Reading this before book club tomorrow. Enjoying some coffee shop ambience on the tv and the Christmas lights. #currentlyreading

Listening to tagged book and enjoying some Christmas ambiance before work this morning. Anyone know if there‘s a #holidaycardswap this year? I signed up for a lovely winter themed one, but I really enjoyed the Christmas one I did last year. Litsy is my cozy holiday home.

My #weeklyfavorites was The Queen of Fourteenth Street, which was a lovely audio play and production that helped me hold onto a little bit of hope. @Read4life

I had to add this one to the database and guesstimate the page number, because it's audio only. I loved this! It's a play written about a real-life actor, director, and producer, who was also a fairly open queer woman in a time where that was not at all acceptable. Eva Le Gallienne worked hard to bring theater to broader audiences, and this audio play focuses on her life and struggle to keep her theater open. So good!

This is an audible only Harrison short story. Not scary, but it still packs a punch. #OctoberReads

Hello, lovely Littens! Long time, no post. Currently reading the arc of newest Ashley Winstead, which is all about the true crime community.

This was an interesting, trippy book and I‘m still not sure about what I read… but we‘re meeting to discuss this tonight for book club so maybe I‘ll get more of it!

My first graphic novel of the month for #TheAmazingReadathon.

Starting on my #PrideMonth reading!

The movie preview looked funny and ridiculous, rumors swirled that Taylor Swift wrote the book, and Libro.FM gave me the audiobook for free, so I made it my first full book of 2024. The book is not funny, the only ridiculousness is the outdated Russian baddies and Nazi gold train plots, and there‘s no way Swift wrote this bland spy novel. It‘s a 2⭐️, but I was mostly bored. #JanuaryReads

I really enjoyed this Christmas romance! It‘s a take on Groudhogs Day trope, but the author avoids being repetitive. The characters are all interesting and funny (or jackassy depending on their role) and it was a great start to the year! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
#JanuaryReads

I had a blast at #WinterGames- just wish I had had more time to play the games and watch movies! I read a lot and I feel good about what I did get done. Thank you to @Clwojick and @StayCurious for hosting this event- it's really made December magical the last few years! I appreciate you both for all you do! And thank you to the #GangstaWrapper's leader, @BookwormJill for a month full of fun and keeping our team in the festive mood and on track!

Phew! Just filling these out took forever! There were lots of boards I didn't get any bingos on, so they aren't here, but these were all the ones I scored bingos on, and a few I even completed. I ended up not watching many movies, so I skipped filling those out.
#WinterGames #GangstaWrappers @Bookwormjill @Clwojick @StayCurious #BingoBoard

Happy New Year's Eve, Littens!
1. Pajamas
2. Stay Up
3. Champagne Flute
4. Couch
5. I'm more socks than slippers, but I am NEVER high heels.

My typical NYE is the Hubs going to bed early (he has a very early morning job so it's just habit) then I have to wake him up around 11:30 so I can make him wear funny glasses and pop the champagne. We also usually eat pigs in the blanket. Tomorrow we'll have to eat sauerkraut for luck as per tradition.

This book was mostly super funny, although he does tackle some sadder moments of working the maternity ward on Christmas- and he gives a trigger warning before one story that would be very much needed for some reader. I think I'm going to read his first book since I enjoyed this one so much.
#WinterGames #GangstaWrappers
@Clwojick @StayCurious @bookwormjillk
#WGWordSearch 1570 pts

A fun sci-fi romp! And it was nice to read something not at all holiday related and to strike it off my tbr.

#WinterGames #GangstaWrappers
@Clwojick @StayCurious @bookwormjillk
#WGWordSearch 750 pts

Perfect Christmas stories for cold winter nights!

#WinterGames #GangstaWrappers
@Clwojick @StayCurious @bookwormjillk
#WGWordSearch 2290 pts

A very lovely romance with a cinnamon love interest who rocks a kilt. I love a hot guy in a kilt. I really need to buy the Hubs one...

#WinterGames #GangstaWrappers
@Clwojick @StayCurious @bookwormjillk
#WGWordSearch 2080 ptts

I really enjoyed this witchy romance, even though I accidentally skipped over book 2. This is the 2nd Aguirre book I've read this year, and I think she's going to be an auto-read author. Also love a romance with a marriage of convenience.
#WinterGames #GangstaWrappers
@Clwojick @StayCurious @bookwormjillk
#WGWordSearch 1410 pts

This was the Jenny Hale I was hoping to read this season! Enjoyed this Christmas romance.

#WinterGames #GangstaWrappers
@Clwojick @StayCurious @bookwormjillk
#WGWordSearch 3200 pts

I really loved this holiday romance. Two strangers stranded on a highway in a snowstorm spend eight perfect hours together, never thinking they'll see one another again. But fate keeps throwing them together. It reminded me of the feelings I had while reading Ghosted, which I loved.
#WinterGames #GangstaWrappers
@Clwojick @StayCurious @bookwormjillk
#WGWordSearch 1440 pts

A fun little Christmas horror novella. It's not particularly deep, or particularly well written, but I had a lot of fun reading this on Christmas Eve with some hot chocolate. Also, the dog is okay.
#WinterGames #GangstaWrappers
@Clwojick @StayCurious @bookwormjillk
#WGWordSearch 1350

A short retelling of A Snow Queen, which involves a romance with Jack Frost. It's the first in the series and it ends with quite the moment, so I might continue with the series, plus I'm doing a Fairy Tale challenge in 2024.
#WinterGames #GangstaWrappers
@Clwojick @StayCurious @bookwormjillk
#WGWordSearch 910 pts

Grabbing some extra points for #WinterGames and #GangstaWrappers 1. Dead Eleven by Jimmy Juliano just bc it was unique.
2. Tangled Vines by John Glatt, bc he just uses web searches and does not fact check anything. Wikipedia is more reliable. 3. Just champagne and tv countdown! 4. Nope 5. Sadly no white Christmas

A very sweet Christmas board book!

#WinterGames #GangstaWrappers @Bookwormjillk @Clwojick @StayCurious
#WGWordsearch 180 pts

I liked this, but neither of the Jenny Hale books I've read this month were as good as past ones, but I do enjoy the Virginia settings.

#WinterGames #GangstaWrappers @Bookwormjillk @Clwojick @StayCurious
#WGWordsearch 6580 pts

I'm so glad I re-read the first three books and could really immerse myself in the world of Mistletoe, Maine! This time the ballet is in town, a wedding is about to happen, and of course murder visits once again! I, personally, would not stay in Mistletoe for Christmas since the last 4 years have brought murder.
#WinterGames #GangstaWrappers @Bookwormjillk @Clwojick @StayCurious
#WGWordsearch 3590 pts

My first re-read of the 3rd book, all in prep in book 4. I can't recommend these books enough!
#WinterGames #GangstaWrappers @Bookwormjillk @Clwojick @StayCurious
#WGWordsearch 3110 pts

Another re-read for the 2nd in this series, it's just so much fun.

#WinterGames #GangstaWrappers @Bookwormjillk @Clwojick @StayCurious
#WGWordsearch 2860 pts

This is becoming an annual re-read! Since the 4th book came out, I just had to re-read them all!
#WinterGames #GangstaWrappers @Bookwormjillk @Clwojick @StayCurious
#WGWordsearch 3920 pts

I really enjoyed returning to this world and this cast as they struggle to put on a Christmas play. Funny, snarky, and a fun mystery always!
#WinterGames #GangstaWrappers @Bookwormjillk @Clwojick @StayCurious
#WGWordsearch 3120 pts

Merry Bookmas to all and to all a Merry Bookmas!

So I treated myself to a Bookmas advent, but it arrived a little late (it shipped from the Netherlands!) so I opened it all at once. Love all the bookish things!

You can bet I was in here screaming with happiness when I opened my #Jolabokflod package! Thank you so much @RosePressedPages for everything! And thank you to @MaleficentBookDragon for putting together my absolute favorite Litsy Swap!

This was my Yule tarot spread last night. Thank you, @Chrissyreadit for the Yule book you sent, bc that was the spread we used. Our friend gifted us each with this gorgeous deck. It was a lovely, magical night to celebrate Winter Solstice!

Thank you so much @Chrissyreadit for your awesome #Yule gift! I‘m over the moon happy with absolutely everything! You‘ll be getting a thank you from me on Christmas Eve (it‘ll be coming from Amazon). My friends and I are meeting tonight to celebrate solstice so I‘ll be taking the Yule book with me! You are magical, thank you! #YuleSwap @wanderinglynn @BookwormAHN

4 Christmas romance novellas by 4 authors all at the same Christmas event. I liked the first and third story, but the the second was just okay, and I didn't enjoy the last story much at all. Despite all the Christmas things, the anthology just didn't feel particularly Christmasy.
#WinterGames #GangstaWrappers @Bookwormjillk @Clwojick @StayCurious
#WGWordsearch 5650 pts

I liked this mystery, but I wish I'd read it in print because there's a LOT of cousins to keep track of. It's a slower mystery, but I enjoyed the clues and the game, and of course, all the muuuuuuurder.
#WinterGames #GangstaWrappers @Bookwormjillk @Clwojick @StayCurious
#WGWordseach 3030 pts

A very fun Christmas horror novella! 5 struggling strangers meet at a closing coffee shop and decide to spend Christmas together. Ghost stories are told, including a tale of Krampus. But what if there's more fact than fiction to the Krampus story? A jingle bell will never sound the same again!
#WinterGames #GangstaWrappers @Bookwormjillk @Clwojick @StayCurious
#WGWordsearch 1460 pts

This has been on my TBR for awhile, and I'm glad I made time for it this year. It's not a perfect book, but I liked the romance and the hijinks, and points for invisible disease rep- the heroine has Myalgic encephalomyelitis, which is more commonly known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
#WinterGames #GangstaWrappers @Bookwormjillk @Clwojick @StayCurious
#WGWordsearch 6750 pts

This was SOOOOO bad. It feels like a book that I would have read in the 80s or 90s, not something that was written last year. I only finished it because I needed it for a prompt for this month's Reading Rivalry. I do NOT recommend! (Apologies if you liked this book and/or the author or the author's family, but dang, it's bad)
#WinterGames #GangstaWrappers @Bookwormjillk @Clwojick @StayCurious
#WGWordgames 1760 pts

I really enjoyed this Christmas mystery thriller- which is a good thing because I have 3 book clubs at the bookstore who are reading this book, so I'll have to discuss it 3 times this month!
#WinterGames #GangstaWrappers @Bookwormjillk @Clwojick @StayCurious
#WGWordSearch 1300pts

I've dived into the deep end of the Christmas book pool! I'm hoping to make more time for games/ornament hunts/selfies/bingos, but I'm reading a ton so we'll see!
#WinterGames #GangstaWrappers @Bookwormjillk @Clwojick @StayCurious

Halfway pts: 146,364 pts ❄

I really loved the save the bookstore storyline, but the romance was a little icky because Trey has a girlfriend through 90% of the book, and there's one scene where he accuses of Ariel of lying, which pissed me off. I think this would have worked out better without the romance, or making Blair an ex/friend instead.
#WinterGames #GangstaWrappers
@Bookwormjillk @Clwojick @StayCurious
#WGWordesearch 2410 pts

A Christmas YA romance between two heartbroken teens as they explore a snowy New York Christmas following the steps of a self help book, and finding a new love along the way. It was fun and full of holiday spirit!
#WinterGames #GangstaWrappers
@Bookwormjillk @Clwojick @StayCurious
#WGWordesearch 1380 pts

I love Hale's Christmas romances, although this one wasn't my favorite bc the love interest was a little too work obsessed. But it's set in my hometown of Richmond, and except for the large amts of snow, I could tell the author had spent time here (and visited my fav coffee shop Shockoe Espresso, which sadly didn't survive Covid).
#WinterGames #GangstaWrappers
@Bookwormjillk @Clwojick @StayCurious
#WGWordesearch 6160 pts

Die Hard is definitely a Christmas movie! #WinterGames #HolidayLaughs

While this didn't blow me over, I quite liked the unlikeable protagonist and her secrets. Not sure how I feel about the house's “twist“ but I liked the ending.
#WinterGames #GangstaWrappers
@Bookwormjillk @Clwojick @StayCurious
#WGWordesearch 380 pts

My #JolabokaflodSwap package came this morning! I‘m very excited! @MaleficentBookDragon

A sexy little novella! I haven't read any of the books in the series yet, although the first one is in my tbr, but I didn't feel lost. Just your typical romance- woman with a cursed, rude sword meets sexy boy fox demon, agrees to bang for a week to break curse, and end up falling in forever love/lust. Oh! And there are dragons! #WinterGames #GangstaWrappers @Bookwormjillk @StayCurious @Clwojick #WGWordsearch 520 pts