Welcome to Litsy!

This book lured me in with its unusual premise and rather cryptic style, and then held me in its grip as the plot turned darker.

The prose has a dream-like quality, leaning into the uncanny and the macabre, and the reader is left with so many questions as the book's narrator becomes more entangled in the strangeness surrounding them.

Overall, this was a really unique, thought provoking book, and I think I still continue with the series.

Beach day
July 22, 2025

I liked it. I think. It'd probably take a second read to figure out if i love it.

I've heard fantastic things about this one! Looks like it will be a quick read. But that cover 😍😍😍 so weird and wonderful.

Why, whyyyyyy does Libby never have the complete audio series? Whyyyyyyyy?

4.5⭐️ and not so patiently waiting for books 2&3 but will probably just buy on Apple Books and will have to get all 4 because - series, right? Anyone else?? 😂

First off, I really enjoyed this book. But I am not really sure how to put that into words. It's so very strange, in a very good way. There's not much more I can say without spoiling it other than it was much better than the movie.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ A clandestine border. An inverted “tower.” The story of Expedition 12. I‘m rereading this strange series in preparation for the unexpected 4th book, out in October.

Gorgeous 3-mile greenway walk with my best bud! Rereading the Southern Reach books in preparation for the 4th one in October. We‘ll see if the story is less confusing this time around …

#audiowalk #dogsoflitsy

VanderMeer‘s Southern Reach Trilogy starts off with a bang, following a group of scientists exploring the treacherous Area X, trying to ascertain who to trust and who to exile as they attempt to uncover the mysteries creeping towards the very essence of their humanity. This book would be the perfect choice for fans of H.P Lovecraft and cosmic horror. VanderMeer chooses to tell the story through a First Person account of one of the scientists.

Sandy book #2

Spring #Pantone challenge update… any good purple recommendations?!?💜

-King‘s Cage 5%
-The Covenant of Water 50%
-Map of Days 30%
-Annihilation 75%
-The Invisible life of Addie Larue 💯
-The Bookwoman of Troublesome Creek💯
-Library of Souls💯
-Pineapple Street 💯
-Fourth Wing💯
-Emily Post‘s Wedding Ettiquette 85%
-Getting things done -DNF (too busy getting things done😅 I need to find this on audio😂 still want to read it!)

Who has read this? What do you think of it? It was a blind date book from our book store. I‘m having a hard time getting into it.

Really enjoyed this! Gonna read the next one after bookclub.
@Blueberry

Huh. Another super atmospheric, dark book, now in sci-fi. This was good, I tore thru it in two days. The universe/characters/story have sooo much potential, but it was largely unexplored here. Again, it‘s a short book and they did a great job world-building. I managed to forget it was a trilogy so by the end I was a little frustrated by what it felt like a lot of gibberish- but now I‘m excited again lol. Looking forward to more characters to come!

Had to do a double page spread for my favorite book!

This imaginative sci-fi novel about a futuristic expedition to the mysterious Area X, told from the POV of the biologist explorer, is unlike anything I‘ve read. I‘d like to watch the movie because I‘m curious if the weirdness I was picturing is at all what was supposed to be happening. Sci-fi is probably my least read genre so I may not be the best judge of what‘s good or unique, but I think this is.

Yikes!! This is such a #creepy book that I can‘t put it down. I have to know what happens (…as only now I note that this story is Part 1 of a trilogy)!

I needed some books to read for a week at the beach. This book was one I picked because it was small and looked interesting. I just started it today.

The book (unlike the horror-style film) is a quiet, eerie exploration of Area X. Scientists are sent into the strange space where other teams of explorers have lost their lives or come back changed. It‘s a suspense-driven deep delve into what makes people human. I love the biologist‘s passion for nature. She‘s not comfortable with other people, but is at ease interpreting the world around her. Can‘t wait to read the next book in the series.

The "Randy Stack" begins...

@The_Penniless_Author

Hope you're working hard on your Rae stack too ??

1. Annihilation
2. Sometimes. Depends on the competition.

#Two4Tuesday
@TheSpineView

Paper books, audiobooks, or ebooks, it doesn't really matter to me. I know many folks are in one camp or another, but I go back and forth, & often have a book in all three formats going at once.

Here are four short reads I recently finished on my Kindle. 3 from Kindle Unlimited, 1 from Libby.

Liked the Most: Colm Tóibín's The Shortest Day.
Liked the Least: ER Wills' What Happened to Neil Frost?

Full Blog Post: https://tinyurl.com/542m387m

Ugh I‘m not really sure how I feel about this one.

The writing style feels very jumbled, with over the top descriptions of things that aren‘t even related to the story or what‘s happening, quite often I felt lost.

The only redeeming feature is Area X itself, there isn‘t much to go on, on what‘s really happening in this abandoned and disturbed place.

If I read the next book, I hope I get some more clarity because I feel a bit let down.

If you like the scientific method and being scared, this book is for you! There‘s a certain level of detachment from the MC since the story is told through her journals kept for a scientific expedition. However things go sideways real quick.

Very different from the movie but still creepily enjoyable despite all the unanswered questions I have concerning why a mysterious Area X has arisen within a piece of Floridian coast in the first place. I love biology-horror (Swamp Thing!) and this book is a fine example of the genre. Forces you to consider the astounding array of “alien” life that habits just your local park: how it seems so familiar but so foreign at the same time.

an excellent vegetarian meal at lou nashville, accompanied by a book I can‘t put down✨

This wad a reread in German after I listened to the audio book im English. Now I could take in all the Lovecraftian vibes this book emits. But the audio book had more atmosphere. Therefore, I'm happy to know them both, became it's a great book in both languages 😁

@TheAromaofBooks #BookSpinBingo

Book 38 of 2021.

#Screamathon begins!
@4thhouseontheleft

Quick review: I quite enjoyed this approach to dystopian literature even though at times it was difficult to wrap my head and my imagination around what was happening. However, after reading reviews and polling my friends about the rest of the trilogy, I have decided to leave it here. The resounding message was that books 2 and 3 are unsatisfying and not worth my time. Guess I'll Google what the hell was going on. ⭐⭐⭐½ - still a Pick on its own.

I definitely liked this but I don't feel compelled to read the rest of the series. It works well as an #audiobook.

#movie2bookrecs Day 2. #NataliePortman

The first book of the Southern Reach Trilogy, and to my mind by far the best. The unreliable narrator is used to great effect here, putting the reader right there with the research team and creating a sense of creeping dread as they explore deeper into Area X. Unfortunately, a bit like the series Lost, the later books' attempts to provide answers to what's really happening fall short of the build up, at least for me.

#ThoughtfulThursday @MoonWitch94

1. Hmm, plenty of second reads, not sure about third. Maybe Slaughterhouse Five. And probably the Westing Game, since I read it to my daughter, too.
2. Sometimes, especially if I'm browsing a used bookstore for something new
3. Tagged

More than halfway though this audio and it is so fascinating . I am actually hearing it then I am reading it on kindle. This is a book to be read slowly and be enjoyed.

I'm a little late getting to read this one, but better late then never. Typically I try to read the book before seeing the film, so I'm going about this one backwards.

I put off reading this because I was scared of being scared, but after loving Mexican Gothic, it was time! I found the narrator‘s interior journey of understanding, both of Area X and her life before, very satisfying, and I loved how deliciously disturbing it was, how unlikeable and unreliable its narrator was, and how it left me with more questions than answers—probably the reasons some don‘t like it! Read for Jan. #Bookland, horror: ugly cover.

I actually listened to this on audio, and I fell right into the story. I followed this scientist deeper into Area X, not knowing what to expect. This book is a mystery within a mystery. I enjoyed the descriptions and the back and forth between the past and present. I would recommend this book to any sci-fi lovers out there. I also watched the movie, which deviated so much from the original that I didn‘t enjoy it as much. Further thoughts:👇🏻

Finished this month‘s #DoubleSpin ☺️

I want to say this wasn‘t quite what I expected it to be, but at the same time I don‘t really know what I expected! In some ways, it reminded me of the quest type computer games my ex played; it also felt like some of the Covid vaccine conspiracy theories, though this is slightly less bizarre than them!

It‘s well written but the lack of a proper ending, or indeed any “answers”, frustrated me

took me a while to be able to get into it but once i did get into it, it literally sucked me in and i did kinda loved it in the end due to all the kookiness going on in it. i also loved that the biologist isn‘t precisely likeable at all. 4/5

#3books that have been made into movies

Shutter Island- I really liked the book but only saw bits and pieces of the movie. I want to do a reread and then actually watch the whole movie.

Dune- Just finished reading the book with my friends. We all thought it was okay, but we‘re looking forward to the new movie. I haven‘t seen the old one.

Annihilation- Loved the book. Kind of meh about the movie.

My boyfriend got me new books for our anniversary ❤️ I loved both of these and have been trying to convince my boyfriend to read Annihilation for years. Him deciding to buy it seems like a good sign, even if it is technically for me. Maybe I‘ll actually be able to get him to read it now. 😂

#3Books #WithOneWordTitles all from the Southern Beach trilogy.

@OriginalCyn620
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

#20Series20Days Day 19 Area X

Late to the party, I just discovered this series earlier this year. I have one more volume to go, and hope it's delicious as the first two.

I was tagged by @Eggs a week ago and never did this. Whoops! Remedying that.

1. I don‘t watch much TV but my wife got sucked into The Masked Singer and I got sucked in too.
2. I‘m grateful that my family is healthy and we have secure jobs we can do from home.

@Cosmos_Moon