Welcome to Litsy!

This darkly funny pseudo-stream-of-consciousness novel is a quick read and an interesting look at daily life when everything feels like it's falling apart. It feels also like a cautionary tale about refusing the connections that are around us and/or losing our selves in our connections. (One of my Christmas library books from my spouse.)

Photo: Brooklyn Public Library, December 2016.

In this brief and impressionistic novel, Lizzie works in a university library in New York and has a side gig answering correspondence for her friend, an increasingly despairing climate scientist. Her brother Henry is in recovery, his anxiety spiraling as he attempts to settle down. The vivid voice and stellar writing made this a compulsive read for me, although it probably wasn't great for my own climate anxiety.

Tagged book is the cut off in the image!
A busy month but still time to read. And a true diversity of books too!

I don‘t usually chose my books by how likely I am to be able to have finished them by the next afternoon but since that‘s the situation I found myself in, I‘m quite pleased that this is the one I landed on.

This had an unusual style - it‘s more vibe based than plot but basically we follow Lizzie as she goes about her life as a mother, wife, sister, librarian, unofficial shrink & climate podcaster email answerer and see how each role intersects.

Me googling “short audiobooks” the day before I‘m meant to be speaking at the first “book chat” of the year when I realise I‘m a book shy 🤓 I‘m at 56% now and the session is in the early afternoon… so there is a solid chance I‘m going to pull this off…

This is the strangest book I‘ve read in years.

Offill has such a unique, unusual style. You follow the trail of the characters‘ thoughts in fits and starts, getting to know them in a sort of haphazard way, and yet the arc of a journey is there. Strange, but compelling.

Incredible! It took a bit to get through the first part because the format is unusual and I couldn‘t find my POV. Then I did and it‘s filled with so many aha moments, all the crazy funny things I think about and I thought it was just me being a weirdo. Has anyone else read this? How did you find it? Can you relate?

22/22 Ooph this book. At about the half way point I stopped feeling seen and started feeling engrossed with the protagonists story. It was a brilliantly written, totally unexpected gut punch. I will need a cosy palate cleanser to recover from this one and I know it will take up residency in my brain. It was uncomfortable but that has not put me off seeking out further writing by this talented author. 4.5 ⭐️ #weathertermintitle #booked2022

Well I thought this would be a quick read as it‘s a really short book but I am feeling so completely seen on almost every page that I‘m reading it in very small sections purely because of how uncomfortable I feel. That being said, this book makes me want to share a quote from almost every page. It‘s taking all my will power not to clog up Litsy with a never ending stream of page photos!

Finished this last night, and I was disappointed. I don‘t mind books that are light on plot if there‘s good character development, and I don‘t mind lack of character development if the ideas are interesting & well-explored, but this didn‘t seem to do any of the above. I enjoyed the writing—short almost journal-like paragraphs, wry humor—but I feel like there must have been something more that I missed. At least I finished my April #DoubleSpin!

Today it is snowing. In Brighton. You can actually see the snow landing on the sea- this is not a very common occurrence! It‘s absolutely 🥶 So Fox and I camped out in one of our local libraries, read lots of books and brought lots home too (no books were hurt in the taking of this photo. Fox thinks the line between library and soft play is very blurred 😬). Book haul pics to follow!

A great way to start my pre-blizzard day off. Drinking coffee in bed and reading the entire story. I like her style of writing. She interjects moments of humor about parenting and marriage with survival techniques, monks, preppers, anxiety, and human connection. Some thought provoking statements dropped in amidst the banality of the day to day experience. Finally, the big question: can we really prepare for the end of the world?

The perils of being a mother. No one ever tells you about this part of it. 😳🥰💕

Maybe this just went over my head but can't understand the accolades. Read it in a few hours though. A part time librarian takes a job offer answering questions for a friend's apocolyptic podcast. The standalone paragraphs just didn't add up to a comprehensible story to me personally...

First #weeklyforecast of the new year! The husband is on a business trip this week which means a quiet house to read in.

My vibes today. Just missing a cup of tea. I think I‘m channeling that picture pretty well @monalyisha ☺️

Random stream-of-conscious story of Lizzie as she makes her way through the election year worrying about climate change and the apocalypse with a very sharp wit!

I finally got around to check another #womensprize nomination off my to read list. I enjoyed the disjointed storytelling, and the discussion on the novel - should we still have children, when climate change is going to upheaval our whole life?

#weather #sun #readingtime

In the last 7 days, I read A LOT.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (for the 2nd time)
Six of Crows (2nd time
Crooked Kingdom (2nd time)
Terror (for university)
King of Scars (finally!)
Because Internet (for linguistic nerds)
Ministerium der Träume
All the Young Men
Weather #womensprize
Daisy Jones & The Six

#summertime #reading #whew

So minimalistic in its emotion, this novel is one that lives inside your bones. Parenthood, marriage, careers - all at a distance, living in the liminal space of uncertainty. This novel takes only a few hours to read, but go slowly and take your time to devour its true potential.

My #1 fear is the acceleration of days. No such thing supposedly, but I swear I can feel it.

Reading Weather in nice weather ☀️

Might be my favorite read this year. Hits the bone of our existential angst with an earnest dark humor of a fellow librarian and caretaker.

It‘s a nice novel, although I do think it relies too much on witty endings (felt like nearly every end of a (short) section was with a punchline).

It also fits well with “Ducks, Newburyport.” I mean, it‘s totally opposite in style, but similar in content.

I‘m thinking about rereading it though.... Or, I probably won‘t, but I might.

This was a strange little book with no actual plot, but I really liked it. The main character had some traits that reminded me a little uncomfortably of myself...

Excellent.

In funny and increasingly poignant snippets, this novel is Lizzie‘s internal monologue as she nearly goes out of her mind with a sense of impending doom. At work as a librarian, at home as mother of a young child, and on the streets of New York City, Lizzie worries about climate change, the results of the presidential election, and her brother who‘s addicted to narcotics & crashing on her couch. Upbeat social & political commentary.

These people long for immortality but can‘t wait ten minutes for a cup of coffee.

Henry and Catherine come over for dinner. She brings giant sunflowers and I try to find a vase to hold them. She seems unnerved by all the books. “Have you read all of these?” she asks me.
(Internet image)

Children cannot abide a vista, Sylvia said.

[I disagree. For 2 months while I worked on a farm in Spain, I got to know 2-year-old Felix (photographed above with another WWOOFer). When I was minding him, he often suggested that we “look at the view.” And he would spend a long time looking out across the mountain valley.]

There are little signs everywhere in the library now that say BREATHE! BREATHE! How did everyone get so good at this breathing thing? I feel like it happened while I was away.

[I can relate, and it‘s not a new phenomenon. A library colleague posted a BREATHE! note at her work station, which was next to mine, back in the early 90s.]

I buy running shoes because I want to run. This block smells like garbage. Turn left for greener streets. Yes, better. I try to run all the way to the park but these shoes don‘t work.

“The question I was thinking about in this book was, Can you still just tend your own garden once you know about the fire outside its walls?” —Jenny Offill on WEATHER

One of my goals this year is to spend more time reflecting on the books I read. Parul Sehgal‘s NYTimes Magazine feature on this book & author is full of beautiful insights.

I loved Dept of Speculation and loved this one as well. she captures so well the daily life - the inner monologues that run through the mc‘s head felt so relatable as she ponders climate change, trumpism, and what the world will hold for her child‘s future. Through brief snippets she tells the story of her marriage, and her brother‘s struggle with sobriety and child reading. I found the intermixing of one liners delightful. Loved it on audio.

Read the book, then follow the link. ❤️

Settling into my first read of the new year.

“New York Times Book Review's Ten Best Books of the Year—a “darkly funny and urgent” tour de force about a family, and a nation, in crisis Lizzie Benson slid into her job as a librarian without a traditional degree. But this gives her a vantage point from which to practice her other calling: she is a fake shrink.”

This book was the perfect distraction for me last night after a long day and just not feeling well. I understand the mixed reviews due to the structure of the story, but I loved it!

Weather was recommended to me but I have bailed after 30 pages which I very rarely do. It may have been the style, which was a jumble of short paragraphs that did not always flow. The writing itself was lovely at times.
I think I still have my book hangover from John Boyne🤔
I am trying A Burning next which has also been recommended to me ✅
Can I ask do you count a bailed book in your list of those read for the year??🤔

A novel in vignettes, reflections on family and parenthood and climate crisis against a backdrop of the 2016 election. A little surreal to be reading in the midst of another fraught election, but I enjoyed.

In a way, this reminds me of Ducks, Newburyport. It is not stream of consciousness, but she jumps in writing about family, child rearing, marriage, and work without the “normal” introduction of characters and plot. You have to pick up her trail of breadcrumbs.

This is one of those books either you love or hate the style of. I‘d probably recommend checking it out from the library if you‘re not familiar with her style. 4⭐️

Watching the town hall

In need of some new ebooks? Kentucky Unbound e-library to the rescue!! Artcurious I bought because the library didn‘t have it, but the rest are checkouts. I‘m especially excited about Weather! I love the “see what‘s available” function on Libby.

It‘s definitely a taste thing. I get where other readers love these titles but I hated them and the authors‘ writing styles. I also disliked Dept. of Speculation by Offhill and wasn‘t keen on Arcadia by Groeff. I read them all for the Tournament of Books. 😀

#3books

1. Generally keep because I am a rereader. But if I dislike the book, I‘ll pass it to someone who may enjoy it more or the library sale.

2. Tagged. I‘m really in the mood for something different.

Thanks for the tags @Coleen_Nieto @Eggs and @MoonWitch94 💖💖💖

Have you played @Meaw_catlady or @Moonprismpower ? 💜

Thanks so much @TheSpineView ! 👍🏻 #two4tuesdaygiveaway

This was an underwhelming read for me. It‘s written in short bursts, almost like Twitter updates, so the sense of narrative is broken. It made me feel detached from the characters in the novel. I can see the appeal of this experimental style of writing in one way, but I felt that the subject matter of this book is deserved a more fleshed out style.

This book is witty and hilarious and also devastating. It hit so close to home. Anxieties about the current state of the world, parenting, family, getting older. I haven‘t read Dept. of Speculation, but now I‘m definitely going to.

This reminded me of a funny Twitter feed: short paragraphs observing life with a funny or interesting point. The beginning started really strong for me, but the ending dropped a little. I really liked Offil‘s style and will definitely read more of her books. Understated humor was present throughout the book in a creative manner.

Wow this book is not for me. Over and over I found myself thinking - I have no idea what this paragraph is doing here but it would make a nice tweet.

The writing at times is lovely but I just had no idea what was going on and honestly didn't care much. The style is set out to have no depth, bug if went to far and I could barely remember who any of the characters were when they made appearances.

Life is a game you know you‘ll lose. So how to live when you know catastrophe is coming? Offil‘s prose is poetic. A woman ponders how to stay alive against the odds while her brother has a narrower range of view. It seems that our engagement with this question of being is variable- like the weather. To be, or not to be? Pass the open window or dive? Whether to weather?
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