Welcome to Litsy!

#firstlinefridays
“There was a vulture on the mailbox
of my grandmother‘s house.” 🪶

is it really horror if I‘ve had some smiles while reading?
there are nerdy bug facts, spooky southern gardens,
& each chapter has opened with a wild dream so far!
#SoftHorror #southerngothic
#librarybooks #speculativefiction

A generous So-So from me as this really isn't my thing & was never gonna satisfy my reading needs, but I can appreciate its quality. The ideas are amazing, I hate the presentation. The disjointed structure & unknown chronology/time scales just frustrate me. It's annoying to just get into a story/engage with characters only to have it end & never followed up. The narrative is just confusing, though,admittedly, gorgeously written.

Flux, by Jinwoo Chong (2023)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Premise: A young man‘s life takes a bizarre turn when, after miraculously surviving a fall down an elevator shaft, he‘s recruited to a work a new tech company that promises to revolutionize the energy sector.

Review: this book is incredibly high-concept—the premise above only touches half of what‘s going on—and every plot line comes at things at odd angles. Cont.

I love how Yang approached each novella in this series with a different style and format, and how each was told from a different character's perspective. The theme of resistance was powerful and timely. Yang incorporated themes of gender, class, and sexuality, as well. Overall, these were intriguing reads. I'd love to read more by Neon Yang.
#queerbc @puddlejumper

Did very well yesterday on the 📕 front. The tagged 📕 I got at the op shop on my way home from rehearsals. I couldn‘t believe my luck that it was still opened & was a bargain at $5. The 📕 in the middle is from my building‘s 📕 swap from an author I‘ve enjoyed in the past & the top 1 was from a st library I discovered while heading to the pub last Sun so visited again yesterday. Was a massive day & I‘m still buggered today. Tempers flared at 🩰.

This is my first post here on Litsy: I am starting my first Tim Winton book tomorrow, Juice.

A Sky Full of Elephants by Cebo Campbell imagines Black life beyond whiteness—grappling with identity, power, and liberation. Lyrical, bold, and deeply moving, it made me reflect on what it means to fully bloom as a Black girl, and how we reclaim space, joy, and self. A powerful read.
Full review: https://www.instagram.com/p/DLWSkdex08G/?igsh=MXE1Znp5MWNwMnlrcQ==

Starting this one today. Not really sure I'm feeling emotionally secure enough for "sad, but beautiful" in my current perimenopausal state, but hey-ho...

Under the Eye of the Little Bird, by Hiromi Kawakami (2016, transl. 2024)
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Premise: A novel in linked short stories about the distant fate of humanity.

Review: This will no doubt work for a lot of readers, but despite the fact that I can recognize that it‘s very well done, it was not for me. Told in short stories, all at different moments in the future,, this is meant to keep the reader off guard. Cont.

A future dystopian judgement of our lack of commitment to science and change. So close to home. So timely. So sad.