Welcome to Litsy!

Only listened to an hour and a half but I couldn't get into it. In general, I like the idea of a famous author with an interesting life as a main character in fiction, as long as the overlap with their work isn't too simple- I was worried about that with a love story with Margarita against the backdrop of oppression. Left it too early to judge though.

🎉My favorite book of 2017🎉
Timely in its subthemes of authoritarian regimes, censorship, and the power of satire and the arts, this is a wonderfully written novel. While much Stalin-era literature speaks to the triumph of the human spirit, Himes's book seems to speak more to the inescapability and perpetual cycles authoritarianism.

Full review here: http://readosaurustext.blogspot.com/2017/12/my-top-book-pick-of-2017-julie-lekst...

Well, look at that. My favorite book of 2017 just won an award! #congrats #EuropaEditions #awardseason

When you are like, "Dang, I forgot a hair tie for my trip," and then you open your book and see that a few weeks ago you used a hair tie as a bookmark! #whatluck #bookmark #neverleavehomewithoutyourbook

Books about writers fascinate me, and Master and Margarita is one of my all-time favorites, so I knew I had to read this.

I'm enjoying outdoor reading weather while I still can. I can't believe it is almost fall, which basically means #winteriscoming. ☀️📚☀️

Yep, this sounds about right: "Bookcases stood on both sides of the chair. These were filled and double-layered, with yet more books in varying stacks on the floor in front, as if waiting in queue." (page 78) ???

#stillinbed #SatisfiedSaturday #AwesomeAutummBooks @Jess7

September 1, 2017
Dear Litsy,
Yet again I am weak, and despite my New Year's resolution not to buy new books, I could not have anticipated that a novel about Bulgakov and his inspiration for Master and Margarita would come out. The fact that it was published by #EuropaEditions made it all the more irresistible.
Sincerely yours,
Dawn

This gem is one of the books we're highlighting in our Fictional Universes episode. MIKHAIL AND MARGARITA is a fictionalized account of Mikhail Bulgokov and his relationship with Margarita, the woman who inspired his novel MASTER AND MARGARITA. It was so intriguing to get a behind the scenes look, as it were, into the formation of a novel by seeing the world through the author's eyes. Not a quick read, but absolutely a rewarding read. - A

The amazing Kelly of @fountainbookstore calls herself the caretaker, not the owner, of this long-lived little bookstore in Richmond, VA: the space is small but their place in the community is big. Many thanks to @SonjaYoerg for the introduction. Extra shout-out to Kelly for being the first bookseller who asked me "Are you on Litsy?" before I got the chance to ask her! #independentseveryday #bookstore #bookstorelove #indiebound #rva #getindie

Almost done... #bookclub #audiobooks #librofm

It took awhile, but once Stalin appeared, the book really caught my attention. #audiobooks #librofm #bookclub

#CurrentlyReading this for book club!

I suppose I should be drinking vodka to accompany a novel set in Stalin's Russia. But this is a nice whiskey for drinking on the front porch.

I finished part one earlier and I have to admit, I'm struggling. The whole thing feels confused and uncontrolled and I'm not sure I like the extent to which the story had been fictionalised, it jars having read Manuscripts Don't Burn so recently. How is everyone else getting on? @saresmoore @bitterbear @vivastory @ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled
#MandMBuddies
* The tortuous syntax is driving me mad!

Hey, M&M buddy readers! Thoughts so far? I may actually appreciate The Master and Margarita after reading this. It's calling to mind A Gentleman in Moscow and also Us Conductors. Lots of interesting asides, too. Starting a tag: #mikhailandmargaritabuddyread

So Buddies, I've never done this before (I've never even been in a book club so I'm not used to reading along with people!) Do we read at our own speed or (for the avoidance of spoilers) set dates for chapters/sections so we're all keeping pace with each other? I'm ready to be guided by anyone with more experience!
@saresmoore @bitterbear @vivastory @ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled

#yasss #buddyread

Somehow I managed to order a hardcopy AND a Kindle copy, surely proof that my book habit it out of control. If anyone would like the paperback just let me know!

A book definitely intended for fans of Bulgakov's The Master & Margarita. It's been a while since I read it and I was having some trouble piecing together specifics. If I hadn't read Master&M this would've been a novel about Soviet writers in the 1930s. The plot in Mikhail&M takes a while to get going - once it did pick up speed, the fascination for me was the dizzying, Kafka's "The Trial"-like machinations of NKVD and what it makes people do.

Daylight savings time, my least favorite day of the year. A whole hour to read, snatched away! At least I have a good book. 🖤📚❤️

To call this book a love story is like calling Doctor Zhivago a love story - it is much more than that. You can feel the despondency of living in the Stalin era where everyone is listening and informing and no one can be trusted. There are similarities to Solzhenitsyn, but less intense. In fact, this is a good novel for someone who wants to get a taste of Russian literature or who wants a lighter version of it. PUB DATE: March 14

It's too real. 😓
Executive orders written by House staffers who had to sign NDAs? 😕

A love story set in 1930s Russia starring Bulgakov!!!!!!! I'm so happy!

There are no words to express my joy at this moment