Sorry to be a hater but these books are terrible. I don't believe in always moralizing to children but these kids are assholes and like...the story isn't even fun. Very bummed that my five year old niece is in love with the series and I will continue reading them until I go home next week. Luckily, she still wants to read picture books with me too.

Sidenote: my sister's three kids love rats so princesses and rats it always is. 🐀

A history of crossword puzzles and feminist wordplay through the lens of the author's struggle with anorexia. Endlessly fascinating and Shectman pulls the intersections off incredibly well.

Another Webtoon DNF. I'm becoming brutal with my quitter's attitude.

This was a ride!!! Much less about the (nonhuman) apes and more about the personalities and politics of camp life at Karisoke. The thing I was absolutely left with though is Fowler's pondering, did Fossey's hard line with the government, denial of tourism proponents, and extreme response to poaching ultimately do more harm than good for the gorillas? A difficult question and a work that will linger in my mind.

DNF not because it was bad, I just wasn't feeling it.

You know how sometimes middle grade readers just need to experience all the feels? That's who this book is for. A novel in verse about grief and the loss of a friend. It's quiet and lovely and the adult characters are just so patient and beautiful. I had feels and am very much looking forward to recommending this one.

Reviewing That Librarian is a tad unfair because I have worked with Amanda Jones for years, but that being said, I genuinely did not know how bad things had been for her and this memoir is an urgent call for decorum as much as it is one against censorship.

Ashanti runs a doggydaycare & cares for her two teenage sisters. Thad is a vet having difficulty transitioning into civilian life. The only thing they have in common is having no time for emotional entanglements. But when their dogs lovestory goes viral (you read that right & its the cutest thing ever committed to print) they seize the moment to promote their burgeoning businesses and maybe find time for love along the way. Sweetest slow burn ever

Poetry paired with lovely illustrations that just felt so empowering and heartfelt. So excited to continue following Watson's work with her upcoming novel!!

I think a common theme in my improperly oriented photos is a cat! Litsy is anti-cat. Which I mean, makes sense considering #catsagainstreading I guess.

I bought this book in like 2019 after reading and being galvanized by the essay Moi and the Rise of Subjectivity. Then I let it linger too long on my shelves and by the time I actually read it (five years later) I was just deflated by it. I don't agree with everything Kakutani says here and I think she allows bad faith usage to undervalue helpful academic schema but it is still interesting.

So, this was a DNF for me. I wasn't feeling it from the beginning then at about 40 pages in I got to this quote and that was the moment for me. I sincerely hope this is projection on the characters behalf and not the author's because that level of internalized racism is a lot.

I've read a few reviews on SG and I think I made the right choice. Vigilance and awareness are important, yes, but Black folks deserve peace, joy, and rest as well.

Prose written by poets must be my absolute favorite genre of literature and Aimee Nezhukumatathil has gifted readers with another stunning essay collection. But then when she pairs a poem with an essay - it absolutely sings. Bite by Bite provides all the nourishment a reader could need.

Gorgeous and heartbreaking and unsettling and weird. Please read that as a profound endorsement.

Hoping to lean into the rotated orientation. This is my aesthetic now.

I've been craving essays, just reading one a day for a tiny hit of insight. I started with Solnit's year because I love her and am looking forward to popping in and out with this series for the rest of forever.

Like all anthology there are pieces that resonated with me along with those that did not. I've not stopped thinking about Alexander Chee's essay and will be reading more from him soon!

We didn't vibe and it is my year of DNF. Definitely one to try with your middle grade readers that are down for a spooky little read but I just didn't want to pick this one up once I'd put it down.

Poor Things was just as weird and wonderful as I'd hoped it would be. And the final chapter, icing on the cake. I loved the film as well but I understand why viewers are divided. But here's the thing, men are idiots...that's the joke. Yorgos gets it.

Please enjoy this sideways photo as I continue to battle with litsy.com.

Um, I'm sorry, this novel is genius. I was cackling throughout and cannot wait to read more from Everett.

The middle section (Stagg's novel) was kinda miserable to get through but Everett writing and including it in the text of Erasure is just so funny. Absolutely brilliant send up of the publishing industry and racial discourseTM.

Can anyone tell me why @litsy wants all of my pics to be sideways? Every time I post, my image is properly oriented as I edit but when the post is published the image is sideways. (Note, I delete the post when this happens, so you won't see it reflected in any of my posts.) Am I the only person this happens to or is this a regular consequence of using the webpage rather than the app?

This friendship sustains me and this collection of just a dozen poems arranged seasonally and clearly in conversation with one another is a gift these poets have bestowed upon us. Go forth and read it.

Marionetta is such a great webtoon read! I'm heavily invested in the lore and cannot wait for its return!

Tommy Go Boom! I love Imogen in all of her muchness! This feels like a nonsense review, but the MacLeaniverse girlies understand me.

A soft pick for me only because I just don't love contemporary romance. The characters are great, the writing is great, the second chance after young love- great! But the stakes are just never there for me in contemporary.
Ryan tackles a lot here in terms of plot and emotion, and she ties it all together extremely well. Like, there's a lot here but it never feels like *discourse* if you know what I mean. A strong read, just not my particular thing

Ruffin is a writing prof and I felt that at times while reading, in the most interesting of ways. It is perfectly plotted to reflect the many ways in which a Black woman could make her way through the antebellum south. We follow Ady as she is enslaved, from the house to the fields, from escape to touch freedom, interacting with free people of color in New Orleans, and beyond. There is a depth of experience here; a novel to be felt and studied.

I read this off and on over the course of a year. I've done about four weeks of the formal eight week MBSR program and I imagine I'll carry much of this with me for the rest of my life. Kabat-Zinn can be a bit much but he distills the tenets of mindfulness and meditation so well.

So much loss and hurt here. Felt like a desperate reach for understanding across a wide chasm of mis/lack of communication. Not poems to recount the things an author wishes they could say but the things they wish a reader (a specific reader) could hear. I definitely feel like much of this collection was beyond me but the poems are worth digging into. Especially as Nguyen plays with form and white space, I read those poems again and again.

This is a soft pick for me because I loved the friend group, the fake dating, and the sex/romance knowledge swap, but people don't behave like this?? I don't know. There was so much going for it and I loved the dynamic between the mains but I kept getting frustrated and really felt this could have been better. But then again, that's me and I know going into a new contemporary romance that our chances are not great.

This was so great! Absolutely draws you in on the horror front and then just pummels you in the end as you question everything that has been reported.

I've long loved Beaton's literary and historical comics, but I was not expecting the emotional resonance of Ducks. Beaton spent two years in Canada's oils sands as a means of paying down her college loans. She chronicles the isolation everyone feels in these far off camps and the unique horrors the few women that take these jobs on can face.

Second in my DNF Era. I've been reading this for ages. I told myself I'd read a page or two each morning to start my day in reflection and prayer. But here's the thing, I'm not from the Anglican tradition and didn't realize that this is more liturgy than prayers. I rarely want to pick it up and typically choose to start my day with a few poems instead. Rather than have this languish on my bedside I'm ready to admit, I'm just not that interested.

2024 is going to be my year of DNFing books that just aren't resonating with me.
I've enjoyed other books by Clayborn but I've had this on my bedside and in my backpack since August and I still haven't finished. Cleary, this one just isn't for me. Maybe I'll try it in audio next year but for now, it's time we part ways.

The first section of this is phenomenal. The depth of research is just beyond. King communicates a life's worth of research in his Blues history and strives to correct an academic record that often shuts out the generational knowledge held by actual performers. A powerful and forceful work. The second part of the book is King's memoir and I'm sorry to say it doesn't hold the thrust or power of the first part. I still recommend this read though!

Another successful Short Story Advent. This has become one of my favorite traditions.

Meh, it was fine.

There's nothing relevatory here if you've taken basic biology but there is much that is clearly explained if you are new to these concepts. And Prosanta is charming so the book is a delightful read. I do wish it were a tad less judgmental, because this isn't a book that's going to change anyone's mind scientifically or politically - folks who desire to disprove evolution for reasons of faith or politics will be immediately turned off by the tone.

I have been in a massive (seriously, year long) reading slump. But Byatt's passing prompted me to finally pick this one up that has long been on my TBR. Y'all, I tore through this novel! It is so good! The narrative is great, the prose is great, the letters, diaries, poems are all great. It was a delight to read in every sense. The ending is a bit hasty and zany but it doesn't take away from how masterful the novel is overall.

While this definitely doesn't stand up against Grealy's memoir, I did enjoy it. As typical with collections there are pieces that really work and several that fall flat.

I wish I could read a collection of her poems, but sadly her short life left us with only two books.

This was cute but contemporary romance is rarely my thing and romantic suspense almost never is. The twist, twist, double twist, at the end did make for a super fun reveal though.

I was gonna go so-so on this but I'm going soft pick because this is absolutely a case of 'it's not you, it's me.'

This is, um, the most ambitious, artful, amazing, etc...graphic novel that I have read. Ferris's artwork is just astounding. I definitely just lost myself in it at times.
As far as the narrative, there are several storylines woven through. Some are stronger than others, all incredibly emotionally intense, please be advised of trigger warnings bc this will hit you.
The second (and final) volume releases next year and I'm so anxious to finish this!

Ally's follow up to Possum's Are Not Cute. This one is even more gifty, as it is just a collection of snippets of life advice accompanied by adorable possum illustrations. While her first book was clearly a gift book, there was substance there in terms of learning about possums and wildlife rehabilitation. This one is the kind of impulse purchase book that I don't really vibe with. But that's just me, we've sold a bunch of these at the bookshop.

This was my first read by the new poet laureate of Louisiana and I wanted to love this one. But it just didn't really resonate with me. There's a lot of emotion in these poems, a great deal of anger, but they lack lyricism. This is earlier work from Pelegrin, so I'm sure I'll return to her in the future.

And with that I've finished the big three from Leakey's Trimates.
Birute's book is the most dry, it doesn't suffer for that though and remains fascinating, but there's more of a remove than one feels reading Diane and especially Jane.
The Orangs too feel more distant, but the discoveries made and shared throughout are thought-provoking. Definitely worth the read!

Happy to be finished; saddened that these do not maintain the fun of the early books. There's an anniversary one shot that just released this fall. I've got my fingers crossed for it.

Very happy to have read what is widely considered 'the first graphic novel' but it is HEAVY and I'm glad I had a friend reading along to discuss.

When they turned my queens into Escher girls...

I learned a lot from this book! Nothing I can easily sum up, but suffice it to say I will continue with the Norton Shorts series.

Not going to lie, finishing these has become something of a chore.

I can always rely on Rice for an immersive experience. This one is a delight that I never wanted to put down. Be mindful of trigger warnings here though.

Crosley moves through multiple griefs in this memoir. The theft of heirloom jewelry, the loss of her dearest friend, and ultimately the loss of life as we knew it with the swift coming of the Covid-19 pandemic. Always insightful and frequently funny, this memoir was a joy to read even as the subject matter stung. One turn of phrase had me gobsmacked: 'Ego, as it turns out, is depression's comorbidity.'

Bernard is decidedly not model material. But he's just so cute!

Meanwhile, these poems were not really for me. I dunno, there just wasn't enough 'there' there, ya know?

Truly, a memoir of a friendship. I read most of this in alternating chapters with Lucy Grealy's book. It was a lovely way to see these two friends, and when Autobiography of a Face came to an end chapters before Truth and Beauty I was forced to finish this journey as Ann was, without Lucy and feeling her loss. This becomes very difficult to read as Grealy's life unravels. Her brilliant talent, loving friends, and wild accolades could not help her.