Welcome to Litsy!

The premise was really interesting but I never fell into the story. Jake was one of those main characters that straddled the line between likable and annoying. I‘m going to complain about the ending below under a spoiler guard. I liked this book enough to finish it though.

Finally found a little time for reading...

Finished with work for the day. Tomorrow‘s wake-up is 4am—we start work before the sun is up so we can finish earlier to beat the worst of the midday heat—but all the coffee I drank this afternoon to fight off jet lag has me more than awake enough to read a few chapters. Yay for caffeine!

I‘m ready to commit. After much dithering, these are the six physical books (lots more on the iPad) I‘m taking as I head off to Israel to excavate. I‘ll be posting less as work will keep me very busy but I‘ll definitely be reading and posting when I can. I‘m leaning towards the tagged book for my airplane read but we‘ll see. I have a few hours to change my mind! 😬

Overall, The Plot was a good read, albeit a little predictable. You got drama, suspense, a little bit of romance, and a peek into the author/publishing world. I think you can see the ending coming a mile away, but I enjoyed the road to get there. Bonner‘s book-within-a-book is pretty good, too.

The Plot is a VERY compelling and satisfying suspense novel. I love a book about books, and this one centres of a stolen/borrowed/liberated narrative. It‘s a very engaging premise. The novel is very difficult to review it without giving away the plot (do you see what I did there? Haha) so I‘ll just say that Stephen King was right when he blurbed it- “insanely readable.”

An interesting plot where “plot” has two important meanings in in this tale about a writing instructor and his student and a possible stolen story idea. While I guessed one of the main twists, part of the ending was still surprising and while I didn‘t like the characters much, I was caught up enough in the story to continue reading. The mystery with the twists was engaging and unique. Worth a listen or a read.

I had heard so much buzz about this book and I was in the mood for a good thriller but this wasn't it: it was both far-fetched and completely predictable. Also, I detested almost all of the characters. I think there is a fatal flaw at the core of the book: the novel plot at the center is supposed to be genius, a guaranteed bestseller, but if it were, wouldn't the author . . . just write that book?

I did not love the writing but there is an intriguing story with quite a twist at the end.

Maybe it‘s me? I admittedly read more non-fiction than fiction. To really get into a novel it has to grab me early and pique my interest. This novel didn‘t do that. I was bored and didn‘t really care for the main character. I think she is a good writer and gave the book three stars for that. It just wasn‘t for me. Next.

Book 39

3.5⭐s

I listened to The Plot, an engaging thriller about an author who writes the plot told to him by a student who died before writing it himself. The plot is touted as so original and a definitive success, claims that are impossible to live up to. The twists were predictable, but I enjoyed the journey.

Arrogant student claims he doesn't need Jake's help beacause his plot is so good. Reminded me of a student who told me that revision or editing would destroy his original thoughts that came directly from his soul. Pic of a stage on the #campus of Luther College in Decorah, Iowa where they host a Writers' Festival for authors and readers. I was lucky enough to see Jane Hamilton & Erik Larson there. #SavvySettings @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs

A fun read. Even if you figure out the big ending pretty early, there are still plenty of twists and turns to keep you entertained.

Clever and nicely paced read.

Such a great premise, but didn‘t hold my attention at all.

This was a fun read! I always enjoy reading about a book within a book and the publishing industry. The plot of the story in the story (Crib) was built up so much that it was a bit of a disappointing twist in the big picture, but still a good one if this was a traditional thriller. I was still surprised. I was a but bored during the Crib parts and tuned out a bit while listening. But it was a fun, literary mystery overall.

It‘s never a forgone conclusion that anyone is actually going to see your work, no matter how good it is. And if nobody reads it, it doesn‘t exist 📝

Who doesn‘t appreciate a book about a book? It took me a little bit to get into this one but I really enjoyed the story! I did pick up on the twist a little early but it‘s isn‘t take away from the book. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Fast read but enjoyable

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I thought this was pretty predictable but I still enjoyed the storyline. The Plot is about a washed up author who hears a storyline from one of his students that he knows will be a hit. Years later he finds out that student has died, so he writes the story and enjoys all the fame. Many twists and turns after that.

This is a very bookish book. Readers in the book/publishing world will be in familiar territory and I personally loved that aspect of this “book within a book”. Questions of ownership of stories/moral ambiguity. But then things take a turn which I didn‘t enjoy nearly as much. I was entertained and onboard during most of this until we wade into wayyyy too familiar territory. I guess I was hoping for a different resolution, but it‘s still a pick.

It was fine. I saw it coming and I NEVER figure out plots before the end. There was a lot of hype for this one and I think it's bc "serious" writers like books about writers. Instead of a pic of the book (it was an e-book from the library) here is a pic of the wounded kitten we found. She is a million times better!

I randomly picked this up from the library when I didn't have time to browse. I enjoyed it and would recommend it. Clever book and fun to read.

My first #NYWD book was excellent! I don‘t usually think of myself as someone who likes “thrillers,” but this one had me totally captivated, partly because it‘s centred on literature and publishing. Lots of complex well-developed characters, diverse communities, and twists and turns.

Saturday reading

What a cracking start to the year! With Talented Mr Ripley vibes, a jaded creative writing teacher steals a plot from a dead pupil…! I guessed one of the twists early on but there‘s are so many twists and turns in this, it didn‘t matter and what an ending!! Best thriller I have read in a long time! ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Fantastic ending. Did not surprise me but that didn‘t take away from it. Really really great, especially for writers.

#12booksof2021 May

@Andrew65

Sorry it got cut off, but thanks friend - can‘t wait to read this as I know you really loved it! @AmyG ♥️♥️♥️

I almost finished this last night but kept dozing off, so I read the last bit this morning. I actually guessed a major thing very early, which rarely happens, so I think the book didn‘t have as big an impact as it could have. Overall it was a fast and entertaining read about an author who writes a best-selling novel using an idea that might not have been his own to tell.

As I‘m reading other reviews it seems like lots of us guessed the twist. ☹️

Every writer in the world will relate to this.

This elevator pitch of this story is solid: a professor from a middling MFA program cribs a plot from a student. I wasn‘t quite expecting this to turn into a murder mystery though—the twist of which I figured out early on. A small irritation: the author is a big fan of parenthetical asides (with exclamation!) which was oddly distracting. A fine, if forgettable read.

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

While I do agree with King's quote on the cover, and I found myself entertained by this book, once I finished I realized it didn't leave a lasting impression.

I would recommend it because it was an interesting story with some unique structuring , but perhaps borrow not buy this one.

I am switching to audio on this one. Anyone else read this and struggle with the amount of punctuation going on here? I never realized I could get annoyed by parentheses before!

Moving pretty quickly! I'm enjoying it despite it seeming like it knows it's kinda clever. Even so, I really want to know the twist!

Did not quite realize this was going to end up being a mystery/thriller, in a good way. Jake is a somewhat failed novelist teaching at a third-rate MFA program when a student shares his idea for a novel. Several years later, Jake finds out the former student has died without ever publishing that novel, so he steals the idea. A seemingly victimless crime…or is it?

It took me a LONG TIME to get a toehold in this one, but I‘m glad I kept trying. I saw most of the twist coming, but it was interesting to watch the whole thing play out.

A frustrated writer at a third-rate MFA program meets a student with an incredible novel plot. When he finds the student has died, he decides to appropriate the plot and write the novel himself. The book follows the author as well as excerpts from his novel. #audiobook note ⬇️

Finished at exactly the very moment that book club and library return is same day—it was very slow the first four chapters and then as the story became faster paced so did my heart rate and page turning. I will admit to figuring out who the villain was In the storyline but it didn‘t mean I didn‘t need to know ALLLLLL the details. All the warped details.

Book Club read and last beach read.

This audiobook was lots of fun. I loved the main character‘s struggles to not be a washed-up writer. I loved the cringy feeling it gave me as I realized what was going to happen. Even though I figured out the big plot twist earlier on than I would have liked, I enjoyed the ride to the end, which was blessedly NOT a cop out. Perhaps most of all, I enjoyed listening to it delivered by one of my very favorite narrators, Kirby Heyborne.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Meh… I had high hopes for this, with lots of great reviews about this amazing plot twist. Problem is, I got the whole twist thing pretty much straight away.(Not the one in the fictional novel, which wasn‘t that mind-blowing anyway, but the one in the actual book)

Then, with no suspense and pretty unlikeable characters it was just OK. Could have been a soft pick but I‘ve decided to be mean and go with a so-so.

I had a lot of fun with this one.

10-7-21: My 98th finished book of 2021! Wow, this one had me guessing until the end! I love that! Jacob Finch Bonner is a novelist. Once well respected, now teaching at a 3rd rate college, he meets a student with a plot to beat all plots! As the years go by and he awaits the novel of his student, it never comes so he decides the story should be told and why not by him? A fascinating look at writers and writing. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 👍🏼📖#️⃣9️⃣8️⃣

Autumnal audiowalking with Daisy. I'm enjoying the tagged book so far.

I expected a wild ride, but truthfully, it started out a little bumpy. Then the story within a story took off and I buckled up for a fun read. It was also interesting to read on the heels A Ladder to the Sky since both centered on the stories writers write, or don‘t write.

10-5-21: Very excited for this one!📖

This didn‘t do anything for me. I found the lead character really unlikeable, so it was hard for me to care about his story.

This kept me turning pages- a book within a book, a writer with a borrowed idea is haunted by someone who knows his secret.