“…a pair of the fabled ‘demon pants‘…or ‘corpse pants.‘ For these, you made an agreement with someone who was about to die. Once they did, you dug up their body, skinned it from the waist down while making sure not to cut any holes in the skin, and made a pair of pants. These you wore like tights until they grew onto your own skin. You also had to steal some money from the poorest of poor widows and put that money in the pants…👇🏻

Newest library hold came in - and I‘m excited to read it! I‘m hoping this scratches my Others itch, but I worry about diving into a new series just as it‘s getting started. The plan is to read this next week, after my last gig of the year and kiddo finishes homeschool assignments. 🤞🏻

I really enjoyed this one, surprisingly steamy and with some solid character growth.
#DannyBoy isn‘t ready for Christmas, but is ready to get rid of the tree and other disruptions to his habitat. All the guests departed earlier this week after kiddo‘s Nutcracker (she was AMAZING, I must say) and we‘re trying to get back to normal.

I‘ve loved most of the AH books I‘ve read, and a couple I‘ve liked. This is my least favorite. It‘s fine, I guess, but the story felt contrived and rushed for most of it, and I didn‘t love the characters. A good enough listen while I was driving a lot for work last weekend, and sewing pointe shoes for kiddo, but I won‘t buy it if it comes out in print. 🤷🏻‍♀️

All right, I‘m officially calling it quits. I don‘t have the bandwidth for this book, I never want to pick it up, and I‘m not getting out of it what I‘d hoped to (and what I get out of Jean Shinoda Bolen‘s books, really). So, for the second time, this one has defeated me.

I wasn‘t sure at first, because I really didn‘t like spoiled-frat-boy Dylan at the beginning, but his growth is a big part of why this ended up being fantastic. There‘s surprising depth to these characters and their journey. I don‘t plan to dive right into Khabra‘s entire backlist, but I‘m open to reading more as I find them.

This story was kiddo‘s latest school reading, and I read it to her because she struggled with The Purloined Letter‘s dense writing. She‘s been unimpressed with Poe in general, and really disliked the beginning of this one.

Today we finished it, and I wish I had a picture of her face when the solution was revealed! 😤 She was LIVID, absolutely disgusted with the way it worked out.

I spent some time on explaining its importance 👇🏻

The new portion of kiddo‘s book advent calendar (the Durst books came from my shelf but are new to kiddo). The other twelve will be from our own holiday favorites, which we read together when she opens them. And we always have The Polar Express and then The Night Before Christmas for the final two. Lots of wrapping to do today!

My Book Outlet #bookhaul - I got the tagged for the buddy read but should have followed the conversation first 🤷🏻‍♀️. I‘ll still give it a shot. I only got two new cookbooks this time! And two books from known and respected writers (this may complete my Solnit collection, actually, excepting the super-niche ones).

#DannyBoy hopes you enjoyed Thanksgiving as much as he did (ok, he‘s a cat, and therefore he does not care in the slightest how anyone else feels, but he really enjoyed his pumpkin).

The past is who you are. The future is what you do with that.

It‘s time to reread this myself, since I‘m making kiddo read it for school. I‘ll never forget the teacher who assigned this in seventh grade, then told us “purloined” is a fancy style of writing.

Latest library #bookhaul - I requested these when Scotch was in the news recently, but it‘s such a whirlwind now I can‘t remember what atrocity she was protesting 🤦🏻‍♀️ Anyway I‘ll give them a go!

Yesterday‘s #bookhaul while kiddo was in dance class. The tagged is for me (I finished my library book and didn‘t have a backup, is my story and I‘m sticking to it), the rest are for kiddo‘s book advent calendar.

A wonderful novel-in-stories, focusing on Asil the Moor as he undergoes a series of disastrous dates foisted upon him by an unknown friend. While probably unnecessary in the grand scheme of the Mercyverse, there is some general plot progression throughout. And it‘s genuinely fun to read about Asil‘s misadventures. And look at these gorgeous endpapers! I told hubby I want my own copy for Christmas. Probably won‘t get it but 🤞🏻

Kiddo had a ballet performance at the library today, so I scrambled to finish this and return it while we were there. I did rush through the end, but I don‘t think I could devote much more to Giuffre‘s story; it was heartbreaking and infuriating and just so hard to read. I went into it thinking she wasn‘t likely suicidal, but by the end…I can see it. I hope her kids have a good life in her honor and their own right.

My latest library #bookhaul - if a single book can be a haul. I‘m trying to finish Nobody‘s Girl first, but I don‘t know if I can wait that long.

I managed to catch it on the nose! There‘s something so satisfying about that.

Thanks to all you Littens who make this the best place on the internet, my haven when other social media feels so bleak and miserable. I‘ve been happy to be here the better part of the past decade.

Low pick. A ton of information/explanation, and I feel I have a better handle on a really tangled subject. There are lots of people to keep straight, and lots of no-real-solutions. BUT - I don‘t have any idea where I should go from here, as an individual. Should I be calling my representatives? Making personal changes? Supporting businesses? This reads more as a bio of Tim Searchinger than anything else. Frustrating and kind of disappointing, tbh.

I asked kiddo if she‘d like to watch a movie of P&P tonight, and she was excited about it - and then told me she‘s already tried the manga version on hoopla and thinks it‘s pretty good. I‘m so happy! 🥰

We finished it today! The first volume was a real struggle to get kiddo to sit and listen. Around the Collins proposal she started to get a little more interested, and then the last week or so she‘s actually been invested. Yesterday she asked if we could just finish it because, “Okaaaayyyy, the last few days it‘s actually been really interesting.” 🥰 👇🏻

Today‘s acquisition. I went to BN(where I used to work). Asked a bookseller.

What‘s the title?

The Vampyre. With a “y.”



No, sorry, it‘s “The Vampyre.” With a Y.

Oh! Okay!

No, it‘s “The Vampyre,” spelled with a Y.

Oh! Okay!

No! It‘s The Vampyre…v-a-m-p-Y-r-e.

Oh! Okay!

When it popped up I asked her to just tell me what section, I got it.

TIL — Brandolini‘s Law, or the bullshit asymmetry principle: The energy required to refute misinformation is an order of magnitude larger than the energy required to produce it.

Starting this one tonight!

Today‘s #bookmail - it was weird to preorder a book by Mary Shelley.

This is an interesting read, with sections on Native peoples, Europeans, and Africans, and how the various food influences “braid” together to create American food. There‘s a brief history summary for each section, then a variety of individuals with a bio and a selection of recipes. I haven‘t tried any, but I did copy a few for future use (not a ton of vegetarian options, unsurprisingly). I‘d say #borrownotbuy but worth a look.

Only one of my libraries ordered it, but my hold just came in. It‘s going to be a tough read.

I‘ve been reading P&P to the kiddo (she wasn‘t happy about it, but once we got to the proposals rolling in she admits it‘s interesting enough to continue), and I can‘t tell you how nice it is to have this kind of moment in a hectic week. Homeschool has its moments, for sure. #DannyBoy really hates the voices I do for Mr. Collins and Lady Catherine.

“Arrange the books in a way that looks good and makes sense to you—whether that‘s alphabetical by author, by subject, or by color, width, or height—or even just randomly.”

My sensation of horror just grew as I read this entire sentence. What kind of monster is Martha Stewart? Organizing by color, I‘ve seen (anxiety-inducing, but you do you) - but by width? Height? RANDOMLY?!

I don‘t think I can do this.

This fascinating-sounding book is up next. It‘s a cookbook with history lessons, and I‘m excited to start!

Christine, this looks right up your alley.

Today‘s #bookmail!

This was amazing and now I need my own copy. It made me so emotional so many times, and I was absolutely not expecting it. So good, and maybe the start of a series?

I was starting to feel as though my entire existence was a threat. Perhaps this was what womanhood was. The dangerous knowledge of who you are and what you could do with that power if pushed.

As always with a compilation, some chapters were better than others, but there was a pleasing continuity to it all. If you‘re a classics nerd, I highly recommend this. Starting from Odysseus and Penelope‘s wedding and the elopement of Paris and Helen, and ending with Aeneas‘ flight from burning Troy, this covers the whole run. Some surprising events are between chapters, but it all works.

Thanks for the tag @Eggs

I just reread (relistened?) to this novella and still loved it. Standard Ali Hazelwood territory, with enemies-to-lovers and forced proximity tropes and a great literary/gaming bent. Due out in print early next year!

#Romantics @ChaptersofChaos

Anyone else enjoying a good romance this week? You‘re tagged!

I‘m glad I finally read this. I didn‘t find it scary, really, but I loved the unsettling feeling that grows throughout the story. Definitely creepy. I really liked Merricat and Uncle Julian, and definitely did NOT like Charles.

I was picking up a library hold so I decided to check this out again, and found this cookbook that looks interesting. I already have 1.5 library books to read! I need an entire day (weekend…week…) to do nothing but read!

Library new book display got me again!

Hard to read, but so very necessary. If you haven‘t read this yet, you need to.

My local library branch just reopened after renovations, so OF COURSE kiddo and I were here shortly after opening. This shelf display has me 🧐🤨 Is Frankenstein dark academia? Inquiring minds want to know.

But…not only is this not the final installment, volume ten (which isn‘t out until JUNE) isn‘t either?!!!

I have serious rage right now. When I first started reading this, I thought it was intended to be a trilogy. 😫😖😤

See, this is why I don‘t read new releases. I have trust issues from this kind of stuff.

With my recent acquisition of the Lombardo translations of the Iliad and Odyssey, I now have six and seven copies of each, respectively (including graphic novels). None of them are prose, either, which is my sticking point.

It was great, ok? It‘s Ali Hazelwood, and very little of hers hasn‘t been fantastic for me. #DannyBoy is, as always, my reading companion, and particularly velcro-ey since we got home from our trip a few days ago.

It‘s here!!!! Today‘s #bookmail packages seriously disappointed the kiddo, but I‘m so excited! I need several days of serious reading time to catch up on everything I‘m behind on, but sure, I can shoehorn this in, too. And now that Mate is here I can actually get around to Bride, right? Also, now that I‘m back home I need to get the library books back out that I didn‘t finish…

That thing you taught us!
What thing?
Misdirection.
I taught you that?
Yeah! You, or Siegfried, or Roy…

This whole thing, about Maya looking so much like her older brother reminds me of my brother‘s wedding. He‘s 8 years older, and everyone thinks I resemble my sister (5 years older) until they meet him. One of the bridesmaids, friend of his, was so excited to meet me and we had this 👆🏼 kind of exchange. It went kind of like “You look so much like John! But…you‘re pretty!” And then to save it, “It just means John would make a really pretty woman!”

My #bookhaul from McKay‘s in Knoxville. Not my best excursion there, but it‘s amusing that I also bought a cymbal boom stand for my drum set. Usually I find books at random other stores, but this time I found percussion equipment at a book store. Kiddo was much more successful, but I don‘t know if I‘ll get a picture of her haul as she‘s already squirreled it away.

“confusedly in confusion,” huh? Where was the editor?

I‘m trying to read the tagged because it‘s due back to the library and I‘ll be out of town for a week so I have to get it back later to finish, but then #DannyBoy said, “Mama, snuggles,” and put his paws in my hand 🥲
#catsofLitsy

“In looking back on my younger self, I now realize that it was my revolt against the thou-shalt-not conditioning of the Catholic Church that predisposed me to being attracted to the revolutionary Romanticism of a Blake some years later. I went through the whole sin-and-guilt thing that James Joyce describes in terms of his fictional alter ego Stephen Dedalus in Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. And I remember…👇🏻