Welcome to Litsy!

Great prompts @vivastory
Part 1/2 #lasttenbooks

Let me say this... once I've properly started a book, I hardly ever DNF it.

Swallows and Amazons is the exception.

Also, I didn't really "lie" about Harry Potter 5... I read most of it, but didn't finish in time for the film. Then I just... didn't bother with the rest. It's still on my Goodreads "read" shelf though...

Shame on me!!!!! Shame!!!!

I'm going on a bit of a review binge this morning. Sorry for the spam! 😂

I read this series back in 2019-2020, and loved every page of every book, so I'm rereading them!! My original review of this book said that it was like being wrapped in a loaf of warm, homemade bread, which is kind of a mixed metaphor, but you get my point. It's cozy, wholesome, and delicious. I think this book is practically perfect. All the stars.

Some of my favorite reads of April.

@batsy Front covers for the Ransome books. The backs have an illustration from inside the book.

Now these are definitely a blame it on Litsy purchase! 😆 Just need to convince my two kids to read em with me now! 😬

Here you go, Sarah and Rachel - some more ‘Swallows and Amazons‘ pictures....

Top is Ransome‘s house on Lake Coniston - a two minute boat ride from Wild Cat Island (actually known as Peel Island in real life). The house has its own jetty.

Another picture of the island, and bottom right is our campsite. (But you cant see it as it is so hidden in those trees!)

I‘d like to go back there now, please!

Thank you Helen! I love your postcard - and doesn‘t it look just like you imagined it? I‘ve only been to the Lake District once, on a somewhat disastrous intensive driving course. (Newsflash: I still don‘t drive) I‘d love to go and explore properly one day 🗺⛺️⛵️
Hope your day‘s being amazing!

Look @TheAromaofBooks - it‘s Wild Cat Island ❤️❤️❤️

Congratulations @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks & thanks for having your #5N5giveaway!!!

1. The tagged book was my favorite of 2019. It's really old, but I hadn't read it before and now it's on my forever-love list!
2. I don't really pay attention to release dates, so I can't think of a book I'm counting down to!

Thanks for the tag @4thhouseontheleft !
1. Puttering about this morning, then pork & good-luck sauerkraut for lunch with the fam. Probably watch one of our traditional New Year's movies today (High School Musical, While You Were Sleeping, & Bachelor Mother are the options!) while napping.

2. Hard to choose, but the tagged book is definitely high on the list.

3. @texreader @Butterfinger @aeeklund - thanks for following!

#WondrousWednesday @Eggs

1. Tagged. This is one of my favorite books I've read this year.
2. Everyone has such creative answers! I think maybe being able to teleport - & take a person along with me - it would be awesome to travel instantaneously!
3. Libra
4. Finish painting the lower room & maybe get out Christmas decorations!! Also Thanksgiving with the in-laws.

#FriyayIntro @howjessreads

Thank you so much for the tag @ezrascarletbookgasm, and congratulations on your milestone, @SixDigitSamurai !!!

I completely fell in love with this very old children's classic when I reread it this year, and now I'm working my way through the whole series!

Litsy has been such a surprise and a delight. Everyone here has been welcoming & friendly, making this basically the most positive social media experience ever!

Tagging @IvoryLunatic

The first book that introduces the Walker family and their adventures in Lake District.
#LetsTravelAugust #Lakeside

On a different note, it‘s really frustrating when one of the books in the series are not the same edition.

1. I enjoyed this book so much.
2. Haha I suppose Mother Hen. I was always the oldest out of the batch of friends, & I'm a bit of a fusser when it comes to rule-breaking!
3. Any kind of bread. I'm a sucker for carbs.
4. Weekends are fluid around here - my husband is a lot more spontaneous than I am, so I just go with the flow, since during the week I can schedule my time to my heart's content. :-D My guess is little projects & maybe a drive.

I was in a weird reading mood all month and read lots of rather terrible paranormal romances on Kindle Unlimited haha it was kind of like eating an entire bag of Skittles, and now I am feeling like getting back into my more regular reading for July!!

Reading this book was like eating homemade bread - wholesome, cozy, and delightful. I enjoyed every page and can't wait to read the next book!

1. I met my friend Becky at a 4-H meeting back in 1992!
2. When we were in the Keys, I loved how everyone dropped everything in the evenings to watch the sunset.
3. Diesel fumes, honestly - I was in a tractor club that I loved as a kid, and grew up in a farming community.
4. Tagged - this book was an absolute delight.

#wondrouswednesday @eggs

1929 children go sailing in the Lake District and play explorers and pirates. From a time when (some) children could just have fun.

#coffeeandabook #mycover

While searching for the name of another book, this popped up! Immediately, I thought that this would complete the #nofemmeber challenge for today! #amazon
I have not read it, but it appears to be a children‘s classic, beloved by all ages.

Messing about on Coniston Water, like we‘re actually Swallows and Amazons... (Peel Island in the very far distance) 🚣‍♀️

Tomorrow I might hire a canoe ( bottom left) and paddle out to the island.... St Herbert‘s island was used as Wildcats Island in the 2016 film of Swallows and Amazons. Better take a flask of ginger beer and a fruit cake in a tin! #relivingchildhoodbooks

This audiobook was very entertaining. I wish I had discovered this book when I was a child - I loved this kind of kids-on-an-adventure story when I was young. Reading it as an adult was still enjoyable. Imaginative kids spending time camping and sailing from a little lake island on their summer holiday. Really fun, and the audio was great!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Out for my #audiowalk and it‘s a cloudy (so mercifully cooler) day for me and the bugs along the river. 😬

I wish I had found this book when I was a child...it‘s just the kind of kid-centered imaginative adventure that was my jam when I was little. Really fun!

#TuesdayTidbits Thank you @wanderinglynn 👌🏻

1) Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome (Tagged book!) It is my grandma‘s most favourite book and she brought me my first copy when I was 8 along with Jane Eyre. We read it together and it was the start of my love for books.
2) What a tough question! Georgiana of Devonshire, Bess of Hardwick, Mary Queen of Scots or Catherine De Medici. My favourite women!
3) Ignorance!
4) @miralunasbooknook 💋😉

This was recommended by a friend as one of her favourite books. As I started reading I‘m sure I may have read it as a child but, that didn‘t take anything away for me. This is a simply amazing classic story of children being children. Adventure, pirates and exploring. Living a life before X boxes and iPhones when children knew how to have fun. I simply loved this nostalgic look back. A must read.

Quiet Easter Saturday reading this classic.

This was what my partner got for part of his birthday present, from his sister. So pretty.

#litsyclassics #litsyclassicsmatches

@sprainedbrain @rubyslippersreads

I tried to read this when the lids were younger but couldn't get into it. But I might try again after enjoying the movie.

#booktomovie #bookstomovies

This summer I visited the Derwent Water quayside, close to where much of the film was shot. With the backdrop of mountains, it is perfectly suited to the amazing setting that Ransome created in this book! #keswick2017 #bellfamilycoffeetour

Just back from a couple of days away to find a wonderful package of #bookishmail from @LeahBergen . Thank you so much, Leah - it was a lovely surprise and it's all absolutely perfect! I've never met a bookjig before- they're such a good idea 🦊! I've also never seen that S&A cover before 😍. The book flags are gorgeous, and I'm going to have to find a suitably Canadian read before I break out the Maple Mints 😋- can't wait! Thank you!

This movie is a delight. Watch it if you have the chance!

So my pick for #maybookflowers #sunshine is Swallows and Amazons which makes me think of (mythical) long hot summers where children can camp out on an island in the Lake District and only get rained on once. I first read it when I was about 8 and loved it. This is the same version as I first read although I don't think it's the same copy! I've got quite a lot of the sequels on my children's book shelf too. ☀️ ⛺️ ⛵️ 🏊‍♀️ 🎣- what more do you want?

Only one possible choice for #sail - Swallows & Amazons. John, Susan, Titty and Roger sailing round the Lake District, camping, islands, copper-smelting, exploring, and having run-ins with 'pirates' Nancy & Peggy. Or exploring the Norfolk Broads with Dick and Dot. A different time, a different world, and I loved it!

#litsyconfession - I don't really collect books. I keep odd favourites. This is the only series I own.

#lyricalapril @Cinfhen

Raining buckets outside so I decided to visit my friend Marla at SeaOcean Book Berth here in Seattle. It is a literal treasure trove of seaworthy books, including vintage gems like the one I am holding. I always find a map or two, postcards, or a nature guide I didn't know I needed. Tucked away in Fremont/Wallingford neighborhood near the fabulous Whale Wins restaurant. #buyindie #indiebound

I wish I had come to this book earlier. I enjoyed it as an adult but I think I would have loved it as a child. So many books, so little time-what's a girl to do?

For whatever reason, I easily fall in love with places I've never been. In this case, the Lake District in England. And this book is viscerally pleasant, from the geography to the sailing technicalities to this idea that siblings in a large family somehow can function like a complete family.