Sudden Death: A Novel | 
#Two4Tuesday
1. I don‘t remember if the tagged book is the last book I read in translation but it‘s definitely a recent one. I DO remember enjoying it.
2. No, but I do occasionally read articles in French or German and very rarely (and badly) in Hebrew for work.
@TheSpineView
so-soI have no idea what to do with this book...
I have no idea how to explain this book...
But I read it...
“I don‘t know what this book is about. I know that as I wrote it I was angry because the bad guys always win. Maybe all books are written simply because in every game the bad guys have the advantage and that is too much to bearâ€
I‘ll admit it! - I chose these books from the library PURELY because their colors put me in a happy Spring mood! ðŸ’
I'm excited to see what books people start picking for #booked2018! If I may be so bold, I recommend the tagged book, Sudden Death, for # 1: #featuringanolympicsport. It's pretty bizarre and I was on the fence (though intrigued) for much of it, but it totally won me over with such pure charm amid the unusual structure. It was my first read of 2017 and a good one. Give this one a try and let it just wash over you. 🎾🎾🎾 #recommendsday came early!
pick#decktheshelves & #reindeerreads #day3 - #greenbooks & #historicalfiction
Finally got around to reading this one a few weeks back. The main framing device makes it a little difficult to keep track of which characters are which, and by the time all the cards are on the table you kinda wonder why the author even bothered. That aside, this is a terrifically inventive and deceptively ambitious novel that keeps you hooked from start to finish.
#catchingup on #awesomeautumnbooks #day28 - #greenwithenvy
Pretty sure this is something like the 3rd time I've used this book for a "green" prompt on a daily challenge this year.
#favoriteline of recent memory, or at least of those I've saved via kindle! I need to copy out more quotes... #autumnreads
pickSuper weird, but always entertaining. Not since reading American Tabloid have I been forced to Google so many characters to discover if they were real or not. The storytelling is a little stop-start and the timeline is utterly jumbled, but the overall effect is perfectly charming. There is also some remarkable breaking of the fourth wall which emphasized the playfulness of the whole thing. Uncategorizable, but a delight nonetheless.
#Riotgrams / #Junebookbugs day 10 - #booksinthewild / #death
Another long overdue entry on my #TBR
Just cleared 3000 #litfluence !!!
My husband and I are starting to move tomorrow (only one floor up in my apartment building to a much bigger, renovated apartment, so relatively easy), but these books will kill me. This is a relatively large box and it only contains books from 4 shelves from 1 of the bookcases. The first day of the move will literally be me, rolling a box of book upstairs, unloading, and then coming back for another load. My husband predicts at least 10 trips. 😱
so-soLife is too short to invest a lot of time with books that leave me aggravated. After three hours, this #audiobook had not developed enough of a story, or spent enough time with a core set of characters for me to develop any reason to stick with it. I've heard enough to understand the #ToB17 commentary.
#marchintoreading day 16 - green covers
I assume this has to do with St. patrick's day coming up? Have been meaning to get around to this one for a while; another relatively blind purchase about what I still don't know.
Also, decided to steer into the whole poor lighting aesthetic (though now that I look at it, this one's not too bad).
Do you have your brackets ready?
http://www.themorningnews.org/tob/
#tob
bailedWhat the heck? Just no. I could only take 25 pages of this boring weirdness. I guess I'm in the ToB Hall of Shame. Btw this is me parasailing a few years back.
#tob17
Today's #bookhaul from Barnes & Noble. Also caved and finally became a member so I could get the extra 10% off and free shipping on bn.com. ðŸ‘ðŸ»ðŸ‘ðŸ»ðŸ‘ðŸ»
"I don't know what this book is about. I know that as I wrote it I was angry because the bad guys always win. Maybe all books are written simply because in every game the bad guys have the advantage and that is too much to bear"
TOURNAMENT OF BOOKS SHORTLIST
I realize I'm a little behind the news, but just saw the shortlist. Was bummed not to see And, Again or Dark Matter, but my favorite book of the year is there (The Nix).
Here's my new dilemma - to read or not to read. I've only read half of the books and I'm feeling a strong pull to read the others and set up a bracket for myself. Anyone else playing along??? #ToB17 #ToB2017
pickWhat a wonderful book! It is laugh out loud funny and hilariously irreverent, while drawing important connections between the imperialism of the past with the globalization and homogenization of culture today. #ToB2017
bailedBleh. Not in the mood for postmodern narrative hijinks.
Let the games begin! #TOB2017
pickI really didn't like this book at first--I didn't feel like reading a novel like a history book. It was sardonic, but not as funny as the reviews promised. But I settled into it and eventually realized how amazing it was that Enrique had been able to make me feel connected to these characters. I recommend it, but only if you're in the right mood. If you start it and hate it, know that the book doesn't change as you go along, but you may.
It took me so long to even remotely enjoy this book, but I've developed a kind of quiet affection for it.
Three more #artrelatedbooks. Two offering fictionalised acvounts of events in the lives of real artists (Carravagio and Van Gogh) and the third following the life and works (and forgeries) of fictional Dutch Master Sara de Vos. I enjoyed the Last Painting and loved Sudden Death. Let Me Tell You is still tbr. #SeasonsReadings
pick"We are who we are, unfixable, fucked. We wear tennis shoes. We fly from good to evil, from happiness to responsibility, from jealousy to sex. Souls batted back and forth across the court. This is the serve."
I am weird and I love weird books. This book was freaking fantastic! Enrigue does a masterful job of weaving the sport of tennis into rich history lessons. I'm here for the tennis balls made of human hair; here for it all!
Pinkish and greenish?! Some of these are a stretch! #bookphotochallenge
We're celebrating our shiny new Litsy account with some books that have seen a lot of love. Here's a new copy of Sudden Death next to a copy that has been sitting in direct sunlight for a few months 🙀
bailedI suspected from the description that this would not be a book for me but tried it anyway for a group read. I have it 50 pages.
It's kind of like a Moby Dick treatment of a fake story and I was just not interested. Tennis with a ball made of Anne Boleyn's hair? Hmm.
so-soI learned a lot about the 16th century, real tennis, Caravaggio, Cortes, etc etc. What an odd book. Thank you to google and Wikipedia for being there when I needed you!
I feel much less bad about not quite getting this book. Because if the author didn't know what it was about, how can I?
80 pages to go. Due tomorrow, no renewals. Another chilly night at soccer practice.
A great quote split over two pages is a terrible thing indeed.
This is such an odd book. Still, I did not get to spend enough time this weekend sitting right here reading it.
so-soI've never read anything like this. For that reason, I'm not panning it. But it never lived up to the reviews on the back, for me. I never felt connected to this book. Can't really recommend it. Oh well.
Halfway through and waiting for these promises to deliver. I'm still interested in seeing how it all works, but dang I'm tempted to bail.
pickExcellent book: strong, chewy prose, plays with original ideas & goes to heart of matters while keeping many balls in the air (so to speak). Love the quirkiness & idea of Caravaggio, Mexican art, Catholic cardinals & politics converging. But pseudo-factual style= I couldn't 'dive into' story. 😕
Looking forward to this one. Another from #musemonthly. ? "A mind-bending story" and "gut-punch of a novel?" Okey dokey!!
A strong, masculine, unconventional, demanding novel. Also playful and darkly funny. I so want to love this, but I'm struggling. The style is remote or distanced somehow - so I can't seem to get traction. Too esoteric (Lauren groff's word)? I will persevere!
More tennis, by way of a beautiful photography exhibition by Paul Strand, who visited Mexico, birthplace of Alvaro Enrigue. Strong writing: "...the fever that afflicts those who have yet to recover from too much to drink, landing them in a purgatory of shivers."
Today's library haul! 1001 movies is for the middle schooler, who will be excited to see it at pickup😀
