Welcome to Litsy!

I‘ve loved or really liked almost all of the other books I‘ve read by Cusk, but this didn‘t quite make it for me. Sadly. I felt kept at a distance, & that might have been intentional

At university Micheal is invited home to one of his friends, Adam, for the weekend. Adam‘s family seems so perfect. Years later, married & with a kid Micheal visits Adam‘s family again, to help with the lambing. Adam‘s family may not be as perfect as he once thought

⭐️⭐️⭐️

#ShananigansReads25

Cute epistolary novel about two people who connect through an online dating site. Izzy lives in North Carolina and Brodie lives on a tiny island. I loved their mutual Lord of the Rings obsession and passion for books. I did feel like it should‘ve been edited down and quite a bit of family back-and-forth could‘ve been cut. A fun read with a subplot of great family supporting each other, just went on a bit too long.

Very enjoyable to read Cusk‘s first novel that really deftly captures the experience of being a young female adult. Some lines were so spot on: “She strove not to please others but merely not to disgust them.” An accurate portrait of growing into female adulthood in the 90s from my perspective. Agnes is a little trying at times, but I loved to see her find her way.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 A book I never would have picked up if not for the #ToB25 short list! Unique structure of telling the stories if 8 teenage girl boxers as they fight in matches at a tournament in Reno. It was interesting enough while reading, but I finished it a few weeks ago and none of the characters or stories stayed with me. Soft pick.

I did do a #bookspin list at the beginning of the month and never posted it. I saw that Summerwater (an old fave from my #roll100) and Shanghailanders (a new find at BN) were chosen.

Things are still crazy here. We‘ve gotten Dad mostly settled in the nursing home (after his second major stroke), and Mom or I is visiting every day. Today, I got clearance to bring Molly, and she came with me. It‘s just still a lot logistically and emotionally. ⬇️

I‘m glad I finally read something by this author. I‘ll definitely read more by her.

It took a bit to settle into, because at first I didn‘t care for the main character. But once it grabbed me the story had me hooked. Very sad, lots of content warnings.

Venkman wishes I hadn‘t woken him for a photo this morning. Or is he winking at you?

I loved this book just like I loved Laurie Frankel‘s last novel. She paints such compelling and honest portraits of families.

This book was not for me, and I‘m not sure what it was. The boxing? The writing? Where there too many boxers so we spend too little time with the boxers? I‘m don‘t know, but it was something

#tob25

#ReadingBracket #2 @Catsandbooks

Loved this heartwarming story.