Welcome to Litsy!

This was a short but difficult read, not because of the quality but the subject matter. Its the narration of a woman trapped in a loveless marriage to a self absorbed and controlling man and how this breaks her individuality. This relationship is also described with that with an abusive father, very needy mother, and other men who seem to want more than they give. Troubling but a powerful insight into what these relationships do to an individual

#LovePrevails Day 16: Grateful to have married my #FirstLove. Going on 30 years of being together this year (nearly 23 years of marriage). Yup, I started early. Gifted that way. 🤪😭😂🤣🥰🧚🏻‍♀️🧚🏻‍♀️🧚🏻‍♀️

Ooh received my first #LitsyLove post today. Thank you do much @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks . I can't wait to write back.

#currentlyreading #love #poetry #firstlove #loveislove #alllove #samelove #💙💝📚😃💟💞💕💖💗💘💝💓💜💛💚💙❤💔

Parts of this felt familiar but not in a good way. It had me pausing & re-reading & reflecting. A review says it‘s “a forensic discussion of the ordinariness of life rendered bitter-sweet” and I‘d agree with that. It‘s a pretty bleak read but I‘m all for this kind of book. I really liked it. And the dialogue is on point. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Congrats @Cathythoughts and thank you for the giveaway! 😘

Still figuring out how I feel about this book but one word that definitely describes it is depressing! #onebookoneword

I still a good book and a nice story. I liked my first book for this #readathon #24in48 time to make a break for lunch

Starting the #readathon #24in48 . I think that to start with a book that has first in the title is very accurate.

Book 26: Having flashbacks to the emotional toil of A Little Life, a book that revels in the hurt and damage of human relationships. Still, at least First Love is only 165pages. 165 pages of our narrator's unrelenting search for love and the useless and abusive men that stand in her way to reach it. More an emotive, inward looking monologue than a novel, but I probably couldn't have handled much more...

I feel kind of guilty to give a ‘pick‘ to such a horrible story. Neve has lived her life with an abusing father and an egocentrical mother. She flees into the arms of Edwyn, an older man of whom she can take care. Their marriage is horrible. Their dialogues are so painful, he is constantly emotionally blackmailing her and she keeps up with it. So sad.

A horribly unsettling book about love at its most complicated and unpleasant. The dialogue is incredible, particularly between the protagonist, Neve, and her mum. So uncomfortably honest.

Okay, no. I gave it 12 pages and I'm bored to tears. Switching to something else now. #24in48

Starting book 2 #24in48

I know almost half of the people who read this didn't like it very much, if at all. Still, when @ReadingEnvy sampled me a page, I was quite taken. So she's handed it down to me, and I'm so happy about that! Thank you, Jenny!

#morningread I've been volunteering at a summer camp after work this week and yesterday was the last day. I enjoy helping out, but I'm glad to get back to my reading schedule 😍

Wow! If this an example of 'modern love' thank god I'm an old fashioned girl married to an old fashioned man!

#baileyswomensprize #shortlist at the hairdressers 💇🏻 #20booksofsummer ❄️winter❄️
http://bronasbooks.blogspot.com.au/2017/07/first-love-by-gwendoline-riley.html?m...

Signed by the author #baileysprize

I hate that feeling

Sleep and lazing, with Kit-Kat." I think I'd go with a Bounty instead. You? #chocolatewar

Fuliginous nooks" - I love when I learn a new word while reading

This was a one-sitting read but the contents do not match the blurb and I found it infinitely disturbing. The husband seems to have mental issues and is abusive and I would not describe that as a couple being "ill-suited." It's more of the story of a woman's relationships - mother father sister friends husband - and is hardly about the marriage. On the shortlist for the Bailey's Prize.

It's a brutal story of a disaffected woman called Neve and her husband coping with varied emotions ranging from attractive to appalling. Neve also has to deal with self-absorbed mother and bullying father. Neve's situation compels her to think whether she is living in an illusion of freedom. The bittersweet relationship between them is told pretty straightforward with no embellishments.

This is a book about a failing relationship that never ends , you know the type the dialogue, its that good!! , its like overhearing or being present inside someones home and experiencing your toes curling wilst feelings of pathos and
Inevitability wash over you leaving no doubt this will , like in real life keep happening !!!

I gave it over 50 pages, but could not finish it. How this beat out Margaret Atwood or Sarah Perry for the shortlist is beyond me. On to the next one. #baileyswomensprizeshortlist

Started this one tonight - it's on the Baileys Women's Prize shortlist. Honestly, it isn't grabbing me at all. It's so short, though, I would hate not to finish it. We'll see. Has anyone else read it? #baileyswomensprizeshortlist

Biscuiteers of London made these biscuits to celebrate the #BaileysPrize, how cool are they?!

My first #baileysprize read. I really love the cover #amreading

Now I'm really torn on this because it could a four star and indeed was earlier but I keep changing my mind. Neve is in an unhappy marriage with an older man, she is estranged from her family, how did she get here, through other actions or her own? That's what this book is really about. And it's quirky and clever, yet sometimes vague and that's where it excels but also falls apart a bit. See. Undecided. Definitely worth a read though.

Looking for these #Baileysprize longlisters on a teeny budget. If you see them for sale or as ARCs online, please tag me.

It's an International Women's Day themed Brit Lit news today, with the Baileys Prize longlist announced, an excerpt from a new book on women's equality, and the announcement of a new women in translation prize. #iwd https://britlitblog.com/2017/03/08/today-in-brit-lit-news-8th-march-2017/

I can't remember the last time I read a whole book in a day. I feel like a book nerd superstar or something, like a lesser version of @Liberty To be fair, it's a very short book, but also it had to have been good to hold my attention for almost five hours of a sunny Saturday. This one is definitely not for everyone, but I loved it -- the writing is gorgeous (I learned some beautiful new words!) and that's really all that matters to me.

A book-inspired ice cream recipe in today's Brit Lit blog. Plus, can you guess which four authors sold more than a million copies of a book in the U.K. last year? https://britlitblog.com/2017/01/26/today-in-brit-lit-news-25th-jan-2017-2/