Solar Bones | 
panI definitely did not vibe with this one - the narrative was a little annoying with an unlikeable protagonist. Maybe I didn‘t enjoy it because I have no interest in engineering but still didn‘t think the plot was all that. Also, the synopsis of the book has the biggest spoiler which was like ???
pickNot for everyone, but it's a strong pick for me. A 260 page single sentence (but a doddle after "Ducks, Newburyport" - which I also loved), in which engineer Marcus Conway sits alone in his kitchen and reflects upon his life and all the tenuous stuff that upholds it. As I've said before, I like thinky books! I wasn't even bothered by the engineering-talk, nor the fact I guessed, fairly early on, the gist of what had brought him there on that day.
1. Love this one-sentence marvel.
2. I want to control time (no dreaming small, here)
3. Sagittarius
4. Driving to the west coat of Scotland for the weekend and hoping for fine weather
5. will do!
#FriyayIntro
so-soIt's ok. Not quite my style - I prefer a bit more punctuation personally. But not the worst thing I've read this year by any stretch.
⭐⭐⭐
He won the prize for Solar Bones! https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/jun/13/mike-mccormack-wins-100000-interna...
Couldn‘t resist buying this when I saw it was cheap on kindle store! I heard it was weird but beautiful, which is right up my street. I might not read it for a bit cause I‘m on a bit of an italians kick right now
The moment when your kids are screaming, the dogs are barking, oldest child needs to go to archery practice, supper needs put away, etc, etc.......you just drop everything, retreat to your favorite room in the house and bask in all of its bookiness
And here is a random #shelfie
Tootle Lou 🤪🤪🤪🤪
pick#LitsyPartyOfOne I have read reviews and this book really divides people. Yes it is a one sentence, 215 page stream of consciousness novel- Ulysses lite if you will- and I loved it. It is one man‘s life, told in flashbacks, to an ultimate denoument that I only saw coming at the very end. Wife, grown children, death of his parents, politics, civil engineering in County Mayo and the little and large signposts of a life. Won Goldsmith prize 4 1/2 ⭐️
#SundayMorningCoffeeMug #LitsyPartyOfOne spending my “free” hour this morning finishing Solar Bones so I can return it to the library- I have my chocolates ready for my day of reading while hubby goes to the Titans v. Ravens football game- sweet!❤️🍫🏈
I have heard mixed reviews about this book but I would really like to read it #GIVEAWAYSIX
so-soThere is not a period in this entire book.
It's one single stream of consciousness flitting between subjects, past and present back and forth, internal examination of self and memory, and external examination of the teetering economy/environment and God. I couldn't stand this nonsensical style even though I found snippets quite lovely in a somber way.
Why wasn't this written wholly in verse and labeled a book of poetry?
Wouldn't recommend.
it's as if something that never was has finally collapsed or revealed itself to be constructed of air before eventually falling to ruin... you have to wonder how come we never noticed these tensions building- were we so blind to the world teetering on the edge that we never straightened up from what we were doing to consider things more clearly or have we lost completely that brute instinct for catastrophe
This was too good not to share for today's prompt: #cozy
This is always my weekend goal: Saturday morning with a huge cup of coffee and silence I fill with unending reading time.
Re: Solar Bones I'm having a hard time with it but I really don't want to bail... but if I try to go too slow with it I'll have forgotten anything I may have comprehended along the way.
Thoughts? Worth it? Throw it out the window?
#30daysofreadathon
bailedI really wanted to like this one. The title is cool. I like the cover. The book also had a lack of punctuation and paragraphs (which didn't bother me and the idea actually intrigued me, as I'm not a grammar guru). The lack of punctuation soon made the story become one big onslaught of information, drowning me in a rush of fleeting words. I found myself constantly forgetting what took place in the story.
#manbookerprize2017
"they may have suffered our love for them as a desperate load"
bailedNo, I am definitely not in the mood for this one right now. I'll give it another try when and if I am ready for a one-sentence-stream-of-conscience.
Not a favourite for the Man Booker shortlist in my opinion.
(Picture: Flowering heath in Drenthe, the Netherlands)
#manbooker #manbookerreadalong #bookerprize
I'm about 40% in and not sure I'll keep going. Is he trying to be Joyce? Would it have been so awful to have sentences that ended, would it really have sacrificed that much? All I can hear is an Irish voice droning on, like the bagpipes that never stop.....
I ended up having to work 11 hours yesterday, to cover for a sick librarian, so I'm taking this morning off. These are all the books I need to read. #itsgoodtohavegoals
(one is a secret book swap from Goodreads so I only posted the side)
pickBook #9 for our panel. #ManBooker Here are our reviews:
https://thereadersroom.org/2017/09/05/%EF%BB%BF2017-man-booker-longlist-solar-bo...
I was skeptical about this one but I really liked it. Told in one sentence, stream of consciousness from a spirit/ghost as he looks back over the big and small moments of his life. At times quite funny and other times touching. Exquisite prose
I fully intend to read this but not today because one long mostly unpunctuated sentence is just too much for this editor's brain on a warm holiday afternoon though I may pick it up again this winter 😧
pickA simple story about family life, a story about small and big events responsible for the pace of the life in peripheral/rural areas ... what makes this story unusual, different are the narrative style and narrator. The book requires a dedicated reader, who knows how to get through dense text and still appreciate the story. Interesting, hard to read experiment, which is in some way worthy of testing your reading strength. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ #manbookerreadalong
Finally! Time for #LitsyPartyOfOne My party plan is to read a sentence till the end this weekend 😉🤓
1. 4th picture on my mobile device is photography of my sleeping beauty
2. Arundhati Roy - Ministry of Utmost Happiness and for nonfiction Douglas Smith - Rasputin
3. It's 9.30pm in my part of the world, so we have at the moment 20C, but through the day was 🔆 and hot
4. Mike McCormack - Solar Bones
5. I don't have a extra rest day ... for me this Monday will be a normal working day 🤷♀️
#dogsoflitsy #petsoflitsy
#HumpDayPost
pickDo you ever find yourself daydreaming about your life, all its various highs, lows, paths taken, loves, losses, regrets and even minutiae that bizarrely pop into our heads from nowhere - that is what this brilliantly imaginative written book portrays as the author in one sentence poetically finds Marcus Conway a 50+ irish man reflecting over his life in one hour.
I've now booked to see him and john banville at the mcr lit festival #manbooker
The whole book is one long sentence ... so, instead of #firstlineofcurrentread here is the first page of my current read.
#anditsaugust
I've had four weeks of #vacation and most of the time I spent in the backyard, where I managed to read nine books from the Man Booker Prize longlist. Solar Bones is my twelfth book from the list, so that it looks like I'll be able to read it all before the announcement of shortlist.
#augustgrrrl
When you've just moved house, feel short on time, and are already reading three books: start a new one #bookwormproblemsneedbookwormsolutions
Finished Hex (loved it) and now I'm starting Solar Bones. I can already tell that I'm going to have a hard time remembering what I just read.
I picked up these at the bookshop today. I noticed Fell several months ago, but ultimately chose another book. I saw Solar Bones today. I haven't heard of it, but it seems like an untraditional and thought-provoking read.
#manbooker
This is an excellent read and i am thoroughly absorbed in this mans reflections on his life- the prose is one long sentence but once you get through the writing style it is brilliant. It skips from scene to scene in an instant but i just had to share this scene as he recalls the battles with his recently widowed father. A book i don't want to end.
This book is growing on me. The narrator and his wife are discussing their daughter's art exhibit. The narrator had to leave when he realized that the paintings were made with his daughter's blood and he spent the night standing in the rain wondering whether the exhibit was his fault or reflected a failing on his part. The whole scenario and subsequent discussions were quite amusing. #manbooker #manbookereadalong
#manbooker
Just started my second foray into the longlist and im already hooked. I felt a little daunted by a book of one long sentence it may be premature at page 10 but i feel pulled into the mind of the narrator as he flits from subject to subject. Im generally not a fan of stream of consciousness but the writing feels poetic in form and content and hopefully i will come out of the other end overwhelmed by its brilliance. Wish me 🍀
#boutofbooks starts Monday, August 21st! This was my very first readathon ever and I'm excited to participate again. If you'd like to join, you can sign up at http://boutofbooks.blogspot.com
These are the books I'd like to read this week. I'm already close to finishing Alias Grace so hopefully I can get started on Solar Bones by Monday.
Where do you stop/break for the night when reading a book consisting of only one sentence?
Next up for me. #manbooker #manbookerreadalong. Almost done with the longlist: two more after this one
#manbooker I was in two minds whether to start the booker longlist but noticed my library had 3 books available so I've decided to start although ive come away with another 3 as well. These 3 on the list look really interesting although i had told myself i would try and clear some of my book stacks at home before visiting the library again!
You know it's a good #bookmail day when your Book Depository order arrives and includes a signed copy of one of the books you ordered. Pretty cool! 📚#2017manbookerprizelonglist #signedcopy
A big ol' #bookhaul and a mixture of new and second hand 🙂
#bookmail
My BOTM box arrived!! Can @Liberty pick every month because she picks the best books! I am super excited about this one!
And a special thank you to Soho Press for sending an ARC of Solar Bones. Now I just need a copy of Elmet and my #manbooker stack is complete. Our shadow panel reviews start this week with Lincoln in the Bardo (my favorite) and Underground Railroad.
I've spent the morning quietly, drinking a cup of coffee with the cat and posting photos to Litsy. It's been a welcome way to gather myself for the workday ahead. #Rightnow I'm reading a stunning moment in this stunning book, where the narrator is having a #rightnow moment himself.
Hopefully I can hold on to this peace today.
#manbooker #longlist #manbookerlonglist #manbookerreadalong #augustgrrrl
After a long, long journey around the world, this book finally found its way to my home. Thank you again @shawnmooney 😘 I'm excited and scared to read it, but I definitely like the shiny cover 😊
"Marcus Conway is dead." This was one of my favourite books of last year. Marcus muses on parts of his life as the Angelus Bell tolls. The whole thing is a single, glorious sentence and it was a worthy winner of the 2016 Goldsmiths Prize #afterlife #JuneTunz
8 Book Expo picks from smaller presses. These titles will take you around the world; each is set in a different country. I've featured them on my blog, but you can find more info right here on Litsy if you prefer. http://www.bethfishreads.com/2017/06/8-books-from-smaller-presses-bookexpo.html?...
bailedBailed before finishing the first sentence. Wait. This fellow can write, but a one-sentence novel is—I quickly realized—pretentious and reader-unfriendly. Period. (Did you see what I did there?)
I was going to quote this novel's opening sentence, but then I said to myself, "Wait: this 223-page novel consists of only one sentence!" ?
