Welcome to Litsy!

One day in the life of extremely pregnant Annie, who has the bad luck to be shopping at IKEA on the day of a major earthquake in Oregon. We follow her all day, interspersed with chapters describing her past, as she speaks constantly to the unborn child she‘s carrying. I liked this book and it made me think about what I would do in a devastating circumstance like this one. Very provocative for #camplitsy25

Well. That was…a lot. So much was packed into this story. Love, loss, grief, hope. They all show up in different forms multiple times throughout the novel. I cannot wait to discuss all the nuances with #camplitsy25. Definitely going to need to reread closer to discussion day.

Please check TW!

This month‘s #FictionalTraveler: set in Portland

I had some feelings about whether to finish or not. I live on the Cascadia fault line and the Big One is a worry. Anna is on her first day of mat leave looking for a crib in IKEA. Portland experiences a catastrophic earthquake , Anna survives , and decides to head out on foot to find her husband, Dom. While walking Anna carries on an internal monologue with her unborn child,Bean. I enjoyed the story but the ending was dissatisfying - 👍❤️🐉

This book is bringing on all my doomsday anxiety. A pregnant woman is on a quest across the devastated remains of Portland. The big one has hit and she is trying to find her husband. I‘m at a pretty tense spot and I‘m not sure if I can continue with it. The pandemic has put me off dystopian books. I used to love that genre ever since I read The Stand as a teenager. Anyone else changed what type of books they read? ❤️😂

A quick read, as Annie, who is 37 weeks pregnant, walks to find her husband after a major earthquake hits Portland. I loved the alternating timelines that gave Annie‘s character depth, flaws, and likability. She‘s far from perfect, her choices are haphazard, which helps the pages turn. My only complaint is the ending- I like a bit of wondering, but some events were forced and other parts hanging. Overall, good book!

Picked these up for #CampLitsy because the wait for them on Libby was 24 weeks!! 😳

I don‘t like the trend of sprayed edges unless it has a design on it. The colour they chose for Death of the Author is… ummm… not to my taste. But whatever, here‘s hoping the content is better than the edges! Or at least that it sparks a good discussion!

Can‘t wait for camp to start! I‘m packing my tent and sleeping bag already. 🏕️

What a strange little book. Satisfies a need to read about living through a natural disaster, love something set in Oregon as well!

repost for @BarbaraBB:

I am adding the final two winners to the #CampLitsy25 reads. We‘ll be reading Tilt and King of Ashes in August. We are super excited about this mix of books and we hope you are too! I‘ll post an overview of all six books next so you know what books you might want to get a hold of!
Just a few weeks to get ready for 🏕️ !

Voted! The long list is full of fantastic sounding books, so many new to me titles. I can‘t wait to see what we will be reading. Don‘t forget to vote by May 9. Link is on @BarbaraBB #CampLitsy25 post.

"I will write after work and on the weekends. That‘s what I tell myself. And, sure, I set my alarm for 5:00 a.m. once or twice. But who has any good ideas at 5:00 a.m.? It‘s like life is this powerful river, of doing laundry and buying groceries and driving to work and scrolling on my phone, and the weekends are so short."

Woah, buddy! This one was INTENSE and I loved it! Set in the aftermath of a huge earthquake, this is not for the faint of heart, but dang what a story?! My blood pressure was probably at a steady high while reading this book, but this writing is incredible. And to be a debut? Wowza. Top 10 books of the year, for sure! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I loved this book. Annie is in an IKEA when an earthquake in the Pacific Northwest strikes. She‘s 37 weeks pregnant, miserably pregnant, and we follow her on her journey to find a loved one and home. This is broken up by chapters depicting her life leading up to this day. The whole time, she‘s talking to Bean, her unborn baby. This book was a rollercoaster of emotion for me. I was horrified, I laughed, cause Annie is funny, and I cried. Pick!👇🏼

I'm starting Tilt tonight.

#aardvarkbookclub

This book was intense. A 37-week pregnant woman is shopping in IKEA when a devastating earthquake hits, causing widespread choas and destruction.
The book is about her journey home on foot. I'm not a crier, but one chapter actually had me tears.
Expertly weaved in, is the story of her life up to that point. The ending could have been better, but overall this was really well written.

Another month, another full @AardvarkBookClub box! Their picks were so much better than BOTM (which I skipped) this month. So excited for all of these. I love that #aardvark doesn‘t shy away from darker books!

I ended up picking 5 books between April's Book of the Month and Aardvark. 😍

#botm #aardvarkbookclub

Many in the western PNW are very aware of the Cascadia event, and this book brings it to life, specifically as a major earthquake hitting Portland. We follow a woman in late pregnancy, in IKEA when the quake hits, then through the rest of the day as she traverses town. For me, this was hard-hitting and visceral; really well done.

MFA fiction about existential fears and the pervasive anxieties of continuing to live as the world falls apart.

Honestly, writing that out it feels like this would have been for me but it just wasn't. I don't feel that Pattee did enough with her narrative. Beyond the voicing of these fears, what is she trying to express here?

I‘m not a huge fan of the ‘horror‘ genre, mostly because I don‘t find such books particularly horrifying. This book, however…. 😱

Annie is shopping in Ikea, at 37 weeks‘ pregnant, when the ‘big‘ earthquake hits. The story follows her over the course of a day as she tries to make her way home on foot.

It‘s truly terrifying as it could really happen and shows us how people could behave in such a situation. A couple of things I didn‘t like ⬇️