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The Lying Life of Adults
The Lying Life of Adults | Elena Ferrante
From the best-selling author of My Brilliant Friend, a powerful new novel set in a divided Naples "Ferrante shows again how she is unbeatable."- The Times (UK) "Modern, urgent, truthful." - Lucy Hughes-Hallett, The Telegraph "Elena Ferrante is an expert chronicler of adolescence and its many indignities, as well as its erratic, overwhelming passions." - The Observer Giovannas pretty face has changed: its turning into the face of an ugly, spiteful adolescent. But is she seeing things as they really are? Into which mirror must she look to find herself and save herself? She is searching for a new face in two kindred cities that fear and detest one another: the Naples of the heights, which assumes a mask of refinement, and the Naples of the depths, which professes to be a place of excess and vulgarity. She moves between these two cities, disoriented by the fact that, whether high or low, the city seems to offer no answer and no escape. Elena Ferrante is unsurpassed in her ability to draw readers into her books from the very first page and she proves this again with The Lying Life of Adults, pulling us into what the Italian trade magazine Il libraio described as not a mere story but an entire world. The millions of readers who found themselves addicted to My Brilliant Friend and the Neapolitan quartet will find that this new novel has the same addictive, do-not-disturb-Im-reading qualities. TO BE PUBLISHED SIMULTANEOUSLY IN OVER 40 COUNTRIES: AN INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER IN THE MAKING! THE ITALIAN EDITION OF THE LYING LIFE OF ADULTS (November 2019) HAS SOLD OVER 300,000 COPIES, REMAINING STEADY AT THE TOP END OF NATIONAL BESTSELLER LISTS BBC Radio 4 Book At Bedtime adaptation to be broadcast over 2 weeks at time of publication.
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LatrelWhite
The Lying Life of Adults | Elena Ferrante
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Liking this so far… stay tune!☺️

13 likes1 stack add
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lauraisntwilder
The Lying Life of Adults | Elena Ferrante
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Pickpick

I finally read this and of course I loved it, just like I have loved all the Elena Ferrante books I've read.

Amor4Libros I have not read this but watched the Netflix show and I loved it! 7mo
lauraisntwilder @Amor4Libros I haven't watched that yet, but I plan to. It looks so good! 7mo
Amor4Libros @lauraisntwilder I hope you like it! 7mo
22 likes3 comments
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mirnas
The Lying Life of Adults | Elena Ferrante
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Pickpick

I love this Elena Ferrante's coming-of-age novel set in 1990's Naples. Highly recommended🙂

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JillR
The Lying Life of Adults | Elena Ferrante
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Pickpick

“…my mother was indivisible and inviolable, she belonged to me alone. Her body I considered mine…mine even her thoughts, which…could be occupied only by me…” Elena Ferrante being excellent on women, on motherhood, as always. This writing, these fiercely intelligent characters, the intensity of everything. I‘m always part in love/part terrified when reading her books. Ps this cover ❤️ 💜

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thewallflower0707
The Lying Life of Adults | Elena Ferrante
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Pickpick

Typical Ferante style, but not as good as her Neapolitan Quartet.

#elenaferante #vacation #holidayread #novel

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andioop
The Lying Life of Adults | Elena Ferrante
Mehso-so

enjoyed most of it, usually ferrante has super powerful endings and movements within and i just kinda felt like this didn‘t go anywhere. but i liked it

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brushlo
The Lying Life of Adults | Elena Ferrante
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Pickpick

she is one of my favorite authors and captures what it might be like to be a woman growing up in southern italy. great themes around finding your own way…family…the myth of our parents and more.

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LapReader
The Lying Life of Adults | Elena Ferrante
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Tuesday night‘s scores at the book swap on my way home from Ballet.

Asthecroweflies Frankl‘s Man‘s Search for Meaning truly touched me. I read it in my graduate program but also respect and admire his work in the field of psychology. 3y
45 likes1 comment
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quietlycuriouskate
The Lying Life of Adults | Elena Ferrante
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Mehso-so

Well, that was over-wrought! Granted, Giovanna is a teenager navigating a family break-up. And I've never really got the necessity that most women and girls seem to have, to be considered beautiful in the eyes of others. Given that this is the novel's inciting incident, this book and I were unlikely ever to be a good match. EF writes wonderfully, but so much unnecessary emotional drama gives me a headache. It's good, just not my cup of tea.

Tamra Yuck - not a fan of overwrought & emotionally manipulative drama. I‘ve not read any of her novels, so if this is representative I‘m not likely to pick one up. 3y
quietlycuriouskate @Tamra I don't think she's trying to manipulate the reader (I hate that!). I just found it wearing how her characters consistently made a great big emotional splashy mess about all their interactions with each other. I've only read one other of her books: again, good but not really to my taste. 3y
Tamra @kathedron often why I don‘t care for coming of age novels, though there are the exceptions. 3y
42 likes3 comments
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Night_Reader
The Lying Life of Adults | Elena Ferrante
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Pickpick

4/5 🌟

Slow but honest, brutal and clever. This book is a good reminder that we are all flawed, insecure and hypocritical.

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Lesliereads
The Lying Life of Adults | Elena Ferrante
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Pickpick

Written in the adult voice of Neopolitan Giovanna Trada, this gripping, nearly obsessive narrative is largely a psychological and emotional “coming-of-age“ story. Giovanna retraces her adolescent years of struggling to unearth and reconstruct the truth behind the seemingly well-mannered life that her parents had constructed; while simultaneously trying to forge her own independent identity. A pick for me, with lot's of ⭐️s!

squirrelbrain This is one of my favourites of 2021! 3y
Suet624 Sounds great. 🤓 3y
DivineDiana Great picture! And love those gloves! 3y
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Cathythoughts Great review 👏🏻 I loved this one ! 3y
Lesliereads @Suet624 I hope the film adaptation will be a good one! 3y
Lesliereads @Cathythoughts Thank you 🙏🏾 I‘ve been wondering if other readers loved it, too! 3y
Lesliereads @DivineDiana 🙏🏾 Thank you! I made the scarf and hand warmers myself 😁. 3y
DivineDiana You are very talented! 3y
SRWCF The hand warmers are so lovely! Gorgeous colors. 3y
26 likes10 comments
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Simona
The Lying Life of Adults | Elena Ferrante
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Mehso-so

In this story, with self-explanatory title, we observe adults through the eyes of a teen girl. Interesting story, but Ferrante isn‘t author for me, and maybe with her next book I‘m going to figure it out, what exactly I don‘t like in her writing … 🤷🏻‍♀️

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Oryx
The Lying Life of Adults | Elena Ferrante
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Feeling very happy that I booked an extra Monday off work after my holiday. Daisy and I are enjoying the autumn sunshine.

squirrelbrain Lovely! 💕 3y
BittersweetBooks Looks like perfection ☀️ 3y
TrishB I had an extra day off today too 😁 3y
70 likes1 stack add3 comments
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Oryx
The Lying Life of Adults | Elena Ferrante
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Almost Napoli (in Scotland)🌞🌞

wanderinglynn Gorgeous! 💚 3y
squirrelbrain Looks lovely! 🥰 3y
Cathythoughts Lovely pic 3y
LeahBergen Beautiful! 3y
62 likes4 comments
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Oryx
The Lying Life of Adults | Elena Ferrante
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New book, same sleeping dog (she has moved from my last post - we had a lunchtime walk and swim).

Cathythoughts I loved this one 👍🏻❤️ 3y
Oryx @Cathythoughts I'm really liking it. It has a magic about the writing. 3y
47 likes2 comments
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Eva_B
The Lying Life of Adults | Elena Ferrante
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Pickpick

I love this author. She writes so beautifully. She really delves into the drama and the intricacies of relationships. Particularly the toxic and dishonest ones

Cathythoughts I love her too .. enjoyed this book 👍🏻❤️ 3y
11 likes1 comment
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purebugbeauty72
The Lying Life of Adults | Elena Ferrante
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purebugbeauty72 Coming of age story by the great Elena Fetrante, that ended just when I really wanted it to keep going. She spoiled us with the epic Neapolitan novels. I want to follow Giovanna into adulthood to see if she ends up better than her parents and her aunt. 3y
3 likes1 stack add1 comment
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purebugbeauty72
The Lying Life of Adults | Elena Ferrante
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Just as good as I hoped it would be.

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Chavelafab
The Lying Life of Adults | Elena Ferrante
Pickpick

I enjoyed this but it took a while to get into it. The end is great - a coming of age novel. I liked how betrayal was a theme throughout in the love lives of the adults in Gianni‘s life.

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Sparklemn
The Lying Life of Adults | Elena Ferrante
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Pickpick

Ugliness, secrets and betrayals are the three words I use to describe this story. I didn‘t like the main character but I understood her. Worth a read! #boxwalla

Cathythoughts I really enjoyed this one 3y
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AlizaApp
The Lying Life of Adults | Elena Ferrante
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Pickpick

The always-brilliant Elena Ferrante delivers again, though this one does not quite reach the heights of the Neapolitan books. Giovanna, a fairly sheltered teen, wants to meet her aunt Vittoria, her father‘s sister, since her father is not close to his family and she does not know them well. Instead she finds herself drawn into another world where adult behavior is not what she expected or what she had been promised.

Cathythoughts Nice review 👍🏻 I liked it as much as The Neapolitan Series ! 4y
33 likes1 comment
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MilicaS
The Lying Life of Adults | Elena Ferrante
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The first of many books by Elena Ferrante🥰

Cathythoughts Excellent book 👍🏻❤️ 4y
MilicaS @Cathythoughts 🥰🥰🥰 4y
8 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Cathythoughts
The Lying Life of Adults | Elena Ferrante
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Pickpick

Ferrante says : ‘ When I write it‘s as if I were butchering eels, I pay little attention to the unpleasantness of the situation.‘ I loved this book , I love her bluntness , her melodrama, & how she makes that great. I feel I‘ve been in Naples... I‘ve lived in the gritty melodrama of the characters ( great characters 👌🏻) lives.
A pic of our local Cafe .. Napoli ..
For #Translatedintoyour1stLanguage #Booked2021
Thanks Helen , I LOVED this book

Tanisha_A Love the picture! Sooo looking forward to this book ❤️ 4y
Cathythoughts @Tanisha_A Thanks! And I can guarantee you this book does not disappoint 👍🏻❤️ 4y
erzascarletbookgasm What a lovely review and gorgeous pic! 💜 4y
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Cathythoughts @erzascarletbookgasm Thanks Jessie. It‘s a cafe up the road from us & they make delicious Amalfi lemon cake ( all take-away with covid these days 4y
Kristin_Reads I‘m listening to the audio of this (read by Marisa Tomei) and it‘s excellent! 4y
Cathythoughts @Kristin_Reads I agree !! Excellent. 4y
squirrelbrain Great review Cathy - I knew you‘d love it! I loved the audio with Marisa @Kristin_Reads 4y
Cathythoughts @squirrelbrain Thanks Helen , it‘s brilliant! Marisa is great , I think I‘ll order the book too , I‘d like to read it as well 👍🏻😁 4y
eanderson Perfect picture!!! 4y
batsy Love the review and perfect photo 💜 4y
LeahBergen I want to go to that cafe! 4y
Cathythoughts @batsy Thanks Suba ! It‘s an excellent book 4y
Cathythoughts @LeahBergen Well you‘ll have to come to Cork then 👍🏻❤️ 4y
TrishB Lovely review and pic ♥️ 4y
Cathythoughts @TrishB Thanks Trish 😘 4y
CarolynM That looks lovely😍 4y
Cathythoughts @CarolynM It‘s a lovely spot , we went there often ( before covid ... it‘s just take away now ) the young man is from Naples & makes gorgeous lasagne & cakes 👌🏻 4y
Centique What a cute place 😍 I need to get to this book, really enjoyed the first two. 4y
Cathythoughts @Centique This book is so very good 👍🏻❤️ 4y
73 likes1 stack add20 comments
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Cathythoughts
The Lying Life of Adults | Elena Ferrante
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I won‘t get much reading done tonight ... tired 😴... but , I‘m very excited about my morning walk & ready to go , starting this one on audible... @squirrelbrain

squirrelbrain Ooh, I‘m excited for your morning walk too now Cathy! 😘 4y
Ruthiella I love Ferrante. This title is on my list! 4y
Cathythoughts @squirrelbrain Thanks! I‘m looking forward to it. I‘ll keep you posted 4y
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Cathythoughts @Ruthiella Me too ! I seriously loved the Neapolitan Series ❤️💔 4y
TrishB Enjoy ❤️ 4y
batsy Nice! I need to start the Neapolitan quartet! Of which I've happily bought the first two books ... I do admire them every so often 😳😂 4y
Cathythoughts @TrishB Thanks Trish ❤️ 4y
Cathythoughts @batsy I imagine you will love them 👍🏻❤️... so many books 4y
Tanisha_A Ooh! I bought this one sometime back. 4y
Cathythoughts @Tanisha_A it‘s off to a good start 👍🏻❤️ 4y
54 likes10 comments
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squirrelbrain
The Lying Life of Adults | Elena Ferrante
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Pickpick

My favourite audiobook of the year so far. We follow Giovanna, who is 12 as the book begins, and overhears a throwaway remark by her father that changes the course of her adolescence.

Ferrante is so good at inhabiting the mind of a teenage girl, I felt like I was Giovanna as you live all of her mixed-up feelings of love, anger, fear and longing.

Marisa Tomei is just *fabulous* as the narrator!

Meg and Cathy- I think you‘ll love this one!

Megabooks Definitely stacking! 4y
squirrelbrain Oops, forgot to say this is my #bookspin for April @TheAromaofBooks 4y
Megabooks Just checked this out from the library. Now to decide whether it or this will be my next audiobook. 4y
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Megabooks I‘ll get to both in the next two weeks. 4y
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 4y
Ruthiella I loved the Neapolitan quartet so much but have been totally remiss in reading Ferrante other books. This sounds fantastic. 😀 4y
squirrelbrain @Ruthiella - it definitely sounds like one you *need* to read! 😁 4y
Caroline2 Oh stacked. 😉 4y
Cathythoughts Oh great review! I‘m definitely going to go for it 👍🏻❤️ 4y
SerenaCrawford I just started reading 3y
75 likes3 stack adds10 comments
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perfectlywinged
The Lying Life of Adults | Elena Ferrante
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Just started this and the character writing is already so good. I am invested in finding out what will happen to this so called ugly girl.

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mhillis
The Lying Life of Adults | Elena Ferrante
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The Lying Life of Adults is an amazing book. It begins with one of those moments from childhood when the flaws of adults are brought to light, and continues by following how this plays out in Giovanna‘s life. I was captivated by her relationships with family and friends, but the latter part of the book was not as interesting for some reason. Book Two finished for #MarvellousMarch 🌼

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Lindy
The Lying Life of Adults | Elena Ferrante
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Pickpick

An interior novel that is somehow a page turner. Giovanna‘s coming of age in Naples is a visceral experience and I loved every bit of it.

Cathythoughts Stacked 4y
Lindy @Cathythoughts Good move. 👍 4y
33 likes2 comments
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Lindy
The Lying Life of Adults | Elena Ferrante
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He took off his shoes, pants and underpants. He kept on his linen jacket, shirt, tie, and, right below, the erect member that stuck out past legs and bare feet like a quarrelsome tenant who‘s been disturbed.

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Lindy
The Lying Life of Adults | Elena Ferrante
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“Poetry is made up of words, exactly like the conversation we‘re having. If the poet takes our banal words & frees them from the bounds of our talk, you see that from within their banality they manifest an unexpected energy. God manifests himself in the same way.”
“The poet isn‘t God, he‘s simply someone like us who knows how to create poems.”

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Lindy
The Lying Life of Adults | Elena Ferrante
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I‘d thought I couldn‘t live without him, but time was passing, I continued to live.

Cathythoughts ❤️ 4y
38 likes1 comment
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Emilymdxn
The Lying Life of Adults | Elena Ferrante
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Pickpick

I‘m still struggling with an awful endless-pandemic-reading-slump and getting through books very slowly but elena ferrante is one of the most reliably 5⭐️ authors for me and this didn‘t fail me at all. Very bitter in places, melancholy and difficult for sure, but her heroines have so much life and the writing is so beautiful. A gorgeous book to read slowly

Kristin_Reads So glad you have found something that fits right now! I‘m just discovering this author and am listening to this one on audio (also really good)! 💕 4y
Lindy I‘m reading this as a buddy read with my friend Kathy; our 3/4 of the way check-in is later today. 👍 4y
79 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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Lindy
The Lying Life of Adults | Elena Ferrante
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What happened, in the world of adults, in the heads of very reasonable people, in their bodies loaded with knowledge? What reduced them to the most untrustworthy animals, worse than reptiles?
(Internet photo)

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Lindy
The Lying Life of Adults | Elena Ferrante
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I recalled what he had once told me, that the dead are objects that have broken, a television, the radio, the mixer, and the best thing is to remember them as they were when they were working, because the only acceptable tomb is memory.

kspenmoll So true & wonderful quote. My mother was not one for grave visiting; she said memories were enough. 4y
Cathythoughts ❤️ 4y
Lindy @Cathythoughts Do you recognize this place? I took the photo of Kilmacduagh near Gort in 2018. 4y
See All 8 Comments
Cathythoughts My son lived in Galway for a few years do we often drove through Gort & visited a friend there ... I don‘t remember being in the graveyard though 4y
Lindy @kspenmoll When my dad died, I kept my eyes averted and didn‘t look at him in his coffin because I was afraid that image would overshadow my memories of him alive. 4y
Cathythoughts You took an amazing picture 4y
Lindy @Cathythoughts It‘s such a photogenic place! And the sky cooperated. 4y
42 likes1 stack add8 comments
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Lindy
The Lying Life of Adults | Elena Ferrante
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My latest library haul. 😁

charl08 Nice! 4y
rockpools I miss library books! And I really want to read the Gyo Fujikawa one. 4y
Lindy @rockpools @charl08 Our public libraries are closed, except for curbside pickup of holds. I‘m so grateful for that service! 4y
See All 9 Comments
rabbitprincess Woo hoo! That is an excellent stack 😄 4y
Lindy @rabbitprincess I was prepared: I brought my wheeled cart! 4y
Come-read-with-me What a great stack! 4y
Lindy @Come-read-with-me Lots of variety 😁 4y
Cathythoughts Very Nice 💫 (edited) 4y
Lindy @Cathythoughts Half of these are graphic novels, so you can expect a lot of cartoonist art in my feed in the coming weeks! 4y
52 likes9 comments
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Augustdana
The Lying Life of Adults | Elena Ferrante
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New in but not really! I started reading this in the summer and got sidetracked and now it‘s finally back in my hot little hands. Attempting to pick up around where I left off.

19 likes1 stack add
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Nori
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Pickpick

Elena Ferrante non delude mai ❤

1 like1 stack add
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Jolynne
The Lying Life of Adults | Elena Ferrante
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Pickpick

Tough call on this book, I liked it but I didn‘t. Adolescence is tough. Giovanna is smart and that is what I liked best about her journey.

Bren912 I was confused on a few levels but yet I mostly enjoyed her and the characters surrounding her. I feel same. I liked it. And didn‘t. 4y
Jolynne I enjoyed The Neapolitan books much more. Did you also read those? 4y
8 likes2 comments
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ashleyn
The Lying Life of Adults | Elena Ferrante
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Pickpick

Drew me in from the beginning. Writing felt very similar to My Brilliant Friend series. Ferrante always finds a way to make you feel connected to the characters.

Nute Welcome to Litsy! It‘s a warm and friendly community. I know that you will enjoy yourself here. I‘m looking forward to getting to know you!🙂 4y
7 likes1 comment
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janeycanuck
The Lying Life of Adults | Elena Ferrante
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Pickpick

My #DashingDecember success continues with my second of two library books.

The pacing and tone is exactly what I was expecting from this new Elena Ferrante. It read much quicker than any of the Neapolitan books but still packed the same kind of punch. The characters were rich and very flawed, making this a frustratingly enjoyable read.

Andrew65 Well done 👏👏👏 4y
36 likes1 comment
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GatheringBooks
The Lying Life of Adults | Elena Ferrante
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#SleighTheShelves Day 4: What a #Gift to have a yusband who cooks. Homemade Beef kare-kare for our super long National Day weekend.

OriginalCyn620 I‘m glad my husband likes to cook too! 4y
47 likes1 comment
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GatheringBooks
The Lying Life of Adults | Elena Ferrante
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#ForeverNovember Day 24: Finished reading The Memory Of Babel last night (#StartsWithT) and excited to continue reading tagged book semi-exclusively - also #StartsWithT

OriginalCyn620 📚👍🏻📚 4y
46 likes1 comment
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Graciouswarriorprincess
The Lying Life of Adults | Elena Ferrante
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Book 167 of 2020.

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GatheringBooks
The Lying Life of Adults | Elena Ferrante
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#ForeverNovember Day 22: I absolutely #love Middle Eastern dessert. These are nutella kunafa and basbousa with hazelnut. Both are 👌🏽and 🤩🥰💕

OriginalCyn620 Yum! 😋 4y
GatheringBooks @Eggs OMG! Thank you so much for the tag and catching this! 💕🥰🧚🏻‍♀️ 4y
Eggs @GatheringBooks 🧡❤️🧡 4y
52 likes5 comments
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GatheringBooks
The Lying Life of Adults | Elena Ferrante
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#ThankfulThoughts Day 20: #InnerBeauty and outer beauty seem like major themes in this newest novel of Ferrante which I naturally had to purchase immediately - notwithstanding my bookshelves of unread titles.

BookishTrish That table 😍😍😍 4y
Eggs 👏🏻📖👍🏼🌟🍪🍨👍🏼 4y
53 likes2 comments
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Nitpickyabouttrains
The Lying Life of Adults | Elena Ferrante
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Pickpick

Ferrante‘s writing is just as musical as her other books. It flows and deeply made me fall into the story.

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BookishTrish
The Lying Life of Adults | Elena Ferrante
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Pickpick

My expectations were sky high. The writing (and presumably translating) is brilliant. Ferrante has this way of letting you into someone‘s head with all its attendant complexities and contradictions. I was lukewarm on the story and tore through it anyways.