Welcome to Litsy!

Am I hearing some snippets of voices of the dead in the cemetery? If so, it‘s reminding me of Lincoln in the Bardo and that‘s a very good thing.

My favourite book of the year comes in at #Under250Pages. It‘s small but exquisite.

#GratefulReads @OriginalCyn620 @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

#OctoberWrapUp fourteen completed books, and I‘m about 80% through Who Am I, Again and about 60% through Murder on a Midsummer Night. Of the finished ones, Lanny was a surprising favourite, with 10 Minutes, 38 Seconds in this Strange World a close second. None that I didn‘t like, though An Orchestra of Minorities would have benefitted from a stronger editor.

#Spooktober @Eggs

⭐️⭐️⭐️
I honestly thought I would like this more, but it didn‘t quite do it for me. I do appreciate the unique way Porter chose to tell this story though, and I am interested in reading more of his work.

#catsoflitsy #Ember

I hated Porter‘s first book, Grief is a Thing With Feathers. I expected to hate this, but a couple of bookclub friends said it was worth trying, so I did. And wow. It‘s totally blown my expectations. I loved it. It totally evokes the spirit of a rural English village. If you‘re going to give it a go, go for Audio, the “swirly” bits of writing make so much more sense.

Came to this one somewhat trepidatiously; I hated Grief is a Thing With Feathers, and this one looked a little weird with its curving sentences and ++++++. But I‘ve been told it‘s good, by people whose judgement I trust, and it was Booker long-listed, so I‘m going for it. Opted for both audio and visual, and have to say that this book was made for audio - or perhaps audio was made for this book. The audio treatment so far is amazing!

Incredible, beautiful and poetic, I wish it was all real. I've never read anything like it.

I love when a book forces me to slow down and slowly absorb the story. This unusual little book is odd but I am thoroughly enjoying the experience of figuring it out as I go.

What a weird little book! A couple of magical creatures, opinionated townspeople, and a strange child are the main focus. I‘m glad I read it and it will stay with me because it‘s different from any book I‘ve ever opened. Best on audio to hear the quick clips of townspeople‘s voices and earbuds are needed for the entertaining stereo aspect which was very cool.

I have both audio and text version of Lanny and I can‘t wait to hear this page!
How do you guess this is handled in the audio?

With a narrative that moves between different characters‘ thoughts, including a mythical figure of the local folklore, it‘s surprisingly not confusing. This strange and poetic book tells more than just an eccentric boy as the voices of the villagers after the incident reveal prejudices, suspicions, bitterness. A magical and moving read, with a bit of humour, sadness and darkness. Didn‘t like the dreamlike theatre part but overall a Pick.

Magical, whimsical...I really liked this. Part 2 was my fave - I thought it very cleverly captured the small village way of life. The ending was a bit abrupt but, overall, it‘s a pick from me.

Summer is on its way! Looking forward to hours of reading outside - might even make my way through my stupidly tall TBR stack...

Thank you @kathedron for this one 💙

I‘m impressed by the originality & I liked the collective voices, the small village feel, the writing and the strangeness of it. I appreciate what the author did although the story itself felt a bit lacking for me. I can see why it seems to be a loved book though. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ #bookgiftedtoyou #booked2019

Found a copy of the ARC at Portobello‘s Oxfam back in May. Finally got around to reading it this weekend and I‘m kicking myself why I didn‘t read it sooner. It‘s hard to put this down once read the first twenty pages.

4.5 stars

THIS is why I read. Unflipping believable. All the stars 🌟 ⭐️ ✨ all the ❤️ 💕 💗 Notes: I think this would fab on audio...lyrical, poetic..BUT...there‘s a visual aspect to this book, much like Lincoln In The Bardo. So if you do this on audio (and I might as a reread) take a look at the physical presentation. This reminded me a lot of The Bone Clocks and Slade House. Sad that this didn‘t make the Man Booker shortlist.

After a few false starts I finally sat down and read this properly from the beginning. I didn't want to put it down. Pure poetry - it made me laugh and gasp, felt like living in an English town and was sometimes disturbing. If you like Green Man mythology try this! Also the layout of the text is crazy at times but its not just a gimmick, it works brilliantly. Magical ❤

Wow! This was awesome. Devoured it! Complicated but simple. Very sad, but with a happy ending. Great!!

I also bought these two beauties today. I've been trying to buy less books to limit myself to only owning book that really mean something to me, so I read these on my e-reader and fell in love with both, so I got them 😬

I appreciated this one but didn't love it. I liked how the author brought the chorus of voices from the community with poetic words and presents us with a visual jumble of words but I felt the end was a little of a let down. It built to this cacophony of voices and high emotions but the theater scene fell flat for me.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #bookreview #lanny ⁣
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I adored this book. Poetic, thrilling, heartwarming and strange. My heart was quickening, my eyes were brimming. Lanny is an absolute joy and my favourite of the Booker list so far. Just spectacular. ⁣
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#bookerprizelonglist

5/5⭐

My oh my, this was so eerie and beautiful. Consisting of three parts and very amazing formatting, something I've never seen before. Definitely worthy of the Booker longlist, claiming a very well deserved spot in my opinion. I hope it even makes the shortlist, my goodness it was so amazing. I'm not saying much more about it, because you have to experience it for yourself, I think it's best to go in without knowing too much. So dive in!

I've heard so many rave reviews and this one made the Booker long list. I find it poetic and jarring but I'm not sure if the jarring part was deliberate or a mismatch for me. Not very far in yet though.

Another one of the Man Booker Longlist to dive into. I love being on holiday and having to do nothing except reading!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Nearly a one-sitting read but one I believe would be enhanced by a second go through. It‘s a little creepy and fever-dreamy. Some elements are not entirely in my reading comfort zone but the author is having such fun with language you can‘t help but admire the originality. I enjoyed this rather a lot but I did not fall entirely in love with it.

So far I‘m entranced with Dead Papa Toothwort and the inhabitants of the village. #bookerprize2019 #bookerprizelonglist

I gaze down at London from the twenty-third floor of this heated glass box. It‘s as if a gigantic child has vandalised a city-sized circuit board, chucked some bricks in, sprayed it with dirt, started painting it but given up.

An absolutely mind-blowing book. Beautiful story & language, creative format, satisfying ending. A pure pleasure to read.

I loved this, although I'm not sure why. Beautiful in places and so very odd in others.

I loved Grief is the Thing With Feathers so I have high hopes for this one, long-listed for the Man Booker this year. Many tiny books made it home with me from the library today. I should be able to read them all three weeks. Puzzle and ornament shown here for @RaimeyGallant ❤️

⭐️⭐️⭐️ This is a tricky one. Precious Lanny. He‘s an extraordinary child. And Dead Papa Toothwort is a dazzling creation, however, the playful typography became annoying quickly. I kept getting distracted, wondering if it cost more to print a book with that nonsense. 🤔 As with Saunders and Lincoln in the Bardo, to me, Porter was trying way too hard to be weird. I appreciate the creativity, but at the same time, it didn‘t quite work for me.

Saturday reading with Charlie bird and Hank! I‘m excited to start this one!

Small English village, Dead Papa Toothwort aka creepy greenman, shifting POVs, multiple voices and a missing boy. Toothwort POV was interesting at first but quickly became annoying and the small village meanness was worse than the "villain".
Longlisted for the Booker

Grabbing a few post-spin class pages. 🚴🏻‍♀️📖☕️ Got in 14 miles this morning. I don‘t usually spin on Wednesdays, but I missed my regular Monday AM class. Enjoying this #bookerlonglist read so far. So different. Picked this up because @Booksnchill gave it 5 stars ... and she is star stingy! 😆

#BFCR3 #TeamLetsDoThis

This is a strange magical realism book that's about this kid, told from the perspective of the primary adults in his life as well as a fantastical bogeyman. I honestly don't have a very good description and can't quite explain to you why it works but it does. Excellent contender for the Booker.

This is a strange magical realism book that's about this kid, told from the perspective of the primary adults in his life as well as a fantastical bogeyman. I honestly don't have a very good description and can't quite explain to you why it works but it does. Excellent contender for the Booker.

Reading on the beach today - hard to know whether to focus on that beautiful view or the craziness going on with the words on the page.

I love Max Porter‘s writing. He does an excellent job evoking childhood and mixing it up with the archetypal. It was a bit too banana pants for me toward the end and I‘d still highly recommend it.

Disappeared at lunchtime to go to the library and then for a coffee. Picked up Max Porter's Lanny today 😊

Lounging in bad with Lanny #BCDay

#BookerPrize2019

Very mixed feelings about this loved some parts hated others. Change in narrative style threw me out of the magical place I was visiting.

Full review here https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2922705967

To anyone who is wondering what to pick from the #Booker long-list. This is a gem of an audiobook! The physical copy is another matter, but if you want to smile your way through a forested path while listening to a beautiful lyrical play, give this one a go!

Lanny is a little boy, busy talking to trees and doing other interesting things in the rural village he recently moved to with his parents - who both still live partly in London, at least mentally.
His mother arranges for Lanny to have art lessons with Pete, a local (once famous and controversial) resident. This provides the catalyst for the plot.
Continued below ⬇️⬇️⬇️

(Pic: Niagara Falls)

I liked this. I liked it quite a bit. All through the book, Porter writes beautifully and poetically about Lanny and the people around him. The first part felt slow and get-to-know-me-ish, while the second part was filled with urgency, big emotions and fear. I felt like I got this more than I did Porter‘s first book, and the audio narration was great!

#BookerPrize2019

I just did a library return and picked up these 3 from the New Books shelf. I‘m so excited! Which should I read first, Littens?

This is exactly the kind of read that I needed. A flawless, original, daring narrative from multiple perspectives that explores too much for me to sum it all up here. I'm currently listening to a 2 hour interview with the author (from the podcast Between the Covers) and it is all the more rewarding to get a closer, intimate look into the intricacies of this read!
Outstanding ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

WOW! What a book. It has left me speechless and I don‘t know what to say about without spoiling anything. I think this is book it‘s best to start reading without knowing much about as I did.

This is the first book I‘ve read from the Booker Longlist and I really hope to see it on the shortlist. I would be happy if this won.

I decided for the audiobook, because I don‘t like typographical elements as a narration style, and I believe that because of this my reading experience wasn‘t as rich, comprehensive as it could have been. The strongest point in the story was for me characterization of the boy - we get to know Lanny through the eyes of mother, father, artist Pete and Dead Papa Toothwort, and each of them sees Lanny from another perspective. I liked the story ... 👇

While I didn‘t love it, I could appreciate the experimental nature of the writing and the strong voices of the characters and the community. For a story that had such strong supernatural elements throughout, though, it had a somewhat pedestrian ending. 3.5⭐️ #booker2019

I shan‘t lie, I developed a powerful dislike of Charlotte
in the time it took for her to go and phone Lanny‘s
mum, and then bring Lanny to the door,
[...] not because of her
security measures but because of the framed Renoir
reproduction she had in the hallway.

I can usually see a way to understand terrible things;
[...]
but Renoir‘s portrait of Madame de Bonnieres? No.
It cannot be understood or forgiven.