Welcome to Litsy!

I adored this book. It was funny and quirky and just when I thought the worst had come for poor Penny, I turned the page and her story got more outrageous. It was a fun read overall.

I know this one was too aggressively quirky for some reviewers, but it hit me just right at the time I was reading it. I felt so much kinship with the MC, her loneliness and her struggles to communicate. My pick for August.
#2023readingbracket

Oh my goodness 💔 this book 😭

I recommend going into this one cold, guys. I was glad to know very little about it going in, as it‘s a very difficult book to categorize and the publisher‘s blurb seems to be setting wrong expectations. For instance, “the Dog of the North” is a van, but this is NOT a “road trip story”.

All I‘ll say is it‘s an emotional journey for the MC, Penny Rush, who is quietly neurodivergent and extremely lonely.

#womensprizelonglist

A bit of a disappointment to have this be my last 2023 long list read. It was fine but not memorable and compared to the other books on the list not nearly as creative or well crafted - though not as bad as Pod!
It felt as if the author was trying too hard to find cute silly ideas to bring in, and overall the atmosphere made me feel a bit grimy, but nowhere near as visceral as Children of Paradise.

Penny is at loose ends when her husband leaves her and her whole life blows up. She ends up following the wind a bit in a madcap adventure involving some very interesting people. This is whimsical and funny to balance the sad parts, but it‘s also a bit uneven in the writing, starting oddly flat and not so much ending as just stopping. Low pick for me.

Real weird!

This was just what I needed. So nice to laugh! A crazy ride filled with offbeat, endearing characters. Really enjoyed.

#WomensPrize

I am really enjoying this a lot, still got 200 pages. But don't think it will make the shortlist though.

#TemptingTitles #WithDog

Was hoping to get to this one before the #WomensPrize short list is announced on the 26th but I‘m running out of days.

I reached for the strange fixture in the shower that was too modern for its own good. It's my opinion that water taps should not be intelligence tests.

[This is me in almost every hotel I've been in recently!]

I knew this beach well.... After one especially bad slick our mother signed us up to clean birds. We dipped hefty brown pelicans in tubs of soapy water, their poor beaks fastened with rubber bands, gently removing the tarry goo from their feathers. We helped with grebes, ducks, murres. You could feel their hearts racing inside their ribs. You could see them wondering if we were going to eat them.

#librarystack
Stopped in to pick up a Library book that was on hold for me. But of course I had to peruse the stacks.

I was going to say that this is a book where not much happens but then I thought about it and, actually a LOT of big stuff happens, but the book felt curiously flat and the storyline rather monotonous.

It kept me mildly interested on a couple of long drives but it‘s certainly not memorable or a ‘wow‘ book. I don‘t think it should be on the #womensprize long list.

A soft pick only.

@Cinfhen described this to me perfectly, it really is "whacked in a good way." It is a chaotic ride through the messed up life of Penny Rush. She sets out for Santa Barbara, determined to clean out her hoarder grandmother's house (and confiscate her gun), but not a single moment goes as planned. Suspend your disbelief and enjoy the wild, weird, and wonderful ride.

#WomensPrizeLonglist23

Zany, quirky and definitely offbeat. It seems Penny Rush is always just one minute away from another impending disaster but her good natured disposition keeps her going. This was a fun listen & I really enjoyed the audio narration. Not a perfect book but a perfect distraction while I sat on the beach. #WomensPrizeLongList23

Whacky and wonderful 😅Poor Penny has a FULL plate and yet the universe keeps dumping MORE 💩 unto her platter! #WomensPrizeLongList23