A hard-hitting and engrossing novel about the Sri Lankan Civil War in the 80's and 90's. There is a lot of tragedy in this story, but joy too, and interesting descriptions of Sri Lankan culture and food.

This is my third book finished for the #MarvellousMay readathon, and it is also my #DoubleSpin choice for #BookSpinBingo. @Andrew65 @TheAromaofBooks

This novel was nominated for the 2022 Aurora Best Novel award and the entire series was nominated for a 2022 Hugo award.

I liked this final book very much but it didn't amaze me the way Witchmark, the first book, did.
#hugo2022 #hugoawards #auroraawards

Second book finished for #MarvellousMay and another on my #BookSpinBingo card! @Andrew65 @TheAromaofBooks

Finished my first book for the #MarvellousMay readathon, one of the 2022 Aurora Best Graphic Novel/Comic nominees. The story is lighthearted and fun, and I loved the cheerful colours of the artwork. I'm sure the story would resonate with anyone who has had to live with an annoying sibling! 😄

@Andrew65
#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks
#auroraawards

I have 3 goals for the #MarvellousMay readathon hosted by @Andrew65:

- Finish Island of a Thousand Mirrors
- Read as many works as I can from the Aurora Awards shortlist in preparation for voting at the end of July.
- Make progress on my needlework project while #audiostitching for this month's #LitsyCrafters theme.

A Hugo Best Novel nominee, this is a fun and lighthearted science fiction novel that covers a wide range of themes: gender identity, music, Asian American culture and cuisine, donuts, aliens and video games. Enjoyable and heartwarming!

#hugoawards #hugo2022
#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

From the World of the White Rat Series, which was nominated for a 2022 Hugo Best Series award, this is an enjoyable story, with good characters, suspense, comedy and romance (though maybe a little too much romance for my tastes). I've enjoyed a number of other works by T. Kingfisher (a.k.a. Ursula Vernon).

#hugoawards #hugo2022
#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

This is a horror story about men mysteriously disappearing from Toronto's gay village, reflecting real-life events that happened in the city. I found this book deeply disturbing and provocative. I recommend it with reservations, as it's quite graphic and the format is unusual, but wow, Demchuk sure can write horror!

#auroraawards
#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

I didn't manage as many hours as usual, with just over 8 hours for the #20in4 readathon, but I did make some progress with the 5th Malazan Book of the Fallen novel. This is one large and epic series!

Thank you for hosting the readathon, @Andrew65!

I‘ve been working on this Japanese Garden by Chatelaine on and off (mostly off) for the past 17 years. I‘m hoping May‘s #LitsyCrafters focus on cross-stitch will help me get working on it again! @Catsandbooks

I‘ll be #audiostitching along to the first book in T. Kingfisher‘s Paladin series.

April was an excellent #BookSpinBingo month. I finished my #BookSpin and #DoubleSpin choices and also got a Bingo!

Big thanks to @TheAromaofBooks for hosting!

Here is my May list for #BookSpinBingo, #BookSpin and #DoubleSpin! @TheAromaofBooks

Lots of Hugo and Aurora award nominees on the list, as I try to read as many as I can before the voting deadlines! #hugoawards #auroraawards

I'm joining in the #20in4 readathon hosted by @Andrew65 but so far, I've only managed an hour in this first day. I've got a busy weekend ahead, so there's no hope of reaching the 20-hour goal, but I'll be happy with however many hours of reading I'll get!

I enjoyed this 2022 Hugo Best Novel nominee even more than the first in the series. Compared to A Memory Called Empire, this one had more action and a more interesting cast of characters and felt like it fit the space opera genre better. #hugoawards #hugo2022

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

A low pick for me. The plot of this Regency-era mystery set in London was messy and not totally plausible, but I liked the Dickensian characters and setting.

Happy to have finished my #bookspin book before the end of the month! #BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

This is the second book in the Kingston Cycle, a historical fantasy series nominated for the 2022 Hugo Best Series award. The book didn't wow me like the first one did but it's a pick all the same.#hugoawards #hugo2022

I can tell the author is Canadian (like me) because the biggest threat to humanity is a series of monster snowstorms!

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

After reading the wonderful Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell, I decided to reread Shakespeare's Hamlet. What struck me is the incredible number of common English phrases that had come from this work.

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

A 2022 Aurora Best Novella nominee, this story explores the difficult choices a teenage girl must make in an apocalyptic world ravaged by a climate disaster and a mind-altering parasite. #auroraawards

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

After reorganizing some furniture around the house, my new reading corner is ready! #readingspot #booknook

I loved this beautifully written historical novel, an imagined account of the life and death of Shakespeare's son Hamnet, told mostly through the eyes of his wife Agnes.

This is my 4th and final book completed for the #AwesomeApril readathon. Thank you @Andrew65 for hosting!

It's also my #DoubleSpin book for this month! #BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

This is the first book in the Merchant Princes series, nominated for a 2022 Best Series Hugo Award. The writing seemed a little sloppy, but it is one of Stross's early works and I like the characters and premise enough to want to continue with the next book. #hugoawards #hugo2022

Third book finished for the #AwesomeApril readathon and 6th book checked off on my #BookSpinBingo card! @Andrew65 @TheAromaofBooks

I enjoyed these quirky and often strange stories. However, most of them were very brief and felt like vignettes rather than actual stories, leaving me feeling somewhat unsatisfied with them..

Second book finished for the #AwesomeApril readathon! @Andrew65

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

An excellent installment in the Harry Hole series, in which Harry hunts a serial killer with vampiric tendencies. The audiobook was superbly narrated by John Lee.

First book finished for the #AwesomeApril readathon! @Andrew65

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

On the heels of the #hugoawards announcement, the #auroraawards ballot was announced yesterday. These are the #Canadian SFF awards, and I hope to finish all the novel nominees (and more) before the voting deadline.

The full ballot is here: https://prixaurorawards.ca/2022-aurora-award-ballot/

Here are the books I'd like to read during the #AwesomeApril readathon. If I can finish at least 4 of these, I'll be happy! @Andrew65

- The Thirst (in progress)
- Hamnet
- Family Trade
- Suddenly a Knock on the Door
- Murder at Black Swan Lake
- A Desolation Called Peace

This story mixes Coupland's humorous and insightful observations on society with the serious themes of loneliness and illness.

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

I'm excited to start my annual reading of the Hugo nominees! There is a lot to get through before the voting deadline, including all the Best Series nominees. I have no hope of reading it all, of course, but I try to cover as much as I can.

#hugo2022 #hugoawards

This story follows the paths of several people living in China during the Cultural Revolution who eventually make their way to America. There were some weaknesses in the writing, but the characters and strong storytelling, along with the interesting historical details, more than made up for the deficiencies.

@BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

Each of the three stories concerns a main character that becomes so obsessed with another person's life that it affects his own identity. I'm not sure I understood all the connections, but I did find the writing beautiful and compelling.

#1001books #BookCrossing #BookSpinBingo
@TheAromaofBooks

No bingo this month, but I‘m still happy with the results. I finished both my #BookSpin and #DoubleSpin selections and came very close to a bingo or two!

Thanks to @TheAromaofBooks for hosting!

Here is my April #BookSpin #DoubleSpin and #BookSpinBingo list! @TheAromaofBooks

The story was a little chaotic, with so many unsolved mysteries for Inspector Frost to investigate, but I enjoyed the story all the same. Frost is a great character, in both the novels and the TV adaptation.

I finished the #20in4 readathon with a total of only 10 hours and 15 minutes. I thought I'd get more reading done on vacation but ended up spending a lot of time with family!

@Andrew65

Lawson's writing reminds me of Alice Munro's, though it's a little darker and more suspenseful. She explores small-town life in Northern Ontario in the same way that Munro did for Southern Ontario. I became so engrossed in the lives of her characters!

Only 8.5 hours finished for the #20in4 readathon so far, but there's still a bit of time left! @Andrew65

Time for another #20in4 readathon hosted by @Andrew65! I'm off work today, so I've already managed about 70 minutes of reading this morning.

A collection of stories told from the viewpoint of transgender women. Beautiful writing, with many of the stories set in the Canadian prairies.

This was my #DoubleSpin selection. #BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

A rector's daughter and a wounded veteran team up to solve a mystery set in Regency England. The mystery was a bit weak but the characters were appealing, and I'm looking forward to reading more books in this series.

I go to the end of the #MarvellousMarch readathon yesterday with this 4th book finished. Thanks @Andrew65 for hosting!

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

A great ending to an exceptional sci-fi series! I am happy that all the storylines got resolved in a satisfactory way, but I am indeed sad to say goodbye to the Rocinante's crew.

#MarvellousMarch @Andrew65
#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

This story imagines the life of Ana, spouse of Jesus. The story on its own is a good piece of historical fiction, showing the challenges women faced in that time period. However, the context of Jesus's life and death adds additional interest. I particularly liked the author's note at the end of the book.

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks
#MarvellousMarch @Andrew65

There were a couple of things that bothered me: Helen's forcing Bertram to marry her (though the gender reversal is interesting) and that she wants him as a husband despite his being such an ass.

I did, however, enjoy reading this alongside Mona Awad's novel All's Well.

#MarvellousMarch #BookSpinBingo
@Andrew65 @TheAromaofBooks

I'm getting ready for the #MarvellousMarch readathon hosted by @Andrew65!

My goal is to finish as many of these books as I can in the 9 days:
- A Dream of a Woman
- All's Well That Ends Well
- The Book of Longings
- Leviathan Wakes
- The Confession of Copeland Cane
- A Town Called Solace

This #ToB22 book has elements of All's Well That Ends Well and Macbeth mixed into a wonderfully crazy story about a high-school drama teacher suffering from chronic pain. Miranda tells her students that Shakespeare's play is both a tragedy and a comedy, and one can say the same of this version of All's Well.

I wouldn't recommend this novel to everyone, but I really loved it myself.

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

This is my favourite of the 13 #ToB22 books I've read so far. Absolutely brilliant! It's a darkly humorous and horrific story that is connected to the 1955 lynching of Emmett Till in Mississippi.

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

I'm not sure how I feel about this #ToB22 book. Part 1 was all over the place, while Part 2 was powerful and sad. I was intrigued by the author's stylistic choices but I also found the format frustrating at times.

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

This #CanadaReads contender is an intense and gripping story about a young refugee boy who survives a shipwreck and a girl who befriends him. El Akkad offers harsh but not unfair commentary about the West's attitude toward refugees.

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

I didn't really “get“ this strange #ToB22 novel but enjoyed the ride all the same. It felt very much like a dungeon-crawler video game -- enter a room, battle a monster, solve a puzzle, leave with some loot, and then tackle the next room.

I finished this book late last night to complete the #20in4 readathon with a total of 15 hours and 30 minutes. Thanks to @Andrew65 for hosting!

It was a good #BookSpinBingo February! I finished my #BookSpin and #DoubleSpin selections and also got a bingo!

Thanks to @TheAromaofBooks for hosting!

I finished several more short stories about Tybalt, King of Cats, from the October Daye series. I've now completed 15 of the 17 published ones featuring Tybalt and I'm ready to return to the main series. It's astounding how prolific Seanan McGuire (a.k.a. Mira Grant) is!

Currently at 9 hours and 20 minutes for the #20in4 readathon.

#BookSpinBingo
@TheAromaofBooks @Andrew65

My March #BookSpin list. #DoubleSpin #BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

I loved the cast of characters (which includes sentient books) in this #ToB22 novel that explores grief and mental illnesses. The novel has a number of very painful moments, but Ozeki also injects a lot of humour into the story.

Currently at 5 hours and 40 minutes for the #20in4 readathon.

#BookSpinBingo #sharreadathon
@TheAromaofBooks @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Andrew65

Today's the start of the 5-day #20in4 (#20in5?) readathon hosted by @Andrew65! I took the day off work so was able to get in 3 hours and 30 minutes so far.

I finished the #FabulousFebruary readathon yesterday and started the #sharreadathon in memory of our Litsy friend sharread by doing some urban cross-country skiing while listening to Ozeki's #ToB22 book on audio.

Very happy with my #FabulousFebruary result, as I finished 5 books (though they were short ones).

#BookSpinBingo
@Andrew65 @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @TheAromaofBooks