Welcome to Litsy!

I‘m a sucker for Paul Newman and I‘m a sucker for this movie. I finally convinced myself to read it. Although the jokes are still solid, I have to say, the movie was better.

I‘m on page 261 and nothing‘s happening. I loved Empire Falls but this is dragging. Sully isn‘t interesting or likable to me. I‘m thinking it‘s time to bail…

#12Booksof2023 #December

This book had a lot to live up to, because I love the movie with Paul Newman. We watch it every year sometime on or after Thanksgiving. Thankfully I loved it. It added depth to the characters in the movie and introduces more that are not in the movie. This is also a husband pick as he read it first. He is currently reading the second book and third one arrived today.

The protagonist of this gently comic tale of small-town America is Donald Sullivan, aka Sully. Sixty years old, divorced, with a dodgy knee, Sully keeps himself in beer money with a string of odd jobs and harmless cons. Not an awful lot happens and at 550 pages some readers might chafe at the leisurely pace of the storytelling, but it's the creation of wonderfully human and believable characters that Russo excels.

I love Richard Russo, I really do... I'm enjoying this book a lot also. But lordamercy, this man is repetitive and verbose! In the same paragraph, he's rewording the same sentence 3 times... I'm not sure if I'm reading a story or studying for the SATs and a reading comprehension test all at once!!!!
#chuggingalong #bookspin

I'll forgive you because I love you, Richard Russo, but just know that I'm disappointed in both you and your editor... my Disney heart can't take it!!! 🤣🤣🤣

Road tripping to the campgrounds today & brought this along from the #June #bookspin to hopefully make some progress! Lol, been a busy summer. 😄 Sully has a real Hank Deveraux feel, which isn't awful because he's one of my favorite literary characters! #RichardRusso

Today‘s author spotlight: Richard Russo! The 70-year-old was born in Johnstown, NY. He received a bachelors, an MFA, and then a Doctorate in Philosophy, all at the University of Arizona. He co-wrote the script for the 1998 film “Twilight”. He‘s been a married man for 30 years. He now lives in Portland, Maine, wintering in Boston. He‘s said that it takes him a decade to come up with a short story collection. #AuthorPotpourri #TheMoreYouKnow

I wish I was better at putting down my phone when I‘m reading a book like this. Richard Russo‘s talent for writing memorable people in small struggling towns is again on display here with Donald “Sully” Sullivan, the unluckiest man in North Bath, New York. He‘s good at taking no BS but just can‘t seem to stop himself from making all the wrong choices. He‘s the most memorable character I‘ve met this year.

Richard Russo is so good at creating characters. The people in Nobody‘s Fool seem so real that I felt as if I know them in my actual life...like I could meet them at the coffee shop once I put the book down. They are complicated with both good and bad qualities, just like those we know in our own lives. While reading, I imagined the main character, Sully, as Ed Harris. I really enjoyed this book that has been on my #TBR for far too long.

Finished up Nobody‘s Fool this afternoon after work outside on the porch because the weather is so beautiful. I loved Russo‘s Empire Falls maybe a bit more than this one but still really enjoyed this as well. The dialogue is so quick and funny that I often reread many passages. I want to check out the movie as I haven‘t seen it yet. Sully is a character I won‘t soon forget and I look forward to reading Everybody‘s Fool.

I‘ve not read any of his books but have been told he‘s a shrewd observer of human nature and nobody writes small town life with insight and wit like Russo.
#marchintothe70s #wontgetfooledagain

From the large library pile of books I may read this month, this story takes place in upstate #NewYork. #aprella @Mdargusch @Reviewsbylola @emilyhaldi @Cinfhen

OMG...I loved this book and I might love the movie just a little more. I am not sure that is possible.

Okay, so this book was a lot of fun, but it was so freaking long! Took me a couple months to get through the audio as I️ read along. And I️ love an irascible curmudgeon as much as the next person, but seriously — how many stories have to be about older white guys who just skate along through life on their wits and charm? Now I‘m wondering if it‘s worth it to read the sequel. Can anyone weigh in on Everybody‘s Fool?

I'm going to miss the citizens of Bath now that I'm done with this one. Full of delightful, dysfunctional, lovable, memorable, infuriating characters.

I feel so connected to Miss Beryl these days.

Some of us are better at relaxing with a book than others.

A bucket list author. He's from Maine , I'm from Maine. Starting tonight. It's free from my library.

Not a boy but the prompt #ameircanboy made me think of Sully :-) one of my all time fav characters and I love the setting of this book.

I love sully !!!!

I've had a signed copy of the sequel sitting on my nightstand for a long time so figured it was time to read this one first. I really enjoyed it. Sully, the main character can be a bit of a jerk but he's still pretty lovable. Funny and wonderfully evocative of a very specific time and place. This novel is as much about this failing town with colorful residents as it is about its main character and his life

So many great quotes, but especially love this one!

Laughing out loud on this one! It's a great read if you're looking for something on the lighter side. Loving the characters!

Kind of perfect that I finished this book on a day with unexpected snowfall, seeing as how the book's protagonist expended so many misspent thoughts hoping for snow that stubbornly refused to fall. This book didn't grab me like Russo's "Empire Falls" or "Straight Man", but I enjoyed its many pleasures nonetheless.

Loved empire falls and heard good things about the sequel to this one but need to read in order first! #lovebookseries

Forgot to take a picture of this before I had to return it to the library! I really enjoyed this, my first time reading Richard Russo. Definitely feel like it was written in the 80's - some of it doesn't age so well (the way the characters treat women, use of the "n" word, etc). But I loved getting to know these characters from the small town of North Bath, NY and Sully, the problematic but somehow still lovable main character.

Sully, a perpetually down-on-his-luck 60-year-old loser in small-town NY, has spent his life evading responsibility, nursing grudges, and perfecting witty, passive-aggressive comebacks to all. The repartee is often hilarious; the sexism and racism is unforgivable in a 1993 novel.

I am thankful for the many reading choices now, beyond such narrow, angry, too-often-hateful stories offered up by straight white male writers of a certain generation.

I had so much fun at the annual book sale today 😄📚