Sobering but a really excellent debut. I‘m so glad I read it as I was visiting the Balkans for the first time. Croatia is a wonderful place and I can‘t believe how recently the conflict happened here. I took this photo from our hotel in Hvar Town. 🇭🇷

Me when the next GOT book finally comes out 😆 Took this pic outside a little church in Hvar, Croatia. It‘s SO beautiful here. I haven‘t had much time to post about what I‘ve been reading, but will soon!

I‘m in Dalmatia, Croatia and Montenegro for the next week and had started this book right before leaving. It‘s excellent but sobering - I didn‘t realize how little I really knew about the Yugoslavian conflict. Here‘s a photo of Diocletian‘s Palace in Split. This country is beautiful and amazing so far. 🇭🇷

I hosted my in-laws for Mother‘s Day brunch today and made this ridiculously rich spinach and cheese strata from the Smitten Kitchen website. It was *chef‘s kiss* delicious and the best part was making it the day before and just popping it in the oven for an hour before serving. Happy Mother‘s Day to all the mom littens out there!

I liked it but didn‘t find it as page-turning as other readers - in fact, it took me 12 days to read 😓 I‘ve been in a little bit of a slump where I can‘t seem to get through much of anything, though. There was some really affecting writing about the incredible challenges of caregiving and the danger of judging other people‘s complex lives too quickly. #BOTM

Apparently my capacity for reading books about women‘s rage is endless. Must have something to do with my own constant simmering low level rage about the state of the world. 🤬

I finished this last weekend but have been too busy to post. Ann Patchett is one of my very favorite writers, but I was a little nervous about reading her first book after seeing mixed reviews. It‘s true that this started out strong and then the plot lost a little steam with some perspective shifts, but I really liked it all the same. Her writing is just so captivating, and Rose was a compelling (albeit infuriating) protagonist.

(+sleepy Percy🐱)

Phew. Ok. This was a gut punch, a wrenchingly honest, brave, naked and raw account of pregnancy and early motherhood. I don‘t have kids and have been on the fence about it for years, but as I near my late 30s and the clock keeps ticking, candid books like this are invaluable to me. She narrates the audiobook excellently, with emotion just glimmering below the surface.

I absolutely loved this. What a great combo of riveting and appalling, and the audiobook narration was excellent. Now I need to watch the documentary about this scam artist.

The weather has been awful all day here but I‘m pretty content settling in with my newest read and a bottle of red blend at my favorite local winery. #vineyardreads

Such a promising concept and a strong (albeit slow) start, but ultimately it fell flat for me. The characters were never fully fleshed out as real people with any depth, and the plot was maddeningly predictable. It felt like there was a really strong outline for the book and just a lack of success at filling in the detail to drive to the end (which was strange and unsatisfying).👇

Starting this one today and am so excited to start a new print book, my last two reads have been on my kindle and I was missing a real book. Forgot to get my coffee in the pic but this was another #coffeecrullerbook kind of morning. ☺️

I didn‘t fall head over heels for it like I did for the first one, but this was still a super fun historical romp with strong female voices and tons of lovely representation. The audiobook narrator is fabulous.

Am in Mexico City right now and suffice to say I‘m having an AMAZING time, but had to take a break from eating tacos to post this. We went to see the Diego Rivera murals in a federal office building in the city center, and my favorite was this one titled “Literary.” ☺️🎨🇲🇽

I‘d been meaning to read this forever and finally got the audiobook. It‘s essential reading, that‘s all I can say. I watched the documentary The 13th a while back and this is in the same vein, but so much more in depth. I wish all Americans would read it.

I usually skip #BOTM, but the choices this month were the best I‘ve seen in ages!! I don‘t think I‘ve ever ordered three before, but I‘ve seen a ton of early buzz for Normal People and Miracle Creek (plus @Liberty so duh), and I kept thinking about A Woman Is No Man so threw it in on an impulse. I‘m excited, even if it‘s killing my TBR numbers! 🤗

Snort-laughed when I saw this on Twitter and had to share it! 😂

As with most story collections, some of these I liked a lot and some I could have skipped. I picked this up because I‘m a huge fan of the Wolf Hall books and wanted to see a broader range of her writing, and I got that, but won‘t be rushing out to buy her backlist. Overall, it was a quick, worthwhile read. And I love the cover!

This book got me so angry and worked up - I rage-listened to most of it. It‘s an excellent and shocking portrayal of a very dysfunctional father-daughter relationship that hit a little close to home for me. My parents split up when I was a kid and I never felt like I had the most typical relationship with my dad. But wow am I grateful for him after reading this; it‘s heartbreaking. Steve Jobs was a serious asshole.

My reading buddy 🐱☺️ #catsoflitsy

Am liking this collection of dark, fairly weird short stories. So different from Wolf Hall!

I‘m not even halfway through and this book is making me so angry. I grew up feeling like my dad wasn‘t around a lot, but he wins dad of the year compared to Jobs. At least it‘s making me appreciate my own father more. 😕

Overall, this was a little slow and unnecessarily dragged out in my opinion. That being said, Imogen Church‘s narration was flawless as usual, and it actually did keep me guessing when I thought I had it all figured out.

I liked this much more than I expected, although I completely understand the mixed reviews and it‘s not my favorite Irving. The plot is meandering and never fully ties together, but the writing is pretty great and I was fully engaged throughout - especially the flashbacks to the MC‘s childhood in Oaxaca. Although after all the viagra and penis focus in the present day timeline I really need to read some women authors next. 😬

Enjoying my #coffeecrullerbook this morning (except it‘s actually a kouign-amann today 😋). My goal is to finish this book today, which is going to take some effort and concentration - it‘s not the quickest read. I‘m liking it more than I expected though!

I remember this day distinctly. I got married earlier that year and put off changing my name at the DMV because I was dreading the long waits at the awful Herald Square location. I felt like a genius when I went that morning and it took me about 7 minutes. 😁

Starting this (signed first edition!) next. Am a little nervous since it‘s gotten such mixed reviews. 😬

This was a more contemplative book than I‘d expected. There‘s some beautiful writing about friendship, adolescent insecurity and addiction, but what I liked most were the descriptions of how we reframe formative memories in our minds as we move farther away from them. (Clearly Sullivan is considering this as well 🐱 #catsoflitsy)

I liked this much more than I expected! I wouldn‘t have typically even picked this up, but it was highly recommended by my coworker. It was a very well done satire in a clever, unpredictable sci fi framework. I especially liked the commentaries on fame, identity, authenticity and the media (both social and mainstream), but there‘s a lot of interesting stuff on art as well.

Thanks to Sullivan🐱 for stepping into my shot. #catsoflitsy

After a bunch of air travel headaches due to the snow storm in the northeast US, I finally made it home to my cats and my bed. 😊 Am looking forward to reading some physical books instead of my Kindle, which I use exclusively when I travel. Starting with this one and cuddling with Percy. #catsoflitsy

Loved the second installment of this series and can‘t wait to read the rest! Book six of vacation done ☺️

I‘ve skipped #BOTM so many times, it looks like they‘re on to me! I didn‘t know credits could expire🤷🏼‍♀️ Guess I‘ll order this month, which is exactly what they want, ha. I‘m going with Queenie!

This was a totally light, enjoyable historical romance and a quick read as well. I‘m a big fan of Tessa Dare on Twitter so have been meaning to read more of her books. This is my fifth read of vacation, and I‘m on the way to Boca Raton now - husband has a work thing and I‘m continuing my vacation in the meantime! #romantsy

I love the characters so am going to keep going, but I do feel like this series is losing a little bit of steam. I didn‘t love the plotting in this one (although the twist at the end with Jada gutted me). Book four of vacation done, as is the Bahamas leg of my trip 🙁Heading to South Florida today so can‘t complain too much!

Book three of vacation down! This absolutely blew me away. It‘s ingenious and frankly close to perfect, and I can‘t believe how much is packed into less than 200 pages. Excited to read the rest of this series.

Yesssssss this book. One of the best historical romances I‘ve read and unique in that the stakes are significantly higher than usual. Excellent and I can‘t wait to read more Alyssa Cole! Vacation read number two down 🤗 #romantsy

This is an odd book to try and review and I‘m not sure how I really felt about it. A few parts punched me in the gut, and the entire premise is horrific, but this is less of a novel and more of an extended philosophical debate on religion and belief. It wasn‘t my cup of tea but can see the appeal for some readers. Thanks to Bloomsbury and #netgalley for the chance to do an early review.

(Also, I‘m on vacation so YAY 😎)

I liked the first book a lot but wasn‘t compelled to immediately jump into the second, so it had been a while, but I loved this and wish I‘d listened to it sooner. It‘s clever, witty and smart and the audiobook narration is excellent. I‘ll definitely be picking up the third one soon.

One of the bravest pieces of writing I‘ve ever read. I‘d put it off for a while knowing it would be a tough read and it was, but so worthwhile. #BOTM

#coffeecrullerbook is becoming a weekend theme for me 😋

This was darker than I was expecting, but immensely readable and engaging. A really smart commentary on consumerist culture and the blind reliance on industry and routine in this country. It was the surprising first pick for my newly created office book club and I‘m really interested in hearing everyone‘s reactions! #BOTM

I absolutely loved this excellent end to the first three books. Brown just balances incredible amounts of violence with rewarding, hard-won relationships and (a little) humor. What a brutal, bloody world though. I need a break before tackling Iron Gold.

After a bad night‘s sleep am starting the day right with coffee, a delicious cruller from my favorite local place and my next read. Am about 100 pages in and really liking it so far - I love the multiple timeline structure. #BOTM #coffeecrullerbook

Can‘t get back to sleep, so here goes:

💙 David Mitchell (tagged book is my fave of all time)
💙 Kate Atkinson
💙 Ann Patchett
💙 Haruki Murakami
💙 George Saunders and Lauren Groff (tie!!)

First four were easy, sooo hard to choose a fifth (so I didn‘t 😅) Based on this list, any suggestions for what other authors I would love?

Yaaaaaassssssss. (I feel like Phoebe would approve of that as the whole review.) Seriously though, listen to this audiobook. It‘s hilarious and so fun.

She does?!? 😱😆🙌❤️

Weird and wonderful. Great audio narration, although I kind of want to reread in print to see how the experience differs, which I almost never feel the need to do. 👍

Such a hard book to rate. I liked her honesty, and I was eventually impressed by her full commitment to vocal sound effects in the audiobook once I got used to her voice, but this was a tough listen. While she acknowledges her privilege a few times, it‘s really nauseating. And so. Many. Drugs.

I didn‘t participate in #24in48 this weekend because my husband was recovering from knee surgery (plus I came down with a cold myself 🤧), but I did finish this wonderful book. Atkinson is one of my very favorite writers and I especially love how she writes about WWII, so chances were good I‘d love this one, and it delivered. It was wholly different from her other historical fiction; definitely lighter and funnier, but just as enjoyable.

I love Kate Atkinson‘s writing so much ❤️