Welcome to Litsy!

What a joy to reread this novel. Spiotta plays with style, including articles with comments, and transcribed films. The narrators are varying degrees of unreliable. Very character driven rather than plot driven with the overarching theme of what makes a person good? Motifs of film, time, and sound. Definitely not a book for everyone but gorgeously done.

I have to work this Labor Day so I‘m doing so with a good book! This is my #blindbook I titled blue samples on my bingo board this month and it feels very fitting for the book itself. I loved this book when I first read it 5-6 years ago so I‘m excited to read it again!

⭐️4/5
This niche book(definitely not a popular masses novel) captivated me due to its uniqueness coming together well, even if it doesn‘t seem like it at the time. A disjointed, non linear time line that follows women working within or in spite of Hollywood. It asks big questions that leaves you feeling… almost floundering but in a good way. Definitely not for everyone though, I‘d say only a select audience will enjoy this as much as I did.

This one might be too smart or cool for me. It has a bit of a Jennifer Egan Welcome to the Goon Squad feel about it. Let me say that I like it so fa, but don‘t know why.

I‘ve found a local book club finally and this is the next read. I‘ve never heard of it, but it sounds interesting! Have any of you read this? Im wondering if its worthwhile to read for the club or go in for the next book :)

Novels about fictional filmmakers are 100% in my wheelhouse, so I really enjoyed this. Beyond the story itself, it's also an interesting exploration of what it means to be "authentic" (maybe, I think).

Something I needed to hear

#TBRtemptation post! (I'm sorry I keep churning these posts out, but there's so darn many I want to share with you, my fellow bibliophiles! Hope you don't mind.) So, this story is about two girls who grew up together in 1980s LA and have gone on to become successful filmmakers. They have everything in common except certain views, like sex, power, & morality. They meet a loner who seduces powerful men via phone sex. #blameLitsy #blameMrBook 😎

How about this new hardcover edition of Spiotta's novel, coming out next week from Picador Books? Oh my God I want it so bad!

My #Topreadsof2016. Happy New Year, Everyone! #Seasonsreadings2016

I'm having a really hard time getting into this, which surprises me b/c it's got a lot of things I normally love - smart/artistic female characters, meandering reflections on the nature of art, etc. But something about it is just rubbing me the wrong way. Might have to take a break and come back to it.

A deep dive into female friendship and how it can grow and change as people do.

Sometimes it was as introspective as a classic Russian novel, like a Tolstoy. This blew me away. And now I am going to read another Spiotta book, as I haven't read any others.

This novel makes me want to watch movies all day.

#recommendsday This book for me is an example of why I shouldn't judge a book by its cover (or its description). I was not looking forward to reading this but I was very pleasantly surprised. Spiotta did an excellent job developing her characters and weaving together the stories and struggles of three very different women. 💯

I absolutely loved this novel. The complexity of humanity it is able to capture truly inspired me and moved me. Definitely one to read slow and spend some time understanding the depth of each character that Spiotta is able to build. Adding it to my favorites of 2016.

"In the years after he had left her, Jelly would trace the way they unraveled in her mind. She thought if she could figure out the place they came apart, she could fix it and he would return to her. Being left was bottomless. Not only in the moment, but the way it gave the lie to all the moments that preceded it. Is that true? Is love real and true only if it continues? Was it revealed to be "not love" when it unraveled?"

Officially signed up for 24in48! This will likely be my reading selections unless I decide to deviate from my TBR...decisions decisions...

"Can an image convey something unnameable, impossible, invisible?" That's the central idea of Spiotta's smart, complicated novel. This wasn't an easy read, especially the references to obscure films, but it made me question the stories we tell, ourselves and others.

This is the thing about films. They don't change. You change. The immutability of the film (or a book or a painting or a piece of music) is something to measure yourself against. That is one of the things a great work of art does. It stays there waiting for you to come back to it...

Today's library haul. Really excited to read Dana Spiotta's newest.

Literally waited by the mailbox for this one. Worth it.

Attended the Bay Area Book Festival this weekend in Berkeley Ca, saw Jonathan Lethem in conversation with Dana Spiotta & afterward bought her book which has a very interesting first chapter!

A blurb on the back of this says Spiotta seems to channel Jean-Luc Godard. Well that's all I need to hear. I'm sold.

One of my favorite living stylists.

Dana Spiotta is to books what Kubrick is to movies.

This book is amazing so far. Just the way Spiotta is able to convey art is amazing.

The story was ok. There was focus on three different women but it really felt like one main character and supporting stories.

Keeping my fingers crossed this is good.

If George Saunders says it's a "thrill ride" I'm in.

Another awesome $2.99 Amazon/B&N deal! I really enjoyed this one bc I love the "unlikeable" female characters plus it has catfishing before the Internet. If you liked The Life and Death of Sophie Stark I very much recommend.

3.5🌟 It took me awhile to figure out how I felt about this book. It could've been so much better if there were an extra 100 pages devoted to Carrie. Her character was so interesting but underdeveloped. It made the whole book disappointing.

This is billed as story about a long friendship between two women, but it's really Meadow's story. She is self-indulgent and so were her sections in the book. I wanted more Carrie, more Jelly. This could have been so much more.

This is why I set aside six weeks a year to re-read my favorite books. I get something new each time.

I am falling in love with this book! This quote speaks to a number of times in my life.

So I recommended that the library purchase this book, and it came in! I read the reviews on here and they're 100% positive, which makes me very excited. I love stories about women's friendships, and I love stories with intrigue.

I suspect me and this book are going to get along smashingly.

"What machines of comforting delusions we humans are."

"They don't change. You change."

Perfect Saturday morning

Oops. I forgot I ordered one, so I bought another from Word today. Classic mistake.

WOW! Go read this now! Well, on the 8th when it is released. If you like a book about best friends, films and film making, and what makes a person who they are, this checks all your boxes. So very good.

I'm almost glad I've never read Dana Spiotta before because apparently she is the best and now I have more good books to read. This was GREAT.

Just started: Dana Spiotta's new novel Innocents and Others.

Absolutely, 100% engrossing. A story about friendship, purpose, and the peaks and pitfalls of ambition, "I&O" unspools multiple threads from its central subject, the lifelong friendship of two acclaimed filmmakers. Perfection.