Welcome to Litsy!

A soft pick for me - ⭐️⭐️⭐️. After my last pan, this was a welcome improvement. I thought the writing was good but the chapters were short (1-4 pages) which, although it made for a fast read, meant that it was difficult to really stay immersed in the story. My second #14books14weeks book

Hmmm, I just don‘t know with this book, from the #womensprize long list. It is a light pick but I think I read too much about the two different versions of this book so I went in not expecting much, and didn‘t get much as a result.

The narrative felt too choppy for me with what felt like great chunks missing. I wish I‘d have read the other (longer?) version, but then I‘m not that interested to try having read this one. 🤷‍♀️

Hoping to make it through all of these before the April 26th short list announcement!
Tackling Demon Copperhead, The Bandit Queens and starting Fire Rush this weekend.
So far my personal favorite is the tagged.

A poignant coming-of-age story about a passion for language (Croft is an award-winning translator) and the special bond between sisters. The US edition that I read (pictured) includes photographs between vignettes. I loved the mixed-media format. I felt it enriched the narrative and made for a unique reading experience. Only my fourth from the #WomensPrize longlist, but I won‘t be surprised if it makes my personal shortlist.

“Remember when I used to make you practice saying words?”

I have a very good feeling about this one.

#FirstLineFridays #WomensPrize

This is a book that seems to be deeply exploring the relationship of a child to her sister and the deep ramifications of a failure by her family to attend to her social development. Judging just the text, I found it affecting, but I‘m very confused by how a memoir contains people with completely different names from the author. This screams for an author‘s note. Pick for the text alone, something else entirely for the confusion.

So… sadly, I think the fact that I had both the audio and ebook versions to compare each to the other I was completely befuddled and couldn‘t settle into this book. What was true, what wasn‘t … each version missed significant parts of the other‘s story. I think I need to find the paper version and try again. For now it‘s a so-so for me.

#20in4 #readathon #womensprizelonglist
Wow.
Every line in this is immaculate.
This is my 3rd WP long list read and by far my favorite.
Holy inventive, a mixture of fiction, memoir, art - poetry, sketches, photography. I have not read anything quite like this before. I really loved this experience even with the very heavy topics addressed (tw suicide, date rape, child illness, cancer, probably more)
I hope this is shortlisted, it deserves it.

#firstlinefridat @ShyBookOwl

"Their mom gets them ready for all the possible disasters that might ever occur so she reads aloud the headlines from the Tulsa World at breakfast while Amy and Zoe eat their Cheerios."

#WomensPrizeLongList

"I guess I've thrown myself into travels as though maneuvering through time as well as space, and flouting gravity."

I am really enjoying this Women's Prize long list book. Even if I am confused how it even qualifies - in the US it is listed as a memoir and as a "nonfiction creative" writing.
The style is different, choppy chapters mixed with photos and drawings, and poetic passages. It is a strongly creative book that might polarize.

I am so confused & frustrated by Hoopla right now. I‘m just at the beginning of this book. What I‘m finding is the ebook version has left out at least one important chapter in which a main character is hurt which I assume is an important element of the story. From what I can tell it then leaves out the next two chapters. The audio version of the book leaves out paragraphs from the first chapter. I can‘t tell which one to actually use. So beware!

A blending of genres, mediums and languages, Jennifer Croft pens her coming of age in an auto-fiction visually styled novel. It‘s sad and unsettling but easy to appreciate and get through. Croft is an award winning translator who‘s worked with many prominent authors, this is her debut. #WomensPrizeLongList23 I was able to borrow both audio and e-book from #Hoopla

Thanks for putting this on my #ReadersRadar @TheKidUpstairs I borrowed both the audio and e-book from #Hoopla because I realized I NEEDED to see the photos that accompany the text. A story/ memoir by Jennifer Croft who is a literary translator. Croft replays her childhood experiences growing up with a beloved younger sister who is diagnosed with a brain tumor. There‘s a sense of melancholy and urgency on every page. #WomensPrizeLongList23

TW: suicide, suicide attempt, self-harm, rape, childhood illness

How do you translate your life into a fictional body? Croft plays with genre, blurring the lines between fiction and truth; and form, combining short chapters with photos from her childhood and captions that question the limits of language to translate feelings and memory. The result is beautifully readable, thoughtful, and effective.

#WomensPrizeLonglist23

"In Ancient Greece a clue was just a skein of yarn until enough mythical figures unraveled their ways out of mazes."

#WomensPrize2023 #WomensPrizeLonglist

I thought it would be interesting to change it up for #WITmonth and read an award-winning translator's memoir. I will call it memoir adjacent, because she calls the girl named after her a different name, and uses photography taken by others but credited to the protagonist, but many other details come from her life.↘️