Black Vodka | Litsy

pick

Just… so… good. Love Levy‘s writing…. These are more vignettes than stories, but still loved the heck out them. Perfectly imperfect….

KarenUK #52bookclub23 #secondhandbook @cinfhen @squirrelbrain @barbarabb @jenniferw88 @britt_brooke @carolynm @LeeRHarry @BookBelle84 @AshleyHoss820 @Deblovestoread @Bluebird @Smarkies @triplem80 @LaraReads @ravenlee. @readforlife @rmaclean4 @azulaco @lizpixie @debbiegrillo

#pop23 #acolorinthetitle @squirrelbrain @barbarabb @cortg @AshleyHoss820 @Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick @RaeLovesToRead
#bn2023challenge #friendsfavorite (edited) 2y

BarbaraBB Wow. What a recommendation 🤍 stacked 2y

rmaclean4 I love her writing. Cant wait to pick this up!! 2y

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squirrelbrain I loved this when I listened to it a few years ago. I have her new one as a #netgalley ARC

August Blue: A Novel

KarenUK @squirrelbrain that sounds so good! 2y

CarolynM Sounds great 2y

Cinfhen I can‘t get into Levy‘s writing style but I honestly feel your enthusiasm 🥰 2y

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KarenUK

Black Vodka: Ten Stories | Deborah Levy

What a day on Monday! First I picked up a couple of ARCs from work then I got to catch up with lovely @Cinfhen in Miami, which was so much fun(where she kindly surprised with a couple of books that work for #pop22!) And then I got home to a gift on my doorstep that @Tex2Flo had dropped off after seeing two bks on my GoodreadsTBR!
Totally unplanned #bookhaul and 2 lovely Littens. So grateful for my thoroughly bookish day, and thoughtful friends 💕

BarbaraBB That sounds amazing! ❤️ 3y

LeahBergen Lovely! 3y

squirrelbrain How lovely! I liked Black Vodka… 3y

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Aims42 I‘m so excited for “Bloomsbury Girls” 🥳 I‘ve got my pre-order in and can‘t wait!! 3y

Megabooks Fantastic! 3y

Cinfhen Yay!!! Super fun seeing you!! And I‘ve been snacking on your delicious granola the past few days ❣️❣️❣️ 3y

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squirrelbrain

Black Vodka: Ten Stories | Deborah Levy

pick

This is a slim collection of short stories (only 2 hours on audio). I thought I‘d try it as a bit of a ‘palate cleanser‘ before starting on one of my #newyearwhodis audio books.

I liked it, but not as much as other Levy I‘ve read, probably because of the short story format. As is often the case with short stories, many of them were left open at the end, and I prefer a nice tidy conclusion!

Have you read this @KarenUK ?

KarenUK I haven‘t but I think I‘ll try it…. I love her writing, and I‘m in the mood for short stories, after just reading and loving the new Lily King…. 💕 3y

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SharonGoforth

Black Vodka: Ten Stories | Deborah Levy

Finally! I ordered this in the middle of February from Half Price Books Marketplace, thinking it was coming from a location in Michigan. I was going to email them on Monday to have them track it, but it arrived today....from Belgium! Looking forward to this one 😊.

vivastory That's a long journey! I'm guessing it didn't include complimentary waffles? 😀 8y

SharonGoforth @vivastory No, afraid not...only black vodka 😄 8y

vivastory @SharonGoforth That works too! 8y

SharonGoforth @vivastory 👍👍 8y

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shawnmooney

Black Vodka: Ten Stories | Deborah Levy

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I have this totally subjective theory that writers who pen both short stories and novels are always better at one form than the other. (Atwood's stories are inferior to her novels; the reverse is true of Carol Shields.) I have to say that this collection of Levy's stories bolsters my theory, failing to compare to her incredible novel Hot Milk. Still, the writing here is lovely, and one or two of them were pretty good. It's still a pick.

ReadingEnvy What if I told you she was a playwright first? I think you feel.it how she writes settings and scenes in novels. But I also struggled with a volume of her short stories, which I abandoned:

Ophelia and the great idea

ReadingEnvy (not sure how some of that turned into a link, sorry) 8y

shawnmooney @ReadingEnvy Interesting. I haven't read enough writers of all three forms to decide if I'd extend my working theory to the drama-novel-short story triad. Might I ask you, though: have you ever loved a writer's stories and novels equally? I never have. 8y

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ReadingEnvy @shawnmooney nope never. And usually it's the stories I don't like because I'm not prone to read stories over novels. 8y

Lindy I disagree about Atwood. Poetry, short stories (Stone Mattress!) & novels - love them all. Also Ann-Marie MacDonald's novels & plays. Neil Gaiman, Miranda July & Karen Russell are more examples of dexterity. 8y

Lindy Oh, and Michael Crummey's poetry is just as wonderful as his novels. 8y

saresmoore I appreciate your totally subjective theories very much! I tend to agree. Until recent years (and maybe even still?), a working writer often paid the bills with short stories—necessity is the mother of invention. Maybe it's just a preference of medium, in which the lesser serves to strengthen the preferred? (edited) 8y

andrew61 Im not a huge short story reader although i have a george Saunders newly arrived from the library. An english writer adept at both forms who i have read is tessa hadley - generally domestic settings but very readable. Also some of the new yorker short stories podcast trigger me exploring the writers longer form fiction, last year i tried tom drury and loved his novel. 8y

andrew61 Also as per the new yorker podcast i was intrigued by a mary gaitskill story but haven't yet delved into her books as reviews seem a little marmite? Any thoughts about her? 8y

shawnmooney @andrew61 I didn't care for Saunders' stories but am being blown away by his debut novel, so there you go. :) I actually haven't ever read Hadley, Drury or Gaitskill so will have to check them out. Thanks! 8y

shawnmooney @ReadingEnvy @Lindy @saresmoore Not sure who's interested in continuing this dialogue, but I just thought I would add that I certainly value a well-crafted short story as much as I do a great novel! I just think it requires almost a completely different set of literary skills and I have not yet encountered a writer who can do both with aplomb. I think I am tougher on short stories because I've been spoiled... 8y

shawnmooney … having cut my readerly teeth on Mavis Gallant and Alice Munro in particular – my standards are pretty darn high. :-) (edited) 8y

Lindy @shawnmooney I am a BIG fan of short stories and I agree that the form is entirely different from novels. Munro and Gallant are great, yes, but there are so many more out there! Which Saunders collection did you read? Out of 3 the one that blew me away was

Tenth of December: Stories

shawnmooney @Lindy I tried Tenth on audio and as an ebook and couldn't get into it at all. This was a couple years ago and I was in a years-long reading slump so maybe I'd feel differently now but at the time I couldn't for the life of me see what all the fuss was about. (In sharp contrast to my response thus far to Lincoln in the Bardo.) 8y

Lindy @shawnmooney Junot Diaz & Margo Lanagan & Jhumpa Lahiri & Tove Jansson are all masters of both short story form and novels. Helen Humphreys shines at every form: poetry, nonfiction, short story, novel - have you read?

The Frozen Thames

shawnmooney @Lindy Wonderful recommendations - thanks! I might need to make a "Lindy says their short stories are as good as their novels" shelf on Goodreads! ❤ I've not read any of them but want to get to Diaz's Oscar Wao this year. 8y

Lindy @shawnmooney Margo Lanagan is the only one of these that I hesitate to recommend for you, since she uses a lot of mythological resonance. Helen Humphreys is the one I think you'd like most. 8y

Lindy @shawnmooney I don't know if she writes novels, but one of my favourite short story collections last year was one you'd like:

Mothers, Tell Your Daughters: Stories

ReadingEnvy @Lindy oh man those stories are fantastic. I first liked

American Salvage: Stories

andrew61 Im halfway through tenth and so far so good but as with any short story collection some are better than others. There was one which was interesting but owed a lot to the zoo scenes of vonnegut in slaughterhouse - i feel i should read more short story collections as i love the new yorker podcast so much and the annual bbc short story award, perhaps its a genre that adapts well to the auditory form. 8y

saresmoore Meanwhile, I'm furiously jotting down all of these recommendations. I grew up reading short stories from talented fellow kids & pre-teens in periodical format. I've always enjoyed the medium. And now I've discovered the short story/novel crossover and I really like it—Aciman's Enigma Variations and Jansson's Fair Play, for example—and will be seeking out more of that type. 8y

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shawnmooney

Black Vodka: Ten Stories | Deborah Levy

LeahBergen Oooo. 8y

Cinfhen ❤️ 8y

hollytucker Wow. 8y

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shawnmooney

Black Vodka: Ten Stories | Deborah Levy

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shawnmooney

Black Vodka: Ten Stories | Deborah Levy

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shawnmooney

Black Vodka: Ten Stories | Deborah Levy

LeahBergen And now I covet this eggcup. 8y

shawnmooney @LeahBergen Now I know what to get you for your birthday! 8y

Lindy Breakfast of champions. 8y

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SharonGoforth

Black Vodka: Ten Stories | Deborah Levy

Book mail on its way!! Surprisingly, this wasn't available through my library system, so I just *had* to order it 😬. #litsymademedoit #underthelitfluence @shawnmooney

shawnmooney Woo hoo!! 8y

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shawnmooney

Black Vodka: Ten Stories | Deborah Levy

PatriciaU Langoustines. Pretty much impossible to get this delicacy, in the shell, in the northeast U.S. anymore. My family used to eat these for luck on New Year's Eve, but I have not been able to get them for the last 2 years. It's very easy to find the pre-cooked, frozen, out-of-the-shell langoustines, but they are like little rubber balls. 8y

saresmoore The first word that came to mind when I read this was "saucy". I like this quote out of context a lot. Have you considered printing a photo book of your Litsy quotes? It would make a great little conversation piece/coffee table book. 8y

shawnmooney @PatriciaU I had never heard of these before encountering this passage. 8y

shawnmooney @saresmoore Monetization tip! Now you're talking! :) 8y

saresmoore Ugh. I'm such a Millennial! 8y

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shawnmooney

Black Vodka: Ten Stories | Deborah Levy