There was a sale today at a local book store, so naturally I made a day of it ☺️ Here‘s my eclectic #bookhaul, plus a puzzle for good measure! Bookish Sundays are the best kind of Sundays. Besides, I was chomping at the bit to get the second Thursday Murder Club book after finishing the first late last night!

SOOOO good!! Wow, this one really had my heart pumping at the end there. So many brilliant twists and turns that had me guessing all the way through. And the MOST lovable characters you‘ll ever meet!

YAYYYY highly anticipated #bookmail!!

Nope. Super predictable plot and the writing is just not good in my opinion. Disappointing because I liked Penner‘s previous book. Anyone else feel this way?

So-so instead of pan because a) I live right next to the Cloisters and I enjoyed reading about a setting I know so intimately, and b) the last two pages were really well done.
Otherwise, I found the characters all deeply unlikeable and the central conflict just didn‘t hold enough weight for me. The plot felt really contrived and I skimmed a lot.
Tarot cards are now so mainstream that I also don‘t see how the story hinged on their “darkness.” 🧐

This book was an absolute GEM! So heartwarming and beautifully written from start to finish. I loved the interlocking timelines between the grandmother and granddaughter, mixing historical fiction with a more contemporary story. It felt like it was written for a Jewish audience (which I am ☺️) so I‘m curious if it would be as enjoyable for readers of other backgrounds. Still, definitely one I‘ll be recommending!!

2023 Quidditch Cup Reading Challenge! These are my first 6 prompts!

🧹Quidditch Teams of Britain and Ireland: Set in the British Isles -Boyfriend Material
🧹Holy Head Harpies: Includes a group of strong females- Memphis
🧹Katie Bell: Includes a character who gets cursed- Sign Here
🧹Alicia Spinett: Written by a female author- Dream On
🧹Draco Malfoy: A book that has a large fandom - Saga
🧹Body Blow: With a body part on the cover - Bodyguard

Gorgeous, poetic writing. Painful, gruesome story. Can‘t say it was an enjoyable read, but I was absolutely in awe of the mother-daughter-sister bonds and found the ending especially moving.

Mind is blown right now. This is such an incredible collection. I feel emotionally very hungover 😳😭

Why didn‘t I read this sooner?! I am so in love already. I just got the first volume today from the library, not knowing how long a volume is— now I need to get volumes 1-10! Gorgeous fantasy world building, relatable characters and dialogue and social commentary, stunning art. Ahhhh I‘m so excited to dive in to this fandom!

Thanks for such a great start to 2023 @Read4life @monalyisha !! #AuldLangSpine
I‘m excited to keep reading from your list! Let the fun continue…

Winners have been chosen! @BarkingMadRead and @TheQuietQuill , congrats! Please email me at suzannehutt@gmail.com with a wishlist of books, plus your address!
Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who participated! It was such a joy to see all of your bookstores and memories. Thanks to you all, we will have over 40 indie bookstores to add to the world map! I‘ll retag when the map is complete and I post the link. Hopefully something for everyone to enjoy!!

Reminder: #20kgiveaway ends tomorrow (1/28) at midnight!! See my original post for details! 🙌🏻📚🌎

I‘m hosting a giveaway for reaching 20k! Winner will receive a book from their wishlist plus some goodies!
To enter, please repost or post a picture of your favorite bookstore! Please include name of the store and city/state/ country. And tag me :) #20kgiveaway
**This is Bookman‘s Alley, my favorite bookstore in Evanston, IL that sadly closed down several years ago, but now there‘s a store there called Bookends & Beginnings.
Giveaway details👇🏻

I read this in one sitting because it was THAT captivating. Loved it just as much as Shipped! I predicted one of the twists but still found it super exciting! The characters were believable and lovable. Highly recommend! I will read anything Hockman writes :)

What a wonderful romance! I really needed this! Katherine Center gave me ALL the feels with this one. I hadn‘t loved her book How to Walk Away, but this one was a home run for me. She made the premise - a Hollywood star falling for a non famous person - feel really believable. All of the dialogue and personalities were so well done, I didn‘t want it to end. **Swoon** !!

@Read4life thank you for this rec!!
@monalyisha
#AuldLangSpine

OMG!!! First book of 2023 and it was a ROARING success! Last night I could not put it down and had to see it through to its heart-pumping end. I love when authors can just shock you and do something so different and cool, both with their writing style and plot - this book was definitely like that for me. So many genres rolled into one genius book. A story that raises questions about fate, love, and the relationships that shape us - and also hell!

I had a blast doing the OWLS HP reading challenge this year! Finished 39 prompts in all! Here are my faves from the challenge. Now I‘m excited to start planning the new challenge for 2023, themed around Quidditch!
#owlsreadingchallenge

More details about the Hudson Valley Book Trail for anyone interested!!

The original site I found was https://www.hvbooktrail.com but the tote bags have updated and longer lists! Also used this blog for ideas: https://m.chronogram.com/hudsonvalley/local-independent-bookstores/Content?oid=1...

So many goodies to explore! 📚📚📚

Post 5/5
My fourth stop on the Hudson Valley book trail: Magpie Bookshop in Catskill! A used bookstore with heaps of charm and two adorable zebra finches! The owner even offered me more recommendations of HER favorite indie bookstores! I got the tagged book which sounds right up my alley.

Such a successful day of visiting bookstores of the Hudson Valley! Check out my previous posts for more recs ;)

Post 4/5
A treasure trove of used books can be found in the magical Rodgers Book Barn, tucked away in the hills of Hillsdale! They have been there for 50 years! I got the tagged book plus a deliciously ancient copy of The Marble Faun. Would be fun to go back in the spring and see the gardens in bloom.

Post 3/5
Second stop on my Hudson Valley book trail was Oblong Books in Millerton! Absolutely could‘ve spent all day there. Really effective displays with so many outward-facing books, plus a robust section with stationary, calendars, games and more. They also have an attached kids bookstore and a secondary location. I got the tagged book (by a fellow NU alum!) plus two others I‘d been itching to find!

Post 2/5
First stop on my Hudson Valley book trail was Scattered Books in Chappaqua! Home of three precious book bunnies! Highly recommend checking out this friendly and inviting bookstore 🐰I got the tagged book (a new cookbook by one of my fave authors) and another by a local author, plus one of their signature mugs!

What a fun adventure! I was looking for cute indie bookstores in the Hudson Valley in NY and came upon this map: the Book Trail! This shows 17 but there‘s actually 37 bookstores on their list with even more to be found thru other blogs!

I chose 5 to visit and made a day out of it, driving in a big loop from upper Manhattan to the Catskills. Met SUCH lovely shop owners, discovered exciting new titles, and would love to do it again!
Post 1/5

Happy #jolabokaflod!! Thank you so so much to @BookNAround !! I‘m SO excited to read this book and WOW you have made my Reese‘s heart the most content in the world! Yummmm! Also the cutest card lol!

Thank you to @MaleficentBookDragon for organizing! 🥰🙌🏻🥳

The tagged book is btwn a pan and so-so for me. #unpopularopinion but the hard science/tech + an overwhelming amount of world-building and interspecies cultural context = too exhausting to be enjoyable for me.
The real redeeming quality was that the main characters were fantastic and my heart ached for them by the end. Still, not going to continue with this series right now.
BUT HEY I‘ve finally finished my next #promptmaze!! @TheAromaofBooks

Your #Jolabokaflod package should arrive by Friday! @CoveredInRust hope you enjoy!! Thank you @MaleficentBookDragon !

EEEEEE I‘m so excited, thank you @BookNAround !! #Jolabokaflod package arrived! Also umm your handwriting is so beautiful, can you sign my name all the time for me? Haha @MaleficentBookDragon Thank you for your expert organizing!

SOOO excited for this!! #AuldLangSpine
@monalyisha @Read4life
We have similar taste bc some of these are my faves, too! I loved Soulmate Equation, Book Lovers, and Aristotle&Dante!
I‘m going to start with these three! Thank you so much 🥳

Hoping to qualify for early sign ups for #AuldLangSpine, formerly NYWD with @monalyisha ! Here‘s my pen from voting Tuesday in NYC and a vaguely relevant book haha, thanks!! Love this opportunity to swap favorite book lists from the past calendar year :)

After I finished this book, I just lay there clutching it to my chest for a while. I wanted the words to seep into me. Sue Monk Kidd‘s writing was so lyrical and beautiful and feminist. The research that went into the novel was so extensive and I learned a ton, on the edge of my seat all the way up to the heart-wrenching end. Now I feel motivated to learn more about the development of early Christianity after reading this fictional take.

Added 4 more books to the #owlsreadingchallenge !!

🧮Arithmancy:
Magical numbers: a book with a magical number - 7 husbands

🔭Astronomy:
Telescope: a book you saw on litsy - red white and royal blue

🐉Care of magical creatures:
Comc: a book with a magical creature - when women were dragons

🪄Charms:
Cheering: funny or happy book - good omens

HOW BOUT THAT TWIST?!?! I haven‘t gasped like that since Big Little Lies. This book was so well written and I loved hearing how everything unfolded in their fictional golden age of Hollywood. The deep love and friendship TJR explored was heartbreaking and beautiful. Thrilled to finally know what all the hype is about.

Devoured! Absolutely lives up to the hype! What took me so long?!

I totally mistook this with the description of Boyfriend Material (aka no issue about being queer in the public eye) so then I was super surprised that a large part of the plot is grappling with that. But that just made the book feel really real.

Alex + Henry are #relationshipgoals. Almost nauseatingly so, but hey, that‘s romance novels!

Also LOVED all the friends + sisters.

A friend lent this to me ages ago and I finally just read it- what an absolute joy! This was like everything I loved about the show Lucifer: witty banter, satire, lovable characters, gray area between good and evil, Biblical commentary, surprisingly heartwarming.. and I love that it was a collaboration btwn these two incredible authors!

So excited about this #bookhaul of used books! Some that I‘ve had on my TBR forever and some that are new to me.

See any titles you loved? Where should I start??

Just discovered this bookstore, celebrating their 1 year anniversary! Check them out if you‘re in Philly!

One of my favorite places in Philly! This used bookstore is volunteer run and supports the local library. Always so many good finds!

I entered into this with a bias because I felt like, similar to a movie adaptation, “How can you depict The Giver in a visual medium without giving away its brilliant twist?” And I still feel that way. You just can‘t do it. However, this is a total classic, and I enjoyed reliving it.

My tenth OWL Reading Challenge category! I met my goal of ten!! 🙌🏻 but it‘s so much fun I think I‘ll keep going because it‘s only October ☺️

POTIONS:

🌟Amortentia: a book with romance - Meet Me in the Margins
🌟Severus Snape: a book w page 394 - Diamond Eye
🌟Liquid Luck: choose a book randomly - Paper Girls vol 1.. visiting my bff and found it on her bookshelf!

Completed my next OWL reading challenge category! I was reading this HP book in French for so long! 😅

ANCIENT RUNES:
🌟Ancient runes: A book in translation - Britt Marie Was Here
🌟Beedle the bard: A fairytale (folktale?) retelling - Sistersong
🌟Mistranslation: A book whose title is translated differently - HP French - “The school for sorcerers” rather than Sorcerer‘s or Philosopher‘s Stone

Thank you @LiteraryinLawrence for this epic swap!! I‘m so excited to read both of these immediately!!
😍🐉👑

Eighth #owlsreadingchallenge subject passed!!

Charms:

🌟Charms: a book by a fave author - Book Lovers (Emily Henry)
🌟Flitwick: short book or short stories - Prayer for the Crown Shy
🌟Time turner: a book with dual timelines - Metropolis

A beautiful second volume. I really think it could‘ve been longer, though- I get wanting to keep things short and sweet, but it felt to me like a lot more could have been developed, even while keeping it short. I just love the world Chambers has created and want to soak in it even longer!

Seventh #owlsreadingchallenge subject passed!!

Care of Magical Creatures:

🌟Niffler: a book with a shiny cover - True Biz
🌟Fantastic beasts: a book with an animal on the cover - Snow Child
🌟Unicorn: most anticipated book - Violin Conspiracy

THIS BOOK IS EVERYTHING!! I want to recommend it to every single human I know. A master class in originality and writing that is just so COOL! I felt like reading it was a privilege. And SO educational, as someone who came in knowing next to nothing about ASL and Deaf communities.

I read this with my sisters and Mom as a markup book club - very grateful - so now I need to acquire my own copy!

Kate Quinn has done it again! Her books are riveting, filled with such fascinating history, humanity, humor, and heart. This one might just be my favorite- bold statement, I know!! Brilliant storytelling with the shifting timelines and characters hiding in shadow, heartwrenching love stories, and a war heroine with so much grit and ferocity that I want to emulate in my own life. And nearly all the people and plot points are factual in this one!

I actually felt like this story had no “psychological suspense” whatsoever. I love Shapiro‘s other novels so I was expecting a lot more. Some parts and some characters were interesting, and there was a decent twist, hence the so-so rating, but overall this fell flat for me.

Congrats and thank you for this generous giveaway @Hazel2019 !! #Hazel201925K

At first I felt like this was playing too much into the rom com clichés, but then the characters won me over.
I think if you have sisters you‘re incredibly close with, and/or you live in NYC (yes and yes for me!) this might resonate even more - I was sobbing for the last 50 pages. SO good!