Welcome to Litsy!

Giving this book another try. Sometimes you start something and it isn't the right time for it so you leave it for another time. This is one of those "another" times. I do love the Irish writers.

Bailed again, just can't seem to get into the story.

I needed to read a Women‘s Prize winner for a #PopSugarChallenge prompt and I‘ve already read several. So I picked this, which has a lot of miserable people doing bad things. I listened to the audiobook, which made it extra annoying how often people seemed to be whining and begging for someone not to do something. There are some memorable characters and well written lines and the opening is unusual but I don‘t quite see why it won.

#SeptemberSins Another #DailyDeal that I haven‘t gotten to YET #Glorious #TBR
Have you read this @arlenefinnigan { I feel like those blurbs are calling to YOU} 🙊

The Glorious Heresies is good audiobook with an excellent narrator. The story is a bit fragmented at times, though it revolves around the same group of shady characters in modern day Ireland. It‘s not mind blowing, but it‘s pretty damn good. Overall rating: 4.06 stars

Random book post!!! This book intrigues me ! It sounds great this is about a horrible crime that takes place and the affects if this crime long after it was committed, takes place in Ireland and sounds pretty intense it's won some awards so check it out!!!

It is moving up in my TBR there is something about it that makes me need to read this!!!

#fiction
#crime

A disjointed story line of dull characters which I just couldn‘t get into. I‘m sadly rating this book one star and would not recommend it to my friends – life‘s too short!

If you want to find out more after my scathing mini review, search for the full version on my blog! 📚

This one is good. It's contemporary about the situation in Ireland. Post Celtic Tiger if that means anything to you.

Pic as I was waiting for the women to arrive .. the night took us away. Great discussion. Very divided. The woman who recommended & myself were the only 2 real fans at all ( For me it was all about Ryan ) Thumbs down from everyone else The Ladies did not like the book. Not the characters, or the writing. I will call on @Wineandbooks to give opinion here too. @Wineandbooks also picked our next read Far From The Madding Crowd 👏🏻👏🏻

I‘m giving this between a pick & a so-so. I honesty would have bailed but it was our Bookclub read. And I‘m glad I saw it through. Found parts very difficult to read ... some very ugly & sad situations in families full of addiction , abuse , neglect. I cried for Ryan. One or two laughs, at smart comments, but all in all tragic. Is there hope in the end, I always like to believe so, but who knows.

So I checked the shortlist for the year this book won the #baileysprize and it won over A Little Life?! 😲🤯

It should have gripped me - dark, gritty, set in Ireland, flawed, messed-up characters - but it just felt... pointless 🤷‍♀️ great first chapter & characters were ok but I wasn‘t invested in them at all. Completely overwrought. I wouldn‘t have missed out if I‘d bailed tbh.

#MarchInBooks #paranormal this quote from The Glorious Heresies is not your normal paranormal... but I thought of this prompt when I read it 💜. Interesting book so far, the title is so apt. What a mad mix of images I‘m getting

Glorious Heresies by the fireside. Finally , some chill out time. I‘m reserving judgement on the book , not that far into it yet. It‘s my next bookclub read ......

I must put life in Court on hold for now. This is the chosen book for our Bookclub this month. So , I had better get reading 📕❤️ I see interesting reviews on Litsy.... and it‘s set in Cork ( I‘m in Cork ) The woman who picked the book said we were to read it in a Cork accent 🤣

I‘m on an unintentional #baileysprize kick. Third book in a week or so I‘ve read that‘s been nominated for the award. Let‘s see if this is as bleak as the other two 😆 #socksunday #marchinbooks

Well, this was tedious. I think this book wanted to be heavy and dark and bleak and poignant. And while I'm drawn to fiction that calls for us to empathize with even the most damaged and hopeless characters, the execution was so messy and forced and tenuous that I had a hard time caring about anyone or anything that happened. Blah.

It won awards & was gushed over by critics - I was bound to hate it. Almost abandoned it in the first few pages due to the lexical showboating - the language was so overdone it utterly distracted me from the characters & plot. It did settle down as the book progressed - almost like the author ran out of 'clever'. It was just unremittingly grim. Depressing characters, story line, locations, scenarios. Who exactly found this "hilarious"? More below

I‘m not sure it‘s right to say I enjoyed this; it‘s full of self-destructive characters and strong violence. But its urgency is really engaging and there are some moments of beautiful clarity, particularly in the sections told from the viewpoint of Maureen, whose accidental killing of an intruder necessitates a succession of cover ups, murders and debts.

Here are my #FiveStarPredictions, all pulled off of my TBR. I'm most excited about The Luminaries, but I don't think it'll get to be the book I carry around in my purse all day.

Dark, though at times very funny, story set on the fringes of Cork's criminal underworld. When 60-year-old Maureen accidentally kills an intruder by bopping him on the head with a religious gewgaw, son Jimmy, Cork's most feared hard man has some cleaning up to do. In places this reads like a darker Roddy Doyle -some wonderfully drawn characters and dialogue that crackles. Bleak but with a tiny glimmer of hope at the very end. Highly recommended.

Gave it 50 pages. Funny and sexy some of the reviews say. Nope and nope. No characters I cared anything for. Not connecting at all.
Moving on!

#currentlyreading
Mad rush for work today - this was literally off the top of the pile. Don't remember buying or why!

Just picked this up at Powell's. I love stories set in Ireland! 💜

I've tried to read on in this book, but I keep coming back to this line.

Lisa McInerney's multi-award winning debut novel is a smart, intricately plotted novel that marries a black comedy crime caper with a coming of age story while also commenting on the state of Ireland, written in a crackling voice that makes excellent use of Irish slang to add authenticity and which kept me engaged from beginning to end.

Struggling with one at 16% ...

I appreciate it's well written like I appreciate Ryan Reynolds is good looking. But I don't fancy him.

I think it's because the writing is good in a "and I know it" kind of way. I'm finding it a little tedious slash irritating slash dare I say smug?

Want to like it ... will plough on yet.

This feels a bit like cheating, but the second I put this down I wanted to know more about Ryan and Maureen. I just learned that the sequel is out in the U.K. Now I just have to wait for it to cross the ocean so I can find it in a bookstore near me. Then I will probably drop everything to read it too 😀 #dropeverythingandread #sequelplease #aprilbookshowers

#SelfCareSaturday with spicy Thai chicken and mushroom lemongrass soup, Thai iced tea, and my book. Perfect way to take a timeout and relax. 🍜🍹📖

#TGIF. Kicking back with my book and a cocktail since it's been a week. Stressful weeks call for painkillers of the blood orange variety. (Pineapple juice + blood orange juice + cream of coconut + dark spiced rum if you're curious) 🍹 #booksnbooze

This book is SO GOOD. I'm really hooked. The characters are intriguing, and McInerney has a unique writing voice, particularly for a debut novel. ☘️

Joining the #Litsomnia party tonight, so I'm starting a new book and snuggling with my little leprechaun. I've had this book on my shelf for entirely too long now, so now it's time to dust it off and read an Irish author for St. Patrick's Day. 🍀

Set in my home city of Cork. All of the characters are messed up one way or the other and find themselves in situations u wouldnt wise on anyone. I wouldn't say that I found myself liking anybody but I needed to know what happened to everyone. I read this over two days. Once I started I needed to finish.

My books for the 🌈 📚 #17rainbowbooks

#TBRtemptation post! This literary fiction work is the winner of the 2016 Baileys Women's Prize, this story follows the lives of 5 underworld misfits in Ireland. Ryan's a 15-year-old drug dealer obsessed with his unhinged neighbor. Georgie's a prostitute who feigns religious conversion with dire consequences. Accidental murderer, Maureen, returns to Cork after a 40 year exile to find her son, Jimmy, is kingpin. #blameLitsy #blameMrBook 😎

One of those occasions where none of the characters are overly likeable, but got completely absorbed and found myself rooting for them.

This one won't be for everyone as it is pretty relentlessly bleak, but I loved it. As Irvine Welsh did with Edinburgh, it shows the dark side of a beautiful city, in this case, Cork. The part of town that the tourists don't see, where people are struggling and and caught in cycles of poverty, crime, and violence that they, with good reason, see no way out of. As gritty as it is, like any good Irish tale, it isn't without humor.

First read of 2017

It's close to 80 degrees today in Texas - good reading on the porch weather! ☀

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
It is fair to say I admired this #baileysprize winner - but didn't completely enjoy it.
This is in no way a critique of the marvellous writing but more a product of the fact the story depressed me. It must be a good writer who can make me laugh out loud and yet still make me feel absolutely wrung-out and desolate at where the story went and what we went through to get there.

😍

Election night. Bleck. Went to dr she said I shouldn't even let my pets sleep in my room. "They are dirty creatures" She has been saying this for about 7 years now, and I obviously haven't listened. She did put me on antibiotics for my cough that is now bronchitis. Here's Ozzie kneading on my pillow on my messy bed next to my very messy bookshelf ??I can't focus on anything. Probably shouldn't have had caffeine. Has anyone read this book? ??❤️

Such fantastic writing and just LOOK at that cover 😍

Not a bad spot for a bit of reading...

Out of town for important work conference. So obviously I'm taking this opportunity to catch up on a spot of light reading...

Needed to kill an hour or so after work before meeting up with friends so this seems to work! A bar attached to open space equals quiet space for diving into a new book and grabbing a drink. Weather is miserable so making myself avoid home :-(

Started off tremendously promising. I love slice-of-life fiction, I love Ireland, and I appreciate fiction that focuses on the stories of the sex workers and drug dealers who are often overlooked.

But at the end of the day, there just wasn't enough (any?) real happiness there. Without that foil, everything just seemed grey and tired, and even misery began to seem boring.

Currently trying to start reading The Glorious Heresies but can't really seem to get into it. The writing and format is clunky for me and the narrative looks pretty disconnected. Hmm maybe it's because I'm in the middle of mini reading slump. Oh well, taking a break and listening to my favorite podcast ever "All the Books" by @Liberty and @rebeccaschinsky Raise your hand if you're a big fan too ✋?

The main strength of this novel was the writing. Also really liked the Irish dialect used throughout. It made the book feel more atmospheric. Overall, it was just okay for me. None of the characters were very notable and I thought the book could have been shorter since it dragged in spots.

Wooopwooop. Guess what i bought today 😁😁😁

Yay! I'm a winner!!

McInerney is masterful in the way she weaves the lives of her characters together. With each new connection and relationship, I was pulled in deeper. I love complicated, dirty stories and this certainly fit the bill. I do wish she had been a bit more consistent with her use of dialect though.