Welcome to Litsy!

Oh, this was good. Rich world-building, unique magic system, complex characters, nuanced political dynamics, and a fascinating examination of power, culture, history, and gender. All wrapped up in a fast-paced chosen-one/coming-of-age story with a (very complicated) found family vibe. The author makes bold choices here, exploring several very heavy themes and offering some jaw-dropping twists that kept me on my toes. Now I need the sequel!

Fast-paced, snarky, ridiculous, and fun—this was just as expected. During the COVID pandemic, Jamie takes a job working for a secretive “animal rights organization” and finds himself part of a team studying and caring for, well—Kaiju. On an alternate world adjacent to our own. Naturally, hijinks ensue. I read this for my #50x50 challenge, for prompt 12 - a book I gave to someone else but still haven‘t read. (Well, now I have 😆) ⤵️

I loved this. Manguel writes about being a reader in ways that are so relatable, even though I‘m pretty sure his reading is much more erudite than my own! Starting with reflections on setting up his own library, Manguel uses each chapter to examine a different aspect of libraries—the library as myth, as order, as space, as imagination, and so on. He brings together historical tidbits about personal and national libraries with his own reflections⤵️

🤖 Finished System Collapse yesterday, completing my Murderbot re-read
⚔️ Started Guards! Guards! for #OokBOokClub
🐶 Beautiful Joe is ongoing for #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMAdjacent
📚 I‘ve been parceling out an essay per day of The Library at Night, which is my May #BookSpin and also a pick for my #50x50 challenge

#BookSpin and #DoubleSpin for May! I‘m really excited about The Library at Night. It‘s been on my TBR for years, and my husband bought me a copy maybe a year ago at Christmas. It‘s on my #50x50 list and its time has come! My DoubleSpin landed on the same category as April‘s BookSpin (1950s—70s for #192025), which I still haven‘t read—I think it‘s a sign 😆 So I‘ll pick two of those three above, and one will be for April and one for May!

April‘s #DoubleSpin is clear—and is also my #44 pick for #50x50. For my #BookSpin, I get to pick a book published in the 1950s—70s for #192025. Above are the three I‘m thinking about… any recommendations?

My birthday is tomorrow, which means my #50x50 reading challenge kicks off tomorrow! I‘m planning to read 50 books from my TBR before my 50th birthday (which is in 2028). I‘m planning to start with one of these:

Raybearer—30: gifted w/in last 5 years
Bird by Bird—9: about writing
Anam Cara—44: related to my vocation
The Library at Night—7: about books/reading

If you‘d like to join in, the link to the StoryGraph challenge is in the comments. ⤵️

#BookSpin list for April (even though I haven‘t even started my BookSpin or #DoubleSpin from March yet 😬)

Lots of challenge/buddy read picks on this list, with #192025, #ChristiesCapers, #OokBOokClub, and my own #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead and #50x50. But it also stays pretty close to my physical TBR—which is ostensibly my goal with BookSpin! Looking forward to the numbers next week!

@BarbaraJean birthday fun 🎉

My birthday is in just under 3 weeks & l've been putting together a multi-year reading challenge to complete before 3/31/28 (my 50th birthday). I went through my physical shelves & TBR lists and chose 50 books l'd really like to finish before I turn 50. Then, I wrote prompts for each-so anyone who'd like to join me can choose their own books for the challenge. Who wants to read #50x50 along with me?