Litsy

Charlotte and Claudia Keeping in Touch | Joan Barfoot

so-so

In my small town, the restaurants are predictably mediocre. Occasionally there's a delicious surprise, but for the most part, the food here, while not bad ain't great either.
This book was like dining at a local restaurant. The story of two friends at near-70 reflecting on their life choices was pretty mediocre. Some wise insights were shared but most of the narrative reminded me of dining out on a serviceable steak served with too many fries.

sarahbarnes Great review. 😆 1w

LeahBergen 😆😆 I always hold out hope that at least the fries will be good. 1w

RamsFan1963 Ugh! You know the steak isn't going to be good when they load you up on fries 1w

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youneverarrived 😂😂 brilliant review 7d

MaureenMc This review 🤩🤩 3d

merelybookish @LeahBergen Things are pretty dire when the fries are bad! 😅 2d

merelybookish @RamsFan1963 like a salad that is mostly lettuce! 2d

merelybookish @sarahbarnes @youneverarrived @MaureenMc Thank you! It was fun to try and write. 😊 2d

55 likes8 comments

Darklunarose

Hagitude: Reimagining the Second Half of Life | Sharon Blackie

bailed

Having been warned about the anti trans sentiments in this book I‘m choosing to send it back without reading.

ravenlee Good to know; unstacking this now. 1w

Darklunarose @ravenlee I honestly wish that books had warning labels, and/or there was a website where you could find a list of books that are full of undesirable things….like transphobia, homophobia, etc. 1w

Clare-Dragonfly Yiiiiiikes. Off my list for sure. Thanks for the heads up. 1w

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Darklunarose @Clare-Dragonfly all thanks to @Bookwomble for the heads up! 1w

BookishMarginalia Thank you for letting us know. Off my list too. 1w

Deblovestoread Thanks for the heads up. 1w

lil1inblue How disappointing. But good info to know. 7d

49 likes7 comments

Darklunarose

Hagitude: Reimagining the Second Half of Life | Sharon Blackie

I have been wanting to read this for a long time….going to try a chapter every so often and get it down. I‘m close to my crone era.

Clare-Dragonfly I‘ve been curious about this book. Let us know how you like it! 1w

Bookwomble If you are Trans supportive, please be aware that this author is not, and that reviewers say one of the chapters in this book explicitly reflects that. 1w

Darklunarose @Bookwomble I‘m sitting here with the book open and about to start it this morning. Thank you so much for this warning. I‘m more than just passively supportive of the trans community, I‘m ferociously supportive. I have people in my circle who are trans. I refuse to do anything that would not be supportive. This one is now going in the discard pile. Thank you so much for that! I don‘t do abelism, lgbtqia hate, racism, misogyny, etc. 1w

Bookwomble @Darklunarose 🩵🩷🤍💖 I was reading a different book by this author and struggling with the writing style, so looked up reviews to check how others found it, and then saw the comments about this book, which were generally positive about the content until the terfy chapter, when many people bailed. Sad, but there are undoubtedly other books on the subject that are more inclusive ✊ 1w

Darklunarose @Bookwomble im going to keep looking. At 46 im sure im close to perimenopause…..and id like something from a spiritual side as i move into my crone era to read. But not at the cost of terf bs. 1w

51 likes5 comments

merelybookish

Charlotte and Claudia Keeping in Touch | Joan Barfoot

Me too, Claudia. Me too.
I often read the end of the book to relieve my anxiety. And a few years ago, I discovered my mother does too. Sacrilege perhaps but I still do it. (And it rarely reveals much.)

Ruthiella I do this too. 😊 2w

willaful When my daughter was first diagnosed, I had to do this even with hea guaranteed romance novels. Life was such an enormous question mark. 2w

LeahBergen My anxiety works in the opposite way! I can‘t have even a teensy peek at the end 😆😆 2w

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IriDas Same. Sometimes things are just too tense and you need to know to be able to go on with it. 2w

Lindy For me, it‘s not because of anxiety. I will occasionally read the ending if I am considering abandoning a book. If I feel encouraged by the ending, I will usually stick with the book to see how the author will get me there. 2w

merelybookish @Ruthiella @IriDas I feel so seen! Most people are scandalized. 😄 2w

merelybookish @willaful Yes, sometimes we need to make things easier when we can! 2w

merelybookish @LeahBergen You must avoid spoilers as well! My husband is the same. Meanwhile, I'm like, spoilers, yes please! 2w

merelybookish @Lindy Yes, I can appreciate that. Do you read a few pages? I generally find the ending doesn't tell me that much. But I typically only read the last page. 2w

willaful @Lindy I'll do that these days. I remember when I was reading Good Material I read the end and thought it was so excellent -- but still not good enough to suffer through the rest of the book for. ;-)

Good Material

Lindy @merelybookish Like you, I typically read the last few paragraphs or the last page. 2w

Lindy @willaful Sometimes reading the ending is enough for me. No need to go back to where I left off (usually somewhere around the middle) and read the part I skipped. 😁 2w

35 likes12 comments

squirrelbrain

The Weekend | Charlotte Wood

pick

This was wonderful - thank you so much for sending it to me! @Caroline2

Jude, Wendy, Sylvie and Adele have been friends for years. After Sylvie dies, the other 3 gather for a weekend, to clear out her house. Sylvie was the glue that held them together, so tensions arise and fractures appear.

I spent the whole time holding my breath, hoping that something terrible wasn‘t going to happen, particularly with the dog, 😬 but still loved it!

willaful Don't know how usefult his is for books but https://www.doesthedogdie.com/ 1mo

Suet624 I swear I read this book but I don‘t see that I reviewed it. 🤔 oh, I just looked on Goodreads and I gave it four stars. I felt the same way you did about it. (edited) 1mo

Caroline2 Oh good. I‘m glad you liked it too. 👍 1mo

squirrelbrain @willaful - that‘s a useful resource! 1mo

squirrelbrain @Suet624 - it felt very realistic, didn‘t it? 1mo

53 likes4 stack adds5 comments

bibliothecarivs

Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant?: A Memoir | Roz Chast

pick

★★★★★

4 likes

Anna40

Out of Time: The Pleasures and the Perils of Ageing | Elaine Showalter, Lynne Segal

pick

It‘s unfair to say that the book is shallow because Segal‘s research is so extensive.But somehow I missed a certain depth or insight that go beyond you shouldn‘t be afraid of getting old.And although I loved how many authors&literary works she quotes I would have also loved to hear more about what Segal thinks and feels&how she copes with ageing.She does describe this in part but somehow I felt her voice gets lost in all the quotes.

29 likes

bibliothecarivs

Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant?: A Memoir | Roz Chast

p. 47: 'Elizabeth, this is the most beautiful vest in the ENTIRE UNIVERSE!'

This panel made me laugh out loud at the coffee shop this morning haha 🦺😍

11 likes

bibliothecarivs

Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant?: A Memoir | Roz Chast

Started this recent acquisition for our personal library

🚫🗣💀

8 likes

Robotswithpersonality

Still Life at Eighty: The Next Interesting Thing | Abigail Thomas

I realized the book I just finished has one of my favourite covers of the books I've read this year, so I rounded up my favourites of 2025 so far. (The year I read them, not the year they're all published. 😅) I'm not surprised that blue-greens are a major component, but I'm also evidently a fan of a mix of bright colour, and singling out orange with green and pink with a bit of yellow. 1/2

Robotswithpersonality 2/2 Only a couple of the books that feature the gorgeous art they contain (picture books, graphic novels) make this list, because a lot of graphic novels and even picture book covers can be very cluttered in an attempt to showcase what's inside, above are the exceptions that let the art speak for itself, in my opinion. 💚🧡💗💛 (edited) 3mo

10 likes1 comment

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