Litsy

The Wedding People: A Novel | Alison Espach

pick

I was afraid this would be one of those “what is all the hype?!” books where I have the unpopular opinion. However, I really liked it and all of the emotions the various characters felt throughout. Not overly fluffy or heavy. Just a nice balance & a book that made me think about enjoying this journey.

CBee I felt the same but ended up LOVING this. 4m

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GatheringBooks

The Wedding People: A Novel | Alison Espach

#DynamicDs Day 2: #DoubleLetterTitle and it happens to be DD too! Awesome. I am still disappointed this did not win over James, but c‘est lavie. 💕

Eggs, Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

BarbaraBB Me too but I do think Everett deserves every price. He is so good but I just didn‘t like James that much. 2d

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks I enjoyed this one!! 2d

GatheringBooks @BarbaraBB i definitely enjoyed James. But I loved the wedding people more. Plus, i thought the ToB was all about the literary underdogs, at least as far as I understand it. James is super not an underdog. 1d

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BarbaraBB Yes I agree and that‘s why I didn‘t want James to win either. But there many not-so-underdog books shortlisted this year unfortunately. The longlist was much better than the shortlist! 1d

GatheringBooks @BarbaraBB very interesting! As with all awards, i assume it is evolving. 💕 24h

Eggs Enjoyed this one! 13h

43 likes6 comments

Bookwormjillk

The Wedding People: A Novel | Alison Espach

pick

Finally got around to this one for #TOB25

I assumed this would be total fluff (not that there‘s anything wrong with that) but it was pretty deep albeit in a fluffy way. I liked what it had to say about taking care of yourself, finding the true you as you get older, loneliness, and grief. I loved how the author handled the pandemic. It made me laugh too.

Not my favorite short list title, but I can see why so many people love it.

BarbaraBB Glad you know now what all the buzz is about! 5d

kspenmoll In my TBR -one day…. 5d

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OutAndAbout

The Wedding People: A Novel | Alison Espach

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A suicidal divorcee arrives at a hotel and ends up being the catalyst for a weeklong wedding extravaganza. Recommended for anyone whose ever felt lost in their own life.

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BarbaraBB

The Wedding People: A Novel | Alison Espach

It was to be expected that The Book Censor‘s Library didn‘t stand a chance against The Wedding People. So we‘re left with two very popular books left in the #LitsyToB25: TWP and James (James is a finalist in #ToB25 too).

Please vote one more time for your favorite and I‘ll see you on Monday for the final match! Have a good weekend. https://forms.gle/QksJX14ZcJMmmYij7

BarbaraBB @Bookwormjillk @Suet624 @cariashley @Soscha @AmyG @squirrelbrain @Butterfinger @kspenmoll @Lesliereadsalot 7d

BarbaraBB @Hooked_on_Books @ImperfectCJ @ChaoticMissAdventures @kwmg40 @GatheringBooks @Deblovestoread @Jas16 @BkClubCare @sarahbarnes 7d

BarbaraBB @CarolynM @Kristy_K @Chelsea.Poole @Megabooks @AnneCecilie @fredthemoose @Well-ReadNeck 7d

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sarahbarnes Two great books indeed. Although not the type of TOB books I hope for! Oh well, it seems like the tournament may never be what it used to be. 🤷🏻‍♀️ At least we still have the longlist every year! 7d

ChaoticMissAdventures @sarahbarnes what book(s) from the long list were you rooting for? There were a few I was sad didn't make the shortlist. 7d

ImperfectCJ I appreciate that the judge in today's official ToB decision addresses the challenges of reading fiction in times like these. It can feel indulgent while at the same time feeling essential (at least to readers). Her comments remind me of how blown-away I felt when I read James and how important fiction is (although it doesn't take much to convince me of that). 7d

sarahbarnes @chaoticmissadventures I would‘ve liked to have seen Ghost Roots, Banal Nightmare, and Poor Deer on the shortlist. Which ones were you rooting for? 7d

BkClubCare Today‘s TOB readthru made me glad that I read The Safekeep 7d

BkClubCare @sarahbarnes - Poor Deer is such a great read! (The author admitted that she was relieved to not have it on the short list.) 7d

BkClubCare AND as much as I cheer for and (believe it or not,) continue to learn more to appreciate of James, I am choosing The Wedding People as it was my favorite read of 2024! 💒🍾 🌊 (edited) 7d

AmyG Thanks for the book rec of Poor Deer. 6d

Bookwormjillk I‘m torn about who to vote for. I have to think about this. (About 1/3 through Wedding People.) I loved Help Wanted from the long list and thought it should have taken George‘s place. 6d

Hooked_on_books Boo!!!! I loved TWP, but BCL is such a special book! I‘m not surprised, of course, but very disappointed more people didn‘t see in it what I did. 6d

ChaoticMissAdventures @sarahbarnes so many of us liked Poor Deer, it is sad it didn't make it in. I also really enjoyed I Cheerfully Refuse. There are a few on the longlist I still want to read eventually Cahokia Jazz and Small Rain look great. 6d

sarahbarnes @ChaoticMissAdventures yes! I want to read all three of those. Good to hear you enjoyed I Cheerfully Refuse. 6d

kwmg40 Two excellent books for the final! 6d

GatheringBooks Woohoo!! Voted!!! Thank you for the opportunity of participating. I have yet to finish around three books or so but this has been a fantastic experience. Til next year! 💕💕💕 6d

BarbaraBB @BkClubCare How cool that the author was glad Poor Deer wasn‘t shortlisted! And I totally agree @sarahbarnes , none of my longlisted favorites ended up on the shortlist 6d

BarbaraBB @GatheringBooks Very happy you enjoyed it and to have you participating ❤️ 6d

BarbaraBB @Hooked_on_books I voted for it because I think it deserves more audience but it didn‘t stand a chance 6d

BkClubCare @Bookwormjillk - g2k, will stack Help Wanted. I need to glance again through the long list. 6d

BarbaraBB @ChaoticMissAdventures @Chelsea.Poole @Suet624 @Kristy_K @kspenmoll Voting for the winner is a draw so far. Your vote can make the difference. If you want, please do so! Thanks!! 😘 4d

ChaoticMissAdventures @BarbaraBB thank you for the reminder!! I got distracted yesterday 💃 4d

Suet624 Oops - thought I had done this. Thanks for the reminder. 4d

BarbaraBB @Suet624 @ChaoticMissAdventures Thanks!! 4d

Kristy_K @BarbaraBB Thanks for the reminder! Just voted. 🙂 4d

59 likes26 comments

vonnie862

Off the Map | Trish Doller

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Aww! My husband and I really enjoyed this book! We listened to the audiobook and enjoyed all the things that reminded of us. We love to travel and hike. Our favorite places were mentioned and we enjoyed the chemistry between the main characters. It was also emotional with Carla's dad as he went through dementia. It broke our heart. 4.5 ⭐️

#foodandlit2025 @Texreader @Catsandbooks #ireland

Catsandbooks 👏🏼🇮🇪💚 1w

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BarbaraBB

The Wedding People: A Novel | Alison Espach

Happy birthday Jen 🎈!

Another very hard choice in the #LitsyToB25: The History of Sound vs The Wedding People, two absolute favorites. An almost equal score, but The Wedding People has won in the end.
It's not the end though, for The History of Sound. It will return as a zombie!
I'll annouce both 🧟 🧟‍♀️ shortly - along with another GForm for you to vote.
In the #ToB25 we were facing Irena vs Margo and again Irena wins. What‘s happening?

BarbaraBB @Bookwormjillk @Suet624 @cariashley @Soscha @AmyG @squirrelbrain @Butterfinger @kspenmoll @Lesliereadsalot 1w

BarbaraBB @Hooked_on_Books @ImperfectCJ @ChaoticMissAdventures @kwmg40 @GatheringBooks @Deblovestoread @Jas16 @BkClubCare @sarahbarnes 1w

BarbaraBB @CarolynM @Kristy_K @Chelsea.Poole @Megabooks @AnneCecilie @fredthemoose @Well-ReadNeck 1w

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Bookwormjillk I can't believe I still haven't read Wedding People! 1w

BarbaraBB @Bookwormjillk You obviously should. It‘s very popular among the #LitsyToB25 participants! 1w

AmyG Happy Birthday @Jas16 🥳🎂🎉 1w

Jas16 Thanks for the birthday wishes @BarbaraBB @AmyG I honestly thought History of Sound would be our winner today so I am surprised and pleased by today‘s results. Not so much the other tournament. 1w

cariashley I said “ugh” out loud when I reached the end of the official judgment today, though I fully expected it. Margo is great but I knew it was just too flighty to go any further with the judges (same with Wedding People). 1w

squirrelbrain Happy Birthday @jas16 - glad you got your birthday wishes with our results! 🥳 Let‘s just ignore the main tournament shall we?! 🤣 1w

Deblovestoread Happy birthday @jas16! 🎂🎈📚🎉 1w

BarbaraBB @cariashley I agree. I expected the judges to find Margo and The Wedding People not ToB‘ish enough! 1w

Bookwormjillk Happy birthday @jas16 🍰 🍰 🍰 1w

Hooked_on_books This was a hard choice for me, as I really liked both these books. I‘m not surprised the official tourney chose Irena. It‘s what they do. 1w

Jas16 @squirrelbrain Thank you! And agreed. Another reason to be thankful for the Litsy tournament which I agree with more often than not and when I do disagree I can appreciate why. 1w

Jas16 @Bookwormjillk @Deblovestoread Thank you both so much! 1w

CarolynM I read about 20 pages of Irena before my irritation with it became too great to continue. This is the sort of writing the ToB likes? Sheesh! 1w

BkClubCare Yay Wedding People! 1w

64 likes17 comments

BarbaraBB

The Wedding People: A Novel | Alison Espach

Today we had another obvious winner: The Wedding People. It is remarkable popular on Litsy and it's the #LitsyToB25 favorite of Myra, Care & Theresa. However, many will be sad to see Margo go (Chelsea & Carolyn's favorite book).
Fortunately, Margo advances in the #ToB25 where it knocked-out Liars.

🚨It is time to vote for the Semi Finals! 🚨Please fill in the form today as the tournament continues tomorrow! https://forms.gle/crtE6SZcqVW1fkid9

BarbaraBB @Bookwormjillk @Suet624 @cariashley @Soscha @AmyG @squirrelbrain @Butterfinger @kspenmoll @Lesliereadsalot 2w

BarbaraBB @Hooked_on_Books @ImperfectCJ @ChaoticMissAdventures @kwmg40 @GatheringBooks @Deblovestoread @Jas16 @BkClubCare @sarahbarnes 2w

BarbaraBB @CarolynM @Kristy_K @Chelsea.Poole @Megabooks @AnneCecilie @fredthemoose @Well-ReadNeck 2w

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Bookwormjillk It says I need access to vote 2w

BarbaraBB @Bookwormjillk I changed the settings and the url above. Does it work now? 2w

Bookwormjillk @BarbaraBB yes, thank you! 2w

Suet624 Both books surprised me. I went in assuming they would be fluff and they weren't. Sorry to say goodbye to Margo but happy for Wedding People. 2w

AmyG Awesome. I loved this book. I bailed on Margo. 2w

ImperfectCJ I like both, but I'm sad to see Margo go. The official decision today was interesting to read. Sometimes I get to the end and have no idea which the judge will pick, but Judge Hughes was not subtle in her preference between Margo and Liars. I think there's more going on in Liars than she gives it credit for, but I get where she's coming from. 2w

Jas16 I am happy with both of today‘s outcomes but would not have been overly upset if either of them went the other way. 2w

cariashley Both are great in their ways, but I just loved Wedding People so much so am happy it continues to advance here. I thought for sure Liars would win this round in the regular tournament and I‘d be annoyed, so am pleased! As noted in the official commentary, Liars was a massive metaphor and those kinds of books always leave me cold. 2w

Lesliereadsalot I liked both of these books, but Wedding People got my vote for how surprisingly good it turned out to be. 1w

CoffeeAndABook Ha!!! I‘ve just recently read & absolutely enjoyed both books. But Wedding People just knocks any book out of the park, it just does 😁 1w

GatheringBooks Yay! Just voted! Will get to Margo soonest but Wedding People really captured my heart. 1w

Well-ReadNeck This was maybe the hardest decision for me so far. I would highly recommend both of these. 1w

Hooked_on_books This was my hardest vote of this round because I really liked both books. I would have been happy for either to win. I was sure Liars would prevail in the official tourney, as I think it‘s the better book, so I‘m curious to read the judgement and see how the judge got there. 1w

BarbaraBB @CoffeeAndABook So many people loved it! It now goes on to our semi finals! 1w

BarbaraBB Like many I was surprised by The Wedding People and while I liked Margo too it didn‘t make such an impression. 1w

BarbaraBB @cariashley I had no idea it was a metaphor. So interesting! 1w

sarahbarnes I loved both of these, but I agree with you that Wedding People won out with me so I‘m happy for this outcome. 1w

squirrelbrain Like most of us, I loved both books, but preferred Wedding People. I‘m surprised by the ‘official‘ judgement though. 1w

CarolynM Although I voted for Margo I liked Wedding People a lot too. I also liked Liars a lot. I‘d have been happy for any of them to win. 1w

kwmg40 I liked both books, so I'm happy with the outcomes in the ToB and our tournament. 1w

BkClubCare And CHEERS for books that can be “fluffy” AND LITERARY !!! Book reviews reveal so much bias? I liked Margo, was more worried that my mom was also reading and not sure what she would think… and that I also thought Liars was such rage. . . Which is “better”? It depends on! (edited) 1w

BkClubCare But I so enjoyed TWP and think it the easier recommendation. Yikes 1w

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