. Susanna Clarke did it again. Fulfilled my expectations and hopes for her first novel in 14 years.

So so happy to be reading this. Im practically giddy.

Also pictured: our new kitten, Cinder. So named because I was looking for a cinderblock behind a gas station (to help hold up the car to change a flat tire). I found Cinder instead.

An amusement park turns into a horror scene after a group of kids are stranded and isolated there for 5 weeks after a hurricane. The teens form rival groups and end up murdering one another.
There‘s a 6 Flags in New Orleans (not far from where I live) that was abandoned after Hurricane Katrina, so this book is especially creepy to me!

Amazing survival story! A 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read
In 2012, Alvarenga, a Mexican fisherman, is swept into the Pacific in his small boat and is tossed across the ocean for over a year.
The author also creates a riveting story by describing Alvarenga‘s life both before and after his ordeal.
Highly recommended!

I have about 20% left.
I don‘t know if I can do it.
Insufferable boredom. Gasping for plot.
Trudging through dense prose.
Must . . . Keep . . . Going . . . Will is failing . . . I‘m dyyyying

Pick
Took me almost 100 pages to figure this out, so here is your heads up:
The main character lives his life many times throughout history, beginning at 1 AD. The characters are the same, but have variations of names depending on time and place. The plot moves forward, as time moves forward.
Interesting book - quite original. Fascinating settings and good pace. Can‘t go wrong with John Boyne.

My dear friend sent me a gift card to Jenny Lawson‘s Nowhere Books! All my spoils arrived today! Is there a word for wanting to read every book at once?

Much better than Middlesex.
Interesting. Not a perfect book, but still worth reading.

I AM SO EXCITED!
John Boyne is my favorite! Finally, some good news!

Pick!
I love a book that makes me look up, dazed, after an hour has gone by, surprised to see that I‘m on my sofa and not on a prison ship bound for Tasmania.
Thanks for the ARC, LibraryThing!