Welcome to Litsy!

My 1st 5* of the year and inevitably it is another Penelope Lively. The writing is so vivid as we follow recently divorced architect in 1980s London as he negotiates his relationship with his 8 year old daughter, a mysterious villainous proper developer, and a chance encounter with a woman in a sandwich shop. At the same time the history of London is evoked through an Arctic Explorer, an air read warden, + a homeless child. Another brilliant tale

Oh dear, Amazon has actually figured out my tastes.

After publishing 84 Charing Cross Rd, Hanff finally got to visit London, meet many of her pen pals in person, and geek out about being in the same places Shakespeare and other beloved writers had been.

This brought back fond memories of my week in London. So much history, everywhere! Written in diary format, this takes you right there, into her silliest encounters and deepest awe.

#BookSpinBingo

I asked if he could point me toward Bloomsbury, I wanted to walk home. He said: “Go on up to O-Burn Street and follow the bus.“

Looked for O-Burn Street, looked for Auburn Street and finally stumbled on the street he meant: High Holborn. And that's what they mean by a cockney accent.

Themes: Book 2 in a series, Mystery, Funny but dark

Book 1 of 2026 is in the books (hehe 🤪) and it was AMAZING! I loved this second book in the ‘Peculiar Crimes Unit‘ series, maybe even a bit more than the first one which is always fun ☺️ I bought Book 3 and will definitely read it sooner rather than later.

#celebrate
#setinlrgcity
@eggs
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
London - highly recommend this book

First book of the year was a rare re read. I very seldom reread as there‘s just sooo many good books on my lists. But I love Sarah waters - one of my favourite authors of all time and 2026 maybe the year I revisit all of her books 🙏

First #5JoysFriday of 2026!

1. Monday—Wednesday I had NOTHING on the calendar and I just read and puzzled
2. Reading Emma M. Lion Volumes 1 & 2 in the last couple days of the year
3. Finishing #BookSpin and #192025 challenges on NYE
4. Husband and I made a delicious New Year‘s Eve dinner (Everything-crusted tuna steaks with snap peas and tahini-gochujang sauce)
5. Coffee hangout today with my husband and a good friend

#FridayHappyReadingHour arrived! Drinking wine that my Mom got me (it‘s called ‘Readers‘ 👓) in the glass she gifted me. I‘m snacking on crab rangoon from our Chinese takeout dinner cuz 1. We needed spicy food and 2. I had zero desire to cook 😆
Tagging pals but the hashtag is open to all! Share what you‘re reading, eating and/or drinking
@kspenmoll @tamra @mcctrish @thebookhippie @BarbaraBB @CathyThoughts @dabbe @ruthiella @guinsgirlreads

#SetInLrgCity 🌆

#Celebrate 🫧⋆✴︎🥂⋆.ೃ🍾࿔*:･🪩

#BookNerd 🤓📚💙