Welcome to Litsy!

Really enjoying A.S. King's writing and analogies

I have students who think I just come home and read all day. Some days, that‘s true. But it‘s only because I literally don‘t have the energy to do anything else.

Anyway, this book is pretty good so far.

"Some people don't know if my characters are crazy or if they are experiencing something magical. I think that's an accurate description of how I feel every day."

This book was trippy! Actually, all A.S. King books I've read were trippy but oh so profound. Will definitely read more.

// Please look up trigger warnings for this book should you decide to read it. I didn't and was surprised as it's personal for me. It was well-written, though.

I felt self-conscious with my camera. People at the mall stared at me. They seemed to cringe at the idea of a person taking pictures of them. I found this odd when everyone has a built-in camera on their phone now. Why be freaked out by my old-fashioned camera when someone could be taking your picture all the time without you knowing?

I decided to end it right there. In my head, we were no longer friends. We could appreciate the years we had. We could appreciate our past. But she wouldn't be in my future. I had control over that.
Free yourself. Have the courage. You know?
Past doesn't always have to be the present.
Present doesn't always have to be the future.

Why do people take pictures?
To make things real.
Or real-er.
Or something.
To have memories of things they lost.
To remember—even though sometimes they want to forget.

When I looked at my negatives once I'd developed them and hung them to dry, I saw each angle as a point of view. That was what a picture was, wasn't it? A point of view? If you took a picture of a glass from above, it would look mostly empty. If you took it from below, it would look half full. A clichéd example, but you understand. Everything we see is based on where we're standing when we see it.

I don't know what she saw, but I saw everything from the beginning of time to the end of time - all in those meteors.

We form. We shine. We burn. Kapow.

"Exactly. Heads and crotches. The most important parts of human beings."

"So they go from human to human gathering information about what?"

"Everything! I mean, isn't everything they need to know in those two places?"

"Does this mean you aren't going to kill them?"

"Shit no. I'm killing them right now. I just think it's possible. Right? It's possible that lice are really aliens from some other planet."

"Sure."

𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭.
𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭.
𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭.
𝘊𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵?
𝘊𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘰𝘰?
𝘔𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘵.

You can't spend too much time in a darkroom, kid. It can get to you.

"You know about safe sex, right? And diseases? And all that?"

"I know enough," she said.

"Well - uh - be careful, will you?" I wished I could take her to the library and hand her over to the librarians. ?????? ????? ??? ????? ??????????, I'd say.

In front of everyone else, I pretended I didn't care about all the stuff girls start to care about in middle school - the right clothes, shoes, mascara, hair products, sex - but I did. I was interested in the 𝘸𝘩𝘺. 𝘞𝘩𝘺? 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴?

This has been on my TBR pile for years. Got it from a book thrift store for about U$3.

#QuotsyAug21 Day 27: #Bat

“We are all made from star dust and we will all return to star dust, like a cosmic palindrome.”
--
“You are not your virginity. You are a human being. The state of your hymen has nothing to do with your worth. Okay? They‘re fucking with us. They‘ve been fucking with us since the beginning of time.”
--
“Not living your life is like killing yourself, only it takes longer.”

In true A.S King fashion this was an exceptional read, I actually think this is my favourite book by her. And dare I say in my top 5 all time favourite books! This book is a triumph, it blends the real world with fiction so perfectly. This book is sad, about a sad girl in a sad life, with a sad dad, and shitty best friend. And yet the while time reading all I could feel was hopeful.

This was a weird book. Two girls drink a bat and gain the ability to see the past and the future. I liked the parts that predicted what was going to happen, but the main story line felt thin to me.

When I get bored at work, I put up new book displays... today I did Weird Fiction.

Any titles you would add? What is your favorite weird fiction book?
#schoollibraries #litsyloveslibraries #librariansoflitsy #weirdfiction

Glory O'Brian is 17 years old when she drinks a petrified bat (that might be God) and starts receiving transmissions of past and future generations.

Through these visions she learns about a second civil war started by a misogynistic megalomaniac who has girls kidnapped to his New America for breeding purposes.

The one thing Glory can't see is herself. Does she have a role to play in the future, or will she die from suicide like her mother?

CONT

What an INCREDIBLE book.
It was strange and beautiful. A book about mental illness, literally knowing parts of the future because of a bat they drank, figuring out friendships & understanding family. The bat part might throw everyone off, but trust me, it was great.

5⭐

My adorable new night light. (From the Wish app. 😍)

I think she can sense when I'm not feeling well. She didn't stick around long, but even a little bit of cuddles is nice. 🖤

Late night reads. 🖤

My current listen. It‘s making me really glad I can‘t see the future.

#CantStopWontStop reading books. #anditsaugust

This is quite a timely book. It's bizarre but definitely hits some good points. Glory is a pretty cool character and the history of the future she sees is all to possible feeling in our current state. I definitely wanted to read even more.

One thing I did see was the collapse of the most basic services. Women work in a lot of places. I don't think any of those lawmakers who passed the laws ever thought about what would happen when they opened the loophole.
Or maybe they did and they just didn't care.

"I have a plan," I said, thinking about how I didn't have a plan.

Solid ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ not your typical YA..dystopian, feminism, communes, bats!! All the things! This was my first time reading this author. I'll definitely be checking out the backlist!

..listening and loving!!

"We are all made from star dust and we will all return to star dust, like a cosmic palindrome."

Glory O'Brien's mother committed suicide when she was 4 years old. Naturally, that left Glory with a lot of questions and a tremendous amount of emotional bullshit to wade through. This incredible novel weaves the story of Glory figuring out what it means to have a meaningful life, a bizarre decision to drink a bat, and truth bombs dropping on our protagonist that fill us in on some backstory. Oh, and don't forget her fierce feminism.

Glory is a heroine I need today. She must choose between hope and despair, between giving up and fighting back. She must accept herself and whatever the future may bring - but that doesn't mean she needs to stand down and let it wash over her. Glory has to chose to live, to survive, to fight. And I need that message so much right now. Read this. Resist. Don't give up. - Flannery

Really cool concept of seeing other people's "infinities."

Currently reading!

This is the book that'd be going with me on my journey with the aliens. 👽 #FunFridayPhoto

#bookface #riotgrams

#riotgrams #makeabookface Because I don't put photos of myself on the internet, I decided to just show you a book with a face on the cover. It also just happens to be a favourite cover and book. 🙃

So what I thought was an unlabeled secret santa package the other day turned out to be a surprise from my best friend and book buddy. She is amazing!

How did I get so behind on the photo challenge?! Here's my pick for #longtitle

It was a weird, futuristic ya read that I would recommend. The two main characters drink bats and then can see the future...yeah, that's the gist. #ya

I really loved this super unusual YA novel that mixes post-apocalyptic visions with coming to terms with your family, who your real friends are, and forming your own identity. Also the future here is made particularly chilling by Trump's momentum.

Spent a long time agonizing over my next audiobook, but so far this has been an EXCELLENT choice.

I love when YA books strut their teen angst! And I'm amused by how much this quote resonates with me, now in my 30s.

Fun idea: tell someone the basic premise of this book in one sentence, with no further explanation, with a straight face, and see how they react. A unique book with some super weirdness but also a lot of relatable real-life shit. Quite a combo! 4/5 ⭐️

Now reading - my first A.S. King 😊