The Invoice: A Novel | 
panNope. When I go into a book knowing there's a semi-absurd premise, something where you're going to work extra hard to suspend disbelief and not think too hard about the details, I'm looking for the result to be charming or meaningful. I feel like this book didn't manage either.
Started out thinking it could have been a novella, now convinced that amount of plot and original rumination minus the redundancies would have fit in a short story. 1/?
Final #BookSpin wrap up for the year. I completed 9/12 picks. Not my greatest year but as always I enjoy making my monthly list and I enjoy seeing the titles coming off my tbr pile. Thanks for hosting another great year of reading @TheAromaofBooks now off to complete the google doc.
pickJanuary #bookspin
Book 4 for #JumpStart2023 and first #bookspin of the year complete! I enjoyed this short story that is a thought provoking look at happiness.
"You see, we look at life as if it were a classically constructed play. The one with the most whistles and bells isn't necessarily the best. Things have to happen in the right order too, otherwise there is no point."
pickAnother deliciously weird novel from Jonas Karlsson, author of The Room. It saddens me that he's only written two novels thus far.
Happiness and what is the value of experiencing life and living each day, moment to moment. Not about where you come from or what you have, but how you live. Where is the value, what‘s it all worth, as you go through. What do you see, and what would another notice? What does it mean to be the happiest person, and how would you know, if no one brought this to your attention. Ah, the existentialism of it all... 6 or two 3s, what does it matter...
Trying to catch up on some past due ARC's This was an ARC at some point. 😂
pickI came across this book on the digital library by chance when I was browsing for other books. This is a sweet, simple story that will make you think: how much money would you owe if you had to pay for the amount of happiness and enjoyment you've had in your life? This was a quick read. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Recommended! 📚🤓📚
pickA lovely, short, feel-good book. Similar to Frederik Bachman or Antoine Laurain.
pickThis splendid little book certainly qualifies as a fast read. I flew through its story quickly, loving its simple contemplation of happiness and contentment. (I received a free copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.) #SpringFlingReading
Lunchtime reading. Need to get on this as it is due back at the library. Sorry for my bad food styling but it tasted good!
pickTucked behind my sweet Nellie is my most recent book. It's a quick read, just 204 pages. The blurb inside the jacket describes it as 'A heartfelt exploration of the cost of life and love - and the importance of the little things.' I think that's true. Kind of sweet and a bit funny, profound if you would like it to be. I enjoyed it💖
#catsoflitsy #butitwasntevenonmytbr
Sleepy Saturday morning with coffee, a fire and The Invoice. ☕️ 📚 #theinvoice #jonaskarlsson #LitsyAtoZ @BookishMarginalia I loved this book! Quick read, adorable story. An instant favorite for me.
pickWhy did he receive an outrageous bill in the mail? Review at http://www.spiritblog.net/the-invoice/
pickI enjoyed the layout of this book. I enjoyed learning about the character and his past through, in a sense, inventory of his life when he is discussing his bill with the company. I would have been happy to have had more characters to read about and see the different stories they all had to tell. I really enjoyed the psychological take on this, discussing how one copes with life and how one perceives things affects their happiness.
Quirky, yes, but I admit this made me uncomfortable, kept going because it is pretty short.
pickThe Invoice by Jonas Karlsson is a quirky little book! It's about an average Joe who has to face the price of life. And not in some metaphorical way. Literally, the price of life. I enjoyed this book quite a lot! It's not the best book ever, but it's enjoyable and makes you reflect. Definitely put a smile on my face, so I would recommend it to anyone who's interested. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Just started this and what an intriguing book it is so far! Our (so far) unnamed narrator gets an invoice for $$$$$$$$$. At first he thinks it's a scam, then learns it's the 'cost of living.' I wonder if this will be a moral-of-the-story-type fable.
pickA delightfully quirky little book that you can gulp down in a matter of hours. The unnamed protagonist leads a very simple life until the day he suddenly receives an invoice for a large sum of money and falls into a bureaucratic rabbit hole. The book explores what true happiness means and its relation to wealth and material goods, residency and the meaning of finding the silver lining in any cloud without being cloyingly sweet. Recommended.
Today's reading view: the water park at our local theme park on a scorching hot day. Thank goodness for season's passes that allow us to pop over for a couple of hours at a time.
Randomly came across this book and it brought back the strange, intense hilarity of Jonas Karlsson's The Room. Can't wait to read this one!
pickThis book sort of reminded me of literary version of the trial in the movie Defending Your Life. What I liked most about the book is not the writing or the characters, which were good and interesting, respectively, but the way it makes you think about the value of happiness and how we measure a life. It's a quick, thoughtful read and while it starts off slow, it's worth it to keep going.
so-soThis book had quirk, charm, and a fun existential premise, and yet it was not compelling enough for me to finish. I have JUST stopped finishing books that I am 'meh' about, and it still fills me with guilt. The fear of not having enough lifetime for ALL THE BOOKS is, however, greater than the guilt!
Ready to start this ADE from Penguin's First to Read program. The publisher promises this book will change the way I see life, and despite my cynical self, I thought "that's why books are the best things ever"!
so-soQuick review-Great premise-what if life was no longer free? Sadly, it starts to fall apart after the first 50-60pgs. Attempted love story that doesn't develop well. Could have been a great short story, but became a mediocre short book (only 120 pgs). I think something got lost in translation.
While, so far, not the best writing I have read in a bit, I love the premise- What if the best things in life suddenly were no longer free. Reading for review and am surprised it is only 120 pages. I just started it and am almost done!
pickA super-quick & quirky read! People start getting invoices for how much happiness they've experienced in their lives. Our hero tries to fight his invoice, only to find out he's happier than he ever imagined.
My thanks to the author & LibraryThing for the ARC.
"Life was just so good, somehow. It was perfectly natural that it should be expensive."
I think it's among the scientific literature nowadays that people's natural happiness level varies person to person, something to do with genetics and brain chemistry, beyond what outside factors could modify it, and this story felt like a 22h
The text just barely grazes against the whole, 'many types of privilege, reasons why he's actually very lucky even if one might not rate his life spectacular' which at this point feels so well covered in attempting to gain a more intersectional understanding in non-fiction of how various minorities 22h
And really most of this book, wherein one might assume the author wants us to recognize the many sources of contentment and simple joys in our lives, is chock-full of anxiety-generators: a large unpaid expense coming out of the blue, the idea that 'the best things in life are free' is no longer a reality, and you 22h
Maybe there's an unconvincing romantic thread that's supposed to be blossoming in those phone conversations but for most of it he's being a whiny, entitled ass.
22h
I just - if the author was sincere then I'm sorry I didn't receive whatever he was trying to get across. If this was actually a cynical cash grab in the YOLO/self-help adjacent/contemporary feel-good genre than I'm not surprised and also very comfortable with the fact that I basically just roasted it. 🔥 (edited) 22h