Welcome to Litsy!

So, my husband isn‘t a big reader but he‘s COMPLETELY devoured George Saunders‘ entire oeuvre. I‘m looking for read-alikes for him — particularly short story collections — for our upcoming vacation. Any thoughts? 🙏🏻

The stories which make up “In Persuasion Nation” are darkly funny, biting, satirical, bizarre/absurdist tales about the battle for the soul of our nation. They tell of the struggle to stay alert, conscious, mindful, & good in the face of commercialization & commodification.

Everything tells a story: dead bodies, breakfast bars, bags of Doritos, fields of indoor corn. You name it, it speaks — loudly. It‘s hard to turn off the noise & listen.

😅💩😅

0/2 book club books read on-time this year... but I‘ve convinced myself that as long as I *do* finish them, I won‘t have completely broken my resolution to read ALL of the book club books in 2019. 🙈 I know, I know. It‘s kind-of bullshit reasoning. So it goes. 🤷‍♀️

This is my third George Saunders. I love how utterly absurd his work is. This passage, satirizing commercials, is pretty (hilariously) representative of his writing as a whole.

My friend, Dave, proposed taking this picture at book club & I was so there for it. I don‘t think he even knows that it‘s a classic Babysitter‘s Club reference. 🤷‍♀️😅

Also, I‘ve been friends with these folks for almost 20 years! 😱

Me, to my husband: “Adam! C‘mere! Lemme take a picture of you!” 😆📸

Me: #currentlyreading
Bun: #currentlyshedding

Very excited to have some Saunders back in my life. I‘ve been trying to save him books and not plough through them but I have a feeling this year I‘ll break that rule.

Enjoyed Lincoln in the Bardo and was excited to find this short story collection. So skewed, off-kilter, surreal, darkly comic; uneasy chuckles while a bit scary: the desperation of the unmoored. So on point on the importance of having a moral compass. Some stories on overreaching consumerism and social control resonated; used to work for a big ad agency where I was told “we don‘t sell products, we sell dreams.” He shows what can happen.

My husband just sent me this glamour shot from abroad. Excuse me while I swoon.

😍📖😍

I didn't love all of the stories in this collection but I still felt lucky to be reading them, if that makes any sense. This is satire with a lot of heart—genre-bending fiction that can best be described as speculative, with a distinct dystopian bent. Themes of totalitarianism, capitalism, consumerism and entertainment are prevalent throughout, as is the underlying despair of being trapped in a system from which there is no escape.

This is the first book I have loved in 2017. "Jon" and "The Red Bow" will floor you; "Commcomm" is ferociously compassionate. How can writing be so hilarious and terribly sad and uplifting at the same time? I was nonplussed by Tenth of December a few years ago, but I may need to give it another try. George Saunders is incredible!

George Saunders, İkna Ulusu öyküsünde insan doğasına o kadar güzel değiniyor ki dehşete düşürüyor okuyucu neredeyse her satırda.

Tüketim toplumunun görünen yüzündeki masumiyetinin aslında arkasında ne kadar kokuşmuşluk barındırdığına değiniyor her öyküsünde.

Uyarmadan geçmeyeyim ama aman. Sarsıcı gerçekleri kara mizah ile aktaran ve sözünü sakınmayan bir yazar George Saunders.

#kitap #book #read

For #day11 of the #augustphotochallenge, here are three 20th century classics and one brilliant collection of hysterical realism. #politicsandbooks #augustofpages

My first Saunders. So far, I'm enjoying it. 😀