Welcome to Litsy!

Thanks for the encouragement to read this @Rissreads . Can tick Patricia Highsmith off my list now. This one certainly hooks you in. And it was her first book 🤯. Now to watch the movie 🎥.

Will you look at the mug my husband bought my tea-in-bed to me in this morning 😁. Thanks to @Lizpixie 🥰. Happy weekend reading everyone 🤓📖.

This was interesting and intense - fascinating deep psychological journey for the main character. Some elements, especially the portrayal of women, was too dated

Book #54
4.5/5
An oldie, but a goodie, as the saying goes. Strangers... was the inspiration for a 1951 movie of the same name by Hitchcock, and it definitely has that Hitchcock feel to it. Part Hitchcock, part Poe's The Telltale Heart, Highsmith's debut novel speaks to the theme of morality, and is a busy ride from beginning to end. 👍 👍

Wow, that whole 1950s creepy vibe in here. Nothing likeable about anyone I think. Like waiting to go over the edge of a cliff.
Thanks @Cathythoughts I feel like I should have read it many years ago.
#booked2023 #inmemoriam

‘Any kind of person can murder‘

Not a relaxing read for sure! I felt tense throughout, but that was the beauty of it. Such a great story even though I didn‘t like the two main characters. It posed the question, do you really know anyone?
“He didn‘t look like a murderer, he supposed. In his clean white shirtsleeves and his silk tie and his dark blue trousers, and maybe even his strained face didn‘t look like a murderer‘s to anyone else. ‘That‘s the mistake,‘ guy said aloud, ⬇️

Can't stop staring at the deliciously pastel school uniforms in Netflix's Do Revenge, a campy teen movie very loosely inspired by Strangers on a Train. The whole wardrobe, set design, and colour pallet are fantastic, if only real life was this coordinated and colourful! #scarathlon2022 @staycurious #teammonstermash

I‘ve seen the wonderful Hitchcock movie and I just started this book. Her writing is addictive. I devoured all the Ripley books some years back. Has anyone any other Highsmith recommendations?

Riveting, I loved this book. Psychological thriller, Guy a brilliant young architect meets Bruno on a train, a man obsessed with the perfect murder. Something happens between them. Guys ability to engineer a white bridge like an angels wing. Bruno‘s devil like creepiness. Why does one man murder , why do murderous wars continue ? The questions asked , the brilliance of the writing , the detail, that tomato coloured woollen tie ! Ten out of ten ♥️

Sunday morning reading. I think I saw the movie years ago … if they meet an old lady at a hotel , then I have. Writing is great from the start.

It was interesting reading this and seeing how it compared to the movie. Hitchcock changed quite a lot which was needed for the screen, but the original text was just as enjoyable for its more in depth look at the relationship between Bruno & Guy. #AuthorAMonth

My hold cam in. Starting my Patricia Highsmith #AuthorAMonth today.
@Soubhiville

New kitty alert! 😻💖 We‘re deciding to call her “Greycie”.

I really enjoyed this book. It was arguably a little too lengthy/meandery for the storyline but that only heightened the tension for me. #AuthorAMonth

First book of holiday finished! This is definitely more of a psychological thriller than a murder mystery, as the characters‘ slowly start to melt down. They were all very unlikeable, but that‘s what makes the book so good; that you still want to read about horrid people.

I had hoped to use this for #pop22 as well as #authoramonth but, as I suspected, only the very first part is on a train so back to the drawing board for that!

#aam

I loved it! I saw the Hitchcock film in college, but it‘s been awhile. The book is an excellent psychological thriller. The movie actually changes quite a lot of major plot points. I rewatched it after reading. It holds up, but, the book is better. 🚊🎠

#AuthorAMonth @Soubhiville

Between the pundits this week and my complicated relationship with Mother‘s Day, I have been mostly self-isolating and spending time with my dog 🐶♥️ and this book was a help in both regards! I was pleasantly surprised at how psychological this was - it isn‘t the murder(s) but instead the mental decline of the characters that provides suspense and I was enthralled! Fun #aam choice 👍🏻 #authoramonth2022

#AuthorAMonth2022 @Soubhiville

Giving a book a pick when it made me feel repulsed while reading it feels odd but I think it shows what a wonderfully talented writer Patricia Highsmith is.

The characters in this story made my skin crawl. I disliked them and hated their whining and their inability to accept responsibility for their actions. However, this physiological thriller wouldn't have worked with likeable characters. Great crime read!

Still a pick though of all the Highsmith I've read it wasn't my favourite. This time I was more annoyed and put off by the constant inner monologues (whining? Lol) of the main male characters.
I do love how Highsmith so deftly gives the reader a clear picture of what is happening while simultaneously revealing how her twisted main characters (mis)perceive things.

Hey #ReadersGoneRogue @FantasyChick @BookishTrish don't be strangers!! 🤣
I miss our postal book club. Anyone interested in trying again...or maybe finishing our last round and starting a new one? 😜

Creepy & terrifying -- but a masterpiece. #SavvySettings
#train @TheSpineView @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs

This novel is suspenseful enough, unsettling and emotional, but it left me feeling unpleasant, trapped, and a little ill. One of the main characters keeps making such stupid, stupid choices, and I suppose in part it's Highsmith's commentary on society's abdication of responsibility, but that doesn't make it pleasant. In all, a good story that I didn't enjoy reading.

I do appreciate Patricia Highsmith‘s originality and writing ability but I didn‘t enjoy this book. Perhaps it‘s following the journey of a psychopath that disturbed me 😕
I‘d like to read The Talented Mr Ripley…is it as menacing I wonder??
I need something lighter now..and some gardening to cleanse the palate 😂
#literature #crime #classic

#Strangersonatrain

I was on a roll joining bookish FaceBook groups trying to find like-minded individuals when someone mentioned an APP called Litsy. I tried it, loved it, put it on my cell‘s home page. It wasn‘t until recently that I found out this is a website too, haven‘t seen it, haven‘t really gone back to the FB groups, basically just hang out here trash-talking & hyping the books I love & the books I love to hate. 😝

@Come-read-with-me 🤗

What a wonderful idea @Come-read-with-me to host this giveaway! I enjoyed reading your #strangersonatrain story, and read with equal pleasure each and every other story on how others found out about Litsy.
Yesterday I actually celebrated my 2 year Litsyversary! In January 2018 I was looking for an app to keep track of the books I read and this is how I came across Litsy, and am so happy that I did 🎉

Oh, wow, I love the story behind this giveaway! Thanks for sharing it with us and being so generous @Come-read-with-me ❣️❣️ #strangersonatrain

I found Litsy through a Book Riot post on Facebook. I joined in May of 2016 and have used it daily ever since. It‘s my absolute favorite spot! 💚 It‘s truly changed my life.

What a fun giveaway idea, @Come-read-with-me ! Five years ago, I was looking for a good way to discover new or new to me books and happened upon Book Riot. A number of articles there by @Liberty mentioned Litsy and I‘m now headed toward my 5 year Litsyversary in April! I wouldn‘t have it any other way. #strangersonatrain

Thank you @Come-read-with-me for the generous giveaway opportunity! My sister @LiteraryinLititz told me about Litsy over 4 years ago, and I‘m so grateful she did!!! #strangersonatrain

This is such a great idea @Come-read-with-me and an amazingly generous giveaway!
Just over a year ago I resolved to get back into reading and looked for a way to find good books and track my reading - a Google search led me to a blog post by @BlackandBookish and I decided to join. (which is so unlike me as I don‘t do any other social media) Here we are a year later and I love this place!!!
#strangersonatrain

@Come-read-with-me is hosting a giveaway celebrating her meeting Litten @rather_be_reading on a train and learning about Litsy. The prompt is easy - Tell her how you found Litsy! 😀

I discovered Litsy through the legendary @ReadingEnvy ❤️ on her podcast http://readingenvy.blogspot.com/p/podcast_16.html?m=1.

#strangersonatrain

So how did I get on Litsy?? @Come-read-with-me
Well, I am one the Old G‘s. I‘ve been on over 5 years and I can‘t remember how I found it. I do know that @MrBook was one of my first friends and he was serving as our official Mayor at the time. There were mostly publisher/editor “official book folks” on here at the time and I was a bit intimated since I‘m a plain ‘ol reader. I jumped in though and have loved Litsy ever since!

Check out this wonderful giveaway. Details on @Come-read-with-me feed. How did you find out about Litsy?

I heard about Litsy on a Book Riot podcast a few years ago and have found my people here: readers who understand bookish passions. Thanks, Paula, for hosting a giveaway! Check out the details on @Come-read-with-me ‘s #strangersonatrain post.

@Come-read-with-me is doing the lovliest #strangersonatrain giveaway. Check out her page for the info.

Thank you so much for doing this. I am sorry you will no longer see your friend on the train but perhaps you will meet a new person to introduce to Litsy!

I follow a reader friend on Instagram.....where she mentioned Litsy....and the rest is history.

For the past eight years I‘ve been taking the train to work but the past two years have been the most fun. This is when I met the person who introduced me to the wonderful world of Litsy! Since then, @rather_be_reading has become one of my best buddies. Now my wonderful train partner has a fabulous new job and we won‘t be riding together anymore. So in her honor, I am hosting a giveaway! The prompt is easy - Tell me how you found Litsy! ⬇️

Patricia Highsmith‘s ability to make the ordinary actions of day to day life bold and worth focusing on will encourage me to keep coming back to her work. This novel in particular reminds me of the portions of Crime and Punishment I like the best. The narrator of the audiobook does a great job adding subtle differences to each characters‘ voice. #audible

An innocent conversation on a train turns dark when two strangers realize they both have someone in their lives they want to be rid of. This begins a friendship that may doom them both.

Listen, this was a weird little story. And I‘ll be honest, the DARE program didn‘t really prepare me for the idea of peer pressure murder. 😂 This was a little dark and a bit creepy. I didn‘t really like anybody, which always kinda hampers my enjoyment. 🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑

Day 26 - #CuriousStranger #JamminJune
#StrangersOnATrain #PatriciaHighsmith

I loved this book! Alfred Hitchcock film inspired by book!

2.5 🌟
Not a mystery but a psychological suspense I guess. Wanted to like it but it mostly left me meh.

#EightPerfectMurdersProject

Reading this book made me so tense I kept having to put it down and take deep breaths. Even though I knew what was coming. This thriller is a classic for a reason.

BOOK HAUL ☺️ #KeepLitsyPositive For me this is a positive post, even though my wallet doesn‘t necessarily agree 🤷🏻‍♀️
(Some of them are in swedish, but I think you can figure out which most of them are anyway.)

Although written in a different day/time, this is one is those books that makes you question the mind and imagination of the author 😬

Reading this one because Clare MacKintosh picked it as her January book... but I‘m struggling to get into it.

How has it taken me so long to read this book? It's so creepy and weird and compelling and engrossing. It's truly a novel of another time and place. Now I have to go watch the movie again. Read it! It's amazing!

Highsmith was a voice well before her time and she delivered the perfect crime story without being recognized during her lifetime. This is a subtly menacing story, with nuanced writing about the evils of the human soul and the lengths people will go to get what they want. Highsmith sets the bar for the judgement of all crime novels. Years later few authors have been able to meet the challenge of crafting such a suspenseful story.

Day 12 - #Train #LetsTravelAugust

These are books about trains that I have read and enjoyed!

Such an engrossing book, and even better, the narrator does a very good job of giving each character their own speaking traits, etc. 😄

Day 24 - #stranger #anewchapter

Strangers on a Train was an excellent 1950's debut for 29 year old Patricia Highsmith. It is a tour de force of social satire and psychological drama. Charles Bruno and Guy Haines meet on a train and Bruno manipulates Guy into swapping murders with him. "Some people are better off dead," Bruno remarks, "like your wife and my father, for instance." Bruno's plan shows Guy that anyone can become a murderer.

Day 11 - adventrecommends

Guy Haines and Charles Anthony Bruno are passengers on the same train. Guy is a successful architect in the midst of a divorce, Bruno turns out to be a sadistic psychopath who manipulates Guy into swapping murders with him. "Some people are better off dead," Bruno remarks, "like your wife and my father, for instance." As Bruno carries out his twisted plan, Guy is trapped into believing that anybody is capable of murder.

Two men meet on the train, and their lives intertwine with murder, guilt, and a gradual descent to madness. Bruno, the rotten man, haunts and coerces Guy, the seemingly good one; but they are more alike then they seem: there is good and evil in everyone. There are interesting themes at play, and this would have made an excellent short story. However, it is drawn out too long, the middle is quite boring, and there is too much self-torture. ⭐️⭐️⭐️