Welcome to Litsy!

https://youtu.be/TaSIMH8MGTk?si=RyjiprOsLVP1ExwI

Shocks to the System: Don DeLillo‘s novels of the Cold War and its aftermath by Christian Lorentzen: https://www.bookforum.com/print/3001/don-delillo-s-novels-of-the-cold-war-and-it...

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#reading1001

#QuotsyMay21 Day 3: #Disarray

New episode is out! We talk about lots of stuff, including our favorite baseball movies. We also talk about the relative lack of baseball in fiction. It plays a part in DeLillo's Underworld but we were struggling to come up with further examples. What is it about the sport that lends itself to film?

https://open.spotify.com/show/6A6hXZ7eaOG7BtHOSJpCTI?si=h_7TJ6rIT0CHtBUvmKUy5g

Everything about this book is challenging. The length, the themes, the sprawling cast of characters, the mix of historical and fictional elements, all ask a lot of the reader. I had a hard time finding my way in, but at about 250 pages in, I was fully engaged and by the end, rewarded for my patience. I am so glad that my book club took on this challenge, because it is a book I don't think I would have committed to on my own.

#RedRoseSeptember

(Day 20 - #TheLifeOfRiley)

*This is convoluted thinking for sure, but here goes: In the opening scene of the book, we‘re at the Polo Grounds, along with J. Edgar Hoover, Frank Sinatra, Toots Shor & Jackie Gleason. The game is NY Giants vs. Brooklyn Dodgers. Bobby Thomson hits a 3-run homer against Ralph Branca, thus securing the pennant for the Giants. This hit is known as “The Shot Heard ‘Round the World”—historical moment ⬇️

Our newest episode caused equal parts excitement and anxiety: I could NOT wait to hear what Sara and Ashley would recommend for me, but I was quite nervous about how they would receive my recommendations. Take a listen, and let us know what you think—are there any books you'd add?

The mask transformed him. For the first time in some years he did not see himself as a tenant in an old short popover body with an immense and lumpish head.

#masquerade #MusicalNewYear @Cinfhen @vivastory

#augustisatrip #day6 - #hell

I remember at the start of the year, I'd resolved to read more long fiction like this. I certainly enjoyed reading White Noise, but that was a lot less imposing.

#GetMovin #WayDownWeGo
I have gone with the title here rather than the subject.
I guess underworld counts. A great book with an incredible first chapter and memorable images of the planes in the desert.
Really want to reread but it's so big.

A looong book about America during the cold war. There were good parts about baseball and art, but there was also too much going on and the writing never really gripped me. #1001books

This is a really dense read and I keep having to read things twice 🌝

Books this big should always be hardcovers... my wrist hurts holding it open!

Does anybody else enjoy reading books just because the font is aesthetically pleasing?

My next planned read!

One of those books thar have been on my currently reading list forever (october 2016 😮). I like the writing a great deal but somehow end up getting caught up with other books! #hititorquitit #moodreader

I adore DeLillo's writing. I loved the opening of this novel, describing the final moments of a famous baseball game as witnessed by real life people. It kept me guessing how much of the many other interwoven plotlines were also real. I loved the balancing of so many plotlines, maintaining my interest in the baseball, in learning what crime Nick committed, what was the relationship with Klara, what happened to the nameless Bronx girl. It is epic.

I may have accidentally tricked my bookclub into choosing this for Feb. We typically don't read anything more than 400 pages. Except for that one time I suggested The Power Broker as a joke and it won the vote. But I honestly thought this wasn't too long. Ooops, it's 800+ pages.

#riotgrams #day12 - #bookandlibrarycard

Found this #hardback edition of Underworld in the free book bin outside the local 2nd & Charles. It's a library copy from Florida, and I already have the book in #paperback, so I don't really know what to do with it.

The key fob at the bottom serves me for most of my library interactions. I've been meaning to get a new one since it's all stripped, but it always slips my mind.

#aprilamazingreads 4.13 My physical copy at 827 pages, this book is considered to be my #amazingdoorstopper. Still sitting pretty, unread, on the shelf!

#marchintoreading #startswithuvw from my TBR stacks. The W has been shortlisted for my #Litsyatoz read, the other two, one day..

Mail just came!! #newbooks been meaning to read something by Don DeLillo for a while so I finally went ahead and bought on of his books! didn't realise it'd be this big, but looking forward to getting to it! also shout-out to one of my fav mugs that's next to it #booksandtea

Warm tea, good book, fantastic cafe table. Ladies and Gents this is Webster's.

“Edgar looks at the faces around him, open and hopeful. He wants to feel a compatriot‘s nearness and affinity. All these people formed by language and climate and popular songs and breakfast foods and the jokes they tell and the cars they drive have never had anything in common so much as this, that they are sitting in the furrow of destruction."

This beast engulfs you in a forgotten world that was (maybe is) threatening and alive not so long ago. Don DeLillo takes you into the days of history makers that, from their common lives and grand decisions, shape the world as we know it.
No imagination could create a better metaphor than the bomb (and the power that comes along with it) for what human life is turning into.

Or if you like baseball...

This is quite the journey. DeLillo is my favorite writer, and this is better than his earlier work. It's futuristic DeLillo: sinister and spiritual, and filled with the frenetic tensions and drama necessary to keep it gripping. A fascinating examination of America's uncontainable propulsion.

When you're reading your way through two books but one is so superior to the other that you never want to leave it...

I struggled with this. There's utter brilliance within, but much of it truly felt bloated + superfluous. Nevertheless, there's something undeniably special about experiencing a work of fiction like this from a master like DeLillo. I'm a huge fan of his, so this was a must-read + I'm glad I did it.

I've been very slowly making my way through this bad boy for a few months now. I LOVE DeLillo, so it pains me to say I'm not loving this. But I'm determined to finish. Gonna try to power through a bunch of it tonight. So close, so close...

Working my way through this and, naturally, loving it. It's grim and expansive--a bit mind altering. DeLillo is my favorite writer.

Used bookstores are my lifeblood ❤️❤️❤️