Welcome to Litsy!

Sometimes, I have these dreams where I just wake up with a word in my head or a conviction. Last night, I had both. The word was “bachata.” After a quick Instagram video dive, I determined that learning bachata is not my destiny. 😅💃 The unrelated conviction, however, is that I‘m meant to explore literary magazines. Right now, I read none. So…

Which cool literary magazines am I sleeping on?

A reminder to remember: just because the sharpness of the sadness has faded does not mean that it was not, once, terrible. It means only that time and space, creatures of infinite girth and tenderness, have stepped between the two of you, and they are keeping you safe as they were once unable to.

I was browsing audiobooks yesterday and settled on this one. This book had never caught my attention before, but upon reading the synopsis I was immediately intrigued.

Machado recounts her experience of abuse by an ex-partner. This was at times, hard to listen to but I admire her bravery. One of my favorite quotes: “You would never think that someone who looks like you is going to hurt you.” 💔

“Our bodies are ecosystems, and they shed and replace and repair until we die.”

The book is brimming with serious reflections on abusive partnerships and unforeseen complexities of queer love, lending a depth of thought that doesn‘t feel repeated or banal.
Machado reads the audiobook herself, which is a great choice; it adds a lot of intimacy and emotionality to the listening experience....
Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6615682248

Heartbreaking and lyrical autobiography that narrows in on abuse in the author‘s past. It also shines a light on the inequitable treatment of the abused in same sex relationships. A tough read written in the style of a parable, so at times it seems to wander, which gives the reader an emotional break. I definitely recommend. 5⭐️

It feels wrong to use the word "enjoyed" of a memoir of queer domestic abuse but I loved the writing and the framing of her experience through the lens of an exhaustive array of genres. It's as if she's holding it up to the light, to make sense of what was happening to her in the absence of a ready frame of reference. Does this lessen the emotional impact? Possibly. It's awful she endured the abuse. I'm glad she could make this book of it.

#latinxlit #queerstudies

I review off vibes so this is a solid 4 for me. Then again, the haunting feel felt intentional in showing the survival through domestic abuse. With someone you love and think about leaving, but can‘t. Audiobook was read by the author (always nice) though I wasn‘t a fan of the far between breathes. The wording was odd enough to fit perfectly. Couldn‘t stop listening and wish better of her. Leave the dream house that is not a dream house anymore.

January of #12Booksof2023 brought me this memoir of an abusive relationship. The way the author uses genre shifts really brought home for me the confusion and heartsickness of trying to figure out how something with such promise and which started with love could go so wrong. And so while the stats presented (much like in Chain Gang All-Stars, another great book read in 2023) made me feel sick, the prose and the craft of this book was sublime.

This was a fantastic but disturbing, haunting and eye-opening read. It was tough to read but mesmerizing at the same time. It made me think hard about my preconceptions about domestic abuse.

#wintergames #snowangels #longdarknights @Emilymdxn
#20in4 @Andrew65

Excellent book I found recommended on Tik Tok. First memoir I‘ve read in a while. Won‘t say much more than I would recommend anyone read no matter how you identify your romantic life!

I liked this book a lot. She‘s a great writer. I liked that it made me think about my assumptions about queer women. Her writing about her body, and how her family sees her was very real and moving

So cool that the t-shirt for sale at the Indigo Girls show has a graphic of banned books on the back. Including the tagged - one of my favorites. ♥️♥️♥️

#MidYearBookFreakout
1. The lovely bracket from @chasjjlee tells me it‘s the tagged bk
2. I am really excited about The Mysteries of Thorn Manor, but the best was maybe The Round House or Sea of Tranquility?
3. So many! Kinda surprised I haven‘t fit in the new S.A. Crosby yet…
4. Murderbot
5. Frankenstein
6. The Cooking Gene had way more than just cooking in a good way!
7. Travis Baldree
8. Vera Wong or Cathy (East of Eden)
9. This Time Tomorrow

This was the most unique, brilliant memoir I have ever read. I‘m not really a memoir person (I didn‘t realize it was a memoir when I bought it), but Machado is such a gifted writer. Her collection of short stories, Her Body and Other Parties, was the first book I posted about on Litsy and I remember similarly being blown away by her sheer talent after reading that. Highly recommend.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I decided at the start of this year to read slower and to savor books more. And success! Halfway through January and here is all that I‘ve finished- much fewer than this time last year 😉 fav so far is tagged…
However, I am reminded of why I was a little more amped up in pace when I realized I also have 7 other books in progress and most of those are back on library hold 🤦🏻‍♀️

Wow. Just wow. This was powerful and I applaud Carmen Maria Machado for writing this harrowing memoir about queer domestic abuse.

This is beautiful and sad, gorgeously written and a devastating look at an abusive relationship. Can‘t wait to discuss this tomorrow night at book club!

Carmen Maria Machdo is brave for putting her story of queer domestic abuse out there for the world to read, and brave for bringing the subject into the light. It took me a minute to understand her writing style, but once I got accustomed to it, I really felt transported into her life.

Ok as promised, though a little late, my “review” of the tagged. Loved it. The fragmented, 2nd person (mostly), experimental book packs a powerful punch, and never felt kitch to me, or cheesy, or anything other than impressive. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 (tw‘s though)

Also read The Christie Curse #LMPBC #groupM and realllly enjoyed it!! Will definitely read more! 🌝

And with that, finished my Goodreads goal! 💃🏽💃🏽

And just a little note to summer 😡😜

Read first week of August-mixed feelings with this memoir. I liked the writing style but I don‘t know, sometimes was confused for a memoir: sometimes was written in second person, sometimes first person. Sometimes narrated in this beautiful style but then sometimes it was more informative about data and facts, which I found so interesting. I loved that metaphor to use the concept of a house to explain her life/relationships 3.5/3.8⭐️

“Fear makes liars of us all.”

Happy Thursday 😌

Whoa this was wild. There were moments of laughter but like…maybe nervous laughter? It was good. Really good. But also really heavy. I loved the bits of trivia and random information in there, and felt crushed by the experiences and themes so openly described and discussed. Beautifully written.

I did not expect to like this book because I don‘t normally read nonfiction. However since it was a selection of the Literati Book Club last year I decided to go ahead and read it and I was surprised because I really liked it. This is a memoir and I loved the format and the writing style. This book definitely gave the reader an inside look at a toxic abusive relationship which unfortunately is relatable to many people.

"I cannot help but marvel at the singular damage of this dark idea: That my existence as a child was a kind of debt and nothing, no matter how small, was mine."

"Fear makes liars of us all."

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Machado is an obviously talented writer, but oof, this style. It came off as gimmicky and I didn‘t care for it. It‘s not the subject matter, it‘s the pretension that seeps from the writing itself. An utterly taxing experience; perhaps a metaphor for her relationship with that awful woman. The pop culture references as evidence were brilliant, however.

I put this book off for awhile, needing the right head space for it.
I wasn‘t a huge fan of the execution, the experiment, but I understand why she did it this way. In relationships like the one Machado had, there is no way to look straight at it without sounding cliche or dramatic.
Ironically, I‘ve tried to use a house to explain the same thing.
If you need to feel seen, understood, read this.

I wish I had the words you write a review that encompasses the revolutionary quality of this book. The form and structure are unlike anything I've read, and it packs such an emotional punch. @Liz_M thank you for including this on your #NewYearWhoDis list. I may have never picked it up otherwise. @monalyisha

I recommend memoirs most often, and these are my go-tos:
In the Dreamhouse
Priestdaddy
Heavy
I recommend fiction less but a few novels I have suggested:
Normal People
Fleischman is in Trouble
American Wife
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Brown Girl Dreaming
Thanks for the tag @TheLudicReader 🙂
#sundaysoapbox @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

An excellent memoir about an abusive relationship… as expected, it‘s dark and upsetting, but it‘s also very hopeful and Machado‘s wonderful writing, together with the inventive way she tells her story, made it a great read.

I thought it was brilliant on audio, read by the author, but I did have to speed it up… her delivery was really slow at regular speed.

My second winner from @Amandajoy and her fab #NYWD22 list.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I don't know what to say about this book other than it came at the right time for me and I think I will re-visit it again and again and again.

When you know by page 15 that a book will break you.

This book was very disturbing much of the time, but it was so good! It is a chilling story of domestic violence.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I listened to this on audio. It took a little time to get used the the author‘s cadence (I sped it up a little) but once I did I hardly thought about it. Her use of second person was really effective. Partner abuse is a tough subject and I think this is an important read. I really want to read her short story collection!

"Sometimes your tongue is removed, sometimes you still it of your own accord. Sometimes you live, sometimes you die. Sometimes you have a name, sometimes you are named for what-not who-you are. The story looks a little different, depending on who is telling it.....But the truth is, anyone who knows your name can break you in two."

Difficult yet really well done memoir. @TheAromaofBooks #bookspinbingo

I kind of loved this. The subject is obviously very serious, partner abuse within same sex female relationships, but the author is so honest. And the writing is beautiful.

TW abuse
While heavy in subject matter, this book has levity in its deconstructed approach to story telling. The author plays with how the events would be told in various genres and settings.

Immersive read without tons of description. I enjoyed the “each chapter is a new thing” set up a lot. Important topic, and I appreciate how producing art like this would be cathartic for someone who experienced a relationship like that.

This was an eye opening book. I had never thought about abuse in same sex relationships and I think this was important for me to think about. I also really liked the writing style of Machado. It was poetic and clear.

The Dream House is all but a dream house. It is used as a metaphor to describe the toxic relationship between Carmen Maria Machado and an ex-girlfriend. The Dream House is a construction that enables the author to tell her story. It‘s such an inventive form of storytelling, I was deeply impressed, both by form and the painful content. Machado maken perfectly clear how hard is it to escape from an abusive relationship.

#WeeklyForecast 24/21

This should do the job! An easy graphic novel for #Booked2021 and #ReadingAsia2021, the Arabian travel book, this month‘s #NYRBBookClub choice and the tagged one by a favorite author! 🤞🏽

I'm only 40 minutes into the audio book, but I'm not enjoying it at all so far. I'm not following along on the random tangents the narration seems to be going down. It probably doesn't help that the author sounds like she's bored at a poetry open mic night as she reads this book... 😅

3✨ The writing in this memoir is excellent. I learned a lot of new words and the poetic style she used was keeping me going. There is emotional abuse in this that was hard to read. It was also backed by other articles, fairytales, and interesting analogies. Read for #LMPBC #GroupV

This is a fantastic audiobook by the author herself, hopefully I have got the pronouns right, did have a google 😊 What an insightful and interesting read. Read for #WhateverYouWantathon and for #ReadHarderChallenge2021 😊 4/5

Wow. That was one powerful gut punch of a book. This was a really interesting way to do a memoir. Several trigger warnings that can be gleaned from the description.