Thank you for the lovely Christmas cards Emma @Oryx and Rachel @rockpools
First ones to our house and they‘ve really brightened up the hall!

Thank you for the lovely gifts and cards @rockpools @Caroline2 @squirrelbrain and @kaysworld1 !
It‘s especially thoughtful considering how absent I have been from Litsy lately. It‘s wonderful to know that this lovely community is still thriving.
My husband was being sweet and opened all my Amazon stuff so he could hide anything birthday related. Unfortunately that means I have no idea who The Housekeeper is from! Come forward so I can thank you!

I‘m finding the “how to parent without exacerbating gender stereotypes” parts of this book good, but lots of the rest of it is crap. And it‘s not at all trans-inclusive.
I am very good at math! I love math. And spreadsheets. And engineering.
Let‘s bet Dr Spears Brown. I‘ll take all your money!

I read this on my kindle during a lot of insomnia spells.

I generally liked this book, but it ran way too long for me. Between a pick and a so-so.

First physical book I‘ve bought myself all year. So excited to dive in!

Reading Den!!!
All my childhood dreams come true 😁

Really enjoying this so far. Especially at the beach!

A funny foodie cozy mystery.
I liked the characters and LOVED the food. I did, however, find the dialogue stilted and the characters‘ reactions to the murders a bit bizarre. I‘m hoping it‘s just the author finding her stride, because I plan to read the next one!

Probably my favorite book of the year so far.

I really enjoyed this as a slow burn romance between best friends (my favorite kind!) but then in the last 10% it did that stupid thing of creating drama just to have a grand romantic gesture afterward - I really could have done without that. Still lovely though ❤️

Hilarious hijinks, but way too unbelievable!
It was fun, but not a favorite

Went an unexpected direction, although you as the reader know this 50 pages before the main character.
I liked this and some parts were really fun, but I hated the ending.
I wouldn‘t put someone off reading this, but I‘m not sure I‘d recommend it. That said, I had fun.

Also, so sorry I‘ve been MIA. I haven‘t been reading or had a lot of energy for Litsy recently. I do miss you all.

I enjoyed this. It was fun and fairly engaging. I think the premise and world building were really interesting, but it could have done a lot more with it and the characters. Good, not great. But a great book for my reading slump.

Very excited that this book I supported on Unbound is finally in print and finally here. Now if only I could find the time to read it!

This went to places I didn‘t expect it to go. I was intrigued at the start, then flooded with anxiety waiting for things to go very very wrong, then it went to comic book villain level craziness, and came around to a solid ending.
The style was innovative without being gimmicky. Solid pick for me.

April #bookreport

I really enjoyed Detransition Baby

The Lamplighters was really interesting for the lighthouse setting, but not as much the characters

Here‘s to more reading in May!

I don‘t like short story collections, but I was seduced by this cover...

We woke up an hour and a half early in our house 😭 but at least we had a reading party! 🎉

I‘m in charge of selecting my Book Club‘s next book and I need some suggestions! I‘m pretty down at the moment, so I don‘t want to read anything sad or upsetting. It doesn‘t have to be happy, just neutral.
We‘re an international group based in the UK. We read NF and Fiction. Must be less than 350 pages. Any ideas?!?!

February #bookreport

If you‘d asked me, I would have told you I didn‘t finish any books in February. But I guess I did! The reading slump is bad though!!!

Finally got a chance to read this book that @Oryx got me the birthday before last 😂
The pacing was a little uneven for me, but I loved learning about icebreakers and Finland! Very cool!
Never would have thought to pick this for myself and I‘m so glad I read it.

This was delightful! And in the end basically a love letter to Yorkshire. Who wouldn‘t love that?

I woke up before my family this morning so I could have an hour alone. It was really great. Maybe next time I‘ll do some yoga too.

January #bookreport
I started January in a reading slump like I normally do,
then Quiet Girl grabbed me and I got back into reading. I loved Who is Vera Kelly?, Winter Counts, and Addie LaRue ❤️❤️❤️ But I‘ve just finished Addie and I don‘t want to read anything else - slump is back!
The 2 on the right are what I have out from the library, but I don‘t think I want anything serious. I think I need another Fun Romp. Suggestions?

Got to read a few pages at the park today and it was glorious

“Bea insists that everyone who works in a bookstore wants to be a writer, but Henry‘s never fancied himself a novelist. “
“Henry would rather be a storykeeper than a storyteller. “
This is exactly how I feel on Litsy! So many bookish folks with writing ambitions, I‘m just really not one of them. Storykeeper here!!!

This is all of your fault - all of you.
I have MLK day off work, but still had the nanny come this afternoon, so I have 3 whole hours to read/do chores! I‘m diving into Addie LaRue because everyone seems to have read it and loved it and #Litsymademedoit

Well @squirrelbrain we certainly got snow this time.
How are things a bit further north?
I cannot wait to curl up by the fire and finish this lovely book!

My first read of the year was a great one! (I always start the year in a reading slump for some reason, so I‘m glad this finally got me going)
I have never felt so SEEN by a book. Thanks so much @kaysworld1 for sending this to me so that it would be right in arms reach when I needed it!
Does anyone know if she‘s done a book on Parenting While Introverted?

📚7 more books than last year
📚WAY more library books this year! Pandemic or because I have a kindle?
📚15% print, 41% digital, 44% audio (first full year with a kindle)
📚I tracked publishers for the first time in 2020. I‘m not sure the data is interesting. Half are PRH titles. Imprint with the most books only had 4, and five had 3. I‘ll track one more year to see if the same imprints come up.
How was your reading year? Show me the numbers!

These are my favorite reads of the year. Except for The Starless Sea, they are all 2020 releases (and even that was Nov 2019). This was a great year for books!
I love seeing all of your picks for the best books of the year, although it always makes my TBR explode and makes me wish I had read more books this year!

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate! And to everybody else, I promise to get out of your feed with my Christmas tree tomorrow.
And an extra special Thank You to all the healthcare workers and other folks who are working today. You are very, very much appreciated!

Thank you @squirrelbrain ❤️ I‘m going to try really hard to start journaling in 2021, so this notebook will be perfect! (Although my daughter has already tried to draw in it 😁)
Happy Christmas to you and yours!!!

Thank you @Cathythoughts for the lovely gift!
I hope you‘re having a wonderful Christmas!

First physical book I‘ve read in awhile! I wasn‘t so sure at first, but by the end I loved it!
Thanks @TrishB !

Happy Christmas @Cathythoughts !!!
Thank you so much for the lovely book! I‘m not even sure if your card will get to you before the New Year 🙈

@kaysworld1 and @youneverarrived thank you for the gorgeous cards! I love hearing from you!

Thank you @TrishB and @jenniferw88 for the lovely Christmas cards!!! I just love how Christmassy some cards hanging in the front hall feels!

If the next book is 1000+ pages and 50 hours on audio, I‘m still going to read it. Competence is just so seductive.

Thank you Helen! Gorgeous card and first present under the tree!

Thank you so much @kaysworld1 !!!
A graphic novel is perfect for dipping in and out of, since I‘m not finding very much time to read.

My TBR‘s not toppling over. Your TBR is toppling over!

November #bookreport
📚I really enjoyed Sarah Moss‘s latest
🎧 When No One is Watching and One by One (not pictured) were both decent thrillers
📗I didn‘t love Anxious People, but I did love Happy and You Know It

That‘s it for me this month. Can I finish a few more 2020 favorites before the year is out? Loving everyone‘s best of lists!

Thank you @TrishB !!! I‘m really looking forward to this one. Thanks so much!

Thank you @Caroline2 and @squirrelbrain ! I can‘t wait to read both of these (child allowing)!!!
Helen, I‘m pretty sure yours arrived awhile ago, but my husband started hiding anything with my name on it 😂
Awesome bookish cards too! I feel spoilt!

I‘ve already cried twice

Surprisingly good! I love a good rich-people-problems, especially if it‘s set in New York. But I also liked having a laugh/commiseration with some of the trials of new motherhood. And it was light, which we all need right now.

@Caroline2 you are amazing! I don‘t know how you are so organized. Thanks so much for the lovely birthday gift. Of course now I have to sit and look at my shiny prezzie for two weeks before I can open it!

Gorgeous book so far.
I have never related to a book so hard as the chapter about the mum with young kids when the dad takes them out for an hour. And she keeps spending five minutes tidying something up, then reprimanding herself for not using that alone time optimally, then peeking out the window to see how her family are doing.
I can‘t wait to have five minutes to myself, then spend it looking out the window at my family 🙄

October #Bookreport
Leave the World Behind upset me more than any book in a long time. But good? Maybe?
Thursday Murder Club and Dani Brown both have me a good laugh though.
Really looking forward to Summerwater!