Welcome to Litsy!

I took another day at home today, and good thing I did! Because look what my mailman just delivered to me 😍

Thank you @Cinfhen my #LitsyMom ❤️ I‘m really excited to read this, and I love the cover! And that bookmark and notebook make me want to go to Paris NOW!

#Bookmail

The original cover was phantasmagoric & magical but this cover I think suits better. It centers on a murdered woman left in the dumps as she recalls her oppressive life in her final moments. Halfway in & really liking it so far!

We loved the first part of this one. Leila‘s life was vividly remembered and compelling to read about, but we were totally thrown by the change in tone of the second section as her group of friends attempts to recover her body. You can hear more of our thoughts on this week‘s episode of the podcast.
Have you read it? What did you think?

My 4th and last b4 the winner is announced tomorrow and i enjyd this story of how leila a Istanbul prostitute ends up murdered in a bin, using the idea that there is a period of time after death when the mind recalls memories of a life we learn of childhood abuse, treatment of sex workers, love and frienship. The finale sees her loyal friends on a hunt to rescue her body which allows the reader to realise how a life impacts on those it touches. 👇

Settling in to start the next book club read. Love the cover, hoping the story is just as beautiful 💙

https://www.nikhilbook.com/2019/10/10-minutes-38-seconds-in-this-strange.html?m=...

I adored this book. It‘s a book of humanity and when you think how could these terrible things keep happening, a moment of honest, beautiful love occurs. The preface of the brain slowly dying, in 10min38seconds was intriguing and made me wonder what my brain would remember. It‘s worthy of the Booker Short List.

This book has flaws, but it‘s still given me a #BookHangover; I‘m already missing Tequila Leila and her closest friends, especially Nalan, who needs a book of her own. The first 75% of the book, covering the eponymous 10m 38s, and some of the friends‘ reactions, is beautiful - I went through all the emotions. The last section is very hit & miss, so overall score was pulled down, but I still enjoyed it.

My slightly ambitions #OctoberTBR, kicking off with the tagged book, which I started last night, and has already had me run through a whole gamut of emotions.

#FallIsBooked
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @OriginalCyn620

Leila is forced to reflect on her own life in this Booker shortlisted novel, which is my 12th book for September, though I doubt I‘ll finish it this side of midnight so it won‘t fall into this month‘s stats.

#SelfReflectionSeptStats
#SelfImprovementSept
@OriginalCyn620
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Hey fellow NetGalley reviewers! I have a question. How hard do you guys try to stick to publication dates or do you care at all? So far it has always been a goal to finish & review a book on or before the publication date but this week & the next couple of weeks, I will be behind on several reviews. I know some people have reviewed books even years later but how do you handle this? / Currently reading the tagged book which came out yesterday :|

HAPPY PUB DAY!!!

https://wellreadneck.wordpress.com/2019/09/24/10-minutes-38-seconds-in-this-stra...

“But human memory resembles a late-night reveller who has had a few too many drinks: hard as it tries, it just cannot follow a straight line.”

Break room‘s full due to it being Rush, so I‘m squirreled away in Remainders, hanging out with Elif Shafak‘s incredible 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World, out in December from @Bloomsbury_Publishing

#annareadsthebookershortlist2019 #amreading #introvert #booknerd #booksellerlife

We first meet Tequila Leila and uncover the key moments of her life as she lays dead in a dumpster on the streets of Istanbul. In those opening chapters using sensory descriptions Shafak beautifully illuminates the city of Istanbul and the land of Turkey. However, the second half of the novel becomes frivolous as Leila‘s best friend‘s plan a wacky caper to provide a fitting goodbye for her. I don‘t believe this is a prize worthy novel.

I‘m midway through this #BookerPrizeShortList book and I‘m really enjoying it more than I expected. However, I‘ve read that the second half the book falls completely off the rails, so I‘m bracing myself for a potentially unpleasant surprise 🥴And speaking of surprises....look what was in today‘s mail @jenniferw88 ?!?!! I‘m pretty sure you went to Greece back in June!!!! Anyway, it was lovely to hear from you ☺️☀️Thanks for thinking of me 💛🧡💛

#7days7covers #covercrush

Day 4

If you want to join in and haven‘t been tagged, consider yourself tagged!

...because what was love if it wasn‘t nursing someone else‘s pain as if it were your own.

If you enjoy character-driven stories, then you would probably love this. I‘m not a fan of such writing, however, so this is not a pick for me. There were some potentially fascinating characters in this book, but their treatment was very uneven. The narrative was choppy as backstory on various characters was interspersed with the main story in separate chapters. This book has an interesting construction, but overall the execution was bland. 3⭐️

Loved this profound and profoundly beautiful novel. Coming September 24. #netgalley

I very much enjoyed this story, I liked Leila, her 5 best friends and reading about Istanbul. #books

1. The tagged book
2.maple
3. This was the only form of affection she had learned from grown-ups, and the teaching would come with dire consequences.

#WEEKENDREADS
@rachelsbrittain

September has been a Fest till now! #SeptemberReads

My books from the library, I will start 10 Minutes this evening! #bookhaul

Deep

#tequilaleila #elifshafak

No words can describe this Work of Art. This book needs a genre of its it's own. Starts as a memoir then takes you to an emotional rollercoaster ride. Gives you a tour on history and science. Just when you thought it's over it turns into a thriller-mystery novel. And ends on a note of True Friendship just as Elif described, the Water Family running thicker than blood. You can't keep this book down.
I Love U Tequila Leila, Marry Me :)

A gorgeous novel. Leila is dead but her mind works for 10 minutes as she reflects on her life. I love the writing - it conveys the sights, smells & textures of Istanbul & its complex history. It‘s propulsive: the interesting characters & events keep you turning the page. Leila is a strong, independent woman & a survivor. Her friends include a dwarf, a transvestite & a cabaret singer - loyal, flawed characters - a great celebration of friendship.

All Set to Burn the Night with Elif Shafak! Amazing read. In love with Tequila Leila!

So excited! Tickets for Cheltenham Literature Festival went on sale today so now so have tickets to see all these authors in October!

Book mail! #SummersEndReadathon.

Bearing in mind that the MC is dead before the first page even drops, it's a book that celebrates vitality and, considering the shitty life experiences that Leila and her band of warmhearted social misfit friends go through, it has remarkable joie de vivre. I loved the first part, then, but what to make of the second half? I enjoyed getting to know Leila's friends better but the plot went abruptly off-road into the hinterlands of broad farce.

I found this enjoyable if a bit uneven. Shafak draws some unique, engaging characters, but unfortunately gives them stilted dialog and very little to do. Likewise, her description of Istanbul “a city where everything was constantly shifting and dissolving” is magnificent, but the story itself doesn‘t have the depth to match the setting. It‘s as though she had the set, but show left me wanting. #BookerPrize2019

I love Shafak‘s style and storytelling, but god damn it what‘s with her and similes? Every page there is at least 2 similes!! The damn book editor should be fired! Also Shafak can‘t write children! Her children (6 yrs) are old defeated broken souls and that‘s even before they were hit with tragedy. She misses on how children view the world through “magic goggles.”
Nevertheless, immensely enjoying this journey through Turkey‘s modern history.

A sex worker in Istanbul has been murdered, and as her brain releases her life, the reader is transported to specific memories and stories. Her life is revealed alongside five close friends (like a Turkish cast of Rent) who play a bigger role in the second half of the story. ⤵️

Book Depository Haul...my library doesn‘t have the Elif Shafak book (valid) and I need the SK for a buddy read in October (no, I can‘t get it out of the library bc I need to keep a King around me for awhile😀). This was supposed to be my last purchase for 2019, until I found out about the upcoming BN sale. Oops. Shout out to my geranium...she‘s really blooming...I think she likes Mexican coffee-I love it☕️🖖🏽

Everything was good, gripping starting point, interesting story about Leila, about dynamic in her (later estranged) family, about her new family - 5 outcast friends, about she-city Istanbul with some glimpses into Turkish history ... till the last part of the story. I was so disappointed with the turn from solid drama to the some kind action/comic scenes. In the name of five friends I was feeling offended by the end. 🤷‍♀️ #BookerPrize2019

#BookerPrize2019

I adored this book it is my favourite from the long list so far. I fell in love with Leila and all her weird and wonderful friends.

For a relatively short book there is a heck@if a lot going in and the ending made me 😢

Full review here https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2938591408

Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2019.

This novel has an original structure, as we meet Tequila Leila, Istanbul prostitute, after her death. Her brain continues to function for 10 min 38 sec, and we learn her history from birth to death, how she came to be an Istanbul prostitute, how she met her husband and her 5 best friends. The story then turns into a madcap caper morning of them giving her the sendoff she wanted. #bookerlonglist #booker2019

Weekend mode

#weekendreads #bookerlonglist #turkishlit #turkish

In the minutes after Tequila Leila‘s death, we get glimpses of memories from her life.

A book about friendship and family, about religion and culture.

This is the second book I read from the Booker Longlist, and I need to read more books to know if I want to see it on the shortlist.

I will definitely check of out more of Shafak‘s novels.

8/13 #bookerprize2019 longlist

Astonishingly good, it‘s joined my top three (with Ducks Newburyport and Lost Children Archive) jostling for top spot and I‘d happily see this one win. So tender, so much beauty and kindness in a story about such a hard life. So many complex dark themes were teased out so beautifully and I came away from it feeling in awe of people‘s capacity to help each other. The writing about Istanbul was incredible too.

Hello all. I‘m off work sick with some kind of virus (sore throat, headache, chest pain etc.) and I am so overwhelmingly bored. So lucky I have my books and my Litsy family when I‘m stuck inside like this 💖 I guess I‘m gonna get a lot of reading done this weekend!

Ready to start my second book from the Booker Longlist.

I‘ve never read her before, but I‘ve seen her other books around, so I‘m glad I finally get around to reading her.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Book 3/13 from the 2019 Booker longlist and I keep being delighted ! ( my luck is going to run out eventually). I have never read Shafak before but I certainly will be seeking out more of her novels. Leila‘s story is a sad one but it is told with such love and humanity. I got a real taste of the complexities of Istanbul- it‘s history and diverse people. I doubt the prose is the strongest on the list but it might be the most “readable”

4 library books and one purchase! The Elif Shafak is a signed copy.

#BookHaul

I didn‘t check any reviews for this one, I randomly picked it up at the shop since it was in the new arrivals! I really hope it turns out to be good! 🤭

Cover appreciation time 😍😍😍