Auldlangspine

Idle Grounds | Krystelle Bamford

pick

#AuldLangSpine @monalyisha
This story of a single day where a group of cousins on a family gathering in the late 80s search for a missing member of their group felt way longer than its 208 pages. The search is narrated in first person plural (including their collective thoughts), and there are frequent flashbacks to describe their family history, focusing on the aunt they're visiting and an eccentric grandmother (now deceased) 👇

Billypar At first, I found the flashbacks frustrating: the kids were roaming in the woods, there is a mysterious presence that they've witnessed, and every time we went into a flashback, it broke the suspense of those moments. But gradually, the backstory becomes interesting in its own right, and it won me over. Still, my favorite parts were what the children encounter in the woods, and those moments evoked how mystical that setting seems to a child. 6h

Billypar Favorite part was the incident with Travis' disembodied voice: "GUYS! JUST A MINUTE!" So creepy. 6h

monalyisha Not a favorite but still a pick! For such a singular, niche kind of book… I‘ll take it! 6h

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monalyisha Did you think it was funny or not especially? Some of the similes/metaphors/figurative language really tickled me! 6h

Billypar @monalyisha I think there were some funny parts involving the children's innocent perspectives, and I agree: the language was gorgeous and clever. But I think the overall tone alternated between tense or sad. If I had to read again, I would choose the print over the audio. Not because of the narrator, who was great, but my attention kept wandering, and if I didn't keep rewinding, I would have missed a lot of the subtler but important moments. 6h

sarahbarnes Your picture is…bleak. 2h

BarbaraBB That photo… 😱 now

Billypar @sarahbarnes @BarbaraBB That's what Google provided when I asked for "abandoned tennis court." It certainly delivered ?? now

25 likes8 comments

DGRachel

Atmosphere: A Love Story | Taylor Jenkins Reid

pick

I hated Daisy Jones, so I went into this with a little trepidation. I‘m constantly saying how contemporary/literary fiction is not my thing, but just like so many of the Camp Litsy picks, Atmosphere made a liar out of me. I loved the backdrop of the space shuttle program, and I loved the relationships between astronauts even more. I was literally sobbing by the end. Thank you @dariazeoli for including this on your #auldlangspine list. I loved it.

monalyisha

DGRachel Also, Barbara is a horrible, disgusting, rotten human being and I hope her shitty husband leaves her and neither Joan nor Francis ever talk to her again. 🤬 18h

LeeRHarry Yep definitely love to hate Barbara. 16h

dariazeoli I‘m so glad you loved it! And I‘m with you: Barbara sucks in every way. 10h

41 likes1 stack add3 comments

DebinHawaii

Hemlock & Silver | T. Kingfisher

#HaikuADay #HaikuHive

This week has been a week & I‘m behind on haikus. I wrote this one last night inspired by Silent Book Club. I missed December‘s meeting due to work events so it was nice to be back, although the early bird small talk was an effort!😉

Early to book club
Awkward small talk with other
Early introverts

The tagged book is the book I brought (along with my Kindle for after dark) reading it for #AuldLangSpine #AuthorAMonth

Kristy_K, DebinHawaii, Mimi28, TheBookHippie, JenlovesJT47, BookishMarginalia, CBee, dabbe, kelli7990, Jari-chan, lil1inblue, aroyse, AnnCrystal

lil1inblue 💙 💙 💙 1d

TheBookHippie Not the small talk 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫 1d

BiblioLitten How‘s the weather? 😆 1d

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dabbe Oy to the small talk!!! 😱 Yay for silent book club and this lovely haiku. 💙🩶🖤 1d

JenlovesJT47 Small talk is my nemesis! ♥️♥️♥️ 1d

DebinHawaii @lil1inblue 💙💙💙 1d

DebinHawaii @TheBookHippie @dabbe @BiblioLitten @JenlovesJT47 Right?! We covered what we were reading, the weather, post holiday back-to-work blues, the weather some more, NYE fireworks (big topic in Hawaii) & by the time to start “the silence” I was exhausted! 😉😆🫢😳 1d

TheBookHippie @DebinHawaii I would need a nap. 1d

CatLass007 I don‘t like small talk but I enjoy a good conversation. I don‘t like meeting new people because that‘s often what we‘re stuck with, small talk. But every once in a while you meet someone and you just click. 1d

DebinHawaii @CatLass007 Same! I was disappointed last night that the person I have clicked with at SBC didn‘t make it last night. I would have not been exhausted chatting with her. 23h

CatLass007 I‘m sorry she didn‘t make it last night. Does your SBC meet once a month? That‘s a long time to have to wait to reconnect. 23h

DebinHawaii @CatLass007 This location which is close to me is monthly. They do other events at other locations & I may decide to do one of those this month if I can. 23h

CatLass007 Sounds good! 23h

AnnCrystal 👏🏼🐝📚😉👍🏼🐝💝. 21h

55 likes14 comments

ncsufoxes

The Correspondent: A Novel | Virginia Evans

pick

First book of 2026, #AuldLangSpine pick. This book was on my radar & happy that it was pushed to the top of my list to start the new year. With all the heaviness of the world right now it was nice to be lost in this story. I appreciate the idea of what will your family know of you when are gone without leaving them a piece of who you are, your thoughts & feelings.

Deblovestoread, monalyisha

38 likes

Texreader

Canticle | Janet Rich Edwards

pick

When her closest friend Finn becomes a monk, Aleys pours all her love into God. Not wanting to be a nun, but seeking a life of pure devotion, she decided to be the female version of a Franciscan friar. For lack of an appropriate place for her, she‘s forced against her will to live with the beguines, who had an awful reputation in Brugges. These lay women devoted their lives to somewhat monastic life but much freer than nuns. When she begins ⬇️

Texreader performing miracles, she has her first dire encounter with the Church. She enters a new phase of her religious life, and finally acknowledges the extraordinary existence of the beguines. When she and the beguines are finally reaching the height of their spirituality, disaster comes calling—men who want what they have, who cannot stand women controlling their own spirituality. The ending is both heartbreaking and joyful. An awe-inspiring book. ⬇️ 2d

Texreader #auldlangspine @LeafingThroughLife @monalyisha 2d

LeafingThroughLife Great review! So glad you liked it! 2d

67 likes3 comments

Sapphire

The Correspondent: A Novel | Virginia Evans

pick

My first #auldlangspine, the first book I read from the list was my first of the year and my favorite of the year. I suspect it will be the same in 2026. I admit I started The Correspondent on Christmas but I loved it so much I am counting it. I loved it so much I have already passed on my copy to a friend who turned 91 yesterday. The pacing, the relationships, the voices and motives. I loved it all. #auldlangspine2026. Keeping going on this list

monalyisha, Lesliereadsalot

Lesliereadsalot Such a good book! 1d

AmyG All these books are wonderful. Have fun! I love @Lesliereads taste in books. And she knows it. 🤣 1d

32 likes2 comments

Billypar

Death Valley | Melissa Broder

pick

#AuldLangSpine @monalyisha
One way I know a book is good is when the voice is so compelling that after I close it, it feels like the author is narrating my thoughts, almost like getting a song stuck in my head. Broder's tale of a woman confronting her father's mortality and husband's chronic illness, one who self-describes as "the kind of person who makes another person's coma all about me", wonders about 'empathy' when we care for loved ones ?

vivastory I didn't post a review of this one as my reviews on Litsy have been abysmal lately but I read this over the weekend and, oh boy, did I love it. The line about I don't want to unravel without some humor is easily one of the best I've read this one year (& relatable) This was my first Broder, won't be my last. Great review 2d

vivastory Also, A plus for the pic... that HAS to be a Saguaro 2d

Billypar Is it really just compassion? When we try to picture the suffering of those we love, aren't we really just seeing layers of our own self? Without giving anything away, the main character spends some time walking in the desert puzzling over these questions, and the result is a perfect blend between somber and funny moments (the rocks cracked me up 😄). Thanks for this rec, Alyisha! I'll have to read more from this author. 2d

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vivastory One more little note-Broder's handling of those with pain of varying degrees in her life was just so well-executed. This is a topic that is often not handled well in fiction, but she really did a great job 2d

Billypar @vivastory Agreed - I believed the main character's ambivalence about how to support her husband and father. Very authentic, and it kept me guessing on the direction it was going. Broder is also rare author who seems to keep her Goodreads page updated with real ratings: not surprisingly, she makes great reading choices. 2d

Billypar @vivastory Oh, and that's a really common error, but it's actually a teddy bear cholla 🌵 2d

vivastory @Billypar I should have known 😂 You could have not said anything & let it pass...who would have really known... except for one or two other littens lol (edited) 2d

monalyisha So glad you loved it! I was picking a nonfic book to read and thought it would be fun to choose her essays (tagged), so we‘d be reading her concurrently. I don‘t love them! 🤯🙈 I didn‘t see that coming… because this really *was* my favorite novel last year! Really good to know about her Goodreads page, though. I‘m 100% going to check it out.

So Sad Today: Personal Essays

monalyisha Also, the phenomenon you‘ve described happens to me, too — to the point where I worry I‘m writing my review in the author‘s voice instead of my own. 2d

monalyisha And I always come home from walks with “special” rocks in my pockets, so the rocks really got me, too! 2d

britt_brooke Loved this one, too! 2d

Billypar @monalyisha Good to know about the essay collection - sounds disappointing, but I might give it a whirl. I once mentioned to a friend the thing about the author voice in my head, and she looked at me like I was crazy 😅 So maybe it's not every reader. 1d

monalyisha To give you some idea of what might be in store for you: the first essay is largely about consuming your own bodily fluids. The second is about working for a tantric sex nonprofit. While it‘s still funny, it‘s too much (and too gross) for me. 😅🙈 Death Valley was just right. 24h

Billypar @monalyisha I have no idea if I'll end up liking this collection, but that short description has now guaranteed that I will read it because my curiosity will always win out if something is weird enough 🫠 As long as we're talking books - I will actively avoid YouTube videos if they cross a line for grossness, violence, etc. 24h

monalyisha @Billypar Ha! I mean, I don‘t dislike it enough to stop reading. But I‘m definitely reading it with a grimace. 23h

41 likes15 comments

Sapphire

Auld Lang Syne (Classic Reprint) | Robert Burns

Here is my belated new years toast and self-intro for #auldlangspine #auldlangspine2026! I am in my mid fifties and a lifelong reader of mostly fiction. For the last 25 years or so that is mainly literary fiction with forays into mystery and fantasy. I am married to my soul mate. We have two dogs and a grown daughter who lives nearby with our 3 toddler granddaughters. I retired in October from a shortened federal career. Now I do tai chi,travel⬇️

monalyisha, Lesliereadsalot

Sapphire Take literature courses online with U Chicago, am learning grant writing to support a new non-profit working in the areas of social justice related to domestic violence, walk in nature, care for my mother who is declining and enjoy art, music, and theatre. I am also spending time drawing - pencils sketching mostly which I am decidedly not good at. I am a spiritual person pursuing contemplative prayer. I am also trying to get stronger physically 2d

Sapphire My favorite cocktail is a side car. Although I am exploring the new mocktails and like the naked brand mojito. I love Litsy and handwritten letters. I feel busier in retirement and that my lists of activities I want to do from cleaning out cupboards to making photo albums is too long. I have a home library with over 1000 books, at least 500 of which are my TBR. 2d

Sapphire Is that more than anyone would want to know @Lesliereadsalot ? Oh, did I mention I am wordy!! 😛🥰🤠 I have lived Texas for the past 9 years. But I think of myself as a Virginian. I was born and raised in California. (edited) 2d

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kspenmoll I love this!!! Wordy is good! 2d

Lesliereadsalot Thanks so much! I loved reading about you. After reading your list I felt like I wanted to get to know you and now I have. Your life sounds like a life well led. And I think wordy is good too! 🩷 2d

Sapphire @kspenmoll 🤠 2d

Sapphire @Lesliereadsalot what a kind thing to say! A life well lived is the goal isn‘t it? Litsy adds so much to that and the friends made here. 2d

17 likes7 comments

PurpleyPumpkin

North Woods | Daniel Mason

pick

I started at the very top of your #AuldLangSpine list @BarbaraJean and I was not disappointed! What a book! The audiobook was fantastic w/ various narrators taking on the roles of each character. And I really enjoyed the way each chapter almost seamlessly dovetailed into the next. I finished this last night while #audiopuzzling. Great combination but now I want to re-listen to the final chapter just to take it all in. 🙃 4.5⭐️
(January 8, 2026)

monalyisha

MemoirsForMe Cool puzzle! Happy Reading! 🧩 2d

BarbaraJean Oh, I‘m so glad you enjoyed it! It really is such an amazing book—so intricately put together. And the audiobook sounds wonderful—I might just have to re-read it on audio 😊 I also love that your first pick from my list was this one—I read it because it was on the Auld Lang Spine list I got from @Librarybelle last year! 🎉💜📚 2d

PurpleyPumpkin @BarbaraJean When I read your review, I noticed that @Librarybelle had suggested it last year! Such a great recommendation. Given all the positive reviews, I really don‘t know how I missed this. Thank you so much for putting it on my radar. 😉 1d

Librarybelle Glad you liked this one! It‘s different, but in a good way. 1d

PurpleyPumpkin @Librarybelle You‘re so right!😉 1d

47 likes5 comments

julesG

Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution | Cat Bohannon

pick

An interesting read. An important one.

A few things might need revision though. But those are minor things and might only be obvious to non-US/American readers.

#AuldLangSpine @DebinHawaii @monalyisha

57 likes

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