Libraries, jazz, literary references, ambiguity, cats. A very Murakami-esque novel but not one of my favorites. If you love his writing you will probably appreciate it. But some of the themes, reality vs dreams, consciousness, loneliness, love etc are tackled in better ways in his other novels.

3.5 stars. First read of 2025

First book of the year

Every year my partner and I pick a book, read, review, and discuss it together. I asked for help selecting the categories and entered all the suggestions in to the randomizer along with a few of the book root read harder categories. This is the list the randomizer picked for us this year. Thanks to all who suggested genres/categories

Visited one of the cutest bookstores in Boston. Beacon Hill books and cafe. Cafe downstairs with high tea options. Three floors of books, a children‘s section with a tiny door for kids to enter, fireplaces, and cute decor. And of course I bought a book (tagged).

Enjoying Christmas gifts and a visit from my partner to round out the year. Long distance sucks but having a partner you can sit and read with is priceless. I‘m a big fan of Levy‘s writing and my book twin sent me this one for Christmas.

Litsy Hive mind: my partner and I do a monthly joint read where we alternate picking books that fit a category/genre, read said book, and discuss it.

I‘m looking for genre/prompt/type of book category for our 2025 selection. We will draw winning categories from the randomizer. What genre/prompt/category should we add?

Our joint read for this month (science fiction). Sneaking in a few minutes of reading while waiting for my daughter‘s basketball game to start. This will wrap up our 2024 joint read - my partner and I alternate picks each month to read and discuss.

this book is a book about storytelling - the stories that get told during our lifetimes and those that remain untold. The protagonist is an author who, at the end of her career moves back to her homeland of DR where she buys a plot of land and builds a cemetery for her unfinished/untold novels. But some stories don‘t want to stay untold. With a touch of magical realism and a mix of historical & cultural elements from DR, this was my sort of book.

Thank you so much @Kar2b for the awesome package. I can‘t wait to start reading. I love it all ❤️❤️#stuffedstockingswap

I came home from dropping off my match‘s box at the post office only to find one waiting for me. Thanks so much to my match. It‘s here and can‘t wait to open it!

And it‘s off. Life has been crazy per usual but managed to ship this off in time 🥳 should arrive on Monday. I hope you love it! #stuffedstockingswap.

I feel an overwhelming sense of sadness this morning.

Our Booker predictions are on the blog

https://thereadersroom.org/2024/09/14/2024-booker-shortlist-predictions/

My predictions don‘t match the ones I most want to see on the shortlist.

Our panel had mixed reviews for this one but I quite liked it. An interesting exploration of friendship, belonging and identify in exile. It was well-written and finally a book with a. plot #booker2024

Our panel reviewed it here: https://thereadersroom.org/2024/08/31/2024-booker-longlist-my-friends-by-hisham-...

I hated most things about this book. In fact I believe my ratings of other books were based on comparison to this one 😂. Our panel reviewed it here

https://thereadersroom.org/2024/09/02/2024-booker-longlist-this-strange-eventful...

If you liked it, do me a favor and drop a comment in our blog with your review. I like there to be a diversity of view points in our reviews but none of us liked it. #bookerlonglist2024

The Booker judges are trying their best to kill me

As someone who dislikes terrine, this makes me laugh. #booker2024 10/13

I‘m not very far in but I do love her writing style and humor

This was just okay for me. It is beautifully written but very loose/lacking in plot and character development. This is a book about reflections and big ideas. Repetitive and ultimately boring for me.

Our panel reviewed it on the blog here:

https://thereadersroom.org/2024/08/23/20024-booker-longlist-orbital-by-samantha-...

This was a mixed bag for our panel. I loved it but others not so much. Beautifully poetic and full of emotion (which I found lacking in the Messud‘s book I had read prior to this one.

Read our panel‘s full reviews here: https://thereadersroom.org/

#bookerlonglist2024

This was a solid pick for me but not sure how it made it onto the longlist. At least it wasn‘t dry and repetitive which seems to be a theme of this year‘s longlist.

Our panel‘s reviews are here https://thereadersroom.org/2024/08/16/booker-longlist-2024-wild-houses-by-colin-...

I liked the concept and enjoyed the ways in which the author described the intersections between women‘s bodies and competition/physicality in a different way. But it became repetitive for me and halfway in I found myself bored.

Our panel‘s full reviews are on the blog. I‘ll be tagging everyone who has tagged me in our final blog post.

https://thereadersroom.org/2024/08/12/2024-booker-longlist-headshot-by-rita-bull...

Loved this one (read it before the longlist was announced). I generally enjoy Everett‘s writing and this was a brilliant reworking of Huckleberry Finn. I did reread Huckleberry Finn prior to reading this one. Our Booker panel reviewed that here https://thereadersroom.org/2024/08/14/2024-booker-longlist-james-by-percival-eve...
#bookerlonglist2024

So far, I‘m quite liking this one. #bookerprize

My current reading location

The irony of this title. 120 pages in and nothing has happened. Mundane details that go on and on and make me want to poke my eyes out with a pencil in order to have some emotional reaction. #booker2024

It‘s here and once again I failed miserably, predicting 3 (I posted my predictions before the leaks). Anyway our panel is reading the longlist like every year and posting our reviews. Follow the blog to see what we think of each book. And please join us in reading the list. If you tag me in your reviews, I can add highlight a few of them. What do you think of the list?

https://thereadersroom.org/2024/07/30/2024-booker-prize-longlist/

Our booker predictions are up (I forgot to post here but better late than never). Take a look and drop us a comment with books you think will make the list. Rumors and potential leaks everywhere. I made my list prior to the rumors and if rumors are true, I will fare poorly 😂

https://thereadersroom.org/2024/07/24/2024-booker-prize-longlist-predictions/

I loved Solar bones and I very much liked this one too which is considered part 2 in a 3 book “series” with solar bones. You can read my review on the blog (link below). I hope this makes the booker list

https://thereadersroom.org/2024/07/19/this-plague-of-souls-by-mike-mccormack/

I am really trying to get through this. Trying being the key word here.

And if the circumstances of his being alone in this bed at this hour rest within the arc of those grand constructs that turn in the night — politics, finance, trade — it is not clear how his loneliness resolves in the indifference with which such constructs regard him across the length and breadth of his sleep.

Long Island, the sequel to Brooklyn just came out this month. Unlike Brooklyn, this was a strong pick for me. It picks up 20 years after Brooklyn. Brooklyn was very Hollywood for my tastes (I didn‘t see the movie) and Long Island was more literary fiction (aka gloomy and depressing). I‘m a bit concerned about what this says about my personality 😂

Full review on my blog. https://thereadersroom.org/2024/05/06/long-island-by-colm-toibin/

Nor surprise that I liked this book since I stacked it from @vivastory review and several other Litsy friends with similar tastes also like it. Jan and I decided on two books for our joint read (my pick this month) and since I couldn‘t decide o picked two. This is a short and quick read with some good twists and turns. I generally love Japanese literature (Japan is at the top of my travel list) and this was no exception.

Definitely this one hands down: Ding Dong song.

https://open.spotify.com/track/2LELFaNglE9B5xlcmd4qtQ?si=9AOLpz-BROOPoiIAQVcqQA&...

#tuesdaytunes @TieDyeDude

Toibin is one of my favorite authors but this was not one of my favorite books. It was a soft pick (more of a so-so). At the risk of sounding like a book snob (sorry 😭), this one read more like commercial fiction than the ones I‘ve loved (Heather Blazing being a favorite) although it was shortlisted for the Booker. He is quite brilliant at writing the voices of women though. It follows the life a young Irish woman who moves to the U.S.

My turn to pick for May (partner read) and I managed to get two books out of it because I couldn‘t decide and Jan was being extra flexible. Our May theme is mysteries and I just got them both from the library. I am trying to be better about how much I‘m spending on books this year since I‘m saving up for travel. Thanks to @BarbaraBB for the inspiration this month

Yes, I judged this book and assumed I would hate it. I did not. This was our pick for earth day theme and I finished it on earth day

Entertaining and fast paced but also makes you think a bit about ethics and environmental issues. My full review is on the blog https://thereadersroom.org/2024/04/22/city-of-pearl-by-karen-traviss/

Pretty sure that Jan is trying to kill me with his book choices for our monthly partner read. This was our convo this morning 😂😂

This was his pick for our theme related to earth day. Also nothing wrong with science fiction, just if you know the sorts of books I typically like, this is funny

I‘m writing a blog post for recommendations for earth day reading and asking the Litsy community to tag a few of your recommended reads that would fit. I‘ll add your Litsy name to the recommendation.

Please send me your book recommendation and 1-2 sentences on why you recommend it. It can be fiction, non-fiction, any genre. Kid‘s YA, or adult. Once I‘ve posted the list I will put the link up on Litsy.

What books do you recommend?

I survived a Cusk book. I loved and hated this book. Not the book to read if you‘re looking for something plot driven. If you like books that require a LOT of intellectual energy, then you will like this. Definitely some brilliant reflections on art, motherhood, identify and female artists. But not highly accessible to average readers.

Full review: https://thereadersroom.org/2024/03/25/parade-by-rachel-cusk/

My latest addition to the my collection. Which is your favorite? Mine is probably the wind-up bird chronicles (not pictured here bc I read it on kindle. I‘m also missing a few others which is driving me crazy and instead of doing work, I‘m tearing up the house trying to find them 😂

I keep forgetting what‘s it‘s like to read Cusk. I feel like I need an advanced literary degree to understand this novel. So this probably means it will make the booker list

This book was excellent. A retelling of mark Twain‘s classic, James is the story of “Jim” from huckleberry Finn. My full review is on the blog but I highly recommend this book.

https://thereadersroom.org/2024/03/20/james-by-percival-everett/

James is the reimagining of huckleberry Finn told from the voice of Jim. So far, I‘m really appreciating it.

Beautifully written, impactful literary crime novel about stagnation in a small town in Ireland. This is Barrett‘s debut novel which is getting some deserved buzz in literary circles. My full review is on the blog: www.thereadersroom.org

“In reality the egg had the consistency of the excised tumor a fellow medical student once slipped into his pocket for a joke - both hard and spongy at the same time. It takes a perverse talent to maltreat an egg so completely.”

😂😂

Loving this book. Also not a spoiler

Out of the gravel there are peonies growing

#FirstLineFridays

Partner read: it was my month to pick and with some Litsy help, I finally selected Alias Grace which was also on my TBR (for a reread). After Marlon James‘ violent and highly masculine book, this month‘s theme came as a needed relief. And I love Atwood.

Jan and I finished Black Leopard, Red Wolf for February (he took the full month to make it through 😂). It‘s my turn to pick a book for our March theme (women‘s history month) and I‘m trying to also get a book off my tbr shelf. Any recommendations? I‘m having a hard time narrowing down my options

Joint read with my partner. He picked it and I think it almost broke him 😂. It‘s hard to put into words what I thought of it. I hate (and I mean HATED) some parts. It‘s graphic in terms of violence and sex, most of the sex is non-consensual, there is abuse and killing of kids, it has a feverous pacing and style. But the blending of folklore was interesting and I was engaged in the storyline when I could get past the unpleasantness.