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Ducks, Newburyport
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann
251 posts | 62 read | 8 reading | 126 to read
Latticing one cherry pie after another, an Ohio housewife tries to bridge the gaps between reality and the torrent of meaningless info that is the United States of America. She worries about her children, her dead parents, African elephants, the bedroom rituals of 'happy couples', Weapons of Mass Destruction, and how to hatch an abandoned wood pigeon egg. Is there some trick to surviving survivalists? School shootings? Medical debts? Franks 'n' beans? A scorching indictment of America's barbarity, past and present, and a lament for the way we are sleepwalking into environmental disaster, Ducks, Newburyport is a heresy, a wonder - and a revolution in the novel.
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review
ImperfectCJ
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann
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Bailedbailed

After 23 hours, with 23 more to go, I have to set this one aside. I am interested in knowing her story but not enough to devote my precious time and attention to it right now. Maybe I'll pick it up again later.

dabbe #hailthebail! 🤩🤩🤩 2w
Deblovestoread 46 hours? That would be a struggle for me. 2w
ImperfectCJ @Deblovestoread 46 hours of stream-of-consciousness, no less. It's a little crazy-making. 2w
See All 6 Comments
Deblovestoread I commend you for getting halfway through! 2w
merelybookish I loved this but it's not a minor commitment! 2w
Hooked_on_books I‘m impressed you got as far as you did! I don‘t think I would have. 2w
41 likes6 comments
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ImperfectCJ
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann
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Still chugging away on the tagged. I snapped this photo of a not-duck at school today. This fellow was singing his heart out. I don't know what he is...some kind of finch, maybe. Every time we move to a different region I have to learn new birds, and although we've been here 6 years, I still only know phoebes, ospreys, pelicans, cormorants, seagulls, condors, wrens, and quail. This is none of those.

ImperfectCJ Update: I think it's a house finch. The toughest for me are birds that exist all over but look different in different areas of the country. Like finches of many kinds. 3w
Rissreads Beautiful bird! ♥️ 3w
48 likes2 comments
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ImperfectCJ
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann
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Some people take classy restroom selfies. I take whatever this is. (Book-related because while taking the picture I was listening to the tagged on my little headphones, which are cleverly hidden in my hair.)

BarbaraBB Great photo 🥰 3w
ImperfectCJ @BarbaraBB Thanks! I've been attempting to embrace my silly side (and break in my new boots...almost there!) 3w
BarbaraBB Your boots and dress are 🤩 3w
48 likes3 comments
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ImperfectCJ
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann
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Still uncertain if I can go the distance with the tagged book, but I listened to it while putting our new rug under the dining table, and it's grown on me a bit. (The book, not the rug. Although that's grown on me, too.)

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Lovely rug ❤️ 3w
ImperfectCJ @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Thanks! It wasn't my first choice, but my spouse and son preferred this one over my fave (muted blues). Now that it's down, I think it works quite well, though, so I guess they were trustworthy! 3w
52 likes2 comments
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ImperfectCJ
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann
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Please tell me that the stream of consciousness doesn't go on for the entire novel. Please? So many people like this book a lot, but the stream of consciousness might break me.

(Rainbow from my walk today.)

ImperfectCJ And I read all of Ulysses, so I'm not afraid of odd construction, there are just so...many...pages of it 3w
Ladygodiva7 Is all of Ulysses stream-of-conscious? Cuz I just CAN‘T deal with stream-of-conscious. And sorry I don‘t have an answer for your question! 3w
ImperfectCJ @Ladygodiva7 Nope, not all of it, mostly just the last section. The rest is just bizarre, and I ended up needing to read a book by Joseph Campbell to figure out what the heck was going on. After that, I didn't really LIKE Ulysses, but at least I could appreciate it. 3w
See All 8 Comments
Ruthiella Yes, the whole book is stream of consciousness with small breaks from the perspective of a mountain lion. I felt it really paid off in the end, but your mileage may vary… 3w
Hooked_on_books What a pretty picture! 3w
ImperfectCJ @Ruthiella Ugh. Well, maybe I'll do this one on audio. When I try to read it with my eyes it takes so much effort not to skip around the page. But I like a payoff. And if it starts to break me, I can always take a break (or bail). 3w
Ladygodiva7 @ImperfectCJ I probably won‘t read either then. Good job you for accomplishing it!!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 3w
dabbe 🤩🤩🤩 3w
58 likes8 comments
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Liz_M
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann
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For my #bookerdozen, the first six were easy to choose -- the 5⭐ and 4.5⭐ books (Ducks through How Late). The other six I chose from the many four-star reads that I was slightly more enthusiastic about and didn't seem to have been mentioned already.

@vivastory

Liz_M Ducks, Newburyport
The Satanic Verses
Lost Children Archive
A Brief History of Seven Killings
The Sea, the Sea
How Late it Was, How Late
Eva Trout
Do Not Say We Have Nothing
How to Be Good
Lila
Empire of the Sun
Remembering Babylon
2mo
CatLass007 I read Empire of the Sun when it was first released. It was excellent. I‘ve never read any of the others but Litsy is the reason for my growing Audible wish list. 2mo
Ruthiella I loved Ducks! It changed the way I thought for a while. I found myself talking to myself like that narrator. 2mo
See All 11 Comments
BarbaraBB Great list. I still need to read Ducks but I loved the Rushdie, Luiselli and Murdoch. I have Empire of the Sun on my shelves. Should read it soon! 2mo
Liz_M @graywacke I'd LOVE to see your #bookerdozen 2mo
Liz_M @CatLass007 Lila was excellent on audio. 2mo
Liz_M @Ruthiella the fact that a lot of narrate to ourselves that way 2mo
Liz_M @BarbaraBB Ducks is a commitment and not for everyone, but I loved the unique style. Empire is quite good in how the situation is presented as normal and only when you think about it, realize how disturbing it is. 2mo
vivastory I somehow missed the Hornby. Lately I have been reading the compilation of his Believer articles & have been loving it. Def want to read Empire. Ballard is a favorite. 2mo
Liz_M @vivastory I loved those books! I am especially fond of the books bought vs. books read lists. 💝 2mo
Graywacke @Liz_M have to think about that. Lost Children Archive and Empire of the Sun would both be on there. 2mo
37 likes11 comments
review
Kaag
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann
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Mehso-so

I appreciate the insight into the mind of another that stream-of-consciousness allows, in that sense this book is a success. The narrator encapsulates 2019 in America very well in the book for a certain portion of our population. Our narrator skims the surface of fears, anxieties, and unresolved issues in her life, her family, her state of Ohio, and in America itself.

Yet I‘m at the end of this long novel I‘m left expecting something more.

Kaag There is no reflection on the political aspects of the novel. No solutions, options, or thoughts about where we can go from here other than wishing it were better. In the end that‘s just not something our narrator is offering, and much like our country, there‘s not a lot of talk about how we bridge the divide, how we overcomes our differences and create a better environment to raise our kids, a better life for ourselves and each other. 12mo
Kaag Those books are out there and those are the books that will move the conversation, move our country, and the make the world a better place. I know I‘m expecting something from this book that it isn‘t trying to be. For what it‘s trying to do within the realm of being a mother, daughter and spouse and the anxieties and struggles that each entail she did well. But other than as a snapshot in time of a liberal view I don‘t think this novel survives. (edited) 12mo
Kaag To survive the test of time I think what‘s needed politically is maybe having the husband a conservative. Finding a way forward. Reflection. That just wasn‘t her intent of the novel but I think she leaves herself open to criticism because it can be very political without providing anything deeper than liberal laments. (edited) 12mo
SamAnne This is an excellent review. Planning to read it this year. What was reference to having a husband be. A conservative? (edited) 12mo
Kaag @SamAnne Basically it‘s related to my criticism of the novel not going deeper. With only the liberal view being present there is no working through our troubles, only laments. I think having the husband as a conservative would probably negate a lot of the criticism I have, or some other mechanism to delve into the work that needs to be done in a lot of political/cultural areas. Interested to hear your thoughts 12mo
5 likes5 comments
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AnneCecilie
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann
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#AlphabetGame #LetterD

The minute I finished this, I knew I was going to reread it some day. I haven‘t gotten to that jet, but some day

Graywacke Quite a book! 2y
merelybookish Yes, it was a tour de force! 2y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Thank you for playing! 2y
46 likes3 comments
review
Jen2
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann
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Pickpick

Still processing this one, but it was worth listening to.

BkClubCare 👏👏👏 This book is an accomplishment! 2y
64 likes1 comment
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CallMeIshmael
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann
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That fact that I love this time of year

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cdreincarnate
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann
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The MC of this book wouldn‘t shut up about tarte tatin, and since it‘s apple season, I decided to try my hand at it.

The flipping stage was definitely a challenge, especially since I decided to go with the traditional pastry crust, but it still held together surprisingly well. And it‘s delicious 😋

Leftcoastzen Beautiful ! 3y
10 likes2 comments
review
cdreincarnate
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann
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Pickpick

I think I liked it?

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Oryx
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann
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Pickpick

Been listening to this for months and finally finished it today.

It's amazing - I absolutely loved it. It's an incredible document of the state and concerns of the Western world (particularly the US at the current time). I loved being in the narrators head. It's so much more than I thought it would be.
I definitely recommend the audiobook if you aren't sure about this one - it was very easy to slip into the stream and just become absorbed in it

squirrelbrain Yay, well done! I loved how all of the disparate threads started to knit together towards the end. 3y
BkClubCare YAY!!! 😁 🦆 I think this book will stay with me forever. I might even reread via the audiobook someday. 3y
SamAnne This is on my list for winter. 3y
Ruthiella I loved this one too. 🦆 3y
cdreincarnate I read this one and enjoyed it, but I did wonder if the audiobook would make it easier or harder to get into the flow. 3y
67 likes1 stack add5 comments
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cdreincarnate
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann
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Ah, Saturdays ☕️📖🐶🌞🌿

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cdreincarnate
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann
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I can think of worse ways to end a day🍷📖🌅🌲

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Lissa00
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann
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I started this book over the weekend. It‘s so weird! Has anyone actually finished it? It seems a little daunting.

Oryx I'm listening on audio and love it. Almost finished it 😃. I found it incredible in the breadth of things it covers - big issues and small. But, I'm not sure how it would be in print. Audio is definitely the easier route for this one I think. 3y
Graywacke Yes, made it through! Takes some commitment, but i did enjoy it. It‘s a pretty cool thing she did here. Good luck 🙂 3y
Lissa00 @Oryx Audio is a good idea! I might try that. 3y
See All 7 Comments
Lissa00 @Graywacke It‘s very interesting how she inserts these profound thoughts and ideas into what seems like a random stream of words. 3y
Megabooks Yes! I read the audiobook and gave it 5⭐️! 3y
Lissa00 @Megabooks Audiobook definitely seems like the way to go! 3y
Graywacke @Lissa00 i found two things interesting. One is how sometimes I think like that! And I feel like I know some people who seem to always think like that. (Although I‘m not in their head, of course). Also - it‘s interesting to me because it‘s not directly her forethought but it‘s still conscious. Curious to me what level of consciousness this narrative takes place. 3y
58 likes1 stack add7 comments
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cdreincarnate
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann
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Ah, vacation! 📖☕️🌞🏖

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cdreincarnate
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann
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My only chance of getting through this doorstop of a book is on vacation. Wish me luck.

suvata Good luck with this one. I tried and tried but I just could not get into it. For some reason it was very confusing to me. 3y
SamAnne Oh, I‘m so torn on whether I should go down this hole or not. 3y
cdreincarnate @suvata It definitely takes some getting used to. 3y
cdreincarnate @SamAnne I think I‘m enjoying it so far? 3y
SamAnne @cdreincarnate hah! I will contemplate for January. 3y
9 likes5 comments
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Oryx
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann
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Cinnamon roll update - they look like monstrosities, but actually tasted really good. I'm calling it a win.

@TrishB @squirrelbrain @Caroline2

TrishB They look better than anything I‘ve ever done (though to be honest that is definitely not a high benchmark to beat!) bet they tasted great 😁 3y
squirrelbrain They look fab! 3y
Hooked_on_books That looks scrumptious to me! 😋 3y
See All 7 Comments
Tamra Oh my, that looks amazing! I haven‘t had the patience to try making them so big kudos to you. (edited) 3y
Simona 🤤😋Looks delicious❣️ 3y
rabbitprincess YUM that looks so good! 😋 3y
Caroline2 Oh my….that looks delicious!!! 😃 😋 👍 well done! 👏 3y
67 likes7 comments
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Oryx
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann
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The hazards of reading a book that features baking and particularly cinnamon rolls. I'm trying some sourdough cinnamon rolls - last time I made cinnamon rolls, they were not so good. Hoping I do better with this recipe!

This is also a good book for audiobaking

Caroline2 Yum! 😋 love me some cinnamon rolls!!! 😀 3y
TrishB Have to show us the end result! 3y
Oryx @Caroline2 me too. There's a high chance I'll be driving to a bakery for them tomorrow morning 😁 3y
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Oryx @TrishB that very much depends on the outcome 😜. Dough is definitely not my forte. 3y
squirrelbrain Good luck! You never know, they might be yummy! 😋 3y
Oryx @squirrelbrain hopefully! Or in definitely heading to a bakery if not. 3y
Liz_M Hopefully these will be easier than apple tartine? 3y
Tamra The aroma of cinnamon rolls is outrageous! 🤞🏾🤞🏾👏🏾 3y
Oryx @Liz_M I've just got to the tart tartine bit in the book. Definitely less complicated than that! 3y
60 likes9 comments
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Oryx
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann
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Audiowalking with Ducks, Newburyport. I'm finding this an enjoyable, almost relaxing, listen.

squirrelbrain Gorgeous pic! I can imagine that this is a great listen. 3y
Oryx @squirrelbrain the narrator is great. I think I would have bailed on the paper copy, but I'm enjoying this. It's just like wallowing in lovely language and meandering thoughts. 3y
diovival Wow, that's a lovely view. 3y
Caroline2 Yes! I want to listen to this on audio too. 😉 👍 3y
61 likes1 stack add4 comments
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BkClubCare
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann
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Inspired by Ducks 🦆, I finally attempted the Apple Tarte Tatin. Yum! This is the pic pre-flip.
Next time, I will attempt the difficult version, just because. #iLovePie #LitPie

Ruthiella 😋Looks delicious! 3y
rajithr Wow! Looks yummy! 😋 3y
Cathythoughts Nice work 👌🏻 3y
Chelsea.Poole Whoa! Looks great!! 🥧 3y
29 likes4 comments
review
candority
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann
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Mehso-so

This is Bernard. Bernard is King of the Ducks and is very upset that this 1020 page book about ducks didn‘t mention him once! He will be implementing a law that all books about ducks must be dedicated to him!😡🦆

On a more serious note though, this was such a weird reading experience. I didn‘t want to pick it up, but when I did, I would find myself immersed in the stream-of-consciousness for a brief amount of time until I felt exhausted by it. ⬇️

candority I would find little tidbits that really resonated with me and gave me the energy to continue, but then I would find myself wading through several pages that just recapped old movie plots, listed random items, and endlessly repeated thoughts the narrator had already had. I started skimming heavily in the last quarter and almost missed the only real action in the whole book. I went back to read it, but at that point, I didn‘t really care. ⬇️ 3y
candority I think this book captures the anxiety of modern life and the stream-of-consciousness works well for that, but I don‘t think it presents anything new or that its length is justified. There are important things being said in this book, but it is nothing that you can‘t find written about in other novels that are more succinct and meaningful. Overall, I can‘t say that the book was worth my time or effort but I‘m giving it 3⭐️ because I finished it. 3y
Ladygodiva7 Wow 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 for reading stream of conscience book....I LOATHE stream of conscience books!!! You go girl!! 3y
See All 12 Comments
BarbaraBB Your review describes why I am still hesitating to pick it up. Kudos for finishing it! 3y
Kalalalatja I feel the same @BarbaraBB but I‘m so impressed by everyone who finish it! 3y
BarbaraBB @Kalalalatja Me too! And I keep thinking I‘ll be one of them one day! 3y
candority @Ladygodiva7 Ahaha thank you! 💪 They are very hit or miss for me, but I definitely understand your loathing 😂 3y
candority @BarbaraBB @Kalalalatja Thank you both. It‘s definitely an intimidating book and I was getting to the point that if I didn‘t read it soon, I wouldn‘t ever end up reading it. 3y
BkClubCare Certainly a sense of accomplishment. 👏 I think of this book as an important component of my 2020. (Took me months, such a strange reading experience.) 3y
candority @BkClubCare I finished it in 21 days, because I was afraid that if I put it down for too long, I would never pick it back up. I feel like I might have enjoyed it more if I didn‘t read it so quickly? But who knows? Definitely an accomplishment though and a reading experience that will stick with me! 3y
BkClubCare @candority wow! I think I started in April and finished in August 🤣 I would put it it away for 3 weeks at a time and then could pick it back up like I hadn‘t been away. 3y
candority @BkClubCare Seems like a good approach to me! 😊 3y
100 likes12 comments
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candority
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann
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I‘m just over half way through this book and I‘m definitely enjoying it while I‘m reading, but it takes a surprising amount of effort to pick it up. I have also found that I can‘t read it before bed, because it makes my thoughts race and my brain won‘t stop saying “the fact that...” followed by a bunch of nonsense 🤦‍♀️

review
merelybookish
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann
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Pickpick

Well happy birthday to me! I'm done! 💥 It took me a month but it has been an experience, a journey, a project, a reckoning to read this book. I don't know how this book will fare in the years to come, but it captures so much about NOW: the demands of motherhood, the loneliness of late capitalism, US gun culture, climate change and more. I am grateful to Ellmann for writing something so weirdly specific and brilliantly universal.

MaureenMc 👏 3y
JennyM Fantastic review. I‘ve not been drawn to read this one until now! 👍 3y
BarbaraBB Great review. I really must read this book buy still am scared of its length! Happy birthday 🎈 😘 3y
See All 14 Comments
batsy Great review! 3y
Cinfhen Echoing what everyone said❣️❣️❣️Happy birthday and wonderful review....maybe I‘ll read it in honor of my bday in June 😁 3y
Cathythoughts Happy Birthday 🎂❤️. Very well done , what an achievement to finish this one 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 3y
Ruthiella Happy Birthday and well done...the fact that your persevered, the fact that it was worth your time and effort, the fact that not that the publishing industry ignored it, but had a male author published it, it probably would have gotten more praise, the fact that we will have to wait another 10 or 20 years to see if it reaches cult status... 3y
Megabooks Happy birthday and congratulations!! Glad you enjoyed it!! 3y
Liz_M Happy Birthday and congrats on finishing! 3y
sarahbarnes Great review! I‘m so glad you enjoyed it! And that you got to spend your birthday the way you wanted to! ❤️❤️ 3y
Moray_Reads I loved it. Or will definitely be interesting to pick it up again in a few years and see which events and themes have stuck around and which I've totally forgotten by then 3y
TheLudicReader Happy birthday. 3y
Reggie Happy belated birthday! And nice review! 3y
Graywacke Fantastic that you made it through this. It‘s quite something. And glad you enjoyed. And - many days late, happy birthday. 3y
73 likes1 stack add14 comments
review
Taylor
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann
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Mehso-so

So I actually did it. I finished this.

And my thoughts:

The Goodreads reviews for this are spoiled because practically no one can resist using “the fact that” throughout their review, in a mimicking way.

*sigh*

I got so sick of reading those three words....

Anyway...

Sadly I don‘t think the content justifies the novel‘s length. The sheer size of it makes it feel old fashioned to me. Ellmann does close it out nicely though.

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merelybookish
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann
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Weekend goal: to finish this chunkster. 💪(Less than 100 pages to go!)

Riveted_Reader_Melissa Wow! Great job so far! 3y
Cupcake12 Impressive! 3y
Ruthiella 🦆🦆🦆 3y
See All 22 Comments
candority You can do it! 💪I started this one a couple days ago, but am just starting to settle into the writing style. 3y
Leftcoastzen 👏😂Took me forever too , but I thought it was worth it !🦆 3y
merelybookish @Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Cupcake12 Thank you! It's been a journey! 3y
merelybookish @Ruthiella Thank you for cheering me along the way! 📣 3y
merelybookish @candority Good luck! I have it on audio and on print. Listening has helped me get into her voice. But there is always an adjustment. 3y
merelybookish @Leftcoastzen Agreed! I Excellent albeit demanding read! 3y
sarahbarnes You‘re so close!! 3y
Megabooks Yay!!! 3y
LeahBergen Happy Birthday, friend!! ❤️📚❤️📚 3y
batsy Happy birthday, Margot! Hope you have a splendid day ❤️🎉🧁📚 3y
tpixie @merelybookish happy Birthday 🎁🎈🎂🎉 3y
erzascarletbookgasm You can do it! 👍 Also, have a fabulous day, Happy Birthday! 🥳🎉 3y
Liz_M You're almost there! And the end is where there is almost an actual plot that will pull you through so quickly! 3y
marleed Oh my gosh, look at that chunkster -you brave girl! Happy Birthday! 3y
robinb Happiest of birthday wishes! 🎉🎉💕 Have a wonderful day! 3y
merelybookish @LeahBergen @batsy @tpixie @marleed @robinb Thank you for the birthday wishes! 😘 3y
merelybookish @Liz_M Thanks for the encouragement! 3y
vivastory Happy Birthday 🎉🎂📚 I hope it was a good one! 3y
merelybookish @vivastory Thanks Scott! It was pretty good. 🙂 3y
82 likes22 comments
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merelybookish
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann
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Still reading Ducks. Still into it.
But after pages and pages of solid, dense text, it was a treat to hit this section where she lists what she knows to be definite. Look at all that white space! 😅

Ruthiella I remember! 😀 3y
Cathythoughts Well done you !!!! Your still in there & loving it ... She speaks to you ?! 3y
Cathythoughts I love all that white space too .... definitely 3y
merelybookish @Ruthiella A little reprieve! 💆 3y
merelybookish @Cathythoughts Yes, on many levels she does speak to me! And thank you, it does feel like a project! 3y
71 likes5 comments
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candority
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann
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Here‘s my #BookSpinBingo list for April! I really want to read the tagged book this month, but since it‘s such a chunkster, I don‘t know how many other books I‘ll get to. I‘ll just try my best! 😊

Addison_Reads Great selection 👍 3y
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 3y
104 likes3 comments
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merelybookish
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann
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Why yes, I am still reading this book (p. 380) and I am still relating to the narrator. 🙈 (Guilty on the thank you card front. 😬)

mandarchy This speaks to me! 3y
Ruthiella Go go go! There‘s a real plot in there too amid “the fact that” and the daily anxiety of just existing. 😃 (edited) 3y
merelybookish @mandarchy I often feel ill-suited to parenthood! 3y
See All 11 Comments
merelybookish @Ruthiella Yes! I am really enjoying it. And fascinated by how she wrote it. It starts out seeming so random but then it becomes clear there is a structure. 3y
EvieBee Cetacean? 🤓 3y
BarbaraBB I can‘t wait much longer to read this. So much peer pressure. And I love the quotes you share. 3y
Megabooks It‘s such a fantastic book. That‘s why! 3y
merelybookish @EvieBee Yes, just one of many big words that are rolled out randomly. 😀 3y
merelybookish @BarbaraBB Well, it is a commitment! So no shame in feeling reluctant. But it is good, once you get rolling. 3y
merelybookish @Megabooks It is! Really an experience! 3y
Chelsea.Poole I‘m reading this off and on too and I am right there with you— relating to the parenting bits for sure! 3y
63 likes2 stack adds11 comments
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Chelsea.Poole
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann
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I have been reading this thing forever and a day. I love it though. I understand the criticism this has received but for me, it totally works. I feel like I am the shy (I am), Ohio mother (check, check), who bakes (nope!). I can‘t tell if I identify so much with the stream of consciousness because of the similarities between the MC and myself or if this is just so masterful, everyone takes on this personality after a bit...? 🦆

Suet624 I‘m impressed that you carry on with the reading. (edited) 3y
SamAnne I‘ve been on the fence about leaping in... 3y
Cathythoughts That‘s a very interesting take on the book fo far 👍🏻 I‘ve read a couple of other posts saying they identify with this woman ... look forward to your finishing thoughts.... And yes, well done for carrying on 3y
See All 7 Comments
BittersweetBooks It took me forever to get through this one too but I ended up loving it so much, I‘m happy I stuck with it! 3y
ReadingEnvy I do think there are threads of thought most people can hook into! (I came by to see if you were reading this since you liked some of my posts about it, haha.) 3y
Ruthiella I agree with @ReadingEnvy , there‘s lots of things to grab a reader because other than being female, the narrator and I don‘t have much in common. But I was mesmerized by this book. 3y
mjtwo I felt the same way - it took me so long to get through but I loved it and felt so many of her thoughts were my own. 3y
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Taylor
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann

the fact that the Scottish Enlightenment inspired the American Revolution, and the American Revolution inspired the French Revolution, and the French Revolution inspired the Russian Revolution and the Chinese Revolution and the Cuban Revolution, and those all inspired the Vietnamese Revolution, and maybe some other revolutions in South America, the fact that the thigh bone‘s connected to the knee bone,

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merelybookish
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann
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Um hello! This resonated so much. Worst soccer mother ever! 🙋‍♀️
It is a bit unsettling how much I relate to this woman. 😳

Leftcoastzen 😂I loved this book and I was dismayed occasionally on some things I have in common with the character. 3y
Ruthiella I don‘t have kids but I very much understood the level of anxiety the main character has. I‘ve also had to attend the occasional soccer game and was super glad I didn‘t have to do it regularly! 3y
TrishB I actually played footie in school, so was really happy to watch my daughter! My son never played. 3y
See All 16 Comments
BarbaraBB Haha this hits home for me too. Both my kids played field hockey and I was always yawning when watching them. I couldn‘t help it. So boring. And I somehow missed all goals. I was horrible. 3y
merelybookish @Leftcoastzen I'm not even 100 pages in and am shocked at how many thoughts I share with her.😐 3y
merelybookish @Ruthiella Yes the anxiety is real! On the page and in my head. 3y
merelybookish @TrishB I never played sports as a kid and that probably played into my failure as a sports mom. 3y
merelybookish @BarbaraBB Haha. Yes. Never could keep track. 🙈 3y
saresmoore Well, now I‘m afraid to read this for how much I would probably relate, too. It was a huge relief when my daughter quit soccer. 😅 3y
merelybookish @saresmoore I felt that relief as well. This book is something! She gives voice to a particular kind of anxious, introverted mother that is familiar, and maybe not so uncommon? 3y
saresmoore @merelybookish I suppose we may not know how common they are since those of us who venture out are working relentlessly to adhere to extraverted expectations and the rest of us are just happily reclusive. Perhaps? I‘ll be picking up this book, because I think it warrants a discussion. 3y
merelybookish @saresmoore Yes, please do! I would love to discuss. Because so much is resonating it has me thinking I must not be that unique. 😆 No rush because it's 1000+ pages. 3y
Suet624 I literally gasped when I read the part about skiing and weak ankles. I have said that so often. In fact, I worked at Burton Snowboards and tried so often to get out of snowboarding because I've broken my ankles so often. I was assured it would never happen with a snowboard. Well, guess what? I broke my ankle during my snowboarding lesson. On the other hand, I was a very enthusiastic soccer parent. :) 3y
merelybookish @Suet624 I haven't reached that part yet but will think of you when I do! (I also have weak ankles but fortunately have never broken them. Yowch! 😧) Did you end up liking Ducks? 3y
Suet624 I haven‘t read the book. I was referring to what you posted. 😀 3y
merelybookish @Suet624 Oh my! 😳 Clearly I skipped the ankles and went right to the soccer part. 🥴🤣 3y
65 likes2 stack adds16 comments
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Taylor
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann

I am now over halfway through this. Which, considering what this book is, feels like an accomplishment.

SamAnne LOL I had conveniently forgotten putting this on my TBR list. How are you feeling about the read? 3y
Taylor @SamAnne I think it‘s good but it takes some serious perseverance. And not necessarily worth the time put in. I‘d only read it if you feel very compelled, or if you have no issues with abandoning midway. 3y
Simona ... but it is worth the time 👍 3y
12 likes3 comments
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Taylor
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann

the fact that here I am, effortfully constructing pastry lattices and longing to buy expensive mini-bundt pans and cookie cutters online, while Leo‘s in his study writing an article on displacement, velocity, and acceleration, and the relevance of these actions to road-bridge construction....

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Taylor
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann

pollution, nuclear war, Nagasaki, sciatica, the fact that there was one poor man who witnessed both Hiroshima and Nagasaki, I mean both bombs, the fact that he was in Hiroshima when the first bomb hit, survived and stayed the night in a bomb shelter, then managed to get home to Nagasaki the next day just in time for the second bomb, and he survived that one too, the fact that, I mean, how awful....

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umbrellagirl
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann
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2021 may just be the year of the chunkster. I didn‘t set any reading goals or challenges, apart from my book a week goodreads goal, but I‘m feeling motivated to take on some of my bulkier TBRs.

Tanisha_A I bought this on my Kindle 2 years back. I hope i get to it this year. 😶 3y
batsy @Tanisha_A I hope to get to it this year, too! 3y
umbrellagirl @Tanisha_A It‘s a library loan so I am hoping to finish it in the three weeks. 🤞🏻 3y
rachaich I could not get into this book. 🙄🙄 3y
umbrellagirl @rachaich Apparently neither can I. I have put it aside and will come back to it another time. 3y
48 likes5 comments
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ephemeralwaltz
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann
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It never feels like the right time to pick this one up! But I‘m waiting. I see you on my shelf everyday and I‘m waiting and I‘m hopeful that at any moment I might feel ready!

readordierachel I started this at the beginning of the pandemic and quickly set it aside. I liked what I read but just didn't have the bandwidth. I'm hoping I'll feel ready one of these days too 🙂 3y
ephemeralwaltz @readordierachel I‘m sure we will be soon! 3y
58 likes2 comments
review
AshleyKorinE
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann
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Pickpick

This took 3 long weeks to read. I read the physical book, ebook, and audio just to try to finish this before January was over. It‘s so long at 1,028 pages of nothing but stream of consciousness with no periods and never ending topics interspersed with the story of a mountain lion and her cubs. It felt like I was inside my own head but I don‘t have 4 kids and I can‘t bake to safe my life. It was a good long read overall, worth the effort it took.

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Moray_Reads
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann
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Very far from the heady totals of 2018 but I've DNF'd more books this year than ever in my life so I'm happy to have hit 100!

ephemeralwaltz Wow congrats!! 🎉 Impressive!! 3y
Freespirit Still a brilliant total! 3y
LeahBergen Nicely done! 👏🏻 3y
See All 7 Comments
TrishB A strange year. 3y
Mitch Wow - that‘s a very productive reading year 👍🏼 3y
Kalalalatja Definitely not a normal year in anyway, but good for you for bailing and actually reading books you want to read 👍 3y
bnp Congratulations! 3y
38 likes7 comments
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Liz_M
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann
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@BarbaraBB Thanks for the tag! Here are my #20best2020 picks. One 5⭐ (Ducks), five 4.5⭐ (MM through Iza), and the rest were all 4⭐. I'm counting Anniversaries even though I started it in 2019 because I did read most of it in 2020. Hmm, apparently my go-to pandemic reading is Sci-fi? I read a lot of Jemisin this year.

Liz_M I'm tagging some people whose bookshelves I would love to snoop thorough that I don't think have been tagged yet: @arubabookwoman, @sisilia, and @nute. (edited) 3y
sarahbarnes DUCKS! 😂 3y
LeahBergen Great list! I just recently bought 3y
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vivastory Excellent list! 3y
arubabookwoman I am thinking and will try to post a list in a day or so. I didn‘t have the greatest reading year in terms of quality—too much reading of new bright and shiney books from the library that weren‘t really worth it. And I didn‘t have a lot of perseverance, so while I started Anniversaries and Ducks, and was finding them excellent I didn‘t follow through😪 3y
Liz_M @arubabookwoman I think 2020 is not a good year for follow-through; especially if it also incorporates a cross-country move! If it weren't for @Graywacke leading a group read, I never would have finished Ducks. 3y
Liz_M @vivastory I'm looking forward to your, when it's ready! 3y
Liz_M @LeahBergen I think you'll enjoy it! 3y
BarbaraBB @LeahBergen It‘s such a good book. So much better than the overhyped 3y
BarbaraBB I love your choices Liz. 30% I loved too, 30% I hated and the rest I am stacking immediately! 3y
BarbaraBB ... and of course I still need to read DUCKS! 3y
Liz_M @BarbaraBB Oh boy. I hope when (if) your read the rest, the numbers change to 35% hated and 65% loved! 3y
BarbaraBB It is those #1001books that I sometimes struggle with (too long, too stream of conscience, too difficult) while you seem to fly through and come up with a raving review! 3y
batsy Such interesting picks! I'm so happy to see Pessoa there ❤️ 3y
Graywacke Great list. So happy I could drag you through Ducks. 😂 The Magic Mountain is a pretty amazing thing. I still think about it a lot years later. Not an easy read either. 3y
Cinfhen Thanks for posting your list...it‘s fabulous ❤️ 3y
41 likes16 comments
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sarahbarnes
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann
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Thanks for the tag @BarbaraBB ! Here are my #20best2020 picks. I tagged the one that is probably my favorite. I really can‘t believe I read some of these in 2020 - longest year EVER. Have you posted a list yet @merelybookish @andrew61 @Megabooks @KVanRead ?

Liz_M DUCKS! Ahem, you can go about your business again. 3y
Megabooks I just did it this morning in two separate posts but thanks for the tag! 3y
sarahbarnes @Liz_M right?!! Still thinking about it all these months later. ❤️ 🦆 3y
See All 17 Comments
merelybookish We really have very similar taste. Love so many of these books! Idiot, Idaho, Weather, Housekeeping! (Still have Ducks in the nightstand!) But it's also true that it feels like I read Weather ten years ago, NOT ten months ago. 3y
readordierachel Girl, Woman, Other was one of my very favorites last year. And I really liked The Door too. Must read the rest of these soon! 3y
sarahbarnes @merelybookish we really do! It‘s great because I know if you liked a book, I probably will, too! 😁 3y
sarahbarnes @readordierachel it is so so good! I‘ve given copies to friends as gifts since I read it! 3y
BarbaraBB I am shocked by this list, it could have been mine. The one‘s I haven‘t read are on my tbr... it‘s almost scary. 💝 3y
BarbaraBB @Megabooks Another recommendation for Ducks 🦆 from someone I really feel connected to in books. I MUST read it... I know! 3y
BarbaraBB @merelybookish I feel the same! We‘re so similar in our taste! 3y
sarahbarnes @BarbaraBB I love it! It‘s the best thing about Litsy - book soulmates! ❤️ 3y
Megabooks And also I loved Ducks! Definitely worth the length! 3y
erzascarletbookgasm I‘m stacking a few! 😊 3y
vivastory I'm going to second what @barbarabb said. 3 of these were on my list, several others were painful to leave off (Real Life & Shadow King in particular) & the rest are ones I'm dying to read (Ducks, Drive Yr Plows, Mercy) What a fantastic list! 3y
andrew61 Great list, I will definitely have to try ducks in 2021. 3y
KVanRead Thanks for the tag! I‘ll have to think on this. 3y
Cinfhen Great list!! 3y
34 likes17 comments
review
KimmyM
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann
Pickpick

3.5 ⭐ Finishing this was a feat. I was determined, no matter how long it took. I was intrigued by this but the format was a barrier for me. It wasn‘t easy for me to read and it was hard to find a comfortable stopping point, so after a while I put it down and didn‘t pick it back up.
It took time to see where the main narrative was going, but once I did, my interest picked up.
I appreciate its ambition, but I really struggled to read it at times.

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RidgewayGirl
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann
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Pickpick

Look what I read! It took me months, but it was like nothing I'd read before, immersive, frustrating, amazing and worthwhile. The thoughts of a shy Ohio woman as she cares for her family and bakes pies and cinnamon rolls and lives her life.

Ruthiella Congratulations! I also found it worthwhile and immersive. I read it within a month and during that time, I actually found myself thinking like the protagonist...weird. 3y
Bette Congrats! It looks daunting! 😳🙂 3y
RidgewayGirl @Ruthiella I've caught myself doing that so many times. 3y
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RidgewayGirl @Bette It really does! I was daunted, but once in, I enjoyed it. 3y
Liz_M I am amused by this tweet for this book:
https://twitter.com/bookculture/status/1309846322237902848
(@Graywacke)
(edited) 3y
BarbaraBB The pressure is getting unbearable. All my peers are pointing towards this book! 💕 3y
SamAnne As soon as I finish War and Peace. One doorstop at a time. 3y
32 likes2 stack adds7 comments
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Ruthiella
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann
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Some might consider the narrator of Ducks, Newburyport #flaky, but should we really judge by someone‘s interior, unedited monologue? Inside my head is pretty messy too. Also, the narrator makes pies with what can only be imagined as having delicious, flaky crusts!

#FallFinds

SamAnne On my list for 2021! 3y
Ruthiella @SamAnne I hope you like it! I found it strangely compelling! 😀 3y
Eggs Love everything about this post ❤️👏🏻🤗📚 3y
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erzascarletbookgasm Haha! Good one! 3y
Cathythoughts I have this on kindle .... maybe one day 😁it‘s sooooo long 3y
batsy Honestly I think I've put this off for so long because I'm scared it'll make me crave pie 😆 3y
Ruthiella @Cathythoughts If you get into the rhythm of it, you won‘t be able to stop. I read it on kindle too because it was too heavy to hold in paperback! 😀 3y
Ruthiella @batsy I will be honest, you might crave baked goods while reading! 😀 3y
RidgewayGirl I baked more while reading this book than I ever have! 3y
Ruthiella @RidgewayGirl I understand that inspiration! 😃 3y
49 likes11 comments
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TheLudicReader
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann
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Book haul courtesy of Teacher Appreciation Days at Indigo. (And after my first full week with students, I needed it. 😁) I scored an additional 10% off too because of a promotion they are running to encourage loyal Plum card holders to switch to Plum Plus. Tagged book is my son‘s; I have zero desire to read it, but he likes weird stuff.

mcctrish Well Done!!!! 4y
MsMelissa I love Plum Plus. I buy sooo many books that it pays for itself in no time. 4y
Reviewsbylola No one deserves self care rn more than teachers!! Thank you for all of your hard work. 🥰 4y
LeahBergen You deserve it! 🍎 4y
27 likes4 comments
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Reagan
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann
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This beast came in and I‘m so excited. I asked my husband to pick it up on the way home and was so pumped and said it‘s like a stream of consciousness. He told the librarian that I had a book called “stream of consciousness” on hold and the poor woman looked for it for like 10 minutes before he realized he had made an error and it was the huge, weird book he was holding 🤣

Leftcoastzen That‘s great , poor guy . 4y
Hooked_on_books That sounds exactly like what my husband would do! 😂 4y
55 likes2 comments
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RidgewayGirl
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann
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I keep going back and forth between being utterly immersed in this book, and finding it a slog. A side effect has been that I've been baking a lot more since I started this one.

Theaelizabet Same experience. I‘ll be curious to see your final assessment. 4y
Liz_M You didn't make an apple tatin? 4y
RidgewayGirl @Liz_M That's the only thing I haven't made! There have also been two raspberry tarts, a blueberry tart and lots of banana bread. The baker doesn't even seem to love baking that much, but I have a pavlovian response to baking being mentioned in literature. 4y
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RidgewayGirl @Theaelizabet I'm only halfway through. It's not a portable book. 4y
BarbaraBB I keep thinking about this one and if I should read it. I know @Liz_M and @Megabooks loved it. Your verdict will win me over I guess- or not 😀 4y
Theaelizabet @RidgewayGirl I well remember! 💪 4y
RidgewayGirl @BarbaraBB As long as you're willing to wait a bit -- I started this one in the middle of July!
4y
BarbaraBB I was thinking of audio... 4y
Megabooks @BarbaraBB audio worked really well for me. The narrator‘s pauses actually made it easier to parse the stream of consciousness than when I originally started as an ebook. (edited) 4y
24 likes9 comments
review
slategreyskies
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann
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Bailedbailed

A huge DNF to this book, not for its length (which I was mostly enjoying and feeling challenged by) but for its intense and oftentimes graphically violent content. This book made me so angry. I wanted to like it, but the MC was so irritating. In one sentence, she could talk about extreme sexual violence, but then she couldn‘t use the words butt or ass in the next one? WTF. Come on already. Definitely not a believable character. ⬇️

slategreyskies HUGE trigger warning for sexual violence. This book really angered me, and I feel like it was largely a waste of my time. How is it possible for her character to be believable when she censors herself to the extreme in one sentence and then discusses massacres and soldiers collecting human genitals as war prizes in the next? Ugh. Overrated and uneven. I know I‘ll be ranting over this one for weeks! 4y
Booksnchill Such a strong reaction. I loved it myself but sometimes I think a book that provokes very diverse reactions is a good thing. Hope your next read is much more satisfying🥰 4y
slategreyskies @Booksnchill I know what you mean. Sometimes it helps to open a dialogue and get people communicating. I got a little over 400 pages in before I just couldn‘t do it any longer. Maybe she put so much violence in because the MC was a history teacher and knew all these horrifying pieces of history. Still, I just needed out by the time I‘d gotten 400 pages in and there was no sign of her stopping any time soon. I hope my next read is satisfying too! 4y
38 likes3 comments
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slategreyskies
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann
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I took a break from reading this for a couple weeks, but I started back up again yesterday. It‘s slow going, but I‘m pushing through. I really want to know this, though: why is she so obsessed with Laura Ingalls Wilder? I don‘t get the fascination. She talks about those books so much that I don‘t even need to reread them to be familiar with all the major plot points. Odd.

rachaich I keep trying this... 4y
SamAnne I‘m I‘m thinking of tackling late fall... 4y
slategreyskies @rachaich sometimes I feel like I‘m slogging through it. It‘s not that it‘s not enjoyable. It‘s just that it‘s so long. I can really only take it in small doses. 4y
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slategreyskies @SamAnne I recommend the audiobook, if you‘re into those. It helps to be able to be up and moving about while reading. Otherwise, I think I‘d have difficulty keeping from zoning out. Also, the lack of structure and the endless stream of thoughts are easier in audio form. Bonus— sometimes the narrator will sing a line or two when song lyrics come up in the book. That always makes me smile. :) 4y
SamAnne @slategreyskies thanks for the recommend. Maybe I will do an audio/print combo. (edited) 4y
slategreyskies @SamAnne that‘s what I‘m doing. I checked out the paperback from the library, and I‘m bouncing back and forth between formats. I admit that the heaviness of the paperback is satisfying. :) 4y
32 likes6 comments