pickOf course I was initially interested in this book because of seeing this beautiful cover on Litsy. When I was younger, I was a little obsessed with reading about the Salem Witch Trials, and I read The Scarlet Letter around that time too.
The author had such a unique idea for the origin of the famous red letter, and the reimagining of Hester and Nat‘s stories was so full of emotion!
I spotted this while reading the New York Review of Books. This month marks the 100th anniversary of Edward Gorey‘s birth 🎂
At the end of last year, I saw an amazing exhibit called Journey to the World of Edward Gorey - I love his illustrations!
#5JoysFriday @DebinHawaii
☕️ Had a Honey Cream Latte in a cute Tom & Jerry cup
🐧 Finch friends
🍱 Dinner at a Japanese restaurant
🍿 Watched A Real Pain at the cinema with a friend
🎧 Audiowalk listening to Hester
I just learned about mlíko when reading A Little Place in Prague and then saw this article about it while scrolling today! It‘s behind a paywall, so here‘s more info from Atlas Obscura instead
https://www.atlasobscura.com/foods/czech-milk-beer-mliko-pilsner
pickAnna Love and Leo Knight are in Prague to learn about brewing beer, but only one of them will have the honor of having their beer featured at the Christmas Beer Festival. I loved everything about their story in the city of a hundred spires 💕
#FictionalTraveler #APlaceYouLove @julieclair
pickThis was such a good cozy mystery with the beginnings of a romance between Clara Harrington, newly arrived in the village of Picklemarsh, and Felicity Abbot, local councillor. Clara and her Aunt investigate the death of their neighbor who collapses face first into his dessert.
But I can‘t recommend this book fully!! Why?? Because you‘ll want to know what happens next, and there don‘t seem to be any more books in the series!!
This weeks sign at the library! Winter is bearable with good books 🐻
I already posted a January wrap up but then I found the monthly graphics on Storygraph 😆 This is the first time I‘ve actually kept up with tracking my reading daily so I‘m excited to see this graph!!
#WeekendReads @rachelsbrittain
🧬 Her Hidden Genius
🍰 Death Before Dessert
January wrap up!! I enjoyed all 12 books this month📚
Not pictured are The Desire Map & Winter in Sokcho which I finished at the last minute! #FictionalTraveler #SomeplaceCold 🇰🇷
The Woman Destroyed 🇫🇷 The Samurai of the Red Carnation 🇫🇷 🇯🇵 Invisible Helix 🇯🇵 Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop 🇰🇷 #ReadtheWorld2025
The Puffin of Death 🇮🇸 A Trail of Lies #ThematicCozies
The Kiss Countdown #RiseUpReads
1. The 2025 planners were on sale so I bought a Snoopy themed one
2. Had coffee with a friend before attending a work event
3. Mr Donuts collab with Pierre Marcolini. Chocolate brings me joy😆
4. I tracked my reading every day this month!! Love seeing my completed tracker on Fable
5. Also I started using Finch from the beginning of the year-it‘s so cute and motivating
#FiveJoysFriday @DebinHawaii
He arrived bundled up in a woolen coat. —Winter in Sokcho
#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl
pickRead it in one sitting!! Another great mystery in the Detective Galileo series—the characters and their invisible connections had me hooked 🧬
Shiori Ito‘s documentary Black Box Diaries, based on her memoir Black Box has been nominated for an Academy Award. It is the first Japanese documentary to be nominated
https://www.tokyoweekender.com/entertainment/movies-tv/shiori-itos-black-box-dia...
I‘m really enjoying this book, probably because it has a lot about books and coffee! And I just love the idea of having all day to think about a film (or a book) and discovering something special.
It‘s not quite February yet but this is next up for #ThematicCozies
#5JoysFriday @DebinHawaii
1. Got tickets to see Wicked in May! I want to read the book before seeing the musical!
2. A friend went to Hawaii and gave us some coffee as a souvenir
3. Going to Jazzercise class and dancing my stress away
4. I love to listen to these jazzy snoopy themed YouTube videos while I‘m working (eun.yeon)
5. Audio walks! Currently listening to The Storm We Made
“According to legend, coffee was discovered thanks to a herd of goats. When they ate a small round red fruit, they were very energetic and began to prance about, leading the goat herder to discover the coffee fruit and its properties.”
I looked up the story mentioned in this book because in Japan we have Kaldi coffee beans with a goat on the package. Turns out the goat herders name was Kaldi, so this is a popular name for coffee shops ☕️ 🐐
#Two4Tuesday @TheSpineView
1. Waking up early in the winter for first period class 🥶
2. There‘s No Such Thing as an Easy Job
This is a good time of year to read a book like this and think about goal setting. There is even a workbook in the back. It‘s not very well written, but the idea of core desired feelings is helpful. In the word list, I found the word ebullient which I like because it combines both cheerfulness and energy!
so-soA birding group from the US travels to Iceland but disaster strikes and one of their main members (who dislikes puffins by the way!!) is found dead. The sleuth is a zookeeper from California who is in the country to pick up a polar bear and other animals for their northern climes exhibit.
Loved the animals and Iceland, but didn‘t really care about any of the characters. This is book four in the series so that may have something to do with it
#WeekendReads @rachelsbrittain
🇮🇸 The Puffin of Death
🫖 The Harlequin Tea Set
#5JoysFriday @DebinHawaii
1. Going to a writing group meeting at a bookstore
2. Homemade focaccia
3. Wordle! Every day my friend and I send each other our results and it‘s so fun to stay in touch this way. Even better I was able to solve all of them in 2 or 3 guesses this week!
4. Finished teaching for the semester. I loved listening to all the students‘ final presentations
5. Yummy bar of oatmilk chocolate from a friend 💛
pickThis book is about the mass killings in Indonesia in 1965-66 and in other countries in the 20th century. There were so many details in this well researched book. I listened to the audio, so I‘m already planning to reread it and to research some of the topics in it, such as the Bandung Conference. #NonFiction
pickIf you are curious about AI, and especially if you work in education, then this book would be a great one to read. The author also has a Substack called One Useful Thing.
The writing is engaging and even JRR Tolkien is quoted!
I especially enjoyed the chapters on AI as a creative, as a tutor, and as a coach.
1. I like the holidays and the chance to slow down
2. Murder at Everham Hall is set during New Year‘s and has a snowy manor scene on the cover ❄️
#Two4Tuesday @TheSpineView
I had a three day weekend, so with plenty of time for reading, I alternated between two mysteries and two
nonfiction books #WeekendReads @rachelsbrittain
🌹 Kill Her Twice
🇮🇸 Puffin of Death
🤖 Co-Intelligence
🇮🇩 The Jakarta Method
Today attended a writing group meeting at a book shop. It was a quiet and cozy place, perfect for concentrating on words. Tagging one of my favorite writing books!
Looking forward to getting into this cozy mystery set in Iceland 🇮🇸 #CurrentlyReading #ThematicCozies @julieclair
#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl
“I believe the cost of getting to know AI—really getting to know AI—is at least three sleepless nights.
#5JoysFriday
1. Drinking a Caramel pumpkin macchiato
2. Seeing some beautiful morning skies
3. Eating a piece of Galette de Rois
4. Watching the Cavs beat the Thunder
5. A little bit of snow!
New audiobook to listen to while riding the bus. I‘ve read two other books by the author before, The Downstairs Girl and Outrun the Moon. Kill Her Twice is just as good so far!
#AudioCommuting
I love participating in challenges, but I‘m not particularly good at tracking my progress lol So I‘m proud to say that I‘ve successfully tracked my reading for 7 days in a row on Storygraph! I‘m mhillis over there too if you‘d like to connect
#StoryGraph
pickI first heard about Sarra Cannon not through her writing but her HeartBreathings YouTube channel about goals and planning. This book was so good
Vanessa disappeared one year ago and now all of her friends are gathered in a cabin in the woods. Told through multiple points of view in present and past timelines, we gradually find out what happened that night she went missing. I couldn‘t even begin to guess the ending!
Back to work today, but I had an awesome time reading during winter vacation! These were all so good - I can‘t choose a favorite!
I‘ve been away from Litsy for a while so I‘m just going to join in the fun! Aside from reading, here are five things I enjoyed this week! #5JoysFriday @DebinHawaii
1. Watching Black Doves on Netflix
2. Eating homemade Oatmeal Fig cookies
3. Going on a hike with friends
4. Taking a walk and listening to an audiobook
5. Playing the Shakespeare game
Started the Trail of Lies audiobook on my walk today and already listened to one-third! This is part of the Jazz Ramsey mystery series about a cadaver detection dog and trainer. Super interesting characters and set in Ohio too
pickIf you want to learn more about transformative justice, then this is a great book! I decided to read it for #Nonfiction2024 to fulfill the prompt for The Hate You Give. One of the reasons the novel is banned is because of anti-police views. That made me wonder, what are the alternatives to restorative justice? I learned so much from this book and something called a Vent Diagram sent me on a deep dive. Really interesting info and resources.
so-soI read The Corpse Wore Tartan in January for #SeasonalCozies It was a bit disappointing with too many characters and not much of a mystery, but I liked the idea of everyone being snowed in at a hotel during a Burns Night banquet. I haven‘t read any other books in this series so maybe that dampened my enjoyment. Oh well! The cover is great! On to February!
Reading so many books at once! Didn‘t finish any this week. Here are my impressions so far:
Forbidden Notebook is my favorite at the moment.
You, Again is going to be set aside for now.
The Good Wife of Bath is the biggest surprise because I don‘t usually like historical fiction from this period.
And I checked out The Neighbor Favor because I saw many people posting about it!!
#BookReport
#WeeklyForecast
Two books I‘m planning to read and review this month! #JanuaryInJapan
The North Light
Nails and Eyes
pickI really enjoyed this cozy mystery! It‘s the 7th book in the Pancake House series but it‘s the first one I‘ve read. Marley runs a pancake house and she goes on a trip to Holly Lodge with Brett during the holiday season. Then a body is found in a snow bank and Marley starts asking questions. Nice winter setting and interesting mystery—not sure why there‘s a cat on the cover though! #cozies #seasonalcozies
I‘ve just started reading my January choice for #SeasonalCozies
The Corpse Wore Tartan is set at a Scottish Hotel in Maine where a group gathers for Burns Night. This is number 4 in the series and I haven‘t read the previous ones, so I hope it‘s easy to follow! @julieclair
