Welcome to Litsy!

#LitsyToB25 We mostly were in agreement again. Jill, Katherine and Myra voted for Someone Like us but couldn‘t prevent Margot winning with a large majority. Chelsea and Carolyn are even rooting for Margo to win this year‘s tournament! In the #ToB25 too Margo in the end stole the heart of the judge.
So we‘re all set for the Quarterfinals, starting tomorrow!

🚨 Please vote today for your favorites:
https://forms.gle/wLZ3vkQuYwU77wom6 🚨

A coming-of-age-with-the-expected-meet-cute-between-girl-and-guy story … and throw in WWE, OnlyFans, TikTok, Hooters, evangelicals, Child Protective Services and non-disclosure agreements. On a surface level it‘s a fun story; underneath it forces you to think about the judgmental attitudes that people and society make everyday in deciding who is A Good Person and who “deserves” to live A Good Life.

Oops! I lost track of time and am posting this a few days after the fact. Better late, etc., etc. The March image going up reminded me. February is a very short month this year.

#WeeklyFavorites @Read4life

"What kind of truth would require this many lies to tell?"

I love this take on the role of fiction. It reminds me not only of how I experience fiction (lies told to convey a truth) but of the likely apocryphal stories traditionally told about US presidents to convey the ideals the American people valued in their leaders (which in itself feels like a lie these days, but employed for a different reason).

I kind of love this novel. It is not at all what I expected, and it's engaging enough to reach me through a reading slump. It's essentially a coming-of-age story with quite high stakes and brushes with bureaucracy. It explores what makes someone a "good person" and the inconsistent way our capitalist society promotes and reacts to that concept. Definitely glad it made the #tob25 shortlist.

I started this morning on my last #tob25 shortlist title, but I'm still having trouble focusing on reading. I'll see if I can make progress on the audio while making dinner. If I can't, at least I can enjoy the sunset. (It doesn't look like this from my house, but this is only about 3 miles away, taken after an early dinner last night.)

#Read25

Finished the audiobook this weekend & I wound up really liking it & Margo much more than I expected to. I didn‘t find it laugh-out-loud funny as tagged & to be honest the Only Fans, WWE, gaming & cosplay references were over my head most of the time & things were a bit predictable (especially in that when Margo made bad choices, I would tell her in my head exactly when & how they were going to come back & bite her) but I really grew to ⬇️

⭐️⭐️ A single mom coming of age story. Not “laugh-out-loud funny” nor really very “heartwarming.” Excruciating? YEP. Margo is young, naïve, makes bad choices, has bad role models. The women‘s rights pieces were fantastic, but generally, the rest is just a quirkiness try-hard. And stylistically, this was not time to be toying with the seemingly random swap-a-roo of first and third person. The hype monster got me.

This took a while to get into. Margo makes a lot of bad choices. But she's also 19. I made bad choices when I was 19. I recommend giving her some time to win you over. Elle Fanning reads the audiobook.

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

There was a lot about this novel that I enjoyed: the diverse collection of characters, the pokes at conventional ideas about women's work, and even the unusual combination of first and third-person narratives.

#ToB25
#52bookclub25 (breaks the fourth wall)
#gottacatchemall (Drampa: protective character) @PuddleJumper

An unprepossessing book that I absolutely loved. All the storyline‘s and social commentary were outstanding. A must read #brilliantbook

#auldlangspine recap
8 books read, all 4-5 ⭐️ reads
Favorite is Margo‘s Got Money Troubles… I‘m still thinking about it weeks after finishing. It will likely make my favorites list for the year.

A Woman is No Man is next up on my list as it is already on my shelf, but I prioritized library reads first.
First Lie Wins: I plan to get from the library later when I‘m in the mood for a thriller.
Five Little Indians: I still have to track down a copy.

Loved this one! Margo is a character I immediately started rooting for. She‘s young and naive, but she tries to learn from her mistakes. Lots of character growth! This isn‘t a totally light read, as many heavy topics are addressed - addiction, sex work, and societal expectations for mothers among them. An overall great read!

#bookspinbingo-got another bingo!
#pop25-book where an adult character changes careers
#jumpstart2025
#LitsyAtoZ #LetterT

#auldlangspine Book 6 This is my favorite book so far from @Zuhkeeyah ‘s excellent list! I was immediately drawn in by Margo‘s voice & stayed up much too late reading it the last two nights. I loved Margo‘s grit. Her way of making mistakes, then finding a way to keep going & learn from them. I also found the author‘s use of switching between 3rd & 1st person to be masterfully done. It added so much to Margo‘s character. All the stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Didn‘t expect something with such a bright cover and punchy title to venture into nuanced, shades-of-grey topics like opioid addiction treatments, sex worker advocacy, etc.

But it navigates Margo‘s money troubles (plus legal troubles, family troubles, and more) with humor and empathy and large helpings of food for thought.

#OffMyShelf for published in the last 2 years prompt

I struggle to understand the hype. Maybe it‘s that I can't relate to Margo since she is 19yo single mom, college dropout. But the main issues are:
(1) I was bored. I skimmed a good portion & never lost the story because it never went anywhere. The synopsis is the *entire* story.
(2) with the title, I expected a more realistic book. But here, all the plot lines wrapped up too neatly positive.

“You are about to begin reading a new book, and to be honest you are a little tense.”

#firstlinefriday

I‘m almost halfway. I have mixed feelings so far as I have some concerns with the messaging and the switching between 1st POV and 3rd (sometimes on the same page) feels gimmicky. So I‘ll probably rate it as meh, and I think it‘s been overhyped.

23-4 Dec 24 (audiobook)
Decided I needed some relief from Sherlock whilst I was out doing Christmas lunch errands (hell on Christmas Eve) and whilst I did really enjoy this, it wasn‘t light. Yes it was sometimes funny but also sad just how naive Margot was (about sex abuse, having a baby, drug addiction, money) and how few avenues there were for support. Highlighted generation and wealth gaps for me and did provoke more thought than expected.

I think this book is more sad than funny but I liked that it challenged so many societal norms and drew attention to their contradictions & hypocrisies. It took me a while warm up to the story but, ultimately, I enjoyed it even if I could have done without the self-conscious literary theory aspects. My first book from @TheKidUpstairs #AuldLangSpine list. I'm looking forward to reading more of them. Picture is a bird friend on Raymond Island.

I saw so much love for this around here, so I gave it a read and I loved it! I was so invested and rooting for Margo. The characters were so deep, the narration so engaging.

👍👍👍

The beginning of a novel is like a first date. You hope from the first lines an urgent magic will take hold, and you will sink into the story like a hot bath, giving yourself over entirely 📖

Because that‘s all art is, in the end. One person trying to get another person they have never met to fall in love with them 📱

I‘ve been looking back through my 2024 planner and came across this 💛 this is the best opening ever to a book and explains perfectly the way I feel when I start a new book!

Happy Thursday everyone 💛

1/2/2025

Though June was another good reading month with plenty of books to choose from for the #12BooksOf2024, I think Margo‘s story surprised me the most & has lingered with me the longest—definitely a top read for the year!

Thanks, @Andrew65 for organizing— I saw that this made many other Littens‘ lists as well!

LOVE LOVE LOVE Margo!! This one made me laugh and cry! So so good!

#12Booksod2024

I think the best way to sum up my impression is to say I admire the themes and morals the author was trying to convey, but I don't love how she conveyed them.

#12Booksof2024 July is an easy favourite. I thought a book about OnlyFans and pro wrestlers was NOT for me. But I fell head over heels for Margo and Jinx and Thorpe.

@Andrew65

#12BooksOfChristmas @Andrew65

June was such a great reading month! Margo was my top read, but I had to add in honorable mentions for Butter, Challenger, and The Postcard

I really felt my age reading this (ha 👵), but enjoyed it nonetheless. Soft pick.
#ToB25

I was not excited for this one as, quite frankly, I didn‘t expect to like it at all, but turns out I liked it a lot! I‘m glad the #TOB25 put it on their list and in the tourney to get me to read it. It‘s funny but has heart and shows the reality of the lack of options and support for young single moms.

If Rufi Thorpe was trying to get me to fall in love with her a little bit, she‘s succeeded. I‘m hungry for more of her writing! It felt casual yet crafted. The characters are complicated and dimensional. The meta nature of the text added a sense of self-conscious play. I hope Arby‘s has given Thorpe a stake in their company because I can pretty much guarantee that readers everywhere are now craving at least one item from their menu. 👇🏻

I love that the holidays bring far-flung friends home. These girls have been my pals for over 20 years. The one on the right moved to Detroit with the Jesuit Peace Corps right after college. New England misses her dearly! She received a life-saving heart transplant this year. I am so grateful for her continued existence. I told them both to read Margo‘s Got Money Troubles. They were sold by the detail about Pokémon dick pic comparisons. ??

“The sadness from the morning didn‘t exactly go away; it dried on me and slowly crumbled, leaving me covered in little flakes, like if you eat a glazed donut in a black shirt. That was how it was being a grown-up. We were all moving through the world like that…”

A fabulous hot mess of a story!

The incredibleness of this book snuck up on me. It started as a light, funny listen for my commute and before I knew it, I was furious! A brilliant portrayal of the BS that women put up with and how Margo fought back. She is my hero - I love her so much. 💜 #TOB2025

I didn‘t know if I‘d like this, but I didn‘t expect to absolutely LOVE it. Margo is my kind of “heroine” - flawed, insecure, funny, a bit sad, but ultimately kick ass. This book blew me away.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 Starting to work my way through the #ToB2025 shortlist, and liked this one! I enjoyed following Margo as she navigated financial, legal, family, moral, and personal issues after getting pregnant by her community college English professor. She was flawed but relatable and I really rooted for her. Great overall cast of characters.

Margo is a single mom and, not surprisingly, she‘s got money troubles. Becoming active on OnlyFans means financial security for herself and her baby but there are many more insecurities. You have to root for Margo and her team, consisting of father Jinx (a pro wrestler), roommate Suzy and influencers KC and Rose. A fun read and a light pick for me. #ToB25Longlist

#WeeklyForecast 49/24

I have started All the Colours of the Dark and am enjoying it very much! Not sure how much time I‘ll have this week but I hope to finish it and start Marjo.
In the meantime I am still listening and reading Scaffolding, which I am loving too!

I know that I‘m in the minority here but this lost steam for me, bailing at 55% and returning it to the library since there are others waiting for it.

This was my Friday and Saturday. Dandelion, the cat I cat-sit, sitting in my lap as I read this unique and delightful story. I‘m delighted that it‘s on the #TOBlonglist. A unique story that includes wrestling, OnlyFans, and a young (and lonely) single mother. A character you root for and an excellent supporting cast. Now I want to find some of her other books.

This library hold came in a few days ago and I started it almost immediately since I knew other people were waiting and almost returned it because I felt that I was not connecting to the story. Decided it to give it another chance today and now I‘m at 31% and can‘t stop reading 🤭

The audio narration is great for this one. I wasn‘t sure what to expect when I started but I really liked it. Margo gets pregnant while in college. After struggling to find a job, try to afford/find daycare she decides to start an OnlyFans page. There were some bigger societal issues to make you think about. Like how hard it is to make money, how expensive & hard to find childcare is…women are in this constant push & pull of what society finds

So many truths buffered by humor. A nod to the struggle of being a young single parent when you're still learning to find your own voice among all the opinions of others.

Unintended pregnancy, Only Fans, professional wrestling — based on the description I would‘ve expected to hate this, but I really enjoyed it. Something about Margo is so likable — you just root for her to succeed. The book also covers some serious topics that I‘ll keep thinking about. The shift from first person to third person is kind of weird at first but I had listened to the author on a podcast and her reasons helped it make more sense.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I love it when a book lives up to its hype!

I did a lot of driving over the last few days, so I decided to listen to MGMT and give myself a break from my current TBR. Although I don't have children and have never been pregnant, I found it very easy to empathize with Margo and to root for her success as a mother and a young woman trying to regain her footing. I loved the balance of the serious and silly. It totally worked for me!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was not the usual book I would read. I picked it up because it is being made into a series staring Nicole Kidman, Michelle Pheiffer and Elle Fanning. It was actually quiet amusing and something a bit different and I enjoyed it very much. I had heard of OnlyFans but didn‘t know much about it, I do now!

Weird and wonderful, I throughly enjoyed this funny, unique story of a new mom finding her way in a difficult world with a complicated family. I knew nothing about wrestling and even less about Onlyfans but they were fascinating elements that added so much to the novel. The internal and external exploration of tense and perspective kept me thinking. Really great! #BookspinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

Thanks for the tag @Ddzmini !

1. Spots! But can we call them polka dots?
2. Yep, just started the tagged one. Love how it starts!
@TheSpineView #two4Tuesday