Welcome to Litsy!

So glad to finally be done with this. I loved Chabon‘s Summerland and this was nothing like it. I thought there may be some fantasy, but pretty purely a detective murder mystery. Some uniqueness in the setting, being in Sitka, Alaska, and a large community of chess-playing Jewish Alaskans, along with the organized crime and police detective theme. Some, but little suspense. I had to push myself to get through. It never really gripped me.

#pop22 ~ a Hugo Award winner
I loved the premise of the story, the alternate history, Jewish background and chess theme but I felt the writing was disconnected, or I was disconnected and the end did not leave me satisfied. Also, I‘m not a big fan of detective books so I may not be the best reviewer for this one.

Holding on to the last bit of summer, Newport style.

This was a StoryGraph genre challenge for me. Although when I grabbed it I didn't know what the genre was. I thought it world be a detective/mystery. I was not expecting science fiction. It has an alternate timeline. I have a thing for Chevy Malibus, so this redeemed the timeline flaw.

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl
Nine months Landsman's been flopping at the Hotel Zamenhof without any of his fellow residents managing to get themselves murdered.
My first detective mystery #genrechallenge

In a weird, roundabout way, this book may have helped my husband figure out where his great grandparents came from. We're deep into researching the Jewish migration to Alaska after WW2. If you know of any good books on the topic, let me know. 👀

Excellent mix of alternate history and noir. I love how Chabon incorporates the game of chess into the story.

Second book finished for the #AwesomeAugust readathon. @Andrew65

Was finally able to go visit my new local library in person to get a library card and some books today!

This novel bored me to tears. From the dull characters to the heavy handed noir-isms used throughout, I just couldn‘t get into it. A perfect example IMHO of an interesting premise stunted by poor execution.

Book #7

This was a really interesting and entertaining alternate history. This is only the second book I've read by Michael Chabon, but it definitely won't be the last :)

I thought this book was really clever but after awhile it started to drag for me. I REALLY LOVED all the Yiddish expressions ( it was like listening to my Zaide (grandfather) which made my heart melt. The mystery was solid too. Not sure if this will appeal to everyone but it was a pick for me. #BorrowNotBuy #ReadingUSA2020 #Alaska

I‘m starting to feel like any book over 10 hours on audio starts to feel too long....How are you doing 45 hours @Megabooks 😱😳🤯 While I‘m enjoying the premise, Eastern European Jews settling & living on the frontiers of Alaska, as a sort of utopian Jewish Homeland, it is starting to feel gimmicky. Only about an hour to go.

I‘m digging this one, but Chabon is probably one of those authors you either love or don‘t appreciate/connect to. His books are a little whacky pants. This book imagines Sitka, Alaska as the newly established Jewish Homeland for the Eastern European Jews following the Holocaust. Book focuses on Meyer Landsman, a washed up detective attempting to solve the murder of a chess prodigy. #ReadingUSA2020 #Alaska

So I guess this book has been on Mount TBR for a while. #jewish #jewishbooks #jewishauthors #jewishlit

I thought my cloth mask arrived, but it was my #anthropocenereviewed mug with #johngreen's review of mugs printed on it, along with #theyiddishpolicemensunion which I added mostly to justify the shipping cost. When I ordered this on March 2, I was still going into the office, hugging my friends, seeing movies in theaters, and luxuriating in iced spring buds chai from #thesteepingroom. Things have changed a bit, but I'm grateful for this mug. ☕

Alternate history (Jewish refugees settle in Sitka region of Alaska-Israel does not exist); mystery (murdered messiah); and love and family angst to work through. Re-reading in memory of my dad who loved it because chess, essential for the soul and life. You must think several moves ahead.

The expression on the cat‘s face is a mirror of how I feel about this book. I love a good mystery and I love highbrow lit fic. But together they merge to form a giant meh. Alas.

The Reading Rush, Day 1✨ #rrflying #thereadingrush

Soooo by the numbers, this was definitely my least successful #24in48 to date, as I only read three hours over the weekend and didn't finish a single book due to hopping around. However, that's at least two hours more than I probably would have managed otherwise, so I'm counting it as a win! Can't wait to participate next time (and hopefully more fully).

I'm starting #24in48 verrrry late due to life and needing some extra sleep, but I still made it! I'm starting with The Yiddish Policemen's Union, which I'm rereading for Life's Library, but since I'm planning on reading it section by section I may jump around between it and other books. I think I'm going to aim for reading 12 hours, so we'll see how it goes!

“...the place has all the allure of a dehumidifier.” So perfect a description I can‘t even.

Pros: this book has excellent world building and wonderful prose (which sometimes gets to be too much, honestly, and it‘s easy to get lost in a sentence). Cons: hard to get into, and an ended that feels a bit empty. Once I got I to this book I did not want to put it down, but about 2/3 of the way in it lost that quality for me, and the plot took turns that felt out of place in my view. Good, not great.

This was my first Chabon novel. I‘ve been trying to read authors I‘ve not read before lately. I wound up enjoying this so much that I burned an Audible credit so I could finish the book while pulling weeds in the garden today. At the end of the audiobook, there is a 25 minute interview with the author that was pretty nifty, too.

Any Chabon fans out there with a recommendation of what I should read of his next?

Public Service Announcement:

This book, about a detective who must solve the mystery of a murdered messiah in a world where modern Israel was never formed and instead the Jewish refugees fleeing Europe were all relocated to Alaska, is amazing and it is also Audible‘s Daily Deal.

You should probably make this happen.

A little hard to get into this one but that might be because I‘ve got the figure skating on in the background...

I really liked this. It was on my tbr for way longer than it should have been. 💖📚

My first thought for #copsong, although I haven't read it. I'm iffy on Chabon (I've read 3: liked one, sort of liked another, found the last one dull.)
Anyone read this?
#musicalnewyear @cinfhen @vivastory

#manicMonday #thelettery

This book is a moving, hilarious counter-factual novel. Chabon imagines what would have happened if the state of Israel hadn't been created and instead Jews settled in Alaska after the Holocaust. The plot revolves around a murder mystery, but the story is concerned with issues of family, duty, identity, and friendship.

Of the great many things that there are to love about Michael Chabon‘s writing, the one that struck me most in this novel, is that he never wastes my time. As richly detailed as this novel is, none of the details are extraneous fluff and none are wasted. All of the characters, descriptions of settings, and disparate plot lines are all essential to the story and are eventually woven together seamlessly. Swoon.

This one, set in an alternate #Alaska is still TBR. Anyone read it? Thoughts?

#AugustisaTrip @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @vkois88

Found this book on the “Free Books Around Campus” shelf when I was leaving school yesterday! It has come across my radar like 5 times in the past 2 weeks! I don‘t know much about it but it looks super interesting! Is anyone familiar with it or the author?

#getback to where you once belong

Set in Alaska after the collapse of Israel, Chabon's noirish mystery tells the story of people who can't go back to where they once belonged. One of the best alternate timeline novels I've read. #heyjune

@Cinfhen @GypsyKat

Today‘s Q9 find!

My hands-down favorite Chabon, a literary humorous science fiction mystery.

Man makes plans, and god laughs...

Starting my next book club pick. I haven't read any Chabon since Kavalier and Clay, nearly a decade ago. I hope his writing is as good as I remember.

Amazing thrift find.

This might turn into a DNF; even though I appreciate the dry, self-depreciating humor, it is too depressing & there's not enough action. I'm about to start chapter 5. Can anyone give me a heads up?

Excited to tuck into this one! Kavalier and Clay is an all-time favourite, so I have high hopes 👮

This fun, clever, irreverent book is set in an #alternative history in which the fledgling state of Israel collapsed in 1948 and a temporary Jewish haven was established in Sitka, Alaska. It's a multi award-winner and combines a delicious mixture of satire, pastiche, mystery and Chabon's habitually brilliant writing #30daysofreadathon

#fallintobooks day 4: #occupationinthetitle. I haven't read this yet, but loved Kavalier and Clay. Any thoughts one this one?

@RealLifeReading

#occupationintitle #fallintobooks

It was fun to search my bookshelves for titles to share for today's theme! #forfontssake #anditsaugust @RealLifeReading

I decided not to torture myself with this book and bailed it: too much Jewish words with no explanation, cheesy humor and no plot development in the middle of the book.