Litsy

Beautyland: A Novel | Marie-Helene Bertino

This is interesting. In today‘s bracket Martyr! beats Beautyland in the #ToB25 while in the #LitsyToB25 Beautyland advances. The book is this year's favorite for five of us, while Martyr! is just two people's favorite: Sue and Anne Cecilie‘s Zombies are approaching quickly so we'll soon know if Martyr! wil be able to return from the grave!

BarbaraBB @Bookwormjillk @Suet624 @cariashley @Soscha @AmyG @squirrelbrain @Butterfinger @kspenmoll @lesliereadsalot 5d

BarbaraBB @Hooked_on_Books @ImperfectCJ @ChaoticMissAdventures @kwmg40 @GatheringBooks @Deblovestoread @Jas16 @BkClubCare @sarahbarnes 5d

BarbaraBB @CarolynM @Kristy_K @Chelsea.Poole @Megabooks @AnneCecilie @fredthemoose @Well-ReadNeck 5d

See All 14 Comments

Suet624 Yeah, I actually didn‘t imagine Martyr would advance on our litsyTOB. I liked both books and I just always like to give props to Martyr whenever I can. 😊 5d

Bookwormjillk I haven't read Martyr yet, but I loved Beautyland so much it would be hard to top. At least when one advances in our bracket and one advances in the TOB everyone can be happy. 5d

Deblovestoread I fully intend to read Martyr one day and always feel a bit guilty voting for a book when I haven‘t read the other. I did love Beautyland. 5d

BkClubCare Happy happy! 👏 5d

Hooked_on_books I am baffled by the TOB judge today. So much time spent on explaining her criteria (that needed some serious editing), only to discount the book I found far more surprising! I don‘t get it. Martyr‘s MC is a classic addict and therefore highly predictable and the whole premise of Beautyland is wholly unique. I‘m just boggled. I think we made the better choice. 5d

squirrelbrain I did like Martyr!, but it wasn‘t an ‘enjoyable‘ read, so I voted for Beautyland. I‘m glad Martyr! made it through as well though. 5d

ImperfectCJ @Hooked_on_books The decision today was definitely confusing. There was very little about why the judge actually picked Martyr over Beautyland, and while I agree that the scene she describes is excellent, it comes at the very beginning of the novel and we don't get many more of those moments. I like Martyr and find the writing beautiful, but I agree that Beautyland was the more surprising book and the one that got to me more. 5d

Jas16 It was an interesting judgement today. I think I love Beautyland so much in part of how surprising it was to me. So glad it is moving on in our tournament and hoping it returns as a zombie in the other tournament. 5d

cariashley I was really scratching my head about the whole “surprising” angle. Genuinely wasn‘t sure which one she thought was vs wasn‘t and it was weird that she was so binary about it. Made me think I was missing something with both books. I liked Martyr! more, for what it‘s worth! (edited) 5d

Lesliereadsalot Beautyland was so imaginative and well written and kept me wondering where it was going. I love those things in a book! 5d

BarbaraBB @cariashley I totally agree, in fact I was underwhelmed by Beautyland. 4d

58 likes14 comments

BarbaraBB

Beautyland: A Novel | Marie-Helene Bertino

#LitsyToB25 We are in sync again with #ToB25 and we were almost unanimous on this prompt. Great Expectations was only voted for by Katherine and AnneCecilie.
So Beautyland is the big winner.
It‘s this year‘s favorite of Jen, Jill, Amy and Debra and I remember that Charity has discussed the book somewhere too? So let us know what you think of this outcome!

BarbaraBB @Bookwormjillk @Suet624 @cariashley @Soscha @AmyG @squirrelbrain @Butterfinger @kspenmoll @lesliereadsalot 2w

BarbaraBB @Hooked_on_Books @ImperfectCJ @ChaoticMissAdventures @kwmg40 @GatheringBooks @Deblovestoread @Jas16 @BkClubCare @sarahbarnes 2w

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

See All 17 Comments

Lesliereadsalot Beautyland was so imaginative. I loved the story and am glad it won 🏆 2w

AnneCecilie Well, bailed on Beautyland so I couldn‘t vote for that now could I 😊 2w

Suet624 Again, I‘m so happy! 2w

ImperfectCJ I loved Beautyland! I loved it so much that I bought a copy for my elder child for Christmas (and am trying not to feel grouchy that they have been focusing on college rather than reading the book I got them). I enjoyed reading the commentary on the judgment over at ToB. They really hit what I found lacking in Great Expectations. 2w

BkClubCare I very much enjoyed Beautyland and am glad I purchased for a possible reread. I audiobooked GE and ended up listening at 2x speed just to get through it which might be worse than just DNFing. I do have fond memories of the puzzle I was working on while listening 🤩 2w

ChaoticMissAdventures I still need to read beautyland I have a copy and am super excited to tackle it, glad it won as Great Expectations was a bit of a let down I didn't hate it as much as others but did find it lackluster. 2w

Bookwormjillk Love, love, loved it. Yay! 2w

Hooked_on_books This was an easy choice for me. GE was disappointing and Beautyland was lovely. I‘m glad to see it go this way. 2w

Megabooks Awesome!! One of my favorite books from last year!! 2w

AmyG Yay! 🎉 This is my favorite of all of them. (edited) 2w

Well-ReadNeck Love the result. The judge‘s narrative was surprising to me. Focused heavily on the alienation of the main characters, which was A THEME of both, but not as primary for me as it was for her. 2w

Jas16 I loved this book and would have been so sad had it not moved forward. 2w

squirrelbrain Hooray! I‘m glad it won in both tournaments! 2w

BarbaraBB I am the odd one out. I voted for it but I was not so enthusiastic about Beautyland as most of you are. 2w

68 likes1 stack add17 comments

Centique

Beautyland: A Novel | Marie-Helene Bertino

pick

I absolutely loved this. I think because the character of Adina felt very real to me - a loner, an outsider, living near the poverty line w her solo mum, a child who feels alone & alien growing into an adult that struggles to make more than one or two deep connections. Is Adina really an alien? - she faxes her mother planet with her wry and poignant earth observations. Little nuggets of insight that punctuate the story. ⬇️

Centique Adina‘s ups and downs & her attempts to fit in were heart wrenching while the acceptance she feels from her dog & her true best friends - made for golden moments. Love and grief and finding yourself detached from the world ♥️ 2w

Bookwormjillk I think this will be one of my favorite 2025 reads. 2w

CarolynM Lovely review. I hadn‘t been drawn to this one, but I have to stack it now😆 2w

See All 7 Comments

Centique @Bookwormjillk me too! 2w

Centique @CarolynM i know some people have found it a little detached maybe? So maybe try a few pages first to see if you like it. 😘 2w

Suet624 I loved this one too and felt very connected to Adina. Great review. 2w

Jas16 I really loved this book too. 2w

68 likes4 stack adds7 comments

cariashley

Beautyland: A Novel | Marie-Helene Bertino

pick

Some beautiful writing, but this kept me at arm‘s length enough that I couldn‘t love it. I know that was the point. The writing about loss at the end was a true gut punch and my favorite part of the book. Will be interested to see how this fares in #tob25!

48 likes

Bookwormjillk

Beautyland: A Novel | Marie-Helene Bertino

pick

I absolutely adored this book. A coming of age story about a possible alien born right around the same year I was? Yes, please. This is the second audiobook in a row that I‘ve listened to where I wanted to buy a paper copy so I can underline all of the parts I loved. This is now my pick for #TOB2025 and likely to be a favorite this year.

BarbaraBB A game changer for you, I noticed in your voting 😀🥰 3w

Bookwormjillk @BarbaraBB haha, yup. I changed my vote before I finished reading! 3w

Lesliereadsalot Such an imaginative read, right? 3w

See All 6 Comments

Bookwormjillk @Lesliereadsalot yes! 3w

AmyG I adored this, too. I thought it was just a beautiful story. My favorite of them all. (edited) 3w

Bookwormjillk @AmyG yes like a hug in the form of a book 3w

63 likes1 stack add6 comments

Robotswithpersonality

Beautyland: A Novel | Marie-Helene Bertino

so-so

Eminently readable, in that the pacing and formatting creates a good flow, and I appreciate the writing style. More than just a collection of peculiarly-phrased perceptive observations, there does appear to be full life narrated from the point of view of a (possibly neurodivergent) asexual character, a collection of friends and family, 1/?

Robotswithpersonality 2/? a number of which the reader gets to know well, relatable and human and also marginalized experiences such as growing up poor, experiencing prejudice for heritage and skin colour, not conforming to expectations around sex/relationships; but something, possibly purposefully designed to be 'alienating' meant that I just didn't really connect with the story. 3w

Robotswithpersonality 3/3 Sad, but quirky is reductive, but I guess I'm having trouble expressing fully why, this being the second Bertino book I've read, I just can't get on board with this author's books. I don't think I can truly disrecommend this book to anyone, as it's likely a 'me problem' that's blocking my investment/enjoyment. 🤷🏼‍♂️
⚠️child abuse, ableism, racism, suicidal ideation, animal death 3w

10 likes2 comments

Robotswithpersonality

Beautyland: A Novel | Marie-Helene Bertino

Carbs: A love language all their own. 🍞🥐🥖🍝♥️🥰

11 likes

Robotswithpersonality

Beautyland: A Novel | Marie-Helene Bertino

Today's 'scratched my brain just right' sentence.

11 likes

AmyG

Beautyland: A Novel | Marie-Helene Bertino

Loved this book. Definitely in my top 10 of this year.

56 likes

RamsFan1963

Hotel Andromeda | Jack L. Chalker

pick

23/100 First of all, ignore Litsy's description of this book, it's totally wrong. I've given them the correct one but they have never changed it. Anyway, what this book is about is the Hotel Andromeda, a space station located in the hub between many alien and human civilizations. A collection of short stories, mostly humorous, about the employees and the visitors to the station. 3 ⭐⭐⭐💫 #Read2025

53 likes

Welcome to Litsy!

Trending Hashtags

Trending Books