Happy 64th birthday gift to myself. (Although I clearly don‘t ever need an occasion to buy books. 🤣) I have lots of thoughts about another trip around the sun. And a lot of anxiety (something I don‘t really experience much) about the shitty state of the world. BUT a lot of hope, too. Or is that panic? 🤷‍♀️ Thanks to all the Littens who have enriched my life. Bookish people are the best!

A cold, wet, Victoria Day to finish this story of a girl who arrives in Paris to spend time with her brother only to discover him missing. It was okay.

I was all in for the first 3/4 of this book about a woman who returns to her childhood home after a long estrangement from her mother who is now dying. Horrible things happened in this house at the hands of her father, a convicted serial killer, and Vera now his to reconcile the love she had for him, her fraught relationship with her mother, and , oh yeah, there‘s something under her bed. It got weird.

Can't say that I completely understood everything Lanier said, but I did get the main message: social media is ruining the world and we are its slaves. Not Litsy.

When Mary and her husband Graham move into a remote cottage after a devastating tragedy, Mary finds that she is not alone. Over 100 years earlier, 13 year old Eliza‘s life is forever changed when an accident brings James Dix into her orbit. Dual timeline grief horror that was both creepy and heartbreaking. It‘s been on my tbr shelf for ages, and so I am glad I finally got around to reading it. It‘s a whopping 500 pgs, but well worth the time.

#truth

#justification

Yeah, not so much with the believability, but the beginning was good and I kept turning the pages so ... So. 🤷‍♀️

Independent Book Store Day #bookhaul. ❤️

Fact.

This is my 2nd Emily Henry and my 2nd bail. She is just not for me. The forced witty banter, the cookie cutter plot. I made it to page 80, but I am moving on. 🤷‍♀️

Plucked from my tbr shelf, this is a lovely (and sad) story of Myra, a 51 year old outreach nurse, who finds herself caring for Chip, the golden boy she loved from afar in high school. Chip has terminal cancer and their friendship sustains them both. This is a quiet novel that is life affirming and hopeful, but also super sad.

A group of teenagers in Wesley Falls wage war against a powerful church and its pastor who is clearly not quite human. Twenty years later, they return home after the death of one of their group. Yes, it screams IT, but I very much liked these characters and while it‘s not as good as King‘s book, it was well written ( for the most part) and a page turner.

https://www.readyourcolor.com/ is a free quiz that asks you to choose whether or not you would read or pass on a variety of books based on a brief description and then spits out what colour of reader you are. It also suggests a number of titles you might like to read. I felt like my result was pretty accurate. If you take the quiz, let me know what colour you are!

Thanks for the tag, @dabbe
I love all the flowers in spring and I buy myself tulips almost every week once they hit the grocery store. I even love dandelions. Lilacs! And lupin when they appear in June.
I am grateful for all the things you‘d expect: family, health, meaningful work, and a fun summer visitor that I get to look forward to!
#wondrouswednesday @Eggs

So, this is what I woke up to this morning. Blech.

I read it all and it was all bad. Clunky dialogue, too many threads, unbelievable characters, ridiculous and convenient resolutions. And almost 500 pages. I knew way early that I wasn‘t going to like it because of the writing, but I thought “I‘ll just keep going because of the mystery.” Just no.

When a personal photo turns up in the private collection of a convicted pedophile, Ryan Flannigan is sent back in time to her life in the 1970s. Ryan and her mother, Fiona, move from their summer theatre enclave, to a West Village apt complex where Fiona‘s dreams of fame are transferred to Ryan. This book is well written, evocative of a time and place, and examines the complicated relationship between mothers and daughters. 4⭐️

It had all the elements of a book that I should love but there was something missing. I felt like I was told about people‘s feelings, not shown them and so I didn‘t really believe in these relationships. It‘s been compared to The Paper Palace, but it isn‘t nearly as well written. This one reads like it was written to become a TV series, and I suspect that‘s where it will end up. Easy read.

This book has been on a lot of best horror book lists, including lists of extreme horror. I must have a high tolerance because I didn't find it extreme, although there was some squick and definitely some uncomfortable scenes. Lori is in love with a serial killer who tests her loyalty by sending her to retrieve a key and find the River Man. Lori, as it turns out, has also done some bad things. This book is dark, imaginative and also kinda heart💔.

This is a tough one. Roan is a skilled equestrian who dreams of one day competing in the Olympics, following in the footsteps of her medal-winning father, Monty. Theirs is a close relationship. Too close. When she becomes involved with a boy at school, her carefully compartmentalized life starts to unravel. This book is graphic and heartbreaking and potentially triggering, but I was wholly invested in Roan and HATED her “Daddy”.

Lily was my reading buddy this afternoon as I finished this cracker of a book. Rose, Lloyd, Sami and Marta are scholarship students at High Realms, a school where they do not fit in & are mercilessly tormented. When one of the school‘s most popular students is gravely injured, three of the friends do whatever they can to protect the fourth. Fabulous dark academia.

Although some bits were a little slow going, this debut was definitely a cut above. A woman and her two children hide after a home invasion...but was the whole thing just a figment of her imagination because of earlier trauma? Smart, well-written and definitely some pulse-pounding moments.

#notbookishbutnotpolitics
Visiting with my kids in Halifax and had coffee at the most adorable new spot, Crème. The high tea menus were in the books- see The Scarlet Letter pic- and when you opened the book, a butterfly flew out. Such a pretty spot and the desserts were yummy!

#bookhaul When the world is a dumpster fire, buy books. All the Wicked Girls came all the way from the UK. Midway was written by a guy I‘ve known for 40 years. His daughter is also my son‘s best friend. He‘s a well known musician in these parts, and this is his first novel.

I made it to page 106. Charlie and Vivian were married for 4 years 40 years ago and they have now reunited. In the 100 pages I read, their reunion was problem free and without any meaningful postmortem of their lives. When Vic‘s adult daughter meets Charlie, she says hey, I hear you have a drinking problem, let‘s open these expensive bottles of wine and drink them. I just didn‘t like the characters or the way this book was written. #hailthebail

I really enjoyed this family drama which centres on the Joseph family and the girl who enters their life. What secrets do people keep in the name of love? I loved this writer‘s novel Shiner and this book was similarly quiet and thoughtful. 4.5 ⭐️

Grace Sebold is ten years into a life sentence for the murder of her boyfriend Julian when documentary filmmaker Sidney Ryan agrees to take a look at the case. This was okay…a bit repetitive and misused blood splatter, which I found sort of weird. Lots of red herrings and the ending was unexpected, but also not the most riveting book of its type I have read.

Nine months ago I posted a picture of a book haul. Here‘s an update on how many I have read. Of those Girl A was the best. How are you making out tackling your tbr piles?

Storm day means Lily and I are bundled up at home and I got to finish this book about ice dancers Kat and Heath, a sport I loved back in the day. Objectively not a fabulous book (it was a lot of telling and big things were resolved way too quickly and for two people who were supposed to be so passionate about each other, if felt a little sterile in the sex dept) and yet I loved every single second of it. Totally would watch the limited series.

It‘s a soft pick for me. I found it all a bit too saccharine and Cameron acted like he was a kid instead of a grown ass man. I enjoyed Marcellus‘s voice most of all, and wish there had been more of it.

A little Friday night pick-me-up because, you know, the world sucks right now, #bookhaul

Five years ago Lucy‘s best friend, Savvy, was murdered and Lucy was the prime suspect, although she was never charged. Now a podcaster is investigating the case and Lucy returns to the scene of the crime and, with her grandmother‘s encouragement, agrees to talk. The writing was okay, and I guess the mystery was okay, but the book was also just okay. Others might really like it, but it‘s just a soft pick for me.

A high school senior named Joel struggles to find a way to cope with his grief by composing texts he never sends to the school principal, his best friend, Andy, and Eli, the girl he loves. This novel is funny, thoughtful and sincere. It constantly asks Joel to consider other people‘s experiences, even as he tries to manage his own. I really enjoyed it.

This is the 2nd book I have read by this author, and while I didn‘t love it like I loved Brother, I still thought it was good. When 10 year old Stevie‘s 12 year old cousin (and best friend) Jude goes missing, he is determined to find him. But when Jude suddenly reappears, Stevie knows something is wrong. Terribly wrong. And he has to do something about that. Because it suffers in comparison to Brother, 3⭐️, but I read until 2am, so 🤷‍♀️

Nabbed from FB.

Our first snow day of the school year…and it kinda sucks because it‘s also the first day of assessment week…which means everything pushes ahead a day. 🤪 Still, I am hoping to get a pile of marking done and maybe finish my current read and make some cupcakes to bring to the kids tomorrow. I have already shovelled, but will have to go back out once the plow has come along.

When the mail finally starts rolling in. #LitsyLove

@wanderinglynn is celebrating her birthday by hosting a fun #49bdaygiveaway.
My book choice is tagged.
Happy birthday, Lynn!

I loved this author‘s take on vampires in The Lesser Dead and this novel is also pretty dang great. It takes place in 1935 when Frankie Nichols, a war veteran, moves to a backwater Georgia town with his soon-to-be-wife Dora. He has inherited property and plans to write his family‘s history. He doesn‘t realize just how dark that history is. Creepy, beautifully written and solidifies Buehlman‘s spot on my auto buy list.

Another winner by Jeff Zentner. This is the story of Carver Briggs, a high school senior whose three best friends die in a car accident for which he feels responsible. He also struggles with massive guilt as he becomes closer to the girlfriend of one of those friends. A beautiful, heart-breaking book. My first 5⭐️ of 2025.

I kinda love his take.

@JacqMac what a lovely #littlechristmasswap to unwrap after my first day back to school. I LOVE shortbread and I will definitely be breaking my sugar fast to consume them! The kitty bookhugger is adorable. The tea sounds divine and the book has been on my tbr list forever. Thanks so much for such a thoughtful swap package.
Thanks for organizing such a fun swap @bookish_wookish !

NYT named this the #1 book of the century. Hmmm. Am I missing something? I mean, it was interesting, but I didn‘t love it like some people and I am going to say many of my book club pals aren‘t going to singing its praises either.
Back to work tomorrow. 😭

#5JoysFriday
All my joys except for the last one, when Lily and I were reunited, have to do with my fabulous holiday in Florida Dec 25-Jan 1. Not only did I get to have a solid week with my kids, but we shared a house with my aunt and uncle, their adult daughters and grandsons who are 10 and 12. Weather was warm, we had a ball at the parks…it was just a lot of fun.
@DebinHawaii

My last book of 2024 finished poolside on my last day of a fabulous Christmas holiday. Happy New Year, Littens!

Ahhhhhhhhh. How many books will fit in my suitcase?

We had a great, but long, first day of our holiday. The day before we left home we had a huge snow storm, which has made the balmy weather in Orlando extra nice. I hope everyone had a fabulous day.

Thank you, @TheKidUpstairs for my delightful #jolabokaflod swap. To be honest, I opened it on Monday because I am currently sitting in a hotel room before the kids and I fly to Florida tomorrow. I took the pic then so I could share tonight!
Thanks, @MaleficentBookDragon for another great swap.