Welcome to Litsy!

I was looking forward to reading this book from the same author as The Age Of Miracles. The premise of an unknown sleeping sickness racing through a college campus sounded interesting. Unfortunately it just didn't click for me so I'm bailing on it.

For me, this one fell somewhere between a "Pick" and "So-so" - but Walker gets points for being SO right about how our society handles a pandemic (this book came out in 2019). An interesting read, but lacked any real punch of meaning for me.

Crazy that this came out just before Covid 19 - set in a town in California where a mysterious sleeping illness sweeps the population, forcing quarantine. The book explores the struggles that come with a pandemic for the town and follows individuals' stories of survival. At the end it needed more explanation of the virus - considering the suggestion that there was some sort of mystical/ dimensional element. I got no answers at the end *shrugs*

I enjoyed this book until the end which felt rushed and a little confusing. It‘s interesting that it was similar to Covid but written before then.

Wasn't for me. Funny enough, I was falling alseep while reading it.

On the campus of a small California college, one student after another succumbs to a mysterious sleeping sickness. A lonely freshman, a paranoid prepper father & his young daughters, a young couple & their newborn, a biology professor, all are affected as the sleeping sickness spreads. A fascinating exploration of the nature of dreams & reality, identity, memory & perhaps even prophecy. I will be thinking about this one for a long time.

Well, having waited since October for that to come in, I guess I'm disappointed. I think I would have liked it better if there would have been a reason or explanation for the sleeping sickness.

I've been waiting on this hold thru Libby since October, and it finally came in. Hope it's worth the wait...
I'm 100 pages in, so far not that impressed 😐

Interesting story, but the writing could have been better. I was more invested in some stories than others, and I would have wanted a more satisfying ending - more info on the virus?

I am really enjoying this. Perfect narration that reinforces the tone of the story.

This book was just a so-so for me I think. I liked the characters and the story itself kept me interested, but there weren‘t any answers by the end. Not really. It felt more philosophical than anything and watching a town handle the epidemic of people falling asleep was so surreal given everything we‘ve experienced as a society with Covid.

Overall I think this was just an okay read for me. I liked it fine but wasn‘t really satisfied by the end

#conflictedworlds #insomnia (or the opposite of because I don't have any books about insomnia!)
@eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

I really want to like this book, but my mind keeps wandering. The writing feels too distant for me. 🤔

⭐⭐⭐⭐

It's finally cooling down enjoying some reading time while the little one plays. I really need to come to this park more often to read

36/100, 4☆, This book was so eerie in how closely it mirrored the events of 2020, yet it was published in 2019. I loved the concept of this weird sleeping virus and the ramifications of such an event in a small college town. I was fascinated and completely consumed by this story.

#BookReport 14/21

A week away from the city and the chores. I‘ve been in my parents‘s holiday cabin for the week with my girlfriends. We‘ve all been working but when we weren‘t, have walked and wined and played games like 30 Seconds and Cluedo. So much fun but so few books!!!

This book started interesting because it felt so similar to the start of our very own pandemic Written in 2019, it seemed as if Walker had had a premonition of what was about to happen to the world. She wrote about a virus causing people to fall asleep in a Californian university town, complete with face masks and quarantine. However, the plot soon became a mess and not an interesting one. No need to read it, if you want my opinion.

#WeeklyForecast 14/21

Because I‘m having an Easter break I‘ve chosen some easy reads, to which I‘m very much looking forward. And in case I‘ll have a lot of time to read, I‘ve brought more books of course!

Starting this I did wonder if it would be a bit too 'close for comfort' re: The Current Situation. But a weird thing happened. As I read I kept thinking "crikey, it would be awful if something like this really happened". Being in the story had removed me so effectively from reality that I didn't even recall that reality when it was in front of my eyes. And that, folks, is the power of fiction! But more of the story ... continues in comments ⬇️⬇️⬇️

About to start this one. Another one from #netgalley that I'm disgracefully late getting round to. I always leave a review though even if it is 2 years or so overdue and recently my percentage reached the heady heights of 27% 😇🤔😜 Onwards, ever onwards!

I enjoyed this book but the end for me in particular was a little disappointed. I know it has mix reviews. But I can say that it kept my attention. If this pandemic situation of COVID-19 has been difficult for you, maybe this is not the book for you. It is about a virus 🦠 that put persons to sleep and dream. Very descriptive in every stage that we all know a person can go through in a quarantine period with sad and not so sad outcomes. 3.3⭐️

A very interesting book, glad I picked this one up, Read as part of the #Buzzwordathon - January word is DREAM 5/5

How odd to read a 2019 book about a pandemic in 2020. It was pretty wild to compare and contrast. Though instead of a cough and lung damage this virus leads to lengthy sleep. It examines dreams, time and community behavior. Very interesting book and I found it to be a page turner.

In the small college town of Santa Lora, people are falling asleep and never waking up... and the sickness is spreading.

Read September 7-14
Rated 4.5/5 ⭐️
Book 37/60

“Even if one were to read every book in these stacks, certain mysteries would persist.”

“And always, there is the musty smell of the old books rising up from the stacks around her, like the soil, like roots, like the trees they once were.”

My Book Club chose to read this novel — about a rapidly-spreading virus — back in January. You know, before we knew that we‘d be living out the plot. It was different enough (the virus in the book is a “sleeping sickness,” whereby the infected fall asleep & cannot be roused but continue to dream) that it didn‘t feel oppressive. Yet, the descriptions of the fear, anxiety, & the toll on the community‘s mental health were achingly familiar. 👇🏻

“There is a difference between what is not true and what cannot be measured.”

I‘ve always said that creativity is one of my strong suits. 😱😅

“But whoever shares her lipstick that day, whoever borrows her eyeliner, whoever kisses her cheek that night or dances too close or clinks her flute of champagne, whoever touches her hand to admire the ring, whoever catches the bouquet at the end of the night — all of them, every one, is exposed.

This is how the sickness travels best: through all the same channels as do fondness & friendship & love.”

“Even the skin behind her ears has begun to adjust, chapped by the elastic that holds the mask to her face. And something similar, maybe, is happening to her mind.”

Is it possible to both feel this quote, but also feel like Stanley most days? 😅

Catching up on Book Club reading. This title, chosen at the beginning of the year in an eerily prescient fashion, is about a worldwide pandemic: a “sleeping sickness.”

The above quote shows the fear that I think is at the root of some folks‘ obstinacy when it comes to wearing masks. Note: to understand is NOT to excuse.

I feel like reading this Pandemic themed Dystopia now, during the Covid 19 pandemic, made The Dreamers more relatable for me.

I loved this story! I thought Walker described the spread of the virus really well. I loved the storyline of the two little sisters and their kitties having a better idea about how to survive and isolate better than a lot of adults did all because there dad was a survivalist.

Great book for this moment in time.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

But matching the words to the dream only dissolves what is left of it, the way certain stars vanish from the sky if you look directly at them.

This has been on my TBR for a awhile. Today is the day I start it!

The answer to both is yes. It‘s other things that go haywire.

Just reading more pandemic fiction to figure out the world right now. 🤷‍♀️

How...timely.

Looking for some good dystopian to go with your COVID-19 news? I recommend The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker and Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel.

Ask and you shall receive @TracyReadsBooks Here‘s my Sci Fi section of my bookshelf for #SundayShelfie. I am one of those people who organize by genre. 😀❤️📚

I‘ve had my eye on this book since it released in January 2019. As soon as I saw the price on Amazon I ordered it!!

NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITORS‘ CHOICE • An ordinary town is transformed by a mysterious illness that triggers perpetual sleep in this mesmerizing novel from the bestselling author of The Age of Miracles.

A deadly #fever gripped pretty much everyone in these ☝️
#movember @Cinfhen

Oops, I did it again! 🤣
Thanks @MrsMalaprop for a beautiful afternoon of book shop browsing (and buying!), eating, drinking and chatting.
Always a pleasure 🧡❤💚💜💙

Just hit Chapter 6, and things are really getting interesting.

I am so glad I listened to this. The writing and story are so dreamy and the narrator's voice was perfect for the mood.

"We were like wanderers in a desert, blessed with a rare downpour, but unable to store the rain."
I am loving Karen Thompson Walkers writing.

The book was incredibly boring and underdeveloped. The characters were either forgettable, annoying, or all of the above.