Welcome to Litsy!

3mo

Kitta The experimental structure of the alternatives made no sense to me, why was there a play script?? Also I didn‘t totally understand the motivations of going off into the woods and leaving her life behind. I felt like I was sitting in a lecture too often too. Bear was definitely a better read for me, interesting unreliable narrator and tension between the family and the danger of the bear itself! A more satisfying read. 🐻 3mo

Bookwormjillk I couldn‘t get through The Alternatives (although I want to try again.) I vote

3mo

Soubhiville Definitely Bear. I had to bail on TA.

3mo

BarbaraBB For me, this is the easiest choice of the three months. 🐻 it is!

(edited) 3mo

3mo

3mo

JamieArc Bear for me! 3mo

TrishB I did finish both - but Bear definitely for me. Melancholy and sad 😞 3mo

Daisey

3mo

mcctrish I never got to Bead so it‘s The Alternatives for me 3mo

DGRachel I‘m going to have to go against popular opinion here and vote for The Alternatives. That one at least didn‘t leave me feeling like life was completely without purpose or hope.

3mo

TheKidUpstairs I'm probably be in the minority, but my vote goes to

3mo

MicheleinPhilly Bear! Thanks for an EXCELLENT month, Helen! 😘 3mo

Suet624 Bear! Definitely Bear. 3mo

AmyG Bear 3mo

TheBookHippie Bear! 3mo

Graciouswarriorprincess Bear 3mo

ChaoticMissAdventures For sure The

3mo

Megabooks No contest for me

3mo

CBee If it‘s okay for me to vote, I vote for Bear (since it‘s the only one I read 😂). 3mo

Jess

3mo

sarahbarnes Voting for Bear! 3mo

Prairiegirl_reading Didn‘t love it but at least I finished it!

3mo

Ruthiella Not a huge fan of either, but because it really challenged my reading muscles

3mo

kspenmoll Bear! 3mo

Deblovestoread For me it‘s definitely

3mo

Christine Thank you for hosting a wonderful month! I‘ll go with

3mo

Chelsea.Poole Bear for me! Thanks for counting these votes! 3mo

Hooked_on_books Definitely Bear for me 3mo

Meshell1313 Thanks for hosting! So fun! My vote is for:

3mo

CarolynM The Alternatives was a bit inconsistent so I‘m going for

3mo

BarbaraJean Bear! 3mo

GatheringBooks Thank you so much for hosting. I vote for

3mo

Larkken I liked the fable elements in Bear, and The Alternatives was uneven and preachy so Bear for me

3mo

57 likes43 comments

Mitch

Camping: A Mr. and Mrs. Green Adventure | Keith Baker

We‘ve been wild camping for four days - so popped into a nearby National Trust estate for tea, cake and to use the facilities! Added bonus they had a second hand bookshop! Happy holidays!

squirrelbrain Love a National Trust bookshop! ❤️ 1y

AmyG Enjoy! 1y

noseinabookagain 95% of my books have come from NT bookshops, I‘ve found so many treasures over the years 😊 1y

64 likes3 comments

peaKnit

Camping: A Mr. and Mrs. Green Adventure | Keith Baker

#camplitsy2023 picks - I want to read these anyways but will be more fun with a reading goal/ group!

Cinfhen Ohhhhh, a new Maynard! YAY 😁 I didn‘t know

The Bird Hotel: A Novel

peaKnit @Cinfhen I just love her! 2y

19 likes2 comments

Camping: A Mr. and Mrs. Green Adventure | Keith Baker

Here are my nominations for #CampLitsy2023. Two I haven‘t seen before: Good Night, Irene (I don‘t usually like war novels but I love Urrea) and Saturday Night at the Lakeside. The others I probably got from YOU! I‘ve been checking Litsy all day to see nominations. So many great books coming out. Really looking forward to participating with you all.

Megabooks, squirrelbrain, BarbaraBB

Good Night, Irene

Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club

See All 19 Comments

No Two Persons: A Novel

The Lager Queen of Minnesota

The Celebrants

Megabooks I love Urrea! Great choices! 2y

Deblovestoread Love seeing new to me titles but really interested in

Good Night, Irene

BarbaraBB I almost put the Urrea on my list too, glad you did now! Fab choices! 2y

Cinfhen I love how new to me titles keep popping up!! I need to hide my cc 😅 2y

squirrelbrain I‘ve been waiting to see your list! 😁 Great choices! 2y

JamieArc @Megabooks @Deblovestoread @BarbaraBB I think Urrea is a fabulous human being (as well as fabulous writer), so I always appreciate seeing other people wanting to read his work ❤️ 2y

JamieArc @Cinfhen I knew there would be some great titles but I didn‘t expect just how many! My bank account is scared for itself 😂😂 2y

JamieArc @squirrelbrain Thirst for Salt came from seeing your list! It just sounded like something I very much would want to read during summer months. I look forward to it whether it‘s chosen or not. 2y

sarahbarnes Yes! Dykette is on my list too, and Thirst for Salt sounds very good! 2y

sarahbarnes And what, a new Urrea?! (edited) 2y

Chelsea.Poole I LOVE J Ryan Stradal!! 2y

monalyisha Excited about Saturday Night and The Celebrants for different reasons! I went on a vacation to Wisconsin last year, inspired largely by a romance novel featuring a supper club — and I *loved* Kitchens of the Great Midwest! And, as I think you know from me prattling on, I‘m super interested in the role of an officiants - whether it‘s leading rituals based on new life, a union of separate lives, or the end of life. However, I didn‘t love The Guncle. 2y

JamieArc @monalyisha I believe said supper club novel was on your ALS list, right? I have plans to get to it this summer! I haven‘t read Kitchens but I did read the tagged and really liked it. I am one of the few who hasn‘t read The Guncle yet, but the premise piqued my interest, in part due to my love of the funeral scene in the film Waking Ned Devine. Have you seen it? If not, please do!

51 likes19 comments

squirrelbrain

Camping: A Mr. and Mrs. Green Adventure | Keith Baker

Hi all, one last activity for this session of #camplitsy….

It‘s time to vote for your favourite book of June, between How High We Go In The Dark and True Biz.

The winner will go through to the final vote at the end of August, to compete against our other two monthly favourites.

Simply tell us your favourite in the comments below, along with your reasons why.

Meg, Barbara and I are looking forward to seeing the results!

Megabooks, BarbaraBB

squirrelbrain @karenuk @rsteve388 @vivastory @cinfhen @chelsea.poole @batsy @sarahbarnes @merelybookish @micheleinphilly @well-readneck @cathythoughts @annececilie @rockpools @susanita @bkclubcare @lmjenkins @emilymdxn @desha @hooked_on_books @kdgordon88 2y

squirrelbrain @mklong @kitta @oryx @jhod @itsanotherjen @zenwldflwr @sophronisba @thegreensofa @suet624 @bookwormjillk @larkken @julesg @trishb @soubhiville @mrsV @jlhammar @cariashley @thekidupstairs @sarahbellum @sparklemn 2y

squirrelbrain @ruthiella @caroline2 @youneverarrived @eraderneely @4thhouseontheleft @leniverse @laughterhp @addison_reads @christine @thebluestocking @sparklemn @theresa @simona @imperfectCJ @lindy @thereadingpal @beckywiththegoodbooks @magpiegem 2y

See All 33 Comments

squirrelbrain Before I started this month I thought my choice would be easy… I didn‘t think that HHWGITD would be for me but actually I ended up really liking it, thanks to all of your input. However, ultimately, I still enjoyed True Biz more as well as learning so much from it, so I‘m voting for

True Biz: From the author of the Women�s Prize longlisted GIRL AT WAR

Bookwormjillk I just liked both of them, so it‘s a hard choice. But ultimately there‘s one I can see myself reading again so I‘m going with

BkClubCare I, too, enjoyed HHWGitD more than I expected to but I appreciate even more the impact of True Biz; the extra ASL illustrations and even the punctuation provided to bring deaf culture to my reading experience. Both worthy books, my vote goes to

True Biz

(edited) 2y

Cinfhen I appreciated all that Sara Novick taught me about deaf culture but in terms of writing and creativity I feel like Sequoia Nagamatsu set the bar a tad higher. (No pun intended 😉) My vote is for

Soubhiville Oh no we have to choose!? I loved them both. I could see myself recommending them both (actually already have…) But ultimately I have to agree with @Bookwormjillk that I‘m more likely to reread only one, so my vote is for

Leniverse Tricky. How long do we have to think about this? I liked both books, and they are so different in genre and style that it is difficult to compare them. 🤔 2y

Oryx I really like both, but HHWGITD for me

TrishB I never re-read so that‘s not a decider for me. I zoned out of 25% of How High and definitely wouldn‘t recommend to the casual reader. So I guess I‘m going for True Biz. 2y

MicheleinPhilly This is actually a really tough choice for me. How High was the book I was dreading the most because I knew it wasn‘t my thing, but that is the one that is going to stay with me. So even though I “enjoyed” it less, my vote is for

jlhammar This is hard. They are so different! True Biz was great, but it didn't quite have the wow factor for me that the Nagamatsu had. An immersive reading experience, emotionally hard-hitting with a very cool concept, I have to go with

rockpools I loved True Biz, and thought it was a really cleverly put-together intro to Deaf culture. But How High surprised me in so many ways, and was like nothing else I‘ve read so I‘m going

squirrelbrain Oops I meant to say @Leniverse - vote closes on Tuesday! (Everyone‘s time zone as we‘ll count the votes on Wed) 2y

Cathythoughts For me it‘s a very clear choice.. although I enjoyed the educational part of True Biz. I became more engaged with How High, I didn‘t always like it or understand it , but I felt it. I think we will see many prizes for this book that my vote goes to

True Biz: From the author of the Women�s Prize longlisted GIRL AT WAR

(edited) 2y

Laughterhp I liked getting very educated by Sara Novic. And I liked the story better. I have a hard time with short stories even though they were a bit connected. I really enjoyed HHWGITD, but I think my vote goes to

batsy I liked parts of True Biz and learned a lot, but How High, despite it's uneven pacing because of the varied quality of the stories, has left a strong impression. I still recall certain moods and emotions from reading it—and the world it paints is both familiar and alienating. So my vote is for

Ruthiella Oh! I totally forgot we have to vote! 🙈Tough call since I really liked both. I‘m going to pick the one that I think has the better re-readability and I‘d say also the writing was stronger.

Megabooks Both were strong picks, and I really appreciate the Deaf culture/ASL education aspects of True Biz, but the creativity of How High and the concepts (like euthanasia) it made me think about ultimately makes How High better for me. Plus both the audiobook and print book were equally amazing!

(edited) 2y

BarbaraBB It‘s a difficult choice. Both won‘t end up on my Best of list. My vote goes to the more creative one and that‘s

AnneCecilie

True Biz: From the author of the Women�s Prize longlisted GIRL AT WAR

Addison_Reads Tough choice, and I truly enjoyed them both. I am going with the one though that opened my mind and educated me on a community and culture I was quite ignorant of because in the end I feel like it is a book others need to read.

Deblovestoread True Biz: I appreciated learning about deaf culture and ASL but it was a weaker story and left too many loose ends. How High: imagination, emotions, and I will be rereading soon. My vote is

thereadingpal Honestly I'm not enjoying True Biz as I enjoyed the other book - something about te writing is not clicking with me, as well as the characters. My vote is for

Hooked_on_books I really liked both these books, but the one that‘s sticking with me more is True Biz (I read both a while ago), so it gets my vote. It‘s actually the one I thought would win, but clearly we‘re leaning the other way! 2y

sarahbarnes True Biz. I really liked things about both of these books. I‘m going with TB because I learned so much in reading it. 2y

Suet624 If you read my review and my comments about True Biz you‘ll know I was disappointed in it. Yes, I learned about a culture that I really needed to learn about but I felt it should have been edited and have some wrap up at the end. HHWGITD was so creative and well written. Like others have said, I didn‘t expect to like it so I was truly surprised.

(edited) 2y

cariashley I had mixed feelings on both of these, and they come out about even for me, so it‘s a really tough call! I think How High gets my vote though as it was more my kind of book. The teen angst in TB grated a bit too much, even though I appreciated the very different perspective.

True Biz: From the author of the Women�s Prize longlisted GIRL AT WAR

MrsV I liked both books, but I think I did like

(edited) 2y

Well-ReadNeck Like so many of you, this is a really tough call for me. I‘m going with

True Biz

Leniverse Ok, after sleeping on it I'm voting for