Welcome to Litsy!

It‘s been a long time since I‘ve bailed on a book. I really tried. I even put it down, read another book, and tried again. I can‘t even tell you what this book is about because I honestly don‘t know. Horrible characters, horrible plot! I had high hopes because I loved Station Eleven, but this one definitely missed the mark for me. 1 star… I‘m so serious.

Getting cold in Florida this weekend, so I am getting all my books lined up!

I really enjoyed this novel. I loved the tone and the sense of place, and I always enjoy a story that you have to piece together. I thought it was well constructed. You know you‘re in the hands of a seasoned author. 🤩

This fantastic book is on its way to you, Cynthia! @Alfrazier21 @Littlewolf1 @Readergrrl

#Lmpbc #round13 #GroupV @suvata

I really enjoyed this thinker of a book! So many puzzle pieces to put together and characters to love (and hate). The theme of in-between, liminal spaces repeats and makes it hard to tell sometimes what is real. Great pick for #lmpbc, @Littlewolf1 and should be on its way to @Readergrrl right after New Years.

I need to add to some of these to my repertoire! Anyone have any polished signature lines to keep a convo going?

The example from the book is “I‘m glad you‘re here.” and one of my favorites is “What‘s new? What‘s exciting?” I usually get some fun responses. 😊

#lmpbc

A novel about the choices we all make as we move through life: some banal, some tragic, some cataclysmic. The characters throughout the story are linked through their actions, or through the actions of others. Beautifully written, but full of aimless souls who lack a moral core.

If you expected Station Eleven redux, you‘ll be disappointed, but Mandel is wrestling with those same themes here — even though the characters are more challenging.

Really enjoyed this! Very different, centred around a weird& wonderful host of characters on the periphery of a Ponzi scheme.

One woman‘s journey, intertwined with white collar crime, life in a hotel, and characters who are connected but not immediately. It had mixed reviews, but I found it fascinating.

Second vaccine shot this morning. What better way to anxiously await the onset of mild symptoms than with a book in hand and this breezy spring weather?

A weird book 🤔 Read for some prompts for #PopSugarReadingChallenge2021 3/5

Just finished my first book of 2021. It‘s kind of a ghost story in a way. But I would say the overall theme is about lies we tell ourselves. “It‘s possible to know and not know something “. There are also some parallels universe Station Eleven nods for fans of that title. The story is told in a roundabout way, which was pleasantly discombobulating.

Great read.

A very deftly written book about a group of disparate characters connected in interesting ways. Pairs well with holidays and / or #insomnia

#110 of 2020. Just okay for me. ⭐️⭐️✨

🎧 #emilystjohnmandel

I know this book has mixed reviews, but I really liked it. I would not recommend the audio version - the switch between characters was sometimes confusing. #DoubleSpin #BookSpinBingo

Just started! Already diving into these characters.

I received this book from my sister for my birthday. I would have maybe liked this more if I was not looking for a Station's Eleven part 2.

A Ponzi scheme collapses and in another story a woman disappears at sea. This books puts these two stories together in an interesting way.

I highly recommend this book! What a story! It had a little bit of everything. It‘s scheming, mysterious, slightly romantic, and even a little scary at times. I‘m lucky enough not to have known much about Ponzi schemes before I read this story. This book helped me to better understand the warning signs and what to avoid. I really liked this authors writing style, and I plan to read more of her books.

What a bummer! Mandel writes so beautifully but this one just went nowhere, in my opinion.

#Booked2020 #newin2020
#PopSugar2020 A book set in a country beginning with “C”
#ReadWithMrBook #PickedForCover

Final online literary event today: Emily St. John Mandel (with Senator Paula Simons) at St Albert‘s Starfest. 😁

Begin at the end: plummeting down the side of the ship in the storm's wild darkness, breath gone with the shock of falling, my camera flying away through the rain--

#TheGlassHotel #EmilyStJohnMandel

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

Emily St John Mandel has a fantastic knack for creating characters that feel real. Between these and Station Eleven, I prefer the more story-based nature of SE, but the strength of both is in the characters. GH‘s story isn‘t all that fascinating. If not for the characters, it would be So-So.

⭐️
I forced myself to finish this book because I kept thinking something was going to happen. It never did. The characters are shallow and uninteresting. The plot is meandering and uneventful. There didn‘t seem to be a point to any of it. Maybe that was the point? Is the author trying to say life is pointless? Add to that the regular drug usage and I don‘t recommend this book at all. I just didn‘t like anything about it. Blah.

I enjoyed the feel of this novel---the pacing and the language and the locations---and I really enjoyed getting to know the characters, but the Ponzi scheme was not interesting to me, which wouldn't have been a problem if it hadn't been the main thing linking everything together.

One done for August #bookspinbingo.

“What kept her in the kingdom was the previously unimaginable condition of not having to think about money, because that's what money gives you: the freedom to stop thinking about money. If you've never been without, then you won't understand the profundity of this, how absolutely this changes your life.“

- Emily St. John Mandel, The Glass Hotel

I love Station Eleven so much. This one is taking me longer to get into.... any insight on that? Will I still love it? At least I got a chapter in during lunch. Lunch delivery was rather disappointing alas. At least it‘s Friday!

"Begin at the end: plummeting down the side of the ship in the storm's wild darkness, breath gone with the shock of falling, my camera flying away through the rain---"

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

I love her writing, and I loved this book. I think this format of interconnected short stories really hurts home for me- another one of my favorites is told this way (Visit From the Goon Squad)- I just love how you get this wide view of everything that's happening, and I love following all of the different characters. Her sentences are so gorgeous, this is going to stick with me for a long time. 5⭐

I just couldn‘t stick with this one. Maybe I‘ll try again on paper, but for now there are dozens of people behind me in line. I‘m going to return it and let one of them have a chance.

My hold is in, my hold is in, my hold is in!!

Now to do my contactless pickup before our spiking cases force the libraries to close down again.

Side note: Because they haven't been accepting returns, we have three shelves and a plastic storage tub devoted only to library books. Keeping them separate from the books we own is becoming a challenge but one that I embrace. ❤️ the library!

I love her style and flow, and while not as good as Station Eleven I really enjoyed this book. Mandel can set an atmosphere just about better than anyone. I love the different character chapters and then bringing all together. Definitely worth picking up

⭐️⭐️ Too much going on ... yet not enough. That‘s to say, a lot of boring stuff happens to a lot of dull, abysmal people. The meandering “what ifs” and reimagined lives lack emotion. I didn‘t believe any of it, if you know what I mean? No connection. I felt similarly about Station Eleven. And the ghosts felt misplaced, like a total afterthought. I‘m just not a fan of this author.

Lazy days

32% in and waiting for something to actually happen. Does this get better??

I finished this almost at one sitting - definitely worth waiting six years for it. See my Goodreads review at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3393657722. #emilystjohnmandel #theglasshotel #book #books #fiction #bookstagram #booklove #bookish #bookphotography #bookcommunity #bookporn #canadianfiction #canada #newyork #winter #vancouver #booksbooksbooks #literaryfiction #modernliterature #lockdownreading #contemporaryfiction

I have waited for this book for a long time, but it has definitely been worth it. Absolutely marvellous so far, and I don‘t really want it to end. #emilystjohnmandel #theglasshotel #fiction book #books #bookstagram #bookphotography #bookcommunity #literaryfiction #contemporaryfiction #newyork #vancouver #britishcolumbia #canada #modernfiction #booklove #bookish #booknerd #bookporn #jamesreads

This is my book club‘s pick for the month. I didn‘t want to put Virgin River down but we are meeting on the 17th to discuss, so I figured I would get started. I‘m only on page 11 but I have a good feeling I‘m going to love this one.

The wait is over - I‘m going in! Thank you so much @DGRachel for speeding up getting my hands on this 🙏❤️🙏

Quite unlike anything else I‘ve read, it‘s almost as if the feeling of being haunted — by loss, by guilt, by regret — is the true focus of this book, rather than the people or places involved. Quietly intriguing, and persistantly somber, and beautiful in its own way.

Is anybody else having trouble getting through this ? I loved station eleven so I‘m kind of disappointed that I‘m not feeling this one

Still mulling this one over. I enjoyed the writing, but not sure I was sold on the story itself. Lots of characters that I felt only a very superficial connection with, and I never really felt like the story was going anywhere. The ending redeemed it a little for me, but ultimately I don‘t feel that it lived up to the hype.

Soooo looking forward to this!

1. Tagged (enjoying so far)
2. The Foster Portfolio, Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (Loved)
3. Imaginary Friend, Stephen Chbosky (too long)
#weekendreads

It says a lot about Emily St. John Mandel‘s writing, that I was riveted by a subject that I have no interest in.

Yes, it is about so much more than the financial crimes. It‘s about artistic expression, and regret, and escape, and delusion, and loyalty, but the backdrop is no mere plot device. It is there to examine how financial security and greed affect all of these things that we find so much more interesting to read about.

Inspired by the Madoff Ponzi scheme, the plot flips back & forth in time & characters' lives & can be hard to follow. That being said, Mandel's writing has a lyrical quality. Once you settle into the book's strange rhythm there‘s much to appreciate: art, regrets, & hauntings in every sense of the word. I think I'll return to it in the future, not because I loved it, but because I think I‘d appreciate it more if I approach w/different expectations.

“It‘s largely a description of events, public and personal, surrounding the exposure of a Ponzi scheme with close resemblance to Bernie Madoff‘s.” via New York Times. Why did I think this was about a boat?!