Welcome to Litsy!

Enjoying this weirdly magical set of short stories. They grab you and pull you in. Plus look at that cover 😍. Does anyone else see the eyes at the top or is that just me?

I read Samantha Hunt's novel Mr. Splitfoot a few years ago and loved it, so I finally got around to checking out more of her work. I wasn't sure about this collection after the first couple stories, but by the last entry I was mesmerized. I think I felt similarly with Splitfoot; she's an author I just have to trust to bring it all together. Definitely read this one all the way through.

Listening to this audiobook now! Trying to find ways to pay attention to fiction audiobooks. This one is short stories, fingers crossed.

#screamathon

Kindle daily deal alert.

I picked up the top three for less than $4 each. And the bottom three are all on sale as well and delightful!

I‘m not the most enthusiastic about short stories, but I loved The Seas so much that when I saw this in the library, I had to grab it. So far, I love it.

He is staring at the deer, the way a person might stare at the sea- without thought, without time.

Wonderful and quirky short stories. So much fun to read.

I‘m doing a bookshelf cleaning and came across this one. I read it but it didn‘t grab me and I won‘t be rereading it. I‘d like for it to go to a good home. Any of my fellow Littens interesting in having it? I‘m happy to pop it in the mail and send it to you!

Sometimes it does pay to judge a book by its cover.

I picked this up in a local bookshop on a whim, and the guy working there warned me that Hunt runs dark and twisted. That‘s my catnip, so I guess I chose well.

Received my first #bookmail at our new place! 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼

So after the wonderful @litsybookclub discussion it‘s was time for laundry. And of course laundry means a good book and lunch at the taqueria.

Recieved: Belletrist

I really don‘t know if this would be a book I would read again. If I read it, it would have to be certain stories. For me, I just couldn‘t get the images to play out in my head that made sense. Samantha‘s writing is really good, just might not be my cup of tea unfortunately.

Audio walk for #24in48

Gah I never even noticed the cover does this!! My husband walks by and goes, oh, dark dark?

Uncanny stories about women and how society treats them— a book of (white, middle class) feminist allegories with some magical realism. It‘s multilayered and reads like half-formed ideas/questions (I liked this) but some of them fell flat for me. There were parts I enjoyed and A Love Story really showcases how well Hunt can write.

🙄 I could do without Hunt‘s continual invocation of Indigenous people. Especially with this story, Wampum— it reads like a white woman using an Indigenous cultural object as a metaphor (or suggestion of a metaphor? These stories read like half-formed ideas..) while having no understanding of the object itself. I‘d love to hear her talk about what she was trying to achieve.

“Maybe we should collect all the adolescent girls in America and send them out to sea together. Eventually the rest of us would miss them so much we‘d try harder to understand why they are the way they are and why we think such awful things about them. We‘d realize how scared and wrong we‘d been to think girls are made only of light things.”

I liked this collection, but the story “A Love Story” felt like Samantha Hunt had written it from inside my brain.

Saturday night shenanigans 🍷

It's been awhile since I've picked up a set of short stories. The first story in this collection is so good and chilling. I'm listening to it and love the narrator's voice.

Started on audio today on my drive to see family. Definitely dark dark. 🖤💀🖤💀

There are very few things I just can't read about. Ticks is one of them. This story leads off with one and I'm wondering if anyone can tell me if ticks are the main focus of the story. Spoilers are totally fine, I'm the "journey, not the destination" kinda girl.

People pretend the world is ordinary every day. Because they have to.

#libraryhaul Can you believe the Samantha Hunt was sitting there on the shelf? No hold necessary? Doesn't everyone love dark and twisty?

#NoteworthyNovember Day 2: Dark

@Jess7

Still on my #TBR but I want to make time for it, desperately!

#Litsychallenge

A series of previously published short stories, this collection has wit and reveals the truly ugly of humanity. I laughed and felt dirty and took a deeper look into my own ugly. Definitely a good read.

I received this book in a Goodreads giveaway. I enjoyed most of the stories. Like most short story collections there are always some you like more than others. I was originally thinking these stores would be dark and scary, but no. They are more along the lines of women who are in different circumstances and how the deal with them.

I read the paper in bed at night, propping it open on my belly. My boobs fall off to either side as if they are already asleep. They care little for the news of the world after the day is done.

This was not at all what I expected. After hearing about how creepy it was, I found the tales more depressing than anything. Hunt is a strong writer, but I ultimately didn't feel a big connection to the characters. Most of the stories are about women trapped in the midst of the sort of crises that often arise in middle class lives, and Hunt is able to give them new, strange powers. But, I couldn't connect. Well written, but ultimately not for me.

Friday night reading.

Went to a Lit Crawl tonight - different shops and bars in one neighborhood hosted readings, discussions, storytellers, performances, etc. Such a great idea and so much fun! I went to a panel of Chicago authors talking about the Best Books of 2017, and this one came up, so I had to purchase. They pointed out that the cover is an inkblot...that also says Dark Dark. Didn't notice it at first, but now I can't unsee it. So cool! ❤️

"...I didn't mean to cheat on him. It was an accident like a car crash. Except I'd tell him if I had crashed the car."
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Buddy reading this collection of dark short stories with the boyfriend. ❤️ So far the first two stories were so out there I didn't know what the hell was going on, but this third one is interesting. I definitely want to keep moving forward.
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Happy Reading! ?

Great book mail today! So excited to read both of these! I won The Dark Dark on Goodreads- I never win those giveaways so I was super excited!! #bookmailmakesmondaysbetter

#AndItsAugust Day 31 - Best of August

I read quite a bit this month - 15 books in total - and these^ were my favorite.

^Not pictured, but still one of the best, is BITCH PLANET VOL.1 which I read digitally

4/5 stars. I definitely enjoyed some stories more than others in this one. These are stories about women in often strange, surreal situations. But sometimes, she'll hit on something that totally speaks to my own life. She's not try's Ng to give answers; she acknowledges the difficulties (and sometimes the joys) of being a woman in this life.

Prescient quote from Samantha Hunt in a story about being in Florida during a hurricane.

I've been thinking about this a lot lately with the devastating impact Harvey has had on Houston, especially our moral responsibility to help others in times of need like natural disasters. Under our economic system & for survival we must inhabit port cities. When disaster hits it affects us all in some way, often poor or POC communities disproportionately.

I'm here to inform you that I've cancelled the rest of August. It is fall already because we deserve nice things. I'm having a pumpkin spice latte before they're officially out. Don't @ me. 🎃☕️

Also, Samantha Hunt does not disappoint. These short stories are amazingly dark and weird, perfect for the gloomy weather outside today. Her writing quality really stands up to Mr. Splitfoot at over the halfway mark! #booksnbucks

I got my car started but need a new battery. I sneezed too hard the other day & pulled a muscle in my neck. No I'm not joking. My phone needs a new screen. This is all this week on top of all the crises this month/summer. August needs to end & Mercury get out of retrograde. 🔥🗑👺🚮☄️🤡🌪😤🌋💣

But for now, I have blackberry wine, a cross stitch that properly expresses my feelings, & a (so far) great book. Thanks for listening to me vent, Litsy.

Stuck waiting for someone to come jump start my car. Thank god I've got books with me. Guess I'll start a new book. At least I've been looking forward to this one! I loved Mr. Splitfoot last year.

Can 2017 be over yet? 🙃

For fans of Roxane Gay and Ottessa Moshfegh. Hunt's short story collection is full of strange, haunted characters confronting some of the darker parts of human existence—from infertility and infidelity to loneliness and mortality. In her surreal and often frightening world, the mundane becomes transformative, both literally and figuratively. Motherhood is the prominent theme, and Hunt's female characters are compellingly raw and animalistic.

This short story blew me away: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/05/22/a-love-story-samantha-hunt

Which one to read first?!?

I haven't read Samantha Hunt's novels, but I picked this story collection up after reading a review. I found Hunt's prose delightful. These stories are so strange and interesting that I want to check out Hunt's other books.

I accidentally stumbled into a bookstore...oops...

#anditsaugust Day 1 - August Most Anticipated

This is my tentative August #TBR -
I'll be rereading MIDDLEMARCH and Roxane Gay's debut short story collection AYITI, and reading Brittany Newell's novel OOLA and Samantha Hunt's short story collection THE DARK DARK for the first time. I had hoped to get to OOLA during the @24in48 Readathon but it didn't work out, so I will definitely finish it this month.

LITSY. I have returned. So many life changes this year, I took a step back from an extra social community to try to shift focus elsewhere. But, co-hosting #24in48 this weekend reminded me of what a safe, book-centric place this community is; it was heart balm. I'm tucking into some rye and ginger and short stories tonight; what are y'all reading?

Had a great visit to @Powells and picked up some new reading materials that the awesome staff recommended! Ready to dive in during my flight back to Austin.

Squee!