Welcome to Litsy!

Read in December 2024...
17 Books
Five 5-Star reads this month:
• The Life Impossible
• James
• Illuminations: A Novel of Hildegard von Bingen
• One
• The Echo Chamber

5 Stars • The Echo Chamber by John Boyne satirically follows the Cleverley family. It delves into miscommunication via social media, public image vs. reality, cancel culture, and identity. George, a has-been novelist; Beverley, a TV star; Elizabeth, an influencer; and Nelson, transgender, navigate fame and personal life, often clashing due to their echo chambers. ⬇️

I never expected a laugh out loud satire from one of my favorite authors, but here we are! It reminded me of the Bluth Family from Arrested Development…but British! Political viewpoints aside, Boyne has crafted a searing and hysterical take down of cancel culture and our obsession, dare I say addiction, to social media.
Loved it!

Satirical and funny yet also dark, Boyne delves into the ridiculousness of social media and cancel culture which is mainly funny but did get a bit tiresome. The humour is dry and sarcastic which is very much up my street, No subtly here!

I can‘t decide what I make of this. Kind of like a more acerbic, furious Marian-Keyes-esque story of a dysfunctional family, facing their downfall at the hands of social media. I couldn‘t decide whether it was hilarious, or toe-curlingly uncomfortable, or both!

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Another reading day outside. This was almost a so- so for me. A bit too long. A satire of all things “ woke”.
The author takes us on a journey , set in very modern times , with a family consumed with social media, celebrity and the resulting dilemmas of being consumed by all this. In the end I have to say I did enjoy it. Such a comment on the times we live in right now.

I learned a lot about John Boyne and why he wrote this wildly brilliant book after watching his heartfelt interview at the UK‘s Tring Book Fest. He shares personal stories and many great points about listening to each other more and respecting our differences. He won me over along with this amusing over-the-top satire about our severe obsession with social media. https://youtu.be/UYKKAvDkA0A
#AuthorAMonth
@Soubhiville

This satire isn‘t particularly smart. I couldn‘t figure out his angle other than anyone using social media and woke culture in general. But it still gets a pick for readability.

The Cleverley family is in trouble with their digital devices. BBC personality dad keeps making un-PC tweets, mom is an author who uses ghost writers, their daughter is a secret troll while maintaining a pious face, one son is neurotic and the other a Tinder con artist.

I always love it when the book I‘ve already started is pulled, so yay for The Echo Chamber as my #doublespin! It‘s definitely an odd one for Boyne, but I love the Maude Avery easter egg I just caught!

My #bookspin is a #reread of Made for Love, which I can‘t remember much of other than it was also weird. Never has an author had a more appropriate last name than Alissa. 😂

Sarcastic and snarky it‘s Boyne‘s scathing take on the shallowness and ridiculousness of social media and it‘s most ardent users and abusers. It was good but at times the snark and silliness became too much. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Up next: two books for January‘s book club. The Predatory Animal Ball is a short story collection by a friend met through bookishness so we‘re excited to read this one. Many of us in book club love John Boyne.

I rarely buy physical books these days, but when I do it‘s by one of my favorite authors.

Here, John Boyne takes on what he calls the “wokesters”. This novel is a scathing tongue in cheek look at social media, cancel culture, influencers, Twitter wars, gender identity and a slew of other hot button topics. Book contains loads of witty dialogue and clever word play, but it was far from subtle. Enjoyable narration 🎧 #LongAssFlight
#MoreMehThanYeah
#BorrowNotBuy

Grabbing some late afternoon rays before my flight tomorrow ☀️✈️Not sure how I feel about this new Boyne @TrishB @Andrew65 ~ I see what you mean by different than his other novels 😉 #SocialCommentary #DarkHumor

Loved this excellent, thought provoking and absolutely on the nose satire. Full review at
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4267909743

So so clever and hilarious.

I‘m really not sure how to review this. I couldn‘t put it down so it‘s a pick. It‘s dark, funny, extreme, sarcastic and satirical. It also came across as very personal and bitter- a reaction to Boyne‘s mauling on social media with his last book?
One to definitely make your own mind up about I think.

It‘s rained on and off most of the afternoon so have had some reading time! It‘s beautiful now though 😁
This book is savage and dark.

Enjoying an early morning read in the outdoors!

Today‘s holiday souvenir buying , otherwise known as #bookhaul

$43 for a paperback. What alternate universe have I entered!?! Lol