Welcome to Litsy!

I am bewitched by the Lucy Barton series (even though I‘m not big on book series). I have to read the latest one, Lucy by the Sea, for Bookclub, so thought I‘d try to read the two earlier ones I happened to have on my shelves. Am now considering heading out to buy the third book, Oh William! before I read Lucy by the Sea. Lucky I have another week of holidays ahead of me to indulge 🤗📚❤️

This interconnected stories format works for me - in a similar vein to Kent Haruf‘s Plainsong or Louise Erdrich‘s Love Medicine series. Strout gives us these intense moments of clarity in a persons life - whether it‘s pain or shame or joy or hope - and then moves on to the next person. She impresses a character into my brain and makes me care so quickly. ⬇️

Hmm. Well, it wasn‘t anywhere as strong to me as My Name is Lucy Barton. But I‘m still tempted to give it a pick. Strout basically fleshes out all the stories from MNiLB. So this is a collection of 3rd person narrative stories. She does this contrast where generally normal people do or get involved in really out-there non-normal stuff. I found it very readable but also I found it a bit much. Perhaps I should give it more time. ( #Booker2022 )

I started this on Kindle almost two weeks ago, but I‘m just reading it here and there. So I‘m about half way through this very short book. It‘s not as powerful as My Name is Lucy Barton, but I find I get into it easily enough. Part of my road to the #booker2022 longlist.

Strout just has an eye for the human condition which is almost always pitch perfect. I loved the episodic nature of Anything is Possible, especially as each story riffed off a tiny element of the one that preceded it. It‘s a book that leans into the complexity of human relationships, and the distance between lives as they are observed and lives as they are lived.

#SeriesRead2022 @TheSpineView

Another great book featuring people in Amgash. These interconnected stories were great and I loved getting to spend more time with Lucy. Some stories were stronger than others and my favorite was Lucy with her siblings.

Strout writes about familial relationships, small towns, and just mundane everyday life situations so well that you'll be transported to Amgash while you read.

1-2 Aug 22 (audiobook)
This is really a companion, rather than sequel, to My Name is Lucy Barton. Many of the stories recounted by Lucy and her mother are fleshed out here from their protagonist‘s viewpoint. Much still goes unsaid but here I enjoyed the implied and innuendo rather than became frustrated by it. Still very little about William though - I am quite looking forward to reading the next instalment.

I am flying through the Amgash books and loving them. What a rich community Strout gives us in this series of linked short stories. I am excited to move on to Oh William. I love the #Booker2022 #BookerPrize 2022 for prompting me to read this series. I have found a new favorite author. 4.5 🌟
@MicheleinPhilly @batsy @vivastory @squirrelbrain @Cathythoughts @JamieArc @jlhammar @BarbaraBB

Anyone read any of these books? Apparently it‘s OK that I‘m not reading in order? Or all of them?

Happy reading ☺️

Sun‘s out, leaves out!

While I didn‘t like this short story collection as much as Lucy Barton 1, it was fun catching up with the secondary characters, but I could‘ve done without the pervasive fat shaming. I love how the stories built on each other. I enjoyed reading more about the Pretty Nicely Girls, but my favorite was the reunion of Lucy with her siblings. I‘ve already started Oh, William. I love finding a new fav author with a long backlist!

A book of the interconnected vignettes that Elizabeth Strout is so good at.

#MarvelousMarch Book 4/6

I just love Strout‘s writing. This is the second of the Lucy Barton books. I‘m moving into Oh, William! next (the 3rd Lucy Barton book).

There is something both bleak and redemptive about this book. Strout pursues her mission to write only what is true in her own inimitable and highly readable style. I keep trying to work out what is so powerful about her writing I think we can all recognise the everyday pain and unhappiness of the characters as well as those moments that make life bearable and always always she reveals the possibility of wisdom and compassion. Wonderful!

As Dottie thought about this … she saw Shelly Small as a woman who suffered only from the most common complaint of all: life had simply not been what she thought it would be. Shelly had taken life‘s disappointments and turned them into a house. A house that, with the clever use of the right architects, had managed to stay within the legal code yet became a monstrosity as large as Shelley‘s needs.

Thought I would read this and then treat myself to the latest Strout. How lovely is this inner cover of my paperback edition?

Thank you @kspenmoll for the #LCS gifts! Only one candy bar made it long enough to take a pic 😁🤫 @bookish_wookish thank you for hosting

Have been meaning to read Elizabeth Strout for a long time. I now understand the hype! Really enjoyed how each chapter was almost a short story, with common characters throughout. Some chapters I enjoyed more than others, but will definitely be adding Strout's other novels to my TBR! This also kicked off my #LitsyAtoZ for letter A.

I read a few years ago My Name is Lucy Barton and enjoyed it. This takes place years later and I thought it was more like each chapter an interelated short story. Very good! #books

I love the way Elizabeth Strout writes her interconnected stories. She‘s able to describe a whole life, town, community in slim vignettes. Narrator, Kimberly Farr is dynamic and mesmerizing bringing to life the spools of threads Elizabeth Strout‘s weaves. Most of these stories are mournful but there‘s so much compassion. The first half of the book was much stronger than the last half, where the book went a little off rails. Still a strong pick♥️

I‘m SO happy to be back in the world of Elizabeth Strout~ she makes the ordinary extraordinary....pure magic ♥️
#BookSpinBingo

"We have a reservation for Dr. Richard Small." Dr. Small's announcement was appropriately large enough to include his wife, who came in right after him, without any mention of her at all.

A great novel of interconnected short stories by Elizabeth Strout, who is masterful at writing characters' heartbreak with unlikely, resonating beauty. I want to write like her when I grow up, and, until then, I'll relish her words! ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is a new one for me...audio grouting of my bathroom tiles..listening to Any Thing is Possible by Elizabeth Strout❤️ Wonderful words to help me get the job done. Hope your all having a much more exciting weekend than me😂😂

Finished this up this morning. I enjoyed all the short stories, most of them were kind of sad though. The last one The Gift, wow I did not see that one coming. So good! #48 #2019

Starting this next. #workbook #goodreads #giveaway

OHMYWORD!!!!!! 🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳

More birthday love!!!!

Thank you so so much!!!! I just love it!
#litsylove

I am not normally a huge fan of short stories but I do really like Elizabeth Strout so I bought this book as soon as it kept out and put off reading it until now. Definitely glad I bought it without hesitation. I appreciate how well she writes interconnected stories so that each is a piece of a larger puzzle while still being something all its own.

It‘s too cold outside and I‘m not feeling up to the treadmill tonight. Instead, I climbed stairs during commercial breaks and walked laps while reading. It‘s not great, but better than nothing. #Litsywalkers

I‘m off for the next 2 days. I would truthfully rather be at work with much more seasonal winter weather. I hope all you Littens experiencing these dangerous temps are safe. As long as I‘m home, I‘ll work on #LitsyAtoZ stats.

In My Name Is Lucy Barton, the work speaks to the reader on a different level in that it was more about the nuances and what was left unsaid. This book is more character driven, examining the human condition, stories of love, loss, and hope.

In a word, brilliant!

I absolutely loved Lucy Barton, but I think I read this one over too long a period of time and wasn‘t quite in the mood for short stories (I tend to go in phases with them). Found the ones with Lucy‘s brother and sister the most moving. Liked the focus on older people‘s lives and how they‘ve changed from childhood - like the Nicely girls. Overall a pick.

One dog on my wrist, one dog on my feet, and a good book in my hand. A perfect rainy Friday night.

I have a backlog of book posts to catch up on 😕 This was a book club choice after we enjoyed My Name is Lucy Barton last year. Although I‘m a big Elizabeth Strout fan and loved her writing in this book, I found it too bleak, with not much light relief. But Strout is so good at human relationships and dynamics and enjoyed the chapters where this came to the fore.

A lovely measured book which packs a strong punch!

Saturday morning, but here it is.
1. You guys, 2. Two, 3. Litsy, instagram, Goodreads, Twitter. 4. We‘re visiting Wisconsin so that means fish fry. Yum! 5. @Amymeyerson and @ErinSueG are the first people who let me know about litsy so I‘m tagging them.

This fell between a pick and a so-so for me. I think I‘m about tapped out on short stories for a while. Regardless, Strout is a craftsman and tells a good tale. I thought she delved deeply enough into the characters. But I still felt like I was spun among so many people, without truly getting to know them. The general focus on small-town life isn‘t really my jam either.

Full review at www.TheBibliophage.com
#thebibliophage2018

Started listening to this today while doing adult-type things around the house. Nice accompaniment to laundry, dishes, etc. Planning to finish before my IRL book group meets on Thursday evening.

#audioadulting

#saturdaymorning #starbuckstreat #booksandcoffee #motherandson#bookclubbook
Post Doctor appointment treated my son to his favorite ice tea, a flat white for me. Tagged book for bookclub Tuesday. Gorgeous day; 90 +heat & humidity gone! Perfect for our last Hartford City Football game later today. ⚽️

My first non self help book in more than 4 months and I LOVE IT. I‘ve read other Strout books but none have resonated this powerfully. This one opens and closes with characters (minor spoiler alert) glimpsing the divine. All the stories in between reveal little tidbits about characters in adjoining stories, which I absolutely adore as a literary device. I needed this book in my life right now to remind me that Anything Is Possible. I‘m back!!!

I loved this book and This is Lucy Barton. Both were so insightful into human nature and people‘s thoughts and feelings. Was wonderful to read them back to back

Happy Saturday!! I am camped out reading the last section for #LitsyBuddyRead of Other People‘s Houses at my local Starbucks/used bookstore. Treated myself to a latte after I treated myself to this stack of ARCs. #BookHaul 🤗📚📚

Even though I just bought the hardcover of Stray City on my indie bookstore crawl a couple weeks back, I‘m gearing up to do a giveaway for you all, and for $2 I figured one of you lucky Littens deserved to have it too 😉

Wowzers!
Having finished My Name is Lucy Barton, I figured this followed and had been on my pile since receiving it for Christmas. I hadn't opened it and thus didn't know it was a signed copy!

Happy Birthday @maximoffs 💐💐💐🎁🎁🎁🍾🍾🍾Hope this year is your best one yet! My favorite book last year was Anything is Possible by Elizabeth Strout. I had many favorites like Pachinko, Ginny Moon, And the list goes on and on! I can't wait to see your top three!

My first Strout and I‘m giving it a pick because the writing is exquisite! “We love imperfectly and that‘s okay.”

The maxim “life is messy” sums up the book. I nearly bailed because there is no relief from the melodrama of the character‘s lives and personalities, but I hung in there for the writing. It would have helped had I realized earlier on that it consists of loosely connected short stories, not a cohesive novel. The first was the best!

Eight years ago, just after having me first baby and feeling a little isolated I joined an online book club. It only lasted a few months but it introduced me to the sublime Elizabeth Strout and for that I am forever thankful. This book lives up to everything I've come to expect from Strout. The sparse style, authenticity and her unflinching examination of what a life can really be like. It's dark but also redemptive. Many stars.