Welcome to Litsy!

The land was drained.
#firstlineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

The land was drained.
#firstlineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

For me, this short story collection is about women, women who goes after what they want, several have a special connection with water or the sea, several have a special connection with animals.

I live the way Johnson tells a story and I‘m looking forward to her next novel.

Black mud, brackish water, foxes, eels, hunger and desire! As with Everything Under, there's the feeling of a myth running beneath these stories and unifying them, although here that myth remains submerged throughout and never quite breaks the surface. It all adds up to a collection of strange and unsettling stories that some irresistible impulse had me reading aloud to myself beneath my breath. A fantastic read of an October night!

A collection of short stories about women in rural areas dealing with life, love, men, sex, and parenthood. Living a bit removed from civilization, these women often interact with animals in strange, almost magical ways. Beautifully written.

The stories in this collection take place in England‘s fens. Most of the stories focus on the boundary between people and animals. They are unsettled, a little creepy, and not quite resolved. #shortstories

Something swampy, something blue, something translated, something true. #ReadingEnvySummerChallenge (June edition completed)

“He‘d come to her with a story burning so hot in his mouth he couldn‘t help but tell it: the house that fell in love with a girl, the girl that starved into a fish.” In this collection of sly stories all set in same village in the English fenland, words can scald, coming of age can be brutal, and a fox is not necessarily just a fox.

Virginity was a half-starved dog you were looking after, wanted to give away as quickly as possible so you could forget it ever existed.

I like cocks, she said, but I‘m trying to be bisexual, even if it doesn‘t take. I think, in this day and age, it‘s wrong to be straight.
(Internet photo)

You have to call a hare a langlugs, he‘d said. And you can‘t ever let them on the boat. Not ever.

Don't judge by me, there's some quality writing here just not for me.

Up to 10:19 for the weekend so far. Today read from the tagged, The last black unicorn and Midwives.

#24b4monday @ANDREW65 @TheReadingMermaid

A little something a wee bit creepy and a little bit spooky for October.

Double snuggle while I curl up with my next book. Meet Bruce! We adopted him in April. 🐹🐹

#24in48 #readathon #bookishferrets

Reading these stories was like looking at a series of abstract figurative paintings. Each was so vivid and tangible - yet so mysterious and mindfully unsettling. Multiple readings are sure to reveal even more treasures to be discovered... and I know that I'll be back.

Bedtime stories, not for the faint of heart.

Enjoying this one so far... So happy I can finally sit outside and read on my break!!!

Can‘t put it down.

A bit of an uneven collection, but overall I would rate this a pick. Stand out stories include Starver and A Bruise the Shape and Size of a Door Handle.I look forward to seeing what Johnson publishes next.

It‘s a short story kind of afternoon 🙌

It's time for creepy books. 👻 #octoberreads

Day 22: Cosy #30daysofreadathon

My next read! Day 26: short stories #30daysofreadathon

Weekend book haul from Deep Vellum. I really love their carefully curated selection! Heard one of the stories from Fen on Levar Burton's podcast. Excited for Home, an Indonesian translation. And finally got my hands on a copy of Black Wave!

What a wonderful set of stories! Reminiscent of life in a small town where histories become mythologies and people are built from mud and sweat... we are foxes and fish, we come from birds and smell of dirt. This book is a keeper and one to reread.

Episode 2!! I love his story telling! This might be how I get into short stories.

Only two episodes into the new podcast "LeVar Burton Reads," and I'm already loving. LeVar brings his passion for the written word into his reading, and the production quality is top notch. The second episode "The Lighthouse Keeper" by Daisy Johnson was an intriguing story. I'm looking forward to future stories. #LeVarBurtonReads #LBR #podcast #shortstories

An extraordinary collection. Spare, accomplished writing with wonderfully controlled weirdness. Characters are raw, honest and sometimes turn into animals. Despite these magical elements, the stories feel poignant, true and rooted in the earth.

A collection of surreal short stories set in a place called Fen. I mean, I liked it ok, but I'm just not into short stories. So for me, it's just so-so, but if you like short stories and weird tales I would definitely recommend this.

Inspired to read some #shortstories for day 17 of #Booktober I picked up Fen. Wowee are these strong, inspired and original. ??

"We dressed Greta. This was not the occasion for polo shirts or wellington boots. We painted her mouth a red church."

Inspired to read some #shortstories for day 17 of #Booktober I picked up Fen. Wowee are these strong, inspired and original. ??

"We dressed Greta. This was not the occasion for polo shirts or wellington boots. We painted her mouth a red church."

I just dived into this inspired by #shortstories and wow. So impressed. This for example:

What do you mean?
There were three years between us and I was used to the look she gave me.

I love the light touch of Teffi's #shortstories, looking forward to this collection by Stefan Zweig a favourite author, and have heard great things about Fen.

#somethingforsept #septphotochallenge #translatedbooks

My review can be found

http://thereoncewasabookseller.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/june-in-reading.html?m=1

Spent the morning in bed with tea finishing this surreal and slightly magical collection of short stories. Talking foxes, possessive houses, relationships, monsters and more in Daisy Johnson's debut Fen.

And now for some grown up fairy tales in bed.

"The house did not love the way a dog would love, unthinking, beating back up after a cuff to the nose; or the way a child did , through lack of choice and necessity."