Welcome to Litsy!

I am so behind in posting this I‘ve already finished my #doublespin, and boy is it a doozy. I loved it like I loved Groff‘s Fates and Furies. I got invested; I got sad; I got angry. And I‘m going to read it again. Wow!

As you can see, my up next shelf is out of control plus I have 15 library borrows. I need to READ MY OWN BOOKS, but the library is in my neighborhood. I‘m headed out of town tomorrow and taking Up in the Air! #bookspin

My mother shrugs. “So what?” “That‘s it?” says Levi. “Ten years of Hebrew school, and it comes to that? So what?” “Let me tell you something,” says my mother. “Those are two of the most powerful words in the English language. Right between them is a free and happy life.”

Jiro looked at her. “You want to know what the key to a happy life is, Zoe?” “There‘s just one?” “Just one that matters,” said Jiro. “No expectations. No preferences. If you prefer one outcome over another in life, you will likely be disappointed. I prefer nothing and am always surprised.”

Despite a significant age difference Cleo and Frank get married soon after meeting. This books centers around them and their group of friends in NYC as they love, falter, grow, and lose. It would be so easy to pick this book apart based on its flaws. It is definitely not perfect and I get the divisive reviews. Even still I loved it. It just emotionally ensnared me in a way not many books have recently.

3.5⭐️ I read this because I wanted to know what the hype was. I enjoyed it, but I thought about DNFing a couple of times. There‘s a point in the story where you‘re not sure what the POINT of the story is, so I just stopped trying to find it and I enjoyed the experience more.

On today‘s episode of “Let me start a new book just before I go to sleep”…

An engrossing, addictive page turner. When I tell you I spent nights tearing through this, devouring large chunks of the novel at a time….

It gives Sally Rooney but also Hanya Yanagihara‘s “A Little Life” a little bit, a contemporary romance and drama—(covering so many topics I could tell this must have taken forever to write)—with expertly crafted POV shifts.

Heavily recommended if you like spicy dramatics and relationship stories.

Without doubt will be one of my favourite books of the year & Eleanor one of my favourite characters . A joy , loved it

This seems to be an #unpopularopinion, but this didn‘t do it for me. This is another character-driven book where not much happens. It‘s just a bunch of privileged or bohemian people doing a lot of drugs and having a lot of sex. I need plot! Or some semblance of a plot. I would‘ve bailed but was reading this for #pop24, a book about a 24 year-old. I‘m just glad it‘s over.

#bookspinbingo

Oh my word this book is seriously good 👍 I have a new favourite 🤩 author ! It reminds me of a little life but with more female characters & less depressing 😳”hunger that was beyond food, they ate because it reminded them of their parents feeding them & the times they were taken care of. They ate because their parents did not feed them & it‘s how they learned to take care of themselves. They ate because they felt less alone when eating “

Very excited about my picks for this month! ☀️
#bookspin #doublespin

My #birthdaybookhaul for 2024 ❤️❤️

This book was different to what I was expecting. A bit too graphic for me in places (I must be getting old) but lots of characters to like and dislike. I always enjoy a book from multiple voices so that ticked a lot of boxes. 4 stars

I just watched a book review that stated “characters do not have to be unlikeable to be complex” and it resonated SO HARD. I think that‘s my problem with with a lot of current fiction — authors seem to be full on embracing the unlikeable character as somehow more worthy or legitimate and I…just dislike it. I don‘t have time to waste on characters I despise.

Only got one op shop in while staying at Port Macquarie last weekend in this cute little cabin with my Nan, niece and nephew. Unfortunately the fabric of this dress was super delicate and was destroyed in the wash. Lucky I‘ve got a dress maker friend who can whip me up another. The tagged book is one of my book club‘s books this month. Score!

Another from the borrowed pile! I‘m not sure what I think so far — the writing is very good, detailed and precise, with a lot of thought for language. The characters are sort of bohemian in a way I don‘t know if I like or not…I will keep reading and see…

I read this a few weeks ago but the characters are still vivid in my mind. It‘s a very character driven book which I like. Cleo and Frank stay in a relationship that isn‘t healthy for either of them; it reminded me of the song Foundations by Kate Nash but more grown up and darker 😆 It felt like every word was written with precision and intent, and there‘s humour in it too. Really enjoyed it.

4⭐️/5⭐️

Loved this book so much!

Mixed feelings about this one. Great writing, in parts compelling, yet at times (a lot!) the irritatingly spoiled/privileged characters marred it for me, and I never felt that invested in them. It‘s also quite sad, although this is balanced by the very amusing Eleanor. I‘d read a book just about Eleanor. I‘ve seen this compared to Sally Rooney but that comparison wasn‘t quite met for me. Loved the cover though!

On Saturday, my friends (including @hclaird ) hosted a bachelorette party for me. The theme was all purple and the the background of this pic includes a piece of the decorations I kept. During the day we had some extra time in between activities, so I had time to go to the bookstore with @Saknicole and @Bummler and picked up this stack. Bottom 3 from my local used bookstore and the Penguin cloth bound was from B&N.

Was on the fence about this one, but 99p #kindledailydeal usually does the trick!

When you see a book that looks interesting, but then see it‘s been compared to Sally Rooney 😩 Do I risk it or not?

10-26 Dec 22
Another New York read, this tells of a short lived and seemingly doomed marriage between two characters who are quite lost really. Separately they battle addiction, abandonment and depression without ever seeming to really connect or effectively communicate. Perhaps the problem is they are too alike and neither can begin to heal whilst they are together?
An enjoyable read, and much easier than this review probably suggests.

I really loved this book, both Cleo and Frank were so lovely both with their own problems. I liked how the chapters were by months. Set in New York, really good.

These are my current reads and enjoying them both!

After all the hype, thought I would start this this morning. Love that the cover matches my bedding. First chapters pulled me right in, but I‘m hoping the case of deliberately quirky, whimsical characters doesn‘t become a bit much too quickly.

Started this a couple of days ago. Cleo and Frank meet as they‘re leaving a New Year‘s Eve party in New York City and are immediately drawn to each other. Their story and the stories of their friends and families unfold. Not much plot but loads of character.

I read this outside in the sun, covered in blankets. Cleopatra & Frankenstein is wonderfully written, and although this book is full of privileged characters and not a lot of plot, I enjoyed it a lot.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️,5/5

#CleopatraandFrankenstein #novel

Cleo is 25 and Frank in his forties when they meet and marry in a hurry; this is the story of their dysfunctional relationship.

I read a review just as I began this that said ‘for fans of Sally Rooney‘ and almost didn‘t bother. It‘s really nothing like that. Yes, it features millennials who are a bit whiny and argue without actually communicating, but it‘s set in New York and is a lot grittier, with more sex, drugs and tortured artists.