Welcome to Litsy!

I am so glad I didn't let her Wolves novel deter me from picking this up, I enjoyed this much more! Even though I thought the twists were predictable, there was still enough intrigue and appreciation for her onion peeling writing to keep me reading. It is horrifying how much her world is just like ours but with barely any animals, sometimes you can go pages having forgotten. Great work.

Bailing on this, not because the writing is bad, but it is just not for me. Moving on!
#hailthebail
A #roll100 book off my physical tbr

I‘ll read any novel this author writes.

Flippin heck, what a book.
I feel despondent and sad but also in awe that she's conjured up such a terrifyingly possibility which should be prevalent in our minds and actions at all times.

Ready for April! Hoping for some nice weather for outdoor reading 🤞. Also hope to get to two books that have been on my #BookSpinBingo boards for over a year including the tagged book.

Oopsie! I put The Sweet Spot on my #BookSpinBingo board twice. Before the #bookspin and #doublespin numbers are drawn I will change #20 to Migrations.

Recent #bookmail.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Set in a near future with rapid animal extinction, Franny casts off with a commercial fishing crew to follow a specific bird on likely its last migration. Where there are fish, there are birds, and vice versa. For a bit, this felt like two stories slapped together until we are fully aware of the circumstances. Such a gut punch. One of the absolute best, most emotional, endings I‘ve experienced in some time. #bookclub

Wow, what a heavy and emotional book!! Highly recommend for a deep reading experience. ❄️📚❄️

Movie time with mom!

My #ReadingtheAmericas2023 progress: continuing to knock a few off, although I won't read everything on the list by 2024!

My #Greenland pick for #ReadingtheAmericas2023: not actually much Greenland but a really captivating story about an ecojustice activist in the near future who charms her way onto an Atlantic herring fisher to follow the migrating and threatened terns en route to the Antarctic. A painful backstory and a very diverse crew, with a bit of a nod to Moby Dick, kept me engaged, as well as the sheer passion for saving any bit of Earth's life.

In a near future where animals are going extinct at a rapid rate a woman is determined to follow terms on their last migration. After reading so many conflicting reviews I wondered where I would fall. Thankfully I really liked it. I cared less about Franny‘s backstory and was more interested in her journey at sea on she set sail with a crew that doesn‘t especially trust her or want her on board. The writing was so transportive.

This is a work of art. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
A Plath-like depiction of a lost and tortured woman who is wandering and broken, the prose in this book was so delicious. It‘s a unique story unlike any I‘ve read before that left me sad but hopeful. The world is losing species at a rapid rate, and the protagonist is her own antagonist and goes searching for the last of the Arctic terns. Travel to tumultuous tundra of oceans that is a broken woman‘s existence.

This is a very soft 3 star for me. It was interesting in regards to looking at mass extinction and the after effects of how we could survive. I wish I could have seen more of this. Our main character was okay, but I just wasn‘t a fan of hers as the story progressed. The back story for her made sense, but I felt led to believe that there was something more there. Read for #Naturalitsy @AllDebooks

Thank you for the tag @Eggs 🍎Autumn time is one of the few times we can be outside and enjoy being outside. There is a town close by that we like to eat pie at and enjoy the sights. 🍎 Determined 🍎I‘m currently reading the tagged a little late 😅 Would you like to play?: @AllDebooks @Littlewolf1 @Daisey @JazzFeathers

This book is bleeaakkk.

Amazing! This heartbreaking ecological odyssey considers a near future world where most animals are extinct and shares a personal journey of love, loss, and redemption. The characters are complex, difficult, and unforgettable. 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #BookspinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

Good discussion today at book club. This novel was liked by everyone. #FirstSaturdayReaders

#Naturalitsy

I don't like to pan a book but I really hated this story. I would have bailed but was hosting #Naturalitsy #buddyread
I couldn't gel with the MC at all, implausible storylines, preachy, inconsistent and meh.

Don't give up on McConaghy tho as Once we were wolves is fantastic.

This was an ok book. I had a hard time getting into for almost half of the book. I really enjoyed reading the setting: sometime in the near future where most animals and forests are extinct. I wish the book was more about this instead of Franny's inner turmoil. I give this 3 ⭐️

#BookSpinBingo #8 #ispybingo
@TheAromaofBooks @Clwojick

#rushathon
@DieAReader @Andrew65 @GHABI4ROSES

#naturalitsy #buddyread @AllDebooks

I was listening to this chapter while walking my dogs this morning. Quite apropos, as I too have crow friends who follow me around because I throw them peanuts. No gifts yet, but they do leave feathers on occasion. 🪶
#naturalitsy @AllDebooks

I'm currently trying to finish the tagged book and no, I'm not relating to any of the characters. The main character is trying to run from her past (murder, love, loneliness) while trying to catch some birds. So yeah...no. 😅
I could probably relate a little bit to the character's loneliness but I'm blessed to have loving people in my life.

#SundayFunday @ozma.of.oz

#NaturaLitsy

Post 6/6

Would you read more by this author based on this reading experience?

🤔 I would appreciate some feedback on our first fiction read.
Have you enjoyed it as a break from non-fiction or would you prefer to have a nature fiction read on a regular basis?

I thought for sure I‘d love this, but just a like for me. A bit heavy-handed perhaps? Once There Were Wolves worked better for me for some reason. It is a haunting and emotional read though and I‘m glad I finally got to it. I‘ll be interested in whatever she writes next. Looking forward to our #NaturaLitsy discussion!

I did not enjoy this journey at all. I was so irritated with the structure. The time changes & sequences with little cliffhangers every two pages made my ADHD scream “Get To The Point!” It was completed through anger infused propulsion. I also didn‘t find much of it plausible. I didn‘t like the MC. I really thought it was going to be about a woman tracking arctic terns. Guess I‘ll have to find another book for that. #UnpopularOpinion.

Just finished this a few minutes ago, and, wow, what a surprise this book was. Thought provoking, challenging, emotional. Can't wait for my book club's discussion.

Although I enjoyed this book, it was at times rather preachy and depressing. Set in a not to distant future where most of the animals and birds are extinct, Franny is on a quest to follow the last migration of the Arctic terns.
#Naturalitsy #naturalitsybingo2023 #climatechange @AllDebooks #RushAthon @DieAReader @Andrew65 @GHABI4ROSES

Just hanging with my Seren-cat reading. I can't believe she's 4 today!

I loved the ideas behind this book, but for me, the execution left something to be desired. It seemed a bit overwritten. I liked the start, and the ending finally managed to engage me emotionally, but overall, it just didn't quite work for me.

And an ornithologist like Niall would know the whole "don't touch a bird's egg or the mother will abandon it" is an old wives tale. (That's not a spoiler, it's just one line towards the end that bugged me)

Who else loves getting an oil change because it means a solid 45 minutes to an hour of reading time? 🙋‍♀️🙋‍♀️🙋‍♀️

Sorry #naturalitsy, I bailed.

I read 81 pages. I liked the setting, i was ok with the tone. I didn‘t like the (cardboard cutout?) characters, didn‘t like the development and all the things that I didn‘t buy. I felt it wasn‘t holding together and it got to me. Hopefully i‘ll take more to our next book.

#BookBinge #InvolvesAnimals in this case birds, as Franny Stone tracks the believed last migration of arctic terns to Antarctica.

#Naturalitsy

Hi 👋

It feels weird not having a weekly check-in, so here I am asking how you all are. Have you had a good week? Have you started our book yet?
I'll post a discussion thread at the end of the month 😊

All welcome to join us. Please let me know if you wish to be added/removed from the taglist.

This was my book clubs pick for July. I think this is beautifully written. I had no idea what this was about when I picked it up - I thought it was going to be about birds. I will definitely read more books by her (I‘ll just make sure I have a box of tissues nearby)

August and September selections for book club. #FirstSaturdayReaders

#RushAThon

Joining in as I find these #readathons so helpful to whittle through those tbr stacks.
Goals -
🖋 I have a busy month in August, so I will be focusing on mood reading through #Netgalley arcs and library holds.
🖋 Complete #buddyreads for #Naturalitsy #rereadtheclassics #bookedintime #AAM #Bookedintime

Thank you for hosting @DieAReader @Andrew65 @GHABI4ROSES ❤️📚❤️

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

All ready for August's reading. Hopefully, I'll stay motivated with room for mood reading 📚 ☀️⛱️😊🥂

repost for @AllDebooks

#Naturalitsy

Our next #buddyread for fiction starts on 1st August. This is a little different from usual, less structured. As it's fiction, I'm going to set up as a read at your own pace.
I will post a discussion thread on the 27th of August.

Happy reading in the summer sun ☀️ 📚⛱️ 😍🥂

All welcome to join us. Please let me know if you wish to be added/removed from the taglist.

#Naturalitsy

August voting results @Soubhiville tbh I may join you, as Overstory has been on my shelf forever

#Naturalitsy

Our next #buddyread for fiction starts on 1st August. This is a little different from usual, less structured. As it's fiction, I'm going to set up as a read at your own pace.
I will post a discussion thread on the 27th of August.

Happy reading in the summer sun ☀️ 📚⛱️ 😍🥂

All welcome to join us. Please let me know if you wish to be added/removed from the taglist.

@LitsyEvents

Mixed feelings about this one. Descriptions of the natural world that were multilayered, profound, and read like poetry would be immediately followed by the clunky, overwrought prose of the MC's inner thoughts. The central conceit (the rapid disappearance of animal life) was good, and I liked how the story was structured, but certain scenes (like the introduction of the ship's crew) felt rushed and hackneyed, like a bad TV script. Overall...👇

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

The animals are dying.

#Naturalitsy

Voting stats for our July & August reads, as promised pn previous post 📚 🌞📚

This wasn‘t for me! There is a certain bristle and unlikable nature to McConaghy‘s main characters that feels like a barrier to connection for me. I appreciated the structure, ethics and intent of the novel (I enjoyed learning about the Arctic Terns!) Franny, in my opinion, wasn‘t the best character to tell this story. She was overdone and too rugged/traumatized with few redeeming qualities and surprising tenderness that came out of nowhere.