Welcome to Litsy!

I immediately grabbed this book off the library shelf because the name and the cover got my attention. It did not disappoint. This was a fast paced, raw, and direct. When a new pandemic with a high fatality rate that only affects men breaks out, it‘s up to women to keep the world running, and some of the glass ceiling finally breaks. One thing I liked about this book is it explores all the different intersections in an event like this. Think⬇️

4⭐️ Really enjoyed this #bookclub pick. Got into it much easier than the previous ones that I have read of hers. #2025 #indigineous #contemporary #fiction #covid19fiction

God, I love how she tells a story!
Without intending to, I ended up reading back-to-back pandemic books. The other was for library book group and had all the close-quartered sameness of that time. In contrast, ES delivers another of her quiet books and lets its rich and capacious interiority sing out.

Kate is struggling with self-isolating in November 2020, she breaks and goes for a forbidden walk in the hills of the Peak District. Her 16 year old son Matthew is home alone when he realises she‘s gone and turns to their elderly and vulnerable neighbour Alice. The fourth character is mountain rescue volunteer Rob, helping search for Kate. A third in, I was racing through this desperate to know the outcome. And when it comes, it packs a punch.

My #ReadOrDonate choice for February is Kunstlers in Paradise, which has been calling out to me for a year or so now. This is the month!

What will everyone else be reading/donating?

All are welcome to join.

The link to the optional StoryGraph challenge is: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reading_challenges/efdc1ad1-dea0-414f-abeb-38ea1d0...

What would the new normal look like? The windows and doors would be suddenly thrown open and humanity would totter back out into the world, hesitant at first. He imagined euphoric crowds taking to the streets and impromptu carnivals as people embraced with joy. But he would not be one of them.
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I'd not realised this was a #Pandemic novel.

Tagged was my first read this year. It's a difficult book, & unlike Blue's other full books, it's not all ages: it's a graphic novel w/ explicit on-page BDSM sex. Blue's author's note is extremely helpful in understanding the comic, which I think is underdeveloped & too fragmentary, but it also makes sense that it is. I wouldn't suggest it to straight people at all because it's very much written for a queer audience. #SundayFunDay @BookMarkTavern

This was such a tense and melancholic read. Moss perfectly captures those first months of Covid and lockdown and all of that uncertainty. I‘m not sure I could have got through it had I read it closer to pandemic times. I really felt these characters thoughts and feelings.

#12Booksof2024

I read a lot in December due to time off work. Most of my favorites I‘ve already posted about for challenges. I want to highlight this title because I love Kunzru as an author. It didn‘t delve into the fantastical like others from him but it‘s still a crazy story. I appreciated Kunzru‘s intelligence and questioning of reality-why we value what we value. In large part, it‘s about art; what isn‘t art; how society commodifies art.

I loved rereading this. The audiobook was wonderful. I started it New Year‘s Eve and on January 1st I caught COVID for the first time. It has made reading this (her book about COVID) far more interesting! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️