Luxie Lit

The Shaman's Wife by Alicia M. Rodriguez Pub Date: September 10, 2024 Description When Alicia Rodriguez, a successful entrepreneur recovering from divorce and loss, accepts an invitation to Ecuador to help a friend who is studying with a shaman, she has no idea how profoundly the decision will change her life’s course. In Ecuador Alicia meets Napo, a powerful shaman, and they begin an extraordinary relationship that spans two continents and eight years....

ARC Review: The Shaman’s Wife The Shaman’s Wife by Alicia M. Rodriguez Pub Date: September 10, 2024 Description When Alicia Rodriguez, a successful entrepreneur recovering from divorce and loss, accepts an invitation to E…

*This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you. Shame on You by Melissa Petro Pub Date: Sep 10 2024 Description For millions of women, shame is a vicious predator. It tells us we are less than, that we are…...

ARC Review: Shame on You *This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you. Shame on You by Melissa Petro Pub Date: Sep 1…

*This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you The Specimen by Jaima Fixsen Pub Date: 15 Oct 2024 Description Walk carefully, lest you become a part of Dr. Burnett's collection… 1826. Isobel Tait finds herself, by chance, staring at a tiny human heart floating in a jar....

ARC Review: The Specimen *This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you The Specimen by Jaima Fixsen Pub Date: 15 Oct …

*This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you. In this smart and swoony adventure rom-com, a journalist and a movie star find themselves teaming up to cover up a murder...and falling for each other in the process.When freelance journalist Khin Haymar is assigned by Vogue to get a scoop on Tyler Tun, Hollywood’s hottest movie, she's determined to succeed....

ARC Review: I Did Something Bad *This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you. In this smart and swoony adventure rom-com, a…

This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you. Radical Self-Care: Rituals for Inner Resilience by Rebecca Moore It can be the simplest of things that bring you joy and give a deeper sense of who you are. Carving out space in our days for our own wellbeing is vital for keeping us resourced, healthy and connected....

ARC Review: Radical Self-Care This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you. Radical Self-Care: Rituals for Inner Resilienc…

*This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you. I dare you to try? Yikes Pub Date: 15 Nov 2024 Description Meet Eva, who can’t feel pain, and Anna, who can’t escape it. Everyone has heard about the case of Eva Reid....

ARC Review: You Can’t Hurt Me *This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you. I dare you to try? Yikes Pub Date: 15 Nov 202…

*This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you Pub Date: 21 Aug 2024 Description What are the core concepts of music therapy? What do music therapists do and how do you become one? What actually happens in a therapy session? And how does music therapy make a difference?...

ARC Review: A Graphic Guide to Music Therapy *This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you Pub Date: 21 Aug 2024 Description What are the…

*This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you Gothic poetry? Yes plz Description "Dante Émile has no dull edges. Turn Misplaced Organs & Various Saints on any side, you will find something to whet your blade with. This is a collection of asking: an asking of God, an asking of The Self, an asking of The Lover, all of which I recognize as prayer....

Book Review: Misplaced Organs & Various Saints *This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you Gothic poetry? Yes plz Description “Dant…

*This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you Idk Alex, what have you done? Description A stay-at-home mom with a past.A has-been rock star with a habit.A reality TV producer with a debt.Three disparate lives.One deadly secret....

Book Review: What Have We Done *This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you Idk Alex, what have you done? Description A st…

*This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you Flawless: Lessons in Looks and Culture from the K-Beauty Capital Description K-beauty has captured imaginations worldwide by promising a kind of mesmerizing perfection. Its skincare and makeup products—creams packaged to look like milkshakes or pandas, and snail mucus face masks, to name a few—work together to fascinate us, champion consumerism, and invite us to indulge....

Book Review: Flawless *This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you Flawless: Lessons in Looks and Culture from th…

*This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.* Description In her late twenties, Ash found herself reliving the relationship traumas of her past. She’d tried everything to help herself move on from painful memories, from therapy to drugs and more, before entering Codependents Anonymous (CoDA), where she discovered the characteristics of codependency—and checked off every box....

Graphic Novel Review: Decodependence *This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.* Description In her late twenties, Ash found …

Description Gabrielle Union, Kirsten Dunst, and Eliza Dushku have all risen to fame since their performances in the original cheer classic, but boldface names like Solange Knowles, Rihanna, Hayden Panetierre, Ashley Tisdale, and more also appeared in Bring It On films. The first-time director who helmed the movie, Peyton Reed, now has multiple Marvel smash hit films under his belt....

Book Review: Bring It On Description Gabrielle Union, Kirsten Dunst, and Eliza Dushku have all risen to fame since their performances in the original cheer classic, but boldface names like Solange Knowles, Rihanna, Hayden …

Our June pick is

⚡️🐍The Book of Eels! 🐍⚡️

Remarkably little is known about the European eel, Anguilla anguilla. So little, in fact, that scientists and philosophers have, for centuries, been obsessed with what has become known as the “eel question”: Where do eels come from? What are they? Are they fish or some other kind of creature altogether? Even today, in an age of advanced science, no one has ever seen eels mating or giving birth, and we still don’t understand what drives them, after living for decades in freshwater, to swim great distances back to the ocean at the end of their lives. They remain a mystery.

Drawing on a breadth of research about eels in literature, history, and modern marine biology, as well as his own experience fishing for eels with his father, Patrik Svensson writes a book about this unusual animal.

In The Book of Eels, we meet renowned historical thinkers, from Aristotle to Sigmund Freud to Rachel Carson, for whom the eel was a singular obsession. And we meet the scientists who spearheaded the search for the eel’s point of origin, including Danish marine biologist Johannes Schmidt, who led research efforts in the early twentieth century, catching thousands upon thousands of eels, in the hopes of proving their birthing grounds in the Sargasso Sea.

Blending memoir and nature writing, Svensson’s journey to understand the eel becomes an exploration of the human condition that delves into overarching issues about our roots and destiny, both as humans and as animals, and, ultimately, how to handle the biggest question of all: death.

Description I used to look at my hands with pride. Now all I can think is, "These are the hands that buried my mother." For Ning, the only thing worse than losing her mother is knowing that it's her own fault. She was the one who unknowingly brewed the poison tea that killed her—the poison tea that now threatens to also take her sister, Shu....

Book Review: A Magic Steeped in Poison Description I used to look at my hands with pride. Now all I can think is, “These are the hands that buried my mother.” For Ning, the only thing worse than losing her mother is knowing …

Such Pretty, Much Flowers Description “Get it out of me.”It was the last message Holly received from her brother, Dane, before he was found cleaved open in the lavish Savannah townhouse of his girlfriend, Maura. Police ruled his death a su***de sparked by psychosis, but Holly can’t shake the idea that something else must have happened—something involving another message he sent earlier that night about a “game” Maura wanted to play....

Book Review: Such Pretty Flowers Such Pretty, Much Flowers Description “Get it out of me.”It was the last message Holly received from her brother, Dane, before he was found cleaved open in the lavish Savannah townhouse of his girl…

💖 Our May Book is Paris: The Memoir 💖

From the woman who is credited for launching what we know as the celebrity focused, “brand” driven, social media obsessed popular culture of today, comes an honest and surprising memoir that reckons with that truth, and shows that there is so much more to Paris Hilton than you might believe.

I was born in New York City on February 17, 1981, three days after Valentine’s Day.

From the time I was a toddler, my brain skipped and flickered with the chemical imbalance of ADHD. Sometimes it was too much.

I’m not bragging or complaining about it, just telling you: This is my brain. It has a lot to do with how this whole book thing is going to play out, because I love run-on sentences—and dashes. And sentence fragments. I’m probably going to jump around a lot while I tell the story.

I came of age during the most turbulent pop culture period ever.

The character I played—part Lucy, part Marilyn—was my steel-plated armor.

People loved her. Or they loved to hate her, which was just as marketable. I leaned into that character, my ticket to financial freedom and a safe place to hide. I made sure I never had a quiet moment to figure out who I was without her. I was afraid of that moment because I didn’t know what I’d find.

I wrote this book in an effort to understand my place in a watershed moment: the technology renaissance, the age of influencers. I also wrote this book so that the world could know who I am today. I focused on key aspects of my life that led to what I am most proud of--how my power was taken away from me and how I took it back, how I built a thriving business, a marriage and a family.

There are so many young women who need to hear this story. I don’t want them to learn from my mistakes; I want them to stop hating themselves for their own mistakes. I want them to laugh and cry and embrace every aspect of who they are with fearlessness and pride. We all have our own brand of intelligence, and, girl, f**k fitting in.

This month's pick is Daisy Jones & the Six!!

For a while, Daisy Jones & The Six were everywhere. Their albums were on every turntable, they sold out arenas from coast to coast, their sound defined an era. And then, on 12 July 1979, they split.

Nobody ever knew why. Until now.

They were lovers and friends and brothers and rivals. They couldn't believe their luck, until it ran out. This is their story of the early days and the wild nights, but everyone remembers the truth differently.

The only thing they all know for sure is that from the moment Daisy Jones walked barefoot onstage at the Whisky, their lives were irrevocably changed.

Making music is never just about the music. And sometimes it can be hard to tell where the sound stops and the feelings begin.

We're meeting tmrw for Remarkably Bright Creatures!! 🐙 We'll be having a pond side picnic at Jovita Idar's El Progreso Park (on bartlet) 🐛🌻🦆

Bring any snacks, preferably sushi or any other sea creatures 😜 🦀🪼🐙🪸🐚🦐 jk! Anything will be fine, just bring yourself and enjoy an afternoon in nature chatting about books 🤗📚

🐠🐙Our March book is Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt! 🐙🐠

After Tova Sullivan's husband died, she began working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, mopping floors and tidying up. Keeping busy has always helped her cope, which she's been doing since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat in Puget Sound over thirty years ago.

Tova becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium. Marcellus knows more than anyone can imagine but wouldn't dream of lifting one of his eight arms for his human captors--until he forms a remarkable friendship with Tova.

Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces what happened the night Tova's son disappeared. And now Marcellus must use every trick his old invertebrate body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it's too late.

📚🥀 For the month of February, we're serving dark academia vibes with The Secret History by Donna Tartt!! 🥀📚

🥀 Description 🥀
Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries. But when they go beyond the boundaries of normal morality they slip gradually from obsession to corruption and betrayal, and at last—inexorably—into evil.

Some New Kind of Kick by Kid Congo Powers This memoir about a q***r Mexican-American in the 1970s LA punk scene called my name! TBH I didn't know anything about this guy but the fact that he played in both The Cramps and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds was enough to pique my interest. Description An intimate, coming-of-age memoir by legendary guitarist Kid Congo Powers, detailing his experiences as a young, q***r Mexican-American in 1970s Los Angeles through his rise in the glam rock and punk rock scenes....

Book Review: Some New Kind of Kick Some New Kind of Kick by Kid Congo Powers This memoir about a q***r Mexican-American in the 1970s LA punk scene called my name! TBH I didn’t know anything about this guy but the fact that he …

🔎Currently reading our January pick🔍

Unmask Alice:
L*D, SATANIC PANIC, AND THE IMPOSTER BEHIND THE WORLD'S MOST NOTORIOUS DIARIES by Rick Emerson

Two teens. Two diaries. Two social panics. One incredible fraud.

In 1971, Go Ask Alice reinvented the young adult genre with a blistering portrayal of s*x, psychosis, and teenage self-destruction. The supposed diary of a middle-class addict, Go Ask Alice terrified adults and cemented L*D's fearsome reputation, fueling support for the War on Drugs. Five million copies later, Go Ask Alice remains a divisive bestseller, outraging censors and earning new fans, all of them drawn by the book's mythic premise: A Real Diary, by Anonymous.

But Alice was only the beginning.

In 1979, another diary rattled the culture, setting the stage for a national meltdown. The posthumous memoir of an alleged teenage Satanist, Jay's Journal merged with a frightening new crisis—adolescent su***de—to create a literal witch hunt, shattering countless lives and poisoning whole communities.

In reality, Go Ask Alice and Jay's Journal came from the same dark place: Beatrice Sparks, a serial con artist who betrayed a grieving family, stole a dead boy's memory, and lied her way to the National Book Awards.

Unmask Alice: L*D, Satanic Panic, and the Imposter Behind the World's Most Notorious Diaries is a true story of contagious deception. It stretches from Hollywood to Quantico, and passes through a tiny patch of Utah nicknamed "the fraud capital of America." It's the story of a doomed romance and a vengeful celebrity. Of a lazy press and a public mob. Of two suicidal teenagers, and their exploitation by a literary vampire.

Unmask Alice . . . where truth is stranger than nonfiction.

☃️ December book! ☃️

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi ☕️🐈‍⬛

What would you change if you could go back in time?

In a small back alley in Tokyo, there is a café which has been serving carefully brewed coffee for more than one hundred years. But this coffee shop offers its customers a unique experience: the chance to travel back in time.

In Before the Coffee Gets Cold, we meet four visitors, each of whom is hoping to make use of the café’s time-travelling offer, in order to: confront the man who left them, receive a letter from their husband whose memory has been taken by early onset Alzheimer's, to see their sister one last time, and to meet the daughter they never got the chance to know.

But the journey into the past does not come without risks: customers must sit in a particular seat, they cannot leave the café, and finally, they must return to the present before the coffee gets cold . . .

Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s beautiful, moving story explores the age-old question: what would you change if you could travel back in time? More importantly, who would you want to meet, maybe for one last time?

Hey book lovers!

Local Author's Night is coming up! Tmrw evening join us for a literary evening with Rooted956 at their Caffe Dolce 219 E. Del Mar location 📚

Enjoy complementary mimosas and live music by the fire while local authors mingle and share their stories 🥂🔥

Event from 6:30pm-8:30pm. Hope to see you there!

Rooted956 will be hosting an Author's event next Wednesday November 16th at Caffe Dolce! It's gonna be a real cool lounge atmosphere where you can interact with and support some of our local Laredo authors ✍️

Attendance is FREE to the public and TWO complimentary mimosa tickets will be provided 🥂 Food and drinks will be available for purchase 🥪🥤

Come hang out, support local authors, vibe with the live jams, and enjoy a nice literary night out! 📚

A Song for Everyone: The Story of Creedence Clearwater Revival by John Lingan Description The definitive biography of Creedence Clearwater Revival, exploring the band's legendary rise to fame and how their music embodied the cultural landscape of the late '60s and early '70s A Song for Everyone finally tells that story: the thirteen-year saga of an unassuming suburban quartet's journey through the wilds of 1960s pop, and their slow accrual of a sound and ethos that were almost mystically aligned with the concerns of decade's end....

Book Review: A Song for Everyone A Song for Everyone: The Story of Creedence Clearwater Revival by John Lingan Description The definitive biography of Creedence Clearwater Revival, exploring the band’s legendary rise to fame…

Riding the Lightning: A Year in the Life of a New York City Paramedic by Anthony Almojera Description via the publisher The education of a New York City EMS worker, whose tales of tragedy and transcendence over a single year culminate in the greatest challenge the city’s medical first responders have ever faced: COVID-19 As a seasoned medical technician and union leader, Anthony Almojera thought he understood the toll of the job on first responders....

Book Review: Riding the Lightning Riding the Lightning: A Year in the Life of a New York City Paramedic by Anthony Almojera Description via the publisher The education of a New York City EMS worker, whose tales of tragedy and trans…

Thank Satan for this one Unmask Alice; L*D, Satanic Panic, and the Imposter Behind the World's Most Notorious Diaries Description You've probably read (or at least heard of) the 1970s sensation Go Ask Alice. The drug-laced, heavy teen book that's a *true* diary account of a Midwest teenage girl's life, written by Anonymous. What about Jay's Journal? A similar story, the *true* diary of a depressed boy who winds up in some Satanic trouble....

Book Review: Unmask Alice Thank Satan for this one Unmask Alice; L*D, Satanic Panic, and the Imposter Behind the World’s Most Notorious Diaries Description You’ve probably read (or at least heard of) the 1970s s…

Just finished this amazing October audiobook 😍🎃

It's creepy, gory, funny, and straight up so bloody weird it could not have been better! 🩸🔪👻 The narrator/main character is just too cool, I would seriously reread if my TBR wasn't so long. I **super** recommend if you like hauntings, blood, and wicked mothers 😈

🩸🔪Description🔪🩸
Abby Lamb has done it. She's found the Great Good in her husband, Ralph, and together they will start a family and put all the darkness in her childhood to rest. But then the Lambs move in with Ralph's mother, Laura, whose depression has made it impossible for her to live on her own. She's venomous and cruel, especially to Abby, who has a complicated understanding of motherhood given the way her own, now-estranged, mother raised her.

When Laura takes her own life, her ghost starts to haunt Abby and Ralph in very different ways. Ralph is plunged into depression, and Abby is being terrorized by a force intent on taking everything she loves away from her. With everything on the line, Abby must make the ultimate sacrifice in order to prove her adoration to Ralph and break Laura's hold on the family for good.

📕🔪Order book here! 🔪📕
https://bookshop.org/a/17237/9780593467022

For October we picked a classic by the master of horror, Stephen King! Misery is a psychological horror thriller, perfect for the spookiest month of the year. 😱📕🎃

Description
Paul Sheldon. He's a bestselling novelist who has finally met his biggest fan. Her name is Annie Wilkes and she is more than a rabid reader - she is Paul's nurse, tending his shattered body after an automobile accident. But she is also his captor, keeping him prisoner in her isolated house.