ToB25Longlist

pick

Such a lovely read. After her best friend dies, little Margaret turns inwards and creates her own reality. She is a wonderful unreliable narrator, surrounded by people who have a big impact on who she becomes.

Years later she writes the story of het life, trying to stay close to the truth.
A worthy #ToB25Longlist read!

ImperfectCJ I liked this one, too. "Lovely" is a good word to describe it. It's one of those books where the writing itself is a vibe...I felt immersed in it. 1w

LeahBergen Great review! 1w

Hooked_on_books This one was a bit weird, but it worked for me. And there are things about it that suggest it shouldn‘t have. I love when that happens. 1w

See All 14 Comments

Bookwormjillk I think I‘ll read this one next. I could use something lovely. 1w

RowReads1 I just got this one. It‘s your fault 😉. 1w

ChaoticMissAdventures I really enjoyed this too. Like @Hooked_on_books I kept thinking this shouldn't work for me, but it totally did. I am sad it isn't on the short list. 1w

Suet624 If I hadn‘t stacked it already you‘d have convinced me. 1w

sarahbarnes I‘m so glad you liked it! Like @ChaoticMissAdventures I‘m disappointed this one isn‘t on the short list. 1w

Cathythoughts Yes such a worthy read. I loved this one. 1w

squirrelbrain I‘m glad you loved it too! And, yes, it should have been on the shortlist. 1w

Lesliereadsalot Ordering from my library right now. 1w

BarbaraBB @Lesliereadsalot I was thinking the same of your most recent read. We seem to be liking the same kind of books!

The Test

Lesliereadsalot I have 9 library books sitting here, but I‘m still picking up Poor Deer tomorrow! (edited) 1w

BarbaraBB @Lesliereadsalot 🤣 1w

78 likes6 stack adds14 comments

BarbaraBB

The Invisible Hotel: A Novel | Yeji Y. Ham

so-so

The speculative tale of Yewon, a young woman adrift, and of the relationship between the Koreas. At first it is rather realistic, with Yewon wondering about her life while driving a North Korean woman to her long lost brother in prison and while worrying about her mom, who keeps and daily washes the bones of family members. Yewon doesn‘t eat and dreams of an invisible hotel. And are the Koreas heading for peace or war?Very weird. #ToB25Longlist

BarbaraBB @GatheringBooks #ReadTheWorld2025 Book 6 #Korea 🇰🇷 (edited) 2w

squirrelbrain I‘m not really drawn to this one 🤷‍♀️ 2w

GatheringBooks Speculative fiction is a hit or miss for me too. 2w

73 likes1 stack add3 comments

BarbaraBB

Weather Underwater | Kaisa Saarinen

#WeeklyForecast 06/25

I am reading Oroppa, which is a Dutch book that has gained much praise and I had to find out what‘s it about. Next will be the tagged, gifted to me by @TrishB during #Gladstones24 which seems so long ago already! The Invisible Hotel is another #ToB25Longlist book that did appeal to me when I purchased it but @sarahbarnes review has made me temper my expectations!

squirrelbrain I got The Invisible Hotel on Audible but I really don‘t fancy it now. 🤷‍♀️ 3w

sarahbarnes Oh I‘ll be interested to hear your thoughts on it. It‘s possible it was just the mood I was in when I read it. 🤷🏻‍♀️ 3w

TrishB A long time indeed! 2w

65 likes3 comments

BarbaraBB

Bury Your Gays | Chuck Tingle

pick

Horror meets Hollywood is this #ToB25Longlist book and it was fun reading it. Towards the end it spun a bit out of control and I lost track of what was happening but over all I am always happy to read this kind of books thanks to the #ToB! And I‘ll have nightmares of that worm 😱😱

See @squirrelbrain we‘re in sync again 💕

📷 The flu 🤒

Librarybelle Hope you feel better soon! 3w

Bookwormjillk Oh no! Feel better soon! 3w

squirrelbrain Oh no, not the flu - hope you feel better soon. 😞 Yes, we‘re in sync - I‘m glad! 🤪 I thought it got a bit drawn-out towards the end too. 3w

See All 12 Comments

youneverarrived Hope you feel better soon 🩷 3w

CarolynM Hope you‘re up and about again soon💐 3w

Cathythoughts Lovely picture. Feel better soon. 3w

LeahBergen Oh no, the flu! I hope you‘re on the mend soon. ❤️ 3w

julesG Feel better soon! 3w

BarbaraBB @Librarybelle @Bookwormjillk @squirrelbrain @youneverarrived @Carolynmary @Cathythoughts @LeahBergen @julesG There‘s no escaping it these days, everyone is floored! Where you live as well? 3w

julesG It is going round. I read something about 5.000 new cases this week in North Rhine-Westphalia, not sure what the figures for my city are though. I'm wearing FFP2 masks on public transport and in public spaces inside. That's the positive thing Covid brought, I'm no longer stared at when wearing a mask. 3w

BarbaraBB @julesG That‘s true. And smart to wear one. We should do as the Japanese do: wear one when you‘re ill or coughing to protect others. 3w

kwmg40 Wishing you a speedy recovery! 3w

82 likes12 comments

ImperfectCJ

The History of Sound: Stories | Ben Shattuck

#WeeklyFavorites @Read4life

I have read some great books this week, but The History of Sound is the clear winner. Is it the best of the month? Quite possibly.

BarbaraBB Four of them #ToB25Longlist reads! 3w

Read4life Fantastic!! 💙📚💙 3w

ImperfectCJ @BarbaraBB Yes! I have been pretty pleased with the selections this year (although some that were on the longlist I think should have made the shortlist). I'm still conflicted about James being on the shortlist. It's an incredible book, but I feel like it's been lauded so much elsewhere, other books should have been given a chance on the shortlist without needing to be compared with James. 3w

BarbaraBB I agree. So many longlisted books I‘d like to have made the shortlist and indeed, James has got so much praise already in 2024 3w

40 likes4 comments

Readerann

Wandering Stars | Tommy Orange

pick

I agree with others that maybe this wasn‘t quite as good as There There, but I still loved it. As far as character development and just plain beautiful writing on a tough subject, few can rival Tommy Orange for me.
#ToB25longlist

19 likes

BarbaraBB

Wounded: A Novel | Percival Everett

#WeeklyForecast 05/25

On this lazy Sunday I started The Family Experiment, John Marrs‘s most recent book. Next will be one from another author whose backlist I am making my way through. I came upon this cheap edition of this Percival Everett so had no choice but to buy it.
Bury Your Gays is another one from the #ToB25Longlist which is excellent this year.

TrishB Enjoy 😁 4w

squirrelbrain I hope you like Bury Your Gays! 🤞 Well, I hope you like all of them - you know what I mean! 🤪 4w

Cathythoughts Lazy Sunday 🥰 4w

See All 7 Comments

BarbaraBB @squirrelbrain I‘m especially interested in it because of your review! 4w

BarbaraBB @TrishB Thanks 😊 4w

Suet624 Everett…the gift that keeps on giving. There are so many of his I have yet to read. 4w

sarahbarnes Another Everett! I haven‘t even heard of this one. 3w

76 likes7 comments

ImperfectCJ

Playground | Richard Powers

I have read some great books this week, so it was tough to choose, but the tagged edged out Poor Deer and Martyr! by just a little (even with how grouchy the ending still has me feeling).

#WeeklyFavorites @Read4life

BarbaraBB That #ToB25Longlist has given us so many good books!! (edited) 4w

Read4life Having to choose between good books is a great problem to have 😉 4w

46 likes2 comments

BarbaraBB

Playground | Richard Powers

pick

I loved this book right up until the end. It‘s probably me but I don‘t get the ending.. I am left with so many questions, it‘s such a thought provoking story.
I loved the friendship between Todd and Rafi, I loved Evelyn‘s diving, her love for the ocean and her marriage, I loved Makatea, its inhabitants, I loved Powers‘ style and love for nature. But I feel like I have to start it again to really get it. All the stars nevertheless! #ToB25Longlist

ImperfectCJ

ImperfectCJ Thank you for tagging me on your review! I still can't quite get over that ending, but the feelings I got with the rest of it are still hanging on and coloring my daily life, too, which really says something for Powers's writing. 4w

BarbaraBB @ImperfectCJ I think it will stick with me for some time to come. There‘s so much going on in the book and in my head now! 4w

squirrelbrain Yes, I didn‘t really ‘get‘ the ending either. 🤷‍♀️ 4w

See All 14 Comments

sarahbarnes I‘ve been waffling on whether I want to read this one. Good to know you liked it (except for the ending)! 4w

Suet624 Hmmm… guess I need to find this one. You‘ve got me curious. 4w

Hooked_on_books I had a pretty similar response. I really liked the storylines but not really together as a whole. 4w

BarbaraBB @sarahbarnes @Suet624 It‘s soo good. I didn‘t get the ending, or at least have to give it some more thought, but it‘s still the best book I read this year (which doesn‘t say that much, I admit!) 4w

BarbaraBB @Hooked_on_books I did like them together as well but I didn‘t get the time thing: that Rafi lived on the island as well as died in Illinois? @squirrelbrain @ImperfectCJ 4w

ImperfectCJ @BarbaraBB @Hooked_on_books @squirrelbrain I read it as the whole thing was written by Todd's AI as a kind of happy ending for him to listen to as his Lewy Body Dementia progressed. It's similar to "it was all a dream," which feels like a cop-out. 4w

BarbaraBB @GatheringBooks #ReadTheWorld2025 Book 4 #FrenchPolynesia 🇵🇫 (edited) 2w

GatheringBooks I‘ve only read tagged book which I found to be quite interesting - love how much you have traveled - and we‘re only in February! ✈️

The Overstory

BarbaraBB @GatheringBooks Sometimes I am so fed up with American fiction 🤷🏻‍♀️ and I enjoyed Overstory but this one is way better! 2w

GatheringBooks @BarbaraBB i hear what you‘re saying - fiction from US, Canada, UK - hence the reading challenge. I am aching for stories from elsewhere and everywhere else. Btw, powell‘s made a list of 25 books to read before you die - world edition. I was hoping to get to them this year (and the next), hopefully. 💕 https://app.thestorygraph.com/reading_challenges/cca42756-6a6c-49de-93ab-cf4f3f7... 2w

BarbaraBB @GatheringBooks Thanks. That‘s a cool list. I read most of them when reading Boxall‘s #1001books to read before you die 2w

84 likes3 stack adds14 comments

BarbaraBB

Long Island Compromise: A Novel | Taffy Brodesser-Akner

bailed

SUCH an annoying bunch of people who keep ignoring their telephones and keep making stupid, hysterical decisions. All because of the kidnapping of their father decades earlier? I don‘t even want to know. I feel as irritated as I did when reading Fleishman. Although I managed to finish that one.
Note to self: ignore future works by this author!!

#ToB25Longlist

TheBookHippie I felt exactly the same. Bamboozled. 1mo

ShyBookOwl 😅 1mo

Ruthiella It‘s a relief for me to know there‘s an author I can skip because we aren‘t ever going to get along. It makes that enormous pile of potential titles just a little bit smaller. 1mo

See All 16 Comments

squirrelbrain At least you tried! 😬 1mo

BarbaraBB @TheBookHippie Glad to know that!! 1mo

TheBookHippie @BarbaraBB if we both don‘t like it 🫣😵‍💫🤪 that says A LOT 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣♥️ 1mo

BarbaraBB @TheBookHippie Definitely! 1mo

Magpiegem I felt like this about her last book 😂 1mo

Reggie Nooooooo don‘t say that. I bought this the other day. But I did like her other book. So there‘s that. 1mo

BarbaraBB @Magpiegem You mean Fleishman? I hated that one too. And It‘s practically the same. Rich people nagging 😩 1mo

BarbaraBB @Reggie Then you‘ll probably like this one. It‘s basically the same book 🤣 1mo

Magpiegem @BarbaraBB yes! I had really high hopes for it, but I was so glad when it was over 😂 1mo

CarolynM I didn‘t hate Fleishman but I didn‘t like it enough to want to read anything else she might write 😆 1mo

sarahbarnes Oh boy - I have this one on hold right now. I haven‘t read Fleishman but this doesn‘t make me want to read this one… 1mo

BarbaraBB @sarahbarnes I am not very subtle and many people like it but I‘d say forget about it. So many better books out there! 1mo

Suet624 Wow! Taking a stand! 😂😂 I‘ve been shying away from this one even though I liked Fleischman. So I‘m glad to hear your opinion. 1mo

69 likes16 comments

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