Wintering: A novel | 
so-soI mean…I was pumped about this one, but it was sort of boring. I feel like both stories (there are two, which sort of combine into one) were just boring. I was left feeling underwhelmed.
⭐️: 2.5/5
so-soPeople seem to love this one, but it just didn‘t work for me. The two storylines share characters (sort of) in a way that fails to distinguish them and some of the characters are inconsistently written. I considered bailing and probably should have. But hey, this was my #bookspin!
Here‘s my living bingo card for December #bookspinbingo! My #bookspin is tagged and #doublespin is The Profiteers. Let‘s wrap up the year with a book bang!
pickLoved this. I've been wanting to read it forever and intending to do so since Jolabokaflod 2018, when @guinsgirlreads so thoughtfully gave it to me. Its setting (northernmost Minnesota) is dark and icy cold, and so are the emotional states of many of the characters! 😜 But there‘s warmth, too, in the quiet moments of family and found family. Great wintry nature description, a slowish but suspense-driven narrative, and very fine writing. ❄️ 🛶 ❤️
Thank you so much, @guinsgirlreads !! ❤️ What a great gift. I‘ve been wanting to read this book for SO long, and I can‘t wait to sit down with it and some of this delightfully dark chocolate sometime soon. The #jolabokaflodswap and the tradition that inspired it are just the best. (Thanks, @MaleficentBookDragon !)
1. Owl
2. Tea
3. Frozen, the broadway musical
4. Drinking a warm beverage in front of a fire
5. Harry Potter
6. Salted caramel and dark chocolate
7. Pumpkin spice
8. Fuzzy socks
9. Sequence
#stuffedstockingswap
Every time the November time change rolls around I really start craving wintery reads (especially because I live in Southern California and therefore have no winteriness in my reality!). The tagged book has long been on my TBR, which I hope to remedy soon, but I‘d love recommendations for other great wintery/snowy/cold climate books. Thoughts?
It's finally arrived... and they buchered it in the mail 😤😬
#WinteringBuddyRead
bailedI am glad my #WinteringBuddyRead friends enjoyed this one, but it wasn't for me. I found the prose and characterization subpar, the 'mystery' uninteresting, and the father-son voyageuring adventure mind-numbing. Bailed a third of the way in.
pickLabs to MN are what koalas are to Australia. 😆 I finished this a couple of days ago and have been pondering. It's a 👍🏾, because the storyline propels the reader forward in a way unlike the previous two and I enjoyed the complicated relationships. His writing reminds me of Jim Harrison, who in the past I read a lot of. Something about the character types, place & time development. #winteringbuddyread
pickImagine there is snow and frozen rivers in this photo. Imagine you're lost in the middle of nowhere in the winter with your dad and his secrets. And that's just part of what this book is about. The author nudges you along, sometimes gently and other times vigorously, making it difficult to put the book down. A good read.
#Vermont #WinterIngBuddyRead
I redacted the character's name just in case any of my #WinteringBuddyRead buddy readers haven't gotten this far, but I suspect you're all way, way ahead of me!
#QuoteOfTheDay
"Get married and have kids, bud, you'll think surviving winter in a wigwam's not only possible but a dream come true."
I bet a few of you can relate to this. #WinteringBuddyRead. @saresmoore
Some North Woods seasoning on my eggs this morning is apropos for my book companion. 😋 The plot twist and suspense kept me up reading last night after I should have sleeping and I'm going to pay for it this afternoon! #winteringbuddyread
pick#winteringbuddyread
Thanks @shawnmooney for bringing this book to my attention - as I probably wouldn't have read it otherwise.
Loved the story and parallel nature background. Some wonderful prose and questions about life, love and family.
But there is no way I'm ever going camping out there.
Looking forward to following everyone's posts.
There are tie-ins to previous novels, like this passage, but this novel and the others can stand alone. I'm enjoying how the characters & relationships are complicated. Geye also does a good job of building suspense with bits of foreshadowing here & there. (Maybe too many?) #winteringbuddyread
I just read the opening blurb/description of the boundary waters landscape (there must be a literary word for that blurb) and all I could think was: mosquitoes! 😜 #winteringbuddyread
Happy October and to all things fall cozy! Like fresh warm bread & toast with butter. 😋 It is only appropriate that I get my MN cutting board into the frame with Wintering. #winteringbuddyread
#winteringbuddyread
Do we think this is still true?
Just a piece of advice for my buddy read friends: you may want to write down the names of Gus's relatives early on. It may be just me but I started to get confused as he talked about the family connections. @TrishB @Tamra @shawnmooney @JazzFeathers @Anovelobsession #WinteringBuddyRead.
(An older photo of man vs nature. Only seemed fitting.)
#winteringbuddyread
Just started, don't get much reading done Saturday nights as tend to watch film etc with family!!
So it's tomorrow's focus. I love the cover 💜
Liking how this is starting out!
#QuoteOfTheDay
#WinteringBuddyRead
This is for a buddy read. Because I didn't want the second edition with the boring black and white cover, @ReadingEnvy helped me get this first edition with this gorgeous cover. What was supposed to be a quid pro quo favor ended up being a gift because that's just the way she rolls. So now I get to plan my revenge - how on earth can I surprise her with some books she hasn't already read, hey? ❤️
While visiting my parents, I picked these up at the local indie bookstore. Wintering (signed) is for me, and Behold the Dreamers is a gift for a friend.
Went to my first Books & Bars event to see one of my favorite authors, Peter Geye. If you haven't read his books yet, you need to get started. One of Minnesota's best.
pickReally good story!
Twitter informs me this book has won the Minnesota Book Award. I'd have voted for Best Cover! But the Litsy and Goodreads reviews are stellar too, so....STACKED!
pickWintering is an exquisite slow burn of a novel. The setting in the Boundary Waters area is very much a character -- and is clearly well-loved and appreciated by the author. Geye explores how the sins and ghosts of the past weave through the generations to shape us. The way the story unravelled and moved forwards and back through time worked well. Great read.
#augustbookhaul. I'm pretty happy with all of these, but unfortunately I can't read them all at the same time! See any that need to move to the top of my tbr?
pickI didn't expect to like this book because I don't typically enjoy books set in nature and the wilderness (I'm a city girl...what can I say?), but I adored this book. The character relationships were real and often heartbreaking. This book makes me want to go cozy up in a cabin in the mountains 😊
Ok, I need to stop checking Litsy (and adding more books to my library holds list 😂) and go finish this book!
pickHighly recommended for Cormac McCarthy and William Kent Krueger fans!!! Geye sets his book in Gunflint and the borderlands of Minnesota/Canada which is known for big personalities, danger, and unbelievably good stories. Family history and murder tie in with a great cast of characters. I loved it!
I love to nap and I love to read. Sometimes this poses a problem! I'm loving this book though, so I think reading may win out this afternoon.
pickA story about survival, fathers and sons, and the North Country of Minnesota that was so vivid I could almost smell the pine trees.
"...how brave a thing it was for him to try to rediscover something, even if it was only himself..."
First up today! Enjoy your Sunday, kittens. 😘
Spending the weekend with one of my favorite authors. Love being back in Gunflint. The outdoors, fathers & sons, love, families, small-town (and beyond) politics. Just trust me and read Peter Geye.
