Litsy

Season with the Witch: The Magic and Mayhem of Halloween in Salem, Massachusetts | J W Ocker

Here are some of my favorites for this time of year! They include a novel about vampires living in the NYC underground, a book about a writer‘s month-long stay in Salem over the Halloween season, a writer‘s search for evidence of ghosts, and a collection of Halloween-themed short stories!

#HauntedShelf
#GrimReaders
@CSeydel
@PuddleJumper

PuddleJumper 🧡🖤🧡 2h

11 likes1 comment

Mission Thaw

Mission Thaw | Kay Sparling

https://www.theindieview.com/2025/08/14/indieview-with-kay-sparling-author-of-mi...

#theindieview #interview #history #spy #coldwar #books #espionage #thriller #women #thrillerbook #female #booktok #breaktheglassceiling #missionthaw #cia #international #opera #berlinwall #austria #kgb #femaleauthors #girlpower #womenruntheworld #spynovel #novel #patriot #american #spies #americanhero #feminist #feminisim #feministauthor #feministnovel

Graywacke

The Secret of Life: Rosalind Franklin, James Watson, Francis Crick, and the Discovery of DNA's Double Helix | Howard Markel

Trying a new audiobook, currently free on audible.

34 likes

BarbaraJean

Tales of the Alhambra | Washington Irving

“That book always makes me feel as if I had opened a little door and stepped straight into fairyland.
How I would love to see the Alhambra!”
—from “Salad Days” in Emily Climbs

How are you enjoying your reading of Tales from the Alhambra this week? Is it taking you to fairyland, as it does Emily? #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMAdjacent

TheAromaofBooks, julieclair

julieclair There are moments where it feels like fairy land, but to be honest, it has mostly felt like a slog. The writing and descriptions are beautiful, but there are too many details for me. Although I must admit it has piqued my interest in visiting Grenada and The Alhambra some day. However, I‘m ready for some action! 18h

rubyslippersreads I need to catch up. I‘ve always wanted to read this because of the Emily connection. 18h

julieclair I‘m not sure where I am vs. where we‘re supposed to be. I‘m listening on audio and there are no chapters referenced, either in the narration itself or in the “details” section on Hoopla. I‘m at the part where he has just climbed up to the ramparts to see the view. 25% of book read. 18h

See All 8 Comments

BarbaraJean @julieclair The first chapter, where they're traveling to Granada, was SUCH a slog. It's picked up a bit more now he's including some of the legends & stories from the past. And SO interesting that yours doesn't have chapter references! I'm reading a digital copy via Hoopla & there are chapter titles but not chapter numbers. Where I left off yesterday, he was talking about how misunderstood Boabdil is and is about to tell about the Abencerrages. ⬇ 18h

BarbaraJean I wonder if the audio just reads the chapter titles into the text. Would it help if I posted a list of the chapter titles tied to the dates for the week? (Although it's not like there are really spoilers to be careful of, probably reading roughly 1/3 each week is close enough for our check-in/discussion purposes!)

@rubyslippersreads Me too! I remember coming across it first in the Emily books & there was a reference to it in the journals, too. 17h

TheAromaofBooks I actually have been enjoying this. The writing is friendly and I like the way that he is so kind to/about everyone. He seems like a person ready to be pleased with what he finds instead of always looking for faults. I loved the chapter where he decided to sleep in the abandoned rooms and then found himself getting creeped out by the ambiance 😂 It's a little dense - I think I'm a chapter behind - but I quite like it. 15h

julieclair @BarbaraJean You‘re sweet to offer, but I think your idea of just listening to 1/3 each week will work out fine. 💙 11h

julieclair @TheAromaofBooks I hadn‘t really thought about how nice he is, but you‘re right! 11h

21 likes8 comments

Leftcoastzen

Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties | Tom O'Neill

#Falling #RedCover Haven‘t read this one yet !

Eggs, Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Eggs I lived through it (or survived it!) 9h

36 likes1 comment

OutsmartYourShelf

Dickensland: The Curious History of Dickens's London | Lee Jackson

pick

Visitors to London, especially those from outside of the UK, who wish to see the remnants of early Victorian London are probably going to be somewhat disappointed, although this is not just a recent thing, As the author argues, the truth is that the London of Dickens's time was already being lost before the end of the Victorian era & his writing was beginning to be thought of as 'old hat' by then too.

OutsmartYourShelf London is most definitely a living palimpsest where the evidence of previous centuries can occasionally be glimpsed through the modern city, but the rookeries & crowded tenements have been erased. In truth there is not much of 'Dickensland' left apart from the survival of an odd coaching inn or two immortalised in Pickwick Papers & the Charles Dickens Museum at Doughty Street where he lived between 1837-1839. 19h

OutsmartYourShelf In fact the most popular sites such as the purported original Old Curiosity Shop or Nancy's Steps are linked with Dickens more by tradition than hard evidence as this book points out. The last chapters deal with Dickens's work adapted for film & TV, especially the musical 'Oliver', & were really interesting too. I do wish I had known of the brief existence of actual tourist attraction 'Dickensland' as I would have liked to 19h

OutsmartYourShelf have visited before it closed but I'd never heard of it before this book. Overall it was a really interesting & informative read & has made me want to dust off my old Dickens books for a re-read at some point. 4🌟

My thanks to #NetGalley & publishers, Yale University Press, for the opportunity to read an ARC. (Catching up on some older ARCs)

Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5892506887
Read 13th - 18th Sept 2025 19h

OutsmartYourShelf #ReadAway2025 @Andrew65 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES 19h

DieAReader 💖💖 9h

24 likes1 stack add5 comments

Rome753

The Middle Kingdoms: A New History of Central Europe | Martyn Rady

pick

Very interesting book. The author does a reasonably good job at covering the history of Central Europe from around the Roman Empire until after the Cold War. The different topics are covered in a more broad manner, so some areas don't receive a very in-depth look. However, the book can still serve as a good introduction for those interested in Central European history.

21 likes1 stack add

bibliothecarivs

William the Conqueror: The Norman Impact Upon England | David C. Douglas

Random book from our personal library.

#medieval #england

6 likes

BarbaraBB

One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This | Omar El Akkad

#WeeklyFavorites I could not NOT choose this one for this week. And it‘s hardly a favorite. I wish it wouldn‘t have been written. That it wouldn‘t have been necessary to write it. But it was necessary and it‘s a cruel world we live in. A must read.

Read4life

sarahbarnes ♥️♥️♥️ 22h

47 likes1 stack add1 comment