Welcome to Litsy!

#mansion #autumnplease #scarathlon @eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Another catch-up review! This was wonderful—a perfect October read for me. (I don‘t do scary/horror, but I can do kid-level scary!) I loved the tumble-down English-manor setting, and the growing feeling of unease. Its exploration of the power of stories, the lies we tell ourselves, and the enticement of desire gives the story depth and makes it much more than just a fun, creepy little tale. Definitely recommended.

I was surprised to learn this MG novel was written in 2014. The writing and the story both struck me as old fashioned. That, combined with the length and the genuine spookiness left me struggling to think of many kids I‘d recommend this to even though I enjoyed reading it myself.

Another “the podcast made me do it” situation. I ordered these two from The Novel Neighbor bookstore after listening to the Indie Press List from the Currently Reading Podcast. #TBR #Indie

“Stories come in all different kinds. . . . There's tales, which are light and fluffy. Good for a smile on a sad day. Then you got yarns, which are showy—yarns reveal more about the teller than the story. After that there's myths, which are stories made up by whole groups of people. And last of all, there's legends. . . . Legends are different from the rest on account no one knows where they start. Folks don't tell legends; they repeat them.”

Not too scary, not that original, but pleasant with some moving moments. I kept flipping the pages to find out the resolution, even though I suspected what would happen. One scene with a supporting character left me in tears and I do not cry easily over books. And yet, this very same supporting character, whom I thought was pivotal, didn't really serve much of a purpose in the end. Odd. For middle-grades with some tough vocabulary.

This suffered heavily from being stretched into to long of a story. Is 345 pages and only 80 of them were engaging, and they were at the end. It was a good idea just executed poorly. It would have worked much better as a short story.

June reads!

Molly and Kip are two orphaned children who are hired as caretakers in a dilapidated Victorian home. The Windsors are trying to hide secrets from the children who day by day find their situation becoming disturbing. Molly, a storyteller herself, and her brother will have to decide what the differences are between stories and lies as they try to solve what‘s happening at the house. I loved Auxier‘s inspirations for this book included in end notes.

The Night Gardener follows two abandoned Irish siblings who travel to work as servants at a creepy, crumbling English manor house. But the house and its family are not quite what they seem. Soon the children are confronted by a mysterious spectre and an ancient curse that threatens their very lives.
#garden #bloomingbibliophiles

@Clwojick .....A very special Thank You for the huge box of goodies for the #scarathon. I love everything in it.....cup, straws, adorable socks. Chocolate, candy,.....notebook and pen.....and 3 books. I am so pleased and feel spoilt. Thanks so much @ Clwojick. You are truly a sweetheart!. ♥️♥️
🥰♥️😻🥰❤😻🤩❤😻🤩❤😻🤩❤😻🥰❤😻🥰

🎧 I‘m going to guess that this is YA since the kids are the heroes & there‘s no swearing. It‘s a spooky story about 2 Irish abandoned kids who in looking for work find themselves in a spooky old decrepit house with a family that has secrets & ghosts of course. I really should at least read the blurbs on some of these books before I pick them up. For a spooky YA book it was great so add a star to my rating if that‘s your cup of tea 😈 ⭐️⭐️⭐️2/3

I'm starting the #fallisbooked challenge and really excited about it! This is my first ever month long challenge! 😁🎃🍁 Thanks so much to my dear friend @DaveGreen7777 for the tag! 💕

#octobertbr This is only a small part of my tbr list for this month. Not seen here are the library books I need to read and the books I'm currently reading. I can't wait to start reading Dracula again! 👿❤🖤

@OriginalCyn620 @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

I loved this book! Another great option for today‘s #ChillingPhotoChallenge #Haunted prompt.

#TeamSlaughter

Tackled this by flipping between the audiobook and the physical book, so I got through it pretty quickly. I absolutely loved this book, and found it gave perfect Halloween vibes.

Two children arrive at a large home to tend to the family in exchange for shelter. While cooking, cleaning & tending to the garden they start to see glimpses of something dark and mysterious...perhaps the same something that is making the Windsor family so pale & unwell?

The break pages between parts are stunning! #SummersEndReadathon

Chapter 9: The Room At the Top of the Stairs

#SummersEndReadathon

@4thhouseontheleft Here is one of the pages in the very beginning of the book! 😍

I‘m doing a restart of this one! I read 1/3 of it last fall, but I never got around to finishing it off... and of course now I‘m forgotten most of what I‘ve read. Luckily, I have the audiobook downloaded also, so I‘ll be tackling it on both platforms. 📚🎧 Book 4 for #SummersEndReadathon

“The calendar said early March, but the smell in the air said late October.” #1stsentence

A tree that makes your desires come true. A dark man who haunts the house at night, leaving muddy footprints. Two Irish orphans looking for a home. A storyteller. A family of four living in the forest...

A fantastic story.

Week 5 Check-in

#BFCR2 #TeamFlow @CocoReads @Reecaspieces @Moony @imabusybee @laurenslibrary @LibrarianJen @britt_brooke @wanderinglynn

My fitbit counts floors upon floors since I'm wearing it on my wrist. Definitely a bug. My guess is I've managed about a third of those floors, so roughly 60.

41 Books in total

Sitting outside next to Penny the Witch listening to the tagged #audiobook and working on a pair of fingerless mittens.

14 hours so far, probably more. Didn't take precise times.

#24B4Monday #readathon @TheReadingMermaid @Andrew65 @jb72

Ice cream is supposed to help sore feet. I don't have sore feet, but my market bag was so heavy today - lots of vendors gave me extra stuff at the end of the market day.

After carrying it all home, I chopped veggies, peaches, gooseberries,... Froze some, made jam out of the fruit and made frozen banana yoghurt.

#BFCR2 #TeamFlow @CocoReads @Reecaspieces @Moony @imabusybee @laurenslibrary @LibrarianJen @britt_brooke @wanderinglynn

#audiobook

Meeting Jonathan Auxier was an absolute hoot! He signed my book and then drew a 'crappy' portrait of me! 🤣😂 #nerdcamp

I loved everything about this book! It‘s a story about the importance of stories, told in a beautifully creepy tale that evokes the fairy tales and fables of childhood. The characters were charming and the ending was satisfying - definitely a recommended read!

#NoFemmeber Day 20: More than #JustACreep(y) book, at the core of this story is darkness deeply rooted in time & fallen leaves, a desire for growth & life at the same time that it reeks of death. There is obsession here too, packaged innocuously as presents from the ‘giving tree‘ kept in full horrid bloom by The Night Gardener with the hollow eyes. The breathing tree know each heart‘s yearnings and secrets. My review: https://wp.me/pDlzr-8AU

I succumbed to the Audible sale. I had a lot of books in my cart and culled the list by cross checking with my library‘s audiobooks.

Very creepy, very cool!

Starting this one tonight. 🎃

This was the stack that I picked up to add to my #OctoberTBR. I‘ll be reading books that fit into my #BlackCatChallenge, and some for the #Screamathon and then also some fun fall cozies! I can‘t wait! 📚☺️👻

Aside from the Charlaine Harris, I‘ve never heard of any of these books before. Have any of you lovely Littens read any of these books? I‘d love to hear your thoughts! 💭

This is an excellent spooky middle grade read. #recommended

Quick little Goodwill haul today!!! Total $3.98 🙌🏻

I loved this story! I wouldn‘t recommend for kids under 12, as it‘s properly gothic spooky. The narration was terrific in the audio version. 🎧

I‘ve posted a review of this book on my blog and Instagram account...

http://instagram.com/lina_loves_lit
https://linaemery.wixsite.com/linaloveslit

Day 13 🍂 Hard Lessons: what's the difference between a story and a lie? The answer might surprise you #awesomeautumnbooks

Completely unexpected, totally blew me away! See the full review here: https://youtu.be/HJO0W3T1GGI 💕📖

So. Freaking. Good. 10/10

"Funny things wishes. You can't hold them in your hand and yet just one could unmake the world."

Percy loves reading with me

"A lie hurts people, a story helps them." "But helps them do what? That's the real question."

I literally can't put this book down! So glad to see middle grade books are still telling these kinds of stories

Do they still count as stories we the other person thinks they're true? - The Night Gardener pg 52

It happened!!!!! My book store has shopping carts!!!!!! *dies*

Just the right amount of scary for my 4th grade class. The characters were dynamic and easy to love, plus the chapters were short, and always ended on a cliffhanger- perfect for a read aloud! All in all, I'd give this one ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Perfect training wheels for the soon-to-be-Ray-Bradbury fan in your life. Creepy, sinister, and intriguing, the ghosts haunting the pages will stay within the covers without following you into your nightmares (which is a plus for young readers or grown ups like me who are allergic to horror).

Taking advantage of my three-year-old-free weekend to reread Station Eleven and three new-to-me books, too.

Loved this young adult horror story - a scary monster, exciting action and lots of great characters. This novel is totally deserving of all the award shortlists and starred reviews that it got.