Welcome to Litsy!

When the local community center becomes in jeopardy of closing an eccentric cast of characters come together to help each other and to help save the place that is so vital to them and their neighborhood. Funny and light but this book still managed to rig on my heart strings. Clare Pooley is very adept at hitting that sweet spot.

This book was lighthearted and cute. It was a nice, comical break from books with more serious topics. The seniors had interesting backgrounds and fully fleshed out lives. I like that there have been more books written with seniors as the protagonists lately.

Also #auldlangspine! I really lucked out with my partner this year. What I love about your list @CBee is the variety of styles you chose, and yet they are all so enjoyable. This was a fun, hilarious and cozy caper that was perfect for unwinding at the end of the evening. I loved that it had a truly all-ages cast of characters ranging in age from 8 months to 90 years. (Ok, he wasn‘t *actually* 90, but what happened was … )

Have been busy and gotten behind on posting proper reviews. So welcome to my Friday Night Review Dump!

Summary:
An Anonymous Girl: 3⭐️ - decent thriller with some annoying flaws
O Caledonia: 4.5 ⭐️ - haunting, poetic, evocative, and compelling
Frozen River: 3.5 ⭐️ - well written, tautly plotted
How to Age … : 3 ⭐️ - cute, witty, cozy; a fun read
Friday Afternoon Club: 4⭐️ - powerful and entertaining memoir of an extraordinary family

My ambitious reading goals for a short & busy month.

#weekendreads #auldlangspine

Frozen River is a historical fiction about a real midwife, Martha Ballard, in colonial Maine. A woman is raped; later, one of the two men accused of the crime is found dead. Politics and fingerpointing ensue.

How to Age Disgracefully is a fun little British story about an eclectic assortment of people who cross paths at a community center in a lower-middle-class neighborhood. So far it‘s funny and charming.

When one of my sons is off in New Zealand I love to stay in his house in Vermont where he has a second floor window seat. Especially on the rare days when there is a winter sun. Enjoying this book at the moment although the warmth of the sun keeps lulling me to cat naps.

After having a disastrous date with someone found on an app, Daphne says: "she didn't want to go straight home, she needed time to decompress, so the memory of that oaf didn't infect the atmosphere of her lovely apartment. Her safe place."

This is seriously wisdom we all need from our elders!

After reading the very depressing Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont, I needed a happier read. Loved this! I highlighted so many great quotes. A few of my favorites:

"She appeared to have jumped out of the frying pan of sexism and into the fire of ageism. The final frontier of isms.

“Mature?!?” said Daphne. “Good grief, I‘m not a cheese. Or a herbaceous border." ?

More in the comments.

Funny, heart warming book with lots of loveable characters.

Grabbed this one from the library. Really enjoying so far.

This is lovely. I definitely recommend it. By the author of Iona Iverson, this is just as fun. I love all of her characters.

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

#bookclub #Spotify

October results, finished the #AsheCoNCReadingChallenge, favorite is the tagged and secures Pooley‘s spot on my favorite author list.

(Bette Davis as Mildred; no Of Human Bondage cover found when making my pic collage.)

#Oct2024 ~44k Litfluence

This is my original book club‘s choice for the month and I enjoyed this quick listen! It‘s a very fun one that had me laughing out loud and taking the extra long way home to keep listening! Multiple perspectives center around a community center on the verge of closing. At 70, Daphne plans on embracing life more fully while Abe, an actor with a shoplifting habit yearns to reconnect with his estranged daughter. Teenage dad Ziggy needs a better life.

The “old people embracing life” genre seems to be everywhere these days…or at least it is on my bookshelf! This is one of the best (so far) and I think is equally as good and endearing as Thursday Murder Club. It‘s about a senior citizens social club fighting against the closure of their community center in partnership with a day care center housed in the same community center. Wonderful characters and a great storyline! ❤️

This book is so much fun (and welcome distraction from US politics) 🤩

#Oct2024 Book93 #LitPie #HumblePie #donotgoeasyintothatgoodnight #LOLfunny

Just starting this one; I am a HUGE fan of Pooley! Love the #foundfamily theme.

This laugh out loud story was cute and fun to read! I could change the names each of the main characters to people I have known in my past. (I was the director of a senior center during part of my working career. We would plan adventures and laugh at the minds of those who had somehow become senior citizens.) I hope each of us age we hold onto fun and adventure. 4.5/5

I am a CP fan for life! Her books always make me laugh and feel good. I like the multigenerational mix of characters and all the fun they have and connections they make.
This one made me think of the show The Outlaws. It‘s set in a run down community centre too, has a disperate cast of characters and connections are made while hijinks ensue
I recommend both

Looking for pointers and moving my reading party into the tub

Loved this. Several elderly folks who all have some slightly (or seriously) shady secrets join a social club at the neighborhood community center and make some friends, help their middle-aged director with her bad marriage, and help a teenaged single father get his life sorted..

This was JUST what I needed! I NEED this cast of characters in my life. Loved the author‘s note at the end ♥️ Must read other books by Clare Pooley at some point 👏🏻👏🏻

Clare Pooley is so lovely and this is such a sweet story. I was laughing from the first page and just lost myself in each character‘s life, loving how the seniors group changed everyone. Just so good!

This was super cute, fun, and filled with great characters. I love her books. 🤓

Very fun!

The tagged was my best of the month because it had me laughing out loud throughout. A community center with a senior center and daycare might lose its funding, but not if our motley cast of characters can help it!

Here‘s my monthly wrap up from StoryGraph. It‘s a new feature and I love it! Go to your graph page, enter the month at the top, scroll all the way to the bottom, and click to get your graphic. 🩷📚 (thanks @Eyelit for showing me!)

#TopReads2024 continues with my June pick
👵🏼🧓🏻👶🏼🧶🍷🍰 “How to Age Disgracefully” was such a fun read! I loved it from page 1, the writing reminded me a lot of Richard Osman and other English writers, the dry humor level was top-notch and was just right. It was one I borrowed from the library but I‘m seriously considering buying a copy for my own collection just because it was so good.

Lydia is somewhat at loose ends, facing an empty nest and an asshole husband, and gets a job running a senior group at the local community center. When word comes down the center may close, the group works to keep it open. This book has an incredible cast of characters and is hilarious and cheeky. I absolutely loved it.

Another cracking read from Clare Pooley! It‘s absolutely brilliant. I enjoyed every minute of it, it had me laughing all the way through. The characters are just wonderful and the writing is sublime. I was so sad to turn the last page. I will miss Daphne and friends very much. An uplifting, heartwarming and uproarious read which I can most highly recommend. It will definitely lift your spirits. #Pigeonhole

Themes: Found Family, Similar writing style to Richard Osman, Robert Thorogood, Mark de Castrique, Jesse Q. Sutanto

My gut told me from page 1 I would love this book and it didn‘t fail me. I LOVED THIS BOOK! The characters were terrific (flawed and spunky) and the plot was engaging (just when you thought you had it allllll figured out BAM! Plot twist!). You can‘t help but cheer for everyone in this book and the Mandel(a) Community Center 🥰

OMG! Is there a better feeling than reading the first page of a book and instantly loving it??? 🥰🥰🥰 I‘m getting Richard Osman, Robert Thorogood, Mark de Castrique, Jesse Q. Sutanto vibes here and I AM HERE FOR IT 🙌

#Pigeonhole