February‘s choice for #AuthorAMonth is Roxane Gay and this is the book I chose. I‘m not finished with it yet but I‘m learning so much that I‘m taking it slow. I just started the section on Race & Entertainment and the first essay is extremely challenging. It‘s making me take a good look at myself and ponder my own prejudices. As someone who considers herself anti-racist, this is a hard but enlightening lesson. I hope I never stop (cont)⬇️

Still learning a lot from reading an essay a day from my selection for February‘s #AuthorAMonth. Today‘s essay is about trigger warnings, and whether or not they are effective in preventing people from being triggered. As a survivor, she is not affected by possible triggers, because the triggers are nothing compared to the actual trauma. As a writer, she does not believe in including trigger warnings. An interesting perspective.

#AuthorAMonth I‘m learning a great deal from Roxane Gay. But I‘m not planning to finish this book this month. There‘s too much to take in and I don‘t want to miss a thing.

I really wanted to love this book, but for whatever reason it didn‘t strike a cord with me. Maybe I‘m not in the right frame of mind. But it looks like I borrowed this book from the library once before and returned it. And I‘m doing that again. If you read this and you love the book, that‘s fabulous.

#Read2025 #SeriesLove2025 While this is technically not the first book in a series. I wish I had read this prior to reading the Rom-Commers. Jack Stapleton, the male romantic lead in The Bodyguard, is a good friend of Charlie Yates, the male romantic lead in The Rom-Commers. This book provides some context for their friendship. Be that as it may, I am not at all disappointed in either Katherine Center book and I strongly recommend both.

#Read2025 #SeriesLove2025 My biggest peeve is all the little romances going back and forth. The world building and magic systems are impressive and entertaining. The book definitely ends on a cliffhanger that makes me want to find out what happens next. I‘m glad this is only a trilogy.

#Read2025 #SeriesLove2025 This anthology is only sort of the second book in a series. Blackout takes place in New York City during a blackout. I lived in New York long enough to know how scary that could possibly be even though I never actually experienced one. Whiteout is written by the same six authors and takes place during a blizzard in Atlanta. As a native West Virginian, I always find reactions of Southerners to a few snowflakes to (cont)⬇️

I‘m enjoying this book, but I just heard something on the audiobook that I‘ve noticed hearing in other books that just annoys the snot out of me. It would bother me if I were reading it in print. The narrator uses the phrase “lifeless body” to describe a limp body that isn‘t lifeless. The person is still alive. I hereby declare that the term lifeless body must always apply to someone who is dead. The End.

#hailthebail @dabbe @tpixie this is Christopher Moore‘s first published novel. I really enjoyed his A Dirty Job and its sequel, Secondhand Souls. His writing has improved tremendously since this was published. I really wanted to like this book and I listened to 40% of it. But in the end, I just didn‘t want to waste my time anymore. #betterbooksahead

#FellowshipOfTolkien In these crazy political times, it‘s always good to have a little something to lighten the mood. So if you like political humor, I suggest a YouTuber who calls himself The Pissed-Off Bartender. He coined the hilarious, but sadly accurate, term The Saffron Sauron. He seems to have about a million nicknames for DJT and his co-president, but this is the first one I heard him use and I think it‘s the funniest. But that‘s just me.

I borrowed this book from the library and I waited for months to get it. But now I‘m not in the right frame of mind to listen to this story. This is not a review of me saying that I bailed. I didn‘t make it very far in this book at all before realizing that I‘m looking for something lighter. I‘m just returning it to the library and I‘ll borrow it again later when I‘m in a different frame of mind. However, if anyone is interested in (cont)⬇️

I‘m enjoying this book very much. I do have one gripe. The book describes The Hierophant in the Tarot deck as the card of the magician. There is actually a card called The Magician. The Hierophant would more likely be described as a high priest or in some decks the Pope.

A Canadian friend of mine who is of Swedish heritage sent this to me. I have absolutely no Swedish heritage, but this is such an excellent word. I‘m sharing it with you, Sydney, because you do Weird Words Wednesday, but they‘re English words. I thought I‘d mix it up a little and send this on Friday. I don‘t know who else you tag when you do your weird words, but if you think they‘d be interested, feel free to tag them. Enjoy, my fellow Littens.

#NoPlaceLikeHolmes I am so glad I joined this buddy read. It has been both entertaining and enlightening. The Sherlock Holmes Definitive Audio Collection has proved to be an excellent investment. It is edited and narrated by Stephen Frye, who is absolutely marvelous. His introductions to the home novels and short story collections are brilliant, as is his narration. I just listened to his introduction to the tagged book. He provides (cont)⬇️

#AuthorAMonth I tried to listen to this but I just couldn‘t. Things I liked about this book are that Lord Peter is a book lover, his mother doesn‘t think his hobby is inappropriate, he has a “Jeeves”-type character who helps him. Things I didn‘t like are that he behaves like solving crimes is all a lark, cheerfully going to the house where the body was found and joyfully disturbing the crime scene. And he rhymes, rhymes about murder. As I (cont)⬇️

Just a little nitpicking here. There is a point early in the book in which two seniors, one of whom uses a cane, start walking down a winding staircase and plan on the trip taking two days. Okay, I‘m a senior and I use a cane. The characters in the book talk about the trip down being the easy part but the trip back up is what‘s going to be hard. Nope. Nope, nope, nope. I promise that my old knees find the trip down to be worse. Going up (cont)⬇️

#Read2025 #SeriesLove2025 This final book in the A Court of Thorns and Roses series may just be my favorite. We finally get inside Nesta‘s head and find out what‘s in her heart. Why is she the way she is and can she come to terms with it? Recommended.

#Read2025 I just love her books! Fair warning: this might make you cry. I still recommend this book. All the stars!🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

#ClassicLSFBC The Martian Chronicles is a classic of science fiction literature. But I fell asleep four times while listening to the audiobook and I decided that was enough. #HailTheBail!

#LiteraryCrew I listened to the first two hours and this isn‘t really holding my interest. There are plenty of other books out there and I‘ve decided it‘s time to #HailTheBail!

#Read2025 #SeriesLove2025 I‘ve read reviews of Harlan Coben books on Litsy and they‘ve been pretty enthusiastic. So I gave this book a listen and was not disappointed. It was written and takes place in the 1990s, so car phones with cords, pay phones, no cell phones. I got a little early Spenser vibe, mostly because Myron has a running internal dialogue and has a quirky sense of humor. Myron gets beaten up more than Spenser and Win has (cont)⬇️

#Read2025 #SeriesLove2025 The characters in this book are young adults but I don‘t know if I consider this book YA. It‘s an excellent book and I don‘t usually post trigger warnings but TW: murder, torture. I still recommend the book but let the reader beware.

#Read2025 My goal is to listen to every book by Katherine Center. I like her storytelling so very much! I think she gets kind of lumped in with Rom-Com writers and she doesn‘t write Rom-Coms. There is romance, there is comedy, and there are serious issues addressed in her books. She doesn‘t write HEAs either but she does write “happy enough afters.” Because life is not full of HEAs. Life is life and most of the time, life is pretty good.

#Read2025 January 2025 #LiteraryCrew There is some powerful story telling in this book. I look forward to discussing it with the group on the 20th. If you care about civil rights, if you care about human beings, I urge you to read this book!

#Read2025 #SeriesLove2025 The Rivers of London is such a wonderful series and this novella is no exception. Kobna Holdbrook-Smith is an excellent narrator, and he reads the many diverse characters so that the listener has no doubt who is speaking. Highly recommended!

#Read2025 I enjoyed this story of family, friendship, and taking care of each other. Recommended.

#Read2025 #SeriesLove2025 This features a short story about Violet‘s romance with the twins‘ father and his departure after she tells him she‘s pregnant. There is a short story from the author‘s vault that isn‘t related to the Deadwood mysteries-yet. And the author conducts an interview with Violet. If you‘re enjoying the series, I recommend this book.

#Read2025 #SeriesLove2025 Way of the Witch is the sixth and, I believe, final book in the Witches of New York series. I enjoy the feisty, smart-ass heroine, her spicy romance, and the friendships she has with her people. Recommended.

#Read2025 #SeriesLove2025 This fifth book in the Witches of New York series reminds me that I haven‘t mentioned my favorite thing about the series. It‘s not the humor or the confidence of the main character, although those things are great. It‘s about the friendships between the characters. They always are there to support each other emotionally and physically. If one is in danger, they back each other up. If one needs a shoulder to cry (cont)⬇️

#Read2025 #SeriesLove2025 This second book in the Deadwood Mysteries was fun. Like the first book it‘s an odd combination of genres: mystery, spicy romance, and the supernatural. It leaned a little more into the supernatural than the first book, but not too far. There was a slight sophomore slump here but it‘s still a pick and I look forward to the next book in the series. Recommended.

#Read2025 I‘ve been under the impression that Katherine Center is a writer of rom-coms. Of course, I‘ve only read one other book by her and, while it was promoted as a rom-com, it still touched on some very serious topics. This book is not a rom-com. It begins with some sad things, some sad things happen in the middle, and the ending leaves questions about what will happen next. It ends on a hopeful note and I enjoyed this book. Recommended.

#2025 So far, I‘ve enjoyed every book I‘ve read by Robin Sloan. This book was no exception. Sloan‘s books seem to have happy endings but the type of happy ending is always a surprise. Nothing is ever predictable. Recommended.

#Read2025 #SeriesLove2025 This is the final book in Mercedes Lackey‘s Hunter Trilogy. I like the idea of a trilogy that stays a trilogy. I enjoyed this series quite a bit. It had action, danger, friendship, mysteries, tears. It‘s a post-apocalyptic series which ends with plenty of hope and the knowledge that the work isn‘t over yet. There are enough loose ends for a reader to speculate about what‘s next. Recommended.

This was fun. Light-hearted, the way a holiday rom com should be. #Read2025 I don‘t know if y‘all are even hosting this year, so just in case, I tagged the three of you, and added the hashtag.

Happy New Year, Littens! I have a question for my bibliophile friends. I‘ve been using Goodreads to track my reading progress. But I listen to many, many audiobooks and Goodreads only tracks pages read. Also in Goodreads, there is no way to record DNF books. I‘m looking for a single app that tracks both. If y‘all have any suggestions, please share them with me. Happy New Year!!🎉🍾🥳

Final Goodreads 2024 tally.

My goal for this year was 100 books.💯 I passed that mid-year. And the year isn‘t over yet!🎉🐾

#ReadAway2024 #SeriesLove2024 This is a fun new-to-me series, and the book is free on Audible through the end of the year. I have listened to lots of good books this year but haven‘t written any reviews in the last couple of months. I won‘t get caught up but starting January you‘ll be hearing more. I get some Stephanie Plum vibes from Violet, the single mother of twins real estate agent. But only a little. These mysteries have a paranormal aspect

@dabbe Thank you so much for the cool ecard! It‘s perfect for a December birthday. #LitsyLove

@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Misty, thank you for the birthday and Christmas cards. The headphones are cool because of my penchant for audiobooks. And I looove tigers, so the tiger bookmark is especially wonderful. #LitsyLove

#ReadAway2024 #SeriesLove2024 Robyn Peterman turns the religiosity of our world on its head. I love the way she creates such excellent characters and beautiful families and friendships while putting them through such difficult and ridiculous situations. Lots of love and laughter in the Good to the Last Death series and this first book in the Good to the Last Demon series. I listened to both in audio format and the only quibble I have is (cont)⬇️

#ReadAway2024 #SeriesLove2024 November 2024 #AuthorAMonth At first I wasn‘t sure I liked this. I recognized the narrator as the same woman who narrates the Eve Dallas series, a buddy read from which I withdrew after the fourth book in the series. I had to work to get the Eve Dallas narration out of my head so I could enjoy the Garden Spells narration. I read a description of this book as “magical realism,” a genre I‘ve read that many (cont)⬇️

#RandomClassics I listened to more than half of this, which is the longest I‘ve ever given a book before bailing. At first I thought it was humorous. But then I realized there wasn‘t much difference between Richelieu, Milady, and the rest of the “villains” and D‘Artagnon, the three and all of the Musketeers. D‘Artagnon and his compatriots didn‘t pay for rent, meals, or inns. They seduced women by fair play or by foul, whether the women (cont)⬇️

#RandomClassics I‘ve seen “teh” all over the internet, and lately with the undereducated news reporters working these days, in print media. But “hte” is a new one to me.

#ReadAway2024 #SeriesLove2024 October #TBRTarot (“Choose a book… that is less than 200 pages”) Murderbot is one of the best characters ever created. I think this series is excellent.

#ReadAway2024 #SeriesLove2024 (another) October #TBRTarot “Choose a Book… that is less than 200 pages.” I‘m really enjoying this series. And I can sooo identify with Murderbot. He wants to have as little to do with humans as possible and all he wants to do is watch his soap operas. I just want to hang out with my kitties and listen to audiobooks. Recommended.

#ReadAway2024 #SeriesLove2024 This was my choice for October #TBRTarot, “Choose a book that is less than… 200 pages.” (audiobook run time is 3 hours 21 minutes, a novella) This second book in The Murderbot Diaries was as enjoyable as the first. Recommended.

@JenReadsAlot My cousin said to pick one and he would order it for me. If there‘s a Tarot deck or Oracle deck that‘s cat-centric that I don‘t have, I‘ll find it and add it to my collection. In the meantime, I choose this t-shirt. The other three were: 1) Wonder Woman riding a tiger, 2) Rosie the Riveter with a cat sitting on her bicep, and 3) a cat knocking an elephant off a table.

I have listened to 27% of this library book and I feel like something‘s missing. Maybe I‘m in the wrong frame of mind or maybe it‘s not for me. This was for #AuthorAMonth. I hope that others enjoy Tana French.

#ReadAway2024 #SeriesLove2024 I‘ve really enjoyed this trilogy. I liked the characters and the constant surprises. And I look forward to Spectacular, an illustrated holiday novella that‘s being released soon. Recommended.