Wow, all #tob25 for this month's favorites. It either says something about the quality of the longlist, or it's just a reflection of the fact that I read most of this month's books from the longlist so my favorites are statistically more likely to be from among those titles.
#WeeklyFavorites @Read4life
pickI wonder if this novel would have hit me quite like it did if I'd read it before January 20, 2025. Because right now it feels practically prophetic. But in addition to being prophetic, it's also a beautiful story of persevering through hardship and maintaining integrity (defined in this case as acting in alignment with one's core values) in a world geared towards profit and self-interest at all costs. #tob25 longlist
"But this was clear...he could not tell left from right. Which in itself was not the problem. The problem was that when he turned, and the world turned round him, he could not adjust. The evidence was not enough. He had no compass of his own, yet wouldn't follow the one before him, its trembling needle pointing out directions for anyone with eyes."
This quote hits hard, especially at this time in history.
"Lark and I once took life a year at a time. As the world shifted we went to a month at a time, later a week. At this point an hour would do. I'd take twenty minutes in the sun."
Does this novel stay devastating? I love it, but it's breaking my heart.
I bought a new plant. And I keep taking pictures of her. I think the cats are getting jealous. Not related to the tagged except that it's the book I keep looking up from to admire the plant.
pick4.25❤️ 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
Lake Superior is 350 miles (563 km) long (east to west), and its greatest width is 160 miles (258 km) from north to south
I am not a Midwestern girlie, and I have a hard time with distance. So reading this I have been curious as Rainy is spending weeks sailing around Lake Superior. I have always heard it is "big" but - greater than the combined areas of Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire!
"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
#FirstLineFriday @ShyBookOwl
"Here at the beginning it must be said the End was in everyone's mind."
I am really liking this one.
pickSet in a dystopian American future, Rainey and his wife are tucked away from the more severely affected areas of crumbling society in a small coastal town. But when a stranger comes to stay, the wider world follows, causing an event that sends Rainy to escape by boat. Enger is a fantastic writer, but his epic storytelling took precedence over building some of the relationships between characters. All the same, I was swept away and enjoyed it.
