Welcome to Litsy!

Just swung by the bookstore today and found these two gems. Steinbeck I love already, but never heard of this obscure piece, I also thought I would dabble in Western novels and thought this would be a good one to test the genre.

I wasn't sure this would be for me, but I realised already at the first sentence, that it absolutely would be. It's a mammoth of a book, and it isn't a page too long. This will definitely be one of my top reads of the year, and I predict that years from now I'll still consider it a favourite.
And since pictures aren't working, the first sentence goes: When Augustus came out on the porch the blue pigs were eating a rattlesnake - not a very big one.

I knew in advance that there would be brutal events and character death, but I just finished chapter 58 and I am not alright. 😢

Starting the weekend off right with a book about cowboys! I have high hopes for this since I‘ve heard so many good things about it.

A hundred+ pages in and I am starting to understand why this is such a mega chunkster. Nothing has actually happened yet except that I have been (masterfully) introduced to a dozen oddball characters. And I wouldn't cut a single paragraph.

#ChunksterSummer

Looks like Lonesome Dove is still the one to beat. #2023ReadingBracket

1. Garth Brooks
2. Tagged book as a singing cowboy 🤠
#two4tuesday

Still working my way through Lonesome Dove. I have to finish by Tuesday and still have 315 of 935 to go. The characterizations are so well-done.
Strawberry-rhubarb crisp made with homegrown rhubarb.

@NataliePatalie

"When Augustus came out on the porch the blue pigs were eating a rattlesnake - not a very big one."

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

Well, IF there is a good side to this maybe I'll get extra reading done.

@NataliePatalie

Finished this chunkster during #BacklistReadathon. It was by far one of my favorite reads in a long time and quite possibly of all time. I am soooo glad I finally picked this one up. I was captivated from beginning to end. I am looking forward to reading my next McMurtry next month. #LitsyLoveReads
@Clwojick @TheAromaofBooks

Making great progress on Lonesome Dove & loving it! This is my first Larry McMurtry, but I will be reading more during #BacklistReadathon this year!
#JoyousJanuary @Andrew65
@Clwojick @TheAromaofBooks

Oops...I did it again
📚💲📚💲

This book was so expensive. It sat on my Amazon list for ages! Thank you Amazon for the 3-for-2 sale!! Ed from The Brothers Gwynne BookTube channel has recommended this book multiple times & unbelievably I‘ve heard Stephen King recommends it also. I look forward to pouring over the pages!! A slow read.

#weremember #larrymcmurtry @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs

I‘ve never read this author before but he seemed to be pretty popular ☺️

#LarryMcMurtry #WeRemember 🌹💔

#BookNerd 🤓💙📚

#LarryMcMurtry #WeRemember

@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Larry Jeff McMurtry (June 3, 1936 – March 25, 2021) was an American novelist, essayist, bookseller, and screenwriter whose work was predominantly set in either the Old West or contemporary Texas. His novels included Horseman, Pass By (1962), The Last Picture Show (1966), Terms of Endearment (1975), and the tagged-which were adapted into films.
#weremember #LarryMcMurtry @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

#twofortuesday Thanks @TheSpineView for the tag!

1) This is my modus operandi. I‘m a very slow reader so very rarely do I immediately read a book I‘ve just bought or received as a gift

2) Tagged. I‘ve had it since high school, because most books I read then were chunksters. The print date was 1986, the year I graduated. It‘s moved with me a few times. So glad I finally read it because it leaped into my top 10 favorites!

Winner of Best Character in the 2021 There Will be Books Book Oscars.

https://anchor.fm/peter-murphy8

To celebrate the 2021 year in reading we recorded a special Book Oscars episode!
With categories ranging from Best Character, Most Competent, Best Writer, and Best Book we discuss the merits and qualities of all the books we read last year. It was very fun to record and I hope you enjoy listening to it! #bookoscars

https://anchor.fm/peter-murphy8/episodes/Episode-79-2021-Book-Oscars-e1chau1

#chunksterchallenge2021 Quarter 4 book is complete. I loved this one...The characters will stay with me for a long, long time. I laughed, I cried, I was angry, and I was scared, and I can‘t wait for @Kelly326 to finish so we can watch the movie.

Thank you so much for hosting, @Amiable I can‘t wait to participate in the Chunkster Challenge in 2022!

1️⃣ Stephen King, Robert McCammon & Clive Barker.
2️⃣ Katniss. 🥰
3️⃣ Tagged.

Thanks for the tag @DarkMina and sorry for taking so long, I've not been on.

Don't know who played along but if you want to play along, I tag you! 👉

@Eggs #wondrouswednesday

My November #bookspin was 300 pages of Lonesome Dove. I love this book so much...I‘m in the home-stretch!
#chunksterchallenge2021 #bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks @Amiable

Finished this #ChunksterChallenge2021 read. It‘s a pick with reservations. Needs editing, IMO. It took nearly 450 pages before I was fully invested. That‘s way too much time. I get that McMurtry was aiming for a sweeping epic, but the scope was too wide for him to properly wrap his arms around because some of the storylines petered out or felt unnecessary to the whole. Favorite characters: Gus and Clara.
Glad to have finally read this, though!

I finally made it to Part III (page 619 in my copy). Where‘re y‘all at now, @GinaKButler @Kelly326 @CoverToCoverGirl ?

#chunksterchallenge2021

I just finished listening to an episode on the @Therewillbebooks podcast about one of my favorite books ever. It was great hearing them love on it as much as I did.

#89
This was a delight to listen to. I got so attached to the characters, that when they died I cried.
Traveling with them across the country, you have great vision as to what or where they were.
I have to highly recommend this book ❤❤❤

My November #bookspin and #doublespin

I‘m trying to finish out my challenges, so I added “300 pages” of Lonesome Dove, my Q4 #chunksterchallenge2021 , to my list and it was picked!

Looking forward to a great month. As always, thank you for hosting, @TheAromaofBooks 😘

A long, 15-hour day of volunteering at the polls for the municipal election in my town just begs for a chunkster on hand. Good thing I‘m already in the middle of one. 😀

This is what love looks like: My husband, reading the chapter in “Lonesome Dove” that details an apparently graphic snake-related scene in order to summarize it for me so I don‘t have to read it myself and trigger my reptile phobia. ❤️❤️❤️
(Thanks again for the advance warning, @Graywacke ! 🙂)

Hanging out with my best friend. We visited a used book store . I got 14 books for under $60. Lonesome Dove is for my mom for Christmas. Memoirs is a better edition than my mass market paperback copy. The Winter People is autographed.
#bookhaul

Got up early this morning so I could net an hour of reading time in honor of @TheAromaofBooks before logging onto work. Happy birthday, Sarah! I‘m working a full day today too so my contributions toward your #BirthdayBash will be sporadic throughout the day.

Chunkster check in: I‘m plugging along—made it to page 210 (chpt. 23 in my edition). I‘m still not in love with it, but I‘m invested enough that I‘ll keep the momentum going (slowly). How are you doing, @GinaKButler @Kelly326 @CoverToCoverGirl ?

Just released our Lonesome Dove episode! We review the classic Pulitzer winner and discuss the old west, time travel scenarios, and dish on our favorite (and not so favorite) characters. I love Gus and Clara and hated July Johnson. Tune in to hear more of our thoughts and if you've read the book (or seen the series) let me know your thoughts/favorite characters.

https://anchor.fm/peter-murphy8/episodes/Episode-70-Lonesome-Dove-e18rkaa

#chunksterchallenge2021 check-in: so, technically, today is day 8 of reading. I‘m through Chapter 10 and have read 50% more than I intended this week because I LOVE THIS BOOK! The characters are fantastic and I‘ve laughed out loud several times. Who knew I‘d enjoy a western so much?

I hope you‘re loving it, too, @Kelly326 @Amiable and @CoverToCoverGirl 🤠 📚 🐴

It is already 4th quarter of 2021 and time for my final chunkster of the #chunksterchallenge2021. Looking forward to reading this one with @GinaKButler . Love getting to cross some of these chunky classics off of my list!

Grant ✔️
Roots✔️
The Count of Monte Cristo✔️

Here we go! I‘m reading Lonesome Dove as my Quarter 4 #chunksterchallenge2021 pick with @Kelly326 @Amiable and @CoverToCoverGirl

This one has been on my TBR for ages and I‘m excited to dive in!

It‘s time to dive into this chunkster with fellow #chunksterchallenge2021 fans @GinaKButler and @CoverToCoverGirl ! I‘ve never read it, and have been looking forward to it. Although the mention of a rattlesnake in the very first sentence is making me cringe (person with a major snake phobia over here 👋🏼). 😖😬

My new #tenatatime #tbr A mix of old and new on this one. This is round 39.

1. I haven't finished a book in a long, long, long time lol.
2. The Shadow of the Wind
3. Just waking up
@eggs #wondrouswednesday

🌿yes but not often sometimes for bookclub. I have read Lonesone Dove, A Gentleman in Moscow, The Mrs. Pollifax series, Giants in the Earth twice. Actually some of the Nrs. Pollifax I have read 3x. I plan to reread the Harry Potter series someday.
🌿no
🌿anything by Gary Paulsen or William Kent Krueger.

@NataliePatalie
#ThoughtfulThursday @MoonWitch94

1. I think maybe 500 pages or more is a chunkster.
2. Lately more and more I listen to them on audiobook. It's a nice way to read them, but I also like to read and listen at the same time.
@TheSpineView #two4tuesday

@EadieB thanks for the tag!

New books! Well, Lonesome Dove is new to me. Who is ready for Friday? July has not felt like summer this year, so much rain.

1. Today I'm grateful for my life, family and friends.
2. I won't forget brunch on Sunday, I had a great day with a friend.
3. I went to the Western Slope last month and it was a wonderful trip.
@Eggs #wondrouswednesday

#curiouscovers #blueandyellow an all time favorite!

Larry McMurtry‘s bookstore has been on my bucket list forever. So we drove literally all day to get to Archer City and arrived 30 minutes before it closed. Ok everyone, unless you want a lot of valuable westerns or books signed by McMurtry, just take it off your bucket list. The “valuable” books are kept in a small room with AC. All others in an annex without AC and in no order. It was almost 90F inside. And far fewer books than I expected. ⬇️

Lonesome Dove is one of my fave books ever so I‘ve been looking for the other books in the trilogy. When I saw this matching set I couldn‘t help myself.

Just released a new episode. We pick a new seasonal read from amongst the books pictured, and we talk Cathedrals, s'mores, and great lost works. Enjoy!

https://open.spotify.com/episode/4XI2oMWAHEvhQiR7rPhMih?si=72M1bRJeR_u038qPExygo...

Here are some books with #yellow covers that I assembled for a previous photo challenge. At least two of these are no longer in my possession! Likewise the bookcase. #curiouscovers