Welcome to Litsy!

This #chunkster was worth the wait (and the length)! Magical, lyrical, and haunting, this had mystery, whimsy, and true love. It felt perfect for the moment with queer love that triumphs all tests, brilliant characters that don‘t dull their truth, and lighthearted moments that keep it from getting too heavy. So good!

#ReadAway2024 I thoroughly enjoyed this complex and beautiful story.

I really liked this book but agree with other posters that there were repetitive sections that could have been chopped. One recommendation if you do read it -- pay attention to the fables and fairy tales that are interspersed with the main story line as they do have meaning later on in the book!

New book for the new year! Back at the office, reading on the lunch hour. A bright spot in the day😊

I liked this but... I think it won't be for everyone. The narrative in this took a while to come together and even after it did I'm not sure all the story lines ended up having a satisfying conclusion. If they did, I didn't entirely understand them. I read this after the night circus and this has a much weirder narrative.

Still enjoyed it, I liked Zach and Dorian and Mirabel and the nested stories woven throughout.

Judgy kitty in a puzzle box. 😼(Toggling between audio and print hoping to get this book finished by tomorrow night.)

I have two IRL book club meetings this weekend. Both books are 400+ pages. And I haven't finished either yet. 😬
But their covers go together well!

Finally finished! I can def understand the criticism that the book is too long, but I still liked it. It‘s very meta, a story teller who tells a story about a story featuring a teller of stories, like that. But I liked thinking about stories and story tellers and whether or not the story tellers are bound by their craft to include an end to the story. Maybe they aren‘t, maybe stories live, like all of us, in the middle. The in-between.

There are certain kinds of books that boldly grab your hand and ask you to follow them into nonsense. My experience with this kind of book is that it will either work or it won‘t with nary a spot of in-between. (The chronicles of narnia, for example, are books of this kind that were never able to pull me in). This one works for me, I can‘t imagine any of this coming into order but I‘m still following along in dark corridors with a smile

My weekend audio book, I‘m really enjoying it so far, although judging from the reviews it is not for everyone. all the literary references and nods to other authors are fun, although I‘m sure I‘m not catching all of them. #weekendaudiobook

4% in, and this is becoming delightfully meta ❤

I loved this book. I didn‘t love this book. Such mixed feelings! It was beautifully written. What an imagination this author has! No offense, but I am thinking that her imagination had to have been a little “chemically enhanced”. I‘m not sure if this book would be for everyone, it was a tough read! You had to pay attention, and even then so much of the story Is up to interpretation. All in all, I am better for having read this story.

Been working on this for awhile. This is completely me on this one. I didn‘t like The Night Circus and I didn‘t like this. The story didn‘t flow for me and I barely knew what was going on. It was my LibraryThing Christmas book and I knew it most likely wasn‘t for me. Some parts were interesting but overall I just didn‘t like it.at least it‘s done. #bookspinbingo

“...and wonders how, exactly, he is supposed to continue a story he didn‘t know he was in.” Happy Caturday.

SO disappointed with this read 😫 I wanted to love this, and in the beginning thought it was such a magical book lovers book. I started with the #audio (eventually flipped to print) and the narration supported that mystical vibe but then it just spiraled, spewing a (limited) word salad of 🔑 🐝 🗡 📖 👑 🪶 ❤️ 🌙 🌞 🍯 ⭐️ 🌊 ad nauseam feeling like the author didn‘t know where to go next. Concept was intriguing, so much potential, but just flopped.

Note: I read Tbe Night Circus, found it very enjoyable. Recommend highly.
*This* book, however, is a rambling mess. Starts out interesting: vast secret library reachable through secret doors, stories within stories, evil secret societies... but unravels 1/2 way through. Too many symbols, then more symbols. I do not want to hear about bees, keys, and swords!!! Stop!!! Threw it down in disgust when I finished.....

I hope they never try to put this book on the big screen because they will NEVER do it justice. #booknerdreads

I love thrifting...

I have never read a more unique story. In a strange way it was like reading a french braid - staring with a few stories, picking up new stories and details along the way, just as new strands combine with others to create a more cohesive story. I enjoyed journeying through the Harbors of the Starless Sea and look forward to future adventures.

Finished this book today and I‘m still not sure how I feel about it. It was beautifully written with rich details and language however I have absolutely no Idea what the plot was. It felt like the story ended half way through but the characters didn‘t get the memo so they just kept going for another 250 pages. It had an “Alice in Wonderland” vibe.

I don‘t think I‘ll finish another book today, so here are my September Reads. So many good books this month!

#booked2020 Summer edition! This is the first time I didn‘t finish, I never found a YA book by a POC, but I‘ll keep an eye out and try to read one before the year is out. Starless Sea has white type on the cover, Witch Hunt had an eccentric MC, if they aren‘t drinking coffee in Coconut Layer Cake Murder they are drinking wine. Boxed wine. Fahrenheit 451 is a banned book and How the Penguins Saved Veronica was in England and Antarctica.

Just got this from a “secret spooky Litten” with the request to post my preference on hard cover or paperback. Well Litten- thank you for making this emotional pregnant lady smile. Also I don‘t have a preference. I generally go paperback when possible because it usually means I can buy more books for the same amount of money 😂 also hats off to Amazon gift wrap- it‘s beautiful!

August #bookspinBINGO I only got one bingo lol @TheAromaofBooks

#currentread I‘m intrigued so far! #bookspinbingo

I'm so excited to read something new from Erin Morgenstern! I loved the Night Circus! I got this one from Ivy's Bookshop in Victoria, B.C.

I really wanted to like this book. Her description are so beautiful it‘s easy to get lost in her words and phrasing but underneath there just wasn‘t anything there. There was no coherent plot. Too much back and forth between characters and stories. And in the end... meh....

This is a story within a story within a story. The narration was key for my following the many descriptive threads. With gorgeous prose and sultry narration, I was dreamily transported to mysterious worlds & dimensions. I enjoyed Zachary‘s storyline and could easily imagine this book as a movie. Erin Morgenstern‘s imagination is limitless & magnificent. Definitely a departure from my usual reading but truly a delightful escape.

This book/audio is quite an investment 😛I‘m 15 hours in ....only 3.5 more to go! It‘s a multi cast narration, which is definitely keeping me listening 🎧 I like it but I‘d think I‘d love it as a film 🎞 ♥️

Getting a birthday wish from one of my favorite authors definitely made my day!! More so when we share the same DOB!!💃🏽💃🏽🎂🦀🎊🎉

Three hours of listening time and only on page 110. For some reason #OverDrive won‘t let me change the playback speed 🤷🏼‍♀️I‘m definitely in a magical dimension and I‘m loving the narration 💫✨💫✨💫✨

I‘m not sure what‘s going on but the narration is DREAMY 🥰🎧

I absolutely loved this book! I was nervous going into it because (unpopular opinion) I didn‘t care very much for the Night Circus. But the Starless Sea has a very complex meta quality to it, reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland. Stories weave in and out of each other and it was an absolute delight to read!

I‘d give this like 3 stars for several reasons. First, I love how it‘s fantasy based in reality for much the reason I love Murakami and I was hoping this book would take me there. Alas, it did not. Second, the love story that arose came literally out of nowhere. Like one minute there were two characters and the next they were basically married. What?!?! Third, it was way too long. Like it just kept rambling.

Not in my usual preferred reading genres but I added this book to my tbr pile after watching Elliasreads on booktube reviewing it and I was so glad that I did. This book was just so magical. I found myself mesmerized by the writing and hoping to find myself in the starless sea also. An absolute delight to read and I will forever think of it whenever I see a bee, a key or a sword. It's one of those books that stays in your heart forever.

I‘d give this like 3 stars for several reasons. First, I love how it‘s fantasy based in reality for much the reason I love Murakami and I was hoping this book would take me there. Alas, it did not. Second, the love story that arose came literally out of nowhere. Like one minute there were two characters and the next they were basically married. What?!?! Third, it was way too long. Like it just kept rambling.

Next up!

As in her other book The Night Circus, this author has created a fantastical and completely original reality. The Starless Sea was a slower start for me than the Night Circus, but worth the work once the plot picked up pace. I most appreciate that Morgenstern's novels bend the construct of "reality" and aren't predictable. Plus this one featured many cat cameos. ?⁣
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I wanted to love this book, and at one point I thought the plot was taking hold ,I get the fairy tale aspect but this was just too much, overkill on the fairy tale and nothing seemed to make sense🤷🏼‍♀️I hate not finishing,and honestly I got over half way and finally decided to pull the plug.

I really, I mean REALLY, wanted to like, no, LOVE this book. But in the end I found the constant cutting back and forth between stories, storylines, and perspectives to detract from the experience. I was never able to immerse myself in this wonderful world. There were also long stretches of time where nothing really happened and the plot was set adrift upon the starless sea. 😞

Quarantine day 3. Audiobook painting.

I've been meaning to paint the door to the garage since we bought the house three years ago, but never got around to it. I think I'll be getting a lot of random projects done while I'm off work.

I enjoyed this one. It's hard to explain. It's a book about books and people who love books. And the magic contained within them and created because of them. Not a perfectly cyclical story. Lots of layers and time skipping and reality jumping. Lots of questions and mysteries. Definitely entertaining and unique though, and I found myself thinking about it when I wasnt reading it and craving more 🖤🐝🗡🗝

🧡🧡🧡

This is an enchanting puzzle box of a story. Magic, time, and fate. Past, present, future, and the time out of time. Just glorious as long as you don‘t need a step by step plot.

What a beautiful book. I felt like I just escaped into a gorgeous lyrical fantasy world. This book is a book lovers dream. Erin Morgenstern really knows how to create world's. This is more world building then it is character heavy. But I loved it. For me I drifted away in the Starless Sea and loved every moment of it.

I like to take the dust jackets off when I read because I‘d find them distracting; they always slip and slide around when I am trying to read laying down. Usually the unwrapping removes nothing other than a plane cover, but every once in a while there is a surprise laying in wait.

What does one do when they are in a reading slump?? Buy more books, duh 🙄 In my defense, it was buy one get one free and both covers were calling to me 🖤🔐🌟

“Wonders what makes a woman a witch.”

I would feel the same way, have the same panicked realization if faced with the idea that I was attending a party with a Famous Author!