Litsy

The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club: A Novel | Helen Simonson

bailed

I tried not to, but I‘ll have to bail on this one (gave it 100 pages). Perhaps it‘s the timing. The plot is promising, the characters have potential but the writing feels clichéd and unnatural. It maybe unrelated (or not) but I read two pages of Ann Patchett and I can‘t stop thinking about that book now. #currentlynotreading

dabbe #hailthebail! 🙌🏻 #betterbooksahead 19h

32 likes1 comment

DieAReader

The Last of the Mohicans: A Narrative of 1757 | James Fenimore Cooper

bailed

#Read2025 #Wardens2025 #ShelfSweep #Elizabeth #UnpopularOpinion

With 76% read & 9 chapters remaining…this is a solid DNF for me. No matter what I did, I could not focus or keep track of everything that was going on. Too wordy for my tastes - reminded me of reading Shakespeare in HS😬🫨

I very much enjoyed the group read setting, just not this book😂🤭

Cuilin, CoverToCoverGirl, Tove_Reads, Andrew65, GHABI4ROSES

dabbe #hailthebail! 🙌🏻 #betterbooksahead 19h

IMASLOWREADER love the powet of DNF lol 19h

DieAReader @dabbe @IMASLOWREADER 💖🤓 19h

Andrew65 Better to focus on books you are enjoying. 18h

Cuilin #hailthebail seriously life‘s too short. I hope your next book is more enjoyable. 3h

31 likes5 comments

dabbe

Untitled | Untitled

#ThreeListThursday #TLT @dabbe
We're on to list 2! Bye bye, scary 1700s. All of these are from the 1800s!
1. Survey link: https://www.listchallenges.com/1001-books-you-must-read-before-you-die-1800s
2. Share your score if you'd like.
3. Share your 3 favorites from the list or 3 that you might be interested in reading, or 3 you thought were horrible or a combo of whatever you'd like.
4. Tag a few!
Tagging JUST A FEW who've played before. 🤩

mcctrish, DebinHawaii, wanderinglynn, Megabooks, peaKnit, melissajayne, Soubhiville, BarkingMadRead, Crazeedi, tpixie, Cuilin, AmyG, kspenmoll, TheBookHippie, Amiable, CogsOfEncouragement, catiewithac, Susanita, Lynnsoprano, Blueberry, Vansa, Bklover, Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick, Aimeesue, TheLudicReader, Larkken, jenniferw88, julesG, Deblovestoread, Librarybelle, Eggs, Chrissyreadit, Read4life, rwmg, CatLass007, Q84, BookwormAHN, Pogue, Traci1, Sleepswithbooks, CSeydel, Ruthiella, RamsFan1963, TheSpineView, EadieB, CBee, Bookish_Viking, ShelleyBooksie, TheAromaofBooks, ImperfectCJ, Cupcake12, bthegood, Sparklemn, lil1inblue, The_Penniless_Author, PageShifter, LiseWorks, AllDebooks, AnnCrystal

jenniferw88 1700s were NOT scary for me thanks to my MA 🤣 1d

CSeydel Yikes, only 13, although a couple of my favorite books did make the list (Silas Marner and Tess of the D‘Urbervilles) 1d

jenniferw88 18 this time! 1d

See All 54 Comments

Chrissyreadit Only 9- but a lot of nf books. 1d

Lynnsoprano Wow, only 12! However, there are 19th century authors who are missing from this list, whose books I would have expected to make the list—Hawthorne, Austen, Brontë, to name a few. 1d

Bookwormjillk Ooof only 9! 1d

Susanita @Lynnsoprano I guess the divisions are not entirely exact with so many books. There were some Austen and Brontë last week. In fact, without them my score would have been even worse! 1d

Lynnsoprano @susanita Ah, that explains it. I was down with COVID last week—not bad except for the headache. I‘ll have to go back and look at that list. 24h

BarkingMadRead I only had 15. I own like 5 or so more but haven‘t read them yet 🙈 24h

Bklover 15- thanks to a years ago obsession with Jules Verne and HG Wells. And, of course, #hashtagbrigade 23h

Librarybelle So bizarre—I did worse this week than last with only 13! And I call myself a classics reader! 🙄 23h

willaful 12 for me. Alice and Little Women my favs, of course! I'd like to read What Maisie Knew. Calling the #HashtagBrigade ! 😁 23h

dabbe @jenniferw88 Yay for you! I find them rather terrifying myself. 🤣 23h

dabbe @CSeydel I think my score will be right around there, too! TESS was my #1 fave book in 2023 with the #hashtagbrigade! And we're currently reading THE MILL ON THE FLOSS. I loved MIDDLEMARCH, too. Is SILAS your favorite of hers? Thanks for playing and sharing. 💚💜💚 23h

dabbe @jenniferw88 #woohooyou Thanks for playing and sharing. 💚💜💚 23h

dabbe @Chrissyreadit 🎯🩵🎯! Thanks for playing and sharing. 💚💜💚 23h

dabbe @Lynnsoprano There are still more books from the 1800s coming your way! 🤩 Thanks for playing and sharing. 💚💜💚 23h

dabbe @BarkingMadRead We need to get them into the #hashtagbrigade! 😍 Thanks for playing and sharing. 💚💜💚 23h

dabbe @Bookwormjillk I feel it! I haven't taken it yet, but I think I'll score around the same! Thanks for playing and sharing. 💚💜💚 23h

dabbe @Susanita @Lynnsoprano The list I have is ordered by centuries, but not necessarily in chronological order of that century. So, the 1800s could have one from 1813, then the next from 1802, then the next from 1889, and so on. 🤷‍♀️ 23h

dabbe @Lynnsoprano I hope you're feeling better! 😍 23h

dabbe @Bklover IKR? I still need to read WAR OF THE WORLDS. I've read his others, but not that one! 😱 Thanks for playing and sharing. 💚💜💚 23h

dabbe @Librarybelle I think I'll score worse, too! But, man, some of those titles I have never even heard of! I'm more of a British Lit classics girl, not a world one. Thanks for playing and sharing. 💚💜💚 23h

dabbe @willaful Ooh, that one does sound good for the #hashtagbrigade, doesn't it? Thanks for playing and sharing. 💚💜💚 23h

Bklover Thanks for the tag! I truly appreciate it. 🩷🩷🩷. Also loved Tess with #hashtagbrigade (edited) 23h

Susanita @Lynnsoprano Ugh. I hope you feel better! 23h

Eggs 💗🌺💖 22h

CogsOfEncouragement 19 for me this round. 22h

ImperfectCJ I missed last week, so I'm playing catch-up. I've read 17 from this round. Love Alice and was surprised how much I enjoyed Kim and Sister Carrie when I read them. Now to post about last week's list! 21h

dabbe @Bklover 💜💚💜 21h

dabbe @Eggs 💜💚💜 21h

dabbe @CogsOfEncouragement We scored pretty closely together this time! Thanks for playing and sharing. 💜💚💜 21h

dabbe @ImperfectCJ We're close in our scores! Added your choices to my TBR. Thanks for playing and sharing. 💜💚💜 21h

tpixie @dabbe yikes! 9% I am currently reading Les MIs! December 31 that‘ll get me up to 10%! ❤️‍🔥. @dabbe @CSeydel Tess is a favorite ❤️ (edited) 18h

CSeydel @tpixie it‘s so good. Reminds me, I‘m due for a re-read … on the other hand, I still haven‘t read Jude the Obscure. Decisions decisions 17h

CSeydel @dabbe believe it or not, I haven‘t read Mill on the Floss OR Middlemarch (despite having the latter on my shelf for like 3 years, gazing dolefully at me every time I walk by with another book in my hand). But yes Silas Marner is one of my favorite books of all books! 17h

Faranae 30! Some of these authors feel over-represented, like they could have just chosen 1 or max 2 by that author and fit someone else in. Some of these I really have to vote against! I read André Gide's “fruits of the earth“ in French and yikes. Also I love Sherlock but just put the Hound on there and move on! 17h

rwmg 29 Brings home how Anglocentric my 19th century reading has been, even if not completely so. But an embarrassing number where I've never heard of book or author. 16h

AnnCrystal
Thanks for the tag
📚☺️👍🏼💝. (edited) 16h

peaKnit Ope, 5! I also love Tess, I see she is a popular read! I read it in Highschool. 16h

Daisey I‘ve read 30 from this week‘s list, and that‘s with consistently reading from the 1001 list for the last several years. 16h

tpixie @Daisey 🩷🩷🩷 15h

tpixie @CSeydel I know it‘s so hard to do a reread when there‘s so many other books still left to read! 15h

dabbe @tpixie You're in good company; most of us are between 5 and 25! Here's hoping the 1900s are better for all of us! And I think we should be able to include LES as 3 books just for its length alone! 🤣 Thanks for playing and sharing. 💜💚💜 14h

dabbe @CSeydel And SILAS is the one of hers I haven't read! 🤣 I adored MIDDLEMARCH and am enjoying MILL, though MIDDLE is better IMHO. I'm moving SILAS up on the TBR! 😍 14h

dabbe @Faranae The Sherlock is a hard one for me as I am a MAJOR Sherlock fan. But I see your point. Perhaps only one book per author, right? Yet some writers are way better than others and contributed more to the overall literary aesthetics of history. Hard choices all around. BTW, you beat my sorry butt. Thanks for playing and sharing. 💜💚💜 14h

dabbe @rwmg 🩵🎯🩵 So many world authors I've never heard of, nor their books. I need the clock to slow down so that I can get to them! Thanks for playing and sharing. 💜💚💜 14h

dabbe @AnnCrystal YW! 🥰 14h

dabbe @peaKnit I applaud any teacher who had high schoolers read TESS. I adored that book! 😍 Thanks for playing and sharing. 💜💚💜 14h

dabbe @Daisey You know, some of them just don't look that appealing to me. I don't care how low my score may be, if I'm not even interested by the cover or the little snippet provided in the 1001 book, I ain't reading it! 🤣 Thanks for playing and sharing. 💜💚💜 14h

CatLass007 My score was 11 and I think I should get some credit for at least TRYING to read Les Miz three different times. But I didn‘t check it. A couple of these I‘m pretty sure I read so I checked them. I read most of these with #NoPlaceLikeHolmes, #HashtagBrigade, #RandomClassics, and #WhatTheDickens, so thank you #LITSY! I also DNF several others. But, as @dabbe reminds me, #HailTheBail #BetterBooksAhead (edited) 10h

CatLass007 Three that I own and want to read are Anna Karenina, War and Peace, and Middlemarch. 10h

TheLudicReader 🤣 7. I still have the essay I wrote about Tess. Hated her. But I loved The Mayor of Casterbridge. 7h

catiewithac 27/100 but why so much Zola? It was a weird list. 3h

42 likes54 comments

ravenlee

Apple, Tree: Writers on Their Parents | Lise Funderburg

bailed

I couldn‘t connect with this on audio. I think because multiple essays/authors share readers, and it messed with my mind. I may try again in print sometime, but for now it‘s a DNF.

dabbe #hailthebail! 🙌 3d

21 likes1 comment

melissajayne

To Have and to Heist | Sara Desai

bailed

DNF. I read about 30% of the book and just couldn‘t get beyond the cover. #2025 #fiction #romcom

dabbe #hailthebail! 🙌 #betterbooksahead 3d

32 likes1 comment

CSeydel

All Fours | Miranda July

#whereareyoumonday

Still in Monrovia with the sociopath narrator of this tedious nonsense

bookandbedandtea "Tedious nonsense" ? 4d

CSeydel @bookandbedandtea I keep waiting for her to realize that her unhappiness is because she‘s pathologically self-absorbed, but she hasn‘t yet 4d

dabbe I bailed on this one during Camp Litsy last year for reasons you just described so well. 🤣 4d

See All 33 Comments

CSeydel @dabbe I‘m so tempted to bail but my book club is discussing it Thursday night and I want to be able to defend my low opinion of it. And … maybe? .:. it gets better? My husband wisely bailed after 50 pages 4d

CBee @CSeydel I bailed during #camplitsy last year too. It was making me feel physically ill 😂 4d

5feet.of.fury 😂😂 4d

TheBookHippie I‘ve never hated a book as much as this one.. 😵‍💫 4d

fredthemoose @CSeydel it does not get better 4d

dabbe @CSeydel Life's too short! I bet you already have enough to defend your position. Sometimes a bail sends a powerful message, too! #hailthebail! 😍 4d

willaful yet another camp bail here! 4d

DGRachel Adding my vote for “save yourself and bail”. I am another Camp Litsy bail. 4d

BarbaraBB Lol, I loved it! 4d

CSeydel @TheBookHippie It‘s truly terrible. The MC seems to think she‘s the only person in the world who has ever had an original thought. The rest of humanity exists only as either her audience, support staff, or pawns in whatever emotional games she‘s playing with herself. 4d

CSeydel @CBee @5feet.of.fury @fredthemoose @dabbe @willaful @DGRachel Thank you all for your support! I was happy to have read far enough that she acknowledges that “there is something very wrong with me” and starts to take accountability for some of the bullshit she‘s making up in her head and attributing to everyone around her. That she‘s been ridiculously unfair about older women. But it‘s just so boring listening to her natter on. 4d

TheBookHippie @CSeydel It was such an insult to women as a whole, let alone the immense privilege it shows ad nauseam and insult to my intelligence. I think it‘s an extremely harmful book. It shows why I don‘t like most women that‘s for sure. Just YUK. (edited) 4d

CSeydel @BarbaraBB A lot of people do! When I‘m done I‘ll check out your review and look forward to seeing it from a different perspective 🤞🏻 4d

CSeydel @TheBookHippie I hope most women aren‘t as full of themselves as this one. Somehow she manages to be completely absorbed by her own inner fantasy world - “mind-rooted,” as she calls it - living entirely in her mind yet shockingly un-self-aware somehow. She views her entire life as a piece of performance art and everyone else is her supporting cast, and can‘t understand why they don‘t also see themselves that way 4d

FashionableObserver I tried so hard to get into this book. I really did. I think I made it a few chapters in before bailing. I usually hold onto my books with a death grip, but I swear I try to pawn that thing off on people all of the time. 🤣 4d

CSeydel @FashionableObserver I hear you. It‘s a slog for sure. 4d

5feet.of.fury @CSeydel is this the same book club that picked Lost Apothecary? 😅 4d

TheBookHippie @CSeydel I always have that hope. 4d

FashionableObserver @CSeydel I don‘t understand the rave reviews. It flew off of the shelves—I picked up the last copy my tiny bookstore had. All of the ladies in the store were raving about it, too… 4d

Ruthiella If it‘s worth anything, I am enjoying your complaints! 😂 So thank you for reading! 4d

RaeLovesToRead 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 4d

RaeLovesToRead I thought the book was brilliant, but I also agree with everything you say 🤣🤣🤣🤣 4d

CSeydel @5feet.of.fury haha - No! Can you believe it? Two book club meetings happen to fall in the same week and they both picked loser books 😩 4d

5feet.of.fury @CSeydel 😩🤪 4d

CSeydel @Ruthiella Thank you! That‘s one good thing! I had seen some bad reviews and I hoped even if it wasn‘t good, it would at least be “fun to hate.” But it‘s mostly tedious listening to someone go through all these emotional calisthenics to rid themselves of a stupid misconception that I don‘t share (that sexuality is everything, and women are worthless after menopause). Like: I just don‘t care, and I‘m not learning anything 💀 4d

CSeydel @RaeLovesToRead LOL!! 😂 4d

BarbaraBB I also love the controversy surrounding this book 😂 4d

CSeydel @BarbaraBB Absolutely! At least we have that 😆 4d

CarolynM You comments sum up my feelings exactly. She‘s appalling. 3d

CSeydel @CarolynM Glad I‘m not the only one 😬 2d

60 likes33 comments

jen_the_scribe

History of the Big House | Charif Majdalani

bailed

As much as I respected the unique writing style and loved the descriptions of Mount Lebanon and the surrounding areas, the way the narrator is written just kept pulling me out of the story. Also, there‘s a lot of details about the orange groves that I just found dull. If this wasn‘t a library book that I have to return soon, I‘d probably try to keep going, but I have other library books to read as well.

dabbe #hailthebail! 🙌🏻 #betterbooksahead 4d

22 likes1 comment

DogMomIrene

Close Your Eyes and Count to 10 | Lisa Unger

bailed

Listened to 19% of this one. Just do not care to hear a story about any kind of “influencer” doing anything. Just an increasing amount of vapid people doing dumb shit.

I‘ve never read Lisa Unger, so if you‘re a big fan, please drop me some of your top recommendations. I‘d still like to give her a try.

5feet.of.fury I‘ve read 2 of hers but was kind of luke warm on both of them 5d

dabbe #hailthebail! 🙌 #betterbooksahead 5d

DogMomIrene @5feet.of.fury That‘s good to know. May try her again… maybe. 4d

AudiobookingWithLeah This one felt like she was trying too hard to be one of the cool kids. I think her older stuff was better. I also DNF'd this one. 2d

DogMomIrene @AudiobookingWithLeah Yes! Definitely felt forced. If I give her a try again, I‘ll go for older titles. Thanks! 1d

34 likes5 comments

BarbaraBB

On a Woman's Madness | Astrid Roemer

bailed

Just after @Graywacke ‘s review that should encourage me to continue, I do bail on this one. It reads like a fever dream, these memoirs of a Surinam-Dutch woman but I can‘t make head nor tail of it. #bookerinternational

Hooked_on_books I applaud this choice. This one didn‘t work for me at all. 5d

sarahbarnes I finished it, but really didn‘t like it and I had high hopes going in. 5d

Graywacke I‘m glad you‘re not tormenting yourself with it. I liked a lot, but we‘re all different readers. 5d

dabbe #hailthebail! 🙌 #betterbooksahead 5d

69 likes4 comments

Welcome to Litsy!

Trending Hashtags

Trending Books