Welcome to Litsy!

My vibe this month is giving myself space to figure out what my vibe is, because I've been too overloaded. New books by favorite authors seems to be the way to go.

#IHaveQuestions

I finally got After Hours at Dooryard Books from the library and I can't quite bring myself to start it. I'm so afraid I'll be in the wrong frame of mind or something and won't appreciate it.

Any Canva experts out there? I copied the #ISpyBingo boards from @TheAromaOfBooks but I'm having a problem with the words showing through when I put an image over them, as see above.

My goal was to see how close I could get to 2026 pages and I made it to 1060, which I'm pretty pleased with. Oh wait, I just remembered I've also been listening to an audiobook, so maybe I even made it!

Read: The Genius Under the Table, Silver and Hemlock, The Lost Book of the White

Read some of: Shirley, Miracles on Maple Hill, Maybe in Another Life

@BookwormJillK

Check out this very cool website that gives you a literary quote for whatever time it is!

https://literature-clock.jenevoldsen.com/

On a foggy December morning in Essex, a teenage girl, Lily Monteith, is found dead in a field. Her murder is so unusual it could only have happened to her, pulling DS Tomek Bowen into the case. While adjusting to life as a single father, Tomek uncovers links to a long-forgotten killing spree and fears the past is about to repeat itself.
A dark, clever crime novel that stayed with me after it ended.🖤🖤🌚 🎧

Still catching up a bit from the end of the year. My #CastTheDie reading.

@Puddlejumper

2025 in books. Eighteen 5 star books, but I am generous with my stars.
In previous years I made better looking collages along with star ratings for each book but this year, this is the best I could do.

Have been trying over the past few years to increase my reading of (mostly) fiction in translation. Pleased with the LT pie chart for 2025.

I really hoped I might be able to pull off one more bingo and did try some Christmas romances based on cover, but in truth they're just not my thing. No worries.

Close!

@Kenyazero

In this second book of the series, Josiah and Alex grow closer, but devastating revelations threaten to break readers‘ hearts. The pain and sorrow in the story feel almost like a living presence. While the investigation continues, the focus shifts away from an active murder to one rooted in the past. Alex‘s secret lies buried deep within him, and its eventual revelation becomes the emotional core of the book. 😔💔 🎧

Here‘s to rocking the goals you set for yourself this year! #HappyNewYear

I mean… 🤷🏻‍♂️

New Year‘s Eve, and here come the memes!

#ChristmasCrimeChallenge

Wishing you all a Happy New Year and a great year ahead! 🎉✨

Dark Water is my final trilogy of this year. Book one, Crocodile Tears, is a futuristic mystery-romance set in 2095. It opens with a murder but focuses mainly on deep character backstories. The tone is intense, sorrowful, and shaped by loss. After floods erase half of the UK, the world splits between water dwellers and dry zones, where survival comes at a painful cost and ordinary life is taken for granted.

🎧⏳️

I got so confused, because didn't I just do this book...

@TheEllieMo

@Read4Life

My #AuldLangSpine stack! Subbing for The Last Unicorn, which I've read many times, are The Last Unicorn: The Lost Story and/or In Calabria.

Not pictured: Scythe by Neal Shusterman (saving for February, when he's the #AuthorAMonth, Wayward Children book 1 or 2, Everyone Knows Your Mother is a Witch, and The Bone Spindle (Libby), Interview with the Vampire (on hold) and Engagement in the Digital Era, which isn't available to borrow. :-(

​Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas filled with joy and stories! 🎄📖❤️🧑‍🎄⭐️🎁📚📚

Some of the holiday greetings I received during the 2025 Litsy #HolidayCardSwap — not pictured are the accompanying stickers, bookmarks and Post-It notes that were included as bonus goodies! Book people are the best people! Happy Holidays to you and yours!

The second book picks up from the previous cliffhanger, where Tomek suddenly learns he has a thirteen-year-old daughter, Kasia. As they struggle to adjust to their new reality, Tomek is drawn into another gripping murder case involving the discovery of a young girl‘s body. Balancing fatherhood and duty, the story delivers an intriguing and emotionally charged mystery.
Loved the book 🎧❤️

@CSeydel

@CSeydel

Went to See It's a Wonderful Life at the cinema. Of course, as powerful as ever.

This scene made me laugh though: instead of marrying George, "poor" Mary became a librarian... ?? So she gets to read all day instead of bringing up four kids whilst G is stuck at the Saving & Loan?

Spotted on recent travels... tempted!

www.rosiesretrobazaar.co.uk

bookextravaganza on insta

Support small presses!

https://small-press-futures.info/

I'm so impressed with my serious reading this month. 😂

#WeeklyFavorites @Read4Life

Holiday lunch with some of the book group peeps! Love these people—I‘m a lucky guy! #FirstSaturdayReaders

I went to do some Xmas shopping, and somehow also came home with some books for me...

@Crinoline_Laphroaig I was just wondering if you have a plan for #Pemberlittens next year? I have so many Austen-related books to read!

I've been trying all sorts of “X“ books, and then I realized I had one from back in October. 🤦🏻‍♀️

A The Secret Adversary/Agatha Christie
B The Girl in the Blue Dress/Mary Burchell
C The Celebrants/Steven Rowley
D Legendborn/Tracy Deonn
E Miss Granby‘s Secret/Eleanor Farjeon
F From Dust to Stardust/Kathleen Roony
G Greengage Summer/Rumer Godden
H Here Comes Treble/London Price
I I Shall Never Fall in Love/Hari Connor

cont.

Have done a decent amount of reading this week. I've got 2 1/2 #10BeforeTheEnd books to go.

#SnowyDecemberReadathon
@LiseWorks

Visit to a beautiful bookshop in #Chorley
Bonus: a 3 piece band playing Xmas songs. Upstairs there was a wreath making class. Got started on the Xmas presents.

https://www.ebbandflobookshop.co.uk/

@Read4Life

Love it when libraries do this...

Shadow‘s End, the last book in the series, is a wild, intense read. Liam and Thompson chasing Steven Pine again had me hooked from page one. The stakes feel huge, and Liam‘s determination to end things hits hard. The psychic action and emotional tension land perfectly, delivering a satisfying and gripping conclusion fans will love. 🎧

Shadows Deceive was a fun, twisty read. I loved the mix of messy romance, family drama, and unexpected murder chaos. The tension between the narrator and Thompson felt real, especially as their relationship started to crack. The ex showing up made everything juicier. Overall, it kept me hooked and guessing, and I enjoyed every bit of the drama. 🎧

In Book Two, psychic Liam Baker and Detective Kimball Thompson are now romantically involved after stopping ruthless psychic killer Stephen Pine months earlier. Pine is behind bars awaiting trial, but a new string of murders targeting college women surfaces. Disturbing clues point to Pine, and though imprisoned, Liam senses he‘s found a terrifying way to keep killing.
🎧👻🕵‍♀️

I have no particular goals for this, just want to spend some concentrated reading time each day and finish up some stragglers. I'm listening to How Sondheim Can Change Your Life and want to finish Gilead and Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorow. (Maybe!)

@LiseWorks

Part original list, part #10BeforeTheEnd books and part other challenges.

Hey #QueerBC, here are some discussions questions for our November author, Adam Silvera. Answer some, all, or none!

All challenge books for #CastTheDie. Don't think I'm going to get everything finished...

@Puddlejumper

Even the "radical" bookstores are having a sale...

(Top left is Bookishly bottom left Ideal Bookshelf., I couldn't fit their logo in)