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#ToBlonglist
review
Hooked_on_books
Short War | Lily Meyer
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Bailedbailed

Other Littens are loving this #TOBlonglist book, but it just isn‘t working for me. I don‘t like the writing. And even after setting it aside for a week and picking it back up, still no go.

review
Hooked_on_books
How We Named the Stars | Andrs N. Ordorica
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Mehso-so

I‘m afraid this #TOBlonglist book just didn‘t work for me. It should be so affecting, dealing with queer coming of age, first love, and grief. But it fell flat for me with a very sappy ending. I have to agree with @BarbaraBB that it felt very YA, not in a good way. Plus, I hate the cover, which reminds me of bad wallpaper.

BarbaraBB Yes and it has nothing to do with the story. 2w
53 likes1 comment
review
Hooked_on_books
Blood Test: A Comedy | Charles Baxter
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Panpan

When the #TOBlonglist came out, this one looked right up my alley. A man gets a new blood test that tells him he has a tendency for criminality and will kill someone, but it‘s funny. Problem is, it‘s not so funny (but thinks it is), then takes a wild turn away from the premise halfway through and doesn‘t hold together. I wish I had bailed.

ChaoticMissAdventures That is a bummer. Many of the books on the list this year seem to be wild misses for a lot of people. 2w
squirrelbrain Glad I didn‘t get this one then! 2w
55 likes2 comments
review
ChaoticMissAdventures
I Cheerfully Refuse | Leif Enger
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Pickpick

4.25❤️ it looks like this is getting mixed reviews here, I fall better inline with the GR reviews. I loved this. I do think the blurb is misleading. Calling it Orphean is not right. Our MC Rainy does lose his wife and goes on an adventure but the adventure is him finding himself. The book is written in a Greek tragedy vibe and style which I loved, and once I got over the expectations of the synopsis I really loved the whole thing. #ToBlonglist

dabbe 🖤🐾🖤 4w
44 likes1 comment
quote
ChaoticMissAdventures
I Cheerfully Refuse | Leif Enger
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"He lifted his head. "Yes, that would be nice - I'm sorry, I don't mean to be such awful company. It's the times. The times are so unfriendly. Play me something, would you, Rainy?"

A poinent passage that feels too close to reality right now.
#ToBLonglist

Suet624 Yup 4w
26 likes1 comment
review
Hooked_on_books
The Coin: A Novel | Yasmin Zaher
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Panpan

I suspected this would not be for me and indeed it was not. It occasionally felt like it was going to veer close to an understandable metaphor, but instead of getting there would then throw in a deliberately provocative sexual statement and I‘m never a fan of that, as I don‘t think it informs the story. #TOBlonglist

Leftcoastzen I was curious about this one , but lots of “so-so”& pan reviews (edited) 1mo
Hooked_on_books @Leftcoastzen There are people out there who love it, so I say grab it from your library and give it a go if you‘re curious. You never know! 1mo
57 likes2 comments
review
ChaoticMissAdventures
Real Americans | Rachel Khong
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Pickpick

#ToBLonglist
I really enjoyed this one. The characters were all interesting and believable. I loved how the idea of genetics and science was woven through but not a focus (don't be dissuaded if you are not into science). This book seems to tackle so much- generational family drama, coming of age, college life, all in a harmonious way.
My only note is that the author had a strange way of putting sentences together and I often had to reread them.

44 likes1 stack add
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squirrelbrain
Cahokia Jazz | Francis Spufford
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Pickpick

I *nearly* bailed on this ‘hardboiled detective‘ novel from the #ToBlonglist but persevered and, about 30% in, found myself caring for one of the MCs which turned the book around.

It could also be called speculative fiction as it‘s set in an alternative 1920s USA, where First Nations people live side by side with Blacks and whites, but still with the KKK on the rise and a ritualistic murder on a rooftop setting the whole town on edge.

rockpools Wow! There‘s a LOT going on there! 1mo
Megabooks I don't even remember registering that this was on the longlist! 1mo
BarbaraBB Neither did I @Megabooks but it does sound d tempting! 1mo
See All 7 Comments
squirrelbrain Now you made me go double-check @Megabooks @BarbaraBB in case I had it wrong! 🤪 1mo
squirrelbrain Yes, there was a lot @rockpools - I tried it on audio first but it was all too much. Particularly as the three races had similar sounding names - takouma, takata and taklousa. 🤔 1mo
Larkken This one looked interesting to me! Good to know about the audiobook 1mo
squirrelbrain It may just have been me @Larkken - I listen on my commute and it‘s very easy to drift off, thinking about work, if a book doesn‘t grab me straight away. 🤷‍♀️ 1mo
69 likes1 stack add7 comments
review
sarahbarnes
Scaffolding: A Novel | Lauren Elkin
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Pickpick

A strong pick for me from the #TOBlonglist. I loved the different storylines with their overlapping components, centered around an apartment in Paris, feminism, fidelity and motherhood. Some of the connections between the stories were brilliantly done. I got a little bored at times in the third part, but overall my kind of book.

BarbaraBB Glad you liked it that much. Not surprised though 👯 1mo
squirrelbrain Looking forward to this one! Great review. 1mo
CarolynM Great review 1mo
Lesliereadsalot I‘m in! 1mo
BekaReid This one is on my library hold list right now. Looking forward to reading it! 1mo
39 likes3 stack adds5 comments
review
Hooked_on_books
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Bailedbailed

This #TOBlonglist book actually looks like snarky fun that I would enjoy. But it‘s just not working for me right now. So back to the library it goes!

BarbaraBB It was a so-so for me too. Nothing special (edited) 1mo
ChaoticMissAdventures All the reviews are terrible, I might skip this unless it randomly ends up a zombie pick. 1mo
dabbe 🖤🐾🖤 1mo
sarahbarnes I get it. I liked something about it (and I grew up in the Midwest and could relate) but I didn‘t love it. 1mo
56 likes4 comments