Welcome to Litsy!

Fun, creepy retellings of fairy tales and the occasional Bible story. It felt very Danny Lavery, so I think it helps that I‘ve been loosely following his career (The Toast, Dear Prudence, his memoir) for a while. My favorite story was the horror version of The Velveteen Rabbit. Some of the other stories, especially the last couple, felt underdeveloped. Some had some interesting gender stuff that definitely could have used more development.

1.5/5⭐ These stories feel like part of a conversation I missed the beginning of. #roll100

I enjoyed this collection of dark fairytale retellings. I got it in just under the wire for July‘s Little Mermaid #FairyTaleReadingChallenge. The first story called “The Daughter Cells” is the Little Mermaid retelling, and it definitely had a Disney influence as well. Most of the stories did which may be part of why I enjoyed them. @Charityann

This collection of retold fairy tales promises a lot but I was a bit underwhelmed. The stories retell the Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, and a few others. More than half were interesting but the ones with folk tales and other sources seemed a bit long-winded.. I would like to read some other books by the author, though.

Daddy is handling bedtime tonight, so mommy gets to curl up with a fuzzy blanket, some warm tea and her current reads for the rest of the evening. Oh yeah and the aftermath of an epic dinosaur battle that didn‘t get put away. Oh well, I am to comfy to move, the mess will still be there waiting tomorrow! #metime #currentreads #momlife

Horror is my jam and I've been reading quite a few diverse horror books over the summer/early fall so I wanted to pick something I hadn't posted about recently for this week's #integrateyourshelf. This collection by Daniel M Lavery (formerly published as Mallory Ortberg) is a gender bending collection of dark fairytale updates, which fall squarely in my wheelhouse! More recs in the comments ☠

This #CreepyChristmas haul is amazing! Thank you so much @MaleficentBookDragon ! I love it all! I'll probably have the ornament on display year- round in one of my bookcases!

@teebe Thank you for organizing such a fun-themed swap!

Going in without much background info, I quickly realized that the chapters were different takes on familiar stories, such as the mermaid who trades her tail for legs or the “Beauty” who lives with a “Beast.” The text seemed a bit forced - over explanatory, but not in a way that made me ditch it. It was entertaining for what it was.

Hmm I wanted to like this book much more than I did. I loved two of the stories, and liked most of the other ones. Some of the retellings were just meh. I think my expectations were just set too high based on the hype I had been hearing about it.

This was a perfectly terrifying read to finish #screamathon with. I found most of the stories delightfully creepy, although a few were just odd. However, I was completely traumatized by Ortberg‘s retelling of The Velveteen Rabbit. I wish I could scrub that one from my memory. 😭

I‘m not mad. Just disappointed. The writing was beautiful, and that was the only thing that kept me reading. Some of the stories were spooky: I really liked The Six Boy-Coffins, and The Rabbit. The Daughter Cells was ok too - but then the rest either had me asking what the point was, or “that‘s it?”

Whoa.

"The Rabbit" and "Some of Us Had Been Threatening Our Friend Mr Toad" will bury themselves in my subconscious and pop out unexpectedly to unsettle me. This is definitely going to happen.

These children's story retellings are funny and also dark AF. A couple of them fell flat for me, but for the most part, they're great. I think they're niche, though. If you love Grimm's Fairy Tales because of how dark and scary they are you‘ll like these.

Great start to the day. 💕

My fibro flare-up has mostly calmed down after the hot Epsom salt bath and a long night with a heated blanket. Didn't want to go for a run or a walk this morning though. This short story collection is okay so far - loved the Little Mermaid retelling, but didn't get into the Cinderella retelling. #BookFitnessChallenge #BFC @wanderinglynn

Tagged for The Most Toys due to the Velveteen Rabbit inspired tale that's a real chiller.
I love this episode! I love Data's resistance methods and Kivas Fajoh is a top notch villian.
#startreksummermay

Dark twists on classic fairy tales. Too aggressive for someone who appreciates the originals. Entertaining but would not reread

Can‘t say I wasn‘t warned—it says it right on the back of the book, “...will ruin your most-loved fables, in the best possible way.” 🖤 The stories in this collection are recognizable but mutated into something...other. Ortberg has fashioned stories which dwell on all the dark, brooding, mysterious & yes, horrific aspects of fairy tales that are really lessons as much as they are entertainment. A well-written collection best for fans of horror.

My find from Independent Bookstore Day. Can't wait to start it! #fables #fairytales #independentbookstoreday #unabridgedbookstorechicago #supportyourbookstore #buylocal #sickday #inbedallday

Living near a MLB stadium means we don‘t just deal with winter/spring/summer/fall, we also deal with baseball season & not baseball season. Our proximity to the stadium can make life a little challenging sometimes but there‘s a lot about it that‘s great. Today is the home opener—the sun is out, the neighborhood is hopping & flooded with good vibes (in spite of the team‘s record) & I‘m reading my book outside. Spring is here! 🌼📖⚾️🌸

4/5⭐
A retelling of classic fairy tales with a dark twist. This was a disturbing yet intriguing read. Some of these stories are stronger than others, and they are all very creepy and unsettling. There are themes of Feminism throughout as well as the bending of gender. An interesting read for sure.
The Daughter Cells (The Little Mermaid) and The Rabbit (The Velvetine Rabbit) were my favorites! I love the cover art as well.
#bookreview #bookblog

Kudos to the ones who put themselves on a book buying ban for 2019 and are sticking to it so far... I am not one of them 😂😭

#ZeroSelfControl
#MaybeNextYear?
#BookOutletHaul

Went to pick up my books on hold at the library. I‘d already gotten two as ebooks, so this was what was left! A bit intimidated but ready to go. First up will probably be Daniel Ortberg‘s The Merry Spinster.

My 2019 reading is not starting out well. I was so excited about these dark fairytale retellings, but they fell completely flat for me. They were dark enough but the prose wasn‘t lyrical enough for my taste (it just felt monotone) and I didn‘t really get the point of most of the stories. It was definitely a case of “it‘s me, not the book” but still. Moving on. Gorgeous cover though.

(https://twitter.com/danielortberg/status/1072257848136978435)

Sure, it seems obvious when you put it THAT way 😂

Daniel Ortberg transitioned this year (good interview: https://www.thecut.com/2018/03/daniel-mallory-ortberg-interview-heather-havriles..., and I loved this exchange.

I had a similar weird feeling about reading a book printed with his deadname, so I'm glad he clarified, and also this just cracked me up. #queerbooks #transbooks

A quick Halloween read of short stories drawing on the darker side of classic fairy tales/children's stories, including The Little Mermaid, The Goose Girl, The Wind in the Willows, and the creepiest of all: The Velveteen Rabbit, which I will never look at the same way again 😱

The first story in this collection was fine, but it didn't really grab me. I also have a feeling that Ortberg's clever-for-the-sake-of-being-clever style would grate on me if I read more than one story at a time. This is due back at the library soon anyway, so bail!

I loved these creepy stories. Great to see this seasonal appropriate book on sale!!!!

Ortberg managed to make the darkness of fairy tales even darker in these retellings. Not all of the stories were winners, but overall I really liked this collection a lot. 👻🏰🖤 #booktober

Finally assembled my Readers Imbibing Peril TBR! Creepy, scary, and chilling, whoo hoo!

❤️ ! Clever, dark and so much fun. I shivered, chuckled and guffawed through this witty collection of short stories that mash together traditional tales as far ranging as the Grimm brothers, the Old Testament, Scottish ballads, and modern children‘s classics like The Wind in the Willows and Frog and Toad. Once I got going, I didn‘t want to stop. Delightfully weird.

“She came back to ask me to return her comb, which I had under my pillow & which I could not give her. For if she does not marry me, I shall die & I wish to be buried with it. Then she asked, if I would not return the comb, if I would not change my mind & live with her under the sea & I told her I could not, but begged her to visit my grave when I perished from the wanting of her.”
“You two are never at a loss for conversation, at least,” I said.

The Wedding Party, in this collection, draws on a couple of tales I wasn‘t familiar with—The Earl of Mar‘s Daughter, & the Scottish ballad The Daemon Lover—as well as one I know well: The Goose Girl. It‘s also the only story that could be classified as contemporary realism. I found it unsettling & puzzling, so I reread it after reading the two traditional stories that I didn‘t know. Better. Still unsettling, but that‘s the intent.

The frog looked like a calf‘s heart with a mouth slit across it.

(Internet photo)

A rich executive had three children; she had other things besides, but for the purposes of this story, we will not concern ourselves with the rest of her inventory.

“There was once a velveteen rabbit, and in the beginning he was really splendid. Later, he was something other than splendid, but this was the beginning, and splendid will do for a start.”
—The Rabbit

This is such a creepy toy story. I will not be able to go back to Margery Williams‘ original version without thinking of Ortberg‘s retelling. (Shudder.)

The witch looked the girl up & down with a critical eye. (You know by now, I think, that the witch had no eyes & I need not explain every little difference to you, but bear in mind that even if someone is merely in possession of a clot of photosensitive cells & a rudimentary sort of lens that is only dimly aware when a shadow passes overhead, they might be just as proud of that clot of cells & that rudimentary lens as you are of your own 2 eyes.)

I‘ve been putting this one off because of the word horror on the cover—I‘m fussy about what I like in that genre—and because of the scary mermaid/sheela-na-gig creature on the cover. Read the first story, a riff on The Little Mermaid, and I am HOOKED!

Instead, she read books, which did her no good whatever. She was twenty-eight and mostly useless.

🤣🤣🤣

Dying. If you could sum my life up in one sentence and add a few years of age.

It's 6:45 PM.

🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

After a long day I've decided to pick up this short story collection.

Also this is definitely the funniest line in the book.

This book is a master class in allegory and allusion. I'm sure I missed so much, but I found it charming and thought-provoking anyway.

I do not fully understand these stories, but they tear at my heart nonetheless.

I have finished but this is not for me. I only like a few of the 11 stories.

#24in48 supplies.

Next on the #24in48 journey. Can't hit the 24 hours that I was hoping but I am going to keep reading anyway.

Having a hard time deciding what to read so I‘m reading short stories and graphic novels til I decide.

We‘re back with more recs for your Thursday & #readathon stacks! At #24in48 HQ, we 💜 Gabrielle Union‘s memoir vignettes & Daniel Mallory Ortberg‘s horror fairytale retellings. You can‘t go wrong with either!
[Description: 2 books resting on a stone shelf that borders a dirt patch. The Merry Spinster has a blue cover featuring a black silhouette of a siren, and We‘re Going To Need More Wine features a photo of actor/model Gabrielle Union sitting).