Welcome to Litsy!

Doing the whole “early to bed with book & mood lamp” thing. I read and loved the first 25% of STRONG WINE last night, but today was so busy that this is the first chance I‘ve had with it today. Gonna try for 50% before I pass out. #MFMarch

I‘ve officially reached the point in my SKIP BEAT! reread where it‘s all ebooks, all the time. No more hauling around bulky bags of physical copies! Whee!

I also have the volumes on my iPad, but I love how manga looks on e-ink so I‘ll read as many of them as possible on my actual ereaders. #MFMarch

Did a puzzle so I could finish MEMORIES OF ICE a bit quicker. As with the first two, I enjoyed it overall but I think time has softened the edges that made the series groundbreaking back in the day. I do wish everyone would curb their impulse towards bombastic internal monologues, too. There‘s a LOT of that.

I probably won‘t have much listening time in France, so I‘ll get the next one in late April or so. #MFMarch #audiopuzzling

Here I am, biding time with a cute dog and my daily short story while I wait for the snow (UGH) to stop. I keep reminding myself that next week I‘ll be in France, where it‘s supposed to be 20° and I won‘t even need my new tweed jacket.

In the meantime, I‘ll continue to be impressed with Drew Hayden Taylor‘s range. This guy excels at every genre he turns his hand to. His SF is as great as his nonfiction, his theatre, his YA, etc. etc. #MFMarch

Geo helped me read a goodly chunk of BECOMING A MATRIARCH this afternoon. It‘s another Canada Reads longlist title I‘d love to see jump to the shortlist in a year or two. Knott‘s a powerful writer. #MFMarch

I read the first 30% of SALT MAGIC, SKIN MAGIC last night, and I‘m hooked. Lee Welch writes the kind of prose that practically reads itself, with great characters and an intriguing version of 19th century England to boot. Penny‘s promised she‘ll help me devour the rest of it today. #MFMarch

I dug into SAFFRON ALLEY before bed last night, which was a mistake because I was too tired to read more than 20% and I wanted to devour the whole thing. A.J. Demas is so good at illuminating relationships and digging into the uncertainty that comes when you‘ve had a really intense, interrupted connection with someone and you need to figure out how to build on that within the framework of your everyday life. #MFMarch

I decided to do a Kobo Plus trial because a) they offered me bonus points, b) it‘ll give me a steady supply of digital, due-dateless reading material while I‘m in France, and c) I can finally knock a bunch of stuff off my wishlist. I began with A THIEF IN THE NIGHT, KJ Charles‘s thief/victim romance set in the same world as THE GENTLE ART OF FORTUNE HUNTING. It was great. Penny appreciated the snuggles she got as my reading buddy, too. #MFMarch

I got an iron on my jacket this morning, and now it‘s done! Next up: the trousers. I‘ve mostly finished them, but I want to redo the lining because the stuff I chose is way too loud.

I‘m making good progress through MEMORIES OF ICE, too. It amazes me how very D&D the worldbuilding is, but I guess that‘s all in line with Erikson‘s stated goal to offer a more nuanced take on a particular kind of fantasy. #MFMarch #audiosewing

Saki‘s just chillin‘ by my fireside bookstack. The top book, BAD ENDINGS, is my current short story collection, and it‘s a strong one. Carleigh Baker excels at finding the slices of experience that illuminate a character‘s life. #MFMarch