Welcome to Litsy!

I saw the production of "A Little Life" yesterday, and I can not stop thinking about it.
James Norton was phenomenal as Jude.

I will be thinking about it for a long time. The play definitely did the book justice.

???

I was so excited to get my hands on this copy. It seemed to make everyone emotional. But when I finally read the first few pages... it bored me to death! I tried.. I really did. But I bailed about 10% in.

really struggled with how much trauma is dumped in here but at least Yanagihara writes beautifully

Probably my first picture here on litsy.
Major updates:
1. Have been in a major reading slump after I finished 'A little life.'
2. Getting back my reading pace finally, and hopefully.
3. Settling into a new job (read: first job).
4. Trying to add a little more personalized touch here.
Thank you for reading through my updates.

5🌟/5🌟

A wonderful short interview with James Norton and Luke Thompson as they return to the stage for another stint in A Little Life. ❤️❤️❤️

I had no idea James was diabetic, and the challenges that brings.

Watch from around 45 mins into the programme.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001nq3x

Mate date with the bestie booked. At least we have a couple of months to mentally prepare.

Den sætter sig dybt i læseren. Løber lidt omveje, men den kan bære det.

For all the people who've read it -
I finished this book like an hour back and I didn't even wonder about how sad can this book make me?
But, then I realise something super freakin' weird.
It is 12th June today.

PS - Will probably take some time before reviewing it here.

This is the most accurate description of me reading 'A little life' rn. There's so much that has happened, there's so much that's gonna happen. And it's a huge ass book. Also, wtf is wrong with Caleb!?😑

I'm not crying, you're crying!!!! 😭😭😭

OK, I may be crying a bit.

Wow, that was phenomenal. Fantastic interpretation of the book. Heartbroken all over again 💔

Thanks for the day @TrishB @squirrelbrain @Oryx @jhod 💕

Thanks for a lovely day out to see this play @trishb @squirrelbrain @jhod @RaeLovesToRead

The play was excellent.
So moving.

On the train and on my way @jhod @TrishB @squirrelbrain @RaeLovesToRead

#TemptingTitles
Day 15. With life
#WithLife

Playing a bit of catch up. This book is on my tbr.

One of my favorites ever! #temptingtitles #withlife @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs

I've never read a book of this length that was so mentally challenging.
Thanks to my previous job, I am emotionally hardened. It takes a lot to get under my skin. And this did.
Whilst I didn't ugly cry (robot, I know), I found myself BOILING with rage throughout.
It was a heavy & slow read but worth the commitment. I adored Andy. ❤️
There's just enough heartwarming content sprinkled throughout so that I didn't need the Samaritans on speed dial.

Almost there! This one has put me through the wringer mentally and emotionally.
I'm having to have a break from it now. It's time for a cup of tea, an episode of Friends, and a Cadburys Creme Egg.

Well, I made it through my re-read…. With only a few tears.

I am using this for #pop23 #abookyouwishyoucouldreadforthefirsttimeagain but I also think it was better the second time around. I knew what was coming with the terrible parts, which meant I could more appreciate the relationships between the boys, Andy and Harold.

I‘m interested to see how it translates to the stage when we go in two weeks‘ time. ⬇️

On my colleagues recommendation, I've picked up this chunkster. She warned me that I would need several boxes of tissues to get through this roller coaster.
I'm scared 🫠🙃

This was a difficult read. So sad. The story never gets better. Heartbreaking.

Time to start this book. I've been putting it off for years..... I'm nervous/scared.

5*/5 ⭐

Un libro meraviglioso e terribile al tempo stesso, che riesce a spezzarti il cuore in maniera tremendamente bella. Non penso ci sia un altro libro che mi ha fatto piangere in così tanti punti, a volte per quanto erano tristi, altre per quanto erano belli.

Beautifully written, heartbreaking, tragic, but also heartwarming at times.

‘And so I try to be kind to everything I see, and in everything I see, I see him.‘ ❤️

I cried, I laughed, I panicked, and I ached. What a beautiful literary masterpiece. This will haunt me for the rest of my lifetime.

Valentine‘s gift from hubby…he did good; it‘s a signed authenticated first edition! ❤️ (and it‘s the UK cover of course, not the rather troubling US one!)

I‘ve just started a re-read of my paperback copy before we go to see the stage play in April. I won‘t be reading this one though, and I need to find a spot on my shelves where it won‘t be in sunlight at all.

Am I ready to read this for the second time?! I‘m not so sure…. 😬

I very rarely re-read books but I‘m going to see the stage play in April with some fellow Littens ( @TrishB @Oryx @RaeLovesToRead ) so I *think* I want to read this again before we go.

If you don‘t see me on Litsy for a while, send help. I shall be sitting in a puddle of my own tears. 😭

Have just finished my second reading of ‘A Little Life‘. It‘s just not a good book or written well! Cannot understand why it is so successful and why the NYRoB was the only publication to really critique the novel and author.

This book was so well written but so heart wrenching I‘m not sure I understand entirely why people liked it so much. It was so painful to tread through all the awful passages. I guess the upside is that I understood what suffering is, should it be psychological or physical. The good passages were priceless though.

10/10

A sweeping epic of secrets, shame, love and friendship. Your heart will be torn out and served to you on a silver platter so be prepared. The moral of this story: conquer your demons with those you love before they eat you alive.

@squirrelbrain You were absolutely right... I made it to THAT part and I don't even want to keep reading anymore... I'm destroyed right now and I have to walk into work not knowing if my coworker made it as far as I did!!!

Stick a fork in me... Yanagihara has cooked me like a Thanksgiving turkey...

I want to dig a hole, crawl in, and finish this book. Then I want to fill in that hole and just live there for a while so I can reset... 😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨

Holy moly... 55% through this and gut punch after gut punch has made me scared to keep going... this is easily one of the most difficult books I've ever read...

So much on my plate & my coworker just asked me to read this with her because she's never read a book this long! I'm a default support system for readers, I guess!!!

📚 Tagged, Lord of the Rings, Lessons in Chemistry
🖋 Lehane, Dennis
🎞 Last Christmas 📺 Lark Rise to Candleford, Leverage, The Librarians
🎤 Linkin Park, John Lennon
🎶 Learning to Fly (Pink Floyd) Love on the Brain (Rihanna) Lightening Crashes (Live) Life in a Northern Town
(Dream Academy) Losing my Religion (REM) Love of my Life (Queen)

#ManicMonday

Tagging everyone because I love seeing ALL the answers!

Oh my goodness - live on stage! Not sure my emotions could cope with that! 😪

https://www.bam.org/a-little-life?alttemplate=MobileEventFestival17&utm_source=l...

I read this book on vacation, It‘s been on my TBR shelf forever. I didn‘t realize it was going to be a heart-breaking, gut-wrenching, ugly cry kind of book (or I might have saved it for when I was home). I cried on the plane, I cried on the ferry, I cried on the beach. It is simultaneously the saddest and most beautifully written book I‘ve ever read. I don‘t know what to read next, I feel as though I‘m ruined for all other books.

Asking for recs because I need some catharsis. What is the last book that wrecked you? That gutted you and broke you and that you couldn‘t put down? That stayed with you long after you finished?
Im tired of living in my own loneliness and with my own demons…I need to escape into someone else‘s.
(I‘d also be interested in tv show/movie recs in this same vein).
TIA.

Yes, many! Tagged book probably gave me the longest lasting book hangover.

Best: Monday and Tuesday off work. Worst: Going to work this morning and facing the piles from 4 days off.

#WondrousWednesday

Wanna play? @Ann_Reads @Suet624 @MaureenMc

My choice for #LetterL in the #alphabetgame

@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

This book destroyed me, but remains an all-time favorite!
#alphabetgame #LetterL @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

This letter is easy. Brutal but it‘s been quite a while since I read it and I still miss the characters.
#alphabetgame
#letterL

I have thoughts, but it‘s going to take a while to process them. I understand why this book is divisive…but it is also a masterclass in so many ways.

What a book! I didn't realise it had so many pages when I ordered it! This book does not feel like you are reading 720 pages, I didn't want it to end and sobbed my way through the last 20 pages. At times difficult to read due to subject matter but incredible the same right from page one. What characters, what complexity. A book that has left me with a gap now it's ended.

Dog sitting and finishing up this brick.

I‘ve been wanting to read these chunksters for a while. I know they are completely different, but would anyone want to do a very low key buddy read? Just a few chapters at a time! 📚

Happy Monday!!

…and crushed the last 400 pages in 3 days!
What I liked: thematically… unique. Such a brutal and riotous excursion into trauma and what it does to a person. Rich characters and BEAUTIFUL descriptions of love in all its forms.
Less so: intermittently waffles between dreadfully shocking and dreadfully tedious. It‘s more character than plot, and the times between these dreadful ones were masterful, but often extremed too much for me :/