Welcome to Litsy!

I love Roddy Doyle. I picked this up as I hadn‘t read any of his books for a while. I didn‘t read the blurb first so had no idea what it was going to be about. Once I started and found mention of Christian Brothers schools, I knew this book would further fuel my disdain for the Catholic Church. I wasn‘t wrong. Classic Doyle and well worth reading.

This is one of my favorite Irish authors. His books are kind of grim but they are beautifully written.

The book is actually about the aftereffects of sexual abuse experienced at school. So you've been forewarned.

I‘ve never read a Roddy Doyle book, but think I probably should. Any recommendations?

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@OriginalCyn620

Pick
Audiobook read by the author 👍
Short novel of a man coming to terms with his limited success, inferiority, and lack of self-confidence, stemming from his inability to face abuse that happened to him as a youth.
Surprise twist ending that could allow for more than one interpretation. Would love to hear Roddy Doyle‘s explanation.

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Roddy Doyle used to be one of #MyFavoriteThings when I was young. I had forgotten all about him though until I came across this new book of his. And he still knows how to deliver.
This is the shocking story of Victor, a middle-aged Irish man trying to get his life together after his wife leaves him. In the pub he meets a man he went to school with although he doesn‘t remember the man. Or does he?

#MusicalNewYear

#JB mail is the best mail! Thank you for the lovely card, @AmyG and thank you @Jas16 for the ARC of #Smile.

And I didn‘t come close to 24 hours for the readathon but I had fun and cleared some books off of my towering TBR. Loved having two readathon weekends in a row.

I love Roddy Doyle‘s writing and was drawn into this book from the first page. I enjoyed most of this book but I don‘t think the twist ending really worked. Last book of the #reversereadathon

I just finished this book and feel like I‘ve been bludgeoned.

I‘m not even sure how to rate it as it swung wildly between the cringeworthy and the shocking. Maybe it was meant to provoke such a visceral reaction? It also seemed to lose its way in the middle.

I will rate it as a Pick to be on the safe side, but it was not a book I enjoyed. It was, however, one that has made me think, and that‘s sufficient to earn a Pick from me.

1. Green and purple 💚💜
2. Autumn
3. Historical fiction
4. Reading (Duh! 🤪)
5. Ice cream
6. Coffee or Diet Pepsi (NOT Coke!)
7. Magnetic bookmarks

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@Tiffy_Reads

This was a real head scratcher. Certainly not as charming as previous Roddy Doyle books. I'm just not sure what to make of the ending. And even if the ending had made sense, the rest of the book was 🤷‍♀️. If hadn't been a selection for the Tournament of Books longlist, the description alone was not compelling enough to prompt a listen. I should listen to my instincts more when it comes to ToB.

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I can‘t help agreeing with him a little.

The book I just finished, the book I‘m reading now, and the next book in line all share a pleasing color scheme.

It‘s been ages since I read Roddy Doyle. This book caught my eye in a local bookstore and so far it‘s intriguing.

This book had such an unexpected and major twist at the end that I MUST read it again to see if I should have picked up on some clues!
Welcome to my new followers....I am loving Litsy😻

A new Roddy Doyle book always makes me smile @penguinrandomhouse 😁

Nobody writes dialogue like Roddy Doyle. He's freaking brilliant at it. At he's not scared to tackle Dark subject matter. I'm just not sure what he was trying to do here came together cohesively. I'd bet it'd make an interesting book club discussion.

#noalibis also hosted Roddy Doyle on Wednesday and were kind enough to get it dedicated for me ❤️

First in line for this hold! We read The Woman Who Walked Into Doors in high school, & it's stuck with me ever since. I am thankful (in retrospect) to have gone to a school with teachers who pushed the envelope with required reading, & believed the students could handle tough material. I didn't realize until I looked it up TODAY, though, that TWWWID was only about a year old when we read it. I just assumed all assigned reading was old stuff. Oops!

Two weeks after my trip to Ireland ends, I get to go back again in this ARC from Roddy Doyle #Ireland #goodreadsgiveaway #bookmail

Check out the creepy tagline on this cover:
"He says he remembers you. Why can't you remember him?"

Thanks for the Goodreads ARC, @PenguinRandomCa @penguinrandomhouse !

Yay surprise #bookmail!!! I love Roddy Doyle and just found out this book was coming out a few days ago. Cannot believe my friend sent me an ARC. I owe her some chocolate for sure.