Work has been consuming this month and I haven‘t done as much reading as I‘d hoped. I‘m still working on Intermezzo and Challenger, and I haven‘t even started either of my February #bookspin books! And now it‘s time to pick books for March! Well, I‘ll get to it when I get to it…

This is a strange, melancholy book, but there are some beautifully expressed descriptions of complex human emotion.

“In her satisfied exhaustion … Margaret feels that she can perceive the miraculous beauty of life itself, lived only once and then gone forever, the bloom of a perfect and impermanent flower, never to be retrieved.” …

Can‘t believe my baby girl is 21 years old today! She doesn‘t hang out on Litsy anymore but I‘m still posting her a Happy Birthday because I‘m so darn proud of her 🎉

🎂2️⃣1️⃣🍷

When work pops up in the most unexpected places!
🧬🦟🌱

Best laid plans …

My holds came in on Challenger and Intermezzo, so I‘m bumping them ahead of my bookspin picks and reading them next.

Last one tonight. Another #auldlangspine - I listened to this one, and Griffin Dunne did an excellent job narrating this memoir of his extraordinary family. He begins with his mother‘s grandparents (I think) and touches on his father‘s difficult early life to set the stage for the family dynamics that infuse his life story, mostly his early years. Hilarious and wrenching. The climactic event is the 1983 trial of his sister Dominique‘s killer.

Also #auldlangspine! I really lucked out with my partner this year. What I love about your list @CBee is the variety of styles you chose, and yet they are all so enjoyable. This was a fun, hilarious and cozy caper that was perfect for unwinding at the end of the evening. I loved that it had a truly all-ages cast of characters ranging in age from 8 months to 90 years. (Ok, he wasn‘t *actually* 90, but what happened was … )

Another #auldlangspine pick from @CBee

This was so unexpected and intense. I loved it and definitely see myself revisiting it in the future. A haunting story of an odd little family in post-WWII Scotland, and a bright and sensitive young girl who is deeply unconventional and frequently misunderstood. Richly drawn and evocative portrait of a unique time and place. The writing is spare yet poetic. 4.5⭐️

Read for #auldlangspine

Nice historical fiction inspired by a real-life midwife who kept a daybook. I have a hard time with historical fiction because I‘m hyperaware of the modern attitudes that inevitably creep in. Still this was an emotional story and likeable characters, with several powerful storylines that managed to never cross the line to melodrama. Thank you for recommending this, @CBee

Read this with my brunch gang. It was pretty good, didn‘t blow me away, but the suspense kept me reading. There weren‘t any big shocking twists, it was more of a slow burn, little by little revealing more pieces of the puzzle, which I quite liked. Most of the book is from the MC‘s perspective, but some chapters are written from the psychiatrists perspective in a weird, pseudoscientific passive voice, an affectation that quickly grew tiresome. 3⭐️

Have been busy and gotten behind on posting proper reviews. So welcome to my Friday Night Review Dump!

Summary:
An Anonymous Girl: 3⭐️ - decent thriller with some annoying flaws
O Caledonia: 4.5 ⭐️ - haunting, poetic, evocative, and compelling
Frozen River: 3.5 ⭐️ - well written, tautly plotted
How to Age … : 3 ⭐️ - cute, witty, cozy; a fun read
Friday Afternoon Club: 4⭐️ - powerful and entertaining memoir of an extraordinary family

My ambitious reading goals for a short & busy month.

#ReadingBracket #BookBracket2025

Starting strong with a clear winner for January slipping in just under the wire before the month‘s end. This is a book I already know I‘ll re-read because it‘s full of gorgeous description and characterization. By turns hilarious, poignant, bleak, heartbreaking. #auldlangspine

#weekendreads #auldlangspine

Frozen River is a historical fiction about a real midwife, Martha Ballard, in colonial Maine. A woman is raped; later, one of the two men accused of the crime is found dead. Politics and fingerpointing ensue.

How to Age Disgracefully is a fun little British story about an eclectic assortment of people who cross paths at a community center in a lower-middle-class neighborhood. So far it‘s funny and charming.

#january #wrapup

Making a good start at #auldlangspine with these - top and bottom shelf are from the list @CBee gave me. All very good! I‘m only about halfway through the Dunne but it‘s a terrific listen so far. Middle shelf are book club picks for my two in-person book clubs, which have been unfortunately lackluster. As sometimes happens.

#bookspin list loaded up and ready to spin

#TuesdayTunes

Recently I‘ve been digging this cover of Careless Whisper by Brigitte Calls Me Baby. I don‘t know why, there‘s nothing particularly special about it, but somehow it scratches the itch of novelty and familiarity at the same time.

Check it out:
https://youtu.be/ITBP3fo3fzY?si=EuAndRTpHhn3WeKL

Once again interrupting #auldlangspine for a book club selection. I‘m nearly done with O Caledonia (which is exquisite by the way) but I went ahead and started An Anonymous Girl for my book club that meets next Saturday. (The worst thing you can do is show up to discuss a suspense thriller that you haven‘t quite finished - !) And I got Frozen River back from the library so I plan to finish it up soonish
#weekendreads

#whereareyoumonday
Spending a moment on the beautiful island of Corfu this morning

#snowedin @Texreader

#auldlangspine
See, I knew I‘d end up flying through this one. It was a fast read and so, so good.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Since @BethM asked … here‘s a 2025 bracket, if anyone wants it

#bookbracket2025 #readingbracket2025

#weekendreads #auldlangspine

I enjoyed The Thursday Murder Club, but I thought ehhh, this one probably won‘t be as good as that one, right? No. Wrong. It‘s top tier, really hilarious and touching and action-packed and very English (but in the endearing way, not the annoying way). I‘m enjoying it so much that I can‘t stop reading it, and that makes me sad that I‘ll be done with it too soon.

Barbara Kingsolver is a very good writer, and this book is rich with metaphor and well-drawn parallels between the 2015 and 1870 storylines that illustrate the ideas about America she‘s trying to convey.

But. It‘s not a good book.

The problems are:
- the book is tedious and the story and characters didn‘t draw me in
- I disagreed with much of her overall sociopolitical message, which made it even more tedious to read.

#weekendreads

Reading this one for my in-person book club which meets this Thursday. I suggested it because I enjoyed Demon Copperhead tremendously. This one, unfortunately, is a slog. I‘m about halfway in, and there‘s no plot to speak of - it‘s long on characters discussing social issues and short on story.

Finishing up this slim but powerful novel recommended by @CBee and I‘ve been pondering how to articulate my feelings about it. Just a few pages before the end I came to this poignant, eloquent passage that I felt sums up [one of] the book‘s themes. I appreciate how well Newman‘s writing captures the feelings of family life in middle age, so that even though the details of my marriage & family are quite different than Rocky‘s, I can relate.

I may be busy in the next few days

My library hold came in, so I‘m listening to Lisa Marie Presley‘s story as narrated by Julia Roberts and Lisa‘s daughter, Riley Keough. I‘ve visited Graceland but I never knew a great deal about Elvis‘s personal life or that of his wife and daughter. So far it‘s quite engaging, though sad. #auldlangspine

#LCS #LittleChristmasSwap

Happy Epiphany! Hope everyone enjoyed their Twelfth Night revelries. If you are back to work like me I hope it‘s not too taxing today. Meanwhile gaze upon my glorious gifts from @bookish_wookish - how cute are those candies?! And the card says “Merry Bookmas” 😆 I love it! I am so excited to read this book, thank you Amy!! And thank you for hosting this fun event.

#weekendreads
Still dipping in and out of my Big Book of Mysteries (it‘s HUGE!) for #snowedin.

Trying to get through as much of Frozen River for #auldlangspine as I can before it has to be returned to the library - but it‘s emotionally very tough in parts. (Also, I did not manage to start it before Jan 1…)

Finally, I‘ve been listening to Why Buddhism is True in the car. Bob can be very irritating sometimes, but I‘m trying to stick with it.

I seem to have forgotten to post yesterday - my November and December books are Piranesi by Susanna Clarke, a mind-bending exploration of human nature and the immortality of ideas, and Here One Moment … which actually could also be considered an exploration of human nature, in this case as it regards our relationship to mortality and time. Both excellent though they could not be more different.

Thanks for the game, @Andrew65 - this was fun!

#12booksof2024 My first time reading this author. The writing was excellent. It had some flaws with regard to the mystery plot, but on the whole I enjoyed it. The characters were engaging and vivid, and the setting was immersive - a compelling portrait of 1960s small town Minnesota. Read with my IRL book club.

Started this yesterday and it‘s gripping so far. But I‘m only on p.24 and already distracted by historical details. A character shows up in a small Maine village claiming to be “a licensed physician and recent graduate of Harvard Medical School,” which is … weird. Medical licensing wasn‘t a widespread practice until the 1800s, and the book takes place in 1789. Plus, a “recent graduate” would have to do an apprenticeship before being licensed.

Best book of September was Connie Willis‘s comic time travel caper, To Say Nothing of the Dog (its title, setting, and overall tone are drawn from Jerome K. Jerome‘s 19th century comic travel memoir, Three Men in a Boat). #12booksof2025

I had my #bookspin list ready before Jan 1 even though I forgot to post it! (The list is all #AuldLangSpine titles - I can‘t lose!) The spinner gave me We Solve Murders by Richard Osman and Sandwich by Catherine Newman. Can‘t wait to get started!

#12booksof2024 @Andrew65

This is the eighth book in the Dr Siri series set in late 1970s Laos. It was an outstanding entry in the series, with a thrilling plot and very powerful storyline with lots of historical and political insights. I recommend reading the series in order, but this one was my top read of August.

#readingbracket2024 #bookbracket2024

#12Booksof2024 @Andrew65

Finished this one the other night. It was fine - a little disappointing, but I can‘t quite articulate why. Most of the stories felt a bit undercooked, if that makes sense. There were three that I‘d say I enjoyed: The Eel Singers by Natasha Pulley; The Chillingham Chair by Laura Purcell; and The Hanging of the Greens by Andrew Michael Hurley. The others had potential but somehow fell flat for me.
#snowedin

#12booksof2024 @Andrew65

This is a quietly powerful novel in stories following the residents of a small Maine town, their secret hopes and fears, the ordinariness of their daily lives and their major turning points. Beautiful read and my second of the year that I owe to #Europacollective

#12booksof2024

May‘s book is Rebecca Wait‘s I‘m Sorry You Feel That Way, a sometimes-hilarious, sometimes-heartbreaking family story mostly about two sisters and their very different responses to their difficult mother. Beautifully written and completely engrossing.

#HyggeHour #HyggeHourReadathon

#12Booksof2024 @Andrew65

Forgot to post this yesterday 🤦🏻‍♀️ My favorite read of April. This was full of fascinating history of not only the band but the larger context of the music industry in Britain and America as well as the social-political conditions that put a lot of that history into context. A slow read but HIGHLY enjoyable!

@CBee if you will permit me a late addition to my #AuldLangSpine list - this book was terrific! I always enjoy the cast of characters in a Liane Moriarty book - she can weave together a collection of storylines in a very satisfying way. I was afraid it would feel stale because, knowing the premise, I assumed (correctly) that the theme would be “enjoy your life while you can, because none of us knows what the future holds.” But she makes it fresh.

Updated stack! Ready for Jan 1! 🎉🪩📚

#AuldLangSpine

It‘s just math. It‘s all just math.

#12Booksof2024
I got a late start so I‘m posting my first three days today. The aim is to post your favourite book of each month on each of the 12 days of Christmas starting with January on Christmas Day, finishing with December on the twelfth day (5th January). My first three are:
Jan - The Hate U Give
Feb - The Postcard
Mar - Killers of a Certain Age

It‘s finally Christmas Eve here on the west coast of the USA and I am settling in to open my #jolabokaflodswap package-

SQUEEEE!! Thank you, Shannon, I am so looking forward to reading this! Thank you for the book and the yummy Dove chocolates - I love them both!

Thank you Chelle for organizing this again. Merry Christmas everyone!

#333Challenge

Auto-buy (I don‘t buy books, so let‘s say “auto-add” to my library holds):
Liane Moriarty
Candice Millard
Connie Willis

Want to read more of:
Charles Dickens
Hampton Sides
Terry Pratchett

Want to read for the 1st time:
Valérie Perrin
Han Kang
Tea Obreht

#SnowedIn
Swamped this week, so a bit late posting my review. This book was the perfect read at the perfect time. A quietly mournful tale of two people building a life on the frontier when their familiar life becomes unbearable. I didn‘t mind the magical realism and elements of ambiguity around the child. I loved that the story centered on the female experience, contrasting Mabel, Esther, and Faina‘s relationships with society, but also ⬇️

Excited for #auldlangspine2025!

Is it overkill to check out all these now? Yes. But it feeds my winter hoarding impulse, so I went with it.

I might (will) have to cheat and start Frozen River before Jan 1, because it has a list of holds. (I‘m honestly surprised I got it already.) I figure this is allowable because ~technically~ it wasn‘t on your official #auldlangspine list 😉