Red Clocks: A Novel | 
pickA novel about an America that has outlawed abortion in any form for all 50 states. The author writes from 4 main perspectives: the biographer, the wife, the daughter, and the mender to weave a powerful narrative. Highly recommend for fans of Atwood's Handmaid's Tale! I definitely want to read more from this author.
so-soJust finished this #LMPBC and it‘s off to @MeesesPieces tomorrow! It‘s a ⭐️⭐️⭐️ book for me, but still really interesting and I‘m excited to see what everyone thinks!
so-soA US where abortion is illegal, embryos have been granted “personhood,” and single people cannot adopt. Terrifying, right? Zumas doesn‘t quite pull off what she‘s trying to do: address women‘s erasure and their roles in this scary dystopia, but props for trying. Full review at https://booknaround.blogspot.com/2019/10/review-red-clocks-by-leni-zumas.html
pickThis examines what it means to be a woman, the struggle to control your life as one, & the accusations we face when we dare to defy the restrictions placed on us. This softly disturbing, near-future dystopia is so utterly contemporary in its feel and the single, devastating change to law so realistic that it leaves you unsettled as does the quiet sound in the night that you aren't quite sure you really heard but can't stop listening for.
“Have you ever considered ... how much time has been stolen from the lives of girls and women due to agonizing over their appearance? ... How many minutes, hours, months, even actual years, of their lives do girls and women waste in agonizing? And how many billions of dollars of corporate profit are made as a result?”
pickThis was worth waiting for. A well woven narrative, a lot to think about here about women, bodies, choices we make and choices that are made for us. I‘ll be checking out Zumas‘ other work for sure.
1. Tagged plus Best of the Best Volume 2: 20 Years of the Best Short Science Fiction Novels, Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty, ¡Vamos a leer!, The Scar by China Miéville, Favorite Poems, and The Complete Works by William Shakespeare
2. “It is clammy and springy, like a hard-cooked egg.“ (from tagged book)
3. Homemade hot chocolate with cayenne
@rachelsbrittain #weekendreads
#weeklyforecast is looking good! I accomplished most of the goals from last week, except to get to my ARC reading (need to do that!!)
Plans:
📕Finish Invisible Cities
📖Start A Good Neighborhood
🔈Finish Red Clocks
🔈Continue Wanderers
I‘m crazy busy this weekend but trying to get as many hours of reading and listening in as I can. I‘m already five hours into this and just started yesterday. I have so many thoughts. Loving it so far.
pickI liked this a lot! The audio narrators were excellent. I really connected with the topic and the characters, especially Gin. I‘ll be recommending this one!
It‘s here! It‘s here! My latest Brilliant Books Subscription book is here, and it totally looks like my kind of story!
pickTold from the perspective of four women, Red Clocks re-imagines what the US would be like if abortion was once again illegal and criminalized while also outlawing single parents from adopting. The women in this novel each deal with this new reality in different ways. Zumas did a good job in creating four wildly different characters whose paths cross and who all in their own way are so strong and authentic.
Does this look right guys? @MeesesPieces @Hazel2019 @Mogoeg ? #lmpbc #groupD
From dog poems to feminist dystopia, my reading is a little all over the place this weekend.
pickMay finishes. I loved Dolphins, Fahrenheit, Red Clocks, and Marriage. Outsiders and Meditations were okay. #thisisit #amonthofsongs #gilmoregirlsreadingchallenge #bookclub
I had a coupon for Value Village so of course I had to use it!
Question. Which of these is most likely to keep me awake and entertained on my night shift tonight?
pickI read this book in one day, which is kind of a big deal with my ADHD and busy life. It was intense, but good. The ending was not cliche or easy or tidy but I really loved the way she tied everything together and ended the story. And the characters, just wow. I aspire to write characters this compelling and flawed and real and unique.
pickThis was a wild ride of a book. Very disjointed with not a lot of action but still manages to be propulsive.
What a treat! You are beyond thoughtful @alwaysbeenaloverofbooks! 💕 I have been wanting to read this book for some time! And you KNOW I adore this postcard! 🌷🌹💐 So beautiful! I don‘t have many flowers peeking through just yet, but these purple phlox decided to bloom just in time to take a pic for you! Also, I am in love with these #litsylove bookmarks. Thanks so much to you and @TheBookHippie for having those made. ☺️
pickThis book is amazing and definitely worth reading! I finished it last night and I still can‘t work out how I feel about it. It made me happy and so so sad by the end.
pickTotally deserving of all the hype!
One of my favorite books EVER.
I think this is a masterpiece of art.
so-soThis is a story that depends on the author‘s ability to knit the plot lines together into a pleasing display. Zumas uses many writing styles, including poems, lists, and diary entries. But there were also times the story felt like the jumbled inside of the cute knit beanie, rather than the outside.
Among the recently-released female-centric dystopia, this was just fair.
Full review www.TheBibliophage.com
#thebibliophage2019
#litsyatoz #letterz
I‘m not quite finished with this, but it‘s been interesting to compare with The Handmaid‘s Tale, Vox, and Power. I‘m trying to figure out how I rank them in relation to each other.
p.s. the puzzle is done and I just bought three more!
So my #audiopuzzling project is taking way longer than I expected. I‘ve listened to one book, a long podcast, and have now started a second book. To be fair, I also listened to the books and podcast during other activities. But, ohmigosh this is a hard puzzle. I‘m hoping to finish by tomorrow. But it‘s been fun!!
#letterz #litsyatoz
Book 6/60 a book with a two word title
OK I‘ve heard some things about how this book is white feminist bullshit soooooooo we‘ll see
pickOnce I got into this I really didn‘t want to put it down (though eventually sleep got the better of me). It took a while for me to see how all the threads wove together, but it‘s been ages since I read proper literary fiction and I really enjoyed the style here.
#booked2019 #booked2019winter #newtoyouauthor #litsyAtoZ #letterR #R
It took me about 70 pages to really get into the rhythm of this, but now that I‘m past that point I‘m loving it!
pickI read this as a buddy read with one of my daughters. Excellent writing with interesting and realistic portrayals of women. Sadly it is also scary as I find the event in the book plausible in our current political climate. I highly recommend this one.
1. For his 10th birthday, I told my nephew I'd take him out to lunch for anything he wanted. And what he wanted was the giant banana split at his local ice cream parlor. Well played, kid.
2. Red Clocks by Leni Zumas.
3. 26. Aiming for Arizona next, to see family.
4. Harry Potter in my teens.
5. I did a lot of travel last year, including a European adventure. 2019 is going to be for replenishing my bank account. But a girl can dream!
#HumpDayPost
⏰Okay, I can‘t put this one down. It‘s a story of different women all going through different parts of a woman‘s journey, and they are all connected and in some twisted way form a community (I use that term loosely here). If you enjoyed Handmaid‘s Tale and the premise of The Hours, this one is for you! ⏰
pickIt‘s all about the Vagine Machine.
Alternate reality where it‘s illegal to have an abortion, have assisted reproduction, and two parents are required for adoption. Shows how these laws affect women in different ways: the pregnant teen, the older woman desperate for a child, the holistic healer, the wife in a crappy marriage.
Definite pick. There‘s some misinformation about IVF (that‘s my field), but definitely a great read.
pickUnique and quite brilliant I thought. Quite a few characters and concepts to wrap your mind around but I quickly got sucked in. Very enjoyable.
pickI recommend this book of the basis of its writing, character development, and imagery. However, my political views are too complex to agree with it whole-heartedly. 😆
bailedI have this one on audiobook. I like the narration well enough, but just cannot get into it. After 2 1/2 hours, I‘m calling this one. For me, there are just too many threads and the story is about the woman with less emphasis on the dystopia and the women are not holding my attention or empathy
bailedNot a huge fan of the writing style and I just can't seem to get into all the storylines. Ended up just reading the ones I liked and skipping the others. So sad too cause it is such a realistic feminist dystopian concept.
pickHeartbreaking, one of those reads that gives you the peek you don‘t get regularly into the lives & minds of women, but with a slightly skewed, seemingly minor to some, alternative history just a shade off from our own. One of those, there but for the grace of god go we, collectively. Abortion is illegal in this world, and how that law effects the lives of all the women in the community in examined as we peek into their daily struggles.
pick#MonthOfRereads
Still love this book! If possible, though, I dislike The Wife character more, and I don‘t understand her relevance to the plot. 🤷🏻♀️
As far as Trump-era dystopian novels, I still like The Power a bit better, but I strongly recommend Red Clocks too! 4.5⭐️
pickI couldn‘t put this down. While I see why this is compared with Handmaids Tale, it‘s really not at all like it. While the premise is the loss of women‘s reproductive rights, it‘s really just a story about women. I found the characters very real and very relatable.
Requested this one after reading NYPLs 2018 book recommendations yesterday and it came in immediately on a 7 day loan.. so it‘s up next! I‘m not sure if I‘m excited or terrified to read this.
I had forgotten how much Gin‘s (the mender) imprisonment makes me sad. I still like the book overall on my second read, though.
Every time I read a women‘s rights being taken away dystopian novel, I get more and more angry. Fortunately, that just strengthens my resolve to change things!
Finally get to retire from family events for the evening. To all you out there waiting for your chance to slip away and curl up with a good book, I wish you all the best of luck! #thanksgiving 🦃📚
Move. #catssittingonbooks #whydotheydothis #redclocks by #lenizumas #littlebrownandcompany is a feminist page turner with a magical sense of place. Handmaid‘s Tale meets Moby Dick? 🤷🏻♀️
pickThis book is similar to the Handmaid's Tale in that a major theme is reproductive rights. The great thing about this book is that all of the women characters are layered, self-centered and flawed--just like real women. I love that. While she will be compared to Atwood with this book, the author's style is much different. Many will find it choppy but I enjoyed the unusual cadence and flow. Highly recommend. #BOTM
