Welcome to Litsy!

Here‘s the full scope of the fab #creepyChristmas package @ImperfectCJ spoiled me with! The coasters are epic and will be put to good use for years to come. Thanks for the amazing Nightmare Before Christmas scarf and the beautiful bookish socks. Earl Grey thanks you for the cat toy and would like to know if he can haz coasters?

Bizarre and visceral - I practically inhaled this book. I'm a sucker for the macabre, strange, and sexy - so this one really struck a chord!

Finally got all my books back on the shelves *great sigh of relief*

Thomas is dead, but due to an administrative error, he‘s sticking around on Earth for a little while. In the meantime, he‘s not supposed to incur any “regrets,” by doing things like contacting those who knew him or having sex—the latter of which he does in great detail and in varying states of bodily manifestation. Interesting premise but all the characters occurred to me as rather vapid and shallow, and I didn‘t feel invested in any of them.

This wasn‘t as weird as I was expecting based on other reviews, but it still didn‘t do that much for me. I liked it, but wasn't blown away. I love the cover though! 3⭐️

And the verdict is... not for me. Or, not for right now. Not sure which, but I only made it about 30 mins in lol it has potential if you are in a existential place, though!

Only 15 mins in and it's already so... strange...
I'm intrigued though 🤷🏾‍♀️

1️⃣ The Green Mile by Stephen King + Tokyo Ghoul: Re, Vol. 2 by Sui Ishida

2️⃣ Soft cover for reading, Hard cover for making the bookcase look pretty. 😄

3️⃣ Tagged ⬆️

@rachelsbrittain
#WeekendReads

I tag you, Constant Reader. 🙋‍♂️

A girl who falls in love with a “ghost”? What could possibly go wrong? Definitely for fans of The Pisces, The Regrets is an inverse of a love story with hints of science fiction, indulgences, self-discovery from our own hauntings, and of course, ghost sex! I liked it!

“Ummm ghost sex??” is a common refrain from reviewers, and I can also delight in the confusion behind that question. It requires an extra bit of focus in the beginning to properly follow who/what is happening, but once I figured that, I couldn‘t stop reading. Thomas has died but due to administrative error his death has been reversed until the error can be remedied. What he does with the extra time is fairly predictable but a riot just the same.

Strange, unusual & beautifully written.

Different to what I normally read but I'm glad I took my girlfriends recommendation, I really liked it.

It's one of those books I'd like to take my time with on a re-read.

The ending was a little abrupt though so loses a star, I wanted another 100 pages to find out more stuffs. 🤷‍♂️

Today‘s card is: five of clubs (wands)/The Devil; TEMPTATION

“Mr. Wickham selfishly seduces Georgiana Darcy and Lydia Bennet”
#dailytarot

This makes me think of Thomas from the tagged book who involves himself with Rachel even though he‘s been warned against it and tries to totally consume her.

Repost and tag a friend if you like: @KVanRead @sharread @Hufflepuffle @StillLookingForCarmenSanDiego

This was a strange one, but I appreciated how unique it was. Unlikable characters written very well. The only way I can think to describe it is Brooklyn hipsters and a lot of ghost sex. I didn‘t love it but I liked it. There was definitely something enjoyable in the style of writing.

Another one down for #bookspinbingo

“Most people don‘t notice most other people. Most people don‘t notice much of anything. Their lives fit them too snugly; noticing requires space.”

My guy showed up in the epigraph of my next read ❤️. I hope this is a good omen for how this one will be. I‘ve had a few not so great picks this month 🤞🏻

My #alphastack for #letterR is a particularly foodie one.... with Knisley‘s lovely foodie graphic memoir and the river cottage, the river cafe and Nigel Slaters ‘real‘ books, all so well used and loved.
The stack is topped off with a few old favorite ‘R‘ novels and the tagged book, which is a unique one from this year..... 💕📚

One of my only 5⭐️ reviews this year so far.

I loved the premise of this book, it was just so so good, and I still think about the story occasionally, one of those that sticks with you for a while after reading ✨

I read this book cover to cover this morning. I can't remember the last book that drew that reaction from me. A woman and a spirit fall in love, despite the danger of "regrets." I couldn't stop turning the pages.

Interesting take on the way we sometimes try to use other people to fill a void in ourselves. It's comforting to think that there's some order, some rule book that we're following whether we're aware of it or not. (I don't really think there is, but it's nice to imagine.) Rather more sex in this novel than I'd prefer, but it makes sense with the plot.

Second of my three #gettbr selections this quarter.

"We generally expected little from other humans besides absurdity. As a result, we were rarely disappointed."

Yep. Same.

Another day of euphonium talks for my son, another book for me! (Also another Book Riot Tailored Book Recommendations pick. #getTBR )

Deeply strange & nuanced - not for everyone. On the surface — it‘s a “love” story within a “ghost” story, of a man in a purgatory type state in route to peace falling in love with a live woman. But ultimately to me this was a story about the stages of grief, loneliness, obsession, depression, and the ripple effects of your actions on others.

Unique. I enjoyed it more than I expected to.

This book was kinda fun, strange, and at times a little cringe-worthy. Don‘t take it too seriously and enjoy the ride. It was a good distraction.

#Aprilwrapup

I know I‘m a bit of a #starslut but I had five 5⭐️reads this month! (Six if I include my re-read of Maybe you should talk to someone for my Zoom bookclub)

My Dark Vanessa, Hot Milk, The Regrets, The Line of Beauty & The Queen of Bloody Everything were all totally my cuppa tea..... 😍💕📚

Bizarrely romantic, oddly sexy, gently funny and a tiny bit sad..... I just loved this strange little book. Boy dies, then boy meets girl, then boy starts to disappear...... Weird and poignant, and I really fell head over heels for it. 💕

#nextup This one that I‘m super excited about.... sounds weird in a really good way! 🤓

A delightfully weird, unique, sexy, bittersweet story about a love affair between a woman (in the world of the living, but also somewhat removed from it) and a ghost who has been temporarily stuck on Earth because of the equivalent to a clerical error in the afterlife. I LOVED the writing: poetically precise and philosophically true. The tone was thoughtful and candid, details of the characters' flaws unflinching, but it never moved into cynicism.

Trying my best to weather pandemic anxiety & being laid off b/c my library closed. One bright side is time to dig into books I own & haven't read yet. I really like this 1 so far!
"There is a voice inside of me, which I suppose is my voice but which I hear as if it's someone else's, the voice that says the words in my head when I read. My relationship to this voice is so intimate, so perfect, that most other people's voices feel like intrusions."

“We generally expected little from other humans besides absurdity. As a result, we were rarely disappointed.”

A creative, melancholy, and surprisingly sweet love story. #arc #Edelweiss

This was my first fiction audiobook in forever and it did not disappoint. It was weird as all get out and I can't believe I liked it, but I really did.

Full review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3205137624

#MarchTBR
A few for #booked2020 and #pop2020...
Finish American Dirt for bookclub...
2 new releases I‘m excited to get to...
And a mystery pick for #bookspin

The plot follows Thomas and Rachel and their relationship. But alas Thomas is dead. And in his current state of limbo he meets and falls in love with Rachel. This is a novel of love, loneliness, of the self and our acknowledgment of our desires and dependency. It‘s about healing and of not being a side character in your own life.

Read this books slowly. Take it in small sips. You want it to last.

I realized the world outside my head didn‘t feel completely real unless I could touch it.

Recommendations for works with a similar vibe but a completely different tone/voice:

•Watch Beetlejuice (film)
•Watch Ally McBeal (tv)
•Listen to Ashes of American Flags by Wilco (song)

Respectively, you‘ll get:
•A glimpse into the bureaucracy of The Afterlife
•The inner machinations of a self-involved woman obsessed with The Daydream
•The heartbreakingly-painful sentiment, “All my lies are always wishes...I would die if I could come back new.”

One of my most anticipated reads of 2020. I love it when ghost stories wear literary fiction as a sheet, with holes cut out for the eyes. Something about the synopsis reminded me of The Waiting Room from “Beetlejuice,” & I could not have been more excited about the perceived resemblance.

Despite my negative rating, I have to admit: conceptually, I continued to find the story interesting. 👇🏻

This is a weird little book so far and I‘m not sure how I‘m feeling. Would definitely recommend for friends of the Pisces. But the cover is great.

I don‘t know if a so-so rating is fair other than it wasn‘t what I was expecting. I can tell that a lot of thought and time went into this book and the cultural references point out that the author is well read/ educated. I felt like there wasn‘t much distinction between characters, male or female. Perhaps it was intended or I was just seeing the author in all of her characters. I thought this book would be more philosophical or psychological 👇

I‘ve never been more “Me”: (ghost) book in hand, bun in lap, smile on my face. 👻📖🐰😍

To date, this book was on my Top 3 Most Anticipated Reads for 2020. It‘s not going as well as I expected. I keep vacillating between like & dislike. Sometimes, it‘s so painfully hip & judgmental. See:

“He seemed to have many fully developed theories about me, most of them now confirmed...”It makes total sense that you grew up in Maine...I bet you can knit. Of course you like Almodovar...Who‘s your favorite Japanese writer? Let me guess, Mishima.”

“The wheelchair?
“Yes.” My mother hadn‘t forgotten the word; she simply considered it indecent to speak aloud of misfortune (or sex, for that matter) & angled whenever possible for others to do it for her. When it was necessary to speak these words, she did so in a whisper. “You know,” she‘d say, “he has *cancer,” or “she got *pregnant.” To this day, as far as I know, she still has never fully voiced a wide range of words, from “suicide” to “wig.”

“I looked at him a lot. I touched him all over with the fingers of my eyes.”

Guess if I like the above phrase?
That‘s a hard “no.”

#bookhaul When all your pre-orders arrived at once! 😳💸.... Thank goodness for my 40% employee discount! Now.... how to sneak them in the house?...🤫

No! I‘m reading two books already that I own and I went to pick up my book hold from the library, The Regrets, and The Lost Book of Adana Moreau and A Bookshop in Berlin were both on their new release shelf! I couldn‘t leave them there, but I hope I can read them all within the next three weeks. Super excited to read these!

re·grets
/rəˈɡrets/

plural noun

“Incursions of the past into the present. Threats to one‘s temporal integrity. An inability to coexist with oneself.”

About to dive in. I‘m a little bit nervous. I‘ve been waiting so impatiently for this! 💖

I don‘t normally do a #weeklyforecast post; I‘m too much of a mood reader to come up with such an organized plan of attack.

BUT. The Regrets came in for me at the library this week & there‘s *no way* I‘m not reading it next. So:

•FINISH Such a Fun Age
•START (& finish) The Regrets 👻
•FINISH Lady from the Black Lagoon (audio)
•START Little Women (audio)
•Recommit to poetry in the morning & try to come close to finishing Spell (by Lauterbach) 🔮

On page 46 and already in love with this book.

Full review here: http://girlwellread.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-regrets-by-amy-bonnaffons.html

Show me yours!
#mostanticipated2020 @KarenUK #mostanticipatedreadsof2020