Ok well… that was in no way what I expected. And while it didn‘t … for me, represent a.. you know, velvety night, I loved it. I must love the way she writes or tells her stories or something. I just want to *eat* it. This, despite feeling that the audio narration was fine, but not amazing. I think I would have enjoyed it even more (& perhaps found it more velvety?) if I had eye-read it. 🤔 Doesn‘t matter, really. 5 stars.

#AVeryMerryReadathon

Reading (Velvet on audio).
I read somewhere that Moreno-Garcia‘s books all have a different vibe. I love that in an author when well done (eg Matt Ruff). I don‘t know what to think yet, & I‘m 75% done w the book. It‘s not…. Velvety, as promised? But I wonder if that‘s because of the narrator? She‘s… not velvety. 🤷🏽‍♀️ Anyone?

Also reading Stroud after having enjoyed his Niceville series🤓

& sent the #LMPBC book to @carlthecattt today! #groupw

Oh my goodness! These #WinterSolsticeSwap #WSS packageS arrived yesterday! 👏🏽❄️👏🏽🌚👏🏽

Also received the bottom 2 books from #ReesesBookClub — both sound really good!

And finished the 3 graphic novels!
Ghosts was cute and sweet 👍🏽
Witchy had promise, but felt like mostly world-building and not much else… 👌🏽
The Girl From the Other Side was pretty and dark and very well done & intriguing! Will read more 👍🏽

These are (just) a few of my favorite things…

❄️ Winter
🔥 Fireplaces
🧦 Stockings
🫖☕️ Warm beverages
📚 Tsundoku
📖 #BookoftheMonth picking day!! #BOTM
💰 Free books!

Ok, another quick update!
Swallowed Man: really cool concept, but just weirdly boring at places. Very intriguing at others.. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

😵☕️: easy to read, but infuriating. ⭐️ @BethM I was going to send to you when I finished… do you want to try it? Some people do like it….

Lost 🧪: great. All kinds of flaws, but enjoyable anyway. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The GN: pretty & intriguing!

Got the baking book as an #ARC! #earlyreviewers

Listening to Velvet on audio!

Tomorrow‘s already Thanksgiving eve! 😳 Happy Thanksgiving to those that celebrate it! 🦃🍁♥️

Let‘s see, read: The Hangman (mini novella of 🌲🌲🌲); the Ex Hex; Seek You; and the Office of Historical Corrections… all ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. The first 3 are quick, simple fun. The 4th: loved the title novella, some stories were just ok, but overall, intense & great.

The other 3 I‘m reading… well, I seem to have lost The Swallowed Man… but I‘ll find it 🤔

We have an active Litsy Town Square again! 💃🏽💃🏽

Wondering how to share your event? Curious about what‘s going on in Litsy this week? month? Season? Tag or visit @LitsyEvents your new go to/town hall space! Please feel free to tag, post, share etc!!! It‘s here for all of us!

The nights are getting longer, the days are getting cooler, and …. Holy crap is that a bobcat on my back porch?! 😲🤩😍

Also started and loving so far, the tagged book 🌕🧹

It was pretty terrible—super weirdly repetitive & clichéd & oh-so-tropey. It‘s *not* gothic or modern gothic… though certain obvious elements have been shoved into the story to make it appear so. But it got the extra star for being such a quick and easy read. Deserved? Idk, maybe not…. ;p I really start to wonder if I‘m too old for YA… but when I think about Six of Crows & other well-written YAs, I think, “no, this just isn‘t good.” ??‍♀️
⭐️⭐️

Tagged book… it just hit me exactly right. 5🌟 Tho I also loved Night Film… maybe I just love her stories 😁

We Were Never Here? Quick, fun enough… but not shocking or particularly compelling and I felt … idk, it was a bit anticlimactic for me.

Currently reading these other 2. Lakesedge.. I‘m only 25% of the way in, but it seems chock-full of mistakes, poor editing, and cliche. Just me? 🤷🏽‍♀️

Oh no! 🤭 One more super fun swap! ☺️❄️

Let‘s send each other our favorite things from 2021! 🛍🎁📚💙
(I feel like Oprah on a *very* small scale.. 😂😂)

#Bestof2021Swap! The sign-up form will remain open until November 14: https://forms.gle/Q7CsPtKBWwS4Sy758

Everyone will send TWO books and FOUR gifts. See the form for more details.

@candority

(Ok but now, for real, this has to be the last one I sign up for!!)

A Review: The tagged was a very satisfying continuation of the series, with a new mystery to boot. I always ♥️ returning to 3Pines 🌲🌲🌲.

A Status: Reading Neverland Wake (such an interesting concept!) and We Were Never Here (captures your attention… but I‘m taking issue with a central theme.. more on that once I‘m done).

A Spotting: saw A Radical Act of Free Magic at Barnes today… anyone read it? It looks really good…. 🤔

📚📚📚

I… just couldn‘t resist @bookish_wookish ‘s swap too!

Back for a third year is the #LittleChristmasSwap

This is a low key swap of just one book and some candy!

Open internationally!

opening day is January 6th.

Signups are open now until Nov 18th and matches will be sent out Nov 21st.

https://forms.gle/BJzQq1S9Lrr1SFo2A

No shade to any other swap all year long (including my own 😜), but this one here‘s my #1 favorite, hosted by the inimitable @MaleficentBookDragon

#JolabokaflodSwap

This is a fun low pressure swap of one book and some chocolate that you open on Christmas Eve so you can spend the night in bed reading a new book and enjoying a sweet treat.

Sign up here until Nov 18th-
https://forms.gle/7U4U14U2BVBPKgU66

Yay!! See @Chrissyreadit or @sprainedbrain ‘s pages for more info!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/16O2znPvc6x0dn1ttkVQN43F-WdaBMlFmwj8UmSvcxJ4/edi...

As Halloween ‘21 draws to a close…
I finished my #LMPBC #GroupW book already! Such a quick read… more in the book 🤍🥶💙 Though I‘ll add that it kept me cold while reading it, despite 70-degree temps today!
@carlthecattt @MaleficentBookDragon @mklong

And I‘ve finished the last book in Round 4 of #cbbc #CoffeeBeanBookClub !! 🥲☕️🔪📖🤎
@Mommamanzi

And just a cute pic of buggy on his first ever Carousel at Zoo Boo yesterday 🎃🖤

Today is #BasicWitchSwap #bws day! 💜🔮🧙🏽‍♀️🖤🪄💜 Thank you @katy4peas for this awesome package!! I‘m so exited for these books that were *not* on my radar but are right up my alley!! 👏🏽👏🏽 And I love the adorable hand towels and socks! 💜🖤 The candy will be well-enjoyed 😁😁 And the little framed print is perfect 😍🍁🧡 Thank you!!! 🖤🔮🧙🏽‍♀️💜🪄🖤 Happy Halloween!! 🎃🧡

And thank you Katie and Jenni for hosting such a great swap! 😘♥️

And thank you @LibrarianRyan for this fantastic #HauntedHollowSwap #HHS package!! I looooove that you altered my books!! The matching spiderweb paint & mug stickers and matching red paint are both amazing. And I love that book hugger!!! 🖤🤍🖤 And all the extra (Beetlejuice!) goodies are perfect - Thank you!!! 🖤💚💜👻☠️👻💜💚🖤

And thank you to @wanderinglynn for hosting such a fun swap! ♥️😘

💛🎃🖤 Thank you @OndinetheSea for this amazing #AllHallowsReadSwap #AHRS package!! I‘m sooo excited to read Wendig‘s new book, and I can‘t wait to read your recommended book!! The socks are amazing, the candies and tea are so yum, and I love the pumpkin bag! Also, that Halloween pin is so adorable 😍😍 Thank you!! 🧡🎃🖤🎃💛🎃🧡

And thank you for hosting such a great swap, Chelle! ♥️😘

Ugh these *books*!!! The first was good and hard to stop thinking about… but this second was fantastic. David is one of my favorite fictional characters right now (currently, I know the series is still going)…. And I‘m so glad I already ordered 3 and 4, which are set to arrive *tomorrow* because I can‘t wait.

@Soubhiville I think you sent me Truly Devious, yes? Thank you!! Have you read the whole series? Will it go past 4???

Yay received some goodies! Sistersong (tagged) was this month‘s #FantasticStrangelings book club pick, and I am ready for book 2 in the Devious series…

I received a super exciting package from @LibrarianRyan … assumed it was #hhs, the only one I‘m waiting for… but was there a mistake re your tag, Ryan? You wrote #ANS … I think that‘s your swap, which I didn‘t sign up for this year Bc of time limitations 😔 … let me know! 🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃

Yay!!! Received my #cbbc #coffeebeanbookclub package for this month! 💃🏽💃🏽 Thank you Nicole!! I love the extra Halloween goodies (as does Buggy, who already ran off with the puzzle and pumpkin chalkboard!), and I can‘t wait to try that coffee!! 🤤🤤 Also, you know I love those ooey gooey squares 😁😁

Thank you!! 🧡🖤🧡🖤🧡

Ok I‘ve taken your comments, looked at a few more closely, and rejiggered a bit… here are the 4 I‘m considering now 😁Let me know what you think #GroupW #Round13 #LMPBC

@MaleficentBookDragon @carlthecattt @mklong

I… have a hard time narrowing things down. 😬

Any of these hit the mark for you, Team W[inter horror, thriller, mystery]? #GroupW #Round13

#LMPBC

I‘m not sure why there seems to be such…disappointment surrounding this book. I thought it was so well done. It was a slow burn, a creeping discomfort, a surprise, a heartbreak…(no spoilers ;)). Definitely a pick for me. I‘ll note, though, that the 1st 85% I listened to on audio—the readers are so good. Maybe that elevated it for me?🌟🌟🌟🌟

Now, heading to the PO to send #cbbc #coffeebeanbookclub (try 2!) & #allhallowsreadswap packages! 👏🏽👏🏽

Received my #BOTM #BookoftheMonth books - tagged and Woven in Moonlight. And excited re #fantasticstrangelings book this month, Sistersong. Anyone read it?

Also received my #BWS #BasicWitchSwap package today from @katy4peas !! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 Can‘t wait!! ♥️

Hey, it‘s still Tuesday!

1. The tagged, The Other Black Girl, and Seek You: A Journey through American Loneliness

2. The tagged I‘ve just started, but I‘m intrigued and it seems fun. The Other Black Girl I‘m listening to, and it‘s read *SO* well - the story is also very interesting and kind of bizarre and I can‘t wait to see where it‘s going. I‘m about 1/2 done. Seek You is kind of a coffee table read for me 😉

@TK421 @BethM @SamHeartCoffee

I know that a lot of people were really unimpressed… and I didn‘t find one of the major “reveals” particularly surprising… but I still thoroughly enjoyed this. I listened to most of it on audio (1.5x speed), and read the rest. I don‘t know that I‘d call it gothic, though… more just a thriller/detective story in an interesting setting. Will get the 2nd!

Now reading The Silent Companions (eye-reading) and The Other Black Girl (audio).

And soo sorry for such a late post on my 2nd open - long day!

@Kshakal thank you soooo much for this perfect box of fall goodness!! 😍♥️😍 I love the cozy you chose for me, and I‘m so excited to read We Ride on Sticks! And yayyyy for this cookbook - can‘t wait to try the recipes!! That coffee is one of my faaaavorite brands — and I love the socks, bookmarks, lights, snacks, & decorative signs!! Thank you!! 🧡🍁🍂🍁🍂🧡

#fffs #FallingForFallSwap

Time for a quick book recap…
Tagged: slow and rich, with a worthy payoff.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wine & Punishment: a cozy mystery set in a literary pub built into an old stone mill building … what‘s not to enjoy?
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Westaway: not shocking, not groundbreaking, but a great, chilly, atmospheric fall read that still had a little surprise or two in store for me.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Brutal: it was brutal. And a bit heartbreaking. 🥲
🌟🌟🌟🌟💫

I had 2 matches for #fffs this year for shipping reasons… and I‘ve decided to open 1 before & 1 after work.

THANK YOU @CrowCAH for this amazing package!!! I‘m thrilled for the books, and I love ALLLLLL the extra fall goodies—edible & not—you included! (I had to splice 2 pics to capture it all!!) I especially love all the little local goodies you sent from your home state 🥰😍🥰😍🥰

Thank you for such a wonderful gift of autumn!!
🧡🍁🍂🧡🍁🍂🧡

Thanks @Chrissyreadit and @MaleficentBookDragon for the tags! 🎃🦃🧡🖤

I can‘t remove *months* or holidays from my favorite season, so my first 4 are:
October, November, Halloween, and Thanksgiving…

And I guess since I only get 1 more (😿😿), I think I have to keep apples 🍎🍎

But I will miss you and mourn your absence, pumpkins 🎃, apple cider, pumpkin spice, bonfires 🔥, and hayrides!! (I don‘t need the🌻 -👻)

#thoughtfulthursday

Sharing this list:

https://www.perpetualpageturner.com/fall-reading-list/ 🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂🧡🍂🍁

My answers to #HauntedHollowSwap #HHS #thisorthat 🎃🎃🎃

And a pic of bubba in his new … erm, Christmas pajamas 😬🎄♥️

💃🏽💃🏽 Received this lovely self-care #CoffeeBeanBookClub #cbbc package from @Mommamanzi today!! 😍🥰😍 Thank you Nicole, I love it!! ♥️♥️♥️ (this month‘s book hidden underneath the goodies 😁😁)

Tagged book - way too much telling. ⭐️⭐️
Home Before Dark (title???) - fun, creepy, quick.
🌟🌟🌟🌟
Survive the Night: quick, tense, psychologically fascinating, not shocking 😜. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Rec‘d my 2nd #fffs pkg - thank you @CrowCAH !!
🧡🧡🧡

And re #HHS:
1. No but I love ‘em 🎃
2. Yes!! Women‘s med 🧦
3. The jewel tones 🥿🪖🌂🥀
4. Sweatshirts
5. Themed teas 🫖
6. I ♥️ the creative ones 🤩 (I‘m not creative w costumes 😔)
7. Beanies w poofs 💖

These two beauties arrived today… can‘t wait to read them, esp the tagged book!! 😍😍

#BOTM #BookoftheMonth

My #spookyaesthetic is a bit all over the place… no surprise there 😜 I like my haunted-ghosty, scary-horror, and hygge-comfy aesthetics all equally 😁

Thanks to @katy4peas for the idea! #HauntedHallowSwap @wanderinglynn

Ooooh thank you Tori!! 🧡🖤🧡🖤🧡
You‘re so sweet… and I‘m so excited to have this!
👏🏽👏🏽

Definitely one of my new favorites! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

So starting on another cozy 🫖📖🔪♥️

Received my “big” #FallingForFallSwap #fffs package from @Kshakal 💃🏽💃🏽🍁🍂🧡 yay!!

Aaaand so close to being done with #CoffeeBeanBookClub #cbbc round 4! 😱
@Mommamanzi

I‘m so glad I‘m finally reading this. I‘m only about 1/3 the way in, but so far I‘m liking this better than The Broken Girls, and so far, it‘s a perfectly creepy book timed perfectly with what I‘m insisting is the beginning of fall…. 😬😎🎃🍁🍂🖤💚🧡💜

(90+ degree temperatures notwithstanding)

I just wanted to post a reminder before these sign-up dates pass (ETA Chelle‘s, now taking sign-ups)

🎃 For #BasicWitchSwap see @sprainedbrain or @mklong

🎃 For #AlteredNightmareSwap see @LibrarianRyan
(1 book swap!)

🎃 For #HauntedHollowSwap see @wanderinglynn

🎃 For #AllHallowsReadSwap see @MaleficentBookDragon

🎃 For even more bookish Halloween fun - search #AVeryLitsyHalloween , gathered by the lovely @4thhouseontheleft

I struggled getting into this one. At page 77, I thought… it‘s so highly rated, maybe it‘s worth it. At page 98, I finally felt hooked. And the rest? It was worth it. 🌟🌟🌟🌟

A book that propels you forward and gives you all the pent-up‘ness. A fine ending… except I didn‘t love the very last last last bit. That‘s ok. 😜 A strong 4 stars … maybe even 4.5. Note: this book is horrifying. There are …. a lot of trigger warnings.

Finished books…
RP2: 2 disappointed stars ⭐️⭐️
Piranesi: bizarre! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Hexes & Hemlines: good… not amazing. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Arsenic & Adobo: fine, not my favorite. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Hooked on Murder: good, not amazing. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Mrs March: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

I loved. everything about Mrs March. except the end. It wasn‘t bad…. Just a bit of a letdown for me. Still, strongly recommend. A “what am I reading?!” in the very best way.

Whaaaaa?! I never win anything! And now this too (I also won the #cbbc bingo 😄😄)

Yay!! (And my chosen book) 💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽

#ReesesBookClub

Holy smokes, look what the post office did!! This pkg finally arrived, Nicole, Saran-wrapped by the PO!! And, despite the box condition… everything survived!! Thank you so much for the #cbbc #coffeebeanbookclub package, including extra goodies for having won the bingo!!! ♥️♥️♥️ (extra crazy bc I never win things! 😘) I love the candle scent and the beautiful bookmark, and can‘t wait to eat/drink all the goodies! Thank you again!!
🙏🏽♥️🙏🏽♥️🙏🏽

Since I met my Goodreads goal early, I decided to read 12 #BOTM #bookofthemonth books — I wanted to see what my resistance was, if I could 😜 (I suspect it has something to do with my lifelong resistance to reading-what-I‘m-told yo read 🤭). I‘m 5 books into that… but when this book arrived from #FantasticStrangelings #fantasticstrangelingsbookclub yesterday, I simply couldn‘t resist. Loving it so far…..

Received my #bookofthemonth club #BOTM books and my #ReesesBookClub box this weekend! 😍😍

#bookhaul

Reading the tagged book… so weird, to start! But intriguing ☺️

Almost done listening to Penny‘s 4th 🌲🌲🌲

And got these 4 lovelies today — my friend ordered from London, so we got pretty UK editions 😍😍

#bookhaul #ukcovers

An update on my reading… 🌝🌚🌝🌚🌝

And an update on my #cbbc #coffeebeanbookclub bingo!