Welcome to Litsy!

Picked these books and DVD up on Monday‘s op shop hunt. Lots of envelopes still in their wrapper for my #Litsylove and #Justbecause letters too. Score!

⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was just okay. It is about a film director from the perspective of people who knew her or worked with her at different points in her life/career. It was good but a little too artsy fartsy for my taste. This was my #bookspinbingo No. 11 pick.

This book is one that came from a bookshop as an extra based on my preferences. It has sat on my shelf for a while because the blurbs said "thriller" and I am a bit of a wuss.
Am glad that I read it as my #doublespin for July as it definitely was not as scary as I thought it could be. You see Sophie through the eyes of the people who intersect with her in life ?

The book doesn't come out and say it, but Sophie Stark seems to be on the autism spectrum. Sophie's being able to see the world a different way has given her the talent to make unique films. Its hard to get ahold on Sophie, maybe because it is this is a well written depiction of an autistic woman or because Sophie is willing to do anything to make her films. Even hurt the ones that love her. Took me a bit to get into this one, but enjoyed it.

October reading recap
I did a borrowed tbr theme so getting through books that I have borrowed from other people and the library. The only book I owned that I read was Pansy and that went towards my poetry book a month challenge.
All up a good reading month with all four and five stars, however my absolute faves were:
• Daisy Jones
• Sophie Stark
• Eggshell Skull
• Pansy
#monthlywrapup #octoberreads

My reading stack this long weekend for #OcTBRChallenge

Besides The Night Circus which I‘m reading in parts for a readalong (and is a reread), all the other books have been borrowed from someone and I would like to read and return them!

I‘m currently just under the halfway mark for the Life and Death of Sophie Stark and so far I‘m really enjoying the different perspectives telling Sophie‘s story.
#currentlyreading #weekendbookstack

Very interesting read! Definitely an excellent book to discuss with a book club. Sophie Stark is a mystery to the end or is she?

This well and truly kicked me out of my reading slum!!! It's intriguing, well written and deliciously dark! Sophie is like if Joe from You had a weirdo cousin from Iowa!! Each chapter is from a different character's point of view but all revolving around their interaction with Sophie! The ending is a little disappointing but still a solid 4 out of 5 from me! 👍🏻

Currently reading the life and death of Sophie stark. I would comment on it, but I haven't even read the first chapter!

Has anyone watched LifeAccordingToJimmy on YouTube? I just discovered him yesterday and I've been binge watching all of his videos. His humour can be so clever - especially in his balcony videos.

The free book table is stocked today! Anything I should go back for? #freebooks #novels #helpmelitsy

I loved the writing in this novel; it was beautiful and insightful, full of lines and passages that you want to quote. The characters were wonderfully drawn, each with their sections in distinct voices telling stories about Sophie Stark, a brilliant bisexual filmmaker whose dedication to her art threatens her relationships with everyone. Something was missing at the climax of the novel that kept this a 4/5 for me rather than 5/5. #QueerBooks

"She looked up at me then, and I recognized her face. It looked like mine in the mirror after I got the last of my stuff from Taylor's house, or after I finished eating brunch by myself in between two happy families, or after I came home from a night out at what used to be my favourite bar, now filled with people who would never be my friends."

"I'd never thought about being interesting before, but hearing Sophie say I wasn't made me feel like nothing, worse than when my high school coach told me I had shitty instincts or when the first girl I ever slept with called me a year later and told me she'd just had her first orgasm."
#QueerBooks

"And when people ask me why I married her that September, even though I'd only known her for three months and I knew it wouldn't last, I tell them that a life is a heavy burden and imagine if someone just carried it for you for a while, just picked it up and carried it."
But who carried whose life? That's the subtle genius of North's writing.

This is one of the best books I've read lately. I started on my first flight yesterday and couldn't go to bed in my hotel until I finished it. Learning about Sophie through various people who knew her was a great way to narrate this story. It's sad, it's honest, it's beautiful, its poignant. I highly recommend this one!!

Perfectly constructed, and yet more than its parts at the same time. Sad and twisty and thought provoking and, um, did I mention it's really good?

That was fantastic. I want to know so much more about Sophie but I'm never going too! Argh! Fantastic, addictive, read!

Love how Anna North told a story of a filmmaker from different character perspectives. She makes it seem easy yet her main character, Sophie Stark is a tremendous portrayal of the clinging to express oneself in the arts.

I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this one. It is always interesting when a story about a character is told not by themselves, but by the people around them. I had some issues with the book, especially the attention Stark receives for what are essentially college type films, but I think it serves the greater purpose of illustrating how difficult it can be for certain people to live and process the world around them. Fascinating anti-hero.

This book was exactly what I had been looking for. Dark, clever, readable. The plot is interesting but the characters are what really make this novel unique. It's multi faceted, with layers upon layers so that even the most restless reader won't be able to resist Anna North's winding tale. Massively enjoyable in a melancholy, masochistic sort of way.

I love this quote, and can imagine how much simpler and less annoying life would be if you actually lived this way. Alas, it wasn't how I was raised and I continue to be polite to even the least - ah - deserving. 😂

Another day, another dollar spent on overpriced #coldbrew... @jcgoody love this book already!

Better than I expected. Interesting way to tell a story about someone: through the eyes of everyone else. I felt like I didn't really know her in telling it that way; which all the other characters felt as well, so it worked well.

Awake and ready to get back to it with coffee in my favorite mug!!! #24in48
Where in the world are you reading from this weekend? Connecticut
Have you done the 24in48 readathon before? Nope!
Where did you hear about the readathon, if it is your first? Instagram or Litsy
What book are you most excited about reading this weekend? The Giver
Tell us something about yourself. I have 3 cats
Remind us where to find you online this weekend. Litsy

What a compelling book! Story of a highly eccentric movie maker, remembered by a rotating cast of people who knew her. The best bits are the between-chapter reviews of her work by a disgruntled artist that cracked me up - I know that guy, everyone does. I give this a coveted 4 monkeys 🙉🙉🙉🙉

"A wide seam of practicality running through her". Great phrase.

We interrupt this so-far amazing book to announce that I FOUND SOME HEADY TOPPER!! Thank you Vermont, I can go home happy

Loved it! So beautifully written with great character development and some empathetic insight into human nature. I enjoyed the style too, with each chapter told from a different character's POV.

"Merely difficult without the benefit of genius"

Just started this and am halfway through. This book is giving me chills.

I found this book just okay. I didn't care about the characters. I did like how each chapter was from a different persons perspective so that kept interesting. I read it in one sitting so it's a really easy read. Not sure I will be recommending it my friends.

Loved this book

Read this for my bookclub, although it's not something I would normally pick up. It's an enjoyable read, although I haven't quite got my thoughts organised on it yet!