Home Feed
Home
Search
Search
Add Review, Blurb, Quote
Add
Activity
Activity
Profile
Profile
#ToB
review
kwmg40
Martyr!: A novel | Kaveh Akbar
post image
Pickpick

This is among my favourites of the #ToB25 books I've read so far. The writing is beautiful, there were interesting and unexpected twists, and I spent some time mulling over the ending. Looking forward to the #LitsyToB discussion.

#gottacatchemall (Emolga: yellow cover) @PuddleJumper

Butterfinger I started it today. I think it will also be one of my favorites. 2d
BarbaraBB I liked this one too and think it stands out on the #ToB shortlist. 2d
squirrelbrain I agree with @BarbaraBB ! 2d
Suet624 I liked this one so much. 2d
54 likes4 stack adds4 comments
review
sarahbarnes
Orbital | Samantha Harvey
post image
Pickpick

Given the mixed reviews here, I liked this better than I expected to. I think Harvey used the premise of the astronauts on their mission to capture well feelings of powerlessness and insignificance in the face of enormous forces, and feelings at times of the pointlessness of it all. And yet, we continue to believe in the purpose of our lives in spite of it all - it‘s what makes us human. Not the kind of book I look for on the #TOB shortlist tho.

youneverarrived Great review! 4d
BarbaraBB I feel the same about Strout. I‘d like to have her characters in my real life! 4d
Cathythoughts Great review ❤️ I loved that the characters were human too. 4d
38 likes3 comments
blurb
ChaoticMissAdventures
Women's Prize For Nonfiction | Women\'s Prize For Nonfiction
post image

It has only been a couple of days since the announcement but have your read any yet? In the process? Waiting for any to come in via bookshop or library?

Which are you most excited to get to?

I read Fish Don't Exist before the list dropped, and have picked up Private Revolutions to get started next.

#WPNF25

ChaoticMissAdventures @AnneCecilie I am terrible at tagging, let me know if you want to be tagged or untagged! We have so little time before the fiction list drops! 5d
TheKidUpstairs I'm listening to A Thousand Threads, it's so good! 5d
fredthemoose I‘m trying to get through some more #ToB25 books in the next couple of weeks but these are up next! 5d
See All 20 Comments
squirrelbrain I picked 3 up from the library on Friday, with another 4 now ready to collect on Monday. 🤦‍♀️ I‘ve read one of those (Peepshow) and nearly finished Sister in Law. I also listened to Autocracy Inc, which is short, and started Neneh on audio too. Loving them all so far! 5d
ChaoticMissAdventures @TheKidUpstairs yay! I was realizing who she was yesterday and listening to her music again. This one is in transit to me from the library, but we have had 2 days of snow and my city shuts down the second it sees a flake, so not sure when it will get to me lol 5d
squirrelbrain I listened to a couple of hours of A Thousand Threads @TheKidUpstairs - it‘s SO good! 5d
ChaoticMissAdventures @squirrelbrain you are crushing it! I am behind... trying to finish some other things before really diving in. but hoping to get going this next week. 5d
TheKidUpstairs @squirrelbrain right?! Glad you're loving it, too. Her voice is so lovely, I could listen to her read anything! Of you haven't yet, you should look up her mother's art, it's so beautiful and joyfully colourful 5d
Suet624 Sadly, I haven‘t read any of them. I‘m also trying to commit myself to not go to the library or buy new books until I get some off my shelf. I‘m quite sure I‘ll break this commitment but for now that‘s where I‘m at. 5d
TheKidUpstairs @ChaoticMissAdventures I only knew Buffalo Stance going in, but it's such a good book, very accessible to fans and non-fans alike. 5d
ChaoticMissAdventures @Suet624 I feel ya! I am overwhelmed. But overwhelmed with books is not always a bad thing! trying to pepper some in but also read things that have been lingering around here too.
5d
Suet624 I completely agree with you and I 100% know that I will eventually start searching for the books on this list. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I just have hundreds of books that are glaring at me and I want to free up some space. 5d
squirrelbrain @Suet624 @ChaoticMissAdventures - I‘m a bit overwhelmed too. I *really* wasn‘t going to read this list as I‘m still reading #ToB and trying to keep up with my ARCs. Goodness knows what will happen when the fiction list comes out - I may explode! 🤪 5d
squirrelbrain I‘ll check it out! @TheKidUpstairs 5d
Jas16 I think I am going to have to wait for the fiction list. Much like @Suet624 I am having a hard time staying reasonably on top of all of the books I have on my shelves. I am enjoying everyone‘s reviews so much though 5d
AnneCecilie Please tag me. And I‘ve started Raising Hare, a book I had been eyeing before the Longlist so that was the final Paul to buy it 5d
ChaoticMissAdventures @AnneCecilie I am interested in everyone's reviews of Raising Hare. I am scared it is going to be really sad and I am not sure I can handle it! 5d
Hooked_on_books I‘m in the same spot as before. Already read Fish and am currently reading PR. I already had the Nagle on audio and picked up the audios of the Castor and Wistrich from Libro but haven‘t started them yet. 5d
Chelsea.Poole I‘ve read 3 now. My next read from the list will be Private Revolutions. Just finished this and I‘m sad/mad/ready to give it to everyone to read: 5d
TheKidUpstairs And I just got an email that Private Revolutions, What the Wild Sea Can Be, and Story of a Heart area all waiting for me. And I've got a copy of What Fish Don't Exist that I'm just starting. And I said I wasn't going to read the long list 🤣🤣🤣 5d
34 likes20 comments
review
Bookwormjillk
The Book Censor's Library | Bothayna Al-Essa
post image
Pickpick

A short book in translation about book censorship. It gets a pick from me, but I‘m glad it was short because it‘s all just been a lot lately.

I guess if all I‘m up for is books about cats solving mysteries I shouldn‘t be reading #TOB short list titles 😂

On to George!

squirrelbrain I hope George doesn‘t annoy you too much! 😬 2w
Butterfinger @squirrelbrain I hope she is not married to a George like I am. I wanted to throw my book at his head every time he acted like my husband. I stayed mad while reading that book. 2w
squirrelbrain I hope so too! 😬 @Butterfinger 2w
74 likes3 comments
review
squirrelbrain
post image
Pickpick

I clearly didn‘t hate this as much as many Littens - I gave it a pick after all! I found George to be more pathetic than anything, although he did become particularly insufferable at the time he was clearing out his childhood bedroom.

Where I do agree with everyone is why did we need a book about a boring white guy? And I contrast it with Help Wanted, another #ToB book, that was also about the mundanities of life but SO much more interesting.

Bookwormjillk Good to know 2w
sarahbarnes I think I‘m skipping this one. 2w
BarbaraBB I just got my copy of this one. Glad it was a pick for you! 2w
69 likes3 comments
blurb
LitsyEvents
The Tournament | Matthew Reilly
post image

repost for @BarbaraBB:

With 4 weeks until the #ToB starts I‘ve made a form to vote for your winners in the opening round. Also, vote for 2 zombies: https://forms.gle/jKTvVdCaRPVy16RL7

You can change this form until March 6. After recording your votes you‘ll get a copy in your inbox (check junkmail!) with a link to make changes.

Tagged is everyone who wanted to play along, others are welcome too of course!

blurb
BarbaraBB
post image

With 4 weeks until the #ToB starts I‘ve made a form to vote for your winners in the opening round. Also, vote for 2 zombies: https://forms.gle/jKTvVdCaRPVy16RL7

You can change this form until March 6. After recording your votes you‘ll get a copy in your inbox (check junkmail!) with a link to make changes.

Tagged is everyone who wanted to play along, others are welcome too of course! For more information on the ToB, I‘ll add a link below.

See All 22 Comments
Bookwormjillk Yay! Thanks! 2w
BarbaraBB For more information on the Tournament of Books in general:

https://www.tournamentofbooks.com/about
2w
ChaoticMissAdventures I am so excited! This is my first year, so one quick question, for the Zombie books, are these from the 16 list or are they from the big long list that was like 60 books long? 2w
BarbaraBB @ChaoticMissAdventures ask any question! The zombies you choose from from the 18 (!) shortlisted books. The most voted for zombies return to the tournament in the zombie round towards the end of the tournament! (edited) 2w
AmyG Yay! Thank you. 2w
GatheringBooks Thank you for the google forms! 💕 until when can we vote? Still going through the titles. :) 2w
BarbaraBB @GatheringBooks Until March 6 so plenty of time to keep adding your votes! 2w
Jas16 I am so excited! 2w
Megabooks Yay!!! 2w
kwmg40 Thanks! 2w
squirrelbrain Very exciting! 🐓 2w
BkClubCare You are AWESOME 👏 (edited) 2w
Hooked_on_books Woohoo! I‘m just about to get the final book from the library, so I‘ll be holding off on voting until I get it read. 2w
sarahbarnes Thank you!! ♥️ 2w
Chelsea.Poole Thanks for organizing! 📚 2w
Well-ReadNeck Two more to read!! 2w
CarolynM I‘ve only read a very few so far, so too early for me to start voting. Do I have to vote on every match up? Because I‘m not going to get them all read. 2w
BarbaraBB @CarolynM No you don‘t. Just vote for the ones you‘ve read on March 6! 2w
CarolynM Thanks Barbara. Hopefully I will have finished a few more by then🙂 2w
54 likes22 comments
review
squirrelbrain
Beautyland: A Novel | Marie-Helene Bertino
post image
Pickpick

Another one from the #ToB list that I loved, although the quirky premise (girl sent from another planet to report back on life on Earth) concerned me. Turns out I loved Adina and I‘d have been one of those holding up the ‘I believe you‘ placards at her readings.

I‘m glad it made the shortlist as the book was so difficult to get hold of here in the UK that I probably wouldn‘t have bothered otherwise and I‘m so pleased I got to experience it.

sarahbarnes Wow, a glowing review of this one! I haven‘t read it yet; I may need to check it out. It wasn‘t speaking to me…. 3w
Jas16 I felt the same way. I would have skipped it too and am so glad I didn‘t. 3w
BarbaraBB Beautiful photo. I am glad you loved it! 3w
See All 14 Comments
TrishB Great review 👍🏻 3w
squirrelbrain It wasn‘t speaking to me particularly @sarahbarnes - or to @Jas16 either. If we both loved it I‘m sure you will too! 3w
Cathythoughts Great review… I‘m wondering about it. Sounds good. 3w
Chelsea.Poole So glad it worked for you! 3w
Suet624 I liked this one too. 2w
CarolynM Another one for the TBR😬 2w
squirrelbrain Sorry, not sorry! 🤪 @CarolynM 2w
Hooked_on_books I read this one soon after it published, as it one that popped up at my library and sounded interesting. I really liked it. It‘s received a lot of end of year love here and I‘m glad for that. 2w
squirrelbrain It was so difficult together hold of here @Hooked_on_books - I ordered it on Amazon at Xmas, as I was gifted a voucher. It was going to take 3 weeks to come, then the day after it was due to be delivered they cancelled my order. 🤷‍♀️ I got a copy on EBay in the end, and now Amazon keep emailing to say ‘Here‘s something you might like‘. 🤦‍♀️ 2w
Hooked_on_books Well that‘s maddening! Yet another reason not to use the big A I suppose. That kind of wait time (actually more like a month) is routine for Hawaii. It‘s understandable but very frustrating. I‘m glad you managed to track it down. The things we do for books! 2w
BkClubCare Yay! 👏 I admit that I love the purple of the cover; yours is a lot darker almost black? Anyway, I loved the story. 2w
74 likes1 stack add14 comments
review
BarbaraBB
Bury Your Gays | Chuck Tingle
post image
Pickpick

Horror meets Hollywood is this #ToB25Longlist book and it was fun reading it. Towards the end it spun a bit out of control and I lost track of what was happening but over all I am always happy to read this kind of books thanks to the #ToB! And I‘ll have nightmares of that worm 😱😱

See @squirrelbrain we‘re in sync again 💕

📷 The flu 🤒

Librarybelle Hope you feel better soon! 3w
Bookwormjillk Oh no! Feel better soon! 3w
squirrelbrain Oh no, not the flu - hope you feel better soon. 😞 Yes, we‘re in sync - I‘m glad! 🤪 I thought it got a bit drawn-out towards the end too. 3w
See All 12 Comments
youneverarrived Hope you feel better soon 🩷 3w
CarolynM Hope you‘re up and about again soon💐 3w
Cathythoughts Lovely picture. Feel better soon. 3w
LeahBergen Oh no, the flu! I hope you‘re on the mend soon. ❤️ 3w
julesG Feel better soon! 3w
BarbaraBB @Librarybelle @Bookwormjillk @squirrelbrain @youneverarrived @Carolynmary @Cathythoughts @LeahBergen @julesG There‘s no escaping it these days, everyone is floored! Where you live as well? 3w
julesG It is going round. I read something about 5.000 new cases this week in North Rhine-Westphalia, not sure what the figures for my city are though. I'm wearing FFP2 masks on public transport and in public spaces inside. That's the positive thing Covid brought, I'm no longer stared at when wearing a mask. 3w
BarbaraBB @julesG That‘s true. And smart to wear one. We should do as the Japanese do: wear one when you‘re ill or coughing to protect others. 3w
kwmg40 Wishing you a speedy recovery! 2w
82 likes12 comments
review
squirrelbrain
Colored Television | Danzy Senna
post image
Pickpick

#ToB #shortlist

Loved this! I found it sharp and snarky and it‘s one of those books where the MCs are rather obnoxious (this time in an arty-farty way) but you love them anyway.

I thought the ending was a little weak, but I can see why it made the #ToBshortlist.

Thanks so much for sending it to me! @BarbaraBB

ChaoticMissAdventures I want to read this one, the library list is so long. I am so curious about her and her husband and what their dinner conversations are like. they are both so smart and talented. 3w
BarbaraBB Glad you liked it! 3w
squirrelbrain OMG! @ChaoticMissAdventures - I had no idea they were a couple! 🤷‍♀️🤦‍♀️ 3w
ChaoticMissAdventures @squirrelbrain I found out maybe a year or so ago and have to admit I am fascinated. 3w
CarolynM Great review. I‘m looking forward to this one now🙂 3w
65 likes3 stack adds5 comments