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I bought this damaged book in a blind date with a book situation a few months ago and just now see that it is signed. 😳 I‘m not excited about reading it, so I really hope it‘s not terrible! 😂

Love this author so much but this book was just okay to me. It felt like it was just pages and pages of description which I‘m used to with Ellis, but I felt like we knew so much in the beginning that it really didn‘t build up for me like I had hoped. Maybe it was a stylistic thing for me, but this one really was drug out, in my opinion. I think he could have accomplished the same thing with half the pages.

Pretty classic BEE. Rich teenagers left unsupervised and on quaaludes, fixation on records and clothing labels, blood and guts.
Was expecting Mr Bateman himself to make an appearance but then he‘s probably too East Coast for this scene.

It‘s meta, it‘s mash-up, it‘s Less Than Zero, Gatsby, American Psycho—dare I say there‘s even a dash of SNL‘s “The Californians”—I‘m still trying to decide if it‘s intentional (“I took Mulholland to the 405…until I reached the 10). You‘ll love it or hate it, and yes, it‘s violent. But here‘s the thing: Ellis‘s nostalgia for the Eighties is also surprisingly tender. Long and drawn out, but I relished this, right down to the last Quaalude.

Well, this is weird! As I write here, I can‘t tell you a single thing I liked about this except being somehow drawn to Brett‘s fictional self and his untrue crime story set in 1981 LA. Everyone is 17 except one creepy closet-gay dad. Fictional Brett‘s many sexual encounters are overly described. Drugs are rampantly available to this privileged pack of teens and maybe one of them is a serial killer to both man and beast. And yet, it‘s a pick.

This is the first I've read from Ellis, although I saw the movie version of American Psycho, so I had an idea what to expect. It's definitely a page turner, but I don't feel like I quite connected with the over-privileged nihilistic prep school cast. It's certainly clever, just perhaps more self-consciously clever than I prefer. It feels like a (raunchy, gory, violent) commentary about wealth, responsibility, and emotional vacuousness.

#Authorwiththreenames #MayMontage @Eggs
#Brett Easton Ellis
Favorite book this year so far!! And the first author that popped in my head!

I laughed, I cried, I was terrified!

This book has everything....1980's, San Fernando Valley (where I grew up and live), high school life, 80's music, sex, queerness and a serial killer! I mean, I can like...totally relate (minus the serial killer part).

This 1980's time capsule is a suspenseful & intense work of metafiction that kept me fully engaged throughout its 600+ page count.

(Trigger warning for extreme violence, animal death/cruelty)

Sleeping baby means maybe about 20 minutes of peace 🥰

3-10-23: My 28th finished book of 2023! As usual, Ellis has written a long and drawn out sexually explicit and violent story. Using himself as the main character, Bret, a senior at the Buckley school in LA, tells the story of his final year of school in 1981/82, and the serial killer who hunted girls and tortured his friends. Well written as always but very difficult to read without cringing. Some of it is true just not sure which parts.

The Shards is taking the coveted favorite book of the month slot for February. I had a feeling this was going to be the case because I LOVED the book and the narration by BEE. March is going to be particularly difficult because I have a few TBRs that look amazing. #ToB #Februarypick #2down

🎧 I‘m not sure how I feel about this book but it took me DAYS to finish it & I needed to speed it up in the end. I was expecting a “hunt the serial killer” book. This was not that. I imagine if you were 17 in 1981 &/or lived in LA during this time you might be more interested?

The book was just not for me.

⭐️⭐️⭐️👇🏻👇🏻

Bret Easton Ellis' new novel The Shards is a trip back to the Los Angeles of the 80s and deserves its own 80's playlist to go with it!

Clever, terrifying, dark and absolutely unique, The Shards will keep you guessing even after the book ends.

So, What can I say about this book. First, it's an absolutely riveting page turner! I could not put it down! I read and listened in tandem, listening when I couldn't read/reading and listening when possible and I must admit I spent the last 4 days total enraptured by this book. It's my favorite book that I've read in a long time. That says, let me put out a few trigger warnings: sexually explicit content! Violence, grit, gore! But no doubt ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Huzzah! My Book of the Month box arrived today! 🎉🎉🎉 I had to work today, so it was such a wonderful treat to come home to! 😊💕📚 While I had originally planned on starting with the Flower Bride, I've been reading so much about The Shards in the last few days that I am just chomping at the bit to start that one right away! #botm

I had no idea The Shards was this big…

I am taking this opportunity to get some of the NY Spring/Summer #Pantone2023 challenge colors checked off! @Clwojick

This one sucked me right in! I'm really excited to be reading this new one from Bret Easton Ellis. I haven't read any of his work before but if I like this as much as I think I'm going to I will try one of his classics. This just came available in Libby and I'm super psyched to have snagged it! It'e a healthy hefty read so I'll update with my thoughts hopefully tomorrow!

A dark, sex and drug fueled, occasionally gory, coming of age, suspense thriller about rich teens possibly being targeted by a serial killer. It‘s long, but it‘s a page turner. Like Bret Easton Ellis, I too was a teen in L.A. during the 80‘s — the way he brings the place and time back is rad! If you liked ‘Less Than Zero‘ and ‘American Psycho‘ you‘ll love this.

Rated X for sex, drugs, violence and a somewhat disaffected Gen X vibe. 🕶️

I can't believe I forgot to post this earlier! 😱 The Book of the Month choices went live this morning and I was super stoked for their choices! Here is what I got! The Shards is one I am really excited to start...it wasn't on my radar until recently, and the more I hear about it the more I want to read it! 💕📚 What did you choose? #botm

They‘re here! Please excuse my super busy coffee table 😅 #botm

Inspired by his previous works and 80's high school years, a teenage Bret is a budding closeted writer going to a wealthy prep school in LA. As he deals with his burgeoning queerness, he deals with his disaffected peers, sex, drugs, booze, and even the possibility of a serial killer on the loose.