Welcome to Litsy!

I read this for bookclub this upcoming Friday. A brother and sister grow up in this mansion called The Dutch House and are thrown out of it when their dad dies and their stepmother takes over. I will admit for a minute I thought it was boring. But it got great. Patchett really knows how to write the minutiae between family members that endears them to you. Also, sometimes we think it‘s the place that matters but really it‘s the people. Pick!

April is an easy choice for me for #12booksof2024

Simply loved The Dutch House by Ann Patchett, Tom Hanks did a superb job with the audiobook of this. My favourite physically read book was None of This is True by Lisa Jewell.

How the machinations of a wicked stepmother reverberate through the lives of the stepchildren she casts out after their father's death.

Since I saw Cinderella, which was the first panto I'd been to in a very long time, on Monday, I enjoyed this book more than I might have done otherwise. But I really didn't take to it as much as I have done with others of her books.

#coffeeandabook

August was a good reading month for me and I got 3 bingos! Tagged is probably my favorite book from the month. Now on to September!

What a beautiful book. At its heart are close siblings Maeve and Danny and the story of their lives. The titular house is a mansion in the Philly suburbs where they grow up. In the sweeping nonlinear narrative you get to know them so well. Like Tom Lake, it‘s just a quiet story of a life, but told in such a compelling way. I‘m discovering that I really like Ann Patchett! And for the part I listened to on audio, Tom Hanks was just perfect. 💗💗

Here is my #bookspin list for July! I‘m really excited for everything on my list. Two of the books I already finished today, so maybe they‘ll be on the same row once the board comes out tomorrow!

I tagged one of the books on my list because I am only an hour into the audiobook and I‘m loving it so far. Tom Hanks, please read all my books to me!

I‘m not sure if I enjoyed the novel more or the way Tom Hanks read it! I really liked the storyline and most of the characters. The stepmother and the mother weren‘t my favorites, however they had their flaws. I definitely will read more books by Ann Patchett. I gave it a 4.5/5.

Thanks to @Marleed ‘s excellent suggestion of The Dutch House by Ann Patchett as an audiobook (read by Tom Hanks), I have just spent a couple wonderful nights listening to this audiobook.

A wonderful story read so brilliantly by Tom Hanks, I hope he narrates more audiobooks. This story had all the emotions going along with a few big surprises. One of my favourite books this year, and possibly my favourite audiobook of the year.

First ever Ann Patchett book, and I loved it! So many amazing layers! I think I‘ll come back to this one again.

Danny Conroy, the protagonist and the narrator, reminiscents about his childhood by saying: “Our father never met his own wife.“ The irony is poignant as he realizes much later that he too failed to truly know his wife. In some way he repeated not only his father's success but the failures as well. It's just that the cost of these failures was not as high.
Once again, Ann Patchett tells a very usual story in an amazing way
#told_by_a_woman

Now I know why this is a highly rated book! The way the narration works, it‘s definitely expressed with clarity. Well written with great historical background like a legacy or memoir though fiction. I just can‘t stand the pace, too slow for my liking. I‘ve rated it ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5.

#UnpopularOpinion but this one was just OK for me. I didn‘t feel much connection to any of the characters, the ending felt a bit rushed and too simplistic for what had, in parts, been a decent study of dysfunctional relationships. The reader is always just an outsider looking in, though.

First finish for February.

#ReadAway2024
@Andrew65 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES

Book 1 of 2024

I‘ve only heard good things about this book and it lived up to the hype. Marvelous writing and Hanks‘ performance is perfect.

I‘ve noticed that this book is one of those people seem to either love or hate and no middle ground. I‘m in the love group. It‘s not a perfect book but I really like it a lot. (And I read an ebook copy so this is just a random screenshot.)

May‘s #roll100 lineup: # 51 - The Dutch House by Ann Patchett and # 10 - The Natural by Bernard Malamud. Not pictured because I can‘t find it right now is # 17 - The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Two 5-star reads in one day!! I‘ve been a longtime fan of Patchett‘s books- though it‘s been a while since I last picked up one of her books. But, I couldn‘t resist getting this one on audio when I saw that Tom Hanks performed it! It was a little distracting at first to have Hanks‘ familiar voice in my earbuds so close, but it wasn‘t long before I was absorbed in this understated but still epic family drama surrounding the bond between siblings!

I listened to this upon recommendation from a FB reading group. I‘m so glad I did. It is narrated by Tom Hanks, who was the perfect choice for this novel. I‘ll definitely read another Patchett book, too. It is a novel of three generations of a family living in a house that is somehow another character in the book. Just kind of moseys along like a wandering stream - sad in places. Strong sibling vibes.

I have been wanting to read this book for awhile now, I checked out the audiobook from my local library. I love the audiobook so much!!! Tom Hanks was the narrator of this book!!! He did an amazing job on reading the book!! I rated this book a 4 out of 5 stars!!!

It‘s Ann Patchetts birthday today. I took this from the above artists (Jane Mount) insta. I have this habit of thinking that Ann Patchett and Geraldine Brooks are the same person. It‘s annoying.

I loved the complexity of the family relationships and the imagery of the house. I read this book a while ago and yet I still miss the characters.

Listening to the book with Tom Hanks narrating. I‘m half way through. First part was a little confusing with the time jumps but it‘s coming together nicely. It took a death for the story to pick up, but it‘s become more coherent since that happened. Hanks is of course brilliant.

#whartonbuddyread I now see what you meant about Patchett having already written the sequel to Custom of the Country. Character driven family saga but also a particular insight into how economic motivators cause wedges between people, how the inability to communicate effectively is a communication nevertheless and how an author can dress someone up in a role, keep them largely offstage and yet have them be the pivot point of the book.

Tom Hanks was a brilliant narrator who brought this quiet little story to life. I don't know if I would have enjoyed it as much had I read the book. I struggled between 4 and 5 stars but settled on 4 because the 5th star would have been solely for Tom Hanks.

I loved this part near the end:

"You have to serve those who need to be served, not just the ones who make you feel good about yourself."

#manicMonday #LetterD
📚tagged!
🖋Don DeLillo , E.L.Doctorow
📺Downton Abbey 🎞Dazed & Confused
🎸The Doors
🎤Downtown Train - Tom Waits
Anyone can play!

Going Dutch in BKK✨

This is my favourite novel. My another fav from letter D is Dark matter by Blake Crouch.

#LetterD #Alphabetgame
Thanks for this amazing idea @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Two siblings are forced from the home they grew up in after their father‘s death. Through the years Danny & Maeve are haunted by their childhood home, the stepmother who didn‘t want them, & the mother that left them.

This was fine? Very slow & not a whole lot of plot. For all that it‘s 1st person, we don‘t get any depth to the emotion which made it tough to connect. And there‘s a lot of timeline switching in a book that spans decades. 🌕🌕🌗🌑🌑

I want to be home sleeping, but no. It‘s time for a doctor‘s appointment. 🙃

Andrea is the modern-day evil stepmother from hell, isn‘t she!? I listened to the audio, which was done so well by Tom Hanks. I never lost interest, though it is a slow moving book. I didn‘t like the interaction between Celeste (Danny‘s wife) and Maeve. I identified more with Danny‘s feelings near the end than Maeve‘s though I can understand why she would feel the way she did. There were other interesting happenings at the end of the book, as well

Andrea is the modern-day evil stepmother from hell, isn‘t she!? I listened to the audio, which was done so well by Tom Hanks. I never lost interest, though it is a slow moving book. I didn‘t like the interaction between Celeste (Danny‘s wife) and Maeve. I identified more with Danny‘s feelings near the end than Maeve‘s though I can understand why she would feel the way she did. There were other interesting happenings at the end of the book, as well

Good, but I‘m not sure why? I mean, Tom Hanks narrating it did not hurt! I enjoyed listening to it, the story was fairly engaging and the characters were interesting. Kinda gave me The Goldfinch vibes (tho it‘s nothing like it, maybe I just don‘t read this type of fiction enough). Prob wouldn‘t read it again.

Didn‘t love it. A melancholic story with few sparks of excitement and mostly sadness. Had to push to get through it.

Confession: I am not a huge Ann Patchett fan. All of the books I‘ve read by her have been 3-star reads for me. Bel Canto, Commonwealth, State of Wonder—all were ok, I liked but didn‘t love them, and I barely remember the plots. But this one? I tore through it in 2 days. I was fully invested in the characters and the plot and the setting. Great read. 👍🏼👍🏼

Danny and Maeve‘s stepmother, Andrea, is a real piece of work. Loved this book. Tom Hanks narrating the audiobook makes for outstanding listening.

Posting this one early since I won‘t have a chance tomorrow. Busy weekend!

#Stepmoms #MayMoms
@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

“I see the past as it actually was,“ Maeve said. She was looking at the trees.

“But we overlay the present onto the past. We look back through the lens of what we know now, so we're not seeing it as the people we were, we're seeing it as the people we are, and that means the past has been radically altered.”
—Ann Patchett, the dutch house, p35

Book #10 of the year: “The Dutch House” by Ann Patchett

I found this one on a table at JFK in New York! This fictional work follows two siblings through the decades of their lives after their mother leaves and father remarries. Dealing with themes like abandonment, loss of security, resentment of parents, and sacrifice, it‘s a good read that‘s not overly sad or emotionally gripping.

Tedious and plotless

Lazy Sunday reading soundtrack. #readingsoundtrack

Loved everything about this one! 💗
🌷🌷🌷🌷

This one was tied with my other #July pick. Got two copies as gifts from @AmyG and @Sleepswithbooks 😊♥️
#12booksof2021 @Andrew65

Finally getting to The Dutch house, the perfect book for my new book marks maiden....marking and Ollie already knows what being a great reading buddy is all about.🐾 Thanks again for sending this one to me! @sharread 🌷
#dogsoflitsy