Welcome to Litsy!

The Ministry of Time takes place in the near future when the British intelligence services have come across the ability to time travel. They decide to take some people from points in history when they would have died anyway and bring them to the present, calling them ‘Expats‘, to see if they can adapt to life in the present.They have ‘bridges‘ to watch out for them and teach them our modern ways.This was a really great story;(cont. in comments👇🏻

Thoughts on the Women‘s Prize longlist, with my fave tagged. See previous post for the shortlist:-

Ministry of Time, Kaliane Bradley ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (I fell hard for this!)
The Artist, Lucy Steeds ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Birding, Rose Ruane ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Dream Hotel, Laila Lalami ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Nesting, Roisin O‘Donnell ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Dream Count, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Crooked Seeds, Karen Jennings ⭐️⭐️

I found the LL stronger than the SL, some great reads.

A mild pick. 3.5 or 3.75. I did enjoy it and it was an easy enough read. Graham Gore was a fantastic character and it had some clever writing for him. It didn't make me feel any particularly strong feelings, however. Chose it for my library's book club and can't wait to see what the other members think of it.

I‘m sorry, it‘s probably me. I can‘t figure out what is happening and I don‘t care. Where is this going?! I am bailing at page 105 - if you can‘t capture my heart or curiosity by page 100, I am outtahere. I have too many books 📚 coming off hold and not enough time! 🕰️
#May2025 Book46 (Going to go watch Murderbot now 🤖)

This was so highly recommended that I expected to be disappointed but it is so compelling and engaging.

I had this on my library Libby eBook holds and too many came in at once. I delayed it and now! finally I can get to it. You may recall a recent post where I placed a block showing all the other great titles this compares to (but I got it confused with Cheerfully Refuse when I created the image 🤦🏻‍♀️) This pic shows all the mushrooms in my front yard after an all day rain.

#WonderousWednesday @Eggs

📘 I purchased two books at an indie bookstore. Tagged and The Fragile Threads of Power by V. E. Schwab
📘 I do review books. Here and GoodReads and on occasion Amazon.

Play? @AnnCrystal @@Kshakal @BethM @Cupcake12 @TracyReadsBooks @peaKnit

Not the best written book I've ever read, but engaging nonetheless especially toward the end of the book. Genre of sci-fi with time travel.

I run two book clubs at the library I work at and this is one of our April reads. While I think this will lead to an interesting discussion, it wasn't a pick for me. I loved the historical parts of the story, but the modern day storyline bored me.

I can understand why others like this one so much. It is unique, with a mix of genres you don't normally see, but it just wasn't for me.

Oh I loved this as much as I hoped I would. It‘s a time travel story, it‘s a love story, a friendship story. Read it even if you don‘t think you want a time travel story; I defy you not to fall for Commander Graham Gore.

Great to catch Kaliane Bradley speak about her last book - and hear about the new one too...

I'm 1/3 of the way done with the 2025 #botm reading challenge! Both The Ministry of Time & We Could Be Rats were 5⭐️ reads.

#april #bookspinbingo #bookspin #doublespin

It‘s been years since the Melbourne Writer‘s Festival remembered that not all readers are into Lit Fic! I‘ve booked in for Kaliane Bradley and Lev Grossman - quite excited! Now to read the books 🤣

https://mwf.com.au/program

Book 8 #wpf25

I didn‘t expect to love this, after all the comments by Littens I respect, when it made the WP #longlist.

I actually didn‘t mind the first half but then it grew just a bit silly and repetitive, around the introduction of the ‘strange machine‘.

I found I didn‘t care for any of the characters and just wanted it to finish. #listcompletist 🙄

I‘m still months away on my library hold on the Libby app but thanks to Fast Reads - I snagged an e-copy - dropped all my other books and devoured this one. There‘s lots going on in this novel - there‘s time travel of course- there‘s rumination on immigration - the tragedy in Cambodia under Pol Pot - civil servants - the Franklin Expedition - a hot romance . Two thumbs up

I missed a week, so here's my mid-month #WeeklyFavorites post. @Read4life

I've yet to meet a time travel storyline that doesn't become tedious at some point, and this one is no exception. However, it's less tedious than most, and I really like the premise and the tie-in to actual historical figures. The steamy bits are nicely written but maybe a little more detailed than necessary for what the book is meant to be, but I really like the characters and was disappointed to say goodbye at the end. #tob25 longlist

I took time out from reading the tagged, which I'm really enjoying, to go see some live music. I'm kind of disappointed that the trumpet and saxophone players (and perhaps the others at times) were just pretending. I guess I've been going to the symphony too much and expect that if someone is on stage, they're actually going to be performing music. I probably could have listened to the album while reading at home, but it's good to get out.

While I didn't care much about the romance part, I liked how the book was constructed and the different themes: loyalty, time travel and the constant rewriting of the future, how history is written, etc. Good choice for a book club.

#Roll100 #BOTM

First up will be the tagged as it‘s on the Women‘s Prize longlist.

@PuddleJumper

Almost bailed on the book when I was only 10% in….then again at 50%….then decided to just finish the damn thing.
I think this was a “don‘t judge a book by its cover” except in reverse. The cover was so pretty, but the story itself was not.
Interesting premise, but thought it was overly long and at times confusing. Some funny moments and some interesting twists towards the end, but not enough to overlook the first 80% of the book.

Sounds good!

My journey
😀😀🥱😀🤔😴😵‍💫🥺

Loved the premise. Loved the beginning and as I‘d read other books about The Terror & Franklin‘s Arctic expedition I immediately connected with Graham, one of the MC‘s

But it got boring. I started not to care. Almost bailed, but had heard the latter part of the book was good. Not for me. Didn‘t enjoy the ending. Glad it‘s over.

Moving on…..
3 stars because parts were great. Sadly, the sum of parts was just so-so.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

I was really interested in the premise of this book and I enjoyed it up until the last quarter of it. The remaining quarter and ending felt sudden and abrupt, and felt like a bit of a let down. I also found the main female protagonist annoying and frustrating at times. Overall, I had high hopes for this book and it definitely fell short.

I loved the premise of this book and am a sucker for time travel stories, but this never held my attention.

January reading wrap-up 📚 I finished 6 books this month, 3 of which were 5⭐️ reads and one a re-read of an all-time favorite (In Other Lands).
🥇The Ministry of Time
🥈Stamped From the Beginning
🥉Potions, Poisons, and Policies

Thinking about time travel makes my head hurt.

Reading this made my heart hurt.

I loved every second of it.

#Bookchain2025 progress! #Bookchain @TheAromaOfBooks

I‘m halfway through this for my IRL bookclub and still not sure if I‘m liking it. 😆

I was a bit reluctant to pick this up because of the hype, but I'm really enjoying it so far. The first half had been basically a slice of life cosy with time travel, but the foreshadowing and ramp-up promises a change of pace and some higher stakes to come.

Early Connie Willis vibes.

Time travel is confusing. It‘s messy. It‘s run by the British government. This book uses a lot of sci-fi themes—character-out-of-time, time travel for starters—all dressed up as a political thriller and [redacted] twist to boot. While not fast-paced, the pacing certainly wasn‘t slow and allowed for the characters to each grow at their own pace. A definite book worth rereading.
.
Apparently, I forgot to post this when I actually finished the book.

Perhaps he‘ll die this time.
#firstlineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

In London ‘in the near future‘
#whereareyouMonday #timetravel
@Cupcake12

There are flaws in this debut novel, notably the wackiness of the fast paced “all is revealed” ending. Its power lies in the forceful condemnation of colonialism that Britain cannot free itself from, even in a time traveling future. A clever premise, worth reading.

“In this sense, the predicament of the expats was unique. But the rhythms of loss and asylum, exodus and loss and loneliness, toll like floods across human history.” p. 271

I pushed through and ended up liking parts. The tempo was weird, it was fun at times and slow at others. I felt like the mystery was introduced very late in the book so I wasn‘t even looking for clues until the end and I‘m not sure I would have been able to see them anyway. Sometimes the MC would ask a question I wanted to understand and the author wouldn‘t answer it which was super annoying. Overall an interesting read but not a home run for me.

Halfway through and debating whether or not to finish. I loved the start of the book where she was getting to know the time travel “expats” but I felt like it started to slow down when the mystery element was introduced. Did anyone else who read this feel that dip in the middle? Should I push through? Or if I‘m not feeling it at this point it‘s a sign to quit?

I do love a good time traveler book, and this had a slight spy/military edge. It was good, but the ending was a bit forced for me. The second part had a quicker pace, which it did need. Overall, good but not great.

Enjoyable!!! Not sure if it‘s bc I got the audio book that some parts felt clunky. And don‘t even get me started on the 🌶️ feeling awk. Overall, I loved the creative plot but it was a bit confusing. Actually enjoyed the writing style, very Donna Tart in its wordiness

Time travel without a DeLorean? We‘ll see about that. 😉

This has a lot of everything I like- it even gets me with the mushy bits- who knew I was waiting for something so spy/betrayal/intrigue/time-travelly?!? Well I was and I loved it. Five stars past, present, and future!

I enjoyed this novel for its super interesting concept (time travel tested by bringing a handful of people from the past into the present) and its depth of characterisation. It has been described as a combination of romance & sci fi mystery/thriller. For me the romance/introspection portion got a bit bogged down and the thriller plot happened too quickly with not enough detail. But there is such good material here ⬇️

A time travel-romance, a spy thriller and a look into workplace dynamic.

I was really enjoying this novel until the last 60-50p and then she lost me. Still a pick, but not as strong as it could have been.

Meh. First 1/2 was a super slow burn for me, setting up characters, back stories. About the halfway mark, the plot picks up a little. Someone gets killed, but the response is lackluster.

The last 1/4 of the book was more what I was expecting, but just too little too late for my tastes. Shame because the themes Bradley explored in that last 1/4 were definitely thought-provoking. Wanted more of that, less ponderous back stories.

#10BeforeTheEnd

😂 Not going to argue with this observation.

🙋🏻‍♀️Yep. Done this.

I don‘t feel this so much in my 50s, but I definitely felt this way often in my 20s and 30s. Now if time travel were introduced to my life, I‘m guessing I‘d start feeling this door slamming again. Makes me think time travel might be a pass at this point in my life🤔

November was a strong reading month (13 total books, my record so far in 2024), but the quality was only average. Hoping to continue this momentum in December; I am currently on track to hit 100 books for the year, so I hope I can still hit that!