medievalages

1. Me and daughter at my birthday brunch.
2. Gift of very cool Edward Gorey beach towel that I actually hung on the wall with Command Strips!
3. Me with oldest friend from high school.
4. Terrific movie that I highly recommend.
5. Turkey that had already eaten too much on Thanksgiving morning walk with son.
Bonus joy: Wonderful Thanksgiving with family, but we didn‘t take any pictures!

#5JoysFriday. @DebinHawaii

tpixie Joys! 🧡♥️🧡 3w

kspenmoll Such joys! ❤️ 3w

AmyG Ha, we never take pictures either. I am so busy cooking I always forget. 🤣 3w

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Deblovestoread All lovely! 3w

dabbe 🧡🤎💛 3w

mcctrish 🤣🤣🤣 poor turkey 3w

Lesliereadsalot Thanks to all. Hope you had a great holiday! @tpixie @kspenmoll @Deblovestoread @AmyG @dabbe @mcctrish 2w

DebinHawaii Lovely joys! 💛💛💛 I love that cute picture of you & your daughter & that beach towel is very cool! 😎 Thanks for joining in! 2w

Lesliereadsalot Aww…thanks Deb! 2w

MemoirsForMe Just saw these awesome. Glad you had such a wonderful holiday! And how come you aren‘t wearing your Bears shirts? 🫣😆🤫🐻 2w

Lesliereadsalot You‘re right! Am I a fair weather fan? Hope you had a great holiday too @MemoirsForMe 2w

17 likes11 comments

BarbaraBB

Tournament | David Crouch

#ToB25 makes me so greedy. So many books on that longlist appeal to me and so many Littens recommend them… I can‘t resist and bought these seven. For now! And I already had 8 more on my TBR-shelves so that makes 15 🤦🏻‍♀️

The shortlist always follows way too soon after the announcement of the longlist so I‘ll never read them in time but hey, maybe they all end up on the shortlist 😉

Megabooks, Hooked_on_books, squirrelbrain

Megabooks I just finished Good Material and really enjoyed it! 3w

BarbaraBB @Megabooks Cindy loved it too so I have high hopes! I bought Model Home because of you too! And I am now reading this one, not sure what to think of it yet

Colored Television

squirrelbrain We‘ve picked pretty similar books to read! 3w

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Megabooks I got Wolf, too thanks to Cindy! 3w

sarahbarnes A few of these are on my list at the library too! 3w

Hooked_on_books I‘ve been wildly trying to acquire as many books as I can from the list, too. 😂 We all understand each other! 3w

BarbaraBB @Megabooks Couldn‘t resist that one either after her love for it! 3w

BarbaraBB @Hooked_on_books I love that. No one in real life understands! (edited) 3w

Suet624 It‘s a book frenzy! 3w

BarbaraBB @Suet624 It is, FOMO all over 🤦🏻‍♀️ 3w

AshleyHoss820 So many of these books have been on my GR TBR too! 😍 2w

66 likes11 comments

squirrelbrain

Tournament | David Crouch

The books that I bought from the #ToBlonglist all arrived over the past few days. 😊 Plus, today, I got both books that I applied for on NetGalley, Lazarus Man and Model Home so I‘m thrilled about that!

Just need to find some time to read now - too much work as usual. Even audio isn‘t working - over 2 hours of driving a day but colleagues seem to think it‘s acceptable to ring for a ‘chat‘, as if I don‘t have 15 books to get through! 🙄

squirrelbrain See, Holly @Hooked_on_books - we‘re both as bad as each other! 🤪 3w

AnneCecilie Looking forward to your thoughts on The History of Sound. Read somewhere that it‘s being turned into a movie featuring Paul Mescal and that piqued my interest 3w

Hooked_on_books I love it! I managed to pick up Poor Deer and History of Sound as ebooks from the library. I also bought Lesser Ruins (and Short War), and they‘re on the way. And Bury Your Dead is on hold for me in print from the library. I‘ve read Yr Dead. I‘ll be interested to see what you think. I thought it was an interesting idea but it didn‘t completely work for me. 3w

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squirrelbrain I think @BarbaraBB felt the same way as you about Yr Dead, @Hooked_on_books - I bought a used copy for Qd or Qe as I didn‘t have particularly high expectations. Same with The Material, although they both look almost new. 3w

squirrelbrain @AnneCecilie - I saw that too, somewhere! And there was a pretty good review of the book in the UK press this past weekend. (After I‘d already ordered it, so I was relieved! ) 3w

vlwelser Colleagues are problematic. I had to take a con call on the train yesterday. They should know that's reading time 3w

AnneCecilie That‘s even better. I‘ve seen any reviews. Norwegian press doesn‘t do reviews until a book is translated into Norwegian, if even then. After reading some very spoilery reviews online, I don‘t read them anymore 3w

BarbaraBB Great haul! I bought 7 while I still have many of them sitting on my shelves too, so no way ‘ll finish them before the shortlist will he announced - which is always way too soon! I‘ll share my purchases too! 3w

squirrelbrain @vlwelser - I shouldn‘t have complained - just got stuck in a traffic queue for an hour and a half on the way home…. 🙄 Listened to plenty of my book though…. 3w

squirrelbrain @AnneCecilie - I‘ll let you know how it is when (if!) I get to it. 3w

squirrelbrain Looking forward to seeing your haul @BarbaraBB - I didn‘t order 2 more books yesterday, definitely not! 🤪 3w

BarbaraBB @squirrelbrain Which ones did you definitely not order 😉?! 3w

squirrelbrain @BarbaraBB - definitely not Liars, or The Book Censor‘s Library! 🤪 3w

BarbaraBB Good choice not to order them 😂. I read Book Censor, it‘s very good, and Liars is patiently waiting on my shelves! 3w

squirrelbrain Can you believe bookshop.org cancelled my order for Book Censor today?! @BarbaraBB I think there must be a problem here in the UK as it‘s not even available on Amazon. 🤷‍♀️ 3w

BarbaraBB I bought it in a Dutch online store and had a look but they are no longer selling in it either. Maybe it‘s been banned 😉 3w

Suet624 @AnneCecilie it‘s the first story in the book that‘s being turned into the movie. The book overall is fantastic. 2w

Megabooks Cuckoo is really strange. Finished this morning and still thinking about it. 2w

Megabooks That‘s a lovely stack too!! 2w

squirrelbrain I‘m kind of looking forward to it, Meg, as I‘m sure it will be way out of my comfort zone. I did eventually bail on Manhunt though, when it was on the list. 😬 2w

64 likes20 comments

ChaoticMissAdventures

Tournament | David Crouch

I am considering getting into TOB. It looks like it is 16 books from the previous year. I have been really confused about this event because they use pretty much the same symbol as the French Rugby team 😂

If you participate can you tell me what guy you into it and how much you participate? I read the website looks like random people are judges and 16 books are placed in brackets which the judges select a winner from.

ImperfectCJ There are two events each year, the main ToB in March and Camp ToB in the summer. During the main event, as I understand it, the judges are authors. During the summer event, it's just discussions led by fairly random people (I led one last August, and I'm fairly random). We usually have a shadow ToB on Litsy, which @BarbaraBB spearheads, I think. I usually try to read from the longlist and then try to complete the shortlist. 3w

ImperfectCJ I hope I'm not making up any of this. @Megabooks and @squirrelbrain are also involved a lot, if I remember correctly, but I cannot remember the hashtags to search and confirm, so hopefully others will correct my mistakes. 3w

Megabooks I'll chime in about what we do here on Litsy. So the ToB folks come up with a longlist, and we all get really excited(!) and start reading amazing books. Then about three weeks later they come out with the shortlist and those are seeded into brackets similar to the March Madness US NCAA basketball brackets. Most years @Barbarabb has taken their brackets and had Littens vote on the brackets the ToB chose and then we all have fun discussing 3w

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Megabooks their votes versus our votes etc. On the real ToB website they have judges (often famous authors) judge the battles and have side commentary, too. Last year, we were collectively so disappointed by the ones the official ToB chose, Barbara, @squirrelbrain and I ran a full parallel ToB where we made our own brackets (based on Littens input) then ran a whole separate ToB here. It remains to be seen whether we'll do that full parallel 3w

Megabooks ToB this year, but for now, we're just all having fun pursuing the longlist and over spending on books! 3w

ImperfectCJ @Megabooks Thank you so much for chiming in! I will enthusiastically second the "we all get really excited." I really have no idea why I get so into ToB as compared to other book events...maybe it's how accessible it is? It feels like we (the readers) are invited to participate as equals in a way that we aren't with other competitions (or "competitions," since ToB is kind of tongue-in-cheek). 3w

Bookwormjillk I like ToB because the books tend to be a little offbeat and it doesn‘t take itself too seriously. 3w

Ruthiella What I love is the transparency of the judgment and the commentary on the official website. You don‘t get that with other book prizes. The parallel ToB that @BarbaraBB @Megabooks and @squirrelbrain often organize on Litsy is also great because there is usually fantastic discussion and insight. It can make m understand better why I liked or even dislike a book. 3w

Megabooks @ImperfectCJ @Bookwormjillk @Ruthiella I love what you‘ve all said. ToB often picks a wide variety of offbeat books - some well known and others I have never heard of often in translation or from small presses. And it does have a very transparent and participatory vibe. It‘s just plain the most fun of any award! 3w

ChaoticMissAdventures @megabooks @ImperfectCJ @Bookwormjillk @Ruthiella Thank you all so much!! I am thinking I am going to need a lot of distractions this year, and ToB dropping the same time the Women's Prize is a lot. Maybe the perfect amount. I guess I can read a few men in March/April I was honestly offended 😂 to see that Chain Gang All Stars didn't get past the fist round this year in ToB I love that book so much, it would be amazing to talk/defend book to people 3w

Megabooks Yes! There are some short list completists 🙋🏻‍♀️, but even more people join on the books that interest them the most. There are no “rules” for participating on litsy. We just try to have the most fun possible! Very low key on participating but very engaging discussions too! 3w

BarbaraBB @ChaoticMissAdventures all said above makes me excited for another tournament! @Megabooks has explained it all: it‘s very low key and we read great books. And I am with @Ruthiella that our discussions add so much to the books. The shortlist will be dropped shortly so there‘s still a lot of time to read the 16 finalists - if you want. The tournament starts in March.if you‘re interested, we can tag you to keep you posted about our Litsy tob? (edited) 3w

ChaoticMissAdventures @BarbaraBB I would love to be tagged! Thank you so much. I am excited for all the distractions to come! 3w

squirrelbrain I‘m late to the party today so there‘s nothing else I can add to others‘ comments. I‘m sure you‘ll love it if you join in - it feels like you‘re a ToB-type of reader! ☺️ 3w

ChaoticMissAdventures @squirrelbrain give me a random list of books and I will read them! 😂. And I love that we get to talk about them, I always get more out of books with group discussions. 3w

25 likes15 comments

squirrelbrain

Tournament | David Crouch

Give me a list and I go a little crazy…. 🤪

These are the books from the ToB longlist that I want to read and can hold of. I bought 8 😳 and the rest are through various library systems, digital or physical.

I also really want to read Colored Television but it‘s not cheap here, plus I‘ve put in requests on NetGalley for Model Home and Lazarus Man.

Send help….. 🤓🤪😳

Leniverse Ooh, I haven't looked at that list yet. Not sure I should 😅 4w

Leniverse Ok, I looked. 🙈 Several were already on my radar, but I've added three that I hadn't heard of before to my tbr. The Book Censor's Library, The Invisible Hotel, and Lesser Ruins. In total I have read 11, have 5 more, and would like to read another 8-16 😅 4w

sarahbarnes So many of these are on my want to read list, too! I just threw together a quick list on my phone…20 books. 😆 I‘ll see which ones I can get from the library and go from there! 3w

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BarbaraBB I think I have my Christmas gift for you, if you want it!

Colored Television

BarbaraBB And you are incredible! All those books! Love it! One day you‘ll be a longlist completist 🙌🏽 3w

Megabooks I almost made a spreadsheet, and it made me think of you! 💙💙 I hope you get approved for Model Home because I really enjoyed it! 3w

Cathythoughts Great list. Thanks Helen. 3w

squirrelbrain I bought Lesser Ruins and can get Invisible Hotel from the library, so I‘ll let you know… @Leniverse 3w

squirrelbrain Aw, thank you! @BarbaraBB 🥰 3w

squirrelbrain The only problem with making a spreadsheet Meg @Megabooks is you end up buying too many books! 3w

Deblovestoread All your TOB posts are fantastic! 💜 3w

Chelsea.Poole These lists always make me abandon all reading plans and pick up unexpected books. Which almost always helps me discover something I wouldn‘t have otherwise, so I use that as my excuse! 🤓 3w

Ruthiella I‘m afraid you are beyond help! 😜 Here‘s hoping you get your hands on a reasonably priced copy of

Colored Television

squirrelbrain @Deblovestoread 😊❤️ 3w

squirrelbrain @Chelsea.Poole - I love this list because the books are not mainstream (most of them) and they‘re often much more diverse than the heavily promoted books. Yes, there are some duds on occasion, but more often we find some gems. 3w

squirrelbrain LOL @Ruthiella 🤣 3w

Avanders 🤩🤩 3w

sarahbarnes I‘m on a long library hold list for Colored Television. This is a fun list! The joys of the TOB long list - such a treasure trove. 📚 3w

squirrelbrain It‘s the best list, I think! @sarahbarnes 3w

Suet624 @Chelsea.Poole The TOB has consistently had me reading fantastic books I‘d never have known about otherwise. 🥳 2w

65 likes20 comments

squirrelbrain

Tournament | David Crouch

This is going to have to be two posts…. Too many books to fit on one picture. 😬

These are the books on the ToB list that I already own and want to read.

Next, the rather extensive list of the other books from the longlist that I want to read.

Bookwormjillk I love the cover of Wolf At The Table 4w

Ruthiella I‘ve only read the Khong title and it didn‘t work for me, but I‘m definitely an outlier. I will for sure pick up Extinction of Irena Rey, even if it doesn‘t make the shortlist. I‘m super intrigued. (edited) 3w

squirrelbrain I‘m reading the Khong now @Ruthiella - part one was fairly standard fare but I‘ve just moved onto the part with Nick and it seems to be developing in a different direction…. 🤔 3w

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squirrelbrain @Bookwormjillk - I do too! That one was rumoured for the Booker so I got it on audio then. 3w

Caroline2 Oh I have Husbands, Extinction and Wedding too 😃 👍 looking forward to hearing what ya think. 2w

squirrelbrain @Caroline2 - I finished The Wedding People last week and loved it - in fact I nearly bought it for your birthday! Irena Rey is meh, with about 10 minutes to go on audio. 2w

Caroline2 Oh good to know. I read You are here last week and loved it. I‘ll wait for Irene then 😂 2w

58 likes7 comments

squirrelbrain

Tournament | David Crouch

Taking my cue from @BarbaraBB these are the ToB longlisted books that I‘ve read, in some kind of order of favourites first.

I also bailed on Glorious Exploits and hibernated Intermezzo as it wasn‘t working on audio. I‘m not going to buy it and I‘m currently on a VERY long waiting list at the library so not sure when I‘ll get to finish it.

Next I‘ll post the books that I want to read…

Sorry if I‘ve forgotten to tag anyone!

BkClubCare, Flaneurette, Megabooks, Suet624, Bookwormjillk, Chelsea.Poole

BkClubCare I am using #ToB2025_LongList but as I type that I wonder if I have the right year… ugh. Will fix if not right? (Maybe just #ToB_LongList or even w/o the hard to find underscore space 🙄 #ToBLongList ?) Tagging is always a challenge 🏷️ 4w

squirrelbrain @BkClubCare - they definitely call it 2025 so you‘re OK there! But #ToBlonglist is just fine I think - the shorter the better! 4w

squirrelbrain @sarahbarnes - forgot to tag you - sorry! 😔 4w

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sarahbarnes Thank you! I‘m interested in a few on your finished list that I‘m in line at the library for, too. 😊 4w

Megabooks Man, I looked yesterday, and it wasn‘t there! I‘ll have to look through it today. Great graphic, Helen! 4w

Megabooks Can you drop the link here? I can‘t find it. 3w

BkClubCare @Megabooks https://www.tournamentofbooks.com/the-year-in-fiction-2024 3w

BkClubCare @squirrelbrain - yep, adding to my posts… 😊 3w

Megabooks @BkClubCare Thank you! I eventually got on my laptop and found it. 3w

Ruthiella I am most interested in your number one

The Safekeep

66 likes10 comments

BarbaraBB

Tournament | David Crouch

And these are the ones I own but still need to read. Too many to read before the #ToB25 shortlist will be announced. Which book I must definitely read??

TheBookHippie My daughter raves about Blue Sisters. 4w

TheBookHippie Only one I want to read 😂😂😂😂 History of Sound by Ben Shattuck 4w

Deblovestoread I‘ve only read Blue Sisters from this list and loved it! 4w

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Bookwormjillk I loved Margo‘s Got Money Troubles 4w

Ruthiella It‘s a tough choice! I think it‘s a really solid longlist with really fantastic titles. 4w

BarbaraBB @TheBookHippie From all of the longlist? 4w

BarbaraBB @Deblovestoread @TheBookHippie I have heard so many good things about Blue Sisters. I must get to it soon! 4w

BarbaraBB @Bookwormjillk Thanks! Especially looking forward to that one now! 4w

BarbaraBB @Ruthiella I agree. And I haven‘t even checked out the ones I hadn‘t heard of! 4w

squirrelbrain Definitely Blue Sisters! And Margo too…. 4w

TheBookHippie @BarbaraBB yes. Just one. 4w

BarbaraBB @TheBookHippie I‘ll definitely check out your book, must be special! 4w

Suet624 @TheBookHippie I was so excited to see The History of Sound on the list. It‘s sooo good and under-appreciated. 4w

Suet624 Just finished Margo and liked it too. 4w

sarahbarnes I have to say Intermezzo. ♥️♥️ 4w

sarahbarnes I want to read Blue Sisters and Book of Love, too. 4w

sarahbarnes And Scaffolding and Margot! I want to read those too. 😆 4w

Megabooks Blue Sisters is my overall fave of those, but I also loved Margo, Playground, Colored TV! 3w

BarbaraBB @Suet624 @sarahbarnes @Megabooks You all make it so hard to choose, now I want to read them all too! 3w

youneverarrived Really liked Blue Sisters and I think you‘d enjoy Margot. 3w

BarbaraBB @youneverarrived I think I will like those two too, so many of my peers do! I will get to them soon! 3w

64 likes21 comments

BarbaraBB

Tournament | David Crouch

These are the ones that are on the #ToB25 longlist that I‘ve read. Some are this year‘s favorites. In my next post I‘ll share the ones I have on my shelves and that are now calling out to me to read them before the shortlist will be announced

Chelsea.Poole I‘m interested in several here that I have yet to read. Especially Safekeep, Book Censor and

My Friends: From the Pulitzer-prize winning author of THE RETURN

Ruthiella Glad we were on target this summer with

All Fours

BarbaraBB @Chelsea.Poole All three are good! (edited) 4w

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BarbaraBB @Ruthiella Yes! It is surprising though that our other #CampLitsy24 books are not longlisted! 4w

Suet624 Do you have a favorite on this list? 4w

sarahbarnes You‘ve done well! 4w

Megabooks Several I haven‘t read! I‘ll have to go back and look at your reviews. I love that cover on Hard Girls. 3w

BarbaraBB @Megabooks But I do think you‘ll have read so many more books on the longlist! 3w

BarbaraBB @Suet624 Not really. Except for The Safekeep, My Friends and All Fours I now realize none of them were real favorites, despite what I wrote in this post 🤦🏻‍♀️. I do have high hopes for the ones I still want to read 😀 (edited) 3w

Megabooks I did make my list. Maybe you missed the tag? I‘ve read 27!! 👍🏻👍🏻 3w

Megabooks @Ruthiella And James! 3w

Ruthiella @Megabooks True! 3w

BarbaraBB @Megabooks On my way to your thread! 3w

56 likes13 comments

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