Either/Or | 
pick5/5 🌟
In this sequel, Selin navigates the aftermath of unrequited love with Ivan, seeking understanding and control over her life and love. Her introspective musings on aesthetic versus ethical living prompt readers to ponder existential questions. This book may not appeal to all tastes, but I totally related to it and loved the honesty, wit and humour.
pickI absolutely loved this sequel to The Idiot, this one covering Selin‘s second year of college. As the year draws to a close, she lands a summer job writing for a travel guide in Turkey, and spends the first half of the summer in sketchy hostels and sleeping with pretty much any random Turkish man who offers. Some scary things happen to her but she remains unbothered. I love the writing and story and eagerly await the next book in the series.
pickOooo it's another goodie! I think I liked The Idiot more but this is a very close 2nd. I don't want to spoil anything but I looooved the endings of the 2 books together. Also *need* a 3rd and 4th, come on Elif, get cracking
Book hall!!!! Thank you to @Emilymdxn for The Story of Silence (and other book recs)🥰
#FabulousFebruaryReadathon
Vancouver Biblioadventures 5, in which I have a lot to say about books and reading, while talking about three different events at #VWF2022
https://youtu.be/_pDYlclKXiM
pickI don‘t think I got around to post my review of this last month when I read it with #CampLitsy
This is Selin‘s second year at Berkeley. Like in the first book, this one focuses on the everyday life. Selin is going to classes, hanging out with friends and generally trying to figure out life. I preferred the Berkeley part to the ending when she gets a summer job. But I can‘t wait to read about Selin‘s third year.
pickIt's Selin‘s sophomore year and, prompted by a class syllabus, she is pondering an ethical life versus an aesthetic one. This year is mostly about sex and relationships as she is gets over Ivan and fools around with others. Selin is a thinker, reacting to situations intellectually rather than emotionally, which is fun as she discusses books and philosophy but distancing as she interacts with others. It reminds me of a less digressive Knausgård.
For our final question let‘s discuss the whole book and look forward to Selin‘s junior year!
Like in The Idiot, the book ends in summer and Selin leaves Harvard to go traveling. What did you think?
Welcome to our discussion about the second half of Either/Or, in which there‘s a lot of action compared to the first half. And a lot of sex. We need to talk about that!
bailedFormally admitting this isn‘t for me, and taking it back to the library so it stops hanging round guilt-tripping me.
I can‘t bring myself to care enough to get through it, which is never a great attitude to bring to a book. It‘s entirely possible that I‘m not a big fan of books set in academia, which doesn‘t help either. I love reading the #CampLitsy conversations though - it‘s fascinating what makes/doesn‘t make a book for different readers!
pickPraise #CampLitsy for teaching me that I love Elif Batuman‘s books! 🙌 I forgot I‘d saved the second half of this and was so excited to return to it (though I seem to enjoy the school year parts more than the summer ones). Selin‘s overthinking is absolutely the worst, but it also manages to produce some deep insights - as I suppose overthinking is wont to do. Anyway, I‘d happily follow her awkward journey through college and beyond.
pickI could read about Selin all the time; she reminds me a lot of myself at that particular age, but also not. It's very much like being with a friend. It's neat seeing Selin grapple with the literature she's reading and see how the book we're reading is being transformed; the actual process of art. I adore the underlying premise of the book: how to shape life into art. I think Batuman pulled it off with such aplomb, with wit and skill. I'm jealous!
pickI can see why @Cathythoughts called this a “marmite book”. Selin‘s combination of, as @jlhammar put it so well, “navel-gazing and contemplating the world‘s problems” can be annoying at times, yet I still find her endearing. I did not care for this as much as The Idiot, but it‘s still a pick. I‘m registering for Selin‘s junior year if Batuman writes it. Plus the mid-90s nostalgia is fantastic! #CampLitsy
Such a interesting thought: have I chosen an ethical or an aesthetic way of life? I think many of us have asked ourselves while reading this book. Let‘s discuss below for our final question.
Enjoy the second half of the week and we‘ll be back next week to discuss the whole book!
The second question is about all the references to other books. We are very curious if you did enjoy this aspect of the book and if you came across quotes or books that have a special meaning to you. Personally I loved how Batuman explained the difference between a good writer and a good novelist, using Ishiguro as an example of the latter 🤍
I am sorry to post the question a bit later than announced but here I am with out fifth #CampLitsy read.
Either/Or received mixed reviews among our Campers so I am very curious to see what you‘ll make of today‘s questions. We‘ll discuss the first half, so please avoid spoilers and enjoy Selin‘s (inner) world!
Then it ended. So did she get out? How was that not something people mentioned, when they said what the book was about?
I turned my copy over to reread the back cover: always a creepy experience once you had finished a book, like getting a message from a dead person.
pick
#CampLitsy It took a while for me to get caught up again in Selin‘s life at Harvard. But then it felt good to observe life with her in a way I never would myself. She really chooses an aesthetical way of life (instead of an ethical) and in line with that makes choices (or rather let things happen) that make her such an interesting person for me as a reader.
(Pic: Venice, Italy)
bailedI‘m afraid I‘m bailing. This started off with promice. I was enjoying the different relationships and where they might go… but then the content went more and more out of my reach, and I felt lost in it all. I think it‘s a marmite book. I look forward to the discussion, maybe I will be enlightened and decide to give it another go. ⛺️ #CampLitsy
pickI had to laugh when I saw The Harvard Crimson calling this “the older and sexier sequel.” There is definitely more sex than in The Idiot, but I‘m not sure you can call any of it “sexy.”
The Idiot and Either/Or aren‘t so much about what is happening as much as they are about what Selin thinks about what is happening. And boy, does she think! I love the philosophical inner monologue and understated, deadpan humor. Really enjoyed. #CampLitsy
The difference between a good writer and a good novelist, explained by using Kazuo Ishiguro as an example of the latter. Love it.
While relaxing on the beach, walking the grounds, mingling with other campers or sipping a cocktail, you can listen to the sounds of Selin‘s somophore year, a playlist compiled by Elif Batuman herself. Selin is the protagonist of Either/Or. #CampLitsy
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3r9SGyq7tpE1s7h8LScHkm?si=8Kuqidb3TWCZ-VP1Nt3r...
It‘s almost August, our third and final #CampLitsy month.
@squirrelbrain and @Megabooks did a great job so far, I‘ll be your host in August.
First we‘ll read Either/Or by Elif Batuman. It‘s a sequel to The Idiot but you should be able to read it as a stand alone book.
Let‘s read Parts 1 and 2 and discuss on Saturday the 6th around 5.30 CET/4.30 BST/10.30 CT. See you there!
so-soI bailed on The Idiot but when my audiobook hold came in for this one I decided to try it for #camplitsy.
I still wasn't a big fan, but this second book was at least more interesting than the first one. Hopefully the discussion will help me appreciate it more.
pickI preferred this to The Idiot (which I also enjoyed). With The Idiot, it took me about 25% of the book to really get into it, whereas I was straight back in to Selin‘s life with this one. This also benefitted from the wide cast of supporting characters being given more equal balance, rather than just Ivan. As a result it was a bit less angsty.
Now to see if I can hang onto it until Aug for #camplitsy, without anyone else wanting to borrow it!
August #CampLitsy reads have arrived! Can‘t wait to spend more time with Selin (Either/Or) and really excited for Our Wives. #bookmail
Thank you so much, Soubhi! I too am thoroughly enjoying #CampLitsy! I‘m cautiously optimistic about this one. 😉
I picked these up for #CampToB #CampLitsy, but quit about a third of the way through The Idiot. Any Campers in the US want them?
Can one of our fearless leaders tag everyone for me?
(Edit- Either/Or has found a home but The Idiot is still up for grabs.)
pickWow. This follow up to The Idiot is similarly funny in Batuman‘s trademark dry, deadpan style, but at about the 2/3 mark it got dark and sad for me. The protagonist, Selin lives her life as if she were a heroine in a 19th century novel and my heart ached for every stupid decision she made. Batuman is such a smart writer. I think she is doing something big and Proustian with these books.
1st book finished for #JoyousJune & also read for #CampLitsy
Oh Alanis! There's a gem like this on every page. 😂
(I think part of my love for this book & the Idiot is because I was also a college student in the 90s.)
Taking my sweet time with this book. I was lucky enough to have finished The Idiot right after Either/Or came out, and I don‘t want to let go of Selin anytime soon.
There are so many amazing artistic, literary, and academic references in this series, but the one that had me jumping up and down was the Fiona Apple discourse. Apple is my greatest creative inspiration, and the fact that Selin connected with her as well… Gives me goosebumps ♥️
Thank you for the tag @Roary47 and @MoonWitch94 ! 😊 #WondrousWednesday
1. The tagged book is set mainly at 1997 Harvard (Massachusetts, USA) but with side trips to Turkey and Russia.
2. Last 5 ⭐️ read was a re-visit of The Hobbit.
3. I‘ve preordered Kate Atkinson‘s upcoming novel Shrines of Gaiety.
Loved The Idiot and this is NOT a disappointment!! (Not yet anyway.)
so-soSo, that's how it ends? I feel like this novel never got up to speed. The narrator is the same age I am, or the same age I was at the time the narrator is that age, and I relate to her in a lot of ways, particularly in her attempts to decode the world and in her unsuccessful but persistent attempts to be straightforward. But I can't say I found the aimlessness or the hanging out in her head very enjoyable most of the time.
Pardon me while I drop all three planned books for #JoysofJune and instead start Batuman‘s sequel to The Idiot for #CampLitsy!
Honestly, I only read up to page four and was already laughing. 😂
pickThis book! This character! This writer! 😍😍😍 I can‘t really describe what a sheer joy it was to read this book, which is every bit as good as The Idiot. I can only hope that Batuman is planning to write a book for each year of Selin‘s college life. 🤞 Looking forward to discussing this one at #CampLitsy in August!
Repost
@BarbaraBB
https://litsy.com/p/cUJwbXFTcVNi
I am happy to host the August reads of #CampLitsy!
We will discuss the first half of Either/Or on August 6th, the remainder on August 13th.
Then the first half of Our Wives Under the Sea on August 20th, and the second half on August 27th.
@Megabooks @squirrelbrain and I are looking forward to seeing you there.
⬇️
The words “tacos, beige,” written on a piece of looseleaf paper made me feel the foreclosing of every possibility of anything exciting ever happening to me in the rest of my life.
So far this book is every bit as much of a joy to read as The Idiot! 😍
pickI loved this. I can‘t describe what exactly but hanging out with Selin is always an adventure; an intellectual discussion about humanity. Loved the ending - so hopeful!
Quote: “… The concept of “important” itself faded away like an expiring firework that glittering against the sky.” 🎆
#CaresPieShow #MulberryPie #CampLitsy #TOBCamp
Two books I pre-ordered back in January arrived this week. Very different, and yet they kind of match. 😀
pickI have read several excellent books this year, but this is easily my favorite so far. As I was immensely enjoying it halfway through, I found myself hoping that Batuman would continue the series and let us follow Selin all the way through college, but after that ending, I‘m okay if it‘s goodbye for Selin and me.
Looking forward to the #CampLitsy discussion!
pickEither/Or follows Selin from The Idiot into her sophomore year at Harvard. She‘s now trying to understand the events of the past summer, move forward with a designed sexual awakening (there is nothing funnier than her intellectualizing her first sexual experience while it‘s happening), and continue her own march forward. I really enjoyed this one and look forward to discussing it in #CampTOB.
PERFIDY is one of those words that I know, but I doubt I know so I look it up. Often. Anyway… when Svetlana said this to Selin, I had the same thoughts! “Seeing someone” = relationship (not therapist.)
Looking forward to this. I loved The Idiot. #campLitsy #campTOB
Bought another hanging flower 🌸 basket. These purple flowers are truly astonishing.
I am happy to host the August reads of #CampLitsy!
We will discuss the first half of Either/Or on August 6th, the remainder on August 13th.
Then the first half of Our Wives Under the Sea on August 20th, and the second half on August 27th.
@Megabooks @squirrelbrain and I are looking forward to seeing you there.
After the final discussion you all can vote for your winner and we will have our #CampLitsy Summer champion!
