Welcome to Litsy!

The book cover‘s description of “quietly devastating” is spot on. This is another book that‘s been on my TBR forever. I knew I‘d love it, but in recent years, I haven‘t been in the mood to be devastated, even quietly so. But I decided to read it as my 1989 pick for #192025, and am so glad I did. What depth of characterization through such a slow-burn gradual reveal. The denial, self-delusion, and pretense that are slowly laid bare ⤵️

This is a quiet, internal story, with abuse, abandonment, and unanswered questions at its heart. Julia—pregnant at 41—returns to her hometown after 23 years away. She‘s searching for answers & some measure of resolution about her past. I appreciated the nuance with which Hegi paints her characters—acknowledging both the repercussions of abuse & abandonment, and the unreliability of memory—as Julia struggles to reconcile the past & move forward.⤵️

I loved this hidden gem I picked up at a library sale. It‘s based on a true story about a racehorse in the 1930s, who was shipped to India from England—and the various lives this horse brings together. There are themes of hurt and healing, prejudice and acceptance, redemption, and found family. The backdrop of 1930s Calcutta—from the poor and the privileged, to the convent and the racetrack—is fascinating. This was my 1981 pick for #192025.

Hopefully this will help any of you having a case of the Mondays like I am! 🤪
Have fun, tag me, let me know if you want to be added/removed from my tag list! Thanks for playing along, friends 💚 #readyourkindle #readyourebooks
#readyournook #readyourkobo

The #BookSpin fates are whispering “read your challenge books.” My BookSpin will fulfill 1953 for the #192025 challenge AND # 15 (BIPOC author I‘ve meant to read) for my #50x50 birthday challenge (which I‘ve neglected in favor of finishing 192025 😆) My #DoubleSpin is any #50x50 book. I‘m debating between the three on the right: Last Unicorn (classic children‘s fantasy), Mabinogion (Arthurian), and Hungering Dark (published before I turned 10).

Daniel Pinkwater is definitely a marmite author. Either you're totally willing to embrace an 11-year-old left on his own for a week who starts seeing a band of giant lizards playing music on late-night TV and then meets up with an old black man with a chicken on his head who seems to go by several mysterious aliases and they travel together to a floating invisible island to meet up with a bunch of lizards named Reynold... or you're not 😂

Good morning, everyone! The moment you have all been waiting for!! Our official #BookSpin number is EIGHTEEN! Our official #DoubleSpin number is ONE!! I have thoroughly enjoyed looking at everyone‘s lists & am really looking forward to seeing your reviews!!

My next post will be the #BookSpinBingo card. I am NOT tagging anyone on that post!! If you want to bingo, please just check my profile for the card. This saves me having to double tag ⬇

I didn‘t realize this was out of print when I picked it to read this month. I finally tracked it down and I‘m glad I did. The short stories in this collection were creepy and unsettling in the best possible way. My favorites were the one about the misunderstood vampire and the murdering baby.

#BookSpinBingo for October yielded no bingos, but FOUR almost-bingos 😆 I planned to grab a bingo by reading Midnight Is a Place as my 1984 pick for #192025…then discovered I made a typo on the pub year—it was published in 1974 🤦🏻‍♀️

I DID finish both #BookSpin & #DoubleSpin, though—and am now caught up on all but one past spins! Also, some great reads this month. Favorites:
Remains of the Day
The Blue Castle (re-read)
Mr. McFadden‘s Halloween

November #BookSpin list! I‘ve got a few for #NonfictionNovember, my remaining #192025 books which are also my remaining #10beforetheend books, and various challenges, book groups, and buddy reads!