Welcome to Litsy!

February Reads
4.5 🌟
The Body in Question: Jill Ciment 📖
3.5 🌟
The Glass Hotel: Emily St John Mandel 📖
3 🌟
Amy Snow: Tracy Rees 📖
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: George RR Martin 📖
2.5 🌟
The Road to Roswell: Connie Willis 🎧
1 🌟
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Mark Twain 🎧
I read Huck Finn to prepare for James by Percival Everett coming out this month.

I read this book based on the reviews of @Soubhiville and @AvidReader25 who picked it up based on Ann Patchett‘s recommendation. 😋 It was very absorbing. The catalyst is a court case but it‘s about the lives of the jurors during and after the trial. Very interesting book that packs a lot of emotions about grief and desire within a short page count.

Ann Patchett recently recommended this on her bookshop‘s social media account. It‘s a short novel about a court case, from the point of view of Juror C2, who we learn towards the end of the book is named Hannah. Patchett admires the author‘s ability to weave intricate stories with few words, and I have to agree. Even though it‘s short, it has a lot to say.

The story ends up being more about Hannah‘s life and feelings than the actual court case.

A tightly-packed novel about one woman's time as a juror on a controversial case and its aftermath. I couldn't put it down. The trial is really only a back drop to the human interactions that make up the story. I loved some of the author's choices, like only referring to characters by the jury number in the first half of the book. This was an Ann Patchett recommendation and it didn't disappoint.

Great novel. This is a tight novel. In less than 200 pages, you go through a murder trial, an affair, and the end of a marriage. I read this after hearing Ann Patchett recommended it. It was one of the beat reads of this year so far. I can't wait to read more of this authors work. 4.5 🌟

Current read

4¾⭐
This book is less about the mystery surrounding the trial of an 18-year-old girl accused of killing her baby brother and more about the jury selected for the trial. It centers on one juror in particular. I‘ve never had jury duty, so I found much of this book to be quite engrossing...it felt like a learning experience with a story thrown in to boot.

Look at me, I actually finished a book! With everything going on, I have been too distracted to concentrate on reading much, but this story, set mostly among a sequestered jury, really connected with me in my relative isolation. A taut and well crafted novel about perception and framing and what is left out of a story. This author is new to me, but I‘ll be checking out her backlist.

The front half of this book is great! Then the back half turns into a completely different book. I am mixed on this because it is a story which draws you in, but I don‘t know. I know one issue for me is I just finished The Holdout which had a similar plot line of two jurors in a relationship and life after.

The first half of the novel was really enjoyable when told through the anonymous lens of a jury member. Her identity is revealed in the second half to the detriment of the story, and I didn‘t have much sympathy for her

A really good read and a perfect way to close out 2019. It's hard to review to prevent spoilers, but if you are considering, it's best to know this isn't a typical courtroom drama at all. This will definitely make you think!

Full review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3091616428

This book was meh. Two jurors on a murder trial have an affair during the trial while they are sequestered. I expected more from this story, expected bigger consequences, a bigger payout at the end, something. Instead, I was left with no feelings at all. Meh. ⭐️⭐️1/2

#24in48 first book completed. 2 jurors in a murder trial have an affair while sequestered. Then their names are released to the public - and their personal lives complicate. Short book and tough to review without spoilers. I liked Ciment‘s voice and the way she handled the narrative. Good characters. 4⭐️

Last Sunday's NYT Book Review highlights this book. It's going on my #TBR

Everything I had heard about THE BODY IN QUESTION was enthusiastically positive, so I knew I had to check it out. And it was...good. I‘m afraid it might have been a case of too much hype for me. While I enjoyed the story, I ultimately found it unfulfilling. For a short book, I still feel it was worth my time but I can‘t say that it blew me away.