Welcome to Litsy!

Reservoir 13 is a quiet, creeping bummer of a book. It‘s a well written one, masterful in fact, but a quiet, creeping bummer nonetheless. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/reservoir-13-jon-mcgregor/

Our January book club read. Sadly I just couldn‘t get into this book at all. I ended up skimming through it

Well, I'm glad I carried on reading. However, I can truthfully say that few of the characters have stuck in my mind.
I liked the prose very much.

It's a bit repetitive. I'm finding that I'm not hugely interested in the villagers but equally am wondering if they find her. I'm assuming not.

Library book club.
Going in blind!

The way this is written takes some getting used to. The book revolves around the disappearance of a 13 year old girl in a rural British village. Each chapter is a year that passes, told by way of the cycle of the seasons, countryside and wildlife. Bubbling away underneath is the mess and mundanity of normal people living life. I can‘t describe how relaxing I found this book to read, but at the same time how drawn into the individual stories I was.

My very first Litsy post was my Brooklyn Book Festival #bookhaul, almost two years ago. I have read three of the four books, but not the book I was the most excited about in the original post -- The Book of Disquiet.

@Lcsmcat

I think I liked the idea more than I liked the actual book. It‘s a book about a town with a tiny sliver of a missing person involved. Nothing is really resolved, you just follow their lives for a bit. It was okay.

This has been pretty interesting so far. How a small town deals with the aftermath of a missing teenager.

I‘ve gone with the film on this one - Reservoir Dogs.

#hookedonafeeling

#maymoviemagic

This is the second McGregor book I‘ve read and I really like his unusual style - looking at the everyday minutiae of like but with a distanced, distracted air.

Usually I dislike books where there are no ‘answers‘ and when we‘re expected to fill in the gaps, but not in this case.

4.5 ⭐️ - I really want to read it‘s ‘companion piece‘ now - The Reservoir Tapes, which gives the backstories of the characters.

This is an extraordinarily ordinary book. I loved the description and being able to completely be immersed in the village life. However, it is not a fast paced exciting book and the ending had me feeling a bit let down. Mcgregor has an incredibly unique writing style but not my favourite...
#JohnMcgregor #Resevoir13

“The search for the missing girl goes on, but so does everyday life. As it must”
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#reservoir13 #jonmcgregor #newbook #bookworm #reading

#adventrecommends day 21

A teenage girls goes missing, and for the next years we see how this effects the entire community and how lives move on.

The scope of this is so ambitious, but Jon McGregor pulls it off to perfection. Don't expect your usual thriller/mystery about a missing girl - you will be disappointed. What it is, is infinitely more interesting and special.

What a book! It‘s a subversion of the “missing girl” trope. It opens with the search but then takes a birds eye view of the village in the years that follows. I love the way he observes both the characters & ecology-the change in seasons & people‘s lives from a distance. But never veering too far away from the tragedy, which is like a shadow over the village- occasionally letting in light before obscuring it again. Meditative and methodical.

So, this was the other book about a small English village I‘ve been reading the past few days 🙄Nope, it didn‘t work for me. The writing was lovely,but absolutely BORING. I was expecting a mystery about a missing girl and this is NOT that story. Instead it‘s a 13 year cycle of life in a small village with too many characters to keep track of. I feel cheated, I want my hours back. 2/5 stars #StarScrooge

#FriYaYIntro @jesshowbooks

1. Needed Google to help me with popular movies from 1976!! Rocky & Bad News Bears ( the original- hello Tatum O‘Neal) definitely jogged my memory
2. FF and the thin crispy kind🍟
3. Love most music but I‘m jamming in the car to RHCP 🌶
4. Very atmospheric
5. Will do

Not sure how I got to this book last night. It‘s not what I was expecting but it‘s haunting and absorbing in a very slow meandering way. A 13 yr old girl disappears from an English countryside town and the book is chronicling it‘s effect on the town‘s citizens. If you skim you‘ll miss tiny little hints and details that I‘m hoping will ultimately lead to the guilty party.

The Millions Most Anticipated 2018 list tipped me off to this #mystery novel. The author has written a follow-up that launches next month, so I'm doing the prep work!
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"Jon McGregor has revolutionized that most hallowed of mystery plots: the one where some foul deed takes place in a tranquil English village that, by the close of the case, doesn‘t feel so tranquil anymore. . . . McGregor‘s writing style is ingenious." ―Maureen Corrigan

Thank you so much @Christine11 and @jhod ! Two gorgeous books of #litsymail this morning, which couldn't be more different- New York high society and a small English village after a tragedy. I'm really looking forward to both of these, and the bookmark's lovely, Christine. Thank you 💕 #jbuk

The rhythm of life in a small village, the cycles of nature, the stages of grief and the process of tragedy- Jon McGregor is an exceptional author and brilliant observer. This book was a poignant read and stirred up lots of feeling while provoking lots of lush imagery. That said, it dragged in parts and could have been shorter while remaining just as impactful. 3/5

#quotstjuly18 #high

I wanted to share with you the books I bought in Ireland ;) Outside one that has nothing to do with Ireland, they are all about Ireland, or by Irish authors. It's going to be a lot to bring back to the US, especially after going to my French local bookstore (many French books that I want to read, and that are hard to find online or f*cking expensive online...)
While I'll be in France, I'll also try to find an e-reader not affiliated with Amazon.

Guys, I get this is a book of beautiful sentences, and that it shows life progressing slowly, but I didn't love it. I kept putting it down and forcing myself to pick it back up. The last few chapters were easier to appreciate, but I'm glad it's done, and don't think I'd look at it again for at least a decade!

Another of the books on last year‘s Manbooker long list. And my first McGregor read.
#audiobook

Thank you so much to @squirrelbrain for my #bookmail today. Your generosity is overwhelming and the book will take pride of place on my shelf. The chocolate especially is more than welcome this evening after I spent the day being grilled by Ofsted. It will be enjoyed with a large glass of wine! I love #Litsy and this amazing bunch of #Littens. Feeling the love tonight people 💗💗💗

Have been to my book club tonight to discuss this book (still haven‘t finished).
One of the reasons I enjoy book club so much is that the people are very different to me with lots of different backgrounds. They help me see the ‘other side‘ of books.
I‘m definitely enjoying this book more than when I started and the rhythm of it is very soothing.
Two of the group had been to see the author talking, so it was interesting to hear their views.

Should I continue with this book? It‘s for a book club meeting on Tuesday evening and I didn‘t go to the last meeting.
I‘m enjoying the writing, and I get that the pace is slow but can someone who has read it tell me if there is any point continuing?

I actually loved the lyricism of this book, the pastoral descriptions and the way it gives you the impression of glimpses of life caught at the right moment. But at times, it was very hard to keep up with all the characters and I feel that maybe certain parts of the book could be omitted. Although I am a big fan of McGregor's writing, this one didn't impress me as much as I would have hoped.

Just started this one, and can already tell this is going to be a different sort of read.

This book was pastoral and lovely and I enjoyed reading it for the most part. But I just felt like it would never end. I also had a hard time differentiating many of the characters. The teenagers all seemed like the same person and I could never figure out which generation of Jackson the author was talking about in any given sentence. But it was lyrical and I liked the style.

Going to start this one today.

Kindle deal on this one today. As you can see, I already bought it.

Ohhhh......I really enjoyed this book. The rhythm of the book is as suited to the pace of life in a small village, supported by wonderful descriptions of the nature cycle. Great insights into human nature.
Not a lot happens and it is slow going - but wonderfully written and I actually did want to know more about all their lives.

I read this in two sittings, loved the prose and structure and feel like I lived within this town. The ending has me pondering. But I think in a good way. I just need a bit of time mulling it over before I review it...

Everyone else still in bed on lazy Sunday morning and I‘m just starting this book whilst Sansa snores ❤️

Current read. Can‘t put my finger on why I find this story so completely absorbing. Everything is on the periphery and yet it‘s all so clear I can feel it

I really loved this. Hooray for Jon McGregor!

Quiet and rolling.. an appropriate last book for the year 2017. Many thanks to @Catapult and a #goodreads giveaway for the ARC. I‘d say go into this with no expectations, regardless of what you read of the plot, and just enjoy the writing.

Books+wine+real fire+snowing all day here in Big Sky Montana=perfect Christmas day.

Congrats @cinfhen on a magnificent milestone! And thanks for doing the #pickpanbailsoso giveaway! On Litsy I give everything over 🌟🌟🌟 a pick and I don't really do bails, but even so I think its fair to say I've had a very high rating reading year and am sure some of that is down to Litsy and fellow Littens! #payitforward

Big thanks to #goodreads and @Catapult for this copy of Reservoir 13.. I‘ve had this on my to read list and am about 20 pages in.. so far so good... have you read this one yet?

I loved this book and wish it made the Man Booker Short List. It‘s quiet, meditative, and was the perfect to read this week when it was cold and snowy and I was sick and feeling like taking things slow. I finished it tonight in my fleecy purple footie PJs while Mr H watched Parks & Recreation.

I almost spit out my coffee laughing this morning.
I don‘t know if I‘ve ever come across a Yuri Gagarin joke in a novel before.

Cozying up with my #currentread by the fire. My hold came in from the library yesterday so I‘m putting my other reads on pause until I finish it.

#sickday #humpdaypost
1. Gilmore Girls & this awesome book
2. There‘s a teeny tiny bit of pink on my bottle of Polar seltzer water
3. The Office
4. Ice scraper
5. Too many to count! Mink River, Shotgun Lovesongs, The Animators

@MinDea