Moving on to my in-person book club pick. We meet the first weekend in Feb. BOTM audio referral credit coming in clutch for me! 😅

It feels like everyone‘s reading this book right now. ☕️💅🏻

That ending!! 😂😵‍💫🛀

No spoilers but it was giving Scooby Doo, to me. 🤣 Yes, I did it & here‘s how & I would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren‘t for you meddling Lord Peter & Co!

I hovered between So-So & Pan. I think this was a product of its time and Sayers probably needed to cook a bit more to fully get in the swing. I wouldn‘t be opposed to revisiting another installment at some point. #AuthorAMonth

TW: heavy anti-semitism

Sorting through my shelves to give myself a prelim TBR for February featuring more Black authors for BHM. Leaning toward the tagged first given this Monday‘s planned events. 😓

Have you read any of these?

(And yes, our Christmas decorations are still up lol)

Weather is supposed to be pretty dismal later today/tomorrow with lots of snow before cratering into polar vortex temps. So I fit in a long audiobook walk with a smoothie while I still could. 😂🤷🏻‍♀️

I have about an hour left with Lord Peter. While I find him a bit insufferable, his costars Parker and Bunter are much more likeable. What? 😅🛀

Bunny enthusiasts, rise up! We won, Bunny! 🐰 🥀

Had a doctors appt today so decided to take a full “mental health” day from work, treat myself to brunch and a mani, and start in on my #AuthorAMonth pick on audio.

Peter Wimsey‘s gleeful singing about dead bodies & murder investigations is…something else. 😂🤷🏻‍♀️

Ultimately, I think one standalone story would make me chuckle but this grouping felt predictable and goofy. Also the final two stories order felt clunky at best. I guess my beef is, though the victims don‘t appear to be great people, they never actually do anything to Maud…she just offs them because they irritate her? lol 🤷🏻‍♀️

Points for the embroidery title pages though. 🪡 🧵

I enjoyed this far more than I expected to. It‘s definitely a boilerplate mystery but much more winks and nods were felt over anything I read with Poirot. Maybe I just relate to Miss Marple more. 😅

Should be noted though - lots of not great allusions to POC, off hand comments to LGBTQIA, and pretty clumsy with discussion of mental illness. This was published in 1964 and it shows.

Oh my gosh - @Soubhiville you are really so generous!! Thank you so much! ☺️ Your #AuthorAMonth challenge is my absolute favorite, I can‘t even begin to tell you how many authors I‘ve discovered through it!! 💖 Really so kind, thank you so much!

Kept an open notepad while listening to this. Really appreciated this as a re-read — I think it‘s the type of thing that benefits for re-reading. Looking forward to the #RiseUpReads discussion. @Catsandbooks

It‘s probably criminal of me to admit this is my first dalliance with this Agatha Christie heroine - but I had no idea Miss Marple was so saucy! And in the 1960s! 🤭

Overwhelming, indeed. There‘s so much here to parse through. And to think this was Toni Morrison‘s first novel.

I need time to gather my thoughts. Most immediately, I assume this is commonly “banned” for its description of sexual assault (and sex itself) but the anchor of this story is somehow even more heart-breaking? I doubt I‘d be able to handle it at a young age myself.

#WithTheBanned

Im going off vibes here but before diving in to this months #AuthorAMonth (Dorothy L Sayers), I‘m thinking these two that I picked up on a whim at my local book festival two years ago might work as a fun pairing with my Sayers pick? 🤷🏻‍♀️🤞🏻

BOTM got me. I used to get their boxes years ago but stopped when I felt like books were just piling up. I‘m at a place where I‘ve conquered quite a bit of my TBR stack, gifted, or given away to local LFLs….so timing felt right to try it again. We‘ll see if it holds.

#BOTM

This has been on my TBR for so long!!

Interestingly, I‘m diving in for #WithTheBanned by getting a copy from my local library - there was a short wait because several copies were set aside for a local school assignment! Makes me hopeful that meaningful conversations are being held locally at least!

Fitting that this was my first completed read of the year, given….the state of America currently, I guess. 😵‍💫🤷🏻‍♀️😂

I loved ‘The Power‘ and I do think it was the stronger of the two novels but I‘d argue this was more accessible. This does get a bit repetitive to hammer in the point but ultimately it‘s effective. Strangely lighter than ‘The Power‘….despite being about global climate catastrophe. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Last year I had a formal book planner but it felt like a chore to fill out. This year I‘m trying something different.

I got this pretty embroidered journal on clearance from Rifle Paper Co during Black Friday — planning on jotting thoughts about each read as I finish/as I go. No minimums, just feelings and thoughts. 😍🫶🏻

#RiseUpReads

This is actually a re-read for me but I read a few years ago and recall it being chock full of great info. I‘m about a quarter in. Current stand out:

“The bullets that didn‘t hit me still change me”

The accuracy of this is so real to our current moment - esp in social media. An age of misinformation that isn‘t being solved because “engagement” is valued over truth.

Was able to fit in one more with this quick read bringing 2024‘s total to 87. Not my best, but definitely not my worst.

My goal for 2025 is to continue to challenge myself out of my comfort zone, and to keep crushing physical books on my TBR rather than going to my audiobook crutches.

What a strange novel. Admittedly it took some pushing to get through the back half. So many ideas were present — grief, depression, complicated mother/daughter dynamics, the beauty industry. I‘m not sure it fully came together for me, but it certainly offered a lot to think about!

Mona Awad loves to play with truly weird ideas. I‘m not sure what‘s going on right now but it‘s both creeping me out and making me laugh. 🤷🏻‍♀️ ♥️

I get why this author is so beloved, I just think I wasn‘t in the headspace for his type of comedic writing. I enjoyed this well enough (especially the Granny character at its center) but I personally think his style probably isn‘t for me. 🤷🏻‍♀️🧙🏻‍♀️

#AuthorAMonth

Wanted to share that my friend‘s candle company is launching a bookish set that includes three themed candles in a cute book themed package *today* !! It‘s been a labor of love for over a year and I‘m so proud of her.

Just bought a set as a Christmas gift to myself. 💖 Link in the comments if you‘re interested!

I love/hate how this novel blurs the line between sci-fi elements and real history. So much mentioned in the footnotes is factual. There‘s a Netflix doc about Cyntoia‘s case.

I‘m 3/4ths through and kind of fear the ending of this book. 🫣

Wow. 🫨

No words. I finished this audiobook on my train ride to visit my family for the holiday. This is a memoir about this young actress falling victim to a nefarious religious cult based in Idaho while on a popular CW TV show. I wasn‘t familiar with the show but that doesn‘t really matter. The crux of the story is about how easily vulnerable people can fall prey. So important for this moment.

I really enjoyed this book - blend of descriptive and well researched history of the “Y2K Era” of 1997 through 2008 in the US with personal commentary. The author is a year younger than me, so much of what she wrote rang familiar to my own formative years from middle to high school and college.

Trying to decide between these two for my long train ride home during Thanksgiving.

Opinions?

🎯

Well, gosh. Sometimes a novel can sneak right into your heart when you‘re in an emotional place, almost like the author themselves knew you needed it.

That was this book for me, a warm hug. A reminder to care about the people around you. What a gift. Another shining example of finding a new favorite author through #AuthorAMonth. 💖

Spitballing for any kindred spirits here.

Is anyone planning a book challenge based on activism, education, creating conversation? Maybe a list centered around “Banned Books”? A re-read of 1984 and/or The Hunger Games? If you know of one, point me to it. Or if you‘d like to start one with me, sound off.

I feel like we should use these emotions in a constructive way. ❤️‍🩹

You know, sometimes you see your sign.

Glimmers are important. 💙

This week has been heavy to say the absolute least.

Grateful I have books — and you all — to keep my mind off some of the frustrations I feel. Distractions and Joy are not nothing in difficult times.

Wishing everyone peace and empathy. 💙

Library run to pick up my #AuthorAMonth choice (no hold list required for once, found it on the shelves 💪🏻) and grabbed the one on the right on a whim from the New In shelf. Seems like everywhere I turn people are in a frenzy about the upcoming Wicked film(s) — there‘s even Starbucks drinks in its honor. 😂

Happy Halloween! We were the only ones who “dressed up” at work today. 😂 Not sure if I count, I only put Mouse ears on. 🤷🏻‍♀️🤪

I have a lot of complicated feelings about this novel but I think perhaps that was the author‘s intent. It felt like a fever dream.

The prose was so poetically written and was so vivid with its intense dark imagery. It would make an excellent film. Elements felt predictable but the ending truly lived up to the grim fairy tale theme in a way that felt sad and impactful.

Truthfully? This was very slow. It felt like it took ages to get to the meat of the mystery — and once it did, it was largely revealed quickly and anticlimactically. I wouldn‘t even label this as a mystery really - more like a crime novel with social commentary sprinkled about. French‘s trademark insane detail didn‘t do this favors because it just felt bogged down. Same story could have been told more succinctly. 🤷🏻‍♀️ #AuthorAMonth

Three years ago I saw this show Off-Broadway (and cried). I had always planned to see the Broadway upgrade but when I heard it‘s leaving in January, I knew I had to see it before voting this cycle. Keep Marching! The Young are at the Gates!

Went to the first ever NYC preview performance of TEETH last night. Maybe the wildest piece of theater I‘ve ever seen.

Based on the film of the same name. Definitely not for the faint of heart.

I‘ve only read one title from this author years ago but I loved it so so much. Wanted to start at the beginning of her main series for #AuthorAMonth but no copies were available at my library - so a standalone it will be.

Fast paced and definitely a quick read. I just think the scant lack of detail irritated me. I enjoyed the cast of characters, I just wish there was more world building or it was fleshed out more.

For my first Bardugo, I get why she‘s so hyped.

Power of the pomegranate.

I feel like this short story nailed the spooky feel of childhood imaginations - inventing wild nonsense to purposely scare your friends (and you in the process), but fell short in overall tone. The whole time I was unsure if it was obvious to the kids they were playing a game or not. It just felt too muddled.

What a lovely surprise to see this ARC waiting for me at NetGalley! I really enjoyed her book ‘Little Weirds‘ so I really looked forward to reading more of her whimsical brand of personal vulnerability in ‘Lifeform‘. The primary focus here is her marriage& the birth of her baby (during a global plague). In my opinion, the best way to enjoy Slate‘s written work is through audiobook, because her voice truly makes her work sing, if that makes sense.

The end pages! 🥰🫶🏻

Photo is a blurry still from a live performance I saw of JoJo almost ten years ago. After reading her memoir, I realize this performance was a week and change before her father passed away.

Her memoir was candid - especially regarding her personal life and choices. While a part of me wishes more light was shed on her career setbacks, I appreciate her candor and definitely feel like I know her better now as a human, rather than just as an artist.

The music industry is more slippery than an eel sometimes. 🫣

This short story got swallowed by how unnecessarily convoluted it was. It tried to tackle too much all at once and toppled over from the weight of it all. I don‘t recommend.

This short story blended Carrie with Halloween. A bit repetitive with pacing but the ending was sad all the same, even when it became clear where it was headed (complete with final scare coda). Poor Hannah.

TW: bullying, child death, suicide