Welcome to Litsy!

I was fortunate to see Sara Bareilles and the National Symphony Orchestra tonight at the Kennedy Center. She sang a new song from the new musical she‘s writing based on the tagged book. The song was called Enough and is about Jules. It was amazing 🎶🩷

When Julie, a geeky teenager in 1974 living with newly widowed mother + sister goes to summer camp she meets 4 new friends who bewitch her with their difference + form the structure of her next 40 years. This bk explores relationships both beneficial + corrosive as well as jealousies + passions that simmer. An enjoyable story of friendship as it changes over time although when I put it down I did not miss the characters who at times annoyed me.

Seven teenagers attend Spirit-in-the-Woods, a creative summer camp. Friendships are formed. Then they grow up and we read 466 pages of minute detail about their adult selves. This. Felt. Long. But, now I‘ve finished it, in that weird way good books sometimes do without you realising, I‘m living a bit in their lives now. It‘s like they‘re my friends and I want to know where they‘ve suddenly gone to and what they‘re doing! And the ending…

Bailed! Might be my frame of mind right now or the fact there were too many characters. Ive heard alot of praise about this one so I might revisit later.

Book 63

This was on my shelf for ages and I‘m glad I was able to finally get to it. It was a satisfying read in that I could dip in and out of the book and still feel connected with the characters. From summer camp to middle age, the characters, all friends, experience many situations that felt very familiar. Envy of another couple‘s financial state, dealing with a spouse‘s depression, what information you share with a partner, children (!). Overall, 👍

The reviews on this one are mixed, but I really liked it!

It's always a little daunting to jump into such a long story, but once I was in I was all in.

The book is about a group of friends who meet at camp as teenagers and covers their stories until they are in their 50s.

Maybe it's because I am in my 50s and am still friends with the members of my church youth group that I was so able to relate.

Enduring friendships make for good stories 🙂

I heart Sunday afternoons

Simple pleasures 🙂

Finished my re-read of this. I'm still feeling mixed on it. There's *so much* going on in this book and the main character is super-unlikeable, unenjoyable to spend this much time with her. It's a long book, so it's a commitment. I am, however, looking forward to the book group discussion about this book on Zoom tomorrow night!

Loved this. A group of six friends meet at a summer camp for arty kids, and somewhat ironically name themselves ‘The Interestings.‘ What follows is the story of their lives as they divert and collide, in all its messiness, life-changing events, disappointments and realities, petty jealousies, secrets and tragedies. It‘s about ambition and dreams, what it means to be ‘special‘ and not so, but ultimately it‘s the friendships that kept me engaged.

If I bail on a book, do I still have to give it a legit review? I don‘t remember having ever done this before. ☹️🤷🏻‍♀️🙁

The tagged book seemed to get really great reviews from lots of Littens before I started reading it...but the above meme is basically a depiction of how I‘ve felt about it so far.

And wondering if I should bail on this book or not. I‘m having a really hard time getting into this story. It‘s a long one and I‘ve got about 9 hours left if I stick with it. It is a rare day that I don‘t finish what I start, especially books.
You might say I‘m finding that “The Interestings” aren‘t as interesting as I‘d hoped they‘d be.
Did anyone else have a hard time with this one?

I‘m convinced that my stats will never be impressive for one of these, even with Covid forcing so much time on my hands, but can I request an extension so I can continue to use @Clwojick ‘s tracker she let me have access to today?

I don‘t want to wait an entire month to keep filling it out! We should just continue the readathon until next month, please and thanks! #nerdalert #24B4Monday

A book I picked because of the cover ❤ and with #readyoursign this will be number 9 on the Leo prompt list. Read a book with a character that is proud, bold, or ambitious.

#bookreport and #weeklyforecast
🎧 The Interestings - 87.3% finished. I'm enjoying this one well enough. It's not amazing, but its nice.
📚 A Storm of Swords - 22.1% done. On track to finish it this month for #bookspin 😁
🎧 The Ten Thousand Doors of January - up next! I finally got it after spending 10 weeks on hold with the library.

Listening to the tagged audiobook while my fiancee and I organized our shared book space 😍 when we get a bigger place I'll bring the rest of my collection from my parents' house

#bookreport and #weeklyforecast
🎧 Mrs. Everything - finished and LOVED and cried over.
📚 Midnight in Chernobyl - 8% done. I really don't have the time to read books since I'm back at work. Having much more luck with listening.
🎧 The Interestings - starting this week!

Hung my puzzle in my “Gramma‘s Library” 😃 my favorite room in the house!!

I‘m on a 5-star reading streak! 🙌🏼

I loved this book! A group of teenagers form a friendship while at a summer camp for the arts. The novel follows them over the next 4 decades, exploring the way their paths diverge and their relationships evolve. I grew attached to these characters who felt so very real to me, and it made me nostalgic for my own summer camp days.

This was my March #doublespin. I‘m playing catch up!

My kids have finished their online learning for the day and now this tired mom is recharging! 🙌

Current read. It was my March #doublespin, which I never got around to, but suits my current reading mood. I have the audio version also, and love when I can immerse myself in a book by switching back and forth.

The Interestings are not as interesting as they all think they are. I set this book down in August 2019 & didn‘t pick up again until earlier this week. It was a hate read at that point.
But I did like how it ended much more than I expected and thus the So-So instead of a pan. 🤷‍♀️

I loved my March #bookspin selection. Here is my list for April.

Another Saturday morning at the library. Kids are playing. I‘m listening to this one. Perfect start to the day!

Year isn‘t quite done, but I‘m so happy with this so far!

Thanks for the rec @Megabooks ! My library had this available! Perfect timing. I‘m enjoying it so far.

I realize that this isn't a new book, & it's been on my TBR for years. Wow. I love tales of dysfunctional families that speak many years, & I loved this book!

⭐⭐⭐⭐✨/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I really enjoyed this book and the main characters: Ash, Ethan, and Jules. Following the characters as they grow up together. She nails the antsy, discontentment of getting older and realizing that those special moments from our youth weren't nearly as special as we remember, that's it's really just a lament of wanting our youth back instead of dealing with the ups and downs of marriage and life.

#currentread

#7Days7Covers
#CoverCrush
Day 1

@Librarybelle
@EadieB

#7covers7days day 5

I‘ve not posted her for a while. I need to get back in the habit! Here‘s my #fridayread. #weekendreading #readmyowndamnbooks #readingalfresco

8-22-19: My 67th finished book of 2019! #theinterestings #megwolitzer 👍🏼📖#️⃣6️⃣7️⃣

I feel like the cover and the title both do this one a disservice, but when I finally picked it up, really enjoyed it. I find myself thinking about the characters at random moments weeks after finishing it, which is always a sign of a good read.

While this audiobook might not blow you away, it‘s quite good. The story focuses on characters and relationships. The plot is not a fast moving one, if that's what you're into, but it‘s interesting and should keep your attention. Plus, the narrator is really good. Judging by this novel and her latest release, The Female Persuasion, listeners can expect consistent, high quality work from Meg Wolitzer.

Overall rating: 4.41 stars

In this character-driven narrative Wolitzer seamlessly navigates the relationships of six friends over the decades as she weaves back and forth in time and through the lens of different members of the group. It's an extraordinary telling of ordinary life that absorbed and engaged me from the onset as Wolitzer explores what shapes friendships and how they evolve. She deftly handles tough topics- i.e., talent, envy, money, power, and mental health.

“She recognized that that is how friendships begin: one person reveals a moment of strangeness, and the other person decides just to listen and not exploit it.”

The lambs on my super warm & comfy new reading socks look an awful lot like this Litsy cat 😊 #cousins?

Getting started on Mount TBR and The Interestings today. It's been sitting on my shelf for years, so time to get going on it!

Found 2 books on my reading list at the thrift store today! 🙌🏼 Something feels so good about pay $1 for a book that originally costs $27.99. 📚

#adventrecommends Day 22 @emilyrose_x
I love many of Meg Wolitzer‘s books, but “The Interestings” is far and away my favorite. A group of precocious teenagers meet at a summer camp in the mid-70s. The camp is for arty students; all of the half-dozen featured in the book have a talent, and are creative as well. But as we follow them into adulthood, the promise that was exhibited in youth hasn‘t necessarily been realized in adulthood. Wolitzer ⬇️

My Black Friday bookoutlet haul. I‘m so excited about all of these. #bookoutlethaul #bookmail #bookstacks

The actual story bits - where the story moved on, where good and ‘interesting‘ and there were lots of sub texts and themes in the book! Just a bit too many sections dragged a bit and didn‘t add much.
I think I liked it a lot more than some others on here- some stinging reviews!! 😁

Currently reading

Thank you Cathy for your lovely gifts ❤️ so thoughtful! 😘Will look forward to seeing what I make of the book as I know it splits opinion!
The socks I will keep away from my daughter!
I‘m doing my best to get myself fit and healthy again 😁

Ready to cozy up and read these goodies! Thank you so much @Slajaunie ! What great picks. The coffee sounds amazing, will definitely be trying that tomorrow morning. I love Fall. 💛#fffs FallingForFallSwsp

Several teens meet at an arty summer camp and form bonds that will follow them throughout their lives. They each believe their incredible and unique talents will bring them success and change the world. Unfortunately, for most of the group members, the day-to-day routine of ordinary life gradually squashes their dreams. Maybe a little too real.