Welcome to Litsy!

My July #BookspinBingo list! Pictured with the first 2 days of my #ala24 conference #bookhaul Ingot to hear the author speak and he was so smart, funny, and thoughtful!

Mark and Louise‘s parents suddenly die and what‘s left behind is the epitomy of horror stories..puppets….lots of puppets and dolls. Once Louise returns home to help sell the house, strange things start to happen! This book was weird at points and one part I completely skimmed. This book was low pick for me. It was more about family dynamics with a little bit of horror thrown in that just didn‘t reel me in as I was hoping.

#StorySettings Day 12 #HountedHouse

@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs

1. It‘s not springtime without amazing thunderstorms (and, unfortunately, STAAR testing 😫).
2. The tagged book is both spooky and funny!
3. My plans for May include boxing up my office and mentally preparing myself for whatever job I get next. My district cut over 50 librarians and I was among them. Two years was not long enough in my dream job! 😢
#Wondrous Wednesday

I‘m late but here I am!! 😁
1. I really enjoyed the tagged book—lots of creepy things but lots of humor, as well.
2. I‘m trying to decide between Fourth Wing and Demon Copperhead. 🤔
Thanks for the tag, @TheSpineView !
#Two4Tuesday

Estranged siblings Louise and Mark suddenly find themselves back at their childhood home after both of their parents die in a car accident after leaving in a hurry one rainy night. Almost suddenly after returning, Louise begins to have odd events happen to her. Being attacked by a squirrel nativity is one of them. After a fight with her brother, the pair call on their realtor cousin to help them sell the house…

Read more at: FictionLux

Despite this being a horror novel, this was quite wholesome. I‘d argue it‘s Hendrix‘s most accessible novel to horror-averse people yet. There‘s only a handful of scenes that are remotely “gory” (generous)…unless you‘re afraid of puppets. In that case, avoid this.😅 Overall, it‘s a well done commentary on family dysfunction and grief.

I can describe this book in one word… CREEPY!! A house haunted by puppets and dolls? Hell, no!! I‘ve always been a huge horror buff. Parts of this book were very good, and parts seemed a little “hoakie”. I enjoy this author‘s witty writing style, but I definitely enjoyed “The southern book clubs guide to slaying vampires” more. I hear it‘s being made into a tv series, which I look forward to watching.

Requisite eclipse pic 🌙🌖🫣

Finally finished this audiobook!! It was spooky and creepy and intense and heartbreaking and overall the best Grady Hendrix I‘ve read yet!! Absolutely recommend!!!

My Library Card expired so went in person to get a new one…featuring Jay-Z‘s album art. Brooklyn Public Library did a huge installation with him a few months back. 🔥

Haunted. Dolls.

I mean, it‘s whackadoodle, sure, but I also had a lot of fun with this story of an estranged brother and sister who are tasked with cleaning out and selling their parents‘ house after their sudden deaths. It‘s often laugh-out-loud funny, squirm inducing and also surprisingly poignant, but the puppet-adverse should beware.

This was such a tough one. At times I struggled with “when does the horror kick in?” and even with some surprises, it still felt predictable. Not what I expected, rounding this up to 3 ⭐️

I haven‘t been active on here in a while but I‘m still around! It‘s been slow going lately but I‘m doing my best to keep my pace with my reading goal.

I think this might be my favorite Hendrix that I have read so far. It did start a bit slow, which was made worse because I mostly read this one at the gym. Then so much was happening. I can‘t imagine the faces I made while reading on the treadmill. Today I sat in the parking lot to finish it before I went to the grocery store. Definite pick! #Bookspin #OneGiftedToMe

A young mom confronts her grief over the loss of her parents, family secrets, & creepy AF dolls & puppets. Seriously scary with interesting thoughts on grief & family sprinkled in between battles with the Puppet From Hell! 5 stars. #horror #familysynamics

#12Booksof2023 October

@Andrew65

I truly can‘t decide if I should read The Velveteen Rabbit now or run in fear. I‘m pretty sure I read it and/or saw the cartoon as a child and don‘t remember feeling like this.

The tagged is my #Bookspin for January, one gifted to me. 🙂

Just finished this one. As a doll collector I thought this would be my jam but the campy nature didn‘t do it for me. Amazingly talented writer and I‘ll definitely try his other work. #horrorlit #horror

My husband nailed it with the books he gave me for Christmas this year! Especially grateful for “How to sell…” and excited to start reading it tomorrow! #bookishgifts #tbr

It was a bit slow in the set up, which was about the first half of the book, but it really picked up over that night Louise spent in the house. Then, there was a twist! What would Louise do now!? I really liked it. Be warned, there are gruesome parts, though. There was a bit of humour, but not as much as I was expecting

Creepy dolls. Interesting story, but not my favorite by Grady Hendrix. It took me forever to get through this one. I would get interested and then just lose it for awhile and have to go back. There were some good twists and it was strange and fun in parts, but something just was missing for me with this one.

Are you following Grady Hendrix on Instagram? If you‘re not, you‘re really missing out. The caption for this post says, “Happy Thanksgiving from Pupkin! He made you something!” #iykyk. 😂🤣🤣

Wow!! What a ride!! The friction between brother and sister drove me crazy at first, but then things started to make sense. Dolls, puppets, imaginary dog, complete craziness put together as a fetching story!! I love Grady Hendrix. This is the third book I‘ve read by him and it was quite the yarn!!!
#Charleston Fun Read!

This is my second book by the author and didn‘t really get into either story , the back ground story to this one was dull dull dull just couldn‘t keep my eyes open at bedtime , so spooky it is not !

Texas game on the TV (HOOK 'EM! ??), Thanksgiving tree up and sparkly, with a hubby to my right and a cup of coffee to my left, while I continue reading "How to Sell a Haunted House" by Grady Hendrix.

#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain

Grady Hendrix just keeps getting better.

Moral of this story: puppets are creepy and deadly. 😜
#Scarathlon #SpookyGhostClub #rushathon #littenlisten #31by31 #falling4books #spookoween #scarathlonatoz @Clwojick @Andrew65 @aperfectmjk @catsandbooks @Read4life @TheSpineView @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES @Texreader

#Scarathlon photo challenge Day 17
#haunt
Yes, it is in my tbr

Dark. Daring. Delightful.

I wanted to get this yesterday but I was under the weather. Still not 100% but at least I can share my photos #scarathlon2023 #scarathlon #mischiefandmayhem scarathlonphotochallenge day 17: Haunt

#Scarathlon Photo Challenge Day 17 prompt: Haunt

#HHC

@bookmarktavern @dabbe @liatrek @jessclark78 @chrissyreadit @thedaysgoby @vonnie862 @ladyCait84 @sresendez12 @kelli7990 @JessieKB

Book seller approved! 🧟‍♂️ Photo Challenge - Haunt 👀 #Scarathlon #TeamWhoYaGonnaCall

I do want to read this but it‘ll probably be next Halloween! 🤣

#scarathlon #TeamCreepinItReal #scarathlonphotochallenge #haunt 6 pts

This was suggested to me on my booktok so guess ill be reading it.

It starts out with lots of sibling bickering but keep reading and it gets really wild and scary.
4⭐

@NataliePatalie

I put off reading this book because of all the mixed reviews but it‘s a solid ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read for me. The audiobook was entertaining and creepy puppets are the perfect start to spooky reading season.

The authors are certainly stepping up the game with haunted house stories. It is terrifically terrifying and is definitely a book for the freezer. Read for a few readathons, found a few word find words. #scarathlon #blackcatcrew #31by31 #spookoween @Catsandbooks @TheSpineView #falling4books @Read4life

851 pts
Plus 5 pts for watching The Birds

I don‘t think there is a single Grady Hendrix book I have not absolutely devoured! I adored this book! Another 20 points for a spooky book! And another square on my bingo card! #mischiefandmayhem #scarathlon

I'm not a big fan of this book, I'll say that from the off. It's an odd mix of very slow plodding family history & frenetic breakneck violence - most of it perpetrated by a demonic little puppet called Pupkin. I've never been a big fan of puppets or those creepy lifelike dolls, especially ones that look like clowns. The two main characters, brother & sister, Mark & Louise were not particularly likeable either. (Continued)

One of the first up on my #scarathlon #tbr. Nicely creepy and #black cover.

#scarathlonphotochallenge #TeamBOOklovers

@bookwormjillk @staycurious @clwojick

I don‘t think I could have gotten three more perfect picks for #CastTheDie if I had planned it. And three of my favorite authors! I may or may not be finished with the R.L. Stine by end-of-day tomorrow.

"Louise thought it might not go well, so she told her parents she was pregnant over the phone, from three thousand miles away, in San Francisco."

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

The start of my October/Halloween reading.

@NataliePatalie

This is a very odd book. Slow burn until 2/3 of the way through and then BAM! Things pick up and get very strange. I enjoyed it!

This is the most terrifying book I‘ve ever read. I actually had trouble sleeping last night because of it. I kept envisioning the creepy dolls and puppets from this story. When I was younger, my Grandma had a “doll room” with life size dolls set up lifelike in it-they looked like real people. And now I‘m just extra creeped out after finishing this. A fun read, a la Grady Hendrix, but I‘m sufficiently traumatized by the imagery in here.

𝟐.𝟕𝟓⭐
This was super creepy but also super annoying. I got so tired of hearing the brother and sister (the 2 MCs) bickering between themselves. It made this extra-long story drag immensely. It did have its moments where the story f*cked with my head for sure but I don‘t feel like they made up for the other less likable moments.
- Mikhaila Aaseng & Jay Aaseng were okay…but again, the constant bickering…made it difficult to enjoy the narration.

Sunday morning ☕️ 🐕 📖