Welcome to Litsy!

3.5/5 🌟

An intriguing yet challenging exploration of a young mind wrestling with mental health and past traumas. Thought-provoking but admittedly frustrating towards the end. This is definitely not a book for everyone. 📚

This has been sitting in my kindle forever and when I finally read it it was one of my favourite books of the year! Such a gorgeously dark and complex coming of age state of the nation dark academia campus novel (if that‘s a thing). I‘ll be turning Natalie over and over in my head forever. I also think this is going to set me off on a big Shirley Jackson phase I need more.

Remember, Natalie, your enemies will always come from the same place your friends do

Mysteries & magic for my October #BookSpinBINGO list. I‘m ready!

A curious novel. Many questions remain, however, Jackson‘s ability to keep the reader on edge is thrilling. Taking a glimpse inside of the protagonist‘s mind is a chilling experience and at times, hits close to home.

#SpookySaturday @TheNeverendingTBR
1.Damien from The Omen!
2.Junoon,a 90s Hindi movie where the hero is a were-tiger.Ridiculous production values now but terrifying for a 6 year old!
3.I want to make my way through Shirley Jackson's entire body of work!
Amazing graphic used !!!

I‘m still reeling from this book! Shirley Jackson is so good at writing weird, creepy thrillers that have you questioning everything. Is this real? Did that actually happen? Part of the fun is that the questions aren‘t fully answered but the ride is wild and interesting the entire time.

Strange...very strange.

Gearing up for the last 24 pages 🤗 with a North African Mint Green tea because my throat feels a little raw and swollen 😞 hoping I'm not getting sick!

Next read for my Gothic book club

1. The Library of Lost and Found 😍; Uprooted (re-read for gothic book club); Carry On... which I might bail on soon 🤷🏽‍♀️
2. Fangirl!!!! (Which makes it weird that I might bail on Carry On...)
3. Hangsaman (Shirley Jackson)

#weekendreads
@rachelsbrittain

An utterly strange and chilling story where not much happens, except in the deeply troubled mind of the protagonist. However, towards the end, the story takes an interesting turn. A college student from a dysfunctional family is unsure how to navigate her college and adolescent life, feels alienation and fear. Gradually, she can‘t differentiate what‘s real and what‘s her imagination. (Neither can I!) Deeply unsettling.
#AuthorAMonth #August

Received a bday gift in the mail today (a few days early) 😍📚

The story is propelled by terrifying loneliness, the power of awareness, everyday social brutality, and existential fear. Shirley Jackson delivers the kind of book that leaves you with the thoroughly enjoyable activity of chewing over what you've just read. I find myself reflecting back on Natalie‘s voices - thoughts, diaries, letters - and trying to sort through and identify what was real and what wasn't.

Forever visiting local bookstores on vacation!! I'm excited about my finds at The Paper Nautilus today!

There‘s some “red” on that right hand. Sorry, it was the best I could come up with! 😆

#RedRightHand
#MayMovieMagic

Shirley Jackson‘s books often have an eerie, creepy quality. The tagged book is based on the real life disappearance of a college coed in the 1940s.

#invisibletouch #anglophileapril

Currently reading. Love it.

“The gap between the poetry she wrote and the poetry she contained was, for Natalie, something unsolvable.” — Shirley Jackson, HANGSAMAN

Reading this subtly creepy book as the last #yearsofmylife book published in 1951 before moving onto TBRs on my shelf published in 1952.

All about Shirley for today's #riotgrams chills and thrills.

You just never know. I loved the three previous books I read by SJ. This was her first novel, 1951, written after her critically acclaimed short story, The Lottery, 1948. The intention of the plot was blurred, and it didn't contain the psychological intensity or creepiness she's known for and the description of the book in no way matching what I would say it's about. It's a shame!

Loving Hangsaman by Shirley Jackson! #book #horror #october #litsy

I give up. It‘s my fault, not Shirley Jackson‘s, that I can‘t get into this book. It has all the ingredients but I just can‘t concentrate and am not interested in Natalie, her dysfunctional family or her college life. Maybe I‘ll try again some other time.

(Picture: Monastero di Santa Chiara, Naples, Italy)

What a weird book. I like it, but it's weird. Definitely Bell Jar-esque. The sentences though--beautiful, haunting, and often funny. Men do not come off well in this story, and neither does marriage, nor does growing up. The only thing to come out well, really, is Jackson herself--would be a great addition to any fall reads for those like creepy and twisty. Good thing I had dogs and Husband with me while I read (or did I?? Are any of us here?)

I spent a couple of hours at the bookstore looking for a creepy literary fiction book and found a Shirley Jackson I have never read! Woo hoo! And the protagonist has my first name, which should up the chill factor! Pizza is on its way, and husband and I are both settled with a book, so I am settled in for a comfy and creepy Friday night!

Finished my #LitsyAtoZ challenge! Here are G-L @bookishmarginalia

Natalie Waite eagerly leaves her dysfunctional family for college. She hopes to discover who she is & meet new friends. Instead, she encounters extreme isolation, gender expectations, & unsettling interiority. Jackson is an astonishing stylist & it shines in this, her second novel. Natalie Waite's despair & internal crisis are tempered, albeit briefly, by Jackson's witty observations.

First of several Shirley Jackson purchases to arrive.

A terrifically strange book. It's refreshing to have a campus novel not written about adolescent boys, especially because Jackson shows that growing up is just as--if not exponentially more--difficult for a girl. It's a dark and twisted tale where the reader, like Natalie, is never quite sure what's real. The ending is supremely inconclusive, provoking me and, by the look of it, many others to take to the Internet, wondering what we missed.

I can think of few better combinations than Shirley Jackson and "Gallows Pole." #music #ShirleyJackson

I love Shirley Jackson, and this book was a fun read. But it's obvious why it's one of her lesser known books - it can't compare to The Haunting of Hill House or We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Still worth a read, though!

#dressesoncovers
@RealLifeReading

The novel itself isn't about a traditionally scary subject like ghosts or vampires. It's a bildungsroman about a girl, Natalie Waite, who leaves home for the first time to attend college. Simply being inside of this girl's head is what makes this short novel so chilling and often disorienting. At the very least, this novel shows how scary entering the world can be for a young woman. #AllHallowsRead @Litsy

Since I'm reading her bio, I wanted to get more of her work.

I had such a fantastic, busy weekend seeing a friend for the first time in 5 years, a work party, then on Sunday a day trip to the Tiny House Expo (and tours!), wine tasting, antiquing, and of course a picnic and BOOKS (from the antique stores). Found a STEAL--the paperback of Slade House for only $5! I'm pumped! And I love my new edition of Peter Pan 💖🍷🍂🍁🎃🏠💀👻🕷🌕🕸🌾🍃 I'm elated it's finally October (and I can use all the emojis 😝)

Picked up where I left off in Hangsaman by Shirley Jackson.

Also, first post on Litsy for the win! 🤘

#horror

I made a list of 100 Must-Read Second Novels for @bookriot! http://bookriot.com/2016/06/02/100-must-read-second-novels. Did you know Sula, True Grit, and Fahrenheit 451 are all second novels? As well as this lesser-known creepy Shirley Jackson book! What are your favorite second novels?