Welcome to Litsy!

I heard this one raved about on a podcast, but it didn‘t quite work for me. It‘s a family story and I liked the bits of the story itself, but the structure on audio really didn‘t work. It jumps around in time without any pauses or notice that that‘s what‘s happening and it was confusing and distracting.

Reason 872 to love my kobo:

I came out to read and totally forgot my glasses! Thankfully I can just bump up the text size and muddle through 🤓🤦‍♀️😊

#coverlove #green
I discovered lots of varying shades of green on my bookshelves.
We are having another heatwave today, heat index 100 degrees- high humidity. Maybe I should read the tagged book today! 😀😉

More family drama! I seem to be reading a lot of it these days. 🤷🏾‍♀️

Messy lives just trying to navigate the world and their relationships with one another.

Set during a heatwave in 1976,3 siblings reunite at their parents house because the father has gone off without a word,taken money from the account before he left.The story moves back&forth between the characters,leaving out the father‘s perspective.Family secrets,resentment&buried hurt come to the surface while the family tries to understand what happened to the father.It took me a bit to get into the story,but I‘m so glad I did.Great writing

It is a difficult summer in 1976 and Gretta and Robert continue with the same routine since 39 years ago. But this time, Robert didn‘t return to his house, disappeared and the story began when Gretta, who seems to be so emotional contact her two daughters, Monica and Aoife and her son Michael Francis. Then we will know about all these characters in the splendid authors way, their relationships and the family secrets.⬇️

During the heatwave of 1976, Robert Riordan leaves his London home to get the paper and doesn‘t return. His wife and their three adult children gather at the family home to try to figure out where he has gone and why. While spending time together old secrets are revealed and past hurts are finally faced. I really loved getting to know each character as an individual and in their role in their family. #authoramonth

Another great one from Maggie O!! My only complaint with her early books is that the endings leave some unanswered questions, but I truly felt the stifling heat and worry this family felt. Her atmosphere is 💯💯💯! #AuthorAMonth

Britain‘s 1976 heatwave is on, and Robert has just walked out on his wife and left no reason why. His adult children gather with their mom to uncover his secrets and work out a few issues among themselves.

I love Maggie O‘Farrell but Instructions for a Heatwave and I were not vibing. And it came due at the library so it was sweet knowing you but I‘m going to have to pass.

Saving myself up to fangirl over The Marriage Portrait.

I loved this! Each character had these layers that kept tripping up my first impressions of them and I loved how it went deeper and deeper. She manages to be funny and profound. Very enjoyable and meaningful for me ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Picked this up at the farmer's market this morning. I'm having a bit of a panic about feeling like there is so little left that I want to read on Scribd and so much I want to read that's not on there. Alternatives include buying more (secondhand) print books and rereading some stuff on my shelves. Oh and earning lots of money for new print or Kindle books 🤪

This is my 7th Maggie O‘Farrell. I adore her work. Every novel is such a treat. This one set in the UK and Ireland in the drought of 1976 tells the story of a family of five. Loved it 😍.

Wednesday night I did a sewing class at the library. I made a pillow case. I had a great time. I also loved that I was able to squeeze in some op shopping before hand. The books were the bargain price of $1! That doesn‘t happen very often! I spent an hr in this Vinnies. I can‘t wait for the hols in < than a week to enjoy the bath salts & extra reading time. The dinner plate is from a set I‘ve had for around 7 yrs that I still ❤️ like I love tea.

#hubbygrills #booksanddinner

I sliced my right thumb with a very sharp knife- all taken care of; steri stripped, etc. I cannot get it wet. Not a drop.
It‘s a challenge! I am grateful for my family who are picking up the slack.

This book. I adore it.

#heatwave
Perfect title for this August weather in CT & elsewhere in the U.S.
#literatibookclub
#alphabetgame #LetterI

Gosh, Maggie O‘Farrell is good! First-rate family drama. Smart, warm and filled with wonderful observations of ordinary life. Love a good family secret. The perfect read for our current heatwave.

Look forward to reading more of O‘Farrell‘s backlist. I have a few left. I liked I Am, I Am, I Am and loved Hamnet and The Vanishing Act if Esme Lennox. Eagerly anticipating The Marriage Portrait (out in September).

“4) (i)…the only permitted use of water will be for:
(a) Drinking, and or;
(b) The washing of clothes or of the body, and or;
(c) Both public and private toilets.”

#FirstLineFridays

Good morning! I found the greatest little bakery with drool-worthy apple fritters. I've got a long day of reading ahead of me (for fun and work!) 🤓

What are your Sunday plans?

This one slots into the middle of the Venn diagram of the “popular” and the “literary”, offering a rich family drama with a curious mystery to draw you in. And O‘Farrell does a remarkable job at guiding the reader through. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/instructions-for-a-heatwave-maggie-ofarrell...

While the story revolves around the disappearance of the father of the Riordan family, this is really a story about family and who we are and who we grow to be. It reminded me of Anne Tyler and Ann Patchett‘s writing in the ability to zone in on the details of who we are as human beings while making it interesting to read. What I thought was going to be a slow read had me finishing the second half in one day. #Booked2022 Weather Term in Title

#12BooksOf2021 I am sharing my almost-favorites of the year. The ones who didn‘t make my #Top21Of21 but are favorites nevertheless. One for each month.

This is my choice for #March. I love almost everything by Maggie O‘Farrell and this one was no exception.

I simply couldn't let go of Maggie O'Farrell. I have basked in her stream-of-consciousness writing tonight. The idiosyncrasies of this family have made them lovable and human, even at just 21% into the read. There are hard moments, as can be expected, but I have found myself smiling at funny, awkward moments too. I sense an Irish humor in this novel that reminds me of Frank McCourt. Wonderful!

Great read, easy to get through with a range of characters who all added to the story and left me wanting to know more!

Grabbed this from the library...
Set in the year I was born!!

It‘s a bit early for cake 🤷🏼‍♀️ another Saturday morning in lockdown .. I‘m having cake for breakfast! 😁

Despite its ugly cover this is another wonderful story by Maggie O‘Farrell and exactly what I needed. It‘s a family drama at its best. A mother and her three adult children come together when their father goes missing. Each has their own secrets and stuff to deal with. An intelligent pageturner. Loved it!

#Pop21 #Advanced #UgliestCover

#WeeklyForecast 09/21

The tagged book‘s cover is one of the ugliest I‘ve come across in a long time but I am always looking forward to another O‘Farrell. The Parable of the Sower will tick off many challenges points but first I have started the slim novel West, which you sent me and I had never heard of but am enjoying 🤍

UK Kindle users - super sale on all of Maggie O‘Farrell‘s books. #KindleDeals #KindleDailyDeals

This book waited for months on my TBR list. The sun finally came back these last days, and I decided it is appropriate to finally read this. Lovely story and well-written, but I feel something special was missing to make this book truly memorable.
I finished it in about 3 hours while sunbathing in jacket, blanket and jeans (it‘s not THAT hot).

#maggieofarrel #novel

3.5 stars for me. I fell in love with Maggie O'Farrell's writing with I Am I Am I Am. This was my first fiction that I have read of hers. Family drama set in England and Ireland. I don't know that I will remember the plot in a few months time but I love how she writes character.

I received a nixle.com alert for excessive heat from tomorrow until Friday night.

@NataliePatalie

Gosh, it's a bit warm! Hope all my fellow UK Littens are managing to stay cool and hydrated. It's a great excuse to stay inside and read lots!

I actually love hot weather as long as I can find a bit of shade 🌞😎🌞😎🌞😎🌞

Inexplicably, I‘ve made it to 2019 before reading any Maggie O‘Farrell. I didn‘t know what I was missing! Really good, solid storytelling with complex but believable characters (I loved Aoife so much in this novel) and family dynamics in which to get completely absorbed. I can see she‘s going to be an author I go back to.

I adored this book so much. It was everything I want in a novel - vivid, complicated, interesting people interacting with tenderness but also with weakness and massive problems. So everyday but also so sad and so beautiful. What else should I read by this writer?? I haven‘t heard of anything else by her but I need to read more

Another one where I can‘t quite remember why I downloaded it but I‘m excited to start it now! I feel like I‘ve heard someone say Maggie O‘Farrell is good? Can‘t even remember who said that now but it‘s good so far. I always like books about people feeling lots of things through hot lazy summers.

I enjoyed this well written book. It‘s been on my shelf for a few years. A family story about secrets and lies. Ms O‘Farrell is a lesser known author worth reading. I‘ll likely read her new one I Am, I Am, I Am.

I liked this but the ending was a damp squib. Title doesn‘t bear any resemblance to what the story is about really.

16 | #HeatOfJuly #HotInHere

😎 read.

@Cinfhen

Dewey Readathon photo challenge day 6: In the Wild. It has been so hot here lately that I haven‘t been able to read outside at lunchtime and it is making me cranky 😡 #deweyjuly #readathon #reversereadathon

Stopped in Killaloe today for some Service Ontario stuff and found this gem of a "free little library."
Isn't it adorable!?
#canadianbooks #canadiantrees ???

Hoping for some practical tips, but I‘ll settle for a good story. 😜 I am sitting directly under our window A/C to read this.

#sunshine #marchintooz
Plenty of sunshine in this one. Set in 1976, which for those of us old enough to remember it was actually hot, for a long time in the UK 🌞

I ❤️ stories about families and secrets, call me a drama queen. This one has alternating viewpoints and timeframes, sometimes within the same page, that would have annoyed me but the author somehow makes it work. I wasn‘t too satisfied with the ending which is why I‘m only giving it a 4 ⭐️ rating. A quiet read but really dives into some tough issues. 👍🏾

That‘s why I go to the library, to get my exercise on 📚💪🏾😜 #buzzfeed #bookhumor #libraryhaul

Here are a few of my books that are set in countries other than the US (at least in part) so for me they are #foreignreads I haven't read any of these yet! I'd like to read more from other countries and especially books in translation. @Jess7

Gotta love a bargain that's this good a story! "She phoned her parents occasionally, from New York, but they tend to view long-distance calls as an indulgence verging on illegal. They treat them as a form of telegraph, exchanging the barest essential information before hanging up..."

Got these for free at a work book exchange. They are rather well loved so that's a good sign. I enjoyed her first novel too. #TBRsomeday

This was my pick for #writtenbysomeoneyourage for the Litsy Bingo Reading Challenge and was the first book that I've read by Maggie O'Farrell. It's the story of a disjointed family reunited over the disappearance of their father, bringing to light each character's long held secrets. I will definitely search out her other works after reading this one. Image is from Goodreads.