https://youtu.be/IDSdg_etAkM?feature=shared

^ made a YouTube video showing off the books I bought in Istanbul

Sorry about the terrible audio on this one.

If anyone has read any Elif Shafak or Orhan Pamuk drop me a message... where should I start????

Thank you for supporting the channel. I keep working on it 😊

Bit late, but let's get back to Book spinning.
I'm off work today feeling absolutely awful.
Was in a reading slump before I started feeling ill 😵😵

Deathly boring and mundane as this might have been, it has BOTHERED me. And that's something.

It's basically Groundhog Day if absolutely nothing of any import or interest happened, but the very NORMALITY of it all is what makes it so terrifyingly chilling.

This was not a pleasant reading experience, and yet, there is a talent to making a reader feel they are going slowly insane, so I can absolutely see this book's worth as an experiment.

Guys, I'm so bored.

Like... so bored.

This is literally Groundhog Day if NOTHING HAPPENED.

I MISS ISTANBUL 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Small boat was, by the end, every bit as devastating as I expected it to be.

Based on actual events and told mostly from the perspective of a rescue co-ordinator, this short book explores attitudes to migration, guilt, responsibility and our collective culpability and complicity when it comes to global inequality.

Powerful, and ought to be widely read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Greenteeth is a sweet novel full of folklore and friendship.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I often describe myself as "allergic to whimsy", so wasn't sure this would be my cup of tea, but it was lively, heart-warming, and stuffed full of legends.

I did find it dragged a little at times, but if you like stories of fae and magic, this had fairytale vibes and I cared what happened to the characters.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

And a bookshop! 😁

Found a library 💕

When you walk all the way to the book bazaar but it's closed already 😭😭😭

https://youtu.be/pYLVPOGoFAE?feature=shared

Forgot to post this...

What colour reader are you?

I'm orange and purple striped 🧡💜🧡💜🧡💜

This is from the Papier Insta page. They do beautiful notebooks.

Guys, when you're down in the dumps what do you read?

- Sad, reflective books to reflect your mood?
- Cosy, cute books to raise a smile?
- Immersive fantasy worlds to escape into?
- Twisty mystery plots to distract your attention?

Masquerade vibes! 💕💕

Are you planning on buying some books any time soon?

If so, consider going to Bookshop.org.uk and choosing Station Books!

You would be supporting my buddy Laura and her partner Ross in their little business down in Tunbridge Wells!

If you live nearby, why not check out the shop 😊

Here are my #camplitsy2025 nominations!
Sorry... I put 5 instead of 4 because I'm TERRIBLE AT THIS SORT OF THING.

- The Lamb by Lucy Rose
- Who Wants To Live Forever by Hanna Thomas Uose
- The Ladie Upstairs by Jessie Elland
- I Want to Go Home but I'm Already There by Roisín Lanigan
- Fair Play by Louise Hegarty

Check out these synopses!!!!! What do you think??

I'm also up for The Dream Hotel, but it's already been nominated lots!

This poetic novel follows Noenka, a woman in Suriname, who leaves her (awful) husband to make her own way in life.

It is written in a confusing and disjointed way that made it difficult to follow, but the writing was gorgeous and powerful.

Agree this may be a good pick for fans of Toni Morrison.

I've just noticed how devastating this cover truly is

Mrs Sneezy says good evening!

#picklescat #catsoflitsy

https://youtu.be/QERwwRKq52U?feature=shared

International Booker Shortlist 2025 reaction video.

Only managed to predict ONE book correct :/

https://youtu.be/6G9Tc9oFeU0?feature=shared

I'm back and still rambling about books 😵😵😵

Guys, I am exhausted.

Anyone else been staring into space for about a week? No? Just me 🥲

Hope you're all doing OK.

https://youtu.be/mqsd_ywAH_U?feature=shared

Join me in the Trans Rights Readathon 21st March - 31st March

Lift up trans voices all year long 🏳️‍⚧️🩵🩷💛💜

Video above demonstrates some trans and non binary authors on my TBR

#transrightsreadathon
#transrightsreadathon2025

Pickles appreciates all the love and support 💕💕💕💕
I will pass on all the hugs and scritches

Mrs Dribbles has a blocked nose and I'm really worried about her.
Please send Pickles good luck. She saw vet this morning and may need investigating.

I want this book and I love the cover.

My friends hate the cover!

Who is right? Haha

If you want an uplifting story with positive representation RUN FOR THE HILLS.

This is a powerful and subversive piece of writing that provokes and challenges the reader to examine the ableism around them.

It explores the realities of living with a severe physical disability and the ramifications on sex, self esteem and fulfillment.

I'm not sure why Enriquez described it as 'uproariously funny'. Stunning nonetheless.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was brilliant.

A creepy suspense novel set in a hotel in Luxor. Starts innocent enough and then gets dark really fast, approaching psychological horror.

The protagonist is a woman in her 80s who has been hotel hopping and meddling in others' beeswax since the death of her husband. SHE IS ABOUT TO MEET HER NEMESIS.

Highsmithian was right. This was right up my street.

@Prairiegirl_reading Also cosy fantasy plans ahead........

@Prairiegirl_reading This isn't the whole lot, but I have something of a collection of Japanese and Korean cosy healing fiction... my plan is to read the lot and make a video about which are best... it may take a while though hehe

Read books. Be kind. Stay weird.

Also cake.

A slow-paced, contemplative novel about life running a bookshop. We meet various characters and discover the roots of their hopes, wistfulness and melancholy.

More vibes than plot, this was nonetheless a cosy read.

A major theme was work and the way it can both drain or enrich a life.

A sweet, gently philosophical read that celebrates books and coffee.

Clayton Stumper turned up in a hatbox on the fellowship's front porch as a baby. Instead of actually having a heart-to-heart with him before her death, his mother Pippa sets him a treasure hunt to unravel his past. Maybe she just thought he could do with getting some fresh air?

Adorable, but a little boring. If you like low stakes and very little plot, this was a fun meander. Wholesome, but I generally need more meat to sustain my interest.

https://youtu.be/Lp9ZLO-1nSw?feature=shared

Women's Prize Longlist 2025 has been announced! Here's my reactions and thoughts...

https://youtu.be/7xvHgxRPXt4?feature=shared

Probably should have waited until morning to upload, but I'm impatient! Haha.

Female authors for the TBR 🔥🔥🔥🔥💕💕💕💕

When your human cushion stands up but you weren't finished using them.

#catsoflitsy #picklescat

https://youtu.be/Yp4nmwyEP5k?feature=shared

Made a video about the International Booker Prize Longlist which was announced yesterday.

The two books I'm most excited to read are Hunchback and Solenoid, but there are so many books on this list that have intrigued me!

Check it out 😊

While at times this was a bit cringe and at other times tonally jarring, the world still needs more of this sort of thing, and so I'm rounding up to 4 stars!

Voyage of the Damned is a fantasy murder mystery set on a boat. Characters from 12 different provinces (that seem to be based off Crash Bandicoot levels) are off on a pilgrimage, and it's not long before they start getting butchered.

Fun, violent & cheesy with an overall positive message.

I love the new bag design! 😊

https://youtu.be/UARJ-hx2zso?feature=shared

Check out my saltiest video yet.
Over 30 minutes of ranting about books.
I am exhausted 😅😅

This was poetic and lovely but also made me feel like I can't read.

Once she even switched POV mid-sentence.

It's like Sylvia Plath and Charles Dickens had a baby prose-wise.

Timescale-wise, this is not technically possible. I checked.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

DeWitt's debut was grim and grotty.

If you like books where people take lots of drugs and alcohol and poop themselves - and you've already read Trainspotting - then this might be for you, but it wasn't really my cup of tea.

Reasonable writing, but no redeemable characters and written in the second person, which should never be attempted.

Read his other stuff instead.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

I have flu and I am not coping.

Only managing to read about a chapter at a time.

Can't even get to the shop to buy more Lucozade and chocolate milk.

Please send sympathy addressed to Rae Towers.

😵😵😵😵😵😵

And we have another new arrival @mojopie 💕💕💕

Please welcome Eilise too! 😊

Picture of Pickles, just because 😁

EVERYONE! Give a warm Litsy welcome to my friend Laura! @emo_baggins 💕💕💕

This is her cat Fang who is the sweetest boy!

Also, she runs a bookshop, and is therefore awesome.

She heard that a few of you haven't been enjoying The Blade Itself but I promise she's not here to make trouble........

😶‍🌫️🍿🍿🍿

Rae's number one rule of how not to be pretentious when writing a novel is:

NEVER use the second person!

Someone should probably also tell Rae that referring to oneself in the third person can be just as annoying 🤣🤣

I'm not sure if this is a difficult book to read or if I'm just really poorly 🤦🏼‍♀️🤣

New favourite book!

Don't watch the video unless you've already read it (major spoilers!):

https://youtu.be/riYGi8zxB0Y?feature=shared

ALL THE STARS!!!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

January wrap up

https://youtu.be/ZhNwjswtHds?feature=shared

A heartbreaking, vulnerable, raw, intimate, powerful piece of writing.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

THOU SHALL NOT PASS!!!!!

#catsoflitsy #picklescat

I just spent over an hour writing down my thoughts on Goodreads if you want to know what I thought in full, but in short:

This was a spectacular piece of writing about infatuation, obsession, misery, loneliness, emptiness, selfishness, relationships, & staring into the void.

Having said that, the MC is a toxic, judgemental, superficial narcissist who behaves in some truly unforgiveable ways.

And I'm not sure it was intentional.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️