Welcome to Litsy!

#BookSpin #BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks #ToB23

The idea behind this book sounded so great, but the execution ended up being disappointing.

Following the meandering plot in this one became a struggle for me. While I do appreciate the vision the author had and his look into current American politics in this dark, futuristic tale, it was all a bit vague and repetitive for me.

#ToB23 double bail. I‘ve read enough of these to know I‘m headed for so-so reviews at most so back to the library they go!

I don‘t get it. I guess the author wanted complacent Americans to feel what might make an American abandon all they know, most of what they own and make a new start somewhere where they don‘t know the language, the culture, etc. and where their legal status is precarious or even nonexistent. Didn‘t work for me. The book was both too obvious and too vague (we‘re never told what country the protagonist is in or what happened in the US.)
#ToB2023

Audiobook for #ToB2023…what did I just read? The concept was intriguing to me: “Little America” in an unnamed country where Americans are refugees and unappreciated by natives of said country. Ron Patterson is our unpolitical MC who spies on women, walks his dog, works, and recalls moments from the future civil war in US. Americans seek the comfort of big box stores in their new land. Too vague for me but I look forward to the commentary.

I admit this book had an uphill battle with me because I am so tired of near-future dystopias, but -- honestly it felt like a collection of vaguely ominous incidents that never really added up to anything because they were all so hazy and nebulous. Not my cuppa. #Tob23

I made Blueberry Pie with my niece last night, thus our “toasting” of our rewards. How I managed to find vanilla ice cream in the freezer was a wonder surprise! (Husband was out of town, I usually devour ice cream when he is gone.)

Earlier in the day, I finished the audio of this #Tob2023. I am glad I read it. Hoping the Tournament discussion will bring even more insight to what was happening. I have enjoyed the theories and ideas shared here 😊

Emotionally, this novel feels similar to An Island but doesn't capture its impact. Mostly I just feel confused. I don't understand the narrator's affliction or its purpose (unless it's just to show that it's impossible to tell who's on your side?), I don't understand the underlying conflict that's forced so many Americans into life as refugees, and I don't get Kalfus's overall point, but the book has some good scenes and isn't unpleasant to read.

I am 1/3 of the way through this audiobook and I am actually getting a kick out of the story‘s confusing elements, the author‘s choice of craft, and wondering what the heck is happening. I have read some reviews by readers I admire who praise this and others that note big issues, and all are adding to my interest to pay attention. So far, so good. #ToB2023
Random photo from work.

Meh, another so-so one from the #tob shortlist. I know there‘s been lots of discussion around the MCs ‘face blindness‘ and I think it‘s to do with the disorientation of being a continually displaced refugee. However it made it very difficult to follow the storyline, particularly on audio when you can‘t flick back a few pages to remind yourself what‘s going on.

What were the judges on when they picked this shortlist?!

Like most others I enjoyed the first part of this book. The collapse of the US, the people seeking refuge in other countries: it is an intriguing and disturbing premise. However in the second part strange things start happening to Ron, the narrator of the story. I didn‘t get if he is just unreliable or if his circumstances are. Too vague, too disconnected to my taste. #ToB23

#TBRtarot #52Booksclub23 #TimeInTitle #pop23 #PetCharacter

I love this premise—the US has fallen into such disarray and violence that people are fleeing but few countries with take them. One US refuge is trying to find his way in these conditions. I found the storytelling here cold, which kept me at a distance. Plus, the protagonist has a condition that was a bit too convenient of a plot device and just didn‘t work for me. #tob2023

Kalfus's dystopian world in which civil war has caused many Americans to become unwanted refugees in other lands is thought-provoking and disturbing. However, I just couldn't latch onto any of the characters and found the plot rather plodding.

#ToB2023

#WinterReadathon @Andrew65 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES
#BookSpinBingo #PromptMaze @TheAromaofBooks

Not much reading this week partly due to a short vacay and partly due to what I had chosen to read. I finished 2 AM but I can‘t say I enjoyed it. I felt disconnected and maybe that was the point with the ambiguous memories, etc. 2.5 🌟 MV may be the right book but wrong time. I‘ll watch for other reviews to see if I should try again later.

Taking a break from #TOB23 for the rest of 2022.

I struggled with this one, as I usually do with allegorical fiction. The concept is really interesting but the protagonist just seemed so removed. I did it on audio and had a hard time paying attention. #TOB23

I struggled with one, wanting to bail pretty early on but determined to finish it for #tob23. The premise sounded great- an American refugee building a life in the only countries willing to take him after a civil war in near future America. There are some interesting details but otherwise the purposeful vagueness left me cold.

Congratulations on your milestone, Amanda! And thank you for the opportunity to help you celebrate. These 3 books are on the #ToB2023 short list which I am determined to read for the Litsy Tournament.

#YearEnd100K @MatchlessMarie

This was not a pick for me. If it hadn‘t been a short read I doubt I would have finished it. Or maybe it was just the wrong book at the wrong time.

#ToBlonglist

I didn‘t love this book but god did it get me thinking. So how on earth do I rate it? Low pick I guess. 🤔 The MC is a future (dystopian) refugee from the US, where there is an ongoing civil war. He is pushed from country to country where, and this is where Kalfus lost me, the MC keeps mistaking one woman for another, constantly seeing ones from his past. Now, I kind of wondered are these women physical, almost motherly embodiments of home ⬇️

#ToB23 longlist 🧡 In a futuristic America, a new civil war has broken out & now people are fleeing in droves to foreign countries to seek refuge. Tables are turned as Americans are now looked upon as unwanted migrants, forced to live in squalid conditions in districts called “Little America”. The premise is smart but our narrator is so vague that it‘s hard to really feel how dire this new reality is. Grim and unsettling. 👇🏼

This was surprisingly available on my library‘s Libby page 😀🎉 It has a menacing undertone, dystopian - I‘m getting some similarities to Mouth to Mouth. I don‘t think I‘d be as engaged in print but on audio, it‘s keeping me hooked. I think you‘re listening now too @Megabooks ?!?! Curious to know your thoughts ❤️