Welcome to Litsy!

Gritty. Lonely. Sad.

"Blood's thicker than water, and I am drowning in it. I was sinking down in that blood and once I hit bottom, no one would find me."

“From where I crouched in the laurel, it looked like rust colored everything in the yard burnt red: an old push mower…a children‘s tricycle…a wheelbarrow that had a grate thrown over the bucket for grilling, a hole burnt slap through the bottom. The whole lot was in dire need of a tetanus shot.” Appalachian noir. More blood and grit than I‘m used to (and plenty of smoking) but overall a fine debut by David Joy.

I liked the atmosphere, and didn‘t mind that it was a gritty and bleak story, but I just couldn‘t get into this book. The women (all three of them) were all one-dimensional, one of my common complaints in the noir crime genres. Certain aspects were very repetitive, and there were quite a few inconsistencies and plot holes. Meh, it checks off two prompts.

#booked2021 #appalachiannoir
#pop21 something broken on cover (a window if you look closely)

When I say I will read anywhere, I definitely mean it! Even in the middle of a beautiful mountain lake. 😂

I always love when my reading matches my surroundings, which is why I picked this book to read during our cabin retreat near Cashiers, NC!

The waterfall in Panthertown mentioned in this chapter is just down the road from us, ans we were there today! #appalachiannoir

I‘m staying at a cabin in Cashiers, NC this week, and this is the view from the porch!

Putting down my other books to read the tagged one set in this area. #appalachiannoir #booked2021

#LMPBC read that I hope to finish tonight.

Received this one today for #LMPBC #Round10 @suvata

@MyBookSwapClub @Erinreadsthebooks @TheSpineView

Erin, Anxious People is going to the mailbox tomorrow!

It's not a bad book, but it's not for me. I liked the depiction of the atmosphere, which is in typical noir manner - heavy with despair and threats, but everything else was so-so. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ #Booked2021 #AppalachianNoir

Unpopular opinion but i wasn‘t a fan of this one. In general I liked the characters, particularly the protagonist, and I didn‘t find the world or themes too much or too gory, but I was never grabbed by any of what went on and I found the writing style, particularly around the romance bits, quite cliche. I don‘t have much of a reason for disliking it but I just couldn‘t make myself read it much. Eh it‘s a #booked2021 one done

This dark, Appalachia Noir kind of writing is a favorite of mine, but I didn't LOVE this book. It was fine. I enjoyed it enough. I really like David Joy on Instagram, so I'll give his other books a try; however, this one didn't live up to some others in the category that I enjoyed tremendously (namely Ile's Natchez Burning Trilogy and Bull Mountain Series by Panowich). Sent this one around for #LMPBC

I read this book for #LMPBC. It was not one I would have chosen to read. The topics presented where difficult. It was reminiscent of a Ron Rash novel. The writing was good but again not something I would pick or enjoy. 3.5 ⭐

I hid the pickup behind a tangled row of pampas grass that had needed burning a good year or so before.

#WhereAllLightTendsToGo #DavidJoy FirstLineFridays

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

"I hid the pickup behind a tangled row of pampas grass that needed burning a good year or so before. "

Puppy for sale. Gotta go. Chewing on books. I kid, this pup can chew up a couple paperbacks, a hardback or two, my whole bookshelf. No biggie. Rules don‘t apply when you‘re real cute. 😍🤗🤩🤟

@TheSpineView @MyBookSwapClub @Kappadeemom #lmpbc I‘m obviously having a literary moment because I started three of the books I thought about sending around, and none held my interest. I hope this one works for everyone 👍

Y‘all. My mom‘s book etiquette 😩😳🙈 #ihatesand

Devastating, profoundly moving, violent, hopeful...just a few of the words I would use to describe this book about an 18 year old who is trying to step away from the only life he‘s ever known. I couldn‘t put this book down. #covid19readathon

#52
I've never read this author before, but I loved this book for some reason. It just kept me wanting more.

BOOK TAGS⇣
⤏ THE REALIST SOUTHERN GRIT-LIT
⤏ METH, DEATH AND TRYING TO DO THE RIGHT THING
⤏ BORN OF CIRCUMSTANCE
⤏ SERIOUSLY, THERE IS NO JOY IN DAVID JOY'S BOOKS
I've now listened to two books by David Joy, and I feel that I can safely say that he doesn't do the quintessential happy ending. He does the harsh, realistic ones. The gut-punching type...and he does them really well.

Took a big stack of books with me for my unexpected trip this week.

An amazing read in an amazing location. Our vacation in Aruba was unbelievable and so was David Joy's Where All Light Tends To Go.

SO, SO fantastic. Gritty, bleak, dusty and rusty Southern Appalachian noir, set right here in NC (which y‘all know is my weakness 🙌🏻). Jacob sees no way out of the crappy circumstance that he was born into; his story just screams of resignation and longing for something else. There are very few times when I‘ve felt overcome with the weight of perfect language, but this is one of those times. A hard story at times, but oh-my-gosh so good.

Current read - this one reminds me of Donald Ray Pollack and Ron Rash. Dark, southern literature ...#currentread

Good short palate cleanser between some of the heavier books I‘ve been reading. I especially enjoyed the descriptions of Appalachia and the sense of adventure. One warning, though: it‘s a serious sausage fest.

Just started this debut novel and it looks like a good one.

This was really good, but also very sad. I often forgot that Jacob is only 18, he seems so much older and has such a hard life. I really enjoyed the way this was written.

Yes, it is better to just let sleeping dogs lie. Because they keep you warm.

My heat is out again (LOL 2016 YOU FUNNY) and I have to stay warm, so why wouldn't I wear Star Wars thermal underpants and read something dark?

Sweepstakes alert! Putnam is giving away some rather thrilling looking books! https://sweeps.penguinrandomhouse.com/enter/putnam-mysterythriller-holiday-sweep...

Not sure of what I think of this one. Anyone else read this book?

Joy's debut novel was a page turner and so relevant... Loved it!

While I'm not crazy about the name Grit Lit, I do love the genre (natch). Listened on audiobook and the narrator has the perfect accent. Good one on the theme of its hard to escape a small town/family.