When you go on ebay whilst on holiday and make purchases while in "holiday mode"...

This was fantastic, but doesn't stand alone. Finishing it feels only like finishing the end of a chapter.

My Brilliant Friend is about two girls growing up in a neighbourhood in Naples. It rings true in a way that is either very clever, or based largely on the author's own personal experiences. Essentially, it has a biographical feel to it.

I will reserve final judgement until I've completed the quartet, but this book was immensely readable.

Lovely book of watercolour paintings of Venice that come to life even more after experiencing the city in real life.

Wouldn't call it a graphic novel as it's not really a story!

#wondrouswednesday @Eggs

1) I think y'all know what I'm gonna say here 😁
ONLY 21 WEEKS AND 20 HOURS TO GO!!!!!!

@Oryx @scripturient @CGainor3 @TrishB @squirrelbrain @Leniverse @jhod @Caroline2 @jenniferw88 @julesG @Susanita @rockpools @BarbaraBB @MicheleinPhilly @LeeRHarry #gladstonerds

2) Waterstones, and subscriptions, and Indie stores.

3) I have about 6 on the go at the moment. Need to sort out what I'm doing!

Pickles: "you spent HOW MUCH on macarons???!"

#catsoflitsy #picklescat

Unclear whether she missed me or not...

#two4tuesday
Thanks for the tags @TheSpineView & @Yuki_Onna 😊💕

1) CAKE!!!!!! Maybe a Colin the Caterpillar.

My friend and I always used to have Quiche picnics at Newark Castle back in the day.... we were all about the quiche 😊😁

2) Maybe The Enchanted April. I'm reading it at the moment and it would suit!

It's a toss-up between classic bullying anthem Ugly by Daphne & Celeste and the absolute cringefest No Way No Way by Vanilla.

You guys are naming some absolute bangers though... Ding Dong Song! Barbie Girl! Tubthumping! Y'all aren't invited to my ultimate 90s party haha 😉🙃

Bye bye Italy and friends 🥲💕

Brescia from the castle ☺️ with a Rae.

Today I asked (in Italian) if they had Bridgerton flavoured ice cream in the Brescia branch of La Romana.

They weren't sure what I meant 🤣🤣 so I had to settle for chocolate fondant, cinnamon apple and crunchy cherry. Which were also epic.

What am I going to do when I get back from Italy and have to live without perfect gelato????

Views from Monte Isola and Iseo 💕

Plus an honorary #catsoflitsy

How relaxed does this kitty look!!!

It's official. I've found the best ice cream in the world.

Gelateria La Romana had several guest flavours based on Bridgerton characters.

Now, I've never seen Bridgerton, but all I know is that Mango & Spiced Cookies / Pineapple, Rosemary & Lemon Pound Cake are the two best flavour combos in ice cream form I've ever experienced.

Italian adventures continue. Now visiting my friends in Brescia. The view from their balcony is insane.

Also pizza.

Also gelato.

Reading My Brilliant Friend and The Enchanted April for extra Italian vibes!

Bye bye, Venice 🥲 I will be back to see you again someday!

Have just arrived in Brescia for phase 2 of Italian adventure.

Am way too excited that our flat has a TV so that we can have a Eurovision party.

My friends are unanimously less pleased.

You may recognise the top middle picture from my pic the other day! These pictures are near where we are staying.

Venice by Jiro Tanaguchi is a book of watercolours of Venice. It is billed as a "graphic novel" but I wouldn't really call it a story. It's more of an art book with narrative aspects.

Flipping through trying to work out which bits we'd seen was fun (e.g. my friend: "that's the bridge where you started complaining your feet hurt").

Doge's palace (top L and middle)

Venetian special black spaghetti (with cuttlefish ink) (top R)

Venetian antipasti seafood (bottom L)

Bridge of sighs (bottom middle)

View from Doge's palace (bottom R)

Venice adventures continue 💕

I think my feet may be about to fall off.

Also, how much is an acceptable amount to spend on notebooks in a single 48 hour period? Asking for a friend. (By which I mean a friend who has concerns about my notebook habit 😅)

From the horrified look on our waitresses face, I gather that 3 cannoli is too many cannoli to eat in one go 🤣🤣

I COULDN'T CHOOSE THOUGH!!!!! 😍😍

Buona sera from Venezia! 🥰 It is very beautiful here, and there are many stationers.

#two4tuesday @TheSpineView ?
Thanks for the tag @Yuki_Onna ?

1) I have the Platinum on Crash Bandicoot. Oh man, is this my crowning achievement? ?

2) I just finished a book about children with various gifts, who are known as "talents". Tagged!

Happy Weekend, fellow Bibliophiles 💕

Conquered this enormous mountain (gentle incline).

Unfortunately, this path did not take us where we thought it would and now I'm kinda scritched up by various spiky hedgeplants, but at least I was outside, right?

"We didn't have to drop everything to watch then, which was the usual expectation...

What bothers me now is those boys internalising GIRLS AS AUDIENCE, there only to act as mirrors, to make their accomplishments realer."

?????? 100%

This book 😭😭😭

Someone is enjoying the sunbeams this morning #catsoflitsy #picklescat

#pop22 - recommended by a librarian @Branwen my wonderful librarian buddy!!! 🫂💕

I am loving this so far. Wasn't sure what to expect, because I went in without reading anything about it, but am thrilled that it's looking like DARK ACADEMIA!!!!!!

@Megabooks @jenniferw88 @BarbaraBB @KarenUK @Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick @MissHel @AshleyHoss820 @Ruthiella @OriginalCyn620 @BookBelle84 @graciouswarriorprincess @WJCintron @Branwen @BarkingMadRead

#readyourkindle

Here's my updated list @CBee 💕

https://youtu.be/a-5-6HqaOXs?feature=shared

Under 30 second reviews!!!!!!!

Jan-April books

Gahh, I don't know how to rate this one. It's a direct 3.5/5 and I usually like to round up or down.

Sprawling, sci fi Victoriana adventure novel. All the ingredients that are right up my street, but something was missing.

The structure is a complete shambles which knocks the pacing off kilter. And yet, I cared and am annoyed I have to wait for the sequel.

I'd probably have enjoyed it more on Kindle or in paperback because OW MY WRISTS.

"Still, as much as I take seriously the cooking of meals just for myself or to eat with others, every so often I think of peaceful meals between two people who are in love with an ache that seems perilously close to my skin..

I love to live alone, but I long to know I'm real beyond my own comprehension."

This book is full of a familiar longing for which I'm yet to find a sufficient balm. Still, it's probably not all it's cracked up to be, right?

#bookspinbingo for May @TheAromaofBooks 💕💕

This month I'm going to be focusing on my Victoriana and Gothic books (the ones I showed in recent YouTube vid) that I couldn't resist the covers of. Unfortunately, this abbreviates to #VAG 🤦🏼‍♀️🙈

Also on the list are book club books set in Italy (where I'm soon to visit, hopefully), my #roll100 picks, and a couple of Emily St. John Mandel's for #AuthorAMonth

#shelfie 💕

So excited for #camplitsy24

@squirrelbrain @Megabooks @BarbaraBB

This was an amusing but contrived cosy.

Maybe its cast of eccentric coastal characters would have won my heart if Astrid hadn't enacted toothbrush-revenge early on (a personal bugbear of mine. NOT COOL, ASTRID.)

Regardless, this was good fun. I sniggered many times. The mystery was secondary and didn't draw me in as much as Astrid's own story.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ for enjoyment, but I've read more proficient cosies.

Left: when your new books match your shoes

Right: can confirm... this rocking horse my Gramps made many decades ago is STURDY!

Pleased with my dedication... it says "Happy I praised and insulted you in one answer!"

I'm struggling to explain it concisely, so I'll leave this here looking mysterious ?

(Also, he watched my YouTube review of his latest book ????)

If you haven't already, read all of his books. They are a delight. More authors need to genre-blend like this!

There is truth in this passage.

https://youtu.be/gxconqhlrJ0?feature=shared

April's Illumicrate box: Magic vs. Science

I really liked how much Lady Audley's Secret read like a detective novel (despite pre-dating the detective novel by a good few years).

It's the story of a mystery and a scandal, unfolding through the investigative eyes of the usually bone idle Robert Audley.

It's very Victorian, and you'll either love or hate the flowery language.

Plot twists, melodrama, much better serialised than Dickens! Dragged a bit at times, but still entertaining.

New bestie!!! 😁😁💕

My creative idol Stuart Turton was such an entertaining speaker - irreverent, smart, cynical, funny - and I even managed to say a few words to him.

US Littens might be pleased to know he's doing a US tour soon too 😊

Gahhhh, she's so soggy!!!!

@Soubhiville You mentioned following Pickles' adventures yesterday, but the adventures at the moment consist mainly of complaining about the menu and (presently) drying off her wet floofs on me 🙈🙈🙈

#picklescat #catsoflitsy

@squirrelbrain @Megabooks @BarbaraBB #CampLitsy24

Thanks for organising!!! 🥰 Can't wait!

Here are my nominations (if I'm not already too late). I've gone pretty cosy 💕

To all my Litsy friends,

I want you to know how much I love and appreciate you all. To have such a kind, supportive online community to share my book passion with has been invaluable to me.

You are all wonderful 💙

Procrastinating by making book videos...

If you wanna hear me ramble on about my favourite cover aesthetic and show you some tasty examples, click here:

https://youtu.be/L6LPG_GWJFg?feature=shared

If you wanna hear me review The Last Murder at the End of the World, click here:

https://youtu.be/97wsvd8JJsM?feature=shared

(I think I might drop Stuart Turton a message to let him know I'm tirelessly promoting him like a superfan 🤣)

I found Deborah James' book extremely inspiring.

If there is one message I will take away from reading it, it is to have rebellious hope.

What an amazing person. I only wish she could've had many more years of fulfilling and happy life.

Loved it. Locked-island, post-apocalyptic murder mystery madness.

Readable as heck. Probably full of plot holes I don't give a damn about. Twisty, turny, ambitious, and totally bananas.

I continue to be a huge Stuart Turton fan. I eat up everything he puts out and love that his books are original and different from each other.

He simply can't write fast enough for me 😊💕

I bought a load of keys from Litjoy a while back and gave them to Mum so that I could "earn" them by doing various things.

Although technically I didn't meet the goals I set, I did make a lot of effort, so Mum agreed to let me have this one based on Professor Umbridge's room ??

*looks shifty*

Turns out I actually AM living in the moment after all 😅

Now if only I can find out which supernatural forces are screwing me over...

(I kid.)

This book is inspiring even to a seasoned curmudgeon like myself. Chapters so far have talked about the importance of Hope (REBELLIOUS hope 💕), awareness of Time, and now Purpose.

No one has all the time in the world, and you don't need it to live a worthwhile life 💙

Started this book on my lunch break.

Anyone who has tried and failed to improve their mental outlook over a period of many years will know how victim-blamey being told to think positive is, but Deborah James focuses on HOPE 💙☀️

I might try cultivating hope because unlike general positivity it focuses on the unknowns of the future. It's easier to hope for the future than to alter thinking on the past and present.

What do I dare to hope for?

#two4tuesday @TheSpineView 😊
Thanks for the tag @The_Penniless_Author 💕

Bit late on this one!

1) I was so excited about reading the tagged that I made a whole video fangirling over Stuey T

https://youtu.be/yZVgSUXkEqs?feature=shared

2) Does the Pope **** in the woods? 🤣🤣

I'VE GOT PRE-ORDERS COMING OUT THE WAZOO. They will probably continue arriving long after my death.

Happy Tuesday / Wednesday everyone 👍🏻

I'm late with my #bookspinbingo card for April @TheAromaofBooks but I promise I haven't peeped at the numbers or card yet 😋

Will sort out a grid soon!

Although there are some serious books here, I think I'm going to prioritise reading for pleasure over the next few months. I've been ruminating too much on heavy topics and I just want to sneak around a few Victorian or Gothic mansions and solve some murders.

This was an incredible book, but a total sausage fest.

It gets ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for being an inspiring, colourful, accessible, engaging volume, and for giving me a grounding in art knowledge that I didn't think possible from one book.

Art is discussed from a Eurocentric position, only ONE female artist is featured and some of the language is culturally insensitive to the modern ear, but this remains an outstanding work.

Thirsty for more now!

Scratch that. A few pages later and he's blaming this state of affairs on... women!