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25-7 Nov 24 (audiobook)
I didn‘t expect much from this; after I bought the hard copy, Bella told me not to bother. Maybe that is why I enjoyed it.
Rooney tells the story of four people in their early 30s, all having experienced various degrees of mental health issues. There are the usual intellectual conversations (via email between the two women this time) and miscommunication, but ultimately this reads a little more like a conventional romance.

Having read three works by Sally Rooney, I think I love the flow - of how words are put together to form sentences, no matter what the story is about. The plotline is not dramatic, yet, there is something addicting and comforting in the way she describes the painfully relatable thoughts that exist in the world.  

May reads so far. In a reading slump so trying out some fun quick books by Kimberly Lemming. I need low stakes and lots of humor.

After the last book I read, I was in the mood for a real Sally Rooney book and this one hit the spot. I know she's not everyone's cup of tea, but since I really liked Normal People, I really liked this one. It was similar, but with more characters and a little bit more depth in the form of deep, introspective emails between the 2 girls, I liked this one more. They're not the most likeable characters but I find their interactions entertaining.

There was nothing really wrong with this novel but I just didn‘t quite get on with it. I used to love Sally Rooney but I think I‘ve soured quite a lot on ‘millennials in relationships not quite communicating‘ books - I might just have read too many of them. Some beautiful writing but in general I spent the whole book thinking ‘why am I here? When does this end?‘

(Repost) What a strikingly beautiful novel 🥲 I know this book & the author were highly praised in the mainstream & left-wing media last year, so I‘ve been looking forward to reading it— but I didn‘t anticipate devouring it so rapaciously! It‘s been a long time since I couldn‘t put a book down, and I finished this one in 3 days. Planning to blow through Normal People next!

Let‘s start this off right: this book is sexy; it‘s hott with two “t”s. 🥵

The erotic elements work really well; the uncertainty about how these relationships fit; the subtle, emotional pivots. Intellectually this novel is also stellar. The epistolary sections I found fascinating—essayistic tangents in novels will always do it for me.

There are choices I found odd in the final third, but it‘s fine. Mostly this book is explosive.

Of course I wish that I personally were better-looking, and of course I enjoy the validation of feeling that I do look good, but to confuse these basically auto-erotic or status-driven impulses with real aesthetic experience seems to me an extremely serious mistake for anyone who cares about culture.

Stepping into my basic bitch era….

The complex details of their lives resonate in my mind like chords, humming dissonance of emotions.

Pretentious twaddle.

In all honesty, I didn‘t really ‘get‘ this book. I loved Normal People and thought I would give this go but it just didn‘t draw me in like Normal People did. The last few chapters were probably the best as that‘s when it sort of started to make sense. I didn‘t find the characters likeable and I just kept asking myself ‘so what?‘ The emails I found broke up the storyline and quite honestly I didn‘t really understand them. Quite disappointed.

Halfway through, I bail.The dialogues are captivating,the writing concise.There‘s depth and tension in the interaction between characters which kept me interested, the writing is superb. It‘s innovative - I love the idea of the email exchange but that‘s also one of my main issues with the novel: it‘s distracting, the email content condescending and pretentious, preachy even.But what made me bail:I didn‘t like and care about any of the characters.

The characters in this are much more likeable than Normal People but SR is still queen of the non-romance style love story. It‘s awkward and off putting and cringey at times but oh so relatable. She is a phenomenal writer

I‘m just moving room to room with different books/magazines

The best part of this book were the last 6 chapters, when they are all finally under one roof. I don‘t think I liked this book per se, but something about it was interesting that I can‘t quite put my finger on… I think I need to ruminate a bit more… I will say, however, that I absolutely hated the emails. What a load of philosophical word vomit.

Another great read from Sally Rooney. I loved Normal People and was captured by the similar style of this book. If you are a lover of this author, then you likely enjoy her character development and deep-dive into the complexities of romantic relationships. This book had all of the aspects you love with Rooney's writing while presenting a new story of love, loss, and friendship.

I wanted to sit Alice and Eileen down about once every ten pages and yell IT'S NOT THAT DEEP!!! at them until it sunk in, but I still enjoyed this novel. I'm glad they got soft endings. #contemporaryfiction #literaryfiction

I rather enjoyed Rooney‘s other novels but not this one. I like the email exchange and wish instead of the novel it was a book of essays based on the ideas in the emails. Trying hard to not DNF this but ..... For those who liked it. I‘m 50% done. Does it get better?

This book sounded much more appealing to me than Normal People, so I figured I‘d give it a shot and I‘m very glad I did. This book made me think, a lot. About so many topics that people in their 20s and 30s wonder about. My favorite part of the book was the emails exchanged between Alice and Eileen where they pose these questions to one another and just try to figure out the world around them. And obviously there‘s romance as well 🥰

I have read many reviews where people say this isn't Sally Rooney's best novel. I have only read Normal People other than this one but I found I enjoyed this book quite a lot. I thought the writing was intelligent & wished I had friends to unravel the world in letters with. I related to the insecurity that the characters felt & the disenchantment they experienced with modern society. The character development was outstanding as to be expected.⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was a fairly enjoyable read about 4 characters, 2 of which are friends. I saw the end coming a mile away sadly and it all ended very abruptly. There were some good parts though, but disappointed that they weren't explored in more depth or let to develop to change the course of the story.

#AlphabetGame #LetterB

There‘s just something about Rooney‘s writing that I love and I actually had to read the end of this again right after I first finished it. I loved the ending so much.

Beautiful quotation marks, where are you

Oh I loved this. The awkward, uncertain love stories, the complicated parents, the love and friendship between Alice and Eileen. The distant third person writing style. I wasn‘t quite so sure about the existential angst of Alice and Eileen‘s back and forth email exchanges, but they fitted perfectly into the whole. The person who dislikes TV adaptations is now eagerly waiting to see if the BBC are going to treat us to this one.

Episode 98 is up and out! We select a new seasonal read and I review the audiobook version of the new Sally Rooney. Is it meant to be as funny as I found it? How much does that matter? Tune in to find out!

https://open.spotify.com/episode/7DWVyVmEnsaSWwAdXrXmIs

#JulyJam Day 8: Not exactly #BlueberryDay - more like GROM strawberry sorbet kind of day. This Italian sorbet is vegetarian - with fresh pureed strawberries and fresh water from the Piedmontese alps - so absolutely guiltless pleasure. What is your favourite GROM flavor? Unfortunately we don‘t have the limonata sorbet here in the UAE. (More advance posts in preparation for upcoming travel). 💕💕💕

I‘ve had covid this week. So it was the perfect excuse to read as much as I can. This one passed the time nicely #book #sallyrooney

I‘m so sorry. I could not find anything redeeming about the characters in this story. These are four people, three of whom are lackluster, existing in lackluster romances with each other. It‘s obvious that they settled and I just wanted to scream at them to get on with their lives. #goodreadschoiceawardsbookclub

Not sure I like how this is written. I'm having a hard time connecting with the characters. I feel like you are looking at them through a window. Just getting cold observations.
Maybe the book gets better by the end.

Eta: It did not get better. I did get used to the style of writing. It's just not my jam. This book is depressing.
(Also I must add-I do not like Felix. 😬)⭐⭐

I like the writing style more than the story itself. I like the cover as well!

“Just don‘t get stressed!”

I didn‘t really like the characters in this, they felt a bit juvenile for their age, although at the same time they were realistic. Loved the ending - that turned it from a so-so into a pick. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I was a fan of Normal People. I love quality fiction that is unique and subversive. So I was keen to read Beautiful World.

However this one didn‘t quite work for me. The four main characters weren‘t developed enough for me to know and invest in them. They felt somewhat whiney and annoying. Maybe I‘m just too old to ‘get‘ them?

The writing was good. There was just something missing here for me 🤷‍♀️🤔.

Ugh.I hate leaving a bad review.I really didnt enjoy this book After reading it,I ask myself “what was the point?”.I feel like I‘ve just read about a bunch of people living very ordinary, uneventful lives.I know I wouldnt have finished this book if I didnt own a hard copy.The chapters were extremely long, and there wasn‘t much dialogue,so it was long paragraph after long paragraph.Im not sure what genre this book is, but it‘s definitely not for me

It was a close call for today‘s match. With 11 to 10 votes our winner is Beautiful World, Where Are You. Again we differ from the judges‘ choice in the real #ToB22! In this case it isn‘t that surprising I think, as they almost never favour the more mainstream novels. What do you think of the judges‘ comments?

Chelsea wants the Rooney to be this year‘s winner so for her it‘s a good thing that the book is one step closer in getting there!

Day 2 of the Morning News Tournament of Books! Today it is Beautiful World, Where Are You vs. In Concrete.

Beautiful World, Where Are You surprised me with its thoughtfulness about female friendship & led me to reflect that I, too, wouldn't know who I was without my best friends.

In Concrete forced me to read an entire chapter about spitting.

I'm rooting for Beautiful World, Where Are You.

I don‘t know if I‘m going to be able to get very far with this book; I already abhor the way it‘s written - no quotation marks, really? Also, the writing in general sounds…off, to me - and I just…don‘t know. Any input on whether or not I should keep going? 😬 #beautifulworldwhereareyou #sallyrooney

I found this novel surprisingly annoying. The characters are self-absorbed and engage in weaponized armchair psychology in their short-lived disagreements. The lockdown is tacked on at the end in order, I think, to make the book seem timely. The whole thing feels melodramatic and adolescent, soft-core intimate encounters interspersed with tantrums. #ToB2022

A book that let me down, because I started it thinking it will go one way, and midway through I thought maybe it would go another way, and because I think Rooney is talented and smart, the ending feels like a capitulation. Explained myself better in my GR review, I hope: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4536317963

A so-so instead of a pan because for large parts of the book I was invested.

Don‘t know why I couldn‘t get into it. I tried really hard for my love of Sally Rooney, especially with Normal People. Her other two books suck you in; the characters hit you right in the gut with aloofness in bizarre situations that ends up being so relatable. I didn‘t get the same depth here. A lot of rambling too (which was also the case in CWF) that got confusing because of how it‘s written. Wish I could‘ve loved it, but not for me.

Controversial opinion I know but for me the best of Rooney‘s novels to date. It was pitch perfect on negotiating sexual relationships when the norm of heterosexual marriage has lost power and on engaging with meta politics when individual young people feel so powerless. Beautifully written eminently quotable and important.

Book 16

A book about four 30-somethings-friendship, life, mental health, and relationships. The characters aren't incredibly interesting or likable. The book was fine but could have been better.

⭐⭐⭐

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

There is something about the precision and frankness of Rooney‘s writing that draws me in. At times affected, but often remarkably insightful, it‘s such a quotable book. Admittedly, it‘s not really about anything, but it‘s also about the only thing that really matters - finding the beauty and simplicity in the way we love each other in this (at times) depressing world.

I honestly wanted to like Beautiful World, but for me it was pretty bad. #ItHadToBeYou #JanuaryStats @Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks #tob22

I really enjoyed Rooney‘s first 2 books, but It took me forever to work my way through this one. I‘m not sure why, but I found myself just not caring nearly as much, which didn‘t exactly Lori ate me to finish the book! But finish i finally did. Third person omniscient is not my favorite POV, and parts felt like it was straight out of a script instead of a novel. Yet, there was enough I liked to hang in there till the end. #tob2022 #tobshortlist