There were so many good #BotM picks for June! I ended up with these three (and the reward for finishing the first challenge). Both Thao Thai and Ashley Audrain are going to be at an event in working in July, so I might be able to get those two signed... 🤞

This... is not my favorite type of book. I don't really care for vampire stories or animal violence- both of which are pretty central to the story. But the writing is beautiful, and the characters are really fleshed out, and the passage of time is handled really well...

So, if you want a unique spin on a vampire story (and don't mind dead cats), this might be worth checking out. And the audio narration is really well done (so many accents).

I completely and unabashedly love this series. And I think this might be the best yet. It's a bit darker and heavier than most of the other books, but still has those moments of humor that we've come to expect. I think bringing Mark Oshiro on as a co-writer was a brilliant move. Not only do they actually understand the queer perspective, but their youth brings some new pop references and depth to the series. Love love LOVE this one.

The Columbus Library is turning 150 years old this year, and they're having a HUGE book festival! Over 150 authors, book stores, food trucks, and vendors... including #Studio42Books!

I'm so excited to be a part of this event! Hopefully, I'll see some other Ohio Littens there. 💜💜

https://www.columbusbookfestival.org/

I'm spending the weekend with my folks (who live in a cabin in the middle of the woods), which means lots of reading on the porch. 💜📚🌲

Back in 2021, I backed a Kickstarter for a collector's edition of my favorite web comic... today, it showed up! If you enjoy graphic novels, this one has great queer rep, positive masculinity, and lots of baking.

Time for a re-read! 💜🥧🏒

Happy Independent Bookstore Day! This is my haul. What goodies did everyone else snag?

#IndependentBookstoreDay #IBD2023

Did I decide last minute to drive to Chelsea, Michigan to see Jamie Ford speak at the Midwest Literary Walk? Yes. Yes, I did.

S'mores on the deck whilst listening to an audio book. Spring is here!

Check out this awesome Gandalf cosplay! They were nice enough to pose with our copy of LotR for social media. 💜💜

#grandrapidscomiccon #Studio42Books

Spring means reading on the sunporch! 🥰🌷📚

If it were possible to give a book more than five stars I would.

So much #BookMail today! My two #BotM picks, an #ARC of a book I was looking forward to, and two #signed #preorders. I'm already checking my schedule to figure out when I'll have time to read 'Homecoming' in one go. 🥰

Just for fun, here's the reading tracker in using in my bullet journal this year.

#BuJo

#March reading wrap-up! There were a few really stellar reads that are with mentioning. 'Weyward', of course, but also 'Georgie, All Along,' 'The Light Pirate' and Alix Harrow's fractured fairytale duology.

#MarchReview

If you're ever near Cleveland, Ohio make sure to check out the tagged bookstore! It's rooms upon rooms upon rooms of books (new & used). Some of the shelves climb so high you need to stand in a ladder to even see what's on the top shelf. There's a room filled with rare books and a white cat named Alice. They also have a cool mural on the outside of the building where we braved the rain in order to snap a photo. One of the coolest bookstores ever!

Today's #BookMail ! You folx know I love a good circus story, so I'm really excited about this #ARC. Plus, look at the great ticket/bookmark it came with!

If you like extremely messed up dark academia this might be the book for you. Without giving anything away, in the 1990s a young classics teacher named Rose gets a job at a prestigious girls boarding school. But a girl dies, and dark secrets are revealed, and trying to leave may endanger every one Rose loves.

I give it 4.5 incredibly fucked up stars.

No, mom, you can't read this book. -Crumpet

#CatsOfLitsy #KAL

I'm not much of a manga reader, but for Christmas my partner got me the first volume of this, because he knew I'd love the cute cats. B&N had manga on sale this week, so I picked up the next two volumes. The weather is crummy here, so I could use something silly and adorable.

She has a tattoo on the back of her neck that she can't let anyone see... WHY IS SHE NOT WEARING A FREAKING SCARF!? Seriously, half the drama wouldn't have happened if she just wore a scarf. It's such a simple, stupid thing, and I'm really irritated at Earnshaw because this feels really lazy.

1*
-Spring or fall
-Candy canes
-Purple
-Hydrangeas or dandelions
-Any place modern with magic
- Coffee
-Animal Crossing

2*
-Weyward, which I'm listening to on audio while I sew some coats for an order.

Thanks for the tag @TheWolfbehindTheEyes !
#WonderousWednesday @eggs

I've been listening to the tagged book while working today and it's PHENOMENAL! Think 'Station Eleven' meets 'Where the Crawdads Sing'. Crumpet and Pippin are hanging out in the studio with me being exceptionally cute and distracting.

We drove across state to pick up our new show vehicle... only to find out there was a problem and we can't get it until late next week. It's been really stressful, so I'm giving myself the rest of the day off and am going to wrap myself in a blanket and read on the porch until the sun goes away.

In Okemos, Michigan to listen to Lucy Snyder talk about her new book!

Bonus: one of my favorite people in the world lives nearby, so the book signing is just a bonus end to a fun evening with them. 💜

How can a book where almost nothing actually happens pull at your heart so much? Like, there were maybe five pages of action total, and I still ended up crying in the carport. I am so in love with these books and the magical everyday HopeCore that Becky Chambers writes.

I'm taking myself on an adventure today! They have movie props, a giant collection of the books, and an immersive experience!

Edit: Port Canaveral, Florida

I'm visiting my parents (who snowbird in Florida) for the week. This is certainly not a bad place to read.

Tommy and I are snugged up enjoying the newest SAA book. Even though I bought it the day it came out (preordered, actually), I saved reading it until I knew I had a few days free where I could take my time and savor the book.

It's so difficult not to blast right through it, but I know I only get one chance to read it the first time. Does anyone else feel like that about favorite authors?

Pippin and I are enjoying a quiet afternoon with Fonda Lee's upcoming fantasy about a girl who becomes a rukher, flying a legendary roc to protect the kingdom from the manticores that killed her family. It's a tiny book (only 150 pages), but it packs a huge punch.

#ARC #CatsOfLitsy

At the Ann Arbor library for the Washtinaw Reads program to see Kiley Reid talk about her book!

(Spoiler alert- the book was PHENOMENAL!)

🐈📚🥰

I guess I'm not going to read that... I can't deny Tommy his pillow. 😂

#CatsOfLitsy #KAL

My #January reading #wrapup!

I just want to take a minute to say thank you for all the birthday wishes! It's been lovely to get so many #LitsyLove cards and messages from online friends.

And 42 is a spectacularly bookish age to turn. 🥰

Well, shit.
Why are these books so perfect?
Why are they so short?
Why do I have to wait for the next one?

If you love the other Wayward Children books you'll enjoy this one. It's a heavier book (I'll put warnings in the comments), but Antsy is such a lovable character. I hope we'll get to see more of her. I enjoyed the few little glimpses of other characters and worlds we're familiar with, and I'm fascinated by this shop for lost things.

My #BookHaul from the Friends of the Library sale today! Yes, that's an ARC copy of Harrow. Yes, I made undistinguished noises and almost peed myself when I found it. 😅🥰

Not only do I use (and love) my local library, but I have cards at seven other libraries! And I subscribe to newsletters at a good two dozen more to keep abreast of live events.

Libraries have always been my safe space, and now that I'm self-employed and work from home libraries are also where I go to socialize with people besides my cats. Libraries are for sharing ideas, and finding new books, and losing yourself in the stacks.

Ya'll. YA'LL! I've been a huge fan of Jamie Ford since 'Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet' and his newest book might be his best yet. Ford manages link multiple characters and multiple timelines in a thoughtful study of the intergenerational transmission of trauma. It's timely and beautiful, if at times, heartbreaking.

Read this book. And if you don't already follow Jamie Ford on social media, I'd highly recommend it. He's charming.

Unexpected #BookMail from today! The tagged book sounds really interesting and I love the cover. I'm not entirely sure about the other book...

Today's audiobook project is using a roll of peel-and-stick wallpaper to cover this ugly set of drawers in my sewing studio. My current machine is called Lemon, so I figured this would be fitting AND colorful..

My #12Challenge pick for January, thanks to @julesg, was this AMAZING cozycore, queer, fantasy novel about found family and starting over. It's about an orc who retires from adventuring and opens a coffee house. Five stars all day long!

And, of course, I had to picture it with one of my favorite pieces of art in our home. 🥰

😅

Crumpet is hanging out in the library with me while I work.

#CatsOfLitsy

Is there a word for the feeling you get when you finish (or step away from) a really good book... and the real world doesn't seem quite so real? Where you're still so caught up in the story that everything feels slightly muted and far away? I don't think there's one in English, but there has to be one...

(The tagged book was great. Not as much science as Crouch's newer books, but the same edge-of-your-seat story.)

My #BotM box showed up today! It's my birthday month, so I snagged the tagged book for free. I wasn't mad about any of the main picks, but Lunar Love should at least be a cute, quick read.

Finishing up this trilogy in audio form while I work on my reading journal for the new year. I was gifted a set of paint pens for Christmas, so I've been having fun playing around with them. I'm doing a sort of magic/celestial overall #bujo theme this year.

We had to take our annual family photo a few days late due to being sick, but here it is!

My partner and I are wearing Hitchhiker's Guide and LotR Christmas shirts, respectively... though you can't really see them under the grumpy cats. 😅

Okay, hit me with your book recommendations! Anything except slasher-horror. I'm going to split the year between Litsy friends and "real world" friends. ??

Happy Christmas to those who celebrate it and happy free day off work (or holiday pay) to everyone else! I hope today is full of books, love, and good food. 🥰

And please be safe if you're traveling!