Welcome to Litsy!

#25Alive! Day 29: There was much #Laughter as college kid and I read this aloud in our book club of two during the December holidays. As noted in my review: There is a tenderness to his writing that feels almost like a hug – but more perhaps like clinging to a liferaft, the act of writing the words his way of preventing himself from sinking – that he holds on to the reader – in beauty, in supplication, in wonder. More here: https://wp.me/pDlzr-qZ0

#25Alive! Day 17: My #1stBk25 #FirstBook25 is a reread of tagged book - as college kid and I read it for our book club of two this December break. It lends itself well to reading aloud, and I find it even more hilarious and soul-filling in my second reading. Finished it one day before our college kid flew back to Seattle. Full review is forthcoming.

#25Alive! Day 11: the unlikely #friendship among the hostages and the bank robber is quite unforgettable in this tale that I reread for my book club of two with my college kid who came to spend the December holiday at home here in the UAE. Rereading this made the story even more powerful and profound for me. I will read anything that Backman writes. Perfect for #ReadTheWorld2025 - Sweden.

Fredrik Backman is in a class of his own, I love the way this story is quirky yet heartwarming. The characters aren‘t perfect but perfectly human and I found myself rooting for all of them!

Not my favorite Backman book as I didn't like the characters. It reminded me a bit of Turtles All the Way Down by John Green due to the anxiety of the flawed humans. The interconnected of the characters was interesting and it was funny at times.

Still trying to slog my way through. I'm at 74% and bookclub is tonight.

I am 30% through this book. I am reading it for a bookclub so I don't want to quit. But I'm finding it very triggering with all the miserable people and suicide. Does it get better? I know most people love this book.

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

Great news - Fredrik Backman has a new novel coming out June 2025 (in English)!!! You can find out more about this novel and his creative process on his Instagram post.

#AManCalledOve #Beartown #AnxiousPeople #FredrikBackman

I love these new StoryGraph monthly wrap up images.

When @rachelsbrittain recommends a book, it's almost always a winner for me. I also loved Daisy Jones and the Six, so that may end up as one of my bonus picks.

readingbracket2024 #bookbracket2024 @CSeydel

Managed 3 bingos in July

#bookspin #doublebookspin #bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks

5/5

What an incredible read. I loved the ways the mystery and the characters' lives all unfolded throughout.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Backman does such a great job tapping into the human condition…I want to meet and have coffee…or a beer…or some closet wine…with each of these characters. This was a twofer: July #bookspin and #roll100

#bookspin: Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
#doublebookspin: The Perils of Lady Catherine de Bourgh by Claudia Gray

#bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks

Backman has been my favorite (living) author since Beartown knocked my socks off in 2017.

I just fall in love with his characters. Even the ones I don‘t like very much.

He writes about the plight of being human with sharp humor & blunt observation. But more importantly, with astonishing grace.

Even while weaving together plots as absurd as those in this book, Backman reminds how powerful, & necessary, empathy is.

It‘s a gift.

My SIL loves Backman, but this was my first time reading him. I opted for the #audiobook and quickly came to understand why she's a fan. I found the back and forth perspective a bit confusing; however, the interaction between characters made it very easy to slip inside the story and become one with them. Brilliant!

I would have liked it no matter the format, yet I can't help but feel the narrator added something extra special to the experience.

In the mood for something uplifting.

1. Sometimes I do, not consciously. Really any book that captures my attention.
2. Fredrik Backman
3. Isabel Allende
#wondrouswednesday @eggs

PS Sorry I'm late!

Read this for my bookclub. I can understand how people really like it and connect with it but it wasn‘t for me. This all felt too constructed, the story, the characters and mostly the storytelling.

I finally finalized my #roll100 books and these are this month's picks. I'm really excited for them, hoping to get to at least two
@PuddleJumper

Prime example of putting a book aside because it didn‘t work for me, picking it up again much later, and reading it in 3 days. Excellent book. A group of people held hostage by an inept bank robber find common ground and grace because life works better when there‘s community. 5🌟

This was a cute book which managed to explore a pretty heavy subject without being too oppressive, but also not making too much light of it. I did think the end few chapters dragged a bit though.

#snowedin #promptmaze #wintergames #snowangels

I started this because I lost the book I was reading on a bus. 100 pages in I really considered putting it down because the writing was so annoying. It definitely could have been cut down from 400 to 200 pages and I never started to like the writing style, but I liked the message behind the book and it did make me tear up at certain parts.

Took a walk today and passed at least five stuffed Little Free Libraries. I picked up these three.

My first attempt at Backman, and I'm not impressed. I found his writing style to be pompous and distracting. Bailed at around page 50. Not for me!

I‘m late to the Backman game.

It started a little underwhelming for me, but I was totally charmed by the end.

I‘m looking forward to reading more of his work.

Got in some reading time by the Delaware River today.

Up next for book club. #FirstSaturdayReaders

5✨ There is a lot of characters in this book, but it is not overwhelming. It was obviously mapped out well by the author to unfold as the story went on. There was a lot of mystery elements that unfolded when we went back in time to the hostage situation, further back to provide character development, and the present with police interviews. Plus it had a good message with potential trigger warnings of suicide. #12monthchallenge @Littlewolf1

I didn't love this one the way I did Beartown, the only other Backman I've read. However, I really liked how the characters' lives were all intertwined and the idea that one person's actions can have such a great effect on others.

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks
#Magnificent May @Andrew65
#BookCrossing

So I am going to try to participate in the #14books14weeks2023 challenge hosted by @TheHeartlandBookFairy !! The 14 weeks start the week of Memorial Day and go through til Labor Day. For my books I have chosen 14 books I was SO EXCITED about when they arrived, but somehow have never actually READ. As you can see, several BOTM and OwlCrate editions lurk here!! Since taking the photo I rearranged the shelf into alphabetical order, which is how I ⬇️

One conflict that I felt like I could identify with was trying to decide what the right thing to do in a situation is. In this book, one of the characters had to make a choice between what his job was telling him to do and what he felt was morally right, which I feel like a lot of people can relate to that.

There is no limit to how many photos I can take of me and my Karnebull. Delicious! This cinnamon roll is from Bröd & Salt, yesterdays roll was from Espresso House.

#sweden #holiday #stockholm

Yay! I did a thing!! I got more people to read!!!
People at work were having a little fun with how much I read.
So I suggested we read together - a book a month.
I chose this first, because it‘s funny, and has a lot of heart, and has broad appeal, and there‘s plenty to talk about.
I thought it was going nowhere, but I got two takers today - yay!!!
We may stay a small band of 3.
But my hope is that others see how great talking about books is ♥️📚

This wasn‘t my favorite Backman novel, but I still liked it. I actually laughed out loud in some parts which is always a plus! The thing that kept me from absolutely loving it was the premise was very near that of Bel Canto.

A bank robbery goes wrong when the robber decides to rob a cashless bank. Oops! When trying to escape they accidentally stumble into an apartment showing that soon becomes a hostage situation. I truly struggled through parts of this book due to how all the characters were either annoying or complete jerks in their interviews with the police and at times while being held hostage. How the story wrapped up redeemed itself in a way but I did not 💝it

January Wrap-up!
6 books in total
- 2 graphic novels
- 2 audiobooks
- 4 physical/ebooks

Still reading Quiet by Naomi Vacaro and Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

I really enjoyed the plot of this story and the writers style but I just didn‘t enjoy the characters very much.

#anxiouspeople #fredrikbackman

My first Fredrick Backman book was great! I loved the characters and the way the story unfolded, even if the ending was a little unbelievable. I thought Backman handled several difficult topics with grace and humor, and I look forward to reading his other books. The miniseries on Netflix was worth watching as well! #anxiouspeople #2023 #booktomovie

I‘m reading this for the first time. I listened a few years ago and I loved it. It‘s even better in print.

The pacing is perfect. It alternates between making me laugh out loud and squeezing my heart.

Help!! I need 5 more recommends for my challenge

#Movie2BookRecs @Klou
Prompt: Quick Change

I have not seen this movie. When I read the synopsis it immediately reminded me of the book Anxious People.

Starting my second Fredrik Backman read by one of my favorite audio narrators. 🤍

⭐️ I‘ll generously give this novel one star because of the overall message and resource list. I found this predictable and most of all, boring. Not a popular option - I know. 📷 illustrated shelf.

Another book club read and book no 60 for the year. I enjoyed this. It was a good story with great characters and good writing. The only downside for me was the missing identity of a key character, unless I missed it 😂

What a strange story, with an even stranger cast of characters! This is one of those books that definitely got better as it went on. It‘s a story about 2nd chances, that had a few twists and turns towards the end. I really liked the way the book ended, which is why I gave it a higher rating than I was going to. I see that this story has been made into a Netflix series. I‘ll have to give it a try.

My daughter and I were looking for a stream of A Man Called Ove, but we came across the miniseries of Anxious People on Netflix and decided to go with that instead. We watched all 6 episodes last night, and it was a really good adaptation. Emma hadn't read the book, and she enjoyed it just as much as I did. I'm hoping it'll convince her that she needs to read Backman. I've loved all of his books that I've read so far.