Welcome to Litsy!

I‘m so glad @merelybookish pointed me toward this book! I agree with you that it definitely has Ducks, Newburyport vibes. 🩵 I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this story about marriage, life, getting older, finding meaning, and yes, Melville. With poignant pandemic moments throughout, which felt timely as I read this almost exactly four years later. A #TOB long list gem this year for sure.

Book 1 of 2024. I loved it. A book about Melville, yes. AND not a book about Melville. Also a book about Nathaniel Hawthorne, Robert Lowell, Elizabeth Hardwick, & "the biographer" of Melville. It's a book about making art, marriage, literary partnerships, literary reputations, literary scholarship. Oh, and the male ego. ? And about words, language, connection & why we read. No plot, weird, discursive, witty & self-aware. ☑️☑️☑️ So many of my ?

I was oddly charmed by this book. I am not really a fan of Melville but I appreciated witnessing someone else‘s fanaticism for him. Set during the pandemic the narrator dives into various biographies and discusses his life, work, and different accountings of pivotal moments. As she contemplates Melville‘s marriage her own patient husband is the frequent recipient of her anecdotes and musings including late night texted pictures of moss. #tob24

#tob24 long list

Moby Dick is one of my favorite books, so when I started this book about someone researching Melville, I was excited.

The good: I thought the story was unique and enjoyed the back and forth between Melville's life and the life of the main character. I was also a fan of how things became more blurred between what was real and what was research as the story unfolded.

The bad: For me, the big turn-off is not knowing what ⬇️⬇️

If you are a fan of authors writing about the lives of other, more famous authors or you‘re a fan of Melville, Hawthorne, Robert Lowell, or Elizabeth Hardwick, you will love this #tob24 choice. I am not a fan of these authors, but I found the writing and approach witty and interesting. But in the end not my jam, so I gave it 3⭐️, but I can see why others are enjoying it more! I do want to pull out the Hardwick short stories I own now.

I think maybe the universe is telling me I should read Moby Dick. Melville was featured in yesterday‘s read The Auburn Conference and is a main subject in today‘s. I listened to this one and that may have played a part in my low pick rating. It was kind of all over the place with research on Melville, commentary on the MC‘s life and marriage and random lists of info. Too scattered for my current attention span. #TOB24

Immediately intense, provocative. Exquisite and daring! I really did enjoy this odd ODD list of stuff about Melville and other literary darlings, all somehow intoxicated with Melvillocity, in some way or another. Got a tad wearying, perhaps in the same way as some Melville scholar yapping too much, but that isn‘t right. Like bafflement and then awe and then,… what?! I learned a lot, I laughed quite a bit, and I am glad that I‘ve read Moby Dick.👇

Hey #tob24 readers! These books are both under $5 in the current sale on audible. 👍🏻 I didn‘t have another way to get them. It seems that all audible titles have some discount currently, but I haven‘t checked the whole #tob list because my library access is fairly good. There are three others I‘m considering in the $7 range. Sing Her Down, Bad Cree, and Brainwyrms. Any thoughts on whether those are worth it??

“Peculiar illusion of collaboration”… uh huh. I am considering Jennifer Habel as first author on this. Alphabetical order be damned.

Starting now #ToBLongList2024 and it‘s a snow day! ⛄️