My #CloakAndDaggerChristmas is off to a nice start. I read this for the first prompt, "Do they know it's Christmas". It's a dark and satisfying novella that meshes the Gothic with the contemporary to good effect, and strikes the right tone for both murder and Christmas festivities, somehow! Lol. It's best to go in without knowing anything, and it can be polished off in one sitting, which is what I recommend. 'Tis the season! ?? @Ruthiella

This was heavy, sad, & at times very sluggish & too navel-gazey. It tells the story of a Palestinian-American woman's struggles with trauma. It's not a political book, but it does depict the ways in which our circumstances are shaped by politics. My issue is with the writing, which was clunky at times & at other times overwrought. It also brushed over money issues in a way that was unrealistic. Sometimes it read like YA. I wanted to like it more.

Mamdani is a lucid thinker, and writes with great clarity about the world that shaped what is now casually referred to as Islamic terrorism. As an anthropologist and political scientist he lays out the historical contexts of European colonialism and the Cold War to remind us that no situation arises out of thin air, but through careful cultivation by geopolitical superpowers. Informative. This was published in 2004; would love a current follow-up.

Thanks for the tag @Yuki_Onna !

1. Rashid Khalidi's The 100 Years' War on Palestine

2. I'm hoping to join the #CloakandDaggerChristmas challenge in December, and Celia Fremlin's The Long Shadow is my most anticipated read! 🗡️🎄

Feel like playing @Reggie @RaeLovesToRead @erzascarletbookgasm @Smarkies ? 🙂

#two4tuesday @TheSpineView

Another lovely treat from Noel Streatfeild aka Susan Scarlett. There's a loving family, a dashing romantic interest, department store intrigue, & intrepid dogs. I adored Scissors ? & his commitment to tail-thumping as a sign that he's listening as his lovelorn human drones on about a girl. I needed David to be a bit more mysterious & angsty, though ? And Dulcie! Oh my. Felt bad about the double standards for women but she was a great "villain"!

This is an unpopular opinion, but in contrast to Bunny which I loved, this one fell short. Awad's writing is mostly beautiful: lush, baroque, & frequently funny in the way it mines the slippages of language & the unconscious. But the novel is overlong, baggy, & convoluted, almost creaking under its own weight of heavy symbolism & myriad references to fairy tales & pop culture. Awad is best when her story is anchored in realism. From the middle 🔽

This book is wild & out there & unlike anything I've read in awhile, so I'm borrowing from translator Michael Berry's description in his afterword to sum it up: "I prefer to think of Hospital as a Terry Gilliam adaptation of a Franz Kafka story set amid a crazed Chinese Communist Party politburo". The dark undercurrents of the dystopian hellscape that is health care & tech surveillance merge with the speculative scifi of space Buddhism. WHEW ?

I thought I was someone who is easily frightened by horror stuff, but aside from some creepy moments, this was largely mild imo. Being compared to Shirley Jackson is a disservice to any writer, but because this is a spin on Hill House, the comparison will be made. Jackson's novel still gives me a cold feeling when I think about it. She created an unnerving atmosphere that lodges somewhere in your mind without having to use overt horror tropes.

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Here are my two picks for January 2024 #furrowedmiddlebrowclub ! Apologies for my delay; I've had to upgrade my Android phone but Litsy isn't available for Android anymore. So I'm hanging on to my old phone for Litsy use.

Kate Hardy is a novelist who arrives at a small village & immediately sets off a kerfuffle. And the other is another Susan Scarlett offering, but let's be honest, who among us doesn't like murder while we work? 😂 Please vote!

The Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars blurb is actually accurate for this one. A fun YA thriller that doesn't insult its characters or the reader. Some pretty heavy themes and the plot does require some suspension of disbelief, but I liked it.

Really glad that #NunLitQuarterly brought me to this book, because I wouldn't have picked it up otherwise. Loved the 1920s Cork setting, and very much liked Mother Aquinas as a character. Found it full of intelligent and thoughtful writing that immerses you in that time and place, and the Aquinas quotes that open each chapter were a bonus in terms of grounding the story in questions of ethics, politics, and morality. @jlhammar

I loved this collection of stories. Wharton's writing is as beautiful as ever, and although some stories are of course stronger than others, each one is like a perfect little gem. While not horrifying or macabre, the stories are disquieting, unnerving, with a hint of the gothic, and tend to reflect deeper themes involving marital discord, misogyny, and control around power and money. Can't go wrong with this one, imo 👻 #WhartonBuddyRead @Lcsmcat

I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected. In a time period of personal ups and downs and what seems to be the worst period of history to be alive, it was just the balm that I needed. It reminded me of Georgette Heyer, but a lot more feminist (women doing things, with a non-cringey romance in the background...) It was also longer than expected, but if this book is setting up to be the first in a series than I am definitely looking forward to more!

This was a lovely illustrated diary of a teenage girl that writer & artist Phoebe Wahl drew from her actual diaries. It is gorgeously nostalgic & teenage-angsty in a way that felt very relatable, & the artwork is warm & inviting. It's also unabashedly horny & romantic & "I have a crush so intense I will die" in a very organic way & I admire the body-positive message throughout. The music & theatre bits were my fave. Just a sweet & tender read.

This was clearly not for me, but I read till the end to see how it all resolves—and it resolves in a very bad way. Silly, and offensively silly at times. Furthermore, an insult to readers. And the author is proud to tell us it's her twentieth book.

This is from the author's afterword, which I don't agree with but provides a glimpse into the impetus behind the series. I appreciate his grand, romantic view of science & the wonder it inspires. The novel itself is frustrating & flawed because the writing ranges from the beautiful to the almost prosaic level of a Wikipedia entry. But I am fascinated about the themes that come up & am keen to read the rest before the Netflix series comes out!

It's been a pleasure having plenty of bookish discussions on Litsy with you @BarbaraBB 💙 Congratulations on your milestone and thank you for this generous giveaway #BBgiveaway

Scarlett Thomas is an intriguing author and I'm looking forward to the tagged book coming out in 2024. I'll tag @Centique and @merelybookish 🙂

A 1940s murder mystery set in New Mexico, this was different from the previous #goldenagecrimeclub picks & an enjoyable one in terms of atmosphere & a reliably batshit assortment of artists & wealthy patrons in a small arts community. Probably because of my recent frame of mind (frazzled), I found the mystery itself quite convoluted but enjoyed the book as a period piece & because I liked the vibe between the Jean & Pat. Needs more flirty banter

This collection of four novellas showcases Wharton's sublime prose & her psychological insight. All four novellas are special, but the standouts for me were The Old Maid & New Year's Day (the latter, as pointed out by @dabbe that reminds one of The Age of Innocence, as well as The House of Mirth, but somehow with an unexpected twist from Wharton in the sense of a hopeful ending!). It was so easy to fall into the rhythms of Wharton's narratives.

Devastating, infuriating, & kind of mind-blowing because of the vast machinery in place that makes so many of these deaths open-ended cases. I thought Grann does a great job of trying to put the pieces together to forge a narrative, but it does also feel like there a huge gaps—that he alludes to—because of missing sources. It just made me so mad that it's open knowledge but there's no justice. I'm really looking forward to the movie.

For #TitlesAndTunes in October my pick for #blues is the tagged. The song is one of my favourites from Fiona Apple's debut album, because when I think of blues, the lyrics play in my head: "And there's too much going on / But it's calm under the waves / In the blue of my oblivion"

@BarbaraBB @Cinfhen

"At least she was beautiful while it lasted. She was really very ordinary before..." This, in an essence, sums up this strange, beautiful, body-horror novel of the wellness & skincare industry. Things get gross, graphic, & very brutal, but it's all for that transient spell of beauty. How is beauty so soul-affirming when pursued through creative means (the arts) but so damaging when it's about manipulating insecurities via potions & procedures?

This was surprisingly solid & effective, with a kind of ending foreshadowing a series that I didn't mind at all. The author fictionalises the town of Whittier in Alaska, where the majority of the residents live in one building. It's a neat "locked room" concept to play around with, & I found the multiplicity of POVs interesting. Although, as is often the case, I do wish the strong & silent female leads in these books have more humour/personality.

This was such a treat, and it affirmed my belief that most things can be overcome if you assemble a little Scooby-Doo gang with which to do it! I liked the underdog elements of Stephanie and Arnold, and the good doctor at the cusp of being defrauded came off like a Trollope character. The romance angle made me root for the two in question—a rare feat, now that I'm old and cynical! Witty, but also sweet and tender. #FurrowedMiddlebrowClub

I thought this was terrific. It's a weird book that has its flaws, but I think it's a lot more interesting on racism & yellowface than, well, Yellowface. I feel that the stakes are higher in that everyone is implicated in this narrative, & it showed through slapstick set-pieces how racism actually works through institutions & people. There were little clever bits that had me snorting (the whole Japanese autofiction thing!). Odd, fun, compelling.

Just found out that there's a biography of Will Cather coming out in November! So exciting. Thought this would be of interest to the #catherbuddyread gang 🙂

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/672433/chasing-bright-medusas-by-benjam...

#Top10Summer2023 reads (June-August) @Cinfhen

Thanks for the tag, @BarbaraBB @youneverarrived !

Feel free to share yours @Bookwomble @Leftcoastzen @Cathythoughts @quietjenn @quietlycuriouskate @Graywacke

I thought this was terrific. It is utopian, & firmly in the category of science fiction, because it suggests that there will be a consensus to adopt hard measures to overcome the planetary wreckage brought about by capitalist development. It starts off as a horror story but ends in a manner that's both beautiful & earnest in a way that my fiction reading self wants to believe in, but my cynical side says is impossible to achieve in the real world.

It's already Friday morning but I thought I'll squeeze this in! Thanks for the tag @dabbe

1) Peter Wimsey & Bunter from the Dorothy L. Sayers' mysteries
2) Tracy & Dexter played by Katharine Hepburn & Cary Grant in The Philadelphia Story
3) Jess & Jules played by Parminder Nagra & Keira Knightley in Bend It Like Beckham (idc they should have been the couple! 💘)

#TLT Tagging anyone who would like to play!

This was my first Mrs. Bradley mystery, & I wasn't really expecting anything in particular so I liked it. Light, witty, & nothing to be taken seriously. It's best to simply surrender to the Sherlockian theme & try not to think too much about continuity or realism. I can imagine that these were written for holidays or train rides; nothing too taxing. Props to the "Hound of the Baskervilles" in this; can't go wrong with that! Lol #GoldenAgeCrimeClub

It's hard to read about what was going on behind-the-scenes with Jennette McCurdy in contrast to the bubblegum tone of a show like iCarly (that I recall watching with my nephews), & the kind of abuse that no one can tell is abuse because it passes off as helicopter parenting. Learning about the conditions of labour for child actors & the general factory-line methods at Nickelodeon was also rage-inducing. So much of everything is just so awful.

This book is such a muddle. Some passages of truly beautiful prose & lucid insight into the human condition, marred by a terribly ugly & reactionary worldview that made me feel trapped by a heavy sense of desolation as I read it. It's definitely a glimpse into the tortured psyche of D.H. Lawrence. But ultimately what comes through is a general hatred of people, especially "weak" people, & the types of difference that make people human & flawed.

A timely & horrifying book. Vaillant depicts with intensity & vividness the 2016 wildfires in Fort McMurray, Alberta that overtook the city. He described the hours leading up to it in great detail & I almost felt sick knowing what was coming. The picture inserts has one from someone who took it from his car as he & his family fled the town, & it was an infernal scene. The latter half of the book outlines our economic system's path of destruction.

People. Somehow the wrong ones are always the loudest.

(This book is eye-opening.)

This is marketed as a thriller, plus the cover & the title do the book a disservice. Through the story of one "Nigerwife" (ugh), a term used to describe the foreign wife of a Nigerian man, Walters deftly explores class & ethnic issues in contemporary Lagos & sheds some light on the varied experiences of British Jamaicans. It starts slow, & is more thoughtful than I expected. The insight into the Lagos super-rich is both compelling & depressing.

Sometimes all you need is someone like Uncle Carlo to hold your hand via these crônicas & reintroduce you to the wonder & strangeness of the world. These are short, brief pieces that reflect his belief in the marriage of science & arts, on the wholeness of disciplines in order to marvel at the complexity of life. I read a couple every morning to start my day & it was the perfect fit for #TheWorldIsMyOyster for #TitlesAndTunes @BarbaraBB @Cinfhen

"Exhaustion can drain your willingness to entertain the marvelous. But that unwillingness can provoke exhaustion too." Jamel Brinkley's collection of stories provide plenty of these moments, where a way of seeing the world is upturned in the next sentence. These stories are quiet & self-contained, but hold all of the potent force of what it means to make & live a life (as a Black person in the US). A delicate, masterly collection of stories.

I thought this was good & ambitious, but a low pick because the length of the book, with the story being extremely drawn-out, isn't really worth what little it finally ends up saying about most things. This is an "issues" book, but for a terminally online person like me it feels like a rehash of a twitter thread or an online article, without a satisfying payoff. Litfic writers doing genre shouldn't be afraid to go big with plot like Birnam Wood!

This is the grump checking in again for another #camplitsy23 review lol. I was utterly bored with this one until the end, & but unfortunately, being the end, it ended when I got interested 🙃 I found the entire narrative of this book flat, listless, lacking invention or energy. Life as we know it right now is a lot scarier than whatever this book tried to depict. The memory flashbacks were a snooze; the letters to the octopus felt like a gimmick.

Thank you so much for these lovely birthday presents and your beautiful note, Jessie! @erzascarletbookgasm I treasure your friendship and kindness ❤️ I haven't read both books; both are authors I've been meaning to read. And I absolutely adore the Snoopy "Joe Cool" pin! ?

I was worried that this tale of fantasy might come off twee; a spinster & a genie made me somewhat nervous! But I needn't have worried; the writer is extremely witty & had me laughing out loud from the start. There are tiny bits of Orientalism that are also self-critical & ironic, & Miss Carter's inner thoughts were a treat. As fellow #FurrowedMiddlebrowClub members have pointed out, this would have been delightful escapism for postwar readers.

This is my first ECR Lorac mystery & it won't be my last! It's set towards the end of WW2 in a Lancashire farming community, & I delighted in all of the lovely details of the countryside as well as the farm routines. This is like if Succession was a murder mystery set in 1940s rural England. There is an irascible patriarch, and an assortment of troubled children. Clever, well-written & with sound pace & structure; I enjoyed it. #GoldenAgeCrimeClub

Apologies if someone has already picked this song or if my choice is too obvious, but it's the most beautiful song to me about being at home in the world/making the world your oyster (in a different sense). Plus, it will always remind me of my dad ❤️ Carlo Rovelli is an Italian physicist I've been meaning to read (his books on time, & physics for a general audience) but I thought I'll start with this for #theworldismyoyster theme! #TitlesAndTunes

Sorry to be a #camplitsy23 grump but this was not for me. I probably should have bailed, but read on for camp & because I was curious about the romance. I've never been an SNL fan, so maybe the allure of that was lost on me, & the character of Noah felt totally empty & vacuous; a straight woman's wish fulfillment of a smoking hot male celeb with admirable, correct politics who's adept at therapy speak 😴 I couldn't take the character seriously.

This is such a bleak, nihilistic novel & I think when it arrived on the scene in 1985 it would have caused shock waves. The 80s I recall as a toddler was full of campy excess; this is resoundingly minimalist, with a young narrator already jaded beyond imagination. The events & actions around him are horrifying as hell; sex & drugs are mainly means of enacting violence or avoiding life. A good, scary read. #TitlesAndTunes #SexDrugsAndRockandRoll

I gained such admiration for writers & the act of constructing a book in reading this; Ernaux's elegant A Simple Passion is lovely, erudite, & concise, & it came out of a period of sexual & romantic obsession which is chronicled in great detail in Getting Lost, her unedited journal from that time. Reading the journal can often be boring & tiresome (it is so hard, from the outside, to understand a person's specific desire for someone who seems

I've fallen super behind on my reading (and buddy reads!) as my sister and niece are visiting from abroad and it's been really a lovely and busy time so far. Plus we made a little trip to Penang and I haven't been near the sea in so long—it was definitely what I needed! Something about the water ... restorative 💗

This is such a fantastic book to read after being blown away by Freshwater (You Made a Fool of Death was not for me). It's a memoir in letters & details the process Emeze went through in writing Freshwater, but it's also so much more: a document of queer life, of embodying Igbo ontology, the publishing industry, survival. So much was relatable, but it also taught me a lot. Like with Freshwater, I felt gifted with the ability to see differently.

I guess I kind of gobbled this up because it's fast-paced, & goes down easy, & I wanted to know what happens in the end. I found the ending sort of meh. After Babel, the book also confirms that Kuang is good at conveying social media-level political points & setting a scene, but can't quite depict psychological depth. It feels like a safe book in how it critiques everyone, so everyone is implicated, & the unlikeable narrator suffers. #camplitsy23