Welcome to Litsy!

A great fall read - an often creepy collection of stories that raised the hair on the back of my neck more than once. Some really great stories in here (a few I didn‘t like quite as much). Overall I liked this collection more than her novel, Swamplandia, that I read years ago.

First line: In October, the men and women of Sorrento harvest the primofiore, or “first flowering fruit,”the most succulent lemons; in March, the yellow bianchetti ripen, followed in June by the green verdelli.

Lemons wink like a firmament of yellow stars, slowly ripening, and I can see the other, truer night behind them. 🍋 🧛

#shortstories

This is a collection of short stories. They are out there. I enjoyed some more than others. Russell is very creative!

Next one on the list! Changing it up a little bit to hopefully lighten up after the dark read that was American Predator. It‘s been awhile since I‘ve found comfort in short stories.

Puns are the laziest costumes. 💯

Hope you‘re all having a fa-BOO-lous Halloween weekend! 👻

So, this may not be a popular review but this was a so-so for me. I enjoyed the stories, but overall this is not my kind of book, but I felt the need to complete it (audiobook). I can‘t put my finger on why I had to finish it, so I feel that makes it at least a So-So. I even had a hard time picking my favorite short story, but “Rules for Antarctic Tailgating” and “Graveless Doll” stood out for me.

#scarathlon2020
#Teamharkness
My TBR

Challenge accepted! 3 photos of books linked (loosely!) to Halloween that I‘ve read and a few of my Halloween aesthetic!

Great idea @Chrissyreadit 😘

#hauntedhollowswap

#BeautifulWords @OriginalCyn620 @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
#Conflate

Whenever I read a book like this I am astounded by the imagination some people have. These stories were strange and surreal and used their otherworldliness to illustrate trauma, mortality, and autonomy. I particularly loved the women as silkworms story and the title story. Eerie and strange in the best ways. #animalonthecover #booked2020

Short stories that are well written but have unsatisfying endings.

#BoundTogetherJune #fruitonthecover

Loved loved LOVED this collection of magical realism/creepy/literary stories! Russell‘s words live off the page once you‘ve moved on to the next story or closed the book. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My February tbr (I‘m so behind!). I finished off my TOG series and have been in a reading funk. I miss my character friends!!!!

🦇🍋

The first two stories (Vampires in the Lemon Grove and Reeling for the Empire) were amazing, five stars each, and the last (The Graveless Doll of Eric Mutis) was very good as well, but the five others weren‘t for me

Haunting collection of short stories. Each one left me wanting just a little bit more.

#NameChallenge
Thanks for the tag @Aimeesue !
@Leftcoastzen if you want to play, spell your name with the titles of books 🙄

From “Reeling for the Empire”

“Long before the kaiko change turned us into mirror images of one another, we were sisters already, spinning identical dreams in beds thousands of miles apart, fantasizing about gold silks and an ‘imperial vocation‘.”

#QuotsyJune19 | 19: #Grove

📷: Made with Typorama

I'm usually really into weird, eclectic stuff, but for some reason I didn't enjoy many of these short stories. To me they were just okay. 🤷🏻‍♀️ It could be that I've had a super rough work month in April and the stories just weren't grabbing my attention. I'll try a reread again one day soon. ⭐⭐⭐

This was a wonderfully written book of 8 short stories, most of which kept me engaged and entertained. Each one, though different, tied together relationships, identity, and physical objects to prove the humanity behind us all. Some were funny. Most were haunting. All of them were weird, as many combined elements of horror with elements of fantasy.

Thanks to @Cinfhen for the recommendation!

📷: Google Books

#Booked2019 | #FoodOrBeverageOnCover

“Often I wonder to what extent a mortal‘s love grows from the bedrock of his or her foreknowledge of death, love coiling like a green stem out of that blankness in a way I‘ll never quite understand. And lately I‘ve been having a terrible thought: Our love affair will end before the world does.”

#TimbitTunes | 24: #NoSugarTonight

📷: Made with Typorama

#LitsyWalkers It‘s gorgeous out ☀️☀️☀️I thought I spotted a UFO which I think would work for #unusual but just in case you were doubting my sighting I‘m including some beautiful lemons that I passed growing in a neighbor‘s yard. Do those items work @kaye !??!! 😜 And If u are looking for an #unusual short story collection the tagged book would absolutely work!! Have you read them @Reggie @LiterRohde @rohit-sawant ?!?!?

Wow. What a fantastically weird collections of stories. The titular story is fantastic & my favorite. I also really enjoyed ‘The Graveless Doll of Eric Mutis‘ about a bully coming to terms with what he‘d done as well as the story of a family homesteading in Nebraska. Magical realism, fantasy, horror, & the endless wonder of possibility suffuse this work which is not for the faint of heart. A collection of stories perfect for adventurous readers.

📖 Tagged and pictured
🎥 First Step because I watched it last night
🎵 Strawberry Fields Forever by The Beatles

Today‘s grab and go book is a short story collection. How could I not with such a fantastic title?!? Even if there are no vampires or a lemon grove can‘t you just see them puckering their lips around a particularly sour lemon?!? 🍋 🧛‍♀️🍋

📖 Vampires in the Lemon Grove

🖋 Kurt Vonnegut

📺 Vikings

🍸 Vodka (I know, I know; not a food. In my defense I‘m not ready to runday on this #manicmonday)

@JoScho

🧛‍♂️ Vampires in the Lemon Grove
👨‍💻 Jeff Vandermeer
🎬 V for Vendetta
☕ Vanilla Chai

@JoScho #manicmonday #letterV

I've had some great luck with story collections this year- this one is no exception. These stories all have a magical realist quality, but also a wonderful range of styles: fable, coming-of-age, farce, satire, and even one that verges on horror (and this is just in an 8-story collection, mind you). The magical parts are memorable, but some stories are more fantastic than others: the perfect blend of ideas and characters is what makes them special.

Eehhhhhhhhh..........see this is just what I worried would happen. I did like a couple of the stories, but most of them were just too odd or hard to get a hold of or just.....not stories. I felt like she left a number of the stories unfinished, or maybe that‘s the point but it annoyed me. And honestly a few of them I found dull as all get out. Sigh. 2/5 ⭐️

Thank you so much, @bookish_wookish, for this absolutely fabulous #AllHallowsReadSwap! I'm so excited for the books. Everything is marvelous, thank you!!

@MaleficentBookDragon

I‘ve not always had the best of luck with short story collections described as “quirky” or “unusual” or whatnot, but I want to give this one a try. The title at least makes it feel like a good Halloweeny read 😝 #nowreading

Another one that has been sitting on my #tbr. From all I‘ve heard the characters in this book are strange and include a community of girls that transmute into silkworms. #peoplearestrange #authorineedtoread #octoberxfiles. Has anyone read this one or swamplandia? Thoughts?

Love this ☺️🐡

#currently reading

This collection of short stories mostly didn‘t connect with me. They were quirky but only mildly interesting. However, one story is about a massage therapist. Since that‘s my career, I have a LOT of opinions about Russell‘s representation of this work. She tries to be creative, but for me this story especially fell flat. Really flat. Offensively so. I had to get on my soapbox about it!

Full review www.TheBibliophage.com
#thebibliophage2018

This week‘s listen is a series of odd little short stories. As I expect, some are more intriguing than others.

All good things in yellow. Olive-oil baked salmon (always soft & moist - 250F for 30 minutes) and oven-roasted yellow and purple cauliflower.

I absolutely love the cover of this book, but I couldn‘t stand what was inside. I had to stop after the third story because I was bored and I wasn‘t feeling satisfied. I feel like you had to keep guessing what happens at the end of each story and I had a hard time focusing with the dialogue. Oh well, this is my first DNF of 2018 so I guess that‘s not too bad 😂

1️⃣ Vampires in the Lemon Grove 🍋
2️⃣ Picnics (I‘d rather be home reading though)
3️⃣ Hot dogs and Cheeseburgers on the grill 😋

Another awesome thing about today is I‘m going to the bookstore after all the picnics! Wahoo!!

#manicmonday @JoScho

Slowly getting back into everything. It‘s been a rough few weeks due to my fathers passing, and that‘s why I‘ve been M.I.A. Don‘t worry though, I‘ll be back in the saddle soon enough but in the meantime, know I am wishing you all well and will be back soon ❤️ Peace to all my Litsy friends and I am so glad to be back!

I know a lot of people like this short story collection, but after the first story, I just got lost. I like more finality in my stories and more of a solid point. I think these were a bit too obscure for my taste.

Finished A Darker Shade of Magic and returned to my short story collection (that I still haven‘t finished)! Although, I am really loving this story so far!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

gift carnage!!! I love them!!! Also get out of my head. 😘😘😘😘😘 x 100 #halloweengoespostal #fallbookexchange thank you soon much!! 😊😊

Last book for #litsyatoz challenge. Books in the comments.

I loved these stories! I think some people found some unsatisfying or too open-ended but they were almost all satisfying enough for me--very creepy and thought-provoking. I think my favorites were "Reeling for the Empire" and "Proving Up." Doesn't actually fit #zombieoutbreak but check the spoiler comments for why I chose it. #hallowreads