I finally had time after the Thanksgiving prep and Christmas decorating to sit down with my amazing #NewYearWhoDis list from @4thhouseontheleft I love how wonderfully diverse your list is! I‘ve read, and loved, a few on the list already but here are the ones I hope to get to in 2022. I will probably only have time for a couple of them in January, but hope to eventually get to them all. Thank you so much @monalyisha for such a great match!
@WanderingBookaneer your #LMPBC book is here! Looking forward to reading it ☺️
@LazyDays @TheBookKeepers Mine will go out this week!
pickThis is a weird, often gruesome, little book, but it is also a refreshingly original portrait of motherhood. The struggle between the parents to do what is “best” for Chouette with ever advancing technology is striking, as is the loneliness and helplessness that Tiny (the mother) has to face.
pickGosh I loved this! A complex look at a family at a crisis point, with the vivid characters that we have come to expect from Franzen. It weighs in at about 600 pages, but never feels bloated or unwieldy. Every one of the 600 pages are essential. There is a lot of talk about faith and goodness and I admired the respect that Franzen showed for those with strong Christian faith, those with none, and everyone in between.
pickWell, this was just a perfect spooky, macabre little book. Thank you so much for including it in my #BasicWitchSwap package @monalyisha ! I have already ordered the next two in the series!
so-soMeh. I would love to say this is a slow burn because I think that was the intention, but it never felt that way to me. I was bored for more than half the book and then when things finally started happening, it all felt rushed.
Thanks for the tag @MoonWitch94
October was a very fun month for me! I love all things witchy so I had a blast co-hosting #BasicWitchSwap this year!
I‘m excited that I can start decorating and prepping for Christmas! We are having Christmasy weather in Atlanta today, so I might watch a Christmas movie 😊
I joined a very fun online knitting group, and am so inspired by the creativity and skill of the group.
#ThoughtfulThursday
Somehow I missed the signup for this sweet, simple swap last year. Don‘t let that happen to you! Go to @MaleficentBookDragon ‘s feed for more details and to sign up.
#Jolabokaflodswap
Settling in with one of my #BasicWitchSwap books from @monalyisha with such a full heart. Thank you to everyone who participated and made this such a fun swap. Every unboxing picture warmed my heart.
And, of course, the biggest thank you to the wonderful @sprainedbrain The best swap co-host anyone could ask for 😘
A Blessed Samhain to all and to all a good night! 🎃👻🧹
Alyisha I am so happy I could cry! You really get me! I am impossible to choose books for (my own family sticks to the list 😂) But you managed to choose three amazing books for me! Can‘t wait to dive in to those delicious looking goodies! And the Palo santo and incense set is absolutely gorgeous! I can‘t wait to light it up tonight! Thank you so so much my friend!! #BasicWitchSwap
@BookBosomed1 It was so sweet of you to include a gift for Sandy in my #AllHallowsReadSwap package! Here is the silly girl saying cheese in her new bandana 😂
@BookBosomed1 you completely spoiled me! Thank you so so much for my #AllHallowsReadSwap package!! I love everything, especially the Pride and Prejudice tea which was so thoughtful! I also love that you included an uplifting book which will be most welcome on this cold, gloomy day!
Thank you @MaleficentBookDragon for organizing this fun swap!!
pickI agree with the other reviewers who have noted that this one sags a bit in the middle, but since I was so reluctant to say goodbye to the Owens family, I didn‘t really mind. A lovely ending to a lovely series. I‘ll miss these characters, so it‘s a good thing they live in my books and I can visit anytime.
Book is pictured with my beloved Cherry Doc Martens. I also have grey eyes, so I‘m pretty sure I‘m in the Owens family tree somewhere.
pickSaying that I was completely riveted by these primary source documents, might be one of the nerdiest things I have ever said, but there it is. Reading these firsthand accounts of witch trials and accusations gave me chills and broke my heart.
I‘m so excited that my #AllHallowsRead package arrived yesterday! Thank you so much @BookBosomed1 ! I can‘t wait to see what is inside ❤️
pickI have always liked this book (and LOVED the movie!) but rereading it in chronological order with the rest of the series, made me like it more. Now that it is a part of a series and I have read more about where this story fits within the Owens timeline, I appreciate these characters in a different way. On to the newest addition…
#Screamathon
Calling all Witches! We are less than two weeks away from #BasicWitchSwap opening day! I have seen so many posts about lovely packages being mailed and received and can‘t wait to share Halloween/Samhain with all of you. @sprainedbrain and I have heard from most of you, but I‘ll tag a few folks in the comments who haven‘t posted their shipping plans yet. Please respond and let me know when you plan to ship your package.
Here is a picture of me sending off my #BasicWitchSwap package this morning. Fly my pretties! The flying monkeys promise that they‘ll deliver it by Monday.
@sprainedbrain @monalyisha
pickAs current as the story is, I couldn‘t help the feeling of nostalgia as I read. This is clearly written for a YA audience, not a 42 year old lady 👵🏻, and it reminded me so much of the R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike novels that I used to scare myself silly with when I was in my early teens. I feel like I should have read it in my bed with a flashlight.
I bought a signed copy and Tiffany D. Jackson‘s signature is too cute
Hello #Group L! I‘ve been in a poetry group with a couple of y‘all before and I‘m looking forward to another round of #LMPBC. Here are a few from my TBR stack. Anything grab you? Or totally turn you off?
#AllHallowsReadSwap is wrapped and will be sent via Priority Mail tomorrow!
Be on the lookout @Chrissyreadit
And thanks so much to @MaleficentBookDragon for putting together this awesome swap!!
pick#Screamathon Book 2! I know it isn‘t scary, but it‘s about witches so I‘m counting it. I‘m so glad I decided to reread this series in chronological order, but this reread made me itch for a Susannah in Paris spin-off novel. Where do I put in my formal request for that?
pickI‘m so glad that I decided to join in the #Screamathon fun this year. My scare pair was Nightbooks and both the book and movie really got me in the Halloween spirit! I really enjoyed both, but what kind of bookworm would I be if I didn‘t point out that the book is better?
Such a witchy #BOTM box for me this month. Can‘t wait!!
So excited for my first #Screamathon! These three make up the main stack because they fit the prompts, but I have lots of other witchy and scary books that I hope to get to during my favorite month!
Week 1-Scare Pairs-Nightbooks
Week 2-Diversify-White Smoke
Week 3-Hocus Pocus-White is for Witching
Week 4-🤷🏻♀️
pickThis was my #BOTM a year ago and I am just now getting around to it. Easily my favorite of the series! I‘m planning to reread the other two to get ready for the new (and maybe last? 😢) one. Counting on it being an October BOTM option.
And couldn‘t resist posting this cute pic of Sandy on our hike this morning instead of a picture of the book!
pickI am a sucker for a good historical fiction about witches and this is a great one! Of course, you root for the accused women, even if (or in my case ESPECIALLY if), they really were witches. It sent me down some research rabbit holes about the actual 17th century witch trials in England and I would love to know more. Does anyone have a nonfiction recommendation for that?
It‘s time for the encore of #TolstoyTogether! I‘m going in, anyone else coming?
You can find the schedule and details here: https://apublicspace.org/news/detail/tolstoy-together-2021
When it‘s 65 degrees in Atlanta in September, you just have to start the spooky reads early! Can‘t wait to get a pumpkin spice latte and watch Hocus Pocus later!
pickWhat a twisty delight! This is a slow burn, but when it really gets going about halfway through, I couldn‘t put it down.
so-soCasey‘s focus is more on the daredevils who ride these giant waves than the science behind their creation and seemingly increasing frequency and I would have preferred just the opposite. I completely see that my nerdy “fewer thrills, more science” approach probably doesn‘t represent the majority opinion of this one though.
pickAlice Tarbuck is my kind of witch! No hocus pocus or pacts with the devil here, her focus is more on finding peace, harmony, and empowerment within the natural world. Part history, part memoir, part practical guide to modern practice, it‘s all wonderful. I was only about halfway through when I snagged the last spot in her upcoming virtual workshop. I start Monday and can‘t wait!!
And LOL, it‘s so good, Sandy wants to read it too!
Witchy Littens, it‘s the last day to sign up for #BasicWitchSwap! Don‘t miss out!
https://forms.gle/qaGHgtJ3vNhXB6eP8
Translator Schillinger writes, “Translating Galla‘s idiom was extremely challenging; she was writing in French; but her first language—like Cagnati‘s—was Italian. That guided and narrowed the breadth of her expression, which, I think, focused and concentrated the authenticity of her voice.“ What challenges do you think that an author faces when not writing in their native language? What unexpected advantages might they have?
#NYRBBookClub
It has been widely noted that the immigrant experience & poverty are Cagnati's two great concerns, esp. in Free Day. How is her experience of poverty different when she is at school?
#NYRBBookClub
@vivastory
Galla believes that beauty comes from being loved. She believes that Fanny is beautiful because her parents love her and she is not because she is unwanted. A more traditional view would be the reverse, that we love things that are beautiful. What does it tell us about Galla that she sees beauty this way? And where do you think the idea came from?
#NYRBBookClub
@vivastory
Joanna Scutts noted in The Paris Review, “Free Day is a story stuck in a young girl's head.“ Was this beneficial or detrimental to Cagnati's novel?
#NYRBBookClub
@vivastory
Galla's reactions to her mother's affection are often extreme. More than rejecting it, she often has violent reactions to it. Ex., p. 65 “'I made it for you Galla, my Galla.' Always the same words and then, just like that, I'm not hungry at all, and I want to kill the whole world so nobody will ever say things like that to me ever again.“ Why does she react this way to the only affection in her life?
#NYRBBookClub
@vivastory
Let's get this discussion going!
In the introduction, Schillinger writes, “Free Day...offers an insider's view of what it feels like to be an outsider, not only in the land in which you live but in the family to which you were born.“ Do you think that this sense of estrangement was successfully portrayed by Cagnati?
#NYRBBookClub
@vivastory
Friends, it has been a LONG week! I have earned some Louise Penny, butter tarts, and wine. Hope everyone else is enjoying Friday as much as I am!
Calling all witches and witch lovers! Signup is still open for the #BasicWitchSwap hosted by @sprainedbrain and myself. Use this link to sign up and be sure to do so before 8/31!! https://forms.gle/GyFwxboq1WQgk1Jw5
I am thrilled to be cohosting my favorite swap with @sprainedbrain this year! #BasicWitchSwap is always so much fun so I hope you‘ll all join in! Sign up is open now through 8/31. Use this link to sign up!! https://forms.gle/3sQoVTgoDnctzHTg7
pickWell, this one is a total downer. A well written one, but depressing stuff all the same. I‘m sure it will give us plenty to discuss and I hope to be finished drying my tears by the time we talk about it!
#NYRBBookClub
No Hilary Clinton this year, but I‘m still excited for this virtual event to launch Louise Penny‘s latest! You can get tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/louise-penny-presents-the-madness-of-crowds-with-do...
You do have to buy the book from them to get access to the event, but who wouldn‘t want that gorgeous cover on her shelf?
pickCertainly not without flaws, but I admired Davidson's talent for immersing her reader in what, for most, will be an unfamiliar time and place. Despite the bleakness, and frankly predictability, of the plot, her writing kept me engaged.
so-soA bit of a let down after a good start. I found Jane to be a bit of a snooze by the end and didn‘t love seeing her snobbery about all of our friends in Highbury. Say what you will about Emma, at least she is never boring!
I also really wish that Aiken could have varied her descriptions a bit. She reduced characters, who are so alive in Austen‘s novel, to their most obvious character trait, i.e. Knightly=Gallant, Harriet=Simple etc…
#PemberLittens
pickMy neighborhood book club gave me a chance to revisit this classic and it‘s even better than I remembered. It might be my favorite book, definitely in the top five.
Eek! A new bookshop just opened in my neighborhood! Pretty proud of my restraint to keep to three.
I‘m especially excited about the tagged book. My 12 year old niece decided that we would start the “Claire and Katie Book Club,” and it‘s the first selection for this very exclusive club 😊
![[tagged book]](https://image.librarything.com/pics/litsy_webpics/icon_taggedBook@3x.png){kind=icon}
