Welcome to Litsy!

I was bummed today that my #botm box still isn‘t here...but a package from Misty made my day! After the stress of finals grading, coming home to a box with books and goodies was perfect. I wish I had snapped a pic with the beautiful wrapping paper! Thank you so much @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks ♥️♥️♥️

This story was enchanting. Bright, imaginative characters that really came to life. Their intertwined fates paired with curses and magic really gave the plot it's roots. Sadness and hope braided tightly together through time. I only wished the author had spent more time on the "what's next" part for the characters.

You can read this book at leisure but you'll also find yourself with an itch to see where the next chapter is taking you. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

#GratefulReads Day 2: My #PreferredGenre is best described by tagged book - a topic of speculation because I pretty much read anything and everything: literary fiction, horror, mystery, biographies/memoir, graphic novels, picturebooks, fantasy, poetry. See my book stack from #BigBadWolf in Dubai. Pretty much demonstrates that range. Posting my book hunting loot very soon!!

My Book Outlet order came today! Wahoo! 💜📚💜

Erika Swyler's writing style is the kind that has you yearning for her words. I craved this story whenever my responsibilities called and I was forced to put it down for a while. A lonely librarian makes for an intriguing protagonist especially as he searches for answers down a long line of family tragedies. There's a profound sadness to this story, but there's magic sprinkled in.

"Because there are things you do for people you've known your whole life. You let them save you, you put them in your books, and you let each other begin again, clean."

"We carry our families like anchors, rooting us in storms, making sure we never drift from where and who we are."

"We would bury ourselves in books until flesh and paper became one and ink and blood at last ran together."

My husband thinks I have a problem, but I'm loving my growing book sleeve collection. Most are from Book Beau, but the galaxy one up top and the one most to the bottom are both from a lovely Etsy shop called Fabric Bound.

#booksleeveobsession

"'My family is a little dark,' I say. 'But even Pandora's box had hope.'"

#SFMBC package has arrived! Thank you so much @ReadingRover for the extra goodies! I‘m SO excited about the nail wraps!! Everything is so cute. 🦄💗

"Despite my memories and their flashes of warmth, the picture shows my mother was not a happy woman. Not something on which I ever dwelled. It's brutal to realize that someone might find a life with you in it unbearable."

Oh, my heart.

Enjoying my book in a rocking chair out on the patio. It's been a rainy day too. The perfect Saturday.

Tackling my stack of books, I decided to start with this gem. I thought about what Stephen King says about the first line in a story, and the first line in this one intrigued me the most.

I almost forgot about this book until I saw the #screamathonPhotoChallenge prompt for the day. Hard book to forget, it was a really interesting story!

📖 Tagged
📽 Inside Out
🎼 Cathy's Clown by The Everly Brothers
#manicmonday @JoScho

#7days7covers

If anyone else cares to play along, post 7 favorite covers for 7 days, no explanation.

#lilithjuly #GetUrFreakOn
Loved this family story, that has a touch of magic and a whole lot of melancholy. Mysterious old books, a crumbling home, complicated families, carnival folk, the ocean.... what‘s not to like!?
This story was written so beautifully. And I was drawn as equally to Simon the librarian's present day tale as he searches to uncover his family secrets, as I was to his ancestor's story of 1700's carnival life. Really lovely. 💕

Finished this audio book while doing so seriously late spring cleaning/ purging! Put a good dent in my #24in48 goals too. @24in48

Round 2 #24in48 read-a-thon @24in48

#24in48 starting lineup. 20 minutes to go! @24in48

Need help picking my audio book for my 6 hour road trip!

My kryptonite genre is circus families. This book was circus families, secrets, mermaids, libraries, and tarot. It was almost made for me.

Perfect read for this time of year! It was beachy but also slightly creepy. It felt like a day at the beach that ends with a storm building up. It did lag toward the middle but the writing was so beautiful that it wasn‘t unpleasant. It was predictable in the ending. The curse didn‘t feel completely formed and planned out either. But all-in-all it was a fun time.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

So this month my reading challenge required me to pick a book based on the cover. This is the book I chose. Does anyone have any thoughts on this? I‘ve not heard much about it. I‘m only on the second chapter but I am enjoying it so far.

Fantastically woven...deliciously charming...family and menagerie history spun together. A tough book to put down.

I don't want to give much away but if you like the circus, mermaids andddd librarians, this book is for you! 🤣I liked this one. It flips smoothly between present day and the 1700's and would make the perfect vacation or beach read! 🧜‍♀️🧜‍♂️

Settling down for the night with the tagged book. Thank you again @LibrarianRyan This book hugger is coming in handy. To answer your questions Yes, I love reading about the circus! And again, yes, both mermaids and librarians are awesome 💜

I was pleasantly surprised with this book. The circus history sparked my interest and I'm on the hunt for more. I would have liked more character development in the present time portion of the story. But all in all I liked it.

Thanks so very much @britt_brooke ❤️🥰❤️
#kindlitsy

This debut novel had all the right ingredients to be fantastic, a librarian, a resurfacing of a very old book that holds some family secrets, mermaids and travelling side shows... But, you needed too many leaps of faith, suspend just too much disbelief & turn a blind eye to one too many coincidences! That said, I though the writing was good, and the evocation of time and place really visual and I'll be looking out for Swyler's next one!

It was just ok for me, I would say about 3.5 stars. I wanted to love it because it‘s set on Long Island and it‘s about carnival workers but nothing about it really grabbed me, I found myself forgetting details about the story so things probably weren‘t connecting like they should have for me. Oh, and this was my dog all dressed pretty for Thanksgiving!

Weekend chores and obligations....you can just wait! I need some positivity today so not going to let the day begin until I have at least 3 chapters under my belt!

Diving into this beautiful edition today from my #fallingforfallswap book. Can‘t wait to get absorbed! ❤️ @leslieseidel

Finally finished up going through Norway photos - this was our audio for the second half of the trip, listening to it mostly on our Norway in a Nutshell tour. It was kinda predictable in some places but a good listen.

I don‘t think the dog was happy I went away for a couple days, but this somehow seems fitting for this book

Nothing else to do for hours waiting in the airport, might as well start a new book

Thank you so much @Gaylagal2 for the amazing and awesome #litsyswapoween package! Oh my goodness everything is beyond perfect!!! I am in love with the coffee mug and puzzle and so excited to try the coffee and chocolates!! So excited about the books and bookmarks! I love everything! Thank you and Happy Halloween! Thanks for hosting this @BurghBookAddict !

Audio edition. It‘s just okay. Kind of slow. Too far to give up. Just two hours left!! Maybe there will be a payoff??

Very good, fast read
#bookjarpick

❤️❤️ books about books. #books

Loved this book from start to finish. Very engaging. The main character is a librarian (Simon) who becomes obsessed with an ancient book mysteriously mailed to him.

I enjoyed this book. The story bounced back and forth from the present to the past. This was an interesting way to learn about the back story. The characters were interesting and varied for sure. I was disappointed in the story that it was just not what I expected but still a really good book.

I got 40 pages into this book before I realised I'd read it once already. Still enjoyable the second time round! A book about family curses, secrets, the circus, mysterious books and love.

Yesterday @merelybookish I received your package. Thank you for the super cute bookmark. I can't waite to use it.
@kspenmoll @bookish_wookish

My September TBR

I‘m trying to get into the Autumn season! Reading witchy books, mystery and fantasy books.

#bookstack #nicestack #SeptemberTBR

1. Tony (son), Alice(granddaughter), Coco (my baby)
2. 2
3. Being with my parents and siblings
4. Not really, when I can I buy.
5. Access to books but never talk about them.

I‘ve been kind of MIA lately. School stress and workload getting to me. 😩

So far... loving this novel💞

LOVE! The Book of Speculation had everything I love. Magical realism, tarot cards, library setting, and circus elements. This book was a fun ride. #magicalrealism #fiction

I must be gearing up for the spookiness of fall as this book filled with magic, curses, mermaids and creepy-ass horseshoe crabs grabbed my attention over the past week. I'll blame the #HocusPocusSwap, but really it's the seasons changing. Or perhaps I'm just searching for magic.