Welcome to Litsy!

A sci-fi bildungsroman featuring aliens & puzzles!

The Humans (Haig) meets Ready, Player One (Cline) — with some Magicians (Grossman) vibes thrown in for good measure (the MC is young, immature, & terrible to those who care the most).

This is a story about addiction, selfishness, & fear. Fortunately, it‘s also about cooperation, community, & hope.

Hank Green is more of a storyteller and an idea man than a writer of careful prose. 👇🏻

“I wasn‘t as disconnected as I made myself out to be. Being annoyed by carefully crafted internet personas was part of my carefully crafted internet persona.”

Pictured: My Facebook profile. I‘m logged in using my phone‘s browser instead of the actual FB app because I‘m trying (with varying degrees of success) to be more disconnected. You know…for the persona. 😜 The astute among you may have noticed that my profile pic‘s been recently updated. 🙈

A wryly funny, complex, and lovable queer cast of characters ground this ambitious and engaging exploration of how humans respond to the unknown and to the crucible of social media celebrity—ultimately resonating deeply as a celebration of curiosity, found family, and online community. Recommended for fans of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow!

Hard to rate this one. It‘s a fun & often perplexing read.

Ends in a serious cliffhanger, no idea how many volumes are forthcoming.

This was the latest read for the Bookish Swifties group on Fable.

Book #90
4/5
I finished this book, and I still have so many questions...
I was following Hank Green on Tiktok for months before I found out that aside from being ridiculously intelligent, well spoken, and funny, he is also an author. It has taken me another many many months to finally read this novel of his. It is definitely very intelligently written, insightful, and not like anything else I've ever read. I can't wait to read the follow up.

Found this at the library and had no idea what it was about. I don‘t read jacket covers, they usually spoil too much. Loved this book! April finds a giant sculpture in NYC. Posts it and that‘s all it takes. Just read it.

I ended up loving this book. You may recall that April May, the main character, didn't really do it for me. In the end she was so human and relatable. Did she make a lot of stupid decisions? Jfc, yeah she did. I spent most of the book wanting to shake her. But that made for a compelling read. The actual story is amazing. (Continued in comments...)

I have to say, if this was a story JUST about April May and her romantic endeavors, I don't think I'd keep reading. BUT the Carls and the Dream are DEEPLY fascinating and I want, I NEED, to know more.
I'm starting to understand a little about my reading tastes (they've changed so much), specifically what I'm looking for in a main character (though I find it difficult to put into words) - I want them to care about others. (Continued in comments.)

I really thought I was going to love this book. However, it fell short for me. I never connected with the main character April and the story was flat. I actually thought the book was too commercial for my tastes. My husband has coined a phrase he uses overly commercial things. He says, "It got Hollywooded!" ? 3⭐️

This book surprised me with how weird and fun it was, but then again it was written by Hank Green and that‘s his whole internet presence. So it follows April who comes upon a robot she decides to name Carl. Turns out there‘s tons of them all over the world and it‘s a science fiction adventure with robot aliens! This felt like a complete story and I could hardly put it down, falling in love with the characters and the carls!

This was such an interesting speculative fiction novel. It follows April's discovery of one of many mysterious statues that have suddenly appeared around the world. While the story feels like a giant puzzle to solve, it also examines the effect of social media and fame on a person's perception of themself. It ended on a bit of a cliffhanger so adding this and the sequel to my #SeriesRead2022 @TheSpineView

This practically read itself in a day. It really grabbed me right away with the mystery then kept me engrossed with the fame/social media/puzzles/political aspects of it all. Nice ending, can't wait for the next one! A good choice for sci-fi/alien fans that are looking for a quick, easy read.

Since I read so many books at once, I have multiple chains going for #ThingsInCommon
This one continues with books by the Green brothers
@Clwojick

My April #bookspinbingo list s READY! @TheAromaofBooks

Soft pick. This was good it felt a bit too manic for me which isn't a surprise since I know who Hank Green is and often find him a bit overwhelming. But I also find him smart and fun and that shines through in this. There is a very abrupt end for the tension to build for the second book, I am not a huge series reader and didn't feel invested enough to pick up the next (why it gets a soft pick).

This is a quirky one! It was fun seeing all of the crowdsourcing that powers the Carls mystery. That is a very fun element of this read. The social and political commentary is also interesting as opposing groups form to challenge the Carl situation. I didn't like April very much, sadly. She seemed like someone wasn't sure what 20 year olds are like and used YouTube and Instagram to research 😏 #LGBTQ #SciFi #Robot #Alien #Crowdsource

#Movie2BookRecs @Klou
Prompt: E. T.

I love this duology.

I had no expectations going into this but I would have been blown away even if I had. What a great book; so many themes and thoughts and ways to reflect on different perspectives. Definitely loved it.

It was a busy weekend and I didn't get much reading done, but this afternoon I listened to a few more hours of this audiobook and organized all of my stationary and stickers. I'm all ready to start replying to my #LitsyLove penpals!

Working my way through this fantastic audiobook while redesigning our business cards.

We just want to make pretty things... I don't think either of us realized how much non-glamorous behind the scenes work there is. Branding, social media, accounting, scheduling, logistics... I'm so impressed with small businesses that make this look easy! 😳😭😅

My friend gifted me a copy of the sequel and Hank Green is my tiktok dad so figured I'd give this a shot

Question of the Day: What authors do you enjoy following online? #QotD

This book went where I didn't expect. Characters to both love and hate. Relevant to today's social media soaked culture. Looking forward to the sequel.

I just started reading An Absolutely Remarkable Thing. The first paragraph on this page is a great example of how Hank Green balances the serious tone in a mostly funny book. The shifts in tone make me happy.
Science Fiction is usually not my favorite but I like this so far. I can‘t wait to finish it. #anabsolutelyremarkablething #hankgreen #baddecisions

For any Hank Green fans out there...if you donate $12 to Project For Awesome today/tomorrow you can get a short story in which our main character of the tagged book April May meets Hank at vidcon. Proceeds go to Save the Children and Partners in Health before noon today, and to various community chooses charities after noon today until noon tomorrow.

https://projectforawesome.com

Wow. This is quite the book!
I couldn't stop reading it.
The last line has me grabbing for the next book in the series. I've never read anything like this. It's an unusual ride, that's for sure!
I've heard the audiobook is excellent, and I almost wish I could of experienced it that way. I bet it would be a lot like reading 'Ready Player One' vs listening to it.

(Also recommend going into it blind, don't read what it's about)

4.5/5 stars

352 pages. It is hard to believe it is Hank Green's first book! I started reading it yesterday, it was cloudy Sunday afternoon, and found myself at 3 am with finished book and a fast beating heart from intensity. I am not a fan of extraterestrial stories but this one is fascinating and contains a trully unique point of view. How would you react if Carl appeared in your universe?
#hankgreen #carl #aprilmaybenot #anabsolutelyremarkablething

A flawed and almost laughably millennial narrator and yet I loved this book and immediately looked up how to get the sequel. Great examination of modern fame and the destruction (or evolution) of self authenticity against public perception. What happens when you can‘t stop curating yourself?

🎧 I loved this story. Did the author think that I had to hate April May or it wouldn‘t have worked? I kept listening in the hope that she‘d redeem herself. It‘s a narrative on the social media plague. Still I loved the idea of the Carls. I wish the author could have come up with a more likable MC! The narrator was great! IDK if I‘ll read the sequel as I didn‘t like the MC. The stars are for the story, narration & secondary characters. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was an absolutely remarkable story...I‘m sure it‘s been done, but still...I LOVED THIS!!! Probably my favorite read of the year. I loved April May even with her flaws and her “posse.” And what an ending!!!! I don‘t often read the acknowledgments, but when I saw he is John Greens brother I opted to read the rest. This last paragraph is fantastic. This was my #doublespin for the month on #bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks

Very true!

Not just #firstlinefridays, but this first section! I knew from this it would be a fun read.

Really enjoying this read so far!

Wow, the absolute relevance to today‘s media manipulations. I‘m stunned. Even through using science fiction to relay a message, it‘s great commentary about the reactionary nature of the world.

#WordsofOctober @OriginalCyn620 @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
#Remarkable

Giant robots in the age of social media? Very interesting concept. I thought this was a fast-paced, engrossing read even though the main character April May was a bit annoying. Overall a worthy debut from Hank Green.

#PopSugar2020 A book about or involving social media

The very last line of this book had me YELLING!! An amazing read that took a second to get me invested but catapulted towards the end. Such a good musing on fame and youth with genuinely funny moments. April May, Andy, Miranda, Robin and Maya feel like friends

August reading part 1

⭐⭐⭐
I listened to this one on audio. Loved the narrator. Enjoyed the style of Green's writing. But the story itself was just sort of ok. It's one I'm glad I borrowed from the library rather than having bought it.

Well, I enjoyed reading it and I'm holding on writing a true review until I complete this duology--I am halfway through the sequel right now and so far I am actually prefering book 2 to book 1. I would definetly recommend these two books if you're looking for a thoughtful adventure/sci-fi ROMP. Green includes a lot of characters in the book that don't look like him; thus far it seems he has done so respectfully.

Great little tidbit on the design of the hidden-quote-meets-Manhattan-skyline end pages for this book:

https://blog.usejournal.com/aart-endsheets-a9e4c2175783

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4.5/5)

April May isn‘t wrong when she says that her story makes her sound like an unlikeable person with poor decision-making. Throughout the book, she is flawed, selfish, brave, and undeniably human. This book was slow to start, but by the end I was racing to find out what‘s next. The themes in this book are ones we in this social media age should take note of. This had some “Ready Player One” vibes and I‘m ready for its sequel.

1. An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green. A re-read but an enjoyable one.
2. Two, actually - #LLReadathon with my Life‘s Library book club and #ReadingRush2020

You can only do so much pretending before you become the thing you‘re pretending to be.

#teatime

1. An Absolutely Remarkable Thing (re-read for upcoming sequel!), Flying to Pieces
2. Redshirts by John Scalzi
3. “Of course it didn‘t work out that way.”
#weekendreads

April May starts by telling us her story will reveal her as unlikable & a poor decision-maker. True. She repeatedly makes choices that hurt & disappoint people in order to prolong her celebrity. I still found it more a fascinating look at the effect attention & celebrity have on people than I found it an indictment of her. I don't think the story was wrapped up too well, but perhaps intentionally w/the upcoming sequel. Regardless, very engaging.

📖 May Wrap-Up 📖
May was a solid reading month. I liked everything I read, but I don‘t know if I had any stand-out reads. Of these, I read 1 hard copy, 1 ebook, and 4 audiobooks.