Welcome to Litsy!

Themes: Literary Fiction, Good Storytelling, Opera/Music

I totally get why this book has such mixed reviews. Some parts were good and I enjoyed some of the characters very much, but after it ended, I just don‘t know how I really feel about it. This is a soft pick… I think? 🤔

Happy Thanksgiving (and Happy All-Day Football to those who celebrate) 💛🤎❤️🦃🏈 I‘m so thankful for family, especially this year ☺️🥰💗 I hope everyone has a lovely day filled good food, good conversations, a good book, and maybe a good afternoon nap 😉

After several failed attempts to get both my current read (tagged here) and these road signs in one picture, I decided to just grab a pic of the road sign 😂 Driving from Chicago to Gettysburg, PA - I love a road trip as a passenger princess. I‘m enjoying this book way more than I thought I would 🙌

Was fortunate to attend the Chicago Public Library Foundation Awards dinner tonight. Honorees included Christina Henríquez, Chance the Rapper and Ann Patchett. Came home with a stack of books to read included a new annotated edition of the tagged book which goes on sale next week. Such a fun evening celebrating libraries, books, authors, and creating.

Well, I‘ve finally read Ann Patchett‘s possibly best known/regarded book. I enjoyed it. I liked the use of music, language, and communication within the book as the characters find themselves in an unexpected situation. I still have a couple more of her backlist to read, but to me this isn‘t her best. I liked Tom Lake and State of Wonder more.

Ann Patchett announced that she is releasing an annotated version of Bel Canto on November 5.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C-dCmilRmbA/?igsh=MWV4aTM4amxpZHlzNg==

It will look similar to the original 2001 edition and includes her handwritten annotations about what she liked and didn‘t like.

There will also be a special slip case edition that you can only order through Parnassus.

https://www.parnassusbooks.net/belcanto

Tagged book was the best of these

I‘ve only read 6, although I‘ve got 4 or 5 on my TBR. I‘m not that bothered about it though…is that a bad thing? Meh.

3.5/4⭐️

Beautiful writing. Heartbreaking ending. Unnecessary epilogue.

I am enjoying the tagged book but I have been distracted lately 😂. I think I will have to read this one again when it doesn‘t feel like required reading. #catsoflitsy

“When the lights went off, the accompanist kissed her.”

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

I‘m hoping to make some progress on this one today.

(Should I be embarrassed that I haven‘t read this author yet?)

#Party - gone wrong!

#StorySettings

@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

‘Bel Canto‘ is loosely based on a true story when, in 1996, a group of young terrorists took over the Japanese embassy in Peru. I loved the way Patchett wrote these characters with complexity and nuance — hostages and terrorists alike. There is a surprising amount of tenderness, beauty and love within the tension and tragedy. However, this was a light pick for me because I found much of it too slow.

This is really good; hypnotizing me with a laconic anticipation that inevitable tragedy seems less believable but more imminent with every turned page. I‘d read more by Patchett, and recommend this without reservation.

Thank you @Chelsea.Poole for this awesome template! This will be so helpful for keeping my #Bookspin and #Doublespin picks organized!

Bookspin-Bel Canto (also one of my February #Roll100 picks)
Double spin-Homegoing (last months #FoodandLit pick that I didn‘t get to)

Let‘s read … they said it‘s a love story .

We visited Nashville for a quick overnight trip and had a great time! I finally visited author Ann Patchett's bookshop, Parnassus Books, which I'd been wanting to do for a long time. It was delightful--and chock full of customers on Christmas Eve!

27-30 Nov 23 (audiobook)
I did not love this as much as Tom Lake or The Dutch House, but a weak pick nonetheless.
A famous opera singer attends the birthday party of a Japanese businessman at the house of the VP of a South American country which is stormed by terrorists. The resulting siege lasts months.
Interesting to see the relationships formed and the humanising of the terrorists, who are mostly young and uneducated. I was unsure about the end

#2023Book77

It's been 15 years since I first read this and fell in love with Patchett's writing. Since then I've read all of her work and rereading this one was a treat. A birthday party for a Japanese business man in South America takes an unexpected turn when terrorists take the group hostage. It's a surprisingly tender story, less about the hostage situation than about the human connections that can be made in the most extreme situations…Cont. in comments.

I met the amazing Ann Patchett today after she gave a wonderful talk in beautiful Nashville.

⭐️⭐️⭐️½
I'm impulse rating this one - immediately upon finishing it. I'll call it a Pick because Patchett is a talented writer, and I often felt I was right alongside these characters, yearning for them to find a way out and a path to happiness.

I often couldn't put it down, except right after the end of chapter 7, which was just icky.

But I can't ignore the problems of this book, nor act like I enjoyed the ending. My feelings are very mixed.

Typically my book club reads pretty recent novels, but dove a bit back in time for August to this 2001 masterpiece by Ann Patchett and I‘m so grateful.

This book is about opera and terrorism — juxtaposing abstract politics and small-scale revolution with the true transcendence of great art — to ultimately be about human connections, forged for better or worse, on an epic yet intimate scale. So unique, and so beautiful.

There are rave reviews for this book but although I may personally be raving mad 😁, I did not rave myself. Not my cup of tea. I didn‘t particularly enjoy the writing style and for the most part it was a bit of a slog. Nothing really happened and what an odd ending! It probably has the message of being thankful for what you have and making the most of it as you never know what‘s around the corner. I can vouch for that. Always watch your back.

I‘ve been in an awful reading slump lately, so I thought I‘d continue on my quest to read all of Ann Patchett‘s work. I really liked this one, which seems to have been inspired by the hostage situation at the Peruvian embassy in the late 90‘s. She does such an extraordinary job of writing the emotion of extremely complicated relationships.

I could spend a whole day in here. Missed Tom Hanks by one day. Parnassus Books in Nashville.

#2023Reread
This year I am rereading a favorite book each month to see if they hold up.This was April's reread, and it does! I love this story of a... kidnapping? Such a complex story. A Japanese business man is brought to a South American country for his birthday to hear his favorite opera singer perform. The room is filled with people from all over the world, and when the lights go out a terrorist group breaks in and holds all guests captive.👇

Saturday morning #coffeeandabook. This wasn't part of my original #20in4 goal, but I decided it was time to add it to the mix and start reading it, or it would stay unread on my bookshelf for who knows how long. 😂
@Andrew65

My car slowed as it spotted a little free library… had to stop and check it out. I picked up Bel Canto, then said to quite a few other books, “Read it, read it…”; and decided to NOT take home Ninth House…

My year in books using Goodreads. I created a Storygraph account to try out this year. I‘m still figuring it all out. Cortg15

I did finish BEL CANTO, and it was marvellous! It‘s definitely going on my list of great opera books, with a note about how it‘s a great human nature book even if you aren‘t into the musical side of things.

I thought y‘all might like to see the cinnamon buns, too, all decked out in their cream cheese frosting. They‘re destined to get grilled up for breakfast tomorrow. #audiobaking

So far today I‘ve assembled a trifle for tomorrow, iced an eggnog cake for tonight, and baked cinnamon buns. Even with most of the components already made, it‘s been a busy morning.

I don‘t think I‘ll be able to finish BEL CANTO this afternoon, but I should get close enough to the end that I‘ll manage it tomorrow. It‘s excellent so far; not quite as stellar as I thought it‘d be in the beginning, but still damned good. I love it. #audiobaking

Loved this one! I really enjoyed the character building and relationship building in this, and though it was very much a Stockholm Syndrome kind of story, it wasn‘t, though maybe that‘s what it‘s all about? 🙌🏼 #pop22 ~ a book featuring a party

I know I know ! It‘s a multi award winner people adore it & I love Ann Patchetts 3 latest novels but sadly this one is not for me. ! Couldn‘t get into it, it bored 🥱 me and I didn‘t give a hoot for any of the characters !

What a book, and one I‘m positive deserves a rereading! Speechless. Am I in the minority about the ending seeming kind of perfect for an imperfect situation? 😩😩

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I spent two weeks trying to figure out what (2) books to bring to Munich. At the last minute I swapped both books out. So glad I trusted my gut because this book is so good thus far!

#ManicMonday #LetterB @eeclayton @CBee
@TheSpineView Thanks for the tag!

Bel Canto
Baldacci
Blade Runner
Beatles
Baby One More Time - Britany Spears

One I always recommend! #alphabetgame #letterB
Thanks for the tag @CrowCAH

#musicrelated #Bookmoods

@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

“It makes you wonder. All the brilliant things we might have done with our lives if only we suspected we knew how.”

💠 Tagged
💠 Physical Book
💠 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
💠 I haven‘t marked in a book since college. Doing that now feels too much like studying (even though it was a long time ago!) I sometimes take a pic of a quote or passage I like.

#ThoughtfulThursday
@MoonWitch94

@THill

I found The Dutch House boring, I hated State of Wonder, but I loved this one! A fascinating character study of a hostage situation. I loved the dynamic and relationships between the characters and while there wasnt much plot, i was never bored. I'm glad that I gave it a chance after my previous experiences with Patchett.