Welcome to Litsy!

I thought this was a fun, fast-paced rom-com, with some convoluted inconsistencies & a bit of a mess of an ending. But it seems it‘s gonna be a miss with my book group. My husband has been hate-reading it.😬 I think I excused the passive main character and the messiness because it‘s meant as a satire on our obsession with connectivity, and as such, it sort of works. Your mileage may vary! Is there such a thing as a high So-So? I‘d call it that.

#Two4Tuesday

Definitely chocolate!

For a good Valentine‘s Day read I would suggest CrossTalk by Connie Willis. She has a great talent for blending sci-fi, humor, and romance and her characters are so much fun to be around.

I loved the premise of this book. Get an implant in your head so that you can more easily communicate with your partner only to suddenly have way too much connectivity.

And whilst I enjoyed the book I found it predictable and too long. I'm glad I did this as an audio because of the length and the narrator was great at expressing the different voices.

Day 2 #MayCharacters
Prompt: Motivates

C.B. motivates Briddey through her struggles with her newfound telepathy.

@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Cute!

From seeing others reviews, I feel like Willis is someone you either love or hate. I‘m firmly on the love side. Reread the tagged and fell in love with Willis all over again. For me, this was a fast-paced, humorous romp with a touch of romance. Love, love, loved it! Keen social observation, sharp insight into human foibles and relationships, and a fun plot make this a pick for me...again. 😊 (I own more than the pictured Willis books.)

#reread

Back to audiobooks.

My Dollar Tree finds. I couldn‘t resist the cute cat page markers!

1. Too many, but mostly Nevernight by Jay Kristoff, Crosstalk by Connie Willis, Vicious by V.E. Schwab and Bloodleaf by Crystal Smith

2. How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

3. Always coffee ☕

Doggy book club!

Ok @Avanders you hit a home run on this! I have never read anything by Justin Cronin and I‘m looking forward to diving into the trilogy. I also haven‘t read Connie Willis, and my husband has enjoyed several of her books so I‘ve been meaning to try her out. Thank you! The coasters are my favorite. The socks are adorable, I used to collect holiday socks and I was thinking of getting some more this year! And the tote! Thank you so much!

Oof, this was difficult. A book about and around social media by someone who admittedly neither likes nor engages with it. These always turn out to be pretty dull reads (reminded me of The Circle, which is not good).

I wish I could summarize „The first half was a struggle, the second half was gripping.“ but I can‘t.

I loved the premise of the story more than the way is told.

What I dislike about the book (the over-paced first three chapters, Briddey‘s intrusive family, that some things are repeated over and over, the overfraught storyline) overweighs the promising setting and the cute, sparkling scenes between Trent and Briddey by far. No recommendation.

Page 327 and my feeling/impression/prejudice that Trent is an ***hole turns out to be completely right. 😂

Pure genre-logic.

I _know_ that‘s how it‘s supposed to be so the pattern works perfectly on me but I almost can‘t stand the scenes with Trent. He is such an over-ambitious, arrogant, self-centered dimwit. From the first time he appeared I saw a picture of Trey MacDougal in front of my inner eye and couldn‘t get rid of it ever since. 🙄

Are you astounded when I tell you that I didn‘t like him from the moment he fell in front of Charlotte‘s taxi, either❓ 🤷🏽‍♀️

Maybe you remember from my post in December that there was a wrapped present 🎁 included in the surprise parcel 📦 _and_ the instruction not to open it until I reached page 203.

Well, today I did. And you all may have a look what was inside, too.

Those who already read „CrossTalk“ will remember what „Lucky Charms“ were all about. 🍀

I‘m not not quite sure what‘s going on in my body at the moment. Last week I was sick but without suffering from the classic 'flu symptoms like sore throat and runny nose.

Well, after feeling fine for four days I‘ve got the sniffles and a husky voice since yesterday evening. 🙄

Let‘s see if I manage to read a few pages snuggled on my sofa 🛋. 🤧

🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁 Rataplan of drums‼️

This fourth chapter was the first one I really enjoyed. It was the first one I didn‘t perceive as a sole rush.

About 50 pages done.
The plot maybe runs calmer now. Which would suit me and what I imagine to be relaxation better. But also possible that this impression is completely wrong.

What I really liked about chapter three is that Connie Willis managed to hold up a mirror to today‘s society in a very unexcited way. I recognized myself (a bit) in the spinning thoughts, slight panic and worries Briddey had when she tried to reach Trent but couldn‘t.

Until now this book is like „Gilmore Girls“ in writing.

I liked „Gilmore Girls“. But hearing and reading are two very different animals. So I still don‘t know if I can stick to this book till the end.

Why has Briddey*) to be so immature❓ 🙄

What am I reading here❓ Chick-lit❓🤔

*) Shamed who thinks of „bride“ when reading her name.

I‘m not far in to the story but I‘m not sure if I like it.

Briddey‘s over the edge family.
And that future where you no longer attend your boss/colleague in person but only text, message, email, call … It‘s exhausting and kind of ruins my nerves although I‘m „only“ reading.

It‘s really looooooong ago that I read an English novel.

So I am absolutely unsure about how well I will do. 500 pages – here I come. 😃

I stayed up way too late when I decided to start this book at 11:30 last night. Finally put it down after 100 pages. Oops! Doggie is being snuggly and awkward and does not want me to read right now.

Just home from the bookstore! Now I can finally get going on my book club read for this month. It's my first Connie Willis too, so I'm excited.

I went to my local library used book sale with @alleyfam51699 and got these books for $36.

Definitely A. I would love to have free books, and i already work as a lead in a bookstore so I'm good with work! 😆

What I'm reading now and have been reading on and off.

https://youtu.be/arwa_Nkpq4Q

Started this last night. Only got through the first chapter before falling asleep so I don‘t have much of an opinion yet. I‘ve read the first book in Willis‘s “Blackout” series, but never finished the second (it‘s been so long I think I‘ll need to reread both of them). I remember enjoying her take on time travel in Blackout, so I‘m interested to see her approach to YA sci-fi in this one.

#audioknitting while I wait for @readsusieread to arrive for our Spring Break sleepover! This book is perfect on audio. Only 5 hours of 18 left.

Absolutely loving this on audio while I knit! #audioknitting

Home today because I slept less than 6h for he last 4 days and I'm starting to not function properly enough to work... But did not even manage to sleep in this morning :( not sure how to deal with this. Anyway finished crosstalk and liked it.

People always say books can be a refuge, and they're definitely right.

"never underestimate the power of a good book." and suddenly I'm more into that book ;)

I‘m thinking about continuing my Connie Willis reads with Crosstalk. Thoughts? Anyone listened to this?

I feel like this is about to turn into an episode of black mirror.

Library book sale and 2 Indies today! #bookhaul #ishouldnotbebuyingbooks

Day 4 of #riotgrams - Purple! 💜

Yesterday, I planned to start with this one but since my friend did not yet tell me if I may, I picked a different book.

One of the box where I collected the read books from my nearly parents-in-law. They wanted to put them in a public bookcase. But before offered me to flip through and pick all those that are appealing to me. 😍
I chose about 50.

So, now it‘s Markus Heitz „Ritus“ but under false flag because it‘s not (yet) listed here.

Look, what arrived in the surprise parcel 📦 that my dear friend sent me for birthday 🎂 and or Christmas 🎄. 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

There were also sweets 🍭 included. „Kinder Riegel“ 🍫 and „Kinder Country“ 🍫 but the square format did cut them off the visible area.

Im _so_touched_❣️ *sniff*

I just finished this fun SF rom-com about the dangers of telepathy and too much communication and it was great! In CrossTalk, Briddey's boyfriend Trent is determined that they need to get an EED--a surgically implanted device designed to enhance empathy and emotional communication in couples (all the celebs are doing it!) but her traditional Irish family is very against it. When Briddey goes ahead with it anyways, things don't go as expected...

#currentlyreading !
Her Body and Other Parties is fantastic so far; I'm reading it really slowly to savor it.
And I just recently started Crosstalk by Connie Willis since To Say Nothing of the Dog, which I read last year, was so delightful; this book definitely has the same tone, it's very funny and fast and great to pick up when I need a writing break.

Started this a few days ago!!! So far I'm really enjoying it. 😁😁

#littens

#TBRtemptation post 9! Nora Ephron and P. G. Wodehouse synthesize in this genre-bending sci fi. In the near-future, you can undergo a popular procedure to increase your empathy. Briddey & Trent decide to have the operation prior to their engagement. She winds up connected to someone else entirely. Things go from bad to worse when she experiences the dark side of exposure to information overload. #blameLitsy #blameMrBook 😎

An excellently fun rom-com in our near future. Briddy‘s about to get everything she wants—the man of her dreams and an escape from her invasive, crazy family—when the impossible happens. Now she‘s stuck with the last person she‘d expect, trying to fix the situation before she loses everything. Connie Willis‘ sharp wit and social critique work to make the sci-fi–driven hijinks and romance into a thoroughly charming story. - Jocelyn

Still on the fence about this book, halfway thru, but I sure love reading on my lunch break. #teacherlife

Happy Sunday reading, Littens! I'm halfway through two books I'm hoping to finish. Between Here & Gone, and Daughter of Smoke & Bone.

I loved the premise of this book more than the book itself. The first half was rough, the protagonist lacks so many personal boundaries that I wanted to smack her. Once I got to the second half and learned more about the other characters in the story I liked it better. 3/5

Half-Way Status Update: Despite the premise which asks, "How much is too much communication or connectivity?" which I find timely and interesting, I hate just about everything else about this book so far: the rom-com styling, the plotting, the characters (and yes, I do "get it" as to why they are like they are,) the absurd theories thrown in, and the narration is sub-par. Sorry, life is too short to hate-listen #ArmchairAudies2017 ?

If aliens came around, and I grabbed the closest book at hand, I would actually grab my iPhone which has my Audible, Kindle, Nook, Hoopla, and Serial Reader apps on it... Later I would kick myself when the spaceship took me out of coverage areas; or when I overran my data usage allowance! (But at least I wouldn't be home when DH got the bill!) 😄#FunFridayPhoto