Welcome to Litsy!

I just started this book, but I‘m not sure if I like it very much. The beginning is kind of slow. I‘ve read books by Anne Tyler before, and I like that her books are set in #Baltimore, the city in which I grew up. I‘ll keep reading and see if it the action picks up.

An audio listen. It felt too rushed, almost like it was an outline rather then a full novel which is a shame because it could have been so much more.

It feels great to have listened to 46 books this year and read one: this space and creative group challenges are part of what keep me going! Thank you!

Nonfiction: 30
Fiction: 16
Women authors: 30
Queer authors: 9+
BIPOC authors: 22
Focus outside Turtle Island: 14
Canadian: 15

A “just for fun“ book by an author who I've often heard of but never read. I found this a sweet little book, about a somewhat geeky and goofy single man eking out a living as a freelance tech worker with a series of diverse clients and some extended family issues (no spoilers here!) A heartwarming way to end the year.

My #bookspin pulls for December: Redhead by the Side of the Road by Anne Tyler, whose work I‘ve never read before, and Everything Inside, short stories by Edwige Danticat, who I *love*.

Happy Sunday! I'm deeply sorry Kim - @BarkingMadRun - for forgetting to post this!! Forgive me please?❤️ These coffees smell so amazing and I can't wait to brew a pot and read this book that's been on my list for a long time.
Thank you so, so much for your gift and thoughtfulness 🥰

#MerryUnbirthdaySwap
@aperfectmjk

This was fine. Short, harmless, pretty thin. Tyler creates a character who is really nice and like-able but has trouble seeing what he‘s missing. There is one chapter here, where we meet his family, that was chaotic in a really terrific way. The rest was ok. I didn‘t mind it.

Started this in ebook form (trying Apple Books). It‘s the only Booker 2020 longlist book available from the publisher that I haven‘t read yet. (Love and Other Thought Experiments will be released in the US on Sep 28). This is my first time reading Anne Tyler. So far…it‘s kind of harmlessly dull.

Thirty minutes of reading and caffeine before my day starts has become the best part of my self care routine. Have a good day, Littens. ☺️📚

1) Holden Caulfield. Don't understand the hate. Yes, he can be insufferable. He was a teenager. Also, Bill Denbrough & Richie Tozier get the glory in IT but Mike is the one who brings the Loser's Club back to Derry when they're adults. He deserves more credit.
2) Anne Tyler's Redhead by the Side of the Road. Overall I really liked the book, but the ending was far too rushed!
#Two4Tuesday @TheSpineView

This is incredibly well written and short, which is one of my criteria for #audiobooks. It's definitely enjoyable.

#BookSpinBingo free space
@TheAromaofBooks

Super excited about this coming through on my library app 🤗🤗🤗 and started it immediately.
I love her writing so much. 😍😍😍

In my reading, this was a quiet, sometimes pedestrian novel about connecting and not connecting. Tyler's writing was thoughtful but not moving and in the end I felt I had seen inside a disconnected life, but that I hadn't really understood its significance. I didn't dislike it, but I wanted more.

I‘m working on my shelves and I got distracted by this book. It wasn‘t in my weekly forecast, it doesn‘t fit my theme of mysteries for this month, and it wasn‘t in the mushrooming stacks of “want to read next” books. But I‘m setting others aside and diving into it anyway. LOL!

My first Anne Tyler and don‘t be surprised if you see me reading more by her in the future.

In this book we meet Micah, a man in is early 40s, living by himself but he has a friend who is a girl, and set in his routines and living right.

Then one day a guy in his teens knock on his door and says that he believes Micah is his father. Is this true? And what happens with his routines after this? And his life?

For me, Tyler makes life‘s mundane moments interesting. As I was reading this, I was thinking that I had no idea why it made the #bookernominee Longlist, but the last chapter hit it home for me. I saw Micah and his life as a sketch about the fact that for many, life goes on in the midst of terrible things happening in the world. Booker nominees often speak to a snapshot of our current world, and for me, this book did that perfectly.

I haven‘t read Anne Tyler in years and I used to really enjoy her work. I‘m glad to have been reintroduced to her. This one has a simple plot, but I liked spending a little time in Micah Mortimer‘s world. His whole life is very regimented, until one day a boy shows up claiming to be his son, and things start to unravel. From the Modern Mrs Darcy summer reading list.

A quiet little snippet of Micah‘s life, the kind of book to sit with, sipping a cup of tea and just enjoy.

I have been hearing glowing praise for Anne Tyler for years. Her latest work is my first experience & I was immediately struck by both her humor & the quirkiness of her characters, Tyleresque traits I had read about. Self-employed tech expert & apartment superintendent Micah Mortimer lives a routine & unassuming life. Things turn sideways when the son of a former ex shows up asking for help.👇

Loved this. At first I expected a redhead by the side of the road, but quickly saw it was a metaphor for how he did not clearly see people. Focused on perfection, his life is sterile and this novel reveals this expectation that he never understood. Really good. 4/5 @TheAromaofBooks

If you like a book that is big on plot just keep moving, nothing to see here. The main character, Micah, was somewhere in between Don Tillman from the Rosie Project and Ove. A man stuck in his routines but not quite as curmudgeonly as Ove. This was my first Tyler and won‘t be my last. 4 ⭐️

I enjoyed this short feel good novel. I bought it on a whim after seeing it in the Modern Mrs. Darcy summer reading guide, and it was definitely credit worthy! Strangely this is my first book by Anne Tyler, and I‘m excited that I have a whole long backlist to catch up on.

This was such a fun book! It was reminiscent of A Man Called Ove regarding how ordinary it was, but it thankfully didn't have the sadness of Ove. It was a quick read and made me feel good. I haven't had much luck with concentrating on reading this year, nor have I had much luck with the books I have read being 5 star content, so this was definitely a treat.

I do love Anne Tyler‘s books and this one was no exception. I like that the big life events are treated in the same way as the daily minutiae of life. This one felt a little different to others that I have read, as it was about one man rather than a whole family.

However, much as I liked it, I fail to see why it made the #bookerlonglist2020 - it‘s not a departure from her usual fare and it‘s not groundbreaking in any way.

I read this Booker longlisted title last night because my public library had it available in the Libby app. I feel my preconceived notions of the author hold up, although I do feel the shorter length and shorter character list make this a tighter work in ways I appreciate.
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Micah is in his 40s and lives by his routines and doesn't seem to understand how this disconnects him from the people around him. ⤵️

Anne Tyler is a master of the quiet novel. This story is about Micah, a 44 year old man who is fastidious and independent. Tyler is excellent at characterization. She describes all of the quirky details, experiences, and family relationships that contribute to the shape of a personality. Not much happens in this book, but it was a pleasant few hours spent with Micah. The narrator of this audiobook did excellent work.

July reading highlights are on my blog:

https://lindypratch.blogspot.com/2020/07/july-2020-reading-round-up.html?m=1

A short, restful novel with a straightforward plot, rich characterization, and a hopeful resolution: sometimes that is exactly what is needed. There are no extra words here and it all comes together sweetly. #Audiobook read by MacLeod Andrews.

More #audiocrafting

• ModernMrsDarcy.com 2020 Summer Reading Guide

Micah Mortimer is a 44-year-old “tech geek” Who lives a very ordered and semi-solitary life in Baltimore. He runs a computer repair business and managers a small apartment complex. Then there is a knock on his door. Enter Brink, an adolescent boy who thinks that Micah might be his biological father. Anne Tyler has a way of turning a typical, everyday story into a unique and memorable event.

Kitchen and laundry duties done.
Now lunch with this book.
Im only 45 mins in and the meaning behind the title is already revealed.
I love Anne Tyler. If I can't find a book of hers in an op shop, I'll hunt for it on audio! This one's on audio but I found Vinegar Girl and The Beginners Goodbye in an opshop a few weeks ago! Woo hoo! That makes 7 of hers in my collection 😊

Good, likeable, quirky characters. Well written with a focus on character development. The plot line was just ok for me.... I think I preferred Deacon King Kong, A Man Called Ove, Eleanor Oliphant, for a similar themed novel. Light and quick, it‘s still a good book, but not one of my faves this year.

As my friend dropped her copy at my door last weekend, she said, “I can‘t even remember if I finished this. It‘s like all Tyler‘s other books.” Not ringing praise. But I enjoyed my venture into the power of the palate cleanser, which is how I‘d qualify this book. It‘s a small character study of a few days in a quirky man‘s life. Two sittings to finish—max. Some LOL.

Full review http://www.TheBibliophage.com
#IRLbookgroup #thebibliophage2020

1. The latest Anne Tyler was a perfect palate cleanser.

2. I‘d like to see Katniss Everdeen in just about any historical fiction novel: Gone with the Wind, War & Peace, maybe Outlander.

3. I love a multiple POV book, but my pet peeve is when there are so many POVs that I can‘t connect with any.

#wondrouswednesday @Eggs

Love love love Anne Tyler. The mundanity of everyday life is often what I love reading about most -- especially from masters of the art like Tyler. Our main character, Micah, often misses the point and is misunderstood. But endearing. Just loved it like all of hers I've read. Still need to get to much of her backlist. 📖

2.8/5 🌟

I'm usually a fan of Anne Tyler but I felt blasé about this one - it was a very ordinary book with an unremarkable ending.

Hmmm not sure it was the right first novel of hers to read. I like the style, observations and minutiae of the interactions. But something was missing for me.

What better time to get lost in a heartwarming Anne Tyler novel! In this latest gem, we hang out with meticulous Micah, a creature of habit who keeps every detail of his life so neatly in order that he often misses what‘s right in front of him. I adored Micah‘s sisters & their playful jibes along with the subtle nuggets of wisdom we can glean from each character Micah encounters. And you‘ll never guess who the illusive Redhead turns out to be. 🤔

Everything Tyler writes is just about perfection. I love spending time in her world, even for a short while.

It felt slight but I enjoyed it anyway. Somewhere between a pick and a so-so.

I enjoyed this book. We come to know a man called Micah Mortimer as some unexpected events cause him to reflect on his life and relationships. ⭐⭐⭐

You have to wonder what goes through the mind of a man like Micah Mortimer.

Intriguing, what is going through his mind?!?! 🤔

Enjoyable but not my favorite Anne Tyler. #Edelweiss #ARC

I was thrilled to come home to #bookmail from a recent Goodreads giveaway.

Yippee! Anne Tyler is releasing her newest novel on April 7, 2020! It‘s about staunch creature of habit Micah Mortimer whose meticulously organized and routine life is thrown off kilter by this redhead. 😁 “A funny, joyful, deeply compassionate story about seeing the world through new eyes.” Yaaaaas! 🙌🏻