Hey, Littens! This month's #Authoramonth is Ursula K. LeGuin & I know nothing except for her name & that she writes fantasy. Where do you suggest I start?

I tried. Twice. 😔 Just couldn't get into it. I typically enjoy narrative non-fiction, but this just wasn't an interesting subject for me. I do think Larson is a lovely writer! #Authoramonth @Soubhiville

Welp, I didn't get any reading done on Sunday or Monday, but I'll take my two day total of 12 hours 16 minutes during #20in4, especially since I've been in a huge slump recently! Thanks for the push @Andrew65! Onward!

Day 2 of #20in4 = 7 hours, 35 minutes.

Finished Beyond the Wand by Tom Felton (audio) & Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen (Kindle). Started In the Great Green Room (biography of Margaret Wise Brown) by Amy Gary (audio).

@Andrew65

Good grief, I love her writing. Read this in one sitting. I've missed her so much - obviously out of her control because she fought cancer. I'm so glad she's writing again.

As always, her twists/revelations made me sigh with happiness.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

#20in4 Day 1 = 4 hrs, 41 mins
Listened to 1 hour of The Alchemist & bailed
Started this gem because I'm a Potterhead. ☺

Even Jeremy Irons' narration couldn't save this one. Just not for me. 😔

Meh. It was fine. Unbelievable story, obviously. And I wanted to scream at people throughout. While the narrator was great, I would have loved to have heard the author read it - but I'm sure there were reasons that she didn't.

⭐⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Hey, y'all! I've missed you!

The past six months have been a crazy journey. My younger daughter graduates from high school next week, & she is pursuing a Bachelor's of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre. This means that in addition to academic applications, she had to audition for the programs. 13,125 miles & 18 auditions later, she is thrilled to be attending Dean College in Franklin, MA & I am thrilled to have time to read once again!

I'm back! 😁

I just love Duncan & Gemma.

That is all.

16% in and this simply isn't for me. I always appreciate trying new authors for #Authoramonth, but she won't be added to my list. On to February! ☺ @Soubhiville

My family's trip to McKay's (we actually visited the Nashville location, but it wasn't in the database) was incredibly successful, as we had $185 in credit after trading in books! Had to laugh at the "subgenre" labels in the romance section! ?

For any Littens interested, these sold out quickly a few weeks ago, so this next batch will likely sell quickly as well. I just purchased this for my 20yo - this is one of her all-time favorites. Signed with a personal inscription by Ben Saenz, & it's not any more expensive than a typical hardcover book.

https://www.benjaminsaenz.com/benjamin-ink/p/signed-by-ben-10-anniversary-editio...

Louise Penny never disappoints.

⭐⭐⭐⭐✨/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
#Booked2023 - set in 2+ time periods

Not my best reading year - life was just busy. Good news is that I didn't read many bad books, evident by the fact that I bailed on only one. (I'm not shy to bail on books.) I had six five-star books (I'm stingy with my stars) and a whole lot of four-star. Looking forward to starting fresh tomorrow & being more active on Litsy in 2023!

My newest t-shirt - Christmas gift from my mom. ☺

Yesssssssssssssss. I adore skip the line surprises!

I decided to ask friends from Facebook for their recommendations for this challenge - love the diversity of genres shown here!

Hey there, Littens! My reading life was WAY down during the second half of the year, & I was terrible about posting on Litsy. 😔 Determined to be back in force in 2023!

Goals: 80 books, #Booked2023 & #Authoramonth2023. And reading my shelf - isn't that always a goal? 😁

Happy New Year! 🎉

So thankful to have gotten over my reading slump. Now I need to get back into the habit of posting! Since my last post, I went on a romance semi-binge.

My August reading:

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Stuck with You, Below Zero, & Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood
The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green 🎧
Finding Me by Viola Davis 🎧
The Duke & I by Julia Quinn
The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager
Monster Blood by R.L. Stine

I read/listened to this entire series in two days. Some of the best middle grade books I've ever read.

Thanks for the book @Soubhiville! And for including Jason Reynolds in the #Authoramonth2022 list. Now to read everything he's written.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Yup. Lived up to the hype. Starting the next one on audio tomorrow. What a fantastic middle grade novel!

#Authoramonth2022 @Soubhiville

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Littens! Life has been BUSY & I've been lurking a bit but not posting, because I haven't been reading much. 😔 I've missed you, as I always do when life hits hard.

Here's to finishing the year strong! 💪

Snuck this picture of my 19yo reading The Fellowship of the Ring for the first time. Notice her tools for annotating. Color-coded post-it flags & pens for things like favorite quotes, character development moments, important plot points, etc. Anyone else read like this? She doesn't do this for every book, but she does for most of the classics that she reads. ♥

Yeah... 20% in & I'm bailing. Tom Ripley just isn't for me. 😔 As always, I'm so glad that #Authoramonth2022 introduces me to new-to-me authors, even when I don't love them! @Soubhiville

Perfect timing - many of us in the USA have a long weekend (Memorial Day). Here we go! #20in4 @Andrew65

🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯

☝🏻= me, reading the twist at 95% of the book.

🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️

☝🏻 = me, not believing that I didn't see it coming

Wow. Just wow. I'm stingy with my 5⭐ reviews. No question with this one. She's just phenomenal.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Did I mention she's an auto-read? ☺ So nice to relax with some cute romances as summer begins!

⭐⭐⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was funny - because since Patricia Highsmith is May's #Authoramonth2022, The Talented Mr. Ripley is next in my queue. @Soubhiville

Another lovely surprise from Libby! I'd better get reading! 😁

She's become an auto-read for me. Just started her newest! So much fun.

⭐⭐⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was a nice surprise! These Libby holds came in on the same day, & neither was supposed to for weeks! 😁 Diving in!

"Good-bye, Jane Stuart. May you never drink out of an empty cup."

How lovely.

I blame @britt_brooke & #NashvilleLittens for this one! ? Still wrapping my brain around "language that is cultish" versus "the language of cults".

⭐⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

An extra day helped 😉 - 13 hours this weekend! I've been in a HUGE slump, so this definitely helped. Thanks, @Andrew65!

Hey, Littens! It's been a crazy season, & I've hardly read at all this month, but this and @DeweysReadathon is just what I need on a not-terribly-busy weekend to get back into the groove! @Andrew65

Well, this was just delightful. ☺

⭐⭐⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

What a nice surprise! A skip-the-line loan from Libby! Love these!

Still wrapping my head around this gift from @BookNAround. What a heart-wrenching story. Extra special that the author got her MFA from Boston U, where my daughter attends!

Also, this is a perfect cover.

⭐⭐⭐⭐✨/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

As good as advertised! What a sweet, yet heart-wrenching, book! I love epistolary novels.
⭐⭐⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

A quick flight = a short book! Been looking forward to this one for a while, & this was my #jolobokaflodswap present from @BookNAround !

Up next: my Christmas present from my 19yo daughter. She knows me well. ☺

Have to admit that there WERE places in this book that made me sigh in delight. I love sweeping, multi-generational family epics. This one just didn't grab me like, say, Pachinko did. I continue to love that #Authoramonth2022 is introducing me to unknown-to-me authors. @Soubhiville

⭐⭐✨/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

After a ridiculously long reading slump, I think I might be coming out of it. ☺

⭐⭐⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Grading midterms is more enjoyable with a good cup of coffee in an awesome mug from a more awesome friend! Thank you, @HeatherBookNerd ! #NashvilleLittens

*sigh* Unpopular opinion coming. I didn't love this like I wanted to. I'm not against reading difficult memoirs - I've read many that I've given higher star ratings. This just wasn't for me. I do, however, understand & appreciate what Maya Angelou has meant to literature & particularly POC, especially in 1969, when such things were rarely written.

⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Finally. Thanks to #Authoramonth2022 & @Soubhiville for "forcing" me to read her.

And, no, I am NOT increasing the speed of the audiobook.

I just adore Veronica Speedwell.

⭐⭐⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

#Booked2022 - real/fictional Royal

His was the only poster hanging on my wall as a teenager. He was my first - and, truly, my only - celebrity crush. I remember the devastation of the early Parkinson's diagnosis announcement. What an amazing outlook on life. I always love to listen to memoirs read by the author - this one was a bit tough at times, because you could hear the struggle. But what a story. Thanks to @Cinfhen for putting it on my radar!

⭐⭐⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Snow/sleet/slush in the south = shutdown = Sunday full of football, reading, & cuddling cats. ☺ #catsofLitsy