Welcome to Litsy!

Somehow very simple and yet fascinating. If you read the description of the book, it just talks about people becoming unexpectedly romantically entwined and then what happens after— thus, it took me a long time to convince myself to read it. Glad i did. I had a love/hate relationship with every character (except Burt- f*** Burt) and wanted to know how everyone‘s story ended up. One problem was the jumping timelines- that did get a bit confusing.

I have a new fav author! ‘State of wonder‘ was no fluke! What a fantastic book!! Family saga, intrigue, beautiful writing, fascinating characters, the whole shabam! It‘s a five star read from me! ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I brought six books with me on holiday. So far I‘ve had two bails and one so-so. 🙄 here‘s hoping my last three #dontletmedown 🙏🏻 #beatlemaynia
(I‘m loving commonwealth so far! 👍🏻)

Good ending but not much happens

This book just didn‘t interest me enough. I liked her writing but I just didn‘t care much about the characters. I feel like I‘m in the minority on this one. I read it for prompt #47 a book related to food. There were oranges on the cover so I went with that. #aroundtheyearin52books #aty2019

I'm a fan of everything Ann Patchett writes!

⭐⭐⭐⭐ CONFRONTING, SUPERB - all about the realities, the imperfection and banality of life and the power and tension of stepfamilies, siblings and the difficulties of people who don't choose to be connected, connecting. Her writing and ability to conjure the character in the moment is breathtaking at times. The opening orange juicing affair inducing drink making scene with stay with you forever.

I liked this book...I didn‘t love it but I liked the way it was written. Lots of drama. This book is about two families that go through difficulties and tragedies. Talk about dysfunction..destruction and loyalty. It bothers you all the chaos the characters go through but sometimes that‘s life. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Marriage, divorce, death and sometimes love weaves through this family story that spans generations. Unlike other reviewers, I didn‘t see malice or hate, but unfortunate circumstances and flawed, honest and believable characters. If you‘re like me, you‘ll finish with a feeling of melancholy - and gratitude that you just peeked in, but did not live through, the tale.

Breakfast and a few pages before heading to work. Happy Friday, everyone!

Had to put Oscar Wao down until I can print the annotations tomorrow: www.annotated-oscar-wao.com Trying to read without, but feel like I‘m missing too much. Drawn to Commonwealth in the interim.

@VanChocStrawberry Thanks for the extra goodies Jeni! What a nice surprise. I enjoyed this round with you, @Amanda61 and @BridgetteM (who is in my current #LMPBC Group 🤗). This was my first venture into what is now my Favorite Litsy Group! I tell all of my reader friends about this style of reading/annotating and how much it has added to my enjoyment and deeper understanding of books. As long as you don't mind marking up your books 😬😉

Thank you so much @Theshadedbuffalo I absolutely love everything!! You rock!!
#JB

When I picked up this book and was actually reading it I enjoyed it. I thought the writing was wonderful, but I was never dying to pick it up once I put it down for the day. I read this after Sally Field's memoir which was rather depressing so that that may have affected my feelings about it because this was definitely not a happy story either. Maybe that was too much sadness back to back? I don't know but it gets a "pick" just in case ??‍♀️

Great book, an easy and compelling read. An abundance of rich characters with a plot that skillfully jumps back and forth on its timeline.

The first book for my 60 book reading challenge! It‘s supposed to be for 2019 but I‘m giving myself the extra week. Prompt: a book about family

I wanted to love this book. It was ok but I so wanted more.

#WinterWonderland

The brilliant Ann Patchett was born in #December1963, and we start Commonwealth in the 1960s. It fell a bit flat for me, and wasn‘t my favourite Patchett.

I am suUuUuch a sucker for multi-generational family sagas. This was a combination of family saga and The Butterfly Effect - the effects of one small action have tremendous consequences even decades later. So well-written. *Italian Chef Kiss*

@Amanda61 I got sent the wrong book, this one isn't part of our genre swap. Could you email me at isilmelindale@gmail.com so we can straighten it out?
@SledgeReader just a heads up at what's going on

The characters were interesting, but I struggled to find any driving theme. Unless it was family hurts each other, but they are also there for each other when times are thin. Except for one. Or it could be that even tragedy sets us off in directions we enjoy that wouldn‘t have happened were it not for the tragedy. I guess both. But some of the vignettes seemed to be superfluous like Loemer‘s story. And the timeline was unnecessarily confusing.

I really liked this on my second attempt. The characters were not that like able, but it was an interesting story and depiction of the fallout from infidelity and divorce. The structure was a little difficult to follow at times and I needed to keep referring to a character map I found online of who was who! In the end I‘m glad I read it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I liked it a lot and did that thing where you slow down your reading so maybe it will never end. I tried another Patchett book a few years ago and couldn‘t get into it, now am thinking I‘ll try her again. Well done!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ So many problems can stem from a kiss. Two families are ripped apart then reluctantly blended together as Patchett pops us in and out of life events spanning several decades. Family sagas are not generally my thing, but I loved how these vignettes were pieced together.

I‘m so disappointed 😞. I loved Bel Canto! This one has had the #onehundredpagestest ... and I‘m bailing . Don‘t like the story , or the characters , not for me.
Where to next ... it‘s all gone terribly wrong ( I thought I‘d love this book ) but I suppose that‘s the beauty of reading ...... you just never know

Trying this one again- started a year or so ago and didn‘t finish.

▶️🎧🍊

Finally trying #AnnPatchett again. I was not a fan of #BelCanto, but I‘m enjoying this so far.

It feels like its been a long time since I read a book (I've been doing a lot of audiobooks) and this was a nice reintroduction. I really enjoyed this family drama and was hanging out to read the next installment. The characters were beautifully drawn and I found myself wondering what would happen to them next. Well worth the read.

As this little one will currently only sleep in my arms during the day I've been able to catch up on Litsy and e-reading. Every cloud. . .

Ann Patchett was on Trisha‘s Kitchen on Food Network with her book club reading this! So cool!

I have a reeeeealy hard time with books about infidelity so I went into this with a lot of trepidation, but Ann Patchett is fabulous and her ability to write all characters with nuance and grace constantly impresses me. #pop18 #bookbyanauthorwiththesamefirstorlastnameasyou

#AbbainAugust #voulezvous Having loved Bel Canto , I asked myself voulez-vous to read another book by Ann Patchett ... answer is ofcorse YES ... so I secured this one yesterday 💃🏾🧡 ( not sure about my grammar 🤷🏻‍♀️😬)

Loved the storytelling of two families and how their lives intertwined. At the end, the parents all in their 70‘s and 80‘s was most poignant. All of us have the stories we share, the stories that others remember most, and the stories that we try to bury with the past. The relationships Franny has with Fix, Bert, and all the Keatings and Cousins are a part of me now. I will definitely read more by Ann Patchett, this was my first

What better way to spend this rainy afternoon than reading my #LMPBC #GroupG book! @leslieseidel

Commonwealth is Patchett at her best. Dysfunction is the norm in this epic tale of two families forever entwined. Hope Davis narrates Commonwealth to perfection. Overall rating: 4.68 stars

My first Ann Patchett and I found it to be so incredibly boring. I didn‘t care about any of the characters because there were so many. It was a struggle for me to finish it. 😩

I‘m reading my second Patchett novel this year and plan on visiting her back list. I don‘t know why I never really read her work before, except the cover blurbs never sounded interesting to me. All of her blurbs should just say, “this book will make you care about topics and people that you never thought much about before. Trust me. “

I‘m loving this book so far, but I work in Iowa City and don‘t know about this quote! 😂😂😂 Then again, I did grow sweet 🌽, hubby works on a pig farm, and maybe I‘m a “poet and didn‘t know it”!

My #LMPBC book came in last week. Thanks, @leslieseidel 🤗

One Sunday afternoon in Southern California, Bert Cousins shows up at Franny Keating‘s christening party uninvited. Before evening falls, he has kissed Franny‘s mother Beverly- thus, setting in motion the dissolution of their marriages and the joining of two families.

My first Libby download and I loved it. I believe it was one that @Cinfhen recommended ages ago and I‘m so glad I finally got around to it. The author manages to capture difficult family relationships through shifting perspectives over the course of decades. I thoroughly enjoyed the audio. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I'm going to have a book hangover for a while from this one. 😭 Ann Patchett has an uncanny ability for developing characters, and the Keatings & the Cousins are going to stick with me. This is easily one of my new favorite books. ❤

Unbearably long & confusing on audio... I was likely just not in the right headspace for it when I picked it up, but I also wasn't fond of the immense traveling through time with no indication of such. I couldn't wait for this audiobook to be over but kept on based on so much praise. I couldn't follow the complex biological/step family tree, nor could I care for Frannie (or anyone). I skim-listened often & thus felt neither invested nor resolved.

I am so in love with this book! I'm seriously debating not going back to work today so I can finish it. 😂 I'm already running a few minutes late from my lunch break... what's one more hour? 😜

Done with Her Body and Other Parties at just over two hours! I will admit that I skimmed a couple stories. That book was not at all what I was expecting, and I think I need to revisit it later on when I'm in the mood for it.

Next up, Commonwealth!

#24in48 @24in48

#thatboyismine and today that boy and I are at the pool enjoying the #heatofjuly at the pool while I listen to the tagged book on audio. It‘s a balmy 94 today, but as long as I have a book I‘m happy.

I enjoyed this read. The switching between narrators and time frames could have been confusing but I found it easy to follow, and enjoyed the different perspectives, it gave a fairly straight forward story more depth and color. It illustrated the connections between family, even if they aren‘t your “real” family, very well. Overall a nice little book, but not a story that will stick in my mind. Probably will be made into a movie. 😂

One Sunday afternoon in Southern California, Bert Cousins shows up at Franny Keating‘s christening party uninvited. Before evening falls, he has kissed Franny‘s mother, Beverly—thus setting in motion the dissolution of their marriages and the joining of two families. #ikissedagirl #heatofjuly