Welcome to Litsy!

I have a goal to read more physical books in 2026 to lessen screen time. Starting the year with The Griffin Sisters. (And trying to remember how to post on Litsy since it‘s been a bit! 🤭)

I went into this book thinking it might be a more personal deep dive into the hidden abuses revealed in the shiny happy people documentary. It was more about Jill talking about how uncomfortable it was to be on camera all the time, the double standard of how her brother was treated by her father versus how she was treated, and later financial abuse. I‘m glad Jill found her way out of the fundamentalist stranglehold, but I think she‘s still in⬇️

Sisters Zoe and Cassie form a band and get famous, and their stardom only lasts for one year, when a tragedy breaks up the band. Zoe has since become a wife and mom, while Cassie has isolated herself in Alaska, and the two haven‘t spoken since the night the band broke up. When Zoe‘s daughter enters a reality show singing competition, she upends all their lives. Really good story, but Zoe was the literal worst, and Cassie was a 👇🏻

I know what her books are & are not. While not peak literary achievement, her characters are relatable and her storytelling is so familiar its comfort for me.
After a breathtakingly shitty few days I needed to let my self disappear into Weiners easy story and the world of the Griffin Sisters

Low end of pick scale. I wanted to like this more than I did, but I could never get invested in the lives of any of the characters. Cassie is whiny and mopey; Zoe and Cherry are manipulative and care only about themselves. Also, I know Cassie is fat — I do not need to be reminded of it a million times. Since I finished this less than halfway into my #audiowalk, I switched my nighttime book, How to Seal Your Own Fate, to my walking book.

A sci-fi bildungsroman featuring aliens & puzzles!

The Humans (Haig) meets Ready, Player One (Cline) — with some Magicians (Grossman) vibes thrown in for good measure (the MC is young, immature, & terrible to those who care the most).

This is a story about addiction, selfishness, & fear. Fortunately, it‘s also about cooperation, community, & hope.

Hank Green is more of a storyteller and an idea man than a writer of careful prose. 👇🏻

Zoe is quite manipulative, and it appears that her daughter, Cherry, inherited that trait. Zoe finally stepped up to the plate for her daughter, so that was good. I‘ve got a little over an hour left, so I should finish tomorrow. #audiowalk

“I wasn‘t as disconnected as I made myself out to be. Being annoyed by carefully crafted internet personas was part of my carefully crafted internet persona.”

Pictured: My Facebook profile. I‘m logged in using my phone‘s browser instead of the actual FB app because I‘m trying (with varying degrees of success) to be more disconnected. You know…for the persona. 😜 The astute among you may have noticed that my profile pic‘s been recently updated. 🙈