Wellness | 
so-soWe know the destructive possibilities of “alternative facts.” Wellness finds the positivity in creating a fiction. A good story can convince you that the person you just met is your soulmate, or that the sugar pill you just took cured your stomach problems. There‘s a whole Internet of stories out there. Who knows what‘s true? Our best shot at happiness is to select the screens and windows that show generosity, humanity, and love.
Read the first chapter and already hooked. I love Nathan Hill ♥
Can't express how much I loved this book and it's author Nathan Hill. He has become a favorite author and soon as his next book.....there will be a next book won't there Nathan Hill?........is published I will be rushing out to purchase.
I‘m going to try and squeeze in one more book before the new year (The Fell by Sarah Moss) - got my red wine ready to get settled in for the night. But as it stands these were my best books of 2024. I absolutely loved Wellness, so well written and just really resonated with me. My Husband I‘ve put as a ‘bonus‘ but I‘d say that‘s one of my most memorable reads that I‘d definitely recommend.
All the best for 2025 🥂
New day new book. Just a few minutes in and already pulled in. Great narration
pickAbout half in I had to pull out the audio to help speed things along. I don't think I would have gotten through the book by physical alone. The meandering paths he takes while they can be interesting were totally unnecessary (unnecessary in the length and details) which pulled the whole book down.
Overall I enjoyed this but thought it was way too long for what it is. No matter how solid the writing not all characters need a 600+ book epic
3/5
pickChunksters have a tendency to languish on my shelves for years. I loved the origin story of Jack and Elizabeth‘s relationship. Since I rooted so strongly for them I found subsequent chapters of their backstories fascinating - noting my Kansas connection likely contributed to enjoying sections that others found tedious 🌾🌾🌾
Sept #Bookspin - Category: Over 500 pages. @TheAromaofBooks
I am half in and looking for encouragement to keep going. I am reading the race reviews but what us with all the tangents? Do I like them? Elizabeth's family's story was interesting, much too long and should have been another book.
I am having a real like hate relationship with this book.
#FirstLineFriday @ShyBookOwl
"He lives alone on the fourth floor of an old brick building with no view of the sky."
Seeing mixed reviews of this chunky guy. Going to see how far I can get.
pickMostly fascinating and entertaining, but there‘s a lot to parse - perhaps a bit too much. Hill‘s research is certainly impressive (just check out the bibliography), as are his intellect and writing skills.
Just a blurb about how much I am loving this book. It‘s unsettling, but I think the writing is just brilliant. I am in awe of writers like Nathan Hill - SO far out of my intelligence wheelhouse. ☺️
pickA propulsive commentary on the human condition. At times it read like stand-up comedy. So many observations packed into a heartwarming story. While Elizabeth and Jack‘s relationship is at the center of the story, it‘s not even close to the whole story, and this is the type of romance I can get behind.
so-soParts of Wellness I really liked— the scenes that focused on Jack‘s and Elizabeth‘s relationship and their relationship with their families— but all the non-sequiturs and rabbit holes this goes down made it about 200-300 pages longer than it needs to be and hard to keep caring about the heart of the story.
Typo detected. I don‘t think Brandie is talking to herself. P. 140 BOTM edition.
Narratively, I am enjoying this one, although it's pretty early to make any real calls. Physically, on a book-as-object level, there is something I find irksome about it, although I'm not sure what. I may have to switch over to the ebook (or wait for the paperback).
Not so much of a big win in today‘s LitsyToB24 semi-final - 60/40 in favour of Wellness.
The Rachel Incident has been storming through the brackets up until now, but appears to have finally met its match in Wellness. Which did you vote for and are you sorry to see Rachel go?
Look out later today, when Barbara will be posting the results of our zombie 🧟♀️ votes - who will Wellness go up against?! 🤔
I guess I need to take somebody for a walk.
I'm liking this book - I loved The Nix a lot, and glad this one is proving equally addictive.
This was the least voted on match (since one didn‘t have to vote in every match), but nevertheless Wellness won on a roughly 60/40 split. Are you happy with this outcome? If you didn‘t read one or both books, was there a reason? Wellness was one of my favorite books of 2023, and Birthday Party was my least favorite of the whole list, so I am happy. 😂😂
Tomorrow, I‘ll post the last quarterfinal match and a link to semifinal voting! #LitsyToB24
Another very close-run vote for today‘s bracket in #LitsyToB24, but Wellness just wins it by 11 votes to 9.
We chose to bracket these books together due to their unique storytelling about a couple. What did you think about each portrayal - did they ring true for you?
Both could also be classed as a depiction of American life. Were there any parallels here between the two books, or did the dystopia in Biography make them completely different?
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Nothing makes me happier than a witty rendition of all the dumb shit humans do. This is quite the exploration of modern American depths and shallows. College sweethearts Jack and Elizabeth hit multiple bumps at 20 years married, and try to navigate careers, parenthood, and their relationship in a variety of ways. You‘re going to find something relatable. A brilliant satire on contemporary life!
Book haul from a lovely Barnes & Noble morning 📚 I bought all of these books for a total of $23 ! Which feels like a blessing today.
pickI‘m still processing the layers of this story. It looks at relationships, marriage and parenting, but also at how what we believe can be so powerful. How things we believe our whole lives can shape us. How beliefs can set in, cult-like. And how our belief in something gives it its power - sometimes good, sometimes not. A great book! #LitsyTOB
pickThank you to Litsy tech support for helping me get back on here after many months of disabled Facebook sign-ons! As a huge fan of The Nix, this book did not disappoint. Incredibly impressive, deep, disturbing, inspiring. The algorithms section was virtuosic and I‘ll remember it for a long time. Bravo!
I feel like I've been reading this book for months. It's never going to end.
ETA: Okay, you're right! The last part was very good. It was enough to make me happy I stuck with this. But it was a JOURNEY. ⭐⭐⭐
My #hyggehour will be spent finishing this one. Even without a fire going, my fireplace is a very cozy space 🥰
“He lives alone on the fourth floor of an old brick building with no view of the sky.”
#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl
pickI love this novel. Some parts are a smidgen on the nose, but the themes and interactions really resonate with me. Also, the MCs are almost exactly my age and not only saw some of the same bands around the same time I did, but are going through similar mid-life stuff at the same time. The family relationships, the stories the characters tell themselves, the misunderstandings...it all hits really well for me. Now to get my spouse to read it!
pickThe raw look at marriage and parenthood really hit home for me with this one. It's a beast, but I found it compelling and readable. It will be one of my favorites of the year. I forgot to add that this was my #Bookspin for January @TheAromaofBooks
pickI had alternating feelings about this one, but what won me over was the author's ability to describe the human experience so well- I could easily identify with the inner thoughts of the characters. And I liked the ending, so that always influences my final opinion! Thanks to @MeganAnn and @monalyisha for the #auldlangspine push for this one that was teetering on my TBR pile!
Cozy with this character focused read about a marriage disintegrating
My #2024ReadingBrackets FICTION pick for January was the tagged book. I loved the witty snarkiness of the story about two people who meet as college students in the 1990s and how their lives progress into the present while dealing with the challenges of parenting, marital boredom, mindfulness apps, Facebook algorithms, and relatives brainwashed by fake news. It reminded me of a John Irving novel as the tangled plot strands merged into one.
pickAm giving this a pick but it stressed me out; one reason is that it made me sad, I appreciated the humor and knew I should and would usually love this kind of humor but my mood this month did NOT match what I am sure was a lovely read. All that to say, I am glad to close this & move on. The ending was kind of lovely. #LitsyToB24 #WiaN2024 Category: Double Letters #ReadICT Category: a book I meant to read last year
pickMy feelings for this #litsytob24 book are jumblesd I am one of the few who didn‘t love The Nix and was planning on skipping this and yet I read this chunkster in almost one sitting. There was some skimming, because man does it get wordy, but of course it does since it takes on everything from open marriages to disinformation. I ended up intrigued by where it would go next even as I was getting annoyed by it. I ended up liking it despite myself.
so-so⭐️⭐️⭐️ There were things I liked about this. I ended up liking and rooting for Jack and Elizabeth, and some of the psychological and relational insights they came to were deeper than in most fiction. But getting there was so tedious. There were so many overdone tangents that mostly just felt like the author showing off. He spent so long “showing” and then ended up “telling” eventually anyhow. Would have been great 30% shorter. #LitsyToB24
@MeganAnn I‘m just at the beginning , but I can see why you compared it to Shark Heart. Something about the tone is very similar! I‘m enjoying it so far!
#auldlangspine
@monalyisha
WHY IS THERE SO MUCH EXCRUTIATING DETAIL OF THE MOST TEDIOUS PARTS OF PARENTING SMALL CHILDREN??!! I mean, I get it‘s moving part of the story forward, but just like I don‘t want to actually fight with a toddler about eating something other than mac and cheese, I also don‘t want to listen to pages and pages of someone else doing it. #LitsyToB24
pickOther than the two I‘d read prior to our vote, this is the first #LitsyToB24 book I‘ve read. I really enjoyed it. It‘s less baggy than his debut, more focused, but still with a sharp satirical edge. After 20 years together, Jack and Elizabeth must reevaluate their “soul mates” status, a less romantic version of their origin story; the hopes and fears they‘ve never expressed. All this against the background of the insanity of 21st century America.
“Whoopie pies with marshmallow fluff.” #LitPie
#LitsyToB24 #WiaN2024 Category: Double Letter #ReadICT Category: Book I wanted to read last year
pickFollowing a couple throughout their beginning, childhood and mid-life stories, this book switches perspectives and timelines frequently. There‘s some background information that makes this a long read, but it added justification and explanation to what and why the main character did everything in their relationship. It‘s not perfect, but neither are the characters- which makes this book so enjoyable.
pickThis is a chunkster but it doesn't feel like 600 pages while you're reading it. I can often find myself confused when a timeline jumps around a lot but I didn't feel that with Wellness. I was definitely more drawn to Elizabeth's story over Jack's but both were compelling and wonderfully created characters.
pickThough long, I flew through this audio/physical combo. I was invested in Jack and Elizabeth, a married couple in Chicago building their forever home, with a Minecraft-obsessed son and enough baggage to fill their new condo. Gloriously, we get to read their backstories, though Jack‘s life is more of a focus. [Jack and his father‘s Facebook— perfectly illustrates the recent American experience!]
Sad but funny, just like life. Loved it! #litsytob24
pick2024 is off to a great start! Loved this. It kind of reminded me of a John Irving book —nonlinear story arcs that appear to be random and going nowhere, but which come together seamlessly in an unexpectedly beautiful way. And just like an Irving book —it‘s definitely not for everyone.
At 624 pages, this checks off “Almost a Chunkster” for #chunksterchallenge2024.
First Book, #FirstBook2024 #WiaN2024 Category: Double Letters #ReadICT Category: TBR2023
so-soThis is one of those books where I can absolutely see why people love it. There are parts I liked a lot. But I just never connected with it. I often like a nonlinear structure, but here it worked against me—just as I started to feel I was connecting, it went to another place. It does have the best explanation of how computer algorithms work I‘ve ever seen and an awesome description of meatheads. #LitsyTOB24
