Welcome to Litsy!

My first book for #2025 ended up being a thriller in ways that I didn't expect. I thought it would be a cut and dry murder mystery. Instead, it took me on a journey of self-examination and pondering of the ways we view #disability, religion, and ritual. Fascinating and well-done!
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Happy new year to all the wonderful Littens out there! I'm starting to work through this “masterful excursion into terror“ to kick off 2025 as it needs to go back to the library in a couple weeks. I am also really looking forward to the next few books on my TBR list as well, including the delightful “Legends and Lattes“ that I received from my 2024 Jolabokaflodswap ... Very exciting! Hope everyone's new years are starting off full of hope and joy.

This book was part of a fun display at the library where staff blurbed recent reads they'd hated. I can see why this dark, unsettling story wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea, but it was atmospheric and compelling. A man recounts his family's pilgrimage to a shrine in a remote and desolate seaside village, seeking a miracle to cure his older non-verbal brother, Hanny. The trip does not go as planned, and the outcome arrives at a terrible cost.

I have been looking forward to reading this book for such a long time and it just didn‘t do anything for me. It was hard to get into and didn‘t keep my interest once I got further in. This one was a struggle for me. It was just super dense and slow, in my opinion.

Atmospheric, tense, well-crafted literary horror. A family makes an annual pilgrimage to a Catholic shrine in search of healing but finds something more sinister. Author asks the reader to consider the line between faith & obsession. Suspense builds to terror. 5 stars. #folkhorror #family #faith

October was one of my best reading months. 21 books!

11 physical books (ok, 10.5. I bailed on Gilead with 100 pages to go.)
8 audiobooks (def a record for me!)
2 ebooks

Here‘s to a great November for all of us!

Car reading while the girls are in dance class. I concentrate so much better in my quiet car as opposed to the bustling lobby.

Thank you Ericka for sending me this book eons ago! I‘m almost 100 pages in and loving the atmospheric setting. I‘m shocked the reviews aren‘t great. 🤔

This one came highly recommended from a friend And did not disappoint. I read in over two days - which might be the best way. The horror is very much in the story you tell yourself - no jump scares or gore. The setting - 1970s England - feels spot on too. Not perfect - parts seemed too convenient, like the eavesdropping hiding place - but pretty darn special nonetheless.

When Costa met Costa

Trama priva di sostanza. Parte bene, ma finisce senza un vero e proprio sviluppo, lasciando al lettore solo tant‘è domande e un finale a tirar via. Grossa delusione soprattutto visto il grande riscontro di pubblico. Una nota positiva è la scrittura elegante e scorrevole, ma che non compensa la narrazione vuota.

To be honest, I‘m not really sure what the book is about but I was interested while reading it. Also, it did a great job of creating the creepy vibe that reminded me of Lord of the Flies.

Ok Costa drinkers, you voted it book of the year, I gave it a whirl but I just couldn't see it I'm afraid. For me this is one of those books that you finish and you think, did I miss something? Having now read some other reviews I'm happier that I'm not the only one in this boat. I'm not going to review this book, I feel another reviewer has summed it up perfectly in a one liner, 'was this a travel guide to Cumbria or a handbook for priesthood?'

Now reading. Good stuff. Feels spooky from the beginning.

I actually read Hurley‘s second book first- and loved it! - so maybe my hopes were just too high for going back to read his debut novel... I felt more frustrated than frightened and just didn‘t enjoy this nearly as much as I had hoped to!

Damn!!! This was a fantastic book! Brilliant, tension filled narrative with lush detail and beautiful prose. An “on the edge of your seat” story arc that leaves you curious and frightened at the same time. Crazy genius musings about religion, truth, family and purpose. WOW.. it was so good that I got off my flight and just sat in the airport for 30 minutes finishing it before I get in the cab to head home. 5/5!!!

#marchMadness #ThrillersSetByTheSea @josteele

When the seven year old organizes your TBR, it's surprising what doesn't make the cut

This was a piece of astonishing fiction with a great gothic atmosphere that had me captivated till the end. It's a powerful novel written in beautiful language which doesn't need a fast pace or elaborate twists or gory horror. Yet, it is mesmerising and disturbing and will surely keep me occupied for a while.

Dropped off the kid at kindergarten? - Check!
Shovelled my driveway and those of the (sick) neighbours? - Check!
Vacuumed the house? - Check!
Ok, I guess mommy deserves a cuppa and her book on this cold and blustery morning. 😁

My current read. 😊

I‘m not sure what I just read. It‘s atmospheric, and Mr Hurley sure can write, but it seemed to be a lot of creepy build up just fizzling out at the end. I started reading this back in October and was getting so scared that I left it sit until today. Because of the strength of the writing and how unusual and real the characters are I had no problem jumping back in as if no time had passed. But I think I maybe don‘t get this? Not sure.

Just started on this. Looking good so far

Happy Halloween 🎃! Happy last day off the month! I had one of the best reading months in October. I read 10 books. Favourites: The Loney, A Great Reckoning, The Last Ballad and Crimes of the Father. The Good: That‘s My Baby and The History of Bees. The Pans: Birdcage Walk, The Shoe in the Roof and Seven Days of Us and The Rules of Magic.

5-stars! Wow I really loved this one. The characters! The writing! I never wanted to put this one down. I can also check off Freezer Worthy Horror for #LitsyReadingChallenge. ☺️

Really enjoying this one so far! Wonderful writer with great characters.

But first I‘m going to do some Halloween flavoured reading! (Before I start on Little Fires Everywhere) 🎃🎃

I‘m about to start reading The Loney. The sun is setting. Bad idea?
#readathon @DeweysReadathon

#bookhaul Just been for a quick trot round to my local shops to see if I could get any autumn bedding plants ???. None to be had but I may have accidentally popped into the charity shop - Qb.50 for all these.....
Any recommendations on where to start?

September reading summary! Quite ok. The Loney is probably my favorite, Satantango and Leviathan Wakes were also great. #tricoursstats

My #OctoberTBR. Not pictured: The Mysteries of Udolpho. I'm trying Serial Reader for that read and that will be the first time I read anything that is not print.

#SpookyOctober

To categorise this novel as horror does it a disservice. Hurley has created an ominous sense of foreboding and mines the bleak landscape of his setting for all the atmosphere it's worth. There are elements, the best of which are left hanging and hinted at, which are horrific enough but it's also a lyrical, sophisticated exploration of faith and doubt, it's laugh-out-loud, it's terribly sad and while it's not perfect it is very, very good

Brilliant! Atmospheric, spooky (yet humorous!), slow and meandering, strange and confusing. This is the kind of book I am always looking for but so rarely find. Thanks @Moray_Reads !

This quote is brought to you by Walter.

Heading over there for a final 15 min read while the sourdough bread is in the oven and before we leave for my boyfriend's nephew's farm, which we've never visited! This book is magnificent, I don't mind reading it slowly to make it last longer.

Work is over, the sun is shining, I've rescued Conan from his unplanned imprisonment in the basement (like 17 hours!!!) and I'm starting my #litsypartyofone with some cider that isn't particularly good but I'm Northern Scandinavian and we don't waste alcohol.

The author does a brilliant job of creating a creepy, ominous atmosphere, but I would not categorize the novel as horror. A Roman Catholic priest and a group of congregants make a pilgrimage to a shrine in the hopes of curing a young man. The book does not have clear cut answers for what actually happens. We do witness faith, superstition, pragmatism, and despair, all connected by a deep and abiding loneliness. Not a cheery read, but gripping.

I think that I was expecting something different from this book. It's told by a man looking back on a religious pilgrimage taken when he was a boy with a group from his church in order to "cure" his mute brother and the things that happened. The writing was atmospheric but I spent the first half of the book waiting for something to happen & the last half thinks "wait, what"?

Glad I stuck with this one! A bit slow to start and quite a strong religious theme but actually enjoyed the way it ended.

#blackandwhitecover #maybookflowers @RealLifeReading

#MayBookFlowers #unreliablenarrators
I really enjoyed this creepy novel set in a 1970's north west coastal Catholic retreat and also managed to see the author and jenn Ashworth (Fell is brilliant) discuss their two books set in north west England together.

The Lonely won't leave me alone. It's set in a Catholic retreat on a deserted part of coastline in the north-east of England in seventies - which (Catholic retreat apart) pretty much sums up my early years. Confusing & creepy. Loved the sense of place but overall it was a bit too long.

Book club next week... Really not sure what I think of this currently! Gets rave reviews but less than 100 pages to go and still don't feel like it's going anywhere... Am I missing something?!?

Excited to start this gothic mystery!

Brilliantly atmospheric writing, interesting characters and some truly creepy scenes spoiled by a confused plot and too much padding.

It's very rare that I come across a book that I cannot read. I was very excited about this book because it sounded so different and unusual, but I just couldn't get into it. I only got a few pages in before I decided I couldn't hack it. I always try and give a book a chance and attempt to plod through, but I don't know what it was with this one that I just couldn't. Beautiful cover though.

Full of atmosphere but lacking in event! The author did a great job of building tension but it didn't lead to much 😕 I found the religious details and ceremony very interesting though so couldn't pan it!

Happening right now at the Singapore Writers Festival as Hurley talks about landscape in setting up horror and menace in his book.

'The Loney' is an odd story to talk about, I know that is not exactly helpful for anyone who is reading this ~ apologies for that. It has a interesting story, the premise is good, the characters, unfortunately are not memorable. The best thing about the story is how unsettling it is.

Stuck with it hoping all would become clear in the end. It didn't. It didn't really scare me, I just found it very bleak. Incoherent in places and I was sorely tempted to skip ahead a few paragraphs/pages to see if the story was headed anywhere remotely interesting. Disappointed.

Unfortunately I just did not connect with this novel. Just when it started to hold my attention, the writing would drift and I would lose focus. I always give a novel a chance up to 100 pages. With proper focus, I think it could've been a great novel.