“Some children are just born bad, plain and simple.”

#FirstLineFridays
(A day late)

My #JolabokaflodSwap is on its way @MaleficentBookDragon 😁📚. It should arrive Monday, it‘s staying in my state.

Thank you for continuing to hold my favorite swap of the year!

#SunriseAndBook

I had been meaning to read this. I‘m glad it was chosen for my December #bookspin.

I feel like everyone else has already read it, but if not it‘s about a 9th grade girl who was raped at a party and her struggles afterwards. I believe it‘s often read in school, and also has been banned in places. Jason Reynolds‘s afterword is another excellent perspective.

Almost Famous is one of my favorite movies, so when I saw this had been released I immediately looked for it. It‘s really good, as you would expect from the guy who wrote for multiple papers and big music magazines and did screenplays!

Highly recommend, get it on audio if you‘d like to hear it in his own voice. I‘m off to rewatch Almost Famous!

Manga about a high school student learning about the Asexual spectrum when she starts at a new school. Full of descriptions of different ways people might identify as Ace, as well as stressing that every person has their own way of being, and the most important thing is getting to know yourself.

I added this to my TBR after reading Sandwich by Newman. I‘m so glad I did, I really loved this.

It‘s a short read but powerful. Ash‘s life is in turmoil, as she deals with the terminal cancer diagnosis and hospice placement of her best friend since childhood, Edi. It‘s quirky and very family focused, and I especially loved Ash‘s daughter Belle.

If the #AuldLangSpine lists hadn‘t already gone out this would have made mine. Next year!

I reread this for bookclub, and it was a nice visit to memory lane. I must have been quite young when I read it last. It‘s still delightful.

I am a huge StoryGraph fan, as I know a lot of Litsy is. Are you? If so here is the link for the #AuthorAMonth StoryGraph challenge, which is a fun way to track your reading as well as seeing books other readers have chosen for each prompt. Enjoy!

https://app.thestorygraph.com/reading_challenges/b855bc01-00bb-4993-b8c0-3387d8b...

(Let me know if you see any typos or have other problems with it please 🙂)

Who knew Nora Roberts wrote fantasy?

I admit to feeling reserved about the very mainstream authors who have entire shelves of their books at the library and I can expect to have to reshelve at least one or two of them every week during my volunteer shift. So I wasn‘t anticipating liking a NR book, and I was trepidatious when she was chosen for #AuthorAMonth.

I didn‘t mind this. It has some cliche fantasy moments, but a low pick for me. ⬇️

It‘s time to update my #AuthorAMonth tag list for next year. This helps me clear out folks who are no longer interested and add new people who are. I am making an entirely new list, all you need to do to be on it is comment below.

What is #AuthorAMonth? It‘s a reading challenge in which we attempt to read at least one book from a particular author each month. The list of authors was nominated and elected by Litsy readers. ⬇️

My Mom got us a tree and we put it up today. With a reread of Winnie-the-Pooh and a fireplace crackling on the TV, I‘m feeling a bit festive. 🎄❄️ (There might be snow coming in tonight, I‘m hoping that doesn‘t happen!)

I love this #AuldLangSpine list from my match @rachelsbrittain ! The only one I‘ve already read is Sunrise on the Reaping. In January I‘m going to attempt to read 3- The Incandescent, as I already have it, Hemlock & Silver (Jan‘s #AuthorAMonth, how convenient!), and An Extraordinary Union as I can get it right away on Libby. I‘m making myself a StoryGraph challenge to keep reading the rest throughout the year.

Looking forward to diving in!

Well #authoramonth readers, we have arrived in December, which brings us to Nora Roberts.

I started The Awakening today, which is the first in her fantasy trilogy. I‘m enjoying it more than I expected to!

Feel free to include any of her pen names in your reading this month, including the popular JD Robb books.

Do you know what you‘ll be reading?

I didn‘t look into this much before reading it and expected a cozy found family foodie story. Oops!

It‘s actually quite sad, about depression and being a societal outcast, check content warnings if needed.

It did have some happiness, and the main characters are cooks so there is a deep dive into making sweet adzuki bean paste for dorayaki- a Japanese pancake with bean paste in it.

I did end up liking it, it just wasn‘t what I expected.

Chris‘ wife died giving birth to their daughter, so The Kid is given a second shadow. That‘s how criminals are marked and punished. She‘s marked as a killer from birth. Chris has her own second shadow.

This was tough to read as it‘s mostly about the grief of losing her spouse and raising a child alone, as well as social commentary about being marked a pariah for something outside your control. 1984 vibes, very explicit sex, and melancholic.

Well that‘s another bail for me… I got about 150 pages in. There were some parts I thought were really interesting, but others felt like a slog. Oh well #hailthebail, on to something else. (Seeing other reviews here helped the decision.)

My #doublespin for November.

I loved Nora Webster, so I expected to enjoy this more. Unfortunately I got really bored with it and stopped at about 70%, but I‘m going to try the movie to get the end of the story. I know bookworms, possibly a bit taboo, but I‘m just not into the book.

This is my mom‘s Zoey. She‘s staying with me while Mom travels for the holiday. Yes she has yogurt on her face😆. She‘ll be having a bath tomorrow.

It seems too soon to post my December #bookspin, but Monday is the first so I guess not. As always I‘ll be excited to see what @TheAromaofBooks pulls out of the hat!

December‘s author for #AuthorAMonth is Nora Roberts. I just searched her on Libby, and a bunch of JD Robb came up. At first I was confused, but here‘s what Wiki says. With over 225 novels, hopefully everyone can find something by her to read! 😂 When you post about her books in December just mention it‘s still her if you read one of her pen named books. Wow! 😮📚

Welcome to our last week of November #AuthorAMonth readers. Already! One more week with Joan Didion.

December brings us to our final author of 2025, Nora Roberts. Did you know she has several pen names? See my next post on this book title for more info.

Enjoy the rest of the month, have a good holiday if you‘re feasting tomorrow. And happy reading!

Another fun fantasy from Travis Baldree, this one is about Fern from Bookshops and Bonedust.

I went with the audio since I‘m waiting to purchase the paperback when it comes out. I have to say I wish I‘d waited to read it, as I‘m not a fan of Baldree‘s narration. It was still good, on the light side of fantasy though I think the books are getting progressively less cozy. There were quite a few battles in this one.

I really liked Zil the goblin.

Did you see? Registration is open for #AuldLangSpine2026! Go to @monalyisha to get the link, the form has the rules and guidelines. I‘m super excited to learn who my match will be this year, and to get my reading list!!

I think this is Schwab‘s best book yet. It‘s like she tried to write the perfect vampire book specifically for me. I loved this.

Could it be partially because I read and loved Ann Rice as a teen? Maybe. Could it be partially because I love a good sapphic historical fantasy? Yes probably.
Anyway, 5⭐️ for me!

@Texreader posted this sale, but be aware this is Book 2 in The Arc of the Scythe series, and you do really need to read Scythe first. For February‘s author for #authoramonth

This is some dark, grim stuff. It starts with the author investigating a suicide then immediately dives into her struggle with alcoholism, so go in prepared for an emotional ride, though Butcher also talks about using compartmentalizing and distancing as a coping mechanism.

There is posturing of being “one of the guys”, being of an older (than me) generation, and that NY/NJ bruskness, and all of those rubbed me a bit throughout.

Have you been waiting for this announcement #AuthorAMonth readers? I‘ve been excited since I started working on results and graphics yesterday. Here is our author lineup for 2026!

41 people voted this year. The author with the highest vote count was Amor Towles with 24. Then Martha Wells with 20. Many of the rest each had 19.

Is there one author or book you‘re most excited to include in your 2026 reading plan? (I‘ll comment below my tag list.)

I read The Swimmers by this author a couple months ago and @Hooked_on_books said how much she liked this one so I stacked it.

Otsuka definitely has a signature style! I liked this one more. I think audio is a great way to read these, I was able to absorb it without struggling with the flow.

It‘s told from the first person plural, or “we”. The narrators are Japanese “picture” brides shipped to the states about a century ago.

I missed reading for #CampLitsy this summer as I moved. But this got such a wave of Picks that I put the audio on hold and finally got to listen. And wow, it was really good!

I thought the format of present and flashbacks worked really well, and it was easy to slide into the main character‘s shoes (Birkenstocks!) as she tried to cross Portland on foot after an earthquake rocked the city. Oh yeah, while late term pregnant!

First snow at my new house! Happily it‘s less than an inch and the roads are fine so far.

This is a thought provoking novella of speculative fiction, set just a bit in the future. Every American gets a Universal Basic Income once a year, on the title date. Told from 4 women‘s POVs, each with a very different life circumstance. I think it‘s one of the best TOR novellas I‘ve read.

Check content warnings if needed.

Another really good book by Erdrich. I love the banter of her characters.

It‘s a really strange story- read the blurb. If you like this author I think you‘ll enjoy this one.

“When you don‘t have a mother, as I never did, you have to make one. Get yourself a piece of clay and shape in your fingers and the shape you always make will be a mother. Or press her together of mud and sticks. Sometimes a tree would do, gnarled around me. Bundles of reeds. I used a blanket rolled and bunched in the shape of her. Rags. Sometimes there was a little extra stew in the pot and I stole it and said to myself she gave it to me.”

Last call for voting for the upcoming year‘s authors for #AuthorAMonth!

I‘ll close the poll and start compiling my announcement post on Tuesday evening. Results will be announced on Wednesday!

https://forms.gle/rhjGCu4rosz1j9Qc8

I‘m really excited by the poll leaders so far!

I‘m disappointed that this didn‘t work better for me. It started pretty strong, but got really repetitive and dragged much longer than necessary.

The premise was interesting, and I loved the dark fairy tale feeling. Unfortunately it doesn‘t come close to Bunny for me though. Not sure if I‘ll read her new book, right now I‘m leaning towards no.

Charles is a very high end robot, made to be “the gentleman‘s gentle robot”, kind of a robot butler. He finds that he has murdered his master, but doesn‘t know why. He sends himself to Diagnostics to try to figure out why, and along the way finds that human society has collapsed and robots are somewhat aimlessly roaming what‘s left.

This is kind of a dystopian quest book, rather philosophical, and I really liked it. ⬇️

It‘s time, it‘s here! The poll for next year‘s #AuthorAMonth challenge! I‘ll leave it up for a week, the new list will be announced on the 12th. Who do you most hope to see on the list?

https://forms.gle/rhjGCu4rosz1j9Qc8

This memoir is mostly about addiction- be it drugs and alcohol, codependency, love and sex, or attention. The author puts it all on the table, so be prepared, it gets ugly. But it‘s also beautiful and touching and gut wrenching.

I could have done without the music between chapters and poems, but I bet it was her girlfriend‘s music, so I understand the inclusion.

I also could have done without all the faith, although I know it is important ⬇️

Welcome to November #AuthorAMonth readers! Time to pull out our Joan Didion books. What are you planning to read?

We‘re getting close to the end of the year! If you haven‘t started your Google form yet here‘s the link:

https://forms.gle/r6EydHX3GmrfYenA8

If you haven‘t started it you‘ll want to edit your copy in your Google drive.

Poll for 2026 authors is in the works! Last minute nominations can be added to my last post on this title.

November #bookspin! @TheAromaofBooks

Over the last few years I‘ve read quite a few books set on tiny remote islands, has this become a new genre? I think I‘ve liked every one I‘ve read, so I am in favor.

Set on a tiny island off the Wales coast, 18 yr old Manod lives with her father and young sister in a fishing village. A whale washes ashore, and two strangers come to study it and the villagers. Takes place just before WWII, and I felt Manod‘s yearning to escape isolation.

Happy Black Cat Day to everyone with house panthers!

Another installment of mystery and community with Mma Romatswe and friends. I love the way Mma Potikwane gently manipulates her in this one, in the sweetest and most well intended way.

I used to go to Lowe‘s Theater in Harvard Yard in Boston for the midnight showing of Rocky Horror Picture Show as a teen. I also loved Clue and the first adaptation of IT. So of course I‘m a Tim Curry fan, and of course I got his audiobook as soon as it released.

I didn‘t know a lot about his theater career, that was nice to hear about. He reads the audio himself, which was nice but also kind of sad because he sounds quite different due to ⬇️

A book from the point of view of a zombie after the apocalypse seems like a good idea. And I found the first few pages pretty funny. Unfortunately not long after that I got really bored with it. It felt very stream-of-conscious, with not much plot. I made it to about 40%.

If this wasn‘t for book club I wouldn‘t have finished it, honestly. I found it bizarre and very difficult to follow. There were parts that I laughed about or otherwise enjoyed, and it did come together at the end in a mostly satisfying way, but it was a lot of work to get there.

It‘s time again, unbelievably, to think about next year‘s #AuthorAMonth! Please nominate authors you would like to see highlighted in the comments. I will organize them into genre categories again, I felt like that worked well for this year, so if you are inclined you can include the genre you think the author fits best (you don‘t have to, I will look them up if necessary)

Poll to follow in a week or so! (Genre List ⬇️)

Are you curious about replacement organs and transplants? Body science? Medical history? Mary Roach approaches all of this with her usual humor in this new release. I learned quite a bit as always.

@ChaoticMissAdventures here‘s my list for #10BeforeTheEnd!

Some are bookclub books, some are library holds coming up soon, all are going to get read before the end of the year!

Anyone else making a list? I‘ll check the hashtag, but feel free to tag me as well as @ChaoticMissAdventures the host!

Twins Kizzy and Lil are gathering mushrooms to make a celebration stew for their 17th birthday when they realize their Traveler family‘s caravan has been attacked and set on fire. All of the children are caught and enslaved, to be used at the whim of a cruel Settler Boyar (like a czar).

The first 2/3 were my favorite part, I didn‘t realize where the story was going or that it was a retelling, and that took a little away from it for me. Still 👍.

My grooming salon had a “staff dog color party” last night to try some creative grooming, and Sietje got glammed up for Halloween (and beyond- this is semipermanent dye so it‘ll last for months!) It‘s my first attempt at something like this and I‘m pleased with my results!

I listened to this audio this week and it was fine. Too much 🌶️ for me, but a decent m/m romance. (it‘s a book 2) It‘s from the POV of two exs as they move on after breakup.

I didn‘t like this as much as The Great Believers, but to be fair it‘s very different.

Bodie is a podcaster who focuses on true crime. She also teaches, and she‘s asked to teach a 2 week seminar at her high school, the NH boarding school where her former roommate was murdered. Of course she dips into whether that case was solved successfully.

This felt realistic with cancel culture and abuse and murder of women as a strong theme. Also 90s ⬇️

This is a quick cozy read about an 80 year old woman who finds a mouse in an abandoned aquarium and slowly befriends him. And makes some other friends along the way. Similar feel to a Backman story, but simpler. Cute.
Ann Patchett raved about it in an instagram post, and from the cover comment you can see she loved it.