Litsy

The Extinction of Irena Rey | Jennifer Croft

#CoverStories Day 8: #Trees - entire premise of this book is intriguing - the way the group of translators hero-worship Irena Ray, their beloved author, is almost cult-like, even their regular gathering with all the rules and their calling each other by their languages was strange. While the other #Tob25 title Colored Television was more of a page-turner, this is still holding my interest, though it is a bit of a struggle finishing it. #LitsyToB25

Megabooks, Eggs, Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks, squirrelbrain, BarbaraBB

squirrelbrain It‘s a weird one! 19h

Eggs 💙🌳💚 11h

BkClubCare Mmmm cheesecake 10h

BkClubCare I was along for the ride and felt my appreciation grow with learning more about the author. Almost meta-fusion?! LOL (I made that up) 10h

MaleficentBookDragon That looks delicious! 🤤 1h

47 likes1 stack add5 comments

BarbaraBB

James: A Novel | Percival Everett

Another unsurprising win in the first real bracket. In the #ToB as well as our #LitsyToB25. James it is.
The Book Censor was voted for by Meg, Holly, Jill & Kristy. Holly has been a big promotor of it on Litsy, she and Kristy even think it should win the tournament!
For now chances seem small, although the zombies can be surprising. James is this year‘s favorite for 5 of us: Shawna, Tammy, Katherine, Leslie and Cari. They‘re having a good day!

BarbaraBB @Bookwormjillk @Suet624 @cariashley
@soscha @AmyG @squirrelbrain @butterfinger @kspenmoll @lesliereadsalot 1d

BarbaraBB @Hooked_on_Books @ImperfectCJ @ChaoticMissAdventures @kwmg40 @GatheringBooks
@Deblovestoread @Jas16 @BkClubCare @sarahbarnes 1d

BarbaraBB @CarolynM
@Kristy_K @Chelsea.Poole @Megabooks
@AnneCecilie
@fredthemoose @Well-ReadNeck 1d

See All 27 Comments

Hooked_on_books Unsurprising. And I can‘t really be disappointed, since PE is fantastic. But I do so love Book Censor! 1d

Bookwormjillk I‘m not surprised either. I liked James so I don‘t think this is a bad outcome but since it seems like it has won everything already this year I voted for Book Censor to advance. I like an underdog. 1d

Jas16 I would honestly not mind seeing James win the tournament. I love that book and PE so much. 1d

ImperfectCJ This is one I waffled on. I love James, but like @Bookwormjillk , it's already gotten so much love, I kind of wanted to vote for Book Censor. I ended up going with James, but I almost wish it hadn't been in the shortlist at all so that other titles had more of a chance. 1d

ImperfectCJ Case in point: I just found out that James won the Golden Poppy Award, too: https://caminobks.shelf-awareness.com/golden-poppy-awards-2024 1d

sarahbarnes Yay!! ♥️ 1d

Jas16 @ImperfectCJ I hear what you are saying and I think that is why I did not vote for it to win the overall tournament. But I also didn‘t love Book Censor the way everyone else seemed to. 1d

Deblovestoread I enjoyed Book Censor, such a unique story. I still voted for James because it will stay with me longer and PE is a master story teller. 1d

BkClubCare @Jas16 - I appreciate The Book Censor more than “enjoy”; I felt a remove from it, a distance that I couldn‘t pinpoint but to me, it hit the head but not much of my heart. 1d

squirrelbrain Like you @jas16 I didn‘t love Book Censor as much as everyone else, although I did like it. Although I voted for James I agree with you @ImperfectCJ - it may have been better for James not to be in the tournament at all. 1d

ChaoticMissAdventures I was sad it was up against Book Censor, I think James should win all of the things, but I also enjoyed Book Censor and thought it should be against something bad so it could get further along! 1d

ImperfectCJ @squirrelbrain @Jas16 I definitely think James is the "better" book (it's stuck with me more, that's for sure), but in the ToB it feels a little like if Meryl Streep were up for a community theater award. That's a more extreme example than the reality, but it gets the idea across. 1d

Well-ReadNeck Loved reading this judgment. I feel much the same and echoed here that James is such a touted book, I almost want to root against but then I just loved it and all of its nuances. 1d

BarbaraBB I love Percival Everett but James not so much. I preferred the concept of The Book Censor but in the end the story fell a bit short so I was very hesitant in the end and chose James. 1d

Lesliereadsalot I knew nothing about James when I started reading it, even with all its hype and awards. I was shocked how drawn in I was, how powerful that book felt to me. Glad to see others agreed! Will have to read the Book Censor now, so many loved it. 1d

AmyG Well, I now have to read The Book Censor. I did love James. 1d

Megabooks It was so tight between these two. It was the only round I had to put some thought into. 1d

Butterfinger I never thought about the accolades that James already received till @ImperfectCJ mentioned it. That makes so much sense. I voted based on my reactions to the books. I will definitely keep this in mind for future tournaments. 1d

GatheringBooks I honestly don‘t remember which one i voted for. Like @ImperfectCJ I wanted to give other titles more love seeing how lauded James is. Yet, I also agree with @BkClubCare abt the detachment of Book Censor. I felt that the Kuwaiti author could have used more culture-specific elements rather than make it a generic dystopian universe. Reviewed it here: https://wp.me/pDlzr-r3x 21h

GatheringBooks I may have voted for Book Censor as a zombie title knowing it will not win against James. Cannot remember anymore though, lols. 21h

BarbaraBB @Lesliereadsalot @AmyG It‘s worth reading! Although I agree with @GatheringBooks that it could have used more Kuwaiti elements. 18h

BarbaraBB @Megabooks Most of the rounds were very easy indeed. The quarter finals will be more difficult, fortunately! 18h

Megabooks @BarbaraBB or unfortunately!! We‘ll definitely see some good books lose. 😕 13h

BarbaraBB @Megabooks That‘s true. Next round will be hard! 3h

58 likes27 comments

BarbaraBB

The Wedding People: A Novel | Alison Espach

#LitsyToB25 We have started and it won‘t come as a surprise that The Wedding People is our winner in the play-in round. There has been so much love for this book on Litsy!
Not in the real #ToB though, where Liars wins!
Among us Liars got only 4 votes (by Charity, Chelsea, Helen and Kristy) and is definitely out: it has no zombie votes.
All Fours got 4 votes too (by Sarah, Sue, AnneCecilie and Barbara), but will it be enough? We‘ll soon find out!

BarbaraBB @Bookwormjillk @Suet624 @cariashley @Soscha @AmyG @squirrelbrain @butterfinger @kspenmoll @lesliereadsalot 2d

BarbaraBB @ImperfectCJ @ChaoticMissAdventures @kwmg40 @GatheringBooks
@Deblovestoread @Jas16 @BkClubCare @sarahbarnes 2d

BarbaraBB @CarolynM @Kristy_K @Chelsea.Poole @Megabooks
@AnneCecilie @fredthemoose @Well-ReadNeck 2d

See All 38 Comments

GatheringBooks I am so thrilled this novel won! I super enjoyed it! 2d

BarbaraBB @GatheringBooks Me too, I unexpectedly liked it much more than I thought I would. I liked Liars too but All Fours was my favorite. I am sorry these three good ones had to end up in the play-in round. And I can certainly live with The Wedding People continuing in our tournament! 2d

BkClubCare I am thrilled it is ToB time! And quite happy that WeddingPeeps will continue here. I am also just fine with Liars moving on. I just enjoy all of it! 2d

BarbaraBB @BkClubCare I think we couldn‘t go wrong today. I liked all three of them! 2d

kwmg40 I‘m happy that Wedding People will be moving on but not disappointed that Liars is progressing in the real tournament. I liked both books. 2d

Bookwormjillk I haven't read Wedding People or Liars but they both sounds good! I'll have to prioritize Wedding People. 2d

Jas16 I was surprised by how much I liked Wedding People too. I am so happy to see it advancing in our tournament. 2d

ChaoticMissAdventures Yay! I liked All 4s also but Wedding really surprised me with the complexity of it all. I tried the first few pages of Liars then got distracted and I had to return it to the library with all the love for it I will have to try again 2d

Hooked_on_books Thank goodness AF didn‘t progress in the official tourney! (And may it not rise again.) I liked both WP and L and can understand the judge‘s rationale for choosing Liars. It‘s a gut punch of a book. I‘m glad we picked WP—it‘s delightful, complex, and charming. 2d

AmyG Same as a few others. I was so surprised by how much I loved The Wedding People. 2d

Deblovestoread I, too, didn‘t expect to love WP as much as I did. Still need to read Liars. So happy to have TOB to start my day! 2d

BarbaraBB @Hooked_on_books Do you want to talk a bit more about All Fours 😂?! 2d

BarbaraBB @Deblovestoread Yes me too! It‘s a nice distraction other news! 2d

sarahbarnes Happy to see WP win this - a really lovely book. 2d

GatheringBooks Found liars to be relentlessly depressing, and self-deprecating which is sometimes good - but only to a certain point. I am glad there is a redemptive quality to it in the end. I am with @BarbaraBB about all fours. I truly enjoyed its unapologetic perimenopausal vibes. 2d

ImperfectCJ I'm cool with Wedding People moving ahead on our ToB, especially since my beloved Liars made it in the "official" tournament. :-) Maybe it's weird to cheer for a depressing book, but to that I say, "Yay!" So excited that we're in ToB time again! 2d

cariashley Happy and not surprised about WP winning here, and not surprised about it not advancing in the official tournament. I have to read the full judgment but wondering if it was seen as too contemporary/not literary enough. I loved it so much more than I expected! 2d

BarbaraBB @ImperfectCJ I‘m also all for a depressing read and I did like Liars for that reason but I was a bit annoyed by the main characters: he is horrible but she almost encourages him to be. 2d

BarbaraBB @cariashley I wouldn‘t call it literature either but it was such an entertaining and engaging read!! 2d

Megabooks All three books were picks for me, but TWP was definitely my fave. Loved our CL discussion of All Fours, though! 2d

Megabooks @GatheringBooks I endeavor to be unapologetically perimenopausal every day!!! 😂😂👍🏻 2d

Lesliereadsalot Lots of comments here already! The Wedding People is the type of book that makes everyone feel good just by reading it. A fun story, realistic people who speak the way real people speak, and an uplifting ending. Not too deep, but highly entertaining. Liars, on the other hand, so depressing and realistic that I could only shake my head while reading it. Hard to forget either of these two books. 2d

BarbaraBB @Megabooks @GatheringBooks A good expression 💪🏽 2d

BarbaraBB @Megabooks I loved that discussion too but it seems so long ago. All Fours and James too have lost their momentum imo 2d

Hooked_on_books @BarbaraBB NO! 2d

squirrelbrain I agree with both of you @imperfectcj and @cariashley - I loved Wedding People and was torn between voting for that or Liars. I eventually chose Liars - only because I felt it was more of a ToB book. But we get the best of both worlds by having our own tournament too! 2d

Butterfinger This is my first year participating. For next year, I will know to read the play-ins first. Wedding People is the only one I have read, and that just the first quarter. 2d

Well-ReadNeck I thought the judge‘s narrative was interesting, but I‘m in no way convinced. I thought TWP was surprising and I much preferred it to the others. Liars would have been my last choice of the three. So interesting to see other opinions 2d

Gissy I forgot to vote but I only finished 4 books: my favorite was Martyr. I didn‘t love Wedding Peope🤷🏽‍♀️ (edited) 2d

BarbaraBB @Gissy We‘ll miss you! 2d

BarbaraBB @Well-ReadNeck I wasn‘t that convinced either although I did like Liars. But I love the different opinions during the #ToB! (edited) 2d

Gissy @BarbaraBB I will continue reading the books listed because I bought some of them and there are others I‘m so interested based on the comments. I also read The Extinction of Irena Rey, Margo‘s got Money Trouble😳😬and Orbit which I liked. But these first months have been so busy that I have to slow down my reading pace😩and I‘m already a slow reader😔 2d

Suet624 I remember that while reading Wedding People I kept commenting to myself, “Wow, I wasn‘t expecting this!” It was so much better than I was expecting it to be. 1d

CarolynM Glad to see The Wedding People go through in the Litsy tournament and even more glad to see All Fours missing out in both😆 I haven‘t read Liars but I‘m going to now. 24h

BarbaraBB @CarolynM 😂😂 18h

66 likes38 comments

BarbaraBB

Time of the Child | Niall Williams

#WeeklyForecast 10/25

I am completely absorbed by Wild Dark Shore. I am reading it slowly because I don‘t want it to end. It‘s so good again!
The tagged is my choice for #FoodAndLit 🇮🇪 and Help Wanted is from the #ToB longlist. Road Ends I am mixing audio with print.
In the mean time I am waiting for the ordered #InternationalBooker longlisted books, for the #WP #fiction longlist and for the start of the #LitsyToB25.

Living the life 😜💕

AmyG I am so excited to get it. I want to save it for my July vacation but I doubt it will make it. 🤣 6d

BarbaraBB @AmyG It‘s not possible I‘m afraid. Every page is again so good. Nature everywhere, great characters… so far it lives up to my extremely high expectations! 6d

squirrelbrain I‘m jealous you got Wild Dark Shore already! 6d

BarbaraBB Rightly so 😉 didn‘t you preorder it? @squirrelbrain (edited) 6d

65 likes1 stack add4 comments

LitsyEvents

The Tournament | Matthew Reilly

repost for @BarbaraBB:

Just one week until the #ToB starts! Here‘s a reminder to those who expressed interest in playing along in our #LitsyToB25 and haven‘t filled in the form yet. If you still want to join (you don‘t have to have read all the books!), please vote for your winners in the opening round. Also, vote for 2 zombies: https://forms.gle/jKTvVdCaRPVy16RL7

You can vote until March 6: you‘ll get a copy in your inbox (check junkmail!)

BarbaraBB Thank you 🙏 1w

26 likes1 comment

ChaoticMissAdventures

Great Expectations | Vinson Cunningham

so-so

I am not as mad about this as other Litsy members seem to be. I thought this was fine. I liked that the Senator was not named. This was not his story. I prefer this - a side character story vs books that take a still alive famous person & novelize their story
The writing is good, I liked the pacing. Overall though it is a book that didn't make an impact on me and I will probably forget I read it by end of the year. I would read the author again.

AmyG I swear….I don‘t think anyone liked this book. 🤣 1mo

ChaoticMissAdventures @AmyG I thought it was fine. I didn't dislike it. I feel like there are worse books on the list LoL 1mo

mcctrish I ended up bailing because school got too busy and the library clawed back my audio book loan. I liked it but I wasn‘t driven to find time to listen that I didn‘t have 1mo

See All 8 Comments

BarbaraBB I‘m not even trying… 1mo

ChaoticMissAdventures @mcctrish I totally get that. The book didn't seem to draw anyone in. Which is a shame I really love the cover. 1mo

ChaoticMissAdventures @BarbaraBB it will be hilarious if it end up winning! 1mo

BarbaraBB It definitely won‘t in our parallel#LitsyToB25! 1mo

mcctrish The cover is fantastic 1mo

39 likes8 comments

fredthemoose

Poor Deer: A Novel | Claire Oshetsky

pick

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Been looking forward to #LitsyToB25 but realized I‘ve only read 2 of the #ToBlonglist 😬, so getting started with what‘s easily available. A 4 year old was partly involved in her friend‘s accidental death and wrestles with the mental and emotional fallout from that and its toll on her and her close relationships until she‘s finally able to address her guilt. Got a little slow in the middle but picked back up and finished strong.

BkClubCare I really liked it. 3mo

46 likes1 comment

BarbaraBB

James: A Novel | Percival Everett

We do have our #CampLitsy24 winner and it‘s a good one. James received by far the most votes, followed by Clear.

Meg, Helen and I have so enjoyed camp with all of you and we are very happy with all your thoughts and insights during the discussions, which have add so much to the books and the reading experience.

We thank you all and hope to see you next year again, or maybe during #LitsyToB25 😀🤍

Megabooks, squirrelbrain

BarbaraBB @Addison_Reads @Amiable @AmyG @BarbaraJean @batsy @bennettBookworm @Bkclubcare @Bklover @Bookbuyingaddict @BookNAround @Bookwormjillk 6mo

BarbaraBB @BookWrym @cariashley @Caroline2 @CarolynM @Catlass007 @CatMS @Cbee @ChaoticMissAdventures @Chelsea.Poole @Christine @CogsOfEncouragement @CSeydel 6mo

DGRachel Thank you all for a wonderful summer event! This is the first year that I at least attempted all of the books and I only DNFd one! 6mo

See All 40 Comments

BarbaraBB @Cuilin @Cupcake12 @dabbe @Daisey @DebinHawaii @Deblovestoread @decalino @DGRachel @elizamarie @ErikasMindfulShelf @Flaneurette @GatheringBooks @Gissy 6mo

BarbaraBB @Graciouswarriorprincess @hes7 @Hooked_on_Books @ImperfectCJ @JamieArc @jas16 @jenniferw88 @JenReadsAlot @Jess @jhod @jlhammar @JoyBlue @julesG 6mo

BarbaraBB @julieclair @Julsmarshall @KarenUK @karisa @Karisimo @KateReadsYA @Kimberlone @Kitta @Kristy_K @kspenmoll @kwmg40 @Larkken @Laughterhp @LeeRHarry @Leniverse 6mo

BarbaraBB @Lizpixie @maggie4483 @mcctrish @Merelybookish @Meshell1313 @MicheleinPhilly @monalyisha @Nessavamusic @Oryx @peaKnit @prairiegirl_reading @PuddleJumper 6mo

BarbaraBB @quietjenn @RaeLovesToRead @Read4life @Readerann @RebelReader @Roary47 @rockpools @Ruthiella @SamAnne @Sapphire @sarahbarnes @sblbooks 6mo

BarbaraBB @Soubhiville @Suet624 @Susanita @TEArificbooks @Texreader @TheAromaofBooks @TheBookHippie @TheKidUpstairs @TrishB @well-readneck @willaful @youneverarrived @yourfavouritemixtape @Zuhkeeyah 6mo

BarbaraBB @DGRachel So you‘ll be definitely returning next year 😉😘 6mo

AmyG Thank you all for a wonderful summer at Camp Litsy! Until next year…. (edited) 6mo

Read4life Thank you for another wonderful camp experience! 6mo

Chelsea.Poole It was a great summer of reading. Thanks to the hosts of camp! 6mo

julieclair Thank you so much for another fun Camp Litsy summer! 6mo

Amiable I haven't read “Clear“ yet (still on library wait list) but “James“ was excellent, so I applaud this result! 6mo

Megabooks Thanks so much to my co-counselors!! Y‘all make it so fun!! @BarbaraBB @squirrelbrain 💜🏕️ also to the campers - we couldn‘t do it without you either!! 🙌🏻🏕️ 6mo

JenReadsAlot Thanks all! See you next year 😊 6mo

TheKidUpstairs Thank you EVERYONE! Hosts and fellow campers alike, it was another great summer of reading and discussions. 6mo

BarbaraJean Thank you all so much for hosting!! This was my first year participating, and I‘m so glad I did. I read books I‘d been wanting to read as well as ones that would never have been on my radar otherwise—and every discussion enriched my reading, whether I was enthusiastic about the book or not 😆 I‘m already looking forward to next year‘s camp! 6mo

CBee Thanks to you lovely ladies for hosting again! Such fun 😊 6mo

Jess Thanks so much. Another great summer! 6mo

Kitta Thanks for hosting! It was a great summer. 6mo

TrishB Thanks all ♥️ the discussions are always great and really enhance the reading- even if you hate the book!! 6mo

sarahbarnes Thank you all! ♥️♥️ 6mo

Deblovestoread Love camp! ⛺️ 6mo

Ruthiella Thanks to everyone for the fantastic discussion! 👏👏👏 6mo

Suet624 Thank you so much for all you did to make this possible. 6mo

squirrelbrain Yes, I agree @Megabooks, Barbara - we have such fun, but we definitely couldn‘t do it without everyone else! 6mo

Bookwormjillk Thank you so much! Great summer! 6mo

dabbe Thank you all for being such fantastic hosts! Looking forward to next year! 🩶🧡🩶 6mo

Soubhiville Thank you all for hosting and coming up with such thoughtful discussion questions! I always enjoy it so much! 6mo

willaful I love how camp expands my reading. Didn't do as much as I wanted this year because of a very complicated summer but I really enjoyed what I did. 6mo

mcctrish I had so much fun, even if I only read half the books ( holidays got in my way not procuring and reading wise 🤦🏻‍♀️) I just got All Fours from the library today, finally. Thank you so much to the hosts, tagging all of alone is an Olympic level sport 😘😘😘 6mo

Hooked_on_books Another fun year at camp! Thank you all for hosting and I can‘t wait for our turkey tourney next year! 6mo

Leniverse I'm already looking forward to next summer! 👏 6mo

Meshell1313 Fantastic! This was so fun and I love getting to read new releases I would normally miss out on. Thank you alll for hosting! ❤️❤️❤️ 6mo

Prairiegirl_reading Thanks for hosting!! It was fun. I will get to James before the year is out. I never would have read the book I enjoyed the most which was Butter as I had not even heard of it before camp! @Megabooks @squirrelbrain 6mo

Larkken Thanjs for hosting! I love all of this event, from seeing what everyone nominates through to the discussions. 🥰 and much love to James, too lol 6mo

DebinHawaii Awesome! Thanks to all of you for hosting another great camp! @BarbaraBB @squirrelbrain @Megabooks 💚🏕️💚 6mo

Christine Thank you so much for being the best hosts, as ever! ❤️ @BarbaraBB @squirrelbrain @megabooks 6mo

85 likes40 comments

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