Welcome to Litsy!

I read this book last year and remember feeling annoyed that I didn‘t predict the ending. I‘m giving it a reread, this time on audio, to see how it feels now that I understand where it‘s going.

Read this in three days, it‘s addicting.

Really enjoyable, dreamy time travel story. This is my book club read this month and I‘m excited to discuss it! And here‘s my #bookspinbingo board for September too!

I really loved this. We follow several strands at different times in history as the story and links slowly pull together. I loved each and every character, and particularly loved the sections about author Olive Llewelyn as she copes with family life and a pandemic in the moon colonies circa 2400. In fact I‘d read a whole other book about the moon colonies. Brilliant.

After loving Station Eleven and being disappointed in The Glasshotel I was curious to find out what I would think of Mandels third book. I was worried that I would dislike it as well, but after the first few pages my worries were long gone.

I was absorbed by the story and wanted to keep on reading and reading. It wasn't as intense as with SE, but I felt at home in this book and was happy to return to it. I now need to reread The Glasshotel.

Dreamy, quiet, speculative, with a dash of existential dread.
Shades of Greenwood, looking at different moments in time that are paralleled in their anxieties about the present and future, whether humanity will survive. 1/?

This book was so different than I was expecting! It follows the stories of several different people in different time periods. With a mixture of space travel and time travel, they do end up connecting… but I won‘t give it away. In some ways, this book felt more like a series of short stories. I think I‘d have to read it twice to truly get it! 😅 But it was beautifully written.

"If we were living in a simulation, how would we know it was a simulation?"
Very smart, very neat time travel story.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

At the heart of this time travel book that spans 500 years and explores bigs questions like the nature of reality, the meaning of life, and the end of the world, is an intimate portrayal of loneliness, grief, and the connection we all seek.
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🖋: Leonardo Momento Zero Orange Dreams F • Fontoplumo Exclusive
🩸: Diamine Orange

I seem to have lost my motivation for online book talk, but I am still reading and doing more in person things — including now hosting a book club through Inkwood Books in Haddonfield, New Jersey! #bookclub #southjersey #philadelphia

If any of my online friends in the Philadelphia/ South Jersey friends want to join me in person, follow the link below and join me at Inkwood!

Winter #Booked2023 complete! Tagged and Round House were my favorite reads from this challenge, but I liked all of them except Frankenstein. Which is sad! I really wanted to enjoy Shelley‘s first and much copied scifi novel, not least because of the circumstances of its creation. I think it cannot be a coincidence that it was written by a new mother whose partner was dissolute and likely quite unhelpful… but alas.
Good luck all Booked challengers!

This was a close call! Before the start of our #LitsyToB 6 people voted for Sea as their favorite, 5 chose Rabbit. Now these 2 met and it is surprising that Rabbit is the winner, meeting Babel in the zombie round!

It feels like today‘s judge in the #ToB23 also had a hard time choosing between the two but her final arguments really resonate with me. Sea advances!

Please fill in the next form today: https://forms.gle/WJnU7sxgDgq6wH2a8 ‼️

We‘re in sync again with the #ToB23: both QF have Sea of Tranquility up against The Violin conspiracy. Our obvious winner is Sea, as is the official one.

This is a story of all the questions: What does it mean to truly live/be alive? Who do we serve? What is our own agency? What is real? Can there still be value in a manufactured reality? If you could time travel, would you stop yourself from interfering? What is your duty; do you have one? We see Gaspery wrestle with all these questions as he ages and contemplates the past versions of himself and who he ultimately is.

I read this for my book club. I was looking forward to it bc I loved the HBO show, Station 11, which was written by the same author.
This is a mystery taking place in the past & distant future. I connected to the characters dealing with pandemics, but loved the main character‘s mission to time travel. Alike Station 11 in that the author imagines a bleak future where people are able to survive by connecting with others.
We loved it!
🎻🎻🎻🎻🎻

Babel might have been the most surprising read for us this year. Most participants of the #LitsyToB23 enjoyed it more than expected. @Cinfhen @RebelReader and @kwmg40 even root for it in this years tournament.
It was up against Sea of Tranquility however, a book even more popular among us. Unfortunately Babel didn‘t stand a chance. Sea of Tranquility is our winner in this match! Unexpectedly, in my humble opinion, the #ToB23 judged likewise

I devoured this book within 24 hours! I loved it so much, it's faster paced than the Glass Hotel, but has characters from it featuring throughout. I think this is my favourite book of her so far, or at least closely tied with Station Eleven. I think Gaspery is a good character, and the book reminded me of a Sanderson's Snapshot, but with a happy ending.

This book surprised me at every turn. This may end up being her masterpiece. The writing is spare and yet evocative. The tale twists and turns. The characters are so engaging. I could read a novel dedicated to each. I preferred last night in Montreal to stations eleven for its aspects of John Irving. But she finds her own voice distinctly in this work. I sit astounded as I set it down.

“Is there an unease that‘s specific to the sense of an invisible bureaucracy in motion around you?”

Great book. Worth reading, especially if you are looking for something unique and beautifully written.

Illness frightens us because it‘s chaotic. There is an awful randomness about it.

This book was ok. It took me awhile to get into it, but I‘m glad I stuck with it, just not sure I‘d recommend it…

If there is pleasure in action, there‘s peace in stillness.

11 Feb-1 Mar 23
I enjoy Mandel‘s writing - sparse and light. This novel flits through a number of different time periods and characters, who are ultimately tied together through one man‘s time travelling. It is also a pandemic novel, clearly written through COVID.
I enjoyed it but not nearly as much as The Glass Hotel.

Finished my 10th (and probably final) #tob23 book. I went in with low expectations (not sure why since I loved Station Eleven) & was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it. A time travel book about a pandemic. Clearly Mandel had some fun with this. I enjoyed how all the pieces came together even if I'm unclear on the meaning. But there's no question that Mandel can write. There's a confidence to her prose that's reassuring. Pic of Obie who 👇

I really enjoyed this. Mandel weaves different stories together from 1912 to a future where humans live on the moon. Her writing is so fluid & economical, in just a few lines she places you in the scene, you want to know what happens next. The characters feel real, I cared about them. A reflection on humans‘ desire for connection & a dystopic future but she has a light touch. Didn‘t love the sci fi parts (but that‘s just me).

Reading a few pages while it‘s still quiet in the office.
#celebritybc

This book has no cover photo in the Litsy database, but the thread has some amazing shots! Here are a few of the ones I enjoyed the most. As for the book itself, it‘s a pleasantly forgettable tale reminiscent of at least a half dozen other time travel / futuristic stories I‘m familiar with. Barely a pick for me. Photo credits below ⭐️⭐️⭐️-1/2

I had a wonderful start to the year with my reading. My favorite was the first- Sea of Tranquility. In between all this I‘ve been working in A Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations for my freshman honors class.

#teachersoflitsy #january

Read this book for Book Club and I have to admit I‘m not a fan of futuristic dystopian books. Nothing in this book changed my mind. It was a light read but I found holes in the believability of some details.

I picked up this book after reading positive reviews. and was my first read of this author. It took me a little while to get into the book and while it was wrapped up well at the end, I personally didn't appreciate it as much as most readers. It focuses on one man and his experience with time travel.

I still like The Glass Hotel best, but this was a very smooth and satisfying experience, with some crossover to TGH. This book is about time travel, compassion, and humanity. Why humans are even here and where is “here”? It‘s all a bit trippy and circular. Also fun is the portrayal of author Olive Llewellen, certainly a stand in for Mandel.

I also like the thought expressed here, “A life lived in a simulation is still a life”.

#ToB2023

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I love Emily St. John Mandel. Her books are always such beautiful sci-fi. There's something so familiar about her settings, even when they are in a bleak future. This book starts with Edwin St. Andrew exiled to Canada in 1912, moves to Miriella viewing an art showing in 2020, then Olive on a book tour in 2203, & then brother & sister scientists exploring the possibility that all life is a simulation. A stunning read.

There is so much to love here - time travel! moon colonies! - and yet those elements fade into the background of stories about characters who are all lost for various reasons, missing a place or a person they cannot yet return to, if ever.
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I really liked this! I loved the fragmentary fluid mindfuckery. This author does that SO well. It had a couple of things that I frequently dislike - I struggle with pandemic novels and also serious toned books where writers write about writers writing about writing. I think this book did both of those really well compared to others I‘ve read but they‘re still not my faves overall. The style and inventiveness absolutely carried me through tho

⭐️⭐️⭐️ After not loving St John Mandel‘s previous two books, I planned to skip this, but received it as a gift, and with all the dazzling reviews, decided to give it a go. This time travel story spans centuries planting intriguing thoughts and questions bit by bit, though some things seemed much too convenient. The writing is lovely, but the brief page count didn‘t do Gaspery or anyone else justice. I needed it to be more epic, more sprawling.

#auldlangspine @mcipher @monalyisha

I literally have to pick my jaw up off of the FLOOR 😱this book was AMAZING. Intricate plot, interesting characters… I can‘t say anything about the plot because I don‘t want to spoil it, lots of twists and turns. This is one of the best books I‘ve read in a long time. It has every element I could wish for in a book.
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️/5

I‘m struggling a little more than I hoped to find time to read physical copies of books this January - work and masters both very busy! I really wanted to get started on #alspine though so I got the tagged book on audio! I loved station eleven so much and I‘m so excited this one is fragmentary and odd as well. Excited to read more @Megabooks @monalyisha

My top 22 reads in 2022! Although my overall average rating was only 3.7, I still read a lot of amazing books this year.

Not only was Sea of Tranquility my favorite book I read in 2022, but I also think it was one of the best new releases of 2022. Other worthy 2022 fiction releases include: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, Lessons in Chemistry, The Candy House, Trust, and The Diamond Eye.

#top22of22

Coincidentally, I just heard it‘s National Bubble Bath Day. 🛁 How perfect!

I started this #ebook. Finally became available on #Libby. Got through the first section and still trying to get into the writing style with the many section breaks.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really loved the latest from Mandel. I read this along with a reread of Station Eleven and Glass Hotel. It helped me understand her whole point about time. This one I think is written very beautifully.

How did the author fit so much story into such a slim little book! I want to read it again.

“Illness frightens us because it‘s chaotic. There‘s an awful randomness about it.”

#12Booksof2022 This was September's best and one of my top 5 of the year. @Andrew65

This rates right up there with 2am in Little America and I‘m not suffering through another one because it made some list. I know I‘m going against popular opinion on this one and I thought I would like it because I did like Station Eleven. First book of 2023 is a bail. 😫😫

#ipraythisisntmybookspin
#bookspin
#ToB23