Welcome to Litsy!

#WeirdLove in this bizarre story of a carnival family where parents deliberately cause their children's birth defects in order to attract audiences. Themes question perceptions of normalcy & family love. Aqua Boy, Arty, attracts such a cult following that his fans have their own limbs amputated to emulate him. How far will followers go & what will they give up even to their own detriment? #FeelintheLove @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @eggs

Well, this one is interesting so far…
Finally starting Geek Love. It‘s one of the first books I added to my Good Reads account, I‘ve had it for ages and it‘s my January & July #doublespin Time to move it off my TBR!

#bookspinbingo
@TheAromaofBooks

#wickedwhispers #spookoween @eggs @alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @thespineview

I didn't enjoy this book, but I remember several #gruesome scenes. Lots of body horror. A lobotomy scene. Unsettling stuff.

The only downside of this was the number of times I had to explain it‘s not about a nerdy guy falling in love. But seriously: a really great, albeit absurd, read!

Have you ever hated a book so much that you're angry at the friend who told you to read it? That's me with this one. All of the characters were extremely unlikable (except Chick) and the plot just got more and more outrageously horrible.

Child abuse ✔️
Murder ✔️
Toxic relationships ✔️
Medical experimentation ✔️
Hate crimes ✔️
Cult behavior ✔️
Animal abuse ✔️
Getting pregnant by magically stealing your brother's sperm ✔️

This won awards. 😳🤢

Going to listen to this *very old* audiobook from my library. Every time I look at it, I think it‘s the wrong time. Now I need a #weird book for #booked2023 and this one has a lot of Litsy review about how odd it is. Perfect! 🤞🏻🤞🏻

Plus I‘m really trying to read stuff that I‘ve owned for a LONG time, instead of just getting distracted by the new and shiny things!

30 book recommendations in 30 days...

Day 26: A dark, bizarre, and yet somehow extremely addictive read. If weird and uncomfortable reads are your thing, this one is for you. #30recsin30days

#Movie2BookRecs @klou
Day 27, so playing caught up.
Promot: Step Brothers

🌟🌟🌟A car wreck you just can‘t look away from is the only way to describe this book. That is all.

#HauntedHallowSwap Q no. 2
#HHS #HHS22

1. Definitely a huge timberwolf!
2. Not Halloween related, but fav creepy book is Geek Love. House of Leaves was also interesting
3. None...eyes glued to the screen the whole time. Then completely incapable of sleeping for days.
4. Old classics, either Monster Mash or Purple People Eater
5. Beetlejuice or House of a Thousand Corpses (although neither are specific to Halloween)
@wanderinglynn

I‘m long overdue for a reread on this one! I first read it over a decade ago when I worked at Borders (I still mourn the loss of that job 😢). It was a staff favorite and one that I would recommend to any customer who was looking for something different, something a little bizarre, or something that would immediately hook them.

I don‘t really even know where to begin with this book…it was so good, but so, so odd! I couldn‘t fly through it the way I do with most books, but it was definitely a book that will stay with me for awhile!
⭐️: 4/5

I searched my blog posts for the word #candy and found my buddy read review of Geek Love. I am so due for a reread!

#Scarathlon #PhotoChallenge 🍬🍭🍫
QR code links to the post.

What is “geek love”? Performative, grotesque, shocking, disgusting, thrilling? Love that is unreal, it is put on, it is always a performance. It wants something in return (nothing is free, no relationship is unconditional): your attention, your reaction, and of course, your money. This kind of love wants you to leave feeling a little guilty, titillated, and dirtier than you were before you paid for it.

September #bookspin @TheAromaofBooks

I‘d been meaning to reread this for awhile now & glad I did. I think I appreciated it more the second time around. This is a very unsettling, grotesque book & I understand it isn‘t for everyone. I, however, absolutely love it. The writing demands you pay attention. The story and characters are compelling & disturbing. The whole thing is evocative as heck. It is a fascinating look at “love.”

I have wallowed in grief for the lonesome, deliberate seep of my love into the air like the smell of uneaten popcorn greening to rubbery staleness.

Looking through a journal from a few years ago I read: “I think about (the movie) Freaks almost every time I wash dishes.” This is still true. Why?? Why do some things just pop into your head with specific actions and also, why Freaks??? 🧽 🎪 🤔

#falltreasures #ADNF I know many people really love this book but I just couldn‘t get into it.Oddly, or not ,I do have non fiction books about freaks in my collection.Oh well.

I maybe forgot how good this is. It imparts disturbing, grotesque imagery with a calm, matter-of-fact voice which perhaps makes it all the more unsettling. “This is how life is, so what?”

🐥🐤🩸

My book haul! See previous post for back story. Not much of a non-fiction selection (the top three books) as they normally would have had. But I‘m sure it‘ll get better once they start accepting donations again in August. Son got five books (not pictured) which he has already taken to his room. They were all part of their fill-a-bag deal.

#currentread
Background image is courtesy of: https://eidetictraces.wordpress.com/

Deliciously grotesque. I never winced so much while reading a book, as it describes the Binewski family circus and the den of genetic mutants the Binewski parents bring into the world, intended as show attractions. An immensely disquieting but, at the same time, lovely read that speaks loads about beauty and chews over the many “freakish“ ways that familial love may manifest itself.

This is my #bookspin book for the month, but I have so many library books out I really wasn‘t sure if I‘d even make it to this one. Tonight I picked it up just to see... and looked up fifty pages later 🤷‍♀️ Guess I‘m hooked!

I hated this and couldnt force myself to finish even on audio. The fact that the mother chose to give her kids deformities just doesnt sit well.
#readharder book with a human main character with a disability

Weird, darkly funny and unforgettable. A favorite of mine.

Geek Love. Still my oldest on my GR list. You would think I could have gotten to it in the last 7 years if I really wanted to 😂
Excited to knock 2 more of these old guys out.
#bookspin #AugustSpin @TheAromaofBooks

I still have not cracked my June #bookspin but since I already have my TBR for the next couple of months up to 20 going to throw my hat in to @TheAromaofBooks July #bookspin and see if it is a better reading month.
Hoping for Geek Love since it has been on my GR TBR since 2013 😬

Very strange. Apparently this novel had a strong cult following. I'm not sure I understand why. It certainly pulls you in at some point to where you have to see where it's going to end, but I didn't necessarily love it. Recommended though for strong writing and well developed characters.

For Al and Lil Binewski, sparks initially flew when Lil was busy sinking her teeth into fowl necks. They decided that creating their own family of freaks was lucrative brilliance. With every pregnancy, Lil swallows down a number of toxic combinations to ensure that her newborn is anything but the dreaded norm!

My full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2316940929

📖 Geek Love by Katherine Dunne
✍️ Stephen Jay Gould
🎥 Galaxy Quest
🎤 Herbert Grönemeyer
🎵 Give Me the Night by Des Rocs

#ManicMonday #LetterG @JoScho

When I was 17 years old, this was my favorite book. It‘s been a very long time since I was 17! While my original copy, which is quite damaged, has many underlined passages, I cannot really remember what I loved about this story. I know a lot of people say it is really weird. The last person I heard talk about it went on and on with a lot of colorful language to express her thoughts on this book. I don‘t think she liked it. 😬😂

Continued⬇️

❤️Cruise🚢, drink 🍹, book 📚.❤️

Just finished this book. Binewski's Fabulon, traveling carnival features the home grown Binewski family Aqua Boy, Siamese twin sisters Elly & Iphy, Olimpia the albino hunchback dwarf and Fortunato with his amazing cerebral abilities. The story is so bizarre with a horrifying cult. Much tension. An interesting unusual read.

I haven‘t reread a lot of books. How about you? Even though I tend to gravitate toward brand new reads instead of old favorites, I have decided that I want to reread some books that I haven‘t read in at least 15 years to see how I feel about them now. I don‘t plan to read them all in one year but Geek Love, A Separate Peace, and Cycle of the Werewolf are three books I‘d

Continued in comments ⬇️

I always thought this was about nerds.

One of my favorite books involving the circus and #scaryclowns.

#screamathonphotochallenge Day 10. @4thhouseontheleft

It's no surprise that Carnivale was one of my favorite shows after having fallen in love with Binewski's Fabulon as a teenager. Follow the genetically engineered freak family as they travel the country, ruled by Arty's iron fist and Chick's big heart. Olympia, the albino dwarf hunchback, moves the story back and forth in time, while she develops a relationship with Miranda, her tenant. Secrets hide everywhere! #Booked2019 #Genrebusting

#7covers7days #covercrush
Day 6

Alice Roosevelt and I have been working through this since 7am, when my mangy mongrel of a terrier had a reverse sneezing spasm. 🙄 No way I was getting back to bed after that fiasco so why not join there Binewskis?

Notes for Now: Geek Love is said to have somewhat of a cult following, and I can see why. It‘s bizarre, original, and quite good. After reading some books, they fade into the background, and I rarely think of them again. This is not one of those books. Whether you love it or hate it, you‘ll remember Geek Love after you‘ve read it. Overall rating: 4.52 stars.

I finished it today, but it wasn‘t my thing. I found myself just reading to find out who Miranda‘s father was.

I‘m having trouble getting into this book. It‘s a selection from my book club, so I‘ll keep trying. For a couple more chapters.

#LilithJuly posting a little early since I‘ll be without WiFi most of tomorrow #GetYourFreakOn 🧡Geek Love is high up on my #TBR Since I once read it‘s @Liberty favorite book❣️📚 🃏🎪 Images courtesy of Google

I can't!!! It's the first week of July and I'm almost done with #summer for #Booked2019!!!! 2 more prompts and my lined up books are tagged and TBD because I have a ton to go through. I was thinking A Confederacy of Dunces for #giftedtoyou because my husband gave me a copy after I gave away 3 different copies of my own... LOL

Here‘s another awesome thing I saw at a bookstore we visited today: A signed hardcover edition of Geek Love by Katherine Dunn. It was $350, which is about $345 over budget for me, but it was definitely fun to look at!

Unpopular opinion in reverse: Name a book that you love that everyone else seems to hate.

This book is full of so much brilliance

My Round 4 #LMPBC book has come home. The consensus on this seemed to be “weird but interesting.” Thanks for a great round @leslieseidel @Ingerella @Whimsical.Curiosity!

I sent off my Round 5 book (Maid) about a month ago to you @BookishMarginalia. Did it arrive okay? I haven‘t received my April book yet. Is that coming from you @LazyDays? I‘m excited to read the books you ladies picked. @WanderingBookaneer