Il seggio vacante | 
I actually was pleasantly surprised by this novel. Its writing style grew on me & it was quite keenly observed and very relatable, if rather ungenerous to some of the adult protagonists. Shame the author turned into one of her more unpleasant characters...
Pic of Woborn's Almshouse Bond Street, Yeovil by Sarah Smith from geograph.org.uk via Wikimedia CC BY-SA 2.0
pickI found this slow in parts, and it took ages for me to get a handle on who was who, but it sucked me in. I found it to be a clever, sad and insightful analysis of people, using the backdrop of a small town and the machinations of a council election to highlight truths. We see the same human behaviours in our own every day lives...at work, at home.. This is worth a read and reflection, as it's possible to relate to its of every character
#BookCoverChallenge
Day 129.
Here I will note 365 books (or as many as I will have before I get tired) that have shaped my taste in literature. No explanations, no reviews. Just the cover of the book.
I do not challenge anyone. You are all welcome to take part.
Friday night‘s finds in my building‘s book exchange. I‘ve never read any Rowling so thought I‘d start with this one. I am stuck in lockdown for at least another 2 weeks (which I am thankful for as it keeps me safe as I can‘t get vaccinated until September) so armchair travel is my only option. It‘s a gorgeous book. I wish Litsy did videos for this reason. The Reader‘s Digest reminds me of my best friend from high school. I read it for nostalgia.
While the dogs and I were walking my wife Sheri to work this morning, we came across a book review on the sidewalk.
so-soI went into this not expecting much, and I was surprised that I didn't hate it based on other reviews I've read over the years. I probably would have enjoyed it more had it been a bit shorter. Parts of this book seemed to drag on forever.
Overall, Rowling did a great job of showing us the secrets and lives of small town people.
#BookSpinBonanza @TheAromaofBooks Book 15/20
so-soI enjoyed reading it, because I feel the characters were really fleshed out. Not sure if I was happy with the ending. A slow paced read suitable to pass time but not exactly an effortless one.
When all of your books are packed and you're left with what's unread on your Kindle but you just can't! This is not the first time I tried reading J.K. Rowling's The Casual Vacancy. Not sure what it is, but I just can't finish this book.
Did anyone enjoy this book? I didn‘t hate it but was a little disappointed by it. I just listened to it on audible.
As a lover of Harry Potter, and a huge fan of J.K. Rowling, I really wanted to love this book aimed for adults. But it honestly left me disappointed. Maybe my expectations were high, but I had a difficult time caring about these characters. Most of them seemed like awful human beings, and the plot was a bit dull, in my opinion. Her writing style, descriptions, and the level of drama were the only reasons I was able to read it through to the end.
Was not that great. I wasn't expecting it to be Harry Potter, but I also wasn't expecting it to be a bad book. Every single character is flawed, none of them have any redeemable qualities to make their flaws forgivable. It didn't seem to have a 'point' except to force the reader to voyeuristically watch everyone suffer and be miserable. (sorry no selfie for this book, deleted from my Kindle before I thought to take a picture!)
pickThis novel has not received the acclaim it should because it was her first book after HP under her name. But if you pick up a glass of milk expecting orange juice you are not going to like it - or even recognize what it is. I think that is what happened with this book: a lot of disappointment about what it is not.
I was invited to a neighborhood book club tomorrow night!
Fortunately I had a copy - I just had not gotten around to it yet - so tonight I‘m binge reading. 🤫
#literaryladies
There‘s nothing better than a book haul from 2nd & Charles 📚
pickAbsolutely was bawling the last few chapters. 😭 Loved it, even if the characters were so unbelievably horrible human beings. Now time to finish a sweater to restore feelings of the warmth and goodness of humanity.
Also, "How awful it was, thought Tessa, remembering Fats the toddler, the way tiny ghosts of your living children haunted your heart; they could never know, and would hate it if they did, how their growing was a constant bereavement." ???. Picture is making crackers with the little moon beam
They say Rowling wrote Harry Potter in Portugal ☺️. Living here the last month and a half has certainly let me see how picturesque it is everywhere. Maybe the writing magic will rub off on me here too before we leave. Hmm... In between running after a toddler of course. Currently reading The Casual Vacancy (there was a copy left here at our Airbnb). Man, a lot of these characters are so nasty!
pickApparently I left my review on a different version of the book lol... A little slow at first, but once you get familiar with the characters, it was like a car crash you can‘t look away from. Definitely am left feeling a little depressed about humanity at the moment.
“Her family half carried Terri Weedon back down the royal blue carpet, and the congregation averted its eyes.”
If only all of the Krystal Weedon‘s of the world had a Barry Fairbrother to encourage and believe in them.
“He never seemed to grasp the immense mutability of human nature, nor to appreciate that behind every nondescript face lay a wild and unique hinterland like his own.”
Restocked the neighborhood Little Free Library today from my shelf of finished books. And now that I feel I've done a good thing and cleaned out some space... I'd like to go book shopping, please.
Happy Birthday Jo Rowling....I just adore her! #writers #harrysmama #books
Just read through this list. What say you, Littens? I‘m curious - I found some surprising, others not. Quite a few I didn‘t finish myself.
The 15 Most Frequently Unfinished Reads, According To Goodreads' "Popular Abandoned Books"
https://www.bustle.com/p/the-15-most-frequently-unfinished-reads-according-to-go...
so-soFull disclosure: I read this solely because Queen Rowling wrote it.
90% of the book was very slow moving and I'm not 100% there was an actual plot beyond "how one person's death affected a town", but the last few sections were very good. Rowling is a master at writing characters (even though most in this book were terrible people) and the world they move in. Harry Potter, this is not, nor is it my taste, but it wasn't bad.
#CoolBooks #casual @Lindsy
I couldn't get into this book but I may try again eventually.
so-soDefinitely what she was going for. I was told she wrote this book to break her stereotype of a “children‘s author” and wrote something for adults.
bailedBailing at 160 pages....I keep looking at it and I‘d rather do something else then pick it up and read....including hoovering! I just don‘t care enough about any of the characters to want to know what happens. Definitely a marmite book.
Time to move on. Can‘t believe I didn‘t finish a JK book....
#lunchtimeread
Does it get any better? It‘s a bit meh and I‘m sick of small town pettiness......150 pages in and not feeling it, only JK I haven‘t read so far.
#Riotgrams #RainbowBookStack
When a significant portion of your rainbow is from the same author. Also just realized the purple should have gone by the blue 🤦🏽♀️
so-soIt‘s so hard to rate this. The writing and character development in this book are amazing. Rowling is a master at having dozens of characters—and you care about all of them! But on the other hand, I would not recommend this book. It is fairly crude, nonredemptive, and bleak. It definitely takes a lot to keep reading it. Very good, but also very gross. But maybe that‘s just me, expecting books to be happy and entertaining? Not all books need to be.
Just took advantage of the Audible 2-for-1 credit sale (I‘m pretty sure the site said today was the last day). I‘m finding myself listening to more audiobooks these days while on maternity leave. Anyone read or listened to either of these? They‘ve been on my TBR for the longest!
so-soI‘ve been reading the book, off and on, for a long time. There are a lot of characters and most of them have nicknames, so they were hard to sort out throughout most of the book. Watching the miniseries on HBO, really helped put faces to names and sort everyone out. The show is not the same as the book, I was surprised at the stuff they changed. The end of this book is absolutely heartbreaking. I‘m going to give it 3.5 stars.
Guys, big news!! After reading this book for 9 months. (Yes, 9 months!! The longest amount of time I‘ve EVER spent reading one book.) I‘m finally going to finish it tonight! I am so excited!! 🤩 137 pages to go!
I‘ve been MIA because I‘m moving house. Finally have the most important things moved. Took me almost 2 weeks to move my books. Finally have some time to read. #BookNerdProblems
I made a little bit of progress on the plane. Though I did watch the miniseries on HBO and that helped me to be able to pick it back up and keep the characters straight. Sometimes you need to put a face with a name.
Did a bunch of cleaning so now it‘s time for a bit of relaxing (bubble bath, “candle”, and book)! I was given the Yankee Candle melt cups as an alternative to candles for the bathroom to reduce the number of open flames on the bathtub ledge 😳
I‘ve read the book before but the mood struck to re-read it and book moods cannot be ignored.
Yesterday I got the first J.K. Rowling book that wasn‘t A Harry Potter book. I can‘t to read it. What did you all think of this one? Good like Harry Potter or completely different?
pickThoroughly enjoyed this book for its host of well crafted characters and clever telling of their interconnections. Turned out to be a modern tragic tale. I had this book on my shelf since it was published and never read it. I‘m glad I finally did. JKs writing is so engaging.
