Hoping for a winner with this book over the holiday weekend. 🤞🏻 Guard dog on overdrive, too, so I know I‘ll be safe!

Another book that really underwhelmed me. I swear I still read books I like!! This is written in a similar vein as Jenny Offill or Rachel Cusk. The narrator explores the one-two punch of the end of her marriage and a breast cancer diagnosis. In a book where the MC experiences such terrible things, I would expect to feel sympathy, but she reads so detached from her own feelings and situation, I felt nothing. That was disappointing.

I am a fan of essay collections that are part memoir and part cultural criticism, and this is a v good one.

Yu is a former pin up model and early MySpace influencer, and she discusses that in relation to various Asian stereotypes like the (fake) “geisha”, dragon lady, submissive virgin, etc. She brings in books, TV, and movies as well as other Asian feminists‘ thoughts. She also discusses the effect of objectification by older white men. TW ⬇️

For me, this super buzzy (award nominations, President Obama‘s summer reading list) nonfiction was fine. The narration was fine. The story was fine. I just wasn‘t wowed by it nor was it bad. You would think a story of a couple caught at sea would be more exciting, but I found it blah. The sections on the rest of their lives were dull. Idk. I don‘t get the hype. 🤷🏻‍♀️

This didn‘t work for me like at all… I am not one to try to figure out twists but hers are so obvious, it‘s not fun from that perspective. Plus, purposeful cruelty is the worst trait a person can have for me, and there was over 50 pages of outright cruelty and emotional manipulation that made it a very difficult and unsatisfying read for me. Some books just don‘t work for some readers. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Okay y‘all, hear me out - at nearly 18 hours this audiobook is an investment, but for me, it paid dividends. Anderson weaves together the story of the fall of the Shaw, the obliviousness the American government, and the rise of Khomeini. Like I can‘t believe the Americans did not translate a single one of Khomeini‘s sermons. Almost no one in the *embassy* spoke Farsi or talked to any everyday people. I mean ffs y‘all!!

I chose to go on a date with the guy I‘m building a relationship with rather than see Kathy at Parnassus, and I don‘t regret the decision, but this book was fantastic!! The characters are exquisitely drawn. They felt incredibly lifelike. I would‘ve liked to ask Wang about creating them. Fell just short of perfect. 4.75⭐️ Read it!!

This was a fantastic audiobook. Very well reported. Walter looks at the extremely profitable world of rehab in the US. She examines lax regulations across the country and how they lead to harm. She wrote about a doctor that was an early and prolific prescriber of the MAT (medication assisted treatment) tool Suboxone and the trouble BIPOC people have accessing resources compare to white people.

I had a really good time at the BN 50% off sale today!

BOTM was a bust for me, so I felt free to fill my #aardvark box! What did everyone else get?

What Hunger and Moderation were already on my radar, but The Hounding sounded really interesting, too!

FYI, if you missed it on Insta, looks like the new Chuck Tingle, Lucky Day, will be a pick for September! 🎉🎉🎉

This was the tightest vote in a while - certainly tighter than my month last year (James/All Fours 😂) - but Woodworking won 25-18. In the end, I'm really pleased we had a month with great discussions about two books a lot of us enjoyed! Thank you all so much for participating and making this a fun month to lead! #CampLitsy25 @barbarabb @squirrelbrain

It is that time of the month! #CampLitsy25 readers please vote for your favorite book from July! It seems like many of us liked both books, so I'm curious to see which will come out on top. 🤔 Vote simply by putting the name of the book in your comment.

I hope all of you will be back for August! I think we may need to install AC first, though! (The corn sweat is killing us around here.)

@barbarabb @squirrelbrain

****THIS DISCUSSION WILL CONTAIN MAJOR SPOILERS**** Please be mindful of this if you choose to read it.

Brooke was certainly one of the most surprising and confounding characters in this book! I'm dying to know what y'all think! #CampLitsy25

@barbarabb @squirrelbrain

Last week we talked about Abigail as Erica's “trans mom,“ which rightfully made a lot of readers uncomfortable with the teacher/student and adult/teen dynamics already present. Abigail is a kid, and she definitely needed a mom herself. Two women stepped up to fill that void in this book. What do you think of Jennifer and Brooke and mother-figure to Abigail? #CampLitsy25

@barbarabb @squirrelbrain

This book had such fantastic characters, and I'm glad so many of you enjoyed it, too! Tomorrow, I'll make the post to vote for your favorite book of July. I have truly enjoyed leading these discussions for the 4th year, and thanks to all of you who make #CampLitsy25 so wonderful and enlightening!

I'll pass the mic to @barbarabb for August, which starts with Tilt by Emma Pattee next weekend. Hope to see you there! @squirrelbrain

Welcome to our first discussion of Woodworking! Don't forget there are two additional questions.

Helen, Barbara, and I all have busy Saturday's, but we will do the best we can to be present for the discussion.

I'm truly happy this book has seen such as positive response, and I hope everyone enjoys today's questions! #CampLitsy25

Helen Swee's quixotic campaign is a big part of the first half and a catalyst for Megan and Abigail's friendship. What do you think of Helen's campaign? #CampLitsy25

In addition to wondering about their friendship and Abigail's role as Erica's trans mom, there is the teacher/student dynamic at play, too. I think there's also something to question whether the nature of their relationship as appropriate for a teacher and student.

That's all for this week. Hope to see you back next week when we'll talk about the whole book! #CampLitsy25

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the #CampLitsy25 discussions about Death of the Author. They were better than I'd even hoped they'd be!

Next we'll turn to Woodworking by Emily St. James. I loved this book, and I hope everyone else enjoys it, too. And even if you don't, please join in the discussion!

July 19 we'll discuss through page 175, and then the reading for July 26 will start with “Abigail October 22“ on page 176.

Welcome to the final week discussing Death of the Author! Please feel free to discuss these questions in light of the whole book. I have enjoyed leading the discussion on this book and hope you've found it as enlightening as I have! I will post the page breaks for our second July book, Woodworking by Emily St. James, later this weekend.

Everyone will only be tagged in this post, but there are two additional questions. #CampLitsy25

We got into discussions about identity last week, and I hope you will all enjoy going deeper into Zelu's character and how Okorafor tackled identity in the book. #CampLitsy25

IMPORTANT NOTE - This discussion contains **MAJOR SPOILERS** so please be warned if you choose to read it before finishing the book.

Thank you all for joining us and continuing to make this experience fun! Next week we will start discussing the first half of Woodworking by Emily St. James. I will post page breaks later this weekend. Can't wait to see you back at camp next Saturday! Bring a fan because it‘s hot! #CampLitsy25

Hi everyone! Welcome to week 1 of our first July book, Death of the Author. As last month, I‘ll only be tagging everyone in this question, but there are two additional ones.

Friendly reminder if you‘ve read ahead to keep the discussion to the first half of the book. Excited to hear everyone‘s opinions!

Sorry for the late post. My neighbors were enthusiastically shooting off fireworks until 1 AM. 😬 #CampLitsy25

I loved the duel storylines in this book. Here‘s a chance to talk about the robots and their relationship thus far. #CampLitsy25

Last question this week. Hope to see you back next Saturday when we‘ll discuss the whole book! #CampLitsy25