Welcome to Litsy!

Discoveries like this are why I love #AuldLangSpine

I really wasn't sure about this one going into it. I was forced to read Heart of Darkness in high school, and have been put off by Conrad ever since. So a book about a PhD student studying Conrad, with scenes from his life, did not seem like the book for me. But of all the #OzFiction on @CarolynM 's list, this was the easiest to get my hands on, so I tried it. And I freakin' LOVED it.

Cont'd 👇

#12BooksOf2024 December

I was surprised by how much I liked this #ozfiction about a C9th girl whose thirst for knowledge led her into a life of deception in the church. It‘s my pick for December, although my new favourite Georgette Heyer, The Grand Sophy, is a very close second.

Thanks @Andrew65 for making this an annual tradition. And thanks to everyone who‘s participated, I‘ve enjoyed seeing all your choices.

I‘ve held off creating my best of 2024 list because I had a feeling this book might on it & I was right. It is a story about the aftermath of a great artist who was a far from great husband & father. The widow & 2 sons are all reeling in their own ways from the emotional scars of the family dynamic. It‘s quite fascinating, but it leaves a lot unexplored & a lot more questions than answers. I‘ll be thinking about it for a while. #ozfiction

Holy 💩⚽️⚽️! Climate dystopian #ozfiction, written by a local #mustread author. Finished reading it today, a day that reached 43C 🔥, whilst hibernating in air con. Absolutely terrifying and affecting. This is Winton desperately trying to WAKE US UP. Read it… if you dare. #chunkster

Historical fiction is not really my thing & I come from long lines of religious non conformists with no sympathy for the Catholic Church, but I was fascinated by this story of a C9th girl who disguises herself as a Benedictine monk in order to feed her voracious intelligence & desire to learn. The place & condition of women in at that time is a major theme, as is corruption within the church. Captivating stuff! #ozfiction

Ugh! Drivel!

I admit that this is not my thing, but I don‘t think it‘s just a matter of personal taste. I found almost everything about it entirely unconvincing, cliched & predictable. And it was written with such seriousness, not a scrap of wit, while the characters did the stupid stuff that happens in horror movies or survived beatings like the heros of action movies. I would have bailed if I hadn‘t been reading it for book group. #ozfiction

The love lives of a pair of sisters put their sibling relationship to the test over the course of a steamy Sydney summer. Although there is plenty of 20 something angst, it‘s intelligently rendered & there are some interesting takes on self awareness & social/romantic manipulation. #ozfiction

It‘s my wedding anniversary today. 17 years 💕🎉🍾. Love that this is what my husband got me. The latest book by one of my absolute faves, Tim Winton. #ozfiction

Winton is a must read author for me and I devoured this. The dystopian landscape is set in Western Australia around the location of Exmouth, where my parents lived for 29 yrs. What is particularly confronting and frightening is that it stated in a review that everything he writes about is a likely climate science scenario. It‘s based on scientifically accepted and understood evidence and models. A Sobering and chilling thought. 4.5⭐️ #Ozfiction

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
This book was the opposite of Betty and I am grateful for that. I needed to quiet my brain. I loved all the small stories of the narrators life. All those thoughts you have that you file away, that then pop up later. Some are profound, enlightening and instrumental to your past, while others are just bits of fluff, insignificant observations. #Ozfiction