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Catch-22 (Anniversary)
Catch-22 (Anniversary) | Joseph Heller
This fiftieth-anniversary edition commemorates Joseph Heller s masterpiece with a new introduction; critical essays and reviews by Norman Mailer, Alfred Kazin, Anthony Burgess, and others; rare papers and photos; and much more. Fifty years after its original publication, Catch-22 remains a cornerstone of American literature and one of the funniest and most celebrated books of all time. In recent years it has been named to best novels lists by Time, Newsweek, the Modern Library, and the London Observer. Set in Italy during World War II, this is the story of the incomparable, malingering bombardier, Yossarian, a hero who is furious because thousands of people he has never met are trying to kill him. But his real problem is not the enemy it is his own army, which keeps increasing the number of missions the men must fly to complete their service. Yet if Yossarian makes any attempt to excuse himself from the perilous missions he s assigned, he ll be in violation of Catch-22, a hilariously sinister bureaucratic rule: a man is considered insane if he willingly continues to fly dangerous combat missions, but if he makes a formal request to be removed from duty, he is proven sane and therefore ineligible to be relieved. This fiftieth-anniversary edition commemorates Joseph Heller s masterpiece with a new introduction by Christopher Buckley; a wealth of critical essays and reviews by Norman Mailer, Alfred Kazin, Anthony Burgess, and others; rare papers and photos from Joseph Heller s personal archive; and much more. Here, at last, is the definitive edition of a classic of world literature."
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review
TheAromaofBooks
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Pickpick

My feelings for this book are all over the place, which honestly makes sense when one actually thinks about this book. I loved it; I hated it. It made no sense; I totally got it. I couldn't keep the characters straight; I was emotionally devastated every time one of them died. I hate ambiguous endings; an ambiguous ending was the perfect way to end this book. The book was way to long; I wasn't ready for it to end. ⬇

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) This was a 1-star read; it was a 5-star read.

This isn't a book I would ever reread. I found the humor to be repetitive, the writing disjointed, and the absolute constant obsession with women as sexual objects/whores to be very wearing. Yet this is a clever book, darkly humorous, and unafraid to point out the many absurdities we have as government institutions, military organizations, and simply human beings. ⬇
6mo
TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) I didn't love and I didn't even really enjoy it, but I found this one to be thought-provoking, a book that will stick with me for a long time.

Thanks for reading along with me (or at least trying to! 😂), friends!! In the end, I think I did find this one to be worthwhile, but I'm interested to hear if you all did, or if you found it to be not worth it after all? #RandomClassics

@Lcsmcat @eeclayton @Read4life @BarkingMadRead
6mo
See All 8 Comments
Ruthiella Great review! 👍 6mo
Lcsmcat I‘m totally with you - it was ambiguous. I‘m glad I read it, but it annoyed me. 6mo
Mollyanna This is exactly why it‘s one of my favorites. Every time I read it it reflects differently on the time and place I am in, frustrating and lovely at the same time. 6mo
TheSpineView Great job!🤩📖📚 6mo
TheAromaofBooks @Mollyanna - I can totally see that!! I started enjoying this book more when I started “talking it out“ with my husband, too - it's a book that I needed to digest a little more than my usual fare!! 6mo
69 likes1 stack add8 comments
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Lcsmcat
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Mehso-so

Well I can check this off my list now. I can‘t say I exactly enjoyed it, although the last couple chapters were better and almost got there for me. But not quite. This will be heading to a Little Free Library near me. 🙂 Thanks to @TheAromaofBooks for giving me the impetus to read this.

TheAromaofBooks This one has definitely been a mixed bag! Worth reading, I think, but not one I'll ever revisit. Thank you for reading along with me!!! 7mo
rachelk I need to read this just so I can stop being embarrassed about not having read it. 😆 7mo
53 likes1 stack add2 comments
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eeclayton
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Bailedbailed

It's official: I've given up on Catch-22 and returned it to the library.
Thanks for hosting the buddy read @TheAromaofBooks . Even though I bailed on it, at least it's off the TBR now! 😁

TheAromaofBooks This has been a tough one! I think I'm going to make it through, but it's not going on my reread shelf! 😂 Thanks for coming along for the ride!!! 7mo
22 likes1 comment
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Lcsmcat
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“The country was in peril; he was jeopardizing his traditional rights of freedom and independence by daring to exercise them”

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TheAromaofBooks
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(thru ch32) Just when I thought it couldn't get worse, someone gets cut in half! 😳

So I've been talking about this book with my husband, even though he hasn't read it. I'm wondering if this is just more... of a guy's book? Like I get a lot of the points Heller is making here, and I was reading an article talking about how this book was published during Vietnam, but is about WWII. Heller is able to point out the many contradictions of war and ⬇

TheAromaofBooks (Cont'd) how pointless it can be all without being “unamerican“ because he isn't talking about CURRENT war but one from the past! So that added an interesting level to me, thinking about it terms of - how do you make points about a current situation without being attacked as “unpatriotic“?

Anyway, I still don't like this book, but I do (kind of) see its point 😂 And I AM going to finish it!!!

@Lcsmcat @eeclayton @Read4life @BarkingMadRead
7mo
ChaoticMissAdventures @TheAromaofBooks I read this maybe 15 years ago and remember thinking this wasn't for the ladies, or anyone who liked ladies? I don't remember the details as much as feeling it was extremely repetitive and misogynistic. 7mo
Clare-Dragonfly I enjoyed this book a lot! But uh, it is pretty misogynistic 😬 7mo
See All 8 Comments
TheAromaofBooks @ChaoticMissAdventures - there are WAY too many “whore“ stories for sure, sheesh. 7mo
TheAromaofBooks @Clare-Dragonfly - I am really enjoying parts of it - sometimes a line will hit me hilariously - but it also just feels like it's going on forever haha 7mo
Lcsmcat I‘m having the same feelings of “here we go again!” and while I‘m not ready to bail, I am reading ahead a bit in an attempt to be done with it. 😀 7mo
BarkingMadRead I finally finished this tonight while Clemson was getting creamed by Duke 🏈🙄 7mo
TheAromaofBooks @BarkingMadRead - Good for you!! I'm still plugging away a chapter a day. I'll get there 😂 Did you feel like it was a worthwhile experience in the end? 7mo
57 likes8 comments
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TheAromaofBooks
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(thru ch23) - Still plugging away through this one. I would have bailed a long time ago if I wasn't just getting through one chapter a day. Like I've said before, I don't dislike it, exactly, I just don't like it. I'm also getting tired of all the whore/rape stories. In some ways, every chapter is exactly the same... which I guess is also part of the point. Any thoughts?

#RandomClassics
@Lcsmcat @eeclayton @Read4life @BarkingMadRead

BarkingMadRead It definitely circles around a lot, it makes my head hurt at times 7mo
Lcsmcat I agree, there‘s a lot of misogyny that gets old fast. And I‘m still not getting a narrative arc. It feels more like (loosely) connected short stories. I‘m glad to only do a chapter a day. 7mo
Addison_Reads I just recently read this for a buddy read with my coworkers. I had to force myself to finish it. Some parts I really liked, but mostly I just kept counting down the time until it was over. 😕 7mo
eeclayton I still haven't picked it up since chapter 11. Seems like no one in this group really enjoys this? (Please keep me on the taglist, I'd like to follow your posts/comments) 7mo
Read4life I bailed. I thought it was me with everything going on but I actually think it‘s just not for me. 7mo
54 likes5 comments
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TheAromaofBooks
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(thru ch13) While I can't say that I dislike this book, I'm also not exactly enjoying it. I'm still struggling with all the characters & time jumps. While I find random bits entertaining/ironically funny, I also feel like it's a book I could put down & never finish & not really wonder much about.

In other news, I didn't realize that Heller was the one to invent the phrase Catch-22!
#RandomClassics
@Lcsmcat @eeclayton @Read4life @BarkingMadRead

BarkingMadRead I didn‘t know that either! And yeah, it‘s a whole lot of crazy with occasional funny bits 🤣 7mo
Lcsmcat I‘ve had trouble with the time shifts too. Like, Hungry Joe boxing with Huple‘s cat. But it‘s keeping me on my toes (and is a break from Clarissa!) 7mo
Pogue I had to bail on this one. 7mo
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eeclayton I fell behind while on holiday, and haven't managed to pick the book up since. I may end up DNFing it, like @Pogue . Although some bits were funny in their own way, overall I still found the book more tiring than entertaining. 7mo
TheAromaofBooks @BarkingMadRead @Lcsmcat - I definitely intend to finish it, but it's an odd one for sure!! 7mo
TheAromaofBooks @Pogue - I can understand that!!! It really lacks a cohesive narrative. I almost feel like I'm reading random scraps from someone's journal! 7mo
TheAromaofBooks @eeclayton - I went on vacation in July and all my daily reads suffered 😂 I totally understand if you don't feel like catching back up on this one. Just let me know if you want me to take you off the tag list for it!! 7mo
Lcsmcat @TheAromaofBooks That‘s a good description, like someone‘s war diary or letters home. 7mo
49 likes8 comments
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TheAromaofBooks
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(thru ch 6) - How are you all enjoying this one? I like it, but I'll freely admit that I don't “get“ all of it 😂 I am definitely enjoying the dark humor, but it's hard to track all of the characters without any real cohesive plot to help me slot them into my mind. Any thoughts?

#RandomClassics
@Lcsmcat @eeclayton @Read4life @BarkingMadRead

Lcsmcat It does feel a bit like these chapters are all exposition, to me at least. 8mo
BarkingMadRead These introductory chapters are so crazy but I think they all come together soon 8mo
Read4life I hope you‘re right @BarkingMadRead 🥴 8mo
52 likes3 comments
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TheAromaofBooks
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I'm going into this one pretty much completely blind. I don't really know anything about it. Is it supposed to be funny? Serious? Satire? No idea, so we will see what happens! 😂

What do you all think so far? For some reason, I really like Heller's use of negatives in his narration, things like, “he went back to the tent he didn't share with so-and-so“ or “he loved stopping by the place he hadn't helped build.“

#RandomClassics

BarkingMadRead I read this in high school and I‘ve seen the mini series. I‘m curious to see how the book compares to the series, since it‘s been so long since I‘ve read it 8mo
SamAnne His books have so much dark humor and social commentary. Has been ages since I read this one 8mo
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GinaKButler I read this one for the first time earlier this year. Curious what you think! 8mo
eeclayton I went in completely blind, too. For some reason, whenever the daily chapter ends, I feel relieved, even though I appreciate the humour. 8mo
Lcsmcat I had to read 3 chapters today as I was late getting started. Oops. I‘m enjoying the style of humor but I get why @eeclayton feels relieved at the end of a chapter. It‘s like watching the movie Airplane where the humor is so packed in that it becomes exhausting. I‘m glad to have company for this ride! 8mo
TheAromaofBooks @BarkingMadRead @eeclayton @Lcsmcat - There is definitely an odd rhythm to the story that I don't dislike, but that also makes me feel like one chapter is plenty for the day. I'm intrigued by how every chapter is a character name and, in some ways, a character sketch. It will be interesting to see if more of a plot develops!! 8mo
TheAromaofBooks @SamAnne - The humor is definitely dark, but so far doesn't feel too far haha He has a knack for phrasing things in a way that's different (like the negative narration that I mentioned in my original post) and consequently snags my attention onto an aspect of a situation that my brain might have otherwise glossed over as just “the way things are.“ 8mo
72 likes8 comments
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TheAromaofBooks
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My #RandomClassic for August is Catch-22. I've never read this one and am SO intrigued to do so! I'll be reading a chapter a day starting August 1 and continuing until it's finished (so, early September). If anyone wants to read along, please do so!! Let me know if you'd like to be tagged in sporadic check-ins throughout the readalong!!

TheAromaofBooks @Lcsmcat @eeclayton @Read4life @BarkingMadRead - I had all of you down as interested in reading this one, so let me know if you are planning to do so/want to be tagged/have decided not to/whatever 😂 8mo
BarkingMadRead I think I‘m in….. 🤣 8mo
TheAromaofBooks @BarkingMadRead - I also seem to becoming entangled in a lot of chapter-a-day commitments 😂 (edited) 8mo
See All 7 Comments
BarkingMadRead Seriously, the list is long, and yet I cannot resist 8mo
Lcsmcat I‘m in. It may have to be all 20 of the books on my book spin list, 😂 but it‘s one I‘ve been meaning to read and a group makes it more fun. 8mo
Read4life I‘m in, too 🤓 8mo
eeclayton I'm definitely in, I've already borrowed a copy from the library 🙂 8mo
50 likes7 comments
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TheAromaofBooks
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Speaking of #RandomClassics, here is my list for the rest of the year. I start each of these on the first of the month and read a chapter a day until it's finish, which means some books carry over into the next month. If anyone is interested in reading along with any of these, let me know!! I still have a few people noted down for several various books, especially Don Quixote and Uncle Tom's Cabin. Depending on life, there's a chance I'll push ⬇

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) Uncle Tom to January to leave December free for holiday reads and running about doing various Christmasy activities that always seem to crop up!! 9mo
BarkingMadRead I‘ll join you for most of them! 9mo
TheAromaofBooks @BarkingMadRead - Yay!! I'd love to have you along!! I'll add you to the tag list!! 9mo
See All 11 Comments
BarkingMadRead Thank you!! 9mo
Meshell1313 Would love to join in on Don Quixote! My copy is sitting in my TBR pile just waiting for me! 9mo
TheAromaofBooks @Meshell1313 - Yay!! I added you to the tag list for that month. A handful of us are going to try to get through that one. I've tried to read it a couple of times, but am starting to think that my very old translation may be part of the problem, so I'm going to try one a little newer than the early 1800s 😂 9mo
BookishPiper can you add me to the bookspinbingo tag list please? I am a new participant. (edited) 9mo
TheAromaofBooks @BookishPiper - I have you down for #BookSpinBingo !!! You should get tagged tomorrow morning when I post the July numbers!! 😁 9mo
Cuilin I‘d love to join Don Quixote in November too. 9mo
TheAromaofBooks @Cuilin - Yay!! We are getting a good group for that book!! I'm hoping it will give me the inspiration I need to actually finish it!!! 9mo
46 likes11 comments
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GinaKButler
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Up next! It‘s a (newer) classic on my challenge list and it‘s also on my #14books14weeks2023 list!

#bookspinbingo
@TheHeartlandBookFairy (2 of 14)

28 likes1 stack add
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AoifeS
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Catch-22 is about US air force pilots on an island during World War II. They are forced against their will to keep flying missions because of a rule called Catch-22, which says that if a man continues to fly dangerous missions he's insane and shouldn't fly anymore, but if he asks to stop flying missions, he's sane and therefore must keep flying. The book is made to mock the military and its bureaucracy, and everyone in it is crazy.

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liam123456789
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This book is alright so far, there are a lot of characters being introduced and I am having trouble remembering who is who. Its about this guy in the army during WW2 who doesn't want to have to fly dangerous bombing runs anymore but he is trapped by catch 22, which is basically the idea that you would have to be insane to want to keep risking your life by flying these missions but if you ask to stop then you must be sane and have to stay.

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RaeLovesToRead
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#manicmonday #letterC @CBee @The_Penniless_Author

📖 Catch-22
✒ Agatha Christie
🖥 (The Muppet) Christmas Carol
🎤 Camel
🎶 Con te partiro (Andrea Bocelli)

slategreyskies I love Andrea Bocelli!! 🥰 2y
PathfinderNicole Oooh Muppet Christmas Carol 😍😍 2y
RaeLovesToRead @slategreyskies His voice makes me cry, it is so beautiful... I'm hoping I can get tickets to see him 🥰 2y
See All 7 Comments
RaeLovesToRead @PathfinderNicole Best film ever! (I've put it for C, so I can have Midsomer Murders for M 😉) 2y
CBee I love anything Muppets related 😊😊 2y
RaeLovesToRead @CBee I'm guessing T will be for (muppet) treasure island 😉 2y
CBee @RaeLovesToRead totally! Muppet Show, Muppets Take Manhattan…. Such a variety 😀😀😀 2y
48 likes7 comments
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JoeMo
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Catch-22 - a novel about an American bomber squadron trying to survive the war over the closing months of WWII. It was filled with ridiculousness and dark humor. I‘ve never read anything else like this! I read this in high school to earn extra credit and this got me hooked on reading as a hobby.

#alphabetgame #LetterC

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Thank you for playing! 2y
sisilia Heller‘s a genius. I like the way he constructed the puzzle pieces 2y
25 likes2 comments
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freeatlast1137
Catch-22 | Joseph L Heller
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Pickpick

I loved this book. It is hilarious, I was expecting this book to be serious like most classics. However, I giggled so much as each person went through their mess.

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Sharv_Sona
Bailedbailed

This book didn‘t really catch my attention that much and so I‘ve left it. This will be my first bail of the year, although I haven‘t finished it so opinions might differ! I won‘t give this one any stars because I haven‘t finished it, and it isn‘t my place to say.

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Sharv_Sona
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The reason that I started reading this book is actually quite funny. A few weeks ago I asked my school librarian if she had Fahrenheit 451, and the next day she brought this book to school. I ended up reading the back and now here I am! Excited!

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JoeMo
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1. Probably Major Major Major from Catch 22….you‘ll never guess what position he gets promoted to over the course of the story!😜

2. I prefer real characters whose flaws show but who are good/well-intentioned people at their core.

Thanks for the tag @bthegood and thanks for putting the questions together @TheSpineView

#twofortuesday

bthegood 😂👍 3y
TheSpineView You're welcome and Thanks for playing! 😊 3y
21 likes2 comments
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QBub
Pickpick

My all time favorite. I consider it my personal bible. Just about every character in it I‘ve encountered in life. Each time I read it, I find new insights into Heller‘s characters and in the absurdities of the world around me. One of the few books that made me laugh out loud. Just about every week something happens in the news or in my life that is right out of Catch-22.

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CaffeineAndCandy
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Pickpick

Fabulous, funny and witty. Unimaginably imaginable. A triumph. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

skewermann @RaeLovesToRead @CaffeineAndCandy & lovers of #satire would appreciate dear Martha Skewermann's pyromaniacal parody of "Fire and Fury"... "Dire and Puny" ? - blowing the lid on the Chump administration ???Will keep checking my mailbox for the Pulitzer... Love Martha ??✒? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B081S5JLTX 3y
80 likes2 comments
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TiminCalifornia
Catch-22 | Joseph L Heller
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I will try out #CuriousCovers for June. Here‘s “blue & red”.

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Thanks for playing ❤️📚💙 3y
Eggs Perfect 💙❤️💙 3y
29 likes2 comments
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CaffeineAndCandy
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1. Singer 🎤
2. Snooze 😴 most of the time
3. 2+2 is 4
4. Black, pink and gold

Thank you for the tag 🏷! @Kdgordon88 😊

#WondrousWednesday @Eggs

Eggs Thanks for playing 🖤💗🧡 3y
59 likes1 comment
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CaffeineAndCandy
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Thanks for the tag 🏷 @Ruthiella

These are the four books on my bed right now.

Ast_Arslan Thanks for playing 🌻🌸😊 3y
Ruthiella You got some serious chuncksters there! 😅 3y
72 likes3 comments
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aperfectmjk
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Up next! A classic that is long overdue! #bookspinbingo

@TheAromaofBooks

TheAromaofBooks I've never read this one either! 3y
27 likes1 comment
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Reagan
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1. Yes! He laughs about the books but is super supportive.

2. Most of my family (parents and siblings) but my dad is a voracious reader.

3. Definitely Catch 22, I think I own multiple copies. Also Rebecca. And I own multiple copies 😂

#wondrouswednesday @Eggs

Eggs Thanks for the great responses 👏🏻🌺👏🏻 3y
30 likes1 comment
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emilycoc
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The end of the month. My reading progress is almost non-existent. I dropped the ball in February, but it was a hard month for me so I'm not going to beat myself up too much for it. All I can do is keep my eyes on my goal and do my best to achieve it. 🤗

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emilycoc
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Afternoon reads ft. hot water and lemon in my Strange Planet mug.

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emilycoc
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This has been on my TBR list for years. I finally bought it last year and it sat unread cause the stack was too high. 😅 moving definitely helped me start the stack over because I was forced to pack and unpack. Looking forward to this read and to keep with my goal of one book per month. #booktwoof2021

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NatalieR
Catch-22 | Joseph L Heller
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Mehso-so

Ugh! I thought this book would never end! I struggled to stick with it as I rolled my eyes more often than I LOL at the humor and repetition. At times it felt like I was reading a bad script for an even worse play. Something kept me engaged and I still haven‘t figured out what that was yet. 😜 I liked the last 75 pages when the story got a little bit serious and suspenseful. I understand why people bail, but not the 5⭐️ratings on GR. #MountTBR

Scochrane26 I don‘t like this book either. It could have been much shorter. 3y
NatalieR @Scochrane26 Soooo much shorter! 3y
96 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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Texreader
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I love this and would love to hear which you‘ve finished and which you‘ve bailed: https://apple.news/AGmksDfuOQrCu1mtqtOuIdw

Here‘s mine:

Finished & loved them:
Casual Vacancy
Atlas Shrugged
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Bailed: Catch 22

TheDaysGoBy I “read” Catch-22 in high school and I use quotes because I didn‘t understand a single thing I read 😂 3y
Mrs_B I think the only one I‘ve finished is 50 shades! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 3y
Copwithabook I‘ve read seven of them. I‘m kind of impressed with myself. I completely agree with Catch 22, Wicked, and Atlas Shrugged being on the list. 3y
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BethM Finished LotR, 50 shades, and Wicked- loved them all. Bailed catch 22, casual vacancy, atlas shrugged, and girl with the dragon tattoo. (edited) 3y
BarbaraJean I've read Lord of the Rings (and re-read it often), Eat Pray Love (enjoyed it), and Wicked (haaaaated it). I haven't attempted any of the others! Maaaaybe I'll give Ulysses and Moby-Dick a shot someday. 3y
Susanita I will agree with most of them BUT ... I'm on my fifth (I think?) reread of Lord of the Rings. 3y
Lesanne I‘ve finished: LOTR, Eat Pray Love, Wicked, 50 Shades of Gray. Bailed on Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. 3y
Sharpeipup I‘ve read 7/10. Loved catch-22 actually and bailed on wicked. Casual vacancy was a near nail. I had planned to read Moby Dick this year but 2020 happened. 3y
Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick I've read and enjoyed LOTR. I haven't even tried the others. 3y
TheLibrarian Started 4 but only finished 3. I also bailed on Catch-22. 3y
Bookzombie I read 50 Shades, Wicked, and The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Wicked was okay. I loved The Girl trilogy. 3y
55 likes11 comments
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Michellesibs
Catch-22 | Joseph L Heller
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Panpan

I was not invested in this at all, I couldn't care a less about any of the characters. There is no plot, the dialogue is beyond repetitive therefore in a parallel world where im not reading via kindle i am tossing a physical copy of this book over the balcony.

Susanita 🤣🤣 3y
Coleen_Nieto YES! I tried to read this years ago and just couldn't get into it. 3y
Scochrane26 I slogged through this one but only liked the last part. I‘m not sure why people think this is a hilarious book. 3y
Michellesibs @Coleen_Nieto @Scochrane26 Right!! I feel like this book has a massive following and I cant see it at all! I feel validated that you both felt the same 🤣🤣 3y
38 likes4 comments
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Laylatedesco
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Bailedbailed

I could not stay focussed while reading this book and it seemed like every time I understood the plot and characters it would switch to a new setting with more characters. The fact that most of the book revolves around the war and soldiers in the army really does not appeal to me as a reader and I don‘t find it interesting. I wouldn‘t be able to tell you much about the story because I simply couldn‘t keep track. If you find stories about war times

Laylatedesco interesting this book is definitely for you. Sadly as a reader, though it seemed like a very good book I just wasn‘t interested in it. 3y
MissYaremcio All good Layla! It‘s a confusing book and truth be told I also got lost while reading it! The only thing you were missing was the motif + explanation. Keep up the great work! 4/6 3y
2 likes2 comments
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Mitul1
Pickpick

Every-time I‘ve read this book I have laughed out loud and hard at times. This is an absolutely funny book about a very serious topic. A must read...

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The_Penniless_Author
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All truth is paradox, and this must be the most truthful novel ever written. Certainly it's one of the funniest! 😂

Leftcoastzen Welcome to Litsy!👍👏📚 3y
13 likes1 comment
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wanderinglynn
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Who‘s celebrating #bannedbooksweek? 🎉🚫📚

I plan to read the tagged banned book. It‘s been on my TBR far too long.

https://wanderinglynn.com/2020/09/28/read-a-banned-book/

OriginalCyn620 I read a banned book every year during BBW. This year, I‘m reading 3y
Twainy I never really looked at the lists as ... I READ WHAT I WANT!!! Captain Underpants? I read those books to my niece/nephew & I just saw it recommended yesterday by 2 librarians along with Dog Man & Diary of a Wimpie Kid 🤨 DAMM the poor LGBTQIA+ community 🤬! Well looking through my Audible library I‘m going to go listen to last years Banned, The Handmaid‘s Tale, huh .... for all the reasons it‘s banned 😈 “Profanity, vulgarity & sexual overtones”! 3y
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Scochrane26 I‘m reading The House of the Spirits. 3y
wanderinglynn @Twainy yes, some of the reasons are ridiculous and inane. And that‘s why I make sure to read a banned book every September because banning books is BS! 😉 3y
105 likes6 comments
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WanderingBookaneer
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sprainedbrain Omg 😂 4y
84 likes1 stack add1 comment
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ruchigandhi22
Catch-22 (Anniversary) | Joseph Heller
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Half way into this book and already loving it.
Never imagined a war book to be so funny! Haha

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HaleyG14

...everyone younger had every right to blame him and everyone older for every unnatural tragedy that befell them; just as she even in her grief, was to blame for every man-made misery that landed on her kid sister and on all other children behind her. Someone had to do something sometime....and somebody had to stand up sometime to try and break the lousy chain of inherited habit that was imperiling them all.

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HaleyG14

It was almost no trick at all,he saw, to turn vice into virtue and slander into truth, impotence into abstinence, arrogance into humility,plunder into philanthropy,thievery into honor,blasphemy into wisdom,brutality into patriotism, and sadism into justice. Anybody could do it; it required no brains at all. It merely requires no character.

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ishan0986
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Pickpick

Finally completed this classic. It took me quite a time to read it. The book is complete of humorous anecdotes that really made me laugh. But in that there were grim realities of war, politics and death. The friendship, the hysteria is just wonderful. The vocabulary of the book is really mesmerising making me peek at the dictionary regularly. Truely loved the book. So my first #bookspin book is finished. Also my second #JubliantJuly goal too.

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ishan0986
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I am currently reading this gem, for my #JubliantJuly readathon. The way such beautiful points are hidden amongst the humorous portions are so good to read. This one is truely a classic.

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Natetheworld
Mehso-so

Ideas are impossible to defeat. They can linger in the shadow of men‘s hearts long after the final bullet has been fired. They can withstand the test of time.

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Jeg
Catch-22 (Anniversary) | Joseph Heller
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Pickpick

Just finished for book club. So much packed into one book. I want to go back and read it again. Have to say it took a big effort for me to read. My concentration is really off. This book is so dense and every chapter could be a discussion on its own. Such vivid descriptions, his mastery of language is amazing. I felt immersed in an ocean of wonderful words. Funny, thought provoking and in parts very politically incorrect for now .
#2020joybooks

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MrsMalaprop
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Pickpick

It‘s taken three weeks of hard slog for me to get through this classic. Frustrating, absurd, hilarious, gruesome and confusing. Depictions of women 😡🤢. So many characters for me to keep track of 🤯.

Even so, this was well worth the read and I almost want to pick it up and start over. Almost 😬😆.

I look forward to my book club discussing it in a couple of weeks...

Rissreads So what‘s next? 4y
MrsMalaprop @Rissreads Not sure. Maybe Phosphorescence by Julia Baird? 4y
Jeg Phosphorescence is beautiful. I‘m part way through and will finish it once Catch 22 is done with! 🙃 4y
Rissreads I‘ve never heard of it, just looked it up. It does sound interesting. It might be a good one for me to get on Audible. 4y
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Jeg
Catch-22 (Anniversary) | Joseph Heller
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Our latest read for book club. It‘s been a very long time since I first read this . Right now I can say I haven‘t laughed this much reading a book in a long time, and I‘ve only read the first chapter!!
@MrsMalaprop

Suet624 That‘s great!! 4y
MrsMalaprop Yes, I have found myself chuckling and cringing in turn 🤭. 4y
CarolynM 🙂 4y
Centique That‘s so good to hear. I read this when I was 18 and loved it - must reread it one day! 4y
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MrsMalaprop
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In politics and war as they say...
#currentlyreading