I have read several excellent books this year, but this is easily my favorite so far. As I was immensely enjoying it halfway through, I found myself hoping that Batuman would continue the series and let us follow Selin all the way through college, but after that ending, I‘m okay if it‘s goodbye for Selin and me.

Looking forward to the #CampLitsy discussion!

Like A Visit from the Goon Squad, it is composed of interconnected vignettes. Some are straightforward narratives, but Egan pushes us with the form of a few others. She is a writer who can seemingly do anything. She is grappling with issues of memory and privacy that affect all of us, but does so with an underlying sense of hope that the best of humanity won‘t be lost. I really loved this one!

Fowler has a pleasant, easy flowing style that keeps the pace of this novel bobbing right along. I certainly recognize that it requires great craft and skill to make it read so smoothly. I will say however, that it often felt more like I was reading a great narrative nonfiction than a novel.

Everything you think will happen does, but perhaps that is what makes it such a comforting read.

Eek! I love my #BeltaneBox so much! @BookwormAHN thank you for such thoughtful gifts, I love everything!

Blessed Beltane sisters! And a special thank you to @Chrissyreadit and @sprainedbrain for such a fun swap ❤️

Basil Sugar Pound Cake anyone? This cookbook is seriously amazing. If you like a little savory with your sweet, or a touch of seasonal adventure in your desserts, you will probably love it as much as I do! Up next for me are the Herbes de Provence Cake and then the Lavender Scones 😋

I greatly admire Yejidè‘s creativity, but there is an awful lot going on here and she didn‘t quite convince me that it all belongs in the same novel.

This book was so good, I‘m like mad at it. Emily St. John Mandel writes with such a clear, compassionate style that, as much as I love reading it, I am also seething with jealousy. Please keep making me jealous Emily!

“If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.” Oh my heart! I have loved this book my whole life and especially love revisiting it in the spring.

In the background is my little bird friend, who makes her nest in my hanging planter every year. This is her 4th spring with me.

@BookwormAHN I received my #BeltaneBox yesterday. Thank you so much!!

@Chrissyreadit and @sprainedbrain I also shipped mine today with estimated delivery on Monday. 🧙‍♀️🌸🌺

While I didn‘t warm up to any of the characters enough for this to be a favorite, I‘m glad that I finally got around to reading this classic. I had fun reading along with my fellow #Pemberlittens and huge thanks to @MicrobeMom for leading the read along!

A tough read, but well worth it. There are some uncomfortable questions asked about mental illness and its effect on the the sufferer‘s loved ones. It isn‘t all sorrow though, as troubled as she is, Martha is genuinely funny. I‘m so glad the Women‘s Prize put this one on my radar.

What a delightful book about murder. Campbell writes of her long obsession with true crime and examines why she, and so many of us, can‘t seem to get enough. That was all great, but I really love the way she writes about sharing this obsession with her mother. Their relationship fondly reminded me of the countless hours my own mother and I spent watching Law and Order and coming up with theories about JonBenet Ramsey.

Oh my gosh, so many witchy goodies from @AmyG ! Thank you so much for the wonderful wild witch books! It‘s a beautiful day here, so I‘m excited to plant some seeds and start reading them out on the deck. I am so excited to have a tarot deck and guidebook too! I have been interested in learning tarot for a while. Thank you so much for such a thoughtful package!

Happy Ostara and thank you so much for organizing @Chrissyreadit and @sprainedbrain

A pretty #SpringEquinoxSwap package is on its way. I sent it Priority Mail, to make sure it arrives before opening day!

Thank you so much @Chrissyreadit and @sprainedbrain for organizing ❤️

Yay! My #SpringEquinoxSwap package is here!! @AmyG Thank you so much!! I can‘t wait to open it.

Sorry for the weird picture. Strong winds have downed lots of power lines here in Atlanta, and my power is out 😩

I don‘t know how it‘s possible, but I love it more every time I read it.

Thank you for leading the read along @BarkingMadRun ❤️

A bit more meandering than the previous two, so it loses a bit in the pacing; however, I loved meeting Cora so much that I will forgive pretty much anything.

All my love and hugs to @monalyisha for introducing me to this series! ❤️

Okay Group Q, what do y‘all think of this stack? I have tagged all the books in the comments and have plenty more if none of these appeal.

@4thhouseontheleft I love that in the midst of the challenging and thought provoking books on your #NewYearWhoDis list, you threw one in just for fun. What a delight! Can‘t wait to read the second one now.

@monalyisha

Listening to the tagged book and enjoying some Ta‘ameya (Egyptian Falafel) for #FoodandLit. What a great idea ladies, I had so much fun making something new and it was light and delicious! I ate my Ta‘ameya on flatbread with lettuce, tomato, Greek yogurt and a squeeze of lemon 😋

Another excellent and thoughtful choice from my #NewYearWhoDis buddy @4thhouseontheleft

It‘s the story of three generations of a Vietnamese family and leading up to, during, and after, what Americans refer to as the Vietnam War. As you might imagine, there is plenty of tragedy, but there are also bright spots of love that keep it from being a total drag.

If you aren‘t familiar with Vietnamese pronunciation, I highly recommend the audio version.

This is a book about a kind, decent person. Usually, I find kind and decent protagonists boring (I‘ll take Emma Woodhouse over Fanny Price every time!) but somehow Whipple managed to keep me fully invested in a character with no sharp edges. It has been a long time since a book brought me to tears and had me yelling out loud at the characters. Thank goodness Persephone saved this gem from obscurity.

One atrocity after another makes for a pretty brutal telling. As wrenching as it was to read, I really appreciate that @4thHouseontheLeft pushed me out of my comfort zone and opened my eyes to this history.

#NewYearWhoDis

Emily Ratajkowski is giving us normal folk a glimpse of how it feels to be physically beautiful and to capitalize on it. She is calling out, and yet, profiting from, an unhealthy system, and that is what is so compelling here. Plenty of people like me have told her how she SHOULD feel and these essays are her way of telling us how she DOES feel. Agree or disagree, she is brave for the telling.

What a lovely way to end my reading year! This one has pretty much everything you want in a novel; love, heartbreak, loss, friendship, there is even a bit of a mystery, but the gentle pace does require some patience. I appreciated this book for making me slow down with it.

It was fun reading along with you ladies!

Sorry for the late post @CindyMyLifeIsLit but I am just getting home from Church and dinner with my family and finally have a moment to myself. You spoiled me with all the chocolate and the cozy socks too! I can‘t wait to curl up with these Christmas Ghost stories and relax after a very busy day. Thank you for such a wonderful and thoughtful package! Merry Christmas!!

And hugs and kisses to @MaleficentBookDragon for hosting this wonderful swap 😘

Christmas vacation has officially begun! @monalyisha @BarbaraBB I‘m finally diving in.

I‘m not a big fan of plucky survivor from a wacky family memoirs and this one seems to prove that holds for fiction too. It‘s not bad, it‘s just not my thing.

Yay! My #JolabokaflodSwap package has arrived! Thank you so much @CindyMyLifeIsLit ! I can‘t wait until Christmas Eve! 🎄❤️

My #jolabokaflodswap package is in the mail and should be delivered on Monday! I love this swap so much, thank you so much for hosting again @MaleficentBookDragon

I finally had time after the Thanksgiving prep and Christmas decorating to sit down with my amazing #NewYearWhoDis list from @4thhouseontheleft I love how wonderfully diverse your list is! I‘ve read, and loved, a few on the list already but here are the ones I hope to get to in 2022. I will probably only have time for a couple of them in January, but hope to eventually get to them all. Thank you so much @monalyisha for such a great match!

@WanderingBookaneer your #LMPBC book is here! Looking forward to reading it ☺️

@LazyDays @TheBookKeepers Mine will go out this week!

This is a weird, often gruesome, little book, but it is also a refreshingly original portrait of motherhood. The struggle between the parents to do what is “best” for Chouette with ever advancing technology is striking, as is the loneliness and helplessness that Tiny (the mother) has to face.

Gosh I loved this! A complex look at a family at a crisis point, with the vivid characters that we have come to expect from Franzen. It weighs in at about 600 pages, but never feels bloated or unwieldy. Every one of the 600 pages are essential. There is a lot of talk about faith and goodness and I admired the respect that Franzen showed for those with strong Christian faith, those with none, and everyone in between.

Well, this was just a perfect spooky, macabre little book. Thank you so much for including it in my #BasicWitchSwap package @monalyisha ! I have already ordered the next two in the series!

Meh. I would love to say this is a slow burn because I think that was the intention, but it never felt that way to me. I was bored for more than half the book and then when things finally started happening, it all felt rushed.

Thanks for the tag @MoonWitch94

October was a very fun month for me! I love all things witchy so I had a blast co-hosting #BasicWitchSwap this year!

I‘m excited that I can start decorating and prepping for Christmas! We are having Christmasy weather in Atlanta today, so I might watch a Christmas movie 😊

I joined a very fun online knitting group, and am so inspired by the creativity and skill of the group.

#ThoughtfulThursday

Somehow I missed the signup for this sweet, simple swap last year. Don‘t let that happen to you! Go to @MaleficentBookDragon ‘s feed for more details and to sign up.

#Jolabokaflodswap

Settling in with one of my #BasicWitchSwap books from @monalyisha with such a full heart. Thank you to everyone who participated and made this such a fun swap. Every unboxing picture warmed my heart.

And, of course, the biggest thank you to the wonderful @sprainedbrain The best swap co-host anyone could ask for 😘

A Blessed Samhain to all and to all a good night! 🎃👻🧹

Alyisha I am so happy I could cry! You really get me! I am impossible to choose books for (my own family sticks to the list 😂) But you managed to choose three amazing books for me! Can‘t wait to dive in to those delicious looking goodies! And the Palo santo and incense set is absolutely gorgeous! I can‘t wait to light it up tonight! Thank you so so much my friend!! #BasicWitchSwap

Alright @monalyisha here we go!

#BasicWitchSwap

@BookBosomed1 It was so sweet of you to include a gift for Sandy in my #AllHallowsReadSwap package! Here is the silly girl saying cheese in her new bandana 😂

@BookBosomed1 you completely spoiled me! Thank you so so much for my #AllHallowsReadSwap package!! I love everything, especially the Pride and Prejudice tea which was so thoughtful! I also love that you included an uplifting book which will be most welcome on this cold, gloomy day!

Thank you @MaleficentBookDragon for organizing this fun swap!!

I agree with the other reviewers who have noted that this one sags a bit in the middle, but since I was so reluctant to say goodbye to the Owens family, I didn‘t really mind. A lovely ending to a lovely series. I‘ll miss these characters, so it‘s a good thing they live in my books and I can visit anytime.

Book is pictured with my beloved Cherry Doc Martens. I also have grey eyes, so I‘m pretty sure I‘m in the Owens family tree somewhere.

Saying that I was completely riveted by these primary source documents, might be one of the nerdiest things I have ever said, but there it is. Reading these firsthand accounts of witch trials and accusations gave me chills and broke my heart.

I‘m so excited that my #AllHallowsRead package arrived yesterday! Thank you so much @BookBosomed1 ! I can‘t wait to see what is inside ❤️

I have always liked this book (and LOVED the movie!) but rereading it in chronological order with the rest of the series, made me like it more. Now that it is a part of a series and I have read more about where this story fits within the Owens timeline, I appreciate these characters in a different way. On to the newest addition…

#Screamathon

Calling all Witches! We are less than two weeks away from #BasicWitchSwap opening day! I have seen so many posts about lovely packages being mailed and received and can‘t wait to share Halloween/Samhain with all of you. @sprainedbrain and I have heard from most of you, but I‘ll tag a few folks in the comments who haven‘t posted their shipping plans yet. Please respond and let me know when you plan to ship your package.

Here is a picture of me sending off my #BasicWitchSwap package this morning. Fly my pretties! The flying monkeys promise that they‘ll deliver it by Monday.

@sprainedbrain @monalyisha