Welcome to Litsy!

A fun, quirky little collection of stories. Amusing in a slightly off-kilter way that has a bit of a dark edge at times. An entertaining, quick read.

All of these stories were so delightfully twisted, it‘s hard to pick a favorite!

I was so excited to read this book because I enjoyed her other book, southern lady code. The first half of this book read similar to the southern lady code, but the second half was not as enjoyable for me. Short stories were introduced seemingly from her POV, but it made wasn‘t clear they weren‘t her stories. Murder stories, ghost stories, very judgmental stories played out from her POV. I was disappointed by this book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I first read this upon pub (2016) and wasn‘t a big fan, but I‘ve since adored Ellis‘s personal essays, so I had to go back and try again. Hooray for second chances! These short stories are snarky, funny, and sometimes dark. An effective combination that I‘m absolutely drawn to; dark humor gives me life. I love that the story “Southern Lady Code” expanded to inspire her follow up essay collection. She has 100% become a must-read for me!

Another day, another morning pupper walk. Champ and I love starting our days this way! ☀️🐾

#audiowalk #reread #dogsoflitsy

This is my second book of short stories this month! These were humorous and quick to read. I‘ll happily add this to my short-story nightstand stack where I randomly reread a story during sleepless nights. ...The reference to riding a cotton pogo stick to describe a menstrual cycle - LOL.

A fun collection of short stories. I found this to be highly entertaining and an easy, light read!

I wasn‘t sure what to expect when I started this, but it‘s so funny! Twelve short (some shorter than others) stories about what it means to be an American Housewife. Some are hilariously over the top. Quick, fun read!

This book is full of vignettes that show the lives of a true "American Housewife." One would think this would be duller than dull book, but the author makes these characters so over the top that you can't help but laugh. There are such funny situations that no one in their right mind could come up with. This book was a quick listen (so I'm assuming a quick read as well), and I didn't want it to end. I now want to read more Helen Ellis books.

#quotsyjul20
I actually 😂 at this! What is your gateway drug to reading? Mine is iced coffee. I've been making a really good one from Bones Coffee called Salty Mermaid. It's a wonderful accompaniment to my books!

#coffee #books #icedcoffee #hotchocolate

This woman is either:
A) An enthusiastic scrapbooker
or
B) A crazy first time parent who doesn't know better than not to buy her kids glitter. Ever.

Some quite funny. Some not so much. All pretty darn strange. They're short—which is usually a problem for me—but, at least if you don't like one of them, you'll be done in a jiffy.

⭐⭐
Eh. I just didn't like this one. The first two stories were cute, but then they just got kind of weird and dark. I was hoping for a light, funny, escape and this.... was not that.

Chose this audiobook because it was rather short and would provide light hearted entertainment for me while walking on the treadmill. That's what it did and not much more.

Helen Ellis's short story collection American Housewife is narrated by Kathleen McInerney, Lisa Cordileone, Rebecca Lowman, Dorothy Dillingham Blue, and they are FABULOUS. I thoroughly enjoyed this hilarious, uncomfortably true (I listened on Scribd), insightful collection targeted at the modern Southern woman. ⬇️

Helen Ellis never fails to make me laugh out loud with her writing. She writes about everyday mundane activities in a unique, whimsical way that makes them far more interesting and entertaining.

I did enjoy this collection of stories, but not as much as her other books. Southern Lady Code is definitely one worth adding to your list if you enjoyed this one.

I‘ve had this on my TBR forever and I‘m so glad I finally got to it on audio! The stories are different and bizarre and dark and I adore them. They‘re nicely varied in subject and length, with a satirical commentary on womanhood connecting them all. It‘s a short audiobook and perfect for summer. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A fast read of satirical short stories. I wasn‘t sure what to expect from this book but I absolutely loved it. So much so that I finished it on my commute to work this morning and immediately loaned it to a coworker!

(On choosing a brand of tampon) “... the only thing women are more loyal to than love is feminine hygiene.”

“He chuckles what I‘m guessing is his marriage chuckle. All we marrieds have a marriage chuckle. A marriage chuckle is a fake laugh you bring out when your spouse does something dumb that you have to pretend is charming.”

Hilarious and dark at times. Short stories about a certain circle of society, set in NYC, the rural south, and elsewhere. Witty observations and searing satire. Ellis‘ voice is delightful.

Weird enough to be a pick, even if the shade murderous old woman only showed up in 2 stories.

•Quirky
•Funny
•Sad
•Far-fetched

This book was all of the above. I didn‘t like it as much as I hoped. But it was a super quick listen, so I don‘t feel like I wasted my time.

This is meant to be a sarcastic look at the American wife, but I didn‘t find many of the characters or situations that funny or relatable. The humor was often pretty low-brow and the characters more caricature, giving this the feel of a bad sit-com. There was maybe one story that I liked. At least it was short.

This is great fun. Quirky, dry, viciously funny.

Book 3 of #24in48

This collection of short stories was fantastic! Quirky with a dark sense of humor. I can see this not being to everyone‘s taste, but I really enjoyed jumping in and out of these stories.

I‘m looking forward to picking up her collection of essays, Southern Lady Code, in April.

Next up

Okay, so this wasn't the greatest book I've ever read, but some of the stories are absolutely hilarious and she sure does create some memorable quotes 😂

I love this!

I read WAYYYYYY too many books to pick even a top 10 this year. So I‘m breaking it down into categories.
First up - short stories.
I read 12 short story collections this year. But these two rise to the top. American Housewife is THE funniest thing I read all year, from start to finish. And Trigger Warning doesn‘t have a bad one in the bunch. It‘s classic Gaiman, and classic tales of terror.
Read both of these!
#yearinreview #2018wrapup

While it has some funny points, this book isn‘t nearly as charming as I remember. 3⭐️ #MonthofRereads

🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻 This is such a fun little book. #MonthofRereads

Went to Dollar Tree to get gift boxes ...

A crackling, razor-sharp collection of twelve stories following women who will do anything - including murder - to keep their homes and lives in perfect order. Absurd with a touch of the surreal. I particularly enjoyed the stories Celebrity Dumpster Diving, The Fitter, and Welcome to Book Club! (does that one take a turn).

I did the audiobook. While admirably performed by two narrators, I think it lost a bit in the format for some of the stories.

Enjoying this so far!

#ivebeenwaitingforyou... to be over 😏
Unfortunately most of these short stories didn't work for me. Although the book did start off on a good note, the quirk soon wore off and things just got weird.
#ABBAinAugust

I love everything about this article:
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/24/fashion/the-real-housewife-of-new-york.html?_...

I really enjoyed this collection of short stories gifted to me by @Zelma for the #shortstoryswap recently. I loved how weird and sometimes disturbing these stories were, revolving around housewives and their often macabre hobbies. This isn‘t a book I had heard of before, and I really enjoyed it. Thanks again Zelma!

Such a weird one, but a short, fun read. If you liked Where‘d You Go Bernadette, you‘ll like these stories. Some are tongue-in-cheek lists (“How to be a grown-ass lady” and “Southern Lady Code”), an email exchange of annoyed neighbors fighting over how the common hallway should look, and the longest is follows a the filming of a Dumpster Diving with the Stars. There‘s also one on book club. It‘s a splendid accompaniment for a leisurely afternoon.

I can‘t even believe how hysterical this book is 🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂. I‘m tempted to make it a second book for my book club on a month with a short book. I want to hang out with Helen Ellis. NOW. Like, stalk her, wind up where she is, strike up a friendship, have to go back through my social media to delete posts like this, & live happily ever after as her sidekick.

I‘ve never done short stories on audio and I‘m not sure I will again. I really liked this book but it‘s hard for me to remember the stories now haha. I finished this maybe 2 weeks ago and all I remember is that I liked it 😂

Today is my sister @LitDrivenGirl birthday but that crazy lovely girl got me presents! Please be the bestest human ever and wish her a happy birthday! If you haven't read this book you NEED to!!! My sister and I took turns reading the stories outloud to eachother and laughing our heads off! #birthday #birthdaygirl #giveherafollow

Perfect timing! Got my haul from @Powells sale last weekend today - #independentbookstoreday - whoo hoo!!!❤️📚

This was brilliant! A collection of short stories that were funny, dark and different to anything I have read in a long time! I picked a favourite ‘Hello! Welcome to book club‘ but then every story I read after that was either just as good or better. I hope Ellis writes more because I definitely want to read more!!

My companion for lunch today! This has already made me laugh out loud, so it should be a good one!!

This was really not at all what I was expecting. Which is not to say it was bad, but not necessarily my cup of tea. Lots of quirkiness, snarkiness, and with a dark undertone. I admit I found myself tuning out here and there while listening in the car.