A day-drinking cocktail waitress who lands in remote Dutch Harbor, Alaska may not be your ideal heroine, but if you give Brandy a chance, this book is both an exploration of forgiving unreliable parents & a fascinating look at 3 Aleut Alaskan women ready to kill for their village and their tribe. Good reading for my recent bucket-list Alaska cruise! #alaska #remotesetting #unique #Aleutcharacters #drinkingnarrator
“The best part of a murder trial is the victim never gets a chance to testify.” ~John Straley #murder #privateinvestigator #mystery #Alaska
Ready to read up for travels later this year! #alaskafiction #readandtravel #excited #bookhaul
Hard-drinking P.I. protagonist of my Alaska-set summer read is deeper than he seems. The intriguing Sitka setting is getting me excited to travel to Alaska soon... #mystery #coolsetting
When your 5 year old son follows you into the biography section... #racecars #helikesbooks #notmystyle #biography
Proud to stand with fellow Texans against imprisoning children at the internment camps along our borders! History will judge us for these atrocities. #closethecamps #humanrights #endChildinternment
pickA tense yet moving page-turner about the kidnapping of 2 young girls enjoyed on my recent trip! A thriller with fascinating, diverse characters, sympathy for an antagonist from a Traveler family making bad choices, and a portrait of a marriage responding to tragedy. 4 stars only because the ending, while powerful, tries to wrap things up too quickly. #goodthriller #kidnapping #uniquecharacters #marriage #vacationread
The premise of one‘s 2 children getting abducted is a mom‘s biggest fear, and there‘s a bleak moment & shocked, grieving parents, but I am loving this fast paced thriller with Travelers as the antagonists. Peppered with Shelta, compassion for women with few options, & fascinating descriptions of a renegade, ruthless Traveler clan, this unique story grips you. Thanks @TheNerdyProfessor for this great gift! #SummerSantaGoesPostal
What an extraordinary, very generous Summer Santa package from Kayla! I am grateful and so excited for The Female Persuasion And Little Lovely Things is right up my alley! And a bookworm wine glass-it‘s like you know me! ! The cat kindle holder is adorable, too! You sent so many thoughtful gifts, Kayla! I did not see your Litsy handle on the card, but thanks! I am thrilled, and grateful to @BookishMarginalia for organizing! #SummerSantaGoesPostal
pickAward-winning, Adorable story of a young Chinese girl who longs to buck tradition and attend university. Based on the author‘s grandmother‘s real life. Teared up at the ending. #5stars #awardwinning #Chineseculture #girliwer
Forgot to take pics during a busy writing conference weekend, but some bookish good wishes went off to my book exchange partner! No chocolate gifts this time, alas, as it‘s over ninety in Texas & treats melt. Swaps are fun! Thanks, @BookishMarginalia for organizing! #SummerSantaGoesPostal #litsyswaps #bookswapfun
Came back from presenting on short story writing at Writefest at Rice University to find this exciting package on my doorstep! Yay! #SummerSantaGoesPostal #bookexchange #thankyou
pickKnew it would be funny, but it‘s a surprisingly insightful love letter to his mom and her refusal to let Apartheid crush them. #memoir #humor #motherson #apartheid
I would be jealous that my neighbor wrote such a good, well-received debut novel, if she were not the nicest person who ever floated out of a Talbots ad! Seriously, the story and prose are good, she is probably the kindest person in Texas, she uses the Houston setting well, and I know she spent years quietly crafting this story of loss & rebirth. Check it out! #debutauthor #excellentprose #excellentperson
Books I “borrowed,” lol! Love this. Borrowed it from Instagram. #readinglife #booklover
Happy Mother‘s Day to all the moms, grandmothers, foster-moms, older sisters, aunties & mentors out there! Thanks for raising readers and all that you do! #moms #mentors #raisingreaders #happymothersday
Having Batman at conventions and book signings makes them more fun! Local authors are so supportive of each other at cons-it‘s awesome! #readlocal #writingcommunity #crime #horror #fantasy
Thank you, teachers! You do indeed change the world. #teacherappreciationday #teachersrule
Origami we made. Impressed with my neighborhood library, I am! #kidscrafts #librariesrule #maythe4thbewithyou
May the 4th be with you! Our neighborhood library is having a fun costume contest and Star Wars story hour! #starwars #coollibrary
pickPerfect read for Mother‘s Day! Families of all shapes and sizes are celebrated, as are the places they live. Adoptive, inter-racial, lgbtqia and single father and homeless families included. A wonderful message that all families are valued! #5stars #kidsbooks #lovemakesafamily
An hour into this intriguing, award-winning suspense novel. Great voice and nuggets about family in the digital age. Trigger warning: opening includes a young person‘s fictional online suicide note. #intrigued #enjoying #audibook
Long listed for a Booker & a Women‘s Prize? Definitely have to get my hands on this one... #covet #looksgood
Murder by the Book is a dangerously great place to spend Independent Bookstore Day! #indiebookstoreday #shopindie #staffpicks #mbtbhouston #mysterythrillercrime
Happy Easter to my fellow Littens who celebrate! May the bunny leave books in your basket! #happyeaster #happyspring
pickJesus rises from the dead and a bunny brings candy? Easter is hard to explain! Good old Bear family from my childhoods learns that Easter is about more than candy in a nice, nonthreatening way. Maybe age 5 or 6? My 4.5 year old likes the bears, but really can‘t process this deep a story. Illustrations less scary than in some books about Jesus‘ death & resurrection. Book comes with stickers. #Easter #Christianity #oldiesbutgoodies
pickClever, terrifying, richly-drawn horror! 5 stars. Both mother & menace, the witch of the title creates Stephen-King style havoc, but represents so much more. Lush language and a sensitive protagonist you can‘t help but like. The perfectly described houses in the book become characters. Trigger warning: one frightening scene in which a preschool class of kids may, or may not, be in peril. A bloody gorgeous tale of growth & transformation.
Fun dipping into the lates PFH Page-turner today. I love a protagonist who is messy and has room to grow! #beachread #TXbeaches #suspense
Happy Poetry Month in America! Let‘s celebrate words & imagery all year long! #poetry #poems #nationalpoetrymonth
Mack Little‘s inventive new release isn‘t in the database yet, but fans of horror & dark fantasy will love Zen Grant & her journey. “Unique” is an over-used term, but Little‘s language is creative & lush and she can spin an exciting story! #newrelease #darkfantasy #horror #talent #writerstowatch
pickThis short, powerful chapbook of poems responding to current events is a great read in these surreal times. Poems about gun culture, Hurricane Harvey, and the treatment of women in US are particularly evocative. I got the chance to see her read last night & she‘s both talented & humble. Cress‘ writing will be featured in April‘s “O Magazine.” #poetry #4.5stars #quickread
pickA sweet story about the new girl who feels different. The plot borrows from “The Paper Menagerie,” but it‘s easy to love a book about origami animals bringing new friends together! Another culturally-sensitive winner from Grace Lin. Good gift for kids 4-6. #5stars #makingfriends #kidsbooks #diversebooks
pickWill the mischievous wee people bring you good luck? ☘️This fun book has Pete chasing a wily leprechaun to get good luck for his friends. Fun poems and always-cool Dean illustrations make this a perfect read for March. Pete learns that you can make your own good luck. Happy St. Patrick‘s Day, Littens! If you‘ll be celebrating with your family listening to Celtic music & telling old stories like I will, enjoy! #kidsbooks #luck #happystpatricksday
pickA funny & poignant book about moving. Great illustrations! Picked it up at the “Alexander” musical, but will definitely read it as a family next time we relocate. #kidsbooks #goodread #kidsemotions #funny
Very creepy but quite good. I‘m rooting for Abbey, the survivor protagonist! Stayed up late the last night of our vacation to read. Home now but equal parts excited & afraid to see what happens... #horror
Great language, but story rambles. She is one of my favorite writers, but this stand-alone with a male narrator lacks urgency. #slow #takingabreak
Kudos to the children‘s room librarians in our neighborhood for this awesome bulletin board! Thanks to all librarians across US who are spotlighting Women‘s History Month! #lovelibraries #TXlibraries #womenshistorymonth
pickGreat read for Women in Horror Month! Taught “The Possibility of Evil” in my Crafting Strong Women workshop yesterday and was reminded, once agin, of Jackson‘s twisted genius! #shortstories #5stars #womeninhorror
“Hateful, intimate interaction was in no way preferable to general, disconnected apathy.” -Jae Mazer. One feels for the lonely 12 year old protagonist even before she encounters the witch... and horror pairs well with a King Cake latte. #lonelytween #interestingcharacters #horror
Happy birthday to the brilliant, challenging & inspiring Toni Morrison! #happybirthday #brilliantwomen #Americanclassics
1. Flannery O‘Connor
2. Joyce Carol Oates
3. Shirley Jackson
4. Tana French
5. Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Had to attack a lot of housework today and cats were no help! So detective DD Warren and I both worked hard. I jumped in mid-series on these books, which I generally try to avoid, but this started with a stellar prologue (what color are screams?) so I listened & enjoyed. The narrator doesn‘t quite get the Boston accents right, but I‘ve heard worse. #startswell #audiobook #lovethatdirtywater
Note to self: Remember this. When I am tired, and awkward, and just want to change the subject... this. #whiteprivilege #race #equality #MLKjr
1. Still enjoying “The Witch Elm.” Haven‘t been inside the head of a 20-something White guy narrator for a while. And every brief, punctuating description is spot-on. 2. A mocha with a shot of hazelnut (we call it unofficial Nutella). Hot mulled wine also nice!
3. Strong coffee at breakfast. Cut back on caffeine due to ear infection. #weekendreads
Rest In Peace, Mary Oliver. Thank you for being there when I needed you. #poetry #wisdom #solace #inspiration #rip
pickA fun read-along with your little Star Wars fan ages 4-7. Darth Vader fears...an unexpected ending. Work on your James Earl Jones Darth Vader voice to use while reading. 😉 My son earned this from us as a reward for doing his chores & listening well and he likes it. #5stars #StarWarsfans #fun #cleverending
