Welcome to Litsy!

Spa weekend with a new book ahead! I have randomly picked the book because of the cover and the blurp on the back, so I don‘t yet know what to expect- I hope it will be good😊

Dark, bizarre, sad. But hopeful. Maybe.

In the decaying remains of a post-industrial Midwestern town, in a low-rent apartment building known as The Rabbit Hutch, a collection of neighbors and strangers stumble toward / upon an explosive act of violence. And possibly, a wake-up call.

April 21 #SpringSkies AwardWinner @Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Beartown (Fredrick Backman) vibes × South Bend, Indiana. It's all connected.

DNF'ing for now. I do not think audio is the way to go with this. I am a quarter in and have zero idea what is going on, or what the point is.
But I can sort of see what the hype is, I think it will be much better in physical form.

In an Indiana affordable housing building, the lives of several tenants intersect. There is some violence but also some lovely moments of connection.

I loved the analytic way today‘s judge considered both contenders. It was a hard choice. This final QF has been the hardest for us in the #LitsyToB23. With just a few votes in its favor, Rabbit Hutch is our winner. It advances to the Semifinals, in which it‘ll be up against Sea of Tranquility.

Please vote for the semifinals before Monday! https://forms.gle/FJYyLjjA53TFh8qr7 ‼️

An interwoven story centering on the residents of an affordable housing unit in Vaca Vale, Indiana and a shocking act of violence that pulls them all into each other‘s orbit.

Weird ✨ Classism ✨ Loneliness

For fans of the Bell Jar…but honestly, I don‘t think I‘ve ever read or watched anything like this.

And with that, I‘m a #tob23 completist! (Well, except for the one I bailed on halfway through 😅)

I really enjoyed this. It was all over the place in a good way, and I loved following all the threads. This sort of rambling, character driven writing is right up my alley. It didn‘t always work perfectly but it‘s really impressive for a debut. A strong contender for the tournament but still second to Sea of Tranquility for me.

Today it was the play-in winner (An Island) vs The Rabbit Hutch. Helen and Holly (in sync again) as well as Alison voted for My Volcano if it would make it to the tournament, but as we know it didn‘t. Rebecca voted for any play-in winner against Rabbit. It wasn‘s enough: a large majority voted for Rabbit, a book 5 of us voted for as their favorite for the Rooster.
In the real #ToB23 there were no surprises either. The Rabbit Hutch advances.

I really enjoyed this #ToB2023 book. It was a bit rambling and some of the subplots rather far fetched but what a great cast of characters!

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

Interesting stories blended in with nonsensical rants…this was a strange read to me.

I‘ve never been fond of this cover (I prefer the UK edition), but upon finishing I have to admit that it is quite apt. It captures both St. Teresa of Avila‘s Transverberation of the Heart and the way this book made me feel, piercing my readerly heart.

What a debut! Messy and unsettling, but also touching and brilliant. And so singular. I‘d never think to put all these elements together, sounds a bit crazy, but it just works. Loved it.
#ToB23

“On a hot night in Apartment C4, Blandine Watkins exits her body.”

#FirstLineFridays

One of the best of the #tob23shortlist for me. I stayed up way too late the night I started. These characters had a lot going on and it seemed a bit disjointed at first, but it still captivated me right away. My IRL group will read this when it comes out in paperback and I can‘t wait for that discussion!

#bookmail to brighten my Monday! My library holds weren‘t shaping up to come through anytime soon so treated myself to a little #ToB23 order. Planning to start The Rabbit Hutch and The Passenger ASAP. I have high hopes for both!

I really enjoyed all my books this week with The Rabbit Hutch edging out the others for my top pick. Both Babel and The Family Roe are big books but hope to finish them by week‘s end.

#BookReport #WeeklyForecast

I really liked this debut novel. Great writing, some of it absolutely brilliant. It follows one week in the lives of 4 teenagers who have aged out of the foster care system, who are roommates in a cheap apartment in a town that doesn‘t have much to offer them.

#TOB23 #Pantone23 #Skylight

Strange, unnerving and a bit jarring at times but filled with fascinating characters and the most amazing writing! The talent this debut author has is astounding and I can‘t wait to read more by her. There are some upsetting bits so definitely check content warnings on this one. For me, it is a pick, but not an obvious one. #BookspinBingo @TheAromaofBooks #Pantone2023 #BeetrootPurple @Clwojick

There was a lot going on in this book about inhabitants of an apartment building in a dwindling small town. It took awhile to find its footing but once it did, I was sucked into their orbit, especially that of Blandine, who finds solace from the abuse she has survived in the lives of Catholic mystics. Guntey takes a lot of chances with her writing and some of them don‘t pay off but her talent is undeniable. #tob23 #booked2023 #featuringneighbors

#ToB23

Surreal yet satisfying. 💚

When I started this I wasn't instantly invested. However, once you've been introduced to enough characters to start seeing the connections this book became almost an obsession for me. I'm not quite sure how to explain it, and I'll admit that the climatic scene wasn't as big as the build-up, but this is definitely a book I'll be thinking about for a long time.

One of my local independent bookstores is perilously close to closing and I continue to believe I am the owner‘s only hope. 🥴 (Am I the only one who feels responsible for keeping a store alive?) So these were my recent purchases. There are five independent bookstores in a 40 mile radius of me and four of them seem to be doing quite well. This particular store could use a more extroverted owner.

Foot warmer

Aside from some loose ends, mild anachronism, and a climactic scene with less punch than the build-up seemed to promise, I quite enjoyed this novel. It conveys the claustrophobia and hopelessness of growing up in a failing Midwestern city, where seeking better for oneself against overwhelming odds is both a personal responsibility and an affront to one's community, which can't countenance any hint of ambition or display of intellectualism.#tob2023

Descriptions of this book don't quite capture it, which is totally understandable because I have no idea how to describe it. It is weird and surreal. I couldn't put it down. It's taken me a couple days to pay a review because I really don't know how to describe it. Why was it so compelling? No idea. But it really, really was. I'm so glad @Chelsea.Poole included it for #auldlangspine because I may not have read it otherwise!

@monalyisha

Well, gotta hand it to The Rabbit Hutch, this is one hell of an opener:

“On a hot night in Apartment C4, Blandine Watkins exits her body. She is only eighteen years old, but she has spent most of her life wishing for this to happen. . . . . There is . . . a bioluminescent man in his fifties, glowing like a firefly. He runs to her and yells. Knife, cotton, hoof, bleach, pain, fur, bliss—as Blandine exits herself, she is all of it.“

OMG! I honestly didn‘t think this would suck me in the way it did. Let‘s just say I was useless today. USELESS! These characters! Yeah, I kept turning pages just so I could see how this was going to play out. I totally understand why this is a #TimeMagazineTop100ReadsOf2022. So far from that list of books I‘d have yet read this is a favorite! #bookspin @TheAromaofBooks

I had no idea what this book was about. My reading challenge had a "read a book that won an award" task, and this was the first book to pop up on Google, so I bought it.
I read this book in 1 day! I could not put it down. It was weird and mysterious, and I had to know how it would end. It's definitely worth the read!

#therabbithutch #anawardwinningnovel

"... she had become intimately acquainted with the kind of feelings that she once ogled like jewels on other people's necks."

Everytime I read about this book, I thought it was one I'd pass on. I thought "hmm... maybe not for me."

But now... I. Can. Not. Put. It. Down. Couldn't really tell you why. But this weird, slightly surreal, voyeuristic feeling book has wormed its way under my skin.

#AuldLangSpine @Chelsea.Poole @monalyisha

First read of 2023 is a holdover from 2022!

Despite the long hold times at the library, I‘m not sure if I‘m with the hype on this one. It‘s very pretty, and very well written, and maybe it‘s because I had to give it back for like 3 weeks, but I don‘t get the fuss.

There‘s a lot of philosophy, and a lot of raw human-ness, so maybe it‘s just lost on me.

Bedtime reading: THE RABBIT HUTCH. Utterly fantastic.

The tally is in and we have a winner! 🏆
The 2022 Pie in Literature Award goes to….
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The Rabbit Hutch for its avant garde pie shop! 🥧 Image of my #Top22in2022

#iLovePie #PieinLit #LitPie #CaresPieShow #YearEndSummaryPost link in comments ⬇️

🎧 Help me understand…😩

This year‘s book haul: the books my family and I exchanged this Christmas Day.

I love a great book at the end of the year! I couldn‘t put this down and I‘m going to be thinking about it for awhile. An irresistible story brilliantly written. I loved the way Gunty built the story and characters gradually in connected segments, somewhat like the Rabbit Hutch apartments I suppose? One of my top books of the year. #ToB2023

This is a uniquely written story centered on the lives lived in an apartment building in a closed down car manufacturing town. The way that it was written is interesting and made it an easy read. The story centers on one girl who grew out of the foster care system and the lives that surrounded hers. 4/5

A word of advice: lots going on here, and it takes a minute to meet enough characters to get into this one, so be sure u have a few hours to read several chapters at the beginning. Once I got going, I couldn‘t put this one down. I think this has serious potential for audio. Reading for #ToB23

I bailed on this book the first time round, after only a chapter or two, but when it made the #ToB shortlist I thought I‘d give it another go. It still took me a good while to get into it, but in the end I really enjoyed it.

It‘s not my favourite on the shortlist but I‘m glad I read it. Interesting article below.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/jul/16/tess-gunty-the-rabbit-hutch-interv...

Whoa, this is not an easy read, emotionally. 🐇🖤 Many parts, I thought brilliantly written, but yowza am having a difficult time considering that I enjoyed it. It is sad, brutal, weird even. All the characters are messy and yet all have tender moments that almost, should? redeem them. Gawd, it is just humans being horribly horrendously messed up and it is akin to despair. I am going to need a light fun book next, for sure. #DogsofLitsy #tob2023

The best book covers on 2022!

https://lithub.com/the-103-best-book-covers-of-2022/

My emotions were all over the place with this one. Memorable for sure. Gunty has some impressive writing chops. In the end, I‘d have to say I admired it more than “enjoyed” it. #ToB2023 #ToB23

Congratulations @MatchlessMarie ! Such an amazing milestone 😍 And a fun giveaway to celebrate! Here are my too three can‘t wait to reads in 2023. #YearEnd100KGiveaway

“They donate fifty cents of each pie purchase to the women‘s shelter.” #LitPie #piemention #CaresPieShow #iLovePie #avantgardepie

Esther is fast asleep as I continue reading this TOB shortlist, Natl Book Award winner. Foggy morning, quiet morning.

Last night during my late night book search 😂, I was able to borrow this audiobook on Libby. I've read so many raving reviews and so I'm excited to get started.

How cool is this?? This is Tess Gunty replying on my Instagram!

Hee book was my favorite book for the National Book Award and Tess Gunty seems such a nice person. If you‘re on Instagram you can follow her, she posts a lot about nature and daily things.