Great gift haul from my local indie bookstore, Copper Dog Books, on this small business Saturday! All set for family gifts and my contribution to my book group‘s Holiday Wishes family. #givebooks

Privilege of quiet by the fire at my sister‘s house. Time to dive in to the dark promise of intense noir.

Who went overboard at the Friends of the Library used book sale? Def not me! It‘s all for the library, right? 😉

Laundry or reading horror and fantasy stories? Dolly Cat votes reading. #catlady

It‘s another great day to buy spec fic by African-American authors. #shortfiction #blackauthors

Dolly Cat encourages Americans to vote! Local gov and School Board elections matter too, to support libraries & oppose book bans. Yay, democracy! #pleasevote

If the US election goes the wrong way, I am moving to Three Pines! This audiobook just jumped to the top of my to-listen list! #audiobooks #gamache

Bertha Bones says “Happy Halloween!” She‘s living her best life. #happyhalloween

Not a thriller, but a moving depiction of a brave girl grieving her mother & fighting her eating disorder. Thriller plot thrown in does not maintain tension. It‘s a women‘s fiction book about motherless daughters & anorexia and would be a better book if the first 3 chapters and last 3 chapters weren‘t trying so laboriously hard to make it seem like a thriller. #justok

I enjoyed this audiobook, but wish I hadn‘t finished it before I have to take 6 boys to a corn maze! Corn maze murderer pov I won‘t soon forget… #horror #audiobooks

My local indie bookstore just got this beauty for me. Super excited to buddy-read it with my neighbor by Halloween. #horror #excited

Twisty installment in a good series. Loved the creepy setting: a MN village with a prison nursing home. It‘s full of Finnish immigrants and secrets, but slightly preferred the pov of the female cold case agent in the previous book. Looking forward to the next book. 4.5 stars. #mystery #uniquesetting

Heartwarming story of a young Muslim girl who spends lunchtime in the library while fasting during Ramadan. Based on the author‘s own experience, this sweet picture book has been challenged/banned, like some other children‘s books with strong Muslim characters. #bannedbooks #kidlit

Added banned books to my LFL today. Bottom line: book banning is a threat to democracy. #bannedbooksweek #readbannedbooks #lfl

Great page turner. Van Reed, cult survivor, detective, vigilante-she‘s one hell of a protagonist. The cold case she‘s investigating is compelling. My TBR is huge, but I might jump straight into The Reaping on audiobook!

Happy birthday to Agatha Christie! #mystery

Fun who-done-it with strong AAPI characters. Vera Wong‘s An “auntie” Miss Marple with attitude, & she will solve the case of the dead man found in her tea house-even if the cops don‘t want her to do it. Her band of suspects all all hiding something, yet pull together to help Vera. Very funny audiobook narration. #5stars #mystery

Determined and talented, this Native-American prima ballerina, rarely discussed in mainstream pop culture, was a force in the dance world of the 1940s-1960s. She tried to honor her Osage heritage & live her dreams. For it‘s frank discussion of her father‘s alcoholism, I would recommend this for 9 years and up. #5stars #dance #indigenousculture

When things get crazy, I need poetry & the sea. #reread #poetry #beachpeace

Current lake read. At least last summer‘s trip to Sicily to see my husband‘s family didn‘t involve rats? #amreading #vacation

Haunting in more ways than one! Spooky ghosts, child abuse & racism plague a Florida reform school in the 1950s. The onslaught of cruelty young Robbie & his sister Gloria encounter can be difficult to listen to, but plot twists and a compelling, ghostly ending make it worth it. #ghoststories #horror #StokerAwardnominee

Only good thing about getting pneumonia is audiobooks. This very scary read, which is up for the Shirley Jackson award for best novel is a truly scary look at haunting of the supernatural and societal kind in the Jim Crow American South.

Library book group chose this witty, moving book about a sarcastic octopus, Marcellus, & a widow finding new & unusual friends (like octopi & grumpy Scottish grocers) late in life. Wouldn‘t have been one I would pick, but it was moving, memorable & featured the best sarcastic octopus ever! Surprised by how much I enjoyed this! 5 stars. #litfic #womenover60 #octopusnarrator

So good! Loving this library book group pic. The narrator reading the Pacific Octopus‘ chapter is brilliant!

Hilarious! I don‘t usually read essays/memoir and I loved this! Laughed out loud. Aging parents, Social issues, sexuality, long-term relationships & the possible abuse of his sister are all written about with frankness. And often humor. Trigger warning: sister‘s suicide is discussed briefly in one essay. Highly recommend! #essays #memoir #humor #5stars

Reread this classic while polishing my short story that it inspired. Still compelling & scary! (Carrie‘s mom!) 5 stars!! #reread #horror #classic

Suggested by the teacher of my April poetry writing workshop. Enjoy the shifts and surprises in these horror, fantasy & sci-fi poems. Haven‘t finished much reading lately, but enjoyed this slim volume of creatively creepy imagery

Enjoying this audiobook. Single dad struggling to keep his family orchard afloat is the story-line that most engages me.

The final line-wow! Can I give this 6 stars? Giving voice to the victims & survivors of a serial killer character inspired by Ted Bundy, this novel is a twisty thriller, a look at how media depicts crime, and a moving look at resilience. No wonder it is up for the Edgar Award for best novel! And that final line!! #crimenovel #5stars

Spooky tale of gothic ghosts, long lost sisters, and all-too-human predators haunting a Rhode Island B & B in winter. Read it for Women in Horror month, but thriller fans who don‘t mind a ghost in a secret passageway will love it too. Vivid setting & “meta” style commentary on gothic lit tropes are used well. #gothic #spooky #sisters

My Women in Horror Month listen is gothic, ghostly and rich in family secrets. Vivid setting! Really enjoying this audiobook. #womeninhorror

☘️Happy St. Patrick‘s Day! (We Boston Irish celebrate more than my actual Irish colleagues.) May the wind be always at your back, and the books be always on your nightstand. #stpatricksday

The book my kid chose at the school used book sale says it all. The cats agree…

Det. Harriet Foster wades through her own intense grief to solve a string of strange & brutal murders. New colleagues, racism, sexism & personal trauma don‘t hold this strong woman back when there‘s a killer to catch. Good twist near the end. Liked the audiobook narrator. Looking forward to next book in this series. #mystery #serialkiller #5stars

Audiobook narrated with emotion by Prince Harry himself was enjoyable. The passages about his many travels and nonprofit work in Africa were the strongest. Some passages meant to explain small controversies flamed by the tabloids (a teen, gasp, smoking weed!) seem less connected to the overall narrative. Loved the moving passages about losing his wonderful mother so young.

Advice needed: Is leaving honest reviews (2-5 stars) of novels written by other writers who are non competitors “unsupportive?”
I consider myself a reader first. Reviewing for other readers. Some think it‘s not appropriate to leave reviews of fewer than 5 stars for ANY book if one is a professional writer. Could use input on this! Thoughts, avid readers?

Smart, satirical, darkly funny look at race & publishing. Plagiarist unreliable narrator is by turns horrible & relatable. Cyberstalking subplot adds tension. Book group discussion possible. Highly recommend! #5stars #novels #aapiauthors

Tracy Clark & other members of Crime Writers of Color offer great reads for Black History Month in the US. Enjoying this audiobook that starts her newest series… #audiobooks #crimewritersofcolor

Stayed up late listening to this propulsive, chilling take of a former child star who is unable to outrun the doomed cult horror movie she starred in as a child. Is the film really cursed, or is a murderer on the loose? Highly recommend. #audiobooks

As a horror writer, I‘m trying to listen to the audiobooks available of the novels on the preliminary ballot for the 2023 Bram Stoker Awards. #horror #audiobooks

Such fun! Highly recommend the audiobook from the Libby public library system. Poirot and poison are a clever, entertaining couple.

Can‘t go wrong with the fabulous Poirot! Enjoying my re-read (re-listen) choice for Mass Center for the Book reading challenge. (Jan=reread.)

A young mom confronts her grief over the loss of her parents, family secrets, & creepy AF dolls & puppets. Seriously scary with interesting thoughts on grief & family sprinkled in between battles with the Puppet From Hell! 5 stars. #horror #familysynamics

Did Pipa‘s husband try to save a suicidal jumper, or push her off a cliff? 4.5 stars for this good, twisty thriller featuring a relatively sympathetic look at the affect of mental illness on a family. One character is revealed to be much more than he/she seems. Author tries to paint sympathetic, complex portrait of mentally ill character, with mixed success on that point. Plotting & audiobook narration are very good. #thriller #audiobook

My husband nailed it with the books he gave me for Christmas this year! Especially grateful for “How to sell…” and excited to start reading it tomorrow! #bookishgifts #tbr

Merry Christmas to all the Littens who celebrate! Thanks for all the great book suggestions. #merrychristmas

As suspense, the book was disappointing in the middle. The romantic subplot gets a bit over the top, and I think the narration of the audiobook exacerbated that. The first third and the final third are well-written and suspenseful. Exciting ending. Preferred this author‘s previous book in paperback.

At chapter 19, I am feeling a little tired of the romantic subplot. Get back to the ghosts & the other crimes (no spoilers), Sarah & Matthew! The Broken Girls was one of my favorite reads this year, so my expectations were high…. #historicalfiction #audiobooks

Great reading by talented Di Ciruolo at Copper Dog books last night! If you haven‘t read Di‘s powerful memoir of resilience & healing by a sexual abuse survivor & veteran of the foster care system, get yourself a copy. An important read. #memoir #survivor #fostercare #resilience

Grateful for y‘all Littens, especially leaders who coordinate events like Scarathlon, buddy reads & book swaps. A lovely bookish community. Happy Thanksgiving! #grateful