Welcome to Litsy!

Sometimes it‘s really great just to feel like you‘re dropping in on a family and reading about their lives. No mystery to solve, no gigantic love triangle. Just a book about #3generations of a family. A really great read! #booked2023 #roll100

Rating: 3 ⭐⭐⭐
This was my first time reading a book by Anne Tyler so i wasnt sure what to expect even tho i went in with an open mind sadly i was disappointed from the beginning, The Characters were OK but not very enjoyable especially when the parents kept arguing with each other about their son, Denny. The Setting was OK but not very informative. Overall an OK Contemporary Fiction Novel but ive read alot better before!!

Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Currently Reading
"It was a beautiful breezy yellow and green afternoon. . ." This is how Abby Whitshank always begins the story of how she fell in love with Red that day in July 1959. The Whitshanks are one of those families that radiate togetherness: an indefiable and enviable kind of specialness. But they are also like all families, and that the stories they tell themselves reveal only part of the picture.

So disappointed - a TBR that I was so excited to read, but it did nothing for me. It suffered from poor editing, too many characters, and lack of plot; resulting in my confusion and detachment.

#Pantone2023 #Bookspin @Clwojick @TheAromaofBooks

Book 104

I love Anne Tyler's distinct, interesting characters and complex family relationships. A Spool of Blue Thread is about the Whitshanks, a family with four grown children, living in a home in Baltimore built by their ancestors. True to Tyler's typical writing, the story doesn't stick with a single generation and jumps to explore previous generations of the family. It is so well-written, but I was left unsatisfied; I wanted more! 4 🌟s

Anne Tyler‘s families have a way of getting to me, and this bunch was no exception. It was a relaxing way to rest up today before the Easter Vigil tonight.

I‘ve not read enough of it to know how I feel about it yet, but started this one today.

#Booked2021 #Summer

13. A Spool of Blue Thread 3🌟
14. All Boys Aren‘t Blue 5 🌟
15. Blacktop Wasteland 3.5 🌟
16. The Only Plane in the Sky 5 🌟
17. The Fire Next Time 3.5 🌟
18. Gods of Jade and Shadow 3.5 🌟

Wasn‘t sure I would get done in time but ended up with some unexpected reading time while the Ryder Cup was on this weekend. I have completed the entry form. 😊

This is what I think of as a true to form Anne Tyler book. A huge novel encompassing many years in the life of a Baltimore family. As in all of her books, I feel like I know all of the characters and can see myself really disliking some - Junior specifically. Seems like there‘s a “Denny” in everyone‘s family. Someone who just doesn‘t fit into our norms of what is expected of an adult. Tyler helps us embrace these people . Loved it!

Well that was just what the doctor ordered. Another beautifully written family saga by Anne Tyler. I ended up locking myself in the bathroom to finish this tonight because my family, who I‘ve been holed up with for a while now 😬, wouldn‘t leave me alone! I mean there‘s no one I‘d rather be locked up with, but oh my goodness, I just wanted to be with this book today. 😆📖🤓💗😍👏🙏.

“Houses need humans,” Red said. “You all should know that. Oh, sure, humans cause wear and tear—scuffed floors and stopped-up toilets and such—but that‘s nothing compared to what happens when a house is left on its own. It‘s like the heart goes out of it. It sags, it slumps, it starts to lean toward the ground.”
― Anne Tyler, A Spool of Blue Thread

Making a start on another Anne Tyler as part of my plan to gradually work my way through her considerable body of work. #Currentlyreading

Oh, just finished this ever so beautiful book.

There were a few funny lines in this book, as always in Tyler's writing, but as I listened to most of it on audio I didn't bother writing any down. I'm seeing the importance of noting down quotes from a book as its doubtful you will easily come across them again. It's just that stopping reading to do this spoils the flow.

Here is a quote from the near end of the book that I thought was amusing.

I loved this character-driven story of the Whitshank family.

First of all, I know I'm a bit slow on the mark, but Woo Hoo for Pic Collage!
Secondly, I've just unearthed quite a collection of my mums books, books she had on her shelf when I was a kid. I will have to post some of the awesome, vintage, 50's & 60's covers one day!
And thirdly, as I unearth my Mothers books onto my own shelf, the tagged book speaks of children having to sort thru & throw away parents belongings after passing...lessons for me???

I started this yesterday on audiobook whilst doing some sorting and continuing it tonight laying in bed. I'm loving it, its focused on family and relationships and of course it's in Anne Tyler's beautiful style.

Happy Birthday, Anne Tyler!

11 books for $5.50!

#LibrarySale #BookHaul

These were my June books! 3 nonfiction, 2 fiction. I wasn‘t a fan of Parker Posey‘s book, but the rest I really enjoyed!

My first Anne Tyler book. I didn‘t LOVE reading it. I found the story and characters well developed and entertaining. The family dynamics reminded me a lot of my own family but I have to admit, it was a tough read as I watch my parents getting old and their health not what it used to be. Plus, my mom has attachments issues to their house and she‘s terrified of selling it though they know they really need to. I guess this one hit close to home.

It was a hot one at the swim meet today! Now I‘m in my favorite summer reading spot with nothing else to do but read...and conquer a bit of housecleaning! Happy Saturday! P.S. I ❤️ hot summer weather so I‘m in my element.

Longest week ever and it‘s only Thursday! Thankfully I FINALLY have some reading time 🥰

Starting this book on vacay with my family (parents, siblings,nieces and nephews etc), I‘m finding a LOT of similarities 😂 I really love finding one of my mom‘s “big” vocab words in the text...conniption.

One of my co-workers brought me this book today and said “I'm curious what you will make of this book. I got to the end and was like 'that's it?' so read it and let me know if you feel the same way.“

Umm...thanks? 😂

Another family saga! I love the characters in the book, especially Abby.

One of my most favorite features of reading on Libby is the definitions. I'd heard of succotash, but never experienced it myself and wasn't sure what was in it. Now I know!

Next read...July‘s book club choice!

#bluebooks on my tbr

#30junebooks

Knowing this was Anne Tyler‘s last book, I have started this book many times and put it back. Baltimore culture features in each of her books, which is likely why I love her books so much. Penn Station in Bmore is in the background here, where it‘s mentioned often in this book. A tale of families, in the “Balmer” tradition, with its ebbs and flow, make this a solid five star book.

It‘s funny as I usually dislike books where there are no answers or conclusions. This book just drifts along and we don‘t get to find out the ‘whys‘ - why someone did what they did, or why someone behaves like they do, but I still enjoyed it all the same...

This book fits for #maryland for #readingUSA2019.

I also have a spare charity shop copy if anyone would like it... but be sure to read other reviews first as many Littens don‘t like it!

From the beloved Pulitzer Prize-winning author--now in the fiftieth year of her remarkable career--a brilliantly observed, joyful and wrenching, funny and true new novel that reveals, as only she can, the very nature of a family's life.  

It was a good enough story, but the jumping back and forth..... and the ENDING JUST SUCKED! All that for that ending.... I won't read another Tyler.

BOOK MAIL! Thank you so much @Rachel.Rencher This will be my first Anne Tyler book and our July book club selection!

6/10 Not the ending I expected, still a pretty good read. Wouldn't read again, not enough interest to bring me back a second time. Characters are generally unremarkable, but just likeable enough to want to see the story through.

Book about family! Includes several generations of stories, cuz we all have a story that makes us special, unique and different. Classic family, in that we think we know our family, but there is so much more to each person‘s story that we don‘t know or understand. We affect each other so much more than we realize.

After reading so many good reviews of this book I was so disappointed. I was expecting so much more. Didn‘t feel the story went anywhere and don‘t get me started on the ending!

Anne Tyler‘s books always seem to hover between just okay and 👍 for me. It‘s a solid family saga, but I did not like the brief but jarring flashback to the past 2/3 of the way through the story.

I think what keeps pulling me back to her books is the taste of home they give me. Her settings always feel so familiar!

#booked2018 #mcover70 #mountTBR

Day 14: #routine

My primary form of daily self-care is the 20 minutes I spend each morning with tea and a book. I am grateful to be able to incorporate this routine into my schedule, and I definitely miss it on the rare days it doesn‘t happen.

I have a November to-do list a mile long right now, so today I‘m using my Wonder Woman mug for encouragement!

#booksandtea #gratitude30

This happens very rarely, that I‘m enjoying a book, but get to a new section and think, this is a good end to the story! I‘m not sure I want to read further! 😳

I‘m not particularly interested in jumping back to the past, which is what Part Two holds. Anne Tyler makes me feel like I am eavesdropping on someone else‘s family drama, which can be fun, but there is very little plot to move me forward from here.

Day 12: #wisdom

My favorite meal as a kid, I have it now only about once a year. Always on a cold, rainy day!

Wisdom is knowing when self-care involves a gluten-free cheat day for a taste of childhood after an enjoyable but looooong day that isn‘t over yet! (Have to head back out in the rain after 🍽) ☔️ 🌧

#bookanddinner #gratitude30

Four generations of a middle-class American family, living in the suburbs of Baltimore. Nothing much happens to them, they live and love and lie and make mistakes. This easily could have been a cheesy novel, but it isn‘t. As homely and cosy as it is, Anne Tyler takes it beyond cheesiness and creates a family I want to know all about. #manbooker #Booked2018 #MCover70

Not much of a page turner but quite well written and apt for readers who like cross generation and family dramas.

Not going to lie...I'm having a pretty hard time getting into this book. I'm on page 100 and I feel so disconnected from the multitude of characters that have been introduced. Had I known it was a family saga, I honestly may not have picked it up. I had the same trouble relating to The Nest. I'll give it a few more chapters, but I just might not be the right audience for this book.

Started this book last night! I'm about 20 pages in, and I love her writing style so far. I have no idea or context of what this story is about, so I'm excited to see how it progresses!

I went into this with reservations. Family sagas are not always my thing. But I was pleasantly surprised at how invested I was with the family, and how amusing their antics were

“How would I know where he was calling from? He doesn‘t have a fixed address, hasn‘t been in touch all summer, already changed jobs twice that we know of and probably more that we don‘t know of...A nineteen-year-old boy and we have no idea what part of the planet he‘s on!” #familydrama

Finding this quite amusing.

Not one of my favorites by Anne Tyler, but honestly I feel like if I read it again in about 10 to 15 years I‘ll feel very differently about it

#ReadingResolutions Day25 #Thread

I have always wanted to read this book.... #thread #readingresolutions @Jess7