Pond | 
pickI'm not sure how I feel about this. It's the interior monologue of a woman living alone but frequently encountering others (neighbours, workmen, men of uncertain import). Then there's the peculiar light her solitude casts upon ordinary objects. At times it was scarily relatable (the fountain pens; the porridge vs. oatcakes/banana) and I did enjoy it, but all in all it's a bit of a head-scratcher. One to re-read at some point, I think.
I feel seen (and slightly embarrassed)!
I currently have blue-black, teal, merlot, and saddle brown on the go. Though I use bottled ink rather than cartridges. ✒️ 🖤
pickI really liked these stories. The author has a very unique, distinct voice. Literary fic at its finest
pickTe Araroa kilometers tramped: 603.3 of 3005.3
Books completed on trail: 11
As others have mentioned, this book is mostly the thoughts of the narrator. I listened to the audiobook and liked the narrator and the book was short enough that it didn‘t seem tedious even tho nothing major happens. #rbdigital
panNot saying it‘s bad overall but it really didn‘t connect with me. I read it for an irl bookclub and all the way through I was thinking ‘I just have no thoughts about this, I have nothing to say‘. I thought the writing style was trying a little too hard to be individual and profound and I just never felt like I wanted to be in this narrator‘s head. I was very aware of how much longer there was to go all the way through which is never a great thing
panI know I‘m in the minority here, but I thought the book was pretty boring. The narrator lives alone in rural Ireland and spends her time thinking about her past and everyday life, but I wasn‘t really touched by her reflections.
Holiday book haul. ♡
pickLovely stream of conscious novel about a woman who lives alone in a cottage
pickAn eccentric childless woman living in extreme solitude in Ireland narrates a series of interconnected stories & vignettes with no plot to speak of—it‘s all atmosphere & wit. As I listened to this #audiobook, I could practically feel myself vibrating with the book‘s energy. An exploration of human connection to the physical world, the link between our outer and inner selves, a sensory experience. I feel like I can see everything differently now.
I just threw my dinner in the bin. I knew as I was making it I was going to do that, so I put in all the things I never want to see again.
(Internet photo of author)
Bananas and oatcakes are, by the way, a very satisfactory substitute for those mornings when the time for porridge has quite suddenly passed. If a neighbour has been overheard, or the towels folded, the day‘s too far in, and porridge, at this point, will feel vertical and oppressive, like a gloomy repast from the underworld.
…a cautionary notice next to the pond, which, by the way, has absolutely no depth whatsoever. If it were up to me, I wouldn‘t put a sign saying ‘pond‘ next to a pond. Either I‘d write something else, such as ‘pig swill,‘ or I wouldn‘t bother at all.
Thank you, @shawnmooney , for giving 5 stars to this on goodreads. It‘s been on my TBR for ages and your rating prompted me to immediately start listening. (Thank you, Edmonton Public Library and Hoopla for having this title available.) I LOVE it. Littens, brace yourselves for incoming quotes.
Not sure what I'm in the mood for, so I'm starting this. #moodreading
Reading this book (full of super lovely poetic prose) while listening to a live stream of Handel's Messiah from Duke University's Chapel Choir. I may be biased because I used to sing with the choir, but the yearly performance the choir does is always STUNNING and gets me ready for the holiday season.
If you want to listen, the stream is free at https://www.twr360.org/messiah
#music 🎶🎵🎶🎵
pickBoth Karl Ove Knausgaard and Nicole Krauss mentioned this in their recent New Yorker interviews, so I ordered it and it came in this minimalist edition from Fitzcarraldo. The stories are beautifully and deliberately composed, but decidedly off-kilter. Then they began to wash over me and I felt less like the narrator was nuts and more like she had tapped into the bonkers, self-deluding and obsessive nature of every lonely and insecure person ever.
When your best man is a pilot for BA with unlimited baggage allowance and he gets himself on the Tel Aviv route just to come for a visit and some schwarma, and to bring you your books. #lovinglife #shanatova
Equating the sound of frogs with your vagina? This book just keeps getting quirkier and more amazing (also, this chapter is perfectly titled).
My most recent buy written by a female author, adding to my forever increasing tbr 📚
#newbooksTBRs #readingwomenmonth
About to finish this strange, but refreshing little novel. Kind of a personal diary kind of thing, but just so weird and jumpy. Unreliable narrators are the best!
Loving my bouquet of tulips and my stack of books under 200 pages (I'm hoping I'll be able to power through some of these and cut down my tbr of almost 450 books)
"English, strictly speaking, is not my first language by the way. I haven't yet discovered what my first language is so for the time being I use English words in order to say things. I expect I will always have to do it that way; regrettably I don't think my first language can be written down at all. I'm not sure it can be made external you see. I think it has to stay where it is; simmering in the elastic gloom betwixt my flickering organs."
bailedGot to nearly the exact halfway point and just couldn't do it anymore. Plot is not important to me and I read many authors who have no use for plot. My reading time is limited and I didn't find anything the narrator was saying "insightful" nor really that interesting. I gave up in "Control Knobs". This book comes highly recommended and reviewed, perhaps by the end I would have seen things differently but I don't have the time to devote to it.
pickIf only my own rambling mind were this eloquent and insightful. Woolfish stream of consciousness at its best. Not everyone's cup of tea--those who require a plot need not bother. It felt a bit like a low key fever dream to read it but I quite enjoyed the narrator's perspective and observations. Not so much about solitude as being solitary, being comfortable in and with one's own mind, the only one to which we have complete access.
My bedside #shelfie because that is the only place #whereiread when I am sick. As I am now. With the flu 🤧😷🤒😕 #riotgrams
Being on Litsy and seeing other people's photos makes me feel sooooo much better about my own TBR pile. #toomuchtoread
Dinner out with Mr. Eve. Not pictured are the books I picked up from the library on the way here.
Here's my TBR for January, with some choices inspired by the #tournamentofbooks long list 😄
Post 1 of 2- Was taken to BnN today and told to pick out a few books, so here is today's stack! So happy they put out Idaho early and noticed the cover for Idaho and Pond are similar.
