I read this book in April and should have reviewed it then. Yes, this book is a bit dry, especially two of the chapters in the middle, but it‘s also the most comprehensive book on western libraries that I‘ve ever read. If you can get through the pedagogical feel of it, it holds a wealth of information. If you like something a bit more relatable choose Stuart Kells or Matthew Battles books on libraries. This is still a pick for me.

Keats was the first poet I really loved and his poems have retained their place in my heart. I enjoyed learning more about his background, where he lived, his friendships, and love for Fanny.

This is between a pick and so-so for me. I enjoyed the idea of a lost manuscript found in the drawer of a hotel room & finding out what hands it had passed through in the last thirty years & the people who were immensely affected by it in a positive way. I generally like epistolary novels, but the letters, although written by several different voices, did somewhat sound the same; that extra flowery romantic style of writing which I usually ❤️

I enjoyed this book which is in part a biography of Bernini and his working with various popes, mostly Alexander VII, to beautify Rome. It‘s a physically heavy book without chapter breaks that made it flow quickly. I especially liked the info about Egyptian obelisks and the gritty details of Bernini‘s love for Constanza. It‘s interesting that we think of an artist as one man for his concepts, but so many artists contributed to these works.

Hi friends! I‘ve been horrible about writing reviews or blurbs lately and need to make a point of doing so, but for now I‘m sharing a shelfie because I just was tidying it up a bit.

I went into the library for my two holds, (the top two books) and walked out with four. I think I‘m the first person to get The Evening Hero as I was listed as 1 of 18 for people in my library system that want to read it, so I‘ll start with that one and hopefully finish it quickly. I‘m going on vacation next week and don‘t know if I should take one with me or leave it home? I‘m flying and torn about taking property that isn‘t mine. Opinions?

A woman with a secretive past moves from London to a remote village in Scotland to start a new life for herself, but the Henderson family that she rents from and others on the premises seem to hold secrets themselves. This book isn‘t scary, but is atmospheric & strange. The narrator isn‘t necessarily unreliable, but at times she seems unaware of what was just said wrapped up in her own thoughts which adds to the mystery of the characters & place.

I watched the first installment of The Essex Serpent and while it differs from book I absolutely love it! Highly recommend!

I really enjoyed this book about manuscripts. Some of the books she talks about in detail are the Cuthbert Gospel, Malory‘s Morte Darther, Beowulf, and Henry VIII private prayer book. The author also talks about known and more likely unknown artists of illuminated manuscripts such as The Master of the Leaping Figures, written letters of the time period, female authors, discoveries of texts, and disasters. I enjoyed the history surrounding these 📚

Overall a pick for me as I was really interested in Augusta‘s job in collections at a historical house where she starts to feel a bit more connected to Harlowe House than she bargained for and I was also interested in her investigating the family, especially Margaret the supposed town witch, that had once lived there. I was disturbed that Augusta seems to have an eating disorder which I couldn‘t tell if she was normalizing or didn‘t realize she

Okay okay. So I might have complained a bit in my review of this book a few years ago that I thought the book took on too many different ideas because I liked the religion and science part, but it became more of a social novel towards the end, but I still overall thought it was great. Anyway, the trailer has been released for Apple TV and it looks good! Too bad I don‘t have Apple TV, ha! https://youtu.be/A5GqOeELRFU

I finished this a couple of weeks ago, but forgot to post about it. I enjoyed this story as an audiobook; Margaret moving from a quaint town in the South to trying to adjust to an industrial town where a strike takes place. I read that this book was initially serialized and Gaskell had wanted the book to be longer, but had to cut it short by two episodes. I would like to see what she intended as I feel that the romance portion was cut short.

Hey! It‘s my 6th Litsyversary! Thanks to this awesome community of readers who continue to inspire me, broaden my reading interests, and share in my love of reading with me! This is my favorite social media place and I‘m so glad to be a part of it. 📚♥️

This book is so beautifully written and I completely understand why it won the Newberry award. This is a story about Lily and her family and their Korean heritage, it is about stories and how they can change us and also how it‘s okay to change our own stories we tell about ourselves as we grow and change, at any age. This book is excellent. Five stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A fun middle grade ghost mystery that I listened to on audio. Zee and her best friend Elijah notice that a lot of weird things start happening around their town after a storm rolls through town that coincides with the disappearance of a few people and the appearance of some creepy “wolves”. Meanwhile, Zee has her bully, Nelly, to contend with, but they may have to look at what connects them rather than divides them to save the town from evil.

I love Schwab‘s middle grade books so much and that goes for this one. This book had elements of both Addie Larue (death) and The Shades of Magic trilogy (spoilers ) mixed in with the mystery of an old mansion, her mother‘s diary, ghouls, and secrets. I read it so quickly and it helped get me out of the reading slump I was in and the fact that I‘ve been juggling reading multiple books at a time. I really loved this one!

Because of the title, like a wheel, Roger Bacon and the Voynich manuscript should be at the center of this book while other subjects should radiate like spokes; a compilation of events and people mainly focused from the Middle Ages through the Renaissance with info relating to early universities, power changes with rulers and popes, and how that affected whose scholarship was credited as the truth where science meets religion. 👇

Some of the best reading is that which opens up questions for us to think about and this book does just that by examining how we look at the female body in art and in previous years. McCormack chose the Venus, Mothers, Maidens &Dead Damsels and Monstrous Women to talk about things like who were these paintings originally created for? How are different bodies portrayed such as being smooth and hairless, and who is allowed to look and who isn‘t? 👇

I enjoyed this historical fiction novel about how Sylvia Beach came to open Shakespeare and Company. Its focus is on Beach‘s endeavor to publish James Joyce‘s Ulysses, (her own Odyssey), and the friendship/ tumult she had with Joyce. The book also features other famous authors that frequented her place and what an influence she and her shop had on everyone in Paris, as well as her longtime romance with Adrienne Monnier.

I loved this little volume of poetry set in sections such as The Love of Books, Because of Libraries, Marginalia, to Rethinking Books and Reading from poets from Wordsworth, to Borges, to Larkin and Dove. My favorite microhistory books to read are about books and libraries and I also love poetry, so this was the perfect book to add to my collection. I loved it!

I loved this book about the history of Christmas traditions. Flanders covered why there has been a war on Christmas for centuries because of revelry, how Washington Irving helped inspire Christmas cheer, as well as how Santa‘s look changed through the years. Of course she discusses the date of Christmas in its alignment with the winter solstice and other holidays, twelfth night, Dickens, and the start of the use of Christmas trees. ♥️🎄

As with any short story collection certain stories are going to appeal more to some than others. I wasn‘t that into this collection at first, but I enjoyed the 2nd half with Candle & Crib, Men and Women by Claire Keegan was great, as well as The Dead by Joyce. Soft pick as there were a couple stories I didn‘t like at all, but a few I enjoyed immensely.

Hi friends! I haven‘t posted any reviews because I haven‘t been able to read as much lately. I‘ve been struggling with more frequent bouts of migraines and my son keeps getting sick. Anyway, these are the books I‘m currently reading. Braiding Sweetgrass is an audible book which is great. I‘ve just missed sharing with this community, but am still frequently checking out everyone‘s posts and I‘m still stacking more books to read!

Whew, this book made me feel a bit emotional. I got really attached to Franny and Jet and it‘s a bit sad to see this series come to a close. I‘m glad I recently read The Rules of Magic and Magic Lessons last year as this book wouldn‘t make much sense otherwise. There is just a wonderful homecoming about these books with family, doing no harm, love, and the magic we may not be born to, but that we make for ourselves.

I loved this anthology of Japanese poetry ranging from the 7th to 13th centuries. The tanka use wordplay and are about nature, seasons, and the time of day. Each poem includes an English translation, original Japanese, pronunciation, and literal translation and notes for each of the 100 poems. It also includes a woodblock print on each page, but there isn‘t any info about the prints which I would have liked too. I really enjoyed this!

This was one of my most anticipated books of the year as it was described as being like Crimson Peak, but it was the most disappointing book I‘ve read this year instead. I would have bailed if I hadn‘t bought it. It didn‘t need to be speculative or set in an “other” place IMO. That made no sense to me. I couldn‘t understand the main character‘s motive it wasn‘t strong enough to endure what she had to. The “magic” involved felt more like occult 👇

I read this a few weeks ago and am behind with Litsy reviews, so I also don‘t remember exactly what I was going to say about it as it was a library book I‘ve taken back. The sections the author wrote about being in nature and animals resonated with me a bit more than the more memoir ish sections, but I did like confirming that it‘s okay not to be okay all of the time as we all have highs and lows with physical and mental health.

This is a book I would like to own as the illustrations are gorgeous and it is something I would like to keep as a reference book as a could not remember pairing of flowers for every occasion. The flower arrangements with a more sinister meaning were laid against a black background, which I preferred and would have liked the entire book rather than some arrangements against cream. Lovely book for someone interested in the Victorian period/ flowers

I read books written for all ages because a story can be fantastic whether it‘s a picture book or a classic tome. I usually like MG scary books because adult horror is usually too scary for me, but I think love this one like I did the author‘s other book, Scritch Scratch. Again, a title should set the tone of a poem or book and this really wasn‘t about anything in the woods, but rather what was haunting a mansion built in the 1930s👇

I loved this story about Frances, Jet, and Vincent growing up in N.Y.C. on the cusp of the 1960s and spending time in Massachusetts with an aunt whose presence would help to alter their lives and become who they were really meant to be. This book made me feel a bit melancholic and thoughtful, but in a good way knowing that life is short and how even small decisions can change lives. A really beautiful story that I can tell will linger for awhile.

I adore everything Victorian so this book was great for me set in 1893. The story begins with a seamstress and mysterious death. Gideon Bliss arrives in London at his uncle‘s request only to get involved with acerbic Sgt. Cutter as he investigates missing working class girls. Octavia H. is reporter who is investigating Spiriters. There are fantastical elements. I really enjoyed this mystery, but I did find fault with a few things:the title, as👇

Ollie, Coco, and Brian are on their third adventure trying to escape the smiling man and his schemes. This time they go sailing with Ollie‘s dad and Coco‘s mom as well as another friend where they end up on a maybe? deserted island beyond the mist where they are hunted by a sea creature as well. This was not as riveting as the first two IMO. It was fun, but it just didn‘t have the same gripping elements and so I was a little bit disappointed.

📕 I stacked this book thanks to @LeahBergen 😊
🍊 Clementines
🤩 The Death of Jane Lawrence
💞I‘m thankful my son recovered quickly from being sick and the lovely walk I got to take with my husband today.
Thank you so much @Eggs for the tag! #wondrouswednesday Would you like to share? @JacqMac
@Blueberry and anyone else who would like to join in.

As always I enjoyed the beautiful descriptions of scenery and the nostalgic feeling of time and memory. The narrator returns to seaside Balbec where he spends time with Albertine and the Verdurins (horrible people) at the house they are renting from the Cambremers, La Raspelière. This volume discusses a lot of homo-erotic relationships, hence the title, but all is not equal when it came to the view of the sapphic. Great, but some problems with ?

I‘m not doing any swaps this year, but I‘ve enjoyed seeing everyone‘s fall aesthetic/ #basicwitch collages. This is just a portion of the types of Halloween aesthetic I like.

My only child is starting 5K today and I‘m full of emotions. He‘s been home with me all these years as he did 4K from home last year. We recently discovered the Mr. Putter series at the library and we love these books. Fun book about wishing you could go back to school years later with new pencils, erasers, and globes.

It‘s been so fun joining in with the #pemberlittens to read Austen‘s novels over the past year. A special thanks to @sprainedbrain for leading the group and all of you who posted along and added funny quips. This was a re-read for me and I really loved it this time around! At times I wish Ann had stood up for herself more, but I also respect her duty to her family and graceful etiquette for the time this was written. Loved it!

I loved Clash if the Titans (Harryhausen) from a small age and have always had admiration and a soft spot for Medusa. I really enjoyed this one!

Started off strong and then as I continued to read I really didn‘t care and almost bailed. I wonder if I would have liked it if I had read Shakespeare‘s All‘s Well that Ends Well, if I was missing something because I don‘t know that story, but as much as I love allusion I think a book should stand alone. The main character was manic and I didn‘t care about her. I like books that skew magic with psychology, but this wasn‘t for me “am I right?”

Ha! I put this book on hold at my library and think I was fourth in line for it. However, I went into my library today and it was on the new release shelf and patrons of their home library get first dibs before they send new books out for holds at other libraries within the system, so I lucked out! I‘m about fifty pages into it and it reminds me of the style of Bunny which I really liked. So far so good! 😁

Like so many of us I am enamored with myths and the stories of the labyrinth is among my favorites. This is a great recounting of the Greek myths. At 81 pages it spans the rivalry between Ariadne and Phaedra, to the evil of Minos, the genius of Daedalus, to the cunning of Theseus, of course all a spectacle for the gods. I got this to read with my son, but felt its target audience was for older children, so Iread it myself instead!Beautifully told

My favorite thing about this epistolary novel is Youngson‘s descriptions of what the characters see and how they see. So richly detailed and I appreciate this way of truly looking and seeing the world. Tina writes to an author of a book about the Tollund man and receives a response from the curator, Anders instead. Sometimes it may be easier to get to be ourselves and say what we need to say to find out about ourselves to strangers. Pick

I just love these color books by Pastoureau. There is a little bit of overlap in the books, but that is to be expected when comparing one color to another. This book talks about the history of red from being the first color found on cave walls, to the whore of Babylon wearing red, red in Greek pottery, red worn by church fathers, the devil, St. Nicholas, to make-up, and emblems, to the theater. It‘s really cool to see the social aspect of color.

P&P and Emma are my two favorite Austen novels. Sadly, the joy of rereading it with the pemberlittens was eclipsed by negative comments, mostly stating that Emma is an insufferable snob, which I disagree with by doing a close reading of her situation of being motherless and remembering her class. I still love Emma and the 2020 film. It was the last movie I saw in the theater on 3/9/2020 and has a special place in my heart, as does this novel.

I really enjoyed this historical fiction fantasy set in 1868 Prague. The lamplighters do more than just light the lamps that illuminate the city, but also fight against what lurks in the darkness. Domek must figure out what is so special about the jar that accidentally comes to him and who he can trust with his secrets in a time when it appears that everyone is hungry for power. Loved this original take on one of my favorite monsters.

I just love these Everyman pocket poems which I can just pick up and leisurely read. Another solid collection of some beautiful, inspiring, and reflective poems that made me feel close to nature.

The 2nd book of this series, this time Kara and her brother Taff escape into the Thickety, but escape is hardly the right word as they come across one terrifying creature after another. The biggest challenge is learning who they can trust… if anyone at all. Once again some pretty dark things described and I‘m not referring to the forest demon, Sordyr, but a fence called the Divide which was very disturbing. Surprised they are kids books.

Kara Westfall lives in a puritanical village on an island that thinks nothing is worse than magic. Her mother was convicted as a witch when she was five and she was left to care for her baby brother and broken father while the village shunned them. This book is pretty dark to be labeled middle grade with some pretty disturbing and dark magic. It reminded me of the movie The Village in some ways, but a lot scarier including bodily control and death

I think I prefer the alternate title, In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower, not only because that appears to be the more literal translation (from my poor French) but the subjects both of observing Gilberte in the first half of the book and later the young women at Balbec feels more accurate. I love that the protagonist always seems to be longing, but if given his wish like going to the theater that his idea of it is more grandiose than 👇

My son who is five filled out a paper for Mother‘s Day for me with mom‘s favorite things and under favorite book he said All the Books! I think he knows me! Happy Mother‘s Day to all of you mothers and mother figures! 💐📚