Welcome to Litsy!

Claire Fuller is a hit-and-miss author for me.
It's not the book's fault I wasn't really in the mood for a pandemic story. However, it felt like three books cobbled together: a memoir of Neffy's earlier life, mostly in Greece; Station Eleven; and one of the recent crop of octopus books.
It had interesting things to say about grief, guilt and a desire to escape to the past rather than face present horrors. I'm not sure it succeeded in saying them.

I immediately grabbed this book off the library shelf because the name and the cover got my attention. It did not disappoint. This was a fast paced, raw, and direct. When a new pandemic with a high fatality rate that only affects men breaks out, it‘s up to women to keep the world running, and some of the glass ceiling finally breaks. One thing I liked about this book is it explores all the different intersections in an event like this. Think⬇️

4⭐️ Really enjoyed this #bookclub pick. Got into it much easier than the previous ones that I have read of hers. #2025 #indigineous #contemporary #fiction #covid19fiction

God, I love how she tells a story!
Without intending to, I ended up reading back-to-back pandemic books. The other was for library book group and had all the close-quartered sameness of that time. In contrast, ES delivers another of her quiet books and lets its rich and capacious interiority sing out.

As always, Shusterman asks a very interesting question in his latest YA science fiction story. What if there was a pandemic, one with a mortality rate higher than Covid, caused by a virus that, if you survived, left you feeling content…happy…unburdened by negative emotions, a need for money, a new found wonder for the world… How would you react? Would this be good for the world? Or bad? Really, really interesting story & a lot to think about.

Have to go with Shusterman to start the weekend…

Kate is struggling with self-isolating in November 2020, she breaks and goes for a forbidden walk in the hills of the Peak District. Her 16 year old son Matthew is home alone when he realises she‘s gone and turns to their elderly and vulnerable neighbour Alice. The fourth character is mountain rescue volunteer Rob, helping search for Kate. A third in, I was racing through this desperate to know the outcome. And when it comes, it packs a punch.

#BookMail from yesterday. Not sure when I‘m going to read this one, but I‘m guessing soonish since Shusterman usually delivers such great YA dystopian badness in the best way.

I found this novel to be both enjoyable and thought-provoking. How a virus can be seen as man's greatest threat and a saving grace, depending on where you stand. While the length of the book was intimidating, the pages flew by. I don't know how well this book will go over with a YA audience, but it works from an adult's perspective.

Yay for Tuesday and some new books ahead of a couple of days of snowy weather…

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