The Heavens | 
pickQuite stunning. The language is wonderful and the construct of the novel is audacious! And she almost pulls it off. I read the book in a couple of sittings, was gripped. Really enjoyed it but the ending felt a little flat. As I said, she almost pulled it off. Would recommend and definitely look to read more from Sandra Newman.
so-so2.5 🌟for me. I found the structure of this novel interesting but as the book went on I found it very repetitive. I stayed disconnected from the main character. It is not a long book but felt too long.
#bookreport #weeklyforecast
Finished:
The Professor: Charlotte Bronte 4 🌟
Long Bright River: Liz Moore 2.5 🌟
Ongoing:
The Heavens: Sandra Newman 📖
A Distant Mirror: Barbara Tuchman🎧
Started:
Say Nothing: Patrick Radden Keefe🎧
Next up:
Weather: Jenny Offill📖
Dominicans: Angie Cruz📖
Agnes Gray: Anne Bronte📳 (have never read on my phone before)
I just need to quit my job and read full time!!
so-soI really liked the dreamy quality of this book but there was something not quite satisfying about it at the same time. I‘m not 💯 sure what Newman was trying to do here, but I‘d read another novel by her.
Fighting a virus with an old (fictional) friend and a new book. The book‘s dreamy time travel reminds me of The Lathe of Heaven and pairs well with cold meds
pickI went in with only a vague notion of what was going on. I recommend reading it this way! By the time I figured out what was up, I was fully invested in Kate/Emilia's journey. When I got to the end I flipped back to the beginning & read with a fresh eye & a smile.
Newman is phenomenal writer & brilliantly conveys being young & in love & finding your tribe in the big city. It reminded me in all the right ways of the Netflix show Russian Doll.
so-soThis scraps a So-So. It's not bad as such but it tries too hard to be something it's not & gets utterly derailed in the effort. It's all a bit vague & under-done & taken with it's own supposed intellectualism but it actually delivers very little of notable substance. The plot is in there somewhere but it gets very lost at some points. The idea is intriguing, how did it translate into something so dull & pointless? Shakespeare cameo? Oh please.
“I noticed that you had Reese‘s Peanut Butter cups for breakfast...”
Did y‘all know that every single person on Litsy who has reviewed this has rated it a “Pick”?
Day 3 of #7days7covers #covercrush
This beauty has been on my shelf for months, and I still really need to read it.
Tagging @KirstieE if you haven't been already-- just post about 7 book covers you love in 7 days if you want to join in. No explanations needed, and tag another litten if you can to spread the fun!
pickThis book was...different. Very well written, enjoyable, but a bit strange. 3.5⭐️ set in 2001 and the 16th century. Cameo appearance by Shakespeare. Protagonist time travels via her dreams and each time she comes back, her real time existence is altered, leading others to believe she is mentally ill.
pickThe story required much attention as the present changes each time Kate wakes up from one of her dreams in the olde world of Albion & Shakespeare. Her boyfriend & her best friend are the only constants for her in 2000 where her sanity is questioned as she becomes more & more invested in her 16th century life & the actions she could take which, hundreds of years down the line, may prevent the collapse of civilization. I was rapt.
pickIn the year 2000, Kate and Ben meet at a party, but this isn‘t your standard love story. For Kate has dreams where she returns to 1593, and wakes up as Emilia. Every time Kate returns to 1593 something changes in the present.
And I‘m just gonna leave it at that.
pickI love time travel novels. This one was challenging and somewhat sad, though, because it‘s not an optimistic book. Kate travels in her dreams from modern-day America to 16th century England. When she wakes, her present has changed, often in tragic ways. She tries to change the future in her dreams, but can‘t seem to change the ultimate fate of the world. #hoopla 3.5⭐️
pickWell this was a quick read. Very interesting story line. I gave it 3.5/5.
Purchases from Blackwell's in Oxford, and I would just like to say I showed remarkable restraint 😂
pickThe Heavens is a story spanning a lot of centuries and it touches upon the ideas of how easily the world can crumble, how perishable our own realities are and how it feels when nobody else believes your reality, and instead thinks you just have an addled mind. It's magical and vast: http://bit.ly/2WDqzgH
pickA fantastical book that bends genres and makes you think in the best possible way. The more I reflect on it, the more I appreciate Newman‘s ideas about individual actions and it‘s consequences on wider humanity. Very timely. If you‘re after something clever, different, and also relatively short, this might be just the book.
pickThis one is tricky. It has some beautiful writing, a clever premise that asks the big questions (do love and art really have power? What defines a well-lived life?, and so on.) and a wrenching portrayal of 9/11. But...overall it seemed a bit too cerebral and clever for its own good, its characters too removed. Not sorry I read it, just not as wowed as I thought I‘d be.
pickIt‘s great. If you‘re not sure about that, keep reading. It‘s a good book throughout, but near the end Newman‘s themes and insights snap into place in a way that is jarring and unforgettable.
