Welcome to Litsy!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This book was dark, gritty, and violent. And it was good, so good!
The movie is just a "pale" version of the story, but the cast is perfect.

The Devil All the Time - I was completely hooked on Donald Ray Pollock‘s debut novel and have since read his sophomore effort and his collection of short stories. I love his dark and gritty style. Someday I may actually get around to the Netflix movie adaptation!

#AlphabetGame #LetterD
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

This book was fucked up and I loved it!
⭐️: 4.5/5

Not sure why it took me months to finish this book, it was great though. I love how all the stories fit together at the end, although, it was pretty graphic/violent at times. I almost wished it talked more about the news ever talking about the photographer (no spoiler).

Forgot to look through my books last night but no harm in playing catch up!

This was on my #NewYearWhoDis list in 2021 and I flew through it. Still haven't watched the movie but the book stuck with me through the year

#12Booksof2021 #January #1stBookof2021
@Andrew65

So I got my first #DownTheRabbitHoleBookBox a few weeks ago. Finally taking the time to dive into this book and open the little gifts that go along with the reading. 50 pages in so far, I know I won‘t be able to put this book down later. 😍

This a very dark, grimy, dreadful book, full of nasty people doing terrible things. It‘s also brilliantly written, hard to put down when you‘re reading it, and impossible to forget about when you‘re done. I may even watch the Netflix movie!

This was my #AppalachianNoir book for #Booked2021, finished in August. 😳

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Absolutely great book awesome read. 9/10

Been happening to be reading a lot of books turned movies lately. This was my #DoubleSpin for July. I‘m gonna #BlameItOnLitsy that this book was even on my radar from 2020‘s #Screamathon / #Scarathlon as Southern Gothic is not a genre I would typically read. Mark Bramhall absolutely kills (pun intended 😜) on the audio narration 👌 #BookSpinBingo

Well that did not end the way I expected. Now to watch the Netflix show.

The stores finally opened back up here and I think I may have overdone it 😆 I 100% blame this amazing community ❤️my TBR has grown exponentially since returning! 📚 #notcomplaining

Starting with the tagged book because my husband wants to watch the movie on Netflix 🎥

It‘s time to talk about my February tbr. Here is what I‘m planning to read. What are you guys reading this month?

Full post: https://readinginthewildwood.com/2021/02/01/february-2021-tbr/

As you can tell from my last haul, I need to stop buying books. So to trick me into actually reading the books that I buy, I decided to make it a game. This is my TBR Chapter Challenge. I pulled three books off my shelf. Then I decided to read the first chapter and make a prediction on what I think I will rate it. I thought this might be a fun way to see how well I know my reading taste.

🌲Go check it out at readinginthewildwood.com!🌲

#ABookWithNewBeginnings

Finished this brutal and wild ride last night and I'm still reeling. Bloody, gory, outstandingly radical hick lit and it might just be my new favourite book. I will admit that it was a bit hard to get into at first but once the crazy started....it just didn't stop.

#bookspinbingo #jumpstart2021
@Clwojick @Lizpixie @TheAromaofBooks

Woo, this was rough. The movie was great, but the book takes the story to such a darker place at times. SO many irredeemable characters and I really loved this rural setting and little bits here and there about religion, both the good and bad parts (mostly bad if I'm being honest). Really, don't read this if you can't handle wave after wave of tragedy because that's all this is. Even the end is just, sad.

It‘s time to write our Christmas wishlists, guys! What‘s on yours this year?

Check mine out at readinginthewildwood.com.

This book was perfection. I enjoyed Knockemstiff but this was Pollock at his finest. Dark, gritty and a host of unlikeable characters with a wonderful protagonist all combine to a great ending. Highly recommended fans of Wiley Cash and Cormac McCarthy.

It‘s been a while but I‘m back. Missed all of you!

Oh wow. 64 pages in and all I can say is, oh wow. Deeply disturbing and violent. However, it is also so weirdly compelling it is hard to stop reading it. For shits sake, don‘t let Donald Ray Pollock collaborate with Stephen King. No one would ever sleep again 😳

What even was this? This book seemed to revolve around gratuitous male violence for the sake of violence and shock value. It was so extra that it overshadowed any sort underlying point that the author intended to make, assuming there was one at all. I‘m admittedly curious to see how this novel has been adapted into a movie, but also so turned off that I have no desire to reengage with the story.

I never posted my Wednesday - Sunday time for #OutstandingOctober. I got 3 more hours (12 total). I‘ve used up all my freebie pumpkins for #BookSpinBingo so I am summoning all my willpower to stick to my card for the rest of the month 🤪 Started the tagged audio #teamslaughter #scarathlon2020 #screamathon +31 pts

“When he got back inside the pickup, Willard reached under the seat for a rag and wiped the traces of blood off his hands. “You remember what I told you the other day?” he asked Arvin.
“About them boys on the bus?”
“Well, that‘s what I meant,” Willard said, nodding over at the hunter. He tossed the rag out the window. “You just got to pick the right time.”
“Yes, sir,” Arvin said.
“They‘s a lot of no-good sonofabitches out there.”

I usually put off watching a film when I find out it‘s a book until I‘ve read it but I think I‘m just gonna watch this one tonight I‘m excited for it!!!

Saw this on Netflix earlier. Based on Donald Ray Pollock's novel. Will gradually read it. Still stuck on chapter 1. 📖📺🎬
#bookstoscreen

I read this ages ago during a #SouthernNoir phase (which this reminds me, I should return to, I read some great books in that phase!) and kinda forgot the plot. Went back and read the plot online to remind myself...validating my forgetfulness - there was a lot going on in this book!

All this to say... it‘s been made into a movie which I have no doubt will be good a dark... and amazing! I can‘t wait!
#booktoscreen
📚🎥

So excited that film adaptation of The Devil All The Time hits Netflix next week, one of my fave novels of this century/millennium to date

Wow, this story is dark, dark, dark. It is gritty and depraved, and I‘m not sure there are any good characters in here. Everyone is either an awful person or has a really sad life. Still, it is a great book and that is largely because the author expertly connects all of the separate characters, telling one big story. I think this will make a great Netflix movie and I‘m excited for it.

Fantastic audiobook, narrated by the fabulous Mark Bramhall 💯

I chose to listen to this one because Mark Bramhall is one of my favorite narrators-he‘s SO GOOD at accents. This story is a dark, gritty one but I‘m loving it anyway. My husband had also read this one; he loves this author and we‘re both excited about the Netflix adaptation coming in a few weeks!!! 🍿

My daughter asked me to read this as she wanted to know if the film would be too scary for her to watch. Well, I didn‘t find it scary, but it was dark and very disturbing and a bit 🤢 even for me!
I‘d also like to point out my daughter is 19 and a functioning adult 😁 she doesn‘t like supernatural , so some deeply disturbing serial killers are probably ok 😱

My daughter asked me to read this so she can determine whether it‘s too scary for her to watch the film. Which is always a bit risky because my scareometer and hers are very different!

I loved this gritty, raw story set in 1950‘s Appalachia (Ohio/West Virginia). Pollock‘s writing is beautiful and he can weave a story. This isn‘t for the faint of heart. We follow young Arvin, whose mom died when he was little, into adulthood. It‘s also packed with less than likable characters; murderers, a crooked cop, and less than honorable preachers. Fans of David Joy will like this. #MountTBR

Gritty, vicious, and absolutely stunning. This isn‘t for the lighthearted and definitely has a lot of McCarthy vibes. Pollock has quickly become one of my favorite authors between this novel and his story collection “Knockemstiff.”

As always, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is even funnier when you‘re a redhead 😂

Starting this gritty read. I love Pollock and his darkly outrageous Midwestern tales. #catsoflitsy #revan

#77 of my year 🥳

Just finished this book for my book club. Though I think it was masterfully written, I didn't love it. I think it felt too real, a drawback for a book about such disturbing behavior.

File this news under: Holy shit! This is really going to be adapted?!

What I‘m saying is that when it comes right down to it, everybody suffers in the end.

It wore on you after a while, other people‘s accomplishments.

Well, I didn't exactly finish many of the books on my list, but I've made a start and found some really great recommendations. Thanks to @Clwojick and @monalyisha for an excellent time, and a big thanks to @ohyeahthatgirl for the excellent reads! #freakyfriday

This has been on my TBR list for ages. Finally got around to it and wasn't disappointed, but it was most definitely disturbing as hell. #southerngothic

I read this a while ago, but remember it was gritty and engaging.

I'm rating this a Pick despite the fact that I wouldn't recommend it to most of my friends. I was riveted from start to finish and the prose is deceptively rich considering the book's plain-spoken style (think C. McCarthy). The problem - a plot that frequently involves extreme violence and downright nightmarish events. If you like McCarthy or southern Gothic (this is basically "midwestern Gothic"), it's a pick - otherwise, stay away.

A DNF for me. To be honest, I didn't really have a problem with the book it just wasn't the right time to read it. It can be a bit heavy l reading about these character's lives! Think I'll put it back in my TBR jar and try it another time - so a DNF for now.

I currently live in the DC suburbs, but I don't think of it as "my town." Not much gets written about SE Ohio, so I jumped on Donald Ray Pollock, whose books are set in the county two over from my hometown of Athens. You like gritty, violent, gothic fiction that's a little fucked up? Donald's your guy. Bonus: this one also visits the West Virginia mountain town where my father retired to a few years ago. #ReadJanuary #SetInYourCity

#DysfunctionalFamily
Pollock is proof that Southern Gothic fiction lives. A singular reading experience. If you enjoy unlikable characters and dark subject matter, then read this. Searing but nothing in it ever feels gratuitous.

My #underhyped book is a novel of Midwest America in the years after WWII. It follows several different characters from the quirky to the twisted. Pollock's writing is superb and it's one of the best "random grab" books I've ever bought. I had never heard of this before nor read his other works, but I'm glad the cover & title grabbed me. #augustphotochallenge

The #24in48 pile, plus an ebook. 😬