Welcome to Litsy!

Grief. Loss. Sadness. Drugs. Alcohol. Madness. Hollywood. All the crazy haze of the late 1960s. Wow… this was a lot.

My November choice for #AuthorAMonth. So glad I have finally read something by Joan Didion, but not sure I‘m eager to read more. Time will tell. She really plays with your head.

@Soubhiville

I'm so excited for my #auldlangspine list from @CSeydel. The only book on the list I've already read is My Friends by Fredrick Backman.

I'm going to prioritize reading In Cold Blood, Tress of the Emerald Sea, We Solve Murders, Mickey7, and The Stardust Grail in January, but there are so many other interesting books on this list that I'll hopefully manage to read at some point!

Thanks @monalyisha for organizing!

This was my favorite quote from the book. I guess I find it comforting, because I often feel like a jumble of terrible feelings doing its best to somehow be a decent human being anyway.

Gilead was a bit of a slog at times, but ultimately very beautiful. There's so much kindness and thought in it.

#DoubleSpin

My fabulous #AuldLangSpine list from @Billypar — submitted mostly without comment for the time being. Obviously, I love it! I‘ve read a few…but many weren‘t even on my radar (which is exactly how I like it). I‘ll post about my pretty little plans sometime soon.

Thanks, Vinny! I‘m looking forward to January! 🖤

Unless you‘re an indigenous person in America, your ancestors are from somewhere else. Authors like Nathaniel Hawthorne wanted to establish a uniquely American voice. However, it was hard to escape their European roots. (Also, I don‘t remember if there were any POC authors/tales represented in this collection and I know they existed. So I‘ll offer up Julius Lester‘s edition of Brer Rabbit tales.) Feathertop was probably my favorite tale.

I picked this book for #ISpyBingoNovDec promps. It was a collection of stories. Some were good, most I found so so. #Read2025 #SnowyDecemberReadathon
@TheAromaofBooks @DieAReader

2-30 Nov 25
Highly recommended by Jaclyn Crupi, for good reason. Leo recounts many decades of his life, his long friendship with Bill and Violet and the relationship between their two sons. From about midway through, I felt quite uneasy, not sure where the story was going but anxious and quite disturbed. For me, this was a psychological thriller.
An exceptional book dealing with the nature of art, mental illness, depression, addiction and marriage

Amazing illustrations, very dark and some new stories of Poe's I have not read yet.

For the rest of my review, visit my Vlog at:

https://youtu.be/a8P0Q2Qt2F4

Enjoy!

I didn't intend to read The Grapes of Wrath this year, but I've always meant to and @BarkingMadRead and the #hashtagbrigade reading it in November seemed like a perfect opportunity. It's a heavy book made all the more heavy by how timely it is right now. Steinbeck's writing is amazing. It's been several years since I read East of Eden and I'm thinking it may be time for a reread soon.

Well, I loved it. To describe the characters, setting or plot would be impossible to get the feeling across. The title is not an accident, it‘s “plain” but deceptively simple. Found family and a lovely story that felt timeless. I plan to continue the series with Eventide and then Benediction. Haruf has a fan in me!