Welcome to Litsy!

Circusy historical fantasy with a found family and a merman romance? Yes please. This was sweet. It‘s from @rachelsbrittain ‘s #AuldLangSpine list. Plus this cover 😍.
#doublespin

My next audiobook for #auldlangspine @LeafingThroughLife @monalyisha

#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) 👇

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.

#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

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.

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 ⬇️

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

#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 ?

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⬇️