I LOVE this book!!! 🥰🤩 Full ✨️black girl magic✨️and beautiful illustrations. Not plot heavy but a glimpse into the life of 4 friends. We see snippets of their personal lives - there's boy drama, family drama, depression, etc. I loved the representation, especially the depiction of different hairstyles and the work that goes into them. Because the struggle is real and it's nice to feel seen 😌

This was the 7th #spanishbook I've read so far on my spanish journey. I read it a couple years ago in English so it was easy to figure out what was going on even if I didn't understand every word. I read every single page out loud and I really noticed an improvement in my pronunciation and even the speed at which I can speak Spanish by the end. Todavía no puedo hablar con fluidez , pero este libro es muy útil porque es muy fácil de entender 🤗

I didn't love this, but I didn't hate it. I certainly don't get the hype. It wasn't a bad story, I just didn't feel like there was anything very different about it at first. I didn't start to get into it until the very end when things started to change and the cycle started to break. The editor's note at the end where she talks about how a lot of it is based off of her own nother's abusive relationship, it made me respect it a lot more.

This was between a so-so and a pan. I didn't hate it but it seems like a book written specifically to be a coffee table book. One to put on display, and maybe flip through for the pretty illustrations. But not one to be read too closely. If taken as a serious book, it could be seen as a bit pretentious 🧐 But if not taken too seriously, it's an entertaining look into the author's idea of the different types of bohemians ☮️✌🏾😌✌🏾☮️

I didn't know anything about Shonda Rhimes before reading this, and I love that it's more of an autobio than purely self help. Maybe not everyone's cup of tea but it was right up my alley. Shonda is surprisingly shy and introverted for someone who is a public figure. Which makes her story of pushing herself to say yes to everything for a year very inspiring and funny. Would recommend to most, especially fans of any Shondaland shows 💙

Hey littens! I haven't posted in a little while but I'm currently in catch up mode so I will be posting some reviews of my latest reads in the next few days. I've also been catching up on #litsylove so if you haven't heard from me in a while expect a letter soon 🤗 I've been pretty good about not buying books for myself but I recently splurged cuz I've been working hard and deserved a treat. I'm so excited to dive into these new reads 🤩

🖤WAKANDA FOREVER🖤 The exact book I read isn't in the litsy database so I tagged a book that was similar because it is also an anthology. This was a good read. My only complaint is that it's too short! A collection of essays from fans of Black Panther, some were people who worked on the movie, taught the movie in their classes, writers, artists, etc. I loved reading about how much this movie meant to other people for a variety of reasons.

I didn't know what to expect going into this, but I knew it was going to be funny because I was familiar with Ali Wong's stand up. I didn't realize so much of it was focused on motherhood, but I loved hearing about her stories from her childhood as well as the expectations vs. the reality of motherhood. Lots of crass LOL moments. I will be gifting this to a couple of soon to be moms in my life who I think will appreciate the hilarious advice 😂

Thanks so much @AmyG for the lovely surprise! I'm very excited to read this one! I'm so grateful to have been a member of #LitsyLove for 5 years and the Litsy community for 6 years 🎉🎉Such a positive, generous, caring group of people 🥰💙📚💙📚

I was very happy to open my #BlitsySwap package today! Can't wait to wear the shirt and socks and drink the tea. I usually don't read swap books right away but these 2 I just recently stacked and am itching to dive into, so perfect picks. And I'm already halfway through the bag of starbursts 😛 Thanks @BeaG for all the goodies and thanks a million @Chelleo for organizing such a fun way to celebrate black history month!! 🖤🤎🖤🤎

I got my #BlitsySwap package yesterday! No picture because I had to stash it away immediately to remove the temptation to open it 🙈 but it arrived safe and sound. Can't wait to open it in a few days
@Chelleo @BeaG

Forgot to post yesterday, my #blitsy package is in the mail and on its way 🤗
#BHMS @Chelleo

I didn't love this but I liked it. My fave celeb bios are the ones that stray from the norm. At first I thought Janette's childhood didn't sound too different from other child celebrities. Pushed into acting by a mother living out her dreams vicariously through her daughter. But as Janette ages and starts to realize the damage that was done, the more invested I became in her story. Sad, and dark but with a hopeful ending, audiobook recommended 🎧

I reached my goal of 40 books for the year with this wild read! Not for everyone, but if you can stomach the graphic and disturbing details of a dystopian world where cannibalism is legal, and you like dark, disgusting books that make you think, then I would recommend. Some scenes were a bit unnecessary (TW for rape, animal abuse, etc) but it's a pick and I loved it because it was hard to put down, compelling beginning to end 😬

I loved this quick read, written in verse and narrated by the author. The main character is a Dominican teen who is used to getting looks from guys for her curves but not used to interacting with them in any physical way that doesn't involve fighting. Xiomara struggles with her faith, her relationship with her mom, her first romance, and finding her voice. I would recommend the audio over print to hear the rhythm and emotion in the author's voice.

I had never heard of John Paul Brammer before but I'm glad I listened to this one. Nothing earth shattering here but he had an interesting, if not sometimes sad, back story. He's a mixed (Mexican and White) gay advice columnist who shares funny stories about his struggles with his ethnicity as well as his sexuality.

One of the funniest books I've ever had the pleasure of listening to 😂 I love Samantha Irby and everything she has to say! I listened to Meaty and read the physical version of Wow, No Thank You and equally loved all 3, you can't go wrong with Irby in any format. Can't wait for her newest book 🥰

I previously said that Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk was the worst book I read all year but the tagged book officially has that title. The blurbs on the back describe it as "erotic" but it's definitely not. It's chock full of graphic sex scenes but it's more gross and sad than sexy. Written as a fictional diary of a teenager by an actual teenager this was hard to get through but luckily a quick read and I'm happy to get it off my shelves ?‍?

This was such a strange book. Very confusing and hard to describe. It was translated from French but aside from that there were no quotation marks around the dialogue and not even separate paragraphs it was just one big jumble of words and actions, not a lot of development. I found this in a Little Free Library and am happy to put it in another one. Maybe this book is for someone but not for me. Cool over though 😎

This wasn't the most exciting book, and it took me about halfway through to start liking it. In the beginning I thought maybe I wasn't the right audience because it seemed like it was meant for people who were too tentative to unleash their creativity. Once she started focusing on writing specifically, I began to connect to it a bit more, and even felt inspired by a few bits and pieces, but overrall, didn't love it.

I was curious about this one after seeing so many mixed reviews, and I see why. These stories all had creepy elements but the endings for almost all of them were very abrupt. I think maybe it was done on purpose to allow the reader to fill in those blanks. Sometimes the scariest part of a story is what we're lead to imagine, right? Almost a so-so but ultimately a pick because despite some gross scenes, it was entertaining throughout 👻

As a person who tends to read 'just about everything except for romance' I would recommend this to others looking to keep an open mind and give the genre a try. Sure, some of the romance tropes were present but despite some cliches I found this overall very entertaining! Good representation, character development, steamy scenes, as well as scenes that made me laugh and some I even found surprisingly relatable. Looking forward to the next 2! 🤗

This was right up my alley because my fave celeb bios are the ones that stray from the norm. Simu had a very different background from most Hollywood actors and I loved hearing about his childhood in China, his parents' struggles to get to this country, and his life in Canada before he made a name for himself. He can be a bit cocky sometimes but not above pointing out his flaws. I highly recommend the audio, he has a great voice for narrating 🥰

Hmmm 🤔 not sure about this one. I didn't hate it but I wouldn't recommend it because I feel like most people would find this book boring and annoying. I liked it a bit because it's the 3rd book I've read by this author and I've enjoyed seeing her progress and development. And while not as relatable as her 1st, it was an interesting read learning about her path to discovering who she really is and what she really wants.

Thanks so much @Sleepswithbooks for the lovely surprise in the mail!! This made my day 🤗 I am so grateful to be a part of such a lovely group #LitsyLovers #justbecausemail 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

Such a fun listen! If you're familiar with Retta, you can easily imagine her expressive face as she talks. She can get a bit long winded on unnecessary details like when she talks about her purse obsession or name dropping the celebrities she's encountered, but she had such a different and interesting background that I think she did enough to stand out from the typical celebrity memoir. I hope to see (and hear) more from Retta. I highly recommend!

I realized last month that the only way I'm going to reach my reading goal for the year is with the help of audiobooks so here's the first of many audio reviews. Hygge (pronounced hyoo-gah) is a Danish concept of finding comfort and joy in simple things. I loved the insight into Danish culture and found the author's voice to be soothing and a huge help with the pronunciation. This was a cute, cozy, quick read that I could see myself revisiting 😌

I read this immediately after Haunted to cleanse my pallete and it did the trick! A quick fun read, despite the seriousness and sadness of some of the racisim Lacey had to endure. As a Proofreader, I think this could have used some editing. But as a Black woman and an American, I found this to be very relevant, and think a lot of people could benefit from it for both educational and entertaining purposes. Can't wait to read their next book!

This was the worst book I've read all year. The best thing about it was the glow in the dark cover ? I was familiar with "Guts" but was disappointed to know that the rest of the stories were not as funny or interesting. I feel like there was too much going on here. Too many characters and not enough development. Some sick ? written for the sake of shocking people. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone, but at least it was on theme for October ?

I loved this way more than I was expecting to. I found a lot more familiarity than I was expecting to. I laughed more than I expected to. These were the kind of stories I didn't know I needed, and depicted characters in a way I didn't realize was missing from other books. It felt both old school and modern day. It was funny and sad and romantic and black and proud. So much love for this book 🖤💜💙

Can you tell I'm excited for the new Black Panther?! Akata Witch was such a good read. Taking place in Nigeria, there's magic, preteens, rivalries, and impending doom that of course has similarities to Harry Potter. But I think Okorafor's world building and story is original enough to stand on its own. Well written, good mix of characters, exciting enough to make me want to keep reading the rest of the series. Can't wait to start the 2nd book!

This was a bit of a strange one, but I think it's because it was written as a play and maybe some things got changed in translation. Not scary but had some spooky elements, and it was a nice super short read, so I'm happy to add another book to my little Lorca collection.

Not a spooky read but just another quick one to cleanse the palete before jumping into my October themed TBR. I was a bit disappointed in this because I liked the Four Agreements. This companion book felt almost like rereading the original with some questions and commentary thrown in. But it wasn't horrible and I did highlight a few things. Would be better for someone looking to seriously commit to the agreements and needed guided journal prompts.

One last review from my September reads. This was the first time in a long time I read an entire book in less than 24 hours, I was so entertained beginning to end. Certainly not everyone's cup of tea but if you're familiar with Haddish and her kind of humor and you're not easily offended and looking for a quick read to make you laugh, I highly recommend this 🦄🌈💕

The tagged book was between a pick and a so-so for me, because I initially felt like a lot of these poems lacked depth. But after reading the other 2 books I learned that haiku, by style, aren't usually complete statements, but are curated with the hope in mind that the readers adds to it with their own meanings. This made me appreciate Kerouac's haiku even more, so it's a pick. These were my most recent reads so I'm finally caught up on my posts!

I got this book as a birthday gift (along with some Bad Bunny stuff because he's my current obsession 🥰) I finished it in a couple days - I was so hooked! This is a very entertaining graphic novel that follows the story of a Mexican American woman and her misguided year living in Mexico City. It's mostly written in English but I'm counting this as my 6th #Spanishbook because of how much (and how interestingly) the language is used throughout 🇲🇽

This was my 5th #spanishbook so far. My first time reading Neruda, but not the last! My only complaint is that the english and spanish versions weren't side by side, but all of the English translations were in the front with the poems in their original Spanish in the back. I had to flip back and forth a lot but still worth the read because I learned a lot of new spanish words. Lots of Neruda's handwritten notes are included.

This was an interesting read. Hard to describe, and sometimes very strange but very entertaining. Even though it's written in English there were a lot of Spanish words throughout, and I learned a bit about Cuba. One of my favorite quotes "Painting is its own language...translations just confuse it, dilute it, like words going from Spanish to English. I envy my mother her Spanish curses sometimes. They make my English collapse in a heap."

The stories in this were a bit hard to follow sometimes because they kept jumping back in forth between timeliness and different narrators, but it was undeniably entertaining. There's a lot going on here with appearances from Namor, Iron Man, Kilmonger, and Storm, to name a few. Wakanda Forever 🖤

This had a bit more of a complex storyline than the last one (probably because it was written by Ta-Nehisi Coates 😏) but not overly so. The illustrations were absolutely beautiful and it was good to get a bit of a backstory for Aneka, a character who will be played by the lovely Michaela Cole in the upcoming movie 🥰

After reading some Impound comics, and seeing the trailer for the New Black Panther movie, I was in the mood to dust off a few comics that have been sitting on my shelves for a while. This collection was very old school, with straightforward and easy to follow storylines. Also included a surprise at the end, a short comic starring a little know MCU character who happens to be a disabled African woman with the powers of Venom and Black Panther!

These comics aren't in the litsy database, but shout out to author BRENT TRAYCE SANDS because he works hard, and not only has a line of several original comics but an actual brick and mortar store where he sells them and related merch. I've read all 3 of these and my only complaint is that they're too short! Not a typical hero, Impound is a single black dad in Sacramento who ends up getting powers which he uses for revenge. Check out his website⬇️

This was another read from April (still lots more catch up posts left). I got this as an ARC years ago and I can't believe I waited until this year to finally read it. WORTH ??THE ??HYPE?? If you liked "The Hate U Give" you'll love this. I finished in just a few days, it was so good. Would make a good audiobook because of all the music throughout. Fun fact: the movie adaption will be available on Hulu tomorrow?! ? Can't wait to watch!

Read this back in April. This was the 4th #Spanishbook I've read so far. It wasn't completely new to me though because I read the English version a couple years ago, and loved it so much that I gave it away, but continued to collect more from Thich Nhat Hanh's 'How To' series. Full of simple but very helpful insights on the role that anger plays in our lives, and how we can transform it to be happier. Good for readers interested in mindfulness 😌

Read this back in March. One of the strangest books I‘ve ever come across, and I mean that in a good way. It was written by a local Sacramento artist, so I was lucky to find it in a little free library. Trippy, weird, funny, sad. Good for fans of the absurd and drug addled stream of consciousness writing. The highlighted section from his bio says "Unfortunately, Karlos Rene Ayala currently lives in Sacramento, California" ?

Read this back in February. I've seen it described as a time capsule of 2020 and I agree. Gorman captures and explores many themes that dominated that year. Covid deaths, masks, race riots, etc. Although she's young, her poetry didn't seem like a bunch of tweets, but a well thought out, heavily researched, creative collection of mini-essays written by a much older person who's seen and observed a lot of this world. Highly recommend to everyone!

Hey Litsy! Long time no see. Somehow I've been away for 6 months?! 😱 lots to catch up on. Aside from my busy work schedule, I've been immersing myself in spanish and socializing and traveling a bit more, so I've been distracted. But now that we've entered the slow season at work I'll have plenty more time for litsy again. I'll post some reviews of what I've been reading lately over the next few days. Pictured above are some cool LFLs I found 😎

Gorgeous cover for a gorgeous book 😍 I thought this was very original so it's hard to compare it to any one thing, but it reminded me of John Green's Turtles All the Way Down, Black Swan, and the Perks of being a Wallflower, with some zombies and Van Gogh art thrown in 🤪🧟‍♂️ this is a book about grief, loss, anxiety, love, heartbreak, and I highly recommend it to all YA readers. Happy to review this in exchange for the ARC from Netgalley 🤗

I watched the show 1st then read the book and I like them both equally which is rare! The show was quiet and slow, not a lot of dialogue, focused more on character development, which I love. Reading the book afterwards, I was surprised at how close the adaption was, and was happy to see more of the characters thoughts, which filled in a few blanks left out in the show. Not for everyone but it's worth the hype in my opinion. Glad I finally read it!

¡Por fin! Yo terminé este libro desdes unos meses y me encanta! 🥰😍 In addition to the poems, there's also a very informative intro, and some of Lorca's letters to his family from the time he wrote the poems, so it's like reading 3 books in one! Despite this being a bilingual edition, I still found myself looking up several words on each page that didn't quite 'match' the translation, and made lots of notes and learned a lot of new vocabulary.