This is the TBR pile for my second readathon. Last time I only got halfway there, but try, try again! #24in48 #readathon

1️⃣Hmmm, I‘m trying to think of a character who lives in an adorable English cottage, and reads/drinks tea/potters in their garden all day and maybe makes jam and has a lot of animal companions. Any ideas? I basically want to live in Brambly Hedge or the Shire.
2️⃣Airplane, What About Bob?, The Sword in the Stone, Ghostbusters.
3️⃣Thunderstorms, dogs and cats, a new book, the BBC.
4️⃣ @Bourriquet76

#tuesdaytidbits
@JenlovesJT47

I‘ve been AWOL lately because I feel really stuck in my reading. I‘m 3/4 of the way done with Iron Gold and The Stranger Beside Me, but for whatever reason I‘m just not enjoying either book. And yet I can‘t seem to bail — I‘ve come so far! I‘m at about 450/600 pgs and I‘ve never abandoned a book that far in. But the remaining 150 pgs feel interminable. What do you do when you feel like “A Wedged Bear in Great Tightness” in your reading life?

Woah, @Jess7 is hosting an amazing giveaway to celebrate hitting 77,777 litfluence! #77777Giveaway

Congratulations to @TheLibrarian on her 50k Litsy milestone. This is my favorite pup, Merlin! He‘s a Chow and German Shepherd mix who loves his ball, hates the UPS truck, and is afraid of shiny floors.
#50kgiveaway2

I've trudged through 60 pages about the early life (grandparents, parents, childhood) of Jim Jones and it's just not interesting to me. GR reviews indicate I've got 300 more pages before he even moves to Guyana. Oof. I'm realizing I don't actually want an excruciatingly detailed full-life biography of Jones so much as I want to read a detailed account of what happened at the Peoples Temple. I‘m bailing on this one. 🤷‍♀️

1. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
2. 3 aunts
3. 🐜🐜🐜
4. Rice Chex in soy milk + green tea with honey
5. 🖐 @Sharpeipup

#friyayintro @jesshowbooks

My expectations were for a kind of quirky, possibly heart-warming story aimed at book lovers — maybe something like A.J. Fikry or The Readers of Broken Wheel or Mr. Penumbra. This is not that. The overall feel of this story is . . . heavy. I'm not sure how else to describe it. I'm glad I read it, and the mystery at the heart of the story was certainly interesting, but be prepared for a rather gritty and sad tale. 3.5/5 ⭐️

Thanks for the generous giveaway, @GypsyKat — I love all things Jane Austen.

My favorite novel, character and relationship are all contained in one book: Persuasion. I relate to Anne Elliott more than any other Austen heroine, and her relationship with Captain Wentworth is, for me, the most serious, deep and bittersweet. I also loved the movie adaptation with Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds. ❤️
#JaneAustenGiveaway

Jim Dale‘s wonderful narration is just perfect for James Herriot‘s stories. Charming, heart-warming and relaxing for children AND adults. I found it to be a lovely cure for an anxious brain in the wee hours of the night.

My favorite read so far this year. I felt such a kinship with Eleanor: the weight and the safety of her immense solitude; the way her speech patterns reflect classic novels more than modern slang; her difficulty with small talk and social norms; the spikiness of her emotional armor. Recommended for fans of A Man Called Ove. Dark subject matter at its heart, yet the story has a wonderful lightness and humor. 5/5 ⭐️

I‘m a day late 🤷‍♀️
1. Regular life stuff - groceries, laundry, reading, binge-watching Monk.
2. 5‘3”
3. 2.5 yrs in my dwelling, 13 yrs in this town.
4. Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore, The Turn of the Screw, Iron Gold (had to return it to the library half-way finished, so now I‘m in the hold queue again).
5. I‘m in no fit state for a selfie at this moment, so here‘s a pic of me with a topiary bear friend.
#friyayintro
@jesshowbooks

Thanks for tagging me @KrystleTheBookSlayer and so sorry my Tuesday tidbits stretched into Friday 🙄🤦🏼‍♀️
1. Every Winnie the Pooh story and the Ramona Quimby books by Beverly Cleary
2. Glass Houses by Louise Penny
3. I love to hate Moriarty
4. I don‘t like most literary fiction, especially if it has a romantic storyline 🤢
5. Anyone who is a latecomer like me!
#tuesdaytidbits
@JenlovesJT47

Thanks for the tag @Ingerella ☺️ — I‘m late!
I‘ve had a houseguest for the last week and haven‘t had a moment for reading or Litsy, but now I finally have the solitude I need for bookish things.

Color: ❤️👹⛑🍓
Season: Fall 🍁🍂
Genre: Mystery
Hobby: Reading, watching British TV shows, crossword puzzles, coloring
Snack: Potato chips
Drink: Mamma Chia
Bookish item: Any, all!
Tag: @Bry if you haven‘t done it yet
#gettingtoknowyou
@Tiffy_Reads

I love this line: “She wasn‘t actually chewing gum, but her demeanor was very much that of a gum chewer.” 😂🏆

1) 41
2) 1 younger brother, 2 half-siblings that I don‘t know
3) Child-free
4) Eleanor Oliphant, Iron Gold
5) Jane Eyre, Room, The Secret Garden, The Crystal Cave, and on and on and on
6) 🙄
7) Czechoslovakia (no longer exists but fun to say), persnickety
8) I have a crude sense of humor, I love action movies
9) Both! 🐈🐕
10) Tea
11) Word Freak
12) I‘ll start the Introvert Tag Team round with @SilversReviews

@Gyldholm
#hallowhoareyou

1. Paperbacks
2. 6.5
3. Potato chips and tzatziki.
4. Seinfeld, Golden Girls, X-Files, 30 Rock, Spaced.
5. Hmm, I feel like a stalker when I tag the same people repeatedly, but with a stranger I worry I‘m forcing their participation (like calling on a student who didn‘t raise their hand). This answer is an example of my unbridled neuroses. And an invitation to awkward, overthinking introverts everywhere!

#friyayintro
@jesshowbooks

1. No sports, please.
2. 64 Fahrenheit (where is winter? 😢)
3. Finally starting Iron Gold today, woohoo!
4. A coastal cottage somewhere in Cornwall, England
#friyayintro @jesshowbooks

Believe the hype, it‘s a fantastic book. In a better world, it would be required reading in high school. And I'm not a YA fan. I avoid reading about teen romances/friendships, conversations via text, proms, sporting events, and don't even get me started on love triangles, but, while some of these elements are present here in small doses, the larger story is incredibly powerful and engaging. It's 5-star YA, and 4-star for me personally.

A very solid thriller that helped me to beat a reading slump. I managed to finish it in one day which is unusual for me and a testament to the page-turniness (ridiculous new word, you‘re welcome). Fair warning, there were a few details that were so disturbing they‘ve haunted me the last few days. I like the adrenaline of thrillers but I‘m also sensitive about certain subjects, so I really should have skipped those bits when I saw them coming.

#24in48
I have three bookshelves, but two are in constant flux because they‘re full of TBRs. These are the first and last on my shelf of favorites. The Gnomes book was given to my grandparents in 1977 and I loved poring over its pages as I grew up. It‘s responsible for my gnome obsession. The Passage is my favorite dystopian novel.

#24in48 Hour 18: Book to screen adaptation:
I have seen the delightful film adaptation of A Room With A View countless times over the years, but it was only last year that I finally read the book. The film is extremely faithful to Forster‘s words and both versions will continue to be favorite escapes.

After a strong start reading almost 4 hours last night for #24in48, I was majorly derailed by illness in the wee hours and I have been sleeping most of the day ☹️. Thanks to this upset, it‘s unlikely I‘ll complete my 24, but I am feeling well enough to get back to the books. I‘ve abandoned my previous TBR pile (too exciting on an upset stomach) and moved on to the tagged title and some good old Wodehouse.

I‘ve only got 30 pages left of Two Girls Down and it is gripping but I‘m just too tired to finish tonight. #24in48
Update: I couldn‘t sleep so I turned the light back on and finished the book. A really excellent thriller!

Starting #24in48 with the second half of this entertaining mystery. My favorite character is the kickass private investigator/bounty hunter Alice Vega.

I signed up last minute for #24in48 and this is the slightly odd assortment of books I‘m going to start with (something for almost any mood). Thanks to @Bookchipmunk for directing me to 24in28.com so I could join in!

I ❤️ Sarah‘s Scribbles

As a Horowitz fan I had high expectations, and that probably set me up for disappointment. I wanted to start my year with a rip-roaring mystery, and the first chapter did indeed make me feel like I was in for a roller coaster ride. Instead, the next 300-400 (!) pages were more like a gentle, leisurely country drive. Not unpleasant if that's what you signed up for, but a bit frustrating when you have adrenaline at the ready. Cont. 👇

Thanks for the tag, @callielafleur
1. Reading chair, couch or my bed
2. Bookmarks! But I‘ll get creative if I can‘t find one (socks, receipts, etc)
3. I‘ll stop anywhere if I‘m falling asleep
4. No, I need both hands on the book
5. I‘m a unitasker
6. Experimenting with book polyamory
7. Home, mostly
8. Silent reading, silent everything
9. No peeking, no skimming
10. Keep it tight
11. 😱
12. @benchley1

Kate Winslet‘s voice work on this is fan-freaking-tastic! A thoroughly delightful and entertaining audiobook. I loved the character of Matilda but overall it wasn‘t my favorite Roald Dahl story. Fulfills my #POP18 prompt for A Childhood Classic You‘ve Never Read.

I had never even heard of Book Outlet before joining Litsy, so you are all to blame. J‘accuse! The 2nd of my shamefully large post-holiday book buying sprees. 📚🏔😉
#bookhaul #bookoutlet #UndertheLitfluence
#FellinWithABookCrowd

#HumpDayPost @MinDea
1. I love Winnie the Pooh AND I have a dark sense of humor. This comic from goneintorapture.com gets me.
2. Scrabble, Boggle, Scattergories, Trivial Pursuit.
3. Yes, on vacation in Hawaii when I was a little kid. I remember unrelenting motion sickness.
4. Yum!
5. Instagram, Goodreads, Serial Reader.

1 of 2 Yesterday @neet_reads mentioned The Literary Gift Company, which I love, so I thought I‘d share a few of my favorite bookish things that I purchased from them:
One of my favorite mugs with one of my favorite quotes.

2 of 2 Yesterday @neet_reads mentioned The Literary Gift Company, which I love, so I thought I‘d share a few of my favorite bookish things that I purchased from them:
These two map posters each show the land mass of Great Britain made up of the names of famous authors from those regions. One poster is exclusively children‘s book authors. (Try taking a screenshot if you want to zoom in for details, but it‘s not the best photo quality, sorry!)

Trying some #audiocoloring for the first time. Very relaxing. 💆🏼‍♀️

Time for #ConfessionsofaBookAddict: I over-indulged after the holidays, in a big way. This is the first #bookhaul of three, thanks to the Christmas generosity of friends and family. I could stare at this stack all day. 😍🤓📚🎁 #bookmail
P.S. Sleeping Giants and Stillhouse Lake are both #blameitonlitsy buys.

Thanks for doing a giveaway, @abbsinwonderland !
#AbbsGiveawayWonderland

I struggle with severe anxiety and depression, so my close relationships with my mom and younger brother are what motivate me to keep putting one foot in front of the other. I also find joy/inspiration in animals, books and my long term friendships.

Since I‘m new to Litsy, I‘ll just tag 3 Littens I‘ve interacted with in various comment threads.

#HumpDayPost @MinDea
1️⃣ The paintings were done by my grandmother in the 60s. She passed in 1989 so I love having these to remember her by. I also collect decor with gnomes, deer & bookish themes.
2️⃣ 2018 Reading Goals: Read 60 books, POPSUGAR, MtTBR, use the library, bail without guilt.
3️⃣ Glasses. Can‘t touch my eyeballs *shudder*.
4️⃣ Oceans.
5️⃣ I‘m definitely on the Iron Gold bandwagon but also really looking forward to Spinning Silver.

I can only add my voice to the chorus of praise. Immersed in this enchanting fairytale for grownups, I felt a warm tingling at the back of my skull, a flutter in the belly, and a childlike excitement. I wanted to inhabit this world, and it became so vivid for me that I know I need only close my eyes to return there. Wonderful mythical/folkloric beings and a rebellious heroine. A slow start, but by page 90 I was hooked. For fans of Uprooted.

Congratulations @GrilledCheeseSamurai and thanks for generously hosting this #HipHobbinto2018 giveaway! I can‘t possibly choose one favorite fantasy novel. But I can choose five.

@Cinfhen Congratulations on your Litsy milestone! Here is my #PickPanBailSoSo for 2017 (I bail a lot more often these days, but rarely pan, probably because I already bailed!):

Pick: The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths
Pan: Ninth City Burning by J. Patrick Black
Bail: The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
So-so: Before the Fall by Noah Hawley

Thanks for celebrating with a giveaway — so nice of you!

The 5 books I am most excited (at this moment) to read in 2018:
1. Iron Gold by Pierce Brown
2. Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
3. I‘ll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara
4. Invisible: How Young Women with Serious Health Issues Navigate Work, Relationships, and the Pressure to Seem Just Fine by Michele Lent Hirsch
5. The Heart‘s Invisible Furies by John Boyne

#2018reads

Thank you, @callielafleur for celebrating your #15KforCal with a giveaway! Here is my favorite reading spot at home. It‘s the only place where I can get some natural light in my dungeon of an apartment.

Is anyone else geeking out over the Reading Log spreadsheet template posted by Rachel Manwill on #BookRiot? https://bookriot.com/2017/12/19/reading-log/

My inner list-maker is in heaven. 🤓📚💻🗒📊📝

I don‘t have any pets of my own right now 😭, but my brother‘s dog #Merlin is a very accommodating reading companion, as you can see. 📚🐶 #BookTalk #dogsoflitsy @MrBook

My Top 17 Read in 2017 (started by @Cinfhen I think?). Mysteries abound. This is why I‘m finally going to do a reading challenge next year — I really want to diversify. #17in2017

I‘m going to try:

🎄Christmas at Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
🎅🏻Hot Zone by Steven Konkoly (page-turner, I hope)
🎁The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

I‘ll also continue A Christmas Carol on the Serial Reader app, and the audiobook of Bossypants.

#HolidayReadingGoals

Being new to Litsy, I can scarcely comprehend how @erinreads has reached her #50kgiveaway — is she an ageless/eternal Litsy Elder? Quite possibly. At any rate, Born A Crime is on my must-read list for 2018 (and for #pop18), but I don‘t own a copy. I am also trying to read more graphic novels and My Favorite Thing is Monsters looks reeaaally good. Thanks, Erin!

My dominant ornament theme is gnomes, mushrooms & forest animals. 🍄🌲🦊🦌🦔 #showusyourtree #decktheshelves

3.5*: I enjoyed the 1st book in this mystery series where the intriguing heroine is a psychotherapist in London. It was a page-turner, and I do plan to continue the series. But I‘m a stickler, so points off since I guessed twists too far in advance of the characters (you know when you yell at them for not spotting the obvious?) and had to suspend disbelief since no real therapist would behave this way and cross these boundaries. Good, not great.