Welcome to Litsy!

I had this sitting on my shelf for years and was happy that the #HashtagBrigade motivated me to finally read it. I suppose I'd put it off because of the heavy themes, including mental illness and suicide. The novel was indeed disturbing and difficult to read, but also engrossing, poignant and even really humorous at times.

A weak pick for me. I liked the dark humour and satirical observations but it was frustrating to see the main character make one bad decision after another!

#ToB25
#gottacatchemall (Luvdisc: pink cover) @PuddleJumper

Set in Tasmania, this is an unusual story told in an unusual way, from the points-of-view of a large number of characters, most human but some not.

Very glad I got to discover this talented author via #BookCrossing.

#gottacatchemall (Komala: dreamy character) @PuddleJumper

During an excursion for revenge on the knights that burned his goddess, her followers, and his home, Raef discovers a man trapped inside of a frozen box who upends the dismal reality Raef has lived in for more than a decade. Absolutely a new favorite. Outstanding world building and character development. Vivid character emotions, and fun relationship development. #LGBTQIA

Cambodian refugee Y-Dang Troeung's memoir contains fragments of stories from her life, photographs, and letters to her son, written as she battled cancer. The book is poignant, sad and informative. Tragically, Troeung passed away shortly before this book was published.

#52bookclub25 (Has short chapters)
#gottacatchemall (Goodra: recommended by a friend)

This was a reread for me. The story of black detectives investigating a series of murders in Mississippi, this was brilliant and darkly funny, as are all the Percival Everett books I've read.

#52bookclub25 (Final sentence is less than 6 words long)
#gottacatchemall (Marshadow: a book with a murder) @PuddleJumper

Feb check in for #GottaCatchemAll

How are we all doing?

I've got some that I'm close to catching but beginning of the year is very scattered for me

A mixed bag, as most short-story collections are, but definitely more hits than misses, and a few really memorable stories. A number of scenarios and themes reminded me of King's novels, and I wonder if he'd used these stories to try out ideas that he developed more fully later.

#LosersClub @BarkingMadRead
#52bookclub25 (Title starts with letter “N”)
#gottacatchemall (Dhelmise: ghost or spirit) @PuddleJumper

It was interesting to get into the heads of the young female competitive boxers featured in this novel. I liked how the author conveyed the intensity of the moment while also shifting to times in the girls' pasts and futures.

#ToB25
#gottacatchemall (Marshadow: fight or fighter) @PuddleJumper

Last weekend, our area got 30cm of snow, and it put me in the mood to read the next book in remote and wintry Rockton. It's definitely more fun reading about snow than shovelling it! This was a good page-turning mystery/thriller.

#52bookclub25 (Genre Four: Set in Winter – thriller)
#BookSpinBingo #DoubleSpin @TheAromaofBooks
#gottacatchemall (Whimsicott: storm or strong winds) @PuddleJumper