Welcome to Litsy!

We‘re slated to get a fall nor‘easter over the next two days, with heavy rain and high winds that might cause power outages. So I went out today to pick up my library holds, replenish my tea inventory, and swing by a local food truck to get a wild berry pie and shortbread cookies. Proper storm supplies laid in: ✔️

What service do you use for audiobooks — and why?

I know about/use Audible, Libby, and Hoopla. And I‘m aware of Spotify, to some degree. I‘m sure there‘s a world out there I know nothing about. Meanwhile, I‘m paying a sucker fee to the enemy. BUT! I commute *and* I‘m a mood reader. So, having fast access to a wide array of titles exactly when I feel like reading them is important if I want to stay sane. Sane-ish.

TIA! 🙏🏻

I don't relish ambiguous endings, but with each short story, I accepted it because the ambiguity added to the Gothic atmosphere. It truly was an awesome read.

I‘m not always the biggest fan of short stories, but I found this book of quiet, interconnecting stories to be a nice break from the typical novels I read.

So many of you guys loved this book. And so did I! Having just finished two short story collections (North Woods, also amazing, and Show Don‘t Tell, bailed on that one), I wasn‘t too excited about a third one. But these stories have such interesting characters plus they‘re written in pairs, each one with a connecting story. Every single one called out to me. So happy I found it due to #LitsyToB25.

I am in shock that the today‘s #ToB25 judge favored Irena above The History of Sound…. Fortunately it is today's winner, in #LitsyToB25. It was up against Colored Television, Traceys favorite book on the shortlist. Unfortunately 6 votes for the book weren't enough against the very popular History of Sound. We'll be back after the weekend, with one more Quarter Final, directly followed by the Semi Finals, so be prepared to vote again on monday!

Another convincing winner today in the #ToB25 as well as the #LitsyToB25. Orbital didn‘t stand a chance against The History of Sound, which is this year‘s favorite for many of us. Only Amy and Soscha voted for Orbital and so we see the winner of the #BookerPrize24 leave our tournament!

This audiobook hit just right this weekend. It‘s a set of interconnected short stories each read by a different narrator. Next I want to read the paper version and take notes on how they all relate. I loved the New England settings and the pace of the stories. Really good.

#BookReport

Black Woods, Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey 3 🌟
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore 3 🌟
Stitches by Anne Lamont 3 🌟

#WeeklyFavorite is the tagged book 4.25 🌟

@Read4life

#FeelinTheLove Day 15: #TimelessLove vibes in these interconnected short stories especially the first and last one. Sparse and atmospheric, this #ToB25 title leaves a mark. Review is forthcoming.

I‘ve often said short stories and I don‘t get along for the most part. I usually am left wanting something more but I do not have that feeling with these stories. These well written, connected stories are satisfying. I do think going audio with different narrators helped

#FeelinTheLove Day 12: A lot of #LoveLost in these short stories - a #ToB25 title that I finished reading over the weekend. Review is forthcoming. Paired with my non-alcoholic strawberry mojito.

“My error was that I thought David was the first of many. That I‘d had a taste of love. I was eager for my future. How could I have known that all the rest- Alex,Laura,William,Vincent,Clarissa,Sarah, and most recently George- were only rivulets after the first brief deluge?”

Doing this one ebook and audio and it‘s beautiful and sad- absolutely gorgeous writing. The audio is 💯 and enhances the experience

January favorites 📚

#WeeklyFavorites @Read4life

I have read some great books this week, but The History of Sound is the clear winner. Is it the best of the month? Quite possibly.

Last #ToB25 book of the entire list of 18!! Woohoo 👏
I would love to find a list of all the connections between stories cuz I think I missed a few. #Jan2025 Book12 #Completist Litflu 47863

I love this collection of loosely connected stories. Not only is each story compelling on its own, but the arc of the set of stories as a whole is very satisfying. It's also interesting to read stories set in a part of the world where I lived and where I tried for several years to belong but didn't succeed. Another from the #tob25 shortlist.

A truly excellent short story collection that I really enjoyed on audio, which can be hit or miss for me with literary fiction. The historical fiction in particular was so well done, I loved it. #tob25

This might be my favourite of the #ToB25 books so far. This book consists of interconnected stories that bring together not just characters but past and present. I loved the New England setting and Shattuck made its history so vivid. It's been several years since I last visited the US but now I have a longing to visit New England again.

#gottacatchemall (Pikipek: featuring a musician) @PuddleJumper

Finally, my in-hand so-excited-for hardcover edition of #ToB favorite! Posed with a cooperative Copper - look at that face! Starting this as my last #ToB2025 entry that I am sure I devour but want to savor and not pressure through #ifyouknowwhatImean. Through my reading, I am having a lovely January ❄️ 🌟

Btw, Jan 23 is National Pie Day! 🥧 grab a slice 😁

As someone who frequently struggles with short stories I was ambivalent about this #tob25 title. Lots of love on Litsy for it but I often find short stories unsatisfying. Not the case here. Each story feels well fleshed out and complete with enough time to break my heart or make me feel as if I had walked with the characters and understood them in a slice of their lives. I loved the connections between stories. Great addition to the short list.

Just loved this, especially with the unique way the stories are interconnected. The audiobook is fantastic, with different readers for each story.
#ToB25

I was lucky enough to be shopping in Golden Hare Books in Edinburgh this past weekend.

I loved this book so much. 🩵 Happy to have read it in time to make my best of 2024 list - I loved it from the beginning and it was so good until the end. I liked the ways the stories revealed themselves throughout the book as the reader gets a different perspective on events or a mystery revealed. #TOB2025

This season has been so busy, but this short story collection was just what I needed to slow down. Another from this genre I adored, which is usually not the case! These stories were often focused on the natural world, in New England, but spanned from modern times backward in history. The connections were perfect! Subtle but hard to miss. Read for #tob25 — this is a real contender. Also, @TheKidUpstairs —is this on your radar? It‘s a “you” book!

Reading this book of interconnected short stories, many of them historical, set in the NE US and into Canada is like walking through a museum dedicated to New England and seeing different studies through the ages of people in this place. It‘s just marvelous. #ToB25

Fantastic, interconnected stories set in three centuries in New England. I loved most of the stories. Each so different and yet an unmistakable part of the whole. A favorite on the #ToB25 shortlist for sure!

I loved this collection of short stories from the #ToBlonglist.

I‘m not usually a fan of the genre but I appreciated that these were all beautifully written with proper endings. They‘re also linked to each other in some way, even by just a small object, which was lovely.

The whole book felt like a lively warm bath (even though 1 or 2 of the stories were sad / upsetting)

Definitely on my shortlist.

I‘ve only just started this collection on audio (2 stories in) and wow, I‘m going to need to get this in print! 😍 The cast of narrators is out of sight!

I‘ve already stacked Six Walks.

I loved these stories so much. The writing is engaging, elegant, the characters are complex, the storytelling ranges from historic fiction to contemporary, focusing on art, music, farming, religion, nature, love and loss … just wonderful. Highly recommend!

This is an exceptional short story collection. Spanning centuries, primarily focusing on events in New England, the stories each have a companion piece that offers a perspective or answer to the first piece. Despite not being a lover of short stories, I couldn‘t put the book down and read it more as a novel. Each character, each event, so clearly outlined, and each story draws you in. The title story will be made into a movie with Paul Mescal.