I‘m trying to streamline my #bookspinbingo cards this year by pasting them in a journal. But how cool is it seeing all my boards from 2021?!

Curious what y‘all‘s thoughts are on the future of Litsy?

I‘ll be honest, it hasn‘t felt the same for me. 😕

I felt when the app changed hands a few years back that Litsy would start to really thrive. Instead it feels as though it‘s dying a slow death. With the explosion of popularity of book tok, booktube, and bookstagram, Litsy has been harder and harder for me to connect with. I have met some wonderful friends here over the years but ⬇️

💀 💀

Last #bookspinbingo of 2021! 🎄

Like an idiot, I forgot to choose my BOTY. I‘m kind of ok with it though because I have read or bought the ones I want.

Super excited for all three of these. I wasn‘t necessarily thrilled with the choices but I really wanted Olga. #botm

There you have it folks! @Chelsea.Poole was bang on. My library ended up purchasing 19 additional copies. 🙌🏻

Ive been checking Libby a few times a week to see if they‘ve gotten this memoir on audio yet. Well, they did. And apparently quite a few people figured it out it was on there before I did. 🤦🏼‍♀️

Y‘all, I‘m obsessing over this book. I‘m not even halfway through. Flora is 🔥, I just love her so much. Every quip, every carefully crafted retort, is pure gold.

I spent hours today wiping down my shelves, dusting books, and polishing knick knacks. 😅 I made some major changes and I‘m already thinking about little things I want to change. Every book is perfectly line up and smudge free. We‘ll see how long that lasts. 🤣

Currently reading—I‘m loving both books, especially Inventing the Abbotts! I‘m only three stories deep but it already has me wowed.

All the Light is fantastic too but I‘m still early on and I can‘t shake the fear that it‘s too overhyped for me.

🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻 #bookspinbingo

I felt like I read nonstop in October, so I wasn‘t too shocked when I tallied 2 literary magazines and 26 books for the month. Now I‘m intentionally slowing the pace a bit to avoid burnout.

Standouts for the month were—Murder in the Family (fascinating true crime book written by the son of a woman who died of arsenic poisoning in 1959.)

-No Easy Answers (not especially well written but it sent me down the Columbine rabbit hole again. ⬇️

Just some light beach reading (of course I happened to be reading all about plane crashes on our flight down. 🤦🏼‍♀️)

At least my scenery is uplifting. 🏖

It finally happened! I completed my entire #bookspinbingo board. 🙌🏻🙌🏻 Now I‘m sot of slumpin—I‘ve consumed books at an alarming rate this month and now I need a little break. 😅 I‘ve barely picked up a book since I crossed off my last square yesterday.

Totally unimpressed with the #botm selections this month. Which is fine. I got five books last month so taking a BOTM breather is not a bad thing.

I was impressed with their wide selection of add-ons but luckily none were books I felt I *had* to have. I‘ll probably go the audio route anyway with Will and In the Weeds. Still Life has been one I‘ve had my eye on but historical fiction about WWII just feels so overdone to me.

If you need a book for #booked2021‘s #blackjack21 prompt, this is it.

One of my top books of the year. Easily. This is why I do reading challenges. I would have NEVER come across this book if not for the challenge. I struggled so much with this prompt. I pored over my shelves to find a possibility. Not one fit the requirements! Same with my TBR on GR. Finally after different Google searches, I found this book. And loved it!

I am so pumped to start this book but I‘m in a major slump after binge reading the Brooks Brown book about Columbine (thanks for the rec @LeahBergen )

Now I‘ve gone down the Columbine rabbit hole again. I stumbled upon the Columbine subreddit and, well, I may not be reading much else besides that. 😣

I‘ve never read 200 books in one year. Never. It‘s been my GR goal for the past three years. In 2019 I almost made it, with 197 books. Last year I was close again, at 194. 2021 started off abysmally with a case of covid and a short-lived reading slump. I remember as the year started, I was feeling so sick and defeated. But here I am on 10/8 having finally met my goal! 🥳🥳🥳

Finally got my bingo card set up—I had to finish my book first so I could immediately cross it off. 😆

For anyone looking for a book for the #charactersarefrenemies prompt (#booked2021) this one is an excellent choice. The friendship issues plaguing MCs Emmy and Alice are one of the main storylines.

I was expecting a book more atmospheric and creepy, and this didn‘t quite live up to those expectations, but it‘s a great book for fall!

Perfect way to start off my weekend. 🥰

I‘ve been slipping with posting updates for #booked2021, but figured I‘d better get a recap together ASAP now that fall quarter has officially started. 🙌🏻

#containsphotos Funny Girl
#appalachiannoir Razorblade Tears
#colorintitle The Burning Blue
#latinxauthor This is How You Lose Her
#relatedto911 The Red Bandanna
#under150pages Brokeback Mountain

This month‘s board and next month‘s picks.

I‘m hoping to cross of library before midnight. I have about 120 pages left of my current library book—not only is it weeks overdue but it‘ll give me two more bingos! #bookspin #bookspinbingo

I‘ve been doing a lot of shit talking lately when it comes to #botm. I‘ve got to hand it to them though, their October picks are 🔥. Anyone else agree?

This is the first time since May I haven‘t skipped on my second account. I was beginning to regret still having it. 😆

Finally!! Bring it on!

Also why the hell do I get so excited when I already KNOW the picks?! 😆 #botm

Checked this book out from my library . . . twice. 🤦🏼‍♀️

Maybe that means I‘ll actually read it!

I read the tagged book for #booked2021. It is a much needed perspective (imo) of those that weren‘t directly impacted by 9/11 in the traditional sense (ie they weren‘t in the buildings and didn‘t have a close loved one die that day) but lived in downtown Manhattan at the time and escaped the city in a rush of panic and confusion. I listened on audio and found the author‘s narration grating, so I would recommend reading it in print.
⬇️

So excited to start off September! Especially since I already got to cross off a title. 🙌🏻 #bookspinbingo

Princess Diana died 24 years ago today. In some ways it feels like it‘s been ages, yet I can remember it like it was yesterday.

This Europa edition has been part of my collection for awhile—it is the fictional perspective of the unknown driver of the white Fiat that witnessed the accident and sped off into the night. I‘m only a few chapters in but so far so good.

Another month, another almost blackout on my bingo card! This time I was only two away. Which is fine, because I think September will be my month. 😂🤞🏻 #bookspinbingo #bookspin #doublebookspin

In other news, I‘m only one prompt away from finishing the summer quarter of #booked2021. 🙌🏻

My bookspin bingo list always looks a straight up mess. 🤦🏼‍♀️ Typically I start it mid month so I have something to go off but then I revise it until the new month arrives. For September, I plan to focus mainly on #ripxvi. #bookspinbingo

Another mediocre month for #botm. They‘re really declining imo, but if there‘s at least one selection I want I guess I have to (begrudgingly) count that as a win.

As for the Sally Rooney, I really didn‘t care for Normal People. I figured I‘d try her again. 🤞🏻 If you hated Normal People and loved her new book, please drop a comment so I have some hope. 🤣

Anyone else participating in #RIPXVI? I haven‘t participated in recent years, but it was a favorite challenge of mine when I had an active book blog. I first joined in for RIPIV in 2009! The five titles I read for the challenge that year were The House of the Seven Gables, Twilight, Her Fearful Symmetry, The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane, and One Foot Wrong. This year I‘ve accumulated quite a stack to choose from.

It‘s about damn time! A real shame that Lois Duncan isn‘t still alive to know the truth.

Birthdays call for a trip to The Book Loft, amirite?! Here‘s what I came away with. Not pictured, the birthday cake I bought myself at Pistacia Vera!

A small corner of my stacks. 😍

Finishing this book shortly but I can‘t stop myself from writing a review now. I don‘t know why I read Persephone so infrequently. They always offer such a breath of fresh air. This one is another WWII story, which tend to be overdone, however Nobel focused specifically on the issue of London children being sent away for safety during the Blitz. Doreen is one such child, and she‘s bright and endearing, much like Sara Crewe and Anne Shirley.

I‘ll admit, try as I might, I only can get a few pages read when I‘ve got this cutie distracting me.

Summer reading is officially over. I smoked my entire family in our reading challenge, with 54 books read. 😂

This was a heartfelt novel that kept my attention and had me rooting for the characters. There were a few flaws to the story imo—mainly it felt a little unbelievable for me, as far as the ending mostly. That said, I think this is a great book about relationships and what we mean to others. #botm

Finished the tagged book this morning surrounded by a gaggle of dogs. 🤪

If you enjoyed Into Thin Air, this is a fantastic companion piece. Synnott climbed Everest in 2019 (the year of the viral Everest traffic jam) in search of the body is Sandy Irvine, who perished with George Mallory in 1924. Mallory‘s body was discovered in 1999 but Irvine remains lost. Along with the camera he carried with them, which very well could answer the mystery ⬇️

It‘s always a bonus to cross off titles as I‘m writing in my bingo card. Two books finished this month and they were both 5 ⭐️! #bookspinbingo #bookspin

With 200 pages left in my current read, it‘s safe to say I won‘t finish anymore books this month. With less than three weeks left of summer, I‘m planning to squeeze in as much reading as I can! Maybe august will be the month I finally fill my bingo card!! #bookspinbingo

Eh, not thrilled with the August picks. I decided to take a chance on Damnation Spring and Afterparties is my free birthday month add on. 😊 And both covers are 👌 #botm

The riveting account of five couples that are currently living out their relationships as one or both members of their union are incarcerated. Greenwood chose to focus on couples who met during incarceration, most of whom met through prison pen pal programs. It was enlightening to read about how these relationships evolved. Bennie and Jo‘s story was central, and pictured is a clip of their wedding from the documentary Met While Incarcerated.

#bookreport

With how hectic this summer has been, I‘ve been bad about posting my weekly reading. This week included some really stellar reads. I finished Klara last night and loved it. It wasn‘t quite 5 stars for me but it‘ll stick with me for a long time. And whoaaaa was @Cinfhen right about Razorblade Tears. If every thriller was written that way, I‘d read a lot more them.

There is nothing better than choosing a book you can‘t put down when you‘re stuck in the car on a road trip. The Burning Blue has sucked me in and I cannot put it down. Which is good because our hot spot is not strong enough to stream 90 Day Fiancé. ?

I was only 2 when the Challenger exploded, so I have no memory of it, but I plan to pass this on to brian when I‘m done, since he has regaled me with the story of watching it live on TV.

Just realized I forgot to post my spring #booked2021 reads. 🤦🏼‍♀️

Librarian Tales #libraryorlibrarianintitle

Dear Fang #setincountrywhereUNpeacekeepersare

We‘ve Got Answers #antiracism

Piranesi #musicalinstrumentoncover

Skylark #translatedtoyourfirstlanguage

Chase Darkness With Me #hearhere

I didn‘t get my entire June card filled like I‘d hoped but pretty close! Excited to see how July goes. #bookspinbingo

Some dockside reading today amongst the four of us.

My #botm

All three of these are probably books I wouldn‘t have necessarily chosen on my own. The covers, synopses, and reviews encouraged me to give them a go. Also, @Cinfhen ‘s review of Razorblade Tears. 🙃