Welcome to Litsy!

Vladimir called to me. Can you blame me? (Or the cover model?)

I bailed at 75%. I was all in even though I hated the narrator—I also empathized with her as a fellow academic and middle aged woman who grew up in a western patriarchal society. But she made a choice in the last section of the book that I found so dumbfounding and reprehensible that I had to stop reading it.

I loved the beginning of this book! I agree with other reviews that the end was pretty meh but the overarching relationship was satisfying to me and throughout the book I would laugh at the absurdity.

This book I chose for my club this month wasn‘t a good choice. I wish I would have DNF‘d it. Someone in my club DNF‘d it. I thought it was going to be a good choice. Hopefully, I will choose better books for my club. I don‘t know what to choose for next month. If I get tired of doing this club or if it‘s not working out, I can shut it down. Not everything in life works out and that‘s okay.

This is the first book I read this month and I ended up getting word search points after searching for this book on Google Books just by looking for the words. I wasn‘t keeping track of the words when I was listening to this book. Now, I can get points for this. This is not a scary book so I didn‘t think I would find any of the words from the word search in it.

#HHC #scarathlon

Here‘s my review for a book I finished reading last night at 4 AM. I chose this book for my book club on Fable.

I‘m also counting this book for a readathon and a reading challenge:

Dionysus | God of Wine & Madness:
A book where the main character loses their mind - #greekmythologychallenge

Book read (unrelated) - #scarathlon #HHC

I started this book this afternoon. It‘s good so far.

For my book club on Fable this month, I‘ve chosen Vladimir by Julia May Jonas. I‘ve heard that this is a good book for book clubs. I started my book club in September and I was worried that it was going to be hard to host because I‘ve never hosted one but it was easy. Fable made it really easy.

I listened to this one over audio. I have conflicting feelings on this one. On one hand I felt that is was a good story about women & aging. How women continue to feel relevant in their careers (especially academics) & in their home life. How women are perceived by others as they get older. The first 2/3rds of the book I thought was very smart & very interesting. The last 3rd was a little too much of an ick factor for me (reason ⬇️) #bookspin book

Apologies for those of you who hate this cover 😂. I personally thought it was clever. I really liked the first 2/3 of this book: the MC was a refreshing character, the reflections, and I like exploring the complexities of serious issues. And then the story went bonkers. My spouse had to check on me thinking something was wrong, hearing me exclaim WTF when I finished 😂 I don‘t know what to think about it… but curious to read more from Jonas.

Literary synchronicity. John Berger and Ways of Seeing, which I remember reading as an Art History minor, came up while listening to the audiobook The Nineties yesterday and this morning in Vladimir. Totally different books and genres, but same reference. Love when that happens!

A fifty something professor is confronted with the fact that her husband (a professor at the same college) is facing a disciplinary hearing for repeated sexual liaisons with female students. She knew about them, but then becomes obsessed with a young male professor, perhaps unconsciously imitating her husband. It‘s a well written psychological portrait of a middle aged woman coming to terms with her life. I liked it very much.

Beautifully written debut about a middle aged English professor who becomes obsessed with a younger man…but that‘s really only part of the story. The book is about motherhood, aging, academia, marriage. It takes a rather strange turn near the end, but I really enjoyed it.

Excellent writing; misogyny and gender roles are questioned as well as the institution of marriage. I usually don't enjoy books where I don't like the protagonist, but in this case I did. The ending caught me off guard!

#bookhaul4 including but not pictured the tagged book, which is not for my class library.

Having breakfast (coffee and homemade fa gao 发糕) with Vladimir and feeling the need to cover up this rather naughty cover

Normally not something I‘d pick up and I should listen to my instincts/judging a book by it‘s cover. It‘s not atrocious to the point of not finishing it, but it was irritating and just meh.

An English professor whose husband - also a professor - is being investigated for alleged sexual abuses finds herself attracted to a hotshot new writing professor at her small upstate New York college. The way she writes about aging and desire was brilliant. I couldn‘t put this one down.

Tried out this audio today…. Just didn‘t feel right for right now. Maybe I‘ll come back to it later.

I wasn't sure I would like this one based on the reviews. I'm grateful I didn't let them scare me off. I thought this was a really interesting book. It explores the topics of privilege, power, feminism, sexuality, and age in a thoughtful way. I thought this was a bravely written book in a world of #metoo feminism. I'd love to hear your thoughts! ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This book portrays relationships from a different angle than most are used to. Neither of the couples depicted in the story had a traditional marriage. I found it very interesting. I‘m not sure that I particularly liked any of the characters. They were all very odd. This book is different than any I‘ve ever read. I recommend it.

An interesting character study with an academia setting that raises questions concerning power dynamics and consent, as well as aging, unrealized goals, loneliness, and selfishness. Despite the cover, the “obsession” of Vladimir doesn‘t come into play until about 3/4 in, and then it kind of goes off the rails. It will leave you uncomfortable and at times appalled, but I believe that‘s by design. Rebecca Lowman was a great narrator! #botm #pop22

This book is an academics playground.
The description & early sentences of the book misleads towards Lolita vibes, and it is in the obsession sense, not the underage sense. It‘s reminiscent of The Picture of Dorian Gray - debates art and morality and beauty in a provocative way. It is about power dynamics and consent and sex and agency in relationships and systems. It leaves a bit of an icky feeling behind, an intent I‘m sure the author intends

This book deals with sexual politics in the wake of #metoo & illustrates resulting moral & ethical questions including how we understand past events & behaviour in the light of changed ideas about right & wrong. All of that was very interesting & the writing is good but I found the narrator irritating & her behaviour bizarre. It makes a change to centre-stage female sexuality, but not necessarily for the better. A low pick. #Bookspin

Another really good book, set in US, a professor is facing charges of inappropriate relationships with former students. In the meantime his wife is increasingly getting obsessed by Vladimir a writer. The only thing I don't like is the cover.

Short, well written. Are the characters likeable? No. Are they familiar, especially in this politically charged moment? Yes. Speaks volumes on the fine line between selfishness and loneliness and our society is plagued with miscommunication and trauma. Especially white Americans. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Don‘t let the cover (which really doesn‘t speak to the story inside) fool you.

Very behind on posting books I've been reading, so apologies for the multiple posts in a row..

Despite the creepy cover, I enjoyed this read.. messy relationships set against an academic background. #botm

Thanks for the tag @MaleficentBookDragon ! 😘😘
#WondrousWednesday @Eggs

> 🙋🏼‍♂️✍🏽🤤😤🏊🏻‍♂️… I‘m only about 1/4 in… 🤷🏽‍♀️

> I‘d love a sequel to Maybe You Should Talk to Someone. I know, it‘s nonfiction, but the number of times I think, I just want more of that…..

> The last book I finished was Buried in the Stacks, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Tagged some folks to play! 🦋🦜

I started this today, only one chapter in. Although I really don't like the cover! #currentlyreading

I guess the key to garnering a lot of attention for a somewhat mediocre book is to slap this cover on it.

Did I mainline this audiobook in less than a day? Yes, and my gosh, what a ride. The main character‘s voice is fascinating. I‘m a sucker for campus novels, and this one is as good as it gets for that genre. Love the examination of sex and age and bodies and the changes of mores over time.

⭐️⭐️ The character study of an unnamed middle-aged female professor who is 1/2 of an open marriage where neither party acts like they give a shit about anything but themselves. How fitting because I gave zero shits about these people nor what did/didn‘t happen. Impressive writing, dreadful story. Most repelling cover since A Little Life. Apparently the image represents the woman‘s objectifying gaze, so at least there‘s an explanation.

Book 65

🎧 This book was just not for me. It read like a slice of life of a couple in their late 50‘s that were ok with extramarital affairs. Oh & they‘re college professors (student affairs).

The narrator is the wife & she‘s worried about her appearance & wanting men to be attracted to her & worrying that they aren‘t, comparing herself to younger students & she‘s horny/masturbating all the time.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 👇🏻

I really enjoyed this surprisingly literary look at campus sex scandals, aging, power and marital relationships. Both husband and wife are respected professors until inappropriate relationships are called out. All from the perspective of an ambitious 57 year old professor it has a little crazy ending but it is really well done. This seems to be somewhat divisive but if you picked this for content and nor the cover you might very well like it.

An interesting concept and voice but I felt it dragged on too much for a short book. I never fully understood the narrator‘s obsession and it goes a bit batshit there at the end. #BOTM

I mean the book was better than the cover.... lol

I did not love this. In fact I would rate it 2.5⭐. I can relate to some of the narrators feelings but at times this felt bizarre.

The emphasis of sexuality from the cover art as well as the descriptions of the novel I read led me to think this was going to be focused on the affairs/sex and power in the workplace. However, it was much more inward-looking, as our main character considers aging, recognizes her own vanity, and reflects upon her relationship with her grown daughter. A reversal of #metoo/lolita..I‘m not sure. But I did enjoy this novel.

I did not enjoy this one at all and DNF. Just did not connect to the narrator/story and ultimately couldn‘t stick with it. By the way, this cover is so cringeworthy… 🤷🏽‍♀️

I'm reading “Vladimir“ right now. Wondering if anybody else finds the narrator's daughter annoying. I just want to slap her. There is no way I'd talk to my mother in such a disrespectful manner. She's such a brat! She's not the only one though. The author has done a great job of making some really unlikeable characters. Now that my rant is over I must say that I'm really enjoying this book! 😄

Oh, this cover - how can we forget this cover!? If you like books in an academic setting, if you like character studies, if you wonder how/why any open marriages succeeds - read this book. It‘s a great read. I often consider perspective better in fictional #MeToo stories when my personal opinion about IRL people involved aren‘t involved which was another reason to thumbs up this book!

I seem to be in the minority, but I love this cover and absolutely requested it on NetGalley for that reason. Happily, I loved the book, too. 😉

Full review on my blog: http://sprainedbrain.blog/2022/02/18/review-vladimir-by-julia-may-jonas/

I did the ‘ole audio/kindle combo for this one because it was compulsively readable and I didn‘t want to stop. Narration is excellent, print is great.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#BlameItOnLitsy because otherwise I never would have read this book.

Highly entertaining, fast paced, with a wide range of characters to keep you invested. I loved the point of view of the main character and I felt her voice is one not often explored in literature. The ending surprised me because it's not the direction I saw things going.

There's also a mention of Stephen King's Misery in this one. 😀

About 2/3 of the way in I thought, nothing much has really happened outside of the main character's fantasies.

Then the last third of the book things happened - unexpected things!

This is a book full of characters who possess little to no moral compass.

An entertaining page-turner with an eye-catching cover 😄

#botm

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

A bold and lacerating look at female desire, aging, and power with a really intriguing (and sometimes cringey) protagonist who I know will linger in my mind for awhile. This was especially interesting to me as someone who works with college students. By the end it made me feel unsettled and bleak, but I can‘t deny that I was riveted. #BOTM

I like that the narrator of this novel is NOT a highly self-aware millennial. 😂

Our middle aged narrator is married to a professor embroiled in a sex scandal at the college where they teach. Vladimir, a sexy youngish writer, is brought into the department, and our MC is hot and bothered, but her fantasy is as much about being untied from her husband‘s scandal as about Vlad himself. The ending is abrupt but still an enjoyable book. #botm ⬇️

This is the perfect example of don‘t judge a book by it‘s cover. This book is way meatier than expected and quite literary as well. The unnamed narrator is a 58 year old professor at a small liberal arts college where her husband has been accused of numerous cases of sexual assault. What she‘s unaware of is how the allegations will affect her. A true page turner with some unexpected surprises. #Booked2022 #DarkAcademia

#AudioSouping Really engaged with this audiobook #DarkAcademia

Wow. I was completely enthralled by this author‘s writing and found myself reaching for a pencil to underline passages. Do not let the cover fool you, this is not a romance. This book was interesting and thought provoking. I wish I could articulate better but what a fresh unique read. This one is a keeper and I look forward to more work from this author.