Welcome to Litsy!

My first 5 star read of the year. This was FABULOUS. I loved everything about it. And I kinda want the cover image as a tattoo. Highly, HIGHLY recommended.

#shortstories #fantasy #theunreadshelfproject2023

Ugh these stories are too much. I read all but the last. And I couldn‘t push myself to read any more. It feels like the author was trying too hard to be different.

Ugh fine I finished the book. I f*cking knew the last story, The Unlicensed Magician, would actually be one I enjoyed. And it was. I couldn‘t get it out of my head that Barnhill saved the most magical and least crazy story for last. It was a fairytale. A joy. All the rest were meh.

Vacationing with a close friend...might never leave this inn 😍 ending a fabulous day in a fabulous tub with a fabulous book on my fabulous kindle.

Vacationing with a close friend...might never leave this inn 😍 ending a fabulous day in a fabulous tub with a fabulous book on my fabulous kindle.

Started vacation book number 3 today and I‘m flying through it. Location: Block Island where I have never seen the Boat Basin or the mooring field emptier. We walked in to town today & people seemed to be very good about masks and distancing, and most stores had hand sanitizer at the door, almost all of them were selling masks.

To be human is to lie, after all. Our minds tell lies to our hearts and our hearts tell lies to our souls.

Each jagged shard of light in the darkness is a tiny message sent from the recesses of time. “You are alone,” the stars say. “You are alone. You are still alone.” Artist: Bart Cooper

Dearest, Once there was a boy who loved a boy who did not love him back. Once there was a girl who loved a boy who loved a boy. Once there was a girl who loved a boy who loved her back. Mostly. If love is light and food is light and life is light, are we always in day? Are we doomed to never sleep? Ever yours, Angela Artist: king_midas

She even made a diorama of the day she and her husband met—a man with a broken leg at the bottom of a gully in the middle of a flowery forest; a woman with a broken heart wandering alone, happening by, and binding his wounds. And how real they were! The visceral pain on his face, the sorrow hanging over her body like a cloud. The quickening of the heart at that first, tender touch. This is how love can begin—an act of kindness. Artist: king_midas

@BarbaraJean - I am so spoiled! The thought you put into crafting this adventure - all the lovely instructions - was just amazing!! I‘m so excited for the books, the bookmarks are just lovely (And the squirrel!) I can‘t wait to try the tea (SO COOL)... I will add the stones to my yoga room collection and track some adventures in the Harry Potter journal. So thoughtful and fun - THANK YOU!! 🥰👏👏 (also: #Chloe approved)
#staycationintimeswap

I‘ve missed reading magical realists. This is delightful.

Kelly Barnhill gets lots of comparisons to Neil Gaiman and it is easy to see why, but she has her own power and gift as a writer. I found this book just poking around Book People, here in Austin, one day and I struck gold!

This was a whimsical collection of short stories from the woman who brought us The Girl Who Drank the Moon. Fairy-tale-esque and full of imaginative twists and turns. A lovely read!

Saw this guy while reading! Pelican!

This morning's reading spot with a coffee 📚☕🌴

The little book corner hut at this resort is gone (sadly) but the sign remains!

Next up! Getting so much reading some on my holiday!

There were a couple stories I didn‘t really get, but I loved most of them. This was a great way to start #newyearwhodis with @BarbaraJean - I‘m so glad you included this on your list, as I don‘t normally pick up short stories. I absolutely adored the final novella.
I finished this up while doing a little #audiopuzzling and #audiocrochet this morning

This quote is actually from the authors acknowledgment but sums up exactly how I feel about reading.

Nina fell asleep while I finished cleaning, Lane is still napping and I‘m taking a few minutes with my book before we go to our Christmas Eve party. I estimate 5 minutes before someone wakes up and needs me...

This should get me through all the gifts I have to wrap tonight!

Oh my! “In the midst of slowly stoning him to death using only popcorn and lost buttons and bits of yarn.”

I have no idea what to expect from this one, but I was drawn in by the cover!

Working on Day 8 of this plague. I'm starting to feel better though not by much. I started one of my birthday books, from Griffin Bay. It's a collection of fictional short stories, which I love! So far. The author, Kelly Barnhill has a paintbrush for a tongue, and illustrates each page with ease.

Short story collection that seems perfect for this time of year. 🤩

This is a really unique collection. The stories all utilize forms of magical realism, which obviously requires suspension of disbelief. If that‘s not your thing, you may want to shuffle along past this one. If you like Gaiman or Rushdie or Allende or Garcia Marquez or Morrison, you may well enjoy this. The novella ending the book The Unlicensed Magician was particularly wonderful, as was the opening story Mrs Sorensen and the Sasquatch.

Finally finishing this book (hopefully) while stuck on layover in ATL. But I got to have lunch in a bookstore so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

#Septemberwrapup #monthlystats Part 1/2 (8/16 total books)
Tagged was my one of my favs for the month 👍
Also very happy with the rest of the Soulless series 😍
Least favorite of the month for me was sadly The Silence of the Girls 🙁 Disappointing 👎

What was your favorite read of the month?

In turns provoking (though and emotion) and inspiring, this collection is one of the most beautiful ones I have had the pleasure to read. Barnhill keeps exceeding all expectations.

#shortstories #kellybarnhill

I just finished this collection of short stories by Kelly Barnhill. I would say most were quirky and definitely for fans of Neil Gaiman. What really pushed this collection from a 3.5 to a 4 was the ending novella "The Unlicensed Magician", it's worth at least checking it out from your library for that. Review on blog to come.

OK, I lied. I did the yoga, and then I finished the last 30 pages because this collection is pretty much perfect. A great end to #24in48 for sure.

And now for the last one! #24in48

Let‘s end with some Kelly Barnhill short stories! #24in48

OK I LIED. I stayed up for another hour (bringing me to 2.5 hours so far in #24in48) to read some Kelly Barnhill short stories in the dark. (thank goodness for cellphone flashlights)

An absolutely delightful collection of stories full of magical realism, imagination, wonder & mystery. The standout is the last one, Barnhill‘s World Fantasy Award winning novella ‘The Unlicensed Magician.” Other favorites include ‘Mrs Sorensen and the Sasquatch,‘ and perhaps my very favorite ‘Elegy to Gabrielle—Patron Saint of Healers, Whores, and Righteous Thieves.‘ I definitely recommend this book, particularly for fans of speculative fiction.

Starting my new bedtime short story collection, courtesy of @DiruVamp ! The first story is so good!

I‘m not the best photographer, especially when it comes to food. But this is vanilla chia seed pudding with blueberries inspired by @DebinHawaii ♥️♥️ Very yummy! Great for a very hot day like today!💥🎇☄️

So far I haven‘t met any #fancy young ladies in this short story collection. In fact, the first female protagonist is anything but #fancy! She has a special way with animals. It‘s interesting but I‘m still not sure how I feel about it. #heatinjuly

#JuneWrapUp #JuneStats
6 female / 2 POC Authors
5 library / 2 TBR / 1 re-read
6 print / 1 eBook / 1 Audio

SO many good books this month. So much beautiful writing (all four corners of the above are absolutely gorgeously written) but also so much bleakness! My favorites for pure enjoyment were Dreadful Young Ladies & Mort. The best as far as thought-provoking would of course be Handmaid‘s Tale. I‘m so behind on reviews—have to catch up this week!

Don‘t want to start a new book since I‘m heading out of town tomorrow so it looks like a short story or two for me tonight.

#readingresolutions #bookandblanket

Winter in Australia 🇦🇺 and this is my happy place

This book—💜 Barnhill‘s writing is gorgeous. Beautiful, strange, sad, surreal—I absolutely loved this collection of stories (and one novella). There were a couple stories that were misses for me (the title story being one), but overall: holy crap, this was good. If you enjoy magical realism or melancholy fairy tales... this is probably your jam. I checked it out from the library, but will probably buy a copy for my shelves. Just—💜

We read because we hunger to know, to empathize, to feel, to connect, to laugh, to fear, to wonder, and to become, with each page, more than ourselves. To become creatures with souls. We read because it allows us, through force of mind, to hold hands, touch lives, speak as another speaks, listen as another listens, and feel as another feels. We read because we wish to journey forth together. 💜📚💜

I really liked this short story collection. It was moody and fun. Some of the stories really drew me in and could have been books I would read.

This has been my view for most of the day. Ignore the boxes of my husband‘s Magic cards all over the table! I woke up with head congestion, sore throat, and overall 😷 I called in sick and have been napping & reading most of the day. I‘ve renewed this library book so many times & still hadn‘t started it, so I was gonna just return it. But I started reading it and found short stories are perfect for a sick day. I can snooze in between each one!

Eeee! I love all of this so much (especially lil Delilah Bard!!! She is perfect). I can‘t wait to dig into this book and munch on some tasty Justin‘s PB cups while staying nice and hydrated in my Game Boy mug. Fun fact: I wasn‘t allowed to a Game Boy growing up because videogames weren‘t for girls. Joke‘s on my parents because I play videogames all the time now. Thanks again so much, @DiruVamp !! I love everything. #BottleandBookSwap