Welcome to Litsy!

I was finally able to fill one of the more difficult #52bookclub categories, “Author debut in second half of 2024.“ I've read a number of novels by Andrew Pyper, but this is his debut under the pseudonym Mason Coile.

This short novel is a spooky haunted house story featuring AI “monsters“. I didn't enjoy it as much as the other Pyper works I've read, but as it was set on Hallowe'en day, it was a good one to read this week.

An enjoyable historical novel set in 1920's London. It started slow but I liked how the various plotlines eventually wove together, and I also found the morally ambiguous characters (which, frankly, were almost all of them) interesting.

My first book finished for #HauntedShelf! #Flerken @PuddleJumper
#52bookclub (A revenge story)
#AfterDarkBingo #BodyCountBingo #PumpkabooHunt #GottaCatchEmAllSpooky

Charles de Lint is the author I most associate with “urban fantasy“, though the term has evolved since he published his first books. This collection of stories from his Newford series delves into the lives of city dwellers, including the artists, the homeless, and the marginalized. I love de Lint's beautiful writing and the mix of fantasy, folklore and horror.

This book was super tricky for me. I actually almost gave it up about a third of the way through, because I was just kind of bored, but I persisted, and it was...fine. The premise seemed interesting, but what really bugged me was bad editing! Plenty of unnecessary repetition -- like the time Elsy leaves a ten dollar bill on the table (to pay for lunch) twice in the span of about three paragraphs.

Sigh.

This novella is the second in Malka Older's series, which is a mix of cozy mystery, romance and science fiction. I liked this one much better than the first, as it provided more details about the interesting setting (Jupiter and its environs) and the mystery was better developed.

#gottacatchemall (prompt 74. Corvisquire: Second book in a series) @PuddleJumper
#52bookclub (prompt 52. Published in 2024)

Cozy Golden Age mysteries are a comfort read for me, even if some of them feel very dated in their attitudes toward women. In this series, Miss Silver comes across as a less “fluffy“ Miss Marple.

Also happy I was able to fill the “Musical instrument on the cover“ prompt for #52bookclub, with the church organ on the cover of my edition.

#gottacatchemall (prompt 35, Impidimp: Guilty pleasure) @PuddleJumper

#52bookclub #atleastfourpovs #longjump
#aty24 #abookwithatwowordtitlestartingwiththe

#52bookclub #characterdrivennovel #boxing
#popsugar #lgbtq+romancenovel
#aty #bookwithabotanicalcover

I picked up the book on Monday, & finished it on Wednesday! 😂

This is my second Percival Everett (after Dr. No), & I'm searching out the backlist (luckily, I have a few on Kindle already). Considering I don't like Huckleberry Finn, I'm surprised at how much I enjoyed this retelling! It's not quite 5 stars, as there were a couple of bits that were hard to read.

#camplitsy #52bookclub #abruptending #waterpolo #pop24 #recommendedbylibrarian

Full disclosure: as a vet, ophthalmology was probably my least favorite part of the job. Eyes are gross. They just are. So I didn‘t know if I could handle a horror book based around eyes, but I loved this. The more I reflect on Ji-won‘s appetite for eyes, the more I enjoy it. Funny and gross with some great social commentary about white men fetishizing Asian women, this is another horror win for @AardvarkBookClub ! #aardvark