Thank you to Litsy tech support for helping me get back on here after many months of disabled Facebook sign-ons! As a huge fan of The Nix, this book did not disappoint. Incredibly impressive, deep, disturbing, inspiring. The algorithms section was virtuosic and I‘ll remember it for a long time. Bravo!

Agreeing with the consensus that while good, this sequel doesn‘t quite measure up to the original. That‘s ok; Arthur Less is a character well worth revisiting.

Classic Neal - super long, hits its stride midway through, lots of food for thought about the future, this time about potential climate disaster and the consequences of possible solutions. I‘d read anything of his at this point.

Finally tackled a long-ago recommendation from a good friend. Unlike anything else I‘ve read. Thoughtful, energetic, mysterious, beautifully written…won‘t be my last Diski. I‘d like to try a novel of hers now (these are short stories).

Technically this book is about the narrator tracking down his wayward wife and stolen car, but somehow feels like it‘s about much more - and I found myself laughing out loud frequently at Midge‘s observations and the crazy characters he meets on his adventure.

Extremely well written, quick read with much to consider on memory and the fragility of life. I‘m still not sure which of two competing interpretations of the book‘s ending I think “actually happened” - if anyone out there wants to discuss, I‘m so curious to hear other opinions!

Resolving in 2023 to read at least a little bit every day, a habit which I abandoned for much of the last year or more. This bizarre novella was my first foray into Lispector and while I think my younger self would‘ve fallen in love with its seemingly intentional complexity and opacity & struggle with unanswerable questions, I still found much to enjoy here.

Very well done. Protagonist Ray perseveres through a grueling series of obstacles, including constant, viscerally disturbing racism - a testament to Slocumb‘s writing skill. But that skill is equally on display during the musical performances and in the relationships between characters.

This book begs to be compared to Circe and Song of Achilles, but its carefully interwoven narrative, diverse array of POV characters, and absolutely stunning writing helps it stand out from Miller‘s excellent offerings. Loved it.

Highly enjoyable deep dive into a unique family and surrounding characters. I felt it was maybe 100 pages too long and repeated certain themes slightly too much (estrangement, characters grappling with identity without much development) but the writing was excellent and the characters were vibrant and memorable.

Completely bonkers. I am not one to shy away from monstrous, thematically complex doorstops of books; and parts of this book were amazing. I just feel like it suffered from one or two too many “big ideas” and total narrative mayhem - much too long feeling like I was inside the mind of a raving lunatic with no respite.

As an Ishiguro fanboy, I didn‘t find this to be quite up to the standard of Remains of the Day, Never Let Me Go, or even the Buried Giant, which I really liked despite its more mixed reviews, but still plenty to enjoy and think about here, with a unique and believable AI narrator and some hints of a future dystopia.

I finished a book! I actually started this at some point in 2020, and got derailed by a wild year (two moves, new job, etc.), but somehow was able to pick this right back up without missing a beat. Rating this a pick for sheer ambition and creativity, despite my frequently furrowed brow while reading.

I loved The Eyre Affair and was really excited for this based on the blurb, but I kept waiting for a twist or curveball that would allow it to transcend basic, surface-level satire, and it never came. Some nice moments, and certainly creative, but not a home run for me.

Impressive. A review on the back cover said it quite well - a perfect blend of Dickens and McCarthy. It‘s a little uncomfortable how effectively the book humanizes a notorious outlaw and murderer, in fact, but Carey deftly and often painfully shows how firmly Ned Kelly is trapped by his life‘s horrific circumstances. With no way out, we all might have a little outlaw in us.

Delightful, surprising, razor sharp dialogue and lush prose. Will definitely be checking out A Gentleman in Moscow.

Harris gets a lifetime pass from me for his Cicero trilogy, though this book was far more contemporary. But I also like movies and books about financial systems gone awry, and this was a really fun thriller in that mold.

A fever dream of a book - despite the grim premise (the devil comes to Moscow) it was more lighthearted (and funnier) than I expected. The footnotes gave important historical context that helped me understand the novel better, but it stands on its own just fine.

Unbelievably creative and engrossing sci-fi. Liu often gets bogged down in the technical details of some of his futuristic concepts, which might turn some off, but I actually really appreciated his obvious depth of physics and astronomical knowledge and found even those parts interesting. Also packed with keen sociological insight.

An 880-page monster (typical of Stephenson) that gets progressively crazier until a completely bonkers last 100+ pages; this would not be the book of his that I‘d recommend as an entry point but on the whole I greatly enjoyed it. As always, major respect for ambition and creativity - I do agree with other reviewers that the book definitely loses some steam in the latter portions, though.

A little bit maddening with how many characters and events are introduced and left completely unexplained, but the pace is quick and the characters are compelling. Anybody have any insights on whether the series picks up steam as it progresses? I‘m definitely going to give it at least another book to establish itself.

Portions of this book were incredible, but I can‘t help feeling that either something was missing in the execution somewhere, or that perhaps I simply don‘t fully relate to Winterson‘s depiction of the kaleidoscopic complexity of love. The section that enumerated different tissues and cells also felt out of place to me. Nevertheless, rating Pick for ambition and many exquisite and highly quotable passages.

Finally finished the Old Filth trilogy - perhaps being in England was the extra motivation I needed. The three books share such an odd, charming writing style.

No better time to revive my dormant Litsy page than while honeymooning with @LiteraryinLititz at a 3-day ‘reading retreat‘ on the eastern coast of England! If you‘re skeptical of modern social media and behavioral tracking (as we both are), this book provides a kind of 1984-lite experience, though I was hoping for a slightly more persuasive argument in favor of privacy and digital autonomy to contrast with the blind zealotry of the Circle.

Stunning. As other reviewers of this book have noted, 2666 tests readers‘ endurance to the outermost limits, both in terms of subject matter (part 4‘s relentless, harrowing violence in particular) and in length (900 pages of rich, complex prose). But I found the end result to be masterful, and well worth the effort.

Typical Pollock fare - expertly written and plotted, unflinchingly violent, darkly comedic. I think I prefer The Devil All the Time to this, but not by much.

Wow, what an odd, compelling book this was. I rate basically everything I read a pick, but I truly can‘t imagine recommending this to anyone (though it was rec‘d to me by an old college roommate). Features a bizarre third-person narrative that frequently and seamlessly shifts to first-person as many different characters including the author himself, a heaping dose of magical realism, and artful depiction of courtship, seduction, and love.

Finished this on the plane en route to Portland - dazzlingly unique science fiction that takes about halfway to really kick into high science-fictiony gear, and crescendos to complete insanity by the end. Will definitely have to check out the sequels.

Back on Litsy after a long hiatus not because I‘ve forgotten about it, but simply because I haven‘t finished a book in a while (I redirected most of my free time to Scrabble stuff for the last few months). Ready to get back on my reading grind. I really enjoyed this book, which manages to be about war despite almost no scenes of combat - it‘s more about perception vs. reality with respect to the lives of modern soldiers.

Having recently read Circe I had high hopes for this book, and it exceeded them. Again, there's no need to be a classics buff to appreciate the timeless storyline and superb writing. I just hope Miller tackles more storylines from mythology/epic poetry soon.

Hard for a book to be simultaneously hysterically funny and deadly serious - this book was exactly that. The book is set in an Irish boarding school and follows a group of young boys, but the themes are very adult (including drug abuse and allusions to sexual abuse). I'll definitely be reading whatever else Murray puts out.

Unique structure, engrossing narrative, and riveting, disturbing conclusion. Really enjoyed this one. It's not an overly violent book despite the title, with the exception of the climactic scene. It's something closer to Rashomon set in the Scottish countryside.

A total blast...so well written and immersive. Recommended to anyone with even a passing interest in mythology or fantasy.

This one will stay with me a while. My natural inclination is to be dubious of style-over-substance "tricks" like the book's unique narrative structure, but I felt it was well executed and appropriate here. I could easily understand if it was a bit too bizarre for many readers, but I was impressed. I wondered how this could ever be made into an audiobook, but after Googling and seeing the voice cast, I'll have to listen to it someday.

@LiteraryinLititz really got into this one, so I decided to try it too. Intriguing premise, artfully written - several times Wilson defied my expectations for how a scene or plot point would turn out. Will have to try reading his other books.

For as big a baseball fan as I am, I hardly ever read any books about it. The book has three threads - I loved the in-depth history of each different type of pitch, didn't mind the inning by inning recap of Felix Hernandez' perfect game, and was bored by McDermott's account of his upbringing and hometown. I might recommend it to a Mariners fan or huge baseball nerd.

It certainly took me long enough to finish this one, but I'm glad I did. The core mystery component was great, but the period-piece stuff about different monastic orders and philosophical meditations often felt like frustrating distractions from the main narrative. Have to follow up with something a little livelier.

I seem to rate everything "pick" even if it's a book I'd recommend to almost nobody, but I can't give this anything else. My first Bernhard - 170 pages, one gigantic stream-of-consciousness, Kafkaesque paragraph from an unreliable narrator with more than a little Salieri in him as he is both inspired and tortured by the genius of the pianist Glenn Gould. Not an easy read, but I was gripped.

Such a treat to get all of St. Aubyn's biting wit from the Patrick Melrose novels without the accompanying heavy dose of gloom. The book is about a thinly veiled Booker Prize and the hilariously absurd process of picking a winner. I was uncomfortable for a while with the dichotomy between "good" literature from the white guy and "bad" literature from non-traditional authors, but to avoid spoilers I'll just say I'm no longer concerned.

This deep dive into lexicography and how dictionaries get made was littered with anecdotes sure to delight any word nerd - as a Scrabble player I have different relationship with dictionaries than most, but it was cool to see the Merriam-Webster dictionary from a different angle.

This book's compact size belies its impact - it's packed with devastating moments and raw emotion. It's similar to My Absolute Darling - a monstrous, charismatic father and his tortured relationship with his kids. As I often do with this sort of book, I'll call it a qualified Pick...only for those with high literary pain tolerance.

Really enjoyed this. Stephenson can do no wrong as far as I'm concerned, but Galland's influence was a welcome addition - sometimes NS's casts of characters feel like variations on the same theme, but DODO has a vibrant, varied cast of narrators/characters. Magic and time travel combined with a typically intricate Stephensonian plot is a winning combo. My only gripe - so, so many acronyms. There's room for a sequel and I hope it happens.

I really enjoyed this - really high caliber writing, and the eponymous Arthur Less is an amazingly vibrant character. I laughed out loud more than once, and the ending was very satisfying.

An engrossing psychological thriller with an ending that meets the apparently considerable hype. Now I understand @LiteraryinLititz gasping in shock at the final pages!

Harris has a gift for making stories set thousands of years ago feel like modern thrillers, and Pompeii was no exception. I'll have to try one of his books set in the present day sometime.

Huge haul from Brookline Booksmith for @LiteraryinLititz and me today! This place kicks ass. I found so much stuff I've been hunting for forever.

Brilliantly written, but unrelentingly brutal. Turtle is as vivid a protagonist as I can recall. I seem to be gravitating towards these types of books lately - need palate cleansers!

Wow. Extremely ambitious book about four parallel lives of one character. Occasionally felt gimmicky to me (still processing the ending...) but overall I'd say Auster pulled it off. Chock full of sprawling, crescendoing paragraph-long sentences. I thought it was gorgeously written but could understand if other readers felt differently.

Finished this as a warmup for Auster's 4321 with the aid of my snazzy new book sleeve from @LiteraryinLititz - these are not your usual detective/mystery novels with tidy endings that bring everything together. These stories are equal parts mystery and deconstruction of mysteries - but although normally books that are overtly postmodern make me roll my eyes, this worked for me.

What an innovative approach to a murder mystery - a book within a book! Poirot approves! Thanks to @LiteraryinLititz for recommending/not spoiling the surprises.