Welcome to Litsy!

5🌟/5🌟

This was written in ‘92 before Dark Academia really existed, but it‘s widely considered the novel that started the genre, and still makes most “best of” lists for the genre. It does a great job of capturing the heightened whirlwind of youth, and personifying its most sinister aspects. #Pantone2023 #LeekGreen #Booked2023 #GiftedByALitsyUser #JoyousJanuary @Clwojick @alisiakae @Cinfhen @BarbaraTheBibliophage @Andrew65 @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Listening to my audiobook with a cup of coffee and this book critic. He‘s rarely impressed and tends to nap during readings as a result. While this is a character driven novel so far with just the tease of major plot drama to come, I‘m not sure I agree with his working review of “sleep through it” 😂

in·car·na·dine
/inˈkärnədīn/
LITERARY
noun
a bright crimson or pinkish-red color.
"an incarnadine rose"
verb
color (something) a bright crimson or pinkish-red.
"a spreading red stain incarnadined the sea"
#WeirdWords @CBee

So far I‘m really enjoying this narrative style. I hadn‘t read any of her other work before so wasn‘t sure what to expect.

Finally starting The Secret History after all the hype it‘s received. I‘m still not convinced on it, maybe it‘s just me being stubborn, so I‘m doing it as an audiobook which feels like less of a commitment.

Read the first chapter of The Secret History this morning. It‘s closely based on the college I went to, and I‘m finding it impossible not to set every scene there in my mind. Haven‘t decided if that‘s going to add or detract from the reading experience as the story unfolds.

#UnpopularOpinion

Made it to 35%.

Not my cup of tea. Couldn't connect with the characters. Not giving a flying fish about what happens next.

I adore everything about this book. absolutely amazing and beautiful!!

The only reason I read this book was because it was Jenna‘s Book Club pick for December and I tried to like it. I really did. But I don‘t think I‘ve ever been more ready for a book to be over. It took me a week to read this one and I was so glad when I turned the last page. The book wasn‘t terrible. The writing style was very good. I just don‘t think this author clicks with me. I probably should have DNF‘d it but I made myself finish it.

💛 Donna Tartt, you destroy me. What a beautiful, tragic, haunting story. Her characters and writing are all-consuming; they‘re terrible people who make terrible choices & get to be poetic about it. The ending was so sad and exactly what needed to happen. I‘m wrecked!

Misty and Renee,
Thank you, thank you! 🙏🙏
You have no idea how excited I am that you decided to send me this book! It‘s one of those books I keep thinking about buying myself but never actually do. And now I have my very own copy!!! Just in time for my planned read of it this winter.👏👏
You ladies are amazing ❤️❤️

I don‘t know if I‘ll actually get to it this month, but I was planning a reread of A #Secret History. I first read it nearly 20 years ago, not long after I started at the college it‘s based on. I remember being totally engrossed in it, and I remember its vibe and atmosphere, but I read it in a whirlwind weekend and don‘t remember the specifics of the plot. #DivineDecember @Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Well, I just finished this one and it was one wild ride! It's my first experience with this book and it kept my interest even after 22 hours of listening. I loved the language and the setting, it truly was beautifully written. The characters are an interesting bunch. ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨

Loved it! Dark academia is my jam. 🖤

Well... One upside to my night terror is I often wake up in the middle of the night and go to my Libby app and boy did I get a book haul from Libby tonight! Ready to get the tagged book started and have several others coming up next!

And now for a re-read...
I believe I read when it first came out in the early 90s. The Once Upon a Time at Bennington College podcast made me want to revisit it.

I suppose at one time in my life I might have had any number of stories, but now there is no other. This is the only story I will ever be able to tell.

#NovemberNarrative #Hike 😳

#Scarathlon #TeamSlaughter #DailyPhotoPrompt #Day27 #Death

Bunny‘s death is nonchalantly revealed in the iconic opening sentence of this novel.

A transfer student joins an exclusive Classics program at Hampden College and finds himself lured in by the dark influences of his colleagues.

Academia ✨ Paranoia ✨ Haunting

NOTES: TSH reminds me of books I read in high school and college, and is meant to be dissected well after the book is finished. Obvious inspiration is driven from The Great Gatsby and Greek tragedies as characters serve as the causes of their own destructive trajectories.

Nope! Everyone loves this book and I thought I would give it a whirl, especially as school is back in session and fall is in the air. I hated The Goldfinch but heard amazing things about this book that I gave it a try. I was reminded instantly why I chose to stay away from this book. Many people love the writing style but I think it just draaaaagggsss ooonnnn.

I was going to give it 4⭐️ but then I decided it reminded me of Lord of the flies so 5⭐️

"Come then, and let us pass a leisure hour in storytelling, and our story shall be the education of our heroes"
Plato - Republic, Book II

Day 1 - Black
So excited to be rereading this beauty again for #Scarathalon #TeamSlaughter #Scarathalondailyprompts #Autumnbingo and #Bookspinbingo

@Ann_Reads @TheAromaofBooks @Clwojick @StayCurious

This is tough because I like stuff that sometimes seems to be very specific to a person's taste? But looking back on what I've suggested that went well, the three that come to mind:

For entertainment, Donna Tartt's The Secret History
For a warm hug of a book, Tove Jansson's Moomin books (I'm cheating here, I know)
For 🤯 thrills, Jeff VanderMeer's Annihilation

Thanks @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks ! Tagging anyone who wants to play! #LittensWantToKnow

#currentlyreading THE SECRET HISTORY by Donna Tartt

I‘m glad to be back to reading after an extended period with COVID. To celebrate, I‘m busting out the fancy bookmark.

Do you have a special bookmark you love? #bookmarkcollector

#alphabetgame catch up
The Secret History is one of the books I recommend most often even though I only read it once a million years ago. The Time Traveler‘s Wife made me bawl like a baby.
Unspeakable Things was almost unbearably suspenseful.
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
#LetterS #LetterT ##LetterU

Since I‘ve started pre-reading for my masters I‘ve been trying to listen to books I know I already love on audio to keep myself reading for pleasure 🥰 I loved this book SO much when I first read it age maybe 15 but I was surprised how little I‘d remembered when I stated it again. I loved it just as much as ever though. I can imagine myself rereading this every few years forever

My annual re-listen 🍂🍁🍄

A cracking read

This went viral on Twitter lol one of my favorite books!
You can find me over there: Twitter.com/rmmckenny

Richard Papen enters a prestigious liberal arts university in Vermont and befriends an insular group of classical scholars. But all of their Dionysus-worshipping, ancient Greek-speaking, Iliad-studying activity soon leads Richard struggling to keep one of their grisly secrets: a midnight bacchanalia-in-the-woods gone horribly wrong. Entertaining, but a little exhausting to keep up with what feels like a never-ending deluge of raunchy campus drama.

There is nothing wrong with the love of Beauty. But Beauty - unless she is wed to something more meaningful - is always superficial.

I loved this one ❤️ New England boarding school and Greek studies, what could go wrong?! #booked2022 ~dark academia novel

I read The Goldfinch as a teenager and absolutely detested it. But then so many people I trust have said that this book is amazing, so I gave it a chance. I loved it. I love the dark academia vibes, the writing, and the examination of power and privilege and how things have a way of catching up to the rich and powerful in the end. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Inspired by their charismatic classics professor, 5 college students majoring in Ancient Greek re-enact an authentic Dionysian ritual with murderous consequences. Chilling, thrilling, dazzling, debut novel by the author while still a college student. (Photo in the post is of the Dancing Satyr, a bronze sculpture pulled out of the sea in Sicily in 1998)#SavvySettings Day 19, #campus @Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

#TarotTakeover Day 2! My take on Two of Cups reversed is one that involves obsession, unhealthy relationships (romantic or platonic), and warped emotions that distort our reality.

IMO, the tagged book shows this dynamic perfectly. We slowly see the demise of each character as their "relationships" with each other, their professor, and their collective interests take total control. It's a chunk of a book, but so worth it!

@ErinSueMreads ?

"Credo che avere un gran numero di insegnanti diversi sia dannoso e possa disorientare una giovane mente, come credo che sia meglio conoscere un solo libro a fondo che cento in modo superficiale"

"I believe that having a large number of different teachers is harmful and can confuse a young mind, as I think it is better to know one book thoroughly than a hundred superficially"

I guess I am just a sucker for academic atmospheres and foolish acts of humanity because I really enjoyed this. If audiobooks are your cup of tea I suggest trying the audiobook for “The Secret History.” Donna Tartt narrates and the voice for Bunny will haunt you. #bookjournal February #doublebookspin #audiobook

I love dark academia & this book is the metric of the genre. All of the characters were mostly unlikeable. They fall into the spoiled rich kids trope. They're entitled & elite in their own way. The group of six studies Greek classics under the guidance of an eccentric professor at the exclusive Hampden University. When the group finds themselves suspects in a murder investigation they close ranks & not everyone will make it out alive. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Also finished The Secret History not too long ago. It is a great book, my second from Donna Tartt and I am now a big fan of hers. The way she tells a story is just legendary.

Yesterday‘s reading spot. Trying to make some headway with this one but it‘s very slow going!

Loved this one and can‘t wait for book club to discuss! It‘s long, too long for some, but I love really getting to know the characters, though most were rich snobs, there were plenty of layers to peel and they were nitty gritty. I loved the atmosphere and setting, loved how things escalated from one disaster to the next and I did not see that ending coming! This is one that I‘ll be thinking about for a long time. #pop22 ~ A book set in the 1980‘s

I love when I‘m reading two books and one references the other. The Secret History is referencing the Kennedy family and I‘m listening to the ginormous JFK! Little things 😊

expected more but still good :)