My reading spot today. I wish I could bottle up this sense of peace and carry it with me in my purse! 🌊 ☀️

I love a good Karin Slaughter for some audiogardening! And audio dog walking...and cooking...and filing...
This one is less graphic than others I‘ve read, which is nice.

Remember to be gentle with your sweet self! #selfcaresunday

To all of the lovely Littens who sent so much #LitsyLove my way in April: you are the very sweetest and most generous and my delayed replies are only because I have so many to send and I want to be sure to reply thoughtfully! I‘m so happy to have so many new friends! 💛

PS that stack of envelopes is waiting on replies and I‘ve sent a quite a few already!!

1. Every few months, but they usually pass quickly
2. Letting go & bingeing tv for a few days, then restarting
3. Any book with lush gardens and great old houses. I forgot the entire plot of Rebecca, but could‘ve drawn Manderly, if I could draw!
4. Favorite title tagged. Also... Like Water For Chocolate. Slouching Towards Bethlehem. Love in the Time of Cholera.
5. @bookishandsane @Jinster @Jas16 @MoonWitch94

Donna, I am so very excited and appreciative of this most thoughtful gift!!! I am now the thrilled owner of a signed copy of Angry Housewives Eating Bonbons, one of my favorite ever books! I can‘t wait to read Can‘t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? too. My library doesn‘t have this, so I was planning to put in a request for interlibrary loan, but now I don‘t have to! Thanks so much for this lovely birthday surprise! 🥰🤗💛

Thanks everyone for so much #LitsyLove for my birthday! @Soubhiville thank you so much for The Grace Keepers!! What a lovely surprise! 🥰

@Sarah24 @BookwormAHN @Stacypatrice @tracey38 @Kerrioke @MaGoose @Lovesbooks87 @IndoorDame @JoyBlue @UwannaPublishme @throwmeabook @CoffeeNBooks @Fridameetslucy @robinb @TheBookHippie @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

What a great idea, @LaraReads ! It‘s on its way to another Litten! #litsylove

Great world building in this YA novel about a future where we‘ve conquered mortality. I was hooked from chapter 1! Thanks for the great pick, @MrsGreen & it‘s on its way to you tomorrow, @chelreads I hope you enjoy! @StephanieGeiser I have The 100, thank you!
#TheBreakfastBookClub

I loved this beautiful book about three generations of complicated, strong Palestinian women. Unlike some books which seem to paint all Muslim women as victims of the hijab, this book felt more balanced to me. It left me with admiration, empathy, and sorrow instead of pity.

TW for domestic violence.

Enjoyed a bookish play followed by a sushi dinner and a stop by a cupcake shop for an early birthday Saturday! The Belle of Amherst is a one-woman play about the life of Emily Dickinson.

1. Literary/contemporary fiction, memoir
2. Nonfiction & minority authors
3. Romance & fantasy
4. Hmm...maybe YA or dystopian fic? Those are usually good.
5. Tagged book
6. The Little Shop of Found Things. Everything about it seemed like I‘d love it, but I did not.
#BookishQuestions @Clwojick

I‘m considering bailing. I really like the story, and the audio is good. But....I really like the dog and I have a bad feeling. I don‘t know anything, so this isn‘t a spoiler, just anxiety. Should I keep reading???

A history of how we changed our utensils and how our utensils changed us. From forks to fridges, the way we cook and convey food to our mouths says way more about us than I ever imagined.
I was inspired to give micro history a shot by #LitsyLove pen pal, @iread2much !

“Technology is the art of the possible.”
#currentread

A research trial, an unethical practitioner, a vulnerable (but strong) young woman, and a handsome stranger or two. For me, this was a unique psychological suspense that kept me listening with interest and will not blur into the next one I read by next week. One caveat-it definitely requires some suspension of disbelief to enjoy. But I‘m cool with that. Most thrillers do. Sometimes even real life does!

Coffee and a book...O U T D O O R S!

I spent the day audio gardening to Silver Linings Playbook and am now relaxing by my pond admiring my work with this old lady cat.

March stats!

This was a solid unreliable narrator thriller that shifted perspectives between the husband, wife, and a responding officer. The intricacies of the marriage are well developed. Something was missing for me, hence the so-so, but it‘s possible I was the problem, not the book.

A Sunday afternoon reading break + cat. My selection for #Booked2019 #FoodonCover

“Life is about who is holding your hand and, I think, whose hand you commit to holding.”
I love that Camila is talking about her friendship with Karen when she says this.

All this beautiful #listylove from so many generous and fascinating Littens!! 💛 I was organizing while listening to the tagged book, when someone rudely (but cutely) interrupted my endeavors. How is everyone organizing their Litsy love (or any pen pal mail) to make sure they keep track of who they‘ve written and replied to? I‘m keeping a notebook, but I‘m not sure I love my system. 🤔 💭

@MaGoose I just opened your package and was so surprised and excited to find Save Me the Plums! That was so incredibly thoughtful and generous of you! Thank you for the unexpected delight. #ListyLove

Got a lot of #LitsyLove out to the mailbox this weekend, now heading outdoors for some audio gardening!

Does anyone else feel weirdly pressured by this new feature on Libby?! I like that it asks if you want to return early, because I think probably people just forgot or didn‘t realize they could, but “DON‘T RUSH ME, LIBBY, I am doing the best I can, all my holds came in at once and it was a bad week at work and I have cramps and I really just wanted to binge watch Grey‘s Anatomy last night!!” -me, justifying myself to a app.

I am not a muse.
I am the somebody.
End of fucking story.

@iread2much your #LitsyLove note makes a lovely bookmark!

This book is as good as its cover! Set in a dystopian world in which women spend their youth preparing for very specific roles as wives, this is a story of resistance. I loved that the characters are Latinx and there is an LGTB love story.

Love the narrator‘s unique voice and the way slut shaming, gender double standards, revenge porn, and bullying are handled in this book! @chelreads I hope this has arrived & that you enjoy it! #TheBreakfastBookClub
#socialmediafocus #booked2019 #Spring

Abusers say the same things in every language. Meena is a young Indian writer who survives and escapes an incredibly abusive marriage. Beautifully and poetically written.

⚠️Major trigger warning for domestic and sexual violence.

Unpopular opinion alert! The story of a strong, brave Chinese American woman living in the PNW during the era of the Chinese Exclusion Act interwoven with the story of a modern-day entitled brat (who we‘re supposed to like). This book only merits a so-so because the author wrote about an interesting period of history. That part of the storyline was pretty engaging. I did not like the modern MC at all. The ending felt trite & contrived.

Some #LitsyLove went to the post office yesterday! 💕

Rhiannon is kind of like if Bridget Jones had massive trauma to her ventromedial prefrontal cortex; a raunchy, foul-mouthed, funny, diary-keeping, promiscuous, brutal psychopath with poor impulse control who keeps finding herself in mishaps (ie becomes a serial killer). I really enjoyed this book, but if CJ Scuse had left out one or two descriptions of what was happening in Rhiannon‘s panties, that would‘ve been cool.

An unflinching look at a gifted concert pianist diagnosed with ALS and his family. Lisa Genova draws heavily from her experience as a neuroscientist and real life knowledge to paint an intimate portrait of a debilitating disease.
#Booked2019 #featuresamusician

A character driven novel in which a few oddly matched characters meet at a library. Friendships are made, secrets are shared. I found this book lovely, but understand the mixed reviews. There are so many storylines that some of them are thin; it seems like the author didn‘t want to add the extra pages or leave them out, so they stayed barely there. Some details serve no purpose, others are missing completely. Audio was good, which saved it for me!

@aroc surprised me with this thoughtful bookish gift of a Book Beau yesterday! Little did she know I have been coveting one for ages! And I so love the birds. Growing up, we always marked the end of winter by the swallows returning to the barn so they make me think of springtime and of freedom, hence my tattoo. 🥰

15 books read this month, 8 books by Black authors for Black History Month. I finished my #Booked2019 winter goals. A much better reading month than I expected!

This time of year, my heart is hungry for flowers. Beautiful arrangements with “recipes” for creating each. My last selection for winter Booked 2019! Spring is just around the corner!

#RemindsYouOfYourHappyPlace #Booked2019

This MC Maurice, an author, has not one single likable quality. I seethed about his horrible behavior with elevated blood pressure as I devoured this book. You will be rooting for misfortune to befall this guy, I promise. Read when you want to rage but also don‘t mind being reminded how unfair life is. Audio was okay.

I‘m hate-reading this book. I cannot believe what an irredeemable parasite Maurice is. WAKE UP, EDITH!!! This is NOT a relaxing read.

Fair warning: SO vulgar and raunchy. If you‘re down for that, this book is absolutely hilarious and deeply sad. Sam Irby copes with her abusive childhood, loss of two parents, chronic depression, physical disability, dysfunctional relationships, loneliness and love with biting, inappropriate (occasionally uncomfortable) humor.

#readBlackwomen #readBlackauthors #Blackhistorymonth

An inspiring & candid story of the journey from little girl in a Southside Chicago duplex to first Black FLOTUS in the White House. It is so cool to listen to Michelle Obama‘s own voice talk about how she learned she didn‘t like being a lawyer, fell in love with her husband, & met the Queen. I remember vividly many moments she writes about & hearing them from her perspective is fascinating. #Blackhistorymonth #readBlackwomen

🙌🙌🙌

Cute, light romance with well-written characters. The author doesn‘t overlook details like navigating an interracial relationship or living in a body that doesn‘t fit the cookie cutter image of beauty while still keeping the tone easy.
#readBlackwomen #Blackhistorymonth

My inter library loan came in earlier this week, just in time for my snow-afternoon. I was choosing which book of my library haul to start with and then I read this: “sometimes you just have to laugh, even when your life is a dumpster fire.” Since I used these exact words earlier to describe me week thus far, I think it‘s meant to be! 🔥😂

The kind of book that made me put my lunch away because I was affected physically by the pain. Also heartbreakingly beautiful in the small, quiet details.

#Blackhistorymonth #readBlackauthors #readBlackwomen
My #newtoyouauthor for #Booked2019 Almost done with winter!

”...you never do suspect what inconsequential event will change the course of your life.”

A retelling of Frankenstein from the perspective of a teenage girl, ward of the Frankenstein family. This is a well told story with a theme of men abusing power over women. Who creates a monster...and who really is the monster?

📸 Awkward selfie alert! 📸 So I love Issa Rae and was prepared to love this book. But while a few of the essays were excellent and chuckle-quietly-funny, a lot of them fell flat, Issa‘s unique voice and perspective not coming through the pages. Still, I‘m glad I got to know a little more about her.
#Blackhistorymonth #readBlackwomen #readBlackauthors #Blitsy