My May Wrap up. I gave 5 stars to North Woods, Nora Webster, and The Sleepwalker‘s Guide to Dancing. Really they were all good!

@Mitch @Hooked_on_books and @AmyG just wanted to let you know packages from you have arrived this week! 🩷😁 thank you friends! Now we‘ll see if I have the self control to wait a week to open them…

I believe this is the 20th in the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency series.

Mma Potokwani tries to convince Mma Romatswe to run for city council in order to have a vote against a large hotel that is trying to get approval in Gaborone. As usual the cases the agency is working on and the personal lives of the characters mingle and share focus.

I enjoyed getting to see Charlie grow a bit in this installment.

Welcome to June #AuthorAMonth readers! Time to pull out our SA Cosby books. What are you planning to read?

#AuthorAMonth is a no-pressure, no-commitment Litsy challenge. The goal is to celebrate the works of a particular author each month. Authors were chosen through polls by Litsy participants. Read as many as you like, skip months when needed, it's entirely up to you! ⬇️

My list is ready for June‘s #Bookspin! We‘ll see what @TheAromaofBooks pulls on the 2nd. I‘ll definitely be reading 15 for #camplitsy, and 4, 5, and 19 for bookclubs. So 🤞 at least one of those gets pulled!
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A few years ago my bookclub read Good Talk by Mira Jacob. I loved it so much that I ordered her novel, which then spent years on my bookshelf.

What a wonderful story. It‘s about a South Indian family living in Albuquerque. It moves from past to present and back, with a lot of focus on Amina and her father, who has a mysterious illness. The intricacies of love and different ways of expressing it, and the wedges grief can create. It‘s 5⭐️ for me.

Hello #AuthorAMonth Readers! We have one more week with Emily St John Mandel. 😁📚🩷

June brings us SA Cosby. You may want to find him on your shelves or put in your orders or library holds now.

Happy Reading!

I really liked this. I knew very little about Puerto Rican politics or history, so if what is in here is accurate I learned some things.

I liked that most of this is from Olga‘s POV, but we also get glimpses in the minds of her brother, boyfriend, and the letters from her Mom.

Definitely lookup CW if needed.

This is Sietje‘s pouty “can we walk now?” Face.

Thanks for the surprise bookmail @Jas16 ! Both of these have been on my TBR wishlist for quite some time, and I look forward to enjoying them. I hope all is well with you! 📚🩷

Venkman wouldn‘t even open his eyes when I disturbed him 😸.

While I think her adult queer romances are better, that‘s not quite fair since I‘m way beyond target audience for this YA. I still enjoyed this though. The almost scavenger hunt-like feeling of the letters was fun, and I thought the ending was strong. Great representation of diversity in the characters. A soft pick.

Side eye from Igor who does not appreciate being woken up for photos. 😸

Sarah Gailey continues to impress me with her genre jumping! This one is a magical PI detective story. The PI, Ivy Gamble, is non-magical, while her twin Tabitha has magic. A teacher at the school where Tabitha teaches dies in the library, and Ivy is hired to investigate.

I thought this was really good. I think I only have one left to read by SG.

This was recommended at a bookclub about 6 years ago, and I‘ve finally gotten to it. It‘s my first by Toibin, and won‘t be my last.

Nora‘s husband has passed away, leaving her with 4 children in Ireland in the 60‘s. She is reeling in grief and realizing that she‘s going to have to make some big changes to get by. A beautifully written story of loss and recovery, slow moving but touching.

I liked the parts of this that were memoir of Helen‘s life, her childhood and love for her dad, her fascination with hawking from a young age, and her experience raising and working with goshawk Mable.

As other reviews have said, I could have done without most of the parts about TH White. I ended up skimming a lot of that, and don‘t think the book needed that much info about him.

I am interested in her other books.

Good morning from Sietje 🙂🐕

Not only was this a great story, look how beautiful the cover under the dust jacket and the end papers are!

This is a modern fairytale, not a retelling but Kingfisher‘s own creation. Characters I couldn‘t help rooting for, including a dog that the main character Marra crafted from bones and wire. I loved that there were also chickens who played a part!

The mark of a great story is when I can‘t stop thinking about it when I have to step away. 💚

I really enjoyed this audiobook, but I do kind of wish I‘d gotten it in print, because there are puzzles in it! The audio version does its best to alter them, but without seeing them I couldn‘t attempt to solve them.

This story is delightful, on dual timelines. The first is the creation of the Fellowship, a club for puzzle creators and solvers. The second is after the founder‘s passing, as her adopted son solves the puzzle she left him. 🩷🧩

I loved this! @AmyG perfect pick for me. How interesting that a book that‘s about a place and not a plot can be so affecting. Does it help to have grown up in a New England setting not all that different than this remote Massachusetts orchard? Maybe.

It‘s not a book I would recommend to everyone, but for those who love nature and see lasting marks left by each settler‘s choices on a property, and to be surprised by bittersweet beauty, try this.

The #bookspin draws were completely in my favor this month, as my bookclub‘s topic is Hocus Pocus and these two fit perfectly! Thank you @TheAromaofBooks 🙂📚🩷 I hope I can start them in the next couple days.

I did a good job at reading my own books this month! Just two from the library, the rest all came off my TBR.

Haven was the best of the month, but I also really liked My Year of Meats, Sea of Tranquility, We Carry Their Bones, and What Strange Paradise. I think they were all picks but one. (Sad Janet)

#ReadMyOwnDamnBooks

Welcome to May #AuthorAMonth readers! Time to pull out our Emily St John Mandel books. What are you planning to read?

#AuthorAMonth is a no-pressure, no-commitment Litsy challenge. The goal is to celebrate the works of a particular author each month. Authors were chosen through polls by Litsy participants. Read as many as you like, skip months when needed, it's entirely up to you! ⬇️

I think this might have been on a Book Riot cozy list? Not sure, but that may be how it ended up on my TBR.

I enjoyed it. It‘s a middle grade mystery with stories within the story, an inn for smugglers, a role playing game, and lots of snow and hot chocolate. Light and fun, it would be a good palate cleanser.

My May #bookspin list 🙂📚🩷. I wonder what @TheAromaofBooks will draw for us this month?

I was skeptical going in, as time travel isn‘t a theme I usually enjoy, but this surprised me. I really liked it.

There are quite a few characters and obviously it shifts through many timelines. I didn‘t see where it was going and loved the ending. 👍

While there were several instances in which I found it a bit hard to suspend my disbelief, I thought this was a good mystery and family drama. It‘s dark, a main theme being drug use and the deaths that causes in an indigenous community. But the main character is great and overall I liked the story.

This is Sietje‘s “do we have to go to work today?” face. And unfortunately, yeah we do.

Only a week left in April #AuthorAMonth readers! I hope your time with Ruth Ozeki has been good so far.

May‘s author is Emily St John Mandel. Time to find her on your shelf or put in your holds or orders!
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If you ever find yourself in Hendersonville NC, there is an adorable tea room called Book and Bee. This is the entrance. It‘s beautiful inside and the food was very good. We just had lunch, as you have to make a reservation for tea service. We‘ve made plans to go back for the full experience for my birthday in June 🙂🩷☕️.

I am amazed at all of the nominations for #camplitsy this year. This was a really tough decision, and there are so many more I‘m just as interested in reading. But after spending an enjoyable afternoon reading as many blurbs as I could, I wound up voting for these 6. I wonder if any of them will wind up on our camp roster. We‘ll see!

Thank you so much to our hardworking hosts!

Meh. I didn‘t love this.

It‘s about a woman who has depression and her family and boyfriend urge her constantly to get on meds. She, however, likes herself how she is and would like to be left alone.

I thought about bailing several times, and don‘t feel like I would have missed out if I had. Maybe better for someone who can relate to Janet more?

Cute dog on the cover is the best part for me.

A funny light read about a food writer who goes to Italy and the comedy of errors that ensue.

This is a light pick for me. It was a fast read and enjoyable, but not as good for me as AMS‘s Mma Romatswe books.

Yes he does end up having to rent a bulldozer to drive across Tuscany because there is a mishap with his car rental.

We just got home from our walk and Sietje is out cold!

This got some mixed reviews, but I love ED, so I had high hopes and wasn‘t disappointed! It‘s historical fiction and while it‘s about 3 monks who sail off the coast of Ireland to find a small island to live in seclusion on, the star for me was the natural setting and Trian and Cormac‘s spirits. Artt on the other hand can take his megalomania right to “the bad place.”

Beautifully written.

This was my first Julia Alvarez, probably picked up partially for its Vermont setting.

Antonia is grieving the loss of her husband Sam and adapting to life alone on her VT property without him. She still thinks of him while gardening, harvesting “Sam‘s potatoes” even though she planted this crop herself.

She has three sisters, “the sisterhood”, and their relationships are complicated. I enjoyed the dynamic.

You may want to check warnings…

I definitely recommend reading this one instead of listening to it! There are a lot of characters and time changes, and with the audio I was lost. But there is a family chart with time periods at the beginning, and that made it much easier to follow.

I loved the way this wrapped up. It focuses on many generations of daughters, all starting with Afong Moy. It explores generational trauma and mother daughter relationships.

Venkman says hi!

The Dozier School for Boys was essentially a juvenile detention center in Florida‘s panhandle. It ran from 1900 to 2011. During that time many boys were buried on site on Boot Hill in unmarked graves. Many died of mysterious circumstances. Boys who were released from the school reported abuse and neglect, yet the school kept operating.

The author is a forensic anthropologist asked by families to find the truth and get their boys‘ remains home.

A story of being an accidental refugee on an unnamed island. It was a fresh perspective for me.

Amir followed his uncle onto a boat. At 9 yrs old, he believed that they were going sight seeing. His uncle didn‘t know he was being followed as he boarded, trying to escape poverty and get to “the western world.”

Vanna helps a shipwrecked refugee child escape from authorities when she sees him running out of the woods by her home.

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Thanks #AuthorAMonth readers for voting for Ruth Ozeki! This is the first I‘ve read of hers and it will not be my last. I loved it! And it‘s her debut, impressive.

There are a lot of topics addressed but the things I loved were Jane the documentary director‘s undermining of her racist, misogynistic boss and the dark look at the meat industry. I‘m glad I don‘t eat meat!

Lots of content warnings, look them up if needed.

#Bookspin has spoken, and these are the two I‘ll be reading in addition to my bookclub and #authoramonth books for April. Thanks @TheAromaofBooks ! I‘m looking forward to both, even though they are both bound to be sad.😔📚🥰

My March reading wrap up. I really enjoyed all of these, so picking a best of the month was almost a dice roll. The other 2 that I might have chosen are Moon of the Turning Leaves and Gory Details.

Darius is the best book about adolescent depression I think I‘ve ever read. I loved his family, and felt for him as he met his family in Iran for the first time. His feelings of not fitting in, of feeling like an “other”, were relatable. I‘d definitely recommend this to any teens, but especially to anyone struggling with mental health or who feel like having immigrant parents set them apart from peers.

This was a great follow up to Moon of the Crusted Snow. It‘s mostly a traveling story, as 6 members of the survivor‘s community strike out south east to see if they can find new grounds for their people. They are hoping to be able to return to the land their ancestors lived on; the land that had been taken from them by the white colonists.

The narrator isn‘t the best, he stumbles and loses his flow. But he is an own voice, which I appreciated. 🤩

Welcome to April #AuthorAMonth readers! Time to pull out our Ruth Ozeki books. What are you planning to read?

#AuthorAMonth is a no-pressure, no-commitment Litsy challenge. The goal is to celebrate the works of a particular author each month. Authors were chosen through polls by Litsy participants. Read as many as you like, skip months when needed, it's entirely up to you! ⬇️

It‘s always fun putting together my #Bookspin list for the month! What 2 will @TheAromaofBooks pull this time?

I will definitely be reading The Many Daughters of Afong Moy for bookclub and My Year of Meats for #AuthorAMoth. We‘ll see which of the others I‘ll get to!

I love these books. Becky Chambers has a way with cozy scifi that fits right into my heart. (This is book 3 of her Wayfarer books.) I loved the career path of the caretakers, and the thought of composting our bodies as an after-death option.

Venkman is trying to lure me in to lay in the sun with him. It might work for a few minutes.

Definitely not for the squeamish! Full of interesting facts about body decomposition, bugs, microbiology, unpleasant smells, and so much more. One of the most memorable chapters for me is about disembodied feet that wash up on the Pacific coast in northern America and Canada. The investigation of where they come from and what was found will stick with me. 👟🥾
Grossest for me? Bugs crawling into orifices and slug eating leading to death 🫣!

This is an abridged version of the original book, with beautiful forest photography from around the world. The writing isn‘t the best, possibly a combo of the translation from German and the abridgment. But for me still interesting and worth reading to absorb the nature pics. Still lots of good info! I may pick up the full book at some point. 🌲🌳🌿💚

Heads up #AuthorAMonth readers 🙂. We‘re 2/3 of the way through March and you all have read a lot of Jane Harper! She seems to mostly be a hit.

As we inch closer to April, you may want to place your library hold or order for Ruth Ozeki books. It will be my first experience with her, and I‘m looking forward to it!

Happy Reading 📚🙂💚.

Sietje can‘t believe the book has the audacity to touch her!

I absolutely love this cover, and the story was quite good too. A fantasy world with living gods who interact with their followers, accepting offerings and sacrifices and granting boons and blessings. Or curses. Three main characters- an orphaned girl, a soldier in disguise, and a godkiller, find themselves traveling together, each on their own quest.

March‘s #doublespin

I found this at a library book sale at some point and it‘s made a few moves with me. Tried to start it today, but within a few pages I could tell it‘s not for me. Oh well, on to the next book.📚

I thought this was a well written story of two enslaved women and their community through the beginning of the civil war and beyond into abolition times.

May Belle and her daughter Rue are midwives, but also know plant medicine and are healers. Some people refer to them as Conjure Women.

The cover and spine caught my eye, and I‘m glad, the inside is just as good!

Thank you @Jas16 for sending me the whole series of Illuminae books. These editions are gorgeous! I do love the sound of Like Happiness too, what a great bonus. I‘m not sure which to dive into first. Thank you my friend 🙂📚🩷.

What a strange and bittersweet book. The friendships Peggy formed with James and his family were complicated and her emotional attachment to them strikes multiple chords.

In not sure if I‘ve ever read about a 8 foot tall person unless it was in fantasy. This really felt like historical fiction, I would believe it if told it were based on a true story.

@AmyG I feel like you might enjoy this one.

March‘s #bookspin

This weekend I walked a new-to-me trail which took me by a library with adorable reading statues out in front. Cute right? Well Sietje and my aunt‘s dog Wall-E (who you can see in the background) did not find them cute. They refused to pose with them, Sietje wouldn‘t go anywhere near this one, and Wall-E barked at them. Oh well, I enjoyed them. 😹🐶🤷‍♀️