Welcome to Litsy!

It was fine! As a cult doc fanatic, I wish there had been some more leaning into the “cult” aspect, but as a girl who has been scarred for life running into three exes in a span of a week, it‘s an extremely relatable read in you live in Brooklyn // NYC. It IS a small world after all 🤙

I readily admit I didn‘t get this. The metaphysical elements left me cold and it all felt a bit self indulgent and whiny. I am not sure any of the characters were either good or interesting. And yet… the writing was strong and I never felt like giving up so not a definite pan for me

Circling thru exes, letting go of the past. Snarky, propulsive voice. Trying too hard? Mentions Bechdel test, fails on purpose. NYC LES. Golconda device=unnecessary? P122 “If you wait long enough, anyplace will become a barracks of the romantic undead, a sprawling museum of personal bombs. But would all my bombs go off at once?” P209 “I was a sane person imitating a broken person imitating a sane person, which did not feel sane, not at all.” 2022

For about a week, I was having the worst reading slump - nothing really appealed to me, I‘d start the audio or print version of something and quickly bail. It‘s such a unique sadness, isn‘t it, to go through that? Anyway, I popped into my local library and just gave myself over to the book gods and asked a book to choose me - and VOILA! - here we are! I‘d never heard of this nor read this author but those book gods know me well. 🙂 Loving it!

#BookReport 50/22

A good week. So many good books at the end of the year and with the ToB longlist in the back of my mind. The tagged and Grown Ups didn‘t make it to the shortlist but are good nevertheless, especially Grown Ups. Dinosaurs did make it to the shortlist and rightly so. I loved it. Happy is a fun #1001books read, fantastic designed.

This is a strange book but I did enjoy most of it. I didn‘t care much for the cult-like organization Lola‘s former boss and best friend are running, nor the role Lola plays in it as their “experiment”. But I liked how she runs into her ex-boyfriends because of it. Lola is such a sharp and witty character, I loved how she thinks and the dialogues are great. I totally get why it‘s on the #ToB23 longlist. A light pick for me.

Look at me…bailing on a book! Yay!

This started off a bit annoying, but OK; I liked the NYC setting but I‘m too old for millennial love-life angst and a lot of the references went over my head.

I was persevering but then it all got really weird, I couldn‘t figure out what on earth was going on (a cult, the occult, magical realism, science fiction?) and I quite literally lost the plot. I was skimming so I gave up… go me! 🤣

#tob longlist

This was a pace-y and engaging read, but at the end of the day it was a romance book. I thought it would be more magical realism, but in the end it was garden variety social media stalking - maybe more scary! But she gets the guy in the end, unsurprisingly. I think the book wants to be very literary, but I‘m a bit tired of NYC millennials

This was a strange book, hard to classify. After meeting up with former work friends for dinner at a new fusion restaurant, Lola finds herself repeatedly and inexplicably running into exes. Saying anything more would probably be a spoiler for the mystery. I think I would have appreciated the witty prose more had I read a physical book, but I enjoyed the commentary on modern dating rituals and technology.

#Scarathlon #TeamSlaughter @Clwojick

We begin with our annual tradition of discussing our chances of winning this year's MacArthur genius grant. Will this be the year we win? Maybe. We then discuss the new novel from Sloane Crosley, “Cult Classic.“ Matt puts forth some theories and Peter talks himself into liking the book more. An all-around fantastic episode full of books and genius. Enjoy!

https://open.spotify.com/episode/0WD0UeWpwAPes5BeL4IjWA

Lola keeps running into her ex-boyfriends in her Lower East Side neighborhood, and the reason they are coming back into her life is weirder than she could have expected. This was a fun and very New York novel.

9-14-22: My 90th finished book of 2022! Was it coincidence or mind control? Lola, recently engaged, must contend with the fact that her best friend and her former boss have joined forces in what looks and feels like, a cult. As Lola runs into one then another and another of her exes she must deal with the fact that this is being forced upon her in an eerie way. Will she have a happy ending? Funny with semi likable characters. ⭐️⭐️⭐️📖#️⃣9️⃣0️⃣

This snarky, funny novel about committing (or not committing) to love in your late 30s was right up my alley. I loved the way she writes about New York, men and cats. The framing device was outlandish but I actually liked that it wasn‘t over explained - it fit the tone of the book. Highly entertaining.

A strong start 🔥

I dont know what to say about this one! Did you ever read something and feel like something bigger is going on and you‘re missing it? I kept thinking i skipped chapters and it was a really slow read. Im still not sure i understand what happened because it was really all over the place! The description was way better than the actual story!

Lola has just had dinner with friends and on her way, runs into an ex. Over the next few weeks she‘ll run into a lot of them. I think to enjoy this book you need to have a bit of cynicism. Crosby writes Lola with great wit, and she has these metaphors that just boost the thought and story. I lol‘ed a lot. If you liked Chuck Palahniuk‘s Choke, this is its younger half sister, the one who grew up on the East Coast and lives in New York City. Pick!!

Taking this one on next!

The premise was intriguing & I had high hopes for something darkly entertaining. Unfortunately, it was too dry for my tastes. There is a heavy literary feel, which is fine, but the tone came off as pretentious. The voice was too introspective, focusing on the meaning behind everything rather than delivering plot, making it clinical rather than fun. There were some good ideas & the ending was well-played, but mostly I was just bored.

I really enjoyed this book because of what is being said. I could care less about the story itself. It‘s very Oscar Wildeish but with feminism, racial, and religious inclusion.

Suddenly, Lola starts running into all her exes. Not unprecedented in NYC, but suddenly things get much weirder. At first I really enjoyed this, but then it started feeling so one note. I wanted more than just a long reexamination of all her past relationships. The ending was good enough to salvage it, but I can‘t quite give it a pick.

Love Sloane Crosley‘s writing.. always just enough sarcasm and wit, not overly padded with details, but enough to give you the full environmental picture.

Working it‘s ways to the top of my TBR list. Currently half way through Weather by Jenny Offil

I started this not really knowing what it was about. I kept reading because I couldn‘t figure out where it was going. Interesting ending that I didn‘t see coming.

Bailing at 30% [2:26:07]. MC is unpleasant. I don't care about her. It's not funny or interesting enough to warrant another 5:43:18 of audio time. [My real time would be less—I'm not listening at base speed.]

I got anxious reading this just imagining waiting at Penn Station in NYC waiting on my track assignment. 😬 Always such a super stressful experience and it‘s so wild they never figured out how to make it just not be the absolute worst.

Bought this book purely for the cover and I‘m currently 50 pages in and I‘m not regretting it.

#NetGalley #AudioARC

To be honest, I requested this not really knowing what it was about. Something about this cover attracted me and I just had to see if the story would match the uniqueness of the artwork.

Although the base of this revolves around relationships, Crosley has packed so much more in this. It's a witty, thoughtful, genre-bending tale of the obstacles surrounding modern dating.

My one complaint is the somewhat abrupt ending.

#bookmail I‘ve really enjoyed Crosley‘s essay collections. Look forward to trying her fiction!

A witty, suspenseful romance! Crosley is funny in this cleverly written novel that compares to Nick Hornby's High Fidelity. Though I dont typically go for romantic plotlines, and it wasn't this aspect that made Cult Classic enjoyable for me, it was it's uniqueness, underlineable striking prose and wry humor throughout. While reading it I was reminiscent of Sally Rooneys writing so you may enjoy this if you enjoy her works. Out Today! #bookreview

Five stars!!! Loved this!! It‘s hilarious and smart and I wanted to highlight every other line. Comes out in June!!