Welcome to Litsy!

In a world where humans hibernate for the winter, the Winter Consuls protect the sleeps. Charlie, recent hire, is investigating viral dreams when everything starts becoming complicated.

This was a slow start, & Charlie was so passive. I wish we got more of the background characters. But I am so glad I stuck this out! Lots world building, & I was not a fan of Charlie, but everything came together so well in the end. I was so invested!🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑

On a day where I woke up two hours too early, and couldn‘t get back to sleep, yes. Yes, I want to be in a world where humans hibernate for the winter. 😅

#SundayFunday Hope you all have a great Sunday, and don‘t forget to tag my new username in your answers!

30/23 i finished listening to this one whilst on an evening beach walk last night. I have loved Jasper Fforde since I was a teenager. And this book was just as imaginative and creative as ever, and had just as much heart. There was a lot to pack into the story but I would say that unusually for his books this one was a little long for me.

With all the snow we‘re getting this year, I think I wouldn‘t mind taking my chances with the Winter Consuls. Why oh why can‘t humans hibernate?!? 😫

I‘m not very far into this one (about 100 pages). It‘s strange! At first I was having a hard time keeping track of who people were and what was going on, but now I think I‘m getting the hang of it. Huey helped. #huey #catsoflitsy

Sweet deal on Early Riser on Kindle 🇺🇸

I loved this one - still thinking about it a couple of years on!

This was my first non Thursday Next read by Fforde and I loved it! It was wholly its own thing but maintained the whimsy, wit and heart that I love from the Next books. A very good listen and appropriate for this time of year!

Current view of Gramercy from my window here in NYC. Very happy to not go outside today. Planning on making banana bread, cuddling with the cats and listening to this audiobook, which has a very fitting winter theme!

I just love Jasper Fforde‘s weird, quirky books. This one was no exception. Hibernation for four months, except for the winter consuls…..who have some pretty outrageous adventures!

Finished my #doublespin today, @TheAromaofBooks

I liked this one. It took quite a while to get into the story, but I trust Fforde. Definitely a slow burn, but per his style it is super creative and quite funny.

#BookReport
This week was pretty productive. I managed to finish both of my Book Spin selections and got about 100 pages into my much forgotten library book.

#WeeklyForecast
My entire goal for the week is to make progress on my library stack as I've just renewed them for the third and final time so it's now or never to finish them.

I really enjoyed this as a quasi police procedural set in a world in which the human species hibernates for the winter which is fierce and colder every year. I was expecting humor because I've read the Thursday Next books and while there was some the book overall has a more somber tone than that series. I liked following Charlie around during his first overwinter and watching the mystery unfold.
#BuriedAliveChallenge

I‘m about a third of the way in now and while this is a little more serious in tone than the Thursday Next books I‘m still enjoying it. It‘s an interesting world that you slowly come to understand after being kind of dropped into the middle of it.
#CatsOfLitsy

I had the intention to follow my forecast and pick up doomsday book next but the library copy I have had such minuscule print that I decided to put it off for a bit. So next up is early riser and I‘ve loved the other stuff he‘s written so I‘m excited about this. I think Callie agrees with me.
#CatsOfLitsy

Not quite to 50% but this is just not grabbing me at all. Gonna flip through the back half and maybe return to it another day.

I‘ve always loved Fforde for the way he sidesteps reality JUST enough, and the sly British wit that follows. This was no exception, with a wintery world full of confusion, adventure, maybe-mythical creatures, and of course, bureaucracy. Except this time with EMPs. Honestly, it just made me long to hibernate.

Having a hell of a time getting into this book - it's sort of the first Fforde I've read since undergrad? I think? Something about this isn't grabbing me, and I'm wondering if it's the fact that the plot promised by the blurb hasn't really shown up at 25% of the way in? Also, the blurb made me think it was written in 2nd person, an assumption I've had since 2018, and it's sort of a surprise every time I open it that it isn't.

This book was so wonderfully weird and witty. I love sci-fi and it definitely ticked the boxes for me. To be warned, this type of book may not be for everyone. The world-building and characters were amazing, though you are jumping into the deep end of the pool on page one. Expect to be a bit confused initially.

Giving it a whirl.

I really enjoyed this and will be recommending it! A great winter read, especially if you‘re into a bit of sci-fi and exploring the question of agency. In an alternative version of the world as we know it, winter is so extreme and dangerous that most people spend it in a pharmaceutically-induced hibernation. Enter zombies, mythical creatures, and what happens when the line between dreams and reality blurs, and you get Early Riser!

Met my goals for #NovelNovember. Had to put Early Riser aside, maybe for another day, maybe not. Read The Duke and I instead to prepare for The Bridgestone. Thanks for hosting @Andrew65

New #Bookspin list and November TBR I finished two on my list and needed to update those spots and then decided to join @Andrew65 in his #ProgressItNovember challenge so changed it up. ⭐️ books are #LitsyAtoZ (11 to go) for #CrushtheRush - 🍁are all next up in their series except #19 which is the start of a new series. I think November will be a great reading month to slay my TBR.

Here is my November #Bookspin list. The starred books (13 of them) are the ones I need to finish to complete #LitsyAtoZ. It has been hard to stick to a challenge this year. Hope joining #Crushtherush will help me meet my goal by year‘s end. Thanks @Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick for hosting this great readathon!

The fact that he couldn't get the tune of ”The Lonely Goatheard” out of his head 😂😂 #relatable

That was one of the weirdest things I‘ve ever read. And I mean that mostly in a good way. The worldbuilding is unbelievably detailed. But whoa. My brain hurts.

An alternate time line where everything is like it is now, but we are still in an ice age- and people have to hibernate. It‘s listed as a comedy but I would classify it as a mystery. I was a bit odd, kinda hard to get into, but in the end definitely worth the read.

#isolationTBR Great read during a pandemic. Real life doesn‘t seem as bad. It could be worse.

This was in tone more like Fforde's Shades of Grey than the Thursday Next novels. It has interesting ideas, but the world building didn't convince me and I had trouble to keep track of the different characters. I read the 'making of' article on Fforde's website. Turns out it was a struggle to write the thing, and I think it shows. He says he learned the lesson that he should stick to his style, so fingers crossed that I'll like his next one better

I find the book bleaker as Fforde's other books, but this Fawlty Towers reference made me laugh.

Funny speculative fiction! Thanks for this pick, @vivastory I needed something smart and humorous.
#newyearwhodis

Cecil does not care that it‘s my day off. He must have breakfast now! He has a busy day of napping ahead.
Cecil does not care that I‘m enjoying this book. We must play now. He has a nap to get to.
#catsoflitsy

Next time someone calls me “Jonsey” I‘ll insist that I go by “Frost Crumpet”!
#NewYearWhoDis

Home sick with a cold. Cecil has no sympathy for me and will not be giving me back my reading chair. Furry bastard won‘t even make me a cup of tea. ☕️

YEEEEE!!! Love everything in my #LGPOG gift exchange. 😍 Can‘t wait to read both books, the bath products smell *divine*, and I‘ll happily nibble the chocs while I drink out of my lovely new Austen mug, which will sit nicely on my new Austen coasters. Much appreciated but not pictured: delish ‘Naughty‘ flavored coffee to put in that mug. Will go great with a peppermint cane stirrer! Thanks for your thoughtfulness, @KimM ❤️ Happy Holidays!!!

Over the past couple of months I've made a significant dent in my BOTM collection. This, my first Fforde, is a serious contender for the strangest BOTM I read this year. There's so much happening all at once, it's a bit of a corporate dystopia, seasoned with Crouchean "what is reality" philosophy & the breezy yet effective satire of Pratchett. Strangely enough it all worked for me, but I could see it not working for everyone. Very unique.

Early Riser gets the ☕ & 🍞 (peppermint iced coffee pairs nicely with the winter setting; banana bread matches the🍌👖 feeling) This is my ffirst Fforde (couldn't resist) & although I'm only 60 pages in I'm sure I'll be reading more by him.

"I‘ve always been suspicious of game changers,‘ she added. ‘Sometimes the game doesn‘t need changing – or no one has a clear idea of which game will be changed, and for what and how much.‘"

If I hadn‘t had the opportunity to attend an ‘in conversation‘ event with Jasper Fforde, I never would have given this book a second thought (other than “nice cover”) but I got to thinking, what would a world where winter hibernation was the norm be like? And just like that - I found out ☺️ big pharma, conspiracies, bulking up for winter, murder, blizzards, not actually dead zombies... just the tip of the iceberg!

“But I can‘t work out if you‘re a clever person pretending to be thick, a thick person pretending to be clever or just a chancer stumbling through the Winter without any plan or thought at all.”

“I always knew stamp collecting would get them in trouble” said the woman, who I assumed was the 13th Earl‘s widow, “but look here, they were only doing a harmless spot of thieving...‘

I am trying to stay strong and not buy every ebook that sounds interesting. But I have been interested in these two for some time now, and with each under 2€ I couldn't resist. I'll try to do better for the rest of the month, I swear.

"‘She punched me in the eye so hard she detached my retina,‘ he said, ‘and all I did was place the preposition at the end of the sentence.‘

‘That‘s grounds for an investigation, certainly a reprimand, maybe even charges,‘ I said, ‘against Toccata,‘ I added, in case he misunderstood"

"‘I need a new Novice with a good memory to train up. Good career path. Exciting too. Lots of challenges. Bit of cash, extra pudding. Medium to high risk of death.‘

‘What was the last bit again?‘

‘Extra pudding.‘

‘And after that?'

‘Coffee and mints?‘

‘I meant on your list.‘

‘Oh – medium to high risk of death.‘"