Welcome to Litsy!

This is a marvelous story about being alert to the beauty around us and the supreme value of human connection.

Little Free Library trades today

Made a trek to my new local(ish) library (next town over from my new hometown) and was so pleased to see one of the books I‘d donated on display in their Novel Additions section! I have always loved this cover and it‘s gratifying to know other readers can now enjoy it—well, if they don‘t mind crying a lot. 🥹

Donated two sacks of books to my local Indie and came out with this thrifty find. I‘m a sucker for Europa. 😊

Had to run an errand today in the next town over. Found a used bookstore I hadn‘t known existed. Just $1 each for these. The tagged book has been on my tbr. Chop Chop caught my eye and sounds good. I‘ve only read one Mary Higgins Clark and that was assigned in high school.

Heard it‘s good!

#catsoflitsy #1001

I‘m so disappointed to say I had to bail on this. I kept thinking it was up my alley and I should really be connecting with it. But I didn‘t. At the halfway point I realized my book collection is large and life is too short.

Books about books😅

#spanishreading #catalanreading

I‘m not sure if it was my mood at the time of reading, or the story itself, but The Elegance Of The Hedgehog was much more smug than I‘d anticipated from the blurb. And depressing, to boot. I thought this was going to be more of a feel-good story, a more philosophical A Man Called Ove maybe, but the characters were bitter and it left me feeling hollow. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/the-elegance-of-the-hedgehog-muriel-barbery...

“Maybe that‘s what being alive is all about: so we can track down those moments that are dying.”

This was such a great book.

Thanks @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks for the tag.
#AlphabetGame
#LetterE

#afriendsfavorite #bookmoods @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs

Check out Lindsay‘s review of Elegance of the Hedgehog on Book Interrupted‘s Manuscript Monday blog post. https://www.bookinterrupted.com/post/manuscript-monday-the-elegance-of-the-hedge...

I‘m giving this book a pick because I did enjoy the writing and description, but it‘s a light pick for me. Overall, I enjoyed it, but it did not have much of a plot and was a bit too philosophical for me.

I listened to most of it while driving to and from a visit to my family‘s farm this weekend (thus the 🌻 photo).

#audiobook #translated #ReadTheWorld #ReadingTheWorld #France #1001books
#Reading1001 #TBRTakedown September 2021

It was pretty good. Not one that I anxiously kept going back to to finish. It took me a while.

“Marx has completely changed the way I view the world,” declared the young boy this morning.
#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

There is a scene in the 1st season of Ted Lasso where Roy finally asks Keely out, & when asked why, answers, 'because I like you more than I hate him [Keely's ex - the delightfully assholeish Jaime Tartt].' He then adds, 'I mean barely, it's very close.'

That's how I feel about this novel. It's a pick because in the end I was charmed, & even moved, more than I was annoyed & bored by its astonishing pretentiousness. But barely, it's very close.

I hated the first half of this book and the second half was only a bit better. I feel like it tried way to hard to be high brow and this alienated me as a reader. It was pretentious and daft. The book would have fared better if it had just stuck to the story and didn‘t add all the other stuff which was totally unnecessary and boring.
I‘m not usually this savage when reviewing! 😬

Translated from French, three people‘s lives intersect: a concierge of a small apartment building, a brilliant young girl who lives there, and a Japanese man who moves in. A stunning ending!

This one just wasn‘t for me 🤷🏼‍♀️ Based on all the positive reviews, it‘s clearly me so if you have it on your TBR pile, give it a try

Beautiful - I loved this one.

In the background, the elegance of the bed-dog.

Reading this one now @squirrelbrain - I really really like it so far. Thanks for spotting in that bookshop and for the recommendation. 🦔

This is one of those tasty treats that you hear about and then, finally, make time to read. Barbery does a splendid job of observing and subverting stereotypes, privilege and class structures. The story is told through two main characters as they observe, critique and compare the lives of fellow residents of this Parisian left-bank apartment building. If you're after a book that feels light, yet has substance and wit then this may be it.

The MCs in this novel all have serious #longings...can they enlighten each other? #windsofmarch

3.5 ⭐
I enjoyed the writing, and unusual for me I also enjoyed the voice of the child.
I wish there was a bit more balance in the length of relationship compared to the length of book. I would have liked to see more interaction between the characters.

"The more time goes by, the more determined I become to set this place on fire."

To build
You live
You die
These are
Consequences

I am really loving the language of this book.

#gallant and mutual redemption of the female protagonists. I love this book so much❤️❤️❤️
#salvation #jumpintojanuary @Eggs
#inspirednewyear @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @TheKidUpstairs

I LOVED THIS BOOK.
It‘s full of philosophy and longing and friendship and self-discovery. So many ideas resonated with me. I highlighted so many passages. And that ending . . . 🥺
Thanks so much for renewing my interest in this one @UnabridgedPod - I would have missed out on this 5-star read otherwise.

"If you have but one friend, make sure you choose her well" (263).⠀
⠀
My dear friend Paula gave me The Elegance of the Hedgehog years ago, and I'm regretful that it took me so long to read it. Muriel Barbery's gorgeous novel, translated from the French by Alison Anderson, focuses on two characters. Renée is an older woman, the concierge of a luxurious apartment building filled with people who dismiss her as if she's invisible. ⬇️

This #litfortunecookie reminded me of the tagged book. It was my top read the year it was released, I‘m thinking maybe this is the universe telling me it‘s time for a reread. Living in the US myself, I could certainly use the “ability to meet life‘s situations” this week.

Would you like to play? @LibrarianRyan @Traci1 @howjessreads

OMG. @madams421 I can‘t even! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! I‘m set for weeks! I love the journals, library stamp (swoon), FIVE books, potpourri sachet and bookmark. Amazing!! @rsteve388 @Bookgoil

#LitsyLoveFallSwap

#3books among the many others #atthebottomofmytbr . Heard they‘re all good reads but somehow I keep getting distracted by other books.

This book took me completely by surprise! It takes a bit to get into it but once you begin to understand the two characters, Renee and Paloma, you will love their quirky and original world.

#serendipity is when a book comes into your life that you didn‘t even know you needed and you have the #wherewithal to seize the moment
#beautifulwords
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @OriginalCyn620

#BiblioMAYnia Day 11: This is the last book I remember reading that was literally a #RippedYourHeartOut moment. Much as we try to render ourselves invisible, thinking that it is for the best, yet ultimately, we long for synchronicity borne out of truly seeing another. A kinship that blossoms out of a shared capturing of fleeting moments as they happen. This is a gem of a book. Hold it close to you. My review: https://wp.me/pDlzr-gcW

Well and truly late. Here's yesterday's post. I'll try to post today's later.

#7books7days Day 5

Books that made an impact on me, change how I think or will just never leave me (no explanation).

I was loving it until the ending. I just wasn‘t prepared. 😭

Has about one else found the current situation has infiltrated their brains? ... I‘m currently reading books thinking ‘that‘s not social distancing!‘ ‘They can‘t do that‘ ‘is that an essential journey?!?‘ ‘What do they think they are doing?!?‘ ... it‘s really starting to annoy me having to remind myself it‘s fiction and covid doesn‘t affect their world 😳🙄

#7days7books Day 3-books that left an impression on me
Thank you for the gift of this book @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Anyone want to share their 7?
@Deifio @Beatlefan129 @Enchanted_Bibliophile @ozma.of.oz

“We have to live with the certainty that we‘ll get old and that won‘t look nice or be good or feel happy. And tell ourselves that it‘s now that matters: to build something, now, at any price, using all our strength. Always remember that there‘s a retirement home waiting somewhere and so we have to surpass ourselves ever day, make every day undying. Climb our own personal Everest and do it in such a way that every step is a little bit of eternity.”

I absolutely loved this book! 😍 I wrote down so many quotes while I was reading this. 💚

The characters in this beautifully written novel are so diverse and interesting that it made me want to live in this building. I also enjoyed the format of alternating points of view between the concierge and the young girl, Paloma.

This was my #bookspin pick this month, @TheAromaofBooks and it also works for #ReadingEurope2020. @Librarybelle @BarbaraBB

Thanks for the tag @squirrelbrain - sorry it's late!

1. Tagged, from the French
2. I attempted to read The Picture of Dorian Gray in Spanish last year, but ended up just reading the English (it was a bilingual edition). So, No!

@TheSpineView #two4tuesday

I spent several hours today reading at one of my favorite spots. 💚

The plan was that we were going to clear some trees and brush from the property, but after a few hours work, I ditched my husband and nephew to do the work and I went off to read. 😁

I hope everyone is spending today doing something that makes your heart happy. 💚

The day is gorgeous, my windows are all open, I have two napping black kitties, and two little doggies burrowed under the blanket, and I'm thoroughly enjoying reading my #bookspin pick this month. 😻🐕

#satire for #jennyis30
#france for #readingeurope2020 @Librarybelle @BarbaraBB
#E for #litsyatoz @BookishMarginalia

3 🌟 & I'm probably being generous here - I don't get why many readers love this book, for me it was just an OK book.

#weeklyforecast @Cinfhen #readingeurope2020 edition!

Finish Hedgehog for #France
Make progress on The Eighth Life for #Georgia (it's already better than my original book!)
Start Tattooist for #Poland (#doublespin number)

@Librarybelle @BarbaraBB @squirrelbrain @RachelO @TheAromaofBooks

#bookreport week 4/4/20 @Cinfhen

Finished The Breaker & The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet. Making slow progress on The Elegance of the Hedgehog.

At 4/6 books for #bfc28 @wanderinglynn . I manage to do quite well at the beginning of the week with the witchcraft, it tends to fall behind at the end!

One of the most beautiful books I‘ve ever read!